Journey's End - Chapter 34 - The Black Ships

Journey’s End

Chapter 34

The Black Ships

I followed Aragorn to the shore of the river and stood at his side. The Black Ships were now approaching us, but it did not seem that any of the corsairs had spotted us.

“You may go no further.” Aragorn called out, his voice full of authority. The ship’s boson stood and looked at us curiously. “You will not enter Gondor.” Aragorn commanded calmly.

“Who are you to deny us passage?” The boson asked in a mocking tone and I scowled a little.

“Legolas, fire a warning shot past the boson’s ear.” Aragorn murmured as Legolas fitted an arrow into his bow.

“Mind your aim.” Gimli muttered as the elf took aim. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Gimli knock Legolas’s bow as he released the arrow, off-putting his aim. The arrow sailed straight into a mercenary that stood behind the boson.

“You must be losing your touch Legolas…” I murmured with a smile.

“Oh!” Gimli gasped, putting his hand to his mouth over-dramatically. “That’s it, right, we warned you! Prepare to be boarded!” He called out.

There was a roar of laughter from the nearest ship.

“Boarded, by you and whose army?” Laughed a mercenary.

“This army.” Aragorn growled menacingly as the legions of the undead took form around us and rushed towards the fleet of ships. The hundreds of thousands of ghosts became a pale green blur as they overwhelmed the corsairs and I raised my eyebrows at their speed and efficiency. Maybe being a supernatural being had its advantages, but then again there was the whole ‘never rest in peace’ thing… I looked up to see the ships now empty. No mercenaries. No ghosts.

“Erm… How do we get to the ships?” I asked quietly. Aragorn turned to me and raised his eyebrow. “Oh…” I said softly, looking at the river, judging its depth, the current, and how far it was to the ships. Thankfully, luck seemed to be with us. “Well, let’s get on with it then…” I muttered with a smirk. I took a few steps back, and then took a running dive into the water.

It was cold, but not as cold as the lake back at the Misty Mountains! I surfaced with a gasp and began swimming quickly towards the nearest ship. I reached its side and found some ladder-like notches cut into the wood. I pulled myself up and flopped onto the deck and lay on my back, waiting for the others. I was proud of the fact that I’d always been able to swim faster than Aragorn. He always insisted the reason I could was that I was lighter. I heard his heavy boots hit the deck near my head moments later and I looked up at him with a grin as he looked down at me and water dripped from his hair onto me.

“I beat you.” I smirked.

“You’re lighter.”

I bit my lower lip and shook my head at his predictable answer as he pulled me to my feet. I looked over the edge to see Legolas dragging a rather unhappy-looking Gimli towards the boat. I reached down and helped pull them both up, just as the sails above us filled with wind.

“Do any of you know how to sail?” I asked as the ship moved forward. I looked back to see the rest of the fleet following.

“The army are sailing them.” Aragorn said softly. I nodded and walked up to the mast and leant against it.

“How far to Minas Tirith?” I called to Aragorn. He looked up at the sky.

“It will be a while; I suggest you get some sleep.”

“Alright…” I sighed, wringing out my soaked hair and kicking off my waterlogged boots. A small puddle started to form at my feet as I began to inspect my clothing and other possessions for water damage. I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to Falas. Did he make it back to Dunharrow? And would he still follow the Rohirrim into battle? I shook my head and sat down. Animals could be surprisingly loyal, and I had built a strong bond with the horse over the past few weeks. But there was no point in worrying over these things. Once I left this boat I would face battle, and potentially death, but there was no point in worrying about that either. All I could do was let life bear me along; I could only do what I could to keep myself alive. With a surprisingly settled mind, I lay down on the deck and allowed the gentle rocking of the boat to lull me into a light sleep.

***

A light, continuous ‘clunk’ sound woke me. I looked up, blinking in the pale light, to see Aragorn pacing the deck. Not far from us were the sleeping forms of Legolas and Gimli.

“Are you alright?” I asked softly.

“We should be there by now.” Aragorn muttered in reply as he continued pacing

“Aragorn…” I sighed, standing and placing myself in front of him to stop him pacing. “We can’t control how soon we get there, but we will make it.”

“How do you know?” He asked. I shrugged.

“I don’t know… But my heart tells me we will make it.”

Aragorn smiled a little.

“What else does it tell you?”

His question startled me, and caused me to blush.

“Lots of things.” I whispered. “Some things I don’t quite understand.” I looked down at the deck, suddenly finding myself unable to make eye contact with him.

“I understand how you feel.” He murmured. “Sometimes things are hidden from us for a reason.”

I looked back up at him.

“And sometimes that reason is hard to see?” I finished his sentence quietly and he smiled and nodded.

“I’m glad you’re with me, Rana.”

I blushed as hugged me gently and my heart seemed to skip a beat… And I felt something. A feeling that seemed to have been growing, but was only making itself known now…

“We’re almost there.”

I jumped a little as Aragorn spoke again, and I turned to see buildings in the distance. I let myself slide out of his embrace and I walked to the bow of the boat. If I listened carefully, I could hear the sounds of battle. Aragorn walked to my side and I cast a worried glance at him.

“It seems very close now…” I murmured. He nodded.

“Promise me you will be careful.”

“I’m always careful.”

He looked at me and I smiled.

“I don’t want to loose you.” He said softly, and once again, my heart seemed to skip a beat and I felt blood rush to my cheeks.

“I don’t want to loose you either.” I whispered, trying to ignore my frantic heartbeat as I looked down at the water. Aragorn put one hand on my shoulder, before turning away and walking back to Legolas and Gimli to rouse them. I stared at the approaching buildings until I could see Orcs moving around them.

“We should get down.” I said, dashing back and ducking down. The others did the same and we moved to the side of the boat. The sounds of battle were much closer now. The ship began to slow and I looked over at Aragorn with a nervous smile.

“Stay by my side.” He whispered.

“Only if you stay by mine.” I smirked, drawing my sword and listening as the ship drew to a stop.

“Late as usual, pirate scum.” An Orc grunted. “There’s knifework here needs doing. Come on you sea rats, get off your ships.”

I bit my lower lip and Aragorn gave me a nod, and then launched himself over the side of the ship. I followed him, vaulting over the side and landing lightly on the docks. The army of Orcs stood before us, looking slightly surprised to say the least. We began to approach them confidently.

“There’s plenty for the both of us, may be best Dwarf win!” Gimli said to Legolas. I smirked a little as I sensed the undead army begin to materialise behind us. Aragorn began to run and I dashed behind him as the army overtook us and began to slaughter the Orcs. I kept as close to Aragorn’s side as I could, but eventually, we became separated in the battle. The army of the Dead surged forward, leaving devastation as they went. I ran as fast as I could to keep up, stopping occasionally to lop the head off a straggling Orc. It wasn’t long before I found myself on a large battlefield in front of the white city of Minas Tirith.