Chapter 9
As King Theoden led everyone into Helms Deep, they were greeted by the villagers with cheers and applause. "Make way for Theoden!" The first guard cried.
"Sire!"
"Make way for the King!" Another guard cried.
Adrianna saw the familiar blonde hair of Eowyn rushing down the steps and through the crowd an she immediately greeted the King. "So few. So few of you have returned."
The King dismounted his stallion and handed the reins to one of the nearest guards, "Our people are safe. We have paid for it with many lives."
Eowyn looked around, and met with the eyes of the faye. As the blonde crossed the courtyard towards the chestnut haired Princess, Adrianna turned away, not wanting to be the one to talk about Aragorn. "My lady..." Gimli began, taking off his helmet as he addressed the blonde maiden.
"Lord Aragorn, where is he?" She asked, her voice rushed.
"He fell..." Was all Gimli could manage to say.
Hearing the words for the first time caused the faye to lose faith that her friend was going to come back. She began to make her way up the stone stairs, ignoring Legolas calling for her to wait. As soon as she rounded the corner, she decided to hide from the elf so that she would be able to have some time to herself...but she stopped. She didn't want to hide from him. She wanted his attention. Adrianna shook the attention-seeking and selfish thoughts out of her head, and continued on down the corridor. She formed into her fairy size and continued up another flight of stairs into a tower. Upon noticing a crevice in the wall, she shot inside and tucked her knees into her chest. The tears began to fall freely, she rested her forehead on her knees and hugged herself tightly. When her salty tears dribbled down her right cheek and into the wound, she winced slightly.
"Adrianna? I know you're here somewhere. Please don't hide from me."
The faye decided that she didn't want him to see her crying. She sniffed and wiped her eyes before standing up. She smoothed down her clothes and planned to fly out and pretend that nothing was wrong. She cleared her throat and stood on the edge; peering right to see if Legolas was anywhere to be seen. When she looked left however, she screamed upon seeing the elf Prince standing beside her.
"How did you know I was here?" She demanded.
He looked slightly amused, "Your wings glow like the flicker of a candle flame in the darkness." The Princess' cheeks tinged pink and she hoped that the elf didn't see. "We need to find the healers and clean your wound." He stated, "Come on."
They walked in silence, for Adrianna it was an uncomfortable one. For some reason, she was nervous and she had no idea why. She glanced at the elf beside her, and butterflies formed in her stomach when she looked into his beautiful clear blue eyes.
"He's alive!"
"Aragorn?" Adrianna rushed to one of the many open windows in the corridor and searched for the Ranger, and upon spotting him she shrieked with joy and pointed him out to the elf beside her. The faye then climbed onto the stone ledge much to the horror of the elf. Legolas grabbed hold of the chestnut haired faye's arm to stop her.
"Ade! What do you think you're doing?" He asked, pulling her away from the window.
The Princess rolled her eyes, and grabbed the elf's hand before pulling him down the corridor towards the courtyard. They could hear Gimli shouting from a way ahead of them, "Where is he? Where is he? Get out of the way! I'm going to kill him!" Upon spotting the Ranger, the dwarf pulled him into a hug. "You are the luckiest, the canniest and the most reckless man I ever knew! Bless you, laddie!"
"Gimli, where is the King?" Aragorn asked. The dwarf gestured towards the hall, and as Aragorn made his way inside, he ran into Legolas and Adrianna who were standing as if they were waiting for him.
"Le ab-dollen." (You're late.) Legolas stated seriously. The elf and the Ranger smiled at each other before Legolas cautiously looked over Aragorn's wounds, "You look terrible."
Aragorn rolled his eyes and pulled his friend into a hug. "It's good to see you too, my friend." He caught sight of the faye standing just behind the elf with a recognisable expression on her face. "Now, don't be angry with me for vanishing, Ade." Aragorn put his arms around the faye warily, "I'm back now."
"Please, don't do that again." She mumbled into his shoulder. "I'm not angry at you...maybe, just a little."
As the two parted, Legolas took Aragorn's hand and placed the Evenstar pendant in his palm. Aragorn looked down at the beautiful jewel in his hand and clapped Legolas on the shoulder. "Hannon le." (Thank you.)
As the new arrival, Legolas, Gimli and Adrianna made their way into the Hall to speak with the King, the faye saw Eowyn watching them - or rather Aragorn - from the corner of her eye. Wasn't the Ranger spoken for? Adrianna had seen him with Lord Elrond's daughter back in Rivendell, which seemed like such a long time ago! Arwen had been sweet, kind and helpful and Adrianna was sure to let the blonde maiden know that Aragorn wasn't interested. The faye looked back at the Ranger to see that he was also looking in the direction of the woman, Adrianna gasped.
As the man, elf and dwarf turned to face her to see if there was a problem, she quickly had to excuse herself, "I..." She took a step backwards, "Thought I may..." Her eyes flickered to Eowyn again, "Need help for-"
"-Are you injured, Princess?" Gimli asked, taking a wary step towards the faye and causing both Legolas and Aragorn to look at her with worry.
