Helms Deep was quiet. No one spoke, laughed, if he wasn't standing amongst the soldiers then he would have thought that no one was breathing either. Boromir watched the approaching army as the rain poured down upon them and the lightning reflected off the metal of their armour. He could hear their shouting and rumbling and saw some of the Men shaking, whether in fear or because of the wet, cold rain, he did not know.
"Argh. You could have picked a better spot." Gimli grumbled to them as Aragorn moved til he stood behind them, gripping his, Legolas and Gimli's shoulder tightly as if to say 'good luck my friends'. The group of friends laughed at their Dwarf friend while Legolas commented snidely if he wanted him to lift him up like a little baby so he could see. Gimli glared at the Elf but laughed with them nonetheless.
The friends began talking and laughing loudly amongst themselves not seeing the grateful looks they were getting from the other Men. The happiness and laughter of their group actually putting the other soldiers at ease. If they could laugh at a time like this then surely everything was not lost?.
"Well lad, the luck you live by, let's hope it lasts the night." Gimli commented to the group, all of them immediately looking at the necklace around his neck while Aragorn merely smiled at them before he placed a soft kiss to the pendant and whispered a small prayer to the Valar for help.
"We shall follow you to the end, my King." Boromir stated, bowing his head to his King while Legolas and Gimli also bowed to him, acknowledging him as their leader...and friend. Aragorn smiled at all three of them before clasping each of their forearms tightly. He stepped back and started to walk back and forth along the wall, shouting out orders and raising the morale of the Men and Elves.
They watched as Saruman's troops marched towards them. Torches lit, long spears pointed towards the sky. The battle for Helms Deep was beginning. Glimpses of the creatures ugly faces was seen, causing some men to whimper in fear while others felt their resolve and courage become stronger. They would die before letting these hideous beasts touch the ones they loved.
"A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha le faelas!" (Show them no mercy! For you shall receive none!) Aragorn yelled loudly from behind them.
The Uruk-hai stopped and the Men watched them silently. The Uruks began to to pound their spears against the ground and roar while the Men and Elves readied their weapons. All was silent until a single arrow from their troops sailed towards one of the Uruks, embedding itself into its neck. They watched anxiously as the Uruk-hai hit the ground, dead. The Uruks roared in anger before they charged. Along the wall, the Elves and any man with a bow loaded their bows.
"Faeg i-varv dîn na lanc a nu ranc." (Their armor is weak at the neck and under the arms) Legolas said aloud. Boromir and Gimli paused, letting his words pass through their minds before nodding to their friend that they understood. Legolas and Aragorn thought it would be a good idea for them to learn Sindarin so that they could speak freely amongst each other if what they were speaking of were not for others to hear as most of the Rohirrim were not fluent in Sindarin as they felt no need to learn the language of people that they rarely saw or interacted with. Gimli would have taught them Khuzdul but the laws of his people prevented him from doing so.
"Leithio i philinn!" (Fire!) Aragorn shouted as the elves and soldiers let their arrows fly through the air to their targets. "What happened? Did anyone hit anything?" Gimli asked Legolas who only rolled his eyes while Boromir snorted at the Dwarfs words.
"They're Elves. Rarely do they miss their targets." Boromir said to the Dwarf as he watched as the Uruks that were felled by an arrow was quickly replaced by another. Winning this battle would take everything in all of them. His eyes caught sight of something within the hordes of Uruks and he turned to Aragorn shouting, "Aragorn! Pendraid! (Ladders!)"
The man nods his head before turning to tell the Elves who immediately put away their bows and drew their swords. Gimli stood firmly with his axe exclaiming somewhat excitedly, "Come on! Send them to me!"
Uruk-hai climb the ladders onto the wall as the heavy fighting begins. Left and right, all anyone could see was flying blades meeting and blood. So much blood. Although amongst the dreariness of battle, there was still a flicker of hope and laughter as a Dwarf called out to his three companions fighting beside him that he had two kills already. Legolas rolled his eyes before exclaiming that he was on kill number seventeen. Boromir and Aragorn both rolled their eyes at their friends antics but also began counting their kills. Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen Boromir thought as his sword swept around him, killing any Uruk-hai that came within his sight and reach.
