Life Sucks

By: Honolulu

Maria listened on to what Gimli was saying about what had transpired between Legolas and Aragorn. While she listened, her eyes would always seek Legolas out, he was seated in a corner brooding. She sighed to herself and walked over to him. " Hey," She softly said to him. He merely looked up at her and started brooding once more. She stood behind him and ran her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes and leaned back into her touch.

" Gimli told me what happened." He said nothing. " I know the situation looks bad but if we do not have hope in ourselves then it is already over." He sighed. She stopped, grabbed his face and tilted it back. " Look at me." He opened his eyes. " All of us have this crazy hope that we're going to win even though our odds are against us. Maybe it is better to have this hope and to know that if we…lose…all that we did wasn't for nothing." He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. " I'd rather know that all of our sacrifices we made was worth it instead of thinking that we didn't have a chance in hell." He kissed the palm of her hand.

She moved in front of him. " Wouldn't it be better to spend time with your friends instead of arguing with them when hell is about to break loose?" Maria gave him a small smile, lightly kissed him on the forehead and sat back down with Gimli. Legolas looked at his two companions in thought then jumped to his feet and walked towards the door.

" Where are you going?" Gimli called after him.

" To the armory!" He responded. Gimli followed not a second later. Alone in the room, Maria smiled to herself and left.

Legolas and Aragorn, who had reconciled, both smiled at Gimli when the sound of a horn whistled in the air. " That is no orc horn." Legolas claimed. They all shared a look and rushed outside. The sight that greeted gave a shock to their system. Behind their elvish friend Haldir, was a whole army of elvish warriors. The three of them ran down the steps to greet him and to hear his speech.

" Mae govannen, Haldir Welcome, Haldir!" Aragorn said, enveloping him into a hug. Shocked at the hug, Haldir slowly returned the gesture. " You are most welcomed." Following Aragorn, Legolas too gave Haldir a hug. The army of elves behind them turned to face them and lowered their shields and bows.

" We are proud to fight alongside men once more." Haldir finished his speech, facing the stunned Theoden. Haldir turned to speak with his friends when a voice ringed out clearly.

" Well…if it isn't my good friend Haldir." All of them looked to the stairs to see Maria with a full blown out smile on her face. With a laugh, she started quickly down the steps.

" Prepare yourself." Aragorn advised him. Heeding his advice, Haldir spread his feet apart as Maria pounced on him. As done in the past, she embraced him with all her might, Haldir doing the same to her.

" It's great to see you!" She looked behind him and her eyes widened. " And your friends as well!"

" It is wonderful to see you alive and well but…" He looked at her closely. " Why do you appear so different?" She gave a small snort.

" That is a long story which we don't have the time for. Believe me when I say all the crap I've gone through these past couple of months hasn't been much fun." At her strange answer, he looked at the others.

Maria stood in front of the 15 men that volunteered to help her with her task. " All of us will carry extra supplies to give out when people have lost their weapons or have run out of arrows. We will commence in combat when someone needs us otherwise help the wounded out of the field. We will bring them into the back halls. I need seven of you to just bring the wounded out of the line. The rest will carry supplies and help out when it's needed." She instructed them.

Haldir joined Legolas as he watched Maria command her men. " Has she changed much?" Haldir asked, breaking the calm silence.

" She has changed plenty but she is still the same edainme woman we knew before." He answered, never averting his eyes from her.

" In what ways has she changed?" Legolas finally broke his gaze from her and turned to him.

" She has matured and is more wise than before. She still is foolish from time to time yet…." He stopped. Haldir watched as his eyes lowered to the ground and a sad smile graced his face.

" Yet what?" Haldir asked, his voice a little above a whisper, as if he spoke louder the noise would come shattering around them. Legolas rubbed his face, seeming very tired.

