As usual...

Darrinia: Por favor, no te disculpes! Espero que no fuera nada grave y todo esté bien! Yeah, of course Blaine isn't jealous because he doesn't have a doubt about where Sam's heart is. Un besazo, preciosa!

Mildlifecrissis: hahahaha, I agree, Wormtongue is a good name for Kurt ;) I know it's strange about Kurt not being related to Burt, then Britanny is... but I needed to place the characters like that ;) Of course Blaine is going to get offended if someone attacks Sam, even if it's only his honor! And yes, Blaine trusts Sam completely, so no worries there. Thank you, sweetheart!

CHAPTER 5: THE WAY TO HELM'S DEEP

The whole city of Edoras started their long way towards Helm's Deep, where King Burt thought they would be more protected against the upcoming attack from Sue. Undoubtedly, Kurt Wormtongue would have told Sue by now about their departure, about the direction they were going to take and about how slow they were going to be, considering most of them would travel on foot. So they would have to be careful, and that's why Blaine spent most of the time ahead of them, as his Elven superior sight would let him see any possible peril before anyone else, in case there was.

Sam, who was travelling with the people, was surely missing him, as he had hardly seen his lover in almost two days. And the fact Brittany was around him all the time, trying to be nice to him and make herself noticed, wasn't helping. Sam was starting to think that Blaine was probably right –well, wasn't he always?–, and Brittany really did fancy him. And her constant attentions and affections only made him miss Blaine more.

Even Sebastian was missing the elf like crazy, as he didn't get to share his horse with him and he kept falling from it every few hours.

So when the second night arrived and Sam had not seen a hair of Blaine all day, he sat with his back to a rock, a bit away from where the people had made camp, with only his pipe and his solitude as companions. If he couldn't be with Blaine, he could at least fill his mind with memories of him, couldn't he?

Sam lovingly caressed the Evenstar hanging from his neck, as if he was caressing Blaine himself, and brought it to his lips to rest a kiss on it. Smiling, he remembered the first time his lips had tasted Blaine's.

It had been in Mirkwood, Blaine's land, on one of Sam's visits. Since the first time they had met, Sam had kept coming back to the Woodland Realm every now and then, increasingly more frequently, the excuses getting more ridiculous every time. He was absolutely bewitched with the elf's beauty, warmth, courage and friendliness, and with how easy it was for him to leave everything to "be a good host and take care of their guest" whenever Sam appeared.

They had quickly become friends, even if Blaine's father was not that pleased with his son's friendship with a human, but Sam soon found it was not enough, that he was hopelessly and helplessly in love with that wonderful creature. He didn't know if Blaine reciprocated his feelings, but he had to come clean with him or he would go crazy.

So one evening, as they were taking a late walk around the forest, Sam had picked up Blaine's hand and had received the most surprised but adoring gaze he had ever seen. He had stopped in front of the elf and had tried to open his heart to him, and Blaine had just stood there, watching him with an indefinable sentiment on his eyes. But Sam had never been a man of words, and when he got tongue-tied for the hundredth time, Blaine, in a sudden fit of enthusiasm, leant over and captured Sam's lips in a swift kiss that it was hard to tell who it did surprise the most.

After the kiss, all the courage in Blaine vanished and he blushed, mumbling some incoherent apology and already turning around to flee from Sam's vicinity. If Sam wasn't a man of words, Blaine surely wasn't one of impulses. At least he had never been until Sam. But Sam just grabbed his hand again to stop him from leaving, he smiled at him, and tenderly drove his hands to Blaine's neck. He took a moment to look at his flushed face and to give him time to stop him if that was what he wanted. But Blaine didn't, so Sam took that as an invitation and he slowly joined their lips again, much more deeply this time, until he felt Blaine relaxing in their kiss and his arms shyly embracing him.

Very few words had been exchanged that night, as they made their way back to the palace, timidly holding hands and sending curious, slightly embarrassed and very loving looks to each other. Those words were not required, though, as everything they needed to communicate had been written on that kiss. The time to talk would come soon, maybe next day. That night was only for dreaming.

