An- Happy belated holidays everyone! Here's our sorta late present to you!
Chapter 46
Aras turned towards her cold voice, a pleased smile crossing over his lips as he saw her standing there, twin elvish blades clasped in her hands.
"My, what a difference a month makes!" Aras laughed, his eyes washing over her yet again full, no longer thin and frail body, "I see you've come back into your proper health!"
Niori didn't reply, just stood there, looking at him calmly. Her vision moved from him to Legolas, who knelt below him, two men holding him down. Concern washed over her face as she saw blood seeping through his tunic. She searched his over, looking for any serious wounds.
Legolas understood why her eyes ran over him, and he shook his head to tell her that he was fine. When he had confirmed that, while injured, it was not serious, she returned her vision to Aras, looking him straight in the eyes.
"He has no part in this," Niori spoke, the cold fury back for the first time in forever, "it's between you and me."
"But he was everything to do with it," Aras replied, "it is but one more way to hurt you."
With only a quick flash of her arms, Niori's twin knives went sailing from her hands. Aras tensed, waiting for the blades to pierce him, but they never did; they flew past him on both sides, burying themselves into the foreheads of the two men that restrained Legolas. They fell to the ground, dead the moment the blade hit them.
"Like I said," Niori spoke again as Aras turned back to her with shocked eyes (Legolas looked pretty surprised too), "he has no part in this."
"Fine," Aras growled, advancing towards her, sword raised, "I'll kill him after I've beat you...but believe me, I have other plans for you before I kill you. And one of those things I believe will be watching him die."
"You're mine!" she hissed, lunging at him and ignoring the threats that he had just thrown on her.
He swung his sword at her in a wide arc, which she avoided easily by twisting her body sideways and letting it hit the ground. She rolled when she hit, and when she faced upwards again, Aras was jumping down towards her.
She waited, and when he was in the perfect position, kicked out her legs. She caught him in the chest, sending him flying up over her and pitching him down the small hillside and into the valley below.
Niori got to her feet, turning her head to look at Legolas. She looked at him, and for the first time in a month, he saw a trace of love penetrating through her haunted eyes.
She turned back quickly, looked down towards the valley and then jumped down after Aras.
l.l.l.l.l
The smoke was choking her, and she was beginning to feel dizzy. The heat was unbearable, and only growing worse as the fire grew closer and larger. She continued to pound on the door, but she was growing weaker…and her throat burned so that she couldn't scream anymore.
She was going to burn alive.
No! Carla tried to scream, but it only formed in her thoughts.
No one knew that she was in here but the two guys who had thrown her in, and they were probably dead. If not, why would they tell anyone that she was there? Her screams were lost amongst the other sounds, as was her pounding.
The fire was growing closer, and she couldn't stand at the jammed door anymore…it was just too hot.
Carla went on her knees and crawled to the corner furthest away, remembering fire drills back in kindergarten that said stay under the smoke.
Not that it mattered; if she couldn't get out of there, she wasn't going to live. Period.
She huddled into a corner and covered her face, praying that the smoke would knock her out before the fire reached her.
It was so hot…
It was the giant crashing bang that made Carla remove her arms from her face. Through the burning, teary eyes and heavy black smoke, Carla saw a figure moving towards her.
It wasn't until it was right in front of her did Carla realize that the figure was a person, though she couldn't tell who.
The person lifted her up and ran back through the flames and towards the door, and Carla's groggy mind couldn't help but wonder if Middle Earth had firefighters. Really, it could have been the devil himself who was holding her, and Carla wouldn't have cared as long as he got her out of that fire.
When the cold air hit her burning skin, she cried out because the shock almost hurt. Then she sucked in the fresh air into her lungs, gulping in as much as she could despite how it hurt to have it pass through her throat.
Whoever was holding her kept taking her further away, and relief took hold of her; she never wanted to be anywhere near fire ever again. For the rest of her life and beyond. She'd eat all of her food cold it that's what it took to stay as far away from fire as possible. She'd freeze too.
The person who was carrying her only stopped when they reached the cover of trees and away from the still going strong battle. Then he sat her down on the rough and uneven forest floor as he knelt down with her.
She was still dizzy, and still couldn't stop coughing. Her body was still enflamed, and she wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of heat burn over some of her, the left side of her face for sure.
He was checking her over, turning her hands, arms and legs over in an attempt to find anything serious. Then she became fully aware that he was there, so she fully focused on him.
Of course, it was Eomer.
