Hmm, I'm not really in the mood for a clever intro. I'm just gonna start this bad boy.
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Lord of the Rings. Get over it.
Chapter 38 Recap:
He locked eyes with Abigail, and he could see an unavoidable fear in her eyes, just before she closed them.
All he saw next was dust, smoke, rock, and bodies flying threw the air…and one of them was Abigail's.
He knew his legs could move now, but at the moment he didn't have the energy.
"No…she can't be," he whispered.
Finding his strength again, he ran towards the wreckage, instantly killing any uruk-hai who got in his way.
Chapter 39:
Abigail was literally being blown away to put it simply. She was thrown into the air with such force that the wind power was constricting her body movements. It was hard to breathe or see with all the dust in the air. Of course, on top of that, she wasn't even on solid ground yet.
Amazingly enough, she was still fairly conscious.
'Focus, Abby. You're a telekinetic, you've levitated yourself before!' she scolded.
Trying to ignore the strange position she was in, she willed and imagined her own body slowing down. Sure enough, it looked like she was now falling at a half-normal speed.
She hoped the debris provided enough cover; she didn't want someone noticing a girl disobeying the law of gravity.
As she was nearing the ground, though, a rock hit her in the head and she lost focus. She started falling fast and a couple seconds later she landed hard on the muddy earth.
"Ow..." she moaned.
She opened her eyes halfway and saw a rather large boulder coming straight out her.
"Shit!" she yelled and quickly rolled in the other direction. She boulder landed with a satisfying 'thud' right next to her.
Small and medium sized rocks continued to rain down for a few seconds. She was able to push some of them away with her power, but in the areas where she was still hit she felt some nasty bruises growing.
Her whole body was in pain, but she knew the orcs would be coming soon. Through clenched teeth she was able to bring her body to her knees, though the simple action made her short of breath.
There was a sound of rushing water behind her. She turned her head to see what was left of the reservoir sweeping past her.
She turned forward, and she could see that about 20 yards in front of her was the massive gap in the wall, and the uruk-hai army standing in front of it, pausing a moment until the water passed.
Then, with a frightful war cry, they charged forward into the refuge.
Abigail stood up on shaky legs and moved to draw her daggers, only to find an empty space on her waist. Her belt was gone.
'This can't be happening," she groaned. She barely had the strength to fight, but she thought she could have at least kept her own weapons.
She searched for a new tool, and all that was nearby was one of the brute looking orc swords.
Being her only choice, she picked it up and prepared a fighting stance.
She wasn't alone. Scattered around were other survivors well enough to fight, and then there were other soldiers who had already climbed down. But that still didn't make it an equal fight.
Soon, one uruk came to her. She did her best to attack, but she had some trouble with the orc sword. The rectangle frame of the sword was a bit different for her, and the sharply curved tip of the sword was odd.
She was mostly using defensive blocks instead of offensive attacks.
With each blow, her arms grew weaker and the slashes where coming closer to her body. Finally, he made a wrong move and she cut his arm off and then she was able to slice his neck.
She leaned against a mountainside, exhausted. Two more orc moved in.
The one closest to her swung and she blocked it, but her grip was so loose that the sword was knocked out of her hands.
Now she was weaponless and cornered.
Both of her foes smirked darkly, and the other orc mocked her by pushing her hard into the wall instead of simply killing her.
Somewhere, she heard a bone crack and she cried out in pain.
Neither of the orcs raised their weapons yet. They were planning on toying with her she could tell.
She was angry at herself for becoming so vulnerable, but more than that she was getting scared. No, she was terrified for it seemed she was going to die very shortly.
She was waiting for some great revelation or idea make itself clear, but she only continued to feel fear because she definitely did not want to die.
The bracelet began to hum furiously and felt hot around her wrist, trying to warn her she was growing out of control.
Her mind and body didn't make sense any more and the power surge grew.
She continued to feel more fear for her life, when suddenly she felt eerily calm.
She was faintly aware of more uruks coming towards her, but none had been able to touch her.
"Just try and kill me" she dared.
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Aragorn was still running towards the ruined causeway, when Legolas appeared by his side.
"What was that?" the elf demanded.
"Saruman's foul invention," Aragorn said bluntly.
