Ok, I was in one of those homicidal kill-something-or-me moods so I
randomly started to write a battle scene, and as it took form, I could see
that it was so set in Helm's Deep, and then I remembered this story. And
so, that brings us to this.
I was making this a two part ending, but it is now over 28 pages and still not finished, so I am breaking it up into three parts. Umm, the next part is pretty much finished, and the last and concluding one is in the process of being done, so it will not take too long to get them all out (can you tell that I am desperate to get more stories finished? - plus I have a rather entertaining original story about Dwarf Tossing to post up!)
And people, just cause it has been a long time for updating, does not mean that I have abandoned it. I really do try to finish all stories (am still working on the conclusion to The Blood of the Innocent but it is being a bit of a bitch) but sometimes it will just take me awhile.
IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!
For all you Americans out there, I am yet to see the movie - not released for another few days - so please do not tell me anything!!! That also means that this may not be what the movie made Helm's Deep look like, so do not go saying that "that's not how the movie did it!"
ALSO IMPORTANT: due to new ideas, I have changed the story's direction slightly. It is no longer (as I said before) pointless and lacking a 'real' plot, as it has now taken on the form of something along the lines of Shadows Within; Darkness Without. It is going to take a look at how the battle of the Hornburg could have turned out if all of the aforementioned things (Legolas' wound, Aragorn's 'obsession' and the obvious dislike between Legolas and Éomer - first chapter implied) had come into play *REALLY evil laugh*
Last thought: Do you know how hard it is to write a decent fight scene for Gimli?
Ok, so, sit back, relax and let me take you for a nice little ride through blood and carnage.
*****
Dangerously in Love
Chapter Four
No One's Untouchable part 1
*****
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter.
"Stairway to Heaven" Led Zepplin.
*****
Like a tide of black water they came, running forward and towards the high walls of the stronghold whilst being unhindered by the fortified place before them. Rain poured down in vertical sheets, insuring that the fighters of both sides had to watch their feet else they slip to what may prove their end.
Standing upon the wall, the captains of the Deep watched in silence as, with each blinding flash of white light that split the darkened sky, more and more of the enemy was revealed in the flats below the walls. There were thousands of them, an endless parade of dark shapes and glistering spears stretching from one wall of the Dike to the other and reaching far behind, out of the sight of all save the keen eyes of Legolas the Elf. As each flash of light passed through the sky, the beings upon the wall saw more and more of what they were set to face and what blocked them in the Deep from the outside world.
The evils in the valley below were stomping their feet and calling out, proclaiming their might and strength and how that they would crush all that hid within the stronghold before the early morning light flooded the land from the east.
Those on the walls stood uneasily, not from the threats but from the atmosphere and the foretelling of evil that seemed to weigh down the air and bring it heavily upon their shoulders.
None felt the presence more then Legolas the Elf as he stood there, clutching his bow to his chest while his eyes darted from one corner of the valley to the other, attempting to estimate the number of the opposing army between the flashes of light.
Gimli stood tall in spirit, his readiness larger then his size as he gripped his axe. Long had he felt fatigue, but even as the battle approached the constant blood lusting of his axe prevented him to truly feel the weariness that was about them all.
Aragorn, the picture of nobility, stood with his hands resting on the wet ramparts of the wall, Andúril gleaming at his side in the flashing light of the storm. His gaze eagerly pierced the night and looked upon the gathered force and yet, even as he looked, he was more concerned with what and who was at his side, making sure to be the first one to notice if anything was wrong with either of his friends and comrades.
Next to him stood Éomer, another man of nobility in both stature and pose. Sword already in hand, he also scoured the flats beyond with the eyes of a hawk, yet, unlike him comrades, his orbs held the faint glimmer of hopelessness that could prove to be fatal in any fight of substantial value.
Archers lined the walls on either side of the leaders, there bows drawn and their helms down and they were flanked by row after row of waiting swordsmen. More of the wardens stood at the bottom, the line of defense against the gate if it should fall and the chance of the assailing host breaking their lines.
And so waited the congregation that was set to defend the never before defeated stronghold; a legion of humans, a royal Elf and a stout dwarf were all that stood in the way of what would be a damaging blow should they fail.
With no warning, a volley of thick, black shafted arrows speed over the wall, falling upon the waiting lines. The sound of metal hitting stone briefly overrode that of the falling rain only to be drowned out by another crack of thunder. As the light flashed across the sky moments after, the leaders looked to their lines, seeing that some had indeed falling in the assault and yet all had held their ground and stayed to their orders.
As worked out beforehand, they would wait for their opening attack until the other side grew sure of themselves and moved forward. As predicted, within a few moments, the Orcs and men from the Dunland surged forward, weapons brandished high above their heads and cries upon their lips.
With a blast of trumpets, the archers upon the wall took aim, and, at the falling hand of their commander, let their arrows fly. The shafts sailed well in the air, the force of the wind and rain working in their favor as yet another volley was let off, falling countless Orcs and humans below.
The host broke and fell back, put of by the sudden assault from the once quiet walls, and yet, within the minute, they were charging again only to be met with more whistling missiles, driving them back once again.
And thus started the battle of Helm's Deep.
*****
Bending his bow along with the others, Legolas tried to ignore the tearing that he felt at his shoulder blade and back. Not aiming at any being in particular, he let his fingers slack and the arrow speed from its previous position, felling one of the further beasts. Rotating his shoulder once, he sensed Aragorn's eyes on him and immediately stopped, not wanting to cause the human to worry.
Averting his gaze, he turned to Gimli with a small smile on his face. "Master Gimli, I do believe that that is already one for me!"
The dwarf just scoffed at his words while looking out on the crowed flat. "And I shall do better - if you care to make a wager on that?" He still had not looked to the Elf, but his smile was easily seen in the flashes of white light as he contemplated the thought of beating the fabled archer.
"An Elf verses a dwarf," Legolas laughed at the thought in a merry way without the slightest hint of a taunt. "I shall readily except your challenged Mas-" his words where cut short as he ducked a flying arrow, having felt the disturbance that it made upon the air near his head and he was relieved to hear it hit shield and not flesh behind him.
Aragorn cast a worried look over at the Elf, and before Legolas could continue his and Gimli's friendly banter, the human grabbed a hold of his arm and hauled Legolas over to his side, his fear for the prince getting the better of him. Tugging the Elf's arm downwards so that Legolas' ear was to his mouth, he whispered harshly against the point. "Perchance you could stop your talking and keep your mind on the battle at hand! I do not want to have to watch over you as if you were a child, now keep your head in the right place!"
Tugging out of the man's grip, Legolas shot him an angered glance, and keeping his eyes on the human, he pulled another arrow from his quiver and let it fly with speed unlike any that the human archers had ever witnessed before. An Orc fell down below, the Elven arrow sticking from the centre of its throat and the archers that were watching gaped at the Elf who had not even looked at his target to hit it dead centre.
"So Gimli?" Legolas questioned while keeping his eyes locked onto Aragorn's, "what say you about that wager?"
Seeing the tension between the two, Gimli could only half guess at what it was caused from. He had seen throughout the quest, and especially since Legolas had taken his wound, that Aragorn seemed to treat Legolas as someone who needed protecting and not the warrior that he was.
Deciding to stick with his friend on this one, Gimli looked to the Elf and smiled at his back, "as you wish it, Master Elf," he said, "let us see who may win this. But alas, I fear that you have an advantage for now, so I take my leave so I may be the first to the fight if it should come within our walls." With a slight nod, he turned and walked down the stone steps to join the other swordsmen at the bottom near the gate.
Raising an eyebrow, Legolas stared Aragorn down until the human finally looked away, face burning in the cool rain. Éomer had long since moved off to rally the men and archers further, leaving only the two quarreling beings atop the walls.
Firing three arrows in rapid succession, Legolas was the first to hear and feel a crashing sound as it reverberated off the walls and through the air. Leaning over the stone balustrade, the Elf let his eyes fall upon the base of the wall and to the sight that was displayed before him.
Putting his anger towards Aragorn aside for the moment, he leaned over and tugged the sleeve of the human's tunic, and once he had his attention, he stretched his arm out, pointing to the danger.
"We have problems!" he exclaimed while he waited for the ranger to register what was happening. Down below, a handful of the Dunland men and Orcs had the trunks of cut trees within their hands, four to a side and were ramming it against the strong, steel enforced gates of the Deep over and over again.
Looking quickly to Legolas, the human tried to resist the urge to tell him to stay here with no prevail. "You stay here, I'll go!" he hissed out at the Elf as Legolas made a move to skirt around him.
"Aragorn?" Legolas half shrieked, "I am not staying here and you have no right to tell me so!" Proving his point, he motioned to a few of the swordsmen that stood nearby to follow him and walked around the ranger, his head held high. Aragorn made a move to grab at his arm again, but Legolas' quick reflexes allowed him to easily move out of the ranger's reach as he kept walking down the steps.
"Is there a way out other then the main gates?" Legolas questioned one of the men behind him.
Nodding his head, the guard pointed at the far wall, "there is a small door to the west. It opens in a crevice between the rocks that can not be easily seen. That is our best chance."
"Then we go through that door and surprise them from the outside." Legolas concluded as the group, followed by an unimpressed Aragorn, hurried across the muddied grounds towards the west and where the door apparently stood.
Another bang reverberated through the Deep making Legolas spin on his heels and face the gate. The wood was bowing and the metal hinges bending under the force of the battering-ram. Looking from the gate to the small door, he quickly ran across the slippery ground and towards Éomer who was standing with Gimli.
"You have to block the gates!" he yelled at them before he was even near. "They will not hold!"
Reaching the small group, he offered a slight bow to Éomer in a sign of respect and then continued his quicken speech. "You must use something to keep the gates from breaking! Rocks, metal, anything, just keep them holding. We," he motioned to the now motionless group that stood near the small door and were looking back on him, "are going out to try and stop them, but we need you to secure them from inside on the chance that we should fail."
