Chapter 36

Ariana's heart beat faster than ever before. It felt like it was going to jump out of her chest. It was dawn and they had arrived at Gondor. The enemy's army covered the field below. Rohan's horsemen stopped on the hilltop overlooking Gondor in their lines. Elfhelm's éored was on the right flank to the king at the front lines. When they attacked Ariana would be in direct combat right away. She had a large chance of being the first to die. Her grip on her spear tightened. Her confidence in her ability with the weapon was low. She felt more comfortable at short distance with her sword, or better yet her bow.

Her attention went to the king as he rode before them across the ranks. "Arise! Arise riders of Théoden. Spears shall be shaken; shields shall be splintered, a sword day, a red day ere the sun rises!"

They all lowered their spears in readiness. Théoden drew his sword and met each spear as he passed every rider. He tried to pass his strength to his men. "Ride now, ride now, ride! Ride for ruin and the world's ending! Death!" He cried out his final word, repeating with vigor until his men joined him.

Ariana felt his fighting spirit rushing through her and lifted her spear higher, shouting out her fear and restlessness. "Death!" She screamed until her throat hurt. She let every emotion and memory she kept safe in her heart out to fuel her.

Théoden turned his horse forward and lifted his sword toward the battlefield. "Forth, Eorlingas!"

The horns sounded and the army moved forward. Slow at first, but broke into a gallop as they approached the enemy. Before the enemy was a waterfall of horsemen over the hill. They faced the shadow with the sun shining in their wake. Théoden gave one last cry. "CHARGE!"

Quicker than Ariana would have wanted she was at the front of the enemy's ranks. She managed to avoid the arrows and stabbed the closest one with her spear. The Rohirrim broke through the enemy's front ranks easily and soon they were all in the fray. Ariana discarded her spear in the carcass, more than happy to be rid of it. She was much more comfortable fighting without it. Pulling her sword from her sheath she cut at every Orc that came near her, maneuvering Hurluin with one hand. Though Hurluin was leading her true if her attention was taken away. Éowyn was already lost to her in the fray, but she was too busy keeping herself alive to worry about that.

She realized quickly that stabbing the monsters took too long; retracting her sword and moving on. She switched to slicing at their neck or cutting off their hands when they swung at her. Her arm was beginning to get tired and she tried not to count how many she killed. Hurluin had not stopped running since they broke through and took his part in running over the smaller Orcs and goblins.

Pure adrenaline was running through her veins and she almost felt like everything was sharper. She could feel the sweat pouring out of her pores; see everything just in front of her clearer, smell the blood of the battlefield, and the sensation of her sword cutting through the flesh of the enemy. She tried to ignore that feeling.

The Rohirrim were overpowering the enemy and could push them back. "Drive them to the river!"

The order was from close by. She looked up from slashing the closest Orc and spotted the river. When the Orcs pulled on Hurluin's reins she turned him and they rushed the Orcs to push them back. Théoden called to them to protect the city. Shortly after Ariana heard sounds like someone pounding at the ground, and felt the ground rumble slightly even atop of Hurluin. She looked for the source and gasped. A line of Oliphaunts were heading for them. Their riders sounded their horns and the Oliphaunts charged.

"Re-form the line!" Théoden yelled. "Re-form the line!"

Ariana put Hurluin to action and headed to the group at the right of the king's éored. She stared at the giant creatures fearfully. She had only read about them in books, creatures controlled and ridden on as horses by the Men of Harad. To see them right in front of her and heading straight for them all was terrifying.

"Sound the charge! Take them head on!" Théoden cried. Gamling lifted his horn and the smooth carrying sound of his horn came forth, signaling all of them; combined with the command of the king. "Charge!"

Ariana sheathed her sword and pulled her bow from her belt. Her arrows were strapped to her back in a cylinder container. She held onto Hurluin's reins to avoid the legs of the beasts and then turned to follow, keeping speed with them to avoid running into their feet. She let go of Hurluin's reins and raised her bow. Drawing an arrow, she aimed for the animal and let it fly. It embedded itself in the Oliphaunts chest, looking minuscule compared to the creature. Others used their arrows but it did nothing to it. Ariana's chest tightened and she panted in fear.

The Oliphaunt cried out and swung its trunk at her. She grabbed Hurluin's reins to steer him away from the Oliphaunt. The giant trunk just missed swatting her away like a bug. Another soldier was not as fortunate. Ariana watched him fly and her breathing quickened. She kicked Hurluin to go faster and took aim again, looking for a more vulnerable spot. Aiming was hard when riding a horse, but she had a very big target. Letting the arrow fly it hit the Oliphaunt right next to his eye.