"How did…you….know…" Carla managed to choke out despite the coughs and burning throat.
"I saw you being thrown in," he told her as he tilted her chin to get a better look at her left cheek, "and I would have left you in there, but I saw that the building had been lit a flame. The reason I took so long to get to you was because I had to fight my way across a fairly long distance."
Carla didn't care how it had taken him to get there; only that he had gotten there.
He finished his inspection of her, and was apparently fine with what he saw because he said nothing.
Eomer crouched there for a long moment, just looking at her. Finally, he lowered his eyes away from hers.
"I'm sorry," he whispered as he rose to his feet.
But she didn't know for what. There was just so much to be sorry and apologize for…on both their sides.
He began to walk away.
"Wait!" she cried, making him stop.
Carla scrambled to her feet, ignoring the rush it brought to her head. She half walked, half stumbled to him.
"You can't leave me here. I need to fight."
"Not right now!" Eomer replied, "Stay here for a small time! You go out there now in this state, you'll die!"
She prepared to argue, but a wave of dizziness caused her to sway a little, proving his point.
Eomer began to walk away again, but Carla rushed in front of him to make sure he had to stop again. She was about to tell him that it didn't matter how she felt, only that everyone else was still out there, when his eyes widened suddenly and he cried out.
"Carla!"
Eomer grabbed onto her arms and whirled her around so that they had changed spots. He was facing her, and she was going to demand to know why he had just done that…
His body jerked abruptly, and in the next few seconds, jerked three more times. Eomer's eyes were wide, and it was as though he was surprised…and then he stumbled, almost taking her down too as he fell to the ground.
Carla's head was spinning in confusion…
Until she saw the four arrows that stuck out of Eomer's back.
l.l.l.l
As the fury began to ebb away and exhaustion approached to take its place, Arien knew that she would not be able to do this as long as she needed to.
She had killed three men already. Actually killed.
But she couldn't think about that. Not if she desired to live.
Sil had killed the same number and Erin two, but the ten who were left (some others had decided to come back and fight after all) were wearing the girls down. At a very fast pace.
In all her practice, Arien had never fought so hard or so long, and it was becoming very apparent that she hadn't.
If the three girls stayed together, they would have to fight all the men at once. But if they split up, each would only have to take on a smaller number. Each girl would be without backup, but at the same time, they would have less enemy to worry about.
It had to be the answer Arien needed. It just had to be.
"Run!" she cried out, "Split up!"
As soon as the words ended, Arien turned and did just that. Silmarwen called out her name, but she didn't stop and prayed that the other two would follow her lead.
Four men followed her, assuming that she had given into her fear and was fleeing. They went after her not only for the thrill of the chase, but because they thought her the easiest to catch.
She darted between buildings, crisscrossing in a hope to confuse them. Though she didn't shake them, she was able to keep them catching her.
Then Arien had a second idea on how to defeat them.
Trap them.
It couldn't be any more difficult than fighting them…or at least that was what Arien kept telling herself.
There were plenty of abandoned buildings she could lead them into, and they would follow without question. Hopefully that would be their downfall..
She ran at full speed towards the home she knew the best –hers- , no longer feeling tiredness that had been taking her only a moment before. Instead, there was a strange buzzing excitement that was roaring inside her.
She could do this.
When she reached it, she ran through the open door and through the rest of the house, which was bigger than most.
Arien was passing into the last room of the house when she heard the men cross the threshold. They would start looking for her now, presuming that she would have hidden herself by then. They were looking behind furniture and every nook and cranny, so they had no idea that Arien slipped out a back window. A window that only someone her size could fit through…and that meant none of those four men.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, Arien ran back to the front of the building. She was relieved to find the door closed; they had probably thought that they were trapping her.
She thrust her sword between the two handles, knowing that it was strong and would hold for at least a little while when they tried to force their way back out.
With that, she began to find anything she could use to block the door.
Arien pulled a wagon filled with firewood and shoved it right up against the door. When that was done, Arien found anything she could –items of any kind left outside by the villagers, more logs, large rocks- and piled it onto of the wagon until she reached about half way up the door.
By the time they were finished searching and sure that she wasn't in there, and hopefully before they were able to break out, they would be much easier to deal with…hopefully because the ones running around free would be finished off.