Adrianna blinked, she had a wound on her cheek. "I'm afraid it could become infected unless I get it tended too soon." She waved her hands for them to move onwards, "Carry on, as you were, I'm sure I'll catch up with you later!" She quickly turned on her heel and walked at a speedy pace back down the corridor, not risking a glance over her shoulder. Upon not hearing any footsteps, the faye slowed her pace upon realising that none of the males had followed her.
Then she realised that she didn't know anyone else and that she didn't want to be by herself.
The guards who were asked to remove their weapons before they entered King Theoden's Hall back in Rohan had almost touched her...and then Grima came to her mind. The way he'd almost flung her onto the floor by her hair, the way he'd looked at her, inhaled her scent and combed his gnarly fingers through her chestnut hair made her feel queasy. And that look in his black eyes made her skin crawl and a lump form in her throat.
She did not want to know what he could have possibly been thinking.
The faye changed into her fairy form before flying to the healers wing, and after that she made her way towards the King's Hall to find Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn. Upon her arrival, she was immediately on edge as the King was speaking, "-We will outlast them."
The faye stood beside Gimli, flanking the dwarves side with Legolas on the right. "They do not come to destroy Rohan's crops or villages." Aragorn was saying, "They come to destroy its people. Down to the last child."
Theoden walked up close to Aragorn when he replied, "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 end as to be worthy of remembrance."
"Send out riders, my lord." Aragorn pleaded, "You must call for aid."
"And who will come? Elves? Dwarves? Fayes? We are not so lucky in our friends as you. The old alliances are dead."
But Aragorn was determined, "Gondor will answer."
"Gondor?" The King scoffed, "Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell? Where was Gondor when our enemies closed in around us? Where was Gon- No, my lord Aragorn, we are alone." He walked away, back to his throne as he addressed the guards, "Get the women and children into the caves."
"We need more time to lay provisions for a siege, Lord-"
"-There is no time." Theoden cut the guard off. "War is upon us!"
The Captain turned to his men, "Secure the gate!" He commanded.
As the guards left, the King noticed Adrianna standing beside the dwarf and sat down to address her, "You should settle in with the other women and children, my Lady." He explained, "I will not allow you to fight this battle."
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli turned to face the Princess, awaiting her reply. Upon noticing her eye twitch, they knew that she was quickly losing her temper. "And why is that, my Lord?" She asked.
"The men are stronger." He replied, "If I allow you to fight in the battle, I'm sure the men would feel a need to protect you."
"I can hold my own, I assure you."
The King shook his head and was about to object when Aragorn stepped towards the faye and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I will see to it that she is escorted personally." He bowed his head to the King and continued to lead Adrianna out of the Hall.
"Aragorn!" The faye growled, "I'm going to fight."
The Ranger put a finger to his lips, "We will have to find a way to disguise you." He whispered as they stepped out of the Hall; Legolas and Gimli soon joined them. "Although we shall have a problem finding something that will fit."
The faye frowned at him, "And if we can't?"
The ranger would not meet her gaze with his, "Let's not jump to conclusions now, shall we?" He replied, "We will decide what to do then, when the time comes." Adrianna narrowed her eyes, but continued to walk with the three males through a corridor. They passed the courtyard where they saw many men saying goodbye to their families as the women and children were led towards the caves.
"Move back! Move to the caves!" A guard commanded.
"Keep moving!" Another called.
"Quickly now!"
The four stepped into the armoury and Aragorn immediately eyed a battered looking sword, he picked it up before tossing it into a corner, "Farmers, farriers, stable boys. These are no soldiers." He stated, turning to look at the men.
"Some of them have seen too many Winters." Gimli commented.
"Or too few." Adrianna added.
"Look at them." Legolas stated, "They're frightened. I can see it in their eyes." The room fell silent, and Adrianna turned to leave the room; nudging Aragorn in the arm in the hope that he would go with her to speak to any guards who may ask her why she wasn't in the caves. "Boe ah...neled herain dan caer menig!" (And they should be... Three hundred against ten thousand!)
"Si beriathar amar n ned Edoras." (They have more hope of defending themselves here than at Edoras.) The Ranger reasoned.
"Aragorn, men i ndagor. Han n ortheri. Natha daged aen!" (Aragorn, we are warriors. They cannot win this fight. They are all going to die!)
"Then I shall die as one of them!" The Ranger then took the faye quite roughly by her arm due to his anger and frustration before storming out of the room.
"Aragorn?" Adrianna asked. "I have a strange feeling. Like something good is about to happen." She paused and awaited his reply, "But I still feel so much dread."
"You have the same gut feeling as Legolas." The Ranger stated darkly.
