After many days on the river, the group began to relax slightly when no more signs of the creatures were found. One particular night camped on the bank though, Alarain's sleep was haunted by something else. She could hear Boromir speaking with Aragorn not far off, and he sounded mad.

"You are afraid!" Boromir snapped. "All your life, you have hidden in the shadows! Scared of who you are, of what you are!" He had raised his voice and she could hear what he said clearly.

She strained to hear Aragorn's answer. "I will not lead the Ring within a hundred leagues of your city." he growled back.

Footsteps sounded quietly and she opened her eyes to see Aragorn returning to the group, frustration easily seen on his face. Alarain closed her eyes again and wondered why Boromir was acting so. He is usually more stable, but was becoming much more easily angered every day.

They were off the next day and Alarain was playing with Brenir's ear when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to Legolas and he pointed up.

"The Argonath." Aragorn breathed in the boat beside them.

As she raised her eyes, her mouth fell open. She had never seen anything like it before! Two great stone men rose out of the mountains on either side of the river. They towered above the fellowship that was gazing up at them in amazement. One arm each was raised as if in a gesture of defiance to the enemies of Gondor.

"Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old." the ranger continued. "My kin."

Alarain was at a loss for words as she stared upwards. These must be the two joint rulers of Gondor before the time of the Steward, Lord Denethor. Isildur and his brother, Anarion. These are Aragorn's ancestors. She looked down and gazed in wonderment at the massive feet as they passed.

They were soon out of sight of the great monument, and came to a large part of the river that could almost be classified as a lake. Far across the stretch of water, a huge rock rose up, and on either side, the water crashed down the Falls of Rauros. The fellowship came to shore on the west bank and hopped out.

"We'll cross the lake at nightfall, hide the boats and continue on foot." Aragorn said as they unpacked their gear. "We approach Mordor from the North.

"Oh yes?" Gimli asked. "Just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil? An impossible labyrinth of razer sharp rocks, and after that... it gets even better!"

Pippin was chewing on something and it looked funny how he continued to look in between the dwarf and ranger. Gimli and Aragorn looked over at her as she giggled. "Sorry..." she said, hiding her face.

Gimli continued. "Festering, stinking marshlands as far as the eye can see."

"That is our road." Aragorn replied calmly. "I suggest you take some rest and recover your strength master dwarf."

Gimli huffed. "Recover my... ugh..." he grumbled.

Alarain went to join Pippin as Legolas began whispering to the ranger. When they were done talking, Aragorn walked over to her. Gesturing, he lead her away from the group.

"Alarain, do you know where we are?" he asked.

She gave him a confused look. "Don't you?"

"That's not what I meant." Bringing out a small map, he pointed. "We are here, and Rohan... is here." His finger had not moved far from were they were and Alarain smiled.

"That is Rohan? We're so close." she observed. Looking back at the ranger, her face fell when he looked upset. "What is it?" she asked hesitantly.

He sighed. "Our road leads East, and Rohan is West." He paused. "If you wish to return, you will have to leave us here."

Alarain stared at him, shock in her eyes. I can't leave them now after we've been through so much! I can't abandon them!

Before she could say anything, Merry came into camp and dropped a stack of firewood on the ground. "Where's Frodo?" he asked, looking around.

Everyone froze. Frodo wasn't there. Aragorn scanned the camp and his eyes stopped. Following his gaze, she saw that Boromir's things were there, but he was not.

Aragorn dashed off and was followed by the entire group, including Brenir. Alarain was in the back and she stopped when she felt a pain in her head. "This is your chance!" a voice shouted in her mind. She clutched at her skull as Saruman's words ripped through her. "Find the hobbit before the others and take the Ring!" he ordered. She struggled to push his voice away, but she could not fight him. "FIND THE HOBBIT!" With that, Saruman was gone.

Alarain pushed herself up and staggered forward. Her legs moved against her will in the direction of the others and she fought hard to stop. If she did find Frodo first, she was too afraid that Saruman would take complete control and she would be forced to kill him.

Her head suddenly shot up at the sound of swords clashing. With all her might, she ran in that direction. Coming through the trees, she saw a battle in full swing. Aragorn was on top of a stone structure and was bravely taking on an entire army of orcs. Wait! Those aren't orcs! They're the creature I saw in my dream! Unsheathing her sword, she ran forward to help. "No!" Saruman cried. "Leave the Uruk-hai! Look for the hobbit!"

She ignored him and fought her way through, trying to get to Aragorn. He suddenly launched himself off the top of the structure and onto a few enemies. The Uruk-hai were stronger than normal orcs and she was almost about to get her head chopped off by one, when an arrow planted itself into it's eye. Turning, she saw that Legolas and Gimli had arrived to help.

"Aragorn, go!" the elf yelled, and the ranger took off, attempting to slow the monsters as they searched for Frodo.

Alarain's legs suddenly shot off after Aragorn against her will and she growled. "Frodo must be that way." Saruman said in her mind.

Legolas and Gimli were slowly making their way after the ranger as well, but she was faster and ran right past them. Aragorn was still cutting down Uruk-hai ruthlessly and as she came up behind him, she sliced off a head. He turned and stared at her before nodding his thanks and plunging his sword into another. They fought side by side for a while until they were overrun. Legolas caught up and began shooting them down one after another.

