*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Here's where I incorporate a lot more of the movie . . . And I give a
reason for why Legolas misses his shot at Helm's Deep. Oooooo!" And hey,
those last flare some people sent me REALLY HURT, you people don't have to
be so vicious! And I'm NOT a crazed fan girl, yeah I think Orlando Bloom is
hot but, I don't have any pictures of him on my walls, or my computer
desktop (well, not on my desktop at the moment, I got a Thanksgiving
picture on it now)! And I HAVE read The Silmarillion and I know they're NOT
PERFECT personality-wise like Feänor, for example, what a jerk! But perfect
as in it would be VERY unusual for an elf to trip or anything klutzy like
that. OKAY!!?!?! :(
You know, 'cause I am now suffering from PMS, those flames made me cry a
little, are you happy now?!?! AND ELWEN IS NOT, I REPEAT, IS NOT
GALADRIEL'S DAUGHTER!!!!!
*Whew* now that I got that out of my system: On with the show. P.S: Only
constructive criticisms from now on!
A/N#2: READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER, "Departing" WHICH IS NOW REVISED AT THE END!!! VERY IMPORTANT!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Orlando Bloom is hot . . . . . . . . . . . . I just felt that I needed to share that. . . thank you :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An Alliance Reforged
The sound of armor and chain mail scraping together resounded off the walls of Helm's Deep as the men of Rohan strived to get a better look at the approaching Eldar.
"'How is this possible?'" King Théoden asked.
"'I bring word from Elrond of Rivendell,'" said Haldir, "'an alliance once existed between Elves and Men. Long ago, we fought and died together.'" Aragorn rushed into view behind Legolas. Haldir smiled at the sight of them. "'We come to honor that alliegence.'"
"'Mae govanenn, Haldir!'" (well-met) Aragorn said stepping forward to
meet him.
Haldir put his hand over his heart in greeting. Aragorn began to return the gesture, but in his joy, changed his mind and embraced the Captain of the Guard.
"You are most welcome!" Aragorn breathed in relief. Haldir was taken aback, but then slowly returned the hug.
Legolas heard a light voice of an elf-soldier whisper, "That is most unorthodox . . ." The lieutenant silently signaled the company to about face. The Prince came up to Haldir and they grasped each other's shoulders in warm salutation.
"'We are proud to fight alongside men once more.'" Haldir declared.
"A-and we are honored to have you," King Théoden responded, still trying to get over the wonderful shock. He finally regained his composure and became the King of Rohan once more. "Position yourselves along the outer wall."
Haldir bowed his head in response then motioned to Aragorn to lead them. The son of Arathorn put his hand on his chest in uncertainty. Haldir nodded. Aragorn straightened and took a deep breath as he approached the army of the Eldar. He shouted out orders in Elvish to the soldiers and they turned and marched towards the outer wall.
As the Eldar passed, Legolas slipped into the formation happy to be surrounded by his people once more. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Och! You could've picked a better spot!" Gimli complained, his helmet just barely skirting the top of the wall. Legolas gave no reply except for that of a serene smile.
Suddenly, the sounds of someone nervously shifting his weight tore Legolas' attention away from the oncoming army. The Prince turned his head slightly and looked to his right.
There he saw a strange sight: two elves away from him an elf-soldier was blatantly nervous! He couldn't see his face but from his movements he concluded that he must have just finished training and this was his first battle. He was sliding his bow in and out of his grip and nervously rocking on his heels. And of course it was not only Legolas who noticed but other elves were giving the young soldier odd looks.
Legolas sighed but felt a little tug at the corner of his mouth. Suddenly his mind went on a different tangent and he found himself thinking of Elwen, which wasn't unusual for she had been a constant in his thoughts ever since the Fellowship left the Golden Wood. And on top of that something had been nagging him at the back of his mind ever since the Eldar had arrived. He sensed something out of the ordinary and he knew for a fact that it was not caused by the oncoming Orcs, because it's presence did not send a dark chill through him as the Black Speech or the Nazgûl had done.
Before Legolas could ponder on it further, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Aragorn's approaching footsteps. The ranger put a reassuring hand on the nervous elf's shoulder and stilled him.
