I'm almost done. This is a really long chapter because I didn't want to split it up. But this has got to be a short note because I have homework. Just read!

"Rannyn? Rannyn!"

The Rider looked up at Blaennyn. The young man, he noticed, looked older. He was only 17, as he had told Rannyn before the battle began, but now he looked much, much older, covered in mud and water and blood. This young man, who had just seen horrors that no man should ever see in the course of his life, was now looking at him. And what was in his eyes was something that he couldn't place.

Is it worry? Is it something desperate? He gazed at him for a moment. No, its determination. He looked determined to fight to his dying breath if it meant protecting men from a horrible demise in the clutches of the enemy.

His gaze shifted down and Rannyn followed his stare. There lay Cadoc, his body still.

"He…he's…" Rannyn stuttered and then swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump that had now formed in his throat.

Blaennyn put a hand on his shoulder. "He's not dead."

He stared at him. "What?"

There was a slight smile on the younger man's face. "He's just unconscious. What we need to do is look at the damage done. Then we can get upset, okay?"

All Rannyn could do was nod mutely. For someone so young he seemed to know how to handle situations with authority and a clear head. Rannyn envied him. This was a talent he had yet to learn. He had never been in situations where people he was attached to were actually in danger until recently, first with Threwen and now this. He had never had to train himself to look past his fears, his doubts, his despair, and at the task at hand, to identify the problem and how to fix it before panicking.

"Now, where is he hurt?"

Boom!

Blaennyn looked up at the sound of the door, the huge wooden door to the outer hall, being banged against by the enemy's battering ram. He could see through the doorway that a huge group of men were pressing against it in an attempt to keep it closed. But this glance only last for a second and then the young man looked back down at Cadoc and Rannyn.

"Don't worry about them. Just worry about this."

Rannyn nodded and said, "He was struck from behind."

The two men turned him over to inspect the wound. The sight of blood made Rannyn's stomach turn but he kept his bearings. He had seen much more than this before with Threwen. And she had survived. It gave him hope that maybe this wasn't as bad as he had originally thought. They ripped away some of the torn fabric and saw that the cut was not too deep, just drawn across his back in a long arc.

Blaennyn gave Rannyn an encouraging look. "See? It's not bad at all. Just bandage him up and he'll be fine."

"We need to prevent it from infection and we don't have anything to do that with," Rannyn pointed out.

Blaennyn gave him a look that had a clear message. Why bother with that now when we might die soon anyway? It was true that whether or not it was clean didn't matter at the time being. There were tons of men injured who had simply had bandages slapped on and then sent back out to fight again. They didn't bother worrying about long term at that point in time because there might not be a long term.

But what if there is?

Rannyn returned Blaennyn's look with this one. What if they won? They wouldn't want a friend and a good man to survive such a battle and then die from a simple wound because they failed to take care of it properly. When he thought about it, it would be a sign of hope, confidence that they, the underdog, would win, despite how bleak it now looked. Blaennyn understood.

"Who should we call from the caves?"

Rannyn thought for a moment. "Caraedry."

Caraedry looked troubled. The young soldier, who had breathlessly come into the caves, calling out the other man's name, had immediately caused alarm among the people. Ruthiel had heard him, told him that man he was seeking was her husband, and led him to their spot. Now he was desperately trying to tell Caraedry something about a man who was injured and the need for help.

Ruthiel looked distressed and she edged into her husband's arms. "Caraedry…?"

He looked down at her, giving her a reassuring smile. "Ruthiel, my dear, why don't you go grab me some water and some of those leftover pieces of cloth from my shirt?" He was referring to the shirt they had ripped up to use as bandages for Threwen.

She nodded and went away, leaving the two men to speak alone. Or at least what they thought was alone. They were not aware that Threwen, who was supposed to be resting, was wide awake and listening intently to what was going on around her.

"Now try and repeat that with a calmer voice, alright?"

The soldier took a deep breath. "We've had to pull back to the outer hall in the fortress. Among some of the men who came in were two men carrying another who was unconscious. He has a sword wound on his back that doesn't look very good and they wanted me to come looking for a Caraedry to help them."

The other man ran a hand through his hair, an act that reminded Threwen painfully of Rannyn.

"Why? I am no healer. I have no skill other than the common soldier's."

The soldier shrugged. "There really is no one else. We lack supplies and all of the other men are bracing the gates. They said you were slightly injured but were neither crippled nor old and could defend your own if need be."

Caraedry sighed. "Who asked for me?"

"The two men said their names were Rannyn and Blaennyn. The name of the injured man I was not told."

Threwen's heart leaped. Rannyn?

Caraedry's eyes widened and then he nodded. He went over to Ruthiel and informed her of what was going on. The woman looked worried but only nodded. She was used to her husband going into danger. She handed him his knapsack filled with some supplies. He took from her but did not leave. Instead, he set the bag down and then took his wife into his arms, kissing her and holding her tightly.

"I love you," he whispered.

And then he took up his bag and followed the soldier out of the caves and into the battle.

Rannyn let out a breath at the sight of his friend with a bag of supplies. That was something they could use and although they could've sent any spare soldier down to get this it helped that they brought along a man who could care for the injured without having to fight.

"My friend!" He patted him on the soldier, glad to see each other alive but grave at the events that brought them together again.

"Let me see him."

The men stepped back to show Cadoc, still lying on the ground. Caraedry seemed surprised at who it was that he was treating but said nothing. He took out some bandages and started to work when he found he was interrupted by a breath drawn in abruptly by Rannyn and then a familiar voice.