She missed, but she was close enough to the socket and got the desired effect. The giant animal cried out in pain and stopped, jerking around to try and force the arrow out of its eyes. The rider and men in the carrier on its back couldn't hold on for long and fell. Some were trampled by their beast when they hit the ground.

Taking aim again she did the same to another, this time actually getting its eye. Hurluin ran quickly to get out of the way before the Oliphaunt hit him and Ariana. The two Oliphaunts ran into other Oliphaunts, bringing each other down. Ariana continued to fire arrow after arrow, aiming for the riders as they fired back, until she ran out of arrows. Once that happened she took her sword once more and killed the enemies closer to the ground. She celebrated silently how she was able to help in taking down four Oliphaunts.

It wasn't too happy of a celebration, given there were still many more Oliphaunts rampaging everywhere. Without arrows Ariana could not attack from afar, and she did not risk close combat with the creatures. Instead she moved closer to the river to fight. The Oliphaunts were heading towards the city.

An awful cry filled the air and Ariana winced, looking to the sky. A giant black winged creature was descending from the cloud, a screeching cry emitting from it. It was the Fell Beast, the steed of the Nazgûl. Ariana didn't like thinking of herself as a coward, but a smart person, and she leaned toward it being smart to avoid the monster rather than cowardly. She knew there was no winning against the creature, and even if she could, she couldn't beat its master, the right hand to evil itself.

She watched it until it landed and noted to avoid that area at all costs. She didn't need more problems than she already had. She was growing tired and her arms burned. Fighting from such height made it easier to see the enemy coming, but took a toll on her back and the reach of her arm, but she kept moving and killing. While she wasn't looking an Orc ran at her from her left side, slicing at her. Its sword sliced her leg and cut through the leather guard. She cried out and stabbed the Orc in the neck.

She checked the wound quickly and passed it over as a light one. Turning Hurluin they ran through the fray, slicing through the hordes of creatures. As she drew closer to the river her whole body filled with dread. Ships were making port. The Corsair arrived. It seemed the enemy continued to receive more and more allies while their side continued on with what they had.

From the front ship came out not the pirates of the Corsair, but four people she would know anywhere. She could have cried in joy at that moment as Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli arrived. Aragorn had succeeded; he passed through the Path of the Dead. As they walked forward thousands of ghostly figures appeared from thin air and attacked the enemy. Apparently Aragorn brought the dead with him as well.

Her eyes widened as the transparent army headed straight for her. She cowered, bending over Hurluin. No harm came to her as they passed around, and some through her, just a cold chill traveled up her spine. She looked up, surprised, and watched them wreack havoc on the enemy that had previously been around her and then move on to the next ones. She was suddenly filled with a newfound vigor as the advantage was on their side. Letting out a loud cry she rode Hurluin into the battle. If she could survive she knew she would see victory.

Blinded by her overeager attitude she did not see the arrow coming until it was embedded in her right forearm. She screamed in shock and pain and dropped her sword, automatically grabbing her injured arm. A shot of panic went through her and she looked for the source of the arrow. She saw an Orc archer not too far away. He already had another arrow notched. Grabbing Hurluin's reins with her good arm she kicked him into a gallop. The arrow was not escaped.

Hurluin cried out and reared onto his back legs. Ariana screamed and tried to hang on, but with one hand it was useless. She fell from Hurluin and gasped at the impact of her back with the ground. She looked at Hurluin, her vision blurry, and saw a gash on his back leg briefly before he ran off. She looked toward the enemy, only to see him dead on the ground. Someone had killed him. Sitting up, she winced, her back and arm screaming. She looked around for her sword and saw it a few yards away. Her legs did all the work to pull herself up. Standing hurt, but the back pain was fading slowly. She turned, ready to go after her sword, but gasped as an Orc, sword raised, was right in front of her. She ducked his blade and ran towards her sword.

The Orc grabbed onto the long braid coming out from under the helmet. Ariana cried out in pain as she was thrown to the ground. She screamed as she landed on the arm with the arrow still in it. Tears of pain escaped her eyes as she turned onto her back to watch the monster raise his sword again to kill her.

Mid-swing, the Orc froze, his eyes widening. Opening his mouth black blood fell from his lips and landed on Ariana's face. She watched, surprised, as the Orc fell over dead and in his place stood Boromir.

