Chapter 13
The Battle of Minas Tirith
The next day, Arwen's heart was heavy, but she busied herself with preparations so she did not have to think about what was to come. She spent the day with Eldarion, asking for his advice about being in a major battle. She had only been in battles in which the lives of the people in the battle were at risk. This battle was different, because the lives of thousands hanging in the balance. If the battle was ill-favored, it would mean the end of Minas Tirith and Gondor as they knew it. This greatly frightened Arwen, so she wanted to be prepared as best she could.
"The most important thing is to remain alert and ready for whatever comes," Eldarion explained. "There is so much going on around you during such a large battle, it is easy to get distracted from what you are doing or who is about to attack, so keep alert and vigilant at all times. A spit-second decision can mean life or death – not just for you, but for a friend. Always be ready to defend your fellow soldier, but if someone you know dies, the time to grieve for them is after the battle. You must continue to fight, lest you suffer their fate."
"I know all of these things," said Arwen, "but I am still uneasy. I've never been in charge of other soldiers like this."
"Don't worry Arwen," he assured her with a hand on her shoulder, "I will be with you the whole time to help you and to give the Men orders so they don't suspect you. We will be on the city's inmost wall, and that is one of the safest places to be."
"Eldarion, you and I both know that there is no such thing as safety in battle."
She said this with a stern tone that startled and confused Eldarion.
"Arwen, is something wrong? You seem upset about…"
"My lord," called out Belethor from the entrance of the room, interrupting Eldarion, "your father has requested your presence at once. I will keep Arwen company until your return."
"Thank you, Belethor," said Eldarion as he stood up to leave, "Arwen, I will be back as soon as possible."
Arwen was relieved she did not have the opportunity to answer Eldarion's question, because she still did not have the heart to tell him.
"So, do you feel ready, Arwen?" Belethor asked as he sat down across the table from her.
"As ready as anyone can be," she replied, "but who knows what will happen. There have been many occasions when completely armed forces with great leaders lost to lesser enemies because their opponent surprised them. I hope we are prepared enough so this does not happen. I also hope the innocent do not get hurt because of this battle."
"Do not trouble yourselves with such things," Belethor comforted Arwen, "for what you need is to concentrate on your strategies. Just do your best with what you have and hope it works in our favor. That is all that can be done at this point."
"Thank you, Belethor. You are very wise. It is no wonder the King chose you as his personal adviser. Your wisdom no doubt exceeds that of your brother, Denothor." She paused and asked a question she had long hesitated to ask. "I know you do not like to talk about it, but what did your brother do that was so wicked?" She had heard some of the story from the King, but she wanted to hear Belethor's side of the story.
Belethor became grave in his expression at the mention of his brother's wickedness. He stood up and walked over to look out the window.
"Denothor was very corrupt in his ways. He refused to heed counsel and never acknowledged his faults, which nearly led to the downfall of Minas Tirith, and the world of Men as we know it. He also showed greater favor to his elder son, leaving his younger son feeling inadequate. It almost cost Faramir his life. If I have learned anything from my brother's foolishness, I have learned how not to handle my responsibilities and to heed sound advice. He ran away in the face of danger, but I will stand my ground." He turned back to Arwen and explained, "I'm watching over affairs while the King goes out to direct the battle."
"You are very kind-hearted, Belethor. Bless you for that."
They then had a long conversation about the things that had happened in the years of Arwen's absence. Arwen asked about the King's younger daughters, so Belethor relayed stories from their childhood to Arwen.
"Gilraen and Silmarien were both quite mischievous when they were younger. They never did anything destructive, but they definitely got into quite a few messes. They kept all of us on our toes when there were little. They are more free spirited than Eldarion and Belthil, but are both quite shy.
"As you have seen, they have both grown up so much. Gilraen is now fifteen and has become quite an artist. She was the one who painted some of the artwork around the palace. Silmarien is now twelve and is a talented musician. You should hear her play the harp! She is quite gifted."
"That does not surprise me," Arwen said, "for I know the rest of their family has many talents as well."
