Chapter 44
Hello, hello! I'm simply pumped for life, you guys. How are you?
Haldir WON'T die. I don't see the sense in killing him. I mean... Fo' rizzle? Tolkien clearly wanted the man alive! He killed Boromir, the coolest character, and spared everyone I don't like.
Just kidding. I love them all.
I don't own Lord of the Rings.
(Sophie)
"Did you just see that?"
Eowyn nodded, her eyes wide and her lips parted in a smile. "I believe that I did..."
If anything can take your mind off of the impending doom headed straight for you, it's seeing your best friend lip-locking with an elf. A prince elf, no less. And for her to kiss him! She's never made the first move! Ever! The shaking earth disappeared as my mind tried to comprehend what I just saw.
"Should we tell her that we saw it?" I asked as Kristy began making her way back into the caves.
Eowyn shook her head. "No, no. Let her have her moment."
That is some moment, indeed... The first kiss is definitely something else. I remember the first time I kissed Boromir... I didn't even know his name! Oh, wow. My momma would be ashamed. Or maybe she'd cheer me on? Heck, you'd never know with my momma.
Kristy approached us, a light blush on her cheeks and a dreamy smile on her face. "You guys... I think I'm in love..."
"Are you?" Eowyn raised an eyebrow, doing a swell job at acting. "With whom, might I ask? Surely not my brother, I hope..."
Wow, Eowyn! Good job!
Kristy blushed, her eyebrows shooting up. "No, no!"
"Oh. My. Goodness... Kristy loves Eomer!" I cried out, fighting the urge to laugh at the look on her face.
Kristy clapped her hand across my mouth and scanned the room for anyone who may have heard that accusation. "I am not!" She removed her hand, and her smile returned. "I love Legolas... Can you believe it?"
Eowyn and I shared knowing glances before turning to our friend with happy smiles.
"We had a haunch." I laughed.
Kristy covered her mouth and squealed, jumping up and down like a giddy school girl. "You guys, I-"
My friend's excitement was cut short as the ground began to shake more violently than before, earning several cries of panic from the women and children. Our smiles faded as we looked up to the rock over our heads. Dirt was falling down, and I could have sworn that the roof would crash down upon us after prolonged abuse. I unconsciously grabbed onto my friends, all happiness of love and marriage sucked out of me.
The odds were against us. Without a miracle, we'll never see our loved ones again.
(James)
"Where is that blasted elf?" Gimli huffed, his eyes staring intently at the wall that continued to block his view of the oncoming army. "He only had to go to the caves! I'm beginning to think that he's abandoned us!"
He is forgetting that Sophie is a slow runner, and I'm sure that Legolas won't tackle her or anything. Ugh, I really could care less... My hands are shaking, my heart's about to go out on me, and my legs are jello. I've fought giant spiders, goblins, a giant cave troll... Yet nothing could prepare me for this.
Battles are never fun. It doesn't matter how good of a fighter you are, you could always get injured, or worse. Especially now, when we're outnumbered and our armies consist of young boys and old men. These uruk-hai are looking more frightening with each passing second.
"Aha! There you are!" Gimli roared as Legolas reclaimed his spot between us. "What took you so long? Worried that you won't be able to out-fight me, eh?"
"Yes, Gimli. That is precisely why I was gone for so long." Legolas smirked, earning an eye-roll from the dwarf. "Sophie is back in the caves. All is well."
All is well? "Have you seen what we're fighting, my friend?"
Legolas let out a sigh and nodded. "Aye, I have. Although we may die tonight, at least it will be in the company of friends."
"I'd rather not die at all..." I mumbled, loving memories of my wife and daughter flowing through my head.
Maerwen's beautiful smile, and how she always smells amazing no matter what. Faelwen, my absolutely amazing daughter, who dreams of knights and dragons like any American child, yet she looks so stunning, like the elf she is. Sigh... And that child that Maerwen would be having, soon. Will I be back in time for the birth? Will I get back, at all?
The sudden urge to punch Legolas attacked my gut, and I almost did. If it wasn't for the fact that we'd need him for this battle, I would have knocked him out cold. He's lucky that I fear the uruk-hai more than I dislike him, at the moment.
Bloody best friend. Dragging me away from my family, only to get me killed by a horde of orcs.
I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles. You marry an elf, and you die!
Kristy's not allowed to marry Legolas, anymore.
Just kidding. She likes him, and I'd feel like a douche.
Aragorn barked out orders in elvish as Theoden took care of those who had no idea what elvish was.
