Disclaimer can be found in chapter one.
Special thanks to my betas, Michelle, Eärwen and Lossefalme. Great betas are what help make a great story. I could not have done it without you, lasses!
Chapter 27: Anchor
The journey to Helm's Deep seemed to pass by much more quickly than Kaitlyn had expected. Her adrenaline was pumping. She carried three small bags besides her own pack and held the hand of a young boy who had been separated from his mother in the hectic shuffle.
Eowyn walked calmly at the head of the group. She carried a large pack made of small sticks that held clothing and supplies on her back. The people of Rohan followed her and many of the women were directly at her heels.
"There it is! Helm's Deep!" a woman cried out and a chorus of "Helm's Deep!" rose into the air.
Kaitlyn lifted her eyes from the people she traveled with and looked more closely at the mountains that rose directly in front of their path. Carved into the stone was a fortress. A bridge of rock led to giant wooden doors, and a long wall extended to the left. With the way the stone of the fortress had been laid, it reminded Kaitlyn of a medieval castle from England in the times of King Arthur. The gaps between the top stones on each wall drew her attention. Thinking back to her European study classes from college, Kaitlyn remembered this was done so archers could shoot arrows down at enemies and then take cover between the stones.
'Archers like Legolas…,' she thought. A deep well of concern flooded her and she wondered how her companions were fairing. She did not have much time to wallow in her worry as the boy who was holding her hand tugged and shouted for her attention.
"Is it not beautiful, my lady?" he asked. "No one can harm us there. No one has ever broken into Helm's Deep!"
Kaitlyn smiled at the boy's enthusiasm. He was a young boy, only seven years in age or so. He had a head of shoulder length dirty blond hair and green eyes that were similar to her own. He wore a dark green shirt with a leather tie at the neck and dirty tan pants that were frayed and sliced at the bottom. Kaitlyn could picture him with a wooden sword, playing soldier with his friends.
"It is beautiful," she smiled in return. She frowned suddenly, but the boy didn't notice. He was too busy bouncing as he held her hand, chanting what sounded like a war song about the fortress.
Anargthed had been fond of Helm's Deep as well. Apparently, this place meant much to the people of Rohan. She pushed away the thoughts of Anargthed that had entered her mind and concentrated on her steps down the steep hill as they began to descend toward the fortress.
Kaitlyn reunited the boy, Torin, she learned was his name, with his parents. Then she had been Eowyn's shadow for a brief few moments but there was not much she could do. The little food that had been brought was already in storage and most of the people were sitting or standing around or trying to find loved ones. Eowyn told Kaitlyn to make herself comfortable as the shield-maiden of Rohan went off to inspect the fortress and its people.
Kaitlyn climbed a set of stone stairs to the upper level of the fortress. She hoped to catch a glimpse of her companions as they rode across the plains and toward Helm's Deep, but the wall was crowded with people who had already had the same idea.
With all the people standing crowded about, Kaitlyn felt as if she were standing in line at an attraction. She thought of the time that she and her parents had driven to Niagara Falls and how crowded the rails had been by the Canadian Falls.
She sighed as she thought of her parents. A picture of them in her wallet and scattered memories was all she had left.
'I miss you mom and papa. I hope that you're well and that you know how much I love you.'
She sighed again and gazed at the lingering crowd. No one moved from where they stood. All she could do was wait.
An hour passed so slowly Kaitlyn thought a day had gone by. Not a single person budged from the wall and she stood toward the back of the crowd just waiting. Without realizing it, she had bitten her fingernails down to nothing. She had never been separated from her companions for such a long time and she was worried sick about them.
On the hour-long journey to Helm's Deep she had been preoccupied with helping others. Now that the task was done, all she could do was think about the men she loved. Would one or all of them be injured? Would the injury be slight or fatal?
She shook her head and tried to force the dark thoughts away. ''They'll be fine. They're warriors for pity's sake!' she reminded herself.
She broke from her thoughts when she heard a young boy cry out that the men were returning.
