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Chapter 12: Big Brother
Legolas stood on the edge of the cliff staring down. It was simply not possible. Aragorn could not be dead. The man who had been his friend for most of his mortal life, the heir to the throne of Gondor, the de facto leader of their piece of the fellowship had undoubtedly been thrown off this very ledge and no man could survive such a fall. Théoden didn't even want to send anyone to retrieve his body. How could he have let this happen; how could Nina have let this happen? With that thought everything seemed to click into place. He dropped his pack and began digging through its contents. This had to be the 'right moment' Nina was talking about when she'd handed him the note before she left. Feeling the rough paper Legolas extracted it from his now jumbled belongings and broke the wax seal she'd placed on it.
'Aragorn marries Arwen Evenstar. Members of the Fellowship always find their way back.
See you soon.'
The ellon stared at the three short sentences. She'd known this was going to happen obviously and for some reason she couldn't change it but he was positive Aragorn had yet to marry which meant either Nina was wrong on… "He is still alive!"
"What are you going on about in your cursed Elvish?" Gimli demanded, looking at the ellon in confusion. For all Gimli knew their friend had just died and the elf was now smiling.
"Nina gave me this before we left. She said to open it at the cliff." He handed over the parchment to the confused dwarf and was rewarded by a large smile and Gimli's gruff laughter a moment later.
"Looks like the Lass was looking out for you laddie. What's the bit at the end say?" Gimli's spirits were lifted even if Legolas could see a small cloud of doubt hanging in his eyes.
"It says see you soon. Before she left she said she would be meeting up with us again soon." Legolas fought down a grin, forcing himself not to remember exactly what they'd been doing before she'd said that. Reliving the entirely improper but incredibly satisfying kisses they'd shared would get him noting but mocked by the dwarf. Gimli already used his and Nina's obvious closeness as a weapon; he didn't need to know that the ellon was quite a bit more attached to her than mere close friends.
"Should we spread the word or do we wait to see this for ourselves?" Gimli questioned the preoccupied elf.
There was no way to give any credible proof that what Nina said was true and Legolas was well aware that the King and his people would need to trust in the remnants of the fellowship as fully as possible or no one would get out of this alive. "Perhaps we should wait. I cannot fathom a way to explain that the elleth in our company is a seer who left behind words of comfort for when Aragorn appeared to be dead. Besides, the company needs to be focused on the enemy especially after all their losses." Gimli nodded in assent and the two unlikely companions turned form the cliff to follow the king and his men to Helms Deep.
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Haldir called to his men to halt. If they rested now as the sun was setting they could continue their trek through the night and arrive before the Uruk-hai were in sight of the fortress. Lady Galadriel had told them that the Mirkwood prince, Aragorn, and the dwarf were all within the wall of Helms Deep but she had not mentioned the whereabouts of the wizard or his sister despite his questioning. Perhaps it was better that Mithrandir and Nina were elsewhere. From the reports the last round of scouts had given him the enemy's army was far beyond Rohan's ability to defeat or outlast. All of his soldiers were well aware that there was a good chance they would not come back from this battle but were determined to honor the alliance that had once existed between the free peoples of Middle Earth. Still, he couldn't help but be glad his brothers were not among the contingent he led.
One of his scouts, a young ellon whose name Haldir couldn't remember was sprinting towards him. "A single rider is headed in our direction. They appear to be looking for something." Haldir nodded to him and signaled his second in command to take charge as he followed the scout back to his post to observe the rider for himself.
The rider wore an oddly familiar grey-green cloak pulled low over their head and was seated on a dappled grey horse with what looked like a bow slung over their back. Haldir watched the figure as it slowly approached the small valley among the hills they were camped in and gasped out loud when the vague outlines finally became the fine details that clearly marked the rider and the horse as familiar. "What is she doing here?" Haldir growled out in frustration and he was focused on his errant sister that he didn't see the scout shrink back from his unusual display of anger. "Stay here. I will speak with her." At that he broke through the cover of the treeline and strode towards Nina. The girl caught the flash of movement and changed direction to meet him.
"Hello brother. Did you miss me?" She questioned him with a timid smile, clearly expecting his displeasure at her presence. She dismounted from Tala and dropped the reigns knowing the mare wouldn't wander far.
"Are you mad? What are you doing here? You should be as far away from Rohan as you can be!" Haldir had never been so angry with the elleth or anyone for that matter.
