To The End Of Her Days - A Fanfiction Sequel to The Lord of the Rings

Chapter 5 - The Prophecy

When Arwen opened her eyes, she was in pain and could not fully remember what had happened. She could barely move her left arm and her head felt heavy. She did not know where she was until she noticed the Elven woodwork overhead.

"Arwen?" A warm, gentle male voice said from the right side of her bed. He reached out and held her good hand.

She turned her head and slowly sat up, thrilled by who she saw. "Aragorn," she said in a tired but happy whisper, "it's wonderful to see you." She reached to embrace him.

He gently picked her up and held her to his chest like an infant. "It's wonderful to hear your voice after all these years."

They held this embrace of reunion for quite some time. She had almost forgotten how safe she felt in the strong embrace of the king, knowing that as long as she was in his arms, nothing would ever happen to her.

"How long have I been away from myself?" Arwen finally asked.

"Almost nine days," the king answered, "You awoke throughout that time, but always fell asleep."

"No wonder my head hurts so much!" she said with a slight chuckle as she leaned against his shoulder. This made the king grin. She always had a gentle, beautiful spirit that warmed his heart.

"Your company arrived about three days ago, quite concerned about your health. But now, you are on the way to a full recovery."

"Arwen! You're awake!" Goldie and Rosie said in unison. They quickly ran to the bed, and jumped on the bed, since she was sitting on the king's lap.

"It's wonderful to see you both," Arwen said, "but do you remember what happened to us? I don't completely remember."

"We were attacked by orcs on Weathertop," Goldie began, "We didn't know how to fight, but you fought with the skill of any man or even a soldier!"

"Your skill made them angry," Rosie continued, "so they started to attack you harder, but that only got more of them killed. Then, they started to throw their flaming touches at you. You tried to repel them with your sword, but they threw so many at once that one landed on your arm. The moment that you fell on your knees in pain, one of the orcs hit you over the head with his sword."

"This orc also would have killed you too," Goldie added, "but Legolas came back just in time to shoot him before he could. After he defeated the rest, Legolas looked at your wounds and knew we had to get you here as soon as possible. We traveled as fast as we could, Legolas carrying you the whole way until the queen met us to bring you here so she could treat your wounds. Now here you are, safe and sound."

"Aragorn," Arwen asked, "did you know of these orcs? I thought they all died in the War of the Ring."

"That is what we all thought," the king replied. "However, during our journey here, King Eomer informed me that there are about forty thousand orcs and ten thousand Uruk-hai soldiers that escaped into different mines and caves throughout Middle-Earth after the War of the Ring. They are now seeking the female halfling that was spoken of in the ancient prophecy of eternal peace."

"What?!" all the hobbits said in a unified curiosity.

The king laughed as he stood up and gently set Arwen in the bed, "You will have to wait until tomorrow to hear more about this prophecy. Arwen needs to rest now."

"I guess you're right." Arwen leaned back and closed her eyes. The Gamgee girls crawled out of the bed and carefully tiptoed away.

Aragorn kissed her on the top of the head and said, "Sleep well dear one. It's good to have you back."