A low rumble sounded on the horizon, interrupting the moment. Noelle pulled back slowly away from Legolas, whose eyes were fixed in the distance.
"Seems a storm is coming," he murmured quietly, more to himself than to her. "I can feel the change in the wind."
"I've always liked storms," Noelle agreed breathlessly. She had finally stopped trembling from nervousness even though her heart was still racing. "They remind me that I'm alive."
Legolas gazed down at her with a smoldering look in his eyes. "I prefer the calmness and solitude of the forest," he whispered.
Noelle felt a chill run down her spine because of the way he was looking at her, yet she couldn't tear her eyes away from his. She had never sensed such emotions from him before.
Nor had she ever felt such feelings before inside herself.
She looked up into the eyes of this Elf, who was giving her his love freely. He cared so much for her in a way no one ever had, and she had done nothing. Nothing to deserve that from him.
Legolas cupped her chin and began to lean down again, but before his lips could reach hers, she leaned up and pressed her own lips against his, taking him off-guard. She could sense his shock. That he obviously hadn't expected her to return his kiss.
But she knew deep down, that she loved him too.
Pulling away, she averted her eyes shyly. "I should go."
Legolas touched her cheek gently. "Where to, meleth nîn?"
Noelle quickly looked up at him. "Meleth nîn?" she whispered.
"You understand what it means?"
Noelle nodded. "I'm not fluent, Legolas, but I know some."
Legolas smiled. "You never answered my first question: where are you going?"
"The armory."
Legolas's face took on that same pained expression and a dark shadow passed over his face. "I wish you would not."
Noelle squeezed his hand. "I know. But you also know that I have to."
Whatever they felt for each other, Noelle could never in right conscience hide behind a wall of stone while she was the most capable person in Helm's Deep to fight this battle. And if it came down to it, she would have to be the one to go, not Legolas. But she would never say that to him.
Legolas himself emitted a shaky sigh. "And I also know that I cannot stop you."
In the bliss of her moment with Legolas, Noelle had almost forgotten about Saruman. As she struggled to put on her armor alone, she mulled over her options.
Assuming she survived this battle, she felt her only option was to face Saruman head-on. If he was indeed looking for her, it was only a matter of time until he did find her, and she would be putting the people of Rohan- and Legolas- in danger as long as she stayed near them.
Noelle preferred to run towards her problems, not away from them.
But she also knew that she could not beat Saruman alone. She would confront him and he'd probably kill her. Náedran had said Saruman was looking for her, and he likely wanted her dead...
She knew it was unwise to make any hasty decisions immediately, especially when she knew so little about the situation anyway. She decided to wait and ask Gandalf when she saw him again. Speaking of which, where had the wizard gone to when they needed him the most?
Noelle suddenly felt a spark of hope amidst all the craziness of the day. Of course Gandalf was nowhere to be found at the moment.
Suddenly there was a tap on her door.
Noelle looked up. "Come in." She had finished getting the worst of her armor on.
Aragorn peered over from the side of the door, then he entered. He strode over. He wasn't even in his armor yet, but he was carrying an armful of chainmail.
Noelle raised her eyebrows. "Are you going to wear that, or just walk around with it?"
That made him smile. "I came to see how you were doing since what happened in the hall earlier."
Noelle took a deep breath. "I'm ok... I'm just... trying to figure out what to do." The uncertainty of her life was really beginning to get to her.
Aragorn nodded, and he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Know that we are all here for you, Noelle."
Noelle searched his face. "I know you are, but I will not put any of you in danger. There's no need-"
"No," Aragorn cut her off. "We're a Fellowship. We are all here for one another," he said earnestly.
Noelle couldn't argue with him, though her own resolve was still there. She nodded slightly and smiled. "Thank you, Aragorn. I'm here for you too, all of you." Her eyes fell on Legolas as he entered the room, lingering on him just a moment longer than normal.
