"Open the gates!" a guard's voice rang out and the great wooden doors were opened. The two of us rode our horses through the many people, looking upon the two of us like we were ghosts. I smiled at one of the little girls whom I had played with on the journey waved. She clutched to her mother and smiled, pointing to me. Her mother smiled as well.
We reached the entrance to the stairwell fine, where people gathered around us, giving shouts of "He's alive!" and "She found him!" But from the shouts came another, a deeper one.
"Where is he? Where is he?" the man's voice shouted and I smiled, "Get out of the way! I'm gonna kill 'im!" it was Gimli as people were pushed out of the way and he emerged, a look of utmost joy on his face. I jumped down off of Niethen, smiling as well. "You are the luckiest, the canniest, ah the most reckless man I ever knew!" he grasped Aragorn around the middle in a hug. "Bless you laddie!"
"Gimli," Aragorn said after a brief hug, "Where is the King?" Gimli nodded in the direction of the halls where Theoden stayed with a smile. And with a pat on the shoulder to Gimli, Aragorn began walking to the hall. Gimli looked at me with a smile on his face.
"You brought him back!" he exclaimed. I smiled.
"He would have found his way without me." I said, shaking my head. Gimli smiled.
"Oh!" he said, as if remembering something, "Here. You dropped this at the battle." In his hand was one of my knives that he had given me. I opened my cloak to the side and slipped it into the one empty sheath, beside the other.
"Thank you Gimli." I said, "Now, I must go speak with the King." I walked up the steps, Gimli on my tail just in time to see Legolas hand Aragorn the Evenstar necklace which he had dropped at the battle into his bloodstained hand.
"Hannon le." Aragorn said, bowing his head only a bit. I walked behind him and met Legolas's eyes with a smile.
"You returned." He said and I smiled, letting him take me into his arms. I could see Aragorn looking back over his shoulder at us and could see the smile on his face as our lips met. I broke away from him, smiling again and kissing him a second time, the third since our first.
"I told you I would." I said, "But we are in great danger." I added more urgently. Legolas's eyes wrinkled.
"What do you mean?" he asked and I took his hand.
"Come."
The doors of the hall were thrown open as Aragorn pushed them with force, causing the King and his guards to look up in alarm.
"Aragorn!" Theoden cried out and stood, "You have returned!" he turned to me, "And you, Alandia, with him." I nodded politely. Still wondering why we were even here, why we were not at Edoras still, fighting for the kingdom.
"Yes, my lord." Aragorn said, "But now is not the time for celebrations. A great host of Uruk-hai and orcs alike are coming as we speak."
"A great host you say?" Theoden said, turning back to us. I squeezed Legolas's hand and looked up at him, nodding to confirm Aragorn's story.
"All of Isengard is emptied." Aragorn said, crossing his arms on his stomach.
"How many?" Aragorn looked at me.
"Ten thousand strong at least." I said, a hopeless look on my face.
" Ten thousand? " I nodded.
"It is an army built for a single purpose..." I paused, "To destroy the world of men." Aragorn looked at me and then back at the King.
"They will be here by nightfall." Theoden looked at us before turning away and walking towards the door.
"Let them come!"
We followed him out into the fortress, where people all around were moving about, taking care of children and taking care of others.
"I want every man and young lad able to bear arms." Theoden said to one of the guards. He nodded quickly and walked away from our company leaving us to walk over to the doors leading to the outside of Helms Deep.
"We will cover the coarse way and the way from above," Theoden said as we walked outside, looking about at the defenses to hold Helms Deep. I looked around Helms Deep, measuring the weaknesses and strengths, trying to figure out where we would put who.
Gimli's voice drew me out of my reverie and I looked at him.
"This is no rabble of mindless orcs. These are Uruk-hai." I nodded to the King, "Their armor is thick and their shields broad." I looked at Theoden, measuring his reaction.
"I have fought many wars, Master Dwarf." Theoden said, growling at Gimli. "I know how to defend my own keep." Then, with a last menacing look at me, he walked off. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and I following him after brief glances at each other.
"They will break upon this fortress like water on rock." Theoden continued his monolog as we walked through Helms Deep, watching the warriors prepare for battle with haste. "Saruman's hoards will pillage and burn. We've seen it before. Crops can be resown, homes rebuilt. Within these walls, we will outlast them."
"They do not come to destroy Rohan's crops or villages. They come to destroy its people, down to the last child!" I exclaimed, forcing my way past Aragorn and coming behind the King. Theoden turned around and grabbed my cloak, pulling my face to his.
"What would you have me do?" he growled. Legolas came behind me and put my hand on my shoulders as they stiffened. "Blind my men? Their courage hangs by a thread. If this is to be our end then I would have them make such an end as to be worthy of remembrance."
"So that's what you want?" I cried, "You will sacrifice your people with words of false wisdom that pour from your mouth, and in the end hope for glory? A coward as I once said, but yet a glorious coward you plan on making yourself."
"Send out riders my lord." Aragorn cut me off, pulling me back and giving me a warning look. "You must call for aid."
"And who will come?" Theoden asked, his glare resting on the man behind my shoulder. "Elves? Dwarves? We are not so lucky in our friends as you. The old alliances are dead."
"Gondor will answer." Aragorn said with passion. I looked at him and gave a tiny smile.
"Gondor!" Theoden moved his face close to Aragorn's fiercely, "Where was Gondor when the Westfall fell? Where was Gondor when our enemies closed in around us? Where was Gon-. No Lord Aragorn... we are alone." He walked away.
I leaned my head on a wall gently, my eyes closed.
