Disclaimers are in chapter 1. Many thanks to my beta, Lossefalme. Hooray for betas. I don't think I could ever go back to writing without one or two.

Chapter 29: An Unlikely Warrior…

The Glittering Caves were well named. The light-colored stone contained veins of gems and crystals that extended in all directions. When touched by the firelight of the torches the caves glittered and sparkled.

Kaitlyn had not paid much attention to the caves on her earlier visits to help others and unload supplies. She had been far too occupied in her tasks. Now, while she had little else to do but wait, the sight of the caves intrigued her.

She understood now why Gimli was so interested in this place. Dwarves loved to mine and dig underground. This place was a home away from home for him.

At the thought of her Dwarf companion her mood turned somber. She missed him and her other friends greatly and it had only been a half an hour since Legolas had brought her to the caves.

Tears filled her eyes at the thought of never seeing Legolas again. He had told her not to think such thoughts, but how could she not? There were ten thousand Uruk-hai against several hundred men and Elves.

She sighed heavily. She could do nothing to help Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli or even Haldir, and that ate at her as the sea devours the sand when the waves crash in.

"Kaitlyn?"

Kaitlyn jerked her head up at the sound of her name and saw Eowyn standing before her.

The Shield Maiden of Rohan had pulled her long wavy hair back out of her face. Dirt marred her normally clean features and clothing. Her eyebrows were raised and her eyes were wide.

"You look surprised to see me," Kaitlyn noted dryly.

"I…I am. I thought that you were with Lord Aragorn and the others," Eowyn answered quietly.

Kaitlyn shook her head sadly. "Aragorn wouldn't let me fight and neither would Legolas."

Eowyn nodded in understanding. "I have been here for hours and I did not see you. I assumed they let you fight."

"I just arrived a short while ago. The enemy had been spotted, so, it was time for me to come here." While her tone was sad there was underlying anger.

Eowyn nodded slowly. "You still wish to fight with them. I see it in your eyes," she commented softly.

Kaitlyn looked away and nodded before returning her glance to the King's niece. "But it's not my place. At least, not today." She sighed heavily. "I almost feel like a different person. Not very long ago I wouldn't have wanted to fight. I would probably have run and hid."

"People change."

Kaitlyn pursed her lips. "Yes, they do."

Eowyn frowned. "The Uruk-hai are approaching. I can hear them."

"I hear them, too," Kaitlyn noted quietly.

The distant rumbling had started fifteen minutes ago. It was raining and thundering beyond the caves, but this was not thunder they heard. This shook the very foundations of the earth.

Kaitlyn bit her lower lip and put a hand on Eowyn's shoulder. "We need to be hopeful. It's what they would want."

Eowyn smiled. Her Uncle and King and many she knew who were fighting would indeed want hope.

The rumbling grew louder. Children buried their faces into their parents' shoulders. Babies cried and so did several frightened mothers.

It was not long before the rumbling became so loud, Kaitlyn could not hear herself think. She closed her eyes and listened to the tremendous sound and prayed for her friends once more.

The moment the fighting started it could be heard from the caves. Many women wept bitterly for their husbands, brothers or sons whom they feared would never return alive.

Kaitlyn sat holding the hand of a young boy. His older brother fought in the war tonight and his mother and father had died years before. Kaitlyn felt sorry for the child and had gone to him when she saw him crying alone. She knew how he felt and she comforted him as best as she could.

A short time later there were shouts at the door and the wounded began piling in. Some were men who had abandoned their posts. Others had been dragged in by soldiers or friends in the hope that they could be saved. And many died in the doorway before help could be given.

Kaitlyn left the young boy with a mother who had a young son fighting. The woman seemed calmed by the boy's presence due to the absence of her own son.

Kaitlyn saw Eowyn tearing bandages and ordering bowls of clean water to be brought to the wounded. Without a word, Kaitlyn began to help. She did anything she could. She cut bandages, she cleaned wounds, and she wrapped horrific wounds that made her sick to her stomach. The self appointed tasks kept her mind away from her friends.

There were shouts at the door again and Kaitlyn attempted to drown them out. Her hands were stained with blood from helping the other wounded that had been brought in. She did not need to see who had been brought in this time. In fact, she would not look. She feared that one of the wounded to enter would be a friend.

"It's an Elf!"

Kaitlyn snapped her head around to stare at the crowd in the doorway when she heard several people cry out that a fair-haired Elf had been brought in. Her heart began to pound so hard it hurt.

