Legolas and Aragorn returned to the wall and took their places beside
Gimli. Saruman's army was quickly approaching and it had begun to rain.
"Is it done?" the Dwarf asked.
Legolas nodded. "She is safe for now. We have done our best by her, and I only hope she will forgive us for the pain we've caused to her pride."
"If we ever see her again," Gimli scoffed before turning to Aragorn. "By the luck you live by, let's hope it lasts the night."
"Your friends are with you, Aragorn," Legolas reminded him.
"Let's hope they last the night," Gimli countered. A faint smile passed between the three.
Aragorn ducked off for a last minute conference with Theoden. The attack was only minutes away. At the wall, Gimli was jumping up and down on the spot, trying to see over the high stretch of wall he found himself stuck behind.
"Ugh- you could've picked a better spot," he grumbled to Legolas.
The Elf smirked.
"What's happening out there!?"
"Shall I describe it to you, or would you like me to find you a box?" Legolas returned amiably to the Dwarf beside him.
Gimli shot him a glance and laughed good naturedly. They were both now relaxed and prepared for the battle which was upon them.
Ten thousand Uruk-Hai warriors stood just metres from the wall. At Aragorn's command, all archers had fitted arrows into their bows. The strings were taut, aim was taken. Only one word from Aragorn remained between them and the first strike of the battle.
Gamling's wrist shook. He tried to steady himself, but he lost his grip. With a loud whoosh, his arrow was loosed and flying through the air.
"Dartho!" cried Aragorn. /Hold!/
Gamling's arrow had buried itself deep into the neck of a Uruk-Hai in the front line. Both sides watched, holding their breath as one while the creature fell face first to the mud, seemingly in slow motion.
After a pregnant pause, the Uruk-Hai began to roar, shaking their swords at the defenders of the fortress.
Aragorn's voice somehow rose above the din. "A Eruchin U-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha llie faelas! Tangado halad..." /Show them no mercy, for you shall receive none! Prepare to fire.../
Whislt waiting for the cammand to fire, Legolas spoke up. "Faeg i- vaar din na lanc a nu ranc," he tipped. /Their armour is weak at the neck and below the arm/
"Leithio i philinn!" Aragorn cried and a wave of arrows rained down on the Uruk-Hai. /Hurl the arrows!/
The battle began in earnest. At the commands of Theoden and Aragorn, the Rohirrim loosed their arrows, taking down great quantites of the enemy. But more were there to take the places of the fallen. The Uruk-Hai mounted their own attack, pushing great ladders already bearing warriors up to the wall.
"Pendraid!" Aragorn yelled in warning. /Ladders!/
"Good," Gimli growled. He hated having Orc necks so close and not having the chance to swing his axe at them. Axe in hand, he settled himself into a good stance for swinging.
A ladder hit just by him, and he swung twice. In a lull of battle, he looked towards Legolas, who was just finishing off an enemy with one of his knives. "Two already," he boasted.
"I'm on seventeen!" Legolas returned. He fired two more arrows. "Nineteen," he amended.
"I'll have no pointy-ear outscoring me!" Gimli raged.
For about an hour the battle raged on in the same pattern. The Uruk- Hai would mount ladders against the wall, and the defenders would try to push them away. But more often than not they failed, and the foul creatures breached the wall, forcing them to cut them down with their swords. And above the sounds of swords clashing, and the occasional gut- wrenching scream of a man being slain, the boisterous voice of Gimli could be heard as he raced against his Elven friend. "... seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty..." he counted aloud with each swing of his axe that found its mark.
The clear ringing of an Elf's voice returned with "My count is now two dozen!"
Dread was beginning to build in the pit of Aragorn's stomach. At this rate the Uruk-Hai would overwhelm them by sheer numbers within the next few hours. But something whispered in his mind that this would be the least of their worries. The Uruk-Hai would want to go for the crushing blow, the quick and devastating victory. He took no comfort from the pattern the attack had settled into, he felt in his bones that the enemy would make a more prominent move very soon.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning drew his attention to the causeway. While they had been distracted with the defence of the wall, a group of the Uruks had snuck up towards the gate, brandishing a battering ram. "Na fennas!" /Causeway!/ Aragorn cried, directing some nearby archers to turn their arrows to the causeway. They took down those on the closer outside of the bunch driving the ram forward, but there were too many to stop its progress.
