A/N: Sorry for the long time in updating. Well, here it is, and I hope I captured the battle correctly. If I didn't, I'm sure I will be hearing about it, right?
Thank you so much for all of those reviews. I am finally over 600! Praise be and Hallelujah! Enjoy the story folks!
*~*~*
For a short time I had succeeded in raising all the men's spirits. But, for some odd reason, the Orcs just didn't help much in that aspect. Odd...
I had taken a place slightly behind Aragorn on top of the walls. At first he didn't see me, but as soon as he did, oh boy...
"Emily! What are you doing here? You are not to be upon the wall at this time! You could be killed! You cannot even wield a sword!"
"Oh, right. Oh well. I mean it's not like I'm going to be able to help the wounded if I have to stay down in the courtyard and wait for them to fall off the walls. I don't think they will need my help much then, being dead and all!"
I had been getting progressively more and more worked up and I finished my spiel at a shriek. Aragorn looked taken aback, but he also looked like he would listen to my reasoning now.
"My apologies. But, remember, I shall not be able to watch and protect you while you are here. None will even can. You will have to protect yourself and I do not think you are capable of that."
"Yeah," I answered. "I know I can't, but if I don't at least try, these men will not receive add until they are placed in their graves. They need me and my place is up here helping them. I don't expect you to watch out for me and yourself at the same time. All I ask is that you don't try to keep me from my duty and I won't keep your from yours. Deal?"
I stuck out my hand to shake his and slowly he did. That was when he noticed the band around my upper arm.
"What is that?"
"The other girls that are going to be running around out here have them too. These are so the wounded know who to head towards for help. Nria figured that we needed some kind of identification to the men. Smart girl, if you ask me."
"Aye, very smart. I shall pass along your words."
"Thanks. Aragorn?"
"Aye, Emily?"
"Be careful tonight, all right? I don't want to have to pick up your parts and mail them to your Arwen."
"Neither do I wish that upon you. I shall be careful. You also."
"Gotcha."
With that I started to sidle my way along the wall. I caught sight of Rassä and Sienna walking along below me. I raced over to the stairs and ran down them. I got to the bottom just as they reached it, we almost ran into each other it was so close.
"All right, ladies. This is it? Swords?"
Both of them raised their sheathed swords, Sienna rather reluctantly.
"Good. Rassä, you head down to those cliffs and hang around there." I pointed to the cliffs on the opposite side of us. They were farthest from the keep, but I figured that if anyone could handle that, Rassä could. Sienna on the other hand...
"Sienna, you stick around the keep."
She nodded and then gulped.
"Hey, you will be just fine. I'll be moving between both your stations with Babes. She is going to be here to help haul the heavier men. Any questions?"
They shook their heads and stood there nervously. I could see they were really uptight and worried about the outcome of the night. I clasped both of their shoulders and squeezed them lightly, "I'm going to check on Nria again and then I will be down here. Good luck you two."
I turned on my heel and sprinted up the keep steps.
*~*~*
I found Nria right where I told her to be; but I was not expecting the look on her face. It was the look of utter despair.
"What in the world is wrong?! I mean, for God's sake, the battle hasn't even started and you are falling apart already? Honestly!" Maybe I was a bit harsh here, but I was wound as tightly as everyone else.
"Lady Emily!"
"Drop the lady, I really don't think I can handle that right now."
She tried again, "Emily. The men are saying we shall all be slain this night!"
"Smart men," I muttered and then regretted it. I looked up to see Nria looking at me questioningly, unshed tears shinning in her eyes. "Never mind what I or the men said. You just stay right here and take care of the men that we bring you. Make sure you get them down into the caves. Then, if worse comes to worse, you guard these doors with your very life. No other women in those caves other than Éowyn can wield a sword. You fall and they all are dead. Got it?"
She didn't say a word and nodded. She was utterly terrified and my little 'speech' didn't help that one bit. I grabbed both of her shoulders and shook her gently.
