Chapter Three

The Beginning and the End

The Lord of Mordor was on the move.

After his most satisfying encounter with the former Shield Maiden of Rohan and more specifically, Tory Harding, David Saeran paid his final call before departing Valinor for his destiny in the modern world. There was plenty of time to return to the Undying Lands when his task in Arda was completed. Already his minions were making their way across the oceans. The dragons were leaving the enchanted shores, bound for the world that had not seen its kind in aeons. The balrogs were remaining behind for the moment to reduce the cities of Tirion, Aqualonde and Formenos to ash. They would set alight the woods of Orome, dismantle the mansions of Aule and foul the waters of Lorellin. All that was fine and beautiful in Valinor would end in a blaze of fire that would stretch from one end of the island to the other. To them, he left the elves to dispose with as they wished.

In the world beyond the Undying Lands, the dark denizens beneath his ruined fortress in Romania, once Barad-dur awakened when the gates of the Forbidden Vault were flung open, stirred and armed for war. Thousands, dormant for so long as they slept in deep slumber, tore from their cocoons like violent birth, covered in slime and blood. They had awakened to the call of their god who was at last coming forth to claim them, to lead them to the victory against the forces of light that bathed the world in its purity. A world that had no place for them. They yearned for victory. They yearned for the spilling of blood that would make Arda theirs at last.

Sarean's army assembled upon the shore of Eldamar, awaiting his leave to begin their long anticipated journey across the great sea. His watchers had already set out, great leviathans of shadow moving through the unspoiled sea, exulting in knowledge they were once more masters of the deep. He saw them move, like great herds of whales, riding a swell of surf through the Bay of Eldamar before reaching open sea. Those who could not swim waited for him to provide their freedom from this island and it came, borne on the water, taken from Alqualonde, the home of the Teleri, great ship builders of Eldar. Blood smeared the hulls of the grey ships, fashioned in the shape of a great swan. The flotilla moved through the heavy rain towards their passengers.

All was needed now was their master to set them on path to the New World.

*********

"Wd have to hurry!" Eve said trying to speak through the pounding rain that had soaked her through and through. Wet hair and clothes were plastered to her skin as the icy temperatures made her shiver so hard, her teeth were chattering.

They had just left the Anemone, knowing that dark terror had swept across the land and turned Valinor's beautiful paradise into this dismal landscape of grey sleet and battering rain. Hard winds made the cold more biting and Eve knew that if she did not get shelter soon, she would take ill and with a baby inside her, that was not a risk she was willing to take. However, there was no question about remaining on board either. They needed to return to their husbands and friends to find out what on earth was going. The paradise that was home the elves was now under siege. Like everyone else on the island, she had witnessed the disappearance of Mt Taniquetil and shuddered at the implications of the loss.

"Look!" Ariel pointed out as they both stood on the wooden dock along which the Anemone was moored.

Eve followed her gaze and saw what had captured her gaze so completely. In the sky, it looked as if a flock of birds were making their way across the turbulent sky. Great wings flapped with rushes of wind displaced with each beat. She couldn't make it out well with the rain stinging her eyes but glancing at Ariel, Eve saw the elf maiden's face turn ashen with horror. Already her skin was pasty white from the cold, her lips turning a little blue but to see her like this, struck cold fear into Eve's heart.

"What do you see?" Eve demanded. "What the hell are they?"

"Urloki!" Ariel exclaimed. "They are Urloki!"

"Dragons?" Eve gasped. "Are you saying those things are dragons?" She looked up at the creatures soaring through the clouds, disappearing into the grey sky. "How is that possible?"

"I do not know," Ariel faced her again, "but that is what they are." Her elven eyesight allowed for no mistake. The beasts were indeed the ancient Urloki of which she had read in many books but had never seen until now. Legolas had told her that the last of the Urloki had been slain some years before the War of the Ring.

"Come on," Eve said grabbing Ariel's hand, "we have to reach Aaron and the others."

Ariel nodded as she saw the awesome sight of the dragons disappearing beyond the veil of Valinor into the freedom of Arda. She shuddered at the destruction they would cause and felt heartsick that nothing could be done to stop it. In all her life, she had never experienced terror or felt a moment of fear that all was not as it should be. The sensation was new and left her overwhelmed. However, if she thought the sight of Urloki was the end of all the terrible things that were transpiring before her eyes this day, she was terribly wrong. Once again the curse of elven hearing ensured that she heard it first.

"Wait!" She said moving only a few steps off the dock before freezing.

"What is it now?" Eve looked at her, not liking Ariel's tone. Too much was happening already; too much chaos was running rife through Valinor. In a matter of minutes, paradise had been reverted to a hell where dragons walked the earth and the gods could vanish without explanation. She did not want to imagine what else could be unleashed, what else could be coming without Aaron and the others at her side.

