A/N: All I have to say about this chapter is: Fuck logistics. I want the elves at the battle of Helm's Deep, so the elves are gonna be there like in the movie! t(o_ot)
Okay now for clarification, she wasn't actually in Boston, she was in Rohan the whole time. Sorry if it was confusing...but all shall be revealed in time. So please stick with it! Alright I think that's it.
Use of curse word. Check.
Use of clichéd phrase. Check.
All that's left is to say Enjoy! And please review, my lovelies!
~Chapter Eighteen~
"Looking for little ol' me?"
Boromir spun around to see Rosa grinning devilishly at him. Her wavy hair was tossed about by the wind, and Boromir was mesmerized by the sight. The relief that flooded him was so strong his first thought was to run to her, to lift her into his arms and to kiss her. His blood seemed to rush faster at the thought of her warmth, her sweet, soft touch. He frowned...he knew that he needed to apologize. He'd been a fool. Still am, he thought grimly. Boromir stared into her deep blue eyes, and took a step forward before pausing, I don't deserve her.
He lifted his blade and shield from the ground and when he turned back towards her he gave the briefest of smiles, "Go with the women and children!" he shouted at her.
Rosa furrowed her brows, the look on his face puzzling her, "I think by now I've proven that I can fight."
"And they cannot!" he gestured to the women and children. She turned to see their frightened faces as they ran across the hills. He stepped towards her, his hand coming up to caress her cheek. His rough hand sent shivers down her spine. "They must get to the keep. Help them."
She sighed but gave in to him, quickly rushing off before the rest of the wargs arrived. Her mind was still a bit hazy but she remembered that they were making for Helms Deep. They had already begun preparations before the festival, but she must have been out longer than she thought for them to already be traveling there. Her body was still warmer than usual.
Rosa sighed, she had the oddest feeling of something missing, but kept running towards Eowyn. She turned back towards Boromir one last time. Perhaps it was a selfish thought with the danger they were in, but she had hoped he would be a little happier to see her.
"Eowyn, is everyone safe?"
The petite blonde spun, her dress fanning about her as she turned to stand before Rosa, a look of shock on her face, "Yes, they- Rosa!"
She dashed forward and threw her arms around Rosa, "Thank goodness you're all right. We all feared the worst when you would not wake. Your fever barely broke in time. It gave us quite a fright. You should've seen Boromir, he would not leave your side for a second."
Rosa turned towards her, "He watched over me?"
She wasn't sure if she was surprised or not. They weren't on the best of terms, but he did promise to protect her...was that all it was? Was he just keeping his promise?
Eowyn nodded, "Day and night," she chuckled, "he even shouted at the king, my uncle."
"He what?!"
The rolling hills passed on and Rosa listened intently as Eowyn told her what happened while she slept. They would pause their conversation every so often to care for the elderly and encourage the scared children. It wasn't long before they made it to the keep, each taking a spot along the inner walls, and unloading what little belongings they kept with them. Rosa was impressed with the keep, for some reason she was imagining it being much smaller.
She kept walking, in an odd sort of daze. Everything was familiar, yet not. Rosa closed her eyes and walked down the corridor. Fighting...why do I hear fighting?
The sound of armor clanking together echoed throughout the keep.
Rain drops.
Rosa held her hands up, the feeling of rain pouring down over her was clear in her mind. She turned in a circle, the sound of Uruk-hai growls and shouts grew louder as they stopped marching.
She began walking towards the shouting, it sounded like, "Aragorn?"
"A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha le faelas!" (Show them no mercy, for you shall receive none!)
Rosa walked towards the battlements in confusion. Slowly the feeling of rain against her skin died, and Aragorn's voice dwindled to a mere ghost of a sound. She looked around again, but all that she could see was Théoden speaking to Gamling, "Draw all our forces behind the wall. Bar the gate, and set a watch on the surround."
"What of those who cannot fight, my lord? The women and children?"
"Get them into the caves."
It didn't take long for the soldiers to usher them all into the caves, and despite her many, many protests, Rosa found herself being corralled among them. She huffed angrily standing next to Eowyn, "Does wearing this dress suddenly make my skills with a blade disappear? If so I would happily put on pants."
Eowyn guffawed at Rosa, but nodded in agreement. This was the second time that she had been told she wasn't going to be allowed to fight and she was starting to get irritated. And she hadn't seen Boromir since the warriors got back. Her heart sank into he stomach, What if he didn't come back?
She began to panic in the cave, pacing within a small portion of her allotted space. The walls seemed to close in on her as her mind reeled with the thought. She had caught sight of Gimli and Legolas before she had been forced to enter the caves, but had not seen Aragorn or Boromir. Eowyn watched her warily, but said nothing.
