A/N: Sorry for the wait, but w/ track I'm really busy!! Thanks for being
so patient!
Ella slept fitfully that night. Orcs, blonde elves, annoying women and kings spun about in her head, each yelling things that Ella couldn't quite make out. She was actually quite willing to wake up and leave her dreams behind. Ella grabbed her small leather satchel and belted her tunic securely around her waist with her sword belt and set out to find her friends. Ella first checked the kitchens, figuring that's where she would go. Sure enough, they were already awake and disgustingly cheerful, even though dawn had not yet come.
"The people will be ready to leave by first light," Aragorn told her as she joined them. They ate sparingly and quickly, for there were still preparations to make. After a couple hours, they were in the stables and the horses were being chosen and saddled for those who could fight. Ella made a last minute check of her supplies and realized that she had forgotten her knives. When she arrived back at the stables, she found the horse she had ridden to Rohan missing. Turning to Aragorn, she asked where he was.
"I apologize. I had forgotten and gave him to one of the King's men," he said.
"Don't worry about it," Ella assured him, "Are there any others?"
"Of course," Aragorn replied, and led her further down the aisle of stalls. A groom was leading out one of the last horses for Théoden.
"Is that your last war horse?" Aragorn asked the groom.
"Do you not have a mount, Aragorn?" Théoden asked.
"I have my horse, but the Lady here needs one," Aragorn said. Ella saw Théoden pretend to look around, and feign surprise when he looked at her. He saw her very well.
"We have no more fully trained war horses," the groom said.
"You are healthy, girl, you can walk. My warriors need the horses more. Horses are important to them in battle," King Théoden told her, addressing his last sentence to her as if she was completely unwitting.
"I am well aware that horses are important in battle," Ella said coolly, "And that is why I need one. A witch will serve you better when she can reach the enemy in a timely manner if we are attacked on the road to Helm's Deep. And, not only can I spellcast, I can fight as well as any of your guards," Ella said, inwardly grimacing at this boast of her fighting prowess, but knowing she had to make him seem irrational if he was going to let her ride. Ella spotted the grey filly she had met the day before.
"May I ride her?" she asked.
"She's not yet fully trained," the groom said.
"She'll do fine," Ella said, stroking the filly's soft nose. She liked the intelligent gleam in her eye, and though she was no judge of horseflesh, she thought the filly would be a fine horse.
"With your permission, I will ride--" Ella turned to the groom for her filly's name.
"Istima," he supplied.
"If you don't mind, Your Majesty," Ella said. Ella could tell that the King still wanted to make her walk, but he found space in his heart to spare her feet. Once they had left, the groom turned to Ella, saying, "She'll serve you well, she's a sweet one." He gave Istima one last pat.
The group moved slowly, burdened with carts and the elderly as well as downtrodden spirits. Ella rode beside Aragorn, with Gimli and Éowyn in front of them. Gimli was telling Éowyn about dwarves.
"You don't see many dwarf women, they are so alike in voice and appearance that they are often mistaken for dwarf men!" Gimli told her.
"It's the beards," Aragorn whispered conspiratorially, gesturing around his chin. Éowyn laughed at his joke, causing Ella to wince, strongly reminded of hyenas. When Gimli's horse bolted forward, depositing him on the ground, he claimed, "It was deliberate!" Ella blamed that stupid laugh. Fed up, she cantered off, ignoring the admiring look Éowyn cast toward Aragorn. Legolas had been scouting all morning. That would be much more interesting than this banter. As Ella rode up, he turned and smiled.
"Needed to get away," Ella mumbled. At Legolas' questioning glance, Ella blurted, "I cannot stand that woman! I have never met someone so annoying- the way she looks at Aragorn! She's nothing to Arwen. Don't tell me you haven't noticed."
Legolas was at first surprised, but laughed at her.
