Chapter Four: Battle

Herendil could barely believe his eyes when he saw who now rode into the fortress.

"Had I never ended up in the Marshes, I would not have believed in miracles! Aragorn!" Herendil greeted, happily, as the human greeted him with equal pleasure.

"Good to see you too, Herendil." Aragorn said, as he also received a happy (and a little tearful) welcome from Gimli as well.

"King Theoden is in the main hall." Herendil said, answering Aragorn's unsaid question. Aragorn nodded, then rushed off.

"He must have something urgent to tell the king." Gimli murmured.

"Yes. It is best that he gets his message to the king, before he does anything else." Herendil said, as he and Gimli followed Aragorn to the hall. They both chuckled when Legolas looked directly at him and chided him for being late. Aragorn smiled, and received something from Legolas. Then he disappeared into the hall.

"What was that you gave him, Legolas?" Herendil asked, curiously.

"Something he'd lost. Something Lady Arwen gave him before they parted ways." Legolas replied, calmly.

"Lady Arwen? Who is she?" Herendil asked, a little confused.

"She's the daughter of Elrond, Lord of the Last Homely House in Rivendell." Legolas said, with a little sadness in his voice.

"What?! Lord Elrond has a daughter?! How much else has changed?!" Herendil yelped, in disbelief.

"Lady Arwen has two brothers as well. Elladan and Elrohir are their names." Legolas said, reminding himself that Herendil had been missing during those years.

"I never dreamed that Elrond would be the kind to settle down. I guess time changes all people, some in more ways than others." Herendil admitted, jumping when the doors were abruptly opened and Aragorn strode out, looking decidedly grim.

"Well? What's going on?" Legolas asked.

"There's an army coming from Isengard. It is ten thousand strong, probably even more than that. We have until nightfall to prepare for battle." Aragorn said, quietly, so no one else could overhear.

"Elbereth……………………….that many? Will Helm's Deep hold?" Herendil asked, the color once again leaving his face as he thought about the immense numbers that were heading their way.

"I don't know. We'll have to make it hold." Aragorn replied, with grim certainty. For the rest of that afternoon, Helm's Deep was a hive of activity. Men of almost every age group (and even some children) were recruited to man the walls.

"Some of these men have seen too many winters!" Gimli complained, as he watched the men and boys get armor and weapons.

"Or too few. Look at them, they are frightened. You can see it in their eyes!" Legolas commented, as he and Herendil helped hand out weapons. As Legolas continued to talk to Aragorn about the hopelessness of the situation, Herendil handed one boy his sword, and noticed that the poor child was crying.

"Do not fear, little one. There is always hope." Herendil murmured, gently. The boy looked up at him with frightened blue eyes.

"Are you sure there's hope?" the boy sobbed, looking downright miserable at that moment.

"Of course there is. I'm just as sure of that as I am of the sun rising in the east. What is your name, lad?" Herendil asked, knowing that he was holding things up, but not caring in the slightest.

"Gareth, sir." The boy replied, shakily.

"Well, then, young Gareth, let me tell you one thing my father always told me; where there is life, there is hope. Keep your hope alive. We'll make it through this yet." Herendil encouraged. With a sniffle and a quick wipe of his eyes with a grubby sleeve, Gareth smiled up at the elf, hope and trust rekindled in his young eyes.

"Elbereth, protect this little one tonight. Let him see the dawn." Herendil thought, as he watched the boy get led out.

"Herendil? Are you all right, lad?" Gimli asked, from where he stood (with, I might add, an oversized mail shirt on).

"I'm fine. But, Sir Dwarf, I don't think that fits very well." Herendil said, trying to suppress a laugh at the dwarf's expense.

"So it's a bit snug around the chest!" Gimli retorted, stuffily.

"That's……………not what I meant………." Herendil said, as laughter won out.

"Hmph." Gimli huffed, as they (namely Aragorn, Legolas, and Herendil) walked out. Almost as soon as they left the armory, they heard a trumpet blast.

"That isn't an Orc horn!" Legolas said, as they started running. When they got to the wall, they could see soldiers in bright armor approaching.

"They're from Lorien! That is Lorien's coat of arms!" Herendil shouted, with excitement in his eyes. Finally, he was seeing something he was familiar with!

"Open the gates!" Aragorn shouted, forgetting himself, for he was also relieved to see the Elven soldiers. The order was followed immediately, and, without losing a step, the elves marched into the keep, with a familiar elf leading them.

"We came in the hopes that we could fight alongside men once more, as we did in days long ago. I am glad we came in time." The lead elf. To his (the lead elf's) astonishment, Aragorn gave him a bear hug and grinned at the elf's startled expression.

"Haldir of Lorien, you are most welcome!" Aragorn said, his grin irrepressible.

"Haldir!" Herendil shouted, as he rushed forward, skidded to a stop, and presented his bow to the now twice startled elf.

"It's impossible……………………….how could this be?! Herendil?! Is that you?!?" Haldir asked, struggling to maintain his composure and hide his shock.

"Yes it is. It is good to see a familiar face again." Herendil said, with a smile.

"I want to talk to you after this battle is over." Haldir said, with a hint of command in his voice.

"Survive that long, and I will answer all the questions you have, as well as I can." Herendil said, with a hint of amusement in his voice. With a silent nod, Haldir turned back to his elves and started issuing commands. Within the hour, all of the Elven archers from Lorien were lined up along the wall. Herendil, Gimli, and Legolas were also among them.

"Why couldn't we have gotten a better spot?!" Gimli complained, much to the amusement of both of his Elven friends.

"Seems good enough to me." Herendil said, dodging when Gimli aimed a light punch at his leg.