Éomer looked from the elf to the gate before sighing and nodding, leaving his pride aside to ensure the people's safety "That is sound advice, Master Elf," Éomer said while nodding his agreement ere calling out for a handful of his men. "Gather all that you can. We must reinforce the gates!" Following after his men, Éomer busily started getting them to move large boulders and planks of wood, lending a hand when the time called for it.
Seeing that they were well under way, Legolas turned and started back towards the others, who were busily arguing with Aragorn over something. The presence of Gimli did not go unnoticed by Legolas as he walked with a brisk pace, and, when shooting the dwarf a questioning gaze, Gimli only replied with, "and you think that I will allow you such a head start on our wager?"
"Dwarves and their stiff necks," Legolas murmured with a smile as the reached the group. "What is happening here?" the Elf questioned at the sound of raised voices. Aragorn turned on him; his face looking like a child's who had been caught doing something that they should not have been while the guard that he had been arguing with smirked at the uneasiness of the ranger.
"Nothing," Aragorn muttered under his breath, wanting to close the subject to the Elf.
"Actually," the guard who had informed Legolas of the door said, "he was telling us to go while you were not here to accompany us!" Aragorn whirled on the guard; his face burning with anger while his eyes said more then words could, forcing the young man to shrink back.
"Enough!" Legolas interrupted. "Aragorn, you are not going to get rid of me so learn to accept that. Do you not all see that we need to stick together on this? We can not afford to let petty arguments break us and our spirits; not when we need each other so much!" Looking right at Aragorn when he said the last lines, Legolas was pleased to see that the human maintained eye contact with him and for once, he did not see the hate that was recently burning within the human's eyes.
Without another word being spoken the company turned and headed towards the door cut into the side of the fort's walls.
Opening the old door, the rusted hinges let out a shrill squeak that was thankfully lost in sounds of the battle and the falling rain. The small group, consisting of Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli and five Rohan swordsman, slipped out through the small door to find themselves in a long crevice between the rock face and the side of the Fort's walls.
Moving stealthy along, they each drew their weapons of choice and, as the roar of the opposing side started to get louder as they got closer, gripped their swords and bow till their knuckles turned white.
Just as Legolas was about to lead them around the corner and straight at the men that assailed the gates of Helm's Deep, Aragorn reached out and grabbed him, pulling him back so quickly that they other warriors kept going, a war cry on their lips as they charged at the unsuspecting men.
"What are you doing?" Legolas hissed at the human who still firmly held his arm. Gimli, who had seen Legolas get stopped, had halted also, not wanting to leave his friends at such an important place.
"I just did not want you going first!" Aragorn said truthfully. He had not wanted Legolas rushing around that corner to face the Orcs and what could possibly be death at all, let alone being the first one to go.
Glaring at the man, Legolas pulled his arm free and stepped aside, "well then, my *king*," he spat with disgust, "after you!"
Seeing that Legolas had taken it the wrong way, Aragorn reached out for the Elf to try to prove to him his mistake, but Legolas just stepped aside and shook his head at the human. "Legolas, I did not mean it that way."
"Just go, or shall I?" Legolas said while casting his eyes impatiently to the corner and the sounds of the battle that was on the other side. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Aragorn glared back at the Elf, wondering why Legolas insisted in making everything so difficult, and stared jogging around the bend to join in the fray.
Turning to Legolas, Gimli gave him is best questioning glance which was met with a shrug and the quiet words of, "I do not know, Gimli, I just do not know!" Exchanging small smiles, the two friends hurried to catch up to the others.
Coming around the bend, Legolas automatically let an arrow fly and hit the closest man, his side of the ramming log tipping as he fell to the ground. Letting a further two arrows grace the air with their presence, both his targets fell to the ground, dead before they even hit.
Gimli ran into the thick of the fray and sent his axe into the stomach of one man only to pull it out and spin it to hit another in the kneecap, severing the leg. Moving swiftly for one of his race, he killed a further four within a matter of seconds, the bodies falling about him like leaves in a forest.
Aragorn was in the middle of the fight, letting his anger and frustration out of the evils that dared to challenge him. It felt good, good to get back at the ones that had hurt the Elf of his heart even if it were not them essentially. It was the Orcs' fault that all this had happened; that Legolas had been wounded, that they were fighting and that Legolas was being so goddamn stubborn.
All the while he was thinking this; he was stabbing and slicing quicker and quicker until finally cutting off the Dunland man's head with the last thought on Legolas' stubbiness.
Soon, the group from inside where gaining the upper hand, the Orcs and men alike falling at their mercy. They had lost two of the men that they had taken out with them, but other then that they had taken no other main losses or hurts.
"Come," Aragorn exclaimed while leaning on his sword, "let us see how Éomer and the others go with fixing the gate."
With that said, he turned and lead them off, back in the direction of the small gate that lay hidden in the side of the cliff with Legolas and Gimli taking up the rear. As they passed, none noticed the Orcs that had lain with the dead, waiting for their chance to surprise the company as they slowly and silently stood to their feet, creeping up on the dwarf and Elf.
The first warning of trouble came to Legolas as, being slightly ahead of Gimli, he heard his friend cry out in what seemed alarm and pain. Whirling around and pulling one of his daggers free, the Elf saw five Orcs on their feet, one with its sword skillfully placed through the right side of the joints of Gimli's breastplate and his back plate.
The dwarf looked terribly pale and from where Legolas stood, he could see that the blade had been shoved far into the smaller being. Gulping and pulling his other blade free, the prince took a step forward and locked eyes with the first of the Orc's, showing that he would battle him.
The beast moved forward as Legolas spun his blades, preparing for the fight at hand. Ducking the Orc's first strike, the Elf came in underneath its sword and defenses and pushed both bow-knifes up into its stomach. Sidestepping the falling beast, Legolas then sent the hilt of his left knife down onto the back of the neck, adding a sense of finality to the attack.
The next one came rushing at him before he even had the time to fully regain his footing on the slippery stone and the force of the assailing blows knocked the Elf backwards further and further. Concentrating on keeping his footing and countering the attacks, Legolas had no real opportunity to attack the Orc on his own grounds or basis's so when another came rushing up to help finish the Elf off, he was completely unable to stop them both.
The archer only just managed to block a well aimed sword stroke to his head by using both blades, thus leaving his left side open for attack. The other Orc, seeing this, lunged with his sword, aiming for the unprotected side of the Elf who only just had the time to move his arm to take the blow instead of his ribs. The sword slid off the hardened leather armguard that he wore and bit deeply into the flesh below, pulling a cry of pain from the Elf.
The other assailing Orc charged and, putting his sword to the side, settled for smashing his body into that of the lean Elf, sending them both wheeling backwards and slamming the Elf between him and the stone walls of the fort. Legolas felt the air get knocked clear of his lungs and an added pressure on his previous wound on his back and that, on top of the Orc's attempts in flattening him to the wall, made his vision start to blur out of focus. . .
*****
Holding the door open for the men to pass through, Aragorn did not even notice that his two friends were missing until there was a large gap in the flow of people through the door. Spinning around, he saw that neither Legolas nor Gimli were in the passageway and he knew that they had not passed him to get into the safely of the fort.
Cursing under his breath, he let the door slam as he ran at a backbreaking speed towards the end of the stone crevice. As he came near where the small space opened out, he heard a strangled cry from the Elf, and, knowing that things had turned bad, he quickened his pace.
Rounding the corner, he was just in time to see the Orc slam Legolas up against the wall, the Elf practically disappearing from view as the heavy body pressed upon him. Gimli was lying on the ground, the blood easy to see even from this distance and surrounded by two jeering Orcs as they watched their friend try to kill the prince.
Charging forward, he yelled out Legolas' name to let the Elf know that he was coming. Arriving behind the beast that was slowly pressing the Elf to death, he grabbed it by the shoulder and yanked it backwards while pushing his sword in through its back.
Pulling the blade free, he cast the dead Orc to the ground and turned to the next one that had dared to try and kill the archer. Slamming his closed fist into its face, he quickly drew his sword in a large arch and severed its head, ending its pitiful life within seconds.
Turning to Legolas, he saw the Elf leaning up against the wall, he face red and his breaths coming in shorts gasps as he tried to fill his lungs. He was holding his arm protectively and Aragorn could see a large amount of blood oozing from between the archers long fingers as well as a long cut along his left cheek, obviously caused from when the Orc rammed him.
Reaching over to brush a strand of hair from Legolas' face, Aragorn studied him for a moment, checking for any more serious wounds. "Are you alright?" he asked gently and received a nod in return. Pressing his lips together, Aragorn offered him a small smile ere turning to go and succor Gimli.
One of the Orcs was already rushing at him, and he countered its attack with a quick sidestep. Adding a small spin to his step, he came in facing the Orc and yet behind it and sent his sword deep into the beast's lower back.
Turning to face the next and last one, he was rather surprised to see it already falling, a long, silver and gold blade sticking from its throat. Glancing over to Legolas, he saw that the Elf was pushing himself off the wall and flicking dripping locks of hair out of his face.
Sharing one of the first smiles that they had in a long time, Aragorn crouched down next to Gimli and offered a hand up to the Elf to help him down.
"Gimli?" Legolas asked while running a hand over the rough cheek of his dwarven friend while Aragorn slipped Legolas' knife back into its sheath.
"Six!" Gimli muttered while opening his eyes to look at the two that sat peering at him. "I make my tale six so far, Master Elf."
Smiling, Legolas started to pull the dwarf into a sitting position with the help of Aragorn. "Well, then, my friend, you have done far better then I." He lied, just relieved that Gimli was still alive and no longer having the care for such a folly thing.
"Liar!" Gimli muttered as Aragorn stood and pulled the dwarf to his feet as gently as he could.
"Both of you stop it!" the human said with a smile while getting the best grip that he could on the shorter dwarf. Legolas rose from the ground slowly, still slightly light headed from his near squashing, and took one of Gimli's arms, looped it around his waist and grabbed hold of the shorter beings shoulder.
Exchanging a nod with Aragorn, they made their way as quickly as they could to the small side door, determined to get within the walls before any further attack fell upon them.
