Author's note: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I should go ahead and warn everyone that I do not write battle scenes all that well, but I try so I apologize if they suck! Enjoy!

The Ring of Stars by Shelly

CHAPTER EIGHT



"Orcs? Are you sure?" he asked, adrenaline beginning to pump through him.

"Yes," she replied. "If you go now you can head them off at the ruins."

Already realizing what he had to do, he started to run off to warn his father but stopped when she called out his name.

"Be careful," she cautioned him, putting a hand on his arm and leaning up to kiss his cheek.

When she would back away, he reached out and pulled her against him, kissing her passionately and immediately wishing they had more time to be gentle as he had not wanted their first kiss to be like this.

She knew their time was short and immediately forgave his hard kisses as they broke apart, both of them breathing heavily. She watched as he ran off, and she suddenly had a thought that had her running towards the house they were staying in. Throwing open the door, she pounded on Aldarion's door until it was finally opened by a sleepy elf.

"What is it, Lilli?" he asked.

"I think there are some orcs preparing to attack Osgiliath. I saw them myself heading that way and Boromir has already gone to alert the others," she told him breathlessly.

"And you're telling me this because..."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, if you're not going to help then I will!" She started to turn but he quickly grabbed her by the arm.

"I was just joking! Where's your sense of humor?"

She sighed, quickly losing her patience. "This is no time for humor, Aldarion! Now get your elven butt in gear and go help them!"

"Okay, alright! Give me a second," he muttered as he closed the door and leaving her waiting impatiently at the door. Tarcil, on the other hand, had already heard and was now waiting with her for his brother.

Soon they were on their way to find Boromir and the others to let them know they would help. Much to Aldarion and Tarcil's dismay, she had eventually retrieved her own bow and arrows and had every intention of helping them, although they tried their best to dissuade her. They found Boromir and Faramir with their father, who was laying out lines of strategy they might use to defeat the orcs. Both Boromir and Faramir looked up when they entered, looks of surprise on their faces.

"We've come to help if you'll accept it," she told them.

Both Boromir and Faramir answered at the same time. "No."

Boromir sighed and stepped aside with Lillisandra. "Aldarion and Tarcil may come along, but there's absolutely no way I'm going to let you endanger yourself."

"Look, you don't have that many men to spare. I can at least help out from a long range point of view," she argued.

"No," he repeated. "I'm not going to take the chance that I might lose you."

"What's the difference between you risking your life and me risking mine?" she countered. "If you cannot stay then I want to be out there with you."

He smiled and grasped her hand in his, bringing it up to his lips for a brief kiss. "Lilli, please, I will not be able to devote my full attention to the fight if I'm continuously worrying about your safety. If you love me, stay here so that I may return to you."

She gazed into his eyes for the longest time then finally nodded. He returned to his father's side and she wished Aldarion and Tarcil the best of luck before heading back up to where she had seen the orcs. All the city was in a flurry of activity as the call to battle was sounded, and soon an army of Minas Tirith marched out to meet the force of orcs that marched steadily towards Osgiliath.

She watched with her heart in her throat as the orcs had made it across the bridge that still spanned the Anduin and now poured onto the west bank only to meet the forces of Minas Tirith. Seeing they were outnumbered, she ran from her perch down to the stables where she hopped on Lanthir and sped through the city with as much speed as she could considering the zigzag pattern she had to take to get to the Great Gate. Once through the final gate, she rode with all the speed Lanthir could muster to the gate set in the Rammas Echor that guarded the road from Osgiliath. There she ascended the southern guard tower and arrived at the top where she could see the battle raging through the battlements.

The dead bodies of orcs and men alike littered the ground and the defense was struggling but holding their own. Thankful she had remembered to grab additional arrows, she laid them down at her feet where she could pick them up once her own quiver became empty. She pulled her first arrow and quickly fit it to the bow, sighting down her first target and letting the arrow fly into the chest of an orc. She continued on in this way, rarely missing her targets until a strange figure came charging through the ranks of orcs, a figure dark as midnight as was the horse it rode on, and everywhere it went it left fear in its wake. The bravest of men fled in terror from the black rider, and even she was touched by the terror it generated as it wheeled towards the north and the Vale of the Anduin.

Shaking off the terror, she surveyed the battle and saw that the men had rerouted and were now forcing the orcs back across the bridge, but many brave men died to ensure that the orcs stayed on the east bank. She soon saw the bridge collapse into the river and knew that anyone still alive had to swim back to shore.

She raced back down the tower and begged horses of anyone still around to get them from and ended up with three that she led down to the edge of the Anduin just in time to see four figures laid out on the banks. As she drew closer, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that both sets of brothers had survived. She saw that Aldarion seemed to be in pain and knelt down beside him.

He saw her through pain-filled eyes. "What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to remain inside the city," he gasped, exhausted from having to swim across the Anduin with a wound to bear.

"Never mind that," she replied. "Where are you hurt?"

She heard Tarcil step beside her, winded but otherwise unharmed as he was by far the best fighter in her homeland as well as her teacher. "He received a wound on his thigh from a sword. It looks much worse than it actually is."

"Who are you to say how it is? You're not the one lying here in pain." He gasped as he tried propping himself up on his elbows. "Besides, Boromir received worse than I--"

"Aldarion!" Boromir hissed. "You promised not to say anything!"

Her eyes set in a steely gaze, she rose to her feet and walked over to his side. "Why would you make him promise such a thing?" she demanded.

"I didn't want you to worry yourself over me," he answered.

She saw his hand pressing against his side and knelt down to try and get a better look at it. "What a stupid thing to say. You know I would worry about you even if you were unharmed."

He looked up at her, losing his heart to her again as he did every time he beheld her fair beauty and boundless courage. "And what of your words to me? You told me you would stay in the city if you loved me, and since you're here I assume you do not."

She pinned him with a glare that clearly said not to go any further. "Faramir, help me remove his clothing so I can tend to his wound." She saw him shake his head at his brother and sighed as she tried to keep hold of her temper. "Am I going to have to cut them off, Boromir? If you're losing blood, I need to know so I can stop it long enough to get you to a healer."

He finally surrendered to her care as she and Faramir removed just enough clothing until she could see the gash that ran from his left side to just under his ribcage, and it was still bleeding. She bid him to try and stand up with his brother's help while she borrowed Tarcil's dagger to cut away a good portion of the bottom of her gown, resulting in the baring of her slender legs to all around her. She wrapped the cloth tightly around his midsection, trying her best to ignore the warm skin under the palms of her hands and failing miserably as his nearness drove her nearly insane with desire.

Boromir also fought against the urge to take her and claim her as his and was a little more successful as he was in a great deal of pain, and he swayed on his feet as he became dizzy from the loss of blood. Still he felt her hands moving across his midsection, seeming to leave trails of fire where she touched him and dizzying him further.

Satisfied that the bandage was tight enough, she noticed him starting to sway on his feet and quickly brought Lanthir to his side, whispering elven words that had the horse lowering himself down onto the ground. "Faramir, help Boromir onto his back and mount up behind him. You know where to take him."

He nodded and did as she said. She watched them ride off towards the city before she and the two brothers followed on the other three horses.

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So, how was it? Like it? Hate it? Review and let me know! Next chapter: Lilli realizes how much she loves Boromir.