The Black Gate

After conversing with Éowyn, I left her to her thoughts, and taking my weapons, I left for the throne room, where Aragorn told me they would be.

It took a few minutes to find it, after taking many wrong turns. But I finally spotted the huge double doors and pushed them open.

Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn, Gandalf and Éomer were all standing-or sitting in Gimli's case- around the room. They seemed to be emerged in an important conversation. But they all stopped and turned to me when I walked in.

"Now that looks like the Ryanne I know!" Legolas motioned to my weapons, and hugged me again.

"Yes, Ryanne you should hear this." Aragorn told me. I nodded, still holding Legolas's hand. "What seems to be the problem?"

Gandalf turned to me, his old face looking very worried and perplexed. "Frodo has passed beyond my sight." He spoke low and slowly, but I heard everything he said. "The darkness is deepening."

At this, my heart rate sped up. After all we had been through, Frodo couldn't fail us now. He couldn't.I breathed in deeply and let it out before speaking. "If Sauron had the ring, we would know."

Gandalf looked at me seriously. "It is only a matter of time. He has been defeated once, but behind Mordor's walls, he is regrouping."

The wizard was right. Of course he was right. But we couldn't just give up. I remembered what I said to Éowyn.

"We are going to get to that mountain, and we are going to win."

I wished I believed that more.

Then Gimli, from the top of the stairs leading to the throne, spoke up. "Why should we care?" He took a long draw from his pipe. "Let him rot! Why does it matter to us?"

I sighed. Gimli obviously didn't understand that we couldn't do that.

"Sooner or later Gimli, Sauron and hisarmy will attack again." I spoke calmly, even though I didn't feel it.

The Dwarf didn't seem to hear me.

But before I could open my mouth to say it louder, or perhaps say something more harsh, Gandalf interrupted

"Because, Master Dwarf, ten thousand Orcs stand between Frodo and Mount Doom."

Gimli seemed to hear that.

Then Gandalf sighed. "I've sent him to his death."I didn't fully agree with that, there was a slim chance that both Hobbits could make it out of this alive. But they needed to be brave and willing to sacrifice anything. And I believed that they could do so.

"No, there is still hope for Frodo." Aragorn said, voicing my thoughts. "All he needs is time and a safe way to cross the Plains of Gorgoroth. And we might be able to give him that."

I frowned. What was he thinking about doing? Knowing Aragorn, it could be anything.

Gimli grunted from across the room. "How would we be able to do that?"He seemed sour.

Aragorn turned to look at him. "We need to draw out his armies, empty his lands. Then, we need to gather our full strength and march to the Black Gate."

The Black Gate. I mentally shivered. I had no desire to go there, and I'm sure nobody else did either.

"We cannot achieve victory by the strength of arms."Éomer said, speaking for the first time since I walked in.

He was right on that. Our army was nothing compared to Sauron's army, we would loose. There was no doubt in that. Unless Frodo destroyed the ring. But those chances were very small, and decreasing as they got closer to the mountain.

"No," Aragorn agreed with him. "But we could give Frodo a chance if we keep the Eye fixed on us. We will need to keep it blind to everything, including our Hobbits."

I smiled a little. The plan was dangerous, but good. As good as we could get.

"A diversion." Legolas spoke from beside me. I nodded. "Certainty of death, small chance of success."

That made the whole room go silent, realizing the bare truth of matters.

But then my face split into a grin.

"What are we waiting for?"

~~~<<<~~~>>>~~~<<<~~~>>>~~

I walked down the hallway, again searching for Éowyn's room.

Gandalf had insisted we all rest before marching to the Black Gate, and my room was right next door.

Finding it wasn't as hard as it had been before, and I quickly found the empty room besides hers. Opening the door, I slipped inside quietly.

I slid my quiver and swords off my back and placed them besides the bed. Then I unstrapped my knives and layers them on the neatly folded covers.

Then I walked to the window to close the thin curtains around it, but stopped when I saw my reflection in the mirror on the wall.

My long brown hair was longer than I had remembered it being. My face looked tough, fearless, but I also saw some fear in my eyes. I was glad I didn't see myself with my weapons on, unsure of what I would have realized.

I thought back to months ago, when I was still living in Rivendell. Before I had met Legolas and Gimli. Before Boromir had died. Before my life was constantly in danger.

I was a different person then. Sighing, I closed the curtains and walked over to my bed, and sat on it.

But before I left Rivendell, was I happy? I supposed it was, but not the kind of happy I felt now. Not the joyful kind of happy, but the content kind. These were my friends, my family. We had fought for our lives and others together, and that will never go away.

I unlaced my boots and changed into a nightgown. Then I slipped under the covers of the bed, feeling the warm, comfortable blankets, and drifted off to sleep.