*****
Laying the still protesting Gimli down on one of the makeshift beds, Aragorn and Legolas exchanged a worried look over his head. The wound was deep and, even though Gimli denied it, both could see that it was the caused of a lot of pain. The dwarf had lost a considerable amount of blood which showed in the pallor of his face, also not being a good sign.
"Stay here, my friend! You will be well looked after - just leave the fighting to us and concentrate on getting better." Legolas said softly while looking around the room. The citadel was almost full, all the human's wounded and slowly dying, there cries mingling in with that of the man next to them in a disheartening wail. Blood flowed easily onto the stone floor, forming little rivers in the cracks of the rock tiles, some overflowing and seeping over the surface of the stone making it both slippery and dangerous. Straw was everywhere; used for the sorry excuses of beds and thrown about the floor to soak up as much of the blood as possible. Healers ran backwards and forwards, somehow managing to keep their footing on the slick surface on which they walked, as they carried supplies and people this way and that. A few of the lesser injured men were scampering behind them, trying to help their fallen comrades and friends in the best way possible.
Never in all his long life had Legolas seen such a sight. Death seemed to pollute the air and the smell of blood clung to everything just as the wails of hurting men never ceased. It was a frightening experience for the Elf; one of the immortals, to see such a large display of mortality and death. It was as if the individual did not matter, that they were all expendable and that it was not thought bad if the robed form of Death came and took them earlier then he should have.
A bustling sound at the door and the terrified cry of a man alerted him to some form of trouble, and, looking over, he saw the guard that had been arguing with Aragorn earlier being carried in by two other men. He was covered in blood, his face pale, his eyes darkened and, getting a better look Legolas saw that he was missing his right arm, the limb severed from near the shoulder.
One of the healers went to the man and they guided him towards a bed of straw. A soft gasp came from one of them, which Legolas could not tell, and then, just like that, the two that had carried the wounded man in turned and left. The healer did the same after taking a cloth and draping it over the man's head.
Moving forward slowly, as if his legs had a mind of their own, Legolas reached the bedside of the guard. Reaching a shaking hand towards the cloth, he drew it back to have his gaze met with the unseeing eyes of a dead man.
Gasping slightly, Legolas took a step back, almost feeling the presence of the deceased man standing next to him, waiting for his turn to be taken away by the angel of death. It had happened so fast, so quickly. One moment he had been carried in and the next his life was carelessly snuffed out like one would the flame of a candle at night. His two friends now gone and the only treatment that he had received was a dirty cloth to cove his eyes for the benefit of others. Who would morn the man, who would miss his death and thank the Valar for his sacrifice?
The ways of men and war were so alien to Legolas. He had fought in many Elven wars, seen many dead before, but never on this scale and never with such triviality. Never had he been in a room that held so much lost hope and death, a room where the very floor was a river of life-blood, each person's mingling with that of the man next to him until the vital fluid held no sufficient meaning to anyone.
It all may have been in the name of saving the world from evil, for doing the right thing, but, was it really worth it? To lose so many lives which, chances are, would not even be missed by those that still lived as they would be too caught up in their own pride of survival?
A hand on his shoulder made him jump, but other then that, enticed no other reaction as the Elven prince stared into the unseeing eyes of the dead soldier.
"Legolas?" the word was whispered softly and gently, so unlike the way that Aragorn had been talking to him over the last hours. Thinking of the man, Legolas could not help but wonder if his death would be missed by anyone should he be so cursed as to fall here, in this Valar forsaken place. Gimli was already passing, he knew that, and Aragorn just seemed to be angry at him for nothing, two of the hobbits were taken by the Orcs while the other two made their way to Mordor alone, probably never to be seen again. Gandalf was gone, off on his own business and Boromir fallen. If any of the three hunters were to die here it would go unnoticed, just three more bodies to be disposed of. Mirkwood would never hear of how or where their prince fell and the twins and Arwen would never know of Aragorn's death should it come to pass.
"Legolas?" the voice was repeated and seemed a little scared. Knowing that he should give Aragorn some sign that he was alright, he mutely nodded his head. "It's alright, my friend," Aragorn spoke quietly into his ear while slipping an arm around his waits and forcing him to turn his eyes from the dead man that lay before them.
Without even thinking, the Elf pushed his head into the bulk of Aragorn's tunic, trying to shield his eyes from the death that lay all around them. Closing his eyes, he could see the slightly glassy look in the man's eyes and the ashen of his face, his mouth slightly open in shock. "So much. . ." he whispered into the material that he clung to with both hands.
Stroking the Elf's blond hair with one hand and letting the other run up and down his back, Aragorn rested his head on the prince's head. "What, Legolas?" he asked gently, "what is there so much of?"
Even Aragorn did not seem to see what was happening about them, how people were dying before their time and almost needlessly and it worried Legolas that the human seemed to take it all in his stride as if it did not matter. "Death," Legolas said silently, "too much death."
Pulling the Elf closer into his embrace and tightening his arms around the slender creature, Aragorn quietly hushed him while whispering in Sindar to calm the fretting Elf. This was exactly why he had not wanted Legolas here, had not wanted the Elf that savored life and all that it had to offer see such a cold attitude towards the dying and the dead. He was well aware of the way that all this would have appeared to the prince but how could he tell him that to block out others suffering was the only way that a human could continue, could keep their feet and heads functioning?
Deciding that it best not to try and explain it away incase he only made it worse, he gently tugged on the Elf and took a step backwards, slowly walking Legolas back towards where Gimli lay, watching Aragorn's actions towards Legolas play out with a strange interest.
Once there, the ranger held the Elf out at arm's length and looked into his eyes. Legolas had not been crying, but they were red and puffy looking nonetheless, showing his emotional turmoil at what he had found in this room and the ancient wisdom that his face did not exhibit.
"Legolas?" Aragorn asked once again only to receive a nod in return. Making up his mind quickly, he turned the elf and, putting his hands on his shoulders, walked him towards one of the beds in the furthest and cleanest corners of the room. "You are going to stay here!"
Hearing the words that he had been told all through the battle and even before hand, Legolas automatically went into a fury. Twisting out of Aragorn's grip, he spun on the man and glared him down, his eyes narrowed into what Aragorn knew all too well as a sigh of murderous anger. "Would you stop trying to keep me out of this?" the Elf hissed at the human.
"Legolas, I am only trying to protect you!" Aragorn retorted while holding his hands up in the air and taking a step back from the enraged Elf. Aragorn had long learnt that it was not wise to be near him when in one of these moods, let alone be on the receiving end.
"I do not need protecting!" Legolas protested while mirroring Aragorn backwards step with a forwards one.
"Legolas," Aragorn hissed between his teeth. They were starting to draw attention to themselves and that was not a good thing as far as Aragorn was concerned. "Just stay here for awhile, where you will be sa-"
"Safe?" Legolas yelped, the pent up emotions getting the better of him and, unlike Aragorn, not caring if they made a scene. "You are a fool if you think that anyone is safe here! You do not get that do you? You can not hide me away claiming that it is to keep me safe and that it is what any friend would do - I am here now! I am here and there is nothing that you can do to change that for nowhere is safe!"
"Legolas?" Aragorn tried to reason with the prince but was interrupted again by the still advancing Elf.
"I do not know what I have done to lose your respect and trust, but at the moment I do not care! I care that our friend lies over there a step away from deaths door, like most of these men. I care that the rest of our group has either fallen or is suffering at the hands of Orcs and I care that we are here now, in the middle of this battle and it would do well for you to also put aside whatever I have done to offend you so that we may at least have some chance of getting out of here. As much as you seem to hate to admit it, *Strider*, you need me in this so stop trying to get rid of me!"
Letting his glare put a stop to any of the man's protests, Legolas stormed past him and passed the healer that had gone to see about the guard who had just been brought in. Grabbing the human by the collar and dragging him over towards Gimli, Legolas almost threw the human man at the dwarf's bed ere he stepped up and grabbed him by the collar again, pulling the man's face up to his and his feet just off the floor.
"Now, listen very closely," he hissed, his voice clear and the words spoken slowly and crisply so that not one syllable was lost. "You are going to see to my friend and you are going to do a better job then you did for that poor man over yonder," he gestured towards the dead man that he had been staring at only a few moments ago.
Pulling the human even closer, he whispered dangerously into the man's ear. "If he dies, I promise you that I will send you on your way to so that you may apologize to him for your bland lack of respect towards life! Do I make myself clear?"
Furiously nodding his agreement, the healer was relieved when the Elf put him down and let go of his tunic. Not risking a look at the angry blond, he turned and immediately started barking out orders to his helpers to bring him cloths and water for the dwarf.
Proud of the help that he had acquired for his friend, Legolas bowed slightly to a rather stunned Gimli and exited the room, his face still a mask of hate and fury.
Seeing the Elf go, Aragorn stamped his foot in aggravation ere he grabbed his discarded sword and hurried out after him.
*****
Blood stained the ground and added to the slipperiness of the mud that was underfoot as Legolas stormed out of the citadel, his rage building up inside of him with each and every step. He was sick of the way that Aragorn had been treating him, as if he were but a nescience and was not even worthy of the human's friendship, and then to have Gimli wounded. . . it was slowly starting to ebb at his sanity.
"Legolas?" he heard his named called out and knew the voice to be Aragorn's. Not wanting to talk to the man or even see him, the Elf quickened his pace and kept going, careful not to lose his footing in the squelchy earth.
"Legolas. Stop!" Aragorn called while hurrying after the blond and not doing as good a job at keeping upright. Looking up, his breath caught in his throat as he saw Legolas stomping through the mud with his head down, unheeding of the dark shape of an Orc that came out from the right. "Legolas!" he cried out desperately.
Not listening to the human behind him, the Elf picked up on the sound of a foot sinking into the blood saturated mud and, looking up just long enough to get a glimpse of an Orc, put his head back down and kept walking. Pulling one of his blades from his back, he flipped it over his hand and, walking causally up to the Orc with his head still down, slammed the bow- knife through the beast's stomach, catching it completely out of surprise.
Black blood split over his arm, the fluid still warm as the body slipped from the knife and fell with a splat and a suctioning pop into the mud. Wiping the length of his dagger onto his pants, he re-sheathed it and started on his way again, this time completely unaware of the dead Orc's companion that stood off to the right.