"I need to be here." She stated calmly refusing to back down under his glare. "I have something to change in Helms Deep. I cannot leave and you do not need to worry about me, I promise." She'd reflexively switched back to the common tongue as her desire to convince him of her sincerity overrode everything else.
Haldir considered her coldly for a moment. "What do you need to do? I can do it for you and you can go back to Lorien and not risk your life over the folly of Rohan's king."
His sister sighed and shifted on her feet uncomfortably. "You cannot be the one to do it. I have to be there, my presence and my actions were the only way I could find in the mirror to fix what was supposed to happen." He turned away from her then trying to get his emotions back under control. He was no stranger to Nina's foreknowledge. He'd seen her standing at the mirror for hours every day and watched helplessly as she broke down crying when she couldn't alter something she wished to change. He, of all people, knew how heavily Boromir's death had weighed on her mind. She'd been reclusive for days after the Fellowship had departed the Caras Galadhon and it had taken ages to drag the cause of her disquiet out of her but once she'd begun explaining the situation she had lost all control of her emotions and Haldir had awkwardly tried to comfort the weeping elleth. He did not want to be the cause of such a thing again.
"Can you promise me you survive this? Your life is worth more to me than those you're trying to help." A strange look of utter sadness flickered across her composed face but when she nodded in confirmation he saw none of the liars signs she usually displayed so easily when trying to fool him. "Come, let us get some rest. We will resume our journey as soon as night falls." Haldir relented and took her hand to lead her towards the waiting company. Why were all of his siblings so troublesome?
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Aragorn had not expected such a reception when he finally made his way into Helms Deep. His only thought was to get news of the army marching upon them to the King as soon as possible. He didn't take any note of the gasp and remarks upon his still being alive. He did, however, notice when Gimli came barreling through the crowd shouting "Where is he? Where is he? Get out of the way! I'm going to kill him!" Gimli finally caught sight of Aragorn and grinned at him giving him a gruff hug. "You are the luckiest, the canniest, and the most reckless man I ever knew!" He finally released the man and shook his head in relief. "Bless you laddie! The lass left a note for the elf that all but said you'd survived your little flying lesson but it is damn good to see you!"
Aragorn raised an eyebrow at Gimli's comment on Nina's foreknowledge but set the curiosity aside for more pressing business. "Gimli, where is the king?" The dwarf nodded off to the right and Aragorn clasped his shoulder in thanks before striding off in search of Théoden. His progress was again impeded by a relieved looking ellon.
"You're late" Legolas informed him stoically before cracking a smile and adding "You look terrible". The Ranger couldn't help but laugh at the magnitude of such an understatement.
The ellon handed him something small and hard and when Aragorn looked down to see the Evenstar he clasped the elf's forearm with his own and thanked him. Legolas fell in behind him with Gimli as they continued to search for the King who they found in the assembly hall.
Théoden's response left much to be desired. He appeared intimidated by the number of enemies approaching them but refused to do any more than sequester the women and children in the caves. He was effectively ensuring the enemy had them backed into a corner.
Théoden gave orders for every able bodied male to be armed and ready before nightfall, and was making sweeping proclamations about how no army had ever breached the fortress. Gimli was apparently of the same skeptical option as Aragorn as he spoke up "This is no rabble of mindless Orcs. These are uruk-hai. Their armor is thick and their shields broad."
The King clearly held no stock in the dwarf's opinion "I have fought many wars, Master Dwarf. I know how to defend my own keep." Aragorn thought he heard Gimli mutter something along the lines of 'I doubt it' under his breath and saw Legolas trying to smother a smile.
Leaving the hall to try and talk Théoden into at least having some plans for is the walls were breached he was only treated to more of the man's glaring overconfidence. "They will break upon this fortress like water on rock. Saruman's hordes will pillage and burn. We've seen it before. Crops can be resown, homes rebuilt. Within these walls we will outlast them."
The Ranger was beginning to become concerned that Théoden was truly beyond all reason. "They do not come to destroy Rohan's crops or villages. They come to destroy its people, down to the last child." Did the man really not understand that this was not traditional warfare? This was an attempt to exterminate the race of men from the lands of Rohan.
Théoden turned back to the ranger and grabbed him, "what would you have me do? Look at my men! Their courage hangs by a thread. If this is to be our end, then I would have them make such an as to be worth of remembrance."
There would be no one to remember even a glorious defeat. Aragorn could not make the king see that which he was willfully blind to. "Send out riders, my lord. You must call for aid!" Any additional forces at this point would be a great help.