"I presume you are referring to the Lady Éowyn," he said. "Lady!" Ella snorted. Legolas ignored her and continued, "Your strength of emotion is amusing." Ella gave him a sour glare. She stayed with him for the rest of the day. The night passed quickly and uneventfully. Ella took one of the watches, doing her best to stay alert, but failing rather miserably toward the end. She was dozing, her back to a tree, when she heard quiet footsteps, so silent, she doubted that she even heard them at first. The footsteps came closer. Ella kept her eyes closed, but slightly shifted so that her hand rested on the hilt of her knife. She heard the faint rustle of clothes as the figure leaned over. As quickly as her reflexes would respond, Ella's eyes snapped open as she reached up and grabbed the figure's hair, roughly pulling him down and covering his throat with the edge of her knife. She crouched in front of the figure, and brought her face closer so that she could see him. The color drained from her face as she saw the straight blonde hair. It was Legolas.
"I see you are more alert that you appear," he said, "But if you don't mind, this knife is at a rather uncomfortable proximity."
"Sorry," Ella said, taking away the knife, "I thought you were an orc or something." His face was close enough for her to kiss. Surprising both herself and him, she placed a small one on his nose, and frantically tried to think of an explanation.
"I was just so thankful that you weren't an orc," she said with a melodramatic sigh, "That I just couldn't resist." He grinned and seemed to buy her explanation, and asked her no questions.
"I came to relieve you," he told her.
"You're early."
"Yes, I am."
"Well, thanks," Ella said lightly, "I'm trying, but I can't seem to stay awake. I'll see you tomorrow." With a wave and a yawn, she left, but lay awake in her bedroll doing some very serious soul searching, and coming up with no definite answers.
Ella spent the beginning of the next day with Aragorn, Gimli and Éowyn, but again disgusted, scouted with Legolas on her grey filly. They were getting along well. Istima was large and rawboned for a filly, perfect for Ella, who was tall for a woman. She almost had a sense of humor for a horse, and was always willing to follow Ella's commands, even if she couldn't resist the occasional energetic bounce in her gait. It kept Ella on her toes, and the enjoyment of the adventure spread from horse to mistress. Legolas was on foot, so Ella slid down Istima's withers and walked along with him.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Ella asked, for she had spent the previous day admiring the rolling scenery of the plains.
"Anything. But hearing is important also," he replied, constantly scanning the horizon. He found that today he would much rather talk with his companion than scout, and had to force himself to stay alert. Their conversation subsided as Legolas concentrated on scouting. A while later, they heard the terrified screams of horses from another scouting party. Legolas was already sprinting towards the sounds, and called over his shoulder, "Stay there!"
~Who in the world ever does that?~ Ella asked. She dropped Istima's reins, and ran after him, fumbling at her sword belt for her sword. It was then that she heard the horrible death cry of a man. She had never heard a sound so terrible, and it lent speed to her stride. As she reached the scene, Legolas delivered a fatal blow with his knives to whatever had attacked and killed one of their scouts, letting out a feral growl that surprised Ella.
"A scout!" he shouted to Aragorn who had materialized over the hill, drawn by the ruckus. Legolas flipped the body over, and Ella was able to recognize the orc, but she had no idea what the furry wolf was that he had ridden.
"Wargs," Legolas snarled.
"Istima!" Ella remembered, sprinting back and hoping the filly was still where she had left her. Smiling with relief, Ella found Istima exactly where she had left her, waiting patiently for her impulsive mistress to return. Ella mounted quickly, and swung Istima about so she faced the King and his people, who were them readying for engagement. Ella also saw the lingering glance Aragorn exchanged with Éowyn, and jerked Istima toward battle, and galloped off in the direction she had seen Legolas go. The King and his men soon joined her.