Satisfied that her plan had a greater chance of success than failure, Arien ran off to retrieve another sword and to aid the others.
l.l.l.l
The first thing he knew was that he was being smothered. Something heavy, and smelly was crushing the air out of his lungs and covering his face. He tried to move, but his whole body was being pinned down. God, how he longed for the blissful release of simple, fresh air- He had never realized how much he took fresh air for granted.
He tried to move, to push this weight off of him, but suddenly a white-hot pain seared through his stomach and his head simultaneously. A head-ache pounded violently in the back of his head, creating purple spots behind his closed eyelids. He cried out in pain.
Fuck. He, Elijah Baggins, was dying, and the worst part was that he knew it. As he thought this, his head gave a particularly nasty throb and he stiffened. Where was he? How did he get to be here?
Then he suddenly remembered. Through his hazy mind, he could still remember the group of men who had surrounded him before he could do anything to stop them. One of them had aimed a blow at his stomach, while another one aimed for his neck; he dodged the latter, but a sword still punctured the skin of his stomach. With a cry, he fell hard on the ground and lay perfectly still, hoping against hope that they would leave him for dead. He knew it was cowardly, but there was no chance he was going to be able to fight off five men single-handedly. Unfortunately, this play-dead plan had backfired a split second later when one of the triumphant enemy soldiers kicked him hard in the back of the head.
That's all he could remember. Clearly, he had been knocked out, and by the looks of things had been assumed dead and covered by a number of dead bodies. He must have been out cold for quite awhile.
He opened his eyes. Light! He could see a tiny beam of light. His head instantly pounded with protest, but he tried to ignore it. He tried to inhale; the potent stench of sweat and blood filled his nostrils, choking him, and making him cough.
God, he didn't want to die.
Maybe if he had a weapon...Sting! Where was Sting? His hand, which was pinned down, groped for the feel of metal, but all he met was the hard feeling of drying blood and the still-warm flesh of the men that were crushing the air out of him.
He had to get out of here, weapon or not. Jane's face suddenly burst into his mind, and adrenaline coursed instantly through his veins. He had to live. Elijah pushed with all his might on the pile of bodies above him.
The heap moved! It seemed so much easier for him to move them now. It was amazing. The air was becoming clearer and the weight lessened- He could breathe! Elijah pushed with all of his might on the dead weight above him, and as the last body was moved, a bright flash of sunlight hit his face, blinding him briefly.
However, a shadow appeared over him, blocking out the sun. It took him a second to identify this blood-soaked person as Jane, who looked positively deranged, and was frantically hauling bodies off of him.
She froze when she saw his face, and fell to her knees, her eyes wide and red. Her face was covered with the blood of the enemy; her tears had left little lines on her face where they'd washed away some of the blood. She was hardly recognizable to him.
"You're alive..." She sobbed. "I was so scared...I could see your boot sticking out of the pile, and I thought..." She paused, at a loss for words. "But then I thought heard you cough, and..." she took a moment to catch her breath. "I'm going to kill Pippin for putting me through this."
A spark of pain emitted from his head and he grimaced. "P- Pippin?"
"Yeah, he- he has Sting. He thought you were dead." She gulped, wiping her wet cheeks, and spreading a smear of blood on them from her hands.
Elijah scowled. "Well, I almost was. I'll explain later. But right now, I need to get out of here. I am, after all, covered by a mound of bodies."
"Oh! Right!" She exclaimed, as though that realization has just dawned on her.
With her help, they managed to extricate him from the mound. Once Jane had helped him up, she pulled him into a brief hug. He let out a small cry at the stab of pain from his stomach, and clutched his abdomen. Jane stiffened and looked at him with wide eyes, "are you okay?!"
"They got me, but not too bad." He pointed to his stomach, where dried blood had blossomed on his shirt. "I think I can keep fighting."
"Are you sure?" Jane's concerned blue eyes searched his. He nodded.
She turned to the mound of bodies beside them and pulled a sword out of the grip of the nearest soldier. She handed the sword to Elijah, with a quick kiss. "Good luck, love."
"Thanks for saving my life."
"Thanks for not dying." She touched his cheek with her warm and bloodied hand, an expression in her eyes that was unreadable. Before he could say another word, Jane turned away from him and dived ferociously back into the battle.
l.l.l.l
Erin didn't understand Arien's genius until the younger girl had fallen out of sight and taken four men with her.
When she understood, she took the same action.
Only two followed her, leaving Silmarwen with the other three. As she ran, Erin could only pray that the two girls could handle themselves alone.
Please God let them be okay. Niori would absolutely kill me if my leaving cost them their lives.