"Boromir." She gasped.

He looked down at the soldier, confused. How did he know his name? Looking at the face beneath the helmet his eyes widened. "Ariana?" His eyes flickered to her arm. "You're hurt."

Ariana ignored his concern and stood up. "It's fine."

"There is an arrow in your arm!" He yelled.

She looked at the arrow and winced. It broke when she fell on it, but some wood was still sticking out. "It's fine," she repeated. "It didn't go all the way through." She looked around; the battle looked as if it was drawing to a close. The remaining enemies were being taken care of by the reinforcements brought by Aragorn, some fleeing to escape. She could take care of her wound in Gondor's healing hall. She looked up to Boromir to question him about the whereabouts but paused. He was even paler than when she last saw him, and he was breathing heavily with a sweat covered face. She reached for his face, but he avoided her hand. "Boromir, are you alright?"

"I am fine."

"You're lying." She persisted. "Have you been injured?"

"No." He said softly.

Her eyebrows furrowed, thinking hard. The only other explanation would be… Her eyes widened and she looked at him. She was going to ask about his old wound but his eyes begin to cloud over and he swayed on his feet. "Boromir?" He dropped his sword and fell forward. "Boromir!" She caught him painfully, and tried to move him to the ground as gently as she could. Once there she felt his head and reeled back in surprise, he was burning up.

Unhooking his cloak and the first layer of his leather vest she pulled down the collar of his tunic and coat of mail and looked at his old wound. Neither material stretched far enough for her to see the whole wound, but saw enough. The skin was an angry pink, and when she touched the skin around the old wound it was hotter than the rest of his body. The wound was infected. She looked down at Boromir's face, pushing wet hair off his brow. "It's alright Boromir, I'll take care of you. I'm sorry I didn't before."

Ariana watched the people around her as Aragorn wrapped her arm. They were located in the in one of the Houses of Healing in the sixth level on the southeastern side. The room they were in was where those with minor or the most non life threatening wounds were taken. While Aragorn took care of her wound the Warden of the Houses, the wise-woman Ioreth, and the herb-master took care of everyone else. Her admiration for the healers of Gondor grew the more she watched them all. They looked so efficient and worked well under pressure. You wouldn't be able to tell their city was just attacked hours before. They even had a small amount of women working.

Besides the healers her eyes kept glancing to the bed across the room. There the healers were taking care of Boromir. She had tried to assist them and give them the herbs she had, but she was brushed off by the herb-master and wise-woman. She trusted him in their hands, they had taken care of Boromir's wounds since he was small, and his wound was minor.

Still, she wanted to be the one to take care of him. Her eyes were drawn to him and watched him through the bodies of the healers. His face was calmer, but he was still sweating. A pretty woman healer, most likely an apprentice of Ioreth, wiped his forehead with a cloth and smiled at him. Ariana felt disgruntled.

"Ariana." Aragorn said, drawing her attention. "Is all well?"

She wiped off her frown and smiled. "Yes, I am just worried for Boromir."

A look of understanding passed over Aragorn's face. "Ah yes, I am guilty that I did not notice his condition earlier before it came this far."

She sighed. "Well Boromir should have said something, but he didn't want to be left behind, and you had other things to worry about."

He nodded. "And he is being taken care of well here. They must be glad to see Boromir once more."

Ariana's expression flickered as she looked at Boromir again, the same woman still wiping off his face, standing a little too close to his bed. "Maybe a little too glad." She muttered.

Aragorn grinned. "What, Ariana?"

She looked at him. "Nothing." She examined the job Aragorn did on her arm. It was perfect. It hurt when she moved her arm, but there wasn't much she could do about the pain. She was glad she had Aragorn to take care of her rather than someone she didn't know. Boromir would be happy to know that healers he was familiar with took care of him. She didn't notice she was looking toward Boromir once again.

"You will be able to see him soon, Ariana, don't worry." Aragorn said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She looked at him in surprise. "I know. I just… I don't know. I'm ashamed in myself for not trying harder to check his wounds better before he left."

"It's not your fault Ariana, Boromir will be fine."

She looked away. "I'm not worried about that."

"Ah," Aragorn said in sudden realization. "You should really speak to Boromir about everything Ariana."

"What?" She asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"About how-"

"Aragorn."

