As the red dawn rose in the east, the Gondor and Rohan armies as well as the Uruk-hai army reached the shores of the Anduin River.  All were silent as the sky lit up in the red blaze of the rising sun.  King Elessar had allowed Éowyn to fight in the battle as well; standing beside the King of Gondor as she searched the crowd for her dear brother.  She found him standing next to Lienan and the Prince Imrahil, each staring back with their cold icy eyes.

“Ready the troops,” King Elessar said to Legolas.

“This will be a bloody battle indeed,” the Lady Éowyn said as she looked on at the approaching Uruk-hai army.

“Perhaps, but a necessary one,” King Elessar pointed out, never taking his eyes off of the horizon.

Across the field in the Uruk-hai legions, the wizard was starting to become all too anxious for the battle to start.  Looking over to his captain as she stood there in silence, taking on the view before her.

“What are you waiting for?” Saruman said impatiently, “Attack!”

“There is no honour in attacking when they are not ready,” his captain in command said calmly.

“Forget honour,” the wizards snapped, “Do as I say and attack.”

The creature inside of the Elf maiden didn’t like the way the wizard was shouting and ordering it around.  With a look of pure malice, the creature eyed Saruman as if to warn him not to push his luck nor the creature’s patience as it ignored the wizard‘s orders.

“Very well, I’ll do it,” the wizards finally said in annoyance.  Turning to his legions of Uruk-hai, he called out in a loud and resounding voice, “Uruk-hai, ATTACK!!!”

There was a pause as the Uruk-hai hesitated in taking action, deciding on whether to wait for their captain to order the attack or to follow the orders of their master and creator.  Finally, with a slight nod from Lienan, which only the Orc hybrids could see, they rushed forward in the first attack.  The Rohan and Gondor armies reacted with a charge of their own.

“Kill everyone in sight, but leave the King to me,” Lienan said calmly to King Éomer and Prince Imrahil as a smirk formed on her lip, “He’s mine.”

Nodding in confirmation, the two charged into battle alongside the soldiers that they were in control of.  All the while, Lienan watched from where she stood as the battle began, smirking with joy at the sight before her.  With one final glance over the battlefield, she rushed in to join in on the slaughter.  

Watching from the other side of the battlefield with his keen Elven eyes, was her brother, Legolas, Prince of Northern Mirkwood.  He stood alongside King Elessar as they surveyed the damage that was being reaped on their forces.  All was ready for their plan.

“Remember, drive her towards the Great River,” Legolas reminded the Gondor ruler, “We’ll be waiting for you there.”

With a nod in agreement, he charged onto the field to join his men.  The battle waged on for what seemed like hours, each side never giving up or giving in to the other.  Soon the numbers on both sides were greatly diminished, but on they fought.  Slowly, Lienan and the creature inside of her fought their way towards the Gondor ruler.  She found him alone and weaponless as she pointed the edge of her sword at his exposed neck.  

“What are you waiting for?” he asked, his courage never wavering.

For a moment, she just stood there staring down at the fallen King, scrutinizing every inch of his defeated form.  But instead of ending it there like she should have done, Lienan grabbed the King’s sword that was laying at her feet and presented its hilt to him.

“I see you still possess your honour,” the King of Gondor commented as he took hold of his sword.

“I may be a creature of evil, but there are some etiquettes that all must hold true,” Lienan explained, “Besides, what is a warrior without honor?”

“Nothing; I taught you that when you first came to me in Lórien,” the King replied as he was able to get up from the ground, “Do you remember that, Lienan?”

“Lienan is gone and she is never coming back,” she said firmly, her eyes glaring at him at the thought, “There is only me now.”

Without warning, she lunged forward, her sword shining in the sun and her mail clinking against her armour.  It was an amazing battle between the two of them as King Elessar dodged every blow she made against him.  They had always been evenly matched when it came to sword battles.  The creature that was dwelling inside of Lienan was using everything she had learned from King Elessar to its advantage.  All the while, Legolas and Maelute were patiently waiting at the banks of the Anduin for the Gondor King.

“What’s taking him so long?” Maelute asked no one in particular.

“Lienan had always been an equal to the King’s strength and skill,” Legolas explained, a revelation dawning on him, “With the creature inside of her he must be struggling to driver her here.”

