The War Of Light And Shadow

by Freddie23

In a world changed by the rising of power in Mordor, Legolas gets entrusted with the life of a young boy. But he gets more than he bargained for as he must fight for his own life, for Aragorn's life and for the very future of Middle Earth. AU. Not slash. Complete.

35. Into The Deep

The War of Light and Shadow

By Freddie23

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Disclaimer: I own nothing Tolkien created.

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Chapter 35 – Into the Deep

"This is madness," Eomer hissed as he dropped easily into a crouch, his voice holding a curious mix of severe annoyance and increasing fear. Under the cover of thick darkness, the Man of Rohan, along with Kinnale and Legolas, had made their way slowly and carefully up the steep hill atop which stood the ancient stone fortress of Helm's Deep and were now crouching at a small grate in the base of the stone fortifications. At a mere four feet high and set rather inconveniently in a swampy riverbed, it went unguarded by the Orcs and Uruks that were so obviously still encamped at Helm's Deep.

True, Eomer could not argue at this being the most vulnerable point of the fortress' defences but all the same, it remained an immense risk to take, stealing into the Enemy fortress.

Hissing back through the darkness, Kinnale replied, "Can we just hurry this up, please?"

Already Legolas was working on pulling at the crumbling metal bars, seemingly not concerned by Eomer's dark thoughts of imminent defeat or complaints. Fortunately for them, the iron bars of the grate were so weak through exposure to the elements that it was easy enough to break through with the simple application of some brute force.

"I am hurrying." Eomer adjusted the scabbard at his side to keep the tip out of the shallow, filthy stream in which they were now crouched.

Glaring at the Rohan man even though its effect was lost in the darkness, Kinnale turned to aid the Elf in widening the gap enough so they could all slip through. After a moment of silent fuming over being ordered about by his Ranger counterpart, Eomer joined them, pulling at the eroded bars with all his strength. However, the man was soon distracted again when he felt something heavy run over his booted foot. Kicking out instinctively and splashing Legolas and Kinnale with putrid water in the process, Eomer yelped softly.

"Shhh," Legolas hissed, aware that although this particular spot went unguarded there were still plenty of Orc ears around to hear any disturbances around the defences.

"Something just ran over my feet," Eomer whispered back in a high tone as if that justified his girlish yelp.

Legolas looked down at the water, already well aware that they were not the only ones using the grate to gain access to Helm's Deep. He'd felt tiny feet pattering across his own thin boots several times already, heard the slight splashing as they crossed the shallow water to get through the gap.

Hoping that it would calm the man down, Legolas explained in a whisper, "Rats. This place is crawling with them."

"Rats?" Eomer squeaked, looking down, suddenly wishing that he had some source of light so that he could at least see the furry little intruders that made his skin crawl. "I really hate rats."

"Better than Orcs," Kinnale reasoned with a shrug.

Looking back up at the flippant reply, Eomer glared once more into the darkness, hoping that Kinnale could at least feel the intensity of his glare on his back. In truth, he honestly wasn't sure whether the man's argument – rat over Orc – held any real merit. Right then he would gladly have traded scurrying, filthy, disease-carrying rats for hacking and angry Orcs.

Over all, Eomer had considered this to be a thoroughly terrible, reckless plan ever since the Ranger's commander and Legolas had posed it three weeks ago around the conference table at Edoras but now, crouched in the water, trying to gain entrance to the now Orc-run fortress he was convinced that to enter would bring death to them all. Still, he had reluctantly agreed with them, only because of that most important thing that he hoped still resided captive inside and he recognised they were too far gone now to turn back. As the rats continued to scurry around him, unaware of the surreptitious infiltration of the agents of Light going on around them, Eomer steeled himself against the fear that welled in his chest by filling his mind with the last image he had of his sister.

Actually, the plan that Aragorn, Legolas and Kinnale had devised was remarkably simple: gather all the men of Rohan and Bree who could bear arms, get to Helm's Deep as stealthily as possible then leave the Men in a safe hiding place just outside the fortress walls out of the sight of the fortress' lookouts whilst the three of them gained access through the wall via the one weakness Eomer knew of. Then it was simply a matter of killing the Orkish guards that stood at the main gates and opening them to allow access to the main forces of Men. After that came what Eomer considered to be the main flaw in the whole endeavour; killing every ally of the Shadow within the fortress successfully and retaking what was rightfully theirs.