It was darkly amusing that it was how Niori would react to their loss that came into her mind even before she could think about how their brother would feel.
She easily out ran them, even though she was already out of breath. She ran straight, not trying to lose them; Erin planned to take them on, but first she wanted them on ground that she knew better than the back of her hand.
The unused yet large part of her garden was that spot; too many rocks and roots plastered the ground and the weeds were so thick that she hadn't even bothered to tend it.
But she knew the exact position of every rock, root and weed. She could have walked through it with her eyes closed and not tripped.
When she stood in the middle, she turned back to face the two men, sword raised and ready.
The first of the men tripped when he was no more than three steps in. He fell with a small cry and an umph, but the other one kept coming with better luck than his companion.
Erin waited, breath ragged and body tensed.
She had survived so far, and now there were only two of them to deal with them. With a jolt of shock, Erin realized that, within the course of the past fifteen minutes, she had become completely confident of herself.
The other men finally reached her, and as soon as the distance was closed, a sword was thrust at her. Erin blocked it, brought her sword out from under his and swung with all her might.
It missed him by an embarrassing mile, but gave him enough pause that she had enough time to jump backwards, over a large stone.
He tried to step towards her, and stumbled when his foot hit that very rock. It was completely dumb luck that when he tripped, he landed on the sword that Erin held out in front of her.
She blinked, stunned that it had happened. It took her a moment to fully realize what had just happened.
And she had completely forgotten about the other man.
When she became aware of him again, his sword was being jabbed out at her. Her eyes widened in horror as she swung herself sideways and then dove for the ground.
Though she was saved from having a sword shoved through her throat, the blade still managed to slice across the side of her neck.
She screamed as it cut her, the pain shocking. When she hit the ground, her hand automatically flew to her neck, and was sticky with blood not a moment afterwards. It wasn't deep enough to cause immediate harm, but enough that the possibility of losing to much blood over a short period of time was very real.
The cut and blow stunned her, and her mind made no connection that her sword was still embedded in the other man's stomach. It wasn't until the new threat was standing above her did Erin realize she had nothing to defend herself with.
Shock went through her as she looked up at the man who was five seconds from killing her. Erin honestly couldn't believe that this was even happening.
She had given birth on the steps of Cirith Ungol, trudged through Mordor with a baby in her arms and sat on the side of Mount Doom as it exploded…and yet, after all that, it was something as simple as a one-on-one sword fight that was going to kill her.
Out of all the catastrophes in her life, this particular moment seemed so small in the grand scheme of things, but this would be the one that ended her life.
No. I will not die like this, not after I've survived so much more.
The moment the vow flashed through her mind, Erin grabbed a fist full of dirt from the ground beside her and with a curse, threw it directly into the man's face as he bent down towards her.
He screamed and backed up when the soil flew into his eyes, and it gave Erin time to get back to her feet.
Her sword was five feet away and still inside someone, and she had no idea how long it would take before he would recover. She didn't know if there would be enough time to get it or not.
So Erin grabbed the closest weapon she could find.
There was a large rock just by her feet; she picked it up, held it with both hands and swung it into the back of his head.
A sickening crack came when the rock connected, one that seemed to echo over and over in Erin's mind.
A small gasp-like sound emitted from him before he crumpled to the ground where he continued to lay unmoving.
Erin only stared at his body for a moment, and then looked to the rock in her hand…
And there was blood there…and skin and hair.
She dropped it like it was burning, and stumbled away.
For some reason, that made her feel sicker than any of the meant she had killed with a sword. It was what broke her.
Without much warning, Erin bent over and was actually sick. She couldn't hold it back anymore, even if there was still a battle to be fought. Thankfully, she was all alone with no one to attack her.
How could anyone do this over and over? How could her friends, her son or husband? Were they cold? Cold enough not to see that it was a life they were ending…how could they do it? This was the first day that she had ever killed someone, and everyone she loved had done it a million times; so why did she never see them bat an eyelash when it came to running into battle? Or better yet, how could they look forward to it, knowing what they would have to do?
What were they made of that Erin wasn't?
After she was finished, Erin only allowed herself a moment to compose; she had to block it all out…had to force it to an unreachable corner of her mind so she could do what still needed to be done.
Erin steeled herself, pulled her sword out of one of the dead and moved herself back into the village, where she could still hear the sounds of the enemy. She didn't run this time, but moved cautiously as she drew closer to the sounds of loud voices.
