Author's Name: Dae'kyra
Story Title: A Cry in the Dark
Rating: PG-13 just to be safe.
Disclaimer: A Tolkien plot-bug bit me and I had to write this. Middle Earth doesn't belong to me; I just like to play with it…
Summary: We've all heard the tales of the great battle on the Pelennor fields and the heroes who fought there. But what about the others? What really happened when the gate broke open? One-shot…angsty, rather dark…
A Cry in the DarkThe city was under siege. A young woman looked out from her window at the dark masses gathering at the walls. The sky was dark; the people of the city hadn't seen the light of day for too long. The soldiers were lined up along the walls and battlements.
A soft cry came from behind her. She turned and went over to the corner and lifted her small daughter out of a wooden cradle...the cradle her husband had made when the child was born.
Her husband...
He had kissed her good-bye two days ago and whispered in her ear that he loved her. He kissed his child and turned his horse to the gate. At the gate, he waved and called back to her...
"I will return," he had said. Only he didn't.
Later the next day, she had come upon a woman weeping at the gate. She had asked what was wrong, and the woman told her the horrific tale. Charge...ambush...none survived... Her husband wasn't coming home...ever. She had run blindly back to her house and fell on their bed, sobbing. She felt her heart tearing and knew it would never be mended. She cried until she had no more tears left, but she still ached deep inside. She went through the motions of the day, but it was as though someone were controlling her like a puppet.
A yell from below brought her back to reality and drove her to the window. The hordes of evil were moving toward the city walls. She heard screams and cries from the people. Then she realized what was happening. They were being attacked. She looked down at the beautiful little girl in her arms. The baby had fallen asleep again...a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
The young mother heard a terrible crash and turned back to the window in time to see huge towers move to the walls. As they grew close enough, gangplanks crashed down and streams of horrible creatures poured from their depths. People were being cut down left and right.
She watched the horror happening below.
A cry went up from the soldiers. A large battering ram had broken the front gate. Huge trolls and orcs scrambled through the opening and into the bottom level of the white city.
The mother looked away. All hope was gone. There was no escape. She looked down at her child, tears running down her face. She kissed the small girl.
"Goodbye, little one."
Soon, she would be with her beloved.
The door crashed open and the mother saw an immense shadow fill the doorway and leering face, growling down at her. She looked down at her child one last time and smiled sadly.
She didn't look up as the huge club descended.