Fortunately, I had enough elvish in my pocket to understand what Aragorn was saying. Not like it really mattered, though. I couldn't keep up with the mechanical elves, even if I wanted to.
Legolas let out a sigh, his cool facade falling as a small fear gripped him. "James, do I have permission to marry your sister, should we survive this?"
"Funny you should say that..." I didn't get to finish, for an old man accidently let go of an arrow far too soon. It shot through the air, landing right in the throat of a front-line orc.
Everyone, including the massive army ahead, stopped and stared. It's one of those things that should be on youtube. Every last living being that had witnessed it his mouth drop in the 'wtf' face, and time seemed to freeze.
The orcs that had been standing by their fallen comrade looked up at our men and let out frightening battle cries. The elves released their arrows as the orcs ran forward, carrying ladders with them.
Gimli chuckled in anticipation. "Ho-ho! So the battle begins!"
Something has to be wrong with that dwarf. I've never met anyone so excited for killing things. Are all dwarves so insane?
The second that a ladder landed on our wall, Gimli was there, hacking away at heads and chests like it was as normal as scooping the snow off of a driveway. I took the liberty of avoiding that unnecessary gore by throwing the ladder back down with the help of a nearby elf. Even so, another ladder quickly replaced it, and fighting was brought to the walls, yet again.
Massive uruk-hai hopped onto our walls, their jagged blades coming down on anything and everything they could reach. It was like they couldn't care less whether they died or not. They were on this earth for one purpose, and one purpose only: to kill. Their thick, black blood mixed with the red blood of the humans and elves around them, and young boys were slaughtered like cattle.
It was madness. Suddenly, I was thankful that Collin wasn't alive. No one should have to see this.
(Sophie)
"Momma, d'you think Hradren will be alright?" A tiny girl asked, while playing with her mother's hair.
The mother, an older woman whom I'd never seen before, stroked her daughter's hand and did her best to keep a straight face. "Aye, little one. He will be just fine. Your father, too. Now hush, and go to sleep."
"But I cannot sleep!" She complained. "The noise upstairs is too loud!"
The mother sighed and held her daughter close. "I know, my dear. I know."
Kristy sighed next to me, her eyes fixed on the ground. "The waiting is torture. My heart feels like it's about to explode."
I shrugged, looking back down to the ground, where I had been doodling little cartoons of my friends in the dirt. "I just wish that I knew what we were waiting for. My death, or the death of my friends? Either way, it seems highly unlikely that all of our friends should make it out alive."
"Well..." Kristy huffed. "Aren't you a Debbie Downer?"
"Yeah... I guess I am." I sighed, continuing to doodle.
Kristy followed my gaze, and strained her neck to see what I was drawing. "Sophie... What is that?"
I quickly scribbled out the image of Boromir surrounded by hearts, my cheeks burning with a bright red blush. "I'm drawing your future babies with Legolas..."
My friend slapped my shoulder, taking it upon herself to finish the scribbling job. "You're impossible..."
Yeah. Yeah I am.
I don't like this. Somewhere out there, Boromir, James, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and a bajillion others that I know and care about are tied in a fight to the death, trying to protect us. Honestly, what's the point of all of this? What does Saruman hope to gain from killing off the people of Rohan? Who will there be to rule over, after we're all gone? Orcs?
No. Orcs are gross. We all know that they're not worthy subjects of anyone. I'd much rather me the evil dictator of a bunch of normal people, thank you very much. This all just doesn't make much sense to me. Every bad guy in history has had some kind of agenda, but this? This is just nonsense. I have half a mind to go punch Saruman in the face. He killed Collin, and now he's killing us.
Collin would punch him in the face. I bet he's haunting him right now!
Nah, Collin's not much of the haunting type. He's probably partying it up in Heaven, right now. Looks like we'll be joining him soon...
Sigh...
"You two should try to get some sleep." Eowyn came and kneeled beside us, handing us small pieces of bread. "It is no use staying up to worry. Matters are no longer in our hands... We must leave it up to the men to save us, now."
Kristy picked at the piece of bread, unable to eat due to the mixture of butterflies and worry churning in her stomach. "Perhaps you should get some sleep too, Eowyn? You're looking quite tired."
It's true. Our usually lovely friend had bags under her eyes, and her skin was unusually pale, even for her. She let out a sigh, shaking her head. "It is my duty to comfort our people. I shall not find rest until this is all over, and we can go home."