Legolas stood calmly picking off the front-runners of a huge pack of mounted orcs. At the last minute, Ella realized how very little she knew about mounted combat, and shrugged it off. There was nothing she could do now, and not too long ago, she hadn't even been able to ride faster than a trot. The pack of snarling wargs sounded like rabid dogs. Their gate was fluid and their bodies thick and furry. Their riders were typical orcs- ugly and mean. They carried evil-looking axes. The first impact with them was jarring. Istima was jostled by a warg, but she buffered the blow and stayed still long enough for Ella to jab the orc in the eye and decapitate him. Unfortunately, that left Istima and Ella to deal with the more deadly warg. It lunged, and Istima skittered out of the way. Ella was able to slash its side, angering it further. Saliva spattered Ella as the warg roared its frustration. Ella kneed Istima forward, praying she knew what she was doing. The warg leapt at Ella; she expected this and ducked low, spearing its exposed underbelly. It slid off her blade with a shudder. Ella took stock of her surroundings, unhappily noting the number of fallen men. Her next attacker came soon, and fell quicker than her first, but Istima sustained a slash across the chest from the orc's ax. Ella was gradually finding handling the reins and sword at once easier, and she chose her next opponent. She decided on one who was harassing one of Théoden's men, and dispatched of it speedily. Ella felt Istima becoming more sluggish beneath her, and hoped the combat would end soon. Her wish was granted, as she looked around she saw that the few remaining wargs had fled. Even though the battle felt like a few short minutes, Ella realized how long it had lasted as the adrenaline drained from her blood and she looked at the lower sun. Her heart wrenched as she saw the number of causalities, all bloody and tattered with agonized expressions on their still faces. With considerable relief, she noticed that Legolas was fine, but out of arrows. Théoden and Gimli had also come through unscathed. Ella was relieved until she looked for Aragorn and couldn't find him. Ella trotted a weary Istima over to Legolas.
"Where's Aragorn?" she asked.
"He fell over the edge of the cliff with a warg," Legolas replied tonelessly, and pointed to a jut of rock that extended a couple of feet before abruptly stopping. Ella despondently dismounted and leaned on her horse. Istima, sensing her mistress' downtrodden spirits, butted her shoulder until Ella would pet her. Legolas also dismounted, and gathered his arrows from the orc bodies. Ella wiped her blade clean on a fallen orc and sheathed it. Then she headed to the people, asking if any of them had a shovel. A wizened old man handed her his stout one, his eyes emotionless as he asked, "Many fallen?" Ella nodded and trudged back to the battlefield. A young boy had offered to take Istima and care for her, so Ella was alone. The orcs and wargs were already piled up to be burned, but the men deserved a better burial. Others with shovels had already started scraping away at the ground, and Ella joined them. The ground wasn't especially soft, and the work was tiring. Legolas came up the hill and saw Ella knee deep in the ground. She wiped sweat beads from her forehead and happened to glance up, catching sight of him. Searching his face, she knew that the search for Aragorn had yielded no result, but she still wanted to know the details.
"We scouted around the embankment. We found the warg body, but there wasn't a single sign that Aragorn stepped out of the river alive." Legolas said in a tightly controlled voice. Gandalf would be able to come up with something enormously wise and consoling, but Ella found she could not.
"He died defending something he loved and believed in. I know that is of little consolation to you as it is to me, but it's what I keep telling myself," she said, even to her ears sounding like platitudes strung together. She picked up the shovel again and continued to scrape away at the parched earth.
"You are tired," Legolas said, "You shouldn't be doing this."
"It's fine," Ella said, tossing another shovel's worth of dirt out of her growing ditch. But Legolas took the shovel from her hands and banished her from the grave. Ella took the forcible hint and instead went to find water, bringing back a hollowed gourd for the elf.
"You don't understand," Legolas said, "Resting after battle is normal. I suggest you get some."
"There's still work I can do," Ella responded.
"No one doubts your ability."
"I do," Ella said, and fervently added, "If only I had more power, I could do so much more! But anyway, Théoden has gone to try and catch up with his people to offer them the protection of his remaining men. We will have to catch up with him. I just hope the boy who cared for Istima tied her up somewhere close. I don't relish the idea of another day racing across the plains." Ella remembered who had motivated them to push themselves to near exhaustion and fell silent. Dispersing the weight of solemnity, Ella grinned and said, "My turn to be gravedigger." Legolas stepped out of the hole and stretched out in a patch of shade. The grave was wide and deep enough for a man, and one was gently laid inside, arms crossed and still gripping his weapon. Ella sadly watched as the dirt was tossed back over him, concealing his body forever. Ella and Legolas traded off, taking turns at the grim task set before them. There were others who remained behind to bury the fallen also, and the task was accomplished quickly.
Luckily for Ella, Istima was tethered close by, watered and groomed. Greeted with a cheerful wicker, Ella swung up on her back. Gimli and Legolas joined her, and riding together they caught up with Théoden and his men.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Théoden will expect an attack on the city. He will flee to Helm's Deep, the great fortress of Rohan. It is a dangerous trip to take through the mountains. But there is one thing that we did not expect," Gríma Wormtongue said to Saruman, "Gandalf has an apprentice, and we do not know the extent of her powers."