It was a sound of the ocean that Ariel heard first, the gentle lapping of water against the wood. It was a familiar sound, one she had heard all her life. One could not live on an island and not be familiar with the grey ships that came to life under Teleri hands. The ship appeared through the mist, her far seeing eyes saw their familiar shape sailing into the bay. However, as it approached, trailing others with it, Ariel saw that the masters of the helm and shuddered in horror. Orcs covered the deck, barking at each other in their foul tongues as they scurried about the ship like insects infesting rotting wood. They were sailing into the bay, profaning the grey ships by their presence.

"Orcs," Ariel replied staring at them as the flotilla past by. "Those are orcs."

"Orcs!" Eve could see the ships now as they drifted across the water beyond the dock, crossing the bay from the direction of Alqualonde. "That's it," she declared. "We're getting out of here while we still can."

"I'm afraid it's a little too late for that."

Oh Jesus.

Eve found herself staring at David Saeran and suddenly it made perfect sense. In fact it was made more than sense. It was the only answer. Who else on Valinor could do this? Who else would hate the elves and all this place represented to unleash this kind of nightmare? He stood before them both on the wooden dock, allowing no visible means of escape. Eve considered briefly the notion of getting past him but abandoned the idea briefly. If he could do all this, she glanced at the raging weather, the dragons disappearing into the grey sky and the armada of stolen ships sailing past her; she had no chance of besting him in any physical battle.

"You?" She looked at the sky as the rain pelted down on all three of them.

"Who else?" he said approaching her.

"Why?" Eve asked. "Why is this necessary?"

"Who is this?" Ariel demanded, shrinking away from the man as he neared. She could feel the darkness resonating from him. Waves of pure black hatred, assaulting her elven senses.

"Sauron," Eve shuddered. "This is Sauron."

Ariel shuddered, remembering the body that Olorin had whisked away upon its arrival here. She had not seen the face of the man whose shell contained the dark lord Sauron but now that he was before her, she could sense his malevolence, like a beacon of darkness.

"You may call me David," he said to Eve, his eyes fixed on her and once again Saeran could not believe the resemblance she possessed to another lady, in a different time. Even without the luminescence of elven grace, she was a sight to behold. "We shall be spending a good deal of time together so we should be a little more informal."

Eve turned pale at the thought. "You're fucking insane if you think that we're doing anything together."

"Now is that any way for the Peredhil's daughter to behave?" He looked at her like she was a misbehaving child. "I guess being human has made you unnecessarily coarse. In any case, it is time to go my dear." He extended his hand towards her.

"Go?" Eve stared at him as if he was mad and shrank back further up the dock. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Don't be tedious Eve," Saeran looked at her with a little sigh. "I really do not have time to waste and we must be going. You will come with me or I will kill that spawn in your belly right this moment and this elven bitch with it."

Eve's hands flew instinctively to her stomach as panicked thoughts about her child and Ariel filled her mind. "You can't!"

"I have done far worse than you can possibly imagine," his eyes grew dark with menace. "Do not make the mistake of thinking that I am at all sympathetic to a brat that sired by Isildur's heir. You are fortunate I do not turn liquefy it inside you where you stand but I do have a purpose that requires your cooperation and so for now it lives."

"Do not listen to him," Ariel found her voice, terrified but unable to simply stand by and let Eve go with this creature because of her as well as her child. "He has always be known as a deceiver! He will hurt you and your child when you no longer serve his needs."

"Do I have another kill another of you today?" He looked at her sharply and suddenly Ariel was flying of the dock.

"ARIEL!" Eve shouted as she saw Ariel slamming into the water away from the dock. Legolas' wife hit the water hard before disappearing under the waves. "Bastard!" She hissed and tried to go the woman's aid but Saeran had her in his grip before she could take one step toward helping Ariel. "You said you wouldn't hurt her!" She spat at him.

"She'll swim if she wants to live badly enough," Saeran replied throwing a glance to the choppy water where the she elf was already struggling to the surface. "As for you my dear, it is time to go."

"What do you want with me?" Eve asked in frustration. She was trapped in the worst way possible and she was terrified.

"I don't know," he answered her with some measure of honestly. Saeran did not know why he wanted to take this human with him. Perhaps it was a memory of the beautiful elf maid who had once sung a song that had moved the hearts of gods with its purity and grace. It was only time that Saeran had ever felt anything resembling a true emotion when he had heard her sing. "Perhaps I am bound still by the memory of the woman whose face you wear, so much that I am unable to wish you reduced to ash with the rest of world."

"I am not her," Eve muttered, unable to believe this was happening. "I am not Undomiel."

"Not you're not," he said pulling her along. "You are Luthien and that will please me greatly in the days to come."

