An- Hey everyone! Hope life's been treating you good since the last chapter! So here we are again, a little later than I promised, but not by much! Oh, and in response to a reviewer, of COURSE we're still writing. lol. It is a rare occasion that I abandon a story, especially one I (along with the help of my four lovely and talented friends) put so much effort into. Not to mention this is great practice writing that will make writing my own original stuff even easier. I'm in this until the end, and I hope the others are too! Oh, and thanks for coming back! Have fun catching up!!

Chapter 45

Dawn was lighting up the sky, and the sounds of early morning were beginning to filter through the camp that they were two minutes from attacking. The bastards were blissfully unaware of the army that was closing in on them.

Jane gripped the hilt of her sword in one hand and Elijah's hand in the other. Adrenaline was beginning to pump through her, making her antsy and desperate to move.

They were all waiting for Eldarion to give the command to attack.

She was ready; scared to death, but ready.

For the first time, Jane saw Niori moving up to the front of the crowd. She reminded Jane of that dream/demon Niori, and that scared her too. But all this hate, rage and ferocity was thankfully directed at something else. Someone else.

"Any of you touch him," Niori spoke coldly, specifically to the girls, Legolas and Eldarion, "I'll make you pay for it. Aras is mine."

Niori sounded so…bloodthirsty. Enough so that Jane would go out of her way to make sure she went nowhere near the enemy king.

With that, Eldarion gave the signal to attack.

Here we go again, Jane thought as she ran into the camp.

l.l.l.l

Silmarwen was on her knees, bent over a patch of herbs, glancing over them and picking out the ones that were healthy enough. They would go a long way towards soothing fevers, especially for those newest sick; that was the time when the fever spiked the highest.

Eldarion had been right to leave her here, but that didn't make it any less frustrating. Sil didn't want to be in the battle itself, but to be there to know what was going on. She hated not knowing.

The only person more anxious than her was Erin, who was also helping her and Arien watch over all those who had been left behind, sick or not.

It was more of a task than Sil would have expected.

The sound of footsteps and voices suddenly pierced the air, startling her. She looked back over her shoulder towards the village, assuming that someone had come to find her…but no one was there. It wasn't until a moment later that it dawned on her that the sounds weren't coming form behind her, but in front.

Her eyes flew to that direction, and widened when she saw what was approaching. The enemy. There were about thirty of them coming straight at her, but had yet to notice. They were all heavily armed.

They must be a scouting party, Silmarwen thought frantically, come ahead of the army to observe us and find the best plan of attack.

And when they realized that the village was empty, she realized, they will investigate and find the warriors gone…and the weak, sick and defenceless left.

Sil stumbled to her feet and ran as fast as she could towards the village. She didn't think any saw her, because no vocal sign was given. She didn't care anyway…she had to warn everyone!

In no more than ten minutes, they would also be under attack.

l.l.l.l

Battle whirled all around her, and in flurry of motion, Carla tried to find someone whose face was famillar.

She could find none, and that only meant one thing; the enemy had somehow separated her from any allies. She was all alone against a good fifteen men…all of who were realizing with her that she was cut off from any possible aid.

She braced herself as they all turned on her, sword held clenched in tight hands as she prepared to attack.

If she was going to die, she was going to take them down with her.

The first of the men lunged at her, and she swung her sword around and her blade caught him in the stomach. The blood splattered from the wound, spraying over her in a fine red mist. She stepped away from it, blinking as the blood stung her eyes.

Then they were all on her, and Carla found herself fighting desperately to survive.

When she killed one, he was replaced by another man. When she fought off one, another was there to swing at an unprotected side.

Thrusting her blade into one man's chest, Carla cried out in pain as her side was cut.

She whirled around to face this new attack, but only to have another grab her wrist from behind. He squeezed so hard that she couldn't help but drop her sword, leaving her entirely defenceless.

Another man grabbed her by the shoulders, and despite how much she struggled, he held her tight. But no one of them made any move to kill her.

Confusion spread through her, and Carla couldn't stop it from leaking onto her face. When they saw it there, the three men who held her burst into cruel laughter.

"Killn' ye'd be such a waste," the man in front of her laughed, "'specially since he'd denied us the other one, our good king promised us ye."

The horror that flashed through Carla was absolute; all she could remember was the terror that had consumed Niori throughout real life and that horrible dream where Carla had witnessed the horror herself. And then there was the pain she had witnessed in Silmarwen and Arien's eyes.

