Here is another chapter of Daughter of Mordor for my loyal readers, we are nearing the halfway point of the story… I think, prepare my amazing readers for an excelent plot twist. Anyway, please R&R, and remember that I will be mentioning you in the end credits if you, Reveiw, Follow or favorite my story. Now Shall We Play A Game.
The surviving hundred riders road up the stone Causeway of Helms Deep, a prevailing aura of sadness enveloped them. As they entered the fortress, a resounding, "Make way for the king, Make way for Theoden," was heard. Eowyn looking up from her work, ran to the she arrived her spirits dropped, her uncle dismounted infront of her, giving her a sense of relief.
"So few, so few of you have returned," She said to Theoden as he helped an injured man from his horse.
"Our people are safe, and we have paid for it with many lives." He said, and helped the injured man up the stairs. She saw the company that her friend Arindil was with, but they seemed as though they were in an almost trancelike state. She looked upon them, but could not find her. Walking over to them, she asked, "Lady Arindil, where is she?"
Elladan looked up from where he was seated upon his horse, his eyes having an almost dead look to them, Demos let out a mournful whimper. Elrohir, Legolas, Tauriel, and Arzaroth looked down guiltily, Gimli and Boromir sighed mournfully, and Aragorn looked at Eowyn with pity and sadness in his eyes. Elladan brought out her weapons, both bound together by the necklace that Arindil had been wearing.
"She fell," Elladan said, his tone nearly as dead as his eyes looked, "Off of a cliff and into the rapid waters below, her body never to be recovered."
Eowyn covered her mouth, shock and sadness filling her, even though she had only know her a short while, Arindil had become a steadfast friend, one who seemed almost invincible compared to others.
"If you'll excuse me," Elladan said, dismounting his horse and walking away from the group, the others let him be, knowing what the loss of Arindil had done to him. After an hour, his brother and Aragorn went to go and find him. They found Elladan with Demos in the stables, Demos had his head mournfully on Elladan's leg, and Elladan was looking resolutely at a polished wooden band in his hand.
"I was going to give this to her, today," Elladan said as Elrohir knelt next to him, "I spent the better of three days trying to make this perfectly for her."
Aragorn looked at the ring, and saw that it was made from the wood of a Mallorn tree polished and perfected, on the inside of the ring, inscribed in elvish, "A love to last to the end of time." The outside resembled the night sky, small gems somehow inlaid in the ring giving it the appearance of stars.
"The last day I have could have been with her, I stayed away because I was too focused on this, now she is gone and I cannot get her back," He said, looking up at them mournfully.
"She wouldn't want you to do this to yourself Elladan," Aragorn said, standing him up, "She would want you to honor her memory, and stop moping, then kill some orcs."
"I will Aragorn, but once Sauron is defeated, I will fade, she was so entwined with my soul, and I with hers that I cannot go on without her." He said, his eyes looking to Aragorn sadly, Elrohir led his brother away, trying to cheer him up, even though they all knew that it was a hopeless endeavor. Aragorn knelt down next to Demos, who looked at Aragorn for a second, then looked back down mournfully.
"I know Demos, I miss her too, she will be missed by all in the company," He said, rubbing Demos behind the ears.
Elsewhere- First person Pov Arindil
I awake to a horse nuzzling my face and to a massive headache, the horse gives a bit of a whinney, and I recognise the sound.
"Brego," I mutter, not opening my eyes as the horse gives my face a bit of a lick, and I smile as he kneels down next to me.
"You followed me, good horse," I muttered as I grabbed onto his mane and pulled myself up onto his bare back. When I finally did Brego began walking, as we did so, the memory of what happened after I fell of the cliff on the wild warg fell into place.
*Flashback*
I felt a sudden weightlessness as the warg slid off of the cliff and fell towards the brink below. It hit the side of the ravine and caused it to spin hitting my head and shoulder on the wall. Knocking me loose form the haulter that I had been attached to. Darkness started covering my vision as the warg broke my fall into the water, permitting me to live.