~~~<<<~~~>>>~~~<<<~~~>>>~~

I awoke before dawn of the next morning by a pounding on my door. "Ryanne! Ryanne, you must get up!"It was Éowyn.

Sitting up in bed, I swung my feet over and stood up. Walking to my door, I opened it and looked at Éowyn. She was in a long blue dress with her hair tied back, making me convinced she wasn't coming with us.

"Aren't you going?" She asked me. I blinked, still tired. "Yes, of course, when are we leaving?"She sighed. "I am not leaving with you." She seemed disappointed, but it was for the better. "You will leave in half an hour. King Aragorn wanted me to wake you."

I nodded. "Thank you Éowyn. You didn't have to get up just for me."She shook her head. "Oh, I was already up. Now go get dressed!"

She smiled at me and turned to leave. I closed the door softly behind her and began to get ready for our journey to the Black Gate.

Quickly, I changed into long pants and a shirt and slid my boots on. I tied my hair back again and strapped my knives on my thighs. Then lastly, I swung my quiver over my back, tucking my swords behind it.

I grabbed my bow and exited my room.

I realized I wasn't completely sure where to go to find everyone, so I made my way outside to the stables. Rhea was most likely there, as well as the men coming with us.

The stables were not hard to find, and I made my way over to them, looking for my horse and my friends.

Rhea was still in her pen, so I swung the small gate open, letting her walk out and nuzzle my hair. Laughing softly, I began to saddle her up and strap armor to her head, neck and legs.

After she was ready, I took her reins and walked her out of the stables, in hopes that she would spot Arod and Legolas. She did, and whinnied as soon as we stepped out of the stables. I allowed her to lead me over to them, where she greeted Arod with a snort.

"Are you ready?" Legolas asked me, finishing saddling Arod. I nodded. "I hope so." he smiled lightly. "You said that before, and look how well you have fought so far."

"Do you think we will have to fight this time?" I asked him. "Or do you think Frodo and Sam will make it to the mountain before that?"He thought for a while them shook his head.

"It is impossible to tell, but we will do anything we can to give the Hobbits a diversion from the Eye." I nodded, taking Rhea's reins. Swinging up on her, Legolas doing the same to Arod, I followed Legolas over to Aragorn and Gandalf were talking.

As we neared, I noticed that Pippin was sitting behind Gandalf on Shadowfax, and Merry was behind Aragorn on his horse. Now I hoped even more that this wouldn't require a huge battle.

Aragorn and Gandalf nodded at us when we came up to them, and we nodded back. Then we saw Gimli walk over, covered in armor, axe in hand.

Legolas extended an arm and helped Gimli climb up behind him on Arod.

"Are we going Gandalf?" Pippin asked the wizard from behind him. "That we are, Master Hobbit." He replied. Then he spurred Shadowfax and with Aragorn following, he led us to Mordor, and the Black Gate.

The journey there would be long, and uncomfortable at the most. We wouldn't need to stop the night, but our journey would take most of the day.

Our army had started moving after us, and I looked forward, seeing Mount Doom. I hoped that our Hobbits were safe and alive, but I knew it was a lot to hope for them getting to the mountain before we got to the Gate.

Rhea walked alongside Arod for the whole journey, and Legolas and I talked, Gimli occasionally adding in his thoughts. Once our twice, Aragorn dropped back to us, making sure we were doing fine. We were.

I looked down at Rhea's mane and stroked it. She seemed to enjoy it, and I wanted to make her as happy as she could be. She had been very brave ever since I got her, and she had always been there to get me through to the end.

Then Legolas called my name. "Ryanne." I looked up and my eyes widened. The Black Gate was in view, but it wasn't anything I had imagined it to like like.

I had expected Orcs and Wargs pouring out of the gate, snarling and wielding weapons, rushing to attack us. But there was none. None at all.

The Gate looked deserted, nothing moved, nothing made a sound. There was a creepy silence surrounding the place, like the silence you heard before you spotted the wildfire.

"Where is everyone?" I quietly asked, but my words travelled, everyone heard.Aragorn looked at me briefly, but didn't respond. He rode his horse up closer to the Gate and shouted. "Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth. Let us do justice upon him!"

We waited.

Then, slowly, the huge gate began to creak open, revealing a single man. Except he wasn't a man in the slightest.

