A/N: sorry for the long wait... was revising some things that didn't seem to make sense in my story. *^^*

Oh, and thanks to kinds words of encouragement, it really makes me wanna write!*^^*

A Sunset Love

Chapter 12: The she-elf is handy indeed

"Orcs!" Aragorn cried, getting everyone's attention. Mithdelothwen looked behind her, and saw orcs crossing the river! She then cursed, remembering what she'd wanted to say in the first place.

"Legolas.. I saw Boromir and Frodo earlier. Boromir tried to take the ring." Legolas looked at her, shocked.

"Are you sure?" Legolas couldn't believe it. Then again, he is a man. The race that let the ring survive. He though, somewhat bitterly.

"Frodo ran from him, I don't know here he went." Mithdelothwen breathed, as she, Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn and the hobbits ran into the forest for more fighting space. Aragorn ushered the hobbits into the thick cluster of trees to hide while they tried to fight off the orcs. Upon hearing that Frodo was by all means missing, Legolas sighed heavily, cursing silently as he went.

"Aragorn, we have a slight problem!" he called. Aragorn looked like he wouldn't be able to handle anymore 'problems'.

"What is it?" Aragorn asked hurriedly.

"Frodo is missing." Mithdelothwen answered. "And Boromir tried to take the ring from him." Now Aragorn cursed loudly, feeling the weight of all these 'small problems' sink into his shoulders.

Suddenly, a band of orcs dropped out from the trees, landing in front, around and behind them. Legolas unconsciously stood in front of Mithdelothwen protectively, and she turned to cover his back. Drawing out her bow, Mithdelothwen wasted no time, releasing numerous arrows, each one killing at least one orc. Her arrows were released with such speed that they did not stop when they hit something... they literally drilled though the enemy.

Legolas was firing off many arrows as well, until he realized that he might need some arrows later for long range. Putting his arrows and bow away he drew out his two knives, slicing and dicing the many orcs near him. Gimli was hacking away, leaving some orcs in two peices. Aragorn, using Anduril, was almost elegantly slicing off the heads of orcs. Soon, they scent of disgusting, foul orc blood filled the air. Mithdelothwen grimaced, as the scent reached her nose, making her want to retch.

All too soon, the orcs began to circle in around Mithdelothwen and Legolas, and then another circle around Aragorn and Gimli. Their closeness making shooting with arrows nearly impossible.

They want to get dirty, do they? Then, dirty they'll get! Mithdelothwen thought stubbornly, slinging her bow over her head, she drew out her new knives, Edlënay. They glowed brightly, stunning the orcs temporarily with their brightness. Using their stupidity to her advantage, Mithdelothwen used a sword dance technique Aragorn had taught her, and killed 5 orcs at once. That served as a wake-up call for the orcs, and the battle raged on.

Mithdelothwen noticed that not all the orcs were focused on killing them. Some were continuing on, looking in bushes and trees. It was almost as if they were searching for something... or someone?

"They're after Frodo and the other hobbits!" She cried, making Gimli worry, as he was rather fond of them.

"Do you see them?" He asked, while Legolas, Aragorn and Mithdelothwen risked a side glance around them.

"They must be hiding, I can't see them!" Legolas answered, hoping that they hid well, while fighting off 6 orcs that threatened to over-take him, should he not be careful. Then, the sound of a horn grabbed their attention.

"It's the horn of Gondor!" Legolas acknoweldged.

"Boromir!" Aragorn cried, trying to evade the orcs surrounding him. "He needs help!" Mithdelothwen then doubled her efforts.

"Stupid orcs! MOVE!" She cried fiercely, agitated by their close proximity. She could see the ooze on their faces, smell their disgusting blood, she'd had enough of these evil creatures that supposedly were once elves. Fuelled by her anger and determination, Mithdelothwen was able to slip in between a small gap between two orcs. She then let her elf senses guide her to Boromir.

"Don't let her get away! Kill her!" An orc cried, hissing in it's dark language. All the orcs then turned their attention to the escaping elf, leaving Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli orc-less, and they followed.

Mithdelothwen ran as swiftly as she could, knowing that the orcs weren't far behind her.

Well, how about we give them something unexpected? she thought evilly. She glanced up, and saw a thick branch ahead, within her reach.

"prefect timing!" she whispered gleefully, jumping up to grab the branch. Swinging her body, she kicked several orcs in specific places near the base of their necks. Adjusting her grip slightly, she did a complete 360 degree swing, instantly killing the orcs upon contact. The rest then fell like dominoes.

With a final flourish, Mithdelothwen jumped down with cat-like grace, landing just as gracefully. She looked behind her, she saw Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli staring at her in awe. She smiled.

"Come on! Boromir awaits!" She reminded them, sprinting off. Aragorn and the others continued after her, praying it wasn't too late.

I'll have to remind myself never to get in another fight with Mithdelothwen... Legolas thought, smiling while looking at the wonderous creature running in the lead.

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When they arrived, they saw Boromir on his knees with three arrows protruding from his chest. A large orc stood in front of him, smiling evilly, as he aimed an arrow at Boromir's head.

I think not! Mithdelothwen readied her own arrows, but saw Aragorn running towards Boromir.

"Don't shoot," Legolas whispered. Mithdelothwen nodded, waiting for an opportune time when she couldn't miss. Within the blink of an eye, Mithdelothwen saw Aragorn pinned against a tree with the orc's shield. Mithdelothwen aimed, then released her arrow, drilling at hole in the orc's head. But it didn't kill him, the way she'd hoped.

"Damn!" She cursed. The orc turned in her direction. Well.. she thought quickly, perhaps there's another way I can be of use...