Simplicity, however, did not necessarily guarantee success, especially when it was so fool-hardy a plan. And yet, Eomer had been convinced by the logic of it and the fact that in his heart he knew that this was the right thing to do even if he found that which he feared most within these walls.

"Alright, that should be big enough," Kinnale decided once they had sufficiently widened the gap in the rusting grate.

Eomer shoved the other two aside with a muttered, "I'll go first," before squeezing himself through the hole, the man slowly unsheathed his sword, ready should there be some agent of the Enemy lurking nearby.

"I'm so glad we're such a democratic little group," Kinnale muttered to Legolas, knowing that the slight against Eomer would have brought a smile to the Elf's lips. In spite of working closely together, Eomer's iciness towards Legolas had thawed very little over the weeks. He was working with the Elf he considered 'pompous and overly opinionated' only because he had no other choice. And, although Legolas had been unerringly polite since their confrontation in the conference room, Eomer stubbornly refused to warm to him. Of course, this had done little for morale on the journey to the Deep. At one point, Kinnale had been tempted to tell both Man and Elf to simply take out their swords and thrash out their differences in order to clear the air, but with the very real possibility that Eomer might actually try to kill Legolas in the process, which surely would do nothing to lift the spirits of anyone save Eomer himself, Kinnale had kept the idea to himself and tried his utmost to simply ignore the tension between the two of them.

In some ways though, Kinnale found himself thinking that plunging head-first into a den of creatures of Shadow was preferable to spending more time on the road with Legolas and Eomer constantly at one another's throats.

On the other side of the outer wall they were fortunate enough not to encounter any resistance, although they could hear the snarls of the fortress' inhabitants in the distance. Keeping low and moving quietly, the three intruders made their way along the edge of the wall. Torches burned as they got close to the main gates but the Orcs disliked the light enough that the flaming torches were confined only to the places were light was absolutely necessary and it was easy for the Elf and the two Men to stick to the shadows.

As Eomer and his Rohirrim had informed them, four Orkish guards stood idly at the main gate and although they bore weapons typical of their race, they were barely focused on their duty. Complacency had always been a major flaw of the armies of Shadow after so many great victories. And, after all, who would be foolish enough to launch an attack on Helm's Deep?

Creeping up to the distracted creatures, Eomer gave the signal to attack. It was done in silence. Quietly, throats were slit from behind, the bodies dragged out of the way to avoid detection. They moved fast, knowing that it wouldn't be long before they were spotted by the other Orcs and Uruks that resided in the fortress. The gates were not locked, just barricaded with a simple wooden bar, which took all three of them to remove. Once open, all they would have to do was signal for the combined forces of Rohirrim and Ranger to join them and they could attack.

As planned, Legolas headed away from the main gates, moving through the shadows on silent feet. Kinnale and Eomer – and especially Aragorn – had not understood the Elf's reasoning when he'd said that he would make his way into the fortress itself on his own but he had not backed down in the face of their protests, insisting that he knew best. Kinnale was certain that Eomer had cheered at the thought of Legolas entering the Orcs' den without back-up. Aragorn on the other hand, had been furious at the reckless plan and the yelling that had followed Legolas' declaration could be heard all along the guest corridor of Meduseld and had continued long into the night. Perhaps that was why Legolas had insisted that Aragorn stay behind with the others whilst he went with the commanders to infiltrate the fortress.

Legolas moved in the shadows for as long as he could. When he reached the long walkway that led up to the doors to the fortress proper, he paused, looking all around for Orcs posted at the windows. He had no doubt that there would be a guard inside the entrance but leading up to the tall, solid wooden doors it was all clear.

He ran as fast as he could up the incline, deciding that speed now outweighed the need to avoid being spotted. When he reached the doors, he tugged on them, hoping they'd be unlocked. No such luck. Boldly, he banged on the door with his fist, hoping for a reply.