"You're going to need another set of hands."

The men's eyes widened. Caraedry was the first to speak. "Threwen?"

She looked down at her arm, which was bandaged and in a sling, and then smiled weakly. "Well, I suppose I have only one hand useful, but its some help."

Caraedry opened his mouth to speak, to protest. It was not a woman's place to be up in the midst of all this. She could be killed. She shouldn't have to see some of these things. But then he closed his mouth. From what he had heard of this young woman she was stubborn and it was no use arguing with her. Besides, he noticed that she wasn't even looking at him anymore. To her, he didn't even exist. Only one man was capturing her gaze now.

For a moment the two stared at each other and then they somehow ended up in each other's arms, hugging each other tightly. Rannyn put a hand on the back of her head, smoothing her hair. Threwen merely closed her eyes, ignoring the slight jarring of her shoulder, feeling completely safe and relieved in that moment. He pulled her back and just looked down at her. For a short time she got lost in his eyes, thinking she could stay there forever. But then she broke herself from his gaze and directed her full attention to the man on the floor.

"What happened?" she asked softly, as she bent down, looking at the deep cut.

Rannyn sighed. "He was coming back and an orc snuck up behind him and slashed him in the back."

She surveyed everything for a moment and then said, "Have you been applying pressure?" She'd had to take care of her own wounds before and so she knew the standard procedure.

This time Blaennyn spoke up. "We didn't have anything so we used my cloak. Now that we have some clean cloths to use it should go more smoothly than with this huge thing." The playful twinkle in his eye was still there, undimmed, which Rannyn had seen when he first met him. At least he hadn't lost his spirit.

Threwen carefully and awkwardly rolled up her sleeve, looking around her at some of the other injured. "I guess we should get to work."

"Brace the gates!"

The phrase which had already been uttered a dozen times was being called again, ringing through all of Helm's Deep. The men were struggling to keep the crumbling gate together. No one knew how much longer it would hold. Even King Théoden was helping.

Rannyn and Blaennyn had since gone back to continue fighting. They were poised and ready for any orcs that dared show their ugly faces in the hall. They also helped with the gate, rushing against it in order to brace it against the battering ram. But it was only a matter of time.

Crack!

The sound echoed through the place, all the way to the inner hall where Caraedry and Threwen were located. The man looked up, a strange expression on his face which Threwen hadn't seen there before. She studied him for a moment, noticing that he fidgeted with a piece of leftover cloth he had used to dress a small wound. He kept looking in the direction of the growing din with an anxious expression. For a while she couldn't understand. Then it registered.

"Caraedry?"

He looked at her, his face the same as before.

She gazed at him and then said, "You told me you wanted to defend your country, your people."

Boom!

He whirled at another sound of the gate breaking. She called his attention back to her.

"Caraedry," she said, turning him toward her. "Do what you feel called to do."

He stared at Threwen, a surprised look on his face. And then he stood up and smiled at her. He grasped his cane, grabbed a nearby bow and arrow and started away, stopping only to turn back and look at her one last time.

Threwen closed her eyes. The noise was growing louder. The men were shouting. The gate was breaking.

She heard a Bam! followed directly by a Snap!

It's over. They're through.

She was right.

"Pull back! They've broken through! Pull back!"

A crowd of men came rushing back into the inner hall, breathing heavily and bleeding from places where they had been stabbed or slashed. Threwen rose from the side of a man she had been tending, her eyes searching for three men in particular.

There. She spotted Blaennyn. She continued to look and was satisfied once again. Rannyn was safe also, who soon found her and stood beside her, putting his arm protectively against her as the men formed around the inner doorway to brace it against the new attack. But wait. One was still missing.

She turned to Rannyn. "Where is Caraedry?"

Her companion looked down at her in shock. "Caraedry? He was in here with you."

She shook her head. "He wanted to fight. He couldn't concentrate. I sent him out."

Rannyn's expression grew alarmed and he left her, searching frantically for his friend. For a moment he disappeared into the crowd of men. The seconds and minutes ticked by and Threwen felt a great dread growing.

So this is how it will end. One by one picked off by the enemy, until the last one is left all alone. The hopelessness of the situation started to sink in. The battering ram was still thudding against the door. The King looked in despair. Legolas was knocking over a table to use as extra bracing. Aragorn was desperately trying to get information out of one of the soldiers. Rannyn and Caraedry were still nowhere to be found.

Suddenly Rannyn emerged, dragging something behind him.

Caraedry.

Threwen's blood ran cold. She rushed over to him with a cry, panic coursing through her. "No…no…" was all she was able to mutter.

Rannyn looked at her grimly. Caraedry's breaths were coming in gasps, an orc arrow protruding from his chest. He was fighting but it was a losing battle. Threwen found herself sobbing. She had sent him out to fight. He had wanted to go. She had let him.

"Caraedry, I shouldn't…I shouldn't have let you…" she sputtered.

The man's mouth turned upward in a very weak smile. "I…I wanted to…protect…them…"

Threwen sniffed. "I know."

Théoden and Aragorn were coming to a decision behind them.

"Ride out with me. Ride out and meet them."

Théoden's face changed. "For death and glory."

Aragorn corrected him. "For Rohan."

Threwen heard it all and felt something wrench inside her. But her gaze was directed back down to the man whose head was now resting in her lap. He tried to say something, failed, and then softly got it out before finally letting go.

"…For Rohan…"

Okay on this one I've gotta ask for reviews because I'm dying to know what you think. So…review!