Ok, well it is official. If I ever find Peter Jackson I am so going to
kick his ass for how he murdered The Two Towers! He changed it so much -
it was so depressing! I mean, I was good, and I will be seeing it
countless times, but still, he had no right to go sending an Elven army
where they never where, or killing of a beloved character - for crying out
loud, Legolas did not even receive his "Legolas Greenleaf, long under tree.
. ." 'death' warning!!!! *is really angry about that* but Gollum was cute
in a diabolically evil way and they did wonders with the Legolas close ups
(almost drowned in my own drool!) and I liked the fight between Aragorn and
Legolas - that was good. So don't worry, I shall only kick his ass a
little - then ask for Orlando Bloom's phone number! LOL. But did anyone
else think that in the "You're late" and the "there is nothing to forgive"
scenes, if Aragorn and Legolas jumped each other and started to make out it
would have been LESS obvious!? Lol.
Anyway, getting down to business, this is the next chapter (obviously). I was glad that so many people liked the last one and thank you for all the wonderful reviews!
Ok, I must say this, there is a very detailed battle scene that contains a large string of wonderful violence, blood, guts and flame, so consider yourself warned. Also remember that this was written before the movie even came out, so it will be different, though I was proud with my interpretation of the 'sliding/surfing down the stairs' scene with Legolas. He was really good in that movie - he became a little edgier; glared at everyone and I loved the way that he just sent his fist over his shoulder and got he guy who was sneaking up on him in Edoras and had that really sadistic grin on his face while punching them all! Lol, wonderful!
OH, also, make sure that read the words to the songs that I have included in the last chapter and this one, as they will all tie together in the last chapter. . .
Enjoy - and please don't kill me too much after you finish reading what I did to them all! *angelic face*
*****
Dangerously in Love
Chapter Five
No One's Untouchable part 2
*****
Can you feel me?
Slipping slowly from your reach.
You hear me?
When I have lost the will to speak.
Can't you see?
We're running out of ways to stay alive.
Crash Palace
*****
Sending his elbow into the underside of the Orc's chin, Legolas used his other hand for leverage and snapped the head up, breaking the neck with the one blow. Looking around him, he was dis-encouraged to see Orc's everywhere. No matter how many he or the others killed there just seemed to be more and more; two for each that was felled.
To his left a man was slammed up against a wall by one of the fell beast and the black sword pierced the human's heart before Legolas even had the chance to move and aid him. The right revealed a similar fate for a warrior as he was struck down with a large club, blood spurting from his head instantaneously after the blow fell.
He and Aragorn had arrived too late. The gates were broken, their shattered timbers pushed into the muddied ground and the opening swarming with countless Orcs. Small clusters of men still fought on, keeping back to back and trying to defend the fort the best they could, but it did not look good for those within. The men were breaking, scattering and falling back further into the ravine, their hope destroyed with the destruction of the gates.
"Legolas!" he could hear Aragorn shouting at him now and turning to the sound of the voice, the prince saw the human standing a small way in front of him, his sword covered in blood and his face speckled with black. "Legolas, fall back!' he ordered of the Elf, and almost immediately Legolas felt the rebellion build up inside of him.
Aragorn was making no move to retreat and nor would he. Kneeling down on the stairs and drawing his bow, Legolas shook his head when the human looked at him to stress his point. "I am not leaving if you are not!" Legolas stated while fitting his second last arrow to the string of his bow and bending it, waiting for the Orcs to spill through the crumbed gate.
"Damn you!" Aragorn muttered as he tightened his grip on his sword while digging his foot further into the mud as a brace.
"I heard that!" Legolas' light voice called from above his head, causing the man to smile despite himself. It fascinated him how even in the worst of situations, Legolas could always make him laugh and at least feel a little at ease, and, if it had not been so dangerous, he would have been glad to have the Elf standing with him.
But this time it was different, this time it was more deadly then any other battle that they had ever faced together, as this time, hope had truly forsaken them.
As more of the Orcs flowed through the broken gates, Aragorn stood his ground and lifted his sword. A group of brave warriors around him did the same and Legolas, perched above their heads on the steps, was forever watchful.
Moving forward and spinning his sword once, Aragorn took off the head of the closest Orc while the men behind him rushed forward to do the same. Kicking out at another, Aragorn caught it in its chest and sent it wheeling back, giving him time to dispose of another with a quick thrust before turning back to the once again advancing beast. Blocking its blow with his sword, he sent his other fist into its twisted face, stunning it enough to have the time to stab his sword right through its chest.
Watching the fight from above, Legolas saw one of the men get pressed between two Orcs, and, barely aiming, he let his arrow fly and saw it sink into the soft flesh of the Orc's neck. The man turned and swiftly killed the other prior to giving Legolas a slight nod of thanks before once again moving off into the fight.
Fitting his last arrow to his string, Legolas gave it a fond look, knowing that from here on it would be all knife work. Looking back at the fight below, he waited for the perfect moment to use the last of his weapons of choice.
Seeking out Aragorn in the mêlée, he soon found the moment that he had been waiting for. Seeing the man stabbed through the shoulder with an Orcan blade, Legolas wasted no time. Glimpsing a discarded shield lying next to him, a rather daring idea came to him, and, without much thought at all, he stood and grabbed it.
Casting the shield to the top of the stairs, he stood on it and, pulling his bow taut first, pushed off, successfully sliding down the stairs on the curved metal. Pulling his arm back and pulling the bow even tighter, he let the shaft fly though the air, killing the beast that threatened Aragorn's life.
Seeing the Orc fall dead at his feet and knowing that he had not done that, Aragorn looked up to see Legolas literally sliding down the stairs in an upright position, the shield at his feet blocked by the masses of heads.
As the sliding Elf came near the end of the steps, he reached back and, grabbing hold of his two bow-knives, threw himself into a flip, using the motion of drawing his blades as a propelling force. Landing on his feet, he immediately switched his grip on his blade to an over-hold and drove both bow-knives out to the sides, catching two Orcs that where rushing at him in the lower stomach. Snapping his arms back, he spun the blades as they came back; once again changing his grip and stepped forward, driving both into either side of an Orc's throat.
Satisfied with his entrance into the fight, Legolas moved off to aid another man who was being pressed back towards the wall by a furious Orc.
Smiling at Legolas' appearance, Aragorn pressed his hand to his shoulder, trying to stop the pain ere moving off towards his next dueler.
*****
"Fall back!" Legolas yelled at the other men while taking a moment to wave his hand towards the citadel. "Fall back now!" he commanded. Some of the men looked around, a little dazed at the idea of retreating as they obviously did not see the desperation of the situation while others steadily started to work their way back towards the fortified caves.
They had put up a long fight, killing many of the Orc's numbers but, no matter how many they fell, twice as many poured in through the gates as back up. It was becoming hopeless and further still, they had lost many more of their own men, leaving them with well below twenty warriors in fighting condition and still on the field.
Ducking under a sword and spinning with his knees bent, Legolas sent his blades up into the abdomen of the beast, killing it before its entrails were severed from its body. Stepping out of the way of the falling carnage, the Elf once again shouted out to the others to fall back.
Hearing Legolas' orders, Aragorn looked around, seeing the Elf kill yet another Orc effortlessly. Off to the left of his vision, he could see the warriors fighting their way back, trying to get further into the Deep, and, casting one last look to Legolas to make sure he was alright, he went back to his own fight.
Just as he turned, a large Orc, unseen to all, came up behind the preoccupied prince.
Using his arms in a scissor motion, Legolas slit the throat of the Orc that he was dueling with twice, almost cutting the head clean right off. A sudden splitting pain to the back of his head was the first sign of his attacker, and, as he fell forward, the mud splashing about his knees, he saw a huge Orc step in front of him. Raising his pulsing head to look at it, the Elf was shocked to see that it would have stood a further head and a half taller then he, completely unnatural for any of the twisted race.
Feeling a shiver of fear race along his spine, the Elf was about to stand when the beast's large, metal capped boot compacted forcefully with his chest. Gasping out and doubling over on his own knees, his hands instantly went to his throbbing middle and with horror he could already feel that at least one of his ribs on his right side was cracked.
A second kick came harder then the first, unexpected as the Elf attempted to relieve the pain of the first, and trapped his left hand between the boot and his ribs, shattering and fragmentizing the delicate bones of his palm. Crying out and gasping with the intense pain that shot the entire way up his left arm, Legolas leaned forward, panting heavily while holding onto his ribs and unconsciously giving the Orc an opening.
The beast, seeing the blood stains on the back of the Elf's cloak, balled its fist and sent it slamming down onto the healing wound, ripping a scream of agony from the prince and flattening him face first into the mud.
Feeling the recently healed flesh tear apart and the immediate warm trickle of rivulets of blood flow down his back, Legolas battled to keep his concentration and his eyes open and focused. The mud on the ground seemed to swirl around him, as if the world was revolving almost quicker then the eye could see, and the small rocks and chucks of broken wood seemed to dance this way and that while molding into whatever was next to the fragment.
Sending another powerful kick into the Elf's right side, Legolas found himself half spinning through the air at the force behind the swing. Landing on his back, he felt a small rock press into the gash on his back and almost dry retching with the pain, he looked up with tear filled eyes to see the beast come and stand before him.
Breathing heavily and clutching his side and smashed hand, Legolas watched with the horror of knowing that he could do naught as the Orc bent down, its hand outstretched.