Chatter arose at the wall and Kaitlyn stood on her tip-toes in an attempt to gaze out over those who stood in front of her. It was a lost cause, however, and she eventually settled back down on her heels. Excitement bubbled within, but worry gnawed at her as well.
Several long minutes passed and then there was a loud cry to make way for the King.
Kaitlyn's heart began to pound. If the King was entering Helm's Deep then so were Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli!
The people around her walked quickly toward the stone stairs leading down toward the gate. The folk whispered and chattered to each other as the sound of metal horseshoes hitting stone could be heard.
Kaitlyn pushed blindly through the crowd, not bothering to excuse herself and ignoring the remarks and outbursts as she pushed people aside. It had been over two hours since she had seen Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli and she was anxious to be in their presence again.
The King and his men stopped their horses beside the stairs. They looked tired and worn. Some of the soldiers had cuts and scrapes while others favored an arm or a leg. The King dismounted his horse while Lady Eowyn approached him. They began to speak while the King helped a dark haired soldier, who favored his right arm, down from his horse. The King shouted orders to tend to the wounded.
Kaitlyn saw Anargthed and the soldier named Gamling dismount their horses to join the King. Anargthed glanced to his right as he dismounted his chestnut stallion. Kaitlyn followed his stern gaze and caught sight of Legolas and Gimli. Her heart filled with joy.
The blond Elf was still astride Arod, using the added height to his advantage. He lifted in the stirrups slightly. His eyes quickly scanned through the crowd surrounding him.
Gimli had dismounted and was now speaking to Eowyn. The woman looked bewildered.
Kaitlyn assumed the shield-maiden had learned some of the men she knew had died. Kailtyn felt sorry for her, but she didn't trouble herself over it. She was happy that her family had returned to her.
Legolas looked feverishly over the crowd for some sign of Kaitlyn. Where was she? Did she know that they had arrived?
"LEGOLAS!" Kaitlyn cried loudly. Her voice echoed and several people turned to stare at her. She ran down the steps, still pushing past people as the King and soldiers began to ascend the stairs.
The Elf heard her before he saw her. The sound of her voice was like a sweet song to his ears. He caught sight of her rushing down the stairs and dismounted Arod quickly. He was barely aware as one of the soldiers led the stallion away toward the stables.
Kaitlyn ran toward Legolas, her pace quickening as she continued to push past people. When she reached the Elf, she halted a few feet in front of him. Her heart pounded so hard she thought it was going to burst from her chest. She stared at him for a moment, hardly able to believe that he stood before her.
Without thought, she launched herself forward and into his arms.
Legolas caught her easily and pulled her tightly to him. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face into her neck and hair. The sight and feel of her helped to relieve the hurt that was ripping apart his soul.
Kaitlyn drew back quickly, her hands cupping his pale face as her eyes looked him over for wounds. Other than a few tiny cuts on his neck, she found nothing. The tension from the last few days was gone and in its place was concern and relief.
"Thank god that you're alright," she told him, hugging him tightly.
Anargthed watched with disgust as Lady Kaitlyn threw herself at the Eldar and the Eldar returned her embrace. He turned away and followed his King, unable to look at the sickeningly sweet sight for a moment longer.
Legolas lowered his head, resting his chin against her hair and pulling her more tightly against him. He thanked the Valar that she was in his arms.
She pressed her cheek firmly against his chest. "I saw you and Gimli ride in with the King and it was the most wonderful thing I've seen in a long time," she murmured against the soft suede of his jerkin. She raised her head so that she could look into Legolas' eyes and gasped.
She did not know how she had been so blind to miss it, but Legolas was in anguish. The hurt radiated from him like steam from the warm ground after a cool rain. Her breathing and heartbeat quickened and she felt her heart drop into her stomach.
She had never seen so much pain in someone's eyes. It was frightening.
His dark brows were furrowed, forming lines of worry and concern on his forehead. What could have caused him so much torment.
He did not offer any words, so she looked away from him, her eyes quickly scanning the soldiers who had ridden in for some idea of what upset him so. Gimli still spoke to Eowyn, and most of the other soldiers were disbanding, leading their horses away. Others strolled or limped away with their loved ones.