*********

Ariel hit the water hard but thankfully did not lose consciousness. Had the water been still, she had no doubt that the world would have become black and she would have sunk to the bottom of the choppy sea and most likely to her death. Fortunately the turbulent sea lessened the impact of her landing and she plunged into the water, disorientated but not completely incapacitated. She pushed herself to the surface once her limbs stopped aching. Her thoughts a jumble of panic as she forced herself through the water.

Gasping as she broke the surface, Ariel was greeted with more rain on her face. The sky above was grey, filled with the departing Urloki and the combination of harsh wind and big waves made it difficult for her to see. Straining to stay afloat, she tried to cast her gaze towards the dock where Eve and Sauron had been. A deep sense of panic filled her when Ariel couldn't see either and despite the weight of her clothes threatening to pull her into the depth, forced herself to swim. Legolas and Aaron had to know what had happened, had to stop Sauron from whatever dark intent he had planned for Eve and her babe.

He had thrown her far and it took her considerable time to reach the shore. When Ariel reached the surf, she was not only exhausted but also freezing with cold. She had never felt cold like this and she dragged herself across the sand, her body was trembling. Her gown clung to her skin in taut sheets and Ariel hugged her arms close to her body, trying to warm herself but to little avail. Her teeth chattered as she made herself across the sandy shore, her thoughts only of the horses that awaited her, the horses that she and Eve had never reached in time.

Sauron.

Ariel thought to herself as she looked at the horizon seeing the grey ships that were now usurped by the dark lord, taken from the Teleri to ferry the sum of his evil army to new lands the Urloki were already flying to reach. Sauron was unleashed form the Halls of Mandos and somehow, he had done all this. She wondered if the others knew that Sauron was at the heart of all this and instinct told her that they did not. In either case, she still had to reach them.

Hurrying back to the dock, she moved as quickly as she could despite her waterlogged clothes and the freezing temperatures. The rain was merciless, beating down against the wood in angry sheets. Ariel paused as she saw the ships that had passed coming to a halt further along the shore. Her heart froze in her chest and felt inordinately grateful that she had so far slipped the notice of the beings waiting to make the crossing within their stolen hulls. On the shore in black clusters, spiders, wargs and beasts that could not cross the ocean were now given passage by the grey ships of the Teleri.

She could not linger any further, news of this had to be told. Arda had to be warned.

*********

Bryan stood on the beach.

Around him there was tears. Fred was holding him, she was crying. He was vaguely aware of her arms clinging to him but the rest of him was numb. He heard Miranda sweeping the little girl away, embracing her in that secret way known only to women, whispering things that tried to make it all better. He heard the others speaking but the words did not register, could not register. He felt Legolas' arm on his shoulder, speaking more words that held no meaning, which made no sense, because he was no longer able to listen.

Aaron was kneeling over her. The psychiatrist was crying. Aaron was holding her cold hand, her hand icy now because of the freezing temperature and because all the life had drained away into nothingness. Heat bled out of a body so fast when the heart stopped, Bryan thought to himself. It was one of those small fragments of information that rose to the top at inopportune moments for which there was no real use. He looked at her, eyes staring at him and seeing nothing, her red hair plastered against creamy skin, skin growing white like ash.

She was gone.

Just like that. One snap and it was all over. All that she was, all that she could ever be. Simply gone.

He looked at her, thinking that this morning she had told him to stop leaving teaspoons on the countertop after making coffee for himself and was struck with the absurd thought that he done that very thing before he had left the house. He had forgotten again but he wouldn't hear her rebuke and for some reason that affected him more than the fact that her body was lying in front of him. For the year he had with her, he had never dared to believe he could be that happy. She had been everything he had ever wanted, everything he thought he would ever need and now she was gone.

Just like that.

They had come here first because of the kids and because this was closer. Considering what was happening, it was thought a prudent decision to remain together. There were too many uncertainties in Valinor on this day and safety in numbers may seem outdated but it was still an effective strategy for battle. They had ridden here hard, relieved when they saw that for most part the beach and forest seemed untouched by the pestilence that was tearing the island apart. He had feared the ruin of this paradise, worried that the safety of this place may be gone forever if opened to the outside world and all its cruelties.

He had thought it would ruin the home in which they had wanted to raise Fred.

Bryan was still thinking that when they found Miranda and heard Fred weeping and in that singular moment, he knew that no matter what happened, even if they saved Valinor and restored it, he had still lost paradise because she was gone. He was standing in the same place where he had first caught sight of her still form on the shore. The only fixed point in the maelstrom of grief and anger that followed as the others discovered her body, heard Miranda's explanation at how Sauron or rather David Saeran had appeared fully restored and took away the only thing that ever truly belonged to Bryan Miller, heart and soul.

Tory.

Tell the son of Gondor we are now even.

