Chapter 8
Naurrîn was wakened quite rudely after only about an hour and a half of rest.
"Go away or I shall have to kill you." Naurrîn muttered, still half asleep as she rolled over on her bed, nearly onto her sword too. The shaking persisted.
"Lord Aragorn has returned so wake up!" Zefron stated, still shaking his friend's shoulder. Naurrîn groaned and unglazed her eyes as she looked at Zefron.
"Do you have any idea how much I detest you right now?" she asked, getting out of bed and nearly falling back onto it because her head was still throbbing.
"I wonder why, (Do you need to be healed?)" Zefron replied. He had only his staff with him; his other weapons were in the room Eowyn found for him.
"What do you think, you evil wizard." Zefron laughed and started looking at the head wound he had given to her that morning.
"This may feel a bit odd."
"I will live through it," Naurrîn replied, looking at the mirror before turning back quickly. "Right, I will live?"
"No, I think you died awhile back when I first met you." Naurrîn snorted very un-lady like at that statement and watched as Zefron turned his hand a glowing blue and placed it on the back of her head, healing it within a few seconds.
"Thank you very much, now if you will excuse me, I must go and see to Aragorn and if he actually is alive." Naurrîn walked over to her bed and strapped her sword onto the sheath on her back and put her daggers on her hips.
Throne room…
"All Isenguard has emptied," Aragorn said looking quite distressed.
"How many?" Theoden asked, walking around impatiently.
"Ten thousand strong at least."
"Ten thousand what?" Naurrîn asked as she and Zefron entered the room.
"Uruk-hai," came the curt reply. Naurrîn stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Aragorn in horror.
"Ten thousand?" Theoden asked in disbelief.
"It is an army made for a single purpose, to destroy the world of men." Aragorn said.
"Let them come!" Theoden stated, walking out of the room quickly with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli following him as well as all of the guards in the room. Zefron and Naurrîn stayed behind and went over what little that they had heard with no one, but them in the room.
"We are going to die." Naurrîn whispered, sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees.
"Do not say such a thing Naurrîn, we have survived worse than this… none that I can recall at the moment, but there were some." Zefron stated, kneeling down and putting a hand on Naurrîn's shoulder. "I will be back in a bit, do not fret." Naurrîn nodded solemnly and put her chin on her raised knees. Once he was gone, Naurrîn moved herself over into a corner and started to cry silently.
"I do not want the rest of the Fellowship to die, I do not want Zef to die, I do not want any one to die!" Naurrîn sobbed, thinking back to the day when she lost her family and watched her brother's life being taken from him.
"Why do you cry Naurrîn?" a soft elven voice asked her. Naurrîn looked at the ground where a white mist was forming before looking up to the speaker.
"Oh Zefron, uruk-hai are coming and we are going to die!" she cried, jumping into Zefron's double's arms and sobbing into his shoulder. He stroked her back and kissed the top of her head as he tried to quiet her.
"There, there Naurrîn. I will not let anything happen to you or anyone else if I can help it." Zefron stated. He took Naurrîn by the shoulders and brought her away from him a bit, making her look him straight into the eyes. "Though, I forbid you to fight."
"Never! I am fighting and that is final, I will not stand around with the other women in the caves and pretend to look worried because I will kill you right after I get out of there."
"From a crying, little elleth to a deadly killer in a split moment… never thought I would ever see that in my life time." Zefra's double stated as she appeared in the room. "But then again, it is Naurrîn we are talking about."
"Do you think I should fight Zef?" Naurrîn questioned the newly arrived double. Zefra pondered for a few seconds.
"Hello to you too. Yes, but only if you do not get yourself killed." Zefra replied. Zefron glared at her.
"How can you say such a thing…!" Zefron started to say when their elven hearing picked up Eowyn walking towards them.
"I am fighting Zefron, I will avenge my family and fight." Naurrîn stated, before the twin's doubles disappeared.
"Naurrîn! There you are, you must help the women and children into the caves and prepare for yourself to go there too." Eowyn stated, walking briskly over to the elleth.
"I will help the others into the caves but I am to fight in battle along side the men, for if they die then so shall I!" Naurrîn said stubbornly. Eowyn looked at her in horror.
"Surly you do not mean that,"
"I mean what I say Eowyn, now I you shall excuse me. I must go and get out of this dress and into some battle attire, and maybe even get Zef to enchant my sword somehow…" Naurrîn went on babbling to herself as she walked towards her room, leaving a very confused Eowyn alone in the room.