"Yet…argh! I don't know!" Legolas watched as Maria left with the men. " It's as if…as if she's hiding herself behind s-some kind of mask…a-a façade!" Legolas paced. Haldir merely watched his friend move around in frustration. " Though we've talked and been with each other, there is some wall around her that prevents me from fully seeing her! …she hides from me…"

"That's not all that is worrying you, is it?" Haldir spoke. Legolas looked at him, a mixture of emotion in his eyes.

" I feel that I have tainted her somehow, in someway."

"What!"

" When she first arrived and she had told us of her past, I knew that she had gone through so much, her actions said as much. But her soul and thoughts were still young and naïve…pure. From the day she was asked to join us on this quest I had this strange feeling. I shouldn't have let her come. Since then, all she has seen is blood, battles, lost hope and death. She has grown up too quickly and in doing so her soul has been tainted and her heart has hardened." Haldir looked at him so closely. " And it's all my fault."

Haldir approached him quickly, grabbing him by the shoulders. " Legolas, listen to me. Everything that has happened to Maria is not your fault. She is here by her own choice. There is always some power beyond us that pushes us to do and see what we must to grow. Whether it is painful or pleasurable. Life is difficult for everyone and everything; it is how we choose to see it that will make it more bearable. Maria has changed and though I do not know the extent of it all nor do I know what has happened to her, there is a reason for it all." He looked at him. " Do you understand?" Very slowly, Legolas began to nod.

" Go talk to her."

Legolas found Maria in the armory, scourging for any supplies she could find. She looked up when he approached. " Hey…what's wrong?"

" May I talk to you?" He asked.

" Sure." He looked around to find themselves being watched by the men in the room with her.

" In private." At her nod, she followed him out of the armory and into her room that he was sharing with her. She sat down at the bed and stretched a little.

" What did you want to talk about?" She asked.

" I spoke with Haldir and he asked about you." She gave a small laugh.

" And what did you say? Anything bad about me?" Her joking mood disappeared when she took notice of the expression on his face. " Legolas? Is everything okay?" She started to become even more concerned when he sat next to her and took her hand. " What's wrong? Did something happen between you two?" He looked at her hands closely, noticing how calloused her hands had become since she came back. Bruises, dried blood, cracked skin, blisters all decorated her hands. He sighed to himself.

" I fear for you." He finally spoke.

" What? Why? What did you two talk about exactly?" Ignoring her last question, he continued.

" I fear that I will lose you tonight. And that I have hurt you."

"…oh…" Noting her lack of response, he spoke quickly.

" I have hurt you!" He said in anguish and pulled his hands away from her. " I am sorry for what I have done." He moved towards the door.

"NO! Legolas, no." She grabbed his arm before he left the room. " I hurt, it's true but not in the way you think. Let me try to explain before you jump to conclusions." She said, pulling him back to the bed. " My…h- heart hurts every time I think about you but not necessarily in the bad way you think. My heart beats so fast; it feels as if it'll break through my chest. I've never felt like this toward anyone and it scares me." She looked down at their hands. " I've been wanting to say something to you but I can't do it, not yet."

" Why? Why can't you say it?" He asked, anxious for her answer.

" I want to say it when the time is right. When…" She looked back at him. " When all of this is over. When I don't have to worry about you or think I'll never see you again. I want to be able to say it with so much confidence and not regret it. I want to say it with so much meaning that words simply don't do it justice. I won't say it now because I don't know whether it will be in the moment of just passion that will fade over time or if I truly mean it." She finished. He gave her a small smile and kissed her cheek.

" I understand." She nodded. " But I have something I wish to say to y—"

" Stop." She cut him off. " I know I might be asking too much of you right now but can it wait till all of this is over? If you say it now, it makes it sound more like a goodbye then a hello. It's too finalized." He looked at her. " Please." He nodded and then moved forward to kiss her.

He gave her one more kiss before he moved to his position by Gimli. Smiling she said, " I'll see you later." And then moved towards her men who were awaiting her instructions. Gimli looked at him when Legolas stood next to him.

" Everything alright lad?"

" Fine." He simply said. Slightly annoyed by his answer he kept hopping up and down to get a better view.

