A/N: Hello, everyone, how are you? Well, here's the chapter with the battle of Helms Deep.
SmellofRoses- I'm glad you liked it. I sent you a PM about the Elvish language, I hope it helped you.
Stella-of-the-Stars- Hey, Stella :) Here's the chapter with the battle, hope you'll enjoy it. Don't worry, this time everybody will be alright :)
Disclaimer: I don't own LOTR, Tolkien does.
The night had fallen. Men were standing ready and armed on the battlements of Helms Deep, while along the top of the Deeping Wall, Elves were lined up, watching the Uruk-hai armies advancing with lit torches. Legolas, Sunglee and Gimli were standing next to each other. Gimli, who was too short to see over the wall, was not very satisfied.
'You could have picked a better spot!' he complained to Legolas, who smiled.
Aragorn, who was walking through the Elves, stopped behind them.
'Well, lad' said Gimli 'whatever luck you live by, let us hope it lasts the night'
Sunglee looked at him reproachfully, thinking this was not the best way to have courage before the battle. Legolas, thinking the same, tried to lighten the tension.
'Your friends are with you, Aragorn' he told him determined.
'Let us hope they last the night' added the Dwarf, marking the word 'they'.
Aragorn smiled at them and then walked away to give instructions to the Elves. Suddenly, lightning flashed, thunder rumbled through the skies and rain started to fall. Sunglee left a joyful yell when she felt the rain drops on her face, for they could not wish for a better weather. The rain would slow the Uruks and it would prevent them to see clearly at them…
…and at the arrows you will get as a gift, she completed her thought.
The army drew closer. The Uruk Captain stood on a rock and raised his hand. Aragorn, still walking through the Elves, was trying to lessen their fear.
'A Eruchin, u-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha le faelas!' he said.
In a sudden, the Uruk-hai, following their captain's sign, stopped marching forward. Gimli was jumping up and down, trying to see over the wall.
'What is happening out there?' he asked the Elves.
'Shall I describe it to you?' Legolas answered mockingly. 'Or would you like me to find you a box?'
Sunglee started laughing loudly at these words. There it was again. The deep bonds they had with each other were allowing them to tease each other even during the war. Legolas took her hand and smiled encouraging towards her. Sunglee smiled back at him, tensed because of the battle, but happy she was fighting with him.
'Whatever happens tonight' he whispered 'know that I love you over everything on this earth'
'I love you too, Legolas' Sunglee whispered back.
The Uruks stamped their spears on the ground and that prevented them to say anything more. Aragorn took out his sword and held it in front of him.
'Tangado a chadad!' he shouted to the Elves, who loaded their bows with arrows and aimed them at the enemies.
Bow of the Galadhrim, be my companion, Sunglee prayed.
'Faeg i-varv din na lanc a nu ranc' Legolas helped them, answering to their unasked question where they should hit the Uruk-hai with the heavy armor.
'Leithio i philinn!' Aragorn commanded.
Arrows rained down on the Uruks and many of them fell dead, although the amount was very small compared with the total number.
'Did they hit anything?' Gimli wanted to know, but nobody answered to him.
Gamling and Aragorn ordered the Elves to fire again, which had as a result that even more Uruk-hai were killed. As an answer, the Uruks started to shoot at the Elves with their cross-bows, killing many of them, while others set ladders against the Deeping Wall.
'Oh no!' yelled Sunglee.
'Pendraith!' shouted Aragorn.
'Good!' exclaimed Gimli, delighted he would fight. 'Send them to me! Come on!'
The bezerker Uruks were raised on the ends of the ladders as they were pushed to the top of the Wall. One aimed with its arrow at Sunglee's head, but the princess's arrow landed on its throat before it could fire, sending it dead to the ground.
'Swords! Swords!' gave Aragorn the new command and the Elves who were carrying swords quickly obeyed, while Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Sunglee, Haldir and the rest were fighting and killing the bezerkers as they appeared. After Gimli had killed one from the ground as it was standing over him, he turned to Legolas.
