They reached Helm's Deep. Dawn vaguely heard a random voice yelling
"Make way for the King!" as Theoden led them into the fortress.
Eowyn was right there as they all dismounted. Her eyes quickly took in the wearied survivors. "So few. So few of you have returned," she breathed to her uncle.
"Our people are safe. We have paid for it with many lives," he told her grimly.
Eowyn's gaze was roving again. "Lord Aragorn? Where is he?"
Gimli stood in front of her, his helmet in his hands. He could barely bring himself to look into the Lady's eyes, much less say the words aloud. His voice was cracking over his words when he finally spoke.
"He fell...."
Eowyn looked to Theoden, who silently nodded his head, confirming her fears. She sank down onto a stack of meal sacks just behind her. She looked around her, uncomprehending.
Dawn's tears had dried by the time Legolas helped her to dismount. He held her waist, lowering her gently from Lightfoot. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she turned and buried her face in the Elf's chest, clinging to him for comfort.
Legolas held her tightly, drawing as much strength and comfort from her as she did from him. At length, they mutually separated with a kiss and refocused on the world around them. The place looked like a refugee camp to Dawn.
Theoden was in command again. "Draw all our forces beyond the wall. Bar the gates and set the watch," he told Gamling, the old soldier who'd held chief control of the Deep.
"Take the women and children into the caves," he told Eowyn.
Eowyn complied, but Dawn saw her eyes flashing. She was a warrior, her heart was on the battlefield. Dawn could see it. Legolas and Gimli watched her rounding up frightened citizens, even picking up a stray orphaned child to lead into the relative safety of the caves.
"She thinks to fight herself," Legolas murmured, his sharp eyes catching the steely glint of the sword Eowyn had concealed at her hip.
Gimli nodded. Dawn could see from the eyes of her two friends that they disapproved of the idea of a Lady such as Eowyn engaging in battle. Still in emotional turmoil over the loss of her Estel, she glared at them angrily.
"Why the hell shouldn't she?" she snapped.
Legolas and Gimli stared at her. Dawn did not back down. "She has a right to defend herself and her people, same as you or I or Theoden!"
They continued to stare until finally Dawn relaxed. "I'm sorry guys, I didn't mean to wig on you. I'm just so tired and confused and upset-" she broke off and shook her head.
"'Tis all right," Legolas murmured, planting a light kiss on her forehead. "It has been an exacting day for all. Perhaps you should try to rest?" he suggested helpfully.
Dawn shook her head. "Don't think I could," she responded. "Anyway, miles to go before I sleep."
"What?" Gimli asked, confused by her strange phrase.
"Oh, it's just a line from a Robert Frost poem that goes:
'/The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep./'
Miles to go before we sleep is kind of a running theme with the Scooby Gang," she told them.
Legolas and Gimli nodded, understanding her. They all ploughed into helping Theoden in any way possible.
* * * * *
"Where is he!?" Gimli growled, pushing through a crowd of people gathering around a dark man on a horse.
Battered and bruised, but very much alive, Aragorn gracelessly dismounted Brego to find himself trapped in the crushing embrace of a Dwarf.
"You are the luckiest, the uncanniest and the most reckless man I ever knew! Bless you, laddie," Gimli exclaimed.
Aragorn disentangled himself from Gimli with some difficulty. "Where is Theoden?" he asked.
Gimli saw the focused look in Aragorn's eyes and gave his answer immediately. Aragorn strode away.
Someone stood directly in his path. Aragorn almost walked into the figure before looking up to see who it was.
"Lle ab-dollen," Legolas told him with a relieved smirk. "You look terrible." /You're late/
He handed the Evenstar pendant back to his friend.
"Hannon lle," Aragorn said, clasping Legolas' shoulder warmly. /Thank you/
Neither of them noticed Eowyn a little ways off to one side, watching them. An extraordinary expression was fleeting across her face. The strangest mixture of joy and heartbreak, as she saw that Aragorn was alive, but she understood the significance of the jewel he'd just reclaimed for his own.
To the other side, Dawn saw Eowyn's face briefly and was sorry for her friend's pain. She forgot it momentarily though, like she forgot everything else in the world as she squealed and crashed into Aragorn's waiting arms.
He didn't even flinch when she knocked the open wound on his arm in her haste. "I knew you'd come, Estel!" she cried.
She pulled back and looked at him. "You look like crap!"
Legolas laughed. "I told you so, my friend."
Aragorn just rolled his eyes at them.
* * * * *
"An army you say?" Theoden was pacing around a private chamber deep in the fortress.