'Please, God, don't let it be Legolas…please…'

She got to her feet and rushed toward the door, blindly pushing past any in her way.

Several women and older men were crouched around the newest arrival. Kaitlyn stopped just before she could see who lay upon the cold stone ground. She took a deep breath and readied herself for the worst.

She stepped forward and the air shot from her lungs.

A blond haired Elven warrior lay on the ground, but it was not Legolas.

This Elf was dressed in elaborate metal plated armor, but it had done little to save his life. His side was badly torn and mangled, no doubt by a Uruk-hai's primitive blade. Blood oozed from the large wound and several other smaller ones on his body. The Elf murmured something in Elvish, but Kaitlyn could not understand what he said.

She put her hand on the shoulder of an elderly woman and asked her to move aside. The woman did so with haste and Kaitlyn knelt beside the Elf.

He had long blond hair that fell past his waist. His face was longer than Legolas' and his brows were not so dark. He had deep brown eyes that reminded her of Merry's and for a moment she wondered how her hobbit friends faired.

The Elf turned his head from side to side, grasped at the empty air, and spoke in his strange language again.

Kaitlyn wondered if he spoke one of the Elvish dialects or if he was delirious. She reached for one of his hands and gripped it gently.

"Pedich Sindarin, maethor?" she asked. (You speak Sindarin, warrior?).

The Elf stilled at her words, regarded her curiously, and nodded slowly. A tear escaped from his eye and Kaitlyn knew he struggled to ignore the pain.

"Trenaro nin man le ista," she beckoned, to keep his mind from his injuries(Tell me what you know.)

"Istach Sindarin?" he asked. (You know Sindarin?)

"Aye, mellyn nin Aragorn a Legolas pedi ha. Trenaro nin man le ista." (Yes, my friends Aragorn and Legolas speak it. Tell me what you know.)

"I 'lamhoth… fara mellon hen… Aragorn. Istar e na i…Aran o Gondor." The Elf admitted slowly.(The host of orcs hunt your friend Aragorn. They know he is to be the King of Gondor.)

"What?!" Kaitlyn gasped. How did the orcs know such information? At the Elf's confused expression she asked, "Man?" (What?)

"I 'lamhoth fara…mellon hen…Aragorn. Ú-innar daro… na-den ho… fern," he told her. (The host of orcs hunt your friend Aragorn. They will not stop until he is dead.) His breathing had become labored and his chest rose and fell heavily.

Kaitlyn felt numb. If the Uruk-hai knew about Aragorn then things did not bode well for the Ranger at all.

"What are they saying? She is mortal and yet she speaks their language," one of the Rohan women noted aloud.

Kaitlyn ignored her as well as the others who began to mumble to themselves about what was taking place. Kaitlyn did not care if the people of Rohan thought it unnatural for a mortal woman to know the language of the Eldar. She left them to their gossip and tended to the Elf.

She sighed softly. The information the Elf had given her did not ease her heart, but she appreciated it none the less.

"Le hannon an i hiniath," she told the dying Elf and she bowed her head to him. (Thank you for the news.)

He swallowed hard and nodded.

Kaitlyn ripped a large strip from the bottom of her dress and moved to stop the Elf's bleeding, but he would not allow it.

Kaitlyn could see that he suffered and it tore her apart. While she had just seen several wounded men die before they could be saved, to see an Elf dying was something quite different.

This Elf appeared older than Legolas, which meant he could be well over three thousand years old. He must have seen incredible things in his lifetime and must have extensive knowledge. And now he would perish; all he knew would be lost to Middle Earth. He would never again step foot in his homeland. He would die in Helm's Deep.

Tears filled Kaitlyn's eyes as she asked, "Man eneth lin, maethor?" Her voice shook.(What is your name, warrior?)

"Thunin…"

"Ias cara le tolo o, Thunin?" (Where do you come from, Thunin?)

"Lothlorien,…hiril nin. Gerich ...cenni ha?" he asked with hope in his tone.

(Lothlorien, my lady. You have seen it?)

Kaitlyn nodded and gripped his hand tighter when he swallowed hard to ignore the pain that wracked his body.

Thunin was beyond saving. He had been before he entered the caves and he knew this. He lay in a puddle of his own blood, his breathing becoming more labored and in deep gasps. It would not be long now.

