Gandalf leads Aragorn, Elizabeth, Legolas, Eomer, and Théoden through the dark forest as they ride. The moving forest of Fangorn opens before them, creating an avenue of trees that allows them access along the old Isengard road. A thick, humid mist fills the forest. Looking warily around from the forest to the ruins of Isengard, they heard a distant laughter.

The forest separates ahead, revealing the ruins of Isengard. All about the great stone wall is cracked and splintered into countless jagged shards. Far off, half veiled in the swirling steam, the tower of Orthanc stands ... unbroken by the storm—pale waters lap about its feet. Two small hobbits are sitting on the smashed wall … Merry and Pippin! A feast of loaves of bread, meats, and wine is spread before them. They puff on long pipes as they lie back in the sun, talking about their home and long days of work. Pippin nods and laughs, agreeing with him.

The sounds of horses attract their attention.

"Ahaha!" Pippin salutes them with his mug.

Merry jumps up as he spots the group riding out of the trees before them, and at the same time, he cuts Pippin off before he can respond in kind to Merry's insult about Pippin not working a day in his life. "Welcome, my Lords and my Lady, to Isengard!"

Gandalf, Aragorn, Elizabeth, Legolas, and Gimli stare at the sight before them… Relieved to find the Hobbits safe and in good spirits.

"You young rascals! A merry hunt you've led us on, and now we find you feasting and smoking!" Gimli grumbled at them, but the worry came from a good place, and he was happy to see them again.

Pippin's words are slurred as he explains, "We are sitting on a field of victory, enjoying a few well-earned comforts." Whilst eating a sandwich. "The salted pork is particularly good."

"Salted pork?" After days of ratios, Gimli was suddenly interested in the sound of good food. A little bit of drool can be seen in his mouth.

Gandalf shakes his head in a mix of disgust and fondness, "Hobbits."

"We're under orders from Treebeard, who's taken over management of Isengard." Merry said, pointing behind him.

Gandalf leads the company through the flotsam and jetsam, which floats upon the muddied waters surrounding the tower…

Treebeard, The Giant Ent, strides towards them, alarming all but Gandalf. "Burarum ... Young Master Gandalf. I'm glad you've come. Wood and water, stock and stone, I can master, but there's a Wizard to be managed here ... locked in his tower."

Aragorn whispered, looking up at the tower, "Show yourself."

Elizabeth tilts her head, observing the tower, and side-eye her partner, "Be careful. Even in defeat, I bet Saruman is still dangerous."

Gimli said, "Well, let's just have his head and be done with it."

Gandalf shakes his head, "No. We need him alive. We need him to talk."

Saruman's voice is heard around them, but clearly, it's above them, "You have fought many wars and slain many men, Théoden King," He shows himself on the top of the tower. "And made peace afterwards. Can we not take counsel together as we once did, my old friend? Can we not have peace, you and I?"

Théoden eyes narrowed, "We shall have peace. We shall have peace when you answer for the burning of the Westfold and the children that lie dead there! We shall have peace when the lives of the soldiers whose bodies were hewn even as they lay dead against the gates of the Hornburg, are avenged! When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows, we shall have peace."

"Gibbets and crows? Dotard! What do you want, Gandalf Greyhame? Let me guess. The key of Orthanc. Or perhaps the Keys of Barad-dur itself, along with the crowns of the seven kings and the rods of the Five Wizards!"

Gandalf tries to reason with him, "Your treachery has already cost many lives. Thousands more are at risk. But you can save them, Saruman. You were deep in the enemy's counsel."

"So you have come here for information. I have some for you." Saruman lifts his Palantír and gazes into it. "Something festers in the heart of Middle-Earth. Something that you have failed to see. But the Great Eye has seen it." He puts the Palantír back down. "Even now, he presses his advantage. His attack will come soon. You're all going to die."

Gandalf approaches the base of Orthanc.

"But you know this, don't you, Gandalf? You cannot think that this Ranger will ever sit upon the throne of Gondor. This exile crept from the shadows and will never be crowned king. Gandalf does not hesitate to sacrifice those closest to him, those he professes to love. Tell me, what words of comfort did you give the Halfling before you sent him to his doom? The path that you have set him on can only lead to death."

"I've heard enough!" Gimli whispers to Legolas. "Shoot him. Stick an arrow in his gob."

Legolas reaches for an arrow, but Elizabeth stops him, "Not yet."

Gandalf nodded to Elizabeth, stopping Legolas from killing Saruman, "Come down, Saruman and your life will be spared."

"Save your pity and your mercy. I have no use for it!" Saruman sends down a giant fireball toward Gandalf. An enormous flame surrounds where Gandalf is. A shield now surrounds Gandalf as the flames die down.

"Saruman, your staff is broken." Once Gandalf spoke, Saruman's staff broke in his hands into many pieces. Grima shows up behind Saruman.

Elizabeth watches everything keenly and looks for anything out of place. Théoden tries to convince Grima to leave Saruman to be free once more. She spots it.

The symbol… Her Jolly Roger… Captain Jack Sparrow was here.