He was atop a black horse that was bigger then Sahdowfax. Him and his steed were covered in black armor. The only color I could see on him was the blood around his mouth, dripping down his helmet.

Rhea backed up a step or two, and I stroked her neck, trying to calm her. She stopped moving and held her ground.

"My master, Sauron the Great welcomes thee!" The man spoke deeply. I swallowed, calming my racing heart. Looking at Legolas, I wasn't surprised to find no fear in his eye. That gave me courage and I looked back at the man in black.

"We do not come to meet with Sauron!" Gandalf then yelled at the threatening figure. "Tell your master that his armies of Mordor must dispatch, they must depart and never return to these lands again!"

I don't know why Gandalf thought that saying that might convince Sauron to retreat. But perhaps he was just stalling.

The man laughed, stretching his mouth, making more blood run down his helmet. It seemed like that would hurt.

"Greybeard! I have a token I must show thee!" He reached into a bag on his saddle an withdrew something white and shiny. My breath caught when I realized what it was. Frodo's Mithril vest. He was dead.

I shook my head. No he wasn't. He wasn't dead, Gandalf would know, I would know, we would feel it.

The man tossed the vest towards us, and it landed in front of Shadowfax. "Frodo!" Pippin yelled, sounding heartbroken. "Hush Pippin!" I scolded him, turning around to look at him. "No!" Merry shouted this time, sounding just as shocked as his friend.

"Silence!" Gandalf demanded, this time making them listen. They stopped making noise, but I knew they were holding back tears.

The man in black armor laughed again, making me shiver in disgust. "The Halfling was dear to thee!" He laughed at us. "Know that he suffered at the hands of his host. Who would have thought one so small could endure such pain."He spoke slowly, drawing out his words as if he was taunting us.

Then Aragorn spurred his horse and rode up to the deadly figure. He had his sword drawn, but it was hanging loosely at his side, posing no threat. "What's this?" The man asked. "Isildur's heir? It takes more to a King then a broken Elvish blade!"

Anger surged in my blood, but before I could form any thought of reacting, Aragorn had brought his sword up and cut the head of the man off his shoulders. His head rolled on the ground, pouring out blood as his body fell to the ground as well.

Aragorn lowered his sword and looked at the body. Then, the Gate creaked open again, and I saw the thousands of Orcs, ready to fight, ready to kill.

Aragorn looked up, and I saw the momentary horror on his face. "Pull back!" He shouted at us. "Pull back!" We spurred our horses back in front of our army and stood at the ready.

Looking up, I saw the Eye of Sauron looking directly at us. Hope surged for a moment, Frodo had a chance to make it to the mountain. But then I remembered his Mithril vest and clenched my teeth.

I sat on Rhea in the font of our army, Legolas and Gimli to my right, Gandalf and Pippin on my left. Aragorn rode in font of us, facing his army of men. "Hold you ground, sons of Gondor, riders of Rohan!"He shouted at us.

"My brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that has taken my heart! A day may come when our courage fails and we forsake our friends, breaking all bonds of fellowship, but it is not that day! An hour of wolves and broken bodies when the Age of Men comes crashing down!"He drew his sword with a loud ring and held it in the air. "But it is not that day! This day we fight! By all you hold dear to this Earth, I bid you to stand and fight!"

Our army roared with determination, no fear sounding in our voices, but I knew we all felt some. Following Aragorn's suit, I dismounted Rhea and stroked her face. "Come find me after, we will make it!" I whispered to her. "Now go! Go fight!" She neighed in response and trotted off. Legolas and Gimli dismounted Arod next to me, and their horse went after Rhea.

The three of us stood by the Hobbits, Gandalf and Aragorn, drew our weapons and prepared for a battle. I held an arrow to my bow, still by my leg, but as soon as the Orcs began flooding out of the Gate, I held it up at the ready.

"I never thought I would be fighting side by side with two Elves!" Gimli said gruffly to Legolas. "What about side by side with two friends?" He asked the Dwarf. I smiled, and so did Gimli. "Ay, I could do that."

The Orcs circled closer and closer to us, all of them holding weapons and growling. We didn't move until we heard Aragorn give the cry. "For Frodo!"

Then we all charged into yet another battle that we might not win.

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A/N: I tried to make this chapter long. Because I was a little behind but...I hope you liked it!!

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Anyway, everyone have a GREAT Thanksgiving!!! Eat lots of food and enjoy it!!!

But don't go get arrested on Black Friday for assaulting a mall cop. You just need to....

*lotus position*

....relax

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Bullseyes,XXbowandarrrowsXX