"Gerin cenni ha. Tond bain mellryn. I laiss sui celebren ned Anor," she told him.(I have seen it. Tall beautiful mallorn trees. The leaves as silver in the Sun.) Her gaze drifted far away as she thought of the beautiful land she had spent a month residing in. She had trained there and solidified her friendships there.

Tears streamed down Kaitlyn's face. She felt the life leave Thunin's body before his hand had loosened its grip on hers and he had taken his last breath. The great warmth of his body diminished.

Thunin of Lothlorien had passed.

She gazed down at his face to see that his eyes were closed and a smile graced his lips. Her description of Lothlorien had given him some peace before his death.

Kaitlyn wiped the tears from her face with the sleeve of her dress. "Mae cuinar ned i dhaim o Mandos, Thunin," she whispered as she lay Thunin's hand on his chest. (Live well in the Halls of Mandos, Thunin.)

She got to her feet and quickly left Thunin's side. She pushed past the crowd that had gathered, oblivious to their chatter.

She mourned the passing of such a beautiful being and she grieved the possibility that her friends would die alone on the battlefield without the comfort that Thunin had received from her.

She retreated to a darkened area of the caves and wept heavily in solitude.

Aragorn could not understand how so many Uruk-hai had scaled the walls in such a short amount of time. They were ruthless as they fought and they did not care who they killed.

The Ranger watched with horror as young boys, old men and hardy warriors alike were stripped viciously of their lives.

He lost sight of Gimli and Legolas as four Uruk-hai advanced to his position. Aragorn gripped his sword tightly and lunged at any who dared to challenge him. Despite the lack of rest, the heir of Gondor fought on. He was determined to see the dawn and a world without fear gripping it so tightly.

He battled on, ignoring the pain in his body and the exhaustion that set in. With the sheer number of Uruk-hai, it was not long before they surrounded him. They seemed particularly interested in him and he did not understand why.

He killed one after the other and still they came forth.

He raised his sword, prepared to kill another when something large fell against him. He jumped aside in surprise as the body of an Uruk-hai fell to the ground beside him. An Elvish arrow protruded from the creature's neck and another one in its side.

Aragorn had not been aware that the Uruk-hai was behind him. Someone had saved his life.

An arrow whirled wildly and buried itself into the arm of a nearby Uruk-hai. The creature howled in pain. Aragorn took the opportunity to finish it off and beheaded it.

Another arrow found its mark in the thigh of a nearby beast.

Aragorn turned his head enough to see a warrior firing arrows from the ground 20 yards away.

The warrior was dressed in a dark tunic and light colored leggings. He wore a helmet of the Rohirrim soldiers but was not large in stature, and Aragorn wondered briefly if a young boy had gotten a hold of some Elvish arrows. Many of the arrows went wide, showing the lack of skill, but several found their mark in a Uruk-hai soldier.

The Ranger took the opportunity given to him and lunged with his sword at any creature around him until they were dead.

He heard a cry and spun around to discover that the warrior had been shot in the side by a Uruk-hai's poisoned arrow. The warrior fell to the ground, grasping his side as Uruk-hai soldiers ran toward him.

Aragorn rushed toward the warrior who had helped him, desperately attempting to save the man.

But when Aragorn arrived within a few feet of the warrior, he realized it had not been a man who had given him aid.

"Dear Eru," he whispered. His breathing quickened. The bow that lay on the ground beside the warrior…

A Uruk-hai attempted to kill the warrior with its massive sword, but before the beast could finish his fatal blow, the warrior stabbed the Uruk-hai in the leg with a dagger.

Aragorn would have recognized that dagger anywhere. He knew the hand that wielded it. Just as he knew the bow on the ground.

The Ranger killed the wounded Uruk-hai before it could harm the warrior. Then Aragorn fell to his knees beside the wounded fighter.

"You foolish girl," he managed between clenched teeth. He removed the Rohirrim helmet from the warrior's head and hissed in a breath when he saw he was not mistaken.

Kaitlyn smiled faintly as the helmet was removed and her long dark hair spilled down over her shoulders. The smile faded quickly, however, and she squeezed her eyes shut in pain.

Aragorn gazed down at the arrow protruding from her side. Tears clouded the Ranger's eyes.

Without wasting a moment's time, he reached for the arrow buried in her side and snapped the shaft nearly down to the tip. He scooped Kaitlyn into his arms and forced himself to ignore her anguished cry of pain due to his actions. He opened his mouth to call for help but closed it at the last moment, thinking better of it.

