The Crownless Again Shall Be King

Chapter 5- Gandalf's Plan

Chapter 5-Gandalf's plan

Falling back asleep was an impossible task.

Gandalf and Aragorn were now on high alert, and Legolas refused to leave my side. My breathing was uneven and rigged, Sauron's words echoed through my mind, and both he and Melkor seemed intent on mocking me.

Restlessly I rolled over onto my side to face Pippin, who laid on his bedroll beside me. "Are you alright, Pip?" I whispered.

His beautiful green eyes flashed with worry. "I'm afraid," he stated quietly.

"I am too," I admitted softly.

"What do you think will happen to us now?" the Halfling asked, looking to me for the answers.

"I don't know," I confessed, feeling defeated. "All I know is what Gandalf has been telling me all this while: Good will always win, and light will always outshine the darkness."

He gave me a small smile. "Thank you, Rayel," he whispered.

I couldn't help but smile back as I watched the young Hobbit stray off into a light, dreamless sleep. Merry had fallen asleep not too long ago, and Gandalf had taken the accursed Orb away. Where he had hidden it, I did not know. All that mattered was that it was gone... and hopefully, it would stay that way.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying hard to clear my head. As I let my eyes flutter closed, Melkor flashed through my sight. I gasped, sitting up in bed and rubbing my eyes. Every time my eyes drooped down, I could see the Great Eye and the Lord of Darkness.

Finding that sleep was impossible, I slipped out of the barracks and into the Great Hall. I closed the door softly before padding down the hallway to my previous bedchambers. The room was lit with the embers of a dying fire and the faint candlelight from above the mantle. I paced the floor, grumbling under my breath.

"Why me?" I demanded. "Do the Eldar enjoy watching my life fall apart?"

The silence was the only reply I was given.

I sank to my knees in desperation, sobbing uncontrollably. "Rayel?" I heard my brother ask, as he came to my side in seconds. "Oh, dear sister," his arms came around me, and his fingers stroked my hair as I sobbed into him.

"Why?" I choked out. "Why me? Why my bloodline?"

"That is something I ask myself every day, Rayel," he brushed my tears away with his calloused fingertips. "My ancestors have always been tempted with great evil... and now you are."

I nodded, inhaling a gasp of fresh air and the musty tobacco scent I had come to love. "Amin mela lye Aragorn," I whispered.

"I love you too," he smiled, planting a soft kiss to my forehead. "I remember the day I first saw you," he chuckled, pulling me up from the ground and walking me to my bed. "You were terrified of me. I squatted down to your height, urging you to come close to me... And eventually, I was able to convince you that I was not going to harm you."

I snuggled beneath the blankets of my bed, holding onto my brother's hand. "I trust you," I smiled. "I trust you with my very life."

He leaned down to kiss my cheek. "Sleep now, my dear. I won't leave your side until daybreak." He promised.

With this in thought, I closed my eyes, letting my head rest against my pillow. I felt the bed move slightly as my brother settled in next to me. I knew I would be safe here with my elder brother, and I hoped that Melkor wouldn't taunt me again.

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The next morning, Gandalf summoned Pippin and me to a council with Théoden. We were to report all that had happened the night before- including our own stories of what the Black Seeing Stone had shown us. As Gandalf recounted the events in his own words and also described Pippin's reaction and what he had said, my eyes wandered over to my brother. He looked worried, and there was some sort of a new fire in Legolas' eyes: anger and pain.