"Well, lad," Gimli said, once Aragorn was beside them, "whatever luck you live by, let us hope it lasts the night."
Suddenly a flash of lighting illuminated the oncoming horde. It was followed by a violent thunderclap that echoed through the mountains looming over the Deep.
Legolas sucked in his breath as he saw the lights of thousands upon thousands of enemy lanterns slice greedily through the gloom.
"Your friends are with you, Aragorn." Legolas declared.
"Let us hope they last the night," Gimli said with a hint of anxiety. Legolas silently agreed with him.
Before he left, Aragorn put his hand on Legolas' shoulder. They had been friends since Aragorn's days of dwelling in Rivendell. Thranduil and his family would come and visit for months at a time. The two had become best friends and Aragorn knew the elf so well that he saw through the calm façade that Legolas had now put on.
Lighting and the rumble of thunder soon came again, but this time it wasn't alone. A steady rain began to pour on the army. The light tinny sound of the droplets hitting armor annoyed Legolas and the rest of the Eldar's sensitive ears. The men were unreceptive. Except by the thought that was going through all of their minds, especially King Théoden's: "It would rain."
Even with the noise of the rain, the advancing Uruk-hai, and the shifting of the apprehensive elf, Legolas could very faintly hear the cry of a human baby and the mother, with a wavering voice, trying to sing it to sleep inside the Caves of Aglarond, behind.
New strength and resolve came to Legolas and his fear melted away. He now stood ready and eager to face the impending battle.
"A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha le faelas." Aragorn cried, addressing the entire army. ('O Children of Eru, show them no mercy, for you shall receive none.')
"What's happening out there?" Gimli cried, jumping up and down, trying to get at least a look at the Enemy.
Legolas, grinning asked: "Shall I describe it to you . . . or would you like me to find you a box?"
Gimli turned and stared at him for a moment, then gave a hearty laugh. At the same time Gimli had laughed, Legolas' ears picked up the sound of someone else tittering. It was coming from the worried soldier. Legolas usually would not have minded, except he found that it sounded . . . feminine!
Legolas sharply turned toward the noise but once he did the laughing stopped. He would have examined this strange phenomenon further, but was torn away from the small matter by the sound of the Uruk-hai pounding the butts of their spears into the dark earth. They were ready.
Aragorn drew his sword, his face stern and looking more like the king he should be, than the ranger he was. The men of Rohan already strung their bows and held them taut, ready to fire.
Any sound that the defenders of the Deep were making were drowned out by the horrible chanting of the Uruks:
"ZA DASHU SNAKU ZIGUR, DURBGU NAZGSHU, DURBGU DASHSHU!" ('Hail, Sauron, Lord [of the] Ring, Lord [of the] Earth.') Legolas heard a whimper from the nervous elf. He leaned back to better perceive him. He saw that the elf had his pale hands over his ears. Not an uncommon reaction among the First Born when initially hearing the Black Speech. Legolas was about shift over to extend a comforting hand when an old soldier without command released an arrow. It tore through the gloom and hit an Uruk.
"DARTHO!" Aragorn yelled with a hand upheld. ('Hold')
Saruman's army waited as did the army of Elves and Men to see what would happen to the Orc. The old man's eye had been keen and his shot good. With a dying groan the Orc fell forward into the mud.
The commander of the Uruk-hai took this as a signal to begin and gladly ordered his army to charge with a bloodthirsty cry.
"And so it begins . . ." murmured King Théoden as the Enemy swooped up the incline to the wall.
"TANGADO A CHADAD!" Aragorn ordered. ('Prepare to fire!')
Legolas and the rest of the Eldar pulled a single arrow from their quivers and, as one, strung them.
"Faeg i-varv dîn na lanc a nu ranc!" Legolas informed Aragorn. ('Their armor is weak at the neck and beneath the arm.') "LEITHIO I PHILINN!" Cried Aragorn. ('Fire the arrows!')
"Anybody hit anything?" Gimli anxiously inquired, his voice rising above the din. No one bothered to answer him though.
"FIRE!" Came Gamling's voice, cutting through the sounds of tromping Uruks and whistling arrows.
