A Promise- a LOTR Fanfiction (Legolas) ❤︎ ✓

Chapter 28: One Last Stand

Exhaustion.

My mind is blank with exhaustion as the dapple-grey horse moves lightly underneath me, hooves plodding on the yellowed grass below, trampled by the many soldiers ahead as we make our way to Mordor. The horse snorts softly and swings her head to the side, light and feathery mane blowing gently in the cool breeze. The stable hand back in Gondor told me her name; Vanya. It means beautiful, which is quite fitting for her appearance. Her eyes are a pretty jade colour, contrasting with her light, dappled coat. Her stride is lighter and quicker than Numen's, who runs with a long, confident gait.

Vanya hops nervously on her feet, wanting to break out in a run, but I tug gently on her reins to prevent her from stampeding the dismounted soldiers. If everyone had a horse, we could gallop and arrive at Mordor sooner, but there's a large number of men who don't own horses.

Numen is back in Rohan where I left him, to keep him safe. I've been through so much with him, I don't want the horse to get hurt.

I ride near the front of the pack, the rest of the soldiers trailing behind like a bunch of sad puppies. I hear the thudding of hooves approaching and I turn to smile at Legolas and Gimli atop Arod. They pull up beside me and slow down to a walk and we continue our journey to Mordor.

We ride until dusk, when there is no light. We set up camp quickly and eat a bowl of stew before settling to bed. My sleep is quite calm, but I wake up multiple times during the night. Legolas sleeps next to me, taking advantage of the rest before battle, although brief. Few hours later, we are up and going again. I track down Vanya through the chaos of men and horses and mount her swiftly before finding Gimli and Legolas. Aragorn is leading the pack at the very front as King of Gondor. Théoden's absence is strong, and I miss him. All bitterness I had previously felt had melted away. I've forgiven him for keeping that secret from me. He had no other choice.

The sun rises slowly, illuminating everything with a golden glow. The soldiers grumble as we continue our trek but they don't complain too much, as we all know it won't do any justice. The horses seem to be well rested, though, and trot along happily. Vanya skips and hops along cheerily, and I apologize to the men nearby as the energetic horse nearly stomps on them, and they just sigh and shuffle along. The sun reflects dazzlingly off of the silver and gold armour, and round and square shields. The men of Rohan and Gondor trudge bravely on as we approach Mordor, getting closer with every step.

"Legolas!" I call suddenly, and the elf turns from ahead of me. He slows Arod down until he and Gimli are next to me, and smiles. Gimli grunts an acknowledgement hastily and I smirk. "How much longer until we arrive?"

"Only a couple of hours." He responds solemnly. I nod slowly, and we grow silent for a few moments before Legolas speaks up again.

"How are you doing?"

"Fine." I smile half-heartedly, raising my eyebrows. Vanya whinnies, tossing her head restlessly. "A tad bit tired, but aren't we all?"

"I suppose." Legolas says. "Try not to get yourself killed out on the battlefield." He adds half jokingly.

I laugh and nod. My nerves seemed to have diminished completely, especially since the victory at Minas Tirith. My confidence in Frodo and Sam is very high, and I'm almost sure that we can get through this. But there's still a chance of failure, of death. I turn to Legolas again and smirk.

"I'll try."

* * *

The Black Gates loom overhead, threatening and eerie, yet it seems deserted and silent. Our army waits behind us while Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Éomer, Gandalf, the hobbits and I approach the Gates. I listen carefully, trying to detect the screeches or cries of orcs, but it's oddly silent. I expected it to be loud and chaotic, but it's quite the opposite.