The atmosphere on the wall is thick with fear and tension and it is all I can do not to shake from it. A figure appears behind me and without looking I know it is him and I relax marginally as his fingers reach for mine gripping them tightly in his own for a moment.
"Your friends are with you Aragorn," Legolas says from his position beside me glancing over and offering him a grim smile.
"Let's hope we last the night," Gimli adds which causes me to snort a little.
"Positive thinking there Gimli," I say which causes them all to laugh a little, although it doesn't last long and all too soon we are once again silent and staring out at the rapidly approaching wall of orcs.
"I must go and speak with Haldir, be safe my love and do not stray too far from Legolas or Gimli," Aragorn murmurs to me and I turn briefly to smile at him and give his fingers a last squeeze before they slip from my grasp and he is gone and my anxiety is back.
"It is okay Peyson we would never risk letting anything to Estel's little one, his wrath would be too great," Legolas grins and I feel myself blush fiercely.
"And here I was thinking you would want to protect me because you cared," I mock and his grin widens a little,
"I know too well that you need no protecting my friend you are a fierce warrior," he says loudly drawing glances from those around us and I blush again before I realise that he has done this both to ease my tension and those around me and nod to him gratefully.
"Well how about a small competition then?" Gimli says and we both look down at him.
"What exactly did you have in mind?" I ask feeling the smile on my face and wondering at the surreal nature of our lighthearted conversation as death is slowly approaching.
"Who can kill the most Orc scum," he smiles grimly and I suppress a shudder at the realisation that I would have to kill many this night if I wanted to live. I know they are evil, barely even considered anything close to human but it still felt… it was not a nice feeling to take another life, whatever that life was.
"You think you can beat an elf and a ranger?" I mock instead with my eyebrow raised and a smirk on my face trying to cover my uncomfortable feeling so as not to put them ill at ease.
"Why… What… I will have you know I am the finest warrior in the…" he splutters at me and I laugh loudly,
"Calm yourself my friend I believe our companion is trying to put you off to give herself a better chance," Legolas says placing a hand on Gimli's shoulder and smirking up at me and it is my turn to look flustered and Gimli's to laugh. All too soon though a horn blows and the great marching army comes to a halt and the silence around me is suddenly deafening as we wait.
Our bows are drawn, arrows knocked while we wait for Aragorn to give the next order, rain cascading down over us blurring my vision and stinging my hands with it's iciness but I hold fast and breathe deeply to stop my shaking.
"Hold," the voice is Aragorn's and for a second I wonder what it is he is shouting at or for and then I see the orc waver on his feet and fall and the arrow sticking from his neck. For a second nothing moves or makes a sound and then the roar that is emitted from the army before us starts, so loud that the ground shakes and my blood begins to freeze in my veins at the terror it induces. Aragorn is shouting instructions again but I am struggling to focus that is until he gives the order to fire and I do. Again and again I fire, like Hallebrad taught me, no pauses, no mercy just kill as many of them as I can so they can't get to us. They keep coming though like waves, never ceasing, just walking over the dead in front of them, thousands upon thousands and then ladders are being pulled up the walls.
"Ladders," I here Legolas yell the word and Gimli's pleased response but before I can say anything myself they are pouring over the walls and I only have a second to put my bow away and pull out my sword before the first one is on me and I am fighting for my life. For a long while I forget everything around me and become like a mechanical being, following the moves taught to me so many years ago, not seeing or hearing or feeling anything around me other than the enemy and my sword. At one point I am backed up against the wall fighting two of them and as I behind one before swinging round and embedding my sword in the stomach of the other I hear a cry and recognising the voice look up startled. Somehow I have been separated from the others during the fighting, I gaze around ducking enemies and dispatching them as I look for him and then, finally, I spot him screaming at Legolas and I see Legolas shooting desperately at something below but before I can register anything an almighty blast throws me from my feet and the ringing in my ears keeps me from focusing on anything else for a few seconds at least.
Eventually I manage to pull myself to my feet rather shakily and notice with a grim detachment that much of my tunic is ripped and blood both mine and the blood of my enemies is soaking much of my body. I look around in a daze trying to spot them but I can't, a blur to the side of me makes me spin on the spot and an orc falls in front of me arm still outstretched and an arrow in it's skull. I look up but before I can focus on anything else I see Haldir fighting only feet from me and a huge beast approaching from behind. A scream echoes around my head and it is a few seconds before I work out that it is my own, my legs moving of their own volition towards him. There is so much death around, elves and men lay with wide staring eyes, their faces twisted in the agony they felt in there last moments of life. I reach Haldir just as the Uruk has his arm fully extended above him and push him forwards trying to jump out of reach too.