As soon as he'd arrived, Aragorn had gone straight to the King to break the news of what he'd seen on his journey back to his friends. He sat in a chair, smoking a pipe he held with his left hand. Dawn was cleaning and bandaging the ugly wound across his right biceps. Across from them sat Gimli, and Legolas and Eowyn stood just beyond Aragorn and Dawn.
Aragorn's eyes were dull with his worry. "Ten thousand strong," he told them.
Dawn looked up from her work to stare at him as he said this. Ten thousand? She gulped and forced herself to finish bandaging Aragorn's arm as he spoke.
"It is an army bred for a single purpose- to destroy the world of men. They will be here by nightfall."
"Let them come," Theoden snarled.
Aragorn, having been released from Dawn's care, stood and looked around the room, his eyes resting on each of them in turn. He looked at the calm face of Dawn, who in such a short time had become as dear as a younger sister to him. She was worried, he could tell. But she was not afraid. His eyes rested on Gimli and Legolas only briefly- they were both composed and prepared. True warriors. He looked at Theoden, tired and in despair. But still in control. He would lead his people until the end. Almost as an afterthought, Aragorn turned to look at Eowyn. He met her eyes for half a second, then dropped them immediately, more disturbed by the look in the Lady's eyes than anything. Her gaze had been hard and cold, and hungry. Eowyn was thirsting for a battle which she would never be allowed to take part in.
Time was pressing. Theoden began to give out orders for a makeshift armoury, and plan and strategise his meagre forces. He had to resort to calling on every stong lad able to bear arms. Some were no more than children. Dawn was horrified when a boy of no more than twelve years stood to claim a sword, but she quickly schooled her face to remain focused and unemotional. It wouldn't do anyone any good to weaken now. She was so caught up in her work that she didn't notice the two pairs of eyes that followed her every move- grey and blue. Legolas and Aragorn were watching Dawn as they held a furious conversation about her fate. Finally, they seemed to reach an agreement and started towards her.
She felt herself drawn to the side by Aragorn and Legolas. They led her into a secluded corner, shielded by the overhang of stone stairs.
When they were alone, she turned her trusting gaze towards them. "What's up guys?"
Aragorn and Legolas looked at each other, then at her. "Do you plan to fight in this battle, Dawn?" Legolas asked.
"Of course I do!" she replied, confused. "Do you?"
The puzzled look in both the Elf's and the Man's eyes told her they had never even considered the possibility that thay wouldn't fight, it wasn't a possibility to them. They ignored her question.
"The odds are against us," Aragorn told her. "Though hope yet remains, it is possible, likely even that Helm's Deep will fall, and all Rohan will be massacred."
"Uh-huh," Dawn said slowly. "Hence the battling. Look, guys, I know you're worried about me. But if what you're saying is true, I'd be no safer in the caves than I would on the wall. Besides, I don't do hiding. I was sent here to fight, so I'm gonna kick some ass."
"You could die," Legolas said softly, his anxiety for Dawn's welfare colouring his tones.
"If I'm goin' to hell, I'm taking as many of those things with me," she said matter-of-factly, before softening her voice. "So could you," she said, returning Legolas' last remark with the same tone.
The three of them exchanged dire grins. Dawn moved to go back to her work, but they stopped her. "Wait, Dawn," Legolas held her arm.
"Yeah?"
A long silence ensued.
"Uh, hello? Clock's ticking, guys."
Legolas finally smiled at her, a strange expression clouding his blue eyes. "I have something for you- it will help you through the battle."
"Oooh- a present!" Dawn squealed with childish delight. "What is it?"
Legolas produced a small vial of liquid and pressed it into her hand. "Drink this now. It will set to work within the hour and should last the night, if our luck will hold."
"Y'know, my mom always said I wasn't allowed to accept strange drinks. Could be anything in it," she told them with mock seriousness. "What's it do?"
Legolas gave her an odd smile. "It will protect you, Dawn."
"Neato," she said, presuming it was a Middle-Earth version of a protection spell. "Thanks."
They watched as she downed the contents of the vial, handing it back to Legolas before she threw herself back into the task at hand. Legolas and Aragorn stayed close enough to keep an eye on her.
Twenty minutes later, Dawn felt herself beginning to tire. She tried to shake herself out of it, mumbling, "Miles to go before I sleep." She continued in her task, not considering for a second that her declining strength could at all be related to the potion Legolas and Aragorn had given her. Legolas was her lover and Aragorn was the closest thing she had to a brother, closer than Xander had ever been to fraternal with her, even. They had said it would help her and she wholeheartedly trusted them.