Grima pounces on Saruman and stabs Saruman several times. Legolas releases an arrow, hitting Grima. Grima winces in pain and falls back, making Saruman plummet off the tower and towards the ground. He lands on top of a spear on one of his own devices. Disgust fell over the faces of several of the riders.

Gandalf turns to the group, "Send word to all our allies and to every corner of Middle-Earth that still stands free. The enemy moves against us. We need to know where he will strike."

The wheel spins, sinking Saruman into the waters. The Palantír falls out of his robe and into the water.

The Old Ent nods his head wisely… "The filth of Saruman is washing away. Trees will come back to live here. Young trees. Wild trees."

Pippin sees an orange glow in the water. He wades into the water and picks it up, eyeing it curiously.

Aragorn felt Pippin leaving, "Pippin!"

Treebeard's eyes widen, "Bless my bark!"

Gandalf quickly realized what it was, "Peregrin Took! I'll take that, my lad. Quickly now."

Pippin hands the palantír to Gandalf, who quickly wraps it in his robe. Pippin looks sheepish at Gandalf and watches him intently as he turns away. Gandalf looks back at Pippin ... troubled.

Elizabeth closed her eyes, feeling a migraine coming on, but she had to see if Jack left anything for her. It took a few minutes, but she found a message in a bottle addressed to her.

Lizzy, I decided to leave Rivendell for my own adventure after you left. A lot has happened, but when you find this note, find me. You are not going to believe the journey I have been on. I'm close to finding a key to help this war, but I need you—the Pirate King—the true master of the sea. Also, I'm supposed to tell you to read a letter, don't know what that means. Hopefully, you will cause I don't. See you soon. Captain Jack Sparrow

The riders are next seen galloping towards the Rohan City of Edoras, and Éowyn stands alone outside in front of the Golden Hall. Waiting…

A lamb roasting on a spit, Long tables laden with food, Barrels of wine; A banquet is laid – ready for the returning soldiers. A large crowd is then seen in the Hall. Éowyn offers a goblet of wine to Théoden as she kneels in front of him. She retires behind him. Théoden offers the goblet in a toast to the people of Rohan. They all stand for the toast.

"Tonight, we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country." He offers up the goblet. "Hail the victorious dead!"

"Hail!" The crowd returns as toast.

Aragorn hesitates and thinks of them before he drinks. Elizabeth stands to the sides with her own mug, eyes closed, remembering her fallen people. She opens her eyes and drinks.

The crowd begins to talk and feast on the long tables.

"No pauses. No spills." Éomer gives a mug to Legolas.

"And no regurgitation." Gimli laughs as he lifts the tankard to his mouth.

Legolas asked, "So, it's a drinking game?"

Men "aye!" and raise their mugs.

"Last one standing wins." Gimli drinks his tankard in one go!

Men shouted, "What'll we drink to? Let's drink to victory! To victory!"

Gimli gulps down his mug as Legolas smells the ale and carefully starts to drink.

Elizabeth watches them with a small smile of disbelief because she knows elves have a very high alcohol tolerance. It was a fool's bet from the start. She chuckles, looks around, and spots Éowyn approaching Aragorn with a cup, smiling.

"Oh, this is going to be good." Elizabeth leans back and watches.

"Westu Aragorn hál." She gives it to Aragorn, who drinks some. He walks off with a nod. He notices Elizabeth curling her fingers and walks towards her.

"I feel bad for that girl. Her eyesight must be terrible if she likes your face." Elizabeth hides her smirk behind the mug.

Aragorn rolls his eyes, "You're hilarious."

"I know."

Aragorn huffs and follows her line of sight. Legolas and Gimli's game is still going strong, but who the winner will be is clear.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" He asked.

She nods, "I am, but…" She shakes her head, not wanting to talk about leaving after the party to go find Jack and see what he has found. "Nothing."

"Elizabeth…"

"I will not stress about it now. This is a party and after long weeks… This is good. It reminds me why I fight."

Aragorn nodded and withheld from asking more. Even though they trust each other with their life. Elizabeth still keeps her emotions to herself and has her own way of processing them. She is showing her true color, but it will be some time before he can experience it.

Éowyn watches as Aragorn moves away ... A voice speaks in her ear.

"I am happy for you. He is an honorable man."

Éowyn looks at her uncle as Théoden follows her gaze.

Éowyn smiled, "You are both honorable men. And so is Elizabeth."

"That is true… It was not Théoden of Rohan who led our people to victory." Éowyn looks at him questioningly, disturbed by his tone, not understanding. "Ah, don't listen to me. You are young, and tonight is for you." Éowyn watches, concerned, as her uncle moves away.

Gimli gulps down another mug of beer as Legolas puts down another mug. Someone hands both Legolas and Gimli another mug. Legolas downs another tankard.

Gimli is looking worse for wear, "Here, here." He takes another mug. "It's the Dwarves that go swimming with little, hairy women." Gimli belches and drinks some more.

"I feel something." Legolas looks at his fingers, and Éomer raises an eyebrow. "A slight tingle in my fingers. I think it's affecting me." Legolas is a bit concerned.

