Princess of the Woodland Realm||LOTR

Death of Gandalf

Time stood still.

"Fly you fools!" Gandalf called before he disappeared from sight. Frodo's scream had pulled Aranel from her trance as she watched Mithrandir plummet.

"Aragorn!" Boromir's cry echoed around them. Arrows flew from the Goblin's bows, threatening to end their lives if they tarried any longer than they needed to.

"Aranel!" Aragorn grasped her arm, yanking her through an archway and into the daylight of the outside world. Legolas had left before them, thinking his sister was just behind him.

Aranel had seen death before, but of a wizard she'd known for so long and had been close friends with, this was something she had not expected. None of them had. Gandalf had been a friend to their father and their home. Now he was gone.

"Legolas?" She whispered, slowly approaching him. Legolas had also seen death. His own troops had been slain in front of him, but he'd never been too close to them, so their deaths didn't affect him as much as Gandalf's did. Not until now had death ever held onto his heart. Aranel watched the others and their reactions, something that she couldn't understand. Her face held the same confusion that Legolas' did. The cries of the four Hobbits and One Dwarf pulled at her heart.

"Legolas, Aranel. Get them up." Aragorn stated urgently. Legolas, as if in a trance, stepped towards Merry and Pippin to help them up.

"Give them a moment for pity's sake!" Boromir cried.

"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with Orcs! We must reach the woods of Lothlorien. Come Boromir, Legolas, Aranel, Gimli. Get them up." Aragorn restated. Aranel knelt beside Pippin, gently comforting him as he sat up. She held out her hand and helped him stand.