The Elf and the Man exchanged another glance.
Forty five minutes after drinking the potion, Dawn was practically out on her feet. She stood, swaying on shaky legs and blinking to try and clear her blurry vision. Two familiar faces swam into her murky view. A hand came up over her eyes.
"Lanta kaima," she heard Legolas' voice whisper.
As Dawn collapsed, Aragorn caught her. With Legolas in tow, he carried her into the caves.
* * * * *
Eowyn paced angrily about the entry to the caves. She had reasoned with her uncle to let her fight. She had argued with her uncle to let her fight. She had even pleaded with her uncle to let her fight. But here she was, stuck in the caves with the helpless people. A prize to be claimed by the victors of the battle.
There was nothing to do but wait, and Eowyn knew this would be the longest night of her short life. Perhaps the last, but she did not care about that. She feared neither death nor pain, they would be a welcome release from the guilded cage she lived within. The entry to the caves, the door of the last chamber in the Deep, would be blocked soon. She would be trapped. Again.
The door banged open, and in came Aragorn and Legolas. In Aragorn's arms was the unconscious form of Dawn. Eowyn rushed to them.
"What happened?" she asked, concerned.
There was no other space left, so Aragorn laid Dawn on the table as Legolas turned to Eowyn. "She is not unwell, just asleep. She may not wake for hours, though," he said evenly.
Eowyn narrowed her eyes at them. What did he mean? What had they done?
Suddenly she understood and gasped. "You gave her a draught!"
"A sleeping draught, yes milady. A strong one," Aragorn told her.
Eowyn was speechless with rage on Dawn's behalf. She stared at them, openmouthed, fury radiating from her eyes and staining her pale cheeks with crimson. They shifted uncomfortably under her stare.
"We must return to the wall," Aragorn said stiffly. They left.
Eowyn turned to Dawn and smoothed the hair out of her friend's face. Her one comfort had been to know that while she was trapped, Dawn had promised to "kick some serious Uruk-Hai ass" on Eowyn's behalf. Now Dawn had been betrayed by her own, she was just as trapped and helpless as Eowyn.
* * * * *
A/N: 'lanta kaima' is an elvish spell for sleep, or so the Grey Company says. R&R ~Anoron
Eowyn was right there as they all dismounted. Her eyes quickly took in the wearied survivors. "So few. So few of you have returned," she breathed to her uncle.
"Our people are safe. We have paid for it with many lives," he told her grimly.
Eowyn's gaze was roving again. "Lord Aragorn? Where is he?"
Gimli stood in front of her, his helmet in his hands. He could barely bring himself to look into the Lady's eyes, much less say the words aloud. His voice was cracking over his words when he finally spoke.
"He fell...."
Eowyn looked to Theoden, who silently nodded his head, confirming her fears. She sank down onto a stack of meal sacks just behind her. She looked around her, uncomprehending.
Dawn's tears had dried by the time Legolas helped her to dismount. He held her waist, lowering her gently from Lightfoot. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she turned and buried her face in the Elf's chest, clinging to him for comfort.
Legolas held her tightly, drawing as much strength and comfort from her as she did from him. At length, they mutually separated with a kiss and refocused on the world around them. The place looked like a refugee camp to Dawn.
Theoden was in command again. "Draw all our forces beyond the wall. Bar the gates and set the watch," he told Gamling, the old soldier who'd held chief control of the Deep.
"Take the women and children into the caves," he told Eowyn.
Eowyn complied, but Dawn saw her eyes flashing. She was a warrior, her heart was on the battlefield. Dawn could see it. Legolas and Gimli watched her rounding up frightened citizens, even picking up a stray orphaned child to lead into the relative safety of the caves.
"She thinks to fight herself," Legolas murmured, his sharp eyes catching the steely glint of the sword Eowyn had concealed at her hip.
Gimli nodded. Dawn could see from the eyes of her two friends that they disapproved of the idea of a Lady such as Eowyn engaging in battle. Still in emotional turmoil over the loss of her Estel, she glared at them angrily.
"Why the hell shouldn't she?" she snapped.
Legolas and Gimli stared at her. Dawn did not back down. "She has a right to defend herself and her people, same as you or I or Theoden!"
They continued to stare until finally Dawn relaxed. "I'm sorry guys, I didn't mean to wig on you. I'm just so tired and confused and upset-" she broke off and shook her head.