"Brace the gate!" Theoden called. The closest men threw themselves against the thick wood, but were jolted back with the impact of the ram. They braced again, and Theoden himself joined them.
Thick Orc spears began to splinter through the wood. It would not be long beofre the doors were broken beyond repair. As Aragorn and Gimli came to their aid, a long spear broke through the shards of the door, stabbing into Theoden's arm He pulled back, grasping at his wound.
They had to repair the doors, and quickly. Aragorn grabbed his shoulder. A wordless communication passed between the two for a moment. "How long do you need?" he asked aloud.
"As long as you can give me," Theoden replied, already setting his men to work.
"Gimli," Aragorn called the Dwarf to him. Together, they slipped unnoticed out a side door. Hugging to the wall, they peered across a gap to the numerous Uruks who were still trying to break the doors down.
"Oh, come on, we can take them!" Gimli quietly jested.
Aragorn gave him a serious look. "It's a long way."
Gimli peeked around Aragorn to see the distance they'd have to jump to reach the causeway. He pulled his head back almost immediately. "Oh. Toss me," he grumbled.
"What?" Aragorn could hardly believe his ears.
"I cannot jump the distance, you'll have to toss me!" he said, flustered.
Wordlessly, Aragorn grabbed his arm to launch him over the way. Gimli hesitated. "Uh- don't tell the Elf."
"Not a word," the Ranger swore before launching Gimli.
Gimli landed in a ring of Uruks, knocking several over as he crashed into them, taking out just as many with wide swings of his axe. Aragorn was barely a second behind, brandishing Anduril. Between the two of them, they kept the Uruks away from the door long enough for Theoden and the Rohirrim to repair it and brace it with long wooden planks against the onslaught.
As the last plank was placed over the door, obstructing his view, Theoden had run up to the wall. He saw the work on the door was done and turned his attention back to the causeway. Gimli and Aragorn were holding their own for now, but they were rapidly losing ground.
"Aragorn! Gimli! Get out of there!" he yelled to them.
They looked around, but there was no possibe way of escape. The Uruks were closing in.
Legolas leapt up onto the rim of the wall. He called out to them and tossed a thick rope their way, before jumping down to brace his weight against the rope. Aragorn caught the rope and grabbed Gimli. Moments before they could be crushed beneath a wave of Uruks, Theoden appeared behind Legolas, grabbing the rope to help the Elf haul his friends to the relative safety of the fortress.
Without hesiatation they launched back into battle, ignoring their fatigue. They had been battling for quite a few hours now, and though they tired and their numbers were visibly depleted, they soldiered on. Whilst hope remained, there was no choice.
A spark below caught their attention. A Uruk-Hai was running for the drain built into the wall just beneath their feet, a sizzling torch of some description in his hands. Aragorn's eyes widened as he realised what the torch must be. He looked around wildly. Legolas was only a little ways off.
He pointed to the Uruk. "Togo hon dad, Legolas. Dago hon! Dago hon!" /Bring him down, Legolas. Kill him! Kill him!/
Legolas fired at the weaknesses in the Orc's armour, hitting him, but his efforts were in vain. The creature struggled on through its injury, and with the last of its strength, it lunged and threw the torch into the drain.
Seconds later, the wall exploded from under them. Shards of rock, weapons, men and Uruks flew into the air, splattering over the battlefield.
* * * * *
Dawn had been stirring slightly for some time, floating on the edge of consciousness. Eowyn paced back and forth, waiting for her friend to awaken. Waiting for something, anything to happen.
A loud boom echoed all around them. Some of the children began to cry. Dawn yelped and sat up, jerked awake by the noise.
She looked around her, taking a moment to remember what was going on, where she was supposed to be. "What the hell?" she blurted out. Last thing she remembered was talking with Legolas and Aragorn before the battle. They'd given her something to drink, and an hour later she'd passed out.
Eowyn came rushing back to her side. "Dawn! You are awake!" she sounded surprised.
"Yeah, I'm awake. What the crap is going on, Eowyn?" she asked irritably.
"I don't know," was the reply. "The battle has been going on for some hours now, and I've no way of knowing how our forces... and our families are faring."
"Battle? Hours? How?" Dawn sputtered, confused.
Eowyn was still surprised to see Dawn awake so soon. "It is a marvel you have awakened so quickly, Dawn. They said it was likely you would pass the entire night in slumber."