Gimli hacked away at the Uruks harshly with his axe. "Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen." He counted aloud before he heard Aragorn yelling about an approaching group of Uruk-hai who were moving towards the main gate. A volley of arrows were released, killing many Uruk-hai, only for them to be replaced by another. Gimli groaned in frustration before noticing something else. An Uruk soldier holding a single, brightly lit torch was running towards the drain underneath the very wall piled with explosives that he and the Fellowship were standing on. He heard more shouts from Aragorn to Legolas, "Togo hon dad, Legolas! Dago hon!" (Legolas, stop him! Kill him!). Legolas let several arrows loose, each of them hitting their target. However the Uruk soldier kept moving towards the drain.
Knowing that the Uruk soldier was going to make it, Gimli and Boromir urged for the soldiers to move off that part of the wall before they glanced back at Legolas and Aragorn, both of whom still stood directly over the drain. Eyes widened in horror, they shouted for their friends to move before running towards them as if thinking they could beat the already too close Uruk-hai and pushed their friends out of the way.
The four males were still on the wall when it exploded.
King Théoden and his men looked on in shock before their attention is pulled back towards the main gate. "Brace the gates!" He commands as the Men run to hold it while the Uruk-hai pound on it from the other side. While the Men try to stop the Uruks from getting pass the main gate, Aragorn and his companions lay unconscious as swarms of the Uruk army storm through the hole in the wall.
The group slowly regained consciousness when they found the Uruk soldiers already upon them, one of them with a sword raised as it came down hurtling towards Boromir's neck, only to be stopped by a blue, luminescent shield that appeared out of nowhere. The groups eyes widened as they saw the shield appear above all four of them, protecting them from harm as the Uruk-hai slammed their swords against the shield, only for them to shatter. Each of them noticed the faint glow of Eleniel's pendant around Aragorn's neck and swore they heard the voice of their friend in their heads yelling at them to stop gaping and fight. They also swore they heard her say that they were stupid and wondered if they forgot that she had magic. The group had to laugh quietly to themselves at her words. As they stood, their swords were immediately unsheathed. The shield disappeared and they immediately fought against the Uruk-hai, their resolve to survive stronger now. Soon legions of Elves appeared behind the group as they fought and Aragorn shouted for them to duck as the Elves shot arrows towards their enemies.
The fighting continued. Swords slashed against bodies, drawing blood. Screams and whimpers were heard as people were slaughtered. "Aragorn, pull back to the gate!" King Théoden yelled out to them. The group nodded at his order while Legolas yelled to the Elves, "Am Marad!" (To the Keep!). The Elven soldiers immediately retreated inside the Keep, Boromir and Legolas following close behind them.
"Nan barad! Haldir! Nan barad!" (Pull back! Haldir! Pull back!) Aragorn yelled to the Elf Captain, who nodded his agreement before pushing his soldiers to go inside. While his back was turned, Aragorn saw a huge Uruk-hai come up behind him, ready to struck. He ran towards the Elven Captain but knew it was futile to think that he could save the Elf but still he kept running.
"Haldir!" He yelled as he ran. The Uruk soldier was just about to strike the Elf Captain when it was felled by a flying arrow. Haldir glanced behind him in shock before looking to see who it was that saved his life. He and Aragorn found their eyes widening when they saw Gimli standing by them, a bow in his hand. Haldir nodded his head in thanks which Gimli returned before they all ran back inside the Keep just as Gamling called for the soldiers to brace the main gate.
They watched as the gate is almost broken under the weight of the pushing Uruk-hai. "To the gate!," Théoden shouted. "Draw your swords!" The King and his men try to defend the gate, each of them down to the youngest child and oldest man fighting with all their might to make sure the Uruks don't make it through.
"How long do you need?" Aragorn demanded from the King, noticing the downtrodden expression on his face. He shook his head at the King; it was like he had already given up.