Kaitlyn began to shake when she realized that someone was missing. "Legolas?" She returned her gaze to his tortured eyes. "Where…where is Aragorn?" she stuttered.
The Elf winced at the name and turned his head, closing his eyes as the pain flooded him.
Kaitlyn's eyes filled with tears; she inhaled and exhaled sharply. She suddenly felt light-headed and without warning her knees buckled.
Legolas caught her before she fell to the stone street. Pulling her up into his arms, the Elf noticed they were attracting a good amount of attention. Part of the crowd still lingered and they regarded the Elf and woman in curiousity.
"Tolo, a pedo ah nin," Come, and speak with me, Legolas beckoned softly. He hid his pain from the people of Rohan and put his palm on the small of Kaitlyn's back, steadying and guiding her slowly away from the crowd.
Kaitlyn was not aware of where he directed her. She felt sick to her stomach and numb. Not Aragorn…He couldn't have fallen… She repeated the thoughts in her mind like a mantra.
Legolas led her down a set of long winding stone stairs to a small room that was connected to the armory of Helm's Deep. It was a dark, dismal place filled with broken weapons and cobwebs. It smelled of mold and mildew. But it was the only place he could find that was not dreadfully over crowded with men, women and children. He wished to grieve with her away from the prying eyes of others.
The Elf moved old wooden shields from a dusty wooden bench and guided Kaitlyn to sit.
She was barely aware that she was sitting until Legolas began to pace in front of her.
Kaitlyn drew her arms around her and sat with her head lowered.
After pacing a few steps, Legolas sat beside her. He was in tremendous emotional agony, though the sight of this woman alive and well before him eased him slightly. When she looked up at him with such a lost, forlorn expression, his pain doubled. He took her hands first, running his thumbs over the tips of her fingers. Then he drew her toward him, desperately needing to feel her close to him. She rested her cheek on his shoulder as one of his hands moved up and down her arm in a repetitive motion.
They sat as such for several moments before Kaitlyn lifted her head and gazed at Legolas.
She inhaled and exhaled deeply. "Is he…?"
She could not bring herself to say the word and Legolas realized that he would not speak it aloud either. It was too painful, too final. He peered into her green eyes. "It appears so," he whispered.
Her eyes welled with tears and she bit her lower lip, struggling to remain in control. "How?" she asked after a few moments.
"I did not see it happen," Legolas told her softly and he began to stroke her long hair. "We did not see his body." Legolas' brows lowered over his eyes as he painfully relived finding the pendant. "We…we only learned that he fell from a cliff a terribly far distance into the river."
Kaitlyn covered her mouth with her hand and choked back a sob. "You're…sure?"
Legolas reached into his tunic and opened his palm, showing her the silver pendant of the Evenstar.
Kaitlyn shook her head in disbelief when she saw it in the Elf's hand. Aragorn would never be without the pendant unless something dreadful had happened.
Legolas put the pendant away. It felt heavy and awkward in his hands. "It is difficult for me to believe his…passing to be true," Legolas told her.
"It's stupid!" Kaitlyn spat loudly and unexpectedly. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she cried out. She balled one hand into a fist and pounded it three times against her thigh.
Legolas' eyes widened in surprise.
"He killed a ton of orcs at Amon Hen," she cried out. "He ran all that way until we met the Rohirrim and got horses and he never faltered. He's destined to be a King for God's sake…I just can't believe that we lost Aragorn to a fall from a…cliff!"
Legolas tilted his head, his blond hair spilling down his right shoulder, as he peered into her face. "Aye, it does not seem possible. He is too strong for such a …fate." The Elf's voice trembled slightly.
He cursed himself, for his control was slipping. The death of his kinsmen due to the evil fortress of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood and the death of several of his friends in the Home Guard when Gollum had escaped had never invoked such open emotion in him. The mortal Ranger meant much more to him than he realized when the man still lived.