"RIBED!" Aragorn shouted, (fling) "HADO!" (Hurl)
"Send them to me! Come on!" Gimli cried impatiently.
Suddenly arrows were being fired back, the orcs had taken out their crossbows. Unfortunately a few elves were the first to fall to these. Then Aragorn shouted a warning.
"PENDRAITH!" (Ladders!)
"Good!" Gimli declared. Legolas rolled his eyes and continued to shoot.
"SWORDS! SWORDS!" Aragorn shouted frantically.
With otherworldly calmness, the elves whipped out their swords and got into a readied stance.
An Uruk suddenly appeared on the wall and Gimli swiftly cut him down. More Uruks soon appeared but that only invigorated Gimli more. He went sliding between an Uruk's legs and struck him in the stomach with his axe before the creature could hit him.
"Legolas, two already!"
"I'm on seventeen!" Legolas yelled back with a huge grin.
"What! I'll have no pointy-ear outscoring me! " With declaration he turned and swiftly dealt the next Uruk a blow in the most sensitive of spots.
Legolas shot at an Uruk climbing up one of the ladders.
"Nineteen!"
The battle raged on and Gimli shouting of score echoed throughout the night.
"SEVENTEEN . . . EIGHTEEN . . . NINETEEN . . . TWENTY-ONE . . . TWENTY-TWO . . ."
The Uruks tried a turtle formation up the path towards the gate.
"NORTHWAY! NAUTHANNEN!"
The Eldar and the Men began to target the formation and succeeded in knocking at least a dozen or more off.
As Legolas was shooting at the turtle formation he felt someone back into him. He quickly turned around to find an elf fighting an Uruk. The elf had been forced backwards and thus bumped into him.
Legolas strung an arrow and shot it over the elf's shoulder into the attacking Uruk.
"Hannaid!" the elf cried turning to him. (Thanks)
Legolas gasped when the soldier he had rescued looked at him. He could not believe it! Even with the helmet on Legolas recognized the face; it belonged to the elf that, for some reason, no matter how hard he had tried, he could never get out of his mind.
"Elwen!"
"Suil, Legolas Thranduilion," was her weak reply. (Hail, Legolas son of Thranduil)
"LEGOLAS!"
Aragorn's frantic call reached him. With difficulty he turned his attention to his friend. He saw what Aragorn was shouting about. An Uruk was running towards the Deep's drain with a torch in hand.
"TOGO HON DAD, LEGOLAS!" (Bring him down, Legolas!)
Legolas immedietly strung his bow and took aim at the Uruk. His mind was racing. "What is Elwen doing here?" He let loose the first arrow. It struck, but not as far down as was needed.
"DAGO HON!" Aragorn cried. (Kill him!)
With the speed of summer lightning, Legolas strung another arrow.
This time he really willed himself to concentrate but to no avail. His concern for Elwen distracted him again. "Doesn't she know she could be killed?"
She could be killed!
The realization hit him like a wave as he let loose the next arrow. It hit the Uruk-hai but still failed to kill it. With a wounded cry the creature took a bounding leap and dove into the culvert. In the next split second a massive explosion ripped through the outer wall, sending elves and men to the ground or flinging them in the air.
Legolas was thrown a few feet away from the gap in the outer wall. He had enough of his wits about him to do a summersault in mid-air and land on his feet. A woman's scream pierced through the cries of others being tossed into the ever-deepening night.
Legolas barely turned around in time to feel the impact of something flying into him. The suddenness caught him off guard and sent him sprawling to the ground.
The lightness of the body told Legolas that it was a fellow elf. He lifted his head and found himself staring at a golden helmet.
"Ai . . ." Elwen groaned. With some effort she planted her hands on the cold stone and pushed herself up. After that became at least thirteen different shades of red when she found Legolas under her. Her arms weakened and she fell back upon. "I am sorry!" she cried and frantically tried to lift her self off of the Prince. With a grin, Legolas obliged her by sitting up and helping Elwen get to her feet as well. By some miracle, no Orc had noticed them during that unguarded time on the ground.
"Edaved nin," she mumbled. (forgive me)
"It is not your fault," Legolas said half-amusedly.
"I know . . . I just needed something to say.
"You could say 'thank you.'"