Sam caressed the pendant again, now with a big smile on his face. He cherished every one of the moments shared with Blaine, but somehow that was his favorite memory, as it had been the beginning of everything. With that thought still fresh on his mind, he put out his pipe and laid down, welcoming slumber with a big smile on his face.

Kitty and Marley were still on their quest to find another way into Mordor that didn't imply crossing the Black Gate, as Rachel had promised to show them. The tension between Kitty and Marley was slowly but decidedly growing, and Rachel's attitude, which deeply irritated Marley, didn't help.

"Hey, stinker, don't go getting too far ahead" Marley told Rachel disdainfully as the latter ran ahead of them trying to catch a fish on the river to eat it.

"Why do you do that?" Kitty asked Marley curtly.

"What?" Marley asked back, puzzled.

"Call him names. Run her down all the time"

"Because that's what she is, Madam Kitty. There's naught left in her but lies and deceit. It's the Ring she wants, it's all she cares about"

"You have no idea what it did to her, what it's still doing to her. I want to help her, Marley" Kitty whispered, as she was beginning to understand what the weight of the Ring could do to a person.

"You can't save her, Madam Kitty" Marley answered.

"What do you know about it? Nothing!" Kitty yelled at Marley.

Kitty could have punched Marley in the face and it wouldn't have hurt her as much as her words did. Marley just sighed, deceived once again, and turned around and away from Kitty, not wanting to argue because she knew it was mostly the Ring talking on her account.

"I'm sorry, Marley" Kitty apologized honestly, as she couldn't believe how mean he was being with his friend herself. "I don't know why I said that"

"I do" Marley answered, turning back to her, always ready to forgive her best friend. "It's the Ring. It's taken hold of you, Mr. Kitty. You have to fight it"

"I know what I have to do, Marley. The Ring was entrusted to me. It's my task. Mine!" Kitty answered, angry again.

"Can't you hear yourself? Do you know who you sound like?"

But Kitty was listening to her anymore, as she followed Rachel down the river.

The next day started pretty much on the same way for the travelers. Sam was still missing Blaine, as he was still on a scout party way ahead of them. Sam walked, absorbed in his own thoughts, when Brittany caught up with him.

"Where is the one who gave you that jewel?" Brittany asked him, pointing at the Evenstar, curious to know about her competitor to Sam's heart.

The mention of his most valuable possession and what it meant made Sam think about his former owner again. He remembered how Blaine's father had reproached him Blaine's negative to cross to the undying lands of Valinor, where he could live eternally, not wanting to leave Sam behind.

"The time for the elves here is ending" Thranduil had told him one night, shortly after he had found about their love. "Blaine's time is ending. Let him go, let him take the ship into the west. Let him bear away his love for you to the Undying Lands. There it will be ever green"

"But never more than memory" Sam had answered, not being able to even think about a life without Blaine at his side.

"I will not leave my son here to die" Thranduil had threatened.

"He stays because he still has hope" Sam had tried to reason with him, though to no avail.

"He stays here for you!" Thandruil had raised his voice to him, wanting to sound intimidating. "He belongs with his people"

Sam had looked at Blaine's father as if he was about to give an angry retort to him, but found there were no words to answer Thranduil's argument: he was right. Blaine needed to be with his people, in a place where he was safe from death, hurting and evilness. And he knew he would never be able to convince him of that, so the best thing to do would be to leave and never come back. With that thought on his head, he just turned around and started his way out of Mirkwood.

Fortunately, Blaine seemed to have a sixth sense to everything related with his lover, and had intercepted him before he had been able to leave.

"Is this how you would take your leave?" Blaine had reproached him gently, almost jokingly. "Did you think you could slip away at first light, unnoticed?"

Sam has immediately stopped at his tracks as Blaine appeared behind him. There was no way he could leave so easily now, not when Blaine was there to see him departing.

"I will not be coming back" Sam had answered, despair obvious in his voice.