"Argh!…you could have picked a better spot!" Gimli grumbled as Aragorn moved to join them. "Well, lad, the luck you live by, let's hope it lasts the night." He started to grumble more as a flash of lightening lit the sky and the rumbles of thunder tickled his ears.

"Your friends are with you, Aragorn." Legolas said as he watched the enemy approach in the distance.

"Let's hope they last the night." They all shared a look.

With her men hauling supplies around and preparing the hall, Maria stood by Haldir, observing the orc and uruk-hai army. She could feel the adrenaline start to creep into her body. A mixture of emotions ran rapid in her as she gripped the hilt of her sword tightly. Haldir looked over her and noticed her tense expression. " Are you alright?" He asked.

" I'm fine," She said, slowly moving to look at him. " But I can't wait for this to be over with. I want this over as quickly as possible with very few casualties."

" You know that won't happen." He couldn't help but say. She gave a small chuckle and gave him a soft slap on the chest.

" Don't sound too optimistic." She looked up at the angry sky as it bursted with rain. She swore under her breath. " I'll pray anyways." Not waiting for his response, she walked away. She went back to her men who stood behind the first wave of archers. At their hip was a sword, a bow in their hands and on their back, a large supply of arrows. She took a deep breath.

" I'm not very good at making speeches of triumphs without making an ass out of myself," Some chuckled, " so I won't even try. But…you can't fully comprehend my appreciation toward you for doing this. My words will never be enough to show my gratitude but I thank you. Thank you very much." No one spoke as the rain drenched their armor and clothing. Wiping it away from her eyes, she told them to go to their positions. She turned around, lips pursed as she listened to the angry roars of the enemy. Standing away from everyone against the wall, one by one, her eyes sought for her friends.

Her body started to shake but not from the rain. Her mask breaking, her tough exterior showing a vulnerable girl. Fear trickled up her spine as unwanted images flashed before her eyes. Maria's face was extremely pale as her knuckles gripped her sword so tightly. She jumped a bit when a hand touched her shoulder. " Yeah?" She choked out, her breathe ragged.

" We're ready for you." The man said, she couldn't remember his name but he was placed in her group to help with two other men. As she walked, she could hear Legolas and Aragorn advising everyone then everything seemed to move in slow motion. She heard the string on the bow twang as the first arrows were shot. Then in some state of awe, she looked up as what it seemed like billions of arrows came billowing towards them. She blinked out of her daze as the first cries of pain broke through to her ears. Signaling, her and her men moved in to help.

Maria shoved her way through the hordes of enemy, men and elves, creating some route to get to the wounded. She stood at the front cutting her way with her sword in hand, another man at the back and two in the middle carrying supplies. She kneeled down in front of a man who was sitting against the wall, his arms clutching his stomach. He was trembling so badly and when she looked down she felt the urge to vomit. There wasn't anything she could do; he held his hands against his stomach to keep his organs in place. Slowly he stopped breathing altogether, she closed his eyes with her hands and moved on to the others.

One by one, she would check every body to see if there was a pulse or a chance for them. Unfortunately, those who were conscious long enough that knew that they weren't going to make it pleaded that she take them out of their misery. With remorseful eyes, she obliged to their last request. Their odds against the uruk-hai did not seem very favorable to her. More died in her hands than saved by them. " MARIA! OVER HERE!" Cried Ryne, the youngest of those who volunteered.

" What is it?" She asked, moving to his side. Laid in front of him was a boy, getting a good look at his features she deducted that he couldn't be older than 13. He was unconscious but severely injured. The armor he wore was obviously ripped from his body, part of his tunic torn. A couple of his fingers looked broken, his jaw was quite swollen and he was bleeding from numerous lacerations done to his chest. The most serious damage was done to legs. His shin looked like a knife went in and cut midway down, almost to his ankles. She snatched the gauze from Ryne's hands as he passed it to her.