"Thank you, then!" Elwen exclaimed in a slightly annoyed tone.
The cry of "BRACE THE GATES!" from King Théoden, snapped Legolas and Elwen out of their distraction.
"Go to!" Legolas hollered. Elwen nodded and headed off to where the Men were flinging rocks and spears at the Uruks trying to ram the gate open.
"Hold them! Stand firm!" Théoden shouted while the other Uruk-hai invaded the Deeping Wall
Gimli had jumped from the remains of the Deeping Wall into the thick of the Uruk-hai to protect Aragorn who was still a bit dazed from being flung off the wall.
"Gimli!" Aragorn shouted as the dwarf landed a the group of Uruks stumbling in the Deeping Stream. Although it was a valiant effort, he was no better off than the Uruks, for he soon lost his balance and fell into the water as well.
"HADO I PHILINN!" Aragorn commanded the group of ready elven archers behind him. (lit. 'hurl the arrows') The shafts of the Eldar tore through the wet air and struck dead at least a dozen or more Uruk-hai.
"HERIO!" ('Charge' or 'Begin') The son of Arathorn and the Eldar took a ready stance and bravely ran straight for the Uruk-hai.
Legolas heard the clash of elven swords from below as he fought on the Deeping Wall. He turned and saw Uruks closing in on Gimli and Aragorn. Thinking quickly, the Prince of Mirkwood grabbed a nearby shield and slid down the stairs on it, while at the same time shooting arrows the surrounding Uruks. When jumped off, the shield flew into an Uruks neck and another came so close to him that he stabbed it with an arrow.
Aragorn thus freed, grabbed Gimli and pulled him out of the murky stream.
Gold clashed with black as the rest of the elves reached the Uruk-hai, and the battle raged on. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Elwen had been fighting for so long that it all became a blur as she fought up there on the remains of the wall. The Uruk-hai just kept coming. As she cut down the Uruk-hai with her sword she thanked Galadriel for insisting that she take archery and sword-fighting lessons. At the time, the reason why had been a mystery. But, now she understood.
As Elwen spun and sliced the head off of an oncoming Uruk, out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw the dwarf scurry by her. When Elwen turned she saw that it was, in fact, not a dwarf, but a young boy! Practically a child, in armor that was hindering more than helping him! And with an Uruk fast closing in.
Elwen wondered, 'What, in the name of Elbereth, is a boy of his age doing fighting in a battle?' as she raced over to help the boy.
The child feebly swung at the creature with his sword, but it fell short and it's weight pulled him off balance. The Uruk grinned evilly. But, before he could deliver the fatal blow Elwen stabbed the Uruk from behind.
"Flee from here!" she commanded haltingly in Westron. The boy looked most happy to oblige. She covered him with her bow as he raced up the stairs and into the little door that gave passage from the Deeping Wall into Helm's Gate.
Suddenly, Elwen heard a whooshing sound behind her and immedietly dropped to the ground. Just in time, too. For her helmet was knocked off by an Orc cleaver instead of her head. From her crouched position she kicked the Uruk off his feet and stabbed him with her sword once he hit the ground.
"ARAGORN, FALL BACK TO THE KEEP!" Came the voice of Théoden from the Hornburg. "GET YOUR MEN OUT OF THERE!"
"NAN BARAD! NAN BARAD" Aragorn commanded. (To the Keep! To the Keep)
Elwen heard this and was about to make for the door the boy had gone when something grabbed onto her cape, stopping her. Before Elwen could turn around, she was forcibly thrown in the other direction. She landed hard on her back.
When Elwen opened her eyes she saw an Uruk about to pounce on her. She raised her leg and, with difficulty, pulled the dagger out of her boot. In one swift move she hurled it at the attacking Uruk and struck it in the heart, sending the creature to the ground.
The elf-maid got painfully to her feet and retrieved her dagger from the Uruk's chest.
"HALDIR, NAN BARAD!" Aragorn called to the Captain of the Guard.
"NAN BARAD!" Haldir yelled the to the elves on the wall.