They wanted to do the same to her.

Carla lashed out violently, the implication and fear seeming to hit her as though it was an arrow. They had been expecting her frantic attempt to free herself, so they only tightened their hold and laughed and leered at her.

Anger exploded within her as she saw the dangerous lust in their eyes; she could just imagine that this was how they looked when they had taken and hurt Silmarwen and Arien…when that one man had done the same to Niori. These were the men that had hurt those two little girls…

Carla may not have been as close to the princesses as some of the others –as Niori- but she still felt the fury; anyone who hurt children -anyone who raped children- deserved to die a very painful death.

Carla lunged her body forward violently, breaking their hold on her. When she hit the ground, she rolled so that she was out of his reach. Her hand clasped onto the hilt of the nearest sword and she got to her feet and swung around.

She would go down fighting before she let them do what they wanted to her. If it came down to taking her prisoner, Carla was going to make sure that they had no choice but to kill her.

And she was going to make sure that the three men who stood before her could never rape another woman again.

Carla dove towards the man closest to her, her sword pointed to his chest. At the last minute, she tipped the sword down and drove it into his groin.

The man screamed in absolute pain, and that gave Carla extreme satisfaction; if the man didn't bleed out and die, then he'd spend the rest of his life wishing that he had.

Before she could move, the last two grabbed onto her again. She could see the horror on their faces as they looked at the man Carla had basically castrated. They also showed shock that she had done it, fear that she would try to do it again, and relief that it hadn't been them.

They dragged her away as the other man lay withering on the ground. She fought against them, fear knowing at her again; what the hell were they doing? There was no way that they'd stop in the middle of a battle to take her off and rape her…was there?

Her question was answered when they reached the nearest building and they threw her un through the open doorway.

"We'll keep ye –save ye- for after the battle," one of them leered as the door was slammed shut.

Carla ran for the door, pushing on it. When Carla rammed her shoulder into it, there was no movement. They had somehow barred the door so tight that it couldn't move. She looked all around her, searching for some other means of getting out of the building; when she saw none, a cry of frustration tore out of her mouth.

Damnit! Being trapped in there meant that there was on less sword out there…and they were so outnumbered that they needed every single one. They needed her…she needed to get out there and fight.

She could still hear the battle raging outside, and now there were a few voices she recognized. That meant that her side had finally made it to this corner of the camp.

Carla heard screams of the dying and screams of the living who fought, and then above that, she heard on voice –a voice she knew so well because it belonged to the son of the man she loved and the voice of the boy who had saved her life not two days before- call out above them all.

"Burn this place! Burn it all!"

Carla smelt the burning wood before the flames even became seen. It took her a moment to realize what had happened…a moment to connect Elfwine's words with the orangey red light that was slowly taking over the wall to her left.

"No!" Carla screamed, throwing herself at the door, "Help! Someone help!"

Carla pounded on the door as the heat started to blister at her back. Smoke began to billow and fill the room all around her; It burned her eyes, nose and throat.

"I'm in here!" Carla screamed, but that scream turned in a coughing fit.

The sounds of battle continued outside, but none answered her screams; as the fire exploded behind her, none could hear her screams…

And with the door somehow jammed, she was trapped in the growing inferno.

l.l.l.l

When Erin first heard Silmarwen come on and start screaming, she couldn't make out a word she was saying; she was nearly hysterical and panting, her words jumbled together.

"Princess!" Erin said finally, holding down on Sil's shoulders to steady her, "Take a deep breath and calm down. Now, what are you screaming about?"

"They're coming! They're nearly here!"

"Who's coming?" Erin asked patiently.

"The enemy!"

Erin was stopped cold by Silmarwen's words. She just stared at the girl in disbelief, unable to comprehend.

She had to be wrong; they were in the village…it was the others who had marched off to face the enemy. Not them. They should be safe here.

The four or five people who had been in ear range erupted in cries of mounting panic, knowing what would happen if they were attacked.

They would all be slaughtered. Or worse.

Erin saw the terror in Silmarwen's eyes, and knew that she couldn't let that happen. She had to find a way to get these people out.

"How far away?" Erin asked.

"No more than ten minutes."

Erin's stomach sank. Ten minutes was not enough time to evacuate forty odd people and get them away from danger.

"How many?"

"About thirty."

