Thanks for everyone whose read this ridiculously long fanfiction (sorry) for this long. Gold stars for all of you. Just for that, I got you this extra long chapter. YAYY!
"You look upset." Nemo says. "I was honestly afraid to go in there. So I waited out here." He explains.
"I AM upset" I say. I cross my arms and stare intensely out at the horizon.
"The worst part is that he won't even listen to logic! He just threw me out…" I complain.
"It's okay. In Return of the King you can go all badass and slay the Nazgul." Nemo says. He's trying to be comforting.
"But why do I need to wait for Return of the King? Why can't I be badass now?"
"Because…character development?" Nemo suggests. I huff. I'll come up with something, I vow on feminism that I'll make a positive difference in gender equality! But how? I sigh dejectedly.
"Come on, let's go find something to eat. That'll cheer you up." Nemo says.
"Yeah…" I say, but my mind is focused on the task at hand. Thinking about it, maybe food might be a good idea.
"Why are you smiling?" Nemo asks, looking concerned. I snap out of my thoughts.
"I'm not smiling." I say.
"You were smiling." He responds.
"Was not."
"Were too."
"Oh my lord. I don't have time for this. Are we gonna get something to eat or not?" I ask.
I follow the other women and children into the caves.
"Are you sure you don't want help with those bags of potatoes you're carrying?" Nemo asks me. I struggle to hold up the bags.
"Phft. Yeah. I'm fine. I'm good." I lie.
"I'm surprised you changed your mind so quickly about going with all the women into the caves." Nemo says, with a hint of suspicion in his tone. I think he's onto me.
"Well, I realized that in the movies and books everything turns out fine without the women. And if I can't help fight, at least I can help protect people from the inside." I explain. Nemo gives me a look. He's not buying it. I turn away from him, and put my bags down. They make a clanging noise as metal bangs against metal.
"Mhm. Potatoes." Nemo says. I don't meet his eyes.
Suddenly, a man comes up to one of the men who were escorting the women to the caves.
"Hey, Steve. Where'd that stash of old weapons go? It wasn't where I thought it was." He says. Nemo gives me a sideways glance.
"I don't remember. Who cares? Those weapons were old and rusty and no one was going to use them anyway." Steve answers. The two men walk away.
"You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?" Nemo asks.
"Ok fine…so I may have borrowed some old weapons that no one would miss to maybe arm some able-bodied women to help with the fighting-but how could you expect me to just sit down here and do nothing?" I explain.
"I would have been shocked if you had." Nemo answers.
"Really?"
"Well, I've learned that once you've made up your mind there's no changing it. Plus, you've got a point. Getting some extra soldiers would save lives." He says. I can only blink at him a few times.
"Wow…thanks for understanding." I say. Then, our nice moment is interrupted by shouts from above.
"Looks like the battle has begun." I say.
"Mommy, I'm scared." A little girl says, as she grabs onto her mother.
"Let's do this." I say.
"Alright, ladies! People are dying up there and we have been banished down here due to archaic gender roles. I say we change that. I say we break gender stereotypes, and I say we go up there and fight! Fight like any other citizen would for their country and their homeland!" I say dramatically, and hold up a sword. There's silence. It's kind of incredibly awkward. Nemo starts to clap uncomfortably. No one else joins in. My sword starts to waver.
"We could save lives by going up there." I explain.
"But we could die." A middle-aged woman says. Wrinkles circle her eyes, and I can't tell if it's from age or stress. I lower my sword and gaze at the other people looking up at me.
"That's true. There is a very high chance that any of us could die if we go up there. But we may also die if we stay down here. And we'll all die eventually. But we've spent our lives being restrained by societal standards out of our control…do we want our deaths to be the same?" I ask. I'm met with more silence.
Then there's movement from the back of the cave. A lean blonde girl stands, and makes her way towards me. She stops and stares at me.
"I'm Alisha, the daughter of the blacksmith. I have grown up around swords and axes and maces, and I have made swords and axes and maces. I have used them to train with my brothers for nine years…My brothers are up there fighting, maybe dying. It's my turn to fight..." She says, keeping eye contact with me the entire time. Then she looks down and uncovers something hidden in her clothes. It's a sword. I notice at the bottom there's the initials, A.T. She looks back up at me.
"You have my sword." She says. I nearly pass out from epicness overload. Then another person stands up. It's a middle-aged woman.
"And my axe." She says and holds up an axe.
"And my bow." Another woman says and holds up a bow and arrows. I squeal on the inside, and smile very widely on the outside.
