The Crownless Again Shall Be King

Chapter 6- Minas Tirith

Chapter 6- Minas Tirith

Time went by slowly for the next three days. The scenery changed from green valleys to open plains, and looming, snow-crested mountains. Gondor was beautiful- I had to admit it. I recalled the stories that Boromir had told me many months before about the beauty and splendor of the City of King's.

Gandalf only permitted us to rest for an hour each night to allow the horses to rest and drink. During the night of the second day, we were still riding hard for Gondor through a dim, green forest. The familiar forest scent brought back memories of being home in Rivendell and adventuring in the forests there.

"How are you fairing, Lothrayel?" Gandalf asked, sitting down beside me on a nearby log.

"I'm fine," I answered blasé.

"Really?" he arched his white eyebrows, blue eyes twinkling. "Or is that the answer you presume I want to hear?"

I sighed softly. "I don't know  Mithrandir," I admitted quietly. "There is so much I still do not know..."

"What is it that you're contemplating?"

"Everything!" I confessed in exasperation. "Why me?" I whimpered. "Why does Darkess follow where I go? This gift I've been bestowed with is a curse!"

Gandalf's eyes twinkled with sympathy as he stretched out a hand and squeezed my shoulder. "Lothrayel..."

"No, Gandalf," I whispered. "I wish this curse had never happened to me! That this had never happened in my time."

"I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Frodo," he smiled.

The young Hobbit's name brought a lump to my throat when I realized he had been cursed with something he couldn't control either.

"You are not alone in your opinion... for all who live to see these times wish it was not in their time either. All we have to do is figure out what to do with it in the time it is given to us. Maybe it is not a curse... but a gift to be used against the Enemy."

"Maybe," I whispered.

"Get some sleep, Rayel," he smiled. "I will allow another hour for rest." He stood up and wandered over to the campfire, his pipe between his lips, murmuring a song under his breath.

The sweet scent of smoke and tobacco lulled me into a light sleep... and that was when the nightmares began.

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I was standing beside a gallant and handsome man with dark, strawberry-blonde hair. Over his shoulder he carried a curved hunting bow and a quiver of white arrows. On his breastplate was the image of a White Tree.

He was giving commands to a handful of other men and they darted back and forth, hiding behind pillars and ruins. The City was in ruins and wreckage; the white marble was blackened by the smoke. A dirty, murky river ran by the city, and several ships lay in the harbor- filled to the brim with orcs. The orcs and Uruks were planning an attack by boat.

"You can't stop this, Rayel," a familiar and seductive voice whispered, tickling my ear. "You are powerless against this."

"Melkor," I whispered, turning to face the beautiful man.

His dark raven-black hair was tousled and soft, his mysterious golden eyes twinkled. His lips curled into a smirk and his hand caressed my cheek. "Why do you run from me, darling? Why do you try to escape from fate? Do you not know how it shall all end?"

"Melkor," my voice shook. "Release me from this bond. I implore you!"

"I'm having too much fun," he brought his lips to my cheek, kissing me softly. "I know you will obey me. It's only a matter of time."