"Hey. We will make it. We just have to believe. You stay here and do your job, and everything will be just fine."
I gave her a quick hug and then pushed myself away from her. "I gotta get my butt moving. Good luck, Nria. I will see you in the morning, alive and in one piece." I winked at her and then started towards the door again.
I had just reached them when I heard a very soft voice, "You too Emily, you too."
I grinned and was just going to say something, when I heard a sharp shout and then nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
This cannot be good.
*~*~*
I skidded to a halt just as I would have run into Babes. She had positioned herself just below the keep steps to make sure she wouldn't have missed me.
"Whoa there!"
'I could say the same. Where have you been? Something's going on. Aragorn just shouted and then that's it.'
"Righto. So you have no idea what's going on?"
'Nope. By the way, where the hell have you been?!'
"I knew that was coming."
'Just answer.'
"Inside, talking to Nria. Poor girl's falling apart on me. What about you?"
'I was actually being helpful. I got both Arod and Hasufel to help out like the other two-leggers that you recruited.'
"Seriously?"
'No, I just felt like saying that. It's actually squirrels that are helping them. Idiot.'
As we had been bickering at each other, we had been walking along. We reached the wall steps and stopped a moment.
"So Arod and Hasufel are helping Rassä and Sienna?"
'Respectively.'
"Great! Thanks."
Babes didn't get to answer me, for at that very moment, the ground started to quake beneath us. The Uruk-Hai had let lose a battle cry that shattered the night.
Babes reared up on her hind legs and whinnied at the disturbance.
'They are charging!'
Instantly the archers all around us let loose a volley of arrows. I had my fingers crossed that each of those shafts found an Uruk-Hai heart.
Babes grabbed the collar of my tunic of my teeth and slammed me into the wall just as a return volley of arrows landed around us, striking many, killing more.
I turned to Babes, "It's started."
*~*~*
I think back to that night and most of it is a blur. I saw one death after another. Death did not care whom it stole that night, old men, boys, young men, Uruk-Hai. It no longer mattered.
If anyone was as busy as Death, it was Babes and I. Just as that first wave of arrows reached our ranks, we were out on the battle field-looking over our shoulders, praying, and saving all within reach.
I looked down through the roiling bodies and saw a brief glimpse of yellow. Rassä and Sienna were doing their jobs well, I proud of them. But, this was no time to be thinking, only acting.
I saw a young boy take an arrow in his thigh and he fell. I raced over to him as I shrieked in my mind, 'Babes! I have another one! Get over here!'
I turned around to see where she was, only to see her trying to get a man up onto her back by herself.. Another man saw her struggle and raced over to help her; finally they managed to throw the man over her back, and then Babes took off for the keep. Since I saw there was no more room for my boy, I didn't bother calling to her again. I did the only thing I could.
I reached down and grabbed him in a fireman's carry. He screamed in pain and thankfully lost consciousness. He was a lot heavier than he looked. I staggered with the weight of him and started towards the keep.
After what seemed like an eternity, I reached the steps. Now was the fun part, I had to get up those and to the caves with the boy still slung over my shoulders. Yeah, well this would be interesting to say the least.
I took each step at a time and then just as I was three from the top, I heard a scream behind me. I glanced back and stopped in horror. There, behind me was a man with an arrow coming out of his back. He had thrown himself in the path of the arrow that was meant for me. He tried to form a word, but only blood bubbled out. He tried again and then toppled backwards down the steps, dead.
I was in shock. I staggered up the rest of the steps and into the keep. I got to the open cave doors and sagged against the wall.
"Nria," I whispered. I tried again, "Nria. Nria. Nria! NRIA!" I finally screamed. She came running out of the caves and stopped in astonishment.
I guess I must have looked awful. The boy's blood had run down over my shoulder, soaking my hair and shirt through. I was still horrified at what that poor man had done for me. This was not the time to be looking at me and not helping me out.
