Disclaimer: Elli and Caitlin. All Mine. The rest....meh
A/N: I have many ideas but no ambition to keep going with this project. I know you'll all throw rocks at me if I abandon this story, but my heart has gone elsewhere, although my ideas for this are still solid and strong. I just have my heart set in another story I'm currently working on and hoping to get out by mid-May, and this is being highly neglected. Sorry to all you fans who love this tale so much. I'm trying, I swear, and there's no ending within sight! So please, read, review and tell me what you think as always. It's always appreciated.
ELLI'S POV
"Caitlin, get over it. So what if the pedant is elven in origin and keeping your alive. At least she's protecting you," I pointed out.
"Here we, wagoning our way across the plains and you STILL have to talk to me about this necklace."
Obviously my friend still wasn't in a good mood. She was highly cranky about this ordeal and even with all my nagging, she was being bratty about it.
We'd left Edoras a few hours ago and were now sitting in the back of a mule- drawn wagon that carried three large sacks of food and a whole bunch of what looked like sheepskin. Gandalf was leading the mule along, holding the reins as he rode on to the right of it on Shadowfax. Caitlin and I lounged around in the back, conversing as best we could, with one of us in a very sour mood.
"So I take it you just want to sit and be grumpy for the rest of the passage to Helm's Deep?" I asked, trying not to sound bitter, but clearly not understanding her lack of joy at the gift she'd gotten from Galadriel.
Caitlin gave me a scathing look. I returned it, and she turned away quickly, her nose pointing into the air at a precariously-neck-breaking level. She lowered it a bit a second later and a confused look came over he face.
"We're still going to Helm's Deep?" she asked, her brows knitted together.
"Yes. What made you think we wouldn't?" I asked her, trying not to sound too shocked.
"Well...Théodred is alive, and I though that since the King isn't grieving and badly brainwashed...oh wait. He was..."
"You're rambling," I pointed out. Caitlin was staring out into the plains, deep in thought.
"Ya know what? Screw you." I laughed as a hint of a smile crept into the corners of her mouth and she relaxed a bit.
I paused, looking at her and wondering where she'd gotten those silly ideas. How did she get such moronic thoughts put into her head? I'd blame myself, but I know for certain it can't be my doing. I'd never thought any of those things a second of my life.
"So wait. You thought that we went to Helm's Deep so Théoden can seek revenge against Saruman for his dead son?"
Caitlin's cheeks turned pink. She didn't look at me either. I twirled some sheep wool in my fingers as the wagon rattled along, making Caitlin and I have a very bumpy ride over the journey. We'd expected it though, and tired our best to move with the carts jostling.
The sun was high in the sky by this point, indicting that lunch was approaching even if we weren't going to stop until nightfall. Caitlin pulled out a flagon of sweet water, although I knew it wasn't called that: I'd just forgotten the name. We drank about half of it, lazily taking sips at long intervals until she finally slipped it back inside her tunic. We lay back, partially in shadow, and napped a bit in the rickety cart that pulled us along in who-knows-where.
~*~*~*~*~*~
I awoke hearing shouts and such being called out. Startled that we were in the midst of that damn warg attack, I peeked my head over the rim of the cart and saw two men galloping back, converse with the King and trot alongside him. It didn't seem to be of any importance, because that was the end of the shouting. But something told me that wasn't the end of the heart hammering in my chest for the rest of the trip.
Caitlin rolled over next to me. "What is it?" she murmured, almost incoherently. She had her right arm thrown across her eyes as the evening sun dipped low over the mountains and cast blindness in her vision temporarily.
"Nothing," I answered her. "I heard shouting and jumped to conclusions."
She snorted un-girlishly and smirked. "You're good at that," she mumbled, trying hard to hide her face but not her sarcasm.
"What? Like you'll be prepared if wargs attack? You do remember those humongous hyena wolf things, don't you?"
Caitlin moved her arm ever so slightly, cast a good long glare at me, and resumed her position.
"I take it that you do," I retorted. "I'm worried about that. With everything that's gone awry, why shouldn't that? I betcha we get hit with about ten dozen of them, all snarling and butched and ready to eat our intestines."