Her stomach turned over when she realized that all of the noise was coming from the direction of where everyone else was hiding. She peaked around a corner, and she saw for sure that there remainder of the men had finally started searching this end of the village. Three were about to enter the hospital while the other five were going into the buildings on either side.
Erin prayed that everyone inside the hospital was ready to attack. But it would help if she were able to give them some advance notice.
Bounding across the distance, Erin raised her sword and brought it into one man's side.
"NOW!" she screamed, and a second later heard the cries of those who leapt into action and the surprised yelps of those who were ambushed.
Then Erin turned to face those who were still outside. A few seconds later, Arien was at her side, and a moment after that Silmarwen.
Then, five minutes later, just like that, it was over.
After the last man fell, Erin's poise evaporated. She didn't get hysterical, but fell into a daze. She sat down on the first raised, flat surface she could find and just stared out in front of her.
There was so many dead was the only clear thought that made it through her mind, because her head was filled with the sounds of ripping flesh and cracking skulls. She looked down at her hand, covered in blood that didn't only belong to her.
Erin had killed people.
She really hadn't completely registered it before, but now she saw every face of every man she had fought. Especially the man she had killed with a rock, and she understood why it made her so sick.
He had been no older than Elijah.
Unexpectedly, Erin's mind flew to a far region of Middle Earth where a mother just like herself would be waiting for this boy to come home, just like she did Elijah. How would that woman bear it? Even though she had had no choice, Erin had ruined that mother's life.
She would have given anything to be able to comfort and beg forgiveness to that faceless mother who, because of her, had just lost her son.
It was these horrible, gut wrenching thoughts that made Erin put up no fight to stay conscious. Instead, she just let herself pass out.
l.l.l.l
By the time Niori had slid down the hillside and reached the valley below it, Aras was on his feet, awaiting her arrival.
Niori noticed that his weapon was still in his hands. Damn, she was hoping that he would have lost it in the fall, which would have evened the odds.
She had used her only weapons, her twin blades, to kill those two goons who had been holding Legolas. Even if it now left her defenceless, she couldn't have let him die…not because of her…
But she didn't think it would matter for the moment; he wouldn't kill her yet…she'd find a way to restrain her so that he could save her for later. He would probably hurt her, but not kill her.
They circled each other, both Niori and Aras's eyes trained entirely on each other, blocking out everything else. Niori waited for any sign that he would attack, knowing that until she could get her hands on a weapon, she'd need to play defence.
First of all, she had to get that sword away from him without getting cut in two.
He lunged at her, and she rushed her body to one side to avoid the blade, but he had anticipated her movement.
As she moved, he shifted his body, reaching out and grabbed painfully on to her arm. He swung her towards him, preparing to bring his sword to her back when she was pressed into him.
Thinking fast, Niori balled up her fist and swung it at his face. It connected with his upper cheek, a satisfying pop sounding as she hit skin. He stumbled backwards, letting her go and dropping the sword as he went.
Niori shot away from him, thankful once again that she had such a killer right hook.
Aras rubbed his cheek, glaring at her with hate in his eyes. She couldn't help but let a sadistic smile cross her lips.
My god hitting him felt good.
The sword lay on the ground in between them, and both eyed each other, seeing who would go for it first.
Niori couldn't afford him getting it back, so she dove for it. Aras saw her move and also dove, but not for the sword.
He hit her head on, tackling her backwards. When they landed, he was on top of her. He pinned her instantly, putting a vice grip on her wrists. The terror began to take her, because this time it really was him, but she forced herself to control it. If she let her fear control her, then she would die for sure. She struggled to break either her arms or legs free, because that way she could strike out and get him off of her, but she couldn't struggle free; he had her trapped. Like always.
"Now doesn't this seem familiar," Aras hissed into her ear as he leaned an elbow onto her neck, pressing down as hard as he could, "this my dear Niori, is just where I like you best…underneath me."
Niori's air flow was completely cut off, and she tried to gasp in air frantically. She couldn't pass out…he would only press hard enough to make her pass out, and then he would drag her somewhere and save her for a treat for after the battle.
No! Her mind screamed as it started to go hazy, I will not die at his hands! I refuse to die until I've killed him! And I refuse to let him touch me again!
Niori closed her eyes, remembering what it had felt like to plunge that dagger into his knee, to see the blood pouring down his leg, his cry of pain…the great and terrible anger that had flowed through her; the terrifying and yet desirable strength that had overcome her…and remembering it, Niori was able to feel it coursing through her veins once again.
