The Shadow Walker

96. Call to Battle

***Author's Note***

Hey guys, a bit of intimacy in the second half of this chapter. If it makes you uncomfortable, just skip.

The thunder of a crowd's murmur set me on edge as I waited for Dwalin's cue to address them. Legolas and I stood in the dark hallway just inside Erebor's door, and I clutched his hand. He ran his thumb over my knuckles. Neither of us spoke—neither of us needed to.

Dwalin said something, and though I could hear his voice, I didn't listen to the words used. I breathed deeply, trying to calm my heartbeat, trying to steady my emotions. It didn't work. I was scared, I was nervous, and I was on the verge of tears.

Bofur walked in and gave me a nod. It was time.

Legolas leaned down and kissed my cheek. "You can do it," he whispered, and released my hand.

I gave him an unsteady smile, then followed Bofur outside.

Torchlight cast harsh yellow glares across the people's faces. Though young and old, male and female, and Dwarf and Man, they all wore the same expression of thinly-veiled fear. The same fear I felt, and had to do a better job hiding. Taking a deep breath, I began my partially-memorized speech.

"I come before you today, not as a Queen, but as someone you can trust. Someone with a life to lose, a loved one, a future." I stopped, glanced back at Legolas. Holding out my hand to him, I said, "In fact, there's no better time to tell you—I am wedded to Prince Legolas of the Woodland Realm. We are now closely allied with our Elvish neighbors, and while I'm sure it will take time to set aside our grievances, the time has come for that healing process to begin."

Legolas strode forward and took my hand, giving me a supportive smile. Murmurs rippled over the crowd.

I took a deep breath and continued. "Now, more than ever, it's important to halt our petty arguments and identify the real enemy—for there is one who can take what we hold dear and cast it to the wind. Can, and if he is not stopped, will. His name is Sauron."

More murmurs. More disbelief than fear.

"But Mordor is far to the south, you say," I call, cutting off their whispers. "Yes, it is. But Sauron's reach is far. The Ring that—"

My breath caught.

I quickly coughed and resumed."...that empowered him before, has been found. And if he regains that, he can take a new physical form, and his armies will cover Middle Earth. We will be overwhelmed."

Now their expressions betrayed fear. Good. Now they'd listen.

"The hard truth is, most of us will die soon." I bit my lip. I wasn't exempt from this hard truth, and neither was Legolas. I forced myself to continue. "But our deaths don't have to be meaningless. If we stand together, we can sway the tide of battle. We can protect our elders, our children. Give them a future." My throat closed off as I suddenly considered children...Legolas's and mine. What children we might've had.

His hand tightened around mine. "If we stand, we'll win," Legolas called. His smooth tenor was like a balm to my aching heart, and the crowd stilled, all eyes on my husband. He glanced down at me and smiled. "If we win, we come home. And then we do have a future. One that we took back for ourselves. Refused to let the dark lord steal from us."

There. The crowd began to murmur again, but differently. Exchanged nods, mutters of agreement. I gave Legolas a grateful smile.

"So rally with me," I yelled. "Fight—take back your futures! We will conquer Sauron!"