"Bryan," he heard Legolas' voice cutting through the ringing in his ears. The one that kept the voices out. "Bryan, I am truly sorry."

"Son of a bitch!" Aaron swore kneeling next to Tory's prone form. His voice breaking. "The son of a bitch!" He repeated. "There was no reason for this," he sputtered, caught up with anger and sorrow. "There was no reason for him to do this! She didn't do anything to him!"

"This wasn't about her," Bryan spoke for the first time, his voice almost a whisper. "This was about revenge."

Tell the Son of Gondor, we are now even.

"Bryan," Legolas said trying to offer comfort but none of them present knew what to say that could lessen the hurt. Words had meant little to him when Melia had passed. Even after all this time, Legolas could not forget the soul crushing sensation of seeing her life slip away from him forever. At this moment, he could understand completely what Bryan was feeling. "I grieve with you. We will make him pay for this. This time he will not be resurrected."

"What does it matter?" Bryan asked in a listless voice still staring at those vacant eyes. "She's gone. Killing him won't bring her back."

Legolas did not know how to answer that because he was right. Destroying Sauron would not change anything. Tory would still be gone and Bryan would still be standing before them all as if the best part of him had been gutted from his flesh with knife. All the emotions he could see on the man's face, he knew, he had felt once before. The unfairness of it, the injustice that caused something precious to be taken away before its time.

There was a wall inside Bryan Miller. A wall he had erected in the moments following the discovery of her cold lifeless body being pelted by rain and wind, which Miranda had been crouched next to weeping while she held a sobbing Fred. Behind it was a torrent of grief the likes of which he had never known in his existence, a maelstrom of rage that was as violent as the storm tearing across Valinor at this moment. He had built it because it was the only way he knew how to cope with her being gone and even as he stood here, seemingly composed, he could feel the cracks against the stone, the fissures that were being created. His rage eclipsed the one that Aaron was currently displaying, it was a block hole inside of him, dangerous and all consuming. He just had to stay away from it now. He had to stay away from it or else he would start screaming and never stop.

He turned away from her, unable to look anymore. Instead, he went to Miranda who was holding Fred in her arm, cradling the child like she was a two-year old, accepting her sobs the way only a mother of two could know how to do. Miranda met his gaze and there was no need to ask, she immediately handed Bryan his child. Bryan took Fred in his arms, holding her in a clenching embrace as she continued to weep, the sound of her tears doing more damage to the wall inside him than all the agony in the world.

"Bryan!" Fred sobbed loudly. "I knew he was going to do it!" She blubbered. "I knew it! I saw it!"

Bryan closed his eyes, almost breaking then. Closing his eyes, he blocked out everything but the need to be strong for this child because she was the only thing that still held any meaning for him. A few tears escaped him them, silent ones that no one could see for the rain. "Its alright Fred," he said softly in a voice he had become practiced at using since this little waif entered his life so unexpectedly and changed everything in her wake. "You couldn't have done anything to stop this, do you understand me? Nothing. It isn't your fault."

Oh God Tory, how am I going to do this without you?

He asked himself and sucked in his grief forcing himself to reinforce that wall once more. "We have to get out of here," he said in a strong voice to the others. "We have to find out what's going on. Aaron if he's been here," Bryan couldn't bring himself to say Tory's name out loud or say that the bastard killed her, "he may have gone after Eve as well. We need to find them. Now."

Aaron who was wiping his own tears nodded. His grief had subsided for the moment because if Bryan could hold it together in the face of an unimaginable loss, he had to as well. He had to for Eve and the baby. Oh Christ the baby, if Saeran knew about the baby, he could avenge himself almost on Aaron almost as cruelly as he had done to Bryan. He raised himself to his feet, hardly noticing it when Eric had draped a blanket over Tory's dead form.

"We have to find her," Aaron said meeting Legolas' gaze. "She's pregnant. If he finds hers and finds out she's pregnant..."

"With child?" Elrohir exclaimed. "My sister is with child?"

"Yes," Aaron nodded still somewhat dazed. "We were keeping it a secret. We wanted it to be a surprise for Elrond and Bri."

There was no time for anyone to savor this news because the mood was too heavy with tragedy for that. The talk of life in the face of such unimaginable loss seemed almost profane. They absorbed Aaron's news for what it was and then moved on. There was no other choice.

"Alright then," Bryan nodded, switching his train of thought to the soldier who knew how to control his emotions for the job to be done. "Miranda, I want you to take the kids to Tirion. If there's an answer to what the bloody hell is going on here, it's there. You need to find Frank and wait at Elrond's. Chances are if this shit has hit the fan, that's where he'll be anyway."

"Elladan would take him there," Elrohir nodded. "Although I do not know how safe it will be."