As the hand clamped tightly around his neck, the Elven prince felt a strong tugging and with sickening realization, he felt himself getting lifted into the air by his throat. Scrapping his boots along the ground in a desperate attempt in getting a foothold, all he did was slip and cause more painful jerking to both his ribs and his throat as he slipped through the smooth mud. Tightening both hands over the Orc's one, the prince attempted to pull it from his throat, and yet when the grip proved to be made of iron, settled for trying to slide his neck further up in the hands in an endeavor to transfer the pressure from under his chin to his arms.
Feeling the air getting squeezed from his throat and lungs, Legolas renewed his struggles against the beast that held him at least a foot off the ground. The creature's twisted face was a blur of black and through his misty eyes, Legolas could make out naught but the snarling lips and jagged, pointed teeth that were concealed within the mouth that was moving closer and closer towards Elf, drool from the imagined taste of Elven blood already running down the large chin. . .
Suspecting that something was wrong, Aragorn killed the Orc that he was fighting with and looked desperately around for the Elf. When his gaze finally fell on Legolas, his eyes widened in fear as he saw one of the larger Orcs holding the prince suspended off the ground by his throat. The human could see from here that Legolas' face was starting to go as strange shade of blue and, without so much as a second thought, he ran full pelt at the beast that had the Elf that he cared so much about in a death grip.
The beast looked around just as Aragorn came up on its right, but, having the element of surprise; Aragorn sent his sword straight into the Orc's heart, killing it almost instantly.
As the realization of its death came upon it, it dropped the limp Legolas whom Aragorn only just managed to catch before the Elf fell to the ground. Holding the Elf to his chest, Aragorn looked over Legolas' pale face and slightly glazed eyes.
"Legolas?" he questioned while lightly tapping the Elf's right cheek, "Legolas, are you alright?" All the while the human was walking backwards, the Elf's unmoving feet dragging lightly through the mud as he was pulled along.
Moaning and nodding his head, Legolas blinked his eyes clear while rasping out a small, "thank you." and struggled to stand in the man's grasp before Aragorn saw any of the other wounds that he has sustained. Aragorn reluctantly helped the Elf to his feet, not happy with the idea of Legolas going back out and fighting so soon.
Seeing the man's obvious unease at the situation, Legolas smiled and reached down to grab his bow-knives. Twirling them painfully over his hands almost faster then the eye could see, he was pleased to find that he could still just move his left. "See, I am fine."
"Very well," Aragorn said slowly while casting the archer a suspicious look yet knowing that there was no use arguing with him, especially now. As the prince sent him a dazzling smile, Aragorn added as a last note, "but if I ever catch you giving anyone else that smile, I will kill them!"
Laughing slightly, the two warriors turned back towards the fight in time to see the Orcs catching up with their retreat, one secretly glad that he was able to fool the other about the gravity of his wounds.
As soon as Aragorn turned back to the Orcs, Legolas allowed his face to crumble with the pain that he was holding in. Feeling around his left hand that still tightly gripped the dagger in fear of not being able to hold it again should he let it go, Legolas could feel all the small fractures and shards of bone. Hissing as he applied even the smallest of pressure to it, he decided it best to rely only on his right hand for knife work.
Tucking the blade back into its casing, he rotated his shoulder, testing the reopened wound while probing his ribs gently. He could feel two broken on the right and a possible break on the left and his shoulder stung with each movement.
At a startled cry from Aragorn, Legolas looked up from his self assessing with terror gripping tightly at his heart. Looking around for the man, he saw him on his knees in the centre of a group of Orcs, holding onto a sword that still protruded from his lower abdomen.
The Orcs had obviously come upon them quicker then Legolas had thought, and Aragorn, seeing that the Elf was distracted, went to take them on.
"Aragorn!" Legolas quickly cast aside his own hurts and ran forward as quickly as his wounds would allow him. Stabbing the first Orc though the back of the neck, he whirled on the next and slit its throat. Stepping to the side of a sword swing, Legolas came in behind another and, using his left arm and his right hand, snapped the neck of the fell beast. Throwing his bow-knife into the unprotected heart of another Orc, he was caught completely by surprise when a strong body slammed into him from the right, knocking his broken ribs yet again at the impact.
Crying out and fighting back the tears that stung his eyes, Legolas clawed at the ground and started to pull himself from underneath the larger creature.
Reaching up, the Orc closed its fists around both of the Elf's ankles, and, with an almighty tug, pulled the Elf through the slimy mud and back underneath it. Flipping the Elf over beneath it, the Orc straddled the prince and pushed down on the right side of Legolas' chest, to cease his struggles, with an excited gleam in its eyes, obviously catching onto Legolas' injuries.
Seeing the prince caught under the leering beast, Aragorn' heart began to race quicker and quicker, afraid of what might befall Legolas next. Attempting to get to his feet, his movement was put a sharp stop to as one of the Orcs leant forward and ripped the blade from his stomach. Falling to the ground, his face turned to the right and not having the energy to move it, he was forced to see the one that he loved struggling from his trapped position under one of the beast that they both hated more then anything that walked the Ambar.
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 punch into his ribs, stealing 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' eyes fluttered shut and his body went limp. . .
Seeing the Elf slump upon the ground and his eyes roll back into his head, Aragorn let out a small, strangle cry, knowing that it was all over. Secretly hoping that Legolas was in fact dead to save him from any further torment, Aragorn too closed his eyes, waiting for death to come over him as his blood quickly escaped his body, and so that he would not have to remain when the Elf had passed.
The Orc, seeing that his sport had either died or passed out, sat up straight on the Elf and looked down on him. Moving a hand over to his captive's throat to check for a pulse, it gasped when Legolas' eyes snapped open and his right hand shot up and latched around the Orc's arm.
His plan having worked; knowing that if he appeared dead the Orc would be upset that it had no live play thing to toy with; Legolas took the advantage of surprise that his apparent return to life had given him.
Quickly changing his grip on the beast's arm so that his hand wrapped around the thick limb from below and his right thumb was on the outside of the arm, Legolas twisted it painfully down, making the Orc move into the pull thus un-centering its balance. Pushing up with his left side, Legolas continued to pull down on the Orc's left arm and, with as much strength as he had left, successfully flipped their positions.
Now straddling the Orc, he let go of its arm and rammed his closed right fist into the throat of the beast, crushing the windpipe with the force of the blow. Watching the beast turn an odd shade of blue-black, Legolas kept it pinned down until the last wisps of air and breath left its body.
Keeping his head still but moving his eyes, Legolas looked to the two remaining Orcs that stood over Aragorn, hate in his eyes and a snarl upon his lips. Legolas' hair was caked in mud and plastered to his face and the blood running down his cheek and the corner of his mouth only further added to the sinister look of the normally placid prince.
Panicked by the apparent re-life that the Elf possessed and the obvious strength that his thin frame held, the Orcs slowly started to back away, their sport long forgotten among their fear.
Sniffing and wiping the blood and mud out of his eyes, Legolas slowly rose to his feet and stumbled over towards Aragorn. Throwing himself rather ungracefully at the human's side, Legolas looked down on the man. His eyes were tightly closed and his face drawn and pale. Gasping, Legolas reached forward, sure that the human was dead, but, as his hand brushed against Aragorn cheek lightly, the rangers eyes snapped open and an overjoyed smile come upon his face.
Frowning at the strange response while helping the man into a sitting positing, Legolas found an arm looped around him and a happy ranger pressing soft kisses to his forehead.
"I thought you were dead!" Aragorn muttered after he calmed down and took Legolas' head in his blood covered hands. "I thought you were dead," he said softer and more pointedly while looking deeply into the Elf's eyes.
Smiling, Legolas took Aragorn's left hand in his right and gently pulled it from his face. "It takes a lot more then that to get rid of me, you should know that!"
Looking down, Legolas tried to hide his fear at the large amount of blood that ran freely from the wound that Aragorn had been dealt. On closer inspection, it was not through his stomach yet more off to the side thus missing any vital organs which was a relief. It was merely the deepness of the wound that caused reason to worry and the fact that the cut was quickly losing blood, the dark substance spreading quickly down the ranger's front.
Grabbing the other of his daggers from its position at his back, Legolas cut the bottom off his light blue undershirt and folded it up as best he could with one hand.
Reaching out, Aragorn gently took the Elf's left hand, catching Legolas off guard. "What happened?" Aragorn demanded and when he received no answer, he questioned again and with more force, "when?"
"Awhile ago," Legolas answered, being too afraid to tell the injured man anything that may cause him to stress. Going to pull his hand away, he felt Aragorn tighten in grip on it and gently prod the fingers and the palm, enticing small gasps of pain from Legolas.
"Legolas, this is-"
"I know," Legolas admitted, for once not trying to hide the severity of one of his wounds. After all, he was just glad that Aragorn was alive and yet to find out about his ribs. "But we can worry about all this later. First we have to get back to the citadel."
Cutting a small line two hand spans from the bottom of his cloak, Legolas ripped it around the base, giving him a long strip. "I am going to need your help," Legolas said quietly, knowing that he could not bind the wound one handed.
Nodding his agreement, Aragorn took the makeshift wadding that Legolas handed him and pressed it to the wound while the Elf quickly looped the strip of his cape around the man's waist as many times as it would fit. With Aragorn holding one end and Legolas the other, they tied it off as tight as possible, slowing the flow of blood for the time being.
