Chapter 24
"Lady Ariana, what are you doing?" Pippin asked frantically, taking a step closer to Merry and Ariana as the Orcs got closer. The Orcs were not far away and they would be upon the three any moment.
Merry held up his short sword. "My Lady we should take your horse and make haste."
Ariana looked down at them in contempt. "Then flee. I will wait."
"But you can't possibly defeat so many Orcs." Merry said shocked.
She smirked. "I am not worried about the Orcs."
There was no more room for question as the ruthless creatures descended upon Merry and Pippin with brandished swords. They called to Ariana, but she stood with her backs to them, staring the opposite direction. Their cries fell to deaf ears.
Through the trees a majestic horn could be heard and a figure soon followed. Ariana saw him and a delighted smile made way across her lips. She looked behind heart the unfortunate Hobbits, who were too distracted to notice that the Orcs were not trying to attack her and the Uruk-hai archers were not shooting her.
Ariana eyes found Ugluk as he stopped at her side. She looked away and waved her hand. "Take the Hobbits to Saruman. Call back the forces."
"But the others…" He growled. "They are still alive."
Ariana raised an eyebrow. "Then you're band must be lacking in skills. You will leave them to me. I will find you in a day."
Ugluk grabbed her arm and turned her forcefully to face him. "Saruman said leave none but the Hobbits alive."
Ariana glared. "Saruman said to kill them if they give you trouble, but your creatures have failed in killing any of them so far. So you are dismissed and I will handle it." His grip tightened and she grabbed his discolored wrist. "Let. Me. Go." Something sparked in her eyes and Ugluk winced, but that was it.
She saw Pippin and Merry struggling against the Orcs. They were fighting a battle already lost and saw that Ariana was not going to help them, if the traitorous woman with the Uruk-hai leader was the Ariana they was met in Rivendell.
Ugluk let her go and stared down at her intently. A strange look passed through his eyes and he turned away from her, growling out to the Orcs and Uruk-hai. "Take the Hobbits and move out!"
"No!" A voice called.
Ariana's glee returned and she moved to stand on the opposing side of the river to face the man as he ran towards them, his sword out. Ariana stood in his path, blocking him from the Hobbits.
When he saw her he froze, his eyes wide. "Ariana…" He breathed. "So you are alive."
"Hello Boromir." She said happily. "Surprised? Happy to see me?" Her expression darkened. "Or are you unhappy I survived and am not dead?"
"What?"
She sneered. "I know of how you wished me dead once you found out who I am and who my ancestors are. You want no threat to your precious father and country." She spat. "No lies you tell me will sway the truth. I know now how you hate me."
"Those are the lies!" He cried. "I would never-"
"Save it!" She screamed, charging forward.
Boromir blocked and pushed her back with a defensive swing of his sword. Ariana jumped back and backed away from the bridge, her eyes not leaving Boromir's face. "Do not think you will be able to catch me off guard."
Boromir look between Ariana and the Hobbits, who were being overwhelmed by the Orcs. A pain-filled looked crossed his face and he turned to Ariana. "You're wrong. I do not hate you." He then charged and raised his sword. Ariana met his eyes as they fought and a shock went though her. Her eyes flashed for a moment but once again became black and she defended. Boromir used brute strength behind his blows that Ariana, even with her swiftness, could not overcome with her light sword, and her mind began to swim with images she had long tried to block out; ones that rebelled against her current thoughts.
Boromir caught her hesitance and with a cry he slashed her shoulder and pushed her into a tree, knocking her head against the bark. Ariana gasped and fell sideways, crumpled on the ground. He had been moving faster and with more ferocity than she expected and she underestimated him. She stared up at him in anger and shock and put a hand over her bleeding shoulder. Boromir stared down at her for a second longer before turning away and trying to reach Merry and Pippin.
He cut down many Orcs in his path and called out to the Hobbits.
"Boromir!" Pippin yelled in relief when he saw him, but while his guard was down a large beastly Uruk-hai grabbed him, causing him to drop his sword in surprise. He cried out and began to kick his feet and pound on the monstrous creatures back, but with no success was he let go.
"Pippin! No!" Merry screamed, coming to his friend's aid, but he too was captured. The Orcs and Uruk-hai then began to take Ugluk's orders and move out once the Hobbits were captured and bound; only the few fighting Boromir staying behind. Ugluk motioned to one other Uruk-hai before following the behind his warriors. Urmik, Ugluk's right hand Uruk-hai, stayed behind, hiding in the shadows of the trees to watch Ariana and the Man, as Ugluk ordered.
