Disclaimer: Tolkien owns all of these wonderful characters except Aralyn.
This is a revision of my earlier story. I think the romance plays out much
better in this version then the other version. Tell me what you think
please!
I walked around the back of the people who were marching forward to encourage the slower people to move faster. We were a few leagues away from the battle with the Wargs, and I have no idea how we fared. I guess I won't know until we get to Helm's Deep. I then fought my way through the crowd, encouraging people as I went along, and got to the front of the group.
"Eowyn?" I asked, when I saw her leading the people to Helm's Deep.
"Theoden wouldn't let me fight. He knew the people needed to be lead to Helm's Deep." She said with a bit of bitterness in her voice.
"I'm glad you're here." I said, trying to cheer her up. "I couldn't have done this without you."
"You didn't even know I was here until just now." She said, as I caught up with her.
Before I could argue with milady, shouts of joy emitted from the group behind us. "Helm's Deep!" An old woman shouted, pointing it out to her grandchild. The child clapped for joy and skipped ahead, eager to get there. The sight of Helm's Deep made everyone in the group move quicker, because they were so eager to sit down and have a decent meal without the fear of being attacked.
Eowyn and I watched the group as the surged forward towards Helm's Deep. Her bitterness was forgotten when she saw her people were safe.
"Now comes the hard part." I said curtly. "Waiting for the soldiers to come back."
Eowyn just nodded her agreement. It was going to be tough.
***********************************
We helped the women and children to settle down for lunch inside of Helm's Deep. We kept busy to keep our minds off the men who were fighting for our lives.
Nervous energy had built up in the people at Helm's Deep, which wasn't making time pass by any faster for Eowyn and me.
Finally we heard the sound of horse's hooves outside the gates. "Open the gates!" The gate watcher yelled and Eowyn and I ran to the gate to greet the men who had come back. King Theoden was back, leading the group. Behind him was Legolas on his horse Arod, with Gimli barely holding on. With the city insight, he leaped off the horse and jogged beside it. I expected to hear Legolas's musical laughter at the sight of the dwarf jogging beside the horse, but everyone from the group was eerily quiet.
Fear gripped my heart as I scanned the horses for missing riders. Tolman was missing; Hamfast was missing also. These men were brave older men who served as Eowyn's and my teachers when we were young.
Then my breathing stopped when I realized someone else wasn't there.
"Lord Aragorn? What happened to him?" Eowyn asked the dwarf as he slowly approached her.
"I'm sorry milady. He fell." Was all the dwarf could get out without choking up.
Sorrow filled Eowyn's eyes as she realized what this meant. Aragorn was dead. Tears filled my eyes as I watched Eowyn's heart breaking and I turned away.
"Aralyn." A soft voice said behind him.
"I know." I said sadly, and turned back to Legolas. He was holding up the jewel that Aragorn wore around his neck so faithfully.
"I'll return this to Lord Elrond when I go back to Rivendell after this whole war is over." He said, tucking the necklace into his jerkin.
"Is this what Saruman wanted? Innocent people to die for no reason at all." I asked bitterly.
"Oh, Aralyn." Was all he said before he wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him hard and held in my tears.
"Aralyn, it is alright to cry." Legolas said softly. I buried my face in his chest and shook my head.
"I will not." I said softly. "Not with all these people around." I raised my head and looked into his eyes, tears brimming in mine.
"You have had a rough life, and you have survived this long." He whispered words of encouragement. "You are strong, and I admire that about you. But I can see you crumbling."
A blush ran up my face as embarrassment took me.
"You cannot get through this on your own; can I help you?" This question he asked me took me by surprise.
I buried my face back into his chest and whispered. "Please." Then I looked up, pain filling my eyes beyond belief.
"Come." He said, and took my arm gently and led me away from the crowds.
"Why are you so overprotective over me?" I asked him.
"I have my reasons." He said tersely, and led me to a small hospital room that wasn't being used at the moment inside the Keep. "No one is here besides me, Aralyn. Let out your tears."
"I cry around you a lot, don't I?" I asked, resting my head on his shoulder and tears spilled down my cheeks quietly.
"Cry as much as you need to Aralyn. You have to let it all out before we go up there and face everybody."
