Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, although she knew she was moving as fast as she could. Her blood was pumping in her ears so loudly that she could barely hear the sounds of everyone shouting around her.
Boromir beat her to the doorway that they had entered and stuck his head out to take a look.
Whoosh.
An arrow whistled by the side of his head, striking the door and embedding itself deep into the old wood. The shaft wobbled backwards and forwards, the power shaking through it.
Quickly Boromir turned, pulling the doors shut behind him. There would be no hope of them holding back the hordes that were surely on their way. But it may buy them some time to prepare.
A deafening roar came from outside and it made them pause for a moment, It was no Orc call.
"They have a cave troll," Boromir stated, his face dropping as he helped Aragorn lift a heavy beam over to the doorway in the hopes of bracing it.
"Get back and stay close to Gandalf!" Aragorn shouted to the Hobbits once the beam was secure.
The Hobbits did as he said, standing in a back to back formation. Their faces frightened, not knowing what to do, where to go.
She lifted a beam that was lying near the side of the tomb. It was heavy and she could feel the splinters piercing through her gloves and into the flesh of her fingertips underneath, but she kept hold of it. As he turned away from securing another piece of wood, Aragorn spotted her struggling over. He quickly came to her aid, lifting up the other end and bearing half of the weight. They were able to push it into place across the width of the doorway. Once they were done they moved back into centre of the room, holding their swords tightly, their shoulders pressed together.
Legolas was passing weapons that were scattered on the floor near the dead Dwarves over to Boromir, who worked furiously at keeping the door shut for as long as he could. Large two-handed axes were crossed over each other at the centre of the double doors, helping to keep the gap closed tight. Then Legolas and Boromir came to stand back in the centre when no more could be done.
Gandalf came up beside her on her right, his face a stone mask as he tossed his hat to the ground. He held his staff in one hand and in the other his sword. Following his lead the Hobbits too unsheathed their blades. They looked like children playing at battle, but they were soon going to be in the middle of a real one. Sting still shone brightly, the beacon of impending danger in the dark.
The sound of stones falling to the floor behind her made her turn. Gimli was clambering up the side of the tomb, dislodging the debris that covered the surface. Standing up he brandished his axe in two hands. His face was full of determination, replacing the grief that had been there only a few moments before.
"Let them come! There is one Dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath!" He shouted at the door.
She hoped that come the end of this, the ten of them would all still be drawing breath.
Something heavy collided with the door, making it bow inwards dramatically. Dust and bits of rubble fell from the ceiling around it, billowing out into the room to create a haze.
Her mouth had become dry and she found it difficult to swallow, but she dared not take her eyes from the door. It was almost hypnotic.
The pounding on the doors continued and the screeches of the Orcs outside filtered through. The door creaked and groaned as they scrabbled at it. Trying to break pieces of wood off so that they could burrow themselves through. The distinct sound of an axe cutting through wood came to her. They were going to cut their way through, the doors would not hold for much longer.
Sheathing his sword quickly Aragorn readied his bow instead, aiming at the small hole that was now becoming visible.
Bigger and bigger it grew until the face of an orc peered in at them through the jagged edges.
Legolas fired and it struck the orc straight between the eyes. It fell to the ground letting out a high-pitched squeal before another orc took its place.
Aragorn fired the next shot, hitting the orc through the chest, it too fell away. But another regained its position.
'How many were there?' she wondered, though she wasnt sure if she wanted to know the answer.
A great strike on the doors forced them open. They crashed against the walls either side of them, splintering the wood further . The swarm of Orcs poured their way in, filling every available space. She found her footing at once, darting to the right side of the main surge and hacking at the nearest Orc as it made its way forward to where the Hobbits stood. Her sword found a soft spot at the base of the Orcs neck and it sprang forth a spray of black blood as the Orc sank to the ground.
Aragorn and Legolas still fired a volley, their speed at notching arrows almost a blur. Boromir had taken to the left side of the room, he crashed into an Orc as it tried to make its way around him, pushing it back into its kin behind.
She stood with her back to a column so that she did not have to worry about a strike from behind. She could focus all her energy on the steady stream of Orcs that still flowed through the open doorway. She struck another through its stomach, twisting the blade as she removed it, spilling its innards on the cold stone floor. An Orc brandishing a spear leapt towards her, giving her little time to move out of the way. The spear hit the column, where just moments before her head had been, giving off a small spark as the steel hit stone. She spun round facing him once again, looking for an opening anywhere. Its face was grotesque, great big yellows eyes, hooded by heavy lids and a gaping mouth filled with black rotting teeth. It swung the spear head at her back and forwards low enough to gut her if it made contact. As the tip passed her to her left , she flung herself right. Her blade sliced up the Orcs arms in a deep gash, followed up to its neck and then she swung again. The Orcs head hit the floor first, a dull thud resonating out as the skull cracked. Its body followed after, spear still in hand as the two parts were reunited once more on the floor. She took a breath and searched the room.