Going to stand, Legolas felt Aragorn pull him back down to the ground. Shooting him a puzzled look, he saw that the human was also busy cutting a strip of cloth from his own tunic using one of his small daggers. Taking the Elf's left hand, he bound it tightly and thickly, minimizing the movement and adding padding to block any knocks that it may come into contact with.
Pulling the limp hand to his mouth, Aragorn placed a small kiss on the slender, bruised wrist. Smiling with a faint blush, Legolas stood to his feet, hiding his hurt ribs as best as he could, and then reached down for Aragorn. Grasping the man and pulling him gently to his feet, he looped his damaged hand around the man's waist and draped Aragorn's arm over his shoulder, preferring to put the human's weight on the left side than the right.
"And I will have a look at those cracked ribs when we get to safety," Aragorn said with an all-knowing look upon his face.
"Damn you," Legolas muttered while getting them moving and pulling Aragorn along. The man's breath was coming in shorter and shorter breaths and his head was hanging forward, his hair plastered to his sweat covered face.
"You can not hide anything from me, little Elf," Aragorn chuckled between breaths.
"Oh yeah?" Legolas dared the human, trying to keep both their minds off what was happening and how grim the situation really was. "You sure about that?"
"Oh, I know-" Aragorn was cut off at the sound of more Orcs swarming through the gates just below them.
Rolling his eyes and tightening his grip on the man, Legolas half dragged them up the stairs, his fear lending him strength and a second wind.
Knowing that the Orcs would be on them soon and that they would never have time to make it to the citadel before they were caught, Legolas looked desperately around for anything that would aid them. Seeing a small building that was obviously a storehouse, Legolas hoisted the man onto him further while making a dead line towards it.
"I have an idea!" he said with a small smile.
"Oh, this should be interesting," Aragorn muttered through clench teeth, the quick movement not doing anything to help his wounds or the spinning of his head.
"It is going to be alright!" Legolas reassured him when they reached the door. Balancing Aragorn against the wall, he sent as much weight as he could into the locked door until it gave way. Grabbing Aragorn again, he pulled him into the small, dark room and kicked the door closed behind them.
The room was only a few paces wide and twice as long and the walls were stacked high with crates, boxes and barrels. A distinct smell lingered in the air and with renewed hope, Legolas quickly identified it as what he was looking for - oil.
Almost throwing Aragorn to the side, Legolas grabbed one of the large barrels that housed the flammable liquid. Half rolling, half dragging it out of the storehouse, he heard Aragorn's slight protests but the Elf effectively blocked them out, knowing that there was no other way to buy them any time.
Dragging the barrel to the top of the stairs they had just ascended and just above where the Orcs were gathering their ranks, he plunged one of his long bow-knives into the top of the wood, splintering it and opening up a hole. Grabbing onto his pounding ribs to brace them, Legolas kicked the barrel over, letting it roll across the top step and the thick black liquid trickle out; covering the top few steps like the dark blanket of the night sky.
So far he had been lucky enough to have not drawn any attention to himself as the Orcs were preoccupied with their own plans and seeing this, he turned and headed back to the storehouse, leaning heavily against the wall as he went.
Creaking the door of the storehouse open, Legolas let his eyes adjust as he stepped into the gloom, "Aragorn, it is I," he said when he heard a faint rustle of cloth off to his right.
"What are you doing?" Aragorn hissed out after realizing that it was the Elf.
"Buying us some time," Legolas said while grabbing another of the barrels. "We have no other choice and you know as well as I that this is no place to hide." Looking around in the darkness, Legolas hunted for the other needed thing in order to carry out his plan. "Aragorn, can you see a torch?" he questioned quietly while still pulling the oil barrel towards the door.
Moving his hands over the stone floor and then up the walls, Aragorn's fingers brushed against the cool steel of a wall mounted bracket. "Over here, above my head," he called out softly.
Limping over, Legolas reached up and took hold of the carved wooden handle and pulled it from its brace. Feeling the top, he found it to be bound in cloth that was already dampened with the stickiness of oil. Nodding slightly to himself in contentment he leant against the stacked up crates and lowered himself down next to Aragorn.
"I do not want you going out there, Legolas!" Aragorn commanded while looking into the Elf's pure blue eyes.
Smiling and reaching forward, Legolas let his hand trail over the man's blood splattered cheek. "I will be alright - you should know that by now!" resting his head against Aragorn's forehead, he looked up and maintained eye contact, "I will be back in a moment, I promise."
Moving his arm quickly, Aragorn hooked his right hand behind Legolas' head and pulled him down, sealing their lips for but a moment. Lightly pushing the stunned Elf back, he looked into his eyes and smiled, "hurry back, my prince."
Smiling himself, Legolas leaned forward and pressed his lips quickly to Aragorn's once more, "I will!" Pulling himself to his feet, he grabbed the torch and a flint, tucked them under his arm and went over to the door. Peering around it, he could just make out the shapes of the Orcs still organizing their numbers down below, all still unheeding to their danger.
Sending one last smile at the human, he grabbed hold of the cask and pulled it out of the room and towards the top steps. Splitting the top as he had done the last time, he then laid the flint and torch near his right foot and in easy reach.
Taking a deep breath and readying himself, he once again pressed into his ribs, providing what little support to them he could, as he rose his foot and kicked the barrel down the steps.
It almost seemed to bounce down as it went, gaining speed and force with each passing distance.
By the third step from the top the Orcs had spun around, wondering what the crashing sound was and as they watched, the drum bounced closer and closer, its seams starting to split from the pressure of the hits against the stone. As it picked up speed and emptied its contents upon the steps, the pressure on the thin, slightly curved wood became too much and it exploded on the bottom step, showering the first of the Orcs with the thick substance.
Smiling at the angered looks that the beasts' sent him, Legolas cast himself upon the ground and worked the flint stones against each other above the torch. Hearing the Orcs come racing up the steps, his heart beat quickened, making his hands shake and his palms sweaty. Angrily pushing a strand of hair away from his face, he knew that he had to catch the torch alight now or flee.
Striking the stones one last time with all his might, a small blue spark flew from between the rocks as their edges ran opposite each other and caught on the oil covered cloth. Blowing lightly on the small flame, he lifted it from the ground and watched as the fire consumed the top of the wooden torch.
Muttering a prayer to the Valar for thanks, Legolas pushed himself to his feet just as the first wave of the fell beast came upon him. Shoving the flaming stick into the first one's face, the creature cried out and stumbled back, the flame having caught on some of the oil that had splattered on it only moments before.
Within seconds the beast was alight, the flames licking and jumping up its arms and body as it stumbled around, trying to flap the flames into submission. Slipping upon the mud slicked rock; it fell into one of its companions, setting them both ablaze and screaming as the fire slowly consumed their hides.
Smiling with satisfaction, Legolas stepped closer to the stairs and, taking careful aim, threw the burning torch through the air, its red glow leaving a shimmering tail in its wake as it glided down to strike the destroyed casket. Catching fire immediately, the rest of the oil soaked wood creaked and stretched under the pressure of the flames until it could take no more, finally ending with a loud bang, parts of wood and binding steel flying up into the air high above their heads.
Seeing that the trail of grease that had been released on the barrels fall was now alight, Legolas hurried over to the other cask that lay at the top of the stairs. Having only a second before the flaming tail reached him, the Elf pushed it with all his might, using the wall as a brace, and sent it rolling into the midst of the confused Orcs that had gained the top of the stairs.
Throwing himself into a tumble turn towards the right, Legolas only just managed to avoid the trail of fire as it swept back the way that the barrel had originally rolled.
As the moving barrel came in contact with the racing line of fire, it caught ablaze and ricocheted up into the air, spinning as it flew closer and closer towards the Orcs. Finally loosing momentum, it plummeted to the earth, right into the middle of the small group. As it hit the ground, it burst open, spilling more of the unused oil onto the Orcs and the area around them only to have the flames greedily lap at it and burn away at its surface.
Pulling himself along the muddied ground, Legolas tried to keep as low as possible, avoiding the falling shrapnel that rained down about him. A large piece of flaming wood struck him across his lower back, tearing a cry from his sore throat as it burnt though the thin fabric of his tunic and cloak and blistered the skin underneath. Rolling quickly to his side, he let the hunk of wood fall before he rolled again, putting out the smoldering of his clothes and skin. Hissing as the burnt flesh pressed against the stone and mud oozed between the quickly forming blisters, he took a quick breather and looked behind him.
Many of the small group of Orcs where alight, screeching and screaming in their pain as they ran about or threw themselves upon the ground to try and stop the burning. The ones down the bottom of the flight of stairs, as far as he could tell, were in much the same predicament from the other barrel that had exploded down there.
Smiling once again and raising shakily to his feet, Legolas quickly stumbled in the direction of the storehouse, glad that he had at least taken out a few. There were thousands more waiting outside of the gates, but at least he had given them something to worry about and told them that they will not go down without a fight while also buying him and Aragorn time to get back towards the citadel.
Fumbling with the door, he hurried in and straight over to Aragorn's position, not even warning the man that it was he. "Come on," he grunted out while assisting the badly wounded ranger to his feet.
Seeing the way that Legolas' face was covered in soot and his clothes in mud, Aragorn automatically started to worry, and when his arm brushed past a large section of burnt cloth and heated skin, he stopped the Elf and turned panic stricken eyes on the prince.