Théoden was clearly skeptical "and who will come? Elves? Dwarves? We are not so lucky in our friends as you. The old alliances are dead." Aragorn had to bite his tongue to tell the king that he was wrong. Rohan had never been known to favor outsiders. Théoden was likely too proud to ask anyone for aid let alone beings from other races.
"Gondor will answer." Aragorn offered.
"Gondor?! Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell?! Where was Gondor when our enemies closed in around us?! No, my Lord Aragorn, we are alone." The defeat in Théoden's voice was a clear and final indicator that the man was already beaten. The King left him on the wall as he gave orders to bar the gate and move the refugees who could not fight to the caves. Aragorn had a difficult time clinging to hope as he looked out beyond the wall.
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Legolas was beginning to think his new task was keeping Aragorn from either driving himself insane or killing himself doing the work of five men at once. He'd been planning the placement of men with Théoden for hours and if either of them was honest they would have accepted there was no more to be done hours ago. "Aragorn you must rest. You're no use to us half alive." His chastisement was cut short however by the arrival of Eowyn.
"I'm to be sent with the women into the caves!" Her tone was indignant and Legolas couldn't help but find her presence displeasing.
Aragorn was clearly more patient with the woman who thought herself a shield maiden. "That is an honorable charge." He nodded his agreement with the order and Legolas watched as her face morphed into a sullen expression that would have been more appropriate on a child denied a treat.
Her voice was small as she continued complaining "To mind the children, to find food and bedding when the men return. What renown is there in that?" Renown? The woman thought that battle was all about glory? Did she not understand they were all about to die?
Aragorn's voice had taken on a tone of consolation "My lady, a time may come for valor without renown. Who then will your people look to in the last defense?" Legolas was tempted to leave as the woman was clearly only going to continue making a fool of herself.
"Let me stand at your side." Legolas's eyes stared at the woman in disbelief. Was this really the time for her to be making a play at the Ranger's heart? Legolas momentarily wished Nina had had a chance to set the woman to rights about Aragorn's relationship with the Evenstar.
Aragorn was beginning to look markedly uncomfortable as he'd clearly divined where this was going "It is not in my power to command it."
"You do not command the others to stay! They fight beside you because they would not be parted form you. Because they love you." Eowyn flushed red as she realized what she'd inadvertently said and blurted out and "I'm sorry!" before running off towards the caves.
"If we survive this you will have to make her understand that she is nothing to you." Legolas told him before steering the baffled Ranger towards the armory.
Legolas and Aragorn surveyed the assembled males being equipped with swords and mismatched armor that had seen much better days. "Farmers, farriers, stable boys. These are no soldiers." Aragorn sighed and turned to Legolas and Gimli.
"Most have seen too many winters" the dwarf nodded towards a clearly arthritic man who was trying to find a sword he could actually lift.
Legolas waved his hand at a group of boys no more than ten who were waiting in a frightened line for helms "Or too few. Look at them. They're frightened. You can see it in their eyes" His words carried a bit farther than he'd intended and the ellon winced as several pairs of eyes turned to the trio. "And they should be three hundred against ten thousand!" He switched to Elvish in hopes of keeping the conversation slightly more private.
"They have more hope of defending themselves here than at Edoras" Legolas couldn't argue that point but there was no way that he could see their small unwieldy contingent surviving the fight.
"Aragorn, they cannot win this fight. They are all going to die!" The ellon had no qualm about going to his death fighting but he was looking for at least one other person to acknowledge that is what they were doing.
Aragorn clearly forgot himself as he answered the ellon in the common tongue. "Then I shall die as one of them!" All eyes were on them now and Legolas could see the waves of uneasiness spreading as Aragorn stalked out of the room.
Legolas made to go after him but Gimli stayed him. "Let him go lad. Let him go." The Ranger returned after a few minutes and began putting on his Armor. Gimli nudged the elf towards him and made a shooing motion. Legolas lifter the sword Aragorn was about to grab and handed it to him.
"We have trusted you this far. You have not led us astray. Forgive me, I was wrong to despair." Legolas didn't actually believe they had any hope but he did not want his last memories of the Ranger to be tinged with anger and regret.
Aragorn clasped his shoulders and smiled "There is nothing to forgive, Legolas." Gimli chose that moment to waddle over to them with a chainmail shirt practically dragging on the ground.
"It's a little tight across the chest." Gimli flapped his arms around and tried to see if he could actually move in the chainmail. In the distance they heard a horn being blown. Legolas froze.