Now Erin began to feel panic, and she felt like she was going to be violently sick.

Not enough time and too many bad guys; they may have had more people, but five untrained or sick people probably wouldn't stand up to even one of them. They were all doomed…

"What are we going to do!" a woman behind her cried, and she realized that the news had spread and nearly everyone was here…

And they were all looking to Silmarwen and Erin for answers.

They looked at each other, equally terrified that they were supposed to come up with a plan to save them all. It was ridiculous; Sil was only thirteen and Erin had never seen even one battle. So how were they supposed to do anything?

But Erin had to try. They were looking to her for answers, and she had to do her best. Hopefully that best would keep them all alive.

"Okay…umm…" Erin started, aware of every second that ticked by, "we have to get everyone out of here…"

"Wait!" Sil spoke suddenly, "most of those who are sick cannot be moved! It will be their lives if they are!"

She was right, and Erin was going to stick to the no man gets left behind rule.

"Then we'll have to find a way to make sure the bad guys move away from the people…" Erin pondered, racking her mind for any distraction that they could use.

"Get everyone to the hospital building!" Sil ordered, "take any weapons available with you! Stay silent at all costs and keep hidden…and if any do search the building, be prepared to attack!"

Everyone scattered to obey the royal command, all except Arien, who was rushing towards them.

"The hospital is the furthest building opposite the way they will come," Sil explained to Erin, "so it gives them more time. And separating them would be disastrous; a group attack will prove much more successful than by an individual."

Erin was impressed that the girl had realized it so quickly. But that still left the question of how were they going to distract them so they went nowhere neat that building, or at least to keep them away as long as they could.

"Sil! Erin!" Arien cried when she reached them, the same fear in her eyes.

The three of them were the only ones who really knew how to fight…in theory. Everyone else was either too sick or had absolutely no idea what to do. They were the only ones who had even had at least a sword fighting lesson.

From the look in Silmarwen's eyes, she already knew it, and it was beginning to dawn on Arien while Erin had known it for the past few minutes.

It was all up to them to defend the village.

l.l.l.l.l

She plunged her sword into a man's chest, trying not to notice the blood that splashed all over her. She only had a few moments to spare before she had to whip her sword and around to block another one.

But so far, the battle wasn't going as bad as Jane had assumed it would.

They may have been outnumbered (when weren't they?), but they were far from losing. But that didn't mean that they were winning either.

Jane gave a cry as she dove under a sword, and then spun around and thrust her sword up. It caught the man in the stomach, and this time it was the man who cried out.

Jane should have finished him off, but there was no time; he was down for the count, and there were a hundred other guys –men and Orcs alike- who could fight, and those were the ones she had to worry about. Even though the thought of leaving that man down there to suffer when she could end it made her feel sick, enemy or not.

Jane whirled around just in time to avoid having a sword plunged into her back. She took a step backwards to avoid the next swing…and her heals caught against something and she found herself tumbling backwards.

When she hit the ground, her sword was jarred out of her hand. Before she could even reach for it, the person above her, who just happened to be an Orc this time, was already swinging down.

Jane closed her eyes tightly, knowing that there was nothing she could do anymore. She was trapped. She waited for the pain, praying that it would be quick and silently apologizing to all those she was leaving behind.

The pain never came, and only then did she reopen her eyes. There was no longer an Orc above her, but Pippin was.

Jane grabbed onto her sword once again and bounded to her feet.

"Thank-" Jane started, but stopped when she noticed that Pippin's sword was different…like the fact that it was glowing blue.

It was Sting…and Jane was instantly terrified.

Why the hell did Pippin have Sting!

"Elijah!" Jane screamed, knowing that something was so wrong.

"My own sword broke," Pippin explained as they both still fought, his voice pitying and guilty, "and I needed a new one, so I was forced to take this from where Elijah fell…"

Oh my good God no…

Jane couldn't speak, because she couldn't ask the question. Hearing the answer would make her horrified fears confirmed and real.

But Pippin was going to tell her anyway.

"He…he was killed Jane."

l.l.l.l.l

"Okay, so this is what we're going to do."

Erin was making her plan up as quickly, forcing herself not to think about how impossible it was. There was no way it could work; that three of them could take on thirty trained warriors and live.

Yet, Erin kept spilling the impossible plan out.