"What happened?" he demanded while leaning against the wall and turning Legolas around to look at his back. "Legolas! What happened to you?"
"I am alright," Legolas brushed it off while tuning and grabbing the human by the arm and slinging the limb over his head, "Aragorn, we really have to go!"
Supporting the ranger as he walked, he could feel Aragorn's gaze locked onto him, and, as they reached the door open, he offered the man a small smile.
Reaching out to take the door handle, both were shocked when it was torn open from the outside revealing a flaming Orc. It fixed its piercing yellow eyes on the two friends, and identifying the Elf as the one that had done this to him, he stumbled towards them, its arms held outstretched as it offering a hug.
Letting out a small gasp, Legolas pulled a wide-eyed Aragorn back and as far away from the beast as possible. Reaching behind him with his right hand, Legolas yanked out one of his long daggers, and, as the Orc approached and came closer, he stepped forward, plunged the blade into its stomach and pulled it up, making a deep, jagged cut as the blade lodged itself into the ribcage of the beast.
Yanking at the knife, Legolas found it stuck in the beast's flesh. Screwing up his face in pain, he tightened his grip on the quickly heating handle and pulled again, and again. On his third try, the blade finally slipped free, causing both Aragorn and he to stumble backwards.
The dying Orc made one last attempt at setting the two on fire by falling towards them as it died. Thinking quickly, Aragorn reached out and shoved one of the large crates that were stacked up about the room towards it, hitting it in the shins and causing it to double over the large box.
Pushing Legolas to the right, they sidestepped the flaming carcass and once again made their way for the door.
Bursting out into open, they were greeted with a wave of hot air, the stench of burning flesh and the noise of still screaming Orcs. Looking over their shoulders, Aragorn stared open mouthed at the destruction that Legolas had caused.
"What did you do?" he asked, his disbelief clear in his voice.
"Oh, nothing really," Legolas replied with a little smile as he helped his partner to walk on the slippery surface of the stones.
"Nothing really?" Aragorn asked with a laugh, proud of the Elf's single handed accomplishments.
"Oh, shut up and keep moving," Legolas joked as he pulled more of Aragorn's weight onto his tender shoulders while steering them in the direction of the citadel.
*****
"Alright, come on." Legolas urged while tightening his grip on the human that he had leaning up against him, Aragorn's arm over his shoulders. "We are almost there!"
The Elf could see the burning fires of the front of the citadel up ahead and he only hoped that they would reach it before any of the Orcs overtook them, and that the people within had not already sealed the place up as a way of protection.
As they got closer, he heard the sound of stone being slid across stone and his heart fell. Tightening his grip on Aragorn's waist, he started moving forward with renewed speed while yelling out as loud as he dared. "Stop! Wait for us!" he called and when he still heard the sound, he called a little louder. "STOP!"
The grinding stopped and he saw a burning torch being lifted into the air to see who had called out. Someone cried out a name and immediately a number of fires came out of the building as people rushed towards the grateful Elf and his half conscious companion.
The first man to reach them Legolas recognized almost immediately as the healer that he had threaten into aiding Gimli and, as the man slipped Aragorn's other arm over his shoulder, Legolas automatically regretted his past harsh words.
Another man came up, and, pushing him gently out of the way and into another warrior, took Legolas' spot at Aragorn's other side, aiding the human in moving quicker.
"Come on," the man that supported Legolas said while looping both his arms around the Elf and almost carrying him towards the light of the citadel. "We had feared you dead!" the man continued, obviously trying to keep Legolas awake and his mind off the pain and it took the Elf longer then it normally would have to recognize the voice.
"Éomer?" he asked weakly, his last efforts having been put into calling out to stop the door.
"Yes Legolas, it is I." the man said while tightening his grip and moving faster along as they were falling behind the others a considerable way. "You two are the last ones to get here that have been recently seen to be justly thought alive. We all thought that you had not made it from the gates as we were told that you two were the last done there, covering the other's retreat."
"We almost did not," Legolas offered the man as an explanation for their lateness.
"I gathered that," Éomer said softly while looking down at the blood, mud and soot covered Elf, "am I right in guessing that it was you who caused that explosion?"
Nodding Legolas pressed his hand into his ribs as the man helped him walk. "It was the only thing to do - I needed to buy us time to flee back here - sorry."
"There is nothing to be sorry for," Éomer said gently, "if anything, we owe you a great deal of gratitude for reducing their numbers. We truly did not think that you two would make it and it was only Gimli's threats that kept us from shutting the door long ago, I'm afraid."
"He is alright?" Legolas asked, feeling better knowing that both of his friends were to be taken care of. At that point in time he did not even care that Éomer had not had the faith in them to help Gimli convince everyone to keep the gates open.
"Yes, he is able to walk without assistance and he should be fine as long as the wound does not open again - the healer that you threatened did a good job!" Legolas nodded and whispering a small word of thanks as Éomer tried to quicken their pace once again, only to be stopped by a rather loud moan of pain coming from the Elven prince. "You, on the other hand," Éomer said a little worriedly, "will do good to have a nice long rest."
Shaking his head, Legolas looked over his shoulder at the wall that could just be seen in the early morning gloom. "Nay," he said, "there is no rest now for they are inside our walls."
"Worry not," Éomer tried to comfort the Elf as they finally crossed the threshold of the citadel to have the large, heavy doors pushed shut behind them as soon as they were out of harms way, "there are plenty of supplies in here to last us a few weeks, and by that time many of the men will be fit to fight again if the Orcs have not given up and left - you will have plenty of time to rest."
Moving over towards the far wall, he escorted the prince to a bed that was a little better then most of the others and aided him in sitting down. Looking about him as Éomer busied himself by fiddling with the buckles of Legolas' quiver, Legolas saw that Aragorn had been put on the pallet beside him, for which he was thankful, and that the other one next to him was occupied by Gimli's helmet. Where the dwarf was he did not know, but it was a relief nonetheless.
"Alright," Éomer said softly while inspecting Legolas' back and, finding a safe place to touch, he laid his hand on the Elf's wet shoulder and reached towards his legs with the other. "Let's get you lying down before you fall down!" Hooking his hands under Legolas knees, he half lifted the Elf up and placed him back down so that he was parallel to the bed and then eased the Elf's head onto a makeshift pillow of Éomer's own cloak. "There we go," Éomer said softly, "a healer will be here in a moment."
Looking about the room again, Legolas was rather surprised at how bright it was in there considering that it was a cave. Eyes scouring everything, he also saw that there were not an overly large amount of torches burning to account for the light.
Brow creasing in worry and confusion, the Elf continued to hunt the cave for a way to see how and where the light was coming from. There were no windows and other then the tightly sealed stone door, there was no other way in that he could see.
Sighing and giving up, he allowed is head to fall back onto the pillow, grateful of the softness on his wounded back and the chance to be able to just stop. Eyes slowly rolling closed, a thick beam of light falling on a man off to his right caught his attention. Frowning, he followed the stream of light up to the ceiling to find what he had been looking for just a few moments ago.
The top of the cave was dotted with holes, some small, others as big as a warriors shield and yet all open and unblocked. Their obvious purpose was to let air and light in, but to the Elf it also seemed to be a death trap.
"Éomer?" he called out and after a few moments, the human came over to his bed to see what was wrong. The man looked down at the Elf, confusion in his eyes at the fact that Legolas seemed no worse off then when he had just left him thus leaving the question of what the Elf needed.
Rising a hand and pointing towards the holes, Legolas shook his head at the man in a sign of dislike. "You must block those." He said, only to have Éomer shake his head in a no.
"Nay, else we will have no air or light," the man said as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "Now rest, you will need your stre-"
"Éomer," Legolas hissed while grabbing hold of the human's tunic and pulling him down towards him, "block them! Do you not see the trap that they make?"
"No Orc is going to drop down through there, Legolas. Now, let us pretend that I am in charge here and let me do as is fit for my people!" pulling his tunic out of the Elf's grasp, he moved away with his back turned on the Elf, brushing his words off as that of a delusional person. "A healer will be with you soon." He said as finality to the conversation.
Signing in frustration, Legolas turned his eyes to where Aragorn lay. He was surrounded by healers, each busily cleaning various wounds and for that Legolas was above appreciative. Even though the pains of his body were constantly playing upon his mind, he was just glad that Aragorn was being taken care of and that Gimli seemed well enough.
*****
Tbc. . .
Ok, I am sorry, that was a really bad cut off point - I mean, no real cliffhangers but it just seemed untidy. I only did it as the next break was about 6 pages away and needed to actually be in the last chapter and the one before made the chapter too short. Anyway, no matter, I hope you enjoyed it anyway.
And now for a little preview again!
*** PREVIEW
Turning to the closest man, which, unluckily enough for the man happened to be the same healer from last night, Legolas grabbed him by the scruff of the neck again and raised his voice over that of the flames. "Why in Valar's name are you not doing anything?" he shook the man for slight emphasis ere pushing him back into the crowd.
Searching the faces, he could not see Éomer's anywhere and his distaste for the man only heightened. Turning back to Carson he moved forward so that he could easily be heard. "Go find Éomer!" he instructed and when the man made no move to go, he gave him a little encouraging push, "NOW!"