"That was so cool…" I murmur. I cough and compose myself.
"Alright. Let's show those men what women can do, and BREAK SOME GENDER STEREOTYPES!" I yell. I pick up the bags of weapons and distribute them to the many women who are volunteering. True, there are some who choose to stay behind, but I knew I couldn't win everyone over. Plus, many of them are too old or too young to fight anyway. I wouldn't force anyone to die for my beliefs. Nevertheless, women of all ages stream towards the battle.
"I'm so proud." I say. Nemo comes up behind me.
"Well done. Are you going to join the battle?" He asks.
"Heck yeah I am." I say, and raise my sword and charge ahead. Then I paused.
"What's wrong?" He asks.
"I just remembered that promise I made to Rue. About not killing people." I say.
"You're kidding me right?"
"Orcs have feelings too. They have families too!" I point out.
"Actually, Orcs are bred in sacs from the ground. I don't think they have families." Nemo says, contradicting me.
"…"
"And I know this promise you made to Rue is important, and I respect that, but there are also people dying out there. You've convinced more of them to fight, and now it's your responsibility to back them up. Yes killing people is bad, but sometimes it is necessary. It's up to you to decided when or when not to. It varies in different settings."
"Ok, and if I had killed those I was supposed to, I'd probably be dead in the Hunger Games right now. It was because I was able to show mercy and work with Cato that I got out. Why can't I try that with Orcs?"
"Because Orcs don't listen to reason!"
"That's racist!"
"Even if they did, there's too many of them to talk to!"
"I can't accept that!"
"So, you'll let all those people die?"
"UUUUUGH. But I can't just abandon all my morals."
"But isn't it worth it to save those people?"
"…Damnit! Why do you have to bring up good points?" I say angrily, and grab my sword.
I follow the rest of the women outside. It seems we entered the battle at a good time. The Orcs have already broke through the first line of defense. They are already climbing up the ladders and the elves have arrived. Between the added fighters of the elves and the women, we were beginning to push back the Orcs. Nemo and I fight our way towards the wall where the Orcs were climbing up the ladders. I catch sight of Gimli.
"About time lassie!" He yells.
"What can I say? I like to be fashionably late." I joke, and kill an Orc. I wince. I'm so sorry Rue. We continue to fight, and I continue to say sorry every time I take someone's life. I hope I made the right decision.
Of course, just when everything seems to be going well, there's an explosion further down the wall, and Orcs come streaming in.
"Ah shit." I realize that something needs to be done if we're going to beat these Orcs back. What did they do in the movie? I try to remember as I fight more Orcs. Suddenly it hits me.
"That's it!" I yell. I duck as an Orc swings his sword at me. I lunge forward and stab him in the gut.
"Sorry about that. Now if you'll excuse me I've got to find Aragorn." I fight my way through the hordes of Orcs and men until I'm next to him.
"Aragorn! I've got to talk to you!" I yell.
"Eowyn? What are you doing here?" He asks, while continuing to fight.
"I wanted to do my part to help out. But that's not my point. The point is that you need to get Théoden to make a direct cavalry charge to push back the Orcs from the gates."
"That's a good idea. You should tell him."
"No, you've got to. He won't listen to me. But he'll listen to you." I say. Aragorn shrugs casually, stabs an Orcs, and starts making his way towards Théoden.
"That was…surprisingly easy." I say. Suddenly there's a searing pain in my right arm.
"EEEEEEEOOOOOUUUUUUCCHHHH." I screech. I look down to see blood spewing out of a slash in my arm. "eewwww…Ooooooooouu shiiiiit."
I put my hand on the wound to stop the bleeding, but there's just agonizing pain. I think I'm gonna be sick. I'm feeling dizzy and I start to wobble. The Orc that slashed me has raised his sword for a kill strike. Just as he brings it down, I lunge forward with my sword, begin to pass out halfway through the swing, and just sort of fall into him. We both go down.
I'm now face to face with an Orc. Something wet is on my face and I can't tell if it's my blood or if that Orc licked me. Either way it's really nasty. I hear another Orc behind me. I turn to see him bringing his sword down. I barely have the strength to roll over off the Orc. I do it just in time too, and the Orc pierces the other in the heart. I raise my sword with my left arm and stab him, but not without searing pain throughout my whole body. I kick the second Orc and he falls backwards.
I start to drag myself towards an alcove and thankfully make it (although cursing all the while). I lean against the wall and inspect the damage. The wound looks pretty nasty. It goes across my entire upper arm and the blood is seeping out, turning everything red. My vision goes a little blurry. I need to patch this up quickly. Stop the bleeding. Something. I tear off a piece of cloth and wrap it above the wound as a makeshift tourniquet. I've seen this done in movies a whole bunch of times, so let's hope it works this time.
