Chapter Three
Legolas was worn and tired, he didn't know how much time had passed but his idea was complete with the help of Gimli. He knew that Grace would approve of it and thankfully Gimli did not try to stop the elf on his quest. The dwarf was more excited than he was. Of course Lady Eowyn had caught the two in the act and tried to reason with them but Legolas firmly told Eowyn of Grace's strong personality and his fears of losing his friend in battle and, although not speaking his thoughts aloud, his fear of losing his manhood. After much reasoning the odd pair managed to convince the woman that they were making the right choice after all and, very surprisingly, Eowyn said she would help the pair. At first Legolas thought the woman was to help them at the forge but, quite clearly she had not worked with metal before. Eowyn had told them both that she knew a few remedies that could help the healing process quicken and another remedy which should help lessen or numb the pain for a certain period of time. True to her word Eowyn had done just that, making up five veils of each type, putting them by her beside ready to be used. That was all many hours ago Legolas assumed but he was currently standing before the doors of the Hall where the King sat, his senses heightened. Legolas had heard the gasps, shouts and even cheers in the crowd as someone from the outside came into Helms Deep. Legolas's heart leapt for joy, he didn't even need to see who had returned, he knew who it was already. He pulled out a glittering silver necklace from his pocket, fumbling with it. He was overjoyed at the thought of Aragorn's return but he was also worried, unsure of how the man would take the news of Grace's fate. As Aragorn approached Legolas quirked a grin; the man looked like he had been out on a drunken night with the Men of Gondor.
"Le ab-dollen" Legolas told him as he placed his hand lightly on Aragorn's shoulder in greeting. Aragorn returned the gesture and sourly smiled.
"You look terrible" Legolas added and Aragorn cracked a laugh, glad to be reunited with his friends. At his laugh Legolas could feel the burning gaze of Eowyn on him and Legolas frowned before covering his worries. Aragorn noticed the look.
"What troubles you?" Aragorn quietly asked and Legolas sighed, holding out the necklace. Aragorn gently took the necklace from the elf, smiling lovingly down at it.
"Hannon le" Aragorn thanked, placing the necklace back around his neck. Legolas remained stiff and still though and Aragorn worriedly looked around.
"Please do not tell me that Grace has fallen…" Aragorn slowly said, his heart sinking but Legolas shook his head.
"Nay she has not. Come, it looks like you were in a rush to speak with the King. We shall speak of Grace afterwards" Legolas quickly said and Aragorn nodded in agreement.
Aragorn was extremely worried about his lover but he knew the news of the coming threat must be spoken of first. He trusted that Legolas, Gimli and all others at Helms Deep had looked after the woman in his absence. When entering the halls he spoke to the King of the coming threat and the King seemed well prepared, sending orders out to his men.
"You should rest Aragorn, we will need all the strength we can gather. You may wish to see Lady Grace first though" the King told Aragorn after the talk of war and from the corner of his eye he noticed Legolas shoot a warning glance in his direction. Aragorn was surprised to see the King accept such a look and, instead of continuing to speak his thoughts, he dismissed everyone in the room.
"Come on laddie" Gimli told Aragorn and the mortal man couldn't help but become nervous. When Grace had gotten injured in the Mines of Moria the pair had joked about it to try and lessen the grievance then all felt towards Gandalf's fall however this time was different making Aragorn become unsettled and nervous.
"Where is she..?" Aragorn asked but Gimli kept silent as Legolas joined the two, leaving the hall and heading in the direction of Grace's room.
"She is well in herself but forgive us Aragorn, by the time we reached her at the end of the ambush she was badly hurt and we could not help her" Legolas sadly said to the mortal man. Aragorn's heart painfully thumped at those words, his eyes beginning to well up. Aragorn could now fell the tingles and shivers racing against each other up and down his spine, his body turning stiff and tense. Aragorn knew that it was not the wounds causing it to happen, he was worried, afraid even.
"She was worried about you, she refused to rest once she was seen to" Legolas continued and Aragorn felt relieved that she was seen to already but he was also anxious because only the most seriously wounded people were seen to first…
"She is still conscious then?" the mortal man asked, his heart jolting in hope. That was a good sign, right?
"Aye! The healers wished she wasn't though!" Gimli told him with a gruff laugh.
"Such a foul mouth on that lass, it puts us dwarves to shame!" he boasted and Aragorn noticed the pride in his eyes as he looked down at his friend. Aragorn managed to quirk a grin in his worry at Gimli's words. The trio had finally made it to her bedroom door, pausing in their step. Legolas stepped forward, placing his hand on the door to open it.
"We are right beside you Aragorn" Legolas softly told him as he opened the door for Aragorn. The worry and panic rushed back to Aragorn's heart making him hesitate. Gimli supportively patted his arm, encouraging him forward. Legolas's words and Gimli's gesture gave Aragorn the strength and courage he needed to enter the room. Unnoticed by Aragorn the elf and dwarf shared a nervous glance before following the mortal man into the room, closing the door behind them.