Realisation flooded over Dawn's face as she began to understand her last memories before losing consciousness, and Eowyn's words. "Drugs," she said quietly to herself. "They gave me drugs, knocked me out."
Eowyn nodded, her anger on her friend's behalf returning with a vengeance.
"Assholes," Dawn muttered in a hard voice. But her eyes betrayed her pain.
* * * * *
Aragorn had been thrown by the force of the blast, landing on the ground just behind the wall. There was no cover and no chance of escape. A wave of Uruk-Hai poured through the gaping hole blown in the wall. Still on the ground, Aragorn stared up at what he thought would be his death.
With an enraged shout, Gimli lept from the broken wall. He crashed down into the drain water, taking several of the advancing Uruk-Hai with him. Aragorn scrambled to his feet. Gimli had just saved his life, but now the Dwarf was in trouble himself.
Aragorn rallied the troops around him and with a cry of "Herio!" they sprang into action. /Charge!/
With the battle raging around him, Gimli pulled himself up and joined in. Above them, Legolas was watching their progress keenly. He spied an opportunity and did not hesitate. He stabbed a Uruk to death and pulled his shield from his hands. He then slid the shield along the ground, jumping on it as it skidded down the stairs. By the time he'd reached the bottom, he'd fired off three arrows and kicked the shield, burying it deep in the chest of a passing Uruk.
Things were not going well. They could all sense it, another hour of combat like this, especially now that the wall had been breached, and they would lose. Theoden looked around at the carnage. The open areas of the fortress were littlered with human and orc corpses, the stones stained with black and red blood. He shook his head.
"To the Keep! Fall back to the Keep!" he cried, unwilling to lose any more of his soldiers.
Aragorn heard the cry and echoed it. With some difficulty, the last of the Rohirrim were rounded up and seeking the refuge of one of the outer chambers of the fortress. They scrambled back and forth, using any possible object in the room to barricade the door.
The Uruk-Hai were already pounding on the other side. No barriers would hold them out for long. They were trapped. The King stood dazed in the centre of the room, watching as men scurried hopelessly around him.
Aragorn was speaking to him, but he did not respond. "Is there no other way for the women and children to escape?" he had been asking.
A few moments passed without reply. Aragorn shook Theoden from his thoughts. "Is there no other way!?" he repeated desparately.
Ignoring the defeatist answer that finally came, he turned to a nearby soldier. A fifteen year old boy. When the frightened child stammered something about a secret path leading out of the caves from behind, Aragorn immediately sent him on an errand.
"Find the Lady Eowyn, tell her Aragorn says to wake Dawn if she has not yet risen, use cold water if she must. The two of them are to lead the women and children up the mountain paths to the safety of Dunharrow. They must not be discovered by the enemy! Warn them of that. Go, boy!"
The boy scurried off.
* * * * *
"My Lady Eowyn!" a voice cried. A small figure in an oversized helmet ran through the crowds of women and children, sword in hand.
Eowyn looked up from where she had been sitting with Dawn. She stood and called him over. He related the message hastily.
"They shall fall," Eowyn murmured to herself. One look in the boy's eyes told her all the horrors of the battle. Horrors she would've willingly experienced first hand. She nodded slowly, coming to a decision.
"What is your name?"
"Haleth, son of Hama, my Lady," he stammered.
"Well, Haleth. I entrust you with this task. You shall secret the people away to Dunharrow. Can you do this task? Take them there, and some of the old men here shall have the wisdom to see to things until our arrival. The Lady Dawn and I have business to attend to here yet."
Dawn's eyes flashed fiery green in contrast to Eowyn's icy blue. It looked as if they would get their battle after all. Haleth set to work immediately. Within minutes, the caves and it's opening chamber were emptied of all but two slender figures. A hasty barrier had been thrown up in an attempt to conceal the passage between the chamber and the caves. It would not slow the Uruk-Hai down for more than a second, any more than Eowyn and Dawn would, if they got in. But that one second could be vital for the fleeing people of Rohan.
Eowyn and Dawn stood side by side in the centre of the room. Their swords were drawn, their faces were a mask of deadly clam. They waited.
* * * * *
"Ride out with me!" Aragorn implored the King.
Theoden looked around at his broken army. A new day was dawning, light slowly seeping in to wash over the chamber. Aragorn remembered Gandalf's words before he had left in search of Eomer.
