A/N: Woo! They finally kissed! :DDDDD But don't think that the story ends there, guys. We've still got another whole movie and a half to go, and Íverin's past has yet to be revealed. :3 We'll see how things play out...mwahahaha

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Íverin, ok? :)

I woke up the next day, and Legolas was the first thing that came to my mind. Memories of the previous night came flooding back to me, and for awhile I lay still in my bed, relishing the feeling of being in love. With a smile on my face, I put on a light purple dress with wide sleeves and silver trim, including a low-cut neckline with a sparkling silver undershirt. I adjusted Aragorn's pendant so that it laid just right on my chest for all to see. After bowing my head in a moment of silence for my cousin, I slipped outside and into the main hall for breakfast.

I sat down next to Éowyn and smiled. "Good morning, Éowyn."

"Good morning, Íverin. How was your night? I didn't see you after you left at the party, and I got worried. Nothing happened to you, right?"

I laughed. "Not anything...bad, no."

A knowing smile crept across her face. "What happened?" I recounted the events of last night with Legolas quickly for her. She beamed. "That's wonderful news! I am happy for the both of you." Her gaze fell on my necklace. "...Where did you get that?"

"From Legolas," I answered. "To keep a part of my cousin with me wherever I go."

"Oh," Éowyn said. Judging by the look on her face, I easily guessed that she had found out about Arwen and Aragorn's relationship. I pitied her, but Arwen even more so. I wondered how she would find out of Aragorn's death.

At the thought of my lost cousin, my heart ached. I quickly finished my breakfast. "What time is it?" I asked Éowyn.

"It is nearly ten in the morning," she laughed. "You woke up a bit late."

"Oh...I guess I tend to do that sometimes. Better than not waking up until supper, right?" We laughed.

Suddenly, the large doors that served as the main entrance to the hall creaked and groaned, and were thrown open. I looked up to see who it was, and my jaw dropped. There stood my cousin, bloody and beaten, looking like he had just gone to hell and back, but alive. Breathing, walking, and alive.

I ran towards him, almost knocking him over with my hug. "Estel!" Despite how dirty he was, I buried my face in his jacket, weeping tears of joy. "Oh, Estel...Aragorn...my cousin...how are you still alive?"

"By the grace of Arw...the Valar," he said. I noticed that he had caught himself, since Éowyn was there. "And I have missed you much, dear Íverin." We embraced for a long while.

"I thought I'd lost you..." I whispered.

"You have not, cousin. I am weary, but before I seek food and water, I must speak with the King at once." He pulled himself out of the hug and was about to walk away, when he stopped. "My necklace..." he said softly.

"Oh, yes!" I quickly unclasped the necklace and handed it to him. "Legolas gave it to me when we learned that you fell." Speaking of which...I peeked over my cousin's shoulder to see my tall blonde lover standing there with a smile on his face. I ran up to him. "Why didn't you tell me he'd arrived?" I smiled and kissed him for a moment, spinning around in a hug. When we released each other, Legolas stopped short and looked up. "What are you..." I followed his gaze to see Aragorn looking at us with his eyebrows raised and a very confused look on his face.

It soon turned into a knowing smile. "It appears that I've missed much while I was gone!" he laughed. "Congratulations." He turned back around to face King Théoden. "My Lord! A great host has set forth from Isengard! They march on Helm's Deep!"

Théoden's normally proud expression wavered. I smirked. "A great host, you say?"

Aragorn nodded. "All of Isengard has been emptied."

"How many?"

"Ten thousand strong, at least."

His eyes widened. "Ten thousand?"

"It is an army bred for a single purpose," I said. "To destroy the world of Men."

"They will be here by nightfall," Aragorn said.

For a moment, Théoden actually looked truly afraid. And then, as soon as that look had come, it was gone, replaced by one of determination and anger. "Let them come! I want every able-bodied man to be given a sword and be ready to fight! Get the women and children into the caves! No army has ever breached the Deeping Wall, or set foot inside the Hornburg! And it shall not change this night!" With that, he stalked off, giving more orders to his servants.

I looked at Legolas with worry. "Well?" he said. "What do you think?"

I sighed. "I think we've got a long night ahead of us."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Later that afternoon, I was in my bedroom, digging around to find my spare dagger with little success. I was halfway underneath my bed when suddenly, a muffled voice shouted "Íverin!"

Startled by the noise, I jumped and hit my head on the boards of the bedframe above me. "Ouch!" I scrambled out from underneath the bed and jumped up, brushing the dust and dirt off of my dress. I blushed when I saw Legolas standing there.

He chuckled. "I am sorry. Looking for something?"

"Yes," I said, "my dagger. I cannot find it anywhere."

"Actually, that is exactly what I came over here for." From his belt he pulled out my knife that I had always kept by my side and handed it to me.

"Oh! Thank you!" I took it, and looked at it sadly for a moment, along with all the other weapons I had lined up on my bed, then set it down with the rest of them.

Legolas must have caught my look. "What troubles you?"

"Théoden," I said. "He is too cocky and proud of his previous victories, that he likes to assume that he can never be defeated. And that is one of the biggest mistakes you can ever make when in war."

"That is very true. The more confident you get, the easier it is to overlook the important little details in strategies."

I smiled. "Great minds think alike. When I was younger, and in training, I remember the most important rule I ever learned was this: There is always room for both failure and success." I turned back to my bed to continue organizing my things.