She wrapped it around his legs making it into a tight tourniquet to stop some flow of his blood while instructing Ryne. " You will take this boy to the main hall. Harlan will accompany you to make sure you get there. Get there as fast as possible but try not to jumble him in your arms too much. You are to make /sure/ someone sees him. Understood!" He nodded quickly. " Good. Once your done try to find us, if you can't help whoever needs it! NOW GO!" She watched while they took off then turned to the last man with her. " Come on Mahlon! We're going to the front wall!"

Slowly they climbed up the stairs, pushing dead bodies of orcs off the steps. Both of them tripped once or twice but they finally reached the top. Maria looked over the wall and noticed that while plenty of orcs remained outside there were dozens of huge ladders that allowed them entrance. Looking to her left, she saw four men trying to remove a ladder but orcs distracted them from their task. She grabbed Mahlon close to her so he could listen to her easier.

" Go to the west side of the wall! It seems the orcs are drawn more towards the gates than anywhere else! Try to help wounded! Here!" She grabbed her dagger that was holstered to her left thigh and handed it to him. " Use it /only/ when you need to! Stay down and close to the wall! If you find Ryne, Harlon or anyone else, remain with them! If bad goes to worse retreat to the hall! Okay?"

" I-I-…I don't know! I can't!" He yelled back. She grabbed his face.

" Look at me! I need you to do this for me! You'll be okay!" Fear etched onto his face, he took a deep breath then nodded. She smiled and patted his face. " You'll be fine! Go!" Making sure nothing stopped him from leaving she then ran over to the men who needed help removing the ladder. Maria ran behind an orc who was trying to pin someone down, she kicked the back of its knees, making the orc land on them. With a great swing of her sword, she decapitated it. She gave the man on the ground a hand and helped him back to his feet. Moving back towards the ladder, she used her sword to cut the rope that held it against the wall. " Help me push it back!"

The five of them pushed with all their strength but it just wouldn't budge but very slowly it started to go backwards when an orc lunged over the wall. It grabbed both Maria and two other men, tackling them to the ground. Maria gripped the back of her head painfully as it smacked against the stone ground. Caught unaware, the orc clutched the collar of her tunic and hauled her up. She starred at the orc with wide eyes as it snarled in her face. It pulled back its fist; she closed her eyes awaiting the blow when she was dropped unceremoniously to the floor. Opening her eyes, she realized the one man who wasn't knocked down stabbed the orc through the head. The same man she helped off the floor now gave her his hand.

" On three! Push! 1…2…3!" Maria gave a scream as together they pushed the ladder off the wall. They all watched over the wall to see the remaining orcs on the ladder get crushed as well as those who stood underneath it. She shared a small smile with them before they all left to a different direction. Maria was going to head back to the main hall where all the injured were when she heard a familiar voice yelling a familiar name. Pivoting on the stairs, she started to go back up when she felt a rumble. Next all she felt was weightlessness and darkness.

" AHHHHH!" Maria came to with a scream, her eyes looking around wildly. She tried to calm down her breathing since all the pain seemed to be radiating from her chest. Glancing down, she noticed that plenty of debris fell on her. On her chest lied a good chunk of wood and stone. Wincing, she gently and quickly pushed it off herself, then cried some more when she realized that two of her fingers were also broken. She hugged her ribs, she was pretty sure that they weren't broken or fractured just EXTREMELY bruised. She tried to get up but it was so difficult. Lying in the dirt, she looked around her.

Others littered on the ground with her, some dead and some alive. Most dead. More tears gathered at the corner of her eyes when she saw someone familiar. On her right was Harlan. She choked on the ball in her throat when she heard Haldir's name being shouted. Lifting her head she saw Aragorn yelling out to Haldir on the wall. She couldn't tell what he was saying though. She tried to call out to him but couldn't. To her horror, she saw an uruk-hai come up behind Haldir. He didn't seem to notice. She saw Aragorn running, trying to reach the stairs that lead to him. Maria sobbed, closing her eyes tight not wanting to see the inevitable.