'Legolas! Two already!' he said proudly.
Legolas grinned and stopped for a while.
'I am on 17!' he replied laughing.
Sunglee rolled her eyes at the skies with fake despair. In reality, she was counting silently the enemies she was killing and she was on 17 as well. But she preferred to keep this for herself until the battle was over.
'I will have no pointy-ear outscoring me!' the Dwarf growled, turned and killed an Uruk-hai just as it reached the top of the wall. Legolas fired two more arrows and turned towards Gimli.
'Nineteen!' he informed him.
They continued to fight. Aragorn pushed down one ladder, which fell and killed many of the Uruks which were still on the ground. Gimli was standing on the Deeping Wall, swinging his axe and killing Uruks with each sweep as they were climbing up the ladders.
'17! 18! 19! 20! 21!' he was counting at the same time.
A pack of Uruk-hai were advancing on the causeway towards the Main Gates, protected by the shields on their backs. Aragorn noticed them and rushed through the Elves pointing at them.
'Causeway!'
The Elves turned to fire arrows at them and the ones at the side of the group fell dead. In a sudden, a huge metal ball was carried roughly by two Uruk-hai and placed under the wall next to the sluice gates. Another pair brought another ball. The way was cleared and a bezerker came running and holding a lit torch. The Ranger saw it and called for Legolas.
'Togo hon dad, Legolas!' he told him.
The Mirkwood prince took aim with his arrow and shot the bezerker in the shoulder, but this did not stop it. Sunglee ran worried next to him and watched.
'Dago hon! Dago hon!' Aragorn shouted.
Legolas shot another arrow into the other shoulder of the Uruk, but the bezerker dived into the sluice. Sunglee took out an arrow in an attempt to help Legolas, but he grabbed her arm.
'No, Sunglee. Even if we kill him, another Uruk will take the torch. We will run out of arrows' he explained and she nodded in agreement.
Suddenly the bomb exploded, demolishing the wall and making masonry fly everywhere. Aragorn and Gimli were knocked out and fell to the ground. As the Uruk-hai ran through the gap in the wall, water rushed through it. The pack of Uruks advancing through the Gate had grown and was close to the Gate. Other Uruks barged through the pack with a massive ram.
'Brace the gate!' Theoden ordered.
Soldiers raced to the back of the Gate and braced themselves as the Uruk-hai rammed it. Other men lifted up their barricade and threw rocks and spears at the enemies.
'Hold them! Stay firm!' Theoden went on.
As more bezerkers were streaming through the gap that was created in the wall, Aragorn came round and shook his head. Gimli, sitting up, still on the top of the wall, noticed the Uruks running towards him. He ran and leaped into the pack from the wall, surviving the jump and standing in the pool of water in the wall. Suddenly, he was thrown backwards by an Uruk-hai and landed under the water. Aragorn raised his sword, gesturing to the Elves behind him.
'Hado I philinn!' he commanded.
He raced towards the advancing Uruk-hai as hundreds of Elves followed them. In the meantime, Sunglee was killing Uruk after Uruk with her arrows, but in a sudden the enemies approaching her were too many for her. Legolas, from the top of the Deeping Wall, saw what the problem was. He grabbed an Uruk shield and threw it in front of him, using it to slide down the steps, firing arrows at the same times. When he reached the bottom, he released the shield straight into the body of an Uruk-hai. Sunglee smiled at him with gratitude.
'Hannon le, melamin'
'This is why I told you to be in my eyesight during the battle' he responded. 'So that we could come to each other's aid as fast as possible'
Gimli, meanwhile, surfaced from underneath the water and was grabbed by Aragorn, who dragged him away as the Uruks flew through the gap in the wall, fought by the Elves. Legolas, Gimli, Sunglee and Aragorn continued to fight and kill the Uruk-hai behind the Deeping Wall. Theoden looked on and shouted to Aragorn.
'Aragorn! Fall back to the Keep! Get your men out of there!'