"As long as you can give me." He nodded his head before looking around for his companions. He found Boromir and Gimli a few feet away from him, pushing against the front gate while Legolas was outside along one of the other walls shooting at any Uruk-hai he could see with the other Elves.
He called out to Gimli who appeared at his side, Boromir following him. "Come. We need to give the men as much time as we can." He said before turning to walk away, Gimli following closely behind him while Boromir went back to help the other soldiers brace the gate.
Aragorn and Gimli snuck to the other side of the gate, peeking at the huge amounts of Uruk-hai from around the corner. Aragorn gazed at the huge gap from their hiding spot to where the Uruk-hai were, contemplating at how he was going to get Gimli across. Seeming to know what was on the mans mind, he said, "Throw me. I cannot jump the distance so you are going to have to throw me."
Aragorn stared at his friend, his amusement clear in his eyes. Gimli glared at him before saying, "Eh, don't tell the others." Aragorn nodded but knew that after all this was over, the first thing he'd do is tell Boromir and Legolas.
He tossed the Dwarf who immediately started attacking Uruk soldiers. Aragorn jumped over the gap and soon joined him in the fight, the friends fighting as one. The men try to seal the gate as Aragorn and Gimli continue fighting against the Uruk-hai on the other side. As soon as the gate is sealed, Aragorn and Gimli hear the Kings voice calling for them to get out of there. "Aragorn! Gimli!" Boromir shouted as he and Legolas throw a rope down to the pair. Aragorn grabs ahold of the rope with Gimli in his arms as Boromir and Legolas pull them up. The group watched as more and more ladders rose from the army below. The sight caused a healthy amount of dread to rise in them but they pushed their fears away and instead began pushing some of the ladders off the wall, crashing into the army below and killing a good amount of Uruk soldiers.
"Fall back!" Gamling yelled to all those on the wall. Many of the soldiers retreated back inside. "They have broken through. Retreat!"
The soldiers crowded around each other inside the fortress as they heard the Uruks try and break through the gate. "The fortress is taken. It is over." King Théoden said sadly as he looked around the fortress before bowing his head in shame. "No army has been able to penetrate these walls until the reign of Théoden King, who has already brought much suffering to his people. Is this truly the legacy my people if they even survive this night shall remember of me?"
Aragorn glared at the King before yelling at him, "You said this fortress would never fall while your men defend it. They still defend it. They have died defending it!" A loud bang at the door is heard. Aragorn looked around at the men and Elves before asking the King if there was a way for the women and children to get out of the caves. "Is there no other way?" He demanded, looking at the unresponsive King and his men.
"There is one passage. It leads into the mountains. But they will not get far. The Uruk-hai are too many." Aragorn grabbed Gamling's shoulder and urged for him to tell the women and children to make for the mountain pass. The King glanced at the Fellowship, hope lost from his eyes. "So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?"
The Fellowship glanced at the King before they all turned to Aragorn, waiting for instruction. "Ride out with me," he stated before looking to his companions at his side. "Ride out with us."
"Ride out and meet them."
Théoden turned to face the Fellowship as they stood courageously before him. "For death and glory?" He said, looking at them hopelessly.
Aragorn shook his head at the King. "No, my Lord. For Rohan and your people." Boromir watched as the sun rose, its bright light shining through one of the windows of the Keep. His mind suddenly remembered the words of Gandalf all those days ago before he left, "Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the East."
"Yes. Yes! The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep, one last time." The King exclaimed, looking around at his Men and giving them instructions to bring the horses. Gimli climbs up to the top of the Keep to blow the horn while Théoden moves towards Aragorn and the others and clasped them on their forearms. "Let this be the hour when we draw swords together."