Mithdelothwen then stepped into plain view.

What is she doing?! Legolas wondered, absolutely horrified at her actions.

"hey you! yeah, you, handsome!" Mithdelothwe faked an admiring voice to the orc.

Handsome?! Now she's gone crazy... Legolas tried hard not to laugh, seeing she was trying to seduce the orc. But, she was buying Aragorn time to get off the tree. The orc stared at her growling in annoyance.

"Don't tell me no one's ever told you how absolutely stunning you are! Sauromon must not be very nice." Mithdelothwen said, smiling brightly at him, as Aragorn suddenly came up behind the orc and sliced off it's head. Panting, he said,

"Nice work." She smiled, then stabbed the orc several times, even though it was already dead.

"I'm sorry, but I just HAD to do that... talking that way to an orc is hard work!" she joked, then looked towards where Legolas and Gimli were headed.. Boromir. Boromir was doomed to die, unless...

"I tried to take the ring! The little ones! They were taken! Please forgive me!" Boromir said, gasping for breath. Aragorn was about to answer when Mithdelothwen roughly pushed Aragorn to the side.

"You're not going to die.. not yet, anyway." She said, pulling the arrows out of his chest, making him scream in complete agony.

"What are you doing?!" Aragorn yelled, thinking she was trying to cause Boromir harm.

"Do you want me to save him, or let him die?" was Mithdelothwen's cold answer, as she placed her hands at the side of Boromir's head. The entire forest went silent as she closed her eyes and turned her head towards the sky. Her voice seemed to echo in the woods, as she said words that none of them could understand.

" Na 'irna bethle, istrinay! s'warthanay, ternapathir sante. Canto sirne!" Mithdelothwen let go of Boromir's head, as he blinked in confusion. Before their very eyes, Boromir's wounds began to close. They were utterly amazed when Boromir sat up, patting his chest to see if it was real.

But Legolas noticed that Mithdelothwen began to pale, and couldn't seem to sit up straight. She began to sway slightly, before falling backwards with a soft groan. Legolas caught her before she hit the ground, and while one of his hands were on her stomach, he felt something that shouldn't be there. Lifting one of his hands to his face, he saw it was stained with..blood. Putting face close to hers, Legolas couldn't hear or feel her breathing.

His heart-beat quickening, Legolas saw blood marks begin to appear on her chest, in the exact same places Boromir's wounds had been. Aragorn, Boromir and Gimli watched in worry as Legolas lifted Mithdelothwen's shirt up to her stomach, showing a deep wound.

Legolas looked to Mithdelothwen's face, seeing her eyes still closed. He began to feel fear... fear that she might already be dead.

"Mithdelothwen! Melamin! 'Benati umli!" [Mithdelothwen! My love! Wake up!] he cried, shaking her slightly. When she didn't respond at all, Legolas began to feel dispair, and panic.

"Look!" Gimli said in awe, pointing to her wound. It was slowly closing, healing itself. Legolas looked to her face hopefully, seeing her eyelids flutter slightly. As he cradled her body in his arms, he gently probed her shoulder, feeling that indeed, the wound was gone. Mithdelothwen opened her eyes suddenly, as she gasped and coughed for air. Legolas held her close, as he helped her to sit up, while he gently rubbed her back to ease her, thankful that she was still alive and well. When she had stopped gasping, Legolas looked at her face carefully.

"Mithdelothwen are you alright?" he asked. Mithdelothwen blinked a few times before nodding slightly. Aragorn then spoke up.

"Boromir, do you know where Frodo is?" Boromir shook his head.

"I only know that Merry and Pippin were taken." Mithdelothwen, with Legolas' help, stood up.

"Perhaps Frodo is by the shore." She suggested, leaning onto Legolas to steady herself. Back at the shore, on of the boats was missing. Mithdelothwen and Legolas could see the boat on the other side of the river, with two little figures scampering off.

"Sam is with Frodo! They're on the other side, let us go!" Legolas cried, but saw that Aragorn, Gimli and Boromir had not moved.

"You mean not to follow them." Mithdelothwen said. It was a statement, not a question.

"We are no longer on the same path as those two now. Their fate lies outside of our hands." Aragorn said. But Mithdelothwen wouldn't have that.

"The fate of Middle-Earth rests on the well-being of Frodo! He is the only one who can be the ring bearer! How can you say that his fate rests outside of our hands? We were meant to protect him!" Mithdelothwen shot back at Aragorn.

"Yes, we were. But now, the fellowship is breaking! How can we abandon Merry and Pippin? Frodo decided to go for Mordor alone. That is his choice." Aragorn answered. Looking into her frowning eyes, Aragorn added,

"We may see him again yet." Mithdelothwen laughed sarcastically.

"Yes, we may. We may see him again in the hells of Mordor." Aragorn ignored her last comment, and sat down, telling them all to rest, and that they would journey first thing in the morning. Legolas sensed that Mithdelothwen just needed some time to cool off, perhaps she was a bit edgy due to the fact that she was very stressed and tired. Leading her to a rock to sit, Legolas said,

"Stay here. I am going to look for arrows. I'll bring some back for you." he said, laying a sweet kiss on her cheek, then venturing out into the forest again.

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A/N: There you have it! Chapter 12! *^^*

M: Why does it seem like I am having a majorly bad PMS case?
FoTW: Umm... you're tired and restless... that's it...

A: yes, why are you having a PMS case, eh? Snapping at me is not very nice!
L: Stay out of it, Aragorn! Women are a dangerous bunch to meddle with!

*^^* *smiles* please R&R!! *^^* 08.14.02