Facing the rest of the people who seemed happy enough to scream and shout for assistance and yet not do anything, he grabbed at the closest one. "You!" he said, "you are now in charge here. I want these beds and pallets moved to the far corner, and water - we need water to try and douse the fire and to wash away the blood else the whole place will go up in flames. Do you understand?"
The man nodded and started barking out the orders that he was just given and both were pleased when the gathered people obeyed without a thought or question. They were all just begging for a leader, for someone to come forth and tell them what to do so that they could at least feel as though they had a chance of surviving. . .
***
Hope you liked that little sneak peek and please review.
Minka.
Anyway, getting down to business, this is the next chapter (obviously). I was glad that so many people liked the last one and thank you for all the wonderful reviews!
Ok, I must say this, there is a very detailed battle scene that contains a large string of wonderful violence, blood, guts and flame, so consider yourself warned. Also remember that this was written before the movie even came out, so it will be different, though I was proud with my interpretation of the 'sliding/surfing down the stairs' scene with Legolas. He was really good in that movie - he became a little edgier; glared at everyone and I loved the way that he just sent his fist over his shoulder and got he guy who was sneaking up on him in Edoras and had that really sadistic grin on his face while punching them all! Lol, wonderful!
OH, also, make sure that read the words to the songs that I have included in the last chapter and this one, as they will all tie together in the last chapter. . .
Enjoy - and please don't kill me too much after you finish reading what I did to them all! *angelic face*
*****
Dangerously in Love
Chapter Five
No One's Untouchable part 2
*****
Can you feel me?
Slipping slowly from your reach.
You hear me?
When I have lost the will to speak.
Can't you see?
We're running out of ways to stay alive.
Crash Palace
*****
Sending his elbow into the underside of the Orc's chin, Legolas used his other hand for leverage and snapped the head up, breaking the neck with the one blow. Looking around him, he was dis-encouraged to see Orc's everywhere. No matter how many he or the others killed there just seemed to be more and more; two for each that was felled.
To his left a man was slammed up against a wall by one of the fell beast and the black sword pierced the human's heart before Legolas even had the chance to move and aid him. The right revealed a similar fate for a warrior as he was struck down with a large club, blood spurting from his head instantaneously after the blow fell.
He and Aragorn had arrived too late. The gates were broken, their shattered timbers pushed into the muddied ground and the opening swarming with countless Orcs. Small clusters of men still fought on, keeping back to back and trying to defend the fort the best they could, but it did not look good for those within. The men were breaking, scattering and falling back further into the ravine, their hope destroyed with the destruction of the gates.
"Legolas!" he could hear Aragorn shouting at him now and turning to the sound of the voice, the prince saw the human standing a small way in front of him, his sword covered in blood and his face speckled with black. "Legolas, fall back!' he ordered of the Elf, and almost immediately Legolas felt the rebellion build up inside of him.
Aragorn was making no move to retreat and nor would he. Kneeling down on the stairs and drawing his bow, Legolas shook his head when the human looked at him to stress his point. "I am not leaving if you are not!" Legolas stated while fitting his second last arrow to the string of his bow and bending it, waiting for the Orcs to spill through the crumbed gate.
"Damn you!" Aragorn muttered as he tightened his grip on his sword while digging his foot further into the mud as a brace.
"I heard that!" Legolas' light voice called from above his head, causing the man to smile despite himself. It fascinated him how even in the worst of situations, Legolas could always make him laugh and at least feel a little at ease, and, if it had not been so dangerous, he would have been glad to have the Elf standing with him.
But this time it was different, this time it was more deadly then any other battle that they had ever faced together, as this time, hope had truly forsaken them.
As more of the Orcs flowed through the broken gates, Aragorn stood his ground and lifted his sword. A group of brave warriors around him did the same and Legolas, perched above their heads on the steps, was forever watchful.
Moving forward and spinning his sword once, Aragorn took off the head of the closest Orc while the men behind him rushed forward to do the same. Kicking out at another, Aragorn caught it in its chest and sent it wheeling back, giving him time to dispose of another with a quick thrust before turning back to the once again advancing beast. Blocking its blow with his sword, he sent his other fist into its twisted face, stunning it enough to have the time to stab his sword right through its chest.
Watching the fight from above, Legolas saw one of the men get pressed between two Orcs, and, barely aiming, he let his arrow fly and saw it sink into the soft flesh of the Orc's neck. The man turned and swiftly killed the other prior to giving Legolas a slight nod of thanks before once again moving off into the fight.
Fitting his last arrow to his string, Legolas gave it a fond look, knowing that from here on it would be all knife work. Looking back at the fight below, he waited for the perfect moment to use the last of his weapons of choice.
Seeking out Aragorn in the mêlée, he soon found the moment that he had been waiting for. Seeing the man stabbed through the shoulder with an Orcan blade, Legolas wasted no time. Glimpsing a discarded shield lying next to him, a rather daring idea came to him, and, without much thought at all, he stood and grabbed it.
Casting the shield to the top of the stairs, he stood on it and, pulling his bow taut first, pushed off, successfully sliding down the stairs on the curved metal. Pulling his arm back and pulling the bow even tighter, he let the shaft fly though the air, killing the beast that threatened Aragorn's life.
Seeing the Orc fall dead at his feet and knowing that he had not done that, Aragorn looked up to see Legolas literally sliding down the stairs in an upright position, the shield at his feet blocked by the masses of heads.
As the sliding Elf came near the end of the steps, he reached back and, grabbing hold of his two bow-knives, threw himself into a flip, using the motion of drawing his blades as a propelling force. Landing on his feet, he immediately switched his grip on his blade to an over-hold and drove both bow-knives out to the sides, catching two Orcs that where rushing at him in the lower stomach. Snapping his arms back, he spun the blades as they came back; once again changing his grip and stepped forward, driving both into either side of an Orc's throat.
Satisfied with his entrance into the fight, Legolas moved off to aid another man who was being pressed back towards the wall by a furious Orc.
Smiling at Legolas' appearance, Aragorn pressed his hand to his shoulder, trying to stop the pain ere moving off towards his next dueler.
*****
"Fall back!" Legolas yelled at the other men while taking a moment to wave his hand towards the citadel. "Fall back now!" he commanded. Some of the men looked around, a little dazed at the idea of retreating as they obviously did not see the desperation of the situation while others steadily started to work their way back towards the fortified caves.
They had put up a long fight, killing many of the Orc's numbers but, no matter how many they fell, twice as many poured in through the gates as back up. It was becoming hopeless and further still, they had lost many more of their own men, leaving them with well below twenty warriors in fighting condition and still on the field.
Ducking under a sword and spinning with his knees bent, Legolas sent his blades up into the abdomen of the beast, killing it before its entrails were severed from its body. Stepping out of the way of the falling carnage, the Elf once again shouted out to the others to fall back.
Hearing Legolas' orders, Aragorn looked around, seeing the Elf kill yet another Orc effortlessly. Off to the left of his vision, he could see the warriors fighting their way back, trying to get further into the Deep, and, casting one last look to Legolas to make sure he was alright, he went back to his own fight.
Just as he turned, a large Orc, unseen to all, came up behind the preoccupied prince.
Using his arms in a scissor motion, Legolas slit the throat of the Orc that he was dueling with twice, almost cutting the head clean right off. A sudden splitting pain to the back of his head was the first sign of his attacker, and, as he fell forward, the mud splashing about his knees, he saw a huge Orc step in front of him. Raising his pulsing head to look at it, the Elf was shocked to see that it would have stood a further head and a half taller then he, completely unnatural for any of the twisted race.
Feeling a shiver of fear race along his spine, the Elf was about to stand when the beast's large, metal capped boot compacted forcefully with his chest. Gasping out and doubling over on his own knees, his hands instantly went to his throbbing middle and with horror he could already feel that at least one of his ribs on his right side was cracked.
A second kick came harder then the first, unexpected as the Elf attempted to relieve the pain of the first, and trapped his left hand between the boot and his ribs, shattering and fragmentizing the delicate bones of his palm. Crying out and gasping with the intense pain that shot the entire way up his left arm, Legolas leaned forward, panting heavily while holding onto his ribs and unconsciously giving the Orc an opening.
The beast, seeing the blood stains on the back of the Elf's cloak, balled its fist and sent it slamming down onto the healing wound, ripping a scream of agony from the prince and flattening him face first into the mud.
Feeling the recently healed flesh tear apart and the immediate warm trickle of rivulets of blood flow down his back, Legolas battled to keep his concentration and his eyes open and focused. The mud on the ground seemed to swirl around him, as if the world was revolving almost quicker then the eye could see, and the small rocks and chucks of broken wood seemed to dance this way and that while molding into whatever was next to the fragment.
Sending another powerful kick into the Elf's right side, Legolas found himself half spinning through the air at the force behind the swing. Landing on his back, he felt a small rock press into the gash on his back and almost dry retching with the pain, he looked up with tear filled eyes to see the beast come and stand before him.
Breathing heavily and clutching his side and smashed hand, Legolas watched with the horror of knowing that he could do naught as the Orc bent down, its hand outstretched.
As the hand clamped tightly around his neck, the Elven prince felt a strong tugging and with sickening realization, he felt himself getting lifted into the air by his throat. Scrapping his boots along the ground in a desperate attempt in getting a foothold, all he did was slip and cause more painful jerking to both his ribs and his throat as he slipped through the smooth mud. Tightening both hands over the Orc's one, the prince attempted to pull it from his throat, and yet when the grip proved to be made of iron, settled for trying to slide his neck further up in the hands in an endeavor to transfer the pressure from under his chin to his arms.
