DISCLAIMER: as of the moment, I do not own Lord of the Rings. Gwen, Maedron, and Bryn (her new horse) are mine, however, so you do not touch!
Gwen sat on Bryn, looking out over the army of orcs that had massed outside of Gondor. Army was an understatement. Horde was more the word she needed. She gently nudged Eowyn.
" Well, it looks as if we haven't missed all the action," she commented dryly. Eowyn nodded silently. Gwen's helm was driving her insane. First chance I get, I am flinging this atrusted thing at an orc she thought. Theoden rode out in front of his troop.
" Men of Rohan, now is the time to stand together and fight!" he shouted. The men cheered.
"Arise, arise Riders of Theoden! Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter! Spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered, a sword - day, a red day, ere the sun rises! Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!" he shouted. Trumpets sounded and the horses stamped nervously. Then the King drew his sword and charged forward on his steed, Snowmane. The riders followed.
" YAGH!!" Gwen yelled as they drew nearer to the orcs. She watched them loom closer. Then the riders and the orcs clashed. Gwen yanked off her helm and threw it an orc with all her strength. The orc fell.
" At least it was handy for one thing!" she said to herself. Unsheathing her sword from its scabbard, she swung it in a glittering arc and slew an orc. She kicked Bryn onward, farther into the monstrous horde. Riders all around her fell, their horses screaming. She pressed on, orcs falling away at her sword stroke. The orcs began to flee.
" To me! To me!" shouted the king. Gwen wheeled Bryn around and rode up to Theoden, dispatching an orc with a quick sword thrust.
" Yes, my lord?" she asked. Theoden looked at her and did a double take.
" What in Middle Earth are you doing here, Gwen?" he asked. Oops, she thought.
" Well, you see, I didn't much like being left behind, so I snuck along," she replied. Please don't ask about Eowyn, she thought frantically.
" What about Eowyn?" he asked. Gwen cringed. She swung her sword at an advancing orc.
" Um" she replied intelligently. A swift thrust of her sword finished the foul creature. He ignored her.
" Never mind, I don't want to know. If she is here, make sure she doesn't get herself killed," he ordered. Gwen nodded. The orcs had pretty much fled into the city at the fierce onslaught. The riders cheered. Gwen joined in, but quickly silenced herself.
" Look!" she shouted, pointing toward Osgiliath. Not very far away marched a large army of men with at least ten Oliphants. Theoden rallied the riders. The huge elephantine creatures plodded along, carrying men and weapons on their massive backs. Gwen caught sight of Eowyn and Merry.
" Eowyn!" she yelled aloud, not thinking. The woman looked at Gwen and motioned her to stay close. Gwen nodded and fell in besides her.
" Charge!" yelled the king, his sword out in front of him. The remaining riders did charge. Gwen drew close and swung her sword in a wide circle, taking out one of the men. She continued to whirl Bryn about madly, thinning out the ranks around her. A rider on her right fell to an enemy's sword. Horses fell, spilling their riders. Gwen looked up from one of her dead comrades to see an Oliphant plunging toward her. She froze momentarily, then whipped Bryn into action. She pulled a spear out of the ground and held it above her head. Then, she kicked Bryn into a gallop so she could get farther in front of the huge creature for a better shot. Once she judged she was far enough, she wheeled Bryn around and threw the spear with all her strength. It smote the Oliphant's heart. Gwen smiled at her success, then her eyes widened as the huge animal crashed to the earth, carried on by the momentum it had from running. Gwen kicked her horse hard, but it was too late. One of the spiked tusks slammed into Bryn, knocking her out from under Gwen. Gwen heard the horrible scream of her horse as she flew through the air.
" Unh!" she grunted as she hit the ground. Without hesitation, she was up on hr feet again, sword in hand. Without daring to look at her poor steed, for she knew that the horse was dead, she ran at one of the men who had been brought down on the Oliphant.
" Yagh!" she shrieked as she swung at the man with her sword. He blocked and Gwen felt the searing pain of a cutting blade slice through her upper arm. She shrieked in pain and rage. The man brought his face level with her's.
" So, this is the might of Rohan? Are they really so weak that they send their women to fight their battles, wench?!" he grinned, mocking her. Gwen locked eyes with him.
" The women of Rohan fight better than you and your group of worthless, sniveling, dull - witted lot!" she snarled back as she pulled out one of her daggers and slammed it into the man's chest. He looked down in surprise, and then his eyes glazed over and he fell to the ground. Gwen pulled her knife out and wiped it on the grass to get rid of the tainted blood.
" I hate it when I get hurt," she remarked. She then stole a moment to look at her arm. The pain was worse than the actual damage, but just to be safe, she ripped a piece of her cloak and quickly bound it over the wound. When she looked up, it was obvious the tide of battle had turned. The enemy out numbered the Riders by far. Gwen reached out and grabbed the reins of a horse that had lost his rider. She heaved herself onto the beast's back and kicked him into action. Turning, she saw that a great commotion was coming from Osgiliath. Gwen peered closer and saw black sails. Corsair reinforcements, she thought, dread weighing down upon her. She swung her sword and took off a man's head. Suddenly, the orcs in Osgiliath began to flee!
