The grass tickles my feet and I shift around nervously, hopping from foot to foot. The sun is uncomfortably hot on my forehead and I watch as the ships sail past us rather quickly. The pirates on board occasionally glance down at us- a man, dwarf, and two elves (I look like an elf, so they can't tell I'm a half-blood)- and start to talk among themselves. I glance at Aragorn in worry, and he tilts his chin up and gazes calmly at the men.
"You may go no further." He calls. "You will not enter Gondor."
The ships are silent for a mere moment. I turn back to the ships to see the sailors laughing, no doubt making fun of us. One man points at me and laughs loudly, and I glare at him with my chin high.
"Who are you to deny us passage?" One man shouts from his seated position. I suppose he is the captain. I raise an eyebrow, feeling smug. Of course, he has no clue that Aragorn is Isildur's heir. The pirates behind him continue laughing.
"Legolas," Aragorn murmurs. "Fire a warning shot past the bosun's ear."
I watch as Legolas quickly notches an arrow into his bow and aims. He has to aim very precisely as to not hit anyone- the captain is surrounded by his sailors. It would be preferable for him not to hit anyone, as infuriated pirates are not something I'd want to deal with.
I see Gimli lean in closer to Legolas and whisper something in his ear, and I frown a bit. Just as Legolas is about to fire his arrow, Gimli tilts his axe and nudges the bottom of Legolas' bow to the side. My mouth falls open slightly as he unknowingly fires the mislead arrow and it embeds itself in a sailor behind the captain. I stare in shock as the man cries out in pain and falls to the floorboards with a thud. My head swivels around to glare at Gimli, who covers his mouth in mock horror.
"Oh!" He cries. Legolas looks stunned, still holding his bow loosely in his hand.
"Gimli!" I exclaim, but he ignores me pointedly, continuing his 'threat.'
"That's it. We warned you. Prepare to be boarded!"
The frown is erased from my face as the pirates laugh at Gimli's statement. They think that we are alone! A small smirk starts to play on my lips as I imagine the look of horror and shock plastered on their faces. They still have no clue what lies within the mountain right behind us...
"Boarded by you and whose army?" Someone on board yells, a laugh quickly following. I chuckle under my breath and fold my arms across my chest. You're about to find out...
"This army." Aragorn mutters darkly as the King of the Dead marches through him. He raises his greenish sword and charges the boats with his army right behind him.
I shiver a little from the icy chills the ghost army sends as they dash through my companions and I, but I try not to be too affected by the fact that there are ghosts running through my body.
The army floods onto the boats and the pirates yell and shout, but their pleas are soon reduced to silence as they are finished off by the ghosts. The ghosts occupy the other boats around us, bobbing forlornly on the water. The four of us approach the river. I step into the cool, blue depths and wade towards the closest boat, grumbling as the water seeps into my clothing. I would have preferred to fight with dry clothes, but now is not the time to be fussy. As we get deeper into the water, we start to swim. The water isn't exactly deep and the current is pretty weak, so it isn't too difficult or time consuming to make our way to the nearest boat.
Aragorn reaches it first and pulls himself up, lowering a hand down for me. I grab his outstretched hand, pulling myself up. We pull up Gimli and Legolas climbs up easily.
As my companions settle onto the boat, I plop down onto the wooden floor and take off my soaked boots. I groan, seeing the amount of water pouring out, and shake the last few droplets out before leaving them to dry in the corner. I lean back against the side of the ship and look up into the clear, blue sky, clothes dripping with water. The liquid soaks into the wooden floorboards and quickly evaporates under the warm sun.
Leaning my head against the wood, I close my eyes and bask in the sunlight, relaxing slightly. I feel slightly tense about going into battle. I'm a little bit nervous, as I've only fought in the Battle of Hornburg and occasional Orc attacks, so this will be the biggest battle I will have been in. There's a chance that I could lose my life.
Someone settles down beside me and I open my eyes to see Legolas. He smiles warmly at me and I smile weakly back. I don't want to lose him in the battle, and I don't want him to be heartbroken if I die.
Who said that he would be heartbroken? Would he even care? The bad side of my mind pipes up. I frown.
Of course he does. He gave you a promise- and he also kissed you.
I nearly forgot about the fact that he kissed me in Helm's Deep. Does that mean that we are... together?! Not that I don't want to be... In fact, I've never been in a relationship before. I could never imagine myself with anybody, but I suppose I can imagine myself with Legolas... But I don't even know if that first kiss meant anything!!
"Are you okay, Vivienne?" Legolas' voice interrupts me from my thoughts. "Are you nervous about the battle?"
"Yeah... Sort of, I guess." I say slowly, and he smiles sympathetically at me. That wasn't entirely a lie- I am nervous, it's just not what I was thinking about at the moment. I glance at Legolas' calm face. He must not be too nervous because he's fought in battles before- he's experienced.
