PART ONE OF THE THREE PART FINALE (SORRY GUYS)244Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCo0E6ax8QD
“Somebody needs to open that gate,” Adalene heard Helen say from behind her.
“Okay, so why doesn’t someone do that?” Skylar shouted back.
Adalene glanced over at Helen’s face, her expression grim. “Because that person has to stay behind to make sure it stays open. And to close it so the soldiers don’t follow.”
She stopped, a stab to Adalene’s heart as it became clear. No. No, no, no. She couldn’t let the children choose who would stay behind. She couldn’t have one of them stay behind. It would be certain death.
“I’ll do it,” Luke croaked, his voice hoarse.
“No!” Skylar shouted. “No, you are not. I won’t let you! And you can barely stand, let alone hold open a gate! I'll go!”
“No!” this time Luke shouted at her, “I’m not losing you again. You can’t…you can’t…”
The others looked at each other, unsure of what to do. They couldn’t choose one of them to do it, they would only fight amongst themselves. They cared about each other too much.
“No,” Adalene said, her voice filled with resolve. “No, none of you can do it. I vill do it.”
“Adalene…” Peter’s voice broke something within Adalene’s heart, but she knew that this was what she had to do. This was her purpose.
“I am not a part of zis quest,” she argued, “And I do not have anybody vaiting for me. I have no one to vorry for me. I shall go.”
“You are just as much a part of this quest as each and every one of us,” Alice said, “And we all care about you. We can’t let you do this.”
“Maybe not,” Adalene lamented, “But you are too important to get hurt. I must do this.”
They still looked conflicted, each face showing a mixture of emotions–sadness, fear, but mostly pure horror at the prospect of losing another member of the group.
“I have to protect you,” she said more to herself than to the others, “Please, I must do this. Zis is my purpose.”
She didn’t have time to go up to each one of them and tell them what she admired about each of them. Adalene wanted to give them hope, to give them some direction as to what they might do after she was gone. But it might have been for the best. She didn’t want her last words haunting them.
“Zank you for having me as a part of your group,” she told them, fighting the tears that were stinging her eyes, and she knew the others were trying their best to keep it together as well. “Goodbye.”
Then she turned and ran for the crank, cutting down the soldier who had shut the gate in the first place. She quickly pulled the crank, opened the gate once again, and watched as the others ran through it to freedom. Adalene knew that they were hesitant to leave her, but it was for the best.
When she started to close the gate was when they noticed what she was doing. Arrows rained down from the sky, hitting the stone wall near her head, but she ignored them, continuing to crank.
Shunk! Came the first arrow, hitting Adalene in the back. She winced from the pain but continued to crank. She had to do this. She had to keep going.
Shunk! There was another one, this time hitting her leg. Adalene stumbled for a moment but kept going.
As another arrow hit her, she wondered about the state of her body. Despite it giving up on her in important moments, it was almost as if it was using the last of its strength to make sure that Adalene would see this through. It was quite ironic.
Finally, an arrow landed on her arm, causing her to stumble and let go of the crank. Soldiers descended on her, their swords drawn as it seemed like the last of the magic which had protected her for hundreds of years finally kicked in, giving her a burst of energy. She plucked the arrow out of her arm and drew her swords, ignoring the three arrows throughout her back and leg, and fought the soldiers as she had never fought before.
Finished, she fell to her knees as she stared at the bodies surrounding her. She thought she may have killed a hundred soldiers that day when a single man appeared out of the ashes and through the fog that had clouded Adalene’s vision. He bore a jagged sword, his face scarred and deformed beyond recognition. But Adalene could still see the man behind the scars. A man she had not seen since the beginning of this journey.
Boromir.
“Look how the mighty has fallen,” he observed, sounding calmer and darker than she had ever heard him before. The fall from the cliff must have changed him. “A mere shadow of the queen you used to be.”
She could barely keep her head straight, not even responding to his statement. Adalene futilely waved her sword as if to strike him, but he easily knocked it out of her hand, kneeling in front of her.
“A shame,” was all he said as his hand gripped her shoulder, and his blade sank into her chest.
Adalene couldn’t feel any pain, only gasped from the fact that her lungs could not breathe. Her vision clouded with black, and blood dripped from the spot where he had stabbed her. Then he pulled the sword out of the wound, giving Adalene a sense of relief.
Her body gave up on her, causing her to fall on her side. She wasn’t even given the luxury to close her eyes in her final moments, just her vision going black as she stared blankly at the snowy sky.
And Adalene Raine Aubrey Maelie Diana, true Queen of the Elfes, died...
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