Chapter 22; Between A Woman And A Warrior
After a few more words Legolas and I parted and I went to sleep that night with a troubled mind. I then woke up with the dawn and began my next tedious day of travel. Halfway through the day I dismounted so I could lead Hasufel and not tire him.
"The weather is so pleasant." I heard Èowyn's voice say to me. She was riding her horse and looking down at me.
"Yes, it's not too warm and the breeze is nice." I answered as I looked up at her. She nodded as she looked ahead. I looked ahead too and saw Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli riding beside King Théoden.
"I only wish we could move faster." Èowyn added thoughtfully. "We must reach Helm's deep as quickly as possible. We haven't much time."
"No, we do not." I agreed. Èowyn nodded at me and rode ahead with the King and Aragorn. As I walked onward I sang to myself, talked to Hasufel or thought; I did a lot of thinking as I walked, I thought about going home, or not going home, about Arwen and Galadriel, and about the hobbits. I was sure Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn worried about them too, though they never spoke of it. Maybe it only lingered in the back of their minds such as it did in mine.
"What is your name?" I heard a small voice ask. I looked to my side and saw a small, blonde haired child holding a floppy doll. I smiled as I looked at her and said happily,
"My name is Laura. What's yours?" I watched the little girl as she looked at me; she seemed confused almost.
"Your name does not sound Elvish…" she said slowly. I laughed as I asked with a smile,
"What?" she seemed to look me over then her eyes came to rest on my ears.
"Oh," she said, "I thought you were an elf…" I smiled as I replied,
"Really? Well…you are right, I am not." I smiled as I added. "But it is a very nice compliment! Thank you!" the little girl smiled and looked at the ground. I looked at her as I asked, "What made you think I was an elf?" she sighed as she answered,
"You spoke with your horse…" I looked at Hasufel whose head was moving back and forth slowly from the walk.
"I spoke with my horse?" I asked confusedly,
"Yes you did!" she answered excitedly. "And then I saw your clothes and your hair…" the little girl settled down and looked back to the ground.
"Oh," I said in an understanding voice then looked up. I saw Legolas riding his voice and I got a good idea. "Hey, I think I can cheer you up, see him?" I pointed at Legolas, "The one up on the hill's crest? He rides the grey horse." The little girl said without even looking at him,
"Yes, I saw him, he is an elf too. I was really excited; I thought that I was going to meet a lady elf. I thought you were one because your clothes were like his, so was your hair, and when I saw you talking to your horse, I thought you were for sure." I looked at the ground as I answered her sweetly,
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you. But I am just a normal girl like you."
"No you're not." She answered sadly. I was confused and I answered her slowly,
"I'm pretty sure I am."
"No you're not! You're older than me and you've got a sword." She answered with a sigh. She was quite the pessimist for someone of her age. I bit my lip as I looked at my sword dangling from Hasufel's saddle. "Besides you are not of Rohan like me." She continued, "No women from Rohan ever become heroes." I rested my hand on Hasufel's side and suddenly I got an idea.
"Do you know the Lady Èowyn?" I asked sweetly and the little girl clung to her doll as she nodded. "Well," I began, "She had a sword, and she is a woman of Rohan." The little girl looked up amazed,
"She has a sword?"
"Yes!" I exclaimed, "And she's the best swordsman I have ever seen!" the little girl was amazed as she looked at Èowyn. "See? You can do anything if you want it badly enough!" I said with a smile. "I know that if you are a good girl and work hard, you can be just like her."
"Wow…" she said as I smiled and laughed. "Thank you!" she said, "And I will! I promise!" The little girl ran off and I waved back to her before I continued to walk on. I looked at Hasufel; he whinnied again and I said to him in return,
"What was that for? Life is so dire for them the least I can do is cheer up one of them." Hasufel seemed to shake his head at me and I said as I began to mount him, "Ah forget it!" as I was about to ride off I heard a small voice call,
"Laura!" I turned and saw the little girl running for me. I waited for her and she ran along side me. "I want you to have this." She said holding her floppy rag doll out to me.
"What?" I asked with a skeptically smile.