"She?" Saruman repeated.
"Yes. She obviously has some power, but if it is considerable, it could misconstrue our plans."
"We cannot allow that to happen, now can we?" Saruman asked, pensively stroking his chin.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The fortress was built of stone, and looked as if it could deflect anything thrown against it; it was the immovable rock in the center of the stream. The horses' hooves clipped sharply on the stone ramp leading up to the giant wooden gates of the fortress lined with ramparts and walkways. The heavy gates swung open before them, so well hinged that they could swing open with little effort. They were greeted with cries of, "Make way for the King!" and people, crowded into every spare corner, shuffled out of the way. They stopped in a courtyard of sorts. Legolas dismounted first and turned to help Ella, his hands lingering a moment too long than necessary, she noticed. Ella looked around, seeing the organized bustle. Everyone had a talk in readying the fortress for war, and were doing it as quickly as possible. Éowyn immediately approached the returning warriors.
"So few! So few of you have returned," she said anxiously.
"Our people are safe," Théoden responded, "Though we have paid for it with many lives."
Ella saw Gimli approach Éowyn out of the corner of her eye as she gathered Istima's reins to lead her off to the stables. A last glance over her shoulder witnessed Éowyn's stricken expression. Ella continued on to the stables, other warriors following her with their horses.
Somehow, the stables weren't dark, despite the lack of windows, but were warmly lighted with lanterns. Each stall was well equipped with hay ands was carved directly into the stone walls. Ella watched and imitated what the others did, first roughly brushing Istima with a hard brush, then polishing her coat to a high luster with a finer brush. Ella led her into the stall, and watched as she eagerly attacked the ration of hay. Ella relaxed and leaned on the half door to the stall, thinking of nothing in particular. She was faintly startled when Legolas came up beside her, and also leaned over the half door.
"I thought I was alone," Ella said.
"Apparently not," Legolas replied. They stood together in silence.
"I am sorry if I seem to try and limit you," he said after a moment, "Like back when we were burying the dead, but I worry about you."
Ella's brows drew together, "Really?" she asked.
"Really," was the answer. He drew imperceptibly closer, but Ella noticed, always aware of his actions. She felt her palms prickle and become hot and sweaty. One of her hands rested on the door to the stable, and was cautiously covered with one of Legolas'. Ella looked into his disconcerting eyes, and slowly reached for his other hand. His blue eyes lost their icy and unfathomable glint, and warmed. His lips curled into a small smile as he drew her closer. Ella's heart beat frantically, flushing her cheeks. Legolas looked down on Ella's upturned face, her cheeks flushed, green eyes bright, and lips inviting. He stroked one of the curly tendrils of her back, his hand resting on her cheek. He touched her lips with his lightly. Ella relished their warm softness, and wrapped her arms around his neck, brushing her lips against his. Legolas kissed her thoroughly and tenderly, their passion mounting as they continued. Ella could have stayed this way forever, but Istima disagreed. She butted each of them with her head, causing both of them to break up, breathing heavily. To Legolas' amusement, Ella glared at her horse with narrowed eyes.
"See if you eat tomorrow!" she threatened. Turning to Legolas, she remembered the last thing he had said to her.
"You don't have to worry about me," she said.
"This coming from the woman who knocked herself unconscious the first time I met her just to prove something," Legolas said pointedly.
"Fine. As long as your worry ends up like this," she said archly, looking at his lips, "I have no problems." She smiled mischievously up into his blue eyes. Legolas strongly resisted the urge to take her into his arms again. Ella saw his eyes light up again and had to restrain herself as well.
"How long have you known?" she asked him instead.
"When I was furious at you in Lothlorien, I missed you so much. When we became friends again, I finally came to realize what I had known all along," he replied.
"Well, at least you don't like me for my looks," Ella said wryly, remembering she had been crying over Gandalf and her face had been blotchy and red.
Gimli stomped into the stables, and looked at the scene in front of him.
"So here's were you've been hiding," he said with a knowing laugh. Ella blushed bright red, the tinge competing with her hair, and even Legolas looked a little discomposed.