Boromir tried to get by the Orcs, but there were too many and he watched desperately as the Hobbits were carried away. He screamed and his blows became harsher and were delivered with hatred and distress.
Yellow eyes watched Ariana, who had gotten over her shock and was running towards an unaware Boromir. An ugly sneer appeared on Urmik's mug and he lifted his hand, giving sign to an Uruk-hai archer hidden in a tree.
The Uruk-hai released an arrow and it hit Boromir on his right shoulder. He cried out in surprise and stumbled forward. Ariana watched in shock before looking up at the archer and reaching for her own bow in anger.
"No one is to touch him but me!" She yelled releasing her arrow and watching in satisfaction as it hit the archer before he could let loose another arrow. The arrow pierced the Uruk-hai's throat and it fell from the tree with a strangled cry. Ariana then notched and let loose two more arrows to take care of the last remaining Orcs trying to kill Boromir.+
She watched as the other Ocrs disappeared into the trees, the Hobbits with them. She smiled, satisfied and stepped over the dead Orc bodies to stand in front of Boromir and block his path as he tried to chase after the Hobbits. He stopped and faced her, panting, seemingly only mildly fazed by the arrow in his shoulder; his determination was overpowering his pain. The only thing that stood in his way to the Hobbits was the woman he had long mourned for and had caused such guilt in him that it crushed his heart.
"Ariana, do not let the little ones suffer because of your confusion." He said angrily. "Let me pass before I must do something I will regret."
"You will regret nothing. Guilt is not something a cruel man like you can feel." She said, advancing towards his right side. "And soon you will feel nothing at all!"
Boromir blocked her, putting pressure on his wounded shoulder, the arrow still protruding from it. He winced and blocked, backing away. Ariana attacked again and he blocked again. She growled and ran at him, swinging her sword at his head. He lifted his sword to block. He gasped, but kept his sword up. Ariana took the distraction of pain and kicked his chest. Boromir fell back and she jumped atop of him, sitting on his chest, and pointed her sword at his neck.
She smiled in victory. "I expected better of you Boromir. I thought you wanted to get to the Hobbits." She mocked.
"I cannot hurt you." He said softly, letting his grip on his sword loosen. "I will not fight you."
"That is because you have already lost." She laughed. "There would be no way you would lose to me and let the Hobbit go."
"Ariana."
She stared down at him, her smile faded. More images passed through her head and she frowned.
"Don't." He whispered.
Ariana's grip loosened slightly and Boromir reached up to push the sword away. She watched him, almost entranced as he sat up and placed his gloved hand on her cheek, his other covering hers that held her sword. He watched as her eyes flickered and the hand over her own tightened. "I'm not lying when I say that I don't hate you. Our time spent together meant something to me and when I thought you had lied to me I become blind with anger. I was stubborn, and I do regret it. Whatever false information was given to you to become this way is not true. I care for you Ariana, more than you know."
Ariana was drawn closer, her eyes wide, and Boromir took the sword from her hand. Ariana blinked and looked closely at him. She closed her eyes and leaned her head on his uninjured shoulder. "Boromir…" She whispered. "I'm sorry."
He wrapped an arm around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. He closed his eyes for only a moment and began to say something, but froze and his eyes widened. He quickly pushed Ariana away as an arrow lodged itself in his right shoulder.
"Boromir!" Ariana exclaimed in surprise. She turned away from him to see where the arrow came from. Her eyes darkened once again when she saw Urmik standing before her, his bow still raised and a new arrow in his hand.
"It will be my pleasure to report your traitorous actions to Ugluk and Saruman." He wheezed. "And then I'll bring you back to him mangled and broken. We'll see if he can do anything with you then."
Ariana stood and faced him, standing between him and Boromir. She glanced briefly at the panting Gondorian before her gaze returning to Urmik. He was just as ugly and just as fierce as Ugluk. His skin was dark and his eyes yellow, his teeth sharp and his hands more like claws with a sword in his grasp. She picked up her sword and glared. "The only one who will be mangled and broken will be you."
"Such declarations are not meant for one suddenly so weak again. You're just a little girl who's lost all the skills given by the great Saruman." Urmik laughed his grotesque laugh and raised the bow, arrow notched.
He was right. Ariana noticed how clear her mind was, however, that did not mean that her skills were lost. She still remembered what was drilled into her head and what she had learned long ago from Eowyn. Suddenly that seemed so long ago.