As Elwen and the rest pushed their way towards the stairs, she saw Haldir get struck by an Orc cleaver in his side. "HOTHRON HALDIR!" (Captain) Elwen broke away from the retreating Elves as she strove to get to Haldir. As she ran she spotted an Uruk coming up behind him, it's weapon raised high above its head.
"HOTH---!" Before she could finish her warning she felt something slash into the side of her waist. Pain blazed through her as she clutched the wounded area.
"HALDIR!" Aragorn's cry of anguish came to Elwen's ears before shadows engulfed her and she tumbled off the wall.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* There's more, don't worry, that not the end!!! (obviously, since this is not under the tragedy category)!
A/N#2: READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER, "Departing" WHICH IS NOW REVISED AT THE END!!! VERY IMPORTANT!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Orlando Bloom is hot . . . . . . . . . . . . I just felt that I needed to share that. . . thank you :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An Alliance Reforged
The sound of armor and chain mail scraping together resounded off the walls of Helm's Deep as the men of Rohan strived to get a better look at the approaching Eldar.
"'How is this possible?'" King Théoden asked.
"'I bring word from Elrond of Rivendell,'" said Haldir, "'an alliance once existed between Elves and Men. Long ago, we fought and died together.'" Aragorn rushed into view behind Legolas. Haldir smiled at the sight of them. "'We come to honor that alliegence.'"
"'Mae govanenn, Haldir!'" (well-met) Aragorn said stepping forward to
meet him.
Haldir put his hand over his heart in greeting. Aragorn began to return the gesture, but in his joy, changed his mind and embraced the Captain of the Guard.
"You are most welcome!" Aragorn breathed in relief. Haldir was taken aback, but then slowly returned the hug.
Legolas heard a light voice of an elf-soldier whisper, "That is most unorthodox . . ." The lieutenant silently signaled the company to about face. The Prince came up to Haldir and they grasped each other's shoulders in warm salutation.
"'We are proud to fight alongside men once more.'" Haldir declared.
"A-and we are honored to have you," King Théoden responded, still trying to get over the wonderful shock. He finally regained his composure and became the King of Rohan once more. "Position yourselves along the outer wall."
Haldir bowed his head in response then motioned to Aragorn to lead them. The son of Arathorn put his hand on his chest in uncertainty. Haldir nodded. Aragorn straightened and took a deep breath as he approached the army of the Eldar. He shouted out orders in Elvish to the soldiers and they turned and marched towards the outer wall.
As the Eldar passed, Legolas slipped into the formation happy to be surrounded by his people once more. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Och! You could've picked a better spot!" Gimli complained, his helmet just barely skirting the top of the wall. Legolas gave no reply except for that of a serene smile.
Suddenly, the sounds of someone nervously shifting his weight tore Legolas' attention away from the oncoming army. The Prince turned his head slightly and looked to his right.
There he saw a strange sight: two elves away from him an elf-soldier was blatantly nervous! He couldn't see his face but from his movements he concluded that he must have just finished training and this was his first battle. He was sliding his bow in and out of his grip and nervously rocking on his heels. And of course it was not only Legolas who noticed but other elves were giving the young soldier odd looks.
Legolas sighed but felt a little tug at the corner of his mouth. Suddenly his mind went on a different tangent and he found himself thinking of Elwen, which wasn't unusual for she had been a constant in his thoughts ever since the Fellowship left the Golden Wood. And on top of that something had been nagging him at the back of his mind ever since the Eldar had arrived. He sensed something out of the ordinary and he knew for a fact that it was not caused by the oncoming Orcs, because it's presence did not send a dark chill through him as the Black Speech or the Nazgûl had done.
Before Legolas could ponder on it further, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Aragorn's approaching footsteps. The ranger put a reassuring hand on the nervous elf's shoulder and stilled him.
"Well, lad," Gimli said, once Aragorn was beside them, "whatever luck you live by, let us hope it lasts the night."
Suddenly a flash of lighting illuminated the oncoming horde. It was followed by a violent thunderclap that echoed through the mountains looming over the Deep.
Legolas sucked in his breath as he saw the lights of thousands upon thousands of enemy lanterns slice greedily through the gloom.
"Your friends are with you, Aragorn." Legolas declared.
"Let us hope they last the night," Gimli said with a hint of anxiety. Legolas silently agreed with him.