'Nan Barad! Nan barad!' Aragorn obeyed at once. 'Haldir, nan Barad!'
Haldir nodded and gestured to his Elves. Legolas and an elven warrior grabbed Gimli on either arm and carried him away.
'What are you doing? What are you stopping for?' Gimli asked furiously.
Haldir was still beckoning the Elves to leave. As he turned to run he killed an Uruk, but then another ran up to him and stabbed him in the stomach, causing him to stumble. To make it worse, the Uruk stabbed him in the back afterwards.
'Haldir!' screamed Sunglee in horror, watching one of the bravest fighters she had ever met fall. Aragorn, hearing her scream and noticing the Elf as well, fought his way to the top of the wall. Haldir knelt seeing many of his kin dead on the ground before him. As Aragorn reached him and grabbed hold of him, Haldir fells back in his arms, dead. Aragorn placed a hand on his own chest and then on Haldir's. He suddenly noticed the Uruks running towards him, he leaped up, punched an Uruk and jumped to the top of a propped up ladder, swinging it to the ground and falling with it. He then jumped into a group of Uruk-hai on the ground.
Meanwhile, at the Gate, other Uruk-hai were still battering down the Gate with their ram. They made a hole in it and fired their cross-bows through the hole, killing many men. Soldiers were giving orders to brace the gate. Theoden, on top of the Hornburg Wall, was speaking to Gamling and his other captain.
'To the gate! Draw your swords!'
They attempted to push the Uruks away. Aragorn ran up with the remaining soldiers into the Keep. Theoden was stabbed in the arm by a long spear and Gamling dragged him to safety.
'We can not hold much longer' Gamling stated.
Indeed, the Gate was starting to give way. Aragorn appeared, touched Theoden's arm and joined the battle.
'How long do you need?' he asked the king of Rohan.
'As long as you can give me' Theoden answered and took his sword back. Aragorn nodded and pushed Gimli into a side passage. The two friends opened a secret side door on the right hand site of the causeway on the rocks, but there was a large gap between the rocks and the causeway.
'Come on! We can take them!' said Gimli with confidence.
'It is a long way' Aragorn reminded him.
The Dwarf seemed to think for a while, then took his decision.
'Toss me' he mumbled and Aragorn looked at him.
'What?'
'I can not jump the distance' Gimly's voice was full both with anger and shame. 'Toss me'
Aragorn nodded and reached down to Gimli's back. Gimli closed his eyes.
'Do not tell the Elves' he pleaded him and Aragorn, despite the situation, had to laugh.
'Not a word' he promised and threw Gimli onto the causeway amongst the Uruk-hai, jumping after him. The fought the enemies off, leaving the gate free from attack. Meanwhile, on the ground before Helms Deep, Uruks were launching massive grappling hooks attached to ropes at the Hornburg Wall. Sunglee saw this and quickly fired an arrow at one of the ropes, causing the ladder to fall back to the ground, crushing many Uruk-hai.
'Gimli! Aragorn!' Theoden called for them. 'Get out of there!'
Legolas, seeing their plight, threw a rope down to them from the top of the wall. Aragorn grabbed hold of it and with his other arm held onto Gimli. Legolas and Sunglee, with the help of a soldier, pulled up the rope and dragged them over the rope.
'Are you alright?' Sunglee asked with concern.
'Certainly, my lass' said Gimli.
Suddenly they heard Theoden's voice, for the first time with a tone of fear in it.
'They have broken through! The castle is breached! Retreat!'
'Retreat?' Sunglee repeated. 'But if we retreat we are all dead! Can he not understand this?'
'Let us do what he says, melda' Legolas told her gently, rubbing her shoulder.
'Hurry! Inside!' yelled Aragorn. 'Get them inside!'
They ran in the Keep, but the Uruks were using their ram to batter dows the doors of the Great Hall. Men were running to barricade them from behind.
'The fortress is taken. It is over' Theoden sighed.