"Come on, there's a decent meal waiting!" Gimli called.
Ella slept fitfully that night. Orcs, blonde elves, annoying women and kings spun about in her head, each yelling things that Ella couldn't quite make out. She was actually quite willing to wake up and leave her dreams behind. Ella grabbed her small leather satchel and belted her tunic securely around her waist with her sword belt and set out to find her friends. Ella first checked the kitchens, figuring that's where she would go. Sure enough, they were already awake and disgustingly cheerful, even though dawn had not yet come.
"The people will be ready to leave by first light," Aragorn told her as she joined them. They ate sparingly and quickly, for there were still preparations to make. After a couple hours, they were in the stables and the horses were being chosen and saddled for those who could fight. Ella made a last minute check of her supplies and realized that she had forgotten her knives. When she arrived back at the stables, she found the horse she had ridden to Rohan missing. Turning to Aragorn, she asked where he was.
"I apologize. I had forgotten and gave him to one of the King's men," he said.
"Don't worry about it," Ella assured him, "Are there any others?"
"Of course," Aragorn replied, and led her further down the aisle of stalls. A groom was leading out one of the last horses for Théoden.
"Is that your last war horse?" Aragorn asked the groom.
"Do you not have a mount, Aragorn?" Théoden asked.
"I have my horse, but the Lady here needs one," Aragorn said. Ella saw Théoden pretend to look around, and feign surprise when he looked at her. He saw her very well.
"We have no more fully trained war horses," the groom said.
"You are healthy, girl, you can walk. My warriors need the horses more. Horses are important to them in battle," King Théoden told her, addressing his last sentence to her as if she was completely unwitting.
"I am well aware that horses are important in battle," Ella said coolly, "And that is why I need one. A witch will serve you better when she can reach the enemy in a timely manner if we are attacked on the road to Helm's Deep. And, not only can I spellcast, I can fight as well as any of your guards," Ella said, inwardly grimacing at this boast of her fighting prowess, but knowing she had to make him seem irrational if he was going to let her ride. Ella spotted the grey filly she had met the day before.
"May I ride her?" she asked.
"She's not yet fully trained," the groom said.
"She'll do fine," Ella said, stroking the filly's soft nose. She liked the intelligent gleam in her eye, and though she was no judge of horseflesh, she thought the filly would be a fine horse.
"With your permission, I will ride--" Ella turned to the groom for her filly's name.
"Istima," he supplied.
"If you don't mind, Your Majesty," Ella said. Ella could tell that the King still wanted to make her walk, but he found space in his heart to spare her feet. Once they had left, the groom turned to Ella, saying, "She'll serve you well, she's a sweet one." He gave Istima one last pat.
The group moved slowly, burdened with carts and the elderly as well as downtrodden spirits. Ella rode beside Aragorn, with Gimli and Éowyn in front of them. Gimli was telling Éowyn about dwarves.
"You don't see many dwarf women, they are so alike in voice and appearance that they are often mistaken for dwarf men!" Gimli told her.
"It's the beards," Aragorn whispered conspiratorially, gesturing around his chin. Éowyn laughed at his joke, causing Ella to wince, strongly reminded of hyenas. When Gimli's horse bolted forward, depositing him on the ground, he claimed, "It was deliberate!" Ella blamed that stupid laugh. Fed up, she cantered off, ignoring the admiring look Éowyn cast toward Aragorn. Legolas had been scouting all morning. That would be much more interesting than this banter. As Ella rode up, he turned and smiled.
"Needed to get away," Ella mumbled. At Legolas' questioning glance, Ella blurted, "I cannot stand that woman! I have never met someone so annoying- the way she looks at Aragorn! She's nothing to Arwen. Don't tell me you haven't noticed."
Legolas was at first surprised, but laughed at her.
"I presume you are referring to the Lady Éowyn," he said. "Lady!" Ella snorted. Legolas ignored her and continued, "Your strength of emotion is amusing." Ella gave him a sour glare. She stayed with him for the rest of the day. The night passed quickly and uneventfully. Ella took one of the watches, doing her best to stay alert, but failing rather miserably toward the end. She was dozing, her back to a tree, when she heard quiet footsteps, so silent, she doubted that she even heard them at first. The footsteps came closer. Ella kept her eyes closed, but slightly shifted so that her hand rested on the hilt of her knife. She heard the faint rustle of clothes as the figure leaned over. As quickly as her reflexes would respond, Ella's eyes snapped open as she reached up and grabbed the figure's hair, roughly pulling him down and covering his throat with the edge of her knife. She crouched in front of the figure, and brought her face closer so that she could see him. The color drained from her face as she saw the straight blonde hair. It was Legolas.