When she saw some soldiers leave with a group of young boys she finally gave up on being patient. With well controlled anger, Rosa made her way out of the cave and into the armory.
...
Rosa managed to only get lost twice on her way there, and despite her hopes, she hadn't bumped into Boromir at all along the way. She wondered if he was avoiding her again. Though she wished to wear her own elven made weapons and armor, she had no idea where they were. Instead she found herself tromping around in armor that was too big, with blades that were ill-kempt.
Rosa quickly tugged her hair into a messy braid and then secured a helmet over her head. She snuck out to stand beside one of the young boys who had been given a weapon. It was sickening to think of how many of them there were, of what they would have to face. She watched him with sadness in her eyes, wondering if they would survive the night.
He looked up at her, "Are you scared, Sir?"
Rosa knelt down, "What is your name, child?"
"Eamon."
"That's a good strong name, Sir Eamon." The boy gave a weak smile. "You can call me Ambros. Okay, Eamon?"
He nodded.
"It's short for D'Ambrosio."
"I like that," Eamon mumbled, "It's different. Are you not from Rohan?"
She paused, her thoughts becoming fuzzier the more she tried to think of where she was from, "Yes, it is different," she muttered.
Eamon seemed to sense that she didn't want to speak of where she was from. He poked the dagger at her side, "Suppose you aren't afraid with all these weapons."
"I'm just afraid as you, Eamon," she glanced down at his ill fitting helmet, "just better prepared, is all."
He looked up at her, "Really, but I thought soldiers aren't suppose to be afraid."
Rosa smiled, "Well, Eamon, let us conquer our fear together, for there can only be no fear if there is no hope. You have hope don't you, Eamon?"
His smile was still weak, but Rosa counted it as a victory nonetheless, "Aye."
She placed an assuring hand on his shoulder and stood tall, hoping to give an air of confidence. Though a small part of her did feel confident, "We will win this fight," she told Eamon. Rosa looked out at the rest of the soldiers, seeing young boys and elderly men speckled amongst the veterans.
But at what cost?
Rosa's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of horns. Her heart sank, they were here already.
The rain pattered against the metal of helmets, swords, and armor. Rosa watched the torches flicker and wondered how long the oil would keep them lit, how long the battle would last, how long she would last. She could just barely see Legolas' blonde hair where he stood further down the line. Her heart thrummed to the beat of the marching Uruks. Before them a black mass grew closer with each passing minute.
Suddenly it all came to a stop. The silence made Rosa more nervous than before. She silently readied her arrow, awaiting the signal. Though it did not come. Instead a signal arrow flew out, hitting its mark. Rosa turned, attempting to see what was going on, but time was not on her side and with a incoherent shout, the battle had begun.
Rosa wished she had taken the time to find out where Boromir was, but before she had a chance to finish the thought she was lost in a wave of Uruk-hai. They were over taking the walls with their metal-made ladders, but thankfully had not breached the wall yet.
She ran along the wall using her small stature and all her strength to knock back as many ladders as she could, with Eamon at her side. The two made a fairly good team, but after every cry of pain Rosa would spin back to check that it wasn't Eamon. All of her attention was focused on keeping him safe as they did their small part to protect the keep.
An Uruk dropped down from the ledge and Rosa jumped in front of Eamon. The beast was nearly twice her size, and Rosa knew there was no way that she could beat it with strength alone. She needed to distract the Uruk-hai, or at least get it away from Eamon.
Rosa dropped low, so its blade would miss her. Then she stabbed its leg, pushing forward as she spun sideways past it, leading the Uruk away from the wall.
"Ambros!"
Rosa spun to see Eamon pointing over the wall.
"Sana ho ndu, Legolas!" (Bring him down, Legolas!)
Over the edge of the battlement she could see an Uruk-Hai with a lit torch running towards the barrels they had placed. The distraction costed her dearly, when the Uruk regained its footing. She had mere seconds to block the blade. Though the blade did not pierce her skin, the blow knocked her backwards over the battlements. Rosa screamed as she fell towards the ground, the air ripped from her lungs as she collided with a moving target. The helmet was knocked from her head, and her hair came tumbling out.
Her body ached, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins allowed her the strength to roll out of the way of a crude swinging blade. I'm beginning to prefer gunfire to swords. At least then I could catch a breath.
Rosa looked up, bright flames dancing across her vision. Another Uruk-hai had picked up the torch and was running towards spiked containers of what she assumed was highly explosive substances. She climbed to her knees, groaning at the sharp pain in her ribs. "Probably bruised them," she grumbled to herself, running away from the explosion, and in turn towards the horde of bloodthirsty beasts that would likely eat her for dinner if given the chance.