She didn't know how she did it, but just as she was about to pass out, she pulled her self abruptly to full consciousness, miraculously freeing her arms grabbing onto his wrists somehow and flipping him off of her.
Niori got back to her feet, her throat burning, and yet it didn't seem to affect her at all. She knew that it was burning, and yet she really didn't feel the pain.
It was like this dark, sadistic power was flowing through her. It should have terrified her that she was able to sense such an evil force inside of herself, but it didn't; As long as it would help her kill Aras, she didn't give a damn what it was or what caused it.
He had his sword again, and Niori cursed silently; she was right back where she had begun, inner power or not. He was armed and she wasn't…and that tipped the scales in his favour. Again.
"Niori!"
She let her attention move to the voice who had called her name. She saw Elijah standing about a half a yard away from her, currently free from fighting.
"Here!" he cried again, throwing something towards her. His sword landed a few feet away from her. Elijah had left himself defenceless in order to help her win her fight, and from the looks of him and how he was standing, Elijah had already been injured.
Aras had thrust his sword at her while she had been momentarily occupied, and although she had dodged away, she hadn't done it quite fast enough. The blade just managed to slice a thin, superficial line across her stomach. That thrust wouldn't have done much damage even if she hadn't moved…
He was just playing with her.
She ground her teeth as she felt blood begin to trickle down her stomach. As with her throat, she felt no pain, but she knew that once this power high ran off, she would end up feeling the pain.
She pushed away from him rapidly, rushing towards Elijah's sword. Without pausing to stop, Niori bent down and pulled the blade into her hands. She whirled around, sword held high, waiting for Aras's attack.
"Now lets see just how strong you are when we're both equal!" Niori spoke, a bit of cockiness shifting into her voice.
Niori might not have been as good with a sword as she was with her twin elvish blades, but she was still good with a sword and she knew it…and Aras didn't. He knew she was good, but not how good, and not to mention he was so damn confident that he would over power her –like he had always managed to do, no matter how she fought- , that he went beyond underestimating her ability as a swordswoman; even if her skill was lacking in swordplay, her pure hate would give her enough drive to beat him.
"Sword or not Niori," he growled, his own cockiness in his voice, "the result will be the same…me standing over your dead body after I've finished with you."
She smirked, and for the first time in nearly a month, felt fully confident in herself.
Aras would die at her hands.
She swung her sword around to meet his, and they connected with a loud, metallic clang. Instead of trying to hold her blade against Aras's, because she knew he was physically stronger than her and could force her down, she swung her sword out from under his, sending him stumbling forward.
Even as he moved, Niori thrust her sword towards his, slicing the very top of his sword hand. He roared in pain, the hand dropping his sword automatically as her sword cut.
He picked it back up before Niori could attack again, and then he turned his eyes to look back up at her. He had been hurt, and yet he still looked at her with smugness; he found it amusing that she had been able to, but still he thought he would win.
And that sent her into a rage.
"You son of a bitch!" She screamed angrily, "Did you really think that you'll beat me! That you'll break me! I lost my child, saw my lover kiss the woman who was out to ruin my life and had my best friend leave me for dead…anything that you could ever do to me is nothing compared to that! I've survived worse than you!"
Not willing to give him any time to react to her words, Niori suddenly dropped into a crouch, swinging her leg out and throwing his legs out from under him.
He fell to the ground, turning his body so that he landed on his back. Niori pounced right after him, adjusting her body so that when she landed, she was straddling his stomach and pinning him to the ground.
Aras looked up at her in surprise, unable to comprehend the fact that she had actually bested him. He always knew that she was strong, but he had been assured that he was stronger; after all, she was only a woman.
"So you like me underneath you eh?" Niori spoke calmly, staring down into his shocked face coldly, "too bad I like it on top."
With one fluent slice, Niori had opened up Aras's throat. His blood flew out from the gaping wound, splattering Niori's face in a shower of crimson, leaving it splashed with dripping red.
His eyes were wide with disbelief as he looked up, his life slipping from him as the blood slipped out of him.
Before he could die, she bent down to him, her mouth beside her ear.
"I win," she hissed.
When she sat back up again, he was dead, his eyes still staring out in sightless shock.
It felt as though a weight had been lifted from her. She tilted her head back to look up at the sky, and then closed her eyes. She felt his blood dripping down her face, and even though she knew it was sick, it was one of the best things she had ever felt before. A triumphant smile crossed her bloody lips as tears of joy stung her eyes.