"It's the best chance we have to find an answer," Eric agreed. "We're no safer out here then we are in the city." The newsman did not look at Tory at his feet as he said that. "At least in Tirion we'll have some idea to fight this thing."

"Fight it?" Aaron stared at him. "How?" he lashed out. "Where the hell did he get the power to do this! I thought he was trapped down there in Mandos! I thought the Valar had him under control. How the hell does he managed to move Valinor into the real world like this?"

Legolas and Elrohir exchanged glances. "I do not know," Legolas answered. "He should not be able to have escaped Namo let alone Mandos. That he has done both gives me great fear for not merely our own sakes but the Valar as well. He could not have done this beneath their notice."

"Unless he's found someway to get around them," Miranda replied. "Or incapacitate them."

"That is impossible!" Elrohir burst out. "Sauron is Maiar not Ainur. For him to best Manwe and the rest of the Valar is simply impossible. He may be Valar himself but he has always been a lesser. For him to have unleashed all this is impossible!"

"Well I'm sorry to bloody say that he has," Eric declared angrily because he liked Tory, she was kind and sweet and deserved better than to die like this. "Look around you. This isn't Valinor, this is the Arctic fucking circle and this island is in it. If Sauron didn't do this? Who did?"

"Let's us not fight," Legolas said trying to keep tempers down. "We can think of the how at a later when there is time for it. Now we must do as Bryan says, we must get the children to safety and find both Eve and Ariel."

The former prince of Mirkwood was trying not to let his own fears overcome him. He had lost her once, had believed keeping her here would protect her but now Legolas was realising that such protection was impossible, that there would always be some danger, somewhere. It made him all the more determined to reach her. He had lost Melia once, he could not bear to lose her again.

"Christ yeah," Aaron nodded, feeling inordinately selfish because Eve was not alone. She was with Ariel and Sauron had no reason to treat her any better than he had treated Tory. Oh Jesus Tory, he closed his eyes and tried not to cry again. He looked at Bryan and saw the former M16 agent was still holding Fred in his arms, letting the little girl sob but the grief in his eyes, the grief he would not unleash himself. It was so sharp that it almost pierce the skin of anyone who knew how to read his eyes. Aaron saw Miranda staring at Bryan, her lovely face strained and anguished not just for the loss but also for Bryan, like she knew exactly what he was feeling. Aaron saw her and thought at that moment she was the moment beautiful woman he had ever seen save Eve. She was like a statue in marble with living eyes, full of emotion.

"The kids are in the wagon ready to go," Jason who had been given the task of getting the children settled, announced as he returned to them. "Sam's okay but Pip's taking it hard." For some odd reason Jason felt like the kids were his responsibility. He knew he had to do with the fact that in that other life the elves seemed to remember so clearly, he was one of four hobbits who had left their Shire home to change the face of Middle Earth. Since coming to understand who he had been, Jason had developed this sense of protectiveness towards Fred, Sam and Pip. Maybe that's why he had been brought back as an adult in comparison to the others who were children, because one of them had to be and it was just his luck of the draw.

"Thank you," Miranda gave Jason a look of gratitude and came to Bryan, "let me take her."

"No," Fred protested as Bryan removed her arms from around his neck. "I don't want to leave you Bryan, please don't make me go!"

Christ! Bryan had to shut his eyes to keep her face out of his mind. "Its just for a little while Fred, I'm coming right back. I have to go and see if Aunt Eve and Ariel are safe! I won't be long I promise!"

"Come on darling," Miranda took her from him, aware that he was nearing breaking point.

Of all the people present, Miranda was the one who had the greatest understanding of how Bryan was feeling at this moment, what mechanisms he was using to maintain his composure. She knew that Fred alone had the power to break that fragile facade and thus took the little girl away before he crumbled entirely and was no good to anyone.

"Bryan will be along soon enough. Sam and Pip are waiting," she said giving him a look of sympathy over Fred's shoulder. There were no words needing to be exchanged between the two. They had been warriors in the field who had seen each other through the best and worst of things. Fred had resigned herself to that fact that she would be parted from him and lay her head against Miranda’s shoulder, sobbing silent tears that broke the woman’s heart as surely as it must be going to Bryan.

"Go with her," Bryan said to Jason in a strained voice. "You too Eric."

"Alright," Eric nodded, having no objection to playing guardian to Miranda and the kids especially when it appeared the road to Tirion could be perilous. "We’re on our way. You’ll meet us there?" He looked at Bryan with concern.

"Yes," he nodded. "As soon as we find Eve and Ariel, we’ll meet you in the city." Bryan could not even look at Miranda’s direction because Fred’s tears were cutting through him like a knife.

"What about Tory?" Aaron asked looking at the body.

Everyone froze and looked to Bryan immediately.

