Chapter Twenty-Nine

~ Eldarion ~
I eyed the bandage, and decided that a couple more wrappings wouldn't hurt. Besides, with a battle approaching, they would need to heal as fast as possible without the risk of infection. I reached for the wrapping . . .

. . . and scowled deeply as the wrapping revealed itself to be shorter than I thought. With a sigh I turned to get more. Then I started in surprise when two hands was suddenly already there, wrapping a new clipping of cloth around the wound. Estel brushed her fingers over the now finished bandage, and told the man softly, "Well, this is all set. Try not to move too much now."

"Yes, please don't," I added dryly, trying to cover up my shock of Estel's sudden manifestation. "I would hate to have to wrap you all up again."

The man smiled. "I'll try to settle," he promised. "You Dúnedain certainly work wonders, don't you?"

Estel blinked in surprise. "How did you know?"

His smile widened as he turned his head to take in my sister's appearance. Her head was cocked slightly to the side, her question echoed in her warm grey-blue eyes. I smiled wryly. Try as my sister might, she could never quite conceal the beauty that was inherited from our bloodline.

"My father served with King Thengel when I was a mere boy," the man explained. "I saw and heard how much of a difference the Dúnedain made when they joined forces with us. You are indeed a force to be reckoned with."

"Thank you for your kind comments, sir," I said. Despite everything that had recently happened, I felt a twinge of gratitude creeping in. Men had not yet forgotten what the Dúnedain were capable of doing.

"Thank you for wrapping me up," he countered.

I turned to my sister as we walked on to the next man. "~Are you all right?~" I murmured softly, careful to switch to Elvish to avoid eavesdroppers from picking up anything. Yes, the riders of Rohan were impressed with the Dúnedain – but that wouldn't stop them from gossiping about us. And the less stuff they had to talk about, the better.

Estel nodded. "~Legolas spoke to me. He also told me not to do anything dangerous on his watch, or else you would . . . well, you know what I mean,~" she concluded hastily.

I grinned. "~Of course I do. I am the one who warned him, after all.~"

Legolas was growing closer to the two of us, I had realized. A lot closer. Just as he had befriended Aragorn, he had befriended us, and I was coming to realize how nice it was to know that I could leave her alone with someone else and not have to worry.

My sister turned to business. Through our soft bantering, she had acknowledged that she had recovered and moved on, and I, through returning it, had accepted that.

"~By the way, a messenger rode up not too long ago,~" she informed me. "~I expect that Théoden will start preparing for battle soon.~"

I frowned. I hadn't heard anything. "~Then I'd better get ready too. Théoden will need all the help he can get against this army.~" Estel and I both knew of this battle – the Battle of Helm's Deep, one of the turning points in the war. But we also knew of what we would face: an army of ten thousand strong, all determined to destroy us.

"~If that is your decision, my brother, then we had better go to king now,~" Estel said wearily. "~The messenger should already be there by now.~"

~ Aragorn ~
I sighed as Théoden walked away from me and began preparing for the army. He is as stubborn as his father.

I couldn't really blame him, though. Gondor had withdrawn in unto itself as the years had gone by, and there was no sure way to make the stewards send us aid. Mentioning me, as the true heir, as being behind the message probably wouldn't help our cause either.

"~I am glad that you are back, Aragorn,~" Legolas said from my side, drawing my attention. "~But it would be good for the others to know that too, you know.~"

I frowned slightly. The 'others'? Who is he talking – oh. The realization hit me with the force of a stampeding troll. Estel and Eldarion.

All of sudden I was worried, and the source of my worry was not the approaching army determined to destroy us. How had Estel and Eldarion taken my supposed death?

"Are they all right?" I asked urgently, foregoing Elvish.

Legolas's eyes narrowed slightly as he caught my switch in language. "~They took it hard, Aragorn,~" he said seriously and slowly, as though he really wanted me to understand every word. "~For a time, Estel was convinced that her coming was the reason for your death.~"

I stared at him incredulously. How could the coming of Estel affect me? I was the one who had decided to jump at the Warg anyway, not her.

Legolas sensed my unspoken question. "~Estel felt that her coming upset the balance. With her around, you aren't the only heir anymore. Her descendants and even Eldarion are also candidates for the throne.~"

"~That's ridiculous!~" I exclaimed. "~How can she – How could she – ~" I trailed off. I just couldn't put my amazement in words.

"~You had better speak with them, then,~" Legolas prodded, using that serious and slow tone again. He nodded at a point over my shoulder. "~They're right over there.~"

I turned around, and sure enough, Legolas's Elven sight stayed true. Eldarion and Estel were speaking with Théoden. Eldarion had put away most of his weapons, with only his bow and quiver remaining. His hands were clean, though, suggesting that he had been with the healers. Estel herself carried no weapons, although I knew that she was more than capable of doing so.

As I watched, Théoden moved away from the two siblings. Eldarion turned sharply to his sister, and began telling her something calmly but seriously, rather in a similar way to Legolas's earlier tone. Estel immediately fired back with something else, to which Eldarion tried to override her.

I sighed. I had better go break up their argument before either said something they would regret. In any case, I owed them that much.