"You need her more than I do." She said in a matter-of-factly sort of way. I reached down from Hasufel's back to grab the rag doll and I held it in my hand. "You looked lonely. Her name is Arwen. She will always keep you company I promise!" she waved to me and ran off and I watched her run back to what I thought was her mother. I looked down at the rag doll in my hands; it was old, obviously, with a worn, patched dress made of thick fibers. Her smile was big and two tiny, black beaded eyes stared up at me. I laughed at the disproportionate doll and tucked it gently into my saddlebag before riding ahead beside Èowyn and Aragorn.
That night I sat quietly eating my bread and staring absent-mindedly into the fire. Gimli was rambling on about something; I forgot what it was. A cool breeze ruffled my hair and sent a cruel shiver down my back. I stood and walked away from the fire to grab my blanket; I reached into my saddlebag to grab my blanket and as I did I overheard Gimli say,
"Another gruesome day's travel and I feel as if we have come no closer to the Deep!" he cast a log into the fire as he complained. "How I wish we could just reach the end and be done with it!"
"We travel in large numbers Gimli." Aragorn reminded him, "and it is not a large number of soldiers or warriors; we travel with women, children and the old." I moved the doll aside and pulled out my blanket and walked back to the fire.
"I agree with Gimli though, we are really vulnerable, traveling slow like we are. I want this to be over for the people's safety." Aragorn nodded as he smoked his pipe and I took a large bite of my piece of bread, finishing it. As I swallowed, I suddenly felt two hands come from behind me, grasping my shoulders. I jumped about three feet off the ground in surprise and gasped; at that moment I felt something suck into the back of my throat and not move. Aragorn and Gimli were chuckling at me as Èowyn came to my side and said,
"It is only me." I tried to take a breath but I couldn't, something was blocking my airway. My head began to hurt as I started to gag; I put my hands around my throat instantly, I was choking. Èowyn began to hit my back as I continued to gag, I felt my abdomen tighten as I tried to dislodge the food but it would not move. Suddenly, Gimli was behind me tightening his hands around my waist then thrusting them up wards; with one move thrust the food became dislodged and flew out of my throat into the fire before us as I fell back wards onto Gimli. I coughed madly as I felt Gimli squirm madly beneath me and heard Aragorn laughing hysterically. Legolas who had been standing behind Aragorn for some while was laughing too. I rolled off of Gimli as I wheezed, trying to reclaim my breath. Gimli stood quickly and brushed himself off proudly before he sat back down before the fire. Èowyn rubbed my back as I gasped for breath and Aragorn asked Gimli amidst his laughter,
"Gimli…how?"
"Well I had to do something!" He answered in an exasperated tone. I began to laugh also as I heard this. "But I did not expect that in return the lady would try to squash me to death!"
"I'm so sorry Gimli!" I gasped. "Thank you so much for saving me." At this Gimli scoffed and returned to smoking his pipe. I repositioned myself against the rock I was leaning against. I then looked up at Èowyn as I said jokingly, "Don't ever scare me like that again!" we laughed as I took a drink of water.
"It's true you don't see many dwarf woman." Gimli said in a matter-of-factly kind of way. "And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance that they are often mistaken for dwarf men!" Èowyn glanced back at Aragorn and myself and he whispered
"It's the beards!" at this Èowyn smiled and I elbowed Aragorn in the arm.
"And this, in turn, has given rise to the belief that there are no dwarf women! And that dwarves just, spring out of holes in the ground!" At this Èowyn laughed and so did I; I had to hold onto my saddle to keep from falling off. "Which is of course riddic-" Gimli began to say but the horse became startled and sprinted, causing Gimli to fall onto the rocky ground. I laughed as I saw this and watched as Gimli stood with the help of Èowyn. "It's alright! It's all right! No body panic. That was deliberate. It was deliberate!" I watched with a smile as Gimli stood and walked beside Èowyn.
