It was supposed to be a glorious victory against the Wargs. It was supposed to be the epitome of blood, sweat and gore, but not at this expense… When the Warg-riders and the Rohirrim clashed in the green plain, the blue sky above them, they had already known that there would be losses, but none as great as this…
Everyone, every single warrior there had given their all. Boromir had embraced his Chiropteran form and powers, shedding his human appearance during the battle, while the Queens had epitomized the abilities of their race and clan… Legolas had proven once again why he was considered to be among the best, if not the finest, archers of Middle Earth, while Gimli, to be a strong warrior of the Dwarves with a stout heart. Even Théoden, named Ednew in the tongues of his people showed his mettle, but it was not enough…
When they had counted their losses, the men who had sacrificed their lives to defend the caravan to Helm's Deep, they did not expect to count Aragorn among them… As Legolas, Gimli and Diva approached the cliff near them, calling Aragorn's name, they found an Orc, dying, but filled still with malicious laughter. "Tell me what happened and I will ease your passing…" Gimli growled, showing the Orc his axe. It was evident that the beast had something to do with Aragorn's absence.
"He's dead…" the Orc snickered, "He took a little tumble off the cliff…" In rage, Legolas grabbed the Orc by its filthy, ragged clothes and said that it was lying… Diva clenched her fist as it died, still laughing. In its dead, cold hands, they found a sparkling object, and found it to be the Evenstar, the symbol of Arwen's immortality.
The Queen sighed. "I will not believe that Estel is dead," she said, passing the jewel to Legolas. His friendship with Aragorn was legendary, and she knew that should Aragorn show up, he would be the first candidate to hand it to him. Her ruby eyes were aglow with rage and of grief, piercing the dead Orc with one of her double blades and allowing her lightning to course through her weapon, exploding the corpse from within.
Arya and Boromir soon joined them as they stared down the edge of the cliff. There was nothing below them, nothing but a raging river and jagged rocks… It would take more than a miracle for anyone to survive a fall from the cliff, much less a Man… "Put the wounded on horses," Théoden said as he approached them. "Leave the dead…" he told the five of them, receiving the same response: a cold, hard glare, especially from the Elf. The King said nothing more and patted Legolas on the shoulder. "Come…" he added, and it was not a request, but an order.
"Arya, look what I did!" little Estel shouted in the halls of the Last Homely House, looking for the raven-haired Queen, with a piece of drawing-paper clutched tightly in his hands. The said Queen smiled and at him and asked him to show her his masterpiece, which depicted a stick figure with gold hair wielding something that looked like a glaive.
Arya chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Very well done, Estel," she praised him, admiring at the drawing. It would not fit into the Hall of Fire, with the works of the other masters, but it would do fine in his own chambers. "But why did you draw me of all things, little one? I thought you wanted to use a sword?"
Estel nodded happily, confirming her words. "But when I grow up, I wanna learn to use all the weapons in Middle Earth, so I'll be as good as you and Diva are!"
"He was only five…" Arya told Boromir. "When Aragorn was a child, he brightened the House of Elrond more than any star could…" Her Chevalier wrapped his arm around her as they walked together, their steeds now being used to transport the wounded until they could reach Helm's Deep safely.
Young Aragorn, freshly returning from his visit to Mirkwood, with its Crown Prince in tow was huddled before the door of Diva's room. No doubt, the Queen was sleeping, judging by the sound of grinding teeth, a habit that the Queen always had. "Are you sure this is going to work?" the Man asked the Elf impatiently. "What if she finds out? She'll have us all killed!"
Legolas grinned. "Be quiet, Estel, you know very well that Diva is so deathly afraid of these things that she would be rendered immobile the moment she sees them," the Elf-Prince said, trying to pick the lock with a hairpin Arya had supplied to them. The ruby-eyed Queen had given them shocks of lightning one too many times, and they had decided it was time to repay their debt to her. They had spent the entire afternoon digging up worms and catching caterpillars, which they had placed in a bow wrapped neatly with a red ribbon.
"Legolas, hurry!" Aragorn warned the Elf when he could see one or two worms crawling out of the box. "The worms are escaping." Seconds later, the lock opened with a click, and quickly, they slid the box through the door and locked it back, with muffled snickers, the two of them escaped the scene of the crime unnoticed by anyone.