"What?" a voice snapped from the other side, obviously Orc rather than Uruk by the tone. Rather than answer, Legolas pounded on the door harder this time. Sure enough, Legolas heard the sound of heavy bolts being pulled back and the guard growled irritably, "What do you want?" Once again, Legolas beat hard on the wood, knowing that it was irritating the creature on the other side into sloppiness. A moment later the door was wrenched open and a voice again demanded, "What?"

Legolas' reply was to simply stab his knife through the Orc's exposed neck, killing it instantly. Tossing the almost decapitated body down on the floor, Legolas stepped over it to dispatch the other Orcs, five in total, that were milling around in the hall. Without missing a beat, he strode through another door on his, which led to a long, curved, dark corridor with twenty or so doors lining it. Had he not known where he was headed, this would have been problematic and he was glad that the archives at Meduseld had contained detailed plans of the fortress and that he'd taken the time to study them before he'd left, committing to memory the simplest route to his intended destination.

At first he met no resistance as he navigated the corridors. Helm's Deep was vast, built to house hundreds of people during a prolonged attack, and Legolas knew that it would be easy to get lost if you didn't know your way around.

After a couple of minutes, Legolas heard shouting from outside, a sure sign that battle had commenced. Orcs and Uruks heard the call and poured from the fortress to confront the Men, who foolishly dared to attack their stronghold. Along his way, Legolas dispatched a fair few of the creatures, pausing only to strike them down with his knives before continuing onwards. At the very least, he was lowering the numbers that would descend on his companions.

Worried as he was right then that Aragorn could well be engaged in battle with the Enemy, Legolas hurried onwards, making his way deeper into the fortress.

All was going well until he inadvertently stumbled directly into the path of at least twenty Uruk-hai, all having heard the horns crying for help from their comrades in battle and heading out to the battle that the Men had started. Both stopped in their tracks, face to face, eyeing each other up. The surprise at seeing an Elf in their path made the Uruk-hai startled enough to baffle them for a moment. Then the Uruks suddenly growled in anger, advancing on the solitary Elf in their path, deciding that seeing it dead was more important than understanding why it had come. Running not being an option, Legolas had no choice but to stand and fight.

Heading boldly towards the advancing Uruks, Legolas raised his weapons defiantly. This whole situation reminded him rather too much of the last fight he had fought in at Mirkwood but at least from that experience he now found himself prepared.

The Uruk-hai were strong, driven by their fury at the intrusion by one of the hated Firstborn into their stronghold. Legolas stood alone, just two knives against the multiple, varied weaponry of the Uruks. Vastly outnumbered and disadvantaged, Legolas fought with all his strength, parrying the heavy blows the Uruk-hai rained down on him. Here in the constricted corridor, he found it awkward fighting the vicious creatures. Outside, where by now the battle between the forces of Light and Shadow no doubt raged, it would have been easier to fight, he would have had the space and backup from his companions but this was the task he had appointed himself so he was determined to see it through no matter how many Uruks he had to kill to do so.

Legolas wasn't quite sure how the Uruks managed to get the better of him in the end. One minute he was holding his own against the monsters, the next he was sprawled on the floor amidst the laughing Uruks. They didn't waste a second in ensuring that he would not get back up. Heavily booted feet kicked him hard while he instinctively tried to curl up against the blows.

The knives with which he had been fighting lay sprawled on the ground, Legolas saw amongst the legs of the Uruk-hai. He reached out one hand in an attempt to drag one closer but a foot, whether by accident or design, trod on his hand and he drew it back with a hiss of pain as soon as the foot was lifted. For the moment, the Uruks were satisfied with simply beating him for their amusement but Legolas knew that this distraction would not last for long and then the creatures would get rid of him before moving on to the attackers outside.

With determination, he gritted his teeth against the pain and stretched out his arm until his fingertips slid over the smooth handle of his knife and he was able to drag it toward himself. Picking up the knife, he quickly aimed at the closest thing before the Uruks had a chance to disarm him again.

The closest thing to him just happened to be an Uruk foot, which was a good enough target for Legolas in his desperation. With considerable force, he thrust his blade downwards. A great shriek echoed down the entire length of the corridor as the deadly-sharp knife sliced clean through leather boot, flesh and bone alike. Amusingly, the startled creature hopped backwards, toppling into its fellows in a clatter of armour and a round of shouts. The shock of the creatures presented Legolas with just the opportunity he needed to gain his feet and, although beaten and bruised from the attack, regain some semblance of strength.