He blinked slowly and marveled that the pain could even be worse than what he already felt. "We’ll come back for her," he said after a long moment, his voice little more than a whisper. Rain plastered hair against his face, water running down the bridge of his nose, hiding the stray tears that came from his eyes, the one that came involuntarily. "Everyone get to the horses," he said in a voice none dare defy, elf or human. "I want a moment."

Once again, no one argued and they withdrew leaving Bryan alone with the body concealed beneath the soaked blanket. He did not know how long he stood there, minutes perhaps. The time did not seem to register. He noticed everything, the manner in which the blanket clung to her form, the glistening water on the saturated fabric, the hem of it swaying in the wind and the sand soaked ground where she had fallen. Numb, he walked forward finally and lowered himself beside her. Slowly, he removed the shroud from her face and saw that Eric had thankfully closed her eyes. Her skin pale, still looked very much like the English rose she was and for an instant, he could have been forgiven for thinking that she was asleep. He had watched her some mornings, watched her light breathing, with all that glorious red hair framing her face.

The tears came then, treacherous things running down his cheeks. He allowed himself one single deep sob before suppressing it again. His hand reached her cheek. It was cold, lifeless. He had seen men on the battlefield, dying, bleeding, worse than this. Some had even died at his own hand but no death had ever speared him like this. He lowered his lips to her, trembling as they brushed against her forehead, still cold, still lifeless, blinking once as tears and rain spattered against the skin.

"Its my turn luv," he said blinking away the tears. "Next time, I’ll find you."

***********

A strange sort of calm had befallen Tirion.

Within the home of Elrond Peredhil, elves waited and listened, unsettled by the sudden silence. There marriage of cold and fire and ended. The flames had died under the pounding sheets of rain, earlier given dominance by the great winds. A glimmer of ice had begun to form over everything, windows, roofs and towers. The city of pearl and jewel had become as desolate as any forgotten by time, darkened by evil. The only burst of life came from the balrogs that roamed the streets, like dogs sniffing out prey. No longer were any elves on the street. Those who had not fled were dead. The Urloki had gone, departed a short time ago like a flock of carrion eaters that had found better spoils elsewhere.

Frank raced across the polished marble floor, covered now in debris and soot, surrounded by rumbling voice of frightened refugees who had been driven here in a mad bid to escape. Elsewhere the warriors were assembling, marshalling their forces and preparing to attack. Glorifindel was leading them and Elrond, who had not seen battle since the Second Age was even now donning armor. Elladan had left Frank’s side to be with his father, preparing to ride into battle once more, perhaps finally against the balrogs that lay Tirion to siege. As he hurried up the spiral staircase, he passed by more shocked faces, faces that had not been able to believe that their paradise could become reduced to this nightmare. Most had never known a day of difficulty in their lives and now they were confronted by an evil they could not possibly imagine.

"Where are they Bri?" Frank asked as he reached the upper floors of the elven lord’s home and saw his lady.

The mother of Arwen Evenstar looked upon him with a face filled with anxiety. He couldn’t blame her. Her husband and her son were going to fight creatures beyond these walls Frank couldn’t even begin to imagine. "They are preparing to ride to face Morgoth’s demons." She said fearfully.

"I have to go too," Frank said meeting her eyes and saw his statement was met with a worried expression across her lovely face. "I have to go find Miranda and the kids. They’re still out there."

"No you must not," she said anxiously. "The balrogs are outside, they will kill if you attempt to leave the city!"

"My wife and boys are out there," Frank looked at her earnestly, "I can’t hide in here safe when I don’t know if they are."

She protested but Frank was not listening, he was hurrying up the stairs to find Elrond and Elladan, definitely intending to take his leave. Miranda had wanted to take the kids to the beach with Tory, so they may still be there, safe from all this madness. He had no more reached the top of the stairs when he halted, his breath catching as he saw Elrond sweeping down the steps, clad in the shiny polish of elven armor, sword and shield in hand. Next to him, Elladan was similarly armed while flanking his father on one side as Glorifindel took position on the other.

"Elladan," he said to the younger Peredhil, "I need to go get Miranda and the kids."

"They are safer than you are at this moment," Glorifindel returned promptly, fastening the scabbard to his belt as he descended the steps. "Tirion is under siege, the Balrogs are killing anyone on they can lay their hands on. They have not started breaking down the walls yet but it will not be long."

"I don’t care," Frank exclaimed. "I’m going."

"Frank," Elladan tried to reason with him. "It is exceedingly dangerous outside. You saw it. There were not merely balrogs that roam the streets killing but Urloki and wargs. The vault of darkness has been unleashed upon us and who knows what countless evils have been freed?"

"Your wife and children are coming here," a feminine voice spoke that captured all their attention.