Over by the far wall, Frodo, Merry and Pippin were hiding past some columns, taking out a few stray Orcs when they could. Gimli still astride the tomb hacked his way at the Orcs who stood below his feet, catching most of them about the heads, splintering their skulls into tiny glistening fragments.
Gandalf twirled about , his cloak spinning around his legs as he defended himself with his staff and attacked with his blade. He was making quick work of the Orcs surrounding him.
Aragorn and Boromir tirelessly hacked at the stream that was still coming through the doors, though it did not seem that it was as tightly packed as the initial surge.
Where was Sam? She asked herself scanning the room as another Orc made its way over to her. Its face twisted in pain which made her blink in surprise. Only once it tipped forward did she see the arrow sprouting from its back and she looked up to find Legolas. He nodded to her, standing on an elevated platform over on the left side of the room and then fired another at an Orc who was making its way up behind Aragorn. She turned back to the room and saw the Hobbit she had been searching for. However he was not running about like the rest of them, instead he was rooted to the spot staring at the door. A look of sheer horror on his face. She followed his gaze and in an instant it became clear.
A huge mace crashed through the wall above the door, ripping both the doors off of their hinges and bringing the wall surrounding them down. She gasped, the debris flying in all directions as the cave troll pushed its way through into the room. Sam still stood in awe, his sword in one hand and a pan in the other.
Chains led from the arms of the cave troll to a large Orc who skittered in after him, trying his best to keep the huge beast in check.
An arrow from the left struck the troll in the shoulder causing the beast to stagger. It clapped its massive hand over the wound letting out a cry, before snorting in anger, its eyes searching the chaos for the culprit. Again it raised the mace in its other hand up high ready to slam it down in front. Right into the path of Sam.
Still transfixed, Sam only watched as the beast begun to move the mace in its downwards arc.
"Sam!" Arwen screamed, beginning to run full pelt to push the Hobbit out of the way, but she knew she would never be able to get there in time.
Luckily upon hearing his name, Sam sprang forth, breaking free from whatever force had held him there. He managed to steer his way through the trolls legs and out of the way of the mace to safety. The mace cracked against the stone floor hard. Showering all around with shards that skimmed her cheeks.
It looked puzzled for a moment, wondering what had happened to its intended target before turning around to find Sam cowering there.
He was stuck in the corner of the wall and a column with nowhere to run. The beast lifted the mace from the ground once more the debris sliding off and hitting the floor below.
She had to think of something and fast, Sam would not be able to duck out of the way this time. She spotted Aragorn and Boromir behind the troll trying to grab the chains that were now swinging freely, the Orc that had held them lay cut down on the floor behind.
She darted over to them trying to assist in any way that she could. Boromir managed to grab ahold of the chain attached to the trolls right side. Wrapping it over his hand so that it would not slip from his grasp. Aragorn did the same to the left and in a mighty heave they both pulled backwards, jarring the troll as he was about to drop his swing on the quivering Hobbit.
"This way Sam!" She shouted to him above the commotion, ushering him towards her. His eyes locked with hers and she could see the realisation and relief wash over him that there was a way out. He quickly scrambled over to her, sliding through the dust and pieces of cracked stone. Once he reached her she grabbed him by his cloak and pushed him ahead of her to hide behind one of the pillars.
She looked back to the two men who still held tightly to the chains , the troll tried to flail wildly. It didn't seem to understand why it had been immobilized. With a roar it lashed out with its mace to strike an Orc that had strayed to close. Boromir who was still attached was flung violently over to the wall and only after his body had collided with the solid surface did he release the chain and sink to the floor.
He was dazed, shaking his head trying to clear his senses, but other than that he seemed unharmed.
An Orc brandishing a halberd staggered over to him with a slight limp. Black blood oozed from a gash on its leg from a previous assault but Boromir had still not noticed. She picked up Aragorns bow that he had discarded to the ground when changing to his sword and quickly tried to locate the quiver.
'Damn', she thought. when she could find no sign of it, the Orc getting closer to him now. She stumbled over the body of a dead Dwarf, disturbing his final resting place. The arrow which had pierced his armour caught on the material of her cloak. An arrow. She couldn't have wished for better. Kneeling down she plucked the arrow from the leather breastplate, it was imbedded deeper than she thought and she had to tug on it sharply to break it free. She notched it in the bow and in an instant the arrow bolted straight towards its intended target, striking it with deadly precision through its temple. It fell immediately.
Boromir looked up startled as the Orc fell at his feet. He met her gaze and gave her a small smile of gratitude before getting up off the floor and continuing to fight the horde.