Aragorn was not so blind. Having seen Legolas kill the Orc effortlessly, he had breathed out a sigh of relief and yet something glimmering in the firelight from the entrance to the citadel had once again caught his attention. Looking to the right, he saw the other Orc, what it held and what it was about to do.
Knowing that even if he yelled out again, Legolas would just ignore him, Aragorn did the only other thing possible.
Running as fast as he could through the slush, Aragorn only just managed to knock Legolas out of the way of the Orc's unforeseen danger which had been thrown right at the centre of the Elf's back. The blade sailed over head, just missing Aragorn's exposed back and hit the ground, sinking into the mud as quickly as if it were quicksand.
Landing on his back, Legolas felt the length of his quiver press into his wound as it was squashed between him and the mud covered hewn stone of the floor. Within a second another weight added to the building pressure as Aragorn landed somewhat painfully on top of the slender Elf.
Groaning slightly, Legolas automatically let his hands drift up to the man's upper arms in what was a vain attempt of shoving the man off him, and yet, as he pushed up he felt Aragorn push down on him further, keeping him pressed against the stone.
"Stop it!" Aragorn hissed out dangerously, "stay still - it is still alive." Understanding immediately, Legolas halted his attempts of ridding himself of the human's weight and stayed as still as possible, listening for the sounds of the Orc that they had encountered.
Moving his hand along the ground, the Elf felt the cool touch of steel at his finger tips and, clasping his hand over the hilt of one of his daggers, he waited.
A noise off to the right alerted him of the being that was seeking to bring about their destruction, and, in one quick movement, he rolled Aragorn off him and sent the blade flying through the air and into the throat of the Orc.
The beast fell with a soft cry, its blood flowing freely from its throat and mingling in with the black and red mud, leaving the two friends lying there on their backs, breathing deeply.
"That was good!" Aragorn said concisely while staring up at the darkened sky and enjoying the moments rest that he was getting.
Nodding slightly, Legolas just sighed while also looking up at the starless night. After a few moments, light laughter started to drift from his lips as he lay there unmoving but for the raising of his chest and his shoulders.
"Prey tell Legolas, what is so funny?" Aragorn asked, his voice lined with his own mirth at just the sound of the Elf amusement.
Turning to look at his friend, Legolas smiled impishly and bit his lip, trying to contain his laughter. "I just do not recall anytime that I was so relieved to be lying in the mud!"
That did it. Before long the two friends where lying there, holding their sides in hilarity, completely unheeding of the battle that was being fought only around the corner from them. It was like the old days, when they would go out into the forest and hunt or just spend the days under the shades of the trees before all this evil swept back into the world.
Finally getting a grip, Aragorn pushed himself up into a sitting position next to the Elf and looked down at him. Legolas' golden hair was everywhere; having been flattened to his face by the rain and then sprayed out over the mud in the fall and was now a tangle of gold and brown upon his shoulders, face and the ground. Dark black blood splattered his clothes and skin while mixing with the mud and dirt from the fight. A small cut ran the length of his right cheek and a deep arm wound bleed profoundly into the thick slush that the Elf lay in.
Smiling at the beauty of his friend, even in such a state, Aragorn reached down and gently pushed a few of the strands of Legolas' hair out of his face, startling the still laughing Elf into silence. Locking eyes, the two just looked at each other, each with their own questions and yet not wanting to speak as Aragorn let his hand trail over the pale skin and brushed the Elf's hair behind his left ear. Smile broadening, Aragorn's hand seemed to have a life of its own as he swept his knuckles lightly over the Elf's cheek, drawing little circles and causing Legolas to shudder slightly.
"You know that I do not mean to offend you, do you not?" Aragorn asked quietly while letting his hands keep moving over the smooth flesh. "You have done nothing wrong, Legolas, nothing at all!"
Suppressing the strange shivers that traveled through his body at Aragorn' touch, Legolas kept looking into the human's eyes, seeing only truth. "Then why do you treat me as if I had?"
Still smiling, Aragorn simply said, "it is complicated."
"Well," Legolas stated matter-of-factly, "if it concerns me, I do think that I have a right to know, so do your best, human." His cheeky smile had returned after having decided that he like Aragorn touching him like thus and the last word was added with even more of a grin.
Watching the Elf with unhidden interest, Aragorn moved his hand down further so that he could run his fingers across Legolas' lips, sending further shivers through the Elf. Smile enlarging, Aragorn could not help but ask the first thing that came to his mind. "Do you like that, Legolas?"
"Actually," Legolas said with his own playful smile while Aragorn's fingers still moved about his lips, "I think it is more being caused by the cold mud that is slowly starting to seep through my clothes!" Raising his eyebrows and pushing his lips together between his teeth, he offered Aragorn his best comic face, making the human start laughing again. "Now, do not change the subject and try to explain this 'confusing' thing to me that makes you treat me as a child!"
Acting on pure impulse at the wicked grin on Legolas' face, Aragorn leaned down and pressed his lips to the Elf's while his hand stopped its movement and cupped Legolas' left cheek. Trying hard to stop himself from being too rough, Aragorn concentrated on keeping the kiss sweet and gentle and was thoroughly pleased when he did not feel Legolas trying to pull away from his invading lips.
Bringing his other hand up to cup Legolas' right cheek, he was careful not to bump the already healing cut that lay there as he pressed his lips further onto Legolas'; seeking more.
He was aware that Legolas seemed to be in some sort of shock, but slowly and much to his relief, the human could feel Legolas returning the kiss somewhat hesitantly. Knowing that the Elf would need a few moments to think and the knowledge that he himself was rather short on air, Aragorn reluctantly pulled away and sat back on his heels, giving Legolas the room that he would probably need - and Aragorn a moment's head start should the Elf start screaming blue murder.
Looking up into the eyes of the human that he had known for years, Legolas saw something in his eyes that he had never seen before even though he could not quite put his finger on it.
Seeing that the human was slightly panicked, Legolas searched desperately for something to say that would hopefully put Aragorn's mind at ease, after all, he had quite enjoyed that.
"Well," Legolas exclaimed, a rather becoming flush across his face, "you were right. That was - er - complicated!" Offering Aragorn a reassuring smile, it was like he could see the weight getting lifted off the man's shoulders at his words, and he was glad that he had such an effect. "I mean," he went on, not really wanting to say more but for some reason not being able to stop himself due to the strangeness of the situation. "One minute you hate me and try to lock me away and then the next minute you kiss me while I am lying almost an inch deep in mud - it is-"
"Legolas," Aragorn cut in, a small smile on his lips.
"Humm?" the Elf asked while not really paying attention to what he was doing and still mentally continuing his sentence.
"You are babbling!" Aragorn pointed out with a smile that reached his eyes. It was a good sign to have Legolas randomly talking, as, since he was the type to only say what needed to be said, one could tell that if he was overly talkative, he was happy about something.
Blushing again, Legolas looked down at the mud that was starting to swirl around him as the rain once again began to fall. A hand at his chin gently pushed his face up and he once again found himself looking into Aragorn's storm grey eyes. "So I take that as reassurance that you are not going to kill me for that."
Nodding and smiling, Legolas allowed Aragorn's hands to once again brush upon his face, enjoying the touch more then he knew that he ever could. "But," he said, "I still do not understand."
"Understand what?" Aragorn breathed out and stopped himself just in time before he ended that with a small word that he knew Legolas would not appreciate just yet.
"If this," he reached up and grasped one of Aragorn's hands that was stroking his face, "was what you felt, then why push me away?"
Sighing and letting his other hand continue his menstruations, Aragorn looked the Elf right in the eyes. "I told you, I did not want to see you get hurt." As Legolas was about to protest, he placed a finger over his lips and went on, "I know it seems stupid - it even does to me, but I guess that I thought that if I had you angry enough that you would keep away from me and the battle."
"Ah, so you were being a fool!" Legolas stated with a smile.
"Call it that if you will," Aragorn muttered while leaning forward to claim the Elf's lips again, only this time a loud cry made them practically jump apart and Legolas spring into a sitting position.
"The gates! The gates!" a man yelled from down near the front walls. "The gates won't hold! They are breaking!"
Casting each other looks of dismay; Aragorn stood to his feet and offered a hand down to the mud covered Legolas who gratefully accepted it. "Never mind," Legolas muttered while shoving his mud caked hair over his shoulders and sending a prayer to the Valar thanking them for the rain to wash all the mud off his clothes before it dried and hindered his movements. "I was going to get up anyway; I was getting a numb back!"
Aragorn just laughed as the Elf continued to complain while trying to get the mud and blood off his quiver. "Legolas," Aragorn interrupted, "you are babbling again!"
"Silence!" Legolas commanded while shooting the ranger a warning look as he ripped his bow-knife from the dead Orc's throat.
Once again the man from the gate called, crying for all able bodied warriors to come and aid them. Exchanging a quick look, both Elf and man took off at a cracking pace through the mud towards where they were needed.
*****
Tbc. . .
Hehe, I thought that I would leave it on a happy note for you. And I am rather proud of the closest thing to real slash that you will ever get from me! Lol. Umm, my fear is making Legolas to effeminate, so let me know if you think he is. Oh, and it was so hard not to put something along the lines of Legolas saying "Now I have a wet ass!" And Aragorn saying "well, it looks good from here!" LOL!
Please review and make me happy.
NEXT CHAPTER: the real battle starts as the last survivors strive to hold the Deep and prevent the Orcs entrance. We have lots of fight scenes, lots of wounds and a neat trick involving a bunch of Orcs, Legolas and two barrels of something!
*****
PREVIEW:
Gripping the Orc's forearms, Legolas tried to push himself up and out from under the Orc's restricting legs, yet all his struggles did was land him another painful push into his ribs, taking the air from his lungs again. Seeing bright white spots burst before his eyes, panic set into the Elf as the beast atop him moved so that it could lean down and lick some of the blood from his cut cheek.
Cringing, Legolas tried to pull away but between the Orc's arms and legs, he may as well have been caught in a cage.