Aragorn seemed to notice. He looked genuinely confused for a second, then a knowing look passed over his face, but he only smiled and turned his attention to Legolas who handed him his sword.
"You have trusted us this far, and you have not led us astray. Forgive me, I was wrong to despair." Legolas looked from Aragorn to Noelle, and she could see the regret in his eyes.
She remembered something Anakin had said on Mortis when Ahsoka was dying and the Father had refused to try and save her.
"There is always hope."
Noelle said it aloud, before she realized she said it.
Aragorn and Legolas turned to look at her. Aragorn with a proud smile on his face, and Legolas with a soft look in his eyes. Noelle smiled back fondly at both of them.
Then Gimli stormed into the room grumbling. "If we had time, I'd get this adjusted!" He fiddled with the belt strap of his chainmail. "It's a bit tight across the chest!" he announced, as the long chain shirt pooled at his feet.
"Maybe you should lose some-"
A loud horn rang through the air, interrupting Noelle's (rude) comment.
Legolas's face was creased in recognition. "That is no orc horn."
No, it wasn't. He was right. Noelle had heard that horn before. When the company of Thorin Oakenshield was surrounded by wargs on the outskirts of Rivendell.
Aragorn and Legolas raced out of the room, leaving Noelle and Gimli, who made a noise of disdain under his breath.
Noelle waved her hand, beckoning him to follow her.
They raced outside to the main gate only to see a host of Elves and Aragorn hugging the sassy Elf Captain from Lothlórien. Noelle's mouth hung open. She hadn't expected to see him again. How did the Elves know to come here anyway?
Then she remembered: Galadriel. The power of the mind. She just knew things.
Surprisingly the Elf Captain, whose name was apparently Haldir, gave Noelle a nod of acknowledgement.
"My lady."
Noelle nodded back, half-expecting him to make a smart remark. She glanced over at Théoden, who still seemed to be comprehending the fact that he had help tonight. His eyes were wide in shock.
Haldir smirked, clearly amused. "We are proud to fight alongside men once more."
Aragorn turned to Théoden. "My lord we must begin the positioning now. They will be here soon."
Noelle looked at Aragorn. "Anyone who can shoot should be armed. We need all the firepower we got."
"Well noted." Aragorn raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "Can you shoot?"
Noelle shrugged. "I'm good enough." She took a deep breath. This was her first battle since the Siege of Mandalore. This was definitely a step down from blasters, ships, and lightsaber duels. And also, she wasn't Commander Smith anymore. Noelle was already struggling to keep herself from automatically dishing out orders to the not-clones of the 212th and the 501st battalions respectively.
She followed Legolas and Gimli up to the Deeping Wall among the other Elves. She picked up a longbow and propped it up next to the barrel of arrows in front of her.
"Argh. You could have picked a better spot!" complained Gimli, who was too short to see over the wall.
Thunder crashed in the distance again and they could see the thousands of torchlights of the Orcs. It reminded Noelle of the city back home. Although Noelle didn't live in the city, she lived several hours away from the one in her state.
"Your favorite," Legolas commented, referring to the thunderstorm.
Noelle nodded. "Thunder awakens me. The chaos gives me peace. I find strength in it."
Aragorn meandered his way over to them.
"Well lad," said Gimli. "Whatever luck you live by, let's hope it lasts the night."
"Yeah. He would be the last one standing."
Thunder boomed and the sky lit up white for a split second.
"Your friends are with you, Aragorn," said Legolas.
"Let's hope they last the night," Gimli added.
Yeah, let's.
Aragorn gave Legolas a pat on the shoulder and headed off to start giving out commands in Elvish to the archers. The Uruk hai were getting closer. They were almost in the ravine.
Thunder crashed again and this time, the rain began steadily coming down. Water began pouring off of Noelle's metal breastplate, and armguards. Wonderful. It was going to be nice and slippery tonight.
