Disclaimer: I don't own it. . .but I really wish I did. . .
Cat Eyes: Thanks! Your story is really great, by the way, no matter what nasty reviewers say. To stand up to them and write something like that /is/ a point of pride.
Smeagol: I think it's actually spelled ominous, but maybe that's another **shudder** vocab word. If I do my job well, perhaps you will pity him, perhaps you will not. Perhaps you shall cry, but I doubt it. Anyway, thanks for reviewing, I really appreciate it **hint, hint** and here's another, but not much longer, chapter.
DreamCatcher: Thanks, Shield Maiden. As for the child's perspective, well, that's what you get with an immature writer, isn't it?
Emmithar: Thanks for giving me the right to just go ahead, it was really just a matter of time before one of us took up the lead (unfortunately it was me, for yours would have been far better). You hurt your nose, also? Ohh, a knee, ouch. That's probably worse than mine, which was a fist. Hope you're feeling better! It is ironic, much as Elijah Wood says in the movie (something about "I always dreamed I was off with you, off on one of your adventures. . .my own adventure turned out to be quite different.") but it is a common irony, almost like how many little girls dream of being princesses, yet when you learn about them (just think Mary Tudor and Elizabeth Tudor). Anyway, thanks for reviewing and good luck with yours, as well. (by the way, I reviewed you and Carrie's story but I had to use a different pen name, so "IllegalSmugglers" is actually me. Smeagol and I share that name.)
*****
"Helm's Deep! Helm's Deep!" The cries could almost pass for jubilant, so relieved were the people of Edoras. Haleth, who had not been looking ahead but at the ground before him, now did look before him, and the sight that met him he would not soon forget. It was a fortress, Helm's Deep, all Haleth could see was a huge stone wall, so impenetrable the strongest of orcs could not get in. Set in the wall were two wooden doors, led up to by a ramp of stone. As he watched, the doors opened, and the people of the city began pouring in. Even Laina smiled, and shepherded Haleth along quickly. Somehow the child sensed that once inside the wall, they would be safe.
"No one can reach us now, mama. We're safe in here," Haleth assured her, but Laina still seemed nervous. Haleth's confidence faltered. "Aren't we? Aren't we safe here, mama?"
"We will never be safer than we are here," Laina replied, and her took this as truth and was comforted. Together with Joshul and his mama, they found a place to call their own, and they sat down for a much-needed rest. Haleth chewed slowly on a piece of bread, unsure. He was unsure of how long they would be there, unsure of how his father fared, unsure of how Aioch and Cofen were. Beside him, Joshul had fallen asleep, and now he leaned against Haleth's shoulder. Haleth did not mind this overly much, but when he finally finished his bread he shook Joshul awake.
"What was that for?" Joshul asked.
"Let's have a look around," Haleth said, standing and offering a hand to Joshul, who took it. Haleth scouted the area, looking for someone to tell where they would be. "Mama," Haleth said, "Joshul and I are going to go exploring."
"All right, but stay together and keep out of trouble," Laina requested.
"We will, Mama," Haleth promised, then turning to his friend, "let's go, Joshul." Joshul slipped his hand into Haleth's, partially from fear of getting lost in a new place, and partially so they would not be separated. Haleth took this, also, in stride, not embarrassed to have Joshul hanging onto him, although the reason he had asked Joshul to accompany him was simply that he knew his mother would allow them together, but not alone, to scout out the area.
It did not take long for Haleth and Joshul to see the areas they were allowed in, staying outside almost as a rule. Haleth thought they might be able to slip into some areas restricted to them, but Joshul refused stubbornly, pulling at Haleth's hand. Luckily, before his patience wore too thin, Haleth was spotted by someone known to him. "Haleth! Haleth, Joshul!" Aioch called their names. They stopped and he ran up to them, clearly relieved. Had they been girls they might have hugged, but boys did /not/ do things like that.
"How now, Aioch?" Joshul asked. "Are you all right?"
"I am, thank you, and you both are well?" Aioch replied in necessary formality, then he looked around and pulled them over to a rather empty corner for some privacy. "After you left, Cofen and I argued briefly about what to do. He wanted to stay and watch the battle, I wanted to find someone I knew and leave." Aioch had no mama, so for him it was a matter of finding a neighbor or a friend, a grown-up friend. "Haleth, please have you seen him? I stormed away, and I fear he may have. . .he might have stayed at the battle, Haleth."
