Forty Eight - The Road to the Dimholt

"Princess," A guard said as he opened the curtain to my tent. I rolled my eyes at the name and turned to him. "Your nephews, Lord Zion and Lord Iston have returned," The second the words left his mouth, I ran by, thanking him and heading straight to the large tent.

"Boys," I sighed in relief and hugged them. "How many?" I asked. "Three thousand from Ezeria," Zion answered and I smiled.

Twelve thousand to give the bastards a fight.

"Ver," Nik called my attention. I turned and looked at him, then at a dark hooded figure. He stood and turned, revealing himself. "Uncle Elrond," I said in surprise. "Hello, Verena," He smiled sadly.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, noticing his tone was downcast. "I came to speak to Aragorn and you as well," Elrond said and looked at Nikolas, who nodded and whispered to a guard outside.

Nikolas nodded to the boys to leave and I looked between him and Elrond, trying to decipher what had happened.

What conversation would require Aragorn and I both?

As the thoughts continued to swell, Aragorn walked in. "My lord Elrond," He bowed. "I will take my leave," Nikolas said and looked at me and nodded.

"I come on behalf of one whom I love. Arwen is dying," He said. "What?" I asked in shock. "The light of the Evenstar is failing. As Sauron's power grows, her strength wanes. Arwen's life is now tied to the fate of the Ring. The Shadow is upon us. The end has come," Elrond explained.

"It will not be our end, but his," Aragorn stated. "You ride to war but not to victory. Sauron's armies ride on Minas Tirith, this you know. But in secret he sends another force, which will attack, from the river. A fleet of Corsair ships sails from the South. They will be in the city in two days. You're outnumbered. You need more men," Elrond said.

"There are none," I sighed. "There are those that dwell in the mountains," I looked at him as though he was mad. The wind picked up, rushing through the tent.

"Murderers, traitors, thiefs, and kidnappers. You would call upon them to fight? They deserve no trust, their ghost should remain there for thousands of more years," I asked.

"They will answer to the King of Gondor," Elrond pulled out the once broken sword. Aragorn slowly took it from him.

"Anduril, the Flame of the West, forged from the shards of Narsil," Elrond stated and Aragorn looked down at the blade.

"Sauron will not have forgotten the sword of Elendil," Aragorn said as he manoeuvred the blade in his hands. He slowly gripped the hilt, then swiftly pulled the sword from its sheath and pointed it in the air. "The blade that was broken shall return to Minas Tirith," Aragorn said.

"The man who can wield the power of this sword can summon to him an army more deadly than any that walks this earth. Put aside the Ranger. Become who you were born to be. Take the Dimholt road," Elrond told him and Aragorn looked down, unsure of what to do.

"I gave hope to the men," Elrond said in Elvish. "I keep none for myself," Aragorn replied, then sheathed the sword.

"Uncle, what does any of this have to do with me?" I asked, confusedly. "Your brother has granted you permission to go with Aragorn. He will need someone like you," Elrond said.

"In the thousands of years I've travelled this world, I have seen every mountain peak, valley, kingdom, and village it has to offer... But never, have I taken that road because of the wrongdoings of those spirits," I said in Elvish.

"You could travel that road a thousand times and come back every time," Elrond said and put his hands on my shoulders.

"I trust you with Arwen's life, Verena," He took my shoulders. "I believe in you, my niece. I believe in both of you," He said.

For Arwen.

And only for Arwen.

~~~

"Why are you doing this?! Leaving us, abandoning us, just before the war!" Cleos shouted as I packed my weapons onto Penrose. "We need more men. Aragorn and I are going to get more men," I answered shortly.

"There is no one else! We have who is here and that is it," He said and I glanced at the road between the mountain and went back to strapping various items onto Penrose.

"No... Ver, you can't, you know what they are, what their false king did. They aren't even Men anymore!" Cleos said, picking up on where we're going. "There is no other way," I whispered. "Please, Ver, we need you here. We won't win without you," He begged.

"I'm not enough, Cleos! If I thought I was enough to destroy their armies and burn their ships, I wouldn't even blink an eye at this path," I said, stopping and turning toward him.

"I'm going with you," He said and I shook my head. "Nikolas needs you here, Cleos. You're the Commander of Tiseah's Armies now," I said. "And you're my second in command, I need you," He said.

I smiled and touched his face. "I can't be. I can't stay in Ezeria long enough to be an option," I reasoned. "Choose Zion. You and I have trained him for years. He's ready for the responsibility," I put my swords in their sheaths.

"You're really doing it, aren't you?" He asked. "I must," I answered. "All of your other mad decisions, I can talk you out of. Why not this one?" He asked. "Because deep down, you know this is what needs to be done," I answered.

He stayed silent for a long time, looking between me and the mountain. "Then I suggest you get going before I change my mind," He said and I smiled and hugged him. "I'll return, Cleos. I promise," I said and he hugged me tightly.

"Keep your head. I need you back in one piece," He said and I got on Penrose. "Goodbye Cleos," I said. "Goodbye, Ver," I started riding back toward Aragorn.

"Ready?" I asked and hopped off Penrose. "Yes," He nodded and I walked next to him through the camp.

"Just where do you think you two are off to?" Gimli asked, standing up from beside the fire. "Not this time. This time you must stay, Gimli," Aragorn told him.

"Have you learnt nothing of the stubbornness of dwarves?" Legolas asked as he led Arod next to us. "It's too dangerous for all four of us, Legolas," I reasoned. "It is dangerous anyway," Le countered.

"You might as well accept it. We're going with you," Gimli said. Aragorn and I looked at eachother and he smiled and I rolled my eyes, hiding mine.

"We best get moving then," Aragorn said.