"We?" I asked, wiping my face as more tears fell.
"I will support you Aralyn." Legolas promised.
"Nobody's ever done that for me, Legolas." I said, in awe of his words that he just uttered to me. I looked up at him with wide eyes, and my gaze locked into his.
We stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity. He seemed to lean in to my face with his and I let him kiss me on the lips gently. Fire coursed through my veins as his lips brushed mine. He leaned up and grinned down at me. I felt dizzy. I took a step back, thinking that this whole this was so surreal.
"Feel better?" He asked me, stroking my arm.
"Yeah. Better." I said, still trying to get straight in my head what had just happened. "I have to go, I have stuff to do." I stuttered, then stumbled out of there, leaving behind a confused looking Legolas. But all I could see after his kissed me was visions of my mother how I remembered her; lonely, sad, and in pain. Her one true love left her for his people, why would Legolas be any different? Wait, is Legolas my one true love? He could have kissed me just to make me feel better. It seemed to have worked. But now I have a whole new set of problems on my plate, and problems I've never dealt with before.
Did he really care about me, or did he think I was just another cute little girl to have fall in love with him and protect? He was always checking up on me, making sure I was alright. He was so overprotective of me. Most women would find that sweet and enduring, which made me feel that he only saw me as a helpless girl to protect.
It wouldn't ever bother me so much though. Why does my heartache when I imagine him thinking of me like that?
Because I was hoping he'd see me as more then just a girl to protect.
That truth stopped me dead in my tracks. Never have I felt that way about anybody before, and I didn't exactly know what it meant. Somehow I had found my way out of the Keep and was surrounded by bustling people.
"Aralyn!" I heard from Lady Eowyn, and I turned around. She looked terrible, barely able to keep her tears at bay as she helped her people as best she could.
"Eowyn." I paused and looked at her. "You look terrible. Go take a break. I can help the people from here."
She nodded her thanks as a tear fell down her cheek.
Saruman was getting the upper hand in my life, and it was making me murderous. Nobody should have that much power over someone else's life.
Aragorn, we'll all miss you. I said a soft lamenting prayer for him under my breath as I attended women and children who needed places to sleep.
In these dark days we can't even spare time to mourn the dead.
I walked around the back of the people who were marching forward to encourage the slower people to move faster. We were a few leagues away from the battle with the Wargs, and I have no idea how we fared. I guess I won't know until we get to Helm's Deep. I then fought my way through the crowd, encouraging people as I went along, and got to the front of the group.
"Eowyn?" I asked, when I saw her leading the people to Helm's Deep.
"Theoden wouldn't let me fight. He knew the people needed to be lead to Helm's Deep." She said with a bit of bitterness in her voice.
"I'm glad you're here." I said, trying to cheer her up. "I couldn't have done this without you."
"You didn't even know I was here until just now." She said, as I caught up with her.
Before I could argue with milady, shouts of joy emitted from the group behind us. "Helm's Deep!" An old woman shouted, pointing it out to her grandchild. The child clapped for joy and skipped ahead, eager to get there. The sight of Helm's Deep made everyone in the group move quicker, because they were so eager to sit down and have a decent meal without the fear of being attacked.
Eowyn and I watched the group as the surged forward towards Helm's Deep. Her bitterness was forgotten when she saw her people were safe.
"Now comes the hard part." I said curtly. "Waiting for the soldiers to come back."
Eowyn just nodded her agreement. It was going to be tough.
***********************************
We helped the women and children to settle down for lunch inside of Helm's Deep. We kept busy to keep our minds off the men who were fighting for our lives.
Nervous energy had built up in the people at Helm's Deep, which wasn't making time pass by any faster for Eowyn and me.
Finally we heard the sound of horse's hooves outside the gates. "Open the gates!" The gate watcher yelled and Eowyn and I ran to the gate to greet the men who had come back. King Theoden was back, leading the group. Behind him was Legolas on his horse Arod, with Gimli barely holding on. With the city insight, he leaped off the horse and jogged beside it. I expected to hear Legolas's musical laughter at the sight of the dwarf jogging beside the horse, but everyone from the group was eerily quiet.