"I see you are more alert that you appear," he said, "But if you don't mind, this knife is at a rather uncomfortable proximity."
"Sorry," Ella said, taking away the knife, "I thought you were an orc or something." His face was close enough for her to kiss. Surprising both herself and him, she placed a small one on his nose, and frantically tried to think of an explanation.
"I was just so thankful that you weren't an orc," she said with a melodramatic sigh, "That I just couldn't resist." He grinned and seemed to buy her explanation, and asked her no questions.
"I came to relieve you," he told her.
"You're early."
"Yes, I am."
"Well, thanks," Ella said lightly, "I'm trying, but I can't seem to stay awake. I'll see you tomorrow." With a wave and a yawn, she left, but lay awake in her bedroll doing some very serious soul searching, and coming up with no definite answers.
Ella spent the beginning of the next day with Aragorn, Gimli and Éowyn, but again disgusted, scouted with Legolas on her grey filly. They were getting along well. Istima was large and rawboned for a filly, perfect for Ella, who was tall for a woman. She almost had a sense of humor for a horse, and was always willing to follow Ella's commands, even if she couldn't resist the occasional energetic bounce in her gait. It kept Ella on her toes, and the enjoyment of the adventure spread from horse to mistress. Legolas was on foot, so Ella slid down Istima's withers and walked along with him.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Ella asked, for she had spent the previous day admiring the rolling scenery of the plains.
"Anything. But hearing is important also," he replied, constantly scanning the horizon. He found that today he would much rather talk with his companion than scout, and had to force himself to stay alert. Their conversation subsided as Legolas concentrated on scouting. A while later, they heard the terrified screams of horses from another scouting party. Legolas was already sprinting towards the sounds, and called over his shoulder, "Stay there!"
~Who in the world ever does that?~ Ella asked. She dropped Istima's reins, and ran after him, fumbling at her sword belt for her sword. It was then that she heard the horrible death cry of a man. She had never heard a sound so terrible, and it lent speed to her stride. As she reached the scene, Legolas delivered a fatal blow with his knives to whatever had attacked and killed one of their scouts, letting out a feral growl that surprised Ella.
"A scout!" he shouted to Aragorn who had materialized over the hill, drawn by the ruckus. Legolas flipped the body over, and Ella was able to recognize the orc, but she had no idea what the furry wolf was that he had ridden.
"Wargs," Legolas snarled.
"Istima!" Ella remembered, sprinting back and hoping the filly was still where she had left her. Smiling with relief, Ella found Istima exactly where she had left her, waiting patiently for her impulsive mistress to return. Ella mounted quickly, and swung Istima about so she faced the King and his people, who were them readying for engagement. Ella also saw the lingering glance Aragorn exchanged with Éowyn, and jerked Istima toward battle, and galloped off in the direction she had seen Legolas go. The King and his men soon joined her.