"Look to my coming at the dawning of the fifth day," he'd said. Aragorn felt hope filling his heart as the sky lightened.
Theoden nodded, passion and pride sitrring within him. "The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound one last time in the Deep!"
Gimli gave a roar of approval. Whilst the others were mounting the horses that had been hastily fetched, he ran up to the ancient horn. As light burst over them, Gimli took a deep breath and blew on the horn with all his Dwarvish might. It echoed, and Eowyn's eyes brightened a little as she stood at the ready with Dawn.
The doors flew open, and Theoden led the charge of the Erolingas against the Uruk-Hai. Legolas and Aragorn came just behind him, slashing their way through the seemingly endless sea of bodies. The cavalry advanced to the gates and charged down the causeway.
At the top of the hill opposite the Deep, a lone figure sat atop his horse and watched the King leading the charge.
"Theoden King stands alone," he commented.
"Not alone," corrected the young Marshal who had ridden up beside Gandalf.
"Rohirrim!" At Eomer's call, a hundred soldiers rode up behind him into the view of the fortress.
"Eomer," Theoden breathed, hope filling his heart.
"The White Rider!" Aragorn cried.
Gandalf and Eomer led the the Rohirrim into the fray. The Wizard's staff shone with an unearthly light which blinded their enemies. The defenders attacked with renewed vigour.
Soon, the victory cry went up from Theoden and was echoed across the battlefield by his nephew.
At length, the pair met with Aragorn, Legolas and Gandalf. They left the carnage of the field for now, it would be better to begin cleaning the war-torn land after rest, and went back into the fortress where they were met by Gimli.
They went straight to the chamber leading to the caves. The door was still barricaded, so they set to work bringing it down.
* * * * *
A/N: I know, I know- very much movieverse coz I was too lazy to go through the book & plan out the battle properly. And look out for the Fellowship once Dawn gets a hold of them- she may be older, but she still doesn't forgive quite so easily! (Hey, it was all going just *too* well between her & Legolas, wasn't it? I think I may be evil for doing this to them ;-) R&R ~Anoron. BTW- thanks again to all my reviewers, particularly Abbey & houses, you've kept me posting. ~Anoron.
"Is it done?" the Dwarf asked.
Legolas nodded. "She is safe for now. We have done our best by her, and I only hope she will forgive us for the pain we've caused to her pride."
"If we ever see her again," Gimli scoffed before turning to Aragorn. "By the luck you live by, let's hope it lasts the night."
"Your friends are with you, Aragorn," Legolas reminded him.
"Let's hope they last the night," Gimli countered. A faint smile passed between the three.
Aragorn ducked off for a last minute conference with Theoden. The attack was only minutes away. At the wall, Gimli was jumping up and down on the spot, trying to see over the high stretch of wall he found himself stuck behind.
"Ugh- you could've picked a better spot," he grumbled to Legolas.
The Elf smirked.
"What's happening out there!?"
"Shall I describe it to you, or would you like me to find you a box?" Legolas returned amiably to the Dwarf beside him.
Gimli shot him a glance and laughed good naturedly. They were both now relaxed and prepared for the battle which was upon them.
Ten thousand Uruk-Hai warriors stood just metres from the wall. At Aragorn's command, all archers had fitted arrows into their bows. The strings were taut, aim was taken. Only one word from Aragorn remained between them and the first strike of the battle.
Gamling's wrist shook. He tried to steady himself, but he lost his grip. With a loud whoosh, his arrow was loosed and flying through the air.
"Dartho!" cried Aragorn. /Hold!/
Gamling's arrow had buried itself deep into the neck of a Uruk-Hai in the front line. Both sides watched, holding their breath as one while the creature fell face first to the mud, seemingly in slow motion.
After a pregnant pause, the Uruk-Hai began to roar, shaking their swords at the defenders of the fortress.
Aragorn's voice somehow rose above the din. "A Eruchin U-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha llie faelas! Tangado halad..." /Show them no mercy, for you shall receive none! Prepare to fire.../
Whislt waiting for the cammand to fire, Legolas spoke up. "Faeg i- vaar din na lanc a nu ranc," he tipped. /Their armour is weak at the neck and below the arm/
"Leithio i philinn!" Aragorn cried and a wave of arrows rained down on the Uruk-Hai. /Hurl the arrows!/
The battle began in earnest. At the commands of Theoden and Aragorn, the Rohirrim loosed their arrows, taking down great quantites of the enemy. But more were there to take the places of the fallen. The Uruk-Hai mounted their own attack, pushing great ladders already bearing warriors up to the wall.
