Amara stood up and called the guards over.

"Take Faramir somewhere safe and see to it that a physician looks after him."

"Yes, my lady." One of them said before helping the other pick Faramir up and carry him from the room. Gandalf whipped around to look at Amara.

"I thought I told you to rest."

"And I told you I would not." Amara said holding her sword at the ready. "Now are we to stand around talking all day or are we going to kill some orc scum?" Gandalf smirked slightly and reared Shadowfax.

His horse galloped from the room, Amara and Pippin following the wizard closely.

They had barely left the courtyard when Gandalf noticed knights flooding through the gates.

"There's too many of them!" One of the men shouted.

"Barricade the doors! Rohan's armies have come to our aid." Gandalf instructed. The knights quickly forced the doors closed, the Uruk-hai pushing hard against the other side. The men scurried to find wooden planks to seal the doors.

Amara ushered Pippin behind a short stone wall and drew his sword for him.

"Stay here. No matter what happens, no matter what you hear, keep yourself safe. You hear me?" She passed the sword to his hands.

"I will.. but Lady Amara..what about you?"

"Don't worry over me, little one." She kissed the halflings forehead gently before standing up and walking towards the walls.

"Amara! What are you doing?" Gandalf shouted. Amara paid him no mind, sheathing her sword and beginning to scale the wall. Once at the top, she overlooked the taken city. The bodies of men and women and children lay covering the stone floors.

Uruks and creatures alike scurried through the city like ants, cutting down any who stood in their way.

"Amara!" Gandalf shouted again. Asmara turned to look at the old wizard.

"I cannot sit idly by and watch others innocently die." She shouted back.

"Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are here. They armies behind them. They have it sorted." Gandalf reasoned. Amara merely shrugged.

"They need all the help they can get." She said simply before diving down into the chaos below her. Amara drew her sword and her legs planted themselves around an Uruks shoulders. As it stumbled around dumbly, Amara swung her sword around her, beheading the Orcs around her. The Uruk below her grabbed hold of her and flung her off into the frenzy.

Amara recovered quickly and stayed low, slicing and stabbing at any Orc that came after her. She moved against the crowd, fighting her way out as one in an army of thousands. An Uruks blade found it's way to her back and she screamed, turning and killing it where it stood. She then ran for the stone wall of a building, scaling it and hopping from roof to roof. She replaced her sword with her bow and arrows, picking the orcs off from above.

When she dove back into the crowd, she was at the entrance into Minas Tirith. Amara pushed through until she was out of Minas Tirith and no longer alone in her battle. Rohan soldiers surrounded her, not outnumbering the countess Orcs but putting up quite the fight.

Amara quickly switched to her sword and joined Rohan in the fight. All the while, she searched for familiar faces, looking for one more than the others. However, she could not see the distinct blond hair of the elvish prince. Her heart ached in a way Amara wasn't familiar with. And she longed to see Legolas again, hoping when she did that he would be alive and well.

Suddenly, in the midst of battle Amara heard a battle cry, rising up in the distance. She turned as the battle seemed to halt as a green haze came over the horizon. Her elvish eyes picked out three very distinct figures leading the charge of green.

Aragorn led as a king, Legolas and Gimli at his sides and behind them Amara realized it was not just a haze, but thousands of individual ghost like figures drew their swords as shouts rang from their throats. They charged into the frozen battle, bringing it back to life. Amara turned and sliced the throat of the Orc she had been fighting, moving quickly through the battlefield, making her way closer to Legolas.

Her heart felt like it was going to burst with the emotion that filled as she caught glimpses of the elf ahead of her.

Legolas climbed one of the giant Oliphants, swinging up to his head and picking off each enemy that came at him. Amara could hear his distant voice counting each kill as they fell into the battle below. He killed the rider before turning and shooting two arrows into the Oliphants head. The creature let out a pained cry, tearing its head up before collapsing.

Legolas slid gracefully down the trunk, jumping to the ground in front of Gimli who looked at him angrily.

"That still only counts as one!" He shouted before turning and embedding his axe into a nearby Orc.