Legolas stood calmly picking off the front-runners of a huge pack of mounted orcs. At the last minute, Ella realized how very little she knew about mounted combat, and shrugged it off. There was nothing she could do now, and not too long ago, she hadn't even been able to ride faster than a trot. The pack of snarling wargs sounded like rabid dogs. Their gate was fluid and their bodies thick and furry. Their riders were typical orcs- ugly and mean. They carried evil-looking axes. The first impact with them was jarring. Istima was jostled by a warg, but she buffered the blow and stayed still long enough for Ella to jab the orc in the eye and decapitate him. Unfortunately, that left Istima and Ella to deal with the more deadly warg. It lunged, and Istima skittered out of the way. Ella was able to slash its side, angering it further. Saliva spattered Ella as the warg roared its frustration. Ella kneed Istima forward, praying she knew what she was doing. The warg leapt at Ella; she expected this and ducked low, spearing its exposed underbelly. It slid off her blade with a shudder. Ella took stock of her surroundings, unhappily noting the number of fallen men. Her next attacker came soon, and fell quicker than her first, but Istima sustained a slash across the chest from the orc's ax. Ella was gradually finding handling the reins and sword at once easier, and she chose her next opponent. She decided on one who was harassing one of Théoden's men, and dispatched of it speedily. Ella felt Istima becoming more sluggish beneath her, and hoped the combat would end soon. Her wish was granted, as she looked around she saw that the few remaining wargs had fled. Even though the battle felt like a few short minutes, Ella realized how long it had lasted as the adrenaline drained from her blood and she looked at the lower sun. Her heart wrenched as she saw the number of causalities, all bloody and tattered with agonized expressions on their still faces. With considerable relief, she noticed that Legolas was fine, but out of arrows. Théoden and Gimli had also come through unscathed. Ella was relieved until she looked for Aragorn and couldn't find him. Ella trotted a weary Istima over to Legolas.
"Where's Aragorn?" she asked.
"He fell over the edge of the cliff with a warg," Legolas replied tonelessly, and pointed to a jut of rock that extended a couple of feet before abruptly stopping. Ella despondently dismounted and leaned on her horse. Istima, sensing her mistress' downtrodden spirits, butted her shoulder until Ella would pet her. Legolas also dismounted, and gathered his arrows from the orc bodies. Ella wiped her blade clean on a fallen orc and sheathed it. Then she headed to the people, asking if any of them had a shovel. A wizened old man handed her his stout one, his eyes emotionless as he asked, "Many fallen?" Ella nodded and trudged back to the battlefield. A young boy had offered to take Istima and care for her, so Ella was alone. The orcs and wargs were already piled up to be burned, but the men deserved a better burial. Others with shovels had already started scraping away at the ground, and Ella joined them. The ground wasn't especially soft, and the work was tiring. Legolas came up the hill and saw Ella knee deep in the ground. She wiped sweat beads from her forehead and happened to glance up, catching sight of him. Searching his face, she knew that the search for Aragorn had yielded no result, but she still wanted to know the details.
"We scouted around the embankment. We found the warg body, but there wasn't a single sign that Aragorn stepped out of the river alive." Legolas said in a tightly controlled voice. Gandalf would be able to come up with something enormously wise and consoling, but Ella found she could not.
"He died defending something he loved and believed in. I know that is of little consolation to you as it is to me, but it's what I keep telling myself," she said, even to her ears sounding like platitudes strung together. She picked up the shovel again and continued to scrape away at the parched earth.
"You are tired," Legolas said, "You shouldn't be doing this."
"It's fine," Ella said, tossing another shovel's worth of dirt out of her growing ditch. But Legolas took the shovel from her hands and banished her from the grave. Ella took the forcible hint and instead went to find water, bringing back a hollowed gourd for the elf.
"You don't understand," Legolas said, "Resting after battle is normal. I suggest you get some."
"There's still work I can do," Ella responded.
"No one doubts your ability."
"I do," Ella said, and fervently added, "If only I had more power, I could do so much more! But anyway, Théoden has gone to try and catch up with his people to offer them the protection of his remaining men. We will have to catch up with him. I just hope the boy who cared for Istima tied her up somewhere close. I don't relish the idea of another day racing across the plains." Ella remembered who had motivated them to push themselves to near exhaustion and fell silent. Dispersing the weight of solemnity, Ella grinned and said, "My turn to be gravedigger." Legolas stepped out of the hole and stretched out in a patch of shade. The grave was wide and deep enough for a man, and one was gently laid inside, arms crossed and still gripping his weapon. Ella sadly watched as the dirt was tossed back over him, concealing his body forever. Ella and Legolas traded off, taking turns at the grim task set before them. There were others who remained behind to bury the fallen also, and the task was accomplished quickly.
Luckily for Ella, Istima was tethered close by, watered and groomed. Greeted with a cheerful wicker, Ella swung up on her back. Gimli and Legolas joined her, and riding together they caught up with Théoden and his men.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Théoden will expect an attack on the city. He will flee to Helm's Deep, the great fortress of Rohan. It is a dangerous trip to take through the mountains. But there is one thing that we did not expect," Gríma Wormtongue said to Saruman, "Gandalf has an apprentice, and we do not know the extent of her powers."