"Hello! There IS a female here, even if you rarely act the part!" Caitlin huffed. "Have some manners, ya lousy hobbit. Eesh...lets hope that that part of the story stays decent."
"That's all we ever do is hope! We can't always rely on it! Look at what we've screwed up!"
"Relax!" Caitlin shushed, placing a finger over my lips. Her eyes held an angry glare. She was becoming sick of my chatter. "I'm beginning to think you and I had a role reversal."
I stared at her as she took a look around. We'd stopped, but neither of us felt like retreating from the safety and comfort of our wagon, even if we were gettin' at each other's throats. I watched as fires were started and food was passed around and horses were brought to graze at whatever grass could be found decent enough to eat.
A second later Boromir and Aragorn came walking over to us, as Gandalf brought Shadowfax back from her dinner of stomped greens. Caitlin sat up, and took a look at the two men.
Aragorn leaned on the wagon and smiled at us. "Are you two hungry, by any chance?" he asked. We nodded, and he put his hands out and lifted me into his arms. Caitlin flung herself over the side, ignoring Boromir's offers to help her out, and the five of us made our way to a fire. Éowyn, her brother, the King, and his son were all placed around it as well.
Aragorn placed me on the ground and I made my way over to sit down next to Éowyn. Her brother threw his arms out at the last minute and caught me like a small child, and I in turn squealed in delight like one. He tossed me in the air with is strong arms, and then brought me down to sit upon his knee.
Legolas and Gimli joined us then, and I noticed him making his way to where Caitlin sat. Boromir was near her. The four of them, the two elves, the dwarf, and the man took a turn looking at one another, before Aragorn handed them steaming plates and they began to eat.
The meal was delicious, just what we needed on a chilly night. I sat on Éomer's lap all during dinner, laughing with mirth and joy at being surrounded by such people. Gandalf and Théoden were not seen outside of the tent, but they came out and sang merrily with us at times, just to humor us and let us know they were still nearby. Théodred was to mine and Éomer's left and to the right was Éowyn. It was a very joyous night.
~*~*~*~*~*~
We slept soundly during the night, drunk still with merriment and drowsy with song. Caitlin and I had retired back to the wagon when neither of us could keep our eyes open any longer. The cart was rolling along when we woke up, rattling its way passed the snowy and cold mountains. We were awakened by a gray dawn.
"No wargs yet?" I asked, rubbing sleep unwillingly from my eyelids.
Caitlin shook her head, propping herself up on her hands as she pushed her upper body off the sheepskin. "Nope, and I've been ready for them. Curious how they ain't showing up." She tried stifling a yawn but failed.
I took a look around and noticed the King's banner, the scouts keeping an eye out for attackers, the carts and people and travelers leaving Edoras. The horses looked tired, but they kept going, somehow knowing they'd get rest sooner or later.
There were many men and horses this time. Since Éomer and his men hadn't been banished by Wormtongue, we had a good two thousand strong warriors traveling with the woman, children and families. It made our numbers look greater, but it made me wonder if we'd get to Helm's Deep virtually unnoticed. It was unlikely, but when the wargs attacked, I was unsure of what the outcome would be with this many people.
Caitlin and I watched as Legolas came riding over on his beautiful steed. He brought the horse next to the cart and had the animal walk beside it. Reaching down into his saddlebag, he pulled out a leaf of lembas.
"For you, ladies," Legolas remarked. "I figured you would be hungry, and so I bring you elf bread, which will strengthen you if anything is to happen." Caitlin took the packet from him with a smile.
"So, do you think we'll get attacked by wargs or anything?" I blurted out. Legolas smiled at my bluntness.
"Do you think we will?" he retaliated. "You are the ones who lead this tale, you should be telling me what you think."
"We've changed so much already it's impossible to tell," I replied sadly. "I was kind of hoping you had noticed anything that seemed unusual to you. You know, a sign of those beasts, or maybe...I dunno. Just something that seemed out of the ordinary."
Legolas gave a reassuring smile, and it was knowledge and understanding. He knew that we were wary and unsure nowadays, but he didn't want us to worry so much about the change and forthcoming outcome that was still so far ahead. He knew we'd altered too much just by being here, and he just wanted us to try and survive.