Sobbing from pain and disgust, Legolas' his eyes fluttered shut and his body went limp.
*****
Minka --- she of the direction!
I was making this a two part ending, but it is now over 28 pages and still not finished, so I am breaking it up into three parts. Umm, the next part is pretty much finished, and the last and concluding one is in the process of being done, so it will not take too long to get them all out (can you tell that I am desperate to get more stories finished? - plus I have a rather entertaining original story about Dwarf Tossing to post up!)
And people, just cause it has been a long time for updating, does not mean that I have abandoned it. I really do try to finish all stories (am still working on the conclusion to The Blood of the Innocent but it is being a bit of a bitch) but sometimes it will just take me awhile.
IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!
For all you Americans out there, I am yet to see the movie - not released for another few days - so please do not tell me anything!!! That also means that this may not be what the movie made Helm's Deep look like, so do not go saying that "that's not how the movie did it!"
ALSO IMPORTANT: due to new ideas, I have changed the story's direction slightly. It is no longer (as I said before) pointless and lacking a 'real' plot, as it has now taken on the form of something along the lines of Shadows Within; Darkness Without. It is going to take a look at how the battle of the Hornburg could have turned out if all of the aforementioned things (Legolas' wound, Aragorn's 'obsession' and the obvious dislike between Legolas and Éomer - first chapter implied) had come into play *REALLY evil laugh*
Last thought: Do you know how hard it is to write a decent fight scene for Gimli?
Ok, so, sit back, relax and let me take you for a nice little ride through blood and carnage.
*****
Dangerously in Love
Chapter Four
No One's Untouchable part 1
*****
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter.
"Stairway to Heaven" Led Zepplin.
*****
Like a tide of black water they came, running forward and towards the high walls of the stronghold whilst being unhindered by the fortified place before them. Rain poured down in vertical sheets, insuring that the fighters of both sides had to watch their feet else they slip to what may prove their end.
Standing upon the wall, the captains of the Deep watched in silence as, with each blinding flash of white light that split the darkened sky, more and more of the enemy was revealed in the flats below the walls. There were thousands of them, an endless parade of dark shapes and glistering spears stretching from one wall of the Dike to the other and reaching far behind, out of the sight of all save the keen eyes of Legolas the Elf. As each flash of light passed through the sky, the beings upon the wall saw more and more of what they were set to face and what blocked them in the Deep from the outside world.
The evils in the valley below were stomping their feet and calling out, proclaiming their might and strength and how that they would crush all that hid within the stronghold before the early morning light flooded the land from the east.
Those on the walls stood uneasily, not from the threats but from the atmosphere and the foretelling of evil that seemed to weigh down the air and bring it heavily upon their shoulders.
None felt the presence more then Legolas the Elf as he stood there, clutching his bow to his chest while his eyes darted from one corner of the valley to the other, attempting to estimate the number of the opposing army between the flashes of light.
Gimli stood tall in spirit, his readiness larger then his size as he gripped his axe. Long had he felt fatigue, but even as the battle approached the constant blood lusting of his axe prevented him to truly feel the weariness that was about them all.
Aragorn, the picture of nobility, stood with his hands resting on the wet ramparts of the wall, Andúril gleaming at his side in the flashing light of the storm. His gaze eagerly pierced the night and looked upon the gathered force and yet, even as he looked, he was more concerned with what and who was at his side, making sure to be the first one to notice if anything was wrong with either of his friends and comrades.
Next to him stood Éomer, another man of nobility in both stature and pose. Sword already in hand, he also scoured the flats beyond with the eyes of a hawk, yet, unlike him comrades, his orbs held the faint glimmer of hopelessness that could prove to be fatal in any fight of substantial value.
Archers lined the walls on either side of the leaders, there bows drawn and their helms down and they were flanked by row after row of waiting swordsmen. More of the wardens stood at the bottom, the line of defense against the gate if it should fall and the chance of the assailing host breaking their lines.
And so waited the congregation that was set to defend the never before defeated stronghold; a legion of humans, a royal Elf and a stout dwarf were all that stood in the way of what would be a damaging blow should they fail.
With no warning, a volley of thick, black shafted arrows speed over the wall, falling upon the waiting lines. The sound of metal hitting stone briefly overrode that of the falling rain only to be drowned out by another crack of thunder. As the light flashed across the sky moments after, the leaders looked to their lines, seeing that some had indeed falling in the assault and yet all had held their ground and stayed to their orders.
As worked out beforehand, they would wait for their opening attack until the other side grew sure of themselves and moved forward. As predicted, within a few moments, the Orcs and men from the Dunland surged forward, weapons brandished high above their heads and cries upon their lips.
With a blast of trumpets, the archers upon the wall took aim, and, at the falling hand of their commander, let their arrows fly. The shafts sailed well in the air, the force of the wind and rain working in their favor as yet another volley was let off, falling countless Orcs and humans below.
The host broke and fell back, put of by the sudden assault from the once quiet walls, and yet, within the minute, they were charging again only to be met with more whistling missiles, driving them back once again.
And thus started the battle of Helm's Deep.
*****
Bending his bow along with the others, Legolas tried to ignore the tearing that he felt at his shoulder blade and back. Not aiming at any being in particular, he let his fingers slack and the arrow speed from its previous position, felling one of the further beasts. Rotating his shoulder once, he sensed Aragorn's eyes on him and immediately stopped, not wanting to cause the human to worry.
Averting his gaze, he turned to Gimli with a small smile on his face. "Master Gimli, I do believe that that is already one for me!"
The dwarf just scoffed at his words while looking out on the crowed flat. "And I shall do better - if you care to make a wager on that?" He still had not looked to the Elf, but his smile was easily seen in the flashes of white light as he contemplated the thought of beating the fabled archer.
"An Elf verses a dwarf," Legolas laughed at the thought in a merry way without the slightest hint of a taunt. "I shall readily except your challenged Mas-" his words where cut short as he ducked a flying arrow, having felt the disturbance that it made upon the air near his head and he was relieved to hear it hit shield and not flesh behind him.
Aragorn cast a worried look over at the Elf, and before Legolas could continue his and Gimli's friendly banter, the human grabbed a hold of his arm and hauled Legolas over to his side, his fear for the prince getting the better of him. Tugging the Elf's arm downwards so that Legolas' ear was to his mouth, he whispered harshly against the point. "Perchance you could stop your talking and keep your mind on the battle at hand! I do not want to have to watch over you as if you were a child, now keep your head in the right place!"
Tugging out of the man's grip, Legolas shot him an angered glance, and keeping his eyes on the human, he pulled another arrow from his quiver and let it fly with speed unlike any that the human archers had ever witnessed before. An Orc fell down below, the Elven arrow sticking from the centre of its throat and the archers that were watching gaped at the Elf who had not even looked at his target to hit it dead centre.
"So Gimli?" Legolas questioned while keeping his eyes locked onto Aragorn's, "what say you about that wager?"
Seeing the tension between the two, Gimli could only half guess at what it was caused from. He had seen throughout the quest, and especially since Legolas had taken his wound, that Aragorn seemed to treat Legolas as someone who needed protecting and not the warrior that he was.
Deciding to stick with his friend on this one, Gimli looked to the Elf and smiled at his back, "as you wish it, Master Elf," he said, "let us see who may win this. But alas, I fear that you have an advantage for now, so I take my leave so I may be the first to the fight if it should come within our walls." With a slight nod, he turned and walked down the stone steps to join the other swordsmen at the bottom near the gate.
Raising an eyebrow, Legolas stared Aragorn down until the human finally looked away, face burning in the cool rain. Éomer had long since moved off to rally the men and archers further, leaving only the two quarreling beings atop the walls.
Firing three arrows in rapid succession, Legolas was the first to hear and feel a crashing sound as it reverberated off the walls and through the air. Leaning over the stone balustrade, the Elf let his eyes fall upon the base of the wall and to the sight that was displayed before him.
Putting his anger towards Aragorn aside for the moment, he leaned over and tugged the sleeve of the human's tunic, and once he had his attention, he stretched his arm out, pointing to the danger.
"We have problems!" he exclaimed while he waited for the ranger to register what was happening. Down below, a handful of the Dunland men and Orcs had the trunks of cut trees within their hands, four to a side and were ramming it against the strong, steel enforced gates of the Deep over and over again.
Looking quickly to Legolas, the human tried to resist the urge to tell him to stay here with no prevail. "You stay here, I'll go!" he hissed out at the Elf as Legolas made a move to skirt around him.
"Aragorn?" Legolas half shrieked, "I am not staying here and you have no right to tell me so!" Proving his point, he motioned to a few of the swordsmen that stood nearby to follow him and walked around the ranger, his head held high. Aragorn made a move to grab at his arm again, but Legolas' quick reflexes allowed him to easily move out of the ranger's reach as he kept walking down the steps.
"Is there a way out other then the main gates?" Legolas questioned one of the men behind him.
Nodding his head, the guard pointed at the far wall, "there is a small door to the west. It opens in a crevice between the rocks that can not be easily seen. That is our best chance."
"Then we go through that door and surprise them from the outside." Legolas concluded as the group, followed by an unimpressed Aragorn, hurried across the muddied grounds towards the west and where the door apparently stood.
Another bang reverberated through the Deep making Legolas spin on his heels and face the gate. The wood was bowing and the metal hinges bending under the force of the battering-ram. Looking from the gate to the small door, he quickly ran across the slippery ground and towards Éomer who was standing with Gimli.
"You have to block the gates!" he yelled at them before he was even near. "They will not hold!"
Reaching the small group, he offered a slight bow to Éomer in a sign of respect and then continued his quicken speech. "You must use something to keep the gates from breaking! Rocks, metal, anything, just keep them holding. We," he motioned to the now motionless group that stood near the small door and were looking back on him, "are going out to try and stop them, but we need you to secure them from inside on the chance that we should fail."
Éomer looked from the elf to the gate before sighing and nodding, leaving his pride aside to ensure the people's safety "That is sound advice, Master Elf," Éomer said while nodding his agreement ere calling out for a handful of his men. "Gather all that you can. We must reinforce the gates!" Following after his men, Éomer busily started getting them to move large boulders and planks of wood, lending a hand when the time called for it.
