So so so sorry for the late Update! It took longer than I ever expected I thought it would. Hope you like it and aren't that pissed at me.
Now….. The actual story :)
Aragorn rode swiftly over the land, his beaten and bruised body protesting with every move his steed made. Falling off a cliff into rushing waters may do that to a man. He needed to get to Helms Deep. To warn the others of the fast approaching Uruk-Hai army he had seen in the distance. The orcs had run faster than he had ever seen before, and would arrive at the keep soon. Should he not make it in time-
He refused to let himself accept that as an option.
He needed- he would get there first.
And then he would pray to the Valar that the King of Rohan now saw sense.
Jackie rushed after Gimli as he pushed through the crowd of surprised refugees. Aragorn was alive. Or at least that is what the fast spreading rumors seemed to attest. But she refused to believe it until she saw him living and breathing before her- or she tried to refuse to believe. She could not stop the tiny curnel of hope that bloomed in her chest, and feared that she would just be left with a freshly broken heart. Hope was dangerous if used- given- blooming in unlikely scenarios. Such as a dear friend- brother even- rising from the dead. She had been there, she had seen him fall off that cliff, she did not need another reminder of that.
And yet she followed Gimli anyway.
The dwarf shoved his way through the ever thickening crowd, she followed swiftly, not caring if mud and puddles covered her exposed legs and simple, leather, thigh length skirt, one she grabbed from the wardrobe Eowyn had made for her due to the fact she could yank it on in a second. She was still going to kick the gruff dwarf's ass for barging into her room screaming 'HE'S ALIVE! HE"S FUCKING ALIVE! GET UP LASSY HE'S ALIVE!' like a bat out of hell. Especially because all she had around her chest was the bands she usually wore under her shirt. At least she was able to wrestle her thick hair into a ponytail.
"Where is he! Where is he? Get out of the way!" Gimli's eyes landed on a tall man entering the keep and renewed his efforts. Jackie just stopped. No way in hell. "You are the luckiest, the canniest, most reckless man…."
The word registered but she didn't hear them, not really.
Because Aragorn who fell off a fucking cliff in the middle of battle was alive! She felt the tears coming down her cheeks and didn't care as she flung herself and the battered, tired, sweaty, grimy, stinky ranger.
The taller man just laughed weekly and wrapped his arms around her torso, burying his nose into her hair and taking a deep breath. She could have sworn he was crying too. Just a little bit.
"I missed you, you asshole."
Aragorn smiled. "I missed you too."
She pulled back and willed herself -successfully- to stop crying. She most likely looked like a distraught lover. In nothing but a skirt, wrappings around her breasts and hair messy and fuzzy from bed. In nothing but a skirt and wrappings….. Her scar. Damnit. She looked down at her exposed stomach. Toned and muscled. And marred with an ugly scar coming down the length of her torso. As if sensing her line of sight Aragorn looked down and paled visibly. Probably wondering what had happened to her. Elves heal to quick to scar, save for a few extreme cases. At least she still had the cuffs around her wrists on, and her long hair covered her neck.
Aragorn silently took off his dirty sweaty overcoat, reading the uneasiness in her eyes. She smiled gratefully as she pulled it on, covering the giant scar, and hoped her eyes would convey what she wanted to say but would rather not in front of such an audience. I'll tell you later. He nodded as if he understood that too.
She scowled at him, slapping him across the face. "And if ever do that again Aragorn, Valar help me I will drop a tree on you."
He smirked. "Metaphorically."
"No, geographically."
He laughed again before sobering up and turning to an awkward Gimli. "Where's the King?"
The dwarf gestured gruffly to the hall and started in the direction himself. As Aragorn and Jackie began to make their way they ran into a certain Prince of Mirkwood who stood waiting for them.
"Le ab-dollen (Elvish: You're late.)" The two smile at each other. "You look terrible." Legolas adds.
Out of the corner of Legolas's eyes he saw the Lady Eowyn smile joyously with relief at the return of his presumed dead friend. Seeing the woman reminded him of the pendant he had taken from the battlefield, and taking Aragorn's hand he placed the Evenstar in the ranger's hand.
"Hannon le." (Elvish: Thank you) The man said quietly.
Legolas could only nod back, preoccupied with the images that ran through his mind on loop.