Feeling the air getting squeezed from his throat and lungs, Legolas renewed his struggles against the beast that held him at least a foot off the ground. The creature's twisted face was a blur of black and through his misty eyes, Legolas could make out naught but the snarling lips and jagged, pointed teeth that were concealed within the mouth that was moving closer and closer towards Elf, drool from the imagined taste of Elven blood already running down the large chin. . .
Suspecting that something was wrong, Aragorn killed the Orc that he was fighting with and looked desperately around for the Elf. When his gaze finally fell on Legolas, his eyes widened in fear as he saw one of the larger Orcs holding the prince suspended off the ground by his throat. The human could see from here that Legolas' face was starting to go as strange shade of blue and, without so much as a second thought, he ran full pelt at the beast that had the Elf that he cared so much about in a death grip.
The beast looked around just as Aragorn came up on its right, but, having the element of surprise; Aragorn sent his sword straight into the Orc's heart, killing it almost instantly.
As the realization of its death came upon it, it dropped the limp Legolas whom Aragorn only just managed to catch before the Elf fell to the ground. Holding the Elf to his chest, Aragorn looked over Legolas' pale face and slightly glazed eyes.
"Legolas?" he questioned while lightly tapping the Elf's right cheek, "Legolas, are you alright?" All the while the human was walking backwards, the Elf's unmoving feet dragging lightly through the mud as he was pulled along.
Moaning and nodding his head, Legolas blinked his eyes clear while rasping out a small, "thank you." and struggled to stand in the man's grasp before Aragorn saw any of the other wounds that he has sustained. Aragorn reluctantly helped the Elf to his feet, not happy with the idea of Legolas going back out and fighting so soon.
Seeing the man's obvious unease at the situation, Legolas smiled and reached down to grab his bow-knives. Twirling them painfully over his hands almost faster then the eye could see, he was pleased to find that he could still just move his left. "See, I am fine."
"Very well," Aragorn said slowly while casting the archer a suspicious look yet knowing that there was no use arguing with him, especially now. As the prince sent him a dazzling smile, Aragorn added as a last note, "but if I ever catch you giving anyone else that smile, I will kill them!"
Laughing slightly, the two warriors turned back towards the fight in time to see the Orcs catching up with their retreat, one secretly glad that he was able to fool the other about the gravity of his wounds.
As soon as Aragorn turned back to the Orcs, Legolas allowed his face to crumble with the pain that he was holding in. Feeling around his left hand that still tightly gripped the dagger in fear of not being able to hold it again should he let it go, Legolas could feel all the small fractures and shards of bone. Hissing as he applied even the smallest of pressure to it, he decided it best to rely only on his right hand for knife work.
Tucking the blade back into its casing, he rotated his shoulder, testing the reopened wound while probing his ribs gently. He could feel two broken on the right and a possible break on the left and his shoulder stung with each movement.
At a startled cry from Aragorn, Legolas looked up from his self assessing with terror gripping tightly at his heart. Looking around for the man, he saw him on his knees in the centre of a group of Orcs, holding onto a sword that still protruded from his lower abdomen.
The Orcs had obviously come upon them quicker then Legolas had thought, and Aragorn, seeing that the Elf was distracted, went to take them on.
"Aragorn!" Legolas quickly cast aside his own hurts and ran forward as quickly as his wounds would allow him. Stabbing the first Orc though the back of the neck, he whirled on the next and slit its throat. Stepping to the side of a sword swing, Legolas came in behind another and, using his left arm and his right hand, snapped the neck of the fell beast. Throwing his bow-knife into the unprotected heart of another Orc, he was caught completely by surprise when a strong body slammed into him from the right, knocking his broken ribs yet again at the impact.
Crying out and fighting back the tears that stung his eyes, Legolas clawed at the ground and started to pull himself from underneath the larger creature.
Reaching up, the Orc closed its fists around both of the Elf's ankles, and, with an almighty tug, pulled the Elf through the slimy mud and back underneath it. Flipping the Elf over beneath it, the Orc straddled the prince and pushed down on the right side of Legolas' chest, to cease his struggles, with an excited gleam in its eyes, obviously catching onto Legolas' injuries.
Seeing the prince caught under the leering beast, Aragorn' heart began to race quicker and quicker, afraid of what might befall Legolas next. Attempting to get to his feet, his movement was put a sharp stop to as one of the Orcs leant forward and ripped the blade from his stomach. Falling to the ground, his face turned to the right and not having the energy to move it, he was forced to see the one that he loved struggling from his trapped position under one of the beast that they both hated more then anything that walked the Ambar.
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 punch into his ribs, stealing 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' eyes fluttered shut and his body went limp. . .
Seeing the Elf slump upon the ground and his eyes roll back into his head, Aragorn let out a small, strangle cry, knowing that it was all over. Secretly hoping that Legolas was in fact dead to save him from any further torment, Aragorn too closed his eyes, waiting for death to come over him as his blood quickly escaped his body, and so that he would not have to remain when the Elf had passed.
The Orc, seeing that his sport had either died or passed out, sat up straight on the Elf and looked down on him. Moving a hand over to his captive's throat to check for a pulse, it gasped when Legolas' eyes snapped open and his right hand shot up and latched around the Orc's arm.
His plan having worked; knowing that if he appeared dead the Orc would be upset that it had no live play thing to toy with; Legolas took the advantage of surprise that his apparent return to life had given him.
Quickly changing his grip on the beast's arm so that his hand wrapped around the thick limb from below and his right thumb was on the outside of the arm, Legolas twisted it painfully down, making the Orc move into the pull thus un-centering its balance. Pushing up with his left side, Legolas continued to pull down on the Orc's left arm and, with as much strength as he had left, successfully flipped their positions.
Now straddling the Orc, he let go of its arm and rammed his closed right fist into the throat of the beast, crushing the windpipe with the force of the blow. Watching the beast turn an odd shade of blue-black, Legolas kept it pinned down until the last wisps of air and breath left its body.
Keeping his head still but moving his eyes, Legolas looked to the two remaining Orcs that stood over Aragorn, hate in his eyes and a snarl upon his lips. Legolas' hair was caked in mud and plastered to his face and the blood running down his cheek and the corner of his mouth only further added to the sinister look of the normally placid prince.
Panicked by the apparent re-life that the Elf possessed and the obvious strength that his thin frame held, the Orcs slowly started to back away, their sport long forgotten among their fear.
Sniffing and wiping the blood and mud out of his eyes, Legolas slowly rose to his feet and stumbled over towards Aragorn. Throwing himself rather ungracefully at the human's side, Legolas looked down on the man. His eyes were tightly closed and his face drawn and pale. Gasping, Legolas reached forward, sure that the human was dead, but, as his hand brushed against Aragorn cheek lightly, the rangers eyes snapped open and an overjoyed smile come upon his face.
Frowning at the strange response while helping the man into a sitting positing, Legolas found an arm looped around him and a happy ranger pressing soft kisses to his forehead.
"I thought you were dead!" Aragorn muttered after he calmed down and took Legolas' head in his blood covered hands. "I thought you were dead," he said softer and more pointedly while looking deeply into the Elf's eyes.
Smiling, Legolas took Aragorn's left hand in his right and gently pulled it from his face. "It takes a lot more then that to get rid of me, you should know that!"
Looking down, Legolas tried to hide his fear at the large amount of blood that ran freely from the wound that Aragorn had been dealt. On closer inspection, it was not through his stomach yet more off to the side thus missing any vital organs which was a relief. It was merely the deepness of the wound that caused reason to worry and the fact that the cut was quickly losing blood, the dark substance spreading quickly down the ranger's front.
Grabbing the other of his daggers from its position at his back, Legolas cut the bottom off his light blue undershirt and folded it up as best he could with one hand.
Reaching out, Aragorn gently took the Elf's left hand, catching Legolas off guard. "What happened?" Aragorn demanded and when he received no answer, he questioned again and with more force, "when?"
"Awhile ago," Legolas answered, being too afraid to tell the injured man anything that may cause him to stress. Going to pull his hand away, he felt Aragorn tighten in grip on it and gently prod the fingers and the palm, enticing small gasps of pain from Legolas.
"Legolas, this is-"
"I know," Legolas admitted, for once not trying to hide the severity of one of his wounds. After all, he was just glad that Aragorn was alive and yet to find out about his ribs. "But we can worry about all this later. First we have to get back to the citadel."
Cutting a small line two hand spans from the bottom of his cloak, Legolas ripped it around the base, giving him a long strip. "I am going to need your help," Legolas said quietly, knowing that he could not bind the wound one handed.
Nodding his agreement, Aragorn took the makeshift wadding that Legolas handed him and pressed it to the wound while the Elf quickly looped the strip of his cape around the man's waist as many times as it would fit. With Aragorn holding one end and Legolas the other, they tied it off as tight as possible, slowing the flow of blood for the time being.
Going to stand, Legolas felt Aragorn pull him back down to the ground. Shooting him a puzzled look, he saw that the human was also busy cutting a strip of cloth from his own tunic using one of his small daggers. Taking the Elf's left hand, he bound it tightly and thickly, minimizing the movement and adding padding to block any knocks that it may come into contact with.