Seeing that they were well under way, Legolas turned and started back towards the others, who were busily arguing with Aragorn over something. The presence of Gimli did not go unnoticed by Legolas as he walked with a brisk pace, and, when shooting the dwarf a questioning gaze, Gimli only replied with, "and you think that I will allow you such a head start on our wager?"
"Dwarves and their stiff necks," Legolas murmured with a smile as the reached the group. "What is happening here?" the Elf questioned at the sound of raised voices. Aragorn turned on him; his face looking like a child's who had been caught doing something that they should not have been while the guard that he had been arguing with smirked at the uneasiness of the ranger.
"Nothing," Aragorn muttered under his breath, wanting to close the subject to the Elf.
"Actually," the guard who had informed Legolas of the door said, "he was telling us to go while you were not here to accompany us!" Aragorn whirled on the guard; his face burning with anger while his eyes said more then words could, forcing the young man to shrink back.
"Enough!" Legolas interrupted. "Aragorn, you are not going to get rid of me so learn to accept that. Do you not all see that we need to stick together on this? We can not afford to let petty arguments break us and our spirits; not when we need each other so much!" Looking right at Aragorn when he said the last lines, Legolas was pleased to see that the human maintained eye contact with him and for once, he did not see the hate that was recently burning within the human's eyes.
Without another word being spoken the company turned and headed towards the door cut into the side of the fort's walls.
Opening the old door, the rusted hinges let out a shrill squeak that was thankfully lost in sounds of the battle and the falling rain. The small group, consisting of Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli and five Rohan swordsman, slipped out through the small door to find themselves in a long crevice between the rock face and the side of the Fort's walls.
Moving stealthy along, they each drew their weapons of choice and, as the roar of the opposing side started to get louder as they got closer, gripped their swords and bow till their knuckles turned white.
Just as Legolas was about to lead them around the corner and straight at the men that assailed the gates of Helm's Deep, Aragorn reached out and grabbed him, pulling him back so quickly that they other warriors kept going, a war cry on their lips as they charged at the unsuspecting men.
"What are you doing?" Legolas hissed at the human who still firmly held his arm. Gimli, who had seen Legolas get stopped, had halted also, not wanting to leave his friends at such an important place.
"I just did not want you going first!" Aragorn said truthfully. He had not wanted Legolas rushing around that corner to face the Orcs and what could possibly be death at all, let alone being the first one to go.
Glaring at the man, Legolas pulled his arm free and stepped aside, "well then, my *king*," he spat with disgust, "after you!"
Seeing that Legolas had taken it the wrong way, Aragorn reached out for the Elf to try to prove to him his mistake, but Legolas just stepped aside and shook his head at the human. "Legolas, I did not mean it that way."
"Just go, or shall I?" Legolas said while casting his eyes impatiently to the corner and the sounds of the battle that was on the other side. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Aragorn glared back at the Elf, wondering why Legolas insisted in making everything so difficult, and stared jogging around the bend to join in the fray.
Turning to Legolas, Gimli gave him is best questioning glance which was met with a shrug and the quiet words of, "I do not know, Gimli, I just do not know!" Exchanging small smiles, the two friends hurried to catch up to the others.
Coming around the bend, Legolas automatically let an arrow fly and hit the closest man, his side of the ramming log tipping as he fell to the ground. Letting a further two arrows grace the air with their presence, both his targets fell to the ground, dead before they even hit.
Gimli ran into the thick of the fray and sent his axe into the stomach of one man only to pull it out and spin it to hit another in the kneecap, severing the leg. Moving swiftly for one of his race, he killed a further four within a matter of seconds, the bodies falling about him like leaves in a forest.
Aragorn was in the middle of the fight, letting his anger and frustration out of the evils that dared to challenge him. It felt good, good to get back at the ones that had hurt the Elf of his heart even if it were not them essentially. It was the Orcs' fault that all this had happened; that Legolas had been wounded, that they were fighting and that Legolas was being so goddamn stubborn.
All the while he was thinking this; he was stabbing and slicing quicker and quicker until finally cutting off the Dunland man's head with the last thought on Legolas' stubbiness.
Soon, the group from inside where gaining the upper hand, the Orcs and men alike falling at their mercy. They had lost two of the men that they had taken out with them, but other then that they had taken no other main losses or hurts.
"Come," Aragorn exclaimed while leaning on his sword, "let us see how Éomer and the others go with fixing the gate."
With that said, he turned and lead them off, back in the direction of the small gate that lay hidden in the side of the cliff with Legolas and Gimli taking up the rear. As they passed, none noticed the Orcs that had lain with the dead, waiting for their chance to surprise the company as they slowly and silently stood to their feet, creeping up on the dwarf and Elf.
The first warning of trouble came to Legolas as, being slightly ahead of Gimli, he heard his friend cry out in what seemed alarm and pain. Whirling around and pulling one of his daggers free, the Elf saw five Orcs on their feet, one with its sword skillfully placed through the right side of the joints of Gimli's breastplate and his back plate.
The dwarf looked terribly pale and from where Legolas stood, he could see that the blade had been shoved far into the smaller being. Gulping and pulling his other blade free, the prince took a step forward and locked eyes with the first of the Orc's, showing that he would battle him.
The beast moved forward as Legolas spun his blades, preparing for the fight at hand. Ducking the Orc's first strike, the Elf came in underneath its sword and defenses and pushed both bow-knifes up into its stomach. Sidestepping the falling beast, Legolas then sent the hilt of his left knife down onto the back of the neck, adding a sense of finality to the attack.
The next one came rushing at him before he even had the time to fully regain his footing on the slippery stone and the force of the assailing blows knocked the Elf backwards further and further. Concentrating on keeping his footing and countering the attacks, Legolas had no real opportunity to attack the Orc on his own grounds or basis's so when another came rushing up to help finish the Elf off, he was completely unable to stop them both.
The archer only just managed to block a well aimed sword stroke to his head by using both blades, thus leaving his left side open for attack. The other Orc, seeing this, lunged with his sword, aiming for the unprotected side of the Elf who only just had the time to move his arm to take the blow instead of his ribs. The sword slid off the hardened leather armguard that he wore and bit deeply into the flesh below, pulling a cry of pain from the Elf.
The other assailing Orc charged and, putting his sword to the side, settled for smashing his body into that of the lean Elf, sending them both wheeling backwards and slamming the Elf between him and the stone walls of the fort. Legolas felt the air get knocked clear of his lungs and an added pressure on his previous wound on his back and that, on top of the Orc's attempts in flattening him to the wall, made his vision start to blur out of focus. . .
*****
Holding the door open for the men to pass through, Aragorn did not even notice that his two friends were missing until there was a large gap in the flow of people through the door. Spinning around, he saw that neither Legolas nor Gimli were in the passageway and he knew that they had not passed him to get into the safely of the fort.
Cursing under his breath, he let the door slam as he ran at a backbreaking speed towards the end of the stone crevice. As he came near where the small space opened out, he heard a strangled cry from the Elf, and, knowing that things had turned bad, he quickened his pace.
Rounding the corner, he was just in time to see the Orc slam Legolas up against the wall, the Elf practically disappearing from view as the heavy body pressed upon him. Gimli was lying on the ground, the blood easy to see even from this distance and surrounded by two jeering Orcs as they watched their friend try to kill the prince.
Charging forward, he yelled out Legolas' name to let the Elf know that he was coming. Arriving behind the beast that was slowly pressing the Elf to death, he grabbed it by the shoulder and yanked it backwards while pushing his sword in through its back.
Pulling the blade free, he cast the dead Orc to the ground and turned to the next one that had dared to try and kill the archer. Slamming his closed fist into its face, he quickly drew his sword in a large arch and severed its head, ending its pitiful life within seconds.
Turning to Legolas, he saw the Elf leaning up against the wall, he face red and his breaths coming in shorts gasps as he tried to fill his lungs. He was holding his arm protectively and Aragorn could see a large amount of blood oozing from between the archers long fingers as well as a long cut along his left cheek, obviously caused from when the Orc rammed him.
Reaching over to brush a strand of hair from Legolas' face, Aragorn studied him for a moment, checking for any more serious wounds. "Are you alright?" he asked gently and received a nod in return. Pressing his lips together, Aragorn offered him a small smile ere turning to go and succor Gimli.
One of the Orcs was already rushing at him, and he countered its attack with a quick sidestep. Adding a small spin to his step, he came in facing the Orc and yet behind it and sent his sword deep into the beast's lower back.
Turning to face the next and last one, he was rather surprised to see it already falling, a long, silver and gold blade sticking from its throat. Glancing over to Legolas, he saw that the Elf was pushing himself off the wall and flicking dripping locks of hair out of his face.
Sharing one of the first smiles that they had in a long time, Aragorn crouched down next to Gimli and offered a hand up to the Elf to help him down.
"Gimli?" Legolas asked while running a hand over the rough cheek of his dwarven friend while Aragorn slipped Legolas' knife back into its sheath.
"Six!" Gimli muttered while opening his eyes to look at the two that sat peering at him. "I make my tale six so far, Master Elf."
Smiling, Legolas started to pull the dwarf into a sitting position with the help of Aragorn. "Well, then, my friend, you have done far better then I." He lied, just relieved that Gimli was still alive and no longer having the care for such a folly thing.
"Liar!" Gimli muttered as Aragorn stood and pulled the dwarf to his feet as gently as he could.
"Both of you stop it!" the human said with a smile while getting the best grip that he could on the shorter dwarf. Legolas rose from the ground slowly, still slightly light headed from his near squashing, and took one of Gimli's arms, looped it around his waist and grabbed hold of the shorter beings shoulder.
Exchanging a nod with Aragorn, they made their way as quickly as they could to the small side door, determined to get within the walls before any further attack fell upon them.
*****
Laying the still protesting Gimli down on one of the makeshift beds, Aragorn and Legolas exchanged a worried look over his head. The wound was deep and, even though Gimli denied it, both could see that it was the caused of a lot of pain. The dwarf had lost a considerable amount of blood which showed in the pallor of his face, also not being a good sign.