The peace of the spring morning in Imladris the next day was ultimately interrupted by Diva's screams of fear that Elrond, Saya and Solomon rushed into her room with haste, only to find the entire room covered with caterpillars and worms. "I know who did this…" Diva exclaimed with anger when her room had been cleared completely, hearing the laughter of Aragorn and Legolas. She spent the whole day hunting them and giving them the electric shock of their life…
Diva smiled at that memory, and swore to the Valar that if the same prank was repeated on her again, she would personally skin the human and the Elf alive… Estel could not die, he had endured far worse… Her Papa had always said that the Dunadain Ranger could be part Chiropteran somewhere in his ancestry…
The sight of Helm's Deep was a welcome one. At long last, they could have a moment's respite. As the final riders in the procession rode into the keep, Eowyn went out to greet them. "So few…" she said to Théoden, "So few of you have returned…"
Théoden grimaced. "Our people are safe," he said grimly. "We have paid for it with many lives…" Eowyn did not catch his meaning, but Gimli was the one who told her the bad news, that Aragorn fell down the cliff… The Shieldmaiden looked at the Queens, at Legolas and Boromir, and their expressions confirmed what Gimli had said. Shock coursed through her body, followed by pain, followed by grief, walking towards the Queens, they held on the one another, and wept little, and silently…
Far from the fear that gripped Rohan, between Imladris and Lothlorien, a bond was formed, between Elrond, Saya, Solomon and Lady Galadriel. "I amar presta aen, han mathon ne nen, han mathon ne chae, a han noston ned, 'wilith…" she said to them, a telepathic bond already established between them. "The power of the Enemy is growing… Sauron will use his puppet Saruman to destroy the land of Rohan… Isengard has been unleashed."
Visions of marching Uruk-Hai covering vast distances reach the eyes of the lords and lady in Imladris, flooding their thoughts, reminding them of what was to come. She told them that the Eye of Sauron was now turned to Gondor, the last free stronghold of Men… She even said that the Ringbearer knew that the Quest would claim his life, that his strength was failing, succumbing to the Ring's power. He was now the captive of Faramir of Gondor, Boromir's brother. And if the young Captain of Gondor would take the Ring, it would seal the end of Middle Earth as they knew it…
"The time of the Elves is over," Galadriel added. "And the Chiropterans are only a clan of six Queens… Do we leave Middle Earth to its fate? Do we let them stand alone?"
Saya put her foot down. Walking towards Elrond as he watched Arwen leave with those who would sail to the Undying Lands, she said, "I will not stand here and watch my daughters fight for a dying cause. I will go to Helm's Deep…" She looked at her husband, who volunteered himself as well, but Elrond…
"My friend, I was once like you," Solomon said to Elrond. "I once believed that there was no longer any valor and honor left in the world of Men where I came from. It may have been through there still, but here, things are different. You said before that you have fought beside Elendil and Isildur, you remember the glory of Numenor when you marched alongside Men during the Last Alliance… If I can give them a chance, why can't you?"
The Lord of Imladris remained silent. Deep in his mind, he knew that Solomon was right. In fact, he was always right when it came to matters such as this. This was the man who rebuilt the trust that Middle Earth once had with his people, by sending his nieces, his daughters all over the lands as emissaries; this was the man who engineered alliances between great lands, working in the shadows. The Rochir William had envisioned the building of Helm's Deep so many years ago through his machinations, while he had offered aid to Gondor time and time again by sending his daughters… He knew best that assistance given would be the best way to maintain the old alliances… "You are right, Solomon," Elrond said, heaving a great sigh. "Forgive me, I was too blind and stubborn to see what you have seen. We must aid Rohan, but we have not the means, our forces have are now in the North with Glorfindel, Gloin and your nieces."
Suddenly, Galadriel's laughter broke through once again. "Do not worry, my son by marriage," she told Elrond. "My soldiers will willingly aid the Rohirrim, so long the Lord and Lady of the Chiropterans are willing to lead them with Haldir."
Saya smiled at once. "Then we shall leave with all haste…" she said.
That was many days ago. At the front of the march of Elves, although little in number compared to the enemy that would storm Helm's Deep, Saya, Solomon and Haldir led the Elven soldiers towards the last stronghold of Rohan, wishing that they would be in time to give aid to those in need.
"I am sure that you are eager to meet my Diva again, Haldir," Solomon teased the Marchwarden of Lorien, armored in red and bronze, looking as if he was one of the Elf-lords of the West. The husband and wife, they needed no armor, dressed only in clothes that hindered not their movements.
Haldir bowed his head. "I cannot deny that what you say is true, Master Colceredir," he replied, "But as such, we are facing a great battle as well, Diva will know that we ought to put the current situation before all else…"
Saya smiled and shook her head. "I still do not understand why Diva chose you, Haldir… You're too uptight for one like her," she added, reminding herself that in some ways, the Elf was more or less like Hagi, always serious, always fighting…
The Elf just kept his silence, smiling as well, but in his own heart. He was the stalwart Marchwarden of Lorien, and he knew the burden upon his shoulders in those dark times. He had to fight, and he had to survive. The hope of the Elven forces lied only upon so many warriors, himself, Legolas of the Woodland Realm, Glorfindel of Imladris, and perhaps Elrond and Thranduil; and he had to live, to see the light of his love smile after the war against Sauron had ended. Despite being a Queen, he had already gained permission from her parents to take her as his bride, and they had been betrothed under the eyes of the Fellowship and his own Lord and Lady… He had to live for her happiness, and so much more. "Wait for me, Diva, I am coming," he told her in his mind.
Many miles away, Diva Colceredir felt a strange warmth in her heart, engulfing her body completely before disappearing as suddenly as it came. She was on the battlements of the Hornburg, atop the Deeping Wall, and in the distance, she saw a very familiar figure atop a brown horse that had been set free by the men before they moved to Helm's Deep.
It was Aragorn.