"Get this kid off me! Now damn it!" I added when she still didn't move. She rushed over and grabbed him and stumbled when she received his full weight. I didn't even wait to see what happened to the poor guy, I just took off at a dead sprint for the doors.
I was not going to be useless!
*~*~*
Eventually the Uruk-Hai started to make it over the walls. Because of this, more and more men were falling on the walls; they needed me up there.
One small problem, even with all my bravado with Aragorn earlier, I was actually terrified to go up there and face them again. That just didn't really appeal to me for some reason.
Finally, when I saw still yet another man fall under the sword of an Uruk-Hai, I gathered enough courage to get my ass up on that wall.
I ran up the stairs and started to look around for a man that was still alive, but needed help. Yeah, right. All I could see was swords, blood and Uruk-Hai.
I grabbed my sword, but had to battle with the sheath first before I could start hacking Uruk-Hai. Luckily everyone around me was busy saving their own butts, so they didn't notice my grace. Finally I defeated the sheath and got my sword out. I started to swing that baby around me at anything that even resembled Uruk-Hai.
I think I must have killed or at least maimed some, because not only was I covered in the boy's blood, but in Orc blood. I was completely taken over with blood lust, I just really didn't care what I got anymore as long as it was tall, dark and horribly ugly.
Suddenly I saw Aragorn just a few feet in front of me, even dirtier than I was, shouting at Legolas. I saw Legolas draw an arrow and shoot and right away shot another one. I had no idea what he was shooting at, but all at once my world was turned brutally upside down.
The wall had literally exploded under my feet, catapulting me violently into the air. I landed hard on the wall again. I just lay where I fell for a moment, completely stunned. Finally I realized I could very easily be trampled. I sat up and stared in absolute, uninhibited terror.
The Uruk-Hai had blown apart the wall and were streaming through the gash. They had gotten through the wall. We were doomed!
I staggered to my feet and gasped in pain. I looked down and saw that I had a nasty cut along my leg and my right knee was tender. I reached down and prodded it and almost fainted with pain. It was already my bad knee and I think I just screwed it up even worse. I balanced on my left leg and used my hands to shake my right leg back and forth. The pain exploded, but I didn't see my lower leg wiggling. That was good. This means that the ligament in my knee wasn't completely torn. If it was, the only way to fix it is with surgery and I highly doubt that there is any 'good', as in good from my time, surgeon in Middle Earth. At worst, the knee was only sprained. I would live.
I heard something and looked up. I was just in time to see a volley of arrows take down some of the Orcs streaming through. It was like trying to empty a lake with a teaspoon. Théoden was also shouting something about 'bracing the gates', but there was just too much chaos around me to hear him clearly. Suddenly I heard Aragorn roar something that I was guessing was Elvish, but the solider next to me clarified it for me.
"Pull back to the keep! On the king's order, back to the keep!"
Righto, it wasn't like I was going to hang around here if I didn't have to.
I glanced back to Aragorn only to see him headed towards the keep, Gimli in tow kicking and screaming. I had to smirk at that, I would give the dwarf hell for a while.
I whipped around just as I heard a cry of pain behind me. There I saw Haldir grasping his arm in pain while another Uruk-Hai raised his sword above the oblivious Haldir's head. It was a death blow.
Even before I thought about my actions, I threw myself at Haldir just in time. The Orc's aim was skewed so the sword only sunk into Haldir's shoulder instead of his head as it was meant. I grabbed the nearest item, an arrow, and shoved it into the things open mouth. It coughed and then fell backward, stone dead. Latter, I would look back at that with amazement at both my stupidity and blood-thirstiness.
I grabbed Haldir by his good arm and threw it over my shoulder. We made quite a pair limping and hobbling along the wall, stabbing and slicing as we went. Once Haldir started to slip into a faint from lose of blood, but I slapped his face and shouted at him, "Maydenia would skewer me if she knew that I let you die! Get your Elven ass moving before I am forced to kick it into my time!"
I think I actually saw a smirk on his face, but my attention was quickly ripped away. We were battling for our very lives as it was.