He rode away after a few more words and Caitlin and I ate in peace, lounging around until lunchtime. We'd stopped for a short break by this point. The horses were needing to be fed and given water and a resting period. The mountain pass was getting a tad more dangerous, but it wasn't anything that would kill us.
Caitlin and I both looked at each other, the same look on our faces and the same thought on our mind.
"Is this bad thing?" she asked, scrunching her eyebrows from the sun, but also in confusion.
"Yes and no. If there are no wargs then there are more warriors alive for Helm's Deep. But no wargs now may mean a harsh battle later on. It's making me very uneasy. Maybe something has gone wrong somewhere else, like with Frodo and Sam, or with Merry and Pippin and their help with Treebeard. Who knows. But this can't be a good thing, this absence of those evil hyenas."
Caitlin only nodded in understanding.
Nothing else happened during the day, although Caitlin and I had become hopeful at finding out that wargs were nearby. It would quench our fears a bit by knowing we hadn't messed EVERYTHING up. Still, our journey was quiet and very relaxing, and we heard that we'd reach Helm's Deep by tomorrow at mid-morning. Somehow, that only made Caitlin and me twitch with curiosity. We were just as anxious to find out what happened as everyone else.
"Do you think the battle will go well?" she asked during our dinner. We were in the wagon, taking a break from the party that we had had the previous night. We wanted to see Helm's Deep in the morning, and partying with all that fun and laughter again would make us sleep too long and miss it.
"Caitlin, I don't know. Right now, I'm trying to be content and keep my nose out of it," I snapped. I hadn't meant to be rude, but the thought was plaguing me, worrying me too much that we had gone too far with this tale. We hadn't done anything on purpose. So that meant that our presence alone had done damage. And with Caitlin asking me how we'd fair in battle, I just wanted to be like everyone else and hope for the best.
Even with my rudeness, Caitlin seemed to just take it as nerves and backed off my case. "You should sleep, sweetie. Go on, I'm just going to see how everyone else is doing. Ya know, say hi to Legolas and all them and then go to sleep. But I can survive on five hours, unlike you. So sleep, ok?"
I nodded, and then watched as she gave a soft smile and quietly disappeared.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey. Hey, wake up, sweetie. Come on, get up. It's still early, but get up."
Squinting hard, I tried to ignore Caitlin.
"Up!" she demanded.
"Why?"
"Gandalf's saying we should walk the rest of the way with everyone else. And besides, our legs could use the exercise after being cramped in a wagon for the passed few days."
"He's throwing us out, isn't he?" I asked meekly, pushing myself off my nice little bed.
"Yup," Caitlin confirmed. "But besides, I'm up for walking, even if your not. I can offer a piggy back ride if you'd like."
Nodding, we smiled in agreement, and then Caitlin hopped down off the end of the unmoving wagon. I sat down on the edge, waiting as Caitlin secured her cloak and then, with her back to me, waiting for me to clamber on. When I was ready, we shut the back of the wagon and strode over onwards, walking near to Aragorn and Éowyn who were leading their horses on while walking as well.
We walked until midday, hunger stopped with more lembas, courtesy of Legolas. Grateful for the snack, and for the warmth of the sun on the chilly winter day, we traversed on and on, not stopping because we all knew that somewhere not far ahead was what we were waiting for.
"Whoa," I breathed, unable to say much else all of a sudden.
"Exactly, Elli. Whoa is it," Caitlin replied, matching my astonishment and wonder. We stood rooted to the ground for a moment.
Helm's Deep was before us.
It was exactly how I imagined, with the powerful wall crawling across the entire length of the crevice in the mountain it was cut into, the Hornburg and it's tower stretching into the sky. This was a place to be reckoned with. I sure hope we won this battle with a fair fight this time. We could see the ancient stone cut and built to house all the people of Rohan, and knew that this was indeed one of the safest places for us to be.
"So, can we stop worrying about the wargs?" Caitlin inquired.
"For now, yeah. But I'm still worried."
(A/N: Helm's Deep, here we come! Please read and review, and check out my bio page for information on this story! Also, I indeed have the prologue of my first story up, so please, review on it, although reviews are far in coming. Review this first though please! Thanks everyone.)