To her, it seemed like days passed as she laid on the ground crying. Gradually, she got herself onto her knees. Not too far away lied her sword, crawling on her hands and knees she moved to it. Digging her sword into the ground, she pulled herself up on her feet. She had to use her sword as a cane as she dragged her body. She noticed that Helm's Deep had been breached through the gates and many of the men had retreated. She focused on keeping one foot in front of the other and staying hidden. Maria found herself going to the stables were Charlie was. She was surprised that it had been untouched. Quietly she slipped past the doors.

She advanced to where Charlie was. The horse started snorting after realizing that she was there. She glanced at him through exhausted eyes. She sat down in his stable on the hay that was provided. Charlie shook around his head as if asking her, ' What's wrong? What's happened?' Maria brought her hand up to her forehead and started crying as she spoke.

" Everything's gone so wrong Charlie. H-H…H-Haldir's dead!" She bawled. " I don't know if anyone else is alive! I-I don't know what to do! I'm so tired and in pain! I c-c-cc…" She stuttered, " can't get inside. I can't do it anymore!" Maria was ready to start howling as her crying brought more pain to her ribs. Charlie clattered his hoof on the ground as if disagreeing. " I CAN'T!" She yelled once more before she became silent.

Maria didn't know how long she sat on the hay- covered ground. The pain in her ribs subsided a bit and she had to set her fingers, was ready to pass out from all the pain. Her and Charlie were having a staring contest for the past hour when she finally looked down. " You're right again Charlie… you always seem to be right." She sighed. " I don't know what's wrong with me. I was pretty pathetic but still…" She gave a good pause. " I'm just tired from all this drama. When will it ever be over?" He neighed as if saying, 'It's understandable.'

Gently, she got to her feet. " I think it's time to stop hiding and help the others." She tightened the leg holster on her right leg where her dagger sat and gripped her sword. Maria gave Charlie a quick pat then stepped out of the stables. Observing the sky, she figured the sun wouldn't rise for at least another hour. Walking around, she met no resistance. She grabbed a bow and arrows on the ground and headed towards the main hall. Hiding in the shadows of a corner she saw the orcs and uruk-hai ramming the doors. So far the doors held up pretty well but she could see soon that they would be crumbling down. She grabbed her bow and notched an arrow, hissing at the slight jarring of her two broken fingers.

Taking aim, she let go. One arrow after another, she fired them into the heads of the orcs. From her position, they wouldn't be able to figure out where her position was. The only problem was that she was running out of arrows. She was down to her last couple of arrows. She notched one and was ready to fire when she noticed that the sun was beginning to rise. She sunk back into the shadows so the orcs could remain oblivious to her. Taking aim once more, she was startled when the sound of a horn came blaring into the air. What astonished her even more was when the doors busted open and riders came blazing out of the room. To her relief, she saw Aragorn and Legolas.

She saw them ride out past the gates, slaying anything that got in their way. She made her way back to the wall as she saw orcs retreat out of Helm's Deep onto the battle field. Something in white caught her eye, looking to the east she smiled as she saw Gandalf's familiar figure. Maria watched from her position as everything started to change for the better. She remained there for quite awhile as everyone started to return back to Helm's Deep. " Quite a sight isn't it?" Maria jumped slightly and spun on her heel. Her eyes widened. " What is it? Are you okay?" Haldir asked.

" You're alive?" She whispered, tears springing right back.

" Yes." He said. " When have I been dead?" Maria tried to explain but her throat was so clogged up with tears. She gave a choked laugh and smiled before practically tackling him to the ground. " Maria?" She was too busy hugging him to death. " Maria?" Realizing that he wasn't going to get an answer, he simply put his arms around her allowing her to cry and hug him.

To be continued….

Authors Note: I know I know! Its been so long since I last updated. I have good reasons for that: school, job, extra activities and social life. I could go into details but then that would be longer than the chapter. Anywho, this chapter was actually partly done but I was having difficulties writing it since I kinda suck at romance and describing action scenes. I'm still not fully content with the chapter but I would have to keep revising it and it would never be put out. So here you go…I hope you like it! Please review!