~ Estel ~
I watched in frustration as Théoden walked away from us. No matter what we said, the King had brushed it off, muttering to himself about what had to be done with an army approaching.

Eldarion rolled his eyes and muttered something in Elvish under his breath. I chose to ignore it; no doubt I really didn't want to know what he had just said.

Then he turned to me. "Estel, I'm going to the armory," he said. "They will need everyone they can get to help."

"What? Why?" All of the weapons my brother possessed were of Elvish make; they would not need sharpening or caring by Men. "Your weapons – "

" – are fine," he finished. Then Eldarion lowered his voice. "~But they will need help forging new weapons for those Théoden calls to arms, my sister. I can help there for a while before I go and prepare for battle.~"

I nodded. Rohan was a country of horse-masters, but not everyone could afford to carry weapons and armor. However, those last two things might very well be the only thing that could get them on slightly equal footing with the Uruk-hai army.

"~I'm going to visit the healers,~" I said. Eldarion didn't need to know, per se, but I knew from experience that he would like to know where I was. "~I can help prepare what materials will be needed to stitch everyone back up after this battle before I go to prepare.~"

Eldarion stared. "What?" he spluttered. It was a mark of how greatly he was surprised that he slipped out of Elvish. I watched as my words sunk in. Understanding flashed across my brother's face swiftly and darkly, like an ashy, poisonous storm cloud rolls out of Mordor.

"~No.~"

I sighed. "~I am able to defend myself, Eldarion, and as you said, we will need everyone we can get.~"

"~No,~" my brother snapped. "~I will not allow you to fight, Estel. It is too dangerous!~"

Anger rose in me, anger equal to his. I was no helpless, dithering damsel in distress. Noblewoman I may be, but a warrior as well. I haven't learned how to fight for nothing.

"~I gave in last time, Eldarion, and look what happened!~" I shot back.

My brother winced as that blow sunk in; it was rather low of me, I knew. But if it got my point across faster, all the better. But it didn't sink in, apparently, for my brother opened his mouth to argue a bit more.

"~What happened last time?~" a strong male voice asked mildly from behind us.

I whirled around, my mouth dropping. I knew that voice, I knew that presence. But it couldn't be, it just couldn't be –

"Aragorn!"

I flew at him, seizing him so tightly in a hug that I felt him stagger backwards a step or two, caught off guard. I heard a musical laugh and glared at Legolas, who had appeared silently on the scene as he was wont to do.

Eldarion was just recovering from his own shock when I released Aragorn, who was grinning broadly at the both of us. "But – How – How did you survive the fall?" he spluttered, clearly amazed.

"How should I know? I was unconscious, remember?" Aragorn pointed out. "The point is, I did survive it, and here I am."

"~You also gave us a heart attack!~" I burst out, glaring darkly at him. "~For a time I was convinced that I'd have to return to Imladris and tell Arwen you died on our watch!~"

Legolas burst out into peals of more musical laughter as Aragorn had the guts – or the sense, depending on how you looked at it – to look sheepish, which was quite an achievement for a Chieftain of the Dúnedain who was also Lord Elrond's foster son.

Eldarion strode forward, and he and Aragorn clasped each other's shoulders in the traditional Elven greeting as I silently fumed away any remaining anger. Mad as I was at Aragorn, my love for him was stronger than my anger, and I knew that Aragorn still carried my loyalty despite this stunt.

"~Now, what were you two arguing about?~" Aragorn asked, his eyes betraying his curiosity. From the amused expression on Legolas's face, I knew that Legolas had made Aragorn feel guilty about his stunt already, so I let the subject drop.

Eldarion hesitated. Neither of us knew which side Aragorn would side with.

"~I do not want Estel fighting with us,~" he confessed finally. "~It's bad enough that she's on this quest, and even worse that she's here at Helm's Deep.~"

Aragorn raised an eyebrow. "~You feel that your sister can't defend herself?~"

"~I do not wish the situation to ever arise,~" my brother returned steadily.

Aragorn sighed. "~But one day it will arise, Eldarion. You cannot babysit your sister forever, and I doubt she would want you to.~"

"~Would you say the same thing to Arwen?~" my brother shot back fiercely.

Aragorn met his gaze evenly. "~Yes, I would and I already have. Arwen can make her own choices. The true proof of loving someone is knowing when to let them breathe on their own, Eldarion, not to hover and fix everything you can.~"

It was Eldarion's turn to sigh as he accepted Aragorn's logic. "~Very well. But it will not ease my mind during the fight.~"

I rolled my eyes as Legolas smiled. "~Well, why don't we have Estel fight next to us?~" the Elf suggested. "~The archers are going to fight on the walls, and we wouldn't be in as much danger as you will on the ground.~"

Eldarion's eyes brightened. "~That will work.~"

I groaned. "~Oh, you're just as bad, Legolas!~" I complained. "~You are treating me like I'm a piece of crystal or something!~"

All three of them laughed, the tension leaving us completely, as I sent each their own little quantity of glares. But in the end, I did accept Legolas's proposal.

I mean, what other choice did I have?