“Do you think he needs help?” the Haven Elf said in alarm.

“Aragorn can handle a lot,” Frodo announced as he popped out of the bushes behind them.

“Frodo?” Maelute called in confusion, “What are you doing here?”

“If she must be killed then I will help do it,” the little Hobbit stated grimly as he fought back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes, “I would rather she die than have her trapped in her own body with that foul creature.”

Seeing how much pain he was in and the courage it took for him to say that, both Legolas and Maelute placed a comforting hand on his small shoulders, understanding completely how hard it would be to complete the plan.

~*~

Slowly but surely, King Elessar drove Lienan back towards the shores of the Anduin, unbeknownst to the her.  But though he was a strong warrior, King Elessar was beginning to tire from the long battle.  He was old hadn’t the strength nor the endurance he used to possess in his youth.

“Getting tired old man?” Lienan gloated, “I thought you would last much longer than this.”

“You will be destroyed whether it be by my hands or another,” the King of Gondor said as he backed towards the river bank.

“Ah, the Anduin,” Lienan mused as she took a look around, “The perfect place for your last breath.”

“Think again!” Legolas shouted as he and the others jumped out of the bushes to tackle the unsuspecting Elf maid.

Shocked at the sudden turn of events, Lienan stumbled no the rocky shores of the river, finding herself in knee-deep water.  Quickly, they pushed her under water and the four of them struggled to keep her there as she thrashed about.  Finally, Legolas took out his short knife and drove it through her shoulder, pinning her to the river bottom.  Thinking that their work was done when she stopped resisting, they stood up from where they were in the river.

Suddenly, Lienan popped up out of the water, shooting waves of water in all directions, temporarily obscuring the view of the others.  When the water cleared, there Lienan stood, the knife still stuck in her shoulder.  

“Don’t think you can be rid of me that easily,” Lienan stated as she ripped the knife out of her shoulder

“Don’t worry,” Legolas said sternly, “We were prepared for this.”

Lienan eyed them questioningly as both he and Maelute began to chant.  Her eyes widened in shock as she realized what they were doing.  She turned to the north up river in time to see a wave of water rushing down towards her, the image of a thousand horses embedded in its form.  

“NO!” she screamed.

The great body of water charged towards her, all aimed straight for her mouth as she screamed in defiance.  She fell back into the water from the force of the water flowing inside her.  All the while, Lienan flailed about trying to rid herself of the offensive thing.  Everyone backed away with fright as the icy river began to steam as the fiery creature’s flame was extinguished.  The water was once again calm and unmoving as Lienan’s lifeless body floated to the surface.

“It’s done then,” Legolas said with utter sadness as he lifted his sister’s body out of the water.

“I’m sorry,” Maelute said sympathetically, “I wish there was another way.”

They watched silently as one by one Saruman’s army fell and disappeared becoming nothing more than black clouds of dust blowing in the wind.  Frightened for his life, the wizard fled before he could be captured by the soldiers, freeing King Éomer and Prince Imrahil from his control.

Blood from Lienan’s wound covered the riverbank as the others joined their companions to look upon their fallen friend.  The tears had just began to flow down their saddened cheeks when suddenly, the drowned body of Lienan came back to life with a breath.  Her eyes opened, showing that they were the usual icy blue, as she spit out water from her mouth and gasped for air.

“Lienan?!?” her brother called in shock.

Too busy filling her lungs with much needed air, Lienan couldn’t manage to respond to him with anything but gasps for air.  Not waiting for an answer, the Mirkwood Prince pulled his dear sister into a warm embrace.  Still in pain from the knife wound in her shoulder, Lienan winced at the contact but did nothing to alert the others of her growing discomfort.

“How is this possible?” Maelute asked in disbelief.

“Perhaps when the creature was killed, Lienan was able to take over and life again,” the Hobbit suggested, unable to contain the joy in his eyes.

“This is indeed a miracle,” King Elessar said, overjoyed at the outcome of their plan.

Now that Lienan had control of her own body, with no influence from other forces, the bruises and wounds that she received from her torment in Orthanc began to appear again and she started to cough up blood.  Concerned for their friend, they brought Lienan back to the palace where she was put in the House of Healing.  But though they were overjoyed to discover that Lienan was safe and alive for the moment, their celebration didn’t last for long.  There was still the matter of the escaped Saruman to deal with.

