Chapter Five
"Right,
begin piling the blocks here; leave a little space for the water flow so it
doesn't flood inside...There, to the right! Make sure it's secure! Good, now
keep doing that until it's filled!!!" I yelled instructions to the men
using my drill sergeant voice, helping move the blacks as well as I could
without reopening the hole in my shoulder which was steadily growing more
painful...it didn't matter, I'd have it looked at after the battle. "Good
job men!" I shouted when we'd finished, admiring the work we'd
accomplished in such little time.
I jumped when I felt a persistent tugging at the bottom of my shirt and I
looked down to see a little girl. She had blonde hair and round blue eyes, only
about five years old if that. I smiled at her and she tilted her head to one
side, observing me carefully.
"Are you a warrior?" She asked, placing her little hands on her hips.
I fought the urge to laugh, and nodded, matching her serious demeanour. She
then took my hand and pulled me with her, surprising me with her strength for
such a little thing. I heard some of the men laugh good-natured and I looked
over my shoulder, shrugging.
"I cannot refuse a lady," I called to them, earning more laughs. The
little girl didn't seem to notice and she led me up the many stairs, not saying
a word. Finally, we came to a stop in front of a small group of young women,
most holding babies and a few with young children cuddled in their laps.
"Mama, I brought a warrior to hold baby Elondai," She said to a
pretty woman with a tiny baby in her arms, who was presently screeching so loud
that even I was impressed.
"Maywyn!" The woman exclaimed, looking utterly mortified. She turned
to me looking apologetic, "I am so sorry. You see, Elondai here his Da who
was a warrior holds him so Maywyn thought..." I smiled and shook my head.
"There is no need for apologies...would you like me to fetch his
father?" I asked. The woman's face fell and I grimaced at my own
tactlessness.
"Nay, he was killed when the wild men attacked our village,"
"I am sorry for your loss," I said sincerely. She smiled weakly,
"Thank you," She replied quietly. The little girl Maywyn, however,
seemed positively furious.
"Mama, just let him hold Elondai for a minute!! He hasn't been quiet since
this morning and I have you said your head aches!" She cried, hands back
in their position on her hips. The girl's mother went dark red with
embarrassment and to save the woman face I held out my arms,
"Well it's worth a try, I had to take care of four babies this age and I
can remember the aches and pains well," I said, smiling and mock-
shuddering. At the time, it certainly was not a funny ordeal. One of the girls
in my platoon had become pregnant with quadruplets and gave birth to them when
we were in Italy...well, you can
imagine.
"Thank you so much," The woman said, her red colour not fading from
her cheeks. She handed the baby to me and I prepared my ears for even louder
shrieks...it obliged willingly and I winced. I suddenly had an idea and I did
what my mother used to do when my baby cousin Annie was over and I rocked the
baby gently in my arms, humming quietly to it and rubbing a hand in soothing
circles on its little back. Much to my amazement, the baby's screams dissolved
into hiccups and then it promptly fell asleep in my arms. I felt a pang of pain
and regret wash through me...I would never have children.
All the female captains of the platoons had our ovaries removed before we were
allowed to fight so that there would be no complications and nothing to
distract us...like babies.
I handed the baby back with utmost care, making sure I didn't wake it back up.
Even a soldier has their limits when it comes to auditory torture.
"Thank you so much," The woman whispered, gazing at me with...awe? I
smiled,
"Don't thank me, thank Maywyn...it was her idea," I said, winking at
the little girl. She beamed at me and set to work fiddling with her dolly. I
turned to leave and was embarrassed to find almost a large group of the guards
I had been working with staring at me in open-mouthed shock. I held up a
threatening finger, "Not a word," I said, my tone low and dangerous.
They all nodded in sync and several bit their lips to hold their laughter that
died down quickly at the withering looks I shot them.
"King Theoden wanted me to give you this back," One of them said as
we walked towards the battlements. I smiled widely when I saw it was my gun and
took it back eagerly, thanking the man. I had wondered where it had got to.
I slung it over my left shoulder after making sure the safety catch was on,
more at ease with my trusty weapon. In the old stories, all the best swords and
weapons had names, so I had named my gun on the suggestion of Delos.