Gimli, in a drunk voice and slurred words, "What did I say? He can't hold his liquor." Gimli crosses his eyes and sits quietly for a moment, then falls back off his chair onto the floor.

Legolas watches him fall, raises his eyebrows, and looks at Éomer. "Game over."

Merry and Pippin are dancing and singing on top of a table. They are in full voice, on top of one of the tables ... both hold huge mugs of ale in their hands.

Oh, you can search far and wide,

You can drink the whole town dry,

But you'll never find a beer so brown,

As the one, we drink in our hometown.

You can drink your fancy ales,

You can drink 'em by the flagon,

But the only brew for the brave and true,

Pippin stops dancing as he sees Gandalf looking at him, and Pippn hesitates.

"Pippin!" Merry calls out to him.

Pippin turned back to Merry and continued with the song.

But the only brew for the brave and true. Comes from The Green Dragon!

Merry and Pippin start drinking as fast as they can.

Merry yells into the crowd, "Thank you! I win!"

Pippin follows his lead, "Thank you!"

Gandalf laughs and claps at the Hobbits, and Aragorn joins in. Beside him is Elizabeth, both smiling at the floorshow.

Aragorn whilst watching, "No news of Frodo?"

Gandalf shakes his head, "No word. Nothing."

"We have time." Gandalf turns quickly to Aragorn. "Every day, Frodo moves closer to Mordor."

Gandalf watches his friend's face ... seeking reassurance. "Do we know that?"

"What does your heart tell you?" Elizabeth asked him gently.

Gandalf, with a small smile, "That Frodo is alive." He nods to himself. "Yes. Yes, he's alive."

Edoras during the night is beautiful. No clouds hiding away the stars, the moon bright and high above the mountains. Elizabeth takes in the sight for once, hesitating about leaving her friends.

"Elizabeth." Legolas makes himself known and stands beside her.

Elizabeth's ear is the thing that flinches when Legolas appears out of nowhere. She forgets elves are very light-footed. "Legolas."

"Can't sleep?"

She huffs a little with a shrug, "That's always been a problem. I doubt it will stop anytime soon." Ever since the day the Black Pearl came to her port all those years ago, she hasn't slept well.

Legolas gives her a smile, "Can't say I relate." He notices the papers in her hands and asks, "Whose the letter for?"

"It's for me." She holds up the long to him. He realized that the words are in elvish. "Lady Galadriel gave me this one." Then she shows him a small note with a bottle. The handwriting is messier but still in good condition. "Jack left me a message in a bottle."

Legolas touches the letter softly with his finger and goes over what Elizabeth revealed to him. Captain Sparrow has always been a wild card and got along with Legolas pretty quickly, but Legolas knew the pirate was cunning and brilliant once he put his mind to it. He always has a plan with many backups. The note tells him this is one of his plans.

"You're leaving. To find Captain Sparrow."

"Yes." Elizabeth nodded while folding the letters back in her cloak and tied the bottle to her belt.

Legolas takes a second to look at Elizabeth. Her hair is tight with braids and away from her face. The clothes she wears are for a long ride and are easy to remove if need be. Her weapons are all in the correct places, and she is armed to the teeth.

"Does anyone know?"

"Just you." Elizabeth turned to Legolas and gently placed her hand on his cheek to feel his skin once more. Legolas closed his eyes, softly nuzzled her hand, and placed a kiss on the inside of her wrist. She steps closer and touches her forehead to his. "Let the others know."

"I will, my lady."

They stay in close proximity enough to feel their breath, their warmth, and their hands entwined. More intimate than any kiss.

Elizabeth takes a deep breath and moves away, but he still holds her hand to his cheek for a second more and then releases her. She glides her fingers down his face, touching his ear, cheek, lips, and chin one final time.

"May we see one other again. Keep a weather eye on the horizon. Legolas Greenleaf, the Silver Elf Prince." Elizabeth smiles at him and makes her way to the stables to secure her horse.

"See you soon." Legolas promises her. He watches as her horse and figure get small as she gallops away. With his finally, words are released to the wind.

"Elizabeth Swann, the Pirate King."

Aragorn walks out of the room where he is sleeping with his pipe. Aragorn walks into a room where Éowyn is sleeping by a dimmed-down fire. He looks around for Elizabeth, but she is nowhere to be seen. He sighs, knowing tonight is when she decides to leave to find a certain Captain. Luckily, she told him her plans beforehand, but without her, it would take some time to get used to her absence. She is like no other with her attitude, sass, snarky comments, and dark sense of humor; her overall character will be missed—his partner of a year and somewhat voice of reason but also mischief. He pokes the fire with a stick and fixes the blanket on Éowyn's leg before walking outside, where he sees Legolas.

"Elizabeth left. It turns out Captain Sparrow may have found something of importance." Legolas holds out a note to Aragorn without looking at him. "She wanted me to give this to you."

Aragorn huffs under his breath and takes the note, "She told me, but I know we'll see her again."

"Hm." Legolas looks out and feels trouble. "The stars are veiled. Something stirs in the east—a sleepless malice." Legolas turns to look at Aragorn. "The Eye of the Enemy is moving."

To Be Continued...