The next day, they were back on the road to Helm's Deep. The sun was shining bright but there was a nice breeze that would pass by every few minutes. Amdiriel was ridding next to Éowyn had and Aragorn, Amdiriel was telling them some old stories of her, Theodred and Éomer. "No, he did not save me. I saved him. Wow, I let him lie one time to impress a woman in a tavern and he tells everyone." Amdiriel grumbled making Aragorn and Eowyn "And when I see him next, I will make sure he remembers it." She finished.
Éowyn smiled at her as she had wondered a question plagued her. "Lady, Amdiriel, if I may ask, you seemed so close to both my brother and my cousin were you ever...courted by either of them?" Aragorn stiffened at the question "Oh no, I don't think that I could ever think of them that way nor do I think they could look at me like that. I believe that they see me as a sister more than anything else. I think we got along so well because they in their own ways reminded me of my own brothers, strong, brave, proud, stubborn but they loved their families, their men, and their people." she explained. Éowyn nodded and Aragorn felt like he could breathe. Amdiriel thought she heard something and looked to Legolas, he gave her a look like he had heard the same.
"Amdi?" Aragorn questioned. She shook her head "I thought I heard something." she explained. "Legolas, shall we?" she asked.
The two then rode on ahead of the people but saw and heard nothing. The two then got off their horses to see maybe they hear better. Amdiriel whispered to Rohal her horse. "Stay by Aragorn, make sure they are safe." she told him. Rohal neighed and trotted off. Amdiriel and Legolas looked out, a strange feeling came upon them but they didn't see anything.
Back in the crowd Éowyn and Aragorn were now walking their horses beside one another before Rohal came up beside Aragorn's horse and continued walking with them. Aragorn smiled recognizing the horse.
"Where is she?" Éowyn asked, her eyes catching the bright shining Evenstar that hung around Aragorn's neck. "The woman who gave you that jewel?" Éowyn clarified. Aragorn looked to the lady before he thought back to the time Amdiriel gave it to him.
It was night and nearing the time he was set to meet his love. He had agreed to meet Amdiriel out by the riverbank, away from prying eyes in just a few minutes. As Aragorn approached the riverbank, he found himself smiling as he saw the familiar silhouette outlined by a black hood. The moon was bright, allowing the light of the moon to reflect off of the water onto her, giving her a glowing effect.
"You know it could be dangerous for such a beautiful lady to be alone out here all by herself." he teased as he came around the tree, he had been hiding. Amdiriel turned around a smile on her lips "Isn't that why I have you, my lord? Isn't the man supposed to come in and save the fair lady and then they live happily ever after?" She teased back. Aragorn smiled as he placed his hands on her hips. "Very true my love but it would provide me a type of comfort that you had a guard with you when it came to these late night meetings." he told her. "Aragorn, you do remember that I am the Captain of the guards?" she teased again. "Oh that is it." he said and began to wiggle his fingers into her side. "No!" she laughed as she tried to squirm away to no prevail.
Somehow they had ended up on the ground as Amdiriel's laughter filled the air around them. Aragorn swore that her voice was the most angelical sound he had ever heard. "I yield, my lord." she told him in between breaths. Aragorn smiled and placed a kiss on her lips. Amdiriel whimpered in disappointment when he pulled away. "Come sit with me, Captain." he said with a smirk and sat against the tree not too far from them. Amdiriel complied, sitting between Aragorn's legs, her back pulled against his chest as his arms wrapped around her.
"I missed you." She said to him. "You saw me yesterday." he chuckled. "I know but without my brothers being here and without seeing you it feels like the hours of the day drag on." she whined making Aragorn chuckled to himself. "I apologize the most profoundly, my lady. How may I ever make it up to you?" he asked. Amdiriel put her finger to her chin and thought for a moment. "Hot pastries from the bakery tomorrow and a kiss?" she purposed. "I do think I can manage that." he whispered to her before he placed a loving kiss on her lips. "Am I forgiven?" he asked. Amdiriel shook her head "After breakfast maybe." She teased and snuggled back into Aragorn's chest. They continued on talking about their day, and activities before a comfortable silence fell on them.
Amdiriel was gazing out onto the water of the river, watching it flow away as the moonlight danced off it. Aragorn, however, was looking at her, her skin looking slightly paler from the moonlight, the sparkle in her eyes still there in the night, her hair blowing softly in the light breeze. Amdiriel caught him staring and asked "What?" "You are so beautiful." he whispered and continued speaking "I am going to marry you one day but not as a king and not because of whatever prophecy has been foretold about us. But as a simple man who chose you because you made me believe in myself before there was ever a crown and because I am completely in love with you."