"ROSA!"
She spun on her heels, in the midst of the darkly armored Uruk-hai, was a head of blonde hair and a familiar face. "HALDIR!" she shouted back, ducking as a blast of stone flew overhead. They fought their way towards each other, Haldir carving a path for Rosa. She ran behind up him, taking the steps up to the battlements two at a time. "Thanks for that," she said, kicking a Uruk off the stairs.
Haldir smiled, though it was hardly the time, and tugged Rosa into a fast hug. "That was foolish," he said.
Rosa coughed a laugh out. "Ah, yes, because I purposefully got myself kicked off the battlement. Turns out I rather enjoy pain," she said waggling her eyebrows at him. Haldir flushed and they continued their siege upward. Rosa never slowed, though she could feel the aches and pains of her body growing with each step, knowing that she injured more than just her ribs in that fall.
"Where are Aragorn and Boromir?" she asked hastily, drawing her blade from the stomach of an Uruk. Haldir showed her to the opposite edge of the battlement. Below she could see the two sons of Gondor charging the flood of Uruk-hai that ran through the breach in the wall.
On the other side, Legolas and Gimli waged on, shouting numbers as they went. If Rosa hadn't felt a growing sense of dread, her hope of them surviving dwindling, she might have found their contest amusing. She knew that hours must have passed, but still the army stretched out for yards, miles even. How could they survive this?
Haldir tugged Rosa's arm, bringing her back into the present and away from another Uruk-hai. "Keep your mind in the present, amin mellon."
Rosa grimaced, lifting her blades once more.
"Haldir! Na barad!" (To the keep!)
Rosa looked down to see Aragorn shouting orders. She gripped her sword tighter, turning back around to see three Uruk-hai approaching Haldir.
"Na barad! Na barad!"
Rosa dove forward, knocking one out of the way. She unsheathed the dagger at her hip and stabbed the beast through the eye. Shouting through the pain that spread through her side. Rosa yanked the blade from its eye socket and stood, turning towards the same large Uruk that had kicked her from the battlements. She gritted her teeth and grabbed Haldir's hand, pulling him towards her.
Rosa gripped the dagger in her hand and turned. She aimed for his head, throwing it as hard as she could. When the blade flew from her hand she felt rather than heard the snap of one of her ribs and screamed in agony. Rosa pulled Haldir's arm around her shoulder and lugged him along with her. "Come on, you elven bastard! You're not dying on me!"
Not another one. Never again.
The thought confused her, but she kept moving forward. His weight slowed her down, but he was still managing to stay on two feet and Rosa took that as a good sign. Behind them, Aragorn ran up the steps and lunged in front of them, taking out three or four. He turned to Rosa and she nodded at him, "He'll live," she said, "if I can get him to the caves."
"You'll get there!" he shouted, killing more Uruk-hai with a renewed vigor. He punched one from the top of the ladder and rode it down to the ground, crushing all the Uruk-hair in its path.
Rosa and Haldir followed the path of soldiers towards the keep. The warriors ushered them inside and an elf, whom Rosa did not recognize, helped her carry Haldir into the caves with the rest of the wounded. The women and children were huddled further into the cave, but any and all with medical knowledge were rushing back and forth, helping the many injured who lay along the sides of the walls, a narrow walkway between them.
She leaned forward, gently laying Haldir on the makeshift cot, smoothing the sweat plastered hairs from his face. His eyes fluttered open and came to focus on her. Rosa smiled weakly and grabbed his hand, "You'll be okay. Esta sii' Haldir. Esta sii' amin mellon." (Rest now, Haldir. Rest now, my friend.)
As his eyes shut, Rosa checked to see that he was still breathing. When she was sure that he was being attended to and that he would survive, she stood and looked around her. There were so many injured, many that would not survive. Old men, young boys. Rosa felt the knots in her stomach grow, something wasn't right. Something was missing.
Rosa smiled when she saw a beautiful blonde woman approach her, "Eowyn," she murmured happily, before collapsing to the ground.
A/N: I know, I know...I'm horrible, but if you'll allow me to explain. It was necessary to take away her memory, because I wanted Haldir to live and if she had her doctor skills (which were of course there to save Boromir) then she would have been in the caves helping the wounded, but I needed her on the battlefield being stupid and saving lives. I'm sorry and I understand if you hate my decision...but seeing as I'm the one writing the story...well I just hope you enjoyed it all the same. Goodnight, my lovelies and don't forget to review!