Even if it made her some sort of monster, knowing that she had just killed the man who had ruined her, brought tremendous joy to her heart…it set her free.
As their battle had raged on, every single person near them, enemy and ally alike, had stopped their own battles and watched Niori viciously overpower and kill the king. They stood there in a sick sense of awe as they watched the smile break across her bloodied face. After a moment, their awe was broken and the fighting began again.
Niori sat there on top of his body, feeling every emotion possible. She was surprised that no enemy rushed her, seeking vengeance for killing their king, but they just left her there.
After what seemed an eternity of staring down at his dead face, Niori pushed herself to her feet. She walked calmly away from his corpse, heading towards the embankment where she had last seen Legolas.
If nothing else, he deserved to know that she had survived.
Just like they had left her around as she had sat there, they all left her alone as she walked through the middle of the battle…she walked through it as if she were a ghost.
When she finally saw Legolas, a thread of fear stitched through her heart. He was on the ground, holding up a sword as a man twice his size pushed down on it with an even bigger sword. Despite how he tried, Niori could see that Legolas couldn't keep it up; two wounds in both of his shoulders made his arms weak.
She rushed towards them, still invisible to every person she passed. When she finally reached them, which seemed like a lifetime in which she watched the blade grow closer and closer to Legolas's neck, she raised the sword she still held in her hand and without so much as a sound, plunged it into the back of Legolas's attacker.
The man died almost instantly, Niori's well placed blow piercing his heart. He fell downwards in a heap, and Legolas rolled out of the way to avoid the man landing on him. He sat back up once he was out of the way, looking up at her.
Niori stood there, blood dripping down her face…Aras's blood.
She knelt down beside him without a word, noticing that he hadn't removed the arrow from his shoulder, and when he had rolled, he had only driven it further in, so much so that its tip protruded a far out of his back.
Silently, she broke the end of the arrow, pulling off the feathered back. She grabbed the arrowhead at his back and pulled until the arrow was out from beneath his skin.
He bit down a cry of pain, letting only a hiss to escape from behind his clenched teeth. She reached up and placed her hand to cover his wound, feeling new blood -his blood- begin to coat her fingers and palm…and she willed the wound to heal.
"He's dead." Legolas spoke, stating it as a fact and not a question.
"He's very dead."
Legolas looked into her eyes and saw that, although not gone completely, some of the demons had been driven out of them.
l.l.l.l.l
One. Two. Three. Four.
Bewildered, Carla counted one by one the long shafts that protruded from Eomer's back.
Once she moved past the actual arrows, she saw the dark blood leaking out around them,
Then Carla did the only thing that made sense; she screamed bloody murder and threw herself to the ground beside him.
As soon as she landed, another arrow broke the air, whizzing past her left shoulder. It missed, but Carla knew that it was unlikely that that was going to happen again.
She spun her crouch around, seeing for the first time the man who was shooting at her. He looked like one of the men who had locked her up earlier, but her eyes were quickly filling up with tears, so she couldn't be a hundred percent sure. He was advancing towards her, restringing his bow with arrow number six.
Carla's mind pulled away from the injured Eomer and focused on the man who was trying to do that same to her. Her sword was lost, so she picked up Eomer's, leapt to her feet and charged him.
She swung again, a cry of fury leaping from her throat as she heard Eomer say something behind her that she couldn't make out.
The blade sank into his side, and then Carla pulled it out and did it three more times. The same amount as the arrows that were buried in Eomer's back.
Once the man fell, she forgot all about him and ran back to Eomer. She fell on her knees beside him, and relief hit her when she realized that he was still conscious.
"Okay," she whispered , "I have to get these out."
Before she could even reach out for an arrow, Eomer's pain filled yet clear voice stopped her.
"Leave them…"
"I can't!" Carla cried, "If I don't you'll…" when she realized he had already accepted that, she screamed, "NO! I won't let you!"
"You can't stop it love," Eomer replied, his voice sadly resigned.
By now Carla was sobbing and crying because she was beginning to realize the truth too.
Eomer was going to die…and she couldn't do anything to save him.
Carla wasn't going to leave him there lying face down, so she half lifted, half dragged him to the nearest tree. Using both the tree and her body, she propped him up in a way that the arrows weren't driven further in.
"Let me try," Carla begged desperately, "please let me try to save you…"
"Just hold me Carla," he replied softly, sounding so much calmer than her, "just stay with me now."