Aragorn did not know what would happen if Legolas saw Kaitlyn like this. The Ranger also did not know how Gimli would react.

"Legolas'….bow," came a faint voice.

Aragorn swiftly lowered to the ground with Kaitlyn in his arms and retrieved the fallen bow.

"They…. They're after you…They know…" Kaitlyn told him through clenched teeth. She felt dizzy and her blood seemed as if it were on fire. She wondered numbly if Thunin felt this way before his death.

Aragorn looked down at the woman in his arms. "Do not speak. Save your strength."

"No…They know…They won't stop 'til you…you're dead. The future King…of Gondor."

"Do not speak!" Aragorn commanded harshly. The Ranger was dizzy with indecision. The Uruk-hai approached him again. He could not fight with Kaitlyn in his arms and she needed to be brought to safety and have the arrow tip removed.

Kaitlyn kept quiet and closed her eyes to fight off the scream of agony that rose within her throat. Being stabbed by Derrick nearly paled in comparison to the horrible pain she now felt.

Aragorn caught sight of a familiar face fighting nearby. "Anargthed!"

The Rohan soldier turned abruptly at the call of his name. He rushed to Aragorn when he saw whom he held.

The fair-haired man shook his head in disbelief. "I saw the Elf take her to the caves, how did she-"

"There is no time. Take her to the caves, "Aragorn ordered. Anargthed definitely would not have been his first choice, but he was here and Kaitlyn needed help.

Anargthed glanced upward and to the right where King Theoden and Gamling stood on the high wall.

"If you cannot leave your post, find someone that can bring her to safety." Aragorn swallowed. "Please," he added softly.

"I will bring her," Anargthed answered. "I owe it to her after what happened between us." He opened his arms and Aragorn lowered Kaitlyn into them.

The Ranger turned to leave but was stopped by the hand that grabbed his leather vest.

"Aragorn…." Kaitlyn whimpered. "Don't leave… please…"

The Ranger swallowed hard. Kaitlyn was petrified. Her voice shook, her green eyes were wide, and her lower lip and jaw trembled.

Looking deeply into her eyes, Aragorn realized she feared for him, Legolas and Gimli. Just as she feared for herself. That she would die, never to see them or the world again.

Aragorn grasped her hand and squeezed it. "Remain strong. Cling to hope. Legolas, Gimli and I shall see you after dawn. I expect to see you recovering."

He released her hand quickly and looked to Anargthed. "Bring her to Lady Eowyn if possible."

Anargthed nodded and Aragorn was gone.

Kaitlyn whimpered as a scared child would. One moment Aragorn had been there holding her and her hand and then he had gone. He had disappeared into the crowd like a ghost.

Within her disoriented state she came to a horrific realization: She was alone… She was going to die alone.

She had forgotten that Anargthed held her until he moved swiftly through the Uruk-hai and his kinsmen toward the back of Helm's Deep.

Kaitlyn clenched her teeth and bit her tongue to keep from crying. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth and the sounds around her became deafening. She felt warm and cold at the same time and her body began to tremble.

"Do not die on me, my lady, or the Elf will surely have my head," Anargthed said dryly as he continued to move on.

Legolas…

Oh, how she longed to hear his sweet voice. She would give anything to hear him sing to her or to feel his warm body against hers as he told her everything would be well.

She gazed around wildly in search of him, but she quickly grew dizzy and clamped her eyes shut.

And then she thought no more of the fair Elf of the Fellowship. All sound, touch, smell and thought fled her as she sank like a stone into the swift dark river known as unconsciousness.

To be continued…

I'm very aware that you all hate me right now. You'll get over it. grin . I still have lots to go with this story. I am over half done, but there is still much more of this tale to be told. I want to thank everyone for their patience in the posting of this chapter. I know I said 2-3 weeks and I took about a month, maybe more, to post this. I'm not going to put when I will post next. My life can get too chaotic and I sometimes miss my own deadlines. Sadly, this is fan fiction and I do not get paid for it. It comes behind the rest of my life, which lately, has left less and less time for writing. Don't fear. I am still actively thinking about this story and working on notes. I'm just writing the chapters and posting them slowly. So thank you one and all for your patience.

I received many reviews from new readers last chapter and I'd like to thank the MF newbies for those.

Thanks again to everyone for their support, ideas, comments and crits.