12. He Stands Not Alone
"Now is the last chance," Mithrandir shouts. "Run for it!"
Run, or be forever entombed in darkness: we cannot get out...Aragorn has Frodo; Merry and Pippin sprint before him, Sam follows-
Something about the shape of the air behind me makes me look round: no Dwarf. There the fool stands yet as though carved from the stone of his forefather's tomb.
Doom, doom. Afterwards I do not remember choosing. I turn, run, lunge as black-mailed orcs crowd in again; I have him -
Not till we pause at the next stair's foot does he look up, panting.
"My thanks, Elf."
~~~
Elena Tiriel's birthday drabble.
"The others followed; but Gimli had to be dragged away by Legolas: in spite of the peril he lingered by Balin's tomb with his head bowed." FoTR, The Bridge of Khazad-Dum. Oh, and Gandalf's opening line is a direct lift from that chapter.
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
