A/N: Hello, hello, hello. I'm so sorry this update took so long! I've been uber busy with doctor's appointments, running NHS, and college applications! Don't kill me! Please! I'm sorry!
"Ancient Language." "Elvish." I think…
Disclaimer: I own only my characters.
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Lireal stood on the battlements on top of the Hornburg, staring out into the cloudy skies. Her thoughts spun as she ignored the calls of the guards for her to retreat with the other women and children into the caves. She would fight, she would die fighting, not cowering in some hole in the ground.
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"Where is he? Where is he?" Gimli shoved his way through the crowd. "Get out of the way! I'm going to kill him!"
He inhaled deeply, staring at the sight before him. "You are the luckiest, the canniest, and the most reckless man I have ever known."
Aragorn smiled slightly as he handed his horse to one of the stable hands.
The Dwarf embraced his dear friend. "Bless you laddie."
"Gimli, where is the king?" The Ranger pushed his friend to arms-length.
The red-bearded dwarf pointed.
"And ye better see to the lassie while you're at it!" He shouted at the man's retreating back.
Aragorn reached the door before he was stopped again.
"You're late." The Elf noted. Then Legolas frowned. "You look terrible."
The man chuckled.
Eowyn, who was nearby, turned around at the sound, staring in disbelief at the Ranger speaking to the blonde elf.
Legolas gave his friend back his possession, and the man stared at the jewel for a moment before murmuring his thanks and resuming his search for the king.
"And Aragorn," the Ranger looked back. "you should speak to Lireal."
The man just nodded and continued on. He pushed the doors open, striding down the hall to where the king sat.
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All the companions save the dark-haired woman stood in the hall, listening to what Aragorn had to say. The king and some of his retainers were there also.
"A great host, you say?" Theoden inquired.
"All Isengard is emptied." The Ranger replied.
"How many?" the king wondered.
"Ten thousand strong at least." The northerner reported calmly.
"Ten thousand?" Theoden breathed in disbelief.
Aragorn remained grim. "It is an army bred for a single purpose: to destroy the world of Men. They will be here by nightfall."
The king led the way out of the hall. "Let them come."
He turned to one of his captains. "I want every man and strong lad able to bear arms to be ready for battle by nightfall."
Theoden led the Elf, Ranger, and Dwarf out onto the causeway. "We will cover the causeway and the gate from above. No army has ever breached the Deeping Wall or set foot inside the Hornburg!"
"This is no rabble of mindless orcs." Gimli interrupted. "These are Uruk-hai. Their armor is thick and their shields broad."
The king towered over him. "I have fought many wars, Master Dwarf. I know how to best defend my own keep."
Aragorn patted the Dwarf on his shoulder as he walked by, following Theoden up onto the wall.
"They will break upon this fortress like water on rock. Saruman's hordes will pillage and burn. We've seen it before. Crops can be resown, homes rebuilt. Within these walls, we will outlast them." The king continued out and along the wall.
Aragorn interjected. "They do not come to destroy Rohan's crops and villages. They come to destroy its people, down to the last child."
Theoden grabbed the man's arm, speaking in a gruff whisper. "What would you have me do? Look at my men. Their courage hangs by a thread. If this is to be our end, then I would have them make such an end as to be worthy of remembrance."
"Send out riders, my lord." The Ranger continued. "You must call for aid."
"And who will come?" the king muttered. "Elves? Dwarves? We are not so lucky in our friends as you. The old alliances are dead."
The Ranger shook his head. "Gondor will answer."
"Gondor?!" Theoden growled. "Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell?! Where was Gondor when our enemies closed in around us?! Where was Gon—No, my Lord Aragorn…we are alone."
The king of Rohan strode away, leaving the friends on the wall, giving orders to his captain. Aragorn nodded to himself as he stared at Theoden's retreating back.
Gimli cleared his throat. "Now's as good a time as any to go talk to the lass."
The Ranger nodded again before setting off in search of his missing friend. Yet he wondered, why the other two were pushing him so much to seek her out.
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When Aragorn found her, she hadn't moved from her spot atop the Hornburg. He gently grasped her shoulder. She didn't turn around.
Lireal was too lost in her own thoughts to really pay attention to the world around her. She was trying to sort out her emotions into some semblance of order. The fall of her friend had left her badly shaken. She had retreated back into the coldness she knew so well. When she felt the hand on her shoulder, she simply shook it off.
When she merely brushed his hand off, the Ranger began to suspect something was amiss. He grabbed her forearm, pulling her about to face him.
Her silver-grey eyes widened in pure shock when she saw him there. It was impossible. And yet, had not Gandalf come back to them, and hadn't that fall been greater? But she couldn't bring herself to believe it.
"It cannot be." She breathed.
Aragorn smiled. "It is."
He stepped forward, resting his hands on her shoulders. The man inspected her. "You haven't been eating or sleeping." He scolded her softly.
The dark-haired woman smiled sadly. "No. How could I?"
He shook his head. "I would have thought you would have been angry."
"That reminds me…" she mumbled, moving her arm.
The man staggered back from the blow.
"Don't ever do that again, you hear! You scared us all half to death!" She chided.