Upon hearing that tone, the faye closed her mouth. She had no idea what Legolas had said, so she bit down her anger at the Ranger as she knew her mouth would only cause more of a problem than solve one. Instead, at the next fork in the corridor, she parted from Aragorn, making sure she stomped down the corridor so that he knew his tone had annoyed her. Satisfied that the practice of storming around in her younger years had done her justice, Adrianna slowed to a walk until finally, she had ended up back at the armoury where Legolas had finished preparing for battle.
"Where is Gimli?" She asked.
The elf looked up, "Where is Aragorn?" She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, awaiting a reply from the Prince. "Trying on some armour."
The faye blinked, "He's too...short."
The elf looked at her with amused eyes, "And you'll be too small."
Aragorn then entered the armoury and began to don his battle gear, Adrianna noticed the Rangers sword and picked it up before handing it to Legolas. "Give it too him." She stated.
The elf smiled softly at her before taking the blade by the hilt. As their fingertips brushed together, the faye looked away so that she would be able to hide the blush powdering her cheeks. As the Princess turned her head away, she saw Gimli making an entrance from the side room.
"If we had more time I'd get this adjusted." He stated, dropping handfulls of chainmail onto the floor with a clang. "It's a little tight across the chest." Adrianna turned her back to the dwarf so that he would not catch her silently laughing, and upon seeing the expression on both Aragorn and Legolas' faces, she knew they were doing the same thing.
A horn suddenly sounded in the distance, "That was no Orc horn." Legolas stated with certainty.
Another horn rang out closely after and Adrianna's head snapped up, "I know that horn!" She cried, fleeing from the armoury.
"Ade!" Aragorn called, "Where are you going!"
"Send for the King!" A guard called, "Open the gate!"
The chestnut haired faye stopped running and peered out from one of the many windows in the corridor, she was soon joined by Aragorn and Legolas, both of them curious as to what was going on. The Warriors of the Galadhrim - led by Haldir marched into Helms Deep, closely followed by elf-like warriors dressed in emerald green and silver.
Adrianna gasped, "Tobias!" The Princess then climbed onto the wall and jumped over the side, transforming into her fairy size before she hit the ground. She then flew towards the captain of the faye warriors and changed back into her original size seconds before she threw herself at the warrior and wrapped her arms around him.
"Addie!" The faye Prince exclaimed.
"What are you doing here?" She fought the tears of joy and relief at seeing her brother alive and well before she pulled away from him and planted her hands on her hips. "Aren't you supposed to be bed-ridden?"
Tobias smiled at his little sister, "I've been worried about you, Addie." He stated. "Let's take a walk and you can tell me all about your travels." The faye Prince and Princess left the courtyard of elves, faye and men to go and speak in private. "I thought you'd be here." He stated, "And I have a gift you may have need for."
"What?" She asked, turning to look at the warrior her brother was beckoning over. The faye handed the Princess an emerald green bundle.
"I had this made for you." He stated, staring at the parcel clasped in her elegant hands.
When Adrianna opened the light bundle, silver gleamed up at her. It was a silver helmet, arm bracers, and a vest. The material that the armour was wrapped in was the faye warriors emerald green cloak. She looked up at her brother with a grin on her face, "Thank you!" She squealed, throwing her arms around him. She looked up and noticed one of her three friends, "Aragorn!" Adrianna called.
The Ranger stopped walking and turned on his heel at the sound of someone calling for him, he smiled lightly upon seeing his female friend, "Ade." He stated, "You gave Legolas quite a scare jumping off the wall like that."
The faye Princess grinned sheepishly, a slight blush colouring her features. "I'll apologise too him later. Aragorn, I'd like you to meet my brother, Tobias." She stated, "Tobias, this is Aragorn."
The two shook hands, "It's a pleasure to meet you, my Lord."
The faye smiled in response, "Thank you for looking after my sister."
Aragorn nodded his head, and as the two broke hands Adrianna changed into her fairy form. "I'm going to go and put this on." She smiled, "Don't start the battle without me!" As she shot off up the stairs and towards the armoury, she almost flew into Gimli when she rounded the corner. Screaming - she pulled up just in time to fly over his head. She apologised as she flew into the side room in the armoury.
Quickly, she pulled the silver body wear on. The tunic fit to her slim form and the bracers covered the back of her hands, her wrists and her forearm; intricate silver swirls were embroidered on the steel. Her boots came up to her knees and had were also patterned with the floral engravings. She ran her fingers through her hair, readjusting the beautiful hairpiece given to her by the Lady of the Golden Wood before she put her helmet on. The steel framed her face and covered her mouth with soft edges, giving the Princesses armour a feminine touch. Adrianna then picked up the cloak and twirled it around her shoulders, clasping the Fellowships' leaf onto the cloak to secure it around her.
As she left the armoury, she buckled her fathers' sword around her waist and made her way towards the courtyard to find her brother again.
A/N: Don't you worry child! The battle commences in the next chapter :) Please review, and NO flames please.
Hannon le, to everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted and favorited my story so far! :D xx