A/N things are gonna change.. I can feel it. I'm not terribly good at writing war scenes. I'll probably be updating quicker cause things are getting good.

Arden left the armory in full gear and then collected her horse at the stables before riding out to meet with her company.

Her father, Legolas, and Eldarion, her oldest brother would be in the first company out. She was somewhere in the middle with all the horse riders. She didn't mind being left behind a bit; it took her years to convince her father to let her be a soldier at all. All told she was one of only two women in the service of Gondor.

Her captain explained that a small army from Harad in the South had attacked Southern Gondor. The company rode out and not a few hours later they could see the battle raging. Her father's company already had arrived and was now in the full heat of battle. Her captain signaled for them to go forth and fight.

Arden was in the mists of battle, not for the first time. She rushed her enemies and smote them down.

In the front line, Aragorn and Legolas fought side by side. A messenger had been sent to Rohan to ask for assistance in case this fight could not be resolved quickly. The two warriors were a deadly pair having seen many a battle with worse enemies and worse odds than they now faced.

It was common to hear screaming amidst all the fighting and death, but Legolas' elven ears picked up one scream in particular.

"The princess has fallen!" someone yelled in the distance. "Arden is wounded! Help me protect her so her body is not trampled!"

Legolas was unprepared for the lump that developed in his throat to hear those words. His heartbeat accelerated and he was almost caught in the panic but somehow managed to ward off his enemies and inform Aragorn.

"King! I hear in the distance, Arden has fallen!" he yelled.

Aragorn was also caught off guard and looked terribly stricken.

"Where, Legolas?" he yelled back. "Lead me!"

Legolas left the front lines with Aragorn following him swiftly. They reached the place where Legolas had heard the cry and there was a small wall of men spaced closely together fighting off enemies. In the middle lay Arden.

The men, seeing Legolas and Aragorn's approach made way for them to pass through. The two knelt down beside her and the men quickly closed off their human wall behind them. They examined her noting that she had been wounded on her left side and was bleeding.

"Arden," Legolas began, but she would not stir.

"Arden!" Aragorn said to her. He lightly slapped her face and then she opened her eyes and saw them.

"Am I dreaming?" she said. "If yours are the faces that I last see before I die then indeed I am luckier than many who have fallen in battle."

"Do not greet death so quickly, Arden," Aragorn said. "I will take you out of here and back within the walls."

"Father, you cannot leave the battle."

"Eldarion and Legolas are here, that will have to be enough."

"No, she is right," Legolas said. "You stay, I will take her to Gondor."

"No, Legolas. She is my daughter," Aragorn said angrily in the madness of the situation.

"Aragorn," Legolas began and placed his hand on Aragorn's shoulder. Aragorn turned his face from Arden to Legolas. "I will take her."

"Do not argue with me now, Elf. We have no time." He began to pick her up in his arms.

"Aragorn! Let me"

"No, Legolas! Stop hindering me and trying to keep me from my kin!" Aragorn yelled at him and then stormed off. The men parted for him. Aragorn grabbed the first rider-less horse he saw and with Arden on his lap, rode quickly back to Gondor.

Legolas was left in a fury. He was merciless in his attacks for the rest of the day. And when night came and the enemy retreated at least for that day, Legolas rode back to Gondor leaving Eldarion in command.

Legolas did not stop running his horse until he was in front of the Houses of Healing. There he dismounted and left the horse in the front of the house freely. He stormed inside looking all around him trying to find Arden.

"Where is she?" he scowled at all the healers. "Where is she!"

One woman by the back wall managed the courage to speak to the raging Elf.

"Who are you looking for, Master Elf?"

"Arden," he said still walking through the rooms and looking around all the beds for her.

The woman followed after him. "She is in a private room. Turn right at the end of the hall. It's the second to last door."

Legolas broke into a run leaving the healers behind. When he reached the door he found it to be locked. He knocked and asked to go in.

The door opened slightly only part of the way and Arwen crept out slowly.

"She is asleep, Legolas," she said gravely. "Her wound has been cleaned and bandaged."

"Will she live?" he asked desperately.

"They cannot say for sure," and she quietly wiped a tear away. "They keep telling me that there is a good chance. But she just looks so ill."

"May I see her?"

"Yes. But be very quiet."

Legolas opened the door slowly and went inside. Arwen followed him.

Arden lay on the bed asleep. Her face was deathly pale and her breathing was shallow. The sight almost broke his heart. Aragorn sat in a chair next to her holding her hand. He didn't even look up when Legolas entered the room. Elise was on the other side of the room looking out the window, her face tear stained. Gilraen stood at a nearby table rinsing out the blood from the rags used to clean Arden's wounds.

Legolas went to the bedside and looked down at her form. He traced his hand over her brow. Aragorn noticed him then, but said nothing.

A bruise was forming on the right side of her face and in several areas on her arms. The bed sheet was not pulled up high enough to hide the gash at her side, which had bled through the bandages.

"She cannot die." Legolas whispered.

Aragorn looked up at him. "You must ride back to battle. But I will not go with you."

"I would rather stay, Aragorn."

"I will not let you. You are needed in battle."

"Then I will ride back every night," argued Legolas.

"If that is the way it has to be, my friend. But I will not leave her side, and I need you to help defend my City."

With that agreement, Legolas settled to watch Arden for a while longer, but before day broke he rode out to South Gondor.