Her arms ached as she blocked yet another attack and stumbled back. Ducking, she stabbed her sword into the monster's belly and it let out a yell before sinking to the ground. Swinging around, she saw that Aragorn was backed up against a tree and an Uruk-hai had his throat in it's hands. He was desperately smashing his fists into it's face but it did not let him go. Alarain ran to help, but Legolas was faster. When the creature's back was to him, he shot an arrow and it fell to the ground.

A loud horn sounded farther into the forest. "The horn of Gondor." the elf said.

Aragorn took off again. "Boromir."

Alarain sprang after him and Legolas stayed back, killing the remaining Uruks that followed. Running at Aragorn heels, she swung her sword mercilessly at any of the creatures she passed and they fell to the ground dead. "Good." Saruman's voice purred in her head. "Show no mercy." he cackled as she brought down Uruk after Uruk.

"I'm not looking for your praise." she growled.

Aragorn was still fighting so she continued on in search of Boromir. His horn would sound every now and again, but after a while, it came no more. She soon left the ranger behind as her feet carried her quickly to the Gondorian's aid.

As she came over a hill, Alarain froze on the spot. What she saw brought tears to her eyes. Far away in front of her, was a man fighting for the lives of two small creatures behind him. He had two arrows sticking out of his chest, but he still fought with a huge amount of strength. He bravely faced the oncoming army all on his own with Merry and Pippin staring in horror at the scene playing out.

Alarain's heart stopped when another arrow suddenly plunged into him and he fell to his knees. Anger tore through her and Saruman laughed in her head. "Yes!" he shouted.

Her voice came low as she answered him. "No." she growled.

Merry and Pippin bravely tried to protect Boromir, but were picked up easily. An Uruk-hai was now standing in front of the man as the others just ran past, carrying the hobbits away. Soon, it was only the leader that was left. He stood with his bow raised at Boromir's head and all the man could do was stare up at it and wait for death to come.

What the Uruk didn't see however, was the woman as she came running up behind him. Alarain stabbed her sword down into it's shoulder with all her strength and the creature roared, dropping his bow. She yanked out her blade and the monster turned to her. It grabbed a bloody sword off the ground and came at her. She didn't miss a beat and dodged his swing. Slicing her sword into it's arm, she jumped back when it stabbed at her. The edge of his sword suddenly caught her leg and she let out a yell. Falling to one knee, she rolled out of the way as it tried to bring it's sword down on her. He kicked her in the stomach and she groaned in pain, gasping for breathe.

She looked up through her hair at the creature. It smiled greedily and raised it's blade. Suddenly, the tip of a sword poked out of it's belly and she looked up to see a very angry ranger. The Uruk-hai then grinned and backed up into the sword, seemingly not feeling the pain at all. Aragorn yanked it out and began fighting it like a hero.

Alarain crawled over to Boromir to see he was hardly breathing. He was straining for breathe and the arrow wounds in his chest were seeping blood all over him.

"Show your worth Alarain." the voice in her head growled. "Kill him!" Saruman ordered.

Her eyes widened as her hand reached for her sword. She pulled it back and her arm flashed pain.

"Kill him!" the wizard yelled. "Do as I say!"

When she did not move, her arm felt as if it exploded. She moved her other hand slowly and lifted up her sleeve. The White Hand of Saruman was bubbling and glowing. Boromir stared from his place on the ground when he saw the mark. His eyes moved up to her and they were scared. Alarain gritted her teeth as an overwhelming sensation passed through her. Her right hand grabbed the sword handle and she screamed in anguish.

"If you do not kill him, I will." Saruman spat with rage.

Tears came out of her eyes as her arms raised the sword above her head. Boromir's eyes pleaded and she stared back in terror.

Meanwhile, Aragorn had just beheaded the leader when he looked over to Boromir and his eyes widened. His heart pounded when he saw Alarain on her knees beside him with her sword about to plunge down. "Alarain!" he yelled.

Alarain didn't hear him, for pain was pounding through her body. Saruman laughed and evil laugh as he took total control of her. Looking at the man below her, she remembered when he teased her about swearing at the hobbits, and how he was cooperative when she wanted to look for berries. She thought of everything that he had done with her, and every word she had shared with him. He did not deserve this.

"It's a good thing you don't care for him as you do for that ranger." Saruman cackled. "Just imagine how it would feel if this was actually him you were about to kill."

Power suddenly surged through her and her terror was gone, replaced with courage. She focused on the magic that the wizard was using to control her, and grabbed for it. She imagined her hand wrapping around it and Saruman let out a yell.

"What are you doing! Stop!" he roared.

Alarain strained to take back her body. "I will not let you control me." she growled through gritted teeth.

Aragorn and Boromir watched in amazement as the woman threw away her sword. The scar on her arm burned as Saruman tried to take her back. She ignored it and, using the magic to her advantage, she put her hands on Boromir's chest. Her fingertips glowed with light as Saruman screamed. Even the men around her heard the voice as the wizard protested. The light from her fingers spread to the arrows and seeped into the wounds. Boromir closed his eyes in pain as he felt the wounds begin to heal. The arrows fell out on the ground as they were pushed from his body. The light faded with the wizard's voice and Alarain fell backwards as she faded from consciousness.