"That is no Orc horn!" He exclaimed in shock in hope before running out of the room towards the gate followed by the man and dwarf.
As they arrived Théoden was staring at the assembled elves in shock. "How is this possible?"
Haldir stepped forward from the ranks and addressed the King, "I bring word form Elrond of Rivendell. An alliance once existed between Elves and Men. Long ago we fought and died together. We come to honor that allegiance." Théoden simply looked on speechless.
Aragorn took that moment to step up to the ellon. "Well met, Haldir!" His excitement clearly got the best of him and Legolas repressed a laugh as the Ranger hugged the stoic Marchwarden. "You are most welcome." The smile on Aragorn's face was full of hope and Legolas could almost see him recalculating the odds with a slightly happier result.
Legolas approached his longtime friend once Aragorn had released him and clasped arms with him. "It is very good to see you again, old friend."
"If we survive this I would love to know why my sister has been avoiding every question about you since she met up with us." While the Marchwardens face remained placid his tone was teasing and Legolas knew his keen eyes picked up on the slight flush that covered his face. "She'd bringing up the rear with the scouts. I expect she'll be wanting to speak with you." Legolas nodded and strode down the lines of Lorien elves towards the gates.
He spotted her immediately. She was talking to a stable hand at the gate who took Tala away once she'd unloaded her belongings. As if she could sense him staring at her she turned to meet his eyes with a grin. He walked forward and took her and, tugging her along behind him without a word. He would them through pathways he'd learned I the last half day of preparation and brought her inside the empty storage room that was serving as the fellowships 'room'. He quickly took her boy and quiver, sword, dagger, and pack from her to rest them against the wall. That done, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.
Legolas could feel her lips curve into a smile against his before he deepened the kiss hungrily. And he slowly walked her back to press her against the closed door. He did his best to keep his hands from wandering indecently but they thoroughly mapped her sides, back and settled at her hips when he pulled away for air, smiling at the panting elleth pinned between him and the door who was grinning back at him.
"I missed you and I am happy to see you but what on earth are you doing here?" His breathing was starting to come back under his control so he moved to trace her neck and cheek with his lips as he asked his question. He was going to make use of what little time they had before the Uruk-hai were at the gates.
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"There's something I have to do here. I've already managed to convince Haldir and I'll be happy to fight with you about it later." She said before cupping his cheek and bringing his mouth back to hers. The battle for dominance between their tongues was short lived as Legolas deftly took over the kiss but Nina couldn't bring herself to mind as she was too busy enjoying the feeling of him pressed against her. Some remote part of her dazedly thought that it was a good thing she already had a terrible reputation because she wasn't sure she was going to be able to resist kissing him in public if his kisses kept being so addictive.
"There's nothing I can do to change your mind?" Legolas ground out as they separated for a matter of seconds before he reattached them.
"Nope." She gasped as he caught her bottom lip between his teeth, nipping it lightly. They both paused as they heard distant shouts in common and Elvish to take posts. "We really need to stop being interrupted." She mumbled as she rested her forehead against his collarbone, resigned to the fact that their alone time was coming to a close.
"Let's get you ready." Legolas let out an annoyed sigh and kissed the top of her head lightly before stepping back to let her move. Nina pulled the pile of armor that Haldir had given her from her pack and looked at it curiously. She could identify the light chainmail shirt and breastplate easily enough but the other pieces confused her. Legolas noticed her obvious confusion picked up the chainmail, handing it to her to pull on over her tunic. That done he pulled the breastplate over her head and set about fastening either side to the back portion. Nina was fairly certain tying knots had never involved so much intimate contact. He helped her into the upper and lower arm guards and maintained custody of her helm to steal one more lingering kiss form her before he rested it on her head. They did not say goodbye or make plans to talk after the battle.
As Legolas was already prepared for the battle Nina simply collected her weapons and let her ellon lead her to the wall where Aragorn, Gimli, and the elves were waiting. She was greeted with a round of surprised and disapproving shouts from the man and dwarf. Haldir simply shook his head and pulled her to stand next to him. "If you need to be here, you'll have to stay near me so I can at least keep an eye on you." Her brother said and Nina decided not to argue given he'd inadvertently placed her exactly where she needed to be.