" What is going on?" she whispered to herself. Then she saw what was causing the orcs to flee. And she would have done the same, had not Aragorn been leading the chilling army, along with Legolas and Gimli. Dead corpses were advancing on the enemy, killing all in their path. Gwen was about to ride to them when one of the Oliphants who was still lumbering about thundered towards her on the right. Again, she borrowed a weapon from a fallen soldier. This time, though, it was a bow and arrow. She looked at it and made a face.
" I hate these contraptions," she grumbled as she loaded the arrow and pulled the string back. Taking aim, she let it fly at the huge creature, knowing that with a target that huge she was bound to hit something. Pure luck took hold and she hit the animal in the throat, bringing it down. Remembering her experience from last time, she swiftly kicked her horse and got out of the way.
" Gwen?!" cried a surprised voice. Gwen looked down to see Gimli hacking his way towards her.
" Gimli!" she yelled joyfully.
" What are you doing here, missy?" he asked.
" I didn't fancy being left behind. Neither did Eowyn!" she added. He blinked up at her, knowing Maedron would not be pleased when he saw her. Gimli was about to warn her of this when an Oliphant caught his eye. Gwen looked at the animal and there, climbing up it's side, was Legolas!
" What on earth does he think he is trying to accomplish?" she asked Gimli, her eyes never leaving the reckless elf. Gimli gave no reply as they both went on to watch Legolas cut the bindings that held the huge saddle into place, then go on to kill the Oliphant and slide effortlessly down the falling creature's trunk.
" That only counts as one!" yelled Gimli
Gwen rolled her eyes at the elf who now stood before her.
" So, what do you call that?" she asked. He shook his head and smiled.
" Gwen, Maedron is going to pop a few blood vessels when he sees you here!" he said. Gwen looked at him quizzically.
" Why?" she asked.
" Because he- " a Nazgul screech cut off Legolas' answer. Gwen gasped and shrank in her saddle, her eyes radiating fear.
" Nazgul!" she whispered. Without warning, the horse beneath her reared up and pawed the air with his hooves. He then leapt forward and hit the ground at full gallop. Gwen clung to his back and fought for control.
" Whoa!" she yelled over and over, tugging on the mad beast's reins. As quickly as he had run away, the horse stopped. Gwen did not, however. She shot over the horse's head and slammed into the ground. She pushed herself up with a groan. When she looked up, the sight before her made her want to curl up on the ground again. Eowyn was standing before the Witch King, sword in hand, protecting a wounded Theoden.
" I will KILL you if you TOUCH him!" she hissed.
" Stand aside, mortal," the foul being snarled back.
" Oh, Eowyn, don't do anything stupid," Gwen whispered to herself, unable to move.
" No!" the shield maiden replied.
' It is not written that a man will slay me," the Witch King said.
" But I am no man!" Eowyn stated boldly as she pulled off her helmet. Gwen heard Theoden gasp. The Witch King raised his mace and chain above his head and brought it down upon Eowyn's shield, crushing it. Gwen tried to scream as she heard a sickening crunch. Eowyn's arm was broken, she knew. The Nazgul walked forward toward Eowyn. Suddenly, he screeched and fell to his knees. Merry had stabbed him in the back of the leg. Eowyn seized this opportunity to finish him off. Summoning all her strength, she grasped her sword and slammed it into the opening of the Witch King's helm. Gwen covered her ears as the Nazgul gave one final shriek, then was silent forever. Gwen looked up and saw Eowyn lying next to the crumpled clothing of the Witch King. The orcs, upon seeing the great Witch King slain, had fled. They were met by the swift blades of the dead. Minas Tirith was saved. Gwen, upon seeing Eowyn on the ground, found her voice.
" Eowyn!" she cried as she ran forward to her friend's crumpled body. Tears began to course down her dirty cheeks as she sobbed for her friend. Getting down on her knees, she gently cradled Eowyn's head.
" Gwen?!" yelled a familiar voice. Gwen lifted her tearstained face to meet the dark eyes of Maedron. He ran to her.
" What are you doing here?" he demanded. Gwen ignored him. He looked down at Eowyn, then back up at Gwen. Gently, he reached out and stroked Gwen's cheek. Gwen sniffled.
" We must get her inside the city," she whispered. Maedron nodded.
" Aragorn!" he yelled. Aragorn walked over and, upon seeing Gwen with Eowyn, his face grew pale. He bent down and looked at Eowyn.
" She lives. Get someone to bear her inside to the House of Healing," he said softly. Gwen nodded. Soon, men bearing a stretcher arrived. Gwen watched as they gently lifted her friend up onto it and carried her through the gates and into Minas Tirith. Gimli and Legolas joined Gwen and Maedron.
" Come, you have much to tell, and you are hurt" said Maedron. Gwen nodded and followed the three of them towards the gate.
Yes, I know it is very sad. But hey, I love drama. Keep reading and reviewing!
Pandagrrl: yeah, I thought about looking for a script. That would probably be a good idea. Yes, Legolas was ht at the end! But I preferred him in his traveling clothes. Something about rugged manliness Thanks for reviewing!