Before he left, Aragorn put his hand on Legolas' shoulder. They had been friends since Aragorn's days of dwelling in Rivendell. Thranduil and his family would come and visit for months at a time. The two had become best friends and Aragorn knew the elf so well that he saw through the calm façade that Legolas had now put on.
Lighting and the rumble of thunder soon came again, but this time it wasn't alone. A steady rain began to pour on the army. The light tinny sound of the droplets hitting armor annoyed Legolas and the rest of the Eldar's sensitive ears. The men were unreceptive. Except by the thought that was going through all of their minds, especially King Théoden's: "It would rain."
Even with the noise of the rain, the advancing Uruk-hai, and the shifting of the apprehensive elf, Legolas could very faintly hear the cry of a human baby and the mother, with a wavering voice, trying to sing it to sleep inside the Caves of Aglarond, behind.
New strength and resolve came to Legolas and his fear melted away. He now stood ready and eager to face the impending battle.
"A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha le faelas." Aragorn cried, addressing the entire army. ('O Children of Eru, show them no mercy, for you shall receive none.')
"What's happening out there?" Gimli cried, jumping up and down, trying to get at least a look at the Enemy.
Legolas, grinning asked: "Shall I describe it to you . . . or would you like me to find you a box?"
Gimli turned and stared at him for a moment, then gave a hearty laugh. At the same time Gimli had laughed, Legolas' ears picked up the sound of someone else tittering. It was coming from the worried soldier. Legolas usually would not have minded, except he found that it sounded . . . feminine!
Legolas sharply turned toward the noise but once he did the laughing stopped. He would have examined this strange phenomenon further, but was torn away from the small matter by the sound of the Uruk-hai pounding the butts of their spears into the dark earth. They were ready.
Aragorn drew his sword, his face stern and looking more like the king he should be, than the ranger he was. The men of Rohan already strung their bows and held them taut, ready to fire.
Any sound that the defenders of the Deep were making were drowned out by the horrible chanting of the Uruks:
"ZA DASHU SNAKU ZIGUR, DURBGU NAZGSHU, DURBGU DASHSHU!" ('Hail, Sauron, Lord [of the] Ring, Lord [of the] Earth.') Legolas heard a whimper from the nervous elf. He leaned back to better perceive him. He saw that the elf had his pale hands over his ears. Not an uncommon reaction among the First Born when initially hearing the Black Speech. Legolas was about shift over to extend a comforting hand when an old soldier without command released an arrow. It tore through the gloom and hit an Uruk.
"DARTHO!" Aragorn yelled with a hand upheld. ('Hold')
Saruman's army waited as did the army of Elves and Men to see what would happen to the Orc. The old man's eye had been keen and his shot good. With a dying groan the Orc fell forward into the mud.
The commander of the Uruk-hai took this as a signal to begin and gladly ordered his army to charge with a bloodthirsty cry.
"And so it begins . . ." murmured King Théoden as the Enemy swooped up the incline to the wall.
"TANGADO A CHADAD!" Aragorn ordered. ('Prepare to fire!')
Legolas and the rest of the Eldar pulled a single arrow from their quivers and, as one, strung them.
"Faeg i-varv dîn na lanc a nu ranc!" Legolas informed Aragorn. ('Their armor is weak at the neck and beneath the arm.') "LEITHIO I PHILINN!" Cried Aragorn. ('Fire the arrows!')
"Anybody hit anything?" Gimli anxiously inquired, his voice rising above the din. No one bothered to answer him though.
"FIRE!" Came Gamling's voice, cutting through the sounds of tromping Uruks and whistling arrows.
"RIBED!" Aragorn shouted, (fling) "HADO!" (Hurl)
"Send them to me! Come on!" Gimli cried impatiently.
Suddenly arrows were being fired back, the orcs had taken out their crossbows. Unfortunately a few elves were the first to fall to these. Then Aragorn shouted a warning.
"PENDRAITH!" (Ladders!)
"Good!" Gimli declared. Legolas rolled his eyes and continued to shoot.
"SWORDS! SWORDS!" Aragorn shouted frantically.
With otherworldly calmness, the elves whipped out their swords and got into a readied stance.
