Rise (Lord of the Rings)

60 - Together Again

How much longer could this battle go on? How much longer would it take for Sam and Frodo to destroy the Ring, now that they had the best shot to do so?

I was forced back by an Orc when a loud, annoying screech interrupted the battle. Our enemy turned towards what lay beyond the Black Gate, ignoring us. We were all distracted by the noise. The cry came from none other than the Eye.

As if they knew defeat was upon them, all of Sauron's forces began to flee. I watched as the tower the Eye was perched on began to fall. Sam and Frodo had done it, the Ring was gone!

The enemy was too busy running away to try and make any further attacks on us. As the enemy fled, I was barreled into—not by an Orc, but instead by Merry. I laughed as he took me in his arms, spinning me.

Merry stumbled, nearly losing his balance. He set me down, and I felt the remnants of a shockwave rock the ground. I had been too caught up in celebration to realize that land beyond the Black Gate had imploded, creating a massive crater in the earth.

And the worst part: the ground didn't stop crumbling.

My eyes widened in alarm and realization. Wordlessly, I grabbed Merry and pulled him along. Yet, I felt like I was moving with lead legs, that I was running slower than I should have been. The collapsing ground was gaining; it was close to swallowing us.

I was taken aback when Merry gave me a forceful shove in my back, catapulting me away from him. I landed on my stomach, hastily rolling around just in time to see the last bits of ground fall under his feet. With nothing stable to run along, I screamed as I watched Merry fall.

I jumped to my feet, rushing towards the edge, looking down over it. I had expected to see Merry clinging to a ledge desperately, holding on with what strength he had left. It wasn't the sight I saw, though, because Merry was nowhere to be found.

He had been lost.

I hyperventilated, constantly screaming "No!" at the top of my lungs. My nails bit into the ground around me. Merry was probably holding onto a ledge away from my view so that he could give me a heart attack.

If this was a joke, I wasn't laughing.

"Marlena," Pippin said, trying to pry me away from the edge.

"No!" I balked, but Pippin restrained me. "He's got to be down there! We have to—"

"We can't go and find him." With a huge tug, Pippin ripped me further away from the ledge, back towards the remaining soldiers on our side. "We have to accept it...he's gone."

I pulled myself out of Pippin's grasp, whipping around to face him. Anger and disbelief ran through my veins. "He's still alive, I know it! Have some hope for once, Pippin!"

"Marlena, you saw him fall." Pippin's voice was hopeless and cold. All my energy stopped at hearing such a dark change in his tone. "There's no point in hoping for something that will never happen. He's not coming back."

***

Moisture on my cheeks woke me up. I sniffled, trying to dry off my face. I realized I had been crying.

I sat up in bed, realizing that I was in my old room in the Houses of Healing again. Light peeked out through the open threshold. I examined the outfit I lay in: a navy-blue nightgown.