All Shall Fade

Chapter 41

Don’t Say Goodbye

I clambered up onto the deck of the nearest ship and lay on my side, spluttering. It had been further than I’d thought, and I’d inhaled a fair bit of water. As I sat up, I sighed and started wringing out my wet hair as I heard the clumping sound of Aragorn's boots on the wooden deck as he walked towards me. He was followed by Legolas and Gimli, who went and stood at the bow of the ship as Aragorn’s hand appeared in front of my face and I took it, allowing him to pull me to my feet. I smiled at him as I laced my fingers through his as we began walking slowly up to the bow. I cast a glance up at the large sails above us as they filled with a wind that had appeared from nowhere – but I thought I detected a faint greenish glow around the sails. There was something a little unnerving about a fleet of ships being sailed by ghosts.

“How far to Gondor?” I asked softly, looking at the stretch of river that snaked out ahead of us.

“We have already passed into the realm of Gondor.” Aragorn corrected me, “We sail through the night, and hopefully reach Minas Tirith by dawn.”

“I see.” I murmured, hoping that we weren’t too late to save the city.

“The Rohirrim will reach them before us,” Legolas stated, “That will buy us some time.”

“Not as much as we need.” Aragorn sighed, and I squeezed his hand gently.

“We’ll make it.” I assured him with a tone of confidence that I seemed to have just plucked out of thin air.

“Well,” Gimli grunted after a few moments, “If we can’t help how fast we get there I may as well get some sleep.”

“Recovering your strength, Master Dwarf?” I teased as he walked away.

“You’ll be the death of me lass.” He muttered with a good-natured smile before finding a secluded corner on the far side of the deck and settling down to sleep. I smiled and let my hand slip out of Aragorn’s as I turned and walked away.

“Where are you going?” He asked, causing me to turn back and look at him.

“Exploring.” I grinned, “When’s the next time I’m going to be on a real pirate ship?” Aragorn just smiled as I walked across the wooden boards, trailing my hand across the rail and then catching the rigging that stretched from the rail to the top of the mast, slipping above the triangular sails. I smirked and climbed up onto the rail, keeping a tight hold of the ladder-like rope structure as I found my balance and began climbing. I must have been about halfway up when I looked down and – seeing how high up I was – chickened out. I clung to the braided rope with my fingertips as I tried to make my way back down to a reasonable height, before spotting Aragorn standing below me and staring up at my antics.

“What are you doing?”

“Climbing.” I huffed, looping my arms through the ropes and locking myself in position.

“Be careful.”

I raised an eyebrow and slid back down so I was standing on the narrow rail. “I’m always careful.” I kept a deliberately ‘careful’ hold on the rigging as he approached me and held out his hand. I took it and jumped down to the safety of the deck as he looked around. “Where’s Legolas?” I asked, feeling him rest his hand on the small of my back.

“Sleeping.” He murmured as I turned to him.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“I don’t think I could sleep.” He smiled weakly and began to guide me at a slow walk back to the bow of the ship as the sun began to lower towards the horizon. When we reached it I leant on the rail and looked down at the water that rushed beneath us. “You should take some rest.” Aragorn said softly, leaning in close to my ear as I looked up and shook my head.

“I’m not tired.” I lied, taking his hand as I turned and sat down, resting my back against the rail. After tugging on Aragorn’s hand for a moment, I managed to persuade him to sit beside me and let me rest my head on his shoulder. As I did so, I found the hilt of his sword prodding my side, and I sat up. “That’s the sword from Rivendell, isn’t it?” I asked, looking up into his eyes as I frowned, trying to remember its name. “Nar… Narskil?” I rolled the word around on my tongue for a moment, “No…” I sighed, realising that I was wrong as Aragorn laughed quietly.

“Narsil,” He murmured, adapting a flawless elvish accent to accommodate the word, “But it is now called Andúril, the Flame of the West, as it has been reformed.” He brushed a strand of my hair out of my eyes as I smiled.

“Oh… That’s a bit more of a mouthful.” I murmured, reaching out to run my fingers across the hilt of the blade. “So… This basically proved that you’re the heir to the throne?”

“It is a symbol of who I am.” He nodded, “A symbol that shows that the blood of Isildur lives on, and because of that, it is the one weapon Sauron cannot abide.”

I bit my lower lip as I glanced up, meeting his gentle grey gaze. “He’s afraid of you, isn’t he?” I whispered, and he looked down past me, avoiding my eyes.

“So I am told.” He murmured as I slipped my hand into his.

“He has good reason.” I smiled, “After seeing you back there in the mountain, I’m pretty sure you can do anything now.” His hand tightened around mine as he leant a little closer to me so our foreheads rubbed together.