The glint of the metal chain, brought her attention back to the troll. The beast was swinging it wildly over its head. It's attention was now focused on Legolas who had managed to get two good shots in from his elevated position. However this seemed to have antagonized the already wild beast even more. It lashed out once, the heavy chain swinging downwards towards the blonde Elf who nimbly evaded the strike. He spun back to the beast, notching another arrow from his quiver and releasing it so that it struck the troll in the shoulder. The beast shrieked out, the blood flowing from his fresh wound freely. He took another swing. This time the chain struck the side of a column on its path to hit Legolas. It flicked around the column, like a snake curling around a kill and then caught back on itself. Seizing the opportunity, Legolas took off towards the chain jumping up onto to it and then running up the taunt length and down the trolls large arm that was still holding onto it. Once he had made his way to the beasts shoulders he braced his feet either side of its gruesome head and took aim. The arrow hit the back of its head and it let out a shrill scream, but still the beast was not done. It flailed wildly breaking the chain free from the column by snapping the column in half how one might snap a twig. Legolas jumped from the beasts shoulders and landed on the floor in a run, darting back behind another column to the right and out of her view.
A large clang behind her made her spin round.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this," Sam said behind her, as the Orc that he had just smashed around the face with a pan fell dead at his feet.
She allowed herself a small smile before hacking at another who came up behind the Hobbit.
She heard a loud crash of splintered stone, the troll it appeared was back to using his mace. The sound echoing all around them and she could feel it rattle through her chest. She glimpsed Gandalf as he sliced through an Orc that was using a curved dagger that looked as black as coal.
"Aragorn, Aragorn!" Frodo called out with a sense of urgency.
"Frodo!" she heard Aragorn scream out in return and her heart almost skipped a beat. She looked round the corner of the column and her throat constricted.
Over at the far side, across the commotion of Gimli, Gandalf and Boromir massacring as many Orcs as they could, the troll was holding a small figure in its grasp. Frodo.
"Stay here," She ordered Sam and before she knew what she was doing, her legs had begun to move. Her vision blocked out everything around her like blinkers on a horse, all she could see was Frodo. As she neared she dodged around an Orc by giving it a slice to its face. She saw Frodo stab Sting into the trolls hand. The beast roared , releasing the hobbit to clatter to the ground. It inspected the wound close to its eyes before raising its heavy mace back up into the air for the killing blow. Out of nowhere , Aragorn jumped in front of Frodo, a spear brandished in his grasp. He plunged the sharp point as hard as he could at the trolls stomach, she could not see from this angle if the blade had pierced the beasts tough skin. However the force caused it to stagger backwards and drop the mace to its side. Infuriated at not being able to destroy its target it swung its other arm in Aragorns direction and he was not quick enough to move out of the way. The blow struck him across the chest and flung him to the side . He hit the stone wall about a meter up and then slammed into the floor below.
She let out a cry, he would not come away from that hit unscathed. She changed her course, as had Frodo who was now racing to Aragorns side. He was nearer than she was and reached him first.
"Aragorn!" He shouted above the drone of the battle that still raged around him. But Aragorn did not rouse, she hoped he was just unconscious and she tried not to think of the worst. Just as quickly the troll was behind Frodo again, only this time it was holding the spear that Aragorn had used.
"Frodo!" She screamed out, trying to slice her way through two Orcs who kept evading her blade. She managed to catch one of them in the side, blood pooling out as it fell. But the other still dodged her blows. There was no way through. She saw Frodo try to run but the troll blocked his way with the shaft of the spear, pushing him backwards against the wall.
Where was everyone else? she thought, narrowly missing the point of a rusty blade as one of the Orcs sprang at her. Everyone else was busy, Although she couldn't see Merry or Pippin. The others were all fighting somewhere or another. None were close to Frodo.
She felt close to bursting as she saw the troll raise the spear and plunge it deep into the Hobbits chest.
"No!" She heard someone scream and it took her a moment to realise that it was her. She struck the remaining Orc with all she had left in her, her blade cracking through the front of its skull and coming out the back. It had gone so deep that she couldn't remove it at first but she wasnt looking at it. She was watching Frodo as his broken body slumped forward in a heap. Before tears threatened to block her sight completely.
From an alcove above Merry and Pippin reappeared, they too were screaming at the sight of their fallen friend. They both leapt at the beast, managing to grab a hold of it by the leather and iron collar it was wearing. Their small bodies shook violently back and forth as the beast tried to shake them off. But the Hobbits prevailed, they struck at the trolls neck and head as many times as they could, their blades flashing when they caught the ray of light that shone into the room.
"Frodo!" She heard Sam cry behind her and he raced past, avoiding the troll and the few remaining Orcs to slide to a stop next to his kin.