Elrond’s gaze was fixed behind him and as Frank turned around felt his breath catch in his throat. It was always the way when one came into the view of Galadriel. He doubted that any man could look at her without feeling some measure of schoolboy adoration. In Galadriel the luminescence of the elves seemed personified, with creamlike skin and hair so golden that it seemed like she brushed it with drops of the sun. She looked at Frank with eyes like pools into forever, filled with wisdom that he’d never truly grasp even if he read all the books in the world.

"Your wife and child are coming here," Galadriel repeated herself and somehow, if she said it, Frank knew it was the truth. It was an amazing faith for a man of science to have but it was the truth. Since coming to Valinor, Frank had learned that not all knowledge was found in facts or empirical evidence, some was simply in the heart.

"Then I need to help them find their way here," Frank looked at Elladan for help. "If they’re coming here, the balrog.."

"Father," Elladan looked hastily at Elrond.

"Go," Elrond nodded in understanding. A father who had once lost a child himself, Elrond knew perfectly well what was going through Frank’s heart, what fears he was enduring.

"Thank you," Frank said gratefully.

"What safety there will be here is fleeting, Frank," Galadriel spoke again. "We are none of us safe in this realm. The End of Days has come."

Elrond released a breath and Glorifindel’s jaw seemed to tense. The exclamation brought the rumbling within the room to a sudden fault and suddenly everyone was looking at Galadriel with the undivided attention.

"What is the End of Days?" Frank asked looking at the others around seeing he was the only one who did not immediately know its significance.

"The time when all things must come to an end," she said enigmatically as only Galadriel could. "For all things, there is a beginning and an end," she paused and moved from Frank, to Elrond, Elladan and Glorfindel in quick succession. "Even for us."

Frank did not understand fully but the apocalyptic quality of it was not lost upon him. Something was happening. Something steeped in prophecy and legend. "I don't understand. What the end is nigh or something?"

"For all things to renew, there must first come an end," she explained as if it was the easiest thing in the world to understand.

"What does that mean?" Frank asked shaking his head in confusion.

She smiled at him and it was as if he was staring at the breaking of dawn, when the sunlight peered across the dark sky for the first time. However just as suddenly as this new day broke, her expression hardened and her voice altered.

"Sauron has been unleashed upon the world again."

"What?" Elladan exclaimed. "How is that possible? We left in Mandos under the charge of Namo."

"He is more than he ever was," she said sounding very much like the Noldor princess that had ruled in Middle earth for so long as the undisputed leader of the elven people. "I do not fully understand how but he is far stronger than we have ever feared imagining. He has opened the Forbidden Vaults, released upon the world of men all the evil of our ages. His power is almost absolute."

"If he is so powerful, why not simply destroy us now?" Glorfindel demanded one the shock had set in and the acceptance of what could be the only logical answer was before them.

"He will destroy us," Galadriel answered, "but he has an entire world to claim and an army to lead to this end. We are but one island and he has time."

"He'll get to us when we're important enough," Frank surmised.

"He left the Balrogs took keep us restrained," Elrond nodded in understanding.

"He has already left these shores," she raised her eyes to Frank and added quietly, "he has taken your daughter with him."

Elrond's eyes widened. "Eve! He took Eve?"

"Jesus Christ," Frank's thought immediately fell upon Aaron who since their meeting six months ago had become fast friends. The two men were very much alike; scholars who suddenly found themselves embroiled in a fantastic world. Though Aaron, Frank had gotten to know Eve and feared for her in Saeran's clutches.

"We will find her," Elladan replied, his jaw setting in anger as he regarded his father. Elrond's expression was a mixture of anger, worry and anguish. "We will not Sauron have her."

"It is not her he wants," Galadriel said quietly, "he thinks she is Luthien. He thinks she is Luthien incarnate?"

"Luthien?" Frank stammered, hating to be the one who did have all the answers for one. "I thought Eve was supposed to have been Undomiel..."

"It was said," Glorifindel explained, "that the Evenstar resembled Luthien greatly. When Luthien sought to free Beren, she was said to have gone to the fortress at which Sauron commanded and sang a song so sweet that even the dark creatures within were moved by her voice."

"Did he move Sauron?" Frank asked, "is that why he took her?"

The thought horrified Elrond beyond belief. Frank could see the utter terror at the thought that Sauron might have designs upon his daughter. It was the same shadow that settled upon him when he had seen Sam and Pip taken by the Nazgul all those months ago. Every time he saw his boys, he was filled with a renewed sense of gratitude that they were safe and sound. Thus he understood with complete empathy the fear that even one as aged and wise as Elrond Peredhil must feel at the thought of Eve in the hands of the dark lord.

"If he touches her..." Elrond hissed with a look in his eyes that sent shivers down the spine of everyone present, no matter who they were.

"He will not harm her," Galadriel said quickly, perhaps sensing that her son in law was about to become overwhelmed by his fears for his precious, mortal daughter. "Not while she carries the child."