"'Tis all right," Legolas murmured, planting a light kiss on her forehead. "It has been an exacting day for all. Perhaps you should try to rest?" he suggested helpfully.
Dawn shook her head. "Don't think I could," she responded. "Anyway, miles to go before I sleep."
"What?" Gimli asked, confused by her strange phrase.
"Oh, it's just a line from a Robert Frost poem that goes:
'/The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep./'
Miles to go before we sleep is kind of a running theme with the Scooby Gang," she told them.
Legolas and Gimli nodded, understanding her. They all ploughed into helping Theoden in any way possible.
* * * * *
"Where is he!?" Gimli growled, pushing through a crowd of people gathering around a dark man on a horse.
Battered and bruised, but very much alive, Aragorn gracelessly dismounted Brego to find himself trapped in the crushing embrace of a Dwarf.
"You are the luckiest, the uncanniest and the most reckless man I ever knew! Bless you, laddie," Gimli exclaimed.
Aragorn disentangled himself from Gimli with some difficulty. "Where is Theoden?" he asked.
Gimli saw the focused look in Aragorn's eyes and gave his answer immediately. Aragorn strode away.
Someone stood directly in his path. Aragorn almost walked into the figure before looking up to see who it was.
"Lle ab-dollen," Legolas told him with a relieved smirk. "You look terrible." /You're late/
He handed the Evenstar pendant back to his friend.
"Hannon lle," Aragorn said, clasping Legolas' shoulder warmly. /Thank you/
Neither of them noticed Eowyn a little ways off to one side, watching them. An extraordinary expression was fleeting across her face. The strangest mixture of joy and heartbreak, as she saw that Aragorn was alive, but she understood the significance of the jewel he'd just reclaimed for his own.
To the other side, Dawn saw Eowyn's face briefly and was sorry for her friend's pain. She forgot it momentarily though, like she forgot everything else in the world as she squealed and crashed into Aragorn's waiting arms.
He didn't even flinch when she knocked the open wound on his arm in her haste. "I knew you'd come, Estel!" she cried.
She pulled back and looked at him. "You look like crap!"
Legolas laughed. "I told you so, my friend."
Aragorn just rolled his eyes at them.
* * * * *
"An army you say?" Theoden was pacing around a private chamber deep in the fortress.
As soon as he'd arrived, Aragorn had gone straight to the King to break the news of what he'd seen on his journey back to his friends. He sat in a chair, smoking a pipe he held with his left hand. Dawn was cleaning and bandaging the ugly wound across his right biceps. Across from them sat Gimli, and Legolas and Eowyn stood just beyond Aragorn and Dawn.
Aragorn's eyes were dull with his worry. "Ten thousand strong," he told them.
Dawn looked up from her work to stare at him as he said this. Ten thousand? She gulped and forced herself to finish bandaging Aragorn's arm as he spoke.
"It is an army bred for a single purpose- to destroy the world of men. They will be here by nightfall."
"Let them come," Theoden snarled.
Aragorn, having been released from Dawn's care, stood and looked around the room, his eyes resting on each of them in turn. He looked at the calm face of Dawn, who in such a short time had become as dear as a younger sister to him. She was worried, he could tell. But she was not afraid. His eyes rested on Gimli and Legolas only briefly- they were both composed and prepared. True warriors. He looked at Theoden, tired and in despair. But still in control. He would lead his people until the end. Almost as an afterthought, Aragorn turned to look at Eowyn. He met her eyes for half a second, then dropped them immediately, more disturbed by the look in the Lady's eyes than anything. Her gaze had been hard and cold, and hungry. Eowyn was thirsting for a battle which she would never be allowed to take part in.
Time was pressing. Theoden began to give out orders for a makeshift armoury, and plan and strategise his meagre forces. He had to resort to calling on every stong lad able to bear arms. Some were no more than children. Dawn was horrified when a boy of no more than twelve years stood to claim a sword, but she quickly schooled her face to remain focused and unemotional. It wouldn't do anyone any good to weaken now. She was so caught up in her work that she didn't notice the two pairs of eyes that followed her every move- grey and blue. Legolas and Aragorn were watching Dawn as they held a furious conversation about her fate. Finally, they seemed to reach an agreement and started towards her.
She felt herself drawn to the side by Aragorn and Legolas. They led her into a secluded corner, shielded by the overhang of stone stairs.
When they were alone, she turned her trusting gaze towards them. "What's up guys?"
Aragorn and Legolas looked at each other, then at her. "Do you plan to fight in this battle, Dawn?" Legolas asked.