An Uruk suddenly appeared on the wall and Gimli swiftly cut him down. More Uruks soon appeared but that only invigorated Gimli more. He went sliding between an Uruk's legs and struck him in the stomach with his axe before the creature could hit him.
"Legolas, two already!"
"I'm on seventeen!" Legolas yelled back with a huge grin.
"What! I'll have no pointy-ear outscoring me! " With declaration he turned and swiftly dealt the next Uruk a blow in the most sensitive of spots.
Legolas shot at an Uruk climbing up one of the ladders.
"Nineteen!"
The battle raged on and Gimli shouting of score echoed throughout the night.
"SEVENTEEN . . . EIGHTEEN . . . NINETEEN . . . TWENTY-ONE . . . TWENTY-TWO . . ."
The Uruks tried a turtle formation up the path towards the gate.
"NORTHWAY! NAUTHANNEN!"
The Eldar and the Men began to target the formation and succeeded in knocking at least a dozen or more off.
As Legolas was shooting at the turtle formation he felt someone back into him. He quickly turned around to find an elf fighting an Uruk. The elf had been forced backwards and thus bumped into him.
Legolas strung an arrow and shot it over the elf's shoulder into the attacking Uruk.
"Hannaid!" the elf cried turning to him. (Thanks)
Legolas gasped when the soldier he had rescued looked at him. He could not believe it! Even with the helmet on Legolas recognized the face; it belonged to the elf that, for some reason, no matter how hard he had tried, he could never get out of his mind.
"Elwen!"
"Suil, Legolas Thranduilion," was her weak reply. (Hail, Legolas son of Thranduil)
"LEGOLAS!"
Aragorn's frantic call reached him. With difficulty he turned his attention to his friend. He saw what Aragorn was shouting about. An Uruk was running towards the Deep's drain with a torch in hand.
"TOGO HON DAD, LEGOLAS!" (Bring him down, Legolas!)
Legolas immedietly strung his bow and took aim at the Uruk. His mind was racing. "What is Elwen doing here?" He let loose the first arrow. It struck, but not as far down as was needed.
"DAGO HON!" Aragorn cried. (Kill him!)
With the speed of summer lightning, Legolas strung another arrow.
This time he really willed himself to concentrate but to no avail. His concern for Elwen distracted him again. "Doesn't she know she could be killed?"
She could be killed!
The realization hit him like a wave as he let loose the next arrow. It hit the Uruk-hai but still failed to kill it. With a wounded cry the creature took a bounding leap and dove into the culvert. In the next split second a massive explosion ripped through the outer wall, sending elves and men to the ground or flinging them in the air.
Legolas was thrown a few feet away from the gap in the outer wall. He had enough of his wits about him to do a summersault in mid-air and land on his feet. A woman's scream pierced through the cries of others being tossed into the ever-deepening night.
Legolas barely turned around in time to feel the impact of something flying into him. The suddenness caught him off guard and sent him sprawling to the ground.
The lightness of the body told Legolas that it was a fellow elf. He lifted his head and found himself staring at a golden helmet.
"Ai . . ." Elwen groaned. With some effort she planted her hands on the cold stone and pushed herself up. After that became at least thirteen different shades of red when she found Legolas under her. Her arms weakened and she fell back upon. "I am sorry!" she cried and frantically tried to lift her self off of the Prince. With a grin, Legolas obliged her by sitting up and helping Elwen get to her feet as well. By some miracle, no Orc had noticed them during that unguarded time on the ground.
"Edaved nin," she mumbled. (forgive me)
"It is not your fault," Legolas said half-amusedly.
"I know . . . I just needed something to say.
"You could say 'thank you.'"
"Thank you, then!" Elwen exclaimed in a slightly annoyed tone.
The cry of "BRACE THE GATES!" from King Théoden, snapped Legolas and Elwen out of their distraction.
"Go to!" Legolas hollered. Elwen nodded and headed off to where the Men were flinging rocks and spears at the Uruks trying to ram the gate open.
"Hold them! Stand firm!" Théoden shouted while the other Uruk-hai invaded the Deeping Wall
Gimli had jumped from the remains of the Deeping Wall into the thick of the Uruk-hai to protect Aragorn who was still a bit dazed from being flung off the wall.
