7/11, not long to go! And a bit more action in this one
Nuh uh. Me no own.
Retreat - Chapter Seven
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A few days later we were on our way to Helm's Deep. Neither Aragorn or Gandalf were happy about it. The latter had gone to find Éomer. I wasn't jumping for joy either. The old king was sending us into a trap. The some 10,000 orcs that were heading our way would decimate our numbers drastically. Not to mention the wargs that were heading our way any second now.
Speaking of, my ears twitched, picking up running paws from a distance. 'Shadow, wargs are coming. Take the children that are with you, and run. No questions, okay?'
'I am loathe to leave you little one' he sounded unsure, and it wasn't until I pulled my bow from the pack on his back that he realised I was being serious.
'This pack are about 20 strong. There is no way you are sticking around. I won't have it' I spoke to him sternly, my eyes narrowed.
He huffed in annoyance and tossed his head, but still turned and went to the front of the long line of people.
My quiver was already on my back, and my bow was drawn with two arrows, waiting for the warg scout to come over the hill. I felt eyes on me, as if to wonder what was going on.
As soon as I saw the ears of the warg peak over the crest of the hill, I let the arrows loose. One arrow planted itself in between the eyes of the warg, the other hitting dead centre of the orc's forehead that was riding it. I saw the children in my peripheral vision, their eyes wide as they took in what I had done.
"That scout is bringing another 20 wargs and riders with him." I shouted to the king. "I can feel the vibrations in the earth as they approach. They will be here within minutes!"
King Théoden nodded to me and spoke to Éowyn. "Take the women and children to Helm's Deep. A few of us will stay back and fight."
"I can fight!" Éowyn argued with Théoden.
"No! If I fall, you are the only hope of Edoras! You must do this." Théoden ordered her.
My eyes were focused on the horizon, listening intently for the approach of the wargs. So much so, I didn't feel Legolas until he spoke.
"Your skills have grown then?" he questioned.
"Yes. They've been getting better in the last year or so. It's handy sometimes, but in the world I was hidden in it was horrible. They were killing the forests and it hurt me so much."
"It sounds awful. How did you even cope? It must have been hard."
"It was, but I made my house and surroundings to be the perfect habitat for any animal. I used to have fox cubs come into my house to play, and when I couldn't sleep, I'd go to the forest for a while, and I would always end up sitting against a tree and falling asleep. I would wake up a few hours later with a fox cub asleep on my lap." I smiled. Remembering my 'home', even though it wasn't really my true place. "I will miss it. I will be unable to go back." I spoke softly. The good memories being outweighed by the fact that I would never see any of my friends again. I shook my head slightly. I would be useless in the upcoming fight if I wasn't concentrating.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned my head slightly. I knew that it was Legolas telling me that he was there, and that he would help me overcome whatever I had to. I was grateful for it. We were finally rebuilding our bridges again.
All of a sudden, the thundering of paws got louder. "They're here!" I shouted to my companions. I looked to Legolas. "We'll continue this talk at the keep. For now, we need to shed some blood." I winked at him and let loose an arrow, watching as it buried into a wargs eye. Perfect shot! Take that Mr perfect, I thought to myself. His eyes widened at how much my skill with a bow had improved. I ran towards the wargs. "Catch you later! I've got some orcs to kill!" I ran into the fray, letting arrow loose here and there.
I vaguely heard Gimli shout something at Legolas about taking one of his kills. Hmm. So they were playing that game? Well, let's see how I do! I thought in my head. I whirled round and loosed three arrows, each hitting a warg. I knew I was showing off now, but it brought a smile to my face to see the shocked looks of the men.
I saw the orc that would make Aragorn fall off the cliff. I wanted to stop him, to kill him before he had a chance to hurt our fearless leader. But I knew that if Aragorn didn't fall, he would never come across the orcs that were coming our way. He would never find Brego, who had bonded with him.
I heard Legolas' shout that meant Aragorn had fallen. I made my way to the orc and grabbed him by the throat.
"I know what you have done. I will not ease your passing by plunging my dagger into your cold, dead heart. You can suffer and die a slow death." I snarled at him, ripping the Evenstar pendant from his hands.
The orc just laughed. A nasty, wet laugh that sent shivers down my spine. I turned away from him and made my way over to Legolas and Gimli.
"Aragorn is fine. He will be with us again soon. His aura has not faded from this earth, and nor will it for a very long time." Legolas nodded, used to my strange way of talking. Gimli however wasn't.
"What are you on about lassie? He couldn't have survived that fall!" He said to me.
"There are many secrets about me Gimli, one of which pertains to my mother, and that is not going to be told. The fewer people that know, the better. As for how I know, I am more in tune with nature, and people's auras than any other elf. The powers I have, have only ever been seen in 3 elves. One of whom you have met. The lady Galadriel was my tutor for a year when I was just an elfling." I explained to the dwarf, his face softening after my reasoning.
"Come, we need to rejoin the others. They will need us soon." I told them, already scanning the small battlefield for Aragorn's old horse Hasufel. Once I saw him, glad that he was not injured, I whistled to him and he trotted over to me. I stroked his forelock, and ran my hand down his neck, calming him after the fight. He nickered and snorted, as if telling me he was fine. I grabbed the reins and pulled myself onto his back, glad that I knew a few healing spells that sorted my wrist out. "Let's go. We need to get back to the others. It'll be worse if there are only three of us." Legolas and Gimli nodded and mounted Arod.
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A little bit more of an insight into Selene's mind... Hope you enjoyed it!
Love
Emma