Pulling the limp hand to his mouth, Aragorn placed a small kiss on the slender, bruised wrist. Smiling with a faint blush, Legolas stood to his feet, hiding his hurt ribs as best as he could, and then reached down for Aragorn. Grasping the man and pulling him gently to his feet, he looped his damaged hand around the man's waist and draped Aragorn's arm over his shoulder, preferring to put the human's weight on the left side than the right.
"And I will have a look at those cracked ribs when we get to safety," Aragorn said with an all-knowing look upon his face.
"Damn you," Legolas muttered while getting them moving and pulling Aragorn along. The man's breath was coming in shorter and shorter breaths and his head was hanging forward, his hair plastered to his sweat covered face.
"You can not hide anything from me, little Elf," Aragorn chuckled between breaths.
"Oh yeah?" Legolas dared the human, trying to keep both their minds off what was happening and how grim the situation really was. "You sure about that?"
"Oh, I know-" Aragorn was cut off at the sound of more Orcs swarming through the gates just below them.
Rolling his eyes and tightening his grip on the man, Legolas half dragged them up the stairs, his fear lending him strength and a second wind.
Knowing that the Orcs would be on them soon and that they would never have time to make it to the citadel before they were caught, Legolas looked desperately around for anything that would aid them. Seeing a small building that was obviously a storehouse, Legolas hoisted the man onto him further while making a dead line towards it.
"I have an idea!" he said with a small smile.
"Oh, this should be interesting," Aragorn muttered through clench teeth, the quick movement not doing anything to help his wounds or the spinning of his head.
"It is going to be alright!" Legolas reassured him when they reached the door. Balancing Aragorn against the wall, he sent as much weight as he could into the locked door until it gave way. Grabbing Aragorn again, he pulled him into the small, dark room and kicked the door closed behind them.
The room was only a few paces wide and twice as long and the walls were stacked high with crates, boxes and barrels. A distinct smell lingered in the air and with renewed hope, Legolas quickly identified it as what he was looking for - oil.
Almost throwing Aragorn to the side, Legolas grabbed one of the large barrels that housed the flammable liquid. Half rolling, half dragging it out of the storehouse, he heard Aragorn's slight protests but the Elf effectively blocked them out, knowing that there was no other way to buy them any time.
Dragging the barrel to the top of the stairs they had just ascended and just above where the Orcs were gathering their ranks, he plunged one of his long bow-knives into the top of the wood, splintering it and opening up a hole. Grabbing onto his pounding ribs to brace them, Legolas kicked the barrel over, letting it roll across the top step and the thick black liquid trickle out; covering the top few steps like the dark blanket of the night sky.
So far he had been lucky enough to have not drawn any attention to himself as the Orcs were preoccupied with their own plans and seeing this, he turned and headed back to the storehouse, leaning heavily against the wall as he went.
Creaking the door of the storehouse open, Legolas let his eyes adjust as he stepped into the gloom, "Aragorn, it is I," he said when he heard a faint rustle of cloth off to his right.
"What are you doing?" Aragorn hissed out after realizing that it was the Elf.
"Buying us some time," Legolas said while grabbing another of the barrels. "We have no other choice and you know as well as I that this is no place to hide." Looking around in the darkness, Legolas hunted for the other needed thing in order to carry out his plan. "Aragorn, can you see a torch?" he questioned quietly while still pulling the oil barrel towards the door.
Moving his hands over the stone floor and then up the walls, Aragorn's fingers brushed against the cool steel of a wall mounted bracket. "Over here, above my head," he called out softly.
Limping over, Legolas reached up and took hold of the carved wooden handle and pulled it from its brace. Feeling the top, he found it to be bound in cloth that was already dampened with the stickiness of oil. Nodding slightly to himself in contentment he leant against the stacked up crates and lowered himself down next to Aragorn.
"I do not want you going out there, Legolas!" Aragorn commanded while looking into the Elf's pure blue eyes.
Smiling and reaching forward, Legolas let his hand trail over the man's blood splattered cheek. "I will be alright - you should know that by now!" resting his head against Aragorn's forehead, he looked up and maintained eye contact, "I will be back in a moment, I promise."
Moving his arm quickly, Aragorn hooked his right hand behind Legolas' head and pulled him down, sealing their lips for but a moment. Lightly pushing the stunned Elf back, he looked into his eyes and smiled, "hurry back, my prince."
Smiling himself, Legolas leaned forward and pressed his lips quickly to Aragorn's once more, "I will!" Pulling himself to his feet, he grabbed the torch and a flint, tucked them under his arm and went over to the door. Peering around it, he could just make out the shapes of the Orcs still organizing their numbers down below, all still unheeding to their danger.
Sending one last smile at the human, he grabbed hold of the cask and pulled it out of the room and towards the top steps. Splitting the top as he had done the last time, he then laid the flint and torch near his right foot and in easy reach.
Taking a deep breath and readying himself, he once again pressed into his ribs, providing what little support to them he could, as he rose his foot and kicked the barrel down the steps.
It almost seemed to bounce down as it went, gaining speed and force with each passing distance.
By the third step from the top the Orcs had spun around, wondering what the crashing sound was and as they watched, the drum bounced closer and closer, its seams starting to split from the pressure of the hits against the stone. As it picked up speed and emptied its contents upon the steps, the pressure on the thin, slightly curved wood became too much and it exploded on the bottom step, showering the first of the Orcs with the thick substance.
Smiling at the angered looks that the beasts' sent him, Legolas cast himself upon the ground and worked the flint stones against each other above the torch. Hearing the Orcs come racing up the steps, his heart beat quickened, making his hands shake and his palms sweaty. Angrily pushing a strand of hair away from his face, he knew that he had to catch the torch alight now or flee.
Striking the stones one last time with all his might, a small blue spark flew from between the rocks as their edges ran opposite each other and caught on the oil covered cloth. Blowing lightly on the small flame, he lifted it from the ground and watched as the fire consumed the top of the wooden torch.
Muttering a prayer to the Valar for thanks, Legolas pushed himself to his feet just as the first wave of the fell beast came upon him. Shoving the flaming stick into the first one's face, the creature cried out and stumbled back, the flame having caught on some of the oil that had splattered on it only moments before.
Within seconds the beast was alight, the flames licking and jumping up its arms and body as it stumbled around, trying to flap the flames into submission. Slipping upon the mud slicked rock; it fell into one of its companions, setting them both ablaze and screaming as the fire slowly consumed their hides.
Smiling with satisfaction, Legolas stepped closer to the stairs and, taking careful aim, threw the burning torch through the air, its red glow leaving a shimmering tail in its wake as it glided down to strike the destroyed casket. Catching fire immediately, the rest of the oil soaked wood creaked and stretched under the pressure of the flames until it could take no more, finally ending with a loud bang, parts of wood and binding steel flying up into the air high above their heads.
Seeing that the trail of grease that had been released on the barrels fall was now alight, Legolas hurried over to the other cask that lay at the top of the stairs. Having only a second before the flaming tail reached him, the Elf pushed it with all his might, using the wall as a brace, and sent it rolling into the midst of the confused Orcs that had gained the top of the stairs.
Throwing himself into a tumble turn towards the right, Legolas only just managed to avoid the trail of fire as it swept back the way that the barrel had originally rolled.
As the moving barrel came in contact with the racing line of fire, it caught ablaze and ricocheted up into the air, spinning as it flew closer and closer towards the Orcs. Finally loosing momentum, it plummeted to the earth, right into the middle of the small group. As it hit the ground, it burst open, spilling more of the unused oil onto the Orcs and the area around them only to have the flames greedily lap at it and burn away at its surface.
Pulling himself along the muddied ground, Legolas tried to keep as low as possible, avoiding the falling shrapnel that rained down about him. A large piece of flaming wood struck him across his lower back, tearing a cry from his sore throat as it burnt though the thin fabric of his tunic and cloak and blistered the skin underneath. Rolling quickly to his side, he let the hunk of wood fall before he rolled again, putting out the smoldering of his clothes and skin. Hissing as the burnt flesh pressed against the stone and mud oozed between the quickly forming blisters, he took a quick breather and looked behind him.
Many of the small group of Orcs where alight, screeching and screaming in their pain as they ran about or threw themselves upon the ground to try and stop the burning. The ones down the bottom of the flight of stairs, as far as he could tell, were in much the same predicament from the other barrel that had exploded down there.
Smiling once again and raising shakily to his feet, Legolas quickly stumbled in the direction of the storehouse, glad that he had at least taken out a few. There were thousands more waiting outside of the gates, but at least he had given them something to worry about and told them that they will not go down without a fight while also buying him and Aragorn time to get back towards the citadel.
Fumbling with the door, he hurried in and straight over to Aragorn's position, not even warning the man that it was he. "Come on," he grunted out while assisting the badly wounded ranger to his feet.
Seeing the way that Legolas' face was covered in soot and his clothes in mud, Aragorn automatically started to worry, and when his arm brushed past a large section of burnt cloth and heated skin, he stopped the Elf and turned panic stricken eyes on the prince.
"What happened?" he demanded while leaning against the wall and turning Legolas around to look at his back. "Legolas! What happened to you?"
"I am alright," Legolas brushed it off while tuning and grabbing the human by the arm and slinging the limb over his head, "Aragorn, we really have to go!"
Supporting the ranger as he walked, he could feel Aragorn's gaze locked onto him, and, as they reached the door open, he offered the man a small smile.