"Arwen!" Eldarion yelled, "The orc forces will soon be upon us! We must dress and get to the barracks at once!"
"May goodness protect you both," Belethor waved to them as they ran out of the room together.
As they rushed off, Arwen looked up at Eldarion and noticed something she did not expect – his face and his eyes were stained red from his tears.
What could possibly be making him cry at a time like this? She thought to herself. He is one of the strongest men I know. But she had no time to press the matter. She figured she would find out soon enough.
Arwen changed into her armor, then rushed out to meet Eldarion. Just as Eldarion and Arwen were about the leave the palace, Rosie caught up with them so she could bid Arwen farewell one last time. They embraced long and hard, but there were no tears, for it seemed they had all been spent the night before. They whispered their last words to each other.
"I'm a better person because I knew you, Rosie Gamgee."
"You will forever be in my heart, Arwen Baggins."
They looked at each other one last time, and Arwen ran off with Eldarion.
As everyone made the final preparations, they were all fearful, not fully knowing what these orcs were capable of outside of Sauron or Saurman. Everyone braced themselves for what became known as the Battle of Minas Tirith, hoping they would achieve victory over these evil creatures, but not knowing if that was even possible.
Arwen and Eldarion went to join the soldiers in the barracks so the Kings of Men could encourage them before the great battle. King Elessar stood before the soldiers, seeing the fear in their eyes. He motioned them to be silent.
"Sons of Gondor and Rohan, I know the forces that oppose us today seem insurmountable, but do not lose heart, my brothers! I entreat you to summon all hope so you will hold fast when things seemed darkest. Remember the reason we are here: to defend the people of this great city and our way of life. For those of you that will give your lives today, you will forever be remembered as valiant for the sacrifice you made. By everything you hold dear, rise up to defend your people this day!"
The Men let out a great shout that shook the floor where they were standing. It was powerful to realize they had such great strength in their voices. Arwen hoped they were able to show such strength on the battlefield. King Eomer then stood before them and explained some of the battle strategies concerning the Rohirrim Calvary. After this he encouraged them.
"Do not lose heart, no matter how many foes you face this day. You must resolve to stand your ground, for you are all Men of Gondor and Rohan, Men of strength and fortitude. No matter what we face this day, what we do shall be remembered from this day forward. Make the memory of this day honorable! As the King of this City just bid you, rise up to defend this city, for the sake of all Men!"
The Men let out another shout, then they dispersed according to their stations. As Arwen and Eldarion joined the inner wall arches, some began to made comments about Arwen.
"What's that boy doing here?" One soldier commented, "This battle is no place for children!"
When the other soldiers heard the comment and noticed Arwen, it caused bickering among them. Eldarion realized the only way to calm everyone down was to reveal her nationality.
"Quiet! Please let me explain. He is actually a hobbit. Some of the hobbits in our company wanted to help defend our people, but they wanted to stay within the city. The orcs must not find out they are hobbits, or it could be ill-favored for them." This was partially true, for Merry, Pippin, Samwise, and even young Faramir were placed at other stations in the city to act as decoys.
But the Men all laughed at this thought.
"Why do we need him and his kind here?" The first soldier questioned the Prince.
"Those Halflings should just go back to their precious pastures!" A second soldier commented, "Then maybe we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place!"
This angered Eldarion so much that he grabbed this soldier by his hauberk, pinned him against the wall, and shouted in his face, "Don't you ever slander any hobbit like that again in my presence, do you hear me? Without them, we would be under the dominion of the Dark Lord Sauron, serving as slaves under these orcs! You will protect Anson's identity and call him Arador! You will treat him with the respect he deserves, or you will answer directly to me! Do you understand me?"
At first, there was totally silence.
"Do you understand?" He grunted through his teeth.
The soldier finally nodded, fearful to anger Eldarion further. Eldarion let go and the soldier stumbled away. The soldiers murmured and whispered to themselves about the extent of the Prince's anger. After his anger subsided, Eldarion stared at his hands for a long moment, shocked at himself for reacting so rashly.