When Jackie first came running out of the keep his thoughts went immediately to her attire. She was moving too quickly for any human to see her up close. Then he saw the jagged scar that ran down her torso. Every thought had eddied out of his head at that moment. What the hell happened to her? And why the hell did he care? That seemed to be a recurring question, and not without its merits. Why did he care for her?
He would talk to her later and find out what had been done to her and make the bastards pay.
Jackie smirked from where she stood against the wall by the hearth, inside the great keep. The Human King -Theoden- was just so stupid at times it was funny.
It was later that day, and both she and Aragorn were freshly washed and cleaned. The maids had taken one look at the both and had ushered them into separate bathing rooms. She stopped them before they could begin to wash her.
The human fashion for women was so much more restricting for women than any other species out there. Dresses, dresses and the occasional skirt were all you could find. Her handmaidens refused to let her leave her chambers deep within Helms Deep. Unwilling to cost the women their job she allowed them to choose for her an outfit, specifying that it had to have a high collar, she didn't much care for the neckline so long as it covered her scars.
She had lived almost her entire life in the habit of covering them up, and though she had come to accept them as part of her and testament of the trials and tribulations she had survived, she would never forget about the judgment she faced from the stupid, pridefull species of elves.
And with Legoas without his memories- without their history- if he reacted like everyone else…. She wouldn't sign herself up for pain.
She watched as Aragorn tried again with Theoden.
"A great host, you say?" The king asked, skeptical.
"All of Isengard is emptied" Aragorn stated calmly. Jackie started off the wall, loose blue skirts billowing around her legs and whispering across the floor as she moved. Thai was the first she had heard anything like this.
"How many?" She asked, ignoring the glance sent her way by a guard along the outside of the room.
"Ten thousand strong, at least."
She closed her eyes. She knew that the number would be great but…
"Ten thousand!" Theoden cried.
"It is an army bred for a single purpose; to destroy the world of men. They will be here by nightfall." She said quietly, but by no means weakly.
The king glared at her, as if her presence brought them here. "Let them come!" He shouted as he walked away resolutely. Aragorn fell silent to let the elf in the room listen.
"I want every man and strong lad able to bear arms be ready for battle by nightfall."
Jackie felt her mouth fall open. Men she could understand, they had experience in battle. Women as well, though not in this particularly sexist kingdom apparently, but children? Fucking Children!
He must be truly desperate. She growled, glancing at Aragorn, swiftly informing him of what happened as the king and his servant walked farther and farther away.
Legolas stood at the gates of Helm's Deep, beside him the human King, Aragorn, Gimli and Jackie. All dressed for battle. Dornessiti even had tailors and blacksmiths on site work on reinforcing and adding to her elven hunting gear and form fitting black battle suit. She looked like death unto itself, standing firm, staring into the distance as the distant mob of black drew slowly closer. He knew that they -with their improved eyesight- and he knew that it killed her to just watch as their impending doom came ever closer. He saw the look in her eyes, saw it and prepared himself for hell, having seen it before in Moria. She had accepted the fact that she would die by the end of the battle. And was going to take down as many as she could before her end came.
"We will cover the causeway and the gate from above. No army had ever breached the Deeping Wall or set foot inside Hornburg. " The king said, he could practically see the aragonce seeping from his very pores. The fool truly believes that he stands a chance. He scoffed to himself. Human pride.
"This is no rabble of mindless Orcs. These are Uruk-hai. Their armor is thick and their shields broad." The dwarf piped up.
"I have fought many wars Master Dwarf. I know how to defend my own keep." The king said, completely brushing off the wisdom of the much wiser dwarf. Should father ever discover I was becoming friends with the blasted thing he would have me beheaded. Gimli appeared to be muffled so Legolas clapped his hand down on the dwarfs shoulder. Screw it. "They will break upon this fortress like water on rock. Saruman's hordes will pillage and burn, we've seen it before. Crops can be resown; homes rebuilt. Within these walls, we will outlast them." Theoden finished.
"They do not come to destroy Rohan's crops or villages. They come to destroy its people. Down to the last child." Jackie spoke up from the shadows of a wall she had moved to lean against without any of them noticing.
The King drew close to her, looking her up and down mockingly. "What would you have me do? Look at my men. Their courage hangs by a thread. If this is to be our end, then I would have them make such an end as to be worthy of remembrance."