Fear gripped my heart as I scanned the horses for missing riders. Tolman was missing; Hamfast was missing also. These men were brave older men who served as Eowyn's and my teachers when we were young.
Then my breathing stopped when I realized someone else wasn't there.
"Lord Aragorn? What happened to him?" Eowyn asked the dwarf as he slowly approached her.
"I'm sorry milady. He fell." Was all the dwarf could get out without choking up.
Sorrow filled Eowyn's eyes as she realized what this meant. Aragorn was dead. Tears filled my eyes as I watched Eowyn's heart breaking and I turned away.
"Aralyn." A soft voice said behind him.
"I know." I said sadly, and turned back to Legolas. He was holding up the jewel that Aragorn wore around his neck so faithfully.
"I'll return this to Lord Elrond when I go back to Rivendell after this whole war is over." He said, tucking the necklace into his jerkin.
"Is this what Saruman wanted? Innocent people to die for no reason at all." I asked bitterly.
"Oh, Aralyn." Was all he said before he wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him hard and held in my tears.
"Aralyn, it is alright to cry." Legolas said softly. I buried my face in his chest and shook my head.
"I will not." I said softly. "Not with all these people around." I raised my head and looked into his eyes, tears brimming in mine.
"You have had a rough life, and you have survived this long." He whispered words of encouragement. "You are strong, and I admire that about you. But I can see you crumbling."
A blush ran up my face as embarrassment took me.
"You cannot get through this on your own; can I help you?" This question he asked me took me by surprise.
I buried my face back into his chest and whispered. "Please." Then I looked up, pain filling my eyes beyond belief.
"Come." He said, and took my arm gently and led me away from the crowds.
"Why are you so overprotective over me?" I asked him.
"I have my reasons." He said tersely, and led me to a small hospital room that wasn't being used at the moment inside the Keep. "No one is here besides me, Aralyn. Let out your tears."
"I cry around you a lot, don't I?" I asked, resting my head on his shoulder and tears spilled down my cheeks quietly.
"Cry as much as you need to Aralyn. You have to let it all out before we go up there and face everybody."
"We?" I asked, wiping my face as more tears fell.
"I will support you Aralyn." Legolas promised.
"Nobody's ever done that for me, Legolas." I said, in awe of his words that he just uttered to me. I looked up at him with wide eyes, and my gaze locked into his.
We stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity. He seemed to lean in to my face with his and I let him kiss me on the lips gently. Fire coursed through my veins as his lips brushed mine. He leaned up and grinned down at me. I felt dizzy. I took a step back, thinking that this whole this was so surreal.
"Feel better?" He asked me, stroking my arm.
"Yeah. Better." I said, still trying to get straight in my head what had just happened. "I have to go, I have stuff to do." I stuttered, then stumbled out of there, leaving behind a confused looking Legolas. But all I could see after his kissed me was visions of my mother how I remembered her; lonely, sad, and in pain. Her one true love left her for his people, why would Legolas be any different? Wait, is Legolas my one true love? He could have kissed me just to make me feel better. It seemed to have worked. But now I have a whole new set of problems on my plate, and problems I've never dealt with before.
Did he really care about me, or did he think I was just another cute little girl to have fall in love with him and protect? He was always checking up on me, making sure I was alright. He was so overprotective of me. Most women would find that sweet and enduring, which made me feel that he only saw me as a helpless girl to protect.
It wouldn't ever bother me so much though. Why does my heartache when I imagine him thinking of me like that?
Because I was hoping he'd see me as more then just a girl to protect.
That truth stopped me dead in my tracks. Never have I felt that way about anybody before, and I didn't exactly know what it meant. Somehow I had found my way out of the Keep and was surrounded by bustling people.
"Aralyn!" I heard from Lady Eowyn, and I turned around. She looked terrible, barely able to keep her tears at bay as she helped her people as best she could.
"Eowyn." I paused and looked at her. "You look terrible. Go take a break. I can help the people from here."
She nodded her thanks as a tear fell down her cheek.
Saruman was getting the upper hand in my life, and it was making me murderous. Nobody should have that much power over someone else's life.
Aragorn, we'll all miss you. I said a soft lamenting prayer for him under my breath as I attended women and children who needed places to sleep.
In these dark days we can't even spare time to mourn the dead.