"The child!" Elrond exploded. "What child?"

"She is with child and while she carries the babe," Galadriel explained, "he will not harm her. Do you not see a more perfect vengeance for him Elrond against the heir of Isildur? To make a slave of his enemy's child?"

"Christ," Frank said appalled. "Look, what are we going to do? I need to find my children and my wife but we also need to go help Eve! You said it yourself, this balrogs or whatever they are, are merely a distraction. They're little more than flypaper to keep us busy while he goes and turns the world into seventh level of hell!"

"The balrogs could reduce Valinor to ash," Glorifindel snapped. "They must be dealt with immediately."

"If Sauron is allowed to do what he wants to do to the rest of the world, it won't matter if Valinor is saved or not," Frank declared. "He'll come back here and finish what the balrogs didn't."

"He is right," Galadriel said somberly. "We must learn what he intends, somehow we must stop him."

"How?" Elladan asked aghast, remembering that it had required the intervention of the Valar to put down Morgoth. If Sauron was now equal to the dark one's power, how could they hope to stop him? "If he can do all this and we are alone without the grace of the Valar to help us, how can we prevail? How can we fight this evil?"

**********

She stopped crying.

The wagon moved towards Tirion with Jason driving it while Eric followed closely behind on his horse watching cautiously for any signs of danger. Slung over the newsman's shoulder was an AK47, courtesy of Bryan who would not allow him to make the journey without being suitably armed. Although Eric doubted the effectiveness of such a weapon against what was flying around Valinor, he did not want to argue with Bryan. So far Frank's brother had managed to maintain his poise but this would not last indefinitely. Bryan was avoiding his pain because the moment required it, a soldier's discipline but like Miranda could see how close he was to breaking.

Miranda on the other hand, was sitting in the back of the wagon, grateful that Bryan had ordered Tory's body left behind. She honestly did not relish having the woman's corpse riding the same wagon as the children. Miranda did not think Fred's fragile psyche could endure seeing her foster mother lying dead in front of her for the entire journey to Tirion. Fred's arms were still around her neck as she sat against the tray wall of the wagon. Miranda held the little girl in her arms determined that she would gut anything else that tried to hurt this child who had lost so much already. Miranda suspected Fred had also lost Bryan but hoped that the man would prove her wrong.

Sam sat next to his mother, leaning his head against her shoulder as he watched her offering comfort to Fred, thinking that his mum should be Fred's mum too because his mum would never let anything bad happen to Fred. Pip was lying next to mum in the same way and Sam thought that this was how it was going to be. With a flash of insight he was not able to explain, he had a sense that this was how it would be now. Because of this tragedy, Fred had found her way into his family and here she would stay.

Fred stopped crying and sat up from Miranda's embrace.

Sam looked into her eyes and tensed, sitting up instinctively. Something had changed.

"We have to go back." Fred said.

Miranda stared at the little girl. "What?"

Fred turned to face Miranda. Her dark hair was still plastered to her damp skin and clothes as she moved. Powerful blue eyes stared at Miranda, no longer filled with tears and grief. "We have to go back. We have to find the others."

"No, we have to go to Tirion," Miranda said, uneasy because Fred's voice was no longer a child's voice. There was an edge to it that was so far removed from the little sobbing waif in her arms a short time ago that Miranda feared that something might have snapped inside Fred and pushed her over the edge.

"There is nothing for us in Tirion," Fred repeated herself. "Sauron does not lie there. He goes to Arda to rule and he will do so by burning everything of men to the ground, to reduce the entire world to a pile of cinder. If we are to stop him, we must go there now, while there is time to prevent it."'

"Fred," Miranda started to say. She knew that there was something about this little girl that was different. Tory had said she had some kind of connection to David Saeran, that the ring they both once wore as Frodo Baggins and Sauron bound them together. It had followed them both into this life, linking them inexorably to each other. Like Ying and Yang, day and night, good and evil. Miranda forced away the surge of grief that came with remembering Tory and focussed on what the woman had actually said and not the fact that she had been cruelly taken away from them. Fred saw things. She had a sense about Sauron, a second sight that she should not be able to possess.

"We have to go Miranda," Fred looked at her with those soulful eyes. "We have to go soon. For all things there is a time to begin and end. The End of Days is here."

"Mum," Sam tugged at her sleeve, "she's right. Fred knows these things."

Miranda was wrought with indecision, "Fred, even if I believed what you're saying, there is no way to stop him. He is powerful and strong."

Fred simply stared at her. "For all things, there is a time to begin and a time to end. The forms must be obeyed, the end must happen for the new to begin."

"I don't understand," Miranda shook her head, wondering where this was coming from. It was not a child that was speaking to her. It was something else.

Or someone else.

TO BE CONTINUED