"Did you enjoy last night's company?" Aragorn asked as we rode side by side. I smiled as I answered,
"Yes. Last night was the most exciting I have had in sometime." Aragorn smiled and looked at me. I held my reins closer to me to slow Hasufel down a little bit; he was getting anxious. Aragorn rode a head of me and I watched him canter to the front by the king and his guards. At that moment, I heard to women shouting at each other. It was in a different language. I turned over my shoulder and saw on the ground a basket filled with cloth and thread spilled on the ground and the two women we pointing and screaming making the people who passed them whisper. But with in moments, their fervid argument ceased and they both looked with curiosity to something else that was occurring in front of me. I looked and I could not longer see Aragorn. Suddenly I heard loud hoof-beats come from behind me I looked and I saw King Théoden ride up beside me. He asked quickly,
"Where is Aragorn?" I looked at the hill and lowered my head as I answered,
"The top of the hill, my Lord; he rode to the top not a moment ago." He nodded and rode ahead; as he did Aragorn came into view on the top of the hill as he ran down it, with out his horse towards Théoden.
"What is it?" Théoden called, "What do you see?"
"Wargs!" Aragorn called back and I felt my heart stop. "We are under attack!" All at once I heard the villagers panic. I held onto Hasufel's reins tightly as I tried to think of what I should do next. I looked and saw, standing atop the hill, Legolas with his bow out and arrows set. I finally looked back to Aragorn, who had his horse again, and rode towards him. I drew my sword and said to him,
"Let's go!"
"No!" Aragorn exclaimed back. "Laura, stay with Èowyn! Help lead the people to Helm's Deep! I will return I promise!"
"Aragorn! Let me ride with you! I can fight!" I said back to him.
"No! Laura, do this for me!" Aragorn said quite strongly. I lowered my sword somewhat and Aragorn rode away from me as I rode to Èowyn's side.
"Èowyn! What do I need to do?" I called from Hasufel's back still carrying my sword in hand.
"Ride! Tell the people to make haste, stay together and move to the lower ground!" she called back. I nodded and cantered alongside the long line of people as called to them,
"People! People of Rohan we are under attack! Move quickly! Stay together and move to the lower ground! We will lead you to Helm's Deep!" I rode up and down the line encouraging people to move and calling to them when suddenly Hasufel became restless.
"Look!" A woman shouted, "One is coming over the hill!" I looked and saw a Warg and rider galloping over the hill. I quickly looked to Èowyn who was already looking at me.
"Go!" She cried to me, "GO Laura!" I looked at the Warg who was nearing us dangerously fast. With a sudden burst of adrenaline, I shouted and galloped onward. I heard the growling of the Warg before me and I held Hadhafang high as I charged. As I passed the Warg I swung my sword and missed. I turned Hasufel around and swung at the Orc once more, beheading him. I heard the women gasp at the sight of this and as the Warg jumped up I stabbed through his neck killing him instantly. I looked back to Èowyn, whom I could see no longer, then back to the hilltop.
"YA!" I cried out to Hasufel as I pushed him forward. I ran him to the top of the hill where we stood briefly and looked upon the fight. Some of the men and horses were already on the ground dead, others on foot fighting Orc and Warg, and the rest were on horseback. I saw one man with a spear lying on the ground crawling as fast as he could away from a charging Warg rider. Seeing this I pushed Hasufel down the hill, running to catch up with the Warg. I attacked from behind as brought my sword down first on the Orc's neck then the Warg's. The Warg's dead body skidded on the ground to the man's feet as I passed it. I then turned around and began to charge once more, but before I could charge I was met with an Orc blade. I fought with him on horseback, which was unbelievably harder than it would have been on foot. Hasufel continued to move until finally I stabbed the Orc and Warg with my sword; though the stab had not killed the Warg, and instead of dying it reared and ran away, yanking my blade out of my fingers. "NO!" I cried and chased after it. Hasufel and I ran flat out after the Warg, chasing it all over the field, until finally I picked a spear out of the ground as we ran and chucked it at the Warg, piercing its hide. As I watched it fall I was suddenly tackled by frying pan sized paws, knocking me off Hasufel's back.