"Watch it, laddie." Gimli warned. Even though they were in a light mood, the three of them knew that a desperate time lay ahead. Below them, the Orc army (and who knew what else) stood, waiting for the order to attack. Herendil could hear the roars and snarls coming from the Orcs, and the pounding they caused with their weapons upon the ground.

//*// Show no mercy, for you will not be receiving any! //*// Aragorn commanded, in Elvish, to the archers from Lorien.

"What's going on out there?" Gimli asked, as the pounding increased in speed.

"Do you want me to describe it to you, or do you want me to get you a box?" Legolas asked, dryly. Gimli looked up at him and laughed. Herendil, on the other hand, was getting a little nervous. He stood with readied bow, palms sweating and heart racing. Then, as though sensing his nervousness, the elf beside him put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. Fight well and you will survive." The elf said, kindly.

"I will try. It has been a long time since I was last in a major battle and I am a little afraid." Herendil admitted.

"It is all right to be a little afraid, sometimes. Too much fear would be a major concern." The elf again said, as he turned his attention back to the waiting Orcs. Then all hell broke loose. One of the human archers had released an arrow into the front line of the Orcs, killing one and starting the battle in earnest.

//*// Good targets are their necks and arms. That is where the gaps are. //*// Legolas said, before he started shooting his arrows. The other elves took his advice and started aiming for the gaps in the Orcs' armor. With expertise seen only in the finest archers from Second Age Lothlorien, Herendil fired shot after shot at the Orcs, bringing down as many as two elves could.

"Herendil! Here they come, laddie!" Gimli shouted, as the first siege ladder was brought up. Despite his instinct to discard his bow and arrows and reach for his sword, Herendil killed several invaders with close range shots from his bow.

"Nice shots!" one elf shouted, as he also killed some that were climbing up the ladder.

"Thanks. Topple it! Topple the ladder!" Herendil cried, as he and some men pushed the ladder away from the top of the wall. In the midst of the confusion, Gareth, the boy that Herendil had talked to only moments before, fought as well as he could. He could see Herendil fighting at the wall and tried to make his way over to him. Before he could get very far, Gareth felt something heavy collide with his helmeted head, and consciousness slipped away. When he next awoke, he couldn't see Herendil, but he could see the elf captain fighting almost alone atop the battlement. Despite the pain in his head, and the fear he felt because he didn't see his friend, he got to his feet and ran towards the elf. He could see something the elf couldn't; an Orc was coming up behind him!

"Look out!" Gareth shouted, as he dashed past the elf, and stabbed the Orc with his sword.

"Haldir! Pull back!" Aragorn's voice shouted, from somewhere close by. Haldir nodded, looked down, and gazed into the stunned boy's eyes.

"Thank you. I owe you my life, little one." Haldir murmured, as he grabbed Gareth's hand and started running. They got to the inner complex just as the gates were being closed. Haldir collapsed almost as soon as the gates slammed closed.

"What's wrong?" Gareth asked, fearful for the elf's life.

"Nothing to worry about." Haldir replied, with a grimace, as blood leaked from between his fingers where he was holding a stomach wound closed.

"Haldir!" Herendil shouted, as he appeared before them. He looked tired and dirty, but was otherwise all right.

"I'm all right, Herendil. This boy saved my life, if you would believe it." Haldir said, breathlessly.

"I believe it. But you should save your strength, you've been badly hurt." Herendil said, worriedly.

"I will do just that, since it hurts too much to do otherwise." Haldir gasped, as Gareth tried to tie a shred of torn cloth around his abdomen to stanch the bleeding.

"Good. Gareth, I want you to do something for me." Herendil said, gently, yet firmly.

"Yes? What is it?" Gareth asked, shakily.

"I want you to protect Haldir. He's going to need your help now." Herendil said, knowing that he was putting a huge burden onto the child's shoulders. But he was surprised when the child straightened, looked him directly in the eye, and replied, "I'll do my best, sir."

"Good. I'm depending on you, Gareth." Herendil said, before he turned to leave.

"Wait." Gareth called. Herendil paused and looked back, with a questioning look on his face.

"Yes?" Herendil asked.

"May I call you Herendil, too?" Gareth asked, his childlike innocence returning for a brief moment.

"Yes. You may call me Herendil. That is my name, after all." Herendil replied, gently, as he left the child and wounded elf in the relative safety of a rocky overhang.

"What do you want me to do? Charge out there recklessly?" Theoden was heard to say, as Herendil rejoined Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn.

"Yes. Lead your men out into battle." Aragorn urged, as the gate buckled behind them.

"But that would be madness!" Theoden muttered, not believing that Aragorn's plan could work.

"No, it would be reckless courage. It would take that and more to win the day here." Herendil said, calmly. Theoden looked from Herendil, to Aragorn, and back again. Then he sighed and let a spark of raw courage ignite in his eyes.

"So be it. Saddle our horses! We ride forth!" Theoden shouted, as the remaining men scrambled to do as they were told. A few moments later, all of the riders Theoden could muster were galloping hell for leather out of the gates and into the fray. Herendil turned when he heard a deep humming come from the stone fortress itself.

"The Horn of Helm's Deep……………….." Herendil muttered, then raised his sword again and killed some more Orcs. It was at that same moment, the sun began to rise, it's light a welcome sight after all they had been through.

"And the dawn has come! Thank Elbereth for that!" Herendil thought, smiling as the sun's first rays fell upon his face, warming it like they had that day when he'd gone to the Anduin just a few days ago. Hope was returning, with the morning sun. But there was more to come, as Herendil was about to see…….

Author's Note!

Okay, in response to one review that I have gotten; this is an AU fanfiction, so things ARE GOING TO BE DIFFERENT!!!!!!!!!!! (Yes, I am in a bad mood, so don't chew me out about this).

Gemini