Well, guess I broke my writing streak. Oh well, at least I'm back now with a new chapter! Yes indeedy, we are getting close now... I think... lololol originally this was supposed to be 10 chapters. Not everything goes according to plan, eh? Anyway, yes, here's the new chapter - I apologize for the absence of Jack, but don't worry, I'll make up for it with the next one. Read, enjoy, and please review!

Disclaimer: No, my plans for world domination have not yet been realized. I still own nothing. -sigh-

Chapter Thirteen: The Battle Begins

Among the strong young men and battle-hardened veterans that waited straight-backed and sharp-eyed for the attack stood two young women trembling with fear and anticipation. Neither had seen war before; the closest they'd come to it was watching an action movie in theatres. Though they had trained hard and had made much progress with both their swords and their bows, it would've been a lie to say they felt anything close to prepared to facing this. Still, they found themselves standing at the front of the Gondorian army, staring out between the crenellations of the outer wall as the corsairs began their advance on the citadel of Minas Tirith. It was both terrifying and maddening to behold, for the corsairs, though not the most organized of armies, knew better than to waste their energy with a mad rush to the citadel – but it was horrible to watch their slow advance, and with each passing second Robin and Erindi's nerves seemed to stretch tauter.

Inhaling deeply and with great deliberation, Robin turned her eyes away from the enemy for a moment to look upon the ships that lay still and silent on the Anduin. For a moment, her fear was forgotten as her eyes lit upon the grand, black ship that was taken to serve as their flagship. "Erindi, look!" she whispered, staring with wide-eyed wonder at the vessel. "It's Jack's ship! The Black Pearl." She smiled, faintly. "She's beautiful."

Erindi nodded. "Yes, she is." She glanced at Robin, and saw her friend's momentary joy slowly slide back into fear as she remembered the peril Aragorn had left Jack in when last they saw each other. "And I'm sure Jack came with her, safe as a plum in a pumpkin patch."

Robin gave Erindi a sidelong glance. "You know, that makes absolutely no sense." Erindi shrugged, and Robin sighed, and together they turned their attention back to the approaching mass of corsairs. Though they no longer shook with fear, their hearts still beat erratically at the thought of the impending battle.

"Gimli will never forgive us for this," said a new and now-familiar voice to their right, and they turned in unison to find Legolas standing next to Robin. He smiled at them warmly, showing not a hint of the terror they felt within. "He doesn't like it when Aragorn and I have an adventure without him."

"Which happens rarely, since you always seem to bring him along, regardless of what I say," said Aragorn, appearing as if out of thin air next to Erindi. He, too, was smiling, but his grey eyes were grave with the thought of what was coming. As quickly as it had appeared, his smile soon disappeared, and was replaced with a look of dark concern. "You two should not be here."

Erindi stared at him silently, but Robin's feathers were clearly ruffled, and she stood a little straighter and glared at him. "You two taught us well enough; we're as ready as we could possibly be, Aragorn." Even if I am mad with terror and worry over Jack.

"Not nearly ready enough," Aragorn replied, and Legolas's smile began to fade as well as he predicted what his friend was about to say. "You should be with the other women and children in the top tier."

Erindi's eyes flashed, and Robin all but sputtered in her anger. "I'm not leaving you to fight on your own," Erindi answered with deceptive calm.

Aragorn cast a look across at Legolas. "I won't be alone, Erindi. We've been through worse than this before." Much worse, Aragorn thought. Legolas nodded his consent.

"Yes, and we all know you can barely take care of yourself, even with Legolas watching you," Erindi shot back, losing a bit of her self-control. After all, despite having survived thus far, Aragorn had definitely had more than a few very close calls in his lifetime. She looked up at him, half-defiantly and half-pleadingly. "I won't leave you."

"And I am going to be here when Jack gets here," Robin asserted, tossing her braid over her shoulder. "I'm not leaving, either, even if you are the King."

Aragorn raised an eyebrow at her. "It is because I am King that you are going to leave. Right now."

"Aragorn!" Erindi protested, yet even as she did so a pair of guards came and seized each of her arms, while another pair grabbed Robin, who objected loudly and a bit obscenely at the sudden turn of events.

