"You lie!" Legolas exclaimed sharply as he grabbed the armor of the dying orc in below him. As he did, the orc let out a small short chuckle before he choked on his own blood and finally lay silent.
Legolas let go of the dirty creature and looked him over. That's when he noticed a small silver glint in the orcs hand. Legolas took the small object in his own palm and his heart sunk when he realized what he had recovered. When he saw the Evenstar pendant glittering against his skin he knew the orc, filthy as he was, told the truth.
The elf looked up from the pendant and ran over to the edge of the cliff next to Théoden. Looking down into the rough rapids and churning waters below, Legolas knew that no man could survive the river. He didn't want to believe it, and in his heart he knew that he shouldn't, but how could he deny it; Aragorn was dead.
He stared at the white rapids for what seemed like hours when his thoughts were broken by Theoden's words: "Leave the dead". He looked up at Théoden with disbelief. He wanted to tell him that he must have respected Aragorn enough to find him and give him a proper burial. He wanted to tell him that Aragorn was his friend and that they could not just leave him where he lay without a second thought. But no words could escape his lips, for after 87 long years, his best friend was simply gone.
Legolas finally summoned the courage to speak after Théoden placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "They're coming" he said grimly.
"Who?" asked Théoden. He had never spoken directly to the elf before so he wondered if he was always this cryptic.
"The orcs." Legolas continued, "They're coming to Helm's Deep".
Théoden was shocked to hear this. He had told no one of their plans to flee to Helm's Deep until he announced it to the town not three days before. "How do they know of our plans?"
"Grima," Legolas could picture the slimy creature in his head, "he must have predicted you would travel to Helm's Deep and informed Sarumon."
The King felt foolish for not thinking of this. "How far away are they? What are their numbers?" He could feel himself start to panic.
Legolas shook his head, "I do not know" He felt like he had failed his mission. Even though they knew orcs were headed to Helm's Deep, if they did not know when or how many they would surely be defeated.
It was when Theoden's eyes began to wander for answers that he noticed the blood on the elf's tunic. Suddenly a realization hit him, "You were attacked."
Legolas nodded slightly, not really wanting to talk about what happened in the woods. Aragorn had saved his life, and he couldn't even return the favor. But he couldn't think about his lost friend now, he had to focus on the present moment.
Théoden could see that the elf was not in the mood to discuss the past days events. He didn't want to ask him to go on another mission, but with the lives of his people in danger and the number of his army dwindling, he had no choice, "I do not wish to place a new burden on your already heavy heart but I need to ask a favor of you". The king went on as Legolas stayed silent, "I need you to find this armada of orcs and report back their location and numbers".
"Is that a request," asked Legolas, "or an order?" Théoden began to speak but before words could escape his mouth Legolas had turned and headed towards his horse. Gimli was left standing next to the King, whom he quickly apologized to, and ran after his friend.
The dwarf tried his hardest to talk to him, but Legolas would not listen. "How am I supposed to get up there?" he asked as the elf mounted Arod.
"You're not coming with me" Legolas said frankly.
"Oh I'm not am I?" the dwarf retorted without the usual playfulness in his tone, "And why would that be?"
Legolas took a deep breath before saying his next words. "Because you will only slow me down" he said. When he saw the hurt expression of Gimli's face he had to look away.
"You aren't the only one who lost a friend you know" Gimli said softly. Legolas looked down, ashamed that he had not thought of how his friend might feel about losing Aragorn.
"I shall not be two days" was all he said before riding off the same direction it seemed he had just come. As Arod sprinted at his command, he could only think of how his human friend had just saved his life, and now he was gone forever. As he thought of this he could no longer bear to accept Theoden's decision to leave Aragorn for dead. When he disappeared behind a hill, out of sight of Théoden and his men, he abruptly stopped Arod, who reared up in surprise at the sudden change in momentum. Legolas then turned around and headed for the river.