*Flashback over*
Brego road at a steady pace while I rested on his back, after a night of this I finally felt ready to ride at a faster speed than before. I was a bit worried now, because I had seem to have lost the necklace given to me by lady galadriel in the fall, and I had no weapons other than the dagger in my boot. We were riding hard west, when I heard something that made my heart almost stop. The tramping of many armored boots upon the earth, and the 'doom doom' of drums. When we crested the hill, I gave a gasp, Legions upon legions of Orcs, Goblins, Uruks, Uruk-Hai and evil men, at least twenty thousand strong, were marching towards us, and Helms Deep.
"Come Brego, show me the meaning of speed." I whisper to him, and he bolts, running as fast as his legs will carry him, as we road, one thought commanded my mind, "I have to reach the others, I have to warn them." We rode into the night, leaving the army behind us for now, when dawn broke, I was greeted with a welcome sight. The fortress of Helms Deep.
"Well done Brego," I say, patting his side thankfully. I rode him through the Dike and through the vale. Sentries saw me as we reached the causeway, because they opened up the gates and I rode in them unchallenged.
Whispers followed me and some shouts about I was alive. I entered the courtyard wearily, and dismounted Brego, when I heard a familiar dwarven voice start yelling, "Where is she, where is she, get out of the way, I'm going to kill her."
I turn around to see Gimli pushing his way through the crowd with Durhil.I smile at them as Gimli begins sputtering, "You are the luckiest, the canniest, and most reckless Elf I have ever knew," He then hugs me, Durhil does as well, "Bless you lassy."
"Don't ever scare us like that again," Durhil says, and then adds on, "Or I will go to the halls of the dead, bring you back to Arda, and kill you myself."
I smiled at them, but then my mood fell, "Where is the king, I have news."
Gimli points his head up the stairs and I walk up the steps, and walk towards the door at the end of a long row of columns. I stop when Legolas, Tauriel, and Arzaroth all meet me, their eyes showing relief, and something else in Arzaroth's eyes that I still cannot quite place yet.
"Your late," Legolas says,
"You look terrible," Tauriel adds on and we all smile.
"Elladan has been a mess without you," Arzaroth sas to me, and I inwardly frown and smile at the same time.
"I need to speak to the king first," I tell them, and they let me pass. When I reach the doors I push them open with a great shove, then stop, and all the eyes in the room turn to me. Theoden stands from his chair and Aragorn and Boromir leap to their feet, and run to embrace me, but are both outpaced by a blur of midnight blue fur that knocked me down, and began licking my face.
"Thank Goodness thank goodness thank goodness, as long as I live I will never complain about anything again," Demos says and I laugh and push him off of me, just to be brought into a bone crushing hug from both Boromir and Aragorn. They let me go, and I turn to the king.
"Their is a great host approaching from the north." I tell him, and he stops me, then leads the entire company, minus Elladan and Elrohir, and his general's into another room, and closes the doors.
"A great host you say," He asks
"All Isengard, and maybe even parts of the misty mountains have been emptied." I reply, remembering the massive hoard that was quickly approaching us.
"How many?" He asks, and I swallow before speaking.
"Twenty thousand strong, at the very least," and their are gasps from around the room, as the horror of what the army is begins setting in to everyone/
"Twenty Thousand?" Theoden asks, his voice sounding with both disbelief and horror.
"Goblins, Orcs, Black Uruks of Mordor, Uruk-Hai, and evil men all gathered up into a single army to work for one purpose," I said, and fear begins flickering across his face, "To wipe out the west, and all who oppose the union of the two towers."
Theoden looks down and I do a quick calculation in my head, then tell him, "They will be here by nightfall my lord."
Theoden turns, and looks to Eomer, who nods back at him. Standing tall Theoden walked out of the room, with a great, "Let them come."
The other left to follow Theoden, but I knew in my heart that there was somewhere else that I had to be.
"Demos, where is Elladan, will you take me to him?" I ask my furry friend, and he nods, then leads me through the fortress to the top of a tower. Where Elladan was standing with his brother.
"Arindil would have loved this view," Elladan says as I walk up the last couple steps, and Elrohir turns , and shock covers his face. I smile and walk beside Elladan, "Your right," I say, startling him, "This view is great."
"Arindil!" Elladan says, and I am lifted off of the ground by a bone crushing hug, "Your alive, thank the Valar, your alive."