"Of course I do!" she replied, confused. "Do you?"
The puzzled look in both the Elf's and the Man's eyes told her they had never even considered the possibility that thay wouldn't fight, it wasn't a possibility to them. They ignored her question.
"The odds are against us," Aragorn told her. "Though hope yet remains, it is possible, likely even that Helm's Deep will fall, and all Rohan will be massacred."
"Uh-huh," Dawn said slowly. "Hence the battling. Look, guys, I know you're worried about me. But if what you're saying is true, I'd be no safer in the caves than I would on the wall. Besides, I don't do hiding. I was sent here to fight, so I'm gonna kick some ass."
"You could die," Legolas said softly, his anxiety for Dawn's welfare colouring his tones.
"If I'm goin' to hell, I'm taking as many of those things with me," she said matter-of-factly, before softening her voice. "So could you," she said, returning Legolas' last remark with the same tone.
The three of them exchanged dire grins. Dawn moved to go back to her work, but they stopped her. "Wait, Dawn," Legolas held her arm.
"Yeah?"
A long silence ensued.
"Uh, hello? Clock's ticking, guys."
Legolas finally smiled at her, a strange expression clouding his blue eyes. "I have something for you- it will help you through the battle."
"Oooh- a present!" Dawn squealed with childish delight. "What is it?"
Legolas produced a small vial of liquid and pressed it into her hand. "Drink this now. It will set to work within the hour and should last the night, if our luck will hold."
"Y'know, my mom always said I wasn't allowed to accept strange drinks. Could be anything in it," she told them with mock seriousness. "What's it do?"
Legolas gave her an odd smile. "It will protect you, Dawn."
"Neato," she said, presuming it was a Middle-Earth version of a protection spell. "Thanks."
They watched as she downed the contents of the vial, handing it back to Legolas before she threw herself back into the task at hand. Legolas and Aragorn stayed close enough to keep an eye on her.
Twenty minutes later, Dawn felt herself beginning to tire. She tried to shake herself out of it, mumbling, "Miles to go before I sleep." She continued in her task, not considering for a second that her declining strength could at all be related to the potion Legolas and Aragorn had given her. Legolas was her lover and Aragorn was the closest thing she had to a brother, closer than Xander had ever been to fraternal with her, even. They had said it would help her and she wholeheartedly trusted them.
The Elf and the Man exchanged another glance.
Forty five minutes after drinking the potion, Dawn was practically out on her feet. She stood, swaying on shaky legs and blinking to try and clear her blurry vision. Two familiar faces swam into her murky view. A hand came up over her eyes.
"Lanta kaima," she heard Legolas' voice whisper.
As Dawn collapsed, Aragorn caught her. With Legolas in tow, he carried her into the caves.
* * * * *
Eowyn paced angrily about the entry to the caves. She had reasoned with her uncle to let her fight. She had argued with her uncle to let her fight. She had even pleaded with her uncle to let her fight. But here she was, stuck in the caves with the helpless people. A prize to be claimed by the victors of the battle.
There was nothing to do but wait, and Eowyn knew this would be the longest night of her short life. Perhaps the last, but she did not care about that. She feared neither death nor pain, they would be a welcome release from the guilded cage she lived within. The entry to the caves, the door of the last chamber in the Deep, would be blocked soon. She would be trapped. Again.
The door banged open, and in came Aragorn and Legolas. In Aragorn's arms was the unconscious form of Dawn. Eowyn rushed to them.
"What happened?" she asked, concerned.
There was no other space left, so Aragorn laid Dawn on the table as Legolas turned to Eowyn. "She is not unwell, just asleep. She may not wake for hours, though," he said evenly.
Eowyn narrowed her eyes at them. What did he mean? What had they done?
Suddenly she understood and gasped. "You gave her a draught!"
"A sleeping draught, yes milady. A strong one," Aragorn told her.
Eowyn was speechless with rage on Dawn's behalf. She stared at them, openmouthed, fury radiating from her eyes and staining her pale cheeks with crimson. They shifted uncomfortably under her stare.
"We must return to the wall," Aragorn said stiffly. They left.
Eowyn turned to Dawn and smoothed the hair out of her friend's face. Her one comfort had been to know that while she was trapped, Dawn had promised to "kick some serious Uruk-Hai ass" on Eowyn's behalf. Now Dawn had been betrayed by her own, she was just as trapped and helpless as Eowyn.
* * * * *
A/N: 'lanta kaima' is an elvish spell for sleep, or so the Grey Company says. R&R ~Anoron