Finally I once again reached the keep steps and started to clamber up them. Once I actually fell to my knees, but the pain in my right had me quickly on my feet again. Haldir was making as much of an effort as I was, if not more.
Obviously someone told the guys that we were making a late entrance, because almost before I could blink, I had Gimli covering my back as Aragorn was practically carrying me into the keep. I looked over and saw that Legolas was treating Haldir to the same treatment.
Aragorn got me inside of the keep and dumped me on one of the benches. I had just sat down when three of the women came racing over to me, laden with bandages and water.
They wouldn't leave until I was cleaned up, so what else could I do? I only drew the line when they were about to wrap my knee. Since I had already injured it in track during high school, I knew what to do-the women didn't. Simple decision to make on who was doing the wrapping.
I grabbed the bandage and wrapped it around the knee as tightly as I could with it bent-had to be able to move after all. I finally got the bandage in some resemblance of a wrap and got to my feet. There were men down in the caves that needed help and unfortunatly there were not nearly enough women for the job. They needed every spare hand they could get-me in other words.
No one noticed my departure since as soon as the women saw I had everything under control, they had moved onto Haldir with all due haste. They were clucking and cooing like a group of mother hens. Now I have dirt on both the Dwarf and Elf!
As I was navigating the steps down to the caves, I couldn't help wondering where Nria was. I seem to remember as I was fighting off the women, I had caught glimpses of both Rassä and Sienna, but no Nria. Odd...
Seeing as it wasn't on the top of my list as of now, I pushed the thought of Nria to the back of my mind when I finally reached the caves. Every available space was taken up by an injured man. I had no idea three of us had brought so many of those men in here. I looked around, hoping to find my boy, but I didn't see him, although I did see Éowyn.
I headed over to her, "Hey, Éowyn! Can I help here? She whipped around and raced towards me. After she treated me to a bone-crushing hug, she decided to answer my question.
She lowered her voice and I saw her face cloud over, "We are losing more than we are saving. I believe the Orcan arrows were poisoned. Too many of the women are trying to save others to help me. I do not like to let the men pass," here her voice broke. "Pass alone. I have been sitting with them, talking, singing, anything to keep their minds off themselves. Will you help me?"
I didn't even pause, "Absolutely."
This entire night was backwards to me, I was thinking as I made my way over to the first 'terminal' man. I never would have thought Éowyn was so tender-hearted. I know it sounds mean, but she has always come off as one of those 'kick your ass' warrior maidens. I was glad to find that she had a heart. As weird as it sounds, it was a comfort to know that I wasn't the only one to get emotional over all of these senseless deaths.
I sat down quietly next to the man and looked over to him. He was chalk-white and he was having difficulty breathing, it was rattling noisily in his chest. He had maybe a couple of hours left. It was so sad to see this, but I had to believe that it was better to pass here then in the cold, wet battlefield.
He had opened his eyes at my movement. I saw that he had opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off before he was able.
"Nah, you don't have to say anything. I know exactly what you were thinking. You feel like you need to stand and call me 'lady' and all that gentlemanly stuff. Right?"
He smiled softly and nodded, but once again I started to talk before him.
"Well, I don't think you are really in the position to do so. After all, I am covered in blood, dirt and I don't even want to know what, and you are laid up at the moment."
He did give me a wavering smile at this.
I continued, "You really are a very brave man to go out there against such numbers. I only was gathering the men that were wounded because they were so brave. I am honored to even sit beside you. I just want you do know that."
This time I saw tears in his eyes. Again he opened his mouth, but I felt I should let him speak.
Very faintly, as though on a breeze, he murmured, "Sing."
I could do nothing but oblige, so I sat there singing old nursery rhymes to a dying man in the middle of the night. It tore my heart in two.
*~*~*
A/N: I know this is kinda a cliff-hanger, but I just felt this was a good point to stop at. The next chapter will be up sooner than this one made an appearance.