Legolas could hear the strange edge in his voice.
"What else is wrong?" he demanded again.
Aragorn swallowed. "Abigail was on the wall when it was destroyed."
Legolas's eyes widened. "Do you think…" he started to say something.
Aragorn shook his head, not really knowing what to expect.
They reached the end of the path and jumped into the battle below.
Not a second later they were both attacked.
With all the years of training, though, it didn't take either long to kill their enemy.
Legolas and Aragorn scanned the area as they moved, but with all the bodies around it was hard to identify anyone in particular.
They didn't wait too long, when they heard a shrill cry of pain, and the voice sounded like a woman's'.
They glanced at each other nervously and tried to find the source of the cry.
Legolas noticed a clustered group of uruk-hai by one of the surrounding mountain's side.
'Strange, why wouldn't they move into the keep?' he asked himself.
"Aragorn," Legolas pointed the situation out.
The ranger looked, and for a moment he thought he saw a woman in the center.
"Hurry!" he instructed, as he sprinted over.
Legolas strung his bow, and killed four uruks before reaching the area.
Some of the uruks turned to see what was going on, and they were soon greeted by Aragorn's sword.
A few more were killed, and the rest ran away.
When the two finally paused, they were shocked to see it was indeed Abigail, but something wasn't right.
"Abigail?" Legolas asked cautiously.
The girl looked up, but her eyes were vacant, and her grin was…malicious. She looked ready to attack them.
"Abigail, are you alright? It's only us," Aragorn said with concern and confusion.
Her strange grin turned into a sad frown, and her eyes cleared into her normal blue.
"Aragorn?" she asked slowly, and suddenly fell forward.
The man caught her and held her steadily.
"Ugh…I have a horrible headache," she complained softly.
"Only Elbereth knows how you survived that fall. You were right in the middle of it," Aragorn said, not taking her eyes of her.
"Yeah…I guess," she sighed.
"Abigail, I believe you are done for the night," commented Legolas.
Aragorn nodded in agreement. "Théoden still needs me to direct the first battalion. Legolas, can you take her inside?"
"Of course."
Aragorn almost seemed hesitant in letting her go.
"I'll make sure she's safe," his friend assured.
The man stayed silent, but released Abigail.
Legolas moved to pick her up bridal style.
"I can still walk. I don't want to be a burden," she mumbled in protest.
"Your very injured and tired. Don't even try to hide it," lectured Legolas.
She scowled, but she could feel her eyelids getting heavy.
"You there? Can you cover them back to the keep?" Aragorn shouted to a soldier.
"Yes sir!" he replied, went to Legolas's side promptly.
"Thanks for finding me," she said to Aragorn in elvish.
He smiled slightly. "You looked for us first."
It was sort of a cryptic reply, but she retuned a small smile of understanding. Then they left.
Aragorn lingered behind for a moment, a bit lost in thought. There were at least ten bodies of dead orc in this concentrated area. How had she been able to fight in that weak state? Why did she look so…deranged for that moment?
Before he walked away, he took a closer look at the bodies, and it made him gasp. Many of their limbs had been broken in odd directions; even one neck was completely snapped to the side. Then there few with black blood seeping from their mouths and noses, like internal damage had been done, but her couldn't see any visible cuts or wound.
'What happened?" he thought, almost horrified by the image.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Legolas and Abigail made the slow journey back towards the keep. The soldier did a good job of protecting them, though thankfully the orcs weren't pestering them too bad.
Suddenly, a Lorien elf came over to help them. Soon they realized it was Haldir.
"Oh my…what happened?" he asked, face filled with worry.
"Long story, but I'm okay. Are you alright?" she quickly changed the subject.
"Things could be worse, but that fire contraption didn't help," he said, not knowing what to call the explosion. Haldir turned to Legolas. "Do you want me to take her?"
"Thanks, but I think I should speak to the king anyway," he said.
Haldir nodded, and gave Abby's hand a small squeeze.
"Abigail, we shouldn't linger," Legolas said gently. He didn't really want to break the couple apart.
"Yes, I know. Be safe, Áda. Don't do anything stupid. Please," she smiled wryly.
"Don't worry. Take care of yourself first," Haldir said, and kissed her on the forehead as always, despite its grimy appearance.