“What are we to do now?” Faramir asked with concern.

“Saruman still lives and is a danger to us all,” Gandalf pointed out, “We must stop him before he devises another plan.”

“First we must rest,” the King of Gondor said, “My men are spent from the long battle.”

“As are mine,” Lady Éowyn added.

“How are Éomer and Imrahil?” the King asked with concern for his friends.

Éowyn paused for a short moment, recalling the damage that was done to her friends by the wizard Saruman as she tried to find comforting words for her reply.

“They are weary from their entrapment, but doing fine,” the Lady replied with a tiny smile, “It was good fortune that Saruman lost his hold on them.”

“It was as I said, Saruman drew his power from Lienan,” Maelute explained, “Once she was freed, he lost his control.”

“Do you know how she’s doing?” Legolas asked.

“Arwen says that it will be a while before she is fully recovered no matter how quickly she usually heals,” the Elf from the Haven replied, “She was greatly wounded in Orthanc.”

“What do you suppose happened to her in the tower?” Faramir inquired.

“Simple, he broke her,” Haldir replied bitterly at the thought, “Lienan would not have willingly allowed Saruman to bring forth such a creature.”

“Yes,” Gandalf agreed, “She has endured much torture, for who she is.”

Unable to listen to this any longer, Legolas abruptly left the room, Maelute rushing out after him.  

“I hope he will be alright,” Éowyn commented about Legolas’s departure, “I know it’s hard for him to see his sister like this.”

“To think that she received such torment to cause those serious wounds at the hands of that foul wizard and was able to survive them,” Haldir mused.

“Yes, she’s a strong one,” Faramir agreed, “A pity those around here aren’t as strong to help her.”

“She has the love of those around her to get through the pain,” the Lorien Guard stated.

“Speaking of which, where is little Frodo?” the Captain of the Gondor guard asked.

“He’s with her right now,” the Lady Arwen replied with a smile as she walked through the doors, “He could not bare to leave her side and I had not the heart to separate them.”

~*~

In the House of Healing, Frodo sat by Lienan’s bed devotedly.  She had collapsed when they reached the city from the loss of blood and had not waken since.  Frodo was deathly worry about his beloved.

“I’ll be here for you, I always will,” Frodo whispered to her sleeping form as he held her hand, “Please, wake up.”

A hand touched his shoulder in comfort, startling the poor Hobbit who was trapped in his own thoughts to hear the footsteps behind him.  Frodo turned around in alarm only to find his friends Merry and Pippin standing over him.

“How is she?” Merry asked with concern.

“No change since she passed out,” Frodo replied as he turned his attention back to the sleeping Elf.

“I’m sorry Frodo,” Merry said sympathetically.

“It’s alright,” the Hobbit said, never taking his eyes off of her, “You didn’t do this to her; Saruman did.”

“Wait til I get my hands on that wizard,” Pippin fumed, “I’ll teach him a thing or two about Hobbits.”

“Thanks, Pip,” Frodo said, a small smile gracing his face, “But Saruman is more dangerous now than he’s ever been.”

“What do you mean?” Merry inquired.

“He’s an enemy with nothing left to lose,” the Hobbit explained solemnly, “And that makes him more dangerous than when we fought Sauron.”

As Frodo continued to lovingly stroke Lienan’s lifeless hand, both Merry and Pippin glanced at each other in horror as his truth sank into their minds.  With one final glance to their friend, the two of them left him to grieve and hope in peace.  

Across the court yard inside of the palace, King Elessar was also beginning to understand how dangerous the evil wizard had become now.  Quietly he sat on his throne pondering the situation at hand.  Worried about him, his loyal wife Arwen entered into the sacred room with a mission of her own.

“My Lord, please come to bed,” she said softly, “You are weary and are in need of rest.”

“I cannot sleep while my kingdom is in danger,” the King of Gondor protested, “And it will remain so as long as Saruman still lives.”

“You will be no good to anyone if you can’t stay awake,” the Queen protested also, “Please rest; tomorrow will bring a new day and perhaps an answer.”

"I suppose rest would do us all some good,” the King said as he rubbed his temples in frustration.

Slowly and tiredly, he stepped off of his throne to follow his wife to their chambers for a good night’s sleep.