Faulkner: The asterisks inside parentheses (*) mean flashbacks. Just so's
ya know. And I saw ROTK the day after it came out and for those of you that
haven't seen it, you have no fucking clue what you're missing!! The Elves
are even better looking in this one (if that is even possible) especially
near the end. I'm not saying any more.
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Blood. There was so much blood that she couldn't turn her head one way without seeing even more of it. Granted, she had seen blood and gore before in the battle in Moria and the attack on the Anduin. But this...... this had been nothing short of a complete slaughter.
(*) (*) (*) (*) (*) (*)
They had rushed the orcs who had momentarily lost their nerve and hesitated when the whole of the Rohirrim army galloped straight at them. She personally would have shit herself if she had been in the orcs position and wouldn't have blamed them for running off, screaming for their mommies if they even had one.
It was a never-ending motion of slash and hack with the occaisonal get out of the way and parry. Nothing could have fully prepared her for this all out madness. So her body had reacted the only way it could:
By shutting down and running on autopilot.
Her movements were all muscle memory and reflex. Not one single stab was thought about, just done. There was no time for thought unless your mind went at the speed of light.
The orcs were endless, but they were losing faith and had started to retreat. But then the reinforcements from the men-gone-bad had come and everything went even further to hell.
"This just keeps getting better and better." Ratchet had murmured. "And me with only a sword. Times like these I wish there was a nuke handy." Then her breather had been over and not only was she killing orcs, but strange dark skinned men dressed like something out of the Congo crossed with the Middle East.
It had all gone down hill from there. Rohirrim were being squashed by the gargantuan Elephants these new bad guys were riding and seemingly couldn't be stopped. It was absolute chaos, nothing more and nothing less. And now Ratchet was thinking just how lucky she was to have made it this far.
A cry had gone up, somebody was yelling, "The Corsairs! The Corsairs of Umbar! We're doomed!" She turned to the river and say many boats coming up the river with black sails. Her mortality finally struck her and she felt the first inklings of true fear.
The orcs were gaining strength with the promise of more allies and beating them back. Back towards the crumbling and burning city that was Minas Tirith. If they didn't hold their ground now and defeat the enemy, then all was lost. She would die, just like Haldir almost had. Just like Boromir did. Just like Kokuyo.
"I'm not going yet!" she yelled to no one in particular and kept on fighting. But despair was seeping in and hope was dying just like the men around her.
She could faintly see the ships and their dark sails. But to her supreme surprise, not more evil men and orcs came out of the boats, but her long missed friends.
(*) (*) (*) (*) (*) (*) (*) (*) (*)
A ghost of a smile passed over Ratchet's lips before her eyes focused on the now and she realized she had been staring at a body minus the head and a foot. Grimacing, she stood up and made her way to Louie, who was calmly snuffling at a patch of grass that had managed to not get covered by a carcass.
"Hey girl. You don't wanna eat that. Lord knows what's stepped or bled on it." She took Louie's reins and led her towards the severely damaged city. "Let's go see the others and get you at least a bruised apple. No bloody grass for my horse." and she patted the mare's neck.
She carefully weaved her way through the corpses, trying not to look too long into a face or think too hard on a vaguely familiar body. The last thing she needed was to recognize someone and go all weepy. Crying made her feel like utter crap and her morale wasn't exactly the best at the moment besides.
Ratchet limped along next to Louie, holding the saddle-horn tightly to make sure she didn't trip. Sometime during the battle she had fallen off of Louie (or been pulled off, she wasn't sure) and fell right on her ankle, sufficiently spraining it again. And the irony of it all was that it was still the same leg that had been shot by the orc arrow in Moria.
It didn't take her long to reach the city, and she slowly made her way up the streets trying to avoid bodies, body parts, and the strewn rocks. She hadn't caught sight of her friends ever since the battle, only catching fleeting glimpses of them. And now it would be hell just to find food most likely, let alone her comrades.
In all the chaos she managed to make it to the seventh ring of the city. In between the people running every which way and the lack of guards at their posts it would have been easy for anyone to make it that far. She left Louie in a relatively private corner and ventured inside.
The inside was fairly deserted except for the occaisonal person running through the halls. She looked through doors and even tried to stop someone a few times but couldn't find the kitchens. So, sighing in exasperation, Ratchet started back towards where she had left Louie.
Unfortunately, someone had gotten there first.
"Hey you, get away from my horse!" The little boy jumped into the air and backed away from her saddle bags. He held in his hand her map and what few pieces of lembas that she had left. "Put those back!" But the boy just ran.
Growling in frustration she ran after him. Her ankle was throbbing in protest, but there was nothing for it. The boy had her map and the rest of her food. When he tripped over something she took her chance and tackled the kid. He may have been a quick little guy, but he stood no chance against her greater weight and strength.
"I give! I give!" he yelled and shoved her map back at her. The lembas had been dropped and, well, squished for lack of a better term.
