Author's Note:

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY BOXING DAY & A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My sincerest apologies. I'm so very sorry for the delay. It's just been a very hectic week. But in the spirit of the holidays I have decided to update. So this is my present to you. So I wish you all the best and a happy new year. So here is the new chapter and please remember to review and please check out my profile for my other stories and pics. So here is chapter fifteen. Enjoy & See you all in 2011!

Chapter XV – Helm's Deep

Bold Italics is the language of the Elves.

They rode all day and by night fall they stopped to camp. Susan was sitting with Legolas and Gimli when she started laughing. "What's so funny, meleth nîn? {my love}" He asked her. She pointed to Aragorn who was trying very hard to swallow the stew Eowyn had made.

Legolas and Gimili started chuckling as they watched Aragon spit the stew out and poured out the rest when she left to hand out more. "By the love of Aslan! She's coming this way. Quick hand me an apple." Susan said frantically before Legolas quickly threw an apple to her and Gimli took one for himself.

"My lords, my lady would you like some stew?" Eowyn asked them as she came to stand in front of them. "No thank you Lady Eowyn. We're fine." Susan told her kindly. Eowyn smiled and nodded before she moved on.

After Ewoyn left, Aragorn came up to them and plopped down next to them. Legolas smirked at him and tossed him and apple. "Many thanks." Aragon said before eating it quickly. "What's the matter Aragon? Didn't like the princess's stew." Susan asked him with a smile and he shook his head quickly, erupting laughter from them.

The next morning they continued on the long road ahead. Gimli was talking with Eowyn who was gazing lovingly at Aragorn. "Oh no. That's not good." Legolas said and Susan looked at him questionably. "Eowyn has taken a liking to Aragorn." Legolas said, pointing towards them.

"Your right. The poor girl…but she eventually she will learn that his heart is already taken." Susan said hopefully. "As is mine." Legolassaid with a smile and love in his eyes as he looked at Susan who immediately smiled back.

"It's true you don't see many dwarf women." Gimli told Éowyn, as she walked next to his horse and led him on. "In fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they're often mistaken for dwarf men." Éowyn laughed softly, smiled before she looked back at Aragorn with a smile.

He returned her smile and gestured with his hand over his beard. "It's the beards." He whispered and Éowyn nodded and smiled before she turned her eyes ahead once more. Suddenly Gimli's horse took off and he was thrown to the floor. "That was deliberate!" Gimli said automatically as he got to his feet and Susan and Legolas laughed.

Legolas soon rode forward and got off his horse and ran up the hill to look out. A screamed ripped through the air as a warg and an orc rider attacked one of the king's guard. Legolas quickly killed it as Aragorn and Susan rode towards him.

"A scout!" Legolas yelled to them. Aragon nodded and turned to ride to the king and to get help. Susan stayed by Legolas as they looked over the plains to see lots more wargs and orcs running towards them.

"Wargs!" Aragorn called. "We're under attack!" The people began to panic while the riders got on their horses. "Prepare for battle!" Théoden called. Gimli had made it back on his horse and was riding beside them.

"Eowyn. Lead the people on." The king said. "I can fight." She argued. "No! Do as I say." He told her. She was reluctant but did as she was told.

The king and his guards along with the fellowship rode towards where Susan and Legolas were firing shot after shot taking down as many wargs as they could. When they saw the riders approach Susan put her bow away as she and Legolas both grabbed their horses ran and swung on to their saddles.

Susan unsheathed her knives and quickly began to swing her knives taking out her first orc. Susan found it harder to fight on horseback so she stopped and dismounted her horse and quickly started slicing through a warg with one knife and it's rider with the other.

Susan was not able to really look around to see how her companions were doing as she was too busy killing any beast that came her way. She did however at one point see the king fall off his horse near where she was fighting.

Susan watched as the warg snuck up on him as the king got back on his feet. She quickly ran forward and knocked the king to the ground just as the warg was about to bit him. Susan quickly turned around from her spot on the ground and slashed into the wargs neck, making it fall to the ground, dead.

"Are you alright?" Susan asked the king as they both stood. "Yes, thanks to you. You saved my life." He told her. "Don't worry about, my lord." She said as they looked up and saw the remaining wargs retreating.

Susan soon left the king and looked around and spotted all of the fellowship except Aragorn. Legolas was helping Gimli up from where he was trapped under a dead warg. "Legolas. Where's Aragorn?" Susan asked as she walked towards him and Gimili.