Aragorn looked at them sadly. "I would rather you go on your own than be dragged away like prisoners," he told them quietly.

Though Robin continued to swear at him, Erindi took a moment to truly look him in the eye, and when she did she saw that he told nothing more and nothing less than the truth. It hit her then just how much he was going through at the moment – not only did he have an entire city to worry about, but his friends like Legolas and Jack as well, plus the vampires – and now, her and Robin as well. She wasn't giving up, but she was determined to help Aragorn as well. Taking a deep breath, she looked him in the eye, fixing him with a steady gaze. "All right, Aragorn. We'll go." Because she was not lying, he believed her, and he motioned to the guards to let her go, though he was careful not to do the same for Robin.

As for Robin – she could not believe her ears. "What?!" she cried, enraged at the sudden turn of events. "Erindi, what are you saying? We can't leave! I have to see Jack!"

"Robin!" Erindi shouted, glaring at Robin sternly. The hard look in her eyes left Robin speechless. "We've only had a month's worth of training – what good will we be?"

"But…"

"Robin. We won't be anything but a burden. We'll only get ourselves killed – the best we can do is stay with the women and children, in case someone does get that far and they need people to fight."

"But…"

Erindi shook her head. "There's no point. We've got to go."

Her eyes glistening with tears, Robin hung her head, and the guards finally let her go as well. "All right," she whispered, defeated.

Erindi looked at Aragorn. "Be careful," she murmured, her eyes full of worry.

Aragorn pulled her to him and kissed the top of her head. "I will. Thank you." He looked at her gratefully.

She looked away, unable to meet his thankful gaze when she knew quite well he would not like what she was thinking, if he knew. Turning, she grabbed Robin's arm and began dragging her towards the gates that led to the upper levels.

"Why?" Robin hissed once they were out of Aragorn's line of vision.

Erindi rolled her eyes, dropping at last her mask of deceptive resignation and self-control. "Robin, we're not really going to wait with the other women and children."

Robin stumbled, and would have fallen were it not for Erindi's grip on her arm. "What?! But you said…"

"Robin." She sighed, willing what little patience she had to last just a little longer. "I told him we were going. I didn't say where we were going."

"Where are we going?" Robin asked as they passed the gates and continued on along the path.

"The armory." As if on cue, they rounded a corner and stepped through a doorway to find themselves in the middle of a room full of chain-mail and plate armor, weaponry, and shields.

"Ah." Robin frowned; they already had armor on, and they were still equipped with their weapons. "Um… why?"

Erindi grabbed a pair of helmets and tossed one to Robin. "So that Aragorn and Legolas won't recognize us easily when we go back out there." She yanked her helmet on, tucking her hair underneath it.

Understanding at last, Robin smiled wickedly and followed suit. "So we're fighting after all."

Erindi nodded. "We may have only had a month of training, but that will do well enough until the corsairs get here." She paused, her brow furrowing in thought. "It's when it comes to hand-to-hand stuff that we're in trouble."

"There's always other options besides our swords," Robin said cryptically. Erindi gave her a typical "Erindi-has-no-patience-for-cryptic-crap" look, and Robin continued hastily. "What I mean is, we can fight them in other ways. Maybe we can find somewhere on an upper level to continue shooting at them, rather than meeting them head-on."

"Maybe." They heard a commotion outside, and rushed out to find the men of Gondor nocking their arrows to their bows. "Hurry, they're almost here!" Quickly, they ran down the wall and elbowed a space between two of the men to stand, and hastily readied their bows as well.

The corsairs were almost in range! "Steady, men!" Aragorn called out from farther down the wall. "Steady!" His soldiers waited, their nerves and muscles as taut as their bowstrings. In just a few moments, the battle would begin. They watched with wide eyes and galloping hearts as the corsairs drew closer, closer…

Suddenly, the corsairs – knowing exactly how long the range of the Gondorian longbows were, broke out into a run, racing for the city as fast as they could, carrying with them hooks and grapples, ladders and ropes in hopes of scaling the outer wall as soon as possible. "Fire!" Aragorn shouted at almost the same moment, letting his own arrow fly as he yelled the command. Almost as one, the men – and women – of Minas Tirith released their arrows in a deadly rain upon their enemies. The battle had begun!