Ariana jumped out of the way when Urmik let go of the arrow and she fumbled with her own bow for a moment before letting an arrow fly. It fell short. She realized, horrified, that with Saruman's presence gone she lost all the extra strength she had been given. Even with the skills and knowledge there was no way she could defeat an Uruk-hai three times her size. Not when she hadn't used her own natural strengths in months.
She rolled out of the way of another arrow and took cover behind a tree. She could hear his heavy footsteps on the leaves as he came closer to finish her off. Ariana cursed herself for not realizing that Ugluk had told one of his soldiers to stay behind to watch her. She should have known he would not listen to her and find an opportunity to kill her.
Ariana tried to think of ways to escape, but all ended in either death or abandoning Boromir.
Her eyes widened. Boromir.
She looked around the tree and saw Boromir's hunched figure trying to attack Urmik, but the Uruk-hai had stronger. He swung his sword at Boromir and cut his stomach. As Boromir fell back Urmik put aside his sword and raised the bow and arrow again, aiming for Boromir's heart.
"No!" Ariana screamed. She ran for Boromir and stepped in front of Boromir as the arrow was let go.
Urmik roared in pain as an arrow embedded in his wrist and caused him to drop his black bow, throwing off his aim. The black arrow missed Ariana and Boromir. Ariana looked in the direction the arrow came from and she spotted an elf standing atop a boulder, another arrow notched and pointed at Urmik.
The Uruk-hai dodged and pulled the arrow out of his wrist with a growl. Ariana's eyes widened as he pulled out his sword again and advanced on her again. Ready to kill her before the elf interfered again. She raised her sword with determination and blocked Urmik's blow. She pared and swung at him, cutting his arm. He roared again, out of anger and pain, because at that moment another arrow hit his back.
He swung his sword with one hand and as Ariana blocked he back handed her across the face. She cried out in pain and she fell back, landing beside Boromir. She tried to grab her sword and stand, but Urmik swiped at her arm and delivered a deep gash to her forearm. She screamed and dropped the sword and Urmik kicked her back down, raising his sword to deliver the finishing blow.
Ariana closed her eyes and laid herself over Boromir, waiting. Instead of a sword suddenly stabbing her through the heart however she heard the clanging of metal. She looked up in surprise. A familiar form stood over her, his sword blocking Urmik's.
"Aragorn." She whispered.
He did not answer. His attention never wavered from his opponent and he drove Urmik back and away from Ariana. She watched him a moment longer, spotting the elf and the dwarf heading down the hill to aid their friend if need be, but turned back to Boromir when she heard him groan.
"Boromir." She whispered. "I'm so sorry."
Sweat marred his forehead and his skin was pale. He squinted at her and tried to smile, but it turned into a grimace. He brought a shaking hand up to place it on her cheek. "Ariana…"
"No don't speak. I'm going to help you now."
"Wait…Ariana."
She ignored him and looked at the arrows. "I'm going to have to take them out. Boromir forgive me, but I'm going to have you sit up." She didn't wait before wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him up to a sitting position, leaning heavily on her. He cried out as his stomach wound was stretched and she apologized over and over again.
She pulled off his cloak and leather chest plate and then ripped his shirt around the arrows to take it off him. She used the fabric to cover his bleeding stomach before focusing back on the arrows. She broke the end of the arrow in his right shoulder and began to push it the rest of the way through his shoulder. Boromir screamed and grabbed her wrist to stop her.
"Trust me." Ariana whispered.
Boromir let go of her wrist slowly and instead grasped her upper arms, staring into her eyes. Ariana ignored her own bleeding wound and pushed the arrow the rest of the way through, cringing when Boromir tightened his grip. She pulled it out and felt the warm blood run over her hands.
Hastily she reached into the satchel tied to her belt and pulled out the bandages, rag, and ointment she had packed for herself. Saruman had made the medicine for her and Ariana hoped that the wizard hadn't put anything in it because she needed it more than anything for Boromir. She put the medicine in the wound and bandaged it tightly, but comfortably. Then ripped the end and moved to the left shoulder, giving it the same treatment.
She laid him back down and peeled the now blood soaked fabric from his stomach and pulled a roll of stitches with a large needle tied to it out of her satchel and began to work on the deep wound to stitch his skin together. By that time Boromir had passed out due to pain. She ignored the blood that covered her hands and the woozy feeling that came over her due to her own blood loss. She made sloppy work of the stitches since she did it with such haste, but it was closed. She then smeared a large amount of medicine over it and watched the tan ointment harden slightly over it.