She snatched back her map and got off him. She opened it and checked for any rips or such that might have ruined it. Thankfully it was in the same condition she had left it. Ratchet glared at the boy and rolled her map back up.
"You are one lucky little squirt that this isn't harmed. And thanks to you ALL my food is gone." She scowled and was about to say some more but stopped when she saw him tearing up. His bottom lip was trembling and he looked about to cry a river. "Hey now, there's no need to start crying. But you shouldn't have taken my stuff. I think your mother should have taught you better than that."
He nodded and ineffectively wiped at the tears that had started to fall. The tears left tracks in his sooty face. She sighed and pulled him off the ground and started to swipe off the worst of the dirt on him. He could have been only nine or ten years old.
"Where are your parents? It isn't safe for a little guy like you out here. Hell, it isn't safe for anyone out here." He nodded and stood up straighter, his crying finally stopped.
"I'm sorry. But I thought that the warriors could spare something for me and my family."
"Warrior? I'm not a warrior!" she laughed. Ratchet tried to scrub some of the dirt and blood off her face. "I'm only a teenager that got all wrapped up in this mess! I'd be more likely to be your older sister than some warrior."
The boy looked shocked, and he stared at her, trying to look behind all the battle grime.
"Now, what's your name? I can't keep on calling you kid. That would be slightly degrading."
He nodded and bowed slightly at her. "I'm Ferdred, son of Ferdinor."
"Pleased to meet you. You can call me Ratchet." He looked puzzled at her name but only accepted it. "How about you go back to your family, where it's more likely to be safer than here out in the open."
Ferdred shook his head, and his curly hair flew all around it like a brown halo. "I don't know where they are. I lost them when the orcs attacked and went after the people. I don't even know if they're.... if they're....."
"It's okay. How about you hang out with me for awhile then? You can get in my good graces if you help me find some food around here. I have absolutely no idea where anything is around here."
Ferdred nodded enthusiastically at this. "Yes miss! Ferdred can help you find food! He is good at that!" He started to go off but she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"First, we have to get my horse before somebody else gets the same idea that you had. And second, the food that you are going to help me get better not be gotten from somebody elses saddle bags." Ferdred looked slightly put- out but nodded again. "Good, now let's hop-to."
And so began a friendship between a little Gondorian boy and a girl from an unknown (to them) world.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Faulkner: Yes it's not the best chapter in the world and kind of short but my mom has been hogging the computer for the last MONTH. She'd done all her Christmas shopping on it and a bunch of crap that has to do with her work. Now that i've got my own computer (but no internet) the chapters should hopefully be coming more faster. Notice I said hopefully.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Blood. There was so much blood that she couldn't turn her head one way without seeing even more of it. Granted, she had seen blood and gore before in the battle in Moria and the attack on the Anduin. But this...... this had been nothing short of a complete slaughter.
(*) (*) (*) (*) (*) (*)
They had rushed the orcs who had momentarily lost their nerve and hesitated when the whole of the Rohirrim army galloped straight at them. She personally would have shit herself if she had been in the orcs position and wouldn't have blamed them for running off, screaming for their mommies if they even had one.
It was a never-ending motion of slash and hack with the occaisonal get out of the way and parry. Nothing could have fully prepared her for this all out madness. So her body had reacted the only way it could:
By shutting down and running on autopilot.
Her movements were all muscle memory and reflex. Not one single stab was thought about, just done. There was no time for thought unless your mind went at the speed of light.
The orcs were endless, but they were losing faith and had started to retreat. But then the reinforcements from the men-gone-bad had come and everything went even further to hell.
"This just keeps getting better and better." Ratchet had murmured. "And me with only a sword. Times like these I wish there was a nuke handy." Then her breather had been over and not only was she killing orcs, but strange dark skinned men dressed like something out of the Congo crossed with the Middle East.
It had all gone down hill from there. Rohirrim were being squashed by the gargantuan Elephants these new bad guys were riding and seemingly couldn't be stopped. It was absolute chaos, nothing more and nothing less. And now Ratchet was thinking just how lucky she was to have made it this far.
A cry had gone up, somebody was yelling, "The Corsairs! The Corsairs of Umbar! We're doomed!" She turned to the river and say many boats coming up the river with black sails. Her mortality finally struck her and she felt the first inklings of true fear.
The orcs were gaining strength with the promise of more allies and beating them back. Back towards the crumbling and burning city that was Minas Tirith. If they didn't hold their ground now and defeat the enemy, then all was lost. She would die, just like Haldir almost had. Just like Boromir did. Just like Kokuyo.
"I'm not going yet!" she yelled to no one in particular and kept on fighting. But despair was seeping in and hope was dying just like the men around her.
She could faintly see the ships and their dark sails. But to her supreme surprise, not more evil men and orcs came out of the boats, but her long missed friends.