"Why?" Legolas asks gently.
"What if... What if one of us doesn't make it back?"
"Vivienne, you underestimate yourself. You are an amazing fighter, and you know that the rest of us can take care of ourselves. We will all be fine." He reassures me. I'm still unconvinced. I may seem really pessimistic, but I never want to get my hopes up. That usually results in heartbreak or extreme sadness. But I simply nod, swallowing hard.
* * *
We approach the White City of Minas Tirith. I've sat here for the past hour or so with Legolas, enjoying the peace and quiet while it lasts. The boats moved slowly in the small current. We didn't really talk much, just occasionally asked how much longer or if the other person was hungry. I lost my appetite due to battle nerves and Legolas just never seems hungry anyways.
I see the city of Minas Tirith and swallow hard. I reach out and grab my now damp boots and pull them on, as the boat nears the shore. My clothes are still wet, but they don't drip anymore. They're just stiff and cold. Aragorn and Gimli are on the other side of the boat, standing behind the sail. Legolas and I are behind a ledge, also at the back, but nobody can see us; which is good, because we want to surprise the enemy. The pirates that previously inhabited the boats were sided with the orcs, and we plan on giving a little shock to them- therefore, we have to stay hidden.
As we drift closer to shore, I start getting really fidgety and nervous. Maybe I shouldn't have come. I never should have joined the Fellowship in the first place- I'm just going to get myself killed. Elrond was right about doubting me. I'm too young and inexperienced, anyways. My hands anxiously trace the patterns on the sheathed knife from Rohan. Legolas takes my wrist in his hand and places it in my lap, stopping me from fidgeting.
"I will see you at the end." He murmurs, and I take a deep breath. He wraps his arms around me and I bury my face in his shoulder, taking several deep breaths before looking back up at his concerned, elven face. Without thinking, I press my lips to his. My eyes widen at what I just did, but I know I can't reverse it now. I'm about to pull away and apologize, but Legolas surprisingly kisses me back and pulls me closer to him.
I drape my arms around his neck as he shifts me onto his lap. Well, that happened fast, I think, fazedly. His hands tangle in my long hair, and I pull him as much closer as I can to me.
"Legolas! Vivienne! Where are you two? We don't have to hide for a while yet. We are almost-"
Gimli stomps rather loudly towards us, stopping abruptly a few meters away when he sees our situation. Legolas and I quickly separate, breathing heavily. I remain on his lap, chuckling under my breath as Gimli's face turns beet red. He turns around slowly, trying to walk away awkwardly.
"Is something wrong, Gimli?" I tease the embarrassed dwarf. Oddly enough, I'm not embarrassed one bit. Legolas smirks. "What were you saying?"
"Er... We've arrived. It- it's time to hide now." Gimli stutters before scurrying away. Legolas and I glance at each other, laughter in our eyes. The boat thuds against the dock and the joy I feel is immediately replaced with dread. Legolas pulls me down into a crouch beside Gimli and Aragorn at the side of the boat, holding his bow.
"Remember my promise. You will be safe as long as I am alive." Legolas whispers. I nod and we fall silent when we hear the voice of an orc.
"Late, as usual! Pirate scum! There's work that needs doing." An orc shouts from the dock. Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn and I remain silent, waiting for the optimum moment to jump from the ship.
"Come on, you sea rats! Get out off your ships!" The orc yells impatiently.
Aragorn vaults himself over the edge of the boat and we all follow him. Gimli, Legolas, then me. I launch myself over the edge, praying that I wouldn't be a klutz and fall down. Luckily, I land on my feet in a crouch. I straighten up and unsheathe my swords, flipping them into an attack position. My nerves are gone and are replaced with adrenaline. The orc at the front of the huge group lifts his axe menacingly.
"There are plenty enough for both of us!" Gimli exclaims to Legolas while I stare down one of the orcs. "May the best dwarf win."
Aragorn lifts up his sword, Gimli raises his axe and Legolas notches an arrow, aiming. The army of ghosts begin to materialize behind us, the greenish glow illuminating behind me. The King of the Dead raises his sword, followed by the rest of his army. I take a deep breath, holding out my swords, pointing the sharp tips at the vast crowd of orcs ahead of us. Soon they would all be dead, and we would be victorious. I lift my chin, feigning confidence, tightening my grip on my twin swords, soon to be coated in blood. And then we charge into battle, the screams and cries of battle echoing around us.
A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was fun to write hehe :)
The story is nearing the end, and I have an ending all planned out. But I need your help! Should I continue the story after Aragorn's coronation about Vivienne and Legolas' life after their adventure, or should I just finish there and do an epilogue? I'm thinking epilogue, but it would be over way too soon and I'd be sad :(
Comment what you think! And vote for this chapter :)
Thanks for reading you awesome people :D
Shay xx