"I'm sorry, Aioch. I have not seen him. Come with Joshul and I, we are exploring," he offered, in part to comfort his friend but also because with two of them they would surely manage to get Joshul into the restricted areas.
"Thank you, I will," Aioch said, and went off with them. The first thing Haleth did was suggest they sneak into the space off to the west and a bit, where the guards kept them out. "No, Haleth," Aioch said. Haleth was furious. Aioch was there to agree with him, not with Joshul! Aioch, seeing the fury, suggested, "Let us climb up onto the wall yonder, where we might watch what happens."
"Yes, yes! That is a good idea, Aioch. Please can we, Haleth? Please?" It was a bit younger than his age for Joshul to whine like that, but with his dishwater blonde hair and big grey eyes he was irresistable. Haleth nodded, and they three dashed up the steps. Haleth's chin just came up to the indentation in the wall, and he rested it snugly on the cold stone. Aioch beside him had perhaps two inches' height advantage. Haleth was gazing at the hazy figures moving towards them, wondering if they were enemies, when he heard a cry. "What is it? What's happening?" much as he jumped, on his feet Joshul came up only high enough that half his eyes were above the rim of the wall.
"Here, Joshul," Aioch said, lifting the smaller boy so he could see.
"Our riders!" Joshul cried. The figures had come into view now, clearly and defined. Led by King Theoden, the riders approached. The city doors swung open for them, and Aioch, Haleth, and Joshul spread themselves flat on the ground, gazing down at the riders. First came King Theoden, close beside an Elf and a Dwarf, then the rest of their people.
"He's missing," Aioch said almost sadly, but not a tone as if to suggest something very close and personal.
"Who is?" Haleth asked. It was unlikely that Aioch meant someone he knew, as he had very few relatives and was often passed between them, not feeling any kinship to any of them.
"Oh, no one," Aioch muttered, "just one rider. . .I had been watching him. He rode with King Theoden."
"If it's no one, why do you mind that he is not here?" Joshul's question was accompanied by a great banging as the doors closed, and the ground beneath the three shook slightly.
"Well, I suppose I had admired him a little. . .he sat as though he had nothing to be ashamed of," Aioch mused. "But now I see how few of our men have returned from this fray." Haleth nodded gravely to his friend's words, but did not speak of what he had seen: one man, walking in, carried the body of a small child. There were many cries of women and children as they saw the men returning, and found among them brothers, fathers, and husbands.
"We should go back now," Joshul said, and there was no time to protest as one of the guards had noticed them and told them in as kindly a manner as possible to "scurry on down to their mothers".
*****
"Haleth," someone was whispering. Haleth rolled over to face them, opening his groggy eyes. Stars shone down on them from the smooth sky above. Above him knelt Aioch, tears streaking down his cheeks. "Haleth," he swallowed with the word, "Cofen was killed. This is all my fault, Haleth, I was there, I should have told him. . .should have made him come with me."
"No, no, Aioch, it is not your fault," Haleth assured his friend, sitting up. He had seen the body, and had been prepared, at first, for this news, but he had not honestly expected it to come. Now that it did he was in shock. It had always been the four of them, friends forever, a tribe of their own. Now one was missing. . ."None of us could ever control Cofen when he had something in mind, he never listened. Do not blame yourself."
"But Haleth. . .he isn't coming back," Aioch whispered. Haleth did something then that he had never before done: he hugged his friend. Rocking Aioch back and forth gently, Haleth cried with him, pressing his face into his friend's hair. There was movement beside them; someone stirred.
"Haleth? Aioch, is that you?" A sleepy, childish voice inquired from the darkness.
Haleth looked up from Aioch's head, wiping his nose on the back of his hand, and whispered gently, "Go back to sleep, Joshul." Joshul did not listen.
"It's Cofen, isn't it?" he asked, in his child's way already knowing. Haleth nodded. His mama had been right, trouble was brewing, and this might not be the last time they felt a loss. He would have to look after Joshul, and Aioch as well. Though older, Aioch had been shaken up by Cofen's death far more than the others, and being on his own he had no one else to hold him and tell him it was all right. Haleth held out an arm, and Joshul scrambled into it.
All was quiet in the fortress. The guards stood their watch in peace, and men, women, and children slept. No one noticed three small boys, clinging to each other, in tears, swaying gently as if with the wind. And the stars shone down on them.