"Pendraid!" Aragorn yelled in warning. /Ladders!/
"Good," Gimli growled. He hated having Orc necks so close and not having the chance to swing his axe at them. Axe in hand, he settled himself into a good stance for swinging.
A ladder hit just by him, and he swung twice. In a lull of battle, he looked towards Legolas, who was just finishing off an enemy with one of his knives. "Two already," he boasted.
"I'm on seventeen!" Legolas returned. He fired two more arrows. "Nineteen," he amended.
"I'll have no pointy-ear outscoring me!" Gimli raged.
For about an hour the battle raged on in the same pattern. The Uruk- Hai would mount ladders against the wall, and the defenders would try to push them away. But more often than not they failed, and the foul creatures breached the wall, forcing them to cut them down with their swords. And above the sounds of swords clashing, and the occasional gut- wrenching scream of a man being slain, the boisterous voice of Gimli could be heard as he raced against his Elven friend. "... seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty..." he counted aloud with each swing of his axe that found its mark.
The clear ringing of an Elf's voice returned with "My count is now two dozen!"
Dread was beginning to build in the pit of Aragorn's stomach. At this rate the Uruk-Hai would overwhelm them by sheer numbers within the next few hours. But something whispered in his mind that this would be the least of their worries. The Uruk-Hai would want to go for the crushing blow, the quick and devastating victory. He took no comfort from the pattern the attack had settled into, he felt in his bones that the enemy would make a more prominent move very soon.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning drew his attention to the causeway. While they had been distracted with the defence of the wall, a group of the Uruks had snuck up towards the gate, brandishing a battering ram. "Na fennas!" /Causeway!/ Aragorn cried, directing some nearby archers to turn their arrows to the causeway. They took down those on the closer outside of the bunch driving the ram forward, but there were too many to stop its progress.
"Brace the gate!" Theoden called. The closest men threw themselves against the thick wood, but were jolted back with the impact of the ram. They braced again, and Theoden himself joined them.
Thick Orc spears began to splinter through the wood. It would not be long beofre the doors were broken beyond repair. As Aragorn and Gimli came to their aid, a long spear broke through the shards of the door, stabbing into Theoden's arm He pulled back, grasping at his wound.
They had to repair the doors, and quickly. Aragorn grabbed his shoulder. A wordless communication passed between the two for a moment. "How long do you need?" he asked aloud.
"As long as you can give me," Theoden replied, already setting his men to work.
"Gimli," Aragorn called the Dwarf to him. Together, they slipped unnoticed out a side door. Hugging to the wall, they peered across a gap to the numerous Uruks who were still trying to break the doors down.
"Oh, come on, we can take them!" Gimli quietly jested.
Aragorn gave him a serious look. "It's a long way."
Gimli peeked around Aragorn to see the distance they'd have to jump to reach the causeway. He pulled his head back almost immediately. "Oh. Toss me," he grumbled.
"What?" Aragorn could hardly believe his ears.
"I cannot jump the distance, you'll have to toss me!" he said, flustered.
Wordlessly, Aragorn grabbed his arm to launch him over the way. Gimli hesitated. "Uh- don't tell the Elf."
"Not a word," the Ranger swore before launching Gimli.
Gimli landed in a ring of Uruks, knocking several over as he crashed into them, taking out just as many with wide swings of his axe. Aragorn was barely a second behind, brandishing Anduril. Between the two of them, they kept the Uruks away from the door long enough for Theoden and the Rohirrim to repair it and brace it with long wooden planks against the onslaught.
As the last plank was placed over the door, obstructing his view, Theoden had run up to the wall. He saw the work on the door was done and turned his attention back to the causeway. Gimli and Aragorn were holding their own for now, but they were rapidly losing ground.
"Aragorn! Gimli! Get out of there!" he yelled to them.
They looked around, but there was no possibe way of escape. The Uruks were closing in.
