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

Chapter 15 - The Truth Made Known

Arwen and Eldarion awoke from an unrestful sleep when their cart came to a sudden halt. It was past midday, but the sky was overcast as though it would soon storm. They were dragged out of the cart and forced to walk on their own. Pain was coursing through their bodies as they limped and stumbled through the main road of the city, as prisoners with no escape.

Once the people began to notice the commotion, they became quite disturbed. As more people gathered in the street, they became indignant that the king's son was being humiliated in this way, but thought they were powerless against the orcs. Even the guards were worried that any attempt to rescue the prince would result in bloodshed, so they stood back and watched. All debated about what would become of the king's son, but most of them hardly took notice of the hobbit that was barely able to stand.

When Arwen started walking, the pain from her injured ankle returned, but they forced her to walk. She fell in the middle of the street, but they forced her to stand on her own. She struggled to stand, like an infant learning to walk for the first time. The pain was so great she was shaking, but they held her to the point of a spear to keep walking. Eldarion kept fighting to get back to her, but the orcs forced him to move forward. Arwen knew this was only the beginning of greater pain to come.

When they finally arrived in the Court of the White Tree, they were shoved to the ground. Arwen let out a sigh of relief when she was off her feet, but she knew this relief would not last long. When she rolled over, Arwen and Eldarion finally saw each other in the daylight and were stunned. They had hardly eaten anything since they had been taken captive, so they had become lean and pale. The wounds they endured were numerous and so was the dirt that covered their skin. The length of their hair made it difficult for even them to recognize each other.

"Eldarion?!" Her voice quivered and her lips trembled.

"It's going to be alright, Arwen." His voice quivered as well, but he firmly grabbed her hand. "It's going to be f-fine."

King Elessar and Belethor appeared on the second story of the palace behind the stone pillars. The king was instantly overwhelmed at the sight of his son and the hobbit, for he was grief-stricken to the point of tears. Belethor firmly grabbed the king's shoulder, and Elessar withheld his tears.

"Our Excellency requests an audience with you!" Ashtakh announced.

They carried the man in a litter made of dirty black cloth. The man stepped out, holding his chest out and head high, trying to look kingly in the presence of a real king. But when the man and Elessar looked at each other, there were both alarmed, for they recognized one another.

Suddenly, rage came over Elessar and he grabbed the railing, shouting, "Lle utinu en lokirim! Your wickedness and deception run deep, Bill Ferny! Too deep!"

Belethor pulled the king back, and Elessar let go of the railing, his face red in fury. Eldarion and Arwen looked at each other in disbelief at what they heard the king say, for it is one of the greatest offenses in the tongue of Elves to call someone a "son of snakes." It was quite fortunate that Bill could not understand the tongue of the Elves.

"Well, it seems like you are doing better than the last time I saw you, Long Shanks." Bill joked, putting his hands on his hips, "How's that horse doing?" He let out an evil laugh that echoed in the great courtyard.

Arwen gasped, for she now realized that Bill was the man that overcharged Aragorn for the horse they needed on her Ada's journey, the horse which Sam named Bill the Pony. He also sided with the Southerners when they tried to take over the Shire after the War of the Ring. His knowledge of the orcs made much more sense, for Saurman tried to take over the Shire with his orc army when the Southerners invaded. Her Ada even banished Bill from the Shire for his involvement in this plot. His association with her mother also made more sense, because she knew that he owned a stable in Bree. The king had not told her much about Bill, except that he was a cheater and a deceiver, and he had already proven himself to be so thus far. It's no wonder the king called him a "son of snakes."