She pulled him up again carefully and hung his arms over her shoulders as she wrapped the bandages around his stomach. She laid him back down once again and focused on her own wound for a moment. She put the rest of the ointment on the gash and after it dried she wrapped the wound. The extra bandages, stitches, and needle she put back into the leather satchel tied to her belt and leaned over Boromir to check his breathing and pulse.
His pulse was slow, but steady, and his breathing was a little shallow and pained, but he was still breathing, which was the important part. She sighed in relief and ran a hand over his sweaty forehead, pushing his hair out of his face. She smiled softly and kissed his forehead.
"Ariana."
Ariana pulled away from Boromir and looked above her. A sad smile made its way onto her face. "Aragorn."
Aragorn fell to his knees before her and pulled her into his arms. Ariana wrapped her arms around him and cried, sobbing into his shoulder. He smelled like blood and she knew if she looked up she would see the elf and dwarf standing behind him, as well as the corpse of Urmik.
She could feel a wet spot forming on her own shirt and knew that he was quietly crying on her shoulder. "I am sorry." He whispered. "I am sorry, my sister."
Ariana petted his head. "It's alright, brother." She closed her eyes in shame. "I should be the one apologizing. I…" She sobbed. "I let the Orcs take Merry and Pippin and attacked Boromir. I let Saruman control me."
"It is not your fault." He pulled back to star into her eyes. "You are not to blame."
"Yes, I am!" She exploded. She pulled away from him and stood up quickly.
The elf lifted his bow and pointed an arrow in her direction.
"Legolas!" Aragorn yelled. "What are you doing?"
"Her eyes, Aragorn." Legolas said. "They are black. She is not broken from his control."
"What?" Ariana said. She picked up her sword with her good arm and used the blade to look at her reflection. The elf was right, her eyes were still black. "But I can't hear him anymore!" She cried.
"Maybe it is just a side effect." The dwarf said.
"We can not know that for sure." Legolas said, his gaze not leaving Ariana.
She became suddenly angry and pointed her sword at him." Don't point that at me!" She yelled.
"Ariana. Legolas. Stop!" Aragorn commanded. Legolas lowered his bow. Ariana kept her sword raised. She was so angry at that moment. Angry at the stupid elf for not trusting her. At the now dead Urmik for trying to kill her. And at her brother. She realized that it wasn't really her fault.
"It's all your fault." She whispered, her head bowed.
"What?"
"It's all your fault!" She screamed, lunging at him.
Aragorn fended her off and stared at her in surprise. "Ariana, what is the matter?"
"You!" She said. "Everything that has happened to me is all your fault. You abandoned me and left me to Saruman. You have done nothing but hurt me. You only feel an obligation to me because I suddenly reappeared, but you really want me gone!" She backed away, glaring at him. "…Lord Saruman was right about all of you."
"Lord Saruman?" Aragorn repeated.
Legalos's bow was lifted once again. "Aragorn, she has turned."
Kill them. She thought viciously. Ariana narrowed her eyes and lifted her sword, a newfound strength entering her. She felt she could take on the elf. She wanted to feel his blood on her hands.
Aragorn placed a hand on her shoulder and she jumped away like a startled animal. She glared at him and the voices increased when she set her sights on him."You left me to die and left your alliance with a Hobbit than with your own kin."
"He has the weight of the world on his shoulders. The fate of Middle Earth relies on what happens to him." Aragorn said.
"So you sacrifice of your sister?!" She screamed. "What kind of cruel person are you? Is this the love you have for me; one so flimsy as to be broken so easily by a Halfling?"
"The Halfling's fate has much more importance than yours." The dwarf growled defensively, now holding up his axe in a defensive position as Ariana's anger continued to rise.
Ariana glared at him before turning her attention back to Aragorn. "Things are suddenly clear to me and Lord Saruman was right. He is the only one I can trust." She back away further and whistled loudly.
"Ariana you have it wrong. I do love you." Aragorn insisted desperately.
"Yes, enough to leave me to die and not search for me or try and rescue me!" Her black horse appeared through the trees and stopped beside her. In once quick movement she sheathed her sword and mounted the horse. Aragorn tried to advance, but she pulled the reins and the horse lifted onto his hide legs, letting out a screeching neigh. The three males backed away and Ariana took the opportunity to turn her horse and kick it into a gallop.
Aragorn called after her, but she didn't turn back. She let her mind shut down and the conflicting thoughts disappear. She blocked all memories and faces and just let her anger run her. She wiped any remaining tears from her eyes and scowled.