I want to thank each and every one of my reviewers. Your patience with me has been astounding. Thank you so very much!
Until next time,
~A~
Thank you so much for all of those reviews. I am finally over 600! Praise be and Hallelujah! Enjoy the story folks!
*~*~*
For a short time I had succeeded in raising all the men's spirits. But, for some odd reason, the Orcs just didn't help much in that aspect. Odd...
I had taken a place slightly behind Aragorn on top of the walls. At first he didn't see me, but as soon as he did, oh boy...
"Emily! What are you doing here? You are not to be upon the wall at this time! You could be killed! You cannot even wield a sword!"
"Oh, right. Oh well. I mean it's not like I'm going to be able to help the wounded if I have to stay down in the courtyard and wait for them to fall off the walls. I don't think they will need my help much then, being dead and all!"
I had been getting progressively more and more worked up and I finished my spiel at a shriek. Aragorn looked taken aback, but he also looked like he would listen to my reasoning now.
"My apologies. But, remember, I shall not be able to watch and protect you while you are here. None will even can. You will have to protect yourself and I do not think you are capable of that."
"Yeah," I answered. "I know I can't, but if I don't at least try, these men will not receive add until they are placed in their graves. They need me and my place is up here helping them. I don't expect you to watch out for me and yourself at the same time. All I ask is that you don't try to keep me from my duty and I won't keep your from yours. Deal?"
I stuck out my hand to shake his and slowly he did. That was when he noticed the band around my upper arm.
"What is that?"
"The other girls that are going to be running around out here have them too. These are so the wounded know who to head towards for help. Nria figured that we needed some kind of identification to the men. Smart girl, if you ask me."
"Aye, very smart. I shall pass along your words."
"Thanks. Aragorn?"
"Aye, Emily?"
"Be careful tonight, all right? I don't want to have to pick up your parts and mail them to your Arwen."
"Neither do I wish that upon you. I shall be careful. You also."
"Gotcha."
With that I started to sidle my way along the wall. I caught sight of Rassä and Sienna walking along below me. I raced over to the stairs and ran down them. I got to the bottom just as they reached it, we almost ran into each other it was so close.
"All right, ladies. This is it? Swords?"
Both of them raised their sheathed swords, Sienna rather reluctantly.
"Good. Rassä, you head down to those cliffs and hang around there." I pointed to the cliffs on the opposite side of us. They were farthest from the keep, but I figured that if anyone could handle that, Rassä could. Sienna on the other hand...
"Sienna, you stick around the keep."
She nodded and then gulped.
"Hey, you will be just fine. I'll be moving between both your stations with Babes. She is going to be here to help haul the heavier men. Any questions?"
They shook their heads and stood there nervously. I could see they were really uptight and worried about the outcome of the night. I clasped both of their shoulders and squeezed them lightly, "I'm going to check on Nria again and then I will be down here. Good luck you two."
I turned on my heel and sprinted up the keep steps.
*~*~*
I found Nria right where I told her to be; but I was not expecting the look on her face. It was the look of utter despair.
"What in the world is wrong?! I mean, for God's sake, the battle hasn't even started and you are falling apart already? Honestly!" Maybe I was a bit harsh here, but I was wound as tightly as everyone else.
"Lady Emily!"
"Drop the lady, I really don't think I can handle that right now."
She tried again, "Emily. The men are saying we shall all be slain this night!"
"Smart men," I muttered and then regretted it. I looked up to see Nria looking at me questioningly, unshed tears shinning in her eyes. "Never mind what I or the men said. You just stay right here and take care of the men that we bring you. Make sure you get them down into the caves. Then, if worse comes to worse, you guard these doors with your very life. No other women in those caves other than Éowyn can wield a sword. You fall and they all are dead. Got it?"
She didn't say a word and nodded. She was utterly terrified and my little 'speech' didn't help that one bit. I grabbed both of her shoulders and shook her gently.
"Hey. We will make it. We just have to believe. You stay here and do your job, and everything will be just fine."