"We need to keep them on that side of the village, away from everyone else for as long as we can. It's inevitable that at least some of them will find that building, but we have to give the others as much time as possible; they'll need more than us to be ready to attack if they have to. It shouldn't exactly be hard, not if we're fighting; it stands to reason that they'd all rather fight than search the place, at least for the first bit."

Or at least Erin hoped so.

"I think I have a way to do that," Silmarwen spoke up, her voice almost thoughtful, "what if we made our distraction some sort of ambush?"

How could they manage that? Could three people pull off an ambush? Just because it worked on television didn't mean that it would work in real life.

"If one of us were to lead them to where the other two lay in wait," Sil continued, "we could at least catch a few by surprise."

It made sense, and it sparked Erin's mind.

"Walk into their path like you had no idea that they were there, and then act terrified and run in the way you want them to go. The best way to make them follow is to run."

And they had to act now.

"Okay," Erin turned to the girls urgently, "go get three swords and hide behind Mila's house, It'll go out there and bring them to you. If I bring a sword with me, they might realize that something was up. You be prepared to give me that third sword when I run past."

They nodded, and then were off to do what Erin had told them. Erin slipped into a house and looked around for something she could use to up her innocent look. Something that made her look completely passive and non threatening.

She settled on a basket of laundry, and when she heard quiet male voices coming from out of the woods, Erin took a deep, shaky breath, stepped back outside and continued walking into their line of sight.

She paused when she could see them out of the corner of her eye and she turned, her heart hammering painfully in her chest. Sil had been right about their numbers; God Erin had been hoping that she had been mistaken about that.

Erin just stared at the men for what seemed like a long time, and then she gave a shriek that did not need to be acted. She dropped the basket and ran…and had to fight the urge to cry.

What the hell was she doing? Why wasn't she hiding with the rest of the sane people?

She heard the men following, probably thinking that she was going to lead them to everyone else. They had no idea that she was leading them into a trap. A lame trap, but a trap none the less.

Thankfully none of them were able to catch up with her before she reached her destination.

When it came to fighting, Erin wasn't as strong as Carla, agile as Jane or as graceful as Niori, but what she was, was fast.

She ran past Mila's house, and both the girls were waiting behind the two buildings on either side of the path.

"Erin!" Silmarwen cried, tossing out the sword Erin required.

Erin somehow managed to grab hold of the sword without cutting her hand off, and when she got it, she swung it around with a cry…

And actually hit a man in the chest…

Sil and Arien jumped from their hiding places, taking even more of them by surprise.

It took another five seconds for the men to realize what was going on, and when they did they began to fight back.

By some miracle, even when she began to get attacked, Erin didn't die. She only didn't die, but she actually managed to take some down.

Apparently her 'in theory' training actually meant something after all.

Silmarwen and Arien were doing just as well.

It looked as though the men had been waiting for others to join the fight, but when they realized that no one else was coming, they relaxed. They called out to each other, and then about fifteen of them broke off and went back towards the village. Now the others hiding in the hospital would have to be ready. After they were gone, the ones who stayed started calling out in jeering voices.

"Arien!" Erin called out, "What are they saying!"

"They're betting on which one of us will die first!"

Erin felt a burning fury go through her; how dare they bet their lives! The three of them had already managed to kill a handful of them! Well Erin had a surprise for them; there was no way in hell that she was going to die. Just to spite them.

Erin took all her rage and threw it all into her battle…and fought like she had never thought possible.

She screamed out curses and thrust and swung at anything around her that moved. She was so high on fury that she didn't even realize that it was human beings that she was killing.

Arien and Silmarwen had managed to pull out their own anger, because they were fighting just as viciously. Their anger was coming from a deeper pain than Erin could imagine, and it gave them a ferocious edge.

But despite that, Erin knew that they couldn't keep it up forever. There were still only three of them.

So, if they planned not only to survive but save the village, they needed to think up something else rather than head on attack. And soon.

l.l.l.l

Legolas shot off yet another arrow from his bow, aiming at one of the many enemy warriors that fought in the valley below him.

It had been Niori's idea that archers should be placed on the higher points that ranged slightly above the valley. It wasn't that far from the ground, but the trees provided perfect cover that it was easy to shoot off arrows and kill the enemy from a distance. And not surprisingly, it was working out well.

And since he was the best archer, Legolas was one of the six that had been positioned there. His brother and Lillianna (which still shocked the hell out of him) were amongst the other five elves.