After much deliberation, I settled on Mr.Bang-bang...sure it wasn't
particularly inventive but I couldn't very well call it 'Robert' or 'Fluffy' or
something now could I?
I glanced at the sky, noting the storm clouds which had travelled nearer when a
black moving cloud caught my attention. I squinted, the red glow of the setting
sun making blurring my vision.
When I realized what it was I shivered,
"GET THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN INSIDE!!" I yelled to the men. There were
several shrieks of dismay but by the time I looked around all the women and
children were inside...I was quite impressed.
"What's wrong!?!" Aragorn shouted from below.
"SPIES FROM MORDOR!!" I shouted back, gesturing to the sky. He shut
his eyes briefly and I recognize the stance he set himself in because I myself
had been in that stance countless times before.
He was afraid.
Not afraid for his own life, but for the people around him. The bird-things
were only the beginning, the first sign that it was really happening...that the
time for battle was drawing closer. I turned to look back at the blood red sky
and finally vocalized the question that had gnawed at my stomach for hours,
"Where are you freakin' elves?" I whispered, straining my eyes to see
any sign of the army that I knew was coming. I sighed and turned, jumping when
I saw Legolas standing directly behind me. "I told you not to do
that!" I cried indignantly, annoyed at being caught off guard.
Twice. Twice the git had made me jump.
Legolas smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "What's wrong?" I
asked quietly, frowning. He shook his head a little,
"Nothing, I'm just a little weary." He replied. "Did you truly ride all
the way on that beast?" He asked suddenly, nodding his head towards Percy down
below who was presently glaring at a stable boy.
"Yeah, I did." I said indignantly. Of course I rode a … hang on. A horse. I rode a horse. One of those massive, scary creatures that I'd had an irrational fear of since I knew what a horse was. Wow. And Percy wasn't a little carnival pony either. He was a large, mean spirited git of a horse. And I rode him. Hah.
"...come,
I am going to the armoury; you need more weapons than just that...thing," Legolas
said, startling me out of my thoughts. I noticed he was eyeing my gun with
obvious distaste. I rolled my eyes but nodded anyway and we walked in a
comfortable silence to a large room in the keep. I blinked when I entered,
trying to absorb the strange sight before me.
Old men, young men, boys, teenagers...it seemed anyone who could wield a sword
was in there...a few of the scrawnier lads didn't even look as though they
could manage hold a sword never mind fight with it. Legolas and I found Aragorn
and Gimli and Aragorn noticed my astonished expression.
"Most of theses men have seen to many winters," He said grimly,
observing one of the old men wincing when he bent down to pick up a shield.
"Or too few," Legolas added, looking just as grim. It was then that I
remembered Legolas despairing in the face of the coming battle and he and
Aragorn having a fight...I would not let that happen. He and Aragorn only
served to scare the men even more than they were now and the last thing these
poor blokes needed was a case of the jitters. So, I looked around and spotted a
large up-turned box and I proceeded to climb on top of it. I broadened my
shoulders and took a deep breath,
"LISTEN TO ME!" I shouted, using the loudest voice I could manage to
get their attention through the noise of chatter and the clang of metal...and believe
me, I can get pretty loud when I want to. The entire room went quiet and
everyone turned to me. It was only then that the awful realization dawned on
me...
I had nothing to say.
For all the hundreds of moral-boosting speeches I had given, for all my 'let's
go kick ass' attitude, I could not think of one single thing to say. So I
didn't say anything. I simply did the first thing that came to mind.
I clapped.
Clap clap -rest- Clap clap -rest-...soon everyone was at it, clapping in
sync...I grinned and started singing the pre-battle lyrics that Caleb, Ethan
and I had come up with.
"Buddy you're a boy make a big noise
Playin' in the street gonna be a big man some day
You fight evil's face,
You ain't no disgrace,
Kickin' their ass all over the place,
We will we will rock you
Singin'
We will we will rock you
Buddy you're a young man hard man
Shoutin' in the street gonna take on the world some day
You got blood on yo' face
You ain't no disgrace
Shootin' your arrows all over the place"
Singin'
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you
Buddy you're an old man poor man
Not pleadin' with your eyes gonna win this war some day
You faith's shown on your face
You aint no disgrace
Somebody better put 'em back in their place
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you" By the end of the song everyone was joining in
the chorus and when it finished every person in the room cheered, waving their
swords above their heads. I whooped with the rest of them and jumped back down,
my job done. I found Gimli sitting alone and I frowned, wondering where Aragorn
and Legolas had disappeared to. "Where are they?" I asked Gimli, my
voice slightly hoarse from the excessive shouting.