"You can't die!" she sobbed, "You have to be here with me! I need you!"
This couldn't be happening…he couldn't be dying in her arms. How could he be dying…because of her.
Those arrows had been meant for her…but he had taken them for her. It should have been her. He was going to die, and it was all her fault.
"God no," she whispered in complete horror as the truth dawned on her.
Apparently, Eomer had already realized that it would come to her, because he had an answer for Carla's wave of guilt.
"I'd rather it be this way than it be you lying here."
"It can't end this way," she cried, "we have so much more we have to say to each other! To do!"
"I love you."
And in the end, that was all that really needed saying. After everything, it was only that simple truth that mattered here at the end. The one thing that, amidst the chaos of what they had gone through, had never once changed.
"I love you…"
As she whispered her reply, Carla closed her eyes and leaned her head against his. She took hold of his hand, wanting to feel as close to him as she could possibly be.
And then all she could do was wait.
Forever passed, and during that time Carla heard as his breath slowed and his grip on her hand slackened. And then, her name escaped his lips along with his last breath, and then he was still in her arms.
Carla couldn't open her eyes yet, because if she saw him, then it would all be over. As long as she didn't admit it, Eomer wouldn't be dead.
This has to be a dream, Carla whispered in her thoughts, just a horrible dream.
With that desperate hope still in her heart, Carla finally forced her eyes to open.
He was completely still, but honestly she couldn't tell right off that he was dead; he was just lying there with his eyes closed. Out of all the battle deaths that Carla had ever seen, none had ever looked as peaceful as he did.
With trembling fingers Carla touched the side of his neck, feeling for a pulse. She had to be a hundred percent, absolutely sure. There was no thump of heartbeat beneath her fingers, and it was then that it hit her.
This was no dream.
"NO!" she shrieked, "EOMER! NO!"
Her body gave out and her upper body fell to the ground. Her upper body was racked with sobs and she continued to scream out his name.
Carla didn't care that there was still a battle being fought not fifteen feet away from her, or that her screams could possibly draw others to where she was.
She didn't give a damn if someone came and or not; she should be the one dead, not Eomer. Those arrows had been meant for her. She wouldn't stop them if they attacked.
Carla would never be with him again…he would never hold her again. Never again would they make love and fall asleep in each others arms.
She would have taken the torture of him being there but really not for the rest of her life. Anything was better than a life of nothing.
Her mind went numb as she lay there and cried. Her head pounded fiercely as did her heart, but it didn't matter. Eomer was still dead.
Carla didn't know how long she lay there crying, nor did she care to figure it out.
After an eternity, Carla managed to hear quiet footsteps coming towards her. She thought that it was someone coming to kill her, and put it aside. She half heartedly waited for death, but even when the footsteps stopped it never came.
"Oh God Carla."
Carla looked up at the soft whisper. Even through her tears, Carla was able to recognize a bloody Niori standing over her.
Then she realized that it had been a long time since she had heard battle. Carla looked around to realize that there was no more fighting on the other side of the tree line.
"Carla," Niori whispered, "I'm sorry. God I'm sorry."
"Go find Elfwine," Niori's voice broke the air again, and Carla realized that she was talking to someone behind her.
"He did it for me…" Carla whispered, her voice almost dazed as she told Niori.
"Come on," Niori took hold of Carla's shoulder, "let him go Carla…"
"No! I promised him I'd stay with him!"
"He's gone Carla."
The truth hit her all over again. And that made her want to hold on even more.
"There are a lot of people who are living who need help," Niori persisted, "help that you can give them. Eomer's beyond that."
"No! I won't! I can't!"
"You have to Carla."
And it was the truth. Carla didn't know what had happened outside of the trees, only that they'd need all the help they could get in the aftermath. She didn't know who else could be hurt, but knew that Eomer would want her to go to them.
But Carla didn't move until she knew that Elfwine was there, because she couldn't leave Eomer alone. But she couldn't confront Elfwine, not yet.
So she let Niori take hold of her hand and led her out into the destroyed camp, the whole time waiting to wake up from this nightmare she knew was real.
l.l.ll
An- So here is character #2 that we have killed off. Very sad. But it had to be done...
Anyway! Hope that you enjoyed our 'present' to you all, and shall reward us with a nice review! Oh, and since there's no way in hell that we'll get a chapter out before then, happy new year everyone! Can't wait to see you in 2008!