Legolas leapt up onto the rim of the wall. He called out to them and tossed a thick rope their way, before jumping down to brace his weight against the rope. Aragorn caught the rope and grabbed Gimli. Moments before they could be crushed beneath a wave of Uruks, Theoden appeared behind Legolas, grabbing the rope to help the Elf haul his friends to the relative safety of the fortress.
Without hesiatation they launched back into battle, ignoring their fatigue. They had been battling for quite a few hours now, and though they tired and their numbers were visibly depleted, they soldiered on. Whilst hope remained, there was no choice.
A spark below caught their attention. A Uruk-Hai was running for the drain built into the wall just beneath their feet, a sizzling torch of some description in his hands. Aragorn's eyes widened as he realised what the torch must be. He looked around wildly. Legolas was only a little ways off.
He pointed to the Uruk. "Togo hon dad, Legolas. Dago hon! Dago hon!" /Bring him down, Legolas. Kill him! Kill him!/
Legolas fired at the weaknesses in the Orc's armour, hitting him, but his efforts were in vain. The creature struggled on through its injury, and with the last of its strength, it lunged and threw the torch into the drain.
Seconds later, the wall exploded from under them. Shards of rock, weapons, men and Uruks flew into the air, splattering over the battlefield.
* * * * *
Dawn had been stirring slightly for some time, floating on the edge of consciousness. Eowyn paced back and forth, waiting for her friend to awaken. Waiting for something, anything to happen.
A loud boom echoed all around them. Some of the children began to cry. Dawn yelped and sat up, jerked awake by the noise.
She looked around her, taking a moment to remember what was going on, where she was supposed to be. "What the hell?" she blurted out. Last thing she remembered was talking with Legolas and Aragorn before the battle. They'd given her something to drink, and an hour later she'd passed out.
Eowyn came rushing back to her side. "Dawn! You are awake!" she sounded surprised.
"Yeah, I'm awake. What the crap is going on, Eowyn?" she asked irritably.
"I don't know," was the reply. "The battle has been going on for some hours now, and I've no way of knowing how our forces... and our families are faring."
"Battle? Hours? How?" Dawn sputtered, confused.
Eowyn was still surprised to see Dawn awake so soon. "It is a marvel you have awakened so quickly, Dawn. They said it was likely you would pass the entire night in slumber."
Realisation flooded over Dawn's face as she began to understand her last memories before losing consciousness, and Eowyn's words. "Drugs," she said quietly to herself. "They gave me drugs, knocked me out."
Eowyn nodded, her anger on her friend's behalf returning with a vengeance.
"Assholes," Dawn muttered in a hard voice. But her eyes betrayed her pain.
* * * * *
Aragorn had been thrown by the force of the blast, landing on the ground just behind the wall. There was no cover and no chance of escape. A wave of Uruk-Hai poured through the gaping hole blown in the wall. Still on the ground, Aragorn stared up at what he thought would be his death.
With an enraged shout, Gimli lept from the broken wall. He crashed down into the drain water, taking several of the advancing Uruk-Hai with him. Aragorn scrambled to his feet. Gimli had just saved his life, but now the Dwarf was in trouble himself.
Aragorn rallied the troops around him and with a cry of "Herio!" they sprang into action. /Charge!/
With the battle raging around him, Gimli pulled himself up and joined in. Above them, Legolas was watching their progress keenly. He spied an opportunity and did not hesitate. He stabbed a Uruk to death and pulled his shield from his hands. He then slid the shield along the ground, jumping on it as it skidded down the stairs. By the time he'd reached the bottom, he'd fired off three arrows and kicked the shield, burying it deep in the chest of a passing Uruk.
Things were not going well. They could all sense it, another hour of combat like this, especially now that the wall had been breached, and they would lose. Theoden looked around at the carnage. The open areas of the fortress were littlered with human and orc corpses, the stones stained with black and red blood. He shook his head.
"To the Keep! Fall back to the Keep!" he cried, unwilling to lose any more of his soldiers.
Aragorn heard the cry and echoed it. With some difficulty, the last of the Rohirrim were rounded up and seeking the refuge of one of the outer chambers of the fortress. They scrambled back and forth, using any possible object in the room to barricade the door.
The Uruk-Hai were already pounding on the other side. No barriers would hold them out for long. They were trapped. The King stood dazed in the centre of the room, watching as men scurried hopelessly around him.
Aragorn was speaking to him, but he did not respond. "Is there no other way for the women and children to escape?" he had been asking.