"Send out riders, my lord. You must call for aid." Dornessiti said quietly, yet somehow sounding like the calm before the storm. The king didn't pick up on her tone.
"And who will come? Elves?" He spat the word out. "Dwarves?" He turned on Gimli. "We are not so lucky in our friend as you, woman. The old alliances are dead."
"You let them die."
The King bristled, squaring his shoulders as if preparing to throw a punch when Aragorn stepped in.
"Gondor will answer."
"Gondor?" Theoden scoffed, shifting his attention to the ranger. "Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell? Where was Gondor when our enemies closed in around us? Where was Gondor? No, my lord Aragorn, we are alone." He walked away from them shouting orders to his men, then turning and pointing to Dornessiti, "Get this woman and all the others into the caves, children too."
Two men began to escort Dornessiti out. She flipped them both quickly, soon having one on his back, weezing, the other on his stomach, having his back crushed by an eleven boot.
"You even try to touch me, your highness, and Rohan will soon be finding itself in search of a new ruler. Eowyn would do nicely, a pity you are all sexist pigs."
Legolas smiled behind his hand.
Theoden's servant -Gamling- burst into the room. "We need more time to lay provisions for siege, lord."
"There is no time!" Dornessiti shouted.
"War is upon us." Theoden said quietly.
Outside Legolas heard a captain shouting; "Secure the gate!"
Men and the odd child rushed to prepare for battle as a flock of onyx carrion crows circled overhead, as if it knew the likelihood of their survival and were gathering for a feast.
Another wave of orcs crashed against the walls of the keep. Legolas pulled his bow back taunt and let loose another arrow, adding to the many he had lost in the evil throng of orcs on the other side of the thick walls.
The elves had come to their aid, helping turn the tides, but barley. They were starting to slip again.
The orcs had fallen back, regrouping, giving the defenders a brief period of time with nothing to do but try to count the mounting numbers of the fallen, tend to the wounded, and stew over their upcoming death. He sighed as he watched a crying man close the unseeing eye of a boy who couldn't be more than twelve years.
The entire keep stiffened as the sound of drums echoed around them. Shoulders tensed and blades were drawn, the exhausted men -and children- of Rohan prepared to fight till the end. He admired their bravery truly, and found that he wouldn't mind that the end of his immortal life was to be found on this battlefield. Falling with people unwilling to bow even at the bitter end, knowing they were staring down death's jaws, and running toward them, however slow it may be.
A strong arm pulled him into a more quiet corridor, he turned swiftly, blades flashing as he shoved his assailant against the wall and held a knife to their throat.
"Who are you- Dornessiti?"
She gasped against his blade, glaring at him with those eyes of hers.
"Legolas."
"Mana- (Elvish: what-)" He started,
But was abruptly cut off by Dornessiti's lips on his. They were soft, but unlike the other times he had kissed her, she had started it. The way she kissed him, it was sad, almost.
"Tye have lala selma manen limbe ni méra tye could enyal- yenya i tyelde. (Elvish: You have no idea how much I wish you could remember before the end.)" And as if she had just realised what she was doing she pushed the forgotten knife from her throat and backed away down the corridor, to where the faint sounds of battle could be heard commencing. She didn't look him in the eyes, in fact she avoided looking at him all together. She didn't even try to stop the tears, as she glanced his way one final time.
"Ni am so sorrime, so incrediblime sorrime. I tye could vamme have had tare lú. I emme could vamme have had tare lú ana hir tien ilya, tai missing moments en-. I emme could vamme have had i sér- -o our lives creating sinya ones. Ar an- -o ilya ni am sorrime. I ni hyarya ar never looked at-. I ni didn't fight. (Elvish: I am so sorry, so incredibly sorry. That you could not have had more time. That we could not have had more time to find them all, those missing moments again. That we could not have had the rest of our lives creating new ones. And most of all I am sorry. That I left and never looked back. That I didn't fight.)"
She paused, looking him dead in the eyes, some sort of explosion went off and for a moment she was framed in white light so pure she looked like one of the valar themselves.
"Mal ni indóme fight sí, till i tyelde, an ilya emme could have had. (Elvish: But I will fight now, till the end, for all we could have had)"
So I am back.
No clue when the next chapter is coming so don't get your hopes up.
Question mark chapter 11 .
I enjoyed the chapter.
Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it! And I hope you like this one too!