I think it works a little because the bleeding slows down. This could also mean that I've lost so much blood that my body has just run out of enough to bleed, but I think I'd also be dead if that were the case. My dizziness has gone away. I successfully stand up and raise my sword.
"Back into the fight." I say through gritted teeth. I walk forward triumphantly…and fall forward as my legs collapse under me. "Or maybe not…"
I grumble because this is incredibly frustrating. I want to help but I am completely incapacitated. But I can't let this stop me. I push myself up and lean against a wall. An Orc appears and charges towards me.
"Not nooooooww." I yell. He swings and I duck. His sword hits the wall and gets stuck.
"Hallelujah! Finally some good luck." I say, and sever the Orc's head. "I'm sorry about that, but I'm in a very bad mood right now and you are not making it better."
I guess I'll just keep fighting like this and hope these Orcs are really dumb and that my plot armor is strong.
"Rue, if you're there (and can somehow travel through different stories)…please forgive me for breaking your promise. I-I guess I'm just not as strong as I thought I was…" I say quietly. I take a breath and continue. "But please give me the strength to at least help save the lives of my friends and everyone else who are fighting tonight. And everyone else I put into danger."
For a moment I can't help but wonder if I made the right decision. Convincing all those people to fight may have condemned them to die…but what about the men who were fighting to protect them? Now they have backup.
Suddenly I hear a scream of agony. I snap back to attention. Now is the wrong time for a moral debate. People are dying. It's time to forget about promises made and broken and past decisions, and do something right. For once.
I raise my sword and charge towards the shouts. An Orc has a small boy pinned in the corner. I charge and impale the Orc with all my strength. There's a horrible gurgling noise. I push the Orc to the side, and pull my sword out of his back.
"Are you alright?" I ask the boy. He doesn't reply, but moans and grabs his shoulder. I quickly glance around and make sure there are no Orcs in the vicinity, and then lean down to help him out. The cut is nasty and rough. Not to be too graphic, but I almost lose my lunch.
"It's not so bad at all." I joke trying to make him feel better. He just cries out in pain. Ok, I'm not helping.
"I can't help with this." I admit to the boy and myself. I've got to get him some help. I lift him up. It sends a new shock of pain up my injured arm, but I suck it up. I'm NOT gonna let this kid die. I carry him away from danger. I'm struggling to keep holding this kid up, but I fight through the pain.
"Hold on. We're almost there." I say encouragingly. I see the medics up ahead. "Oh thank the LORD." Of course, that's when a boulder comes crashing onto the nearby building. It comes tumbling down. The path is completely blocked.
"…Dammit dramatic irony!" I yell. The kid moans loudly in my arms. AAAH Shit. What do I do? What do I do?
"We'll have to go around. You'll be ok. I PROMISE." I say passionately. I quickly start to jog back towards the other path. I run into a group of Orcs and people fighting. I run by, dodging and ducking so as not to get cut in half or skewered. I do contribute to the fight by kicking a few Orcs in the back, giving the person fighting him a chance to take him down.
We FINALLY make it through and I nearly collapse in front of the medics.
"Kid…hurt…Ouch…" I explain between breaths.
"Your arm is hurt too. You should stay so we can…" I put my blood-soaked hand on the medic's mouth before he can continue.
"I've gotaaa fight." I explain. I'm very delirious from blood loss if you haven't noticed. But that's not gonna stop me from fighting. I raise my sword.
"FOR NARNIAAAA!" And charge back into the fight.
I'm actually doing rather well for someone who lost about 5 pints of blood (just an estimate). I lost count of the Orcs I killed a while ago (much to Gimli's dismay). I catch sight of Nemo fighting some dudes a few yards away. He looks like he could use some help, so I start making my way towards him. I take about one step forward, when I feel a hand on my shoulder. A shiver runs down my spine.
"G-Gimli?" I ask. I turn around, already knowing that it's not Gimli touching my shoulder. Instead I'm face to face with my good ol' Editor friend. My heart stops.
"Hiii there…Long time no see." I say with a scared smile. I take a step back, only to back into another Editor who appeared behind me.
"Gentlemen…I'm sure this is all a big misunderstanding…I'm Eowyn." I explain. I can see in their eyes that they're not buying it. It seems they're still pissed off at all those other times I escaped. I'm just glad that the head Editor with his scary scar isn't here. At least not yet. I see the Editor in front of me is staring disapprovingly at the blood that I accidentally got on his nice fancy white uniform.