At this point the orcs were now only yards away from the base of the wall. Noelle's fingers itched for her lightsaber, but she remembered what was still in her pocket. Sometimes she forgot it was there: the kyber crystal given to her by Galadriel, her strongest connection to the Force.
Gimli hopped up and down, struggling to see. "What's happening out there?"
"Shall I describe it to you?" Legolas asked. "Or would you like me to find you a box?"
Noelle and Gimli burst out laughing at the same time.
"A box?" Noelle laughed.
Legolas looked perfectly confused. "Yes..."
"Just don't go wandering away looking for it. We need you up here."
"We, or you do?" Legolas asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Noelle opened her mouth to respond as the Orcs began chanting and slamming their spears on the ground. "Looks like they're getting ready."
Suddenly someone fired a single arrow and hit an Orc.
Oh no. Noelle knew what that meant.
The Orcs groaned and hollered. The came rushing forward as quickly as waves returning to the shore.
Aragorn yelled in Elvish and all the Elves pulled out their bows- Noelle too.
She breathed in and out and focused only on the Force. Not the rain, or the thunder, or the Orcs, or Saruman, or Legolas. For her aim to be true, she needed to focus.
"Their armor is weak at the neck and beneath the arm," Legolas whispered over to her after he had said something very similar in Elvish a second before.
"Thank you," Noelle whispered back.
They released their arrows, Noelle hitting her targets perfectly with the Force.
"Did they hit anything?" Gimli asked.
"FIRE!" yelled the men of Rohan.
Aragorn yelled a command and the Elves released another round of arrows.
"Send them to me! Come on!" Gimli bellowed.
"Noelle!" came Legolas' voice.
Her head jerked up. Ladders. She quickly discarded her bow, and whipped out her sword in a battle-ready position. A berserker Orc, probably three times her size, jumped off the wall at her, his sword held above his head. Noelle jumped out of the way to the right. Before the Orc composed himself, she used the Force to hold him in his tracks, as Aragorn sliced off his head.
Noelle's eyes widened in surprise. "Thanks."
Aragorn nodded breathlessly and charged at another Orc.
"Legolas! Two already!" she heard Gimli shout.
"I'm on seventeen" Legolas called back.
Noelle laughed aloud. They were keeping track! They sounded so much like Anakin and Ahsoka. Noelle remembered that they used to do that all the time. Even the clones engaged in some brotherly competition.
Sometimes you had to smile through the darkness, but Noelle didn't have the heart at the moment to consider war a game.
"Nineteen!" The grin in Legolas' voice was obvious.
Noelle found herself unintentionally smiling too.
"Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen..." Gimli's voice rang through the chaotic noise of the battle for the survival of Rohan.
Noelle finally got the chance to be able to hop up onto the wall to get just a good idea of what was going on out there. Ever since the Orcs had scaled the wall using ladders, she had slowly begun to be pushed back.
She saw about fifty Orcs with shields covering their heads marching up the causeway. Her eyes widened. They were trying to break through the front gate!
"Aragorn! The causeway!" she screamed. "Aragorn!"
Aragorn noticed and ordered the Elves to fire at the line of Orcs marching up the ramp.
Suddenly something else caught her eye.
But an Orc swung at her feet from behind. Noelle jumped in time to avoid the blow and landed behind him, then she Force-pushed him off the wall.
She leaned over the wall hoping to still get a glimpse of what she had just seen seconds before.
A bomber. A suicide bomber. Noelle knew it. She had seen the droids do this a million times during the Clone Wars.
"ARAGORN! THERE'S A BOMB!"
Then she remembered that nobody here probably even knew what on Middle-earth that was.
But Aragorn had seen the bomber. He shouted Legolas's name, calling in on him to shoot him down.
The Elf tried. He shot one arrow, two arrows and it was doing nothing.
Noelle bit her lip. This wasn't going to end well. She jumped down from her spot on the wall as the bomber dived into the drainage area where they had positioned the bombs to explode the outer wall.