'You said this fortress would never fall while your men defend it' Aragorn replied while running with Legolas to carry more barricades. 'They still defend it. They have dies defending it. Is there no other way for the women and children to get out of the caves?'
'There is one passage' Gamling informed him. 'It leads into the mountains. But they will not get far. The Uruk-hai are too many'
Aragorn smiled to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
'Tell the women and children to make for the mountain pass. And barricade the entrance'
Gamling nodded and left at once. Theoden was staring at the doors of the hall, looking lost.
'So much death' he mumbled. 'What can Men do against such reckless hate?'
Do not dare to lose your hope now, Sunglee thought. We are still here. We are still fighting!
'Ride out with me!' Aragorn told Theoden. 'Ride out and meet them'
'For death and glory' said Theoden with new courage.
'For Rohan. For your people' the Ranger added.
'The sun is rising' stated Gimli.
Hearing this, a sudden memory came in Aragorn's mind. Gandalf. His words before he left.
" 'Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the east' "
'Yes' Theoden's voice made him concentrate again. 'The Horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the Deep one last time'
'Yes!' Gimli cried out.
'Let this be the hour when we draw swords together' Theoden ended, smiling.
Gimli ran away to blow the horn. Theoden, Aragorn, Legolas and Sunglee mounted their horses, prepared for the slaughter that would follow, ready to face death. As the doors were breaking down, Theoden's eyes had a sparkle of determination.
'Fell deeds, awake' he said. 'Now for wrath! Now for ruin! And a red dawn!'
He out on his helmet and Aragorn drew his sword, while Sunglee put an arrow on her bow and Gimli blew the horn, the sound of which was heard clearly through Helms Deep. The Uruks broke through the inner door and Theoden raised his sword in the air.
'Forth Eorlingas!' he yelled.
They galloped through the masses of Uruk-hai through the hall, killing those in their path. Gimli sounded the horn again as they left Helms Deep and rode onto the causeway, where hundreds of Uruk-hai still crowded. Suddenly Aragorn was drawn to a white light and looked up. Gandalf appeared on top of the hill next to Helms Deep riding Shadowfax, with Eomer next to him. The two men exchanged a few words and then the Rohirrim rode up behind Eomer. The Uruks stopped fighting and looked up. Sunglee could not suppress a laughter.
This is not a very pleasant surprise for you, is it?
Eomer, Gandalf and the Rohirrim rode down the steep hill towards the Uruks, who surged forward, holding their spears in front of them. As Gandalf neared the Uruk-hai, he sent out a bright white light from his staff, blinding them. They rode over the Uruks and into their masses, killing and fighting. The Uruk-hai, understanding the battle was lost, started fleeing from Helms Deep. Theoden, Eomer, Gandalf, Aragorn and Legolas rode after them. Sunglee wanted to follow them, but Gimli grabbed her arm.
'No, Sunglee, let them go' he advised her. 'They will soon come back. Go and look after your horse'
Sunglee looked at Aliyana, at her loyal mare, and caressed her mane.
'Well done, Aliyana, my brave horse' she whispered. Then she looked again at the direction her companions had left, waiting eagerly for their return and ready to face everything that would follow.
Elvish words/phrases used:
A Eruchin, u-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha le faelas- Show them no mercy! For you shall receive none!
Tangado a chadad- Prepare to fire
Faeg i-varv din na lanc a nu ranc- Their armor is weak at the neck and beneath the arm
Leithio i philinn- Release the arrows
Pendraith- Ladders
Togo hon dad, Legolas- Bring him down, Legolas
Dago hon! Dago hon!- Kill him! Kill him!
Hado I philinn- Release arrows
Hannon le- Thank you
Melamin- My love
Nan Barad- To the Keep
Melda- My beloved
A/N: Ok, everyone, that was it for now. I hope you enjoyed it and I can't wait for your reviews. By the way, in your reviews, I would like you to guess who killed most enemies: Gimli, Legolas or Sunglee?