"We don't know. We were about to look for them." Legolas said as he looked her over for any injuries. "I'm alright." Susan told him and he nodded before they helped Gimili look for Aragorn. "ARAGORN!" They yelled. They walked towards the cliff when they heard laughing coming from an dying orc.

"Tell me what you know and I will ease your passing?" Gimli said in a harsh voice as he stood in front of him. The orc laughed as it choked slightly on its own blood. "He's dead." He said rasped out before he laughed evilly.

"He took a little tumble off the cliff." He continued, before Legolas looked at the cliff before grabbing the orc by his armor. "You lie." Legolas hissed. The orc just laughed holding something in his hand before finally dying.

Legolas slowly took what he was holding out of his hand and held it for everyone to see. Susan gasp, it was the evenstar that Arwen gave him. "No." She whispered before running towards the cliff with Legolas and Gimili following behind her.

They all looked down but couldn't see him anywhere. "It can't be." Susan cried and Legolas pulled her to his chest as he looked down the cliff and into the water. "Put the wounded on horses, leave the dead." Théoden said on his newly acquired horse.

Legolas looked up at the king with wide eyes and the king glanced at him and a crying Susan in his arms. "Come." He said as he gently patted Legolas on the shoulder, before he left them and they slowly followed getting back on horses and continuing on. All of them saddened by the loss of such a good friend.

Once they reached the fortress, Eowyn ran to them to welcome the few soldiers that returned. She scanned over them with tears in her eyes. "So few…so few of you have returned." She said as her voice cracked.

Théoden looked at her as he dismounted. "We fought bravely, but lost many." He said as he helped an injured soldier dismount. He turned from her and made his way up the stairs.

The fellowship dismounted and Gimli walked up to her. "My lady." He said with his grief clear in his voice. "Lord Aragorn, where is he?" She asked as Gimli fought back tears and sighed. "He fell." Gimli said sadly before he walked away and Eowyn backed away with tears falling down her eyes.

Legolas led Susan to her room where she could clean up. "Will you stay with me please?" Susan asked Legolas after they were cleaned and in a room that they were shown. He nodded and pulled her into his arms as she cried for her friend.

"Shh. There, there my love. We do not know that he's really gone. Gandalf came back when we thought him dead. So did Aslan. Have faith." He told her softly. Susan nodded as she dried her eyes before raising her head to look at him.

"I love you." She told him. "As I love you." He said, before he captured her lips with his. "Will you stay with me?" She asked once they pulled away and he nodded. They laid down together and fell into rest quickly after such a trying day.

The next day the fellowship was in the main room helping get the wounded healed when the doors banged open and in walked Aragorn, looking like he had seen better days. Susan smiled as she and Legolas stepped in his path, stopping him.

Legolas looked him over. "You're late." Legolas said and Aragorn smiled. "You look terrible." Legolas told him and Susan laughed as Aragon smiled. "For the love of Aslan. You scared us half to death." She told him as smacked him on his arm and he smiled.

"I apologize." He told her and she smirked at him. "Just make sure you don't do it again." Susan said as she smiled at him before she handed Arwen's evenstar necklace to him and Aragorn looked at her wide eyed.

"Thank you. I must see the king." Aragorn told them before heading to keep where the king was, with Legolas and Susan following closely behind. But not before Susan saw Eowyn off to the side with a sad look on her face when she saw how happy Aragorn was when she returned his necklace back.

When they entered the keep the king, he couldn't believe Aragorn was alive. "There is a great host on its way, my lord." Aragorn told him."A great host, you say?" King Théoden asked. "All of Isengard is emptied." Aragorn said. "How many?" Théoden asked.

"Ten thousand strong at least." Aragorn said and everyone looked at him with disbelieving eyes. Alice gasp as she saw them moving this way. "Ten thousand?" Théoden asked his voice reflecting on everything Aragon had told him.

"It is an army bred for a single purpose: to destroy the world of men. They will be here by nightfall." Aragorn said calmly. "Let them come." Théoden said before he walked from the keep and walked out along the tall wall of the keep.

"I want every man and strong lad able to bear arms to be ready for battle by nightfall." Théoden told Gamling while Aragorn and the rest of the fellowship followed behind.

CLIFFHANGER!

What will happen to the fellowship now? Will they be able to survive?

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I will try to update as soon as possible.

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- Dark Alana.