Reaching out to take the door handle, both were shocked when it was torn open from the outside revealing a flaming Orc. It fixed its piercing yellow eyes on the two friends, and identifying the Elf as the one that had done this to him, he stumbled towards them, its arms held outstretched as it offering a hug.
Letting out a small gasp, Legolas pulled a wide-eyed Aragorn back and as far away from the beast as possible. Reaching behind him with his right hand, Legolas yanked out one of his long daggers, and, as the Orc approached and came closer, he stepped forward, plunged the blade into its stomach and pulled it up, making a deep, jagged cut as the blade lodged itself into the ribcage of the beast.
Yanking at the knife, Legolas found it stuck in the beast's flesh. Screwing up his face in pain, he tightened his grip on the quickly heating handle and pulled again, and again. On his third try, the blade finally slipped free, causing both Aragorn and he to stumble backwards.
The dying Orc made one last attempt at setting the two on fire by falling towards them as it died. Thinking quickly, Aragorn reached out and shoved one of the large crates that were stacked up about the room towards it, hitting it in the shins and causing it to double over the large box.
Pushing Legolas to the right, they sidestepped the flaming carcass and once again made their way for the door.
Bursting out into open, they were greeted with a wave of hot air, the stench of burning flesh and the noise of still screaming Orcs. Looking over their shoulders, Aragorn stared open mouthed at the destruction that Legolas had caused.
"What did you do?" he asked, his disbelief clear in his voice.
"Oh, nothing really," Legolas replied with a little smile as he helped his partner to walk on the slippery surface of the stones.
"Nothing really?" Aragorn asked with a laugh, proud of the Elf's single handed accomplishments.
"Oh, shut up and keep moving," Legolas joked as he pulled more of Aragorn's weight onto his tender shoulders while steering them in the direction of the citadel.
*****
"Alright, come on." Legolas urged while tightening his grip on the human that he had leaning up against him, Aragorn's arm over his shoulders. "We are almost there!"
The Elf could see the burning fires of the front of the citadel up ahead and he only hoped that they would reach it before any of the Orcs overtook them, and that the people within had not already sealed the place up as a way of protection.
As they got closer, he heard the sound of stone being slid across stone and his heart fell. Tightening his grip on Aragorn's waist, he started moving forward with renewed speed while yelling out as loud as he dared. "Stop! Wait for us!" he called and when he still heard the sound, he called a little louder. "STOP!"
The grinding stopped and he saw a burning torch being lifted into the air to see who had called out. Someone cried out a name and immediately a number of fires came out of the building as people rushed towards the grateful Elf and his half conscious companion.
The first man to reach them Legolas recognized almost immediately as the healer that he had threaten into aiding Gimli and, as the man slipped Aragorn's other arm over his shoulder, Legolas automatically regretted his past harsh words.
Another man came up, and, pushing him gently out of the way and into another warrior, took Legolas' spot at Aragorn's other side, aiding the human in moving quicker.
"Come on," the man that supported Legolas said while looping both his arms around the Elf and almost carrying him towards the light of the citadel. "We had feared you dead!" the man continued, obviously trying to keep Legolas awake and his mind off the pain and it took the Elf longer then it normally would have to recognize the voice.
"Éomer?" he asked weakly, his last efforts having been put into calling out to stop the door.
"Yes Legolas, it is I." the man said while tightening his grip and moving faster along as they were falling behind the others a considerable way. "You two are the last ones to get here that have been recently seen to be justly thought alive. We all thought that you had not made it from the gates as we were told that you two were the last done there, covering the other's retreat."
"We almost did not," Legolas offered the man as an explanation for their lateness.
"I gathered that," Éomer said softly while looking down at the blood, mud and soot covered Elf, "am I right in guessing that it was you who caused that explosion?"
Nodding Legolas pressed his hand into his ribs as the man helped him walk. "It was the only thing to do - I needed to buy us time to flee back here - sorry."
"There is nothing to be sorry for," Éomer said gently, "if anything, we owe you a great deal of gratitude for reducing their numbers. We truly did not think that you two would make it and it was only Gimli's threats that kept us from shutting the door long ago, I'm afraid."
"He is alright?" Legolas asked, feeling better knowing that both of his friends were to be taken care of. At that point in time he did not even care that Éomer had not had the faith in them to help Gimli convince everyone to keep the gates open.
"Yes, he is able to walk without assistance and he should be fine as long as the wound does not open again - the healer that you threatened did a good job!" Legolas nodded and whispering a small word of thanks as Éomer tried to quicken their pace once again, only to be stopped by a rather loud moan of pain coming from the Elven prince. "You, on the other hand," Éomer said a little worriedly, "will do good to have a nice long rest."
Shaking his head, Legolas looked over his shoulder at the wall that could just be seen in the early morning gloom. "Nay," he said, "there is no rest now for they are inside our walls."
"Worry not," Éomer tried to comfort the Elf as they finally crossed the threshold of the citadel to have the large, heavy doors pushed shut behind them as soon as they were out of harms way, "there are plenty of supplies in here to last us a few weeks, and by that time many of the men will be fit to fight again if the Orcs have not given up and left - you will have plenty of time to rest."
Moving over towards the far wall, he escorted the prince to a bed that was a little better then most of the others and aided him in sitting down. Looking about him as Éomer busied himself by fiddling with the buckles of Legolas' quiver, Legolas saw that Aragorn had been put on the pallet beside him, for which he was thankful, and that the other one next to him was occupied by Gimli's helmet. Where the dwarf was he did not know, but it was a relief nonetheless.
"Alright," Éomer said softly while inspecting Legolas' back and, finding a safe place to touch, he laid his hand on the Elf's wet shoulder and reached towards his legs with the other. "Let's get you lying down before you fall down!" Hooking his hands under Legolas knees, he half lifted the Elf up and placed him back down so that he was parallel to the bed and then eased the Elf's head onto a makeshift pillow of Éomer's own cloak. "There we go," Éomer said softly, "a healer will be here in a moment."
Looking about the room again, Legolas was rather surprised at how bright it was in there considering that it was a cave. Eyes scouring everything, he also saw that there were not an overly large amount of torches burning to account for the light.
Brow creasing in worry and confusion, the Elf continued to hunt the cave for a way to see how and where the light was coming from. There were no windows and other then the tightly sealed stone door, there was no other way in that he could see.
Sighing and giving up, he allowed is head to fall back onto the pillow, grateful of the softness on his wounded back and the chance to be able to just stop. Eyes slowly rolling closed, a thick beam of light falling on a man off to his right caught his attention. Frowning, he followed the stream of light up to the ceiling to find what he had been looking for just a few moments ago.
The top of the cave was dotted with holes, some small, others as big as a warriors shield and yet all open and unblocked. Their obvious purpose was to let air and light in, but to the Elf it also seemed to be a death trap.
"Éomer?" he called out and after a few moments, the human came over to his bed to see what was wrong. The man looked down at the Elf, confusion in his eyes at the fact that Legolas seemed no worse off then when he had just left him thus leaving the question of what the Elf needed.
Rising a hand and pointing towards the holes, Legolas shook his head at the man in a sign of dislike. "You must block those." He said, only to have Éomer shake his head in a no.
"Nay, else we will have no air or light," the man said as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "Now rest, you will need your stre-"
"Éomer," Legolas hissed while grabbing hold of the human's tunic and pulling him down towards him, "block them! Do you not see the trap that they make?"
"No Orc is going to drop down through there, Legolas. Now, let us pretend that I am in charge here and let me do as is fit for my people!" pulling his tunic out of the Elf's grasp, he moved away with his back turned on the Elf, brushing his words off as that of a delusional person. "A healer will be with you soon." He said as finality to the conversation.
Signing in frustration, Legolas turned his eyes to where Aragorn lay. He was surrounded by healers, each busily cleaning various wounds and for that Legolas was above appreciative. Even though the pains of his body were constantly playing upon his mind, he was just glad that Aragorn was being taken care of and that Gimli seemed well enough.
*****
Tbc. . .
Ok, I am sorry, that was a really bad cut off point - I mean, no real cliffhangers but it just seemed untidy. I only did it as the next break was about 6 pages away and needed to actually be in the last chapter and the one before made the chapter too short. Anyway, no matter, I hope you enjoyed it anyway.
And now for a little preview again!
*** PREVIEW
Turning to the closest man, which, unluckily enough for the man happened to be the same healer from last night, Legolas grabbed him by the scruff of the neck again and raised his voice over that of the flames. "Why in Valar's name are you not doing anything?" he shook the man for slight emphasis ere pushing him back into the crowd.
Searching the faces, he could not see Éomer's anywhere and his distaste for the man only heightened. Turning back to Carson he moved forward so that he could easily be heard. "Go find Éomer!" he instructed and when the man made no move to go, he gave him a little encouraging push, "NOW!"
Facing the rest of the people who seemed happy enough to scream and shout for assistance and yet not do anything, he grabbed at the closest one. "You!" he said, "you are now in charge here. I want these beds and pallets moved to the far corner, and water - we need water to try and douse the fire and to wash away the blood else the whole place will go up in flames. Do you understand?"
The man nodded and started barking out the orders that he was just given and both were pleased when the gathered people obeyed without a thought or question. They were all just begging for a leader, for someone to come forth and tell them what to do so that they could at least feel as though they had a chance of surviving. . .
***
Hope you liked that little sneak peek and please review.
Minka.