"Yes, yes Elladan I am alive, but you look more dead that I do." I say when he finally puts me down and I get a good look at him. He has the sense enough to look a bit ashamed.
"Just because I fall, doesn't mean that you would have to as well." I tell him, and he lifts my chin up a bit, and my multicolored eyes meet his deep dark blue ones.
"But it wouldn't be a life worth living," He says, then before I can respond, he brings his lips to my own, and I feel as though my world has started again, heart fluttering, blood pumping, I melt into the kiss, my hands running through his hair, and his through mine, until it is interrupted by a cough. We break apart and see Elrohir standing there with an expression that I couldn't read.
"Arindil, I have something that I wish to say to you," He says, and I tense, wondering what he wants to say.
"Go on Elrohir, what is it that you wish to tell me." I say, and Elladan grabs my hand and squeezes it tightly.
"I would like to apologize for my behavior, I have allowed the views and opinions of others, as well as my own fear to cloud my sight and treat you rather poorly since I met you." Elrohir says to me, and shock ripples throughout my body, never would I have believed that Elrohir would swallow his pride and apologise to me. It feels surprisingly nice actually.
"You are forgiven brother," I say to him after my shock wears off, and I extend my hand to him, and he takes and shakes it.
"Now we have to get ready, there is a large host approaching, I was lucky not to get caught by it, Isengard is bringing the war to us," I say to the two of them look at me in shock.
"How many," Elrohir asks and I sigh.
"From what I saw, at least twenty thousand," I say, and their eyes widen.
"How long do we have," Elladan asks me
"They will be here by nightfall," I reply and shake my head, and watch their faces pale. Elrohir bounds down the stairs, and I am about to follow him, when Elladan pulls me back.
"I believe that this is yours," He says, attaching the necklace from Lady Galadriel around my neck. I smile and look at him fondly, when he kneels down, and pulls out a ring, "This may not be the correct time to do this, but I don't want you to die without knowing how much I love you Arindil, will you marry me?"
If I thought my heart couldn't be any more happy, I was mistaken, I took the ring, and placed it upon my finger, "Yes, yes I will Elladan."
The two of us walked out of the tower, hand in hand as we walked to the crowded armory, when we walked in I saw Legolas looking around next to Aragorn, Gimli, and Tauriel. I look about the room, and do not like what I am seeing.
"Farmers, Farriers, Stable boys," Aragorn says as I arrive next to him, and I add, "These are no Soldiers."
"Most have seen too many winters," Gimli says, looking at an older man, as Arzaroth enters the room.
"Or too few," Legolas adds on, looking at several children in the crowd of adults, "Look at them they're frightened you can see it in their eyes."
The room goes quiet at Legolas' statement, all eyes on our little group, and he turns around, then continues in Elvish, "and they should be, nine hundred, against twenty thousand."
"We are better off here, than at Edoras," I interject, standing between the two
"There is more hope here," Aragorn adds on
"Aragorn, Arindil, They cannot win this fight. They are all going to die!" Legolas says, angrily.
"THEN I SHALL DIE AS ONE OF THEM!" Aragorn yells, moving past me and up to Legolas' face. Then reigning in his anger, walks away from Legolas, who moves to follow him, when Gimli stops him, "Let him go lad."
I walk after Aragorn, and notice that Arzaroth seemed to follow closely behind me, fearing a confrontation, I walked to a secluded part of the castle, and grabbed her as she walked by, looking for me
"Why did you follow me, do you still not trust me," I ask, pushing her up against the wall, "Because I need to know if you still think about slipping a knife into my back before we enter a battle."
She shook her head, and the emption from before that I couldn't identify returned in her eyes, "No that is not it."
"Do you then believe that I am going to sabotage the defences and let Isengard destroy us! Answer me, why, where did this hate for me come from?" I ask, my voice rising
"Because your Father stole our mother away from me!" She shouted back
"Our mother?" I ask, letting her down and truly look at her, and see several similarities to myself in her face, and I curse myself for not seeing it sooner. Her eyes are the same forest green as mine, then way she walks, the proud features.
"Yes, our mother. Your my younger half-sister." She replies.