Hunter of the Rings

Chapter 30

"Far over the misty mountains cold..." Maddie's voice was quiet, hushed, as she sung to herself while wandering across the plains of Mordor "...to dungeons deep and caverns old..." she wasn't entirely sure where the song had come from, but she recalled her mother singing it to her as a child. "...We must away, ere break of day..." she knew the song had come about after their trip to Erebor, the very same place they had been given the One Ring that now burdened and injured their daughter's neck "...to seek our long...forgotten home" she finished with a sigh. The song was an old one and Maddie's memory of the lyrics had faded over time, thus she made some of her own. It's a shame she hadn't thought to ask Gimli about the song; he might have known its origins. But it seemed she would never know. How she wished to seek her own long forgotten home. All Maddie could do was shake her head, trying to rid her mind of the thought. It was tricky; she had been on her own for so long now that the only company she had came from her mind. Letting out a sigh, the girl realised her mouth was dry, explaining the cracks in her voice as she tiredly sung to herself; she wished she had some water, just a few drops to help, but alas, there was none in sight. Staggering across the plains and fighting off her exhaustion was all she could do. In the distance, the Eye of Sauron scanned the area; it had been doing that since she had escaped the orc army, but she had noticed in the last hour or so that its gaze was slowly making its way towards the vicinity of the young girl. She felt its presence, turning as she faced the tower with a look of uncertain fear. Cursing under her breath, Maddie scurried away, falling down with a pained thud as she rushed for cover; she had managed to hide from the Eye's fiery gaze, but a shiver ran down her spine as she noticed the sudden light that surrounded where she had been standing not a second ago. It knew she was there. It was looking for her, hunting her.

Leading the combined armies, Aragorn road on with his company as they came within sight of the Black Gate. Gandalf was by his side, along with Legolas, Gimli and Éomer whom he deemed his commanders. Most looked the same as always, ready for a battle that most did not believe they were going to survive through, but the same could not be said for Aragorn. Before leaving for war, he had lay down his ranger attire and replaced it with Gondorian armour, made by the best armourer the city had to offer. And with it, he did something he thought he would never. Something he thought he would never be able to do. He wore the crest of Gondor with pride. As they reached their destination, however, they realised that they had been unopposed; it was as if the gates had been deserted altogether. "Where are they?" Éomer wondered, glancing to his brothers-in-arms as they shared familiar cautious thoughts. Staring at the sight ahead, Aragorn spurred his horse forward, heading towards the gate silently; the White Wizard followed on, neither needing to motion or check that the others were close behind while the rest of the troops stayed put. Standing much closer to the Black Gate than any would ever wish to, Aragorn looked up "let the Lord of the Black Land come forth!" he addressed, knowing that there was someone listening. He was a ranger after all. "Let justice be done upon him!" the man demanded, restrained anger holding his voice firmly. There was no surprise that Aragorn was right; someone was listening and slowly, the gate creaked open. They all watched on with a mixture of nerves, anticipation and worry, their eyes lowering to before them, as the gate stopped moving and a single rider appeared upon a dark horse. He approached them, stopping only once he was a few large strides away; it was a disturbing sight to behold, in all honest, for the only part of the rider that appeared, beside a full helmet and armour that covered him entirely, was a grotesque mouth. It's teeth were stained black with a dark red ooze seeping through. A disgusting sight to behold.

"My master, Sauron the Great, bids you welcome" the rider spoke, its voice deep and layered, as if others spoke with him; he turned his head, taking in the group and doing something that some might have assumed was trying to smile. Yes, a most disgusting sight to behold indeed. Never the less, he continued "is there any in this rout with the authority to treat with me?" the dark rider asked. While the option was between two, Gandalf chose to take it upon himself to begin "we do not come to treat with Sauron, faithless and accursed" he announced; such insults caused the rider to growl, but alas, the wizard cared not as he ordered the Mouth of Sauron to tell its master that the armies of Mordor must disband "he is to depart these lands, never to return". Scoffing at the words spoken, the rider took them in with amusement "Old Greybeard" he called out, reaching his hand to behind his black cloak "I have a token I was bidden to show thee" he stated, pulling out a piece of fabric that a Nazgûl's dragon had found and brought back earlier that day after patrolling the lands. It was as he held the fabric up, allowing it to roll out to show its entirety, that all eyes widened. That so called "token" was Maddie's dress. The blue fabric was the outer layer of her dress, to be exact, hole ridden and dirtied from the time she had spent travelling in it. It was recognised by all members of the Fellowship. "Maddie" Legolas whispered to himself, feeling his sinking heart ache as he watched the Mouth of Sauron throw the dress over to the wizard with force; Gandalf caught it and was unable to take his eyes off of the dress, staring down at it with sorrow. "The child was dear to thee all, I see" the rider pretending to realise such information, yet there was a hint of glee within his voice as he let them know that she had suffered greatly at the hands of her host "who would've thought one so small could endure so much pain? And she did, Gandalf. She did" there was pride in his words and it angered all. But the consuming sadness gripped at all. Even Gandalf could not deny the tears that formed within his eyes.

Feeling his rage burning and consume from within, Aragorn somehow managed to remain composed; it was a difficult task, especially as the mouth began to laugh wickedly. In truth, he wanted to storm that damn gate and make any living creature beyond it pay with pain and blood. Even after being apart for so long, Aragorn's protectiveness for the sixteen year old had never faltered; it continued with the same burning fire, even larger than before, that had come to life when he first come to meet her. As calm and casual as he could, the man silently rode around to the offending rider's side whom watched on with amusement. "And who is this? Isildur's hair?" the Mouth of Sauron taunted, his head sharply turning to face the approaching man "it takes more to make a king than a broken Elvish blade" he laughed. But with a quick hard slice, he was soon silenced; Aragorn cut off the Mouth of Sauron's head from his body with a single yell! "I guess that concludes negotiations" Gimli mumbled, a grin resting upon his face; most had wished to do such a thing, but it was just as satisfying to watch the head fall to the ground, followed by its body. Aragon turned to his group with a single statement on his lips "I do not believe it" he announced, looking to Gandalf who shared a look of doubt, only to be shut down before he could utter a single word. "I will not!" the man stated firmly; he outright refused to even, for a single second, humour the idea. Maddie was alive! All of a sudden, the gate began to move once more; they swayed open, revealing an army of marching orcs, all armed and ready for war. The Barad-dûr loomed in the background, its Eye now staring straight at Aragorn whom returned its glare just as strong. "Pull back! Pull back!" he called out; his company were quick turning and returning to their awaiting army of men, not needing to be told twice.

From the moment she fell for cover, Maddie hadn't moved. From the looming threat or her pure exhaustion? Probably both. She could feel the Eye's gaze, even if it could not see her; she could practically hear it calling for her, whispering for her to come out. The girl must have been lying on the ground behind a large bolder for what must have been a few hours, at least, but she suddenly noticed the light violently move and stay away. Waiting for a few minutes, Maddie risked a peek over the bolder; the relief she felt was clear as a wave washed over her. "It's gone" she mumbled, trying to focus her eyes on the distance 'the light's passed on, away towards the North' she realised, glancing over in the direction to see what had caught the Eye's attention. But alas, she could not see as far as a few feet ahead as her vision blurred and doubled; this was something she was quickly growing tired and irritated with. "Uh!" she closed her eyes, rubbing at them until she could see clearly again "I can't waste time...gotta keep going" the girl pushed herself, ignoring her poor bodies protests and requests to stay still; she climbed to her feet, ignoring the pain that screamed at her, and continued on her way to her destination: Mount Doom.