The pain is indescribable, a fire trailing from my left shoulder across to my right hip so strong that even as my knees hit the rock below them I do not feel it. I stare up into Haldir's shocked face as he shakes himself an instant later killing the beast that had hit me before pulling me up quickly ripping a harsh scream from me as he does so.
"Pey…" a voice starts but it is cut off quickly,
"I have her get the others back to the keep," Haldir is so stern that however it is seems to obey instantly and then I am being dragged. I try my hardest not to weep and scream with every movement but I am struggling. My vision is blurring and sweat is pooling on my forehead even as shivers rock through me.
"Stay with me, fight it just a little longer my lady," the voice is soothing and it makes me want to sleep so badly do I want to close my eyes and let the darkness take me. The dull thud of the doors and muffling of sound around me makes me realise that we must be back in the keep but we are not stopping as he continues to drag me down another corridor.
"Wait… must help… Aragorn… keep," I manage to gasp out as fresh waves of stabbing, hot pain radiate outwards from my wound.
"My lady you are too wounded I must get you to the caves where you can be cared for until I come back for you with your lover," he says and I can't even find it in me to blush or be intrigued as to how he knows about Aragorn and I.
After what seems like an eternity we reach another door and a cool breeze hits me as I am passed over to another soldier and a woman I think.
"What happened?" a voice asks in concern but I can barely lift my head at this point.
"She was hit by an Uruk sword in battle, she is losing too much blood, you must stem the flow, I will be back as soon as I can with elvish medicine," Haldir says to them and I guess they nod because no one says anything and they begin to drag me away causing me to scream out again.
"Aragorn," I try to shout but it comes out as a sob instead.
"It is okay my lady he will be here soon," someone says and as they lay me down on a palette and begin to remove what is left of my ruined clothes I close my eyes and let the darkness wash over me.
When I wake up I can feel fingers brushing slowly through my hair and realise that I am lying on my front which is odd and so before I even open my eyes I attempt to roll over immediately regretting it as pain shoots through me so rapidly I see white spots behind my eyelids and cannot hold in the scream of pain.
"Don't move my love you must not move," the voice is urgent and hoarse and I recognise it instantly.
"Aragorn," I murmur and his hand is in mine as I feel his body shift and his lips appear by my ear kissing my temple as I turn my face towards him opening my eyes to see his stormy grey ones staring at me in anguish.
"Haldir will be back in a moment with an elvish healer that has survived," he whispers to me and I manage a nod.
"Is it over?" I ask after a moment,
"Yes," he says,
"Did we win?"
"Yes little one, we did," he says quietly offering me a small smile.
"What happened?" I ask after another short silence,
"You saved Haldir's life my love but you are gravely wounded,"
"Not to me," I say quickly, "to you, you are bleeding," I finish trying to reach up to a touch a wound I can see on his head and to my surprise he laughs a little although I can see tears glistening in his eyes too.
"Only you my love could be lying here close to death and still be more concerned for my well being," he whispers kissing my head again, his lips lingering a long time afterwards.
"I am okay it is not too bad," I try but his eyes make the words die on my lips,
"I told you to stay safe," he sighs and I offer him a smile,
"What about your wounds?" I try again and he sighs again kissing my head again.
"When you have been seen, when you are healing I shall get them tended to I promise," he whispers before moving as footsteps approach us.
"Don't leave me," I yelp as he moves again and his hand finds mine in an instant squeezing it gently.
"I am not going anywhere I promise," he says and I feel myself relax a tiny amount as I rest my head to the side trying not to shake and for the first time realising that I am naked from the waist up.
"My lady, we must treat your wounds before they become infected," Haldir says and I nod at him and squeeze my eyes shut until I feel a hand rest on my cheek and opening them see Aragorn's face in front of mine. He has moved to lay in front of me his head resting beside mine his face mere centimetres from my own.
"Look at me my love, I am right here," he whispers and I stare at him the elves clean my back and stitch it before placing some sort of paste over it and dressing it. I try my best not to cry out as they do it but I am ashamed of the few whimpers that escape my lips and the constant tears that make tracks down my face as Aragorn gently wipes them away. When it is over my eyes close as exhaustion washes through me, "sleep my little one, I will be here when you awaken," he whispers to me as blackness creeps over me yet again.