Leaping up, he used the Uruks momentary disorientation to dispatch a couple more of the foul creatures. At this bloodshed, however, the Uruks, having recovered themselves somewhat, leapt back into action, swarming over Legolas, all amusement now gone. Now was the time to kill this invading nuisance.

But now, Legolas fought more fiercely than before and before they knew it, their numbers had been dramatically reduced to just five. Legolas was also pushing the remaining Uruk-hai further down the corridor, simultaneously killing Uruks and moving closer to his intended destination, for surely the possibility that more servants of the Shadow would soon be coming along this way was high given the battle raging outside. There was no time to lose.

Before long, only one Uruk remained standing, naturally it was the strongest and biggest of them all. By this time, Legolas was fast tiring. Already naturally weary, the fight and beating he had had to endure had taken much of his strength. Nevertheless, he held his own against the foul beast that threatened him.

When Legolas found himself shoved hard against the wall of the corridor, his sword knocked from his hand once more, pain shot up his right side, so much so that its force stole his breath away. However, he resisted the impulse to drop his remaining knife and instead forcefully kicked out hard at the snarling Uruk that was leering at him, sending the monster to slam into the opposite wall where he was able to pin it by thrusting almost the entire length of his blood-slickened knife straight through its abdomen until he could feel the rough, hard stone of the wall behind grating against its tip.

The creature's yellow eyes widened in surprise, stunned that it had been bested by one of the Firstborn within its own fortress. Then, much to Legolas' utter bewilderment, the crazed abomination started to laugh, thick black blood choking its throat and oozing down its chin and yet it seemed to almost delight in this. It spat blood from its mouth, aiming for the Elf's face, but Legolas merely stepped backwards in disgust, keeping his hand loosely on the handle of his knife, still impaled deeply inside the Uruk.

Still laughing even as it began to choke on its own thick blood, the creature started to speak in slurred, gurgling and horribly unpractised Westron, so heavily accented that Legolas would have found it difficult to understand at the best of times even had blood not been bubbling up in its throat.

"You might have won this round, Elf, but victory will still belong to us in the end."

"We shall see," Legolas said softly in return before pulling out his knife in one swift motion, leaving the chuckling Uruk to crumple to the floor.

As Legolas turned, intent on getting away before more Uruk-hai came by this way, the creature, now lying half propped up against the bloody wall called after him, "Abandon your cause now, Prince of Mirkwood."

Legolas stopped dead in his tracks then slowly turned back, asking in a low voice, "What did you call me?"

The Uruk laughed, enjoying the fact that it had gotten Legolas' attention and that fear now shone in darkened blue eyes. It made Legolas wait for the explanation, realising how it bothered the Elf. To annoy him further, the creature feigned a coughing fit, making sure to splatter Legolas' boots with blood whilst doing so – some small enjoyment in its last moments of life. When, however, Legolas started to advance again with his knife dripping with the black blood of his fellows and a murderous glint in his eyes, the creature decided to delay no longer.

"Yes, we know who you are." It paused then, as if reaching for some kind of sick dramatic effect. "And He knows you too."

A cold chill ran through Legolas, for there could be no doubt that the Dark Lord was the 'He' the Uruk was referring to. Striding over to the dying creature, unable to ignore the warning, Legolas grabbed it and pulled it almost to its feet before shoving it hard against the wall, staring unflinchingly into glowing yellow eyes filled with horror and evil. The Uruk spat more foul blood at the Elf, this time unintentional as it coughed and spluttered at the movement. As far as Legolas knew, the Uruk-hai did not feel pain, or if they did then they paid it no heed – indeed this beast seemed almost happy that its death was being so prolonged, and having the rare opportunity to play with the mind of one of the Firstborn.

"You lie!" Legolas accused hotly.

Laughing in Legolas' face, the Uruk swallowed more of its own blood, licking its lips at the taste. It knew this motion disgusted Legolas as the Elf's face grimaced at the thought. "I do not," it chuckled after a moment. "My master will come."