A/N: I have many ideas but no ambition to keep going with this project. I know you'll all throw rocks at me if I abandon this story, but my heart has gone elsewhere, although my ideas for this are still solid and strong. I just have my heart set in another story I'm currently working on and hoping to get out by mid-May, and this is being highly neglected. Sorry to all you fans who love this tale so much. I'm trying, I swear, and there's no ending within sight! So please, read, review and tell me what you think as always. It's always appreciated.
ELLI'S POV
"Caitlin, get over it. So what if the pedant is elven in origin and keeping your alive. At least she's protecting you," I pointed out.
"Here we, wagoning our way across the plains and you STILL have to talk to me about this necklace."
Obviously my friend still wasn't in a good mood. She was highly cranky about this ordeal and even with all my nagging, she was being bratty about it.
We'd left Edoras a few hours ago and were now sitting in the back of a mule- drawn wagon that carried three large sacks of food and a whole bunch of what looked like sheepskin. Gandalf was leading the mule along, holding the reins as he rode on to the right of it on Shadowfax. Caitlin and I lounged around in the back, conversing as best we could, with one of us in a very sour mood.
"So I take it you just want to sit and be grumpy for the rest of the passage to Helm's Deep?" I asked, trying not to sound bitter, but clearly not understanding her lack of joy at the gift she'd gotten from Galadriel.
Caitlin gave me a scathing look. I returned it, and she turned away quickly, her nose pointing into the air at a precariously-neck-breaking level. She lowered it a bit a second later and a confused look came over he face.
"We're still going to Helm's Deep?" she asked, her brows knitted together.
"Yes. What made you think we wouldn't?" I asked her, trying not to sound too shocked.
"Well...Théodred is alive, and I though that since the King isn't grieving and badly brainwashed...oh wait. He was..."
"You're rambling," I pointed out. Caitlin was staring out into the plains, deep in thought.
"Ya know what? Screw you." I laughed as a hint of a smile crept into the corners of her mouth and she relaxed a bit.
I paused, looking at her and wondering where she'd gotten those silly ideas. How did she get such moronic thoughts put into her head? I'd blame myself, but I know for certain it can't be my doing. I'd never thought any of those things a second of my life.
"So wait. You thought that we went to Helm's Deep so Théoden can seek revenge against Saruman for his dead son?"
Caitlin's cheeks turned pink. She didn't look at me either. I twirled some sheep wool in my fingers as the wagon rattled along, making Caitlin and I have a very bumpy ride over the journey. We'd expected it though, and tired our best to move with the carts jostling.
The sun was high in the sky by this point, indicting that lunch was approaching even if we weren't going to stop until nightfall. Caitlin pulled out a flagon of sweet water, although I knew it wasn't called that: I'd just forgotten the name. We drank about half of it, lazily taking sips at long intervals until she finally slipped it back inside her tunic. We lay back, partially in shadow, and napped a bit in the rickety cart that pulled us along in who-knows-where.
~*~*~*~*~*~
I awoke hearing shouts and such being called out. Startled that we were in the midst of that damn warg attack, I peeked my head over the rim of the cart and saw two men galloping back, converse with the King and trot alongside him. It didn't seem to be of any importance, because that was the end of the shouting. But something told me that wasn't the end of the heart hammering in my chest for the rest of the trip.
Caitlin rolled over next to me. "What is it?" she murmured, almost incoherently. She had her right arm thrown across her eyes as the evening sun dipped low over the mountains and cast blindness in her vision temporarily.
"Nothing," I answered her. "I heard shouting and jumped to conclusions."
She snorted un-girlishly and smirked. "You're good at that," she mumbled, trying hard to hide her face but not her sarcasm.
"What? Like you'll be prepared if wargs attack? You do remember those humongous hyena wolf things, don't you?"
Caitlin moved her arm ever so slightly, cast a good long glare at me, and resumed her position.
"I take it that you do," I retorted. "I'm worried about that. With everything that's gone awry, why shouldn't that? I betcha we get hit with about ten dozen of them, all snarling and butched and ready to eat our intestines."