I gave her a quick hug and then pushed myself away from her. "I gotta get my butt moving. Good luck, Nria. I will see you in the morning, alive and in one piece." I winked at her and then started towards the door again.
I had just reached them when I heard a very soft voice, "You too Emily, you too."
I grinned and was just going to say something, when I heard a sharp shout and then nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
This cannot be good.
*~*~*
I skidded to a halt just as I would have run into Babes. She had positioned herself just below the keep steps to make sure she wouldn't have missed me.
"Whoa there!"
'I could say the same. Where have you been? Something's going on. Aragorn just shouted and then that's it.'
"Righto. So you have no idea what's going on?"
'Nope. By the way, where the hell have you been?!'
"I knew that was coming."
'Just answer.'
"Inside, talking to Nria. Poor girl's falling apart on me. What about you?"
'I was actually being helpful. I got both Arod and Hasufel to help out like the other two-leggers that you recruited.'
"Seriously?"
'No, I just felt like saying that. It's actually squirrels that are helping them. Idiot.'
As we had been bickering at each other, we had been walking along. We reached the wall steps and stopped a moment.
"So Arod and Hasufel are helping Rassä and Sienna?"
'Respectively.'
"Great! Thanks."
Babes didn't get to answer me, for at that very moment, the ground started to quake beneath us. The Uruk-Hai had let lose a battle cry that shattered the night.
Babes reared up on her hind legs and whinnied at the disturbance.
'They are charging!'
Instantly the archers all around us let loose a volley of arrows. I had my fingers crossed that each of those shafts found an Uruk-Hai heart.
Babes grabbed the collar of my tunic of my teeth and slammed me into the wall just as a return volley of arrows landed around us, striking many, killing more.
I turned to Babes, "It's started."
*~*~*
I think back to that night and most of it is a blur. I saw one death after another. Death did not care whom it stole that night, old men, boys, young men, Uruk-Hai. It no longer mattered.
If anyone was as busy as Death, it was Babes and I. Just as that first wave of arrows reached our ranks, we were out on the battle field-looking over our shoulders, praying, and saving all within reach.
I looked down through the roiling bodies and saw a brief glimpse of yellow. Rassä and Sienna were doing their jobs well, I proud of them. But, this was no time to be thinking, only acting.
I saw a young boy take an arrow in his thigh and he fell. I raced over to him as I shrieked in my mind, 'Babes! I have another one! Get over here!'
I turned around to see where she was, only to see her trying to get a man up onto her back by herself.. Another man saw her struggle and raced over to help her; finally they managed to throw the man over her back, and then Babes took off for the keep. Since I saw there was no more room for my boy, I didn't bother calling to her again. I did the only thing I could.
I reached down and grabbed him in a fireman's carry. He screamed in pain and thankfully lost consciousness. He was a lot heavier than he looked. I staggered with the weight of him and started towards the keep.
After what seemed like an eternity, I reached the steps. Now was the fun part, I had to get up those and to the caves with the boy still slung over my shoulders. Yeah, well this would be interesting to say the least.
I took each step at a time and then just as I was three from the top, I heard a scream behind me. I glanced back and stopped in horror. There, behind me was a man with an arrow coming out of his back. He had thrown himself in the path of the arrow that was meant for me. He tried to form a word, but only blood bubbled out. He tried again and then toppled backwards down the steps, dead.
I was in shock. I staggered up the rest of the steps and into the keep. I got to the open cave doors and sagged against the wall.
"Nria," I whispered. I tried again, "Nria. Nria. Nria! NRIA!" I finally screamed. She came running out of the caves and stopped in astonishment.
I guess I must have looked awful. The boy's blood had run down over my shoulder, soaking my hair and shirt through. I was still horrified at what that poor man had done for me. This was not the time to be looking at me and not helping me out.
"Get this kid off me! Now damn it!" I added when she still didn't move. She rushed over and grabbed him and stumbled when she received his full weight. I didn't even wait to see what happened to the poor guy, I just took off at a dead sprint for the doors.