Cat Eyes: Thanks! Your story is really great, by the way, no matter what nasty reviewers say. To stand up to them and write something like that /is/ a point of pride.
Smeagol: I think it's actually spelled ominous, but maybe that's another **shudder** vocab word. If I do my job well, perhaps you will pity him, perhaps you will not. Perhaps you shall cry, but I doubt it. Anyway, thanks for reviewing, I really appreciate it **hint, hint** and here's another, but not much longer, chapter.
DreamCatcher: Thanks, Shield Maiden. As for the child's perspective, well, that's what you get with an immature writer, isn't it?
Emmithar: Thanks for giving me the right to just go ahead, it was really just a matter of time before one of us took up the lead (unfortunately it was me, for yours would have been far better). You hurt your nose, also? Ohh, a knee, ouch. That's probably worse than mine, which was a fist. Hope you're feeling better! It is ironic, much as Elijah Wood says in the movie (something about "I always dreamed I was off with you, off on one of your adventures. . .my own adventure turned out to be quite different.") but it is a common irony, almost like how many little girls dream of being princesses, yet when you learn about them (just think Mary Tudor and Elizabeth Tudor). Anyway, thanks for reviewing and good luck with yours, as well. (by the way, I reviewed you and Carrie's story but I had to use a different pen name, so "IllegalSmugglers" is actually me. Smeagol and I share that name.)
*****
"Helm's Deep! Helm's Deep!" The cries could almost pass for jubilant, so relieved were the people of Edoras. Haleth, who had not been looking ahead but at the ground before him, now did look before him, and the sight that met him he would not soon forget. It was a fortress, Helm's Deep, all Haleth could see was a huge stone wall, so impenetrable the strongest of orcs could not get in. Set in the wall were two wooden doors, led up to by a ramp of stone. As he watched, the doors opened, and the people of the city began pouring in. Even Laina smiled, and shepherded Haleth along quickly. Somehow the child sensed that once inside the wall, they would be safe.
"No one can reach us now, mama. We're safe in here," Haleth assured her, but Laina still seemed nervous. Haleth's confidence faltered. "Aren't we? Aren't we safe here, mama?"
"We will never be safer than we are here," Laina replied, and her took this as truth and was comforted. Together with Joshul and his mama, they found a place to call their own, and they sat down for a much-needed rest. Haleth chewed slowly on a piece of bread, unsure. He was unsure of how long they would be there, unsure of how his father fared, unsure of how Aioch and Cofen were. Beside him, Joshul had fallen asleep, and now he leaned against Haleth's shoulder. Haleth did not mind this overly much, but when he finally finished his bread he shook Joshul awake.
"What was that for?" Joshul asked.
"Let's have a look around," Haleth said, standing and offering a hand to Joshul, who took it. Haleth scouted the area, looking for someone to tell where they would be. "Mama," Haleth said, "Joshul and I are going to go exploring."
"All right, but stay together and keep out of trouble," Laina requested.
"We will, Mama," Haleth promised, then turning to his friend, "let's go, Joshul." Joshul slipped his hand into Haleth's, partially from fear of getting lost in a new place, and partially so they would not be separated. Haleth took this, also, in stride, not embarrassed to have Joshul hanging onto him, although the reason he had asked Joshul to accompany him was simply that he knew his mother would allow them together, but not alone, to scout out the area.
It did not take long for Haleth and Joshul to see the areas they were allowed in, staying outside almost as a rule. Haleth thought they might be able to slip into some areas restricted to them, but Joshul refused stubbornly, pulling at Haleth's hand. Luckily, before his patience wore too thin, Haleth was spotted by someone known to him. "Haleth! Haleth, Joshul!" Aioch called their names. They stopped and he ran up to them, clearly relieved. Had they been girls they might have hugged, but boys did /not/ do things like that.
"How now, Aioch?" Joshul asked. "Are you all right?"
"I am, thank you, and you both are well?" Aioch replied in necessary formality, then he looked around and pulled them over to a rather empty corner for some privacy. "After you left, Cofen and I argued briefly about what to do. He wanted to stay and watch the battle, I wanted to find someone I knew and leave." Aioch had no mama, so for him it was a matter of finding a neighbor or a friend, a grown-up friend. "Haleth, please have you seen him? I stormed away, and I fear he may have. . .he might have stayed at the battle, Haleth."
