Chapter Twenty

The people of Rohan and the elven warriors of Lothlorien fought into the night and through the next four days. In all this time, the warriors of Rohan did not sleep. They could not for the orcs certainly were not sleeping. They kept up their relentless attack regardless of time of day. They just kept coming.

Ilmare and Haldir were never far from each other. They stuck together and protected each other, working together to kill as many orcs as they could.

During the fourth night, something very odd happened. A large section of the wall suddenly exploded, sending huge chunks of stone hurtling out at the orcs. Men and elves alike fell far down to their deaths or were flung out by the blast. However, some survived. Among these were Haldir and Ilmare.

Orcs rushed in through the hall, eager to storm the keep. However, there were elves waiting on the other side of the wall. Led by Aragorn, they attacked, holding them back as well as they could. The pair joined these efforts for hours. In that time, Aragorn disappeared to who knows where and the elves continued to fight, as did Ilmare and Haldir.

In the midst of this chaos, a cry went up, which she recognized to be Aragorn, "Back to the keep!"

Haldir quickly took up the call, not looking as an orc came up from behind him. Ilmare moved faster than he saw, quickly stabbing the orc before it could kill her friend. As the orc fell, its blade slipped and cut Haldir in the arm deeply. Another came, but she decapitated it even as it swung at his head. It was a narrow miss.

"Thank you," he said as she grabbed his uninjured arm and guided him to the stairs at a run. She nodded but did not stop.

She guided him to the hall and quickly tore a strip from a bolt of cloth lying on the table for exactly this purpose. She wrapped it quickly around his arm in a makeshift bandage."It will stop the bleeding, at least," she commented.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," she replied, walking back out to the upper wall.

As they approached, still more ladders came. The two shared a look of exasperation before going to work on the closest ladder, fighting their way through orcs to shove the ladder away from the wall. It fell with a satisfying squish on the orcs far below.

As they turned to the next ladder, a shout came over the din of the battle. "Fall back! Retreat!"

Haldir instantly broke into a run toward the hall. Ilmare, however, did not. He quickly noticed this and stopped. Just as they met eyes, she said, "Follow me."

Ilmare surprised him by running straight into the mass of orcs following the men from the gate. She threw back her hood, took a deep breath, and held her hands together. Slowly, she separated them. When she did, a ball of fire coalesced between her hands. Quickly, she threw it into the midst of the orcs. As it flew through the air, the fireball expanded and consumed every orc it touched. In its wake, nothing lived.

Over a hundred miles away, the Great Eye turned to Helm's Deep, sensing a presence he had not sensed in years. She was there, but why?

Sauron pressed through her mind's defences and looked through her eyes. She saw the destruction in the wake of her spell. This, with good reason, angered him. He could not kill her. He had never had the strength for that, but she would ruin his plans if she continued. Carefully, Sauron applied pressure to her mind, overwhelming her senses and causing her to faint. He only hoped that her new defencelessness would not cost her her life.

He was not pleased to find that the men were able to retreat without interference. Nor was he pleased when an elf came and picked her up before rushing after the men. A battle that had promised to be so very delightful had turned quickly into a very infuriating business. But, at least Rohan would fall soon.

ooooooooooooo

Haldir laid Ilmare's limp body on the floor in the hall. Theoden spared a glance of awe as her uncovered face swept past him. Aragorn followed the two and asked urgently as Haldir wrapped her cloak around her, "Is she dead?"

"No, but he found her," the elf returned worriedly.

"How?"

"He sensed her power."

"The ball of fire was her?"

"Yes."

ooooooooo

There is a reason for Haldir surviving. Fear not, my dear readers.