"Why?" Kaitlyn wailed. "It's not fair! He was to be King! He was such a good man!" She pounded her fist against her thigh again. "I'm tired of losing people that I love!"
Kaitlyn tried not to cry. She had been crying too much lately, but she could not help it. She loved Aragorn as one loved a brother and the thought of never seeing him again was devastating.
To her horror, she began to cry hard. Loud, ugly sobs, and once they began they would not stop.
The sound of her cries tore at the Elf's already fragile heart. Legolas drew her closer, continuing to stroke her hair as she covered her face with her hands.
Legolas did not attempt to make her stop. Were he not raised to be a warrior with schooled emotions, he would have cried along with her.
He touched her hair and then he pressed his lips to her forehead. She lowered her hands, the tears streaming down her face. Legolas pressed his lips to her cheek and kissed away her salty tears.
She sobbed harder due to his gentle caresses, but he did not cease.
He brushed back the hair from her shoulders and kissed the underside of her jaw and then her neck beneath her earlobe. He felt her heartbeat pulsing beneath his mouth. He felt it quicken and he lingered there, placing gentle kisses on her tender skin. He knew not what drove him to do such things. He only knew that the agonizing pain within him lifted slightly when he touched her and heard her soft gasps of surprise and pleasure. His actions and her soft sounds sent fire spiraling through his belly and groin. It spread through his whole body, threatening to devour him.
Kaitlyn's cries faded quickly and she inhaled and exhaled loudly.
Legolas raised his head and lifted his lips from her skin before the fire within him caused him to lose all coherent thought. His heart thundered within his chest and his breathing had become unsteady.
Exhausted from her sobbing, Kaitlyn rested her head on Legolas' shoulder. Her skin burned with white-hot flame where the Elf's lips had touched her and it spread through her entire being. His caresses had been so gentle that they had made her weep even harder.
She waited several moments until her heartbeat had slowed and her breathing had evened, then raised her head from Legolas' shoulder and dared to peer into his face.
Legolas still appeared to be in pain, but concern also marked his fair features. Concern and something else that Kaitlyn could not understand shone in the Elf's eyes. She did not realize that her eyes mirrored his.
"Do you really think that he's…gone?" she croaked softly. Her voice sounded alien to her. Her head swam from Aragorn's absence and Legolas' touch. All of this seemed surreal.
She gazed downward and toyed with the collar of his tunic, unable to look into his eyes any longer.
Legolas brushed his fingers across her face and pushed a few tendrils of her dark hair behind her ear. "Ú-istan." I know not.
She shuddered and swallowed hard. "What do you believe in your heart?" she asked. She looked up and gazed intently into his pale blue eyes eyes.
Legolas lowered his head for a moment, her gaze too powerful for him to hold. "That I am foolish to harbor hope in my heart," he admitted softly.
"You feel hope?" she asked, sitting up straight. Her tone seemed lighter and Legolas sensed hope arise in her.
Legolas swallowed and raised his eyes to regard her. "Aye," he whispered truthfully.
Kaitlyn leaned against him again, lost in the thought of hope.
Legolas pulled her roughly into his arms. He could not stop himself. He could not comprehend his own actions and he did not attempt to.
Kaitlyn did not protest. She welcomed whatever embrace he sought to give her and gave him one of her own. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him as if her life depended on it.
The feelings of tension and uneasiness from days past should have tripled in intensity, but they did not. They were lost and what remained was need.
At this moment, the Mirkwood Elf and the mortal woman from the realm of New York knew how important the other was. They were each an anchor, a lifeline, and a comfort neither of them intended to let vanish into the cold murky waters of loss, pain and anguish.
Despite the hope he held on to, Legolas was still troubled and pained. Aragorn had been his friend and he loved the mortal man as a brother. He might never see the Ranger again and that did not sit well with the Elf.
Kaitlyn shifted in his arms and Legolas' thoughts turned to her again. The thought of losing her one day caused Legolas to let out a soft cry of pain.
Kaitlyn was surprised by the noise that escaped the Elf's throat. It had sounded as if someone had shoved a knife through his heart.