"I'm sorry, Aioch. I have not seen him. Come with Joshul and I, we are exploring," he offered, in part to comfort his friend but also because with two of them they would surely manage to get Joshul into the restricted areas.
"Thank you, I will," Aioch said, and went off with them. The first thing Haleth did was suggest they sneak into the space off to the west and a bit, where the guards kept them out. "No, Haleth," Aioch said. Haleth was furious. Aioch was there to agree with him, not with Joshul! Aioch, seeing the fury, suggested, "Let us climb up onto the wall yonder, where we might watch what happens."
"Yes, yes! That is a good idea, Aioch. Please can we, Haleth? Please?" It was a bit younger than his age for Joshul to whine like that, but with his dishwater blonde hair and big grey eyes he was irresistable. Haleth nodded, and they three dashed up the steps. Haleth's chin just came up to the indentation in the wall, and he rested it snugly on the cold stone. Aioch beside him had perhaps two inches' height advantage. Haleth was gazing at the hazy figures moving towards them, wondering if they were enemies, when he heard a cry. "What is it? What's happening?" much as he jumped, on his feet Joshul came up only high enough that half his eyes were above the rim of the wall.
"Here, Joshul," Aioch said, lifting the smaller boy so he could see.
"Our riders!" Joshul cried. The figures had come into view now, clearly and defined. Led by King Theoden, the riders approached. The city doors swung open for them, and Aioch, Haleth, and Joshul spread themselves flat on the ground, gazing down at the riders. First came King Theoden, close beside an Elf and a Dwarf, then the rest of their people.
"He's missing," Aioch said almost sadly, but not a tone as if to suggest something very close and personal.
"Who is?" Haleth asked. It was unlikely that Aioch meant someone he knew, as he had very few relatives and was often passed between them, not feeling any kinship to any of them.
"Oh, no one," Aioch muttered, "just one rider. . .I had been watching him. He rode with King Theoden."
"If it's no one, why do you mind that he is not here?" Joshul's question was accompanied by a great banging as the doors closed, and the ground beneath the three shook slightly.
"Well, I suppose I had admired him a little. . .he sat as though he had nothing to be ashamed of," Aioch mused. "But now I see how few of our men have returned from this fray." Haleth nodded gravely to his friend's words, but did not speak of what he had seen: one man, walking in, carried the body of a small child. There were many cries of women and children as they saw the men returning, and found among them brothers, fathers, and husbands.
"We should go back now," Joshul said, and there was no time to protest as one of the guards had noticed them and told them in as kindly a manner as possible to "scurry on down to their mothers".
*****
"Haleth," someone was whispering. Haleth rolled over to face them, opening his groggy eyes. Stars shone down on them from the smooth sky above. Above him knelt Aioch, tears streaking down his cheeks. "Haleth," he swallowed with the word, "Cofen was killed. This is all my fault, Haleth, I was there, I should have told him. . .should have made him come with me."
"No, no, Aioch, it is not your fault," Haleth assured his friend, sitting up. He had seen the body, and had been prepared, at first, for this news, but he had not honestly expected it to come. Now that it did he was in shock. It had always been the four of them, friends forever, a tribe of their own. Now one was missing. . ."None of us could ever control Cofen when he had something in mind, he never listened. Do not blame yourself."
"But Haleth. . .he isn't coming back," Aioch whispered. Haleth did something then that he had never before done: he hugged his friend. Rocking Aioch back and forth gently, Haleth cried with him, pressing his face into his friend's hair. There was movement beside them; someone stirred.
"Haleth? Aioch, is that you?" A sleepy, childish voice inquired from the darkness.
Haleth looked up from Aioch's head, wiping his nose on the back of his hand, and whispered gently, "Go back to sleep, Joshul." Joshul did not listen.
"It's Cofen, isn't it?" he asked, in his child's way already knowing. Haleth nodded. His mama had been right, trouble was brewing, and this might not be the last time they felt a loss. He would have to look after Joshul, and Aioch as well. Though older, Aioch had been shaken up by Cofen's death far more than the others, and being on his own he had no one else to hold him and tell him it was all right. Haleth held out an arm, and Joshul scrambled into it.
All was quiet in the fortress. The guards stood their watch in peace, and men, women, and children slept. No one noticed three small boys, clinging to each other, in tears, swaying gently as if with the wind. And the stars shone down on them.