Noelle dropped her sword and threw out her hands in both directions, flinging Legolas, Gimli, and a group of Elves and men away from her. The ground behind her flew sky high into the air and debris shot towards her. She hurled backwards, landing on her left arm.
It definitely felt like she twisted something.
"Noelle!" Legolas was on his feet quickly enough. He knelt down in the midst of the stunned silence of Orcs, men and Elves.
"I'm fine," she grunted.
Legolas looked relieved. "You're alive," he whispered to himself.
"Yeah, try and aim for the head next time, meleth nîn."
Legolas's eyes widened in surprise that she had called him that, but he smiled. "Are you hurt?" he asked, with a more concerned expression growing on his face.
"Yes, but I'll be fine," she answered, clutching her limp left arm. "Where's Aragorn?" She hadn't seen him when she Force-pushed everyone she could out of the way.
"ARAGORN!" screamed Gimli, who must have overheard them. He jumped off the wall onto the throng of Orcs, leaving behind a gaping Noelle and Legolas.
"Well, there's certainly nothing wrong with him," she commented.
The Elf touched her arm. "Are you certain you're alright. I do not want to leave you…"
"Positive."
"Aragorn! Fall back to the Keep!" Theoden shouted as many times as it took for Aragorn to hear him.
It wasn't a question of whether they were losing, it was a question of how long they could hold this fortress before help (hopefully) came. Noelle was starting to lose hope that Gandalf was coming back anytime soon.
Gandalf, please hurry before it's too late, she prayed silently.
Since the wall had blown up, the Orcs were overwhelming them, and had all but practically stormed the outer wall. Now they were trying to break their way into the Keep. But Theoden was ordering everyone to fall back, because that was the only place that wasn't stormed- yet.
From Noelle's experience, this was definitely a lost cause without reinforcements.
"Legolas! Gimli!" she shouted, searching around for both of them frantically. In relief, she heard Legolas's voice.
"Gimli! Fall back! We cannot win this fight, my friend!"
Gimli was still hacking away at Orcs left and right, but Noelle could see even he was growing tired. "No laddie! It's not over!"
Noelle ran over, having to dodge more Orcs than she could kill, given that she still had that injured arm. Legolas caught her eye. "Noelle! Help me!"
She nodded. "Gimli! We have to go!" She switched her sword to her bad arm and grabbed Gimli with her right arm. Legolas came over and grabbed him from the other side. Gimli started kicking and yelling like a four-year-old. "Hey! What are we stopping for? Put me down!"
Noelle and Legolas had thankfully retreated to the Hornburg right on time. The Elves, who had been on the front lines, weren't so lucky. None survived, including Haldir. Noelle glanced at Legolas, who was gazing around Helm's Deep, his eyes wide with shock and despair.
Noelle felt a pang of sympathy stab her heart for him. He was obviously not accustomed to seeing all this suffering and death. Like she was. She touched his hand. "Legolas…"
He turned to look at her, and the expression in his eyes scared her.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered.
"'Tis… alright," he got out in a strangled voice. "Where are Aragorn and Gimli?"
Before Noelle could open her mouth to answer, a grappling hook caught on the edge of the wall next to her. She used the Force to push it off, but there were at least half a dozen more still coming.
"There!" Legolas pointed. "Aragorn!"
The ranger and the dwarf were single handedly hacking away at Uruk hai on the causeway. However, they were overwhelmed.
Legolas picked up a rope off the ground and stood on the edge of the wall. "ARAGORN!" he yelled, tossing the rope. Aragorn caught it, and with Gimli under his arm, he climbed on. Slowly and painfully, Legolas struggled to pull the weight of Aragorn and Gimli up the wall, while Noelle covered him as best as she could with her injured arm.
Thankfully, they were pulled to safety without an issue. Noelle breathed a sigh of relief, meeting Aragorn's eyes. "So now what do we do?"
Aragorn took a deep breath, his expression grave. "We fall back, and hope he arrives in time."