The way to Gondor (Aragorn and Legolas fanfic)

The storm

Narrator voice

War swept over Middle-Earth, like a storm that left no place untouched. The enemy had sent their forces towards Gondor, and Osgiliath had fallen. Many brave men lost their lives, and more would follow. Soon, the orcs and Haradrim would reach Minas Tirith, and without help, it would fall. But help was to come. From the east came king Théoden with the Rohirrim, many strong men amongst them, including a strong woman and a strong hobbit. And from the north came Aragorn, and he was accompanied by the dead of the mountain. Behind him, he had encouraged the people living near the river, to gather their men and follow him, to defend their country. He was the hope people had waited for, he was the leader they had been deprived of.

"We must sail faster!", Aragorn ordered. "Otherwise we might find Minas Tirith in ruins when we arrive!"

"How many days do we have?", asked Legolas, shadowing his eyes with his hand to get a better view of the horizon. He could almost see the towers of the capital.

"Too few", his king sighed. "Two at the most."

"You know what, I'll gonna row too!", Gimli spoke up and pushed away one of the rowers to take his place. Then he started rowing with full force and his face got red as a tomato.

"We won't be too late, Estel", the elf said quietly. "Your name is hope, we cannot lose it now, or we will lose you!"

Hidden to the eye of the enemy was one of his greatest foes, the one who would kill his most obedient servant. She was currently riding with her folk, amongst king Théoden's men, and her head was full of thoughts of freedom. For her, war meant opportunity, it meant finally revealing her true self. Because she felt like she had been imprisoned to long, restrained to cooking, cleaning, healing maladies. Her heart wanted to live, live freely, not like a woman, but like a human who made their own choices.

Therefore she had secretly joined her kin's forces, and in front of her in the saddle sat the hobbit Merry, who didn't want to be left behind either. 

The horses hooves were flying over the ground under them, and Merry found it hard to keep in the saddle. These animals were simply too big for him, and he needed great efforts to hold on to the wavy mane of the horse. 

"What is it like? War?", he asked Éowyn, who concentrated on keeping up the speed. 

"Horrible", she answered. "Death and misery is all it brings."

"But yet you want to go?", he further inquiried. The only reason why Merry had wanted to come, was, because Pippin was in Minas Tirith and he wanted to reunite with him. They had been separated for the longest time since they met, and before that, they had only ever been apart for a couple of hours.

"I do not want to", the woman told him. "I need to. If I don't go, I will never leave the halls of my uncle's palace. I might never live the life I want to live. I will be like a bird in its cage. And even though it is a golden cage, a cage is all it will ever be."

They could almost the the high walls of Minas Tirith on the horizon. Tomorrow they would reach Gondor, and war would very definitely find them. 

And one morning they arrived on the fields of Pelennor, and battle began. Lady Éowyn had been right, it was death and misery. More death for each minute that passed. Misery in the souls of the people, death all around them. And it just continued.

"There are ships!", Faramir cried. "They look like corsair ships! We are all lost!"

And with that, he stormed out from the palace of Minas Tirith and onto the street, to join the battle of his city. Even if it all was lost now, he wouldn't give up, he would fight until the end. With the last men who could still fight, he took a few horses and rode out of the city to fight back the approaching enemy. It was a hopeless fight, but somehow, his heart didn't lose its hope. 

Suddenly a wave of fighters swept over the battlefield. They came from the ships, but they weren't corsairs. Looked at more closely, they weren't even men. They were the dead from the mountain, the oathbreakers. King Aragorn had succeded.

"For Minas Tirith! For Gondor!", Faramir shouted and his men followed him. 

With the arrival of the ships, the luck turned and suddenly the men under Aragorn, Faramir and king Théoden were on the way to victory. The enemy was scattered and they fled, leaving masses of dead bodies behind. With Aragorn, hope returned to the hearts of people. 

Somewhere in the middle of it all, Aragorn and Legolas could be seen fighting side by side, each one parrying orcish swords and arrows almost syncronically.

"Remember I promised you I would never leave you?", the future king of Gondor called towards his love while killing two orcs at a time.

"Of course", the elf replied, shooting a sharp arrow at a Mumakil in the distance. "Why?"

"Because", Aragorn panted. "I intend to hold that promise. I know this is neither the right place nor the right time, but I need to ask you now, as I can't bear waiting."

An arrow hit the orc in front of him and Aragorn was free to turn around to face the elf. 

"Will you, Legolas Greenleaf, marry me?"