Amdiriel smiled at Aragorn as her hear felt like it would come out of her chest from beating so hard with happiness. "I wouldn't want it any other way. I love you, Aragorn, and like you said not because of the prophecies for they can mean anything. My heart chose you. I do not care if people do not agree because of our positions, or if my brothers do not or even my father. I choose to stand by you and to love you forever." Amdiriel then moved her hand from his, Aragorn felt something inside his palm and looked down to find the Evenstar that Amdiriel had been given at her birth, it was a sigh of bright burning hope. "You can not give me this." he told her. "It is mine to give to whom I will like my heart." she told him and closed his hand over the pendant "I chose you, Aragorn." she whispered to him. Aragorn then leaned forward and kissed the love of his life, holding her close as if the world would try and tear them apart.
"My lord?" Éowyn asked, bringing the ranger back to reality. He looked forward and watched as Amdiriel and Legolas stood on the ridge, looking out for any unfriendlies. "She wanders the wilderness, taking watch over those she cares for, ignoring her own broken heart in order to protect those around her. Hoping one day she may return to her homeland and her former lover will be there beside her." He told her. Éowyn did not reply instead looked to the ground, wondering who the woman was and who she was to Lord Aragorn, she could hint at the small amount of pain in his voice.
On the ridge, Amdiriel looked to Legolas "I don't have a good feeling." she told him. "Neither do I." he replied Amdiriel shook her head. "I not just a bad feeling, it's like something is coming beyond our control...Galadriel said the worse had to happen before it would get better. Maybe that is what's coming, we have to prevail no matter what happens." she told him. Legolas nodded. They then watched Hama and Gambling ride pass them, the feeling growing inside.
A low growl was then heard "Did you hear that?" Legolas asked, Amdiriel nodded quickly, both running toward the sound, as they did the sounds of swords clashed though the air. They ran to the top of the next cliff over where Hama and Gambling were. Hama was dead, and Gambling was fighting an Orc seated on a Warg.
Amdiriel stopped at the top of the ridge and notched an arrow in her bows, letting it fly straight into the warg's eye. The rider was then tossed from the now-dead warg. Legolas ran past Amdiriel, towards the orc, dagger in hand. He slit his throat, killing it instantly.
Aragorn had heard some type of a commotion and ran towards where Amdiriel stood. He looked down and took in the scene in front of him just as Legolas slay the orc rider. "A scout!" Legolas yelled to Aragorn and kicked the horrid creature away from him in disgust. Aragorn looked to Amdiriel and then ran back to tell the king and grab his horse.
Amdiriel and Legolas both ran towards the next cliff, watching ad the pack of wargs racing towards them over the ridge. They narrowed their eyes and reached for their arrows, letting the fly to their targets. Amdiriel then turned and brought her fingers to her lips and whistled for Rohal. She then turned back and started firing her arrows again. She shot another warg and sent its rider fly only to be trampled by the other wargs from behind him. Amdiriel listened carefully as the sound of thundering hooves approached from behind them. She let her arrow fly before she turned around just in time to see her horse along with the rest of Théoden's company charging forward. Both she and Legolas swung themselves on to their horses in one smooth movement. Amdiriel let one more arrow before she put her bow away and grabbed her sword. She and Aragorn shared a look before they both shifted their gaze toward the enemy, approaching quickly.
"Charge!" Théoden yelled, echoed by several battle cries by his soldiers. The two forces clashed head-on, Amdireil decapitated the oncoming orc. Chaos was the only way to describe the situation around Amdiriel but one she was familiar with, spear, arrows went flying in all directions, screams of both men and orcs echoed along with the sounds from the beast they rode. Amdiriel turned and stabbed the warg trying to run at her in the mouth before she retracted it and blocked a blow coming from her other side. She then grabbed a spear that had been lodged into an orc. she swung it into the orc running by her then threw the spear into the now riderless warg. She then turned and sliced open the next warg on its stomach causing it to fall onto his back and killing his rider.