(*) (*) (*) (*) (*) (*) (*) (*) (*)
A ghost of a smile passed over Ratchet's lips before her eyes focused on the now and she realized she had been staring at a body minus the head and a foot. Grimacing, she stood up and made her way to Louie, who was calmly snuffling at a patch of grass that had managed to not get covered by a carcass.
"Hey girl. You don't wanna eat that. Lord knows what's stepped or bled on it." She took Louie's reins and led her towards the severely damaged city. "Let's go see the others and get you at least a bruised apple. No bloody grass for my horse." and she patted the mare's neck.
She carefully weaved her way through the corpses, trying not to look too long into a face or think too hard on a vaguely familiar body. The last thing she needed was to recognize someone and go all weepy. Crying made her feel like utter crap and her morale wasn't exactly the best at the moment besides.
Ratchet limped along next to Louie, holding the saddle-horn tightly to make sure she didn't trip. Sometime during the battle she had fallen off of Louie (or been pulled off, she wasn't sure) and fell right on her ankle, sufficiently spraining it again. And the irony of it all was that it was still the same leg that had been shot by the orc arrow in Moria.
It didn't take her long to reach the city, and she slowly made her way up the streets trying to avoid bodies, body parts, and the strewn rocks. She hadn't caught sight of her friends ever since the battle, only catching fleeting glimpses of them. And now it would be hell just to find food most likely, let alone her comrades.
In all the chaos she managed to make it to the seventh ring of the city. In between the people running every which way and the lack of guards at their posts it would have been easy for anyone to make it that far. She left Louie in a relatively private corner and ventured inside.
The inside was fairly deserted except for the occaisonal person running through the halls. She looked through doors and even tried to stop someone a few times but couldn't find the kitchens. So, sighing in exasperation, Ratchet started back towards where she had left Louie.
Unfortunately, someone had gotten there first.
"Hey you, get away from my horse!" The little boy jumped into the air and backed away from her saddle bags. He held in his hand her map and what few pieces of lembas that she had left. "Put those back!" But the boy just ran.
Growling in frustration she ran after him. Her ankle was throbbing in protest, but there was nothing for it. The boy had her map and the rest of her food. When he tripped over something she took her chance and tackled the kid. He may have been a quick little guy, but he stood no chance against her greater weight and strength.
"I give! I give!" he yelled and shoved her map back at her. The lembas had been dropped and, well, squished for lack of a better term.
She snatched back her map and got off him. She opened it and checked for any rips or such that might have ruined it. Thankfully it was in the same condition she had left it. Ratchet glared at the boy and rolled her map back up.
"You are one lucky little squirt that this isn't harmed. And thanks to you ALL my food is gone." She scowled and was about to say some more but stopped when she saw him tearing up. His bottom lip was trembling and he looked about to cry a river. "Hey now, there's no need to start crying. But you shouldn't have taken my stuff. I think your mother should have taught you better than that."
He nodded and ineffectively wiped at the tears that had started to fall. The tears left tracks in his sooty face. She sighed and pulled him off the ground and started to swipe off the worst of the dirt on him. He could have been only nine or ten years old.
"Where are your parents? It isn't safe for a little guy like you out here. Hell, it isn't safe for anyone out here." He nodded and stood up straighter, his crying finally stopped.
"I'm sorry. But I thought that the warriors could spare something for me and my family."
"Warrior? I'm not a warrior!" she laughed. Ratchet tried to scrub some of the dirt and blood off her face. "I'm only a teenager that got all wrapped up in this mess! I'd be more likely to be your older sister than some warrior."
The boy looked shocked, and he stared at her, trying to look behind all the battle grime.
"Now, what's your name? I can't keep on calling you kid. That would be slightly degrading."
He nodded and bowed slightly at her. "I'm Ferdred, son of Ferdinor."
"Pleased to meet you. You can call me Ratchet." He looked puzzled at her name but only accepted it. "How about you go back to your family, where it's more likely to be safer than here out in the open."
Ferdred shook his head, and his curly hair flew all around it like a brown halo. "I don't know where they are. I lost them when the orcs attacked and went after the people. I don't even know if they're.... if they're....."
"It's okay. How about you hang out with me for awhile then? You can get in my good graces if you help me find some food around here. I have absolutely no idea where anything is around here."
Ferdred nodded enthusiastically at this. "Yes miss! Ferdred can help you find food! He is good at that!" He started to go off but she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"First, we have to get my horse before somebody else gets the same idea that you had. And second, the food that you are going to help me get better not be gotten from somebody elses saddle bags." Ferdred looked slightly put- out but nodded again. "Good, now let's hop-to."
And so began a friendship between a little Gondorian boy and a girl from an unknown (to them) world.
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Faulkner: Yes it's not the best chapter in the world and kind of short but my mom has been hogging the computer for the last MONTH. She'd done all her Christmas shopping on it and a bunch of crap that has to do with her work. Now that i've got my own computer (but no internet) the chapters should hopefully be coming more faster. Notice I said hopefully.