Legolas gripped Kaitlyn tighter. It did not matter how close she was, for it was not close enough to him. The feel of her warm, breathing body against his comforted him beyond reasoning. He did not attempt to wonder or ask why she held sway over him. He continued to hold her, his slender fingers once again finding her hair. He cradled her in his arms, reveling in the comfort her presence afforded him, and held onto the hope that Aragorn was not dead and gone.
Legolas did not know how much time had passed. He could tell from the sound of Kaitlyn's breathing that in her exhaustion, the mortal woman had fallen into sleep. He wished he could do the same, but sleep would not come for him any time soon.
He held her for a long while after this; until he realized that he must rise. He needed fresh air to clear his confused and troubled mind.
He lay her down on the bench and tried to disentangle her. It was difficult to do without waking her. Her arms were still around his neck and one of her hands had managed to wrap around a large strand of his blond hair. It was a miracle that he was able to set her down without disturbing her.
He managed the task and Kaitlyn remained peacefully asleep. She curled up, her hand reaching blindly for something that wasn't there, but she did not awaken.
Legolas knelt beside her, his fingers never leaving her hair. His eyes never left her body. He gazed at her until he was certain that he had memorized all there was to see.
Things were happening all wrong. Aragorn should not have died. He was to be the King of Gondor. What would happen now? Who would they follow? Gandalf had gone to find the Marshal of the Mark. The Ring was in the hands of a Hobbit too far ahead to track. The path of protecting the ring bearer had been lost to them for weeks now.
Legolas looked away, his eyes falling upon the markings of the Rohirrim. The intricate golden swirls and horse head designs littered the room on shattered shields and broken armor.
What would they do? Where would they go? What place did an Elf of the North, a stubborn Dwarf and a misplaced mortal maiden have here in Rohan?
Kaitlyn murmured something in her sleep and Legolas' gaze fell upon her once again. He watched her for a moment, enthralled by the sight of her. Her dark hair had fallen from its bindings and it spilled freely across her shoulder and drifted down the side of the bench like black ink. Her skin had lost its reddish tone from crying, leaving her pale in the dim light. Her eyes were closed and in sleep she looked completely at peace.
Legolas wished that he could feel the same, but he was far from such a feeling. War loomed. He could sense its long, devastating, ice cold fingers reaching toward Rohan. Evil stirred nearby and gave no pretense of retreating.
The Mirkwood Prince stepped away to the doorway. He braced himself against the frame of the door and cast a lingering look on Kaitlyn before he closed his eyes, and faced toward the west.
"Eru, anno nin bellas, bronwe a tortha. Ú-istan man an caro," Legolas whispered. God, give me strength, endurance and control. I know not what to do.
The Elf opened his eyes and glanced at Kaitlyn once more. Then he looked away, stepped through the doorway, and walked on toward an unknown destination.
To be continued….
Hi everyone! How about that for a nice quick update? Please don't expect them often, but they do happen occasionally. Last chapter I forgot to award the points for those who guessed correctly about pictures in ch 25. There were actually three correct answers. The three correct answers were: 1 The image with Legolas and Kaitlyn both looking to the right and Legolas' hand is in her hair. 2. The image with their foreheads together and 3. The image of Kaitlyn sitting behind Legolas on Arod. If you picked 2 of the three or all 3, give yourself 10 points!
I've made a cast page so that there are faces to go with names. I'm still working on it so not everyone is listed, but the bulk of the page is there. It can be found via a link to my website found in my profile. Go to the LOTR fiction page and you will see a link beneath the summary of "MF" for the Cast page.
In light of ff.net constantly being down, I've decided to back up my story at lotrfanfiction dot com. (ff.net doesn't allow urls so that's .com) My chapter has been up at that site before this one because ff.net is becoming far too unreliable. My author name at lotrfanfiction is Cormak.
As always, I'd like to thank my reviewers for taking the time to leave me comments. Comments and useful crits enable authors to write better. I look at the work I was doing just a few years ago and then now and it's amazing how far I've come and home much I've learned from betas and reviewers. Til next time!