"How? How could he know of me?" Legolas demanded, shaking the Uruk hard when it seemed to weaken in his grasp. It didn't have much longer on this earth but Legolas was determined to get his information before its passing. "Answer me."

Leaning closer that they were almost nose-to-nose, the creature answered, "You are being watched, Elf. You and your child king." Legolas paled even further. It knew of Aragorn, therefore Sauron also knew and although this did not come as a complete shock it was nevertheless deeply worrying. "He is going to find you and put a bloody end to your futile crusade."

In spite of Legolas' fear, he would not give the Uruk any further pleasure before its end, and he growled back, "Maybe so, but you won't be alive to see it."

Amidst more almost hysterical laughing, Legolas released the seemingly delirious creature just long enough to break its thick neck and put an end to its revelling. Breathless, Legolas stood for a moment, mulling over what he had just learned. Troubling as the truth may have been though, there was nothing he could do about it in that exact moment and it didn't really pose an immediate problem. Sauron was not at the fortress of the Rohan people. One battle at a time; Helm's Deep was all he could worry about right then.

So, stepping over the Uruk's bloody corpse, Legolas proceeded onwards to the end of the dark corridor. As he hurried alone though, the pain he'd felt earlier in his side flared again, reminding him that he had been injured in this most recent fight. Transferring his knife from his right hand into his left along with the other that he had retrieved, Legolas pressed his palm against where the pain was and it throbbed again and he felt a wet warmth coating his skin. Pulling his shirt away from where it clung to his body, Legolas glanced down to find dark blood now staining it. That much blood couldn't have come from a mere scratch as he had initially hoped. Still, there was no time to worry about it now.

Hurrying along, Legolas descended the high staircase leading to the bottom level of the fortress, sitting just above the network of caves. He met no further resistance along the way but when he arrived at the corridor been aiming for, two more Uruk-hai were stood on guard on either side of a solid metal-reinforced door. Although the odds this time were better than previously, Legolas was not taking the threat lightly, they were still dangerous creatures no matter what their numbers.

This time though, it only took a few well-placed strokes of his blade to dispatch the two unsuspecting creatures with minimum fuss. Legolas leaned over their dead bodies, searching for the key to the door they had failed in guarding. Then he entered this most horrible of places.

Legolas walked up to the first of twelve heavy iron doors, rusting from age and neglect, that lined a long, thin corridor. The smell down here in the fortress' cell block was horrendous and upon peering into the first cell, Legolas understood why – a rotten body, brown and greasy where it had begun to decay laid against the far wall at the back of the small cell, now beyond all recognition. Legolas took an involuntary step back in disgust, gagging at the stench, which was made all the worse by the confined quarters the cells were housed in.

Not wanting to dwell too long on the grisly image, Legolas inserted the key into the lock and swung open the heavy door to complete the unsavoury task he knew he had to do before he could leave satisfied. It took only a second for Legolas to check the body for clues. What remained of the corpse indicated to him that this was a male who had had dark hair. Not what Legolas was looking for. The Rohirrim had explained to him, with no small amount of reluctance given their commander's open dislike of the Elf, in detail what he should be looking for and although he felt sympathy for all the poor souls who'd ended their miserable lives in these wretched cells, he did not wait around idly before moving on to the next door.

He methodically worked his way along, finding only the dead. There was every chance that this was an exercise in futility but all the same he felt compelled to try. In each cell, he found only skeletons or rotting corpses, sometimes many packed into the small spaces, decomposing remains sitting atop bodies fully stripped of flesh. It was a disturbing thought, that these men had died so horrifically.

It wasn't until he reached the very end cell that something caught his eye. As he threw open the last door in the row he saw four almost skeletonised remains chained up against the damp walls. All four were clearly men. It was a woman he searched for. However, at the very back of the cell on the floor, not held by chains but shrouded in a ragged, threadbare blanket stained with fluids Legolas did not even want to think about, laid another body. No movement came from beneath the filth-stained blanket and yet Legolas stepped over to it, tentatively reaching out a hand to pull away the cover to reveal what lay beneath.