"Gimli!" Aragorn shouted as the dwarf landed a the group of Uruks stumbling in the Deeping Stream. Although it was a valiant effort, he was no better off than the Uruks, for he soon lost his balance and fell into the water as well.
"HADO I PHILINN!" Aragorn commanded the group of ready elven archers behind him. (lit. 'hurl the arrows') The shafts of the Eldar tore through the wet air and struck dead at least a dozen or more Uruk-hai.
"HERIO!" ('Charge' or 'Begin') The son of Arathorn and the Eldar took a ready stance and bravely ran straight for the Uruk-hai.
Legolas heard the clash of elven swords from below as he fought on the Deeping Wall. He turned and saw Uruks closing in on Gimli and Aragorn. Thinking quickly, the Prince of Mirkwood grabbed a nearby shield and slid down the stairs on it, while at the same time shooting arrows the surrounding Uruks. When jumped off, the shield flew into an Uruks neck and another came so close to him that he stabbed it with an arrow.
Aragorn thus freed, grabbed Gimli and pulled him out of the murky stream.
Gold clashed with black as the rest of the elves reached the Uruk-hai, and the battle raged on. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Elwen had been fighting for so long that it all became a blur as she fought up there on the remains of the wall. The Uruk-hai just kept coming. As she cut down the Uruk-hai with her sword she thanked Galadriel for insisting that she take archery and sword-fighting lessons. At the time, the reason why had been a mystery. But, now she understood.
As Elwen spun and sliced the head off of an oncoming Uruk, out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw the dwarf scurry by her. When Elwen turned she saw that it was, in fact, not a dwarf, but a young boy! Practically a child, in armor that was hindering more than helping him! And with an Uruk fast closing in.
Elwen wondered, 'What, in the name of Elbereth, is a boy of his age doing fighting in a battle?' as she raced over to help the boy.
The child feebly swung at the creature with his sword, but it fell short and it's weight pulled him off balance. The Uruk grinned evilly. But, before he could deliver the fatal blow Elwen stabbed the Uruk from behind.
"Flee from here!" she commanded haltingly in Westron. The boy looked most happy to oblige. She covered him with her bow as he raced up the stairs and into the little door that gave passage from the Deeping Wall into Helm's Gate.
Suddenly, Elwen heard a whooshing sound behind her and immedietly dropped to the ground. Just in time, too. For her helmet was knocked off by an Orc cleaver instead of her head. From her crouched position she kicked the Uruk off his feet and stabbed him with her sword once he hit the ground.
"ARAGORN, FALL BACK TO THE KEEP!" Came the voice of Théoden from the Hornburg. "GET YOUR MEN OUT OF THERE!"
"NAN BARAD! NAN BARAD" Aragorn commanded. (To the Keep! To the Keep)
Elwen heard this and was about to make for the door the boy had gone when something grabbed onto her cape, stopping her. Before Elwen could turn around, she was forcibly thrown in the other direction. She landed hard on her back.
When Elwen opened her eyes she saw an Uruk about to pounce on her. She raised her leg and, with difficulty, pulled the dagger out of her boot. In one swift move she hurled it at the attacking Uruk and struck it in the heart, sending the creature to the ground.
The elf-maid got painfully to her feet and retrieved her dagger from the Uruk's chest.
"HALDIR, NAN BARAD!" Aragorn called to the Captain of the Guard.
"NAN BARAD!" Haldir yelled the to the elves on the wall.
As Elwen and the rest pushed their way towards the stairs, she saw Haldir get struck by an Orc cleaver in his side. "HOTHRON HALDIR!" (Captain) Elwen broke away from the retreating Elves as she strove to get to Haldir. As she ran she spotted an Uruk coming up behind him, it's weapon raised high above its head.
"HOTH---!" Before she could finish her warning she felt something slash into the side of her waist. Pain blazed through her as she clutched the wounded area.
"HALDIR!" Aragorn's cry of anguish came to Elwen's ears before shadows engulfed her and she tumbled off the wall.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* There's more, don't worry, that not the end!!! (obviously, since this is not under the tragedy category)!