The siblings looked up, just noticing Gandalf's presence. Ariana smile brightly while Aragorn gave Gandalf a questioning look. Gandalf looked between them and Ariana's wound briefly before looking just at Aragorn. "You are needed in the next room. I fear Faramir, Éowyn, and Merry are in dire condition from their contact with the Nazgûl. The healers need your assistance; they've never faced this before."

Aragorn nodded and stood. He left Ariana with a kiss on the forehead before leaving the room.

Ariana watched him leave then looked to Gandalf. "Will they be alright, Gandalf?"

The wizard sighed and took a seat on her bed, staring out the window of the far wall. "Faramir and Merry should pull through with Aragorn's assistance, but Lady Éowyn's recovery is hard to predict."

"Why? I thought she came out without any wounds."

"It was their contact with the Nazgûl that left them in these extreme states and it is not just a matter of healing wounds, but their minds. Éowyn has been effected the most by the war and will be the most reluctant to heal." Gandalf said.

Ariana nodded. "She went into battle with little hope and combined with the death of her uncle she has little to come back to."

"Let's hope Eomer can help her pull through."

She felt a twang in her heart as Eomer was mentioned, but pushed it aside and agreed with him. They fell into silence and she busied herself with pulling her hair over her shoulder and braiding it.

"Something is bothering you." Gandalf said.

She didn't deny it. "Aye, but this is a matter you would be unable to help with Gandalf."

"Hmm, then I will not question you."

"Thank you." She sighed and flipped the untied braid behind her, feeling it loosen immediately. Without her consent her eyes took a moment to look across the room once more. Boromir was no longer surrounded by healers and the woman was no longer there wiping his face. He looked peaceful while he slept. She wondered what he was dreaming about. Her mind took a crazy turn and she wondered if he ever dreamed of her.

"What must you be thinking of to put such a look on your face?" Gandalf said, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She gave him a confused look. "Huh?"

"I will leave you to your thoughts; there are things I must attend to." He said as if he hadn't spoken before. He stood and patted her shoulder. She watched him leave, even more confused. Gandalf was at the top of her list of people she didn't understand. After him was Elrond. She distracted herself for a second by continuing to list off people. One person she subconsciously thought of was across the room, unconscious. She looked back at Boromir, debating over going to his bedside.

It wasn't a long debate as she found herself next to him not a minute later. Being so close to him while he was in such a state caused her guilt to hit her even harder. If she hadn't been so afraid to confront him after she found out how he felt he wouldn't have gone into battle with an untreated wound. What if he passed out during a more crucial part of the battle? He could have been killed. It would have been all her fault. Letting her fear get in the way of her responsibility could have cost a man his life.

She pulled a stool and sunk down, staring at his face. Words began to spill out of her mouth the moment she sat down. "I'm so sorry, Boromir." Warm tears rolled down her cheeks, leaving chilled trails until they dripped off her chin. "Why would you ever choose me? Such a waste."

Her body felt hot and her throat felt tight. "I'm an awful person; I didn't even notice your feelings. I abandoned you and put your health at risk because I was scared to make you even madder. I didn't want to lose your friendship." She wiped her eyes and nose with her sleeve. "I-I can't blame you for ignoring me, I don't deserve you."

"Ariana…"

She gasped and realized he had woken up while she was looking away. Or maybe he was never truly unconscious. She stood swiftly. "I-I'm sorry." Her eyes darted around in panic, looking anywhere but him. She was such an idiot, saying all that in front of him. "I'll just go." She whispered, ready to flee.

"Wait." He reached over to her with his left arm and grabbed her hand, stopping her. He looked dazed from exhaustion. "Don't cry."

She wiped her eyes, avoiding his gaze and turning her head away so he couldn't see. "I'm not. I-I need to find Aragorn. He's with Éowyn and Eomer. He's healing her. I should see them."

His grip tightened. "Stay."

"What?" She asked surprised, finally looking at him. She didn't know how to describe his look, but after seeing it she pulled the stool even closer and sat back down. He was still holding her hand, resting it on his chest. He closed his eyes.

She stared at their hands and her heart clenched. "I'm sorry."

His grip on her hand tightened for a brief second. "Do not be."

A silence overtook them. Ariana listened to his breathing while continuing to look at their hands. A small smile appeared on her lips and she squeezed his hand back. "I am glad you are alright Boromir. You're very important to me." She laid her head down on the side of his bed. "Please don't treat me coldly."

If she had looked at his face she would have seen the small smile on his lips. "I will treat you well, Ariana. I will not leave you."

A content sigh left her lips and a warm feeling filled her. She let all her other problems and troubles float away. "Thank you."