Hasufel neighed loudly as the Warg leapt over it and then kicked it with his hindquarters, sending the Warg rolling on the rocky ground. Before the Warg stood again, I stood, yanked my sword out of the dead Warg's side, and stabbed the Warg that attacked me. Hasufel came back to my side and as I mounted him again I said to him with a smile, "Good boy Hasufel! Let's go!" I looked and saw that the numbers on both sides had dwindled; I could see Legolas riding his horse and shooting his arrows from Arod's back and I could see Aragorn fighting an Orc on top of a Warg. Théoden was stabbing a Warg in the mouth and many other soldiers were fighting for their lives and their people. I charged once more and took off the heads of a few grounded Orcs, then killed two more Wargs. I looked out over the field and saw that the battle had now ended. Our men were now off their horses or chasing the few remaining Warg riders away. I sighed and sheathed my sword before I patted Hasufel's neck, dismounted him, and walked among the remains of the battle. Maimed and decapitated Orcs and Warg's scattered the ground. I finally saw Gimli taking one last and final whack at a Warg as I approached him.
"Gimli! Where is Legolas and Aragorn?" he turned and said in surprise,
"Laura! I thought you stayed behind!" I shook my head and asked again,
"Where are Legolas and Aragorn?"
"Aragorn!" I heard Legolas call out. He was on foot too looking for Aragorn.
"Aragorn?" Gimli called out also and followed Legolas to the edge of a cliff. I followed as well while looking for any trace of him. "Aragorn?" Gimli called out once more. When I came to the cliff I heard a muffled laughter beside us. I looked and saw a dying Orc, laughing as blood trickled out of the side of his mouth. Gimli walked over and held his axe over the foul Orc's body. "Tell me what happened and I will ease your passing!" The Orc smiled wildly as he managed to choke out,
"He's dead." At these words I lost my breath. I drew my blade and walked to the Orc's side. "He took a little tumble off the cliff." Before I could do anything, Legolas grabbed the Orc and said to it strongly,
"You lie!" at this the Orc began to laugh once more, but before it could finish blood began to bubble from it's mouth and its body fell limp. I stared at the dead Orc in disbelief for a short while before I said quickly,
"No, he couldn't have. He still lives." I then walked to the cliff ledge and looked, searching desperately for any sign of Aragorn. Legolas and Gimli followed and did the same. Théoden then came to my side and looked briefly before he said,
"Get the wounded on horses, leave the dead." I looked to Théoden in a grieved disbelief; I had no words to say to him. He placed his hand on my shoulder as he looked at me sympathetically and then walked back to his horse. I looked to Legolas desperately searching for an answer,
"You came?" Legolas said with concern and surprise as he placed his hand on my shoulder. I moved away from him and muttered,
"Yes…" I left him and sheathed my blade as I walked back to Hasufel, whom I found munching on some short grass. I patted his neck slowly then rested my head on his neck. "Aragorn…dead? Dead too? But…he could not die…he did not die in the books. How could this be?" I thought. "Is…has…has the story…changed?" My chest tightened so that I felt as if I couldn't breathe…or speak. I looked to the ground and mounted Hasufel silently. I saw the other's riding from the battlefield and I joined them in the lines. I rode swiftly to Helm's Deep alongside Legolas, Gimli, and the men of Rohan, forcing my grief to the back of my heart and mind.
Chapter 21 Review RepliesCrystal Moon Magic: I guess we'll have to see whether or not her lives huh? Sorry if I spoiled the story for you…but now you know! By the way, your pen name is so awesome… very artsy…
Ms. Unknown: Boy, I can't believe that you are still following my story…I am so thankful to have such a faithful reviewer!
Marpessa: I'm sorry if I offended you and hope that mine isn't the worst Mary Sue fic that you've ever bashed…
TriGemini: Yeah, I really love how the relationship between Legolas and Laura is slowly growing.
Isabel: Thanks! I loved your raving review! I'm glad that I have a few devoted fans!
Arami: You've been in China? That's the best excuse I've heard yet! Ha ha! I'm just kidding, that must have been amazing, I am VERY jealous! I really hope that you enjyed this chapter!