The almost inhuman screech that pierced the silence made Legolas leap back in fright. The cry was cut off abruptly when the blanket dropped back down and the cell block fell eerily silent again. For a moment, Legolas paused to give his heart time to slow to a more acceptable rate, then he took a cautious step forward. The person who had been hidden beneath the blanket was perhaps the most pitiful creature Legolas had seen in all his days. It was obviously a woman as she had no clothing on her body. She was practically skin and bones, starved almost to the point of death. Her head had been completely shaved of all her hair although short prickles that had grown up on her wounded scalp indicated that she was blonde. Wounds from both physical punishment and natural neglect, spotted her emaciated body, which was a mess of scars visible beneath the dirt. Apart from a constant shuddering and the irregular breathing, the woman laid completely frozen on the ground, facing away from Legolas, hands pressed tightly to her ears as if by simply ignoring her apparent tormentor she could make said visitor retreat.

Legolas, however, did not turn away, but rather moved steadily closer, avoiding treading on the other rotting, putrid bodies that cluttered his path, and crouched down behind the trembling woman.

Upon sensing the intruder close to her, the woman let out another high-pitched, keening screech – a defence mechanism built into her from years of experience of hurt, Legolas thought - but this time he did not flinch away. He reached out and very slowly and carefully moved her over onto her back. Gently, he took her wrists, so thin he feared they would snap under even his light touch. She was so weak that she could do little to resist as he pulled her hands away from her ears. Despite her obvious frailty, she fought viciously when Legolas moved closer still with the intention of lifting her off the dirty, cold stone floor. Flailing hands and legs were aimed at him and he feared that restraining her might make things worse for the obviously terrified woman, who clearly considered him to be foe rather than friend – or maybe she found it impossible after years of torment and neglect to tell the difference.

"Stop," Legolas commanded as gently as he could amidst the feeble blows she was raining down on him. "I am trying to help you." In response she screamed again, loud and feral. "Listen to me, I am not going to hurt you." This reassurance did not seem to get through to her in her wild panic though and she continued now to howl loudly, her one and only defence, flimsy though it was, against mistreatment. Legolas searched his mind for something that would get through to her. Carefully, he lifted her trembling, light body so that she was propped up a little on his lap, then said in a clear, loud voice so that she could understand, "Your brother sent me to help you, Eowyn."

The screaming ceased so abruptly that it left Legolas' ears ringing. Then eyes, which had previously been screwed tightly shut, cracked open. Even in the dark of the cell, Legolas could tell immediately that this woman was indeed Eomer's sister thought lost. Deep green, expressive eyes reluctantly met Legolas' and he smiled kindly to reassure her.

"Eowyn," he said the name softly now that her cries had died down. Her eyes widened further, showing that she at very least recognised the sound of her own name, even if she might not have heard it spoken in many years. Encouraged by the response, Legolas repeated, "Eowyn. That is your name?"

Biting hard on her already bleeding bottom lip, she nodded very slightly, weakly.

"Eowyn, my name is Legolas. I am a friend of your brother Eomer. He is here at Helm's Deep."

Panic lit her eyes then and she shook her head, her mouth opening as if she wanted to speak but the noise came out as little more than a raspy croak. Even so, Legolas managed to interpret what she was trying to say – 'No'.

"It is fine," he assured but then looked to the open cell door, picturing more of the minions of Sauron running down the corridor, tripping over the mess of Uruk-hai corpses he'd left behind. "But, Eowyn, we have to go now."

Again, Eowyn seemed to panic, weakly pushing her hand against Legolas' chest as if to put some distance between them. She was scared of him.

"All will be well," he gently told her, slipping his arms out from under her so she rested fully against his knees, leaving him free to shrug off his jacket. He laid the dirty garment onto her naked form, wrapping it as best he could around her. Once more, she was shaking her head desperately, afraid, it seemed, of leaving her cell. Legolas, however, ignored her feeble protests and gathered her up into his arms and stood. Making sure that she was held securely in his grip, Legolas told her, "Let's get you out of here now."

Legolas moved quickly through the cell block then past the two dead Uruk guards, at which point Eowyn hid her face beneath the collar of his jacket.

He made it all the way up the tall flight of stairs before he met any resistance. The footsteps he'd heard racing towards him turned out to be a mere goblin who was so stunned to see an Elf carrying a small bundle of a woman in his arms that all Legolas had to do was give the small creature a hard shove with his foot, sending it tumbling down the stairs to its death.