"Stay here, my friend! You will be well looked after - just leave the fighting to us and concentrate on getting better." Legolas said softly while looking around the room. The citadel was almost full, all the human's wounded and slowly dying, there cries mingling in with that of the man next to them in a disheartening wail. Blood flowed easily onto the stone floor, forming little rivers in the cracks of the rock tiles, some overflowing and seeping over the surface of the stone making it both slippery and dangerous. Straw was everywhere; used for the sorry excuses of beds and thrown about the floor to soak up as much of the blood as possible. Healers ran backwards and forwards, somehow managing to keep their footing on the slick surface on which they walked, as they carried supplies and people this way and that. A few of the lesser injured men were scampering behind them, trying to help their fallen comrades and friends in the best way possible.
Never in all his long life had Legolas seen such a sight. Death seemed to pollute the air and the smell of blood clung to everything just as the wails of hurting men never ceased. It was a frightening experience for the Elf; one of the immortals, to see such a large display of mortality and death. It was as if the individual did not matter, that they were all expendable and that it was not thought bad if the robed form of Death came and took them earlier then he should have.
A bustling sound at the door and the terrified cry of a man alerted him to some form of trouble, and, looking over, he saw the guard that had been arguing with Aragorn earlier being carried in by two other men. He was covered in blood, his face pale, his eyes darkened and, getting a better look Legolas saw that he was missing his right arm, the limb severed from near the shoulder.
One of the healers went to the man and they guided him towards a bed of straw. A soft gasp came from one of them, which Legolas could not tell, and then, just like that, the two that had carried the wounded man in turned and left. The healer did the same after taking a cloth and draping it over the man's head.
Moving forward slowly, as if his legs had a mind of their own, Legolas reached the bedside of the guard. Reaching a shaking hand towards the cloth, he drew it back to have his gaze met with the unseeing eyes of a dead man.
Gasping slightly, Legolas took a step back, almost feeling the presence of the deceased man standing next to him, waiting for his turn to be taken away by the angel of death. It had happened so fast, so quickly. One moment he had been carried in and the next his life was carelessly snuffed out like one would the flame of a candle at night. His two friends now gone and the only treatment that he had received was a dirty cloth to cove his eyes for the benefit of others. Who would morn the man, who would miss his death and thank the Valar for his sacrifice?
The ways of men and war were so alien to Legolas. He had fought in many Elven wars, seen many dead before, but never on this scale and never with such triviality. Never had he been in a room that held so much lost hope and death, a room where the very floor was a river of life-blood, each person's mingling with that of the man next to him until the vital fluid held no sufficient meaning to anyone.
It all may have been in the name of saving the world from evil, for doing the right thing, but, was it really worth it? To lose so many lives which, chances are, would not even be missed by those that still lived as they would be too caught up in their own pride of survival?
A hand on his shoulder made him jump, but other then that, enticed no other reaction as the Elven prince stared into the unseeing eyes of the dead soldier.
"Legolas?" the word was whispered softly and gently, so unlike the way that Aragorn had been talking to him over the last hours. Thinking of the man, Legolas could not help but wonder if his death would be missed by anyone should he be so cursed as to fall here, in this Valar forsaken place. Gimli was already passing, he knew that, and Aragorn just seemed to be angry at him for nothing, two of the hobbits were taken by the Orcs while the other two made their way to Mordor alone, probably never to be seen again. Gandalf was gone, off on his own business and Boromir fallen. If any of the three hunters were to die here it would go unnoticed, just three more bodies to be disposed of. Mirkwood would never hear of how or where their prince fell and the twins and Arwen would never know of Aragorn's death should it come to pass.
"Legolas?" the voice was repeated and seemed a little scared. Knowing that he should give Aragorn some sign that he was alright, he mutely nodded his head. "It's alright, my friend," Aragorn spoke quietly into his ear while slipping an arm around his waits and forcing him to turn his eyes from the dead man that lay before them.
Without even thinking, the Elf pushed his head into the bulk of Aragorn's tunic, trying to shield his eyes from the death that lay all around them. Closing his eyes, he could see the slightly glassy look in the man's eyes and the ashen of his face, his mouth slightly open in shock. "So much. . ." he whispered into the material that he clung to with both hands.
Stroking the Elf's blond hair with one hand and letting the other run up and down his back, Aragorn rested his head on the prince's head. "What, Legolas?" he asked gently, "what is there so much of?"
Even Aragorn did not seem to see what was happening about them, how people were dying before their time and almost needlessly and it worried Legolas that the human seemed to take it all in his stride as if it did not matter. "Death," Legolas said silently, "too much death."
Pulling the Elf closer into his embrace and tightening his arms around the slender creature, Aragorn quietly hushed him while whispering in Sindar to calm the fretting Elf. This was exactly why he had not wanted Legolas here, had not wanted the Elf that savored life and all that it had to offer see such a cold attitude towards the dying and the dead. He was well aware of the way that all this would have appeared to the prince but how could he tell him that to block out others suffering was the only way that a human could continue, could keep their feet and heads functioning?
Deciding that it best not to try and explain it away incase he only made it worse, he gently tugged on the Elf and took a step backwards, slowly walking Legolas back towards where Gimli lay, watching Aragorn's actions towards Legolas play out with a strange interest.
Once there, the ranger held the Elf out at arm's length and looked into his eyes. Legolas had not been crying, but they were red and puffy looking nonetheless, showing his emotional turmoil at what he had found in this room and the ancient wisdom that his face did not exhibit.
"Legolas?" Aragorn asked once again only to receive a nod in return. Making up his mind quickly, he turned the elf and, putting his hands on his shoulders, walked him towards one of the beds in the furthest and cleanest corners of the room. "You are going to stay here!"
Hearing the words that he had been told all through the battle and even before hand, Legolas automatically went into a fury. Twisting out of Aragorn's grip, he spun on the man and glared him down, his eyes narrowed into what Aragorn knew all too well as a sigh of murderous anger. "Would you stop trying to keep me out of this?" the Elf hissed at the human.
"Legolas, I am only trying to protect you!" Aragorn retorted while holding his hands up in the air and taking a step back from the enraged Elf. Aragorn had long learnt that it was not wise to be near him when in one of these moods, let alone be on the receiving end.
"I do not need protecting!" Legolas protested while mirroring Aragorn backwards step with a forwards one.
"Legolas," Aragorn hissed between his teeth. They were starting to draw attention to themselves and that was not a good thing as far as Aragorn was concerned. "Just stay here for awhile, where you will be sa-"
"Safe?" Legolas yelped, the pent up emotions getting the better of him and, unlike Aragorn, not caring if they made a scene. "You are a fool if you think that anyone is safe here! You do not get that do you? You can not hide me away claiming that it is to keep me safe and that it is what any friend would do - I am here now! I am here and there is nothing that you can do to change that for nowhere is safe!"
"Legolas?" Aragorn tried to reason with the prince but was interrupted again by the still advancing Elf.
"I do not know what I have done to lose your respect and trust, but at the moment I do not care! I care that our friend lies over there a step away from deaths door, like most of these men. I care that the rest of our group has either fallen or is suffering at the hands of Orcs and I care that we are here now, in the middle of this battle and it would do well for you to also put aside whatever I have done to offend you so that we may at least have some chance of getting out of here. As much as you seem to hate to admit it, *Strider*, you need me in this so stop trying to get rid of me!"
Letting his glare put a stop to any of the man's protests, Legolas stormed past him and passed the healer that had gone to see about the guard who had just been brought in. Grabbing the human by the collar and dragging him over towards Gimli, Legolas almost threw the human man at the dwarf's bed ere he stepped up and grabbed him by the collar again, pulling the man's face up to his and his feet just off the floor.
"Now, listen very closely," he hissed, his voice clear and the words spoken slowly and crisply so that not one syllable was lost. "You are going to see to my friend and you are going to do a better job then you did for that poor man over yonder," he gestured towards the dead man that he had been staring at only a few moments ago.
Pulling the human even closer, he whispered dangerously into the man's ear. "If he dies, I promise you that I will send you on your way to so that you may apologize to him for your bland lack of respect towards life! Do I make myself clear?"
Furiously nodding his agreement, the healer was relieved when the Elf put him down and let go of his tunic. Not risking a look at the angry blond, he turned and immediately started barking out orders to his helpers to bring him cloths and water for the dwarf.
Proud of the help that he had acquired for his friend, Legolas bowed slightly to a rather stunned Gimli and exited the room, his face still a mask of hate and fury.
Seeing the Elf go, Aragorn stamped his foot in aggravation ere he grabbed his discarded sword and hurried out after him.
*****
Blood stained the ground and added to the slipperiness of the mud that was underfoot as Legolas stormed out of the citadel, his rage building up inside of him with each and every step. He was sick of the way that Aragorn had been treating him, as if he were but a nescience and was not even worthy of the human's friendship, and then to have Gimli wounded. . . it was slowly starting to ebb at his sanity.
"Legolas?" he heard his named called out and knew the voice to be Aragorn's. Not wanting to talk to the man or even see him, the Elf quickened his pace and kept going, careful not to lose his footing in the squelchy earth.
"Legolas. Stop!" Aragorn called while hurrying after the blond and not doing as good a job at keeping upright. Looking up, his breath caught in his throat as he saw Legolas stomping through the mud with his head down, unheeding of the dark shape of an Orc that came out from the right. "Legolas!" he cried out desperately.
Not listening to the human behind him, the Elf picked up on the sound of a foot sinking into the blood saturated mud and, looking up just long enough to get a glimpse of an Orc, put his head back down and kept walking. Pulling one of his blades from his back, he flipped it over his hand and, walking causally up to the Orc with his head still down, slammed the bow- knife through the beast's stomach, catching it completely out of surprise.
Black blood split over his arm, the fluid still warm as the body slipped from the knife and fell with a splat and a suctioning pop into the mud. Wiping the length of his dagger onto his pants, he re-sheathed it and started on his way again, this time completely unaware of the dead Orc's companion that stood off to the right.