"Had an argument," He said flatly. I shook my head and sighed.
Obviously operation 'abuse Queen lyrics and call them my own' had not been a
total success.
"What about?" I asked, suddenly tired.
"Legolas thinks this battle is hopeless, can't say I blame 'im mind,"
he replied. I nodded, thankful for the small blessing that the racket I had
started drowned them out. I talked with Gimli for a little while longer before
picking out a small dagger and a crossbow, not bothering with any armour except
a helmet. I pushed the dagger into the back of my boot behind the heel of my
foot (always a handy place to keep weapons) and I strapped the cross-bow to my
left hand side for easy access. The mood had really changed within the men and
though I hadn't done much, it was enough to cheer them up a bit.
I was just about to go back to the battlements for some Elf-spotting when a
guard approached me.
"King Theoden would like to speak with you," He said stiffly. I
nodded, wondering if I had gone too far with my singing idea and jogged to the
main hall. I attempted to flatten my hair a little with the palm of my hand
while I waited but gave up and began pacing.
"Lord Faith," A voice sounded behind me. I grimaced slightly and
turned, bowing.
"Sire," I said, my dread entering my voice. To my utter astonishment,
King Theoden laughed.
"Do not worry my boy, I am not angry," He said kindly. I looked up
sharply,
"You're not?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.
"No of course not! I am impressed by your efforts to boost the men's
spirits and I wanted to ask you if you would like to be captain under Lord
Aragorn and Myself," He said, looking serious. If my eyebrows shot up any
further, they'd be lost in my hair. I swallowed and took a deep breath to calm
myself,
"I would be honoured Sire," I said truthfully. He smiled and placed a
hand on my shoulder. Luckily, it was not my injured one.
"You are so much like my son," He said softly, tears welling up in
his tired eyes. I averted my gaze, not wanting to embarrass him. He took a deep
breath and patted my back, looking as though he were going to say something but
a blast of a horn interrupted us.
"ELVES!" I shouted, throwing my fist in the air for joy and running
to the entrance with the King at my side. For a middle-aged man, that guy can
sprint like nobody's business. I grinned when I saw the hundreds of Elves,
marching in unison, perfectly disciplined...they reminded me very much of the
Special Ops section of the 'Free countries alliance'. They finally came to a
stop and an Elf at the front removed his helmet and came to stand at the front.
His blond hair was a tone or two darker than Legolas's though he was just as
handsome. His piercing blue eyes bore into the King's and he gave off a very
powerful sort of aura.
"Many years ago Elves and Men fought side by side. I am here to honour
that alliance," He said, his voice powerful and cultured.
Haldir.
The name sprung to my mind just as Aragorn grasped the shocked Elf into a
bear-hug and Legolas walked to stand behind him wearing an 'Elves kick ass
don't they?' grin on his face. Gimli simply scowled at him, his beady eyes
narrowing distastefully. Obviously, his fondness of Legolas did not extend to
the rest of the Elven species.
Aragorn turned and motioned for me to step forward and I did so, head held high
despite my nervousness.
"This is Faith," He began.
"Captain under King Theoden and Lord Aragorn," I said interrupting
him. Aragorn looked faintly surprised and Haldir simply looked shocked.
"I did not know the people of Rohan allowed their wom..." I shook my
head violently, pleading with my eyes for him to hold back his comments until
later. He paused and tilted his head to the side a little before smiling and
inclining his head ever so slightly.
"It is an honour to meet you Lord Faith, I am Haldir, Captain of this
army," He said, gesturing to the motionless Elves behind him. I smiled in
relief and bowed a little.
"Now introductions are over, let us prepare for the battle!" King
Theoden said from behind us and I swallowed the bile that had risen in my
throat when I was hit hard by a memory brought on by my meeting with Haldir.
This Elf was going to die today.
I shuddered, deciding I wasn't going to let that happen.
My mission was simple enough.
Save the people.
Save the cause...
Or die trying.