"Good rule," Legolas said. Suddenly I felt the slight pressure of a sword against the back of my neck. "Know any more?"

I quickly whipped out my own sword and stepped forward, then spun on my heels and met Legolas's blade with my own. "Never let your guard down," I said with a smile, "and," I moved quickly and flung his blade out of his hand so that it pierced my room's wall. "never underestimate the enemy."

He nodded in approval. "You are a good fighter. I for one am certainly glad that I am on your side."

"Same to you," I said. I looked up at him. "Though I've only ever fought these Uruk-Hai once, and not nearly as many. Do you think we will have enough men?"

He shook his head. "No, I do not think so. To be honest with you, I am not even entirely certain that we are going to make it out of here alive."

I frowned. "You're nervous."

"Yes, I guess I am."

I smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "You shouldn't be. You are not going to be alone."

"I know that," he said, "I actually was referring to both of us. Or, more specifically, you." He looked me right in the eyes. "You know that I would hate to be split up from you."

"I do know that. Which is why I will do everything in my power to stick with you, Legolas." I kissed his cheek. "Do not worry. We'll be fine."

Suddenly, a loud bell sounded throughout the Hornburg. "Guess that's our cue to get ready," I said. "If you will excuse me..." Legolas nodded and left the room. Moving quickly, I removed my dress, and in place of it wore a layer of chainmail, shin and arm guards, my traditional dark blue shirt and leggings, with tall brown leather boots and fingerless gloves, completed with a belt strapped around my hips, bearing my sword and two extra daggers.

I slipped outside, and for the next few hours, darted in and out of certain rooms here and there throughout the Keep, improving my weapons and taking care of a few last-minute details. I was sharpening my sword in a crowded room full of men, when suddenly, the room went silent.

The clear voice of Legolas rang out, speaking in his realm's form of Elvish. I was probably one of the few who could actually understand him.

"And they should be. Three hundred...against ten thousand!"

What surprised me the most was not the bitter tone in Legolas's voice, but the harsh way Aragorn replied back to him in the same tongue. "They have a better chance of defending themselves here than at Edoras." I pushed through the crowd until I was standing practically right behind them.

"Aragorn...they cannot win this fight. They are all going to die!" came Legolas's angry reply.

Aragorn grew so angry, he stopped speaking in Elvish and fell back into the Common tongue. "Then I shall die as one of them!" He glared at Legolas for a moment, and no one moved. Then, finally, he walked away, leaving Legolas standing there alone.

He made a move to go after him, but Gimli held him back. "Let him go, lad. Let him be."

The dwarf walked away, but I still stood behind Legolas, arms crossed. "Legolas." he turned around, surprised to see me. "What?" I could still hear the hostility in his voice.

I glared at him. "Why did you say that to him?"

"Because it is hopeless! I do not want to fight a war that I know I cannot win!" He started to walk away, but I grabbed his arm and turned him around. I did not notice until then that the men surrounding us had started listening again, so I pulled him away and into a corner where we were not being watched.

"Funny. I remember us having a conversation not too long ago, a conversation saying that there was always a possibility for failure AND success."

"Tis a sad thing that sometimes one is more likely than the other."

I looked him right in the eye. "Legolas," I said softly, "I did not decide to give my heart to someone who would so easily despair. I love you for many reasons, and one of them is because you have always been my rock, my solid ground to stand on when I am weak. Now please, do not despair." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Stone of Hope, slipping it into his hand.

He looked down at it. "What is it?"

"It is my gift from Galadriel, the Stone of Hope. Look into it, and it will show you an image that lifts your spirits high."

Reluctantly, he did so. After a moment, he smiled.

"Well?" I asked. "What did you see?"

He looked up. "I saw you smiling." I smiled. "Just like that," he laughed quietly.

I kissed his forehead. "Be strong. And go apologize to Aragorn, please." He nodded, and we slipped off, walking around until we found Aragorn in the armor room. He stopped readjusting the straps on his belt and looked up at Legolas.

"We have come this far, and you have not led us astray. Forgive me. I was wrong to despair." Legolas said.

Aragorn smiled and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "There is nothing to forgive, Legolas."

Gimli walked out from around the corner, holding a set of chain mail bunched up around his torso. He grumbled and fidgeted with it for a second, and finally let it fall. The three of us gave him a strange look. "It's a little tight across the chest!" I laughed.

Suddenly, a sharp horn sound rang in our ears. It sounded familiar to me.

Legolas jerked his head up, so he must have recognized it as well. "That is no Orc horn," he said, and the four of us charged outside.

What awaited us was quite an uplifting sight! An elven army, with hundreds of soldiers, had all filed into Helm's Deep in an orderly fashion. As we appeared at the top of the staircase leading outside, I smiled. "Haldir!"

He turned to us and smiled back in the midst of speaking with the King. "We come to honor that allegiance."

Aragorn was overjoyed. "Welcome, Haldir!" he said in the elven tongue, and ran up to hug him. The tall blonde elf with dark eyes stiffened, then returned the hug awkwardly. "You are most welcome."

I nudged Legolas, and we both went and stood beside Haldir. As we fell in line, I whispered, "Well, I certainly don't feel quite as out of place as I did before." Legolas laughed quietly.

"We are proud to fight alongside Men once more," Haldir declared.