A few moments passed without reply. Aragorn shook Theoden from his thoughts. "Is there no other way!?" he repeated desparately.
Ignoring the defeatist answer that finally came, he turned to a nearby soldier. A fifteen year old boy. When the frightened child stammered something about a secret path leading out of the caves from behind, Aragorn immediately sent him on an errand.
"Find the Lady Eowyn, tell her Aragorn says to wake Dawn if she has not yet risen, use cold water if she must. The two of them are to lead the women and children up the mountain paths to the safety of Dunharrow. They must not be discovered by the enemy! Warn them of that. Go, boy!"
The boy scurried off.
* * * * *
"My Lady Eowyn!" a voice cried. A small figure in an oversized helmet ran through the crowds of women and children, sword in hand.
Eowyn looked up from where she had been sitting with Dawn. She stood and called him over. He related the message hastily.
"They shall fall," Eowyn murmured to herself. One look in the boy's eyes told her all the horrors of the battle. Horrors she would've willingly experienced first hand. She nodded slowly, coming to a decision.
"What is your name?"
"Haleth, son of Hama, my Lady," he stammered.
"Well, Haleth. I entrust you with this task. You shall secret the people away to Dunharrow. Can you do this task? Take them there, and some of the old men here shall have the wisdom to see to things until our arrival. The Lady Dawn and I have business to attend to here yet."
Dawn's eyes flashed fiery green in contrast to Eowyn's icy blue. It looked as if they would get their battle after all. Haleth set to work immediately. Within minutes, the caves and it's opening chamber were emptied of all but two slender figures. A hasty barrier had been thrown up in an attempt to conceal the passage between the chamber and the caves. It would not slow the Uruk-Hai down for more than a second, any more than Eowyn and Dawn would, if they got in. But that one second could be vital for the fleeing people of Rohan.
Eowyn and Dawn stood side by side in the centre of the room. Their swords were drawn, their faces were a mask of deadly clam. They waited.
* * * * *
"Ride out with me!" Aragorn implored the King.
Theoden looked around at his broken army. A new day was dawning, light slowly seeping in to wash over the chamber. Aragorn remembered Gandalf's words before he had left in search of Eomer.
"Look to my coming at the dawning of the fifth day," he'd said. Aragorn felt hope filling his heart as the sky lightened.
Theoden nodded, passion and pride sitrring within him. "The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound one last time in the Deep!"
Gimli gave a roar of approval. Whilst the others were mounting the horses that had been hastily fetched, he ran up to the ancient horn. As light burst over them, Gimli took a deep breath and blew on the horn with all his Dwarvish might. It echoed, and Eowyn's eyes brightened a little as she stood at the ready with Dawn.
The doors flew open, and Theoden led the charge of the Erolingas against the Uruk-Hai. Legolas and Aragorn came just behind him, slashing their way through the seemingly endless sea of bodies. The cavalry advanced to the gates and charged down the causeway.
At the top of the hill opposite the Deep, a lone figure sat atop his horse and watched the King leading the charge.
"Theoden King stands alone," he commented.
"Not alone," corrected the young Marshal who had ridden up beside Gandalf.
"Rohirrim!" At Eomer's call, a hundred soldiers rode up behind him into the view of the fortress.
"Eomer," Theoden breathed, hope filling his heart.
"The White Rider!" Aragorn cried.
Gandalf and Eomer led the the Rohirrim into the fray. The Wizard's staff shone with an unearthly light which blinded their enemies. The defenders attacked with renewed vigour.
Soon, the victory cry went up from Theoden and was echoed across the battlefield by his nephew.
At length, the pair met with Aragorn, Legolas and Gandalf. They left the carnage of the field for now, it would be better to begin cleaning the war-torn land after rest, and went back into the fortress where they were met by Gimli.
They went straight to the chamber leading to the caves. The door was still barricaded, so they set to work bringing it down.
* * * * *
A/N: I know, I know- very much movieverse coz I was too lazy to go through the book & plan out the battle properly. And look out for the Fellowship once Dawn gets a hold of them- she may be older, but she still doesn't forgive quite so easily! (Hey, it was all going just *too* well between her & Legolas, wasn't it? I think I may be evil for doing this to them ;-) R&R ~Anoron. BTW- thanks again to all my reviewers, particularly Abbey & houses, you've kept me posting. ~Anoron.