“Maybe not everything.” He sighed, cupping my neck with his free hand. “Alice… If anything should happen during the battle, I want you to know that I love-”

I cut him off by placing my hand over his mouth, “Don’t say that.” I whispered, “We’re going to be alright. Don’t say goodbye.” I moved my hand to rest it on his cheek as he sighed, allowing me to feel his warm breath on my face.

“It is not goodbye,” He assured me, “But it does not mean that I cannot say I love you.”

“I love you too.” I smiled, leaning a little closer to his and lowering my eyelids as I timidly brushed my lips against his. I felt his lips curl into a gentle smile before he pressed them against mine, drawing me in to the lengthy, unrushed kiss. Despite the lack of haste, my heart insisted upon fluttering unevenly in my chest as I tried to savour the delicious sensation of Aragorn’s lips on mine, wishing I could hold on to this perfect moment forever. We could just stay this way, and we wouldn’t have to go into battle and risk being separated… But we had to. The moment had to end sometime. I sighed softly as we paused for a moment to catch our breath as Aragorn lightly trailed his fingers through my hair. I shifted to rest my head on his chest and wrap my arms around him as he gently kissed the top of my head.

“Get some sleep Alice.” He murmured, continuing to stroke my hair as my eyes compliantly shut and I nestled my head beneath his chin, listening to the steady thrumming of his pulse and the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest as I matched my breathing to his and slipped off to sleep.

*

I blearily opened my eyes and sighed, finding myself still curled in Aragorn’s arms. I’d dreamt I was falling again, just endlessly falling down into nothingness as I screamed Aragorn’s name over and over again until I was finally consumed by darkness and fear. I shuddered at the vivid memory and felt Aragorn's arms tighten around me, causing me to look up and see that the sun was rising behind us. I must have slept for hours.

“Sorry,” I yawned, “Did I wake you?”

“I wasn’t asleep.” He murmured quietly as I sat up in his arms and rubbed my sleep-laden eyes.

“Did you sleep at all?” I asked, suppressing another yawn as he shook his head and I gave him a disapproving look.

“You talked in your sleep.” He said, changing the subject as I frowned.

“Oh?”

“You were calling my name.”

“Oh.”

He smiled and gently swept my fringe out of my eyes. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“There isn’t much to talk about.” I shrugged, “It was just me, falling. People have those kinds of dreams all the time, right?”

He was about to open his mouth and reply, when I heard footsteps behind us and looked up to see Legolas walking towards us. “We’re getting close.” He said, and I didn’t miss the way his eyes flickered between Aragorn and I as he observed our close embrace before walking away – probably to go wake Gimli. I nodded as Aragorn released me and stood, helping me to my feet as we looked out past the bow of the boat. In the distance I could see a massive area of flat land, disrupted by huge, dark masses stretched across it. It was a battlefield, and the masses were armies. My breath caught in my throat as I took in the sheer volume of the force we were standing against. The four of us and our army of ghosts. If I listened carefully, I could even hear the roars and screams of the battle that lay ahead of us. Blindly, my hand searched for Aragorn’s beside me, searching for the reassurance it would provide. He saw this and instead slipped his arm around my shoulders and drew me close against his side.

“I’ll keep you safe, I promise.” He murmured softly in my ear as I glanced up at him.

“Can you promise to keep yourself safe too?” I whispered, catching the brief expression of hesitation that crossed his stormy eyes before he smiled.

“I have an exceedingly strong aptitude for survival.” He assured me, “I will always return to you.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“And I promise I’ll always return to you,” I said softly, “No matter what.” He smiled and kissed my forehead, prompting a smile from me too, even though I knew that there was no way of us guaranteeing that we would keep our promises. As my eyes followed the river ahead of us, I noticed a small port that sat in front of the vague outline of a city that lay ahead of us, and in it I could see more dark masses milling around. “Looks like we’ve got a welcome party.” I sighed as Aragorn’s arm fell away from my shoulders and he reached for his sword.

“Keep out of sight.” He instructed me as he drew the long blade and grabbed my arm, towing me along until we were about halfway along the deck, and then we crouched down behind the wooden rail, where we were met by Legolas and Gimli. “Try to stay close to me.” Aragorn murmured to me, “If you get hurt, or lost, or even scared, just call for me, I will find you.” He looked at me sincerely as my heart skipped a beat.

“I’ll be alright.” I breathed, trying to sound confident as he leant a little closer to me, letting our noses brush as he half-closed his eyes, before he quickly pressed his lips against mine, forming a kiss that spoke the millions of words that I wanted to say to him, and showing me that he felt the same way. I gasped at the hasty intensity of the kiss, before he pulled away only slightly.

“Be safe.” He whispered, his voice ragged and uneven as I nodded.

“You… You too.” I mumbled as he planted another short, sweet kiss on my lips before sitting back and turning to peer over the side of the ship. I reached for my twin swords and drew them quietly, grasping the hilts so tightly that my knuckles turned white as I felt the ship begin to slow. I glanced upwards, seeing the sails flapping as the unnatural wind that had filled them dropped, causing the ship to slowly halt.