Just as he was pulling another arrow from his quiver, a searing hot pain pierced the space behind his left shoulder blade. He cried out in sudden pain, his bow falling from his hands. He whirled around, his shoulder screaming. He reached up behind him, feeling the hilt of a small knife sticking out from his skin. With a wince, he pulled it out, waiting for his attacker to show himself.

Three men strode out from the tree line. Legolas looked at them confidently; he could take on three men with ease, even with an injured shoulder. As he prepared to fight, his eyes caught those of the man out front, and he faltered.

From the look on his face and in his eyes, Legolas knew instantly who he was, even if he had never seen the man before. It was the enemy king Aras…the man who had nearly destroyed Niori.

All sense was lost as Legolas lunged at him, complete hate and rage shining in his ice colored eyes. Screw his promise to Niori. He was going to kill him himself.

He was too intent on ripping Aras apart, that he didn't realize that one of the other two men had pulled out a bow and shot off an arrow.

It hit him in the space between his right shoulder and the base of his neck. A few inches higher, he would have been on the way to dying.

Legolas cried out in pain, his arm going up automatically to the arrow. He didn't try to wrench it out, because he knew from the sheer pain that it was deep.

He had been grabbed by the two other men almost the instant the arrow hit him. He struggled against them, but both of his arms that been injured, thus making them weak, and he couldn't break their hold. They forced him on to his knees, and then he turned his hateful eyes up to glare at the king.

"You cannot imagine how long I've wanted to kill you!" Aras spoke, his voice almost merry, unsheathing his sword and clasping it in his hand.

Legolas continued to glare at him, not saying a word as his hate seemed to pool around him.

"My gods you're just like her!" Aras said with an amused laugh, "I'd threaten her with death, and all Niori would do was sit there and silently glare at me!"

"Don't you dare say her name!" Legolas hissed, not giving a damn that his life was in danger.

Aras smirked down at him, his grin turning malicious and his voice taunting as he spoke again.

"She's good isn't she; the way those cries come out when you're inside her…though her cries for you would be much different then her cries for me…and I believe, when it comes to Niori, screams of pain would be so much louder than screams of pleasure. The way her body feels underneath your own, the way her soft skin feels when your hands explore every inch of that delicious body…"

With a cry of pure rage, Legolas tired to lunge at him. He was held back by the two guards. He didn't feel the pain that ripped through him, his entire being focused solely on killing the monster who had hurt her…to kill the monster who had dared to touch the woman he loved.

"I've probably had her more than you," Aras continued, his evil glee evident as he watched Legolas struggled to get at him, "because I took her daily…quite a few times a day actually. And I'll have her one more time before I kill her, and it will be the best time yet. I quite look forward to taking her again. Of course, since she managed to devise a plan to set my own back, I'm going to have to think up a special punishment for that. It's hard to imagine something that I haven't done to her…but I believe that making her watch as I force one of the ones she loves will do. I haven't seen the little girls, but I'm sure that at least one of the other women are somewhere in the battle. I really hope that at least one of them survives…I can't wait to see Niori's face when I force her to watch me rape them. Now that would be the act that breaks her, of that I am sure."

"You won't kill her!" Legolas seethed through clenched teeth, trying to block out the words Aras had said…trying to stop the images that raced through his mind of him hurting her, raping her and torturing her by making her watch as he hurt others, "You will not touch her again!"

"What, will you stop me?" Aras asked in a mocking tone.

"No, she will," Legolas replied matter-of-factly, which caused a new look to pass onto Aras's face, "you cannot kill her, and she will eventually kill you. Niori doesn't know how to die; every time that death has come to claim her, and there have been many, she defies it and lives."

"She will not live this time!"

"You're a fool to think so," Legolas replied, somewhat shocked that he expected to little of her; she had survived everything he had done to her before, and she would continue to.

"My only regret is that my Niori isn't here to see you die," Aras told him as he raised his sword to deal the killing blow, "it would have been absolutely exhilarating to make her witness it and see the look in her eyes."

"I'm right here you son of a bitch!"

l.l.l.l

An- Ohh…the drama. Don't you love how we always tend to leave the big important stuff with a huge cliff hanger? Cruel that way aren't we. Anyway, you're going to have to wait a little while for the next chapter, because university exams are coming up for some of us. But we will get a new chapter out just before Christmas, that I promise! Peace, Love & Rainbows!