Although Eowyn had her eyes covered, she recognised the danger and started crying again, although mercifully not the dreadful keening noise she had made before. Legolas made no attempt to console her. He was more focused on getting them both out alive.

Barely pausing, Legolas hurried along the corridors, only slowing to carefully pick his way through the bloody corpses of the Uruks he'd slain on his way in who remained strewn on the floor. He was pleased that Eowyn still had her face buried beneath his jacket for surely the emotionally fragile woman would not have taken well to seeing the slaughtered Uruk-hai.

As he reached the entrance through which he had arrived, Legolas ran into a major problem – the hall was swarming with agents of the Shadow: Uruk-hai, Orcs and Goblins hurried everywhere, rushing to barricade the doors to keep the attacking Men out of the fortress. Legolas was mildly pleased about this. The Men had them on the run.

Good as that was though, it still left the Elf with a problem: he was trapped inside with at least forty creatures who would pretty soon be intent on killing him and he had no help and a considerable burden in his arms.

The heavy door was suddenly being pounded upon from the outside – the Men were trying to gain entrance. From the barricade the Enemy was building, Legolas guessed that it would be some time before the Men were successful. He could have waited, retreated back into the depths of Helm's Deep and found somewhere to hide away with Eowyn until the combined forces of the Rohirrim and Rangers broke into the fortress and dispatched with the creatures of Sauron. But Legolas' conscience would never allow for this. He could not leave the Humans to fight alone whilst he cowered away from the danger. In his life already he had done enough hiding, enough running. No longer could he abide cowardice.

So, Legolas retraced his steps and once he was stood in the second corridor away from the main entrance hall, he yanked open the closest door. After quickly assuring himself that it was completely empty, Legolas went to the far wall then carefully crouched so he could lay the trembling Eowyn down on the floor.

At the change of situation, she shrugged the jacket away from her face and imploringly reached out a skeletal hand to her saviour in a questioning gesture.

"You must stay put. I have to help my comrades and I cannot risk taking you with me," he explained quickly, readjusting his jacket to cover as much of her naked form as he could.

An odd whimpering noise issued from the back of her throat and her green eyes shone in terror and pleading as her weak fingers curled around his shirt in a feeble attempt to keep him from leaving.

It was easy for him to pry her off, she had almost no strength in the twig-like digits. "Eowyn, do not fear. You will be safe here until my return." Wide-eyed, she shook her head. "I will come back for you, I swear it. Then I will take you to your brother."

His calm words got through to her and through her fear and confusion, she knew him to be sincere so she nodded this time, relinquishing her pathetically weak hold on his comparatively strong hand.

"Stay here and stay quiet, no matter what."

With that simple instruction, he was up and had shot out the door, closing it behind him so as not to attract the notice of any creature that might be passing by. He wasted no time in running into the entrance hall where the intruders remained holding the Men outside at bay. There was no point in delaying, prolonging the inevitable.

The first few Uruks didn't know what exactly struck them down and amidst the confusion in the hall no other enemy noticed the arrows flying from the direction of the corridor nor their comrades dropping to the ground dead. Even after Legolas had used his full complement of arrows and switched to his knives, taking out the Orcs, Uruk-hai and Goblins closest to him first, the mass of creatures barely noticed. It was, in fact, only after Legolas had slaughtered in hand to hand combat six of the Uruks, four Orcs and eight Goblins that anyone noticed his presence at all. Then the creatures began screeching out the alert – there was an enemy amongst them. Then there was no retreating for the Elf after that. It turned into all-out raging war in the entrance hall of Helm's Deep.

Vastly outnumbered, Legolas knew that this was not going to be an easy victory. Angry Orcs lunged at him, Goblins tried to outwit him whilst the superior Uruk-hai stood back, letting the lesser orders attempt to deal with the Elf before they dared get involved.

Legolas was fast though. Orcs fell at the strokes of his two glinting blades and the smaller, more cowardly Goblins retreated back towards the Uruk-hai. He made for an impressive sight, this fierce blonde Elf. Any creature brave – or foolish – enough to plunge into a mass of creatures allied to the Shadow was to be respected at the very least or feared in the extreme.

To Be Continued…