Every able bodied soldier climbed atop a horse. Aragorn sat on Brego, Boromir on Hasufel on his right and Legolas on Arod on his left. "Forð Eorlingas!" The King yelled as the doors give in. The King rides out with Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas and his men at his side. Their horses raced them down the causeway, killing Uruk-hai as they rode pass. The men were surrounded soon enough by their enemies but they kept on fighting when Aragorn stopped and glanced up a hill to see Gandalf sat atop of Shadowfax, Éomer at his side. Éomer drew his sword before calling for his men, "Rohirrim!" He shouted loudly, "To the King!" The army and Gandalf charge down the hill towards them. The Uruk-hai rally together, the King and his men briefly forgotten in favour of another threat.
The fighting ensued for what felt like Ages, the soldiers refuelled by the arrival of reinforcements. Soon the call for the Uruks to retreat is heard as the creatures retreat into a line of trees. The men watch as the trees groan and sway before horrible sounds of pain is heard. Cheers are heard as the men celebrate their win but it is soon dampened when they remember the clean up and the loss they had faced that night. Many of them were of the same thoughts; they were happy that they would live but saddened for the loss of those that had not survived.
Aragorn, Gimli, Boromir and Legolas gathered together, watching as the women and children moved out of the caves cautiously. The group watched as soldiers reunited with their loved ones while others grieved for the ones they had lost. They could not bear to watch such sadness especially since they were also still grieving for someone they had loved and lost, someone who had saved them that night. The group smiled brightly when they met the eyes of young Haleth and Éothain in the arms of their mothers. The group were happy that the two young ones had managed to survive.
"Final count: fourty-two." Legolas announced smugly to the group. Boromir and Aragorn rolled their eyes while Gimli simply scoffed and announced that he had killed fourty-three. Boromir and Aragorn just walked away, both of them forgoing trying to count their amount of kills halfway through the battle.
"You lie!" Gimli gasped before glaring at the Elf. "I ain't no liar, you leaf eater. I am just better than you." Gimli lifted his head and attempted to look down his nose at the Prince which didn't really work out because of the height difference. They started to bicker with each other while the two Men just sighed at their antics.
Those two would never change.
So we just had the Battle for Helms Deep is finito and we finally checked in with these guys. I feel like I haven't written any scenes that included them for five hundred years lol. Anyways yes that happened with Eleniel's pendant. If you disliked that the l. I just felt like I needed to have her pendant do something besides being pretty because I felt like that was such an Eleniel thing to do to try and protect the Fellowship even beyond the grave lol well, figuratively speaking of course because she isn't in any grave lol (I wouldn't do that to you guys again...)
Also I have gotten a review on that talked about Eleniel being a Mary Sue. The person who commented DID NOT say that she was a Mary Sue as they liked her personality lol but it just got me thinking that I'm not trying hard enough to make her a Mary Sue because that seriously was my goal at the beginning lol. I LOVE A GOOD MARY SUE. They're not my guilty pleasure because I'm not ashamed, they're just my pleasure I guess. But I'm too entrenched in her character now and how she is that I'm not going to randomly change her now so don't worry, she won't miraculously change. This person who reviewed is also one of the reasons why I'm updating because I really wanted to reply to them but I couldn't because they were a guest. Anyways they touched on something I said in one of my earlier chapters where Eleniel did not know that Estel was Aragorn so in my A/N of that chapter I said something like how she would refer to him as Estel but in his head, he would call himself Aragorn. Well this person said that his whole life points to that not being the case as he did not know he was Aragorn for the majority of his life and other stuff so in his mind, he would think of himself as Estel. I just wanted to brush up on this in my A/N and say that in my mind, I feel like he would refer to himself as Aragorn. Estel is that little boy who was raised in Rivendell, Strider is the Ranger and Aragorn is the man who led the Fellowship to Lothlórien after the 'death' of Gandalf so that's why I said that he would refer to himself as Aragorn because in that point in time and situation, he was Aragorn. It's like this guy has like three alter egos or something lol. Also he has just spent about 60 years amongst his people so I feel like he has now come to think of himself as Aragorn. He had accepted that he was Aragorn. He just couldn't accept being the Heir to the Throne of Gondor. Thank you for the review as it really got me thinking :)
Anyways hope you enjoyed xx