I was not going to be useless!
*~*~*
Eventually the Uruk-Hai started to make it over the walls. Because of this, more and more men were falling on the walls; they needed me up there.
One small problem, even with all my bravado with Aragorn earlier, I was actually terrified to go up there and face them again. That just didn't really appeal to me for some reason.
Finally, when I saw still yet another man fall under the sword of an Uruk-Hai, I gathered enough courage to get my ass up on that wall.
I ran up the stairs and started to look around for a man that was still alive, but needed help. Yeah, right. All I could see was swords, blood and Uruk-Hai.
I grabbed my sword, but had to battle with the sheath first before I could start hacking Uruk-Hai. Luckily everyone around me was busy saving their own butts, so they didn't notice my grace. Finally I defeated the sheath and got my sword out. I started to swing that baby around me at anything that even resembled Uruk-Hai.
I think I must have killed or at least maimed some, because not only was I covered in the boy's blood, but in Orc blood. I was completely taken over with blood lust, I just really didn't care what I got anymore as long as it was tall, dark and horribly ugly.
Suddenly I saw Aragorn just a few feet in front of me, even dirtier than I was, shouting at Legolas. I saw Legolas draw an arrow and shoot and right away shot another one. I had no idea what he was shooting at, but all at once my world was turned brutally upside down.
The wall had literally exploded under my feet, catapulting me violently into the air. I landed hard on the wall again. I just lay where I fell for a moment, completely stunned. Finally I realized I could very easily be trampled. I sat up and stared in absolute, uninhibited terror.
The Uruk-Hai had blown apart the wall and were streaming through the gash. They had gotten through the wall. We were doomed!
I staggered to my feet and gasped in pain. I looked down and saw that I had a nasty cut along my leg and my right knee was tender. I reached down and prodded it and almost fainted with pain. It was already my bad knee and I think I just screwed it up even worse. I balanced on my left leg and used my hands to shake my right leg back and forth. The pain exploded, but I didn't see my lower leg wiggling. That was good. This means that the ligament in my knee wasn't completely torn. If it was, the only way to fix it is with surgery and I highly doubt that there is any 'good', as in good from my time, surgeon in Middle Earth. At worst, the knee was only sprained. I would live.
I heard something and looked up. I was just in time to see a volley of arrows take down some of the Orcs streaming through. It was like trying to empty a lake with a teaspoon. Théoden was also shouting something about 'bracing the gates', but there was just too much chaos around me to hear him clearly. Suddenly I heard Aragorn roar something that I was guessing was Elvish, but the solider next to me clarified it for me.
"Pull back to the keep! On the king's order, back to the keep!"
Righto, it wasn't like I was going to hang around here if I didn't have to.
I glanced back to Aragorn only to see him headed towards the keep, Gimli in tow kicking and screaming. I had to smirk at that, I would give the dwarf hell for a while.
I whipped around just as I heard a cry of pain behind me. There I saw Haldir grasping his arm in pain while another Uruk-Hai raised his sword above the oblivious Haldir's head. It was a death blow.
Even before I thought about my actions, I threw myself at Haldir just in time. The Orc's aim was skewed so the sword only sunk into Haldir's shoulder instead of his head as it was meant. I grabbed the nearest item, an arrow, and shoved it into the things open mouth. It coughed and then fell backward, stone dead. Latter, I would look back at that with amazement at both my stupidity and blood-thirstiness.
I grabbed Haldir by his good arm and threw it over my shoulder. We made quite a pair limping and hobbling along the wall, stabbing and slicing as we went. Once Haldir started to slip into a faint from lose of blood, but I slapped his face and shouted at him, "Maydenia would skewer me if she knew that I let you die! Get your Elven ass moving before I am forced to kick it into my time!"
I think I actually saw a smirk on his face, but my attention was quickly ripped away. We were battling for our very lives as it was.