"Rhasslairiel," Aragorn said, his hand on my shoulder. I turned and looked at him. "You must keep your temper around King Theoden."
"He needs to hear the things I say." I argued, "Whether he likes it or not." I looked down and away from my fellows as I walked into the caves with the women and children, watching as men and lads were pulled away from crying and screaming mothers and families. I watched as a boy, not even the age of thirteen yet I would guess was being pulled away by a mother.
"No... no... no! No please! Please! Not my boy!" I looked down and began to walk by her, but I was stopped.
"Please! Please My Lady!" the woman nearly screamed, grabbing hold of the skirt which fell over my legging pants and dropping to her knees. "Please, save my boy!" I stood, looking around with wide, sad eyes before kneeling in front of her, taking her shoulders with both my hands.
"I can promise nothing, ma'am." I said, "But I will, to the best of my skill keep him safe..." I felt helpless, weak, as if I could do nothing. The woman looked at me with amazement.
"Thank you," she exclaimed and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. "Thank you so much My Lady!" I let go of her and, with a small smile to her, walked away.
Two others I was forced to tell that I would keep their sons safe before I could stand it no more and left the caves into the fortress where I met my three friends, standing with the other men, waiting to be fitted and given swords just in time to hear Aragorn speak.
"These are no soldiers." He said and I looked at the men around me, barely any of them the proper age to fight in battle.
"Most have seen too many winters." Gimli said.
"Or too few." Legolas added, "Look at them," he continued, "They're frightened, I can see it in their eyes." Many of the people around us turned to look up at Legolas.
"Boe a hyn... neled herain... dan caer menig?" (And they should be... Three hundred... against ten thousand!) Aragorn looked at the ones around him before continuing in Elvish.
"ARWSi beriathar hun ammaeg na ned Edoras." (They have more hope of defending themselves here than at Edoras.) Aragorn replied
"Aragorn, nedin dagor hen u-erir ortheri. Natha daged dhaer!" (Aragorn, they cannot win this fight. They are all going to die!)
"Then I shall die as one of them!" Aragorn exclaimed in the Common tongue, making the ones around him look up in alarm.
The Ranger from the North turned, without a word to any of you turned and walked away. Legolas went to follow him but Gimli held him back.
"Let him go lad." He said. "Let him be." I looked down and made to leave again before Legolas grabbed my arm.
"Rhasslairiel." He said, putting his hand on my shoulder and the other on my face, "I want you to go into the caves... with the women and children." I looked at him amusingly.
"I'm a warrior Legolas." I said, "I belong here. I belong with you in battle." He looked at me hopelessly and smiled. "Besides, you're not going to have all the fun without me." Legolas smiled.
"I thought you would say that." He said and I nodded.
His lips met mine passionately, not caring that the men around us were looking at us and each other amusedly.
The feeling after the kiss was always the best, his energy still being radiated into my body with his eyes and my lips still wet with the taste of him. A sad smile engulfed my face and I folded him into a hug... slowly... hesitantly, holding him in my arms as he had so often done with me.
Nightfall had come outside and the storm clouds covered the sky. I could tell that the warriors were losing hope, and the dreary weather was doing nothing to improve their moods. Twice I saw the three young men to whom I was supposed to protect and I was beginning to shake deep inside. Get a hold of yourself, Rhasslairiel! I thought. You've fought in many battles before this one. Shaking my head I smiled to myself, cursing myself lightly for my cowardice... and went to find Aragorn.
I found him after only a few moments, pulling on the last of his armor and weapons. Legolas handed him his sword and the two friends looked at each other.
"We have trusted you this far and you have not lead us astray. Forgive me." He said, "I was wrong to despair." Aragorn looked over Legolas's shoulder at me only for a moment.
"U-moe edhored, Legolas." (There is nothing to forgive, Legolas.) he said, resting his hand on his friend's shoulder. I smiled and went to the corner of the room, pulling on my leather armor, keeping far away from the chain mail. I pulled an Elvish style helm onto my head out of my pack, the gift that was given to me by Galadriel, its front coming down on my brow like a headdress and my hair weaving in and out through it. The very top of my head was not covered, but only my brow and the back of my head. Indeed it did look like a headdress, just larger and thicker. The designs flowed through the helm like vines on a branch.
In the midst of changing my shirt, not caring that two other males were in the room Gimli came through, pulling on a layer of chain mail, mumbling angrily. As he let go of it the outfit fell to the ground around his feel. Aragorn looked at Gimli in a kind of "are you joking?" kind of way, as Legolas just closed his eyes in amusement.
"It's a little tight across the chest." Gimli said and I tried to hold back a laugh, pulling my new shirt down over my stomach and my vest.
I pulled on my belt as Aragorn and Legolas looked at Gimli in silent amusement, nodding.
My bow was being slung across my back and the last of my knifes strapped to my body when the sound of a horn blew out into the air. It was higher than any horn I had ever heard... except...
"That is no orc horn." Legolas said and the three of us, leaving Gimli behind to find his way into his clothes, ran out into the keep, following the sound of the horn.
When we got there, the company was already there. Aragorn smiled and I ran down the steps.
"We come to honor that alliance." Halidir of Lothlorien finished and I put my arm around him, pulling him into a one armed hug. I could
feel his breath quicken and I backed away from him, coming to stand by his side, Legolas at mine.
"You are most welcome." I looked at the rows and rows of Elven warriors, each of them holding a bow and clad in dark blue cloaks, covering their bodies.
"We are proud to fight alongside men once more." Halidir said to Theoden. Legolas and I stood on either side of him, smiling at the humans before us.