Amdiriel turned and saw Aragorn get knocked off his horse and tossed to the ground but luckily he was quick to get to his feet. Amdiriel turned away from the scene to kill another orc coming up on her left. Amdiriel could see a warg advancing fast on Aragorn as he tried to get back onto Hasufel. Amdiriel had Rohal run for the two before whispering to Rohal. She grabbed the spear and threw it into the rider. The rider died instantly but the warg had now turned and ran at Amdiriel. Luckily just as the warg went to leap from Amdiriel, Rohal had crouched down and Amdiriel had swung herself out of the saddle of her horse. Aragorn who had seen what had happened went after the warg to help provide cover till she got back up onto Rohal. Amdiriel caught her breath and was getting back up to her feet when she felt something grab her and lift her from the ground on to the back of a warg. The orc in front of her snickered and then stabbed tried to stab Amdirilel in the leg but had only succeeded it catching the top of her knee. Amdiriel saw the scene around her, the warg was trying to take her from the battle. They were going to kidnap her and take her to Saruman. Amdiriel wrapped one of her hand around the in the saddle straps to steer the warg back to the battle. If they were going to try and take her then she would go kicking and screaming all the way. Amdiriel headbutted the orc and tried to move to the side to have enough room to stab him but as she did another warg collided with them. Amdiriel was tossed from the back of the warg, her sword falling from her hand as she was now being dragged across the rough terrain. Amdiriel pulled out her dagger and leaned up, stabbed the orc in the throat. The orc yelled and grabbed her hand then growled and leaned down, wrapping his dirty hand around Amdiriel's throat. Amdiriel struggled for a moment but was able to kick her feet up and throw the orc from the orc.
But Amdiriel was still being dragged by the warg, her hand was all caught up in the saddle straps she had wrapped her hand in to help steer the warg back into the battle. she tugged at it hard twice but it was all too late, the ground under her disappeared and she felt herself fall. The last thing she heard was the sound of a river.
The battle was over in just minutes but it had claimed a lot of lives and had taken a lot of energy but Rohan and it's riders were victorious. Everyone looked around to see who had fallen and that is when they realized a face missing. Worry ran through Théoden, Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn's body. "Amdi!" Legolas called out as he scanned the area but there was silence. Aragorn could feel his blood go cold at the silence. He almost didn't want to move, for fear of finding the woman he loved laying among the dead. "Amdiriel?" Gimli tried again but again there was only silence. "No." Théoden whispered as he turned his head in all directions frantically trying to look for the girl.
Aragorn looked over to the cliff, his feet taking him there quickly, his companions not far behind. Both Aragorn and Legolas look down at the claw marks that lead off the cliff but before either could question anything a cracked laughed was heard from behind them. The two turned and saw an orc laying on the ground dying, bleeding out from the stab wound near his throat. Gimli sneered and held his ax over the dying orc. "Tell me what happened and I will ease your passing." Gimli promised while Aragorn, Legolas, and Théoden joined at his side. "She's...dead." the orc said with a cough "The Master wanted her alive but the wretch took a little tumble off the cliff." he told them. Theoden immediately looked to the cliff and walked over to see if by a miracle she would be there. Legolas got down on his knees and grabbed the orc. "You lie!" he said. The orc chuckled at the pain in the elf's eyes. The orc then began to choke on his win blood but before he could meet his end Aragorn had pulled his dagger from his waist and stabbed the orc in the heart., he didn't even bother to pull his dagger out, he just ran straight to the cliff. Legolas then threw the orc to the ground and was going to stand and leave but something caught his eye, he reached down and pulled something out of the dead orc's hand. He looked at the stone pendant that had the tree of Gondor on it. Legolas thought for a moment, he knew where it came from but he didn't want to believe it. His eyes glanced at the pedant and then back down at the orc. He quickly got up and ran over the cliff, Gimli following close behind but they were met with the same sight as the others...nothing, no sign of her just flowing water. As the water kept flowing everyone could feel hope for her survival fade and the truth of Amdiriel's death set in.
Théoden turned and saw Gambling awaiting orders. "Get the wounded on horses. The wolves of Isengard will return. Leave the dead." he said, though it pained him to do so. Amdiriel had become a sister to him but as he aged and she didn't he felt more of a father figure to her. Legolas looked at the king with a harsh look of anger but Théoden understood why and did not judge, he just put his hand on the elf's shoulder. "Come." was all he said. He looked one more look at the river and with a heavy heart, he left to tend to his soldiers.