Legolas and Haldir nodded to each other.
"Good, he seems to be alright," she said, more to herself. She sounded satisfied with the short reunion.
"He's one of the greatest warriors in Lorien. I'm sure he's well," assured Legolas.
She wanted to believe him, but after seeing Haldir again the bothersome feeling returned to the pit of her stomach. Then again, that could just be the stench.
They reached the door of the keep, and upon seeing the injured figure they were hastily let in.
"Is there somewhere I can lay her down?" Legolas asked.
"We have benches and tables in the hall, I'm afraid that's the best we have," the guard answered.
"That will do."
They walked towards the back.
"Did she run away from the caves?" he suggested, pointing out to the fact that she was a woman.
Legolas smirked. "No, she is as skilled as the Lorien fighters. She would not be left out of the battle."
"She would have been better off staying. Most of our healers are females, so they're in the caves, but we can't afford to open those doors-"
"It doesn't matter. I think I just want some sleep," Abigail interrupted, her eyes already closed.
Legolas set her down carefully on a wide bench. Her surveyed her wounds briefly. True, they were no deathly injuries, though her right arm was caked with blood.
"Is it possible we can at least get clean rags for her arm?" Legolas asked.
"I'll see," the man nodded, and left the hall.
"Legolas, I saw you come in," King Théoden appeared into the room. He looked at the body. "Lady Abigail?" he questioned.
"Yes, she was on the wall when it was destroyed. Luckily, Lord Aragorn and I found her. No severe wounds, she just became very exhausted," Legolas explained briefly.
"Well, you can't blame her. She's done more and faired better than many tonight," the king said, with a tone of bitterness. He sighed heavily. "What is it like out there, though I'm sure I will find out for myself shortly."
"Better than most imagined, considering the odds," Legolas said cautiously. Théoden snorted. "Better than imagined…strange words to use when talking about war."
Legolas didn't really know what he could tell the king. His people were suffering, and the outlook was grim. It was the sad and cold truth, though it was dangerous to say out loud.
"All I can hope for is a battle they will remember. A day so great and challenging that it will go down in history," Théoden said, his voice slow and steady. "Is this where the future of Rohan ends, or is this only the beginning?"
Abigail was aware of the conversation around her, and wished she could speak words of comfort. But she was in no position to make hopeful promises of faulty prophecies, even though in her mind it was suppose to be the truth.
Her body was begging her to rest, and she finally gave in, having faith that the morning would still bring a miracle.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
I am posting this kind of late, but technically it's still Sunday so a kept to my promise of posting.
Sort of an odd ending, but I didn't really know how else to stop it. Oh well, at least it's not an evil cliffy.
This chapter was a tad shorter again, but longer than #38.
I'll admit to you now, from here on forward is when the story is a little more up in the air. There are still some ideas I need to decide on and thoughts that need to be completed, so updating will become a little more random. I'll still probably post one chapter every week, but I'm not so sure about posting two or more. I'll try my best!
Thanks to Reviewers:
Moon-Freak00: Thanks for happy thoughts! I still love short 'n' sweet reviews!
Narnian Sprite: Yeah, I know the violence really wasn't that bad. Still, you never know if there might be a 10 year old or something reading (which isn't bad), but ya just need to make sure because I don't wanna be sued! Thank you!
writin4fun15: Yah, gald you enjoyed it. I did enjoy my break, minus the sun stoke (Izzy stop laughing!). Thanks very much!
LadyEruaphadriel-orderofthe...: Yes, yes, the mysterious 'fate of Haldir'. Lol, thanks!
KeeperMusicNight: I'm glad I manage to make the battle somewhat tasteful. I know I've complained about fighting scenes before, but they can be hard to write. And I won't often do 'group reviews'. You guys just seriously all said the same thing-"Please don't kill Haldir'. Anyway, thanks!
Samantha-Girl Scout: Hmm, you were straight to the point tonight…very well, enjoy! And thanks!
I'll admit to you now, from here on forward is when the story is a little more up in the air. There are still some ideas I need to decide on and thoughts that need to be completed, so updating will become a little more random. I'll still probably post one chapter every week, but I'm not so sure about posting two or more. I'll try my best!
Until next time!
-MysticNight9