"You underestimate your skill in battle. You will be back" Blaine told him, not understanding Sam's words.

"It is not death in battle that I speak" Sam confessed.

"What do you speak of?" Blaine asked, puzzled at Sam's attitude.

"You have a chance for another life, away from war... grief... despair..." Sam insisted, wanting to convince him to let him go.

"Why are you saying this?" Blaine asked, looking intently at him and trying to decipher in his eyes the reason behind Sam's words.

"I am mortal. You are Elf-kind. It was a dream, Blaine" Sam had told him, ready to lie to him if it meant keeping him safe. "Nothing more"

"I don't believe you" Blaine had confidently answered, before grabbing the back of his head possessively and kissing him fiercely, making Sam forget about his leaving with his passion.

That's how it had always been between them. Sam not wanting Blaine to renounce to immortality for him; Blaine stubbornly defending his decision. Sam had to smile at Blaine's obstinate personality, as it was that trade that had kept them together after so much adversity.

It was Brittany's words that brought Sam back to reality.

"My lord?"

"I would have liked for that creature to be sailing to the Undying Lands with all that is left of his kin right now" Sam answered, not wanting to elaborate any further.

Sam lifted his gaze up, towards a little hill in front of him, and he was rewarded with the first glimpse of Blaine for almost two days. For a second Sam was overwhelmed at his lover's presence and beauty, but his surviving instincts soon kicked in and he observed Blaine's posture, as if he was waiting for something, as if he sensed something was about to happen.

Suddenly they heard the shouts from two Rohan soldiers that were even ahead of Blaine, and he ran towards the racket, knowing they were been attacked but not who the attacker was. He practically couldn't believe his eyes when he discovered a big Warg –sent by Sue, undoubtedly– as the mount of an orc. The Warg had already killed one of the men, and Blaine shot an arrow from the distance to kill it before the other man would succumb to the same fate.

The orc mounting the Warg fell to the floor, and there was no time for him to react before Blaine was on him and embedding his short sword on him. Sam arrived at that same moment and his heart skipped a bit when he saw Blaine fighting. But he didn't need to worry about him, as he had the situation way under control.

"A scout" Blaine alerted Sam, when he discovered him at his back, knowing there would be lots of orcs behind that one.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked in a rush, caressing Blaine's face with his knuckles.

"I'm okay, don't worry" Blaine said with an almost imperceptible smile.

Sam just nodded and started making his way back down the hill to alert the others of the upcoming attack they were about to suffer.

"Warg! We are under attack!" Sam yelled for the soldiers to get ready to fight, though the people obviously heard it too and started to panic. "Get them out of here!"

"All riders to the head of the column!" King Burt ordered, preparing his Men for battle. Then he turned to his niece, knowing he could trust her above everyone else. "You must lead the people towards Helm's Deep, and make haste"

"I can fight" Brittany protested.

"No! You must do this, for me" Burt begged, and she could only obey to her uncle's petition. "Follow me!" he ordered his men, and they started galloping towards where Blaine and the other warrior had fought the scout, as the people from Edoras ran in the opposite direction at Brittany's orders, towards Helm's Deep.

While the soldiers galloped towards him, Blaine started shooting arrows toward the orcs and wargs already approaching from the opposite direction. As the soldiers reached his position and the horses galloped by him, he suddenly was grabbed around the waist and it was after he was sitting behind Sam on his horse that he realized it had been his lover who had lifted him up, knowing he would not have any chance on foot.

"Please, be careful, my love" Blaine begged on Sam's ear, having a bad feeling about the battle that it was about to take place, as he put his arms around Sam's waist, more for the need of contact than to hold on the horse.

"I love you" was Sam's answer, as he stroked Blaine's knee reassuringly. He hated the fact that he had hardly seen Blaine for two days and now a fight that could end both their lives was about to begin.

"I love you too" Blaine replied quickly, adrenaline running fast on his veins because of the fear and trepidation for the upcoming battle.