Gimli was silent, he just stared at the water. Aragorn, however, was now on his knees, staring at the river as the tears ran down his face, his minding going over the battle, where he saw her last, searching for a way he could have saved her but he found none but that didn't ease the pain. He could feel his heart literally breaking in his chest. She was so close to him less than an hour ago and now she was gone forever. Legolas looked back at the river then back at the pendant in his hand, his eyes watery with tears. He looked to Aragorn who hadn't said a word but he knew he was hurting. Legolas then decided that he would wait to give him Amdiriel's necklace. "Aragorn?" Legolas whispered both he and Gimli put a hand on each shoulder. Aragorn didn't look up at his friend so Legolas tried again. "Aragorn?" he said this time Aragorn looked up, he didn't even try to hide the tears, it would be useless. They said nothing but they both knew they had to go. The sound of men struggling then caught their attention. They looked to see Rohal, Amdiriel's horse struggling again the men. "Let him go." Aragorn ordered and stood to his feet. The soldiers let go of the horse, who then trotted up to the man. The horse looked at him as Aragorn pet the horse's mane. He knew that horse would never have another rider, he was going to remove the saddle but Rohal refused to let him by moving each time. "Bring her back to me." he whispered to him. With that, the horse ran off. Aragorn then went to pull his forgotten dagger form the body of the dead orc. He saw a familiar dagger just feet away He went over and grabbed the dagger, seeing that it was identical to his own. He had seen it Amdiriel's side when they left Lothlorien but he didn't know that it was the same as his own. He grabbed a piece of cloth and wrapped the dagger in it. This was far from over but how were they supposed to keep going on?
Silent that was all that could from Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Théoden. When they reached Helm's Deep, Aragorn said nothing, he had walked right past Éowyn who was surprised by the small number of men to return. Legolas looked to her but he too moved on. It was when Éowyn noticed that a certain woman was missing from the group of men. Éowyn then stopped Gimli "Gimli, where is Lady Amdiriel?" she asked. "She fell." was all he said in a cracked voice. Gimli then left as well but Éowyn turned to look at her uncle, she saw the look of pain and grief in his face. She was shocked, the woman who seemed to be the definition of strength and hope was no more. Word of Amdiriel's death traveled through the fortress quickly, causing the people to mourn for the woman but none more than the people closest to her.
Work was getting done because that was all that Aragorn was doing. It kept his mind busy, away from the thought of her. Outside of work he said nothing, he didn't want to eat but Legolas and Gimli made him. He hated resting because his thoughts would go back to her, and when he did sleep he would dream of her only to wake up and realize she wasn't there nor was she coming back.
It had been three days, but to the ranger, it seemed like an eternity. Everyone had forced him to rest but it did not find him. So he sat on a window that looked out as he thought about her, her smile, her laugh, her eyes. How was he supposed to live without her? How was he supposed to be the man everyone expected him to be without her? It had felt like someone had taken a rusty knife and cut his heart out. They say that the hands of a king are those of a healer but there was no amount of healing that could heal the man who should be king.
Aragorn had barely noticed that Legolas and Gimli had walked in. They were worried about their friend, his grief wasn't healthy. "Aragorn, you must rest. She would not want you to do this to yourself." Legolas said to his friend but the ranger said nothing, he just continued to look out the window.
A minute of silence past until the ranger spoke: "She didn't know, I never got a chance to tell her." Legolas looked at Gimli but neither knew what their friend was talking about. Aragorn knew this and continued to explain. "I remember, I remember everything about me and her."
"You mean?" Gimli asked. Aragorn nodded "The spell was broken in Lothlorien, I tried to tell her so many times but either it did not seem like a good time or we were interrupted. and now it's too late. She's gone and she doesn't know the truth or that I love her more than anything but it's too late." he said. "She believed in you, Aragorn." Legolas told him. "I know but how am I supposed to go on without her? I need her." he asked as the tears began to run down his face. "She loved you and she always will. She believed in you, in us and in our purpose and in hope for a better future. We have to go on for her." Legolas said as he too had a tear fall from his eye, Gimli's eyes started to water.
Legolas reached into his pocket and pulled out Amdiriel's necklace. He grabbed Aragorn's hand and place the necklace in his hand. Legolas knew what the necklace signified and he felt like it now belonged to the man that would lead them back to Gondor, it belonged to the man that Amdiriel would have tied herself to. "It is up to you now." was all the elf said to the should be king because that was all that needed to be said.
They had all lost, Aragorn lost the love of his life, Legolas had lost the woman who had become like his sister, and Gimli has lost a good friend. The hurt would be there for a long time and it would not be easy but they had to make sure, her death was not in vain.