Aragorn could only chuckle. "I guess I deserved that."
Lireal merely tossed her head defiantly, turning away and heading down the stair. She glanced back over her shoulder at the man, who was still standing where she had left him. "Don't we have a battle to prepare for?"
The Ranger smiled before following his friend.
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Aragorn was outlining his plan to his companions. "We'll place the reserves along the wall. They can support the archers above the gate."
"Aragorn, you must rest." Legolas insisted. "You're no use to us half alive."
Eowyn came then. "My lord! Aragorn!"
His companions faded into the background to give them some semblance of privacy.
"I'm to be sent with the women into the caves." Eowyn said.
The Ranger nodded. "That is an honorable charge."
"To mind the children, to find food and bedding when the men return." She exclaimed. "What renown is there in that?"
"My lady, a time may come for valor without renown." He tried to calm her. "Who then will your people look to in the last defense?"
She shook her head. "Let me stand at your side."
"It is not within my power to command it." Aragorn explained. He turned away.
"You do not command the others to stay!" Eowyn retorted. "They fight beside you because they would not be parted from you. Because they love you."
She searched his face. "I'm sorry." She nodded slightly before taking off in the direction of the caves, pushing between Legolas and Gimli, and giving Lireal a slight look before disappearing.
Aragorn turned, as if to say something more, but the lady of Rohan was gone.
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The friends inspected the armory and the men.
"Farmers, farriers, stable boys." Aragorn shook his head. "These are no soldiers."
"Most have seen too many winters." Gimli agreed.
"Or too few." The Elf added.
Legolas shook his head. "Look at them. They're frightened. I can see it in their eyes."
This declaration was met with the quieting of the bustle about the companions.
"And they should be." He continued. "Three hundred…against ten thousand!"
The Man shrugged. "They have more hope defending themselves here than at Edoras."
The Elf shook his head. "Aragorn. They cannot win this fight. They are all going to die!"
"Then I shall die as one of them!" The Ranger retorted. He turned and walked away.
When the exchange in Elvish had begun, Lireal had been quietly translating to Gimli in Dwarvish.
The Dwarf stopped Legolas from chasing after Aragorn. "Let him go, lad. Let him be."
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Lireal tested the boundary, walking towards the courtyard with her friends trailing behind when she began to vanish in mist.
"Where are you going, lassie?" Gimli inquired.
"I'll be back." Her voice drifted across the void to them. "Do not doubt, I'll be back."
The elf and dwarf returned to the armory to outfit themselves. Keeping to her word, the woman appeared many minutes later in the armory with the usual trailing mist. She was now wearing a scale tunic made of the same metal as her swords, an alloy of mithril and steel. Over it she wore a leather jerkin, and now she also had leather bracers on her forearms. The only other difference was that her cloak was gone.
She arrived just in time to see Legolas hand the Ranger his sword.
"We have trusted you this far and you have not led us astray." The elf met his friend's gaze. "Forgive me. I was wrong to despair."
Aragorn clasped his shoulder. "There is nothing to forgive."
The Dwarf appeared then, struggling with a coat of mail. "If we had time, I'd get this adjusted." He released it, and the mail fell, pooling at his feet. "It's a little tight across the chest."
The other three just smiled and nodded, amused by the dwarf. Lireal wondered if he planned these things to relieve the tension.
Suddenly, a horn sounded.
"That is no orc horn." Legolas said, before leading the way up to the courtyard.
The sight that greeted their eyes was a great host of elves, led by none other than Haldir.
"How is this possible?" Theoden asked in wonder.
"I bring word from Elrond of Rivendell." The Elf stated. "An alliance once existed between Elves and Men. Long ago, we fought and died together. We come to honor that allegiance."
Aragorn rushed to his friend. "Haldir, you are most welcome." He hesitated for a moment before embracing the elf.
The March Warden just smiled and stepped away quickly when the Ranger released him. He then gripped Legolas' forearms in a warrior's handshake.
"We are proud to fight alongside Men once more." Haldir told the king.
Lireal smiled at her old friend. He returned the gesture.
"But, mine are not the only kin here this day." He began.
Her smiled faded. "You don't mean…"
The dark-haired woman's voice trailed off as a group of three separated themselves from the Elves and approached her.
"My lady." Their leader inclined her head. The group consisted of two women and one man. "We heard of you preparing for battle. We felt that we should be here to assist with the aftermath. And…"
Here the woman turned away, taking a parcel from the man and offering it to Lireal. "You seemed to have forgotten something."
Lireal did not have to open the package to know what was in it. She frowned. "I do not want it. You'll be sent to the caves with the women and children."
She turned to Theoden. "Have them sent to the caves."
"But why, what for?" The king inquired.
The leader stepped in gracefully. "We are not warriors, but healers. We would serve you no good on the battlefield. As I told the lady, we are here to aid with the aftermath."
Theoden raised an eyebrow, but said nothing and gestured to one of the men to lead the Dragorlai to the caves. "Who…?"
The dark-haired woman sighed and shook her head, but did not answer.
They all retreated to the wall, and began the watch for their enemies.
What they did not know was that some were already in their midst.