Aragorn was not so blind. Having seen Legolas kill the Orc effortlessly, he had breathed out a sigh of relief and yet something glimmering in the firelight from the entrance to the citadel had once again caught his attention. Looking to the right, he saw the other Orc, what it held and what it was about to do.
Knowing that even if he yelled out again, Legolas would just ignore him, Aragorn did the only other thing possible.
Running as fast as he could through the slush, Aragorn only just managed to knock Legolas out of the way of the Orc's unforeseen danger which had been thrown right at the centre of the Elf's back. The blade sailed over head, just missing Aragorn's exposed back and hit the ground, sinking into the mud as quickly as if it were quicksand.
Landing on his back, Legolas felt the length of his quiver press into his wound as it was squashed between him and the mud covered hewn stone of the floor. Within a second another weight added to the building pressure as Aragorn landed somewhat painfully on top of the slender Elf.
Groaning slightly, Legolas automatically let his hands drift up to the man's upper arms in what was a vain attempt of shoving the man off him, and yet, as he pushed up he felt Aragorn push down on him further, keeping him pressed against the stone.
"Stop it!" Aragorn hissed out dangerously, "stay still - it is still alive." Understanding immediately, Legolas halted his attempts of ridding himself of the human's weight and stayed as still as possible, listening for the sounds of the Orc that they had encountered.
Moving his hand along the ground, the Elf felt the cool touch of steel at his finger tips and, clasping his hand over the hilt of one of his daggers, he waited.
A noise off to the right alerted him of the being that was seeking to bring about their destruction, and, in one quick movement, he rolled Aragorn off him and sent the blade flying through the air and into the throat of the Orc.
The beast fell with a soft cry, its blood flowing freely from its throat and mingling in with the black and red mud, leaving the two friends lying there on their backs, breathing deeply.
"That was good!" Aragorn said concisely while staring up at the darkened sky and enjoying the moments rest that he was getting.
Nodding slightly, Legolas just sighed while also looking up at the starless night. After a few moments, light laughter started to drift from his lips as he lay there unmoving but for the raising of his chest and his shoulders.
"Prey tell Legolas, what is so funny?" Aragorn asked, his voice lined with his own mirth at just the sound of the Elf amusement.
Turning to look at his friend, Legolas smiled impishly and bit his lip, trying to contain his laughter. "I just do not recall anytime that I was so relieved to be lying in the mud!"
That did it. Before long the two friends where lying there, holding their sides in hilarity, completely unheeding of the battle that was being fought only around the corner from them. It was like the old days, when they would go out into the forest and hunt or just spend the days under the shades of the trees before all this evil swept back into the world.
Finally getting a grip, Aragorn pushed himself up into a sitting position next to the Elf and looked down at him. Legolas' golden hair was everywhere; having been flattened to his face by the rain and then sprayed out over the mud in the fall and was now a tangle of gold and brown upon his shoulders, face and the ground. Dark black blood splattered his clothes and skin while mixing with the mud and dirt from the fight. A small cut ran the length of his right cheek and a deep arm wound bleed profoundly into the thick slush that the Elf lay in.
Smiling at the beauty of his friend, even in such a state, Aragorn reached down and gently pushed a few of the strands of Legolas' hair out of his face, startling the still laughing Elf into silence. Locking eyes, the two just looked at each other, each with their own questions and yet not wanting to speak as Aragorn let his hand trail over the pale skin and brushed the Elf's hair behind his left ear. Smile broadening, Aragorn's hand seemed to have a life of its own as he swept his knuckles lightly over the Elf's cheek, drawing little circles and causing Legolas to shudder slightly.
"You know that I do not mean to offend you, do you not?" Aragorn asked quietly while letting his hands keep moving over the smooth flesh. "You have done nothing wrong, Legolas, nothing at all!"
Suppressing the strange shivers that traveled through his body at Aragorn' touch, Legolas kept looking into the human's eyes, seeing only truth. "Then why do you treat me as if I had?"
Still smiling, Aragorn simply said, "it is complicated."
"Well," Legolas stated matter-of-factly, "if it concerns me, I do think that I have a right to know, so do your best, human." His cheeky smile had returned after having decided that he like Aragorn touching him like thus and the last word was added with even more of a grin.
Watching the Elf with unhidden interest, Aragorn moved his hand down further so that he could run his fingers across Legolas' lips, sending further shivers through the Elf. Smile enlarging, Aragorn could not help but ask the first thing that came to his mind. "Do you like that, Legolas?"
"Actually," Legolas said with his own playful smile while Aragorn's fingers still moved about his lips, "I think it is more being caused by the cold mud that is slowly starting to seep through my clothes!" Raising his eyebrows and pushing his lips together between his teeth, he offered Aragorn his best comic face, making the human start laughing again. "Now, do not change the subject and try to explain this 'confusing' thing to me that makes you treat me as a child!"
Acting on pure impulse at the wicked grin on Legolas' face, Aragorn leaned down and pressed his lips to the Elf's while his hand stopped its movement and cupped Legolas' left cheek. Trying hard to stop himself from being too rough, Aragorn concentrated on keeping the kiss sweet and gentle and was thoroughly pleased when he did not feel Legolas trying to pull away from his invading lips.
Bringing his other hand up to cup Legolas' right cheek, he was careful not to bump the already healing cut that lay there as he pressed his lips further onto Legolas'; seeking more.
He was aware that Legolas seemed to be in some sort of shock, but slowly and much to his relief, the human could feel Legolas returning the kiss somewhat hesitantly. Knowing that the Elf would need a few moments to think and the knowledge that he himself was rather short on air, Aragorn reluctantly pulled away and sat back on his heels, giving Legolas the room that he would probably need - and Aragorn a moment's head start should the Elf start screaming blue murder.
Looking up into the eyes of the human that he had known for years, Legolas saw something in his eyes that he had never seen before even though he could not quite put his finger on it.
Seeing that the human was slightly panicked, Legolas searched desperately for something to say that would hopefully put Aragorn's mind at ease, after all, he had quite enjoyed that.
"Well," Legolas exclaimed, a rather becoming flush across his face, "you were right. That was - er - complicated!" Offering Aragorn a reassuring smile, it was like he could see the weight getting lifted off the man's shoulders at his words, and he was glad that he had such an effect. "I mean," he went on, not really wanting to say more but for some reason not being able to stop himself due to the strangeness of the situation. "One minute you hate me and try to lock me away and then the next minute you kiss me while I am lying almost an inch deep in mud - it is-"
"Legolas," Aragorn cut in, a small smile on his lips.
"Humm?" the Elf asked while not really paying attention to what he was doing and still mentally continuing his sentence.
"You are babbling!" Aragorn pointed out with a smile that reached his eyes. It was a good sign to have Legolas randomly talking, as, since he was the type to only say what needed to be said, one could tell that if he was overly talkative, he was happy about something.
Blushing again, Legolas looked down at the mud that was starting to swirl around him as the rain once again began to fall. A hand at his chin gently pushed his face up and he once again found himself looking into Aragorn's storm grey eyes. "So I take that as reassurance that you are not going to kill me for that."
Nodding and smiling, Legolas allowed Aragorn's hands to once again brush upon his face, enjoying the touch more then he knew that he ever could. "But," he said, "I still do not understand."
"Understand what?" Aragorn breathed out and stopped himself just in time before he ended that with a small word that he knew Legolas would not appreciate just yet.
"If this," he reached up and grasped one of Aragorn's hands that was stroking his face, "was what you felt, then why push me away?"
Sighing and letting his other hand continue his menstruations, Aragorn looked the Elf right in the eyes. "I told you, I did not want to see you get hurt." As Legolas was about to protest, he placed a finger over his lips and went on, "I know it seems stupid - it even does to me, but I guess that I thought that if I had you angry enough that you would keep away from me and the battle."
"Ah, so you were being a fool!" Legolas stated with a smile.
"Call it that if you will," Aragorn muttered while leaning forward to claim the Elf's lips again, only this time a loud cry made them practically jump apart and Legolas spring into a sitting position.
"The gates! The gates!" a man yelled from down near the front walls. "The gates won't hold! They are breaking!"
Casting each other looks of dismay; Aragorn stood to his feet and offered a hand down to the mud covered Legolas who gratefully accepted it. "Never mind," Legolas muttered while shoving his mud caked hair over his shoulders and sending a prayer to the Valar thanking them for the rain to wash all the mud off his clothes before it dried and hindered his movements. "I was going to get up anyway; I was getting a numb back!"
Aragorn just laughed as the Elf continued to complain while trying to get the mud and blood off his quiver. "Legolas," Aragorn interrupted, "you are babbling again!"
"Silence!" Legolas commanded while shooting the ranger a warning look as he ripped his bow-knife from the dead Orc's throat.
Once again the man from the gate called, crying for all able bodied warriors to come and aid them. Exchanging a quick look, both Elf and man took off at a cracking pace through the mud towards where they were needed.
*****
Tbc. . .
Hehe, I thought that I would leave it on a happy note for you. And I am rather proud of the closest thing to real slash that you will ever get from me! Lol. Umm, my fear is making Legolas to effeminate, so let me know if you think he is. Oh, and it was so hard not to put something along the lines of Legolas saying "Now I have a wet ass!" And Aragorn saying "well, it looks good from here!" LOL!
Please review and make me happy.
NEXT CHAPTER: the real battle starts as the last survivors strive to hold the Deep and prevent the Orcs entrance. We have lots of fight scenes, lots of wounds and a neat trick involving a bunch of Orcs, Legolas and two barrels of something!
*****
PREVIEW:
Gripping the Orc's forearms, Legolas tried to push himself up and out from under the Orc's restricting legs, yet all his struggles did was land him another painful push into his ribs, taking the air from his lungs again. Seeing bright white spots burst before his eyes, panic set into the Elf as the beast atop him moved so that it could lean down and lick some of the blood from his cut cheek.
Cringing, Legolas tried to pull away but between the Orc's arms and legs, he may as well have been caught in a cage.
Sobbing from pain and disgust, Legolas' his eyes fluttered shut and his body went limp.
*****
Minka --- she of the direction!