Finally pulling her blade free she stuck it into the back of an Orc that was relentlessly locking blades with Gandalf. Once down she did not wait for thanks, she moved onto the next. Rage flowed through her and as she swung her sword she felt like it was not her directing the blade but rather some unseen force that had overcome her. The one who they were supposed to protect had succumb, the Ringbearer. He who had come so far, only to fail.
The Troll grabbed a hold of Merry, His large hand wrapping around one of the Hobbits legs and then whipping him to the ground. Pippin however stayed locked fast, his sword still stabbing any area he could. He screamed with exertion as he pierced the skin right at the back of the trolls neck, forcing the troll to lift his head upwards its mouth open in an angry roar. Legolas fired an arrow up into the soft palette that was revealed, it struck true and as soon as it connected she knew that the battle was over.
The few remaining Orcs that had not been slain raced back through the entranceway. Clearly sensing that the tide had been turned. But she could feel no joy in it.
The troll swayed back and forward its life seeping from it fast. Pippin still held on, not knowing when the best time to drop off it seemed.
Her, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir and Gandalf moved precariously, waiting to see where the huge beast would meet its final resting place and doing their best not to be caught beneath it.
It finally fell onto the cold stone floor, wafting up a dust cloud from under it, the impact reverberated through her boots. Pippin skidded to a stop on his back. His chest heaved and it took him a while before he lifted his head up to take a look around.
Her breath was heavy and ragged and she tripped over a piece of stone on her way to where Frodo lay, the others close behind her.
When she came round the column both Sam and Aragorn were already there. She felt some relief wash over her. Aragorn was alright he had just been knocked out by the force of the blow, although he did have some visibly nasty cuts on his face and arms.
"Oh no," her love said, looking at the crumpled hobbit on the ground beside him.
Sam was weeping, he had not had the courage to roll Frodo onto his back and so Aragorn did it as gently as he could.
A sudden choking sound filled the room as Frodo coughed and spluttered, his eyelids flickering fast like a butterfly's wing. For a moment her stomach lurched, thinking that these were the last breaths of a dying man. But something did not seem quite right, the spear had dropped away from him and was now lying on the floor. There was no blood upon it, and there was none on Frodo either, apart from a few scratches that oozed on his face.
"He's alive?" Sam almost questioned as he wiped the tears away from his dirtied face, leaving a trail of clean skin underneath.
From behind her she heard the men let out a breath of relief, enough so that she felt the breeze ruffle the back of her hair.
"I'm alright, I'm not hurt," Frodo managed to say, rubbing his chest clearly in some discomfort.
"You should be dead! That spear would have skewered a wild boar," Aragorn said in disbelief, his hands still clutched around the Hobbit.
Stepping forward from behind her, Gandalf came closer a smile creeping onto his lips.
"I think there's more to this Hobbit than meets the eye," he said, as Pippin and Merry came up on either side of him. Merry clutching his side and Pippin dabbing a piece of cloth to a gash on his forehead.
All eyes were trained on Frodo as he pulled back a piece of his shirt. From underneath she could clearly see the glimmer of some sort of chain undershirt. It was beautiful, not like the usual pieces which are of a uniform silver colour. This was a pearly white , with a gold filigree around the neckline. A truly exquisite piece.
"Mithril! You are full of surprises, Master Baggins," Gimli said in awe of the valuable garment.
She remembered the tale Gandalf had told them of the shirt that belonged to Bilbo, this one must be the very same.
Frodo staggered to his feet, with Aragorn for support. He brushed down his dusty trousers and then winced as his hand made contact where the spear had been pushed at him. Although it had not broken the skin a severe bruise was imminent.
Sam, fussed over his friend, flicking a piece of debris from his shoulder.
Aragorn walked over to her but he had a slight limp.
"Are you alright?" he said, looking her over to see if there was any damage.
"I think so," she said having not really considered her own well-being through all the commotion. "What about you? That was a terrible hit, when I saw you lying there I feared the worst," she said taking his hand in hers.
"I'll be alright, I've taken worse," He said with a small smile, whilst he tucked a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. His hand went back to her chin and lifted it upwards. She assumed he was looking at some scrape or bruise that she had gathered, but then his lips pressed against hers. It surprised her and for a moment she did not reciprocate, he never showed this amount of outright affection in front of the others. Nevertheless she gave herself to it. It was not full of passion, it was tender, which was just what she needed right about now. The stubble on his cheeks scratched at her face but she did not mind. She relished the contact, remembering back to a time before this journey and all the kisses they had shared before in the forests of Rivendell.
When they parted she looked up into his clear blue eyes and smiled before giving him another quick peck on the lips.
Turning towards the others she noticed they were all busy picking up weapons and Legolas his arrows. They did not seem to have picked up on what had happened. Or perhaps out of respect they had given them some privacy.
From outside the door the sound of the Orcs high pitched shrieking began to build once again.
"To the Bridge of Khazad-dûm!" Gandalf commanded them and they took flight back through the mines once more.