"What type of nonsense are you speaking now?" Zefron asked, standing in Naurrîn's doorway as she threw her clothes around the room in search of a tunic and some breeches.
"None of your concern Zef, by the way do you happen in have a spare tunic and breeches I seem to have misplaced mine." Zefron rolled his eyes and threw Naurrîn a black tunic and breeches from the folds of his robe somehow.
"Have you talked to Legolas or Aragorn about me fighting?" Naurrîn asked, going behind a changing screen in the corner of the room.
"I was going to, but they both just ignored me for some odd reason."
"Well no matter what anyone says, I am fighting and that is that."
"Of course Naurrîn," Zefron wasn't really paying attention to her at the moment because he was to busy looking at her sword, that had been her brother's at one point. He wondered is Naurrîn would be mad if he enchanted it to kill all uruk-hai it touches and healed all elves or humans it touched.
"Legolas and Aragorn are probably going to disagree with my decision, would you not agree? Zef are you even listening to me?" Naurrîn asked, tapping her foot on the ground in annoyance. Zefron looked up from the sword quickly at the angry elleth before him.
"Not really you know," Zefron replied, looking sheepish. "But I was thinking about enchanting your sword if you are to attend the battle."
"That would be lovely if you do not mind." Naurrîn replied, looking thoughtfully at her brother's old sword.
"You may want to go and find some armor to wear. I will put the spell on it and then get ready myself." Zefron stated; shoving her out of the room after Naurrîn put on her cloak.
"Of course Zef, and I will most certainly not let Aragorn or Legolas see me either." Naurrîn hummed out loud and nearly began skipping on her way to the armory but she managed to stop herself from doing so in time.
"Where do you think you are going Naurrîn?" a voice asked from behind Naurrîn, causing her to stop dead in her tracks.
"Why do you want to know? Perhaps I just wanted to go for a walk without anyone bothering me." Naurrîn stated, turning around to face Aragorn.
"A battle field is no place for a lady such as yourself Naurrîn. You may get hurt," Naurrîn rolled her aqua/hazel coloured eyes and tried to keep her anger inside of her.
"I can fight just as well as the other pitiful men that are going into battle, possibly even better! You cannot tell me what to do because I follow my own set of rules." And with that, Naurrîn stormed away leaving a very stunned future king in her dust.
"You are fighting then lassie?" Gimli asked as Naurrîn flopped very ungraceful beside a wall.
"Oh yes, most definitely." Naurrîn stated more to herself than to Gimli. "I would not be able to live with myself if I left everyone that I care about to die on the battle field without at least trying to help. Also the fact that this is for revenge."
"Why is that?"
"My…" Naurrîn started, her eyes slowly filling in with tears as she took a deep, shaky breath, "my mother, father and brother were slain by orcs when I was no more than a very young elleth. And I had to watch my brother die too, that Gimli is why I must fight." The tears were flowing freely down her cheeks now and she quickly brushed then away.
"Then I shall do nothing to stop you if that is your wish." Gimli said. Naurrîn smiled and looked around for Zefron.
"I never thought a dwarf could be so understanding, if you do not mind me saying Gimli. I had always been told that dwarves were terrible creatures of Middle Earth, but I am afraid that they are to the contrary." Gimli smiled too.
"Why thank you lassie, now if you shall excuse me. I have some business to attend to," Naurrîn nodded and laughed as she watched the stout figure make his way through the crowds of tall humans.
"Naurrîn! Naurrîn, you must make ready for the caves." Legolas stated, walking over to the younger elleth. Naurrîn whirled around to face her fellow elf kin with pure frustration set in her features.
"For Eru's sake! I AM NOT GOING INTO THE BLOODY CAVES!" Naurrîn yelled into the slightly older elf's face. Legolas flinched as the sound hit his very sensitive elf ears.
"Now Naurrîn, calm down. You can only participate in the battle if you are good little elleth." Zefron stated, walking up to his fellow kin.
"Who do you think you are? Telling me what to do, I never…" Naurrîn muttered to herself as she walked away towards the armory.
"You told her she could fight?" Legolas asked.
"Yes of course, and even if I did not I am sure that she would have gotten onto the battle field one way or another." Zefron replied, looking up to the already darkening sky. "Did you and Aragorn get into a disagreement?"