"She?" Saruman repeated.
"Yes. She obviously has some power, but if it is considerable, it could misconstrue our plans."
"We cannot allow that to happen, now can we?" Saruman asked, pensively stroking his chin.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The fortress was built of stone, and looked as if it could deflect anything thrown against it; it was the immovable rock in the center of the stream. The horses' hooves clipped sharply on the stone ramp leading up to the giant wooden gates of the fortress lined with ramparts and walkways. The heavy gates swung open before them, so well hinged that they could swing open with little effort. They were greeted with cries of, "Make way for the King!" and people, crowded into every spare corner, shuffled out of the way. They stopped in a courtyard of sorts. Legolas dismounted first and turned to help Ella, his hands lingering a moment too long than necessary, she noticed. Ella looked around, seeing the organized bustle. Everyone had a talk in readying the fortress for war, and were doing it as quickly as possible. Éowyn immediately approached the returning warriors.
"So few! So few of you have returned," she said anxiously.
"Our people are safe," Théoden responded, "Though we have paid for it with many lives."
Ella saw Gimli approach Éowyn out of the corner of her eye as she gathered Istima's reins to lead her off to the stables. A last glance over her shoulder witnessed Éowyn's stricken expression. Ella continued on to the stables, other warriors following her with their horses.
Somehow, the stables weren't dark, despite the lack of windows, but were warmly lighted with lanterns. Each stall was well equipped with hay ands was carved directly into the stone walls. Ella watched and imitated what the others did, first roughly brushing Istima with a hard brush, then polishing her coat to a high luster with a finer brush. Ella led her into the stall, and watched as she eagerly attacked the ration of hay. Ella relaxed and leaned on the half door to the stall, thinking of nothing in particular. She was faintly startled when Legolas came up beside her, and also leaned over the half door.
"I thought I was alone," Ella said.
"Apparently not," Legolas replied. They stood together in silence.
"I am sorry if I seem to try and limit you," he said after a moment, "Like back when we were burying the dead, but I worry about you."
Ella's brows drew together, "Really?" she asked.
"Really," was the answer. He drew imperceptibly closer, but Ella noticed, always aware of his actions. She felt her palms prickle and become hot and sweaty. One of her hands rested on the door to the stable, and was cautiously covered with one of Legolas'. Ella looked into his disconcerting eyes, and slowly reached for his other hand. His blue eyes lost their icy and unfathomable glint, and warmed. His lips curled into a small smile as he drew her closer. Ella's heart beat frantically, flushing her cheeks. Legolas looked down on Ella's upturned face, her cheeks flushed, green eyes bright, and lips inviting. He stroked one of the curly tendrils of her back, his hand resting on her cheek. He touched her lips with his lightly. Ella relished their warm softness, and wrapped her arms around his neck, brushing her lips against his. Legolas kissed her thoroughly and tenderly, their passion mounting as they continued. Ella could have stayed this way forever, but Istima disagreed. She butted each of them with her head, causing both of them to break up, breathing heavily. To Legolas' amusement, Ella glared at her horse with narrowed eyes.
"See if you eat tomorrow!" she threatened. Turning to Legolas, she remembered the last thing he had said to her.
"You don't have to worry about me," she said.
"This coming from the woman who knocked herself unconscious the first time I met her just to prove something," Legolas said pointedly.
"Fine. As long as your worry ends up like this," she said archly, looking at his lips, "I have no problems." She smiled mischievously up into his blue eyes. Legolas strongly resisted the urge to take her into his arms again. Ella saw his eyes light up again and had to restrain herself as well.
"How long have you known?" she asked him instead.
"When I was furious at you in Lothlorien, I missed you so much. When we became friends again, I finally came to realize what I had known all along," he replied.
"Well, at least you don't like me for my looks," Ella said wryly, remembering she had been crying over Gandalf and her face had been blotchy and red.
Gimli stomped into the stables, and looked at the scene in front of him.
"So here's were you've been hiding," he said with a knowing laugh. Ella blushed bright red, the tinge competing with her hair, and even Legolas looked a little discomposed.
"Come on, there's a decent meal waiting!" Gimli called.