Finally I once again reached the keep steps and started to clamber up them. Once I actually fell to my knees, but the pain in my right had me quickly on my feet again. Haldir was making as much of an effort as I was, if not more.
Obviously someone told the guys that we were making a late entrance, because almost before I could blink, I had Gimli covering my back as Aragorn was practically carrying me into the keep. I looked over and saw that Legolas was treating Haldir to the same treatment.
Aragorn got me inside of the keep and dumped me on one of the benches. I had just sat down when three of the women came racing over to me, laden with bandages and water.
They wouldn't leave until I was cleaned up, so what else could I do? I only drew the line when they were about to wrap my knee. Since I had already injured it in track during high school, I knew what to do-the women didn't. Simple decision to make on who was doing the wrapping.
I grabbed the bandage and wrapped it around the knee as tightly as I could with it bent-had to be able to move after all. I finally got the bandage in some resemblance of a wrap and got to my feet. There were men down in the caves that needed help and unfortunatly there were not nearly enough women for the job. They needed every spare hand they could get-me in other words.
No one noticed my departure since as soon as the women saw I had everything under control, they had moved onto Haldir with all due haste. They were clucking and cooing like a group of mother hens. Now I have dirt on both the Dwarf and Elf!
As I was navigating the steps down to the caves, I couldn't help wondering where Nria was. I seem to remember as I was fighting off the women, I had caught glimpses of both Rassä and Sienna, but no Nria. Odd...
Seeing as it wasn't on the top of my list as of now, I pushed the thought of Nria to the back of my mind when I finally reached the caves. Every available space was taken up by an injured man. I had no idea three of us had brought so many of those men in here. I looked around, hoping to find my boy, but I didn't see him, although I did see Éowyn.
I headed over to her, "Hey, Éowyn! Can I help here? She whipped around and raced towards me. After she treated me to a bone-crushing hug, she decided to answer my question.
She lowered her voice and I saw her face cloud over, "We are losing more than we are saving. I believe the Orcan arrows were poisoned. Too many of the women are trying to save others to help me. I do not like to let the men pass," here her voice broke. "Pass alone. I have been sitting with them, talking, singing, anything to keep their minds off themselves. Will you help me?"
I didn't even pause, "Absolutely."
This entire night was backwards to me, I was thinking as I made my way over to the first 'terminal' man. I never would have thought Éowyn was so tender-hearted. I know it sounds mean, but she has always come off as one of those 'kick your ass' warrior maidens. I was glad to find that she had a heart. As weird as it sounds, it was a comfort to know that I wasn't the only one to get emotional over all of these senseless deaths.
I sat down quietly next to the man and looked over to him. He was chalk-white and he was having difficulty breathing, it was rattling noisily in his chest. He had maybe a couple of hours left. It was so sad to see this, but I had to believe that it was better to pass here then in the cold, wet battlefield.
He had opened his eyes at my movement. I saw that he had opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off before he was able.
"Nah, you don't have to say anything. I know exactly what you were thinking. You feel like you need to stand and call me 'lady' and all that gentlemanly stuff. Right?"
He smiled softly and nodded, but once again I started to talk before him.
"Well, I don't think you are really in the position to do so. After all, I am covered in blood, dirt and I don't even want to know what, and you are laid up at the moment."
He did give me a wavering smile at this.
I continued, "You really are a very brave man to go out there against such numbers. I only was gathering the men that were wounded because they were so brave. I am honored to even sit beside you. I just want you do know that."
This time I saw tears in his eyes. Again he opened his mouth, but I felt I should let him speak.
Very faintly, as though on a breeze, he murmured, "Sing."
I could do nothing but oblige, so I sat there singing old nursery rhymes to a dying man in the middle of the night. It tore my heart in two.
*~*~*
A/N: I know this is kinda a cliff-hanger, but I just felt this was a good point to stop at. The next chapter will be up sooner than this one made an appearance.
I want to thank each and every one of my reviewers. Your patience with me has been astounding. Thank you so very much!
Until next time,
~A~