The way to Gondor (Aragorn and Legolas fanfic)

The path of the Dead

Galadriel's voice

I sing to thee, lone wanderer, who passes where no man has passed. A wanderer, hope in his heart, strength in his step, courage in his chest as no other man. He sees the danger, his death almost there, and yet chooses to proceed. 

I sing to thee, lone wanderer, who leaves his friends and foes. To seek the help of  obscurity, of dark and unfamiliar. His path him leads to unknown scenes, where light is an unnamed occurence. No help will he get, no friends will he meet, and yet he chooses to proceed.

I sing to thee, lone wanderer, whose heart tears him apart. For it knows, that perhaps his journey will end where no fellow may find him. Still two refused to stay behind, his friends in fear and delight. A lover and a loyal dwarf that follow him into demise.

I sing to thee, lone wanderer, whose destiny gives him no choice. His fate is a burden upon his shoulders, his task yet unfulfilled. However, lonely wanderer, his friends will  him never desert. The bond between them is visible to me, and I sing for it to retain.

Aragorn POV

The darkness was overwhelming, and the foul smell of death made it hard to breathe. My right hand was on the hilt of my sword, ready to pull it out whenever I needed to. Legolas walked next to me. I could hear him breathe loudly, I could sense his fear. He tried to keep calm to not give us away, and I loved him for it, but it was hard to feel him suffer next to me. My other hand searched for the warm one's of the elf.

"Do not despair, mellon nin", I whispered in his ear. "We are not dead yet."

"Haha, very funny", came his honest reply, and he gripped my hand harder. 

"What'ya talking 'bout without me?", Gimli said from behind. He had been the last to enter the cave, even though he was a dwarf, and that was already a bad sign. If a dwarf hesitated to enter a cave, then there must be some really horrible danger in it. But we had no choice. Or rather, I hadn't, whereas the two of them had followed me willingly. 

"Nothing of importance", I told him, and for once, he gave up further investigations. 

Suddenly I felt the presence of the King of the Dead. I couldn't tell why, because I saw and heard nothing, but I knew he was there. And I felt the eyes of his people on us. Next to me, Gimli held up his axe, because apparently he felt it too. But it would be a disaster to anger the dead.

"Put your axe down, Gimli", I reprimanded him. "Do you want to anger the dead?"

Instantly, he put it down again and moved closer to me. Legolas stood on my other side, silent like he had lost his voice and motionless like a pillar of stone. Slowly at first, a greenish light started to spread around us, and then the dead assumed shapes. They were warriors, unscrupulous men that cared about nothing but themselves. They wore dirty helmets and ragged clothes, and their bodies were just bones, their eyes black holes in their skulls. In front of me, their leader stepped forwards. The king of the Dead.

"I call you, men of the mountain, who have sworn an oath to Isildur, to assure your allegiance!", I spoke out with a loud and strong voice. It was more than what I felt inside me. "You broke it once, and you will never be free until you fulfill your promises. I call you, people of the mountain, to aid the heir of Isildur in war, as you swore long ago!"

"And who are you to claim our promise?", the dead king said with a snarling voice. "We do not comply with anyone, and the oath can only be broken by Isildur's heir."

"You will comply to me!", I called. "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn, heir of Isildur. You owe me your allegiance!"

Legolas gave my hand a gentle squeeze and I was glad I had him by my side. I had done all I could do, now it was their decision if they held their oath. 

And the dead came.

Hey y'all, the poem in the beginning is written by me, and I hope you like it! Also, I've got a maths exam coming up and a concert to play next week, so the next chapters might take a little longer to write. Just be a bit patient, they'll come, I promise. Have a nice day!:)