The ghost army quickly took control, overtaking Oliphants like ants and running through the walls and flooding the white city. The battle settled quickly, the ground strewn with the bodies of both sides. The remaining slowly picked their way through, searching for the faces of loved ones they hoped they wouldn't find.

As the dust settled, Amara saw a familiar face of her own, laying half concealed underneath an Orc. She begins to walk quickly, before breaking into a sprint. The elf dwarf collapsed next to the body and pushed the Orc to the side. She cradled Merry in her arms, tears coming to her eyes. The halfling was dressed in full armor, but missing his Lothorien cloak. Dried blood was caked around his mouth and his face was covered in dirt. 

"Merry!" She heard Pippin cry out in the distance. Amara swallowed the lump in her throat. 

"He's here!" She called out. Pippin came sprinting around the Olliphant, Merry's cloak gripped tightly in his hand. Pippin knelt down beside Merry. Amara brushed some of the dirt from Merry's face.

The hobbit took a sputtering cough and opened his eyes. Pippin let out a cry of joy.

"Merry, it's me Pippin." He said quietly. Merry looked from Amara to Pippin.

"I knew you'd find me.." He said.

"Yes!" Pippin said happily.

"Are you going to leave me?" He asked.

"No Merry, I'm going to look after you." Pippin said, pulling Merry's cloak over the other hobbit. Amara pressed a kiss into Merry's forehead and squeezed Pippin's shoulder. She stood up and searched further, looking at each face of the fallen. She couldn't see Aragorn and the rest, her view obstructed by an Olliphant, but her eyes did find two very familiar faces lying next to each other.

Eomer ran up at the same time she spotted the figures.

"Have you seen the king?" He asked. Amara swallowed and pointed, unable to speak. Eomer's face fell and he ran towards the unmoving bodies of the king and his sister, Eowyn.

*****

"I hold your oath fulfilled, go. Be at peace." Aragorn said to the Army of the Dead. The king of Death smiles. The wind picked up and the ghosts faded from sight. Aragorn looks around the the battlefield, spotting Gandalf emerging from the White City. Aragorn smiles and starts towards him, only to see the wizards brow drawn up in worry.

"Where is Amara? Have you seen her?" Gandalf asked.

"Is she not with you?" Aragorn asked, his smile faltering.

"I told her to stay in the city but that stubborn half-dwarf went into battle anyway."

"I haven't seen her." Aragorn turned to look at Gimli and Legolas. Both shook their heads. "I'm sure she's okay. We'll look for her." Gandalf sighed.

"I will always fear the worst when it comes to her recklessness."

Suddenly a whistle pierced the still air, causing the four to look towards the source. None other than Amara stood atop an Olliphant. She waved them over.

"If you'd quit talking about me and actually look around you'd find that I strayed not too far!" She called. Aragorn couldn't help but laugh slightly as they walked towards her. Her face was grave and her eyes tired. She was covered in blood, though none of it her own. She jumped down from the Olliphant and met Aragorn.

"The king is dead. And I fear Eowyn is not far behind him." She said.

"Where?" She motioned behind the Olliphant. Aragorn laid a hand on her on the shoulder.

"It's good to see you." He said.

"You as well." She replied with a smile. Aragorn stepped away and Gimli took his place, smiling widely. Amara hugged him tightly, returning his bright smile. Both Gimli and Aragorn stepped away, walking with Gandalf to find King Theoden.

Then Legolas approached her. His eyes were shadowed with uncertainty. Amara watched him closely, the events of her dream replaying in her mind. And she wondered whether or not Legolas was as well.

"I don't...know if it was real. But I spoke to you in a dream...you said-" Legolas' words were cut off as Amara threw her arms around Legolas' shoulders and smashed her lips against his. The elf was caught off guard for a moment, his eyes wide. Then he slowly relaxed, wrapping his arms around Amara's waist. He returned the kiss with as much passion as Amara.

Amara was the one to break the kiss. She looked up into Legolas' eyes, searching them carefully.

"I love you too." Legolas murmured, a small smile on his lips. Tears came to Amara's eyes and her heart felt like it was going to burst. Not with sorrow but a different kind of emotion. One she was almost unfamiliar with, but nevertheless she knew what it was immediately.

Mela. {Love.}