"I'm sure that'll come out with some Oxiclean." I say. He frowns at me. Suddenly, I feel the Editor behind me reach out. I follow my instincts and kneel down quickly. Because it's worked in the past, I jump between the Editors legs in front of me. I skid underneath him, get up quickly, and start to make a run for it.
"NEEEEMOOOOOO!" I yell, trying to get his attention. "Time to skedaddle!"
I race through the battle. It seems to actually work to my advantage because I have a much easier time than the Editors slipping through the small spaces between people without getting impaled. But I won't be able to outrun them forever. I have to jump to the next story. I need a door. Unfortunately, the closest one is the door to the throne room. Just my luck.
It's my only hope, so I keep running towards it, while leaving a stream of blood trailing behind me. I'm on the stairs heading towards the throne room, when I look back to see where the Editors are. I freeze. I can't see them anywhere in the crowd. Their distinct white costumes are not something that's easily overlooked. My mouth goes dry. Where did they go?
Oh no…Please let the clichéd, "he's standing right behind me" not happen. I turn, only to have all my hopes dashed. Damn you clichés!
"Thought we'd let you escape again? And after getting blood all over my nice white suit?" The Editor says. He laughs at his joke.
"To be fair, you were the ones that bumped into me." I say. He doesn't laugh. "Hm. Tough crowd." I shrug. Looks like I can't go forward. I swallow and start running down the stairs. I stop when the second Editor appears at the bottom.
"Oh come on!" I yell. This is what I get for breaking my promise. The Editors start closing in. This is how I die.
"IT'S GANDALF!" I hear someone yell from outside. I make eye contact with the Editors for a moment. Then they look at each other. For a moment we all just stand frozen. Then there's the sound of feet, and suddenly a crowd of soldiers come running down the stairwell. They sweep up the Editors with them, and I'm only just able to push myself again the wall as they run past. The next moment, both they and the Editors are gone. I fall to the floor, relieved.
"Hallelujah! Great timing as usual Gandalf!" I say happily. I start making my way back up the stairwell, towards the throne room. I stand in front of the door, trying to concentrate my racing mind. I reach my hand out and turn the doorknob. I step forward…
And fall on my face. I look up. I'm just in the throne room, getting looks from the injured people hiding out there. I stand up, and walk back out. That was weird. Let me just try again. I do. Nothing. I'm starting to get a little panicky here. That mob won't hold the Editors off for long.
"Having trouble?" My eye twitches. These Editors appearing from nowhere is really starting to get on my nerves. That's when I see it. Sitting right in front of me on the table in the throne room. I can't help but smile a little. I don't even turn to look at the Editor, but run forward.
I pick up the bow and arrows lying on the table before the Editor has a chance to catch me. I point it at him and he freezes.
"Do you really want to do that?" He asks.
"Oh, I think I do." I hiss.
"Remember what happened last time?" He says. A shiver runs down my spine as I remember all those sleepless nights and the look on the Editor's face. I feel my hand start to shake.
"If you just put down the bow, we can talk this out. We won't hurt you." The Editor says.
"You expect me to believe that?" I ask.
"You better believe that if the Captain gets to you first, it'll be a lot worse." The Editor says. The Captain. That must be the head honcho guy with the scar. I hate to admit it, but he does intimidate me a bit. But that doesn't mean that I'll just surrender that easily.
"Maybe you have a point." I say. I lower the bow and arrows. The Editor drops his guard for a second. That's all I need. In the blink of an eye, I raise the bow and shoot an arrow straight through his belt buckle, pinning him to the door. No harm done.
"HEY!" He yelled in shock. Thank you Katniss bow skills. I rush past him towards the edge of the outcrop overlooking the battlefield.
"Please, wait!" I hear the Editor yelling from behind me. But I don't slow down. Instead I speed up and jump off the edge. I get one sweeping view of the battlefield before I start to "jump" jump. I'm relieved that Gandalf has come and that we seem to be winning again. I can only hope that Nemo got out. Although the Editors don't seem to know that we're working together. At least for now.
But these thoughts leave my head as I land very hard on some grass. I moan in pain. I landed right on my hurt arm. My head is spinning. I can't tell if it's from blood loss, or pain, or just the last few minutes of my life in general. Before I can even raise my head to learn where I've jumped to, my vision goes blurry. I pass out just as I can sense some people leaning over me.
Please read and review! Or favorite! or anything really!