"Hello! There IS a female here, even if you rarely act the part!" Caitlin huffed. "Have some manners, ya lousy hobbit. Eesh...lets hope that that part of the story stays decent."
"That's all we ever do is hope! We can't always rely on it! Look at what we've screwed up!"
"Relax!" Caitlin shushed, placing a finger over my lips. Her eyes held an angry glare. She was becoming sick of my chatter. "I'm beginning to think you and I had a role reversal."
I stared at her as she took a look around. We'd stopped, but neither of us felt like retreating from the safety and comfort of our wagon, even if we were gettin' at each other's throats. I watched as fires were started and food was passed around and horses were brought to graze at whatever grass could be found decent enough to eat.
A second later Boromir and Aragorn came walking over to us, as Gandalf brought Shadowfax back from her dinner of stomped greens. Caitlin sat up, and took a look at the two men.
Aragorn leaned on the wagon and smiled at us. "Are you two hungry, by any chance?" he asked. We nodded, and he put his hands out and lifted me into his arms. Caitlin flung herself over the side, ignoring Boromir's offers to help her out, and the five of us made our way to a fire. Éowyn, her brother, the King, and his son were all placed around it as well.
Aragorn placed me on the ground and I made my way over to sit down next to Éowyn. Her brother threw his arms out at the last minute and caught me like a small child, and I in turn squealed in delight like one. He tossed me in the air with is strong arms, and then brought me down to sit upon his knee.
Legolas and Gimli joined us then, and I noticed him making his way to where Caitlin sat. Boromir was near her. The four of them, the two elves, the dwarf, and the man took a turn looking at one another, before Aragorn handed them steaming plates and they began to eat.
The meal was delicious, just what we needed on a chilly night. I sat on Éomer's lap all during dinner, laughing with mirth and joy at being surrounded by such people. Gandalf and Théoden were not seen outside of the tent, but they came out and sang merrily with us at times, just to humor us and let us know they were still nearby. Théodred was to mine and Éomer's left and to the right was Éowyn. It was a very joyous night.
~*~*~*~*~*~
We slept soundly during the night, drunk still with merriment and drowsy with song. Caitlin and I had retired back to the wagon when neither of us could keep our eyes open any longer. The cart was rolling along when we woke up, rattling its way passed the snowy and cold mountains. We were awakened by a gray dawn.
"No wargs yet?" I asked, rubbing sleep unwillingly from my eyelids.
Caitlin shook her head, propping herself up on her hands as she pushed her upper body off the sheepskin. "Nope, and I've been ready for them. Curious how they ain't showing up." She tried stifling a yawn but failed.
I took a look around and noticed the King's banner, the scouts keeping an eye out for attackers, the carts and people and travelers leaving Edoras. The horses looked tired, but they kept going, somehow knowing they'd get rest sooner or later.
There were many men and horses this time. Since Éomer and his men hadn't been banished by Wormtongue, we had a good two thousand strong warriors traveling with the woman, children and families. It made our numbers look greater, but it made me wonder if we'd get to Helm's Deep virtually unnoticed. It was unlikely, but when the wargs attacked, I was unsure of what the outcome would be with this many people.
Caitlin and I watched as Legolas came riding over on his beautiful steed. He brought the horse next to the cart and had the animal walk beside it. Reaching down into his saddlebag, he pulled out a leaf of lembas.
"For you, ladies," Legolas remarked. "I figured you would be hungry, and so I bring you elf bread, which will strengthen you if anything is to happen." Caitlin took the packet from him with a smile.
"So, do you think we'll get attacked by wargs or anything?" I blurted out. Legolas smiled at my bluntness.
"Do you think we will?" he retaliated. "You are the ones who lead this tale, you should be telling me what you think."
"We've changed so much already it's impossible to tell," I replied sadly. "I was kind of hoping you had noticed anything that seemed unusual to you. You know, a sign of those beasts, or maybe...I dunno. Just something that seemed out of the ordinary."
Legolas gave a reassuring smile, and it was knowledge and understanding. He knew that we were wary and unsure nowadays, but he didn't want us to worry so much about the change and forthcoming outcome that was still so far ahead. He knew we'd altered too much just by being here, and he just wanted us to try and survive.