Nina had never killed anything other than an animal before in her life. She was able to pretend it was simply target practice when she was sending volleys of arrows with the other elves but when the ladders came and the Uruk-hai began climbing onto the walls Nina could no longer pretend this want real. Luckily that's when the fight or flight instinct kicked in. She may have been barely passable with her sword by her brother's standards but she found that blind panic and desperation had upped her skill to match her opponents. She kept one eye on Haldir at all times and panicked momentarily wen the cloud of dust and debris form the water grate exploding clouded her vision before she caught the telltale blond of her brothers hair under his helm. She dodged around several disoriented Uruk-hai and repositioned herself at her brother's side. Time had lost its meaning but soon the calls to fall back to the keep were sounding all around them and Haldir joined in shouting out orders in Elvish Nina was too out of it to understand but she kept close to Haldir regardless.
In their dash toward the stairs Nina could FEEL the course of the event she was set on changing approaching and kept their backs clear ad Haldir forged a path ahead of them. She was slowed down by a pair of Uruk-hai who'd targeted her and by the time she'd disabled them both she saw another Uruk-hai raising his sword to deliver a killing blow to her brother. Nina did not think. She moved faster than she ever had in her life and thrust her blade through the monsters back with strength shed never felt before. Haldir turned in shock to see the fate she'd just saved him from and a light of understanding came into his eyes. This moment was why she was there. The approach of more enemies broke the moment and the elves resumed running for their lives.
When they made it to the door to the keep they turned to join the handful of archers who were picking off enemies at the backs of fleeing soldiers. When they could no longer see allies among the approaching hoard the archers filed into the keep and the gate was barred behind them. Now all they needed to do was wait for Gandalf.
Nina turned towards Haldir when he rested a weary hand on her shoulder. "It was me. You come for me." She couldn't tell if he was shocked, angry, or grateful. She hazarded a guess it was a little bit of all three.
"Of course it was you. You're my brother, I wasn't about to let anything happen to you." She chanced a small smile and tried to stop shaking from the excess adrenaline in her system.
Haldir pulled her into a tight hug, "thank you." He stated then pulling away he looked her square in the eye and adopted a smirk that always signified she was about to be teased "Your prince is staring at you by the way". Nina chanced a glance over she shoulder and shot the Mirkwood ellon a grin before returning her attention to her brother.
"He can wait a minute. My brother just failed to die like he was supposed to." She teased back knowing there was no way she was getting out of being needled mercilessly.
"Do I need to have a discussion with him about his intentions or will that conversation just be for fun to make the princeling uncomfortable?" Haldir asked and Nina blushed wondering silently if there was a way to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. She still had no idea what his intentions were. Perhaps after they returned to Edoras she could actually have that conversation with Legolas they'd talked about before she left.
"Please try not to torture him too much. I'd really rather he remains in one piece." Haldir laughed at that and it finally occurred to him how unusual their flat out jubilance looked in the grim setting.
"Should I assume we somehow manage to survive this? There would be no sense in saving me if everyone gets slaughtered by Uruk-hai by the end of the night." Haldir asked in Elvish now that he'd seen how many people were listening to them.
"Mithrandir has a habit of coming back just when he's needed." She confirmed then added, "I think it would be good for the King to make a brave decision on his own though so we are not going to tell him." Haldir nodded in agreement and together the siblings went to join the ad hoc King's council taking place in the back of the room.
Aragorn was trying to convince the King to go out fighting and stiffen the man's flagging resolve. "Ride out with me. Ride out and Meet them."
The man's head picked up at the suggestion "For death and glory?"
Aragorn's disapproval was clear to Nina but he managed to push it down "For Rohan. For your people."
Gimli noted the rising sun and Aragorn got a contemplative look in his eyes before zeroing his gaze in on Nina. She nodded slightly and tilted her head back towards the King who had begun shouting about glory and legacy in what would have been an inspiring speech to any who hadn't witnessed how broken he'd been minute before.
Haldir and Nina mounted Tala together and drew their swords waiting for Théoden's command. The door splintered open and Théoden led the charge. Tala followed the stream of horses and running men without any guidance and the elves on her back cut away any enemy in reach with their blades as they made their way towards the broken outer gate. Just as the pair broke through the masses and onto the open field Gandalf and the Rohirim crested the hill to the east. Nina picked out Eomer as the figure next to the brilliant white of Gandalf. Before she knew it the battle was over. The Uruk-hai were dead, Haldir was alive, and the non-hobbit members of the Fellowship were reunited.
AN: That was a long one! I initially wanted to get them all the way back to Edoras in this but it just got to be too much. Anyway look for more Haldir, Legolas-Nina fluff, Eomer, and some irrational jealousy in the next chapter which should be up in a day or two.