He turned to Arwen and saw she was on the verge of tears for being mocked even in her disguise. Eldarion motioned Arwen to follow him and they went to their station.
Eldarion was still worried about what was upsetting Arwen. No matter what he said, she still would not tell him the rest of what was bothering her. He wanted to know, so he asked the first question that came to his mind, even as they were hiding against the wall of the city in position to attack.
"Arwen," he whispered, "are you afraid of…death?"
"Dina!" she whispered back harshly, "Uuma quen en gurtha!1" She yet again can across as very harsh and stern.
"I'm sorry Arwen." He hung his head in frustration.
Arwen was also worried about Eldarion. He spoke with a hint of fear that was unlike him. But there was still no time to press the matter. She put her hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright Eldarion; you meant no offense to me. Are you ready to face whatever lies ahead?"
"I'm ready to fight with you to the end, my friend." Eldarion reach out his hand to grab Arwen's.
Arwen clasped Eldarion's hand and said, "And I with you, my brother. Let us be ready for whatever comes!"
Eldarion nodded, strengthening their grip as brothers in arms.
And so the Battle of Minas Tirith began. The orcs did have greater strength, but they were not invulnerable. They used many of the same tactics they used for the Battle of Pelennor Fields, so they became easy to predict. They attacked with spear and sword, bow and arrow, fire and water. The winter winds were bitterly cold and the light layer of falling snow made it hard to hold their ground, but they pressed on. Gondor, Rohan, and those in the company fought hard and well, fighting into the night for the people of the White City. Just before dawn, victory for Men was at hand, but even in victory, the most unimaginable thing happened.
Eldarion and Arwen initially remained on the city's inmost wall, never setting foot on the battlefield. They had great success with the archers, killing many by volley. They fought with bow and arrow until the orcs broke through the city's main gate in the middle of the night. Then they fought by the sword through the whole night, although the night was full of uncertainty and confusion. There were many moments Arwen was overwhelmed by everything that was happening, but Eldarion was there, and they helped each other through the long cold winter night.
Then, early in the morning, as they ran through a burning archway reinforced with wood, a beam fell and caught Arwen's foot. Eldarion was able to pull her out, but when he did, her boot came off and it was revealed she was a hobbit. The orcs knew they were looking for a halfling, so they started to chase her down. They tried to run, but it was nearly impossible amid the chaos of the battle, especially since the sun had not yet risen. For a while, they managed to dodge the advances of orcs, but then they unleashed a Warg to retrieve her.
When they saw the Warg coming, Eldarion shouted, "Run, Arwen! Run!"
She ran as fast as she could. The Warg chased her onto the roof of a house. It continued to claw at her, until his weight broke through the house itself. When the roof caved in, Arwen fell right in the path of his claws, wounding her back. His claws were so strong, he actually broke through her chainmail and clothes in some places, and other wounded her back from the pressure of his strike. The Warg picked her up by her shirt with his teeth, but when the Warg tried to leave, Eldarion jumped on his back, trying to get him to release Arwen. Eldarion held on for his life as the Warg tried to buck him off like a wild horse. Finally, Eldarion managed to reach for his bow and arrow, so he shot the Warg in the head, killing it. Both Arwen and Eldarion fell to the ground, but by this point there were totally surrounded. They captured Arwen and when Eldarion tried to stop them, they captured him as well.
The orcs pinned Arwen to the ground roughly and turned her over as they bound her hands, and they thrust Eldarion against a wall to do the same to him. She looked about her, seeing the chaos of battle as the orcs bound her hands behind her bleeding back. She was screaming so loud in fear and from the pain of her wounds, she could not hear anything very well. The only thing she could distinctly hear was Eldarion yelling her name.
"Arwen! AR-WEN!"
She could not see very much amid the darkness and falling snow, until she noticed the King. He was standing on the highest point of the city, watching his son and the one beloved as a daughter be taken captive with tears in his eyes, but doing nothing. Suddenly, she remembered no more.
1 Be silent! - Don't speak of death!