By the time Aragorn had frozen in his step his two friends knew that he had seen the damage. Grace was lightly sleeping but she wore a frown on her face, as if her dreams were troubled. The sheet that covered her body was half off, displaying the damage to Aragorn's watering eyes. At first he noticed the bandaged up left arm, patches of red slowly seeping through the bandaging to display the long claw-like wounds. Next he noticed the right leg, its colour unexplainable as bruises proudly stood out against her whitened skin. None of these paused him in his step though, what paused him was the remainder of her left leg. Whatever was the cause it was seen to well, the bandaging fresh with no glints of blood showing. Her leg had been shortened; she had lost at least three-quarters of her leg. Aragorn's eyes watered even more, he couldn't even begin to imagine the pain she was going through. Emotionally he walked over to her bed, each step making her wounds seem even more realistic. He could feel his hands wildly shaking, his legs nearly failing him as he took the two final steps. He half collapsed onto the side of her bed, shakily taking hold of her hand. He didn't want to believe that this had happened to her, to someone he loved. A part of him wished that he was still knocked out, slowly flowing down the river…
"Legolas if you have sent another healer to tend to my wounds and advise me not to take part in any coming battles I'm going to rip off your damn elven testi-" Grace sloppily growled aloud but her final word was silence by Gimli's loud gruff laugh.
"Aha, that's the best one yet lass!" Gimli proudly claimed and the elf couldn't help but bite back a grin at the mortal woman's rude words. Aragorn, surprised by her language being so foul in her weakened state, didn't removed his hand off hers so Grace opened her eyes to harshly glare at the intruder, gasping at who she saw instead. It was clear that Grace forgot her glare as she pushed herself up, embracing the mortal man in happiness. Their embrace was wordless, they did not need to speak to one another, they were both happy and relieved that they had found one another again, that they had both survived to fight another day.
"I thought I had failed you" Grace quietly managed to murmur as she pulled away from the embrace, looking Aragorn in the eye. Aragorn raised an eyebrow in question, even the elf and dwarf did, so Legolas and Gimli took a seat by her side to hear her explanation.
"What do you mean?" Aragorn asked.
"I saw you caught on the warg during the ambush, I tried to reach you as I pushed Spirit forward into a gallop. I should have been watching my surroundings… A warg caught us by surprised, leaping onto us from the right sending us all to the ground" Grace told the three, shaking her head. Aragorn didn't really need telling what happened next as he shiftily looked at her leg, the thought of him being responsible for her wounds.
"Now that I've had time to think back over it I should have shot it down with an arrow. It may have saved you from taking a dip in the river" Grace humouredly told him, wincing as she shifted herself into a more comfortable position. Although Legolas and Gimli had both had time to adapt to her jokes after her fall Aragorn was still too worried and distressed to be humoured by her words. Grace noticed this and her face turned more serious and sincere.
"What's done is done my love, we cannot dwell on events in the past… I am very lucky to be alive, even if all of me could not return. Truthfully I am thankful that it has happened to me and not to another… Dark thoughts have plagued my mind to what purpose I serve in life and it made me question the path I walked upon. My fall has reminded me why I am here and who I am fighting for" Grace freely said, her voice breaking several times as the pain restricted her breathing. All the room knew not to question Grace about what bothered her, even Aragorn didn't as he pulled her into another embrace.
The words Lady Grace had spoken were true and from the heart itself. The thoughts she spoke of were the ones concerning herself and Aragorn while riding to Helms Deep before the ambush. Her survival alone told Grace that she should not part from Aragorn and instead remain by his side and only part from one another at death. Grace knew she had to be strong now, not only for herself but for Aragorn and her friends. Although she continued her jokes Grace cannot deny that losing her leg was not a loss. A part of her was missing but she knew it was merely a barrier she had to pass on her destiny. Her ambition in life would not change, she would continue her life as a warrior and a guardian to all Free-Folk no matter what stood in her way. Her fall and her time alone allowed her time to think back over her life, before and after meeting Aragorn. She remembered all the easy and hard times when living with Aragorn; she remembered travelling to the North with him, meeting with the Ranger's, helping Frodo and his friends from Bree to Rivendell and her journey with the Fellowship until it was parted. Most of all she remembered how Aragorn had stood by her side through thick and thin, no matter what approached them they always stood by one another. The meeting of Eowyn had made Grace ponder about her future of Aragorn and if the path she was taking the right one. While resting she thought; she somewhat analysed how Eowyn was around Aragorn. Although at first Grace believed that Eowyn had a love interest in the mortal man after a while Grace realised that Eowyn was merely a fan, wishing to live the life he had… It reminded Grace much of herself when she was a very young girl – not that she would admit it.
Both of the mortals pulled away from each other and Grace frowned, her thoughts forgotten as she heard the amount of noise the Rohan people were making outside.
"What's going on? Is something happening?" Grace asked in confusion, her voice slow and forced.
"Helms Deep is preparing for battle, a large army approaches" Gimli told her and at those words Grace's eyes brightened. She didn't enjoy wars, no one did, but battle gave her the feeling of justice, hope and even freedom. She was sure that her time was running short, there was only so much luck a woman could have in battle, but the thought of helping her friends and the Free-Folk gave Grace the strength she needed to continue on fighting. Aragorn was well aware of what the woman was thinking and he groaned, trying to plan a way to stop her from even thinking of battling.
"Grace…" Aragorn breathed but it was no use, the woman was already trying to stand herself up to find her gear.