He rode away after a few more words and Caitlin and I ate in peace, lounging around until lunchtime. We'd stopped for a short break by this point. The horses were needing to be fed and given water and a resting period. The mountain pass was getting a tad more dangerous, but it wasn't anything that would kill us.
Caitlin and I both looked at each other, the same look on our faces and the same thought on our mind.
"Is this bad thing?" she asked, scrunching her eyebrows from the sun, but also in confusion.
"Yes and no. If there are no wargs then there are more warriors alive for Helm's Deep. But no wargs now may mean a harsh battle later on. It's making me very uneasy. Maybe something has gone wrong somewhere else, like with Frodo and Sam, or with Merry and Pippin and their help with Treebeard. Who knows. But this can't be a good thing, this absence of those evil hyenas."
Caitlin only nodded in understanding.
Nothing else happened during the day, although Caitlin and I had become hopeful at finding out that wargs were nearby. It would quench our fears a bit by knowing we hadn't messed EVERYTHING up. Still, our journey was quiet and very relaxing, and we heard that we'd reach Helm's Deep by tomorrow at mid-morning. Somehow, that only made Caitlin and me twitch with curiosity. We were just as anxious to find out what happened as everyone else.
"Do you think the battle will go well?" she asked during our dinner. We were in the wagon, taking a break from the party that we had had the previous night. We wanted to see Helm's Deep in the morning, and partying with all that fun and laughter again would make us sleep too long and miss it.
"Caitlin, I don't know. Right now, I'm trying to be content and keep my nose out of it," I snapped. I hadn't meant to be rude, but the thought was plaguing me, worrying me too much that we had gone too far with this tale. We hadn't done anything on purpose. So that meant that our presence alone had done damage. And with Caitlin asking me how we'd fair in battle, I just wanted to be like everyone else and hope for the best.
Even with my rudeness, Caitlin seemed to just take it as nerves and backed off my case. "You should sleep, sweetie. Go on, I'm just going to see how everyone else is doing. Ya know, say hi to Legolas and all them and then go to sleep. But I can survive on five hours, unlike you. So sleep, ok?"
I nodded, and then watched as she gave a soft smile and quietly disappeared.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey. Hey, wake up, sweetie. Come on, get up. It's still early, but get up."
Squinting hard, I tried to ignore Caitlin.
"Up!" she demanded.
"Why?"
"Gandalf's saying we should walk the rest of the way with everyone else. And besides, our legs could use the exercise after being cramped in a wagon for the passed few days."
"He's throwing us out, isn't he?" I asked meekly, pushing myself off my nice little bed.
"Yup," Caitlin confirmed. "But besides, I'm up for walking, even if your not. I can offer a piggy back ride if you'd like."
Nodding, we smiled in agreement, and then Caitlin hopped down off the end of the unmoving wagon. I sat down on the edge, waiting as Caitlin secured her cloak and then, with her back to me, waiting for me to clamber on. When I was ready, we shut the back of the wagon and strode over onwards, walking near to Aragorn and Éowyn who were leading their horses on while walking as well.
We walked until midday, hunger stopped with more lembas, courtesy of Legolas. Grateful for the snack, and for the warmth of the sun on the chilly winter day, we traversed on and on, not stopping because we all knew that somewhere not far ahead was what we were waiting for.
"Whoa," I breathed, unable to say much else all of a sudden.
"Exactly, Elli. Whoa is it," Caitlin replied, matching my astonishment and wonder. We stood rooted to the ground for a moment.
Helm's Deep was before us.
It was exactly how I imagined, with the powerful wall crawling across the entire length of the crevice in the mountain it was cut into, the Hornburg and it's tower stretching into the sky. This was a place to be reckoned with. I sure hope we won this battle with a fair fight this time. We could see the ancient stone cut and built to house all the people of Rohan, and knew that this was indeed one of the safest places for us to be.
"So, can we stop worrying about the wargs?" Caitlin inquired.
"For now, yeah. But I'm still worried."
(A/N: Helm's Deep, here we come! Please read and review, and check out my bio page for information on this story! Also, I indeed have the prologue of my first story up, so please, review on it, although reviews are far in coming. Review this first though please! Thanks everyone.)