“Late as usual, pirate scum!” I flinched as the harsh voice of an Orc standing on the docks reached my ears. “There’s knifework here needs doing.” I cast a glance at Aragorn’s fierce expression as he waited for the opportune moment for us to reveal ourselves. I could sense the Orc’s confusion as they looked at the deserted ships, seeing no signs of life. “Come on you sea rats, get off your ships!” He taunted, just as Aragorn stood and quickly vaulted over the rail with a yell. I looked up to see Legolas following him, so I did the same – landing in a crouch on the stone dock and smirking at the baffled expressions of the army of Orcs that stood before us. As Aragorn began to walk forward, I cast a quick glance over my shoulder, hoping our ghostly companions hadn’t backed out on us. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw them begin to materialize behind us, and I turned back to see the Orcs begin to back away in astonishment.

“There’s plenty for the both of us, may be best Dwarf win!” I heard Gimli growl to Legolas as he brandished his axe at the army that stood in front of us, as Aragorn let out a loud battle-cry and charged. I followed him as the Orc’s raised their weapons in a pathetic attempt to stand against us as the spectral army rushed past us and collided with them, striking down every creature that got in their way, all we had to do was pick off the few stubborn, remaining opposing Orcs. My first opponent recklessly swung its blade at my head with a roar as I ducked and drove one of my swords past its crude armour and into its chest, grimacing as its foul black blood splattered my hand, which started shaking as the creature fell away from my blade. It had been some time since I’d been in a battle, and killing was something I hoped I’d never get used to, because if I did, would I have any humanity left? I looked up, seeing another Orc charging at me, leaping over the corpses of its fallen comrades in its quest to end my life. I threw one of my blades at it, hitting it square in the chest as I ran towards it, retrieving my sword before the creature had even fallen. Looking up, I saw an intimidating, tall city looming above the battlefield, carved out of the white stone cliff behind it and casting a strangely graceful and civilized atmosphere over the battlefield.

‘So, this must be Minas Tirith…’ I thought to myself, before I was quickly distracted by the snarl of an Orc. I soon found myself surrounded by the battle, fighting in an aimless direction, trying to keep within earshot of my companions. As I struck down another Orc, I turned to find one looming up behind me, its sword raised it strike me down. I flinched away, expecting pain, but instead I heard the creature groan and hit the ground, and I looked down to see an elvish arrow protruding from its back. Glancing up, I saw Legolas smiling at me from a few metres away, and I dashed over to him, glad to find a small island of sanity in this field of madness.

“Seventeen.” He said, nodding towards the recently fallen Orc.

“Erm… Eight?” I shrugged, not knowing that there was a competition going on. He nodded, raising his bow and shooting an arrow mere millimetres from my face – I didn’t need to look behind me to know that his count was now eighteen.

“Legolas!” I heard an unmistakable voice rise above the cries of battle, and I turned to see Aragorn pointing at something over my shoulder. I turned and gasped at the sight before me.

“What in the world?” I spluttered, resisting the urge to rub at my eyes as if I was in a cartoon, but I felt like I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. A giant elephant, charging towards Legolas and myself. I mean, elephants are pretty big anyway, but this thing was huge. It was easily the height of about five regular elephants staked on top of each other, and looked like it was supporting a small siege tower on its back, filled with archers, raining down arrows around us. Legolas sprinted from my side towards it, just as an unarmed Orc launched itself at me, grabbing one of my arms and trying to pry my sword out of my grasp. With my free hand I punched it in the face, causing it to release me and giving me the opportunity to stab it in the stomach. I jumped back, just as something jumped on me from behind. I cried out in alarm as I tried to rid myself of the small, clinging goblin, screaming in pain as it sunk its pointed teeth into my neck, instantly drawing an alarming amount of blood. I felt it get wrenched away from my back as I stumbled, but felt an arm wind around my waist.

“Are you alright?” Aragorn asked breathlessly as my hand flew to my neck, trying to staunch the flow of blood.

“If I get rabies I’m not going to be pleased.” I growled, clenching my teeth to distract me from the pain. Aragorn fought off an Orc with one hand as he continued to hold me up, turning back to me with concern-filled eyes. “Go on,” I gasped, “I’ll be fine, you don’t need to-” I was cut off by a loud roar, and turned to see the giant elephant-creature crash to the ground as Legolas slid down it’s trunk, looking rather pleased with himself as the creature was swarmed by the eerie green forms of the ghosts. I turned away, letting Aragorn’s arm slip away from my waist and striking down an Orc that was running at me with a quick blow to the neck. Another one came, and as I dispatched it I realised that very, very few of our enemies were left. I looked up at the city that stood over us, seeing a glowing green mass surge through it like a flood, purging it of Sauron’s armies.

We had won.