AN: Wow, it has been forever since I updated! Again, I apologize, but remember I haven't given up yet. I have been super busy the past few weeks with finishing up school, but I am finally done and (mostly) free for the summer. Hopefully I will begin to update a bit more regularly from now on, but again no promises since I still have internet restrictions and I will be going on a few vacations this summer. Anyway, back to the story!

Elena quietly sat up and slid her sword out from under her blanket. "Where are they?" She asked Eldarion, who had just said that there were orcs nearby.

"Just over that ridge I noticed movement, and when I went over to investigate I saw about 15 orcs grouped together at the bottom of the hill on the other side. They haven't made an aggressive move yet, but I won't ever trust an orc to ignore an opportunity to fight, especially when they outnumber us four to one. Help me to wake the others and prepare for a fight."

Elena crawled over to where Merry and Pippin were sleeping and gently shook them awake.

"What's the big deal—oh, hi Elena. What are you doing?" Pippin said.

"Eldarion saw orcs over that hill over there, and he wants us to get ready for an attack. Get any armor you have on and get your weapons ready."

After they were all ready for a fight, Merry and Pippin snuck over to the hill and peeked over the top. When they returned they reported that the orcs were doing what they had just done and were strapping on weapons and helmets.

"We should make the first move so we can have surprise on our side." Eldarion said. "After all, it is pretty clear now that they aren't going to pass us by peacefully. Let's go now before they have time to get any more prepared."

With that they slowly made their way around the hill so they wouldn't be seen as easily over the crest of the hill. Elena mentally was freaking out a bit, but she knew that if she panicked or got too worked up she would be at a much greater risk in the battle. I can do this. I have experience with a sword and know how to fight. I just haven't actually killed anyone before. Even though the orcs weren't really human (or elf or anything else humanoid for that matter) they still looked like people in the dark and it would be hard to force herself to give the killing blows. She would just have to remember that these hideous creatures were trying to kill her, and if she didn't do anything about killing them then she herself would die.

Before she knew it she realized that they were within earshot of the orcs. She could hear them talking, but it was in the orc language so she couldn't understand what they were saying. She could tell though that they were getting worked up and ready for a fight. They knew they wouldn't have much trouble since in their eyes they were just pillaging a few weary travelers. They certainly weren't expecting four mighty fighters that included a Gondorian prince, two highly esteemed hobbit warriors, and, well, a girl from California whose only experience was a few years of fencing lessons. So much for four mighty fighters. More like three fighters and a girl who had almost no idea what she was doing.

"On the count of three, we move in and attack," Eldarion whispered. I'll take the group over there on the right, Merry, you get the 3 over on the left, and Pippin and Elena go for the rest. If possible leave a few alive, but if it comes to your life or it's just kill it. Ready?"

Merry and Pippin nodded and Elena just gulped. "One, Two, Three!" They all jogged as quietly as possible through the last remaining brush and attacked. First off Elena saw a lone orc standing a few feet away from the others. By the time she got up enough courage to attack, the others were already engaged in their own battles. The orc she was after reacted slowly to what was going on, but by the time it fully understood what was happening Elena had already wacked it's head with the pommel of her sword. Unfortunately she underestimated the hardness of its skull because all it did was stumble forward a few steps and then turn to meet her. She quickly noticed that he didn't have a sword, but he did have an evil looking mace that had a rusty lump of metal on the end of a heavy stick. She quickly realized that she had no experience with fighting an opponent with any weapon other than a sword. She didn't stop to think about what she was doing though and simply swung her sword at the exposed torso of the orc. She sliced a deep cut into its chest, but it wasn't finished. It quickly swung the mace in a huge arc that she had to drop to the ground to avoid. While she was squatting down she stabbed her sword upward towards its chest and stabbed deeply at an upward angle. That finished it. The orc fell backwards never to stand again. The whole encounter must have lasted about ten seconds.

Before she could think about what just happened she heard a loud bellow from behind her. She whipped around to see another orc charging at her with a bulky crude sword in its hand. She ran forward with Sting extended, ready to impale it on her sword. It charged onto her sword and died instantly, but the force of his weight being thrown at her knocked her to the ground with the orc on top of her. She was stuck. She had no idea how the battle was going around her, but she couldn't move. The orc was still stuck on the sword, and the weight of it as well as the sword pommel pressed against her stomach pinned her to the ground. The orc must have weighed at least 300 pounds. Finally, after what seemed like ages but was probably only about three minutes, the yells and clanging going on around her became still. She listened to see who had won, and with a relieved sigh she heard Pippin shouting, "Elena? Elena where are you!"

"I'm down here!" She managed to squeak out. Footsteps quickly rushed to her and finally the weight of the orc was pushed off of her. She felt a sharp ache in her stomach from where the sword pommel had been digging into her, but other than that she was fine. Her mind wasn't though. With a shock that came crashing down on her she suddenly realized what she had just been through and what she had done. Looking down at the nasty face of the orc she had just killed snarling up at her, frozen in an eternal scream of battle, she realized she was the one who had taken his life. She stumbled to the ground in shock.

"Are you alright?" Pippin asked concerned. "Are you hurt?"

"N-no, I'm fine," Elena replied with a shocked look on her face. Pippin looked at her with a knowing expression on his face.

"Shock of battle, is it? I know how you feel. It has been a while for me as well since the last time I fought anything. But don't worry, it doesn't last too long. You've got to remember though that if you hadn't done that, these creatures would have just killed more people until someone else had killed it. Killing it might seem horrible, but you were actually doing a good thing by saving the lives these orcs would have taken."

Elena nodded, but she still wasn't over it and couldn't think of anything to say. Slowly standing up, for the first time she noticed the situation of the whole battlefield. Pippin was standing next to her with a bloody sword in his hand. Merry was a few feet away watching her; he must have been the other one who had helped pull the orc off her. He had a cut in his arm but other than that looked fine. Eldarion was about 20 feet away tying up two orcs who had gotten captured. He was limping, but not too badly. Both orcs were both unconscious, and one of them had a dagger sticking out of its shoulder. Suddenly, just as Eldarion finished tying a knot in the rope that held them to a tree, one of the orcs was startled out of unconsciousness. The questioning was about to begin.

AN: How was it? Please leave a review telling me if you liked it! It is very encouraging to see responses since it shows that people are reading it. Anyway, until next time!