Legolas quickly walked away, muttering something about going to prepare for battle.
"Lord Zefron?" someone asked from behind Zefron.
"Yes, what do you want?" Zefron retorted, looking coldly at the guard who was speaking to him.
"King Theoden would like you to come to the throne room this moment." Zefron nodded and followed the guard back to the room of stone where Theoden was just getting the finishing touches put onto his armor.
"How did it come to this?" Zefron heard Theoden whisper.
"You wished to see me milord?" Zefron questioned in a loud monotone voice, quite unlike his usual loquacious voice. His words rang off the walls and echoed back to them.
"You remember back at the plains of Rohan do you not?" Theoden responded. Zefron nodded his hooded head, remembering how much magic he had been drained of only to create a double of around two dozen men.
"I would like you to create doubles of my small army against the coming uruk-hai." Zefron stared at him, wide-eyed at his wish.
"I am sorry my lord, but I cannot do this deed…"
"It is not a instruction, wizard. I am ordering you to do this!"
"I am not a master of magic King Theoden. If I try and do a spell that large it could be the death of me, is that the sacrifice you are willing to make. My life for theirs?"
"If that is what must happen then so be it." Zefron looked at him in shock.
"If that is your command then I shall honor it, but this is not for you Theoden, King. This is for those who you are making fight and will not make it." Zefron replied coldly before walking away quickly. As he walked down the hallway, Naurrîn came up beside him with armor of the Rohirim on that was just a bit to big for her.
"Zef, what is the matter? Zef please talk to me, you are scaring me." Naurrîn pleaded, running alongside the elven wizard. Zefron stayed quiet until he reached his room.
"I might as well have Aragorn stab me through the heart with the red dagger right now." Zefron said quietly, strapping on his sword sheath over his left shoulder. Naurrîn let out a small squeak.
"What do you mean? What did Theoden want?" Naurrîn demanded, stopping Zefron as he tried to walk away.
"He wants me to sacrifice myself and use up what little magic I have managed to regain back from the previous battle."
"Doubles you mean?" Zefron nodded solemnly and strapped his quiver of arrows over his right shoulder and his daggers around his waist.
"Naurrîn, if I use that much magic up I may not make it through the night."
"Then do not do it, do not take orders from a human king. Maybe we can get Aragorn to talk to Theoden and get his to change his mind…"
"Naurrîn it is no use, I have orders and now I must fulfil them. Even if it means my death over theirs." Naurrîn was about to reply when a horn interrupted them.
"That is no orc horn," Naurrîn said, smiling because she knew whom it really was. Zefron grabbed his bow and headed out of the room with Naurrîn right at his heels.
"Open the gates!" a man from Rohan ordered, looking over the wall at who was coming. Elves from Lothlorian came marching through the open gates; the faces of the Rohirim showed hope in battle at last.
"How is this possible?" Theoden asked in a bit of a daze as the elves stopped in front of him.
"I bring word from Elrond of Rivendell. An alliance once existed between elves and men," Haldir started, but was interrupted as Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli ran to the top of the step. "We have come to honour that allegiance."
"Mae govanne." Aragorn stated, walking over to the elven leader and pulling him into a hug. Legolas greeted him too but in the elven fashion more so.
"Haldir!" Naurrîn shrieked, running over to the elf and nearly knocking him over as she hugged him.
"What, do we not get the same greeting or is Haldir your favourite brother?" Rumil asked as he and Orophin walked up beside the young elleth. Naurrîn hit them both playfully in the shoulders and pulled them into hugs too.
"We are proud to fight alongside men once more." Haldir stated.
"And so may the pain and agony begin…" Zefron whispered, watching the happy reunion with his bow clutched to his chest.
Legolas's Girl 9: okay then… you do as you wish… thanks 4 reviewing!
Jousting Elf with a Sabre: I still feel very special! Thanks for reviewing! & I hope ya like it!DarkAngelPearl: feel special? You'd better, took me awhile to get over the evil writer's block. I finally chopped it up into little tiny pieces so it can never come back! MWAHAHAHAHA! Anywho… and about Templa, I ain't sayin' nothin'. It'll spoil the ending, so let's just say that she's special and leave it at that. And for Pete's sake girl, UPDATE SILENT ANGEL!
Here is your long awaited chapter 8 peoples!