The humans and the orcs were rapidly galloping towards each other, and soon the battle broke and everybody started fighting. A warg impacted with the horse carrying Blaine and Sam, bringing both of them down violently. Sam stood up in a quick movement in a spite of the pain, and turned to see Blaine do the same, so he knew he was alright. He took only a second to squeeze Blaine's hand, to encourage him and himself, and then the lovers got separated to start fighting.

Sebastian was brought down from his horse too, and found himself face to face with a warg. The warg advanced dangerously to him as Sebastian encouraged him to attack him, so he could kill it with his axe. But just when the warg was about to jump on him, an arrow shot by Blaine entered its body, killing it instantly at Sebastian's feet.

"That one counts as mine!" Sebastian yelled at Blaine's retreating back, angrily, but had not time to argue any further as another warg attacked him from behind.

The battle kept going, with the orcs taking the worst part, as Sam, Blaine, Sebastian, Burt and the rest of the men were well trained on War skills.

A warg, with an orc still on its back, caught Sam unawares and made him fall to the floor when he jumped on him, with such bad luck that Sam's wrist got caught on its saddle, making it impossible for him to let go. Sam didn't lose any time to attack the riding orc and make him fall after plugging a knife into him, but there was nothing he could do to stop the warg, that was dragging him at top speed, until suddenly the ground ended and Warg and Man fell unavoidably into the void.

The humans were finishing the lasts of orcs and wargs, and the battle was coming to an end. It was then when Blaine started looking for his lover desperately, and couldn't find him anywhere.

"Sam!" he shouted, alerting Sebastian and the rest of the soldiers of the man's absence.

As Blaine paced the battle's ground looking for any clue that would lead him to his lover's whereabouts, he heard an orc laughing a wicked laugh. He was not dead yet, though he didn't seem very far from it –as it was the orc Sam had wounded with his knife–. Fearing for the worst, Blaine approached him, in case he was able to tell him something. But Sebastian, wanting to protect the elf, reached the orc first and threatened him with his axe.

"Tell me what happened and I will ease your passing" Sebastian told the laughing orc.

"He's dead" the orc answered, apparently very amused with the situation. "He took a little tumble off the cliff"

Blaine knelt next to the fallen orc and roughly grabbed him by the collar.

"You lie!" Blaine begged for the Orc to be lying, although he suspected it would not be the case.

The Orc, seriously wounded, chose that moment to stop breathing, and that's when his hand opened and Blaine discovered in it the thing that would break his heart: the Evenstar. There was no way Sam would have lost something so precious if it was not in serious circumstances. Which proved that Sam had, in fact, fought that orc and fallen down the cliff.

Blaine ran to the edge of the cliff Sam had fallen down, hoping against hope to find him there, holding on. But the only thing he saw was a river, deep down, in which Sam must have fallen. There was no way he could have survived such a fall. And his body had probably been dragged away by the river.

Sebastian ran behind him, afraid the elf would do something foolish and he would lose him too. But Blaine was just standing there, petrified, looking down the precipice. Sebastian, though, did not want to take any risks and gently grabbed his arm, both to hold him in place and to comfort him.

"Leave the dead behind" Burt yelled as he approached the cliff too, and Blaine just looked at him, deeply hurt by the King's apparent insensitiveness. Burt just squeezed his shoulder understandingly for a second and then turned around, leaving Blaine and Sebastian standing there.

After a few silent seconds, Blaine fell unexpectedly to his knees, and for a second Sebastian was terrified he would take a tumble down the cliff too. But he didn't, he just started shaking like crazy. Only a couple of tears made their way down his cheeks, but no sobs accompanied them. Sebastian could see Blaine was in shock and he could only hold him to his chest to try and comfort him, though he knew that Blaine would be inconsolable after such a loss.

Sebastian's heart broke along with his friend's when Blaine suddenly came out of his stupor and shouted his lover's name. And there was such grief in his voice that there wasn't a dry eye amongst the men when all of them resumed their way towards Helm's deep.