"The only way I'll get some sleep is if someone comes and knocks me out..." I sighed, stealing a bit of Kristy's bread.
I've said this millions of times, but I'm going to say it again. Life's a funny thing. The craziest stuff can happen, so watch what you say. It's like the world is set out to jinx everything you do and say.
Why do I repeat this? Well, just as I finished that sentence, the funniest thing happened. A rock fell from the ceiling and nailed me right in the head.
Hey, at least I got some sleep.
(James)
"Back to the keep, back to the keep!" Theoden cried out, and the few remaining men (and even fewer remaining kids) quickly began to fight their way to safety. Despite our retreat, our people were still getting cut down left and right. The orcs were overpowering us, and with a part of the wall blasted out, we were practically screwed.
Scratch that. We were already dead.
My bones felt like powder, and my muscles ached like no other. I had cuts and bruises all over, and the adrenaline pulsing through my body was hardly enough to keep me going. If it wasn't for Boromir guarding my back, I would have been cut down ages ago.
That's how it's been, all night. While I lost track of Aragorn after the explosion, as well as Gimli, it wasn't long before I saw them fighting off the orcs on our narrow bridge, trying to break open the gates. Legolas was fighting with his fellow elves, who fought with more skill than nearly everyone I've ever met. I'd seen elves fight off giant spiders and small scouting parties of orcs, but never in such large-scale attacks. Many of their warriors remained standing, while the humans around had less endurance and were cut down. The only person I was actually able to keep track of was Boromir, for we'd decided that together we'd do more damage.
I felt like a Spartan. A very tired, very weak Spartan. King Leonidas would have done a swell job at protecting this joint.
Unfortunately, the closest thing we had to three hundred Spartans were three hundred elves. Not like that's entirely bad. Without them, we wouldn't have lasted as long as we did.
Even though the corpses of orcs were piled high, they never stopped coming. We'd killed so many, but it was like they had some unlimited supply.
Now, we were retreating. It looks like the good guys don't always win.
Boromir and I slashed our way down the stairs, kicking away dead corpses as we went. My heart broke a little each and every time I saw a dead child mutilated on the walls, and I silently swore to myself that if I ever had a son, he'd never have to fight.
Ever.
That is, if I'm still alive to see it through.
We reached the doors to the keep just as Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli did. We waited for as many men to enter the keep as possible before slamming the doors shut. Immediately, we set to blocking it with anything and everything in the room.
"This can't keep them out for long!" I cried as Boromir and I shoved a bench up against the door. "We've got to get out of here!"
"No! We must stay and fight!" Aragorn shot back, running around faster than his mind could think.
Theoden leaned against a pillar, having forgotten the toll that battle could have on the body, especially one so old. "The walls have been taken... It is hopeless!"
Aragorn spun around to the king, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "You swore that Helms Deep would not fall, so long as your people still stand! There are still men out there, fighting for their country! You still have men who are willing to die to defend Rohan, and as long as there are men with such passion, we cannot truly fail! We must get the women and children out. Is there any way? Some hidden passage?"
The king was too disheartened to answer, so one of his guards spoke for him.
"There is a path that leads under the mountains! But my lord, there will be no time for them to escape!"
"We'll see about that!" Boromir shouted, not too pleased at the thought of his betrothed getting slaughtered. "Send word to them! Bar the doors! No orc shall touch them, so long as I draw breath!"
Well, we're not getting anywhere with this. "What are we standing around for? Your passions go to waste so long as we do nothing. What are you waiting for?" I turned to one of the soldiers standing idly to the side. "Go tell the women to run!"
Aragorn gave me a 'thank-you' look, and I simply nodded in response. The ranger looked up to the sky, knowing very well that we all were about to die. Then, his entire posture changed. He went from feigning hope to legitimate faith in seconds, and I followed his gaze to the far wall. The first rays of the morning sun were just beginning to seep into the dimly lit room, and the faintest smile crossed Aragorn's lips.
"The sun rises..."
Gimli followed his gaze, as well, and gained a smile of his own. "Gandalf..."
Gandalf? What's he have to do with the sun?
"Ride out with me." Aragorn turned to the king, whose eyes widened in confusion. Aragorn then turned to the entire room, a new-found hope flowing through him. "Ride out with me to meet the enemy head-on! Let us show these orcs that the free peoples of Middle-earth will not be defeated so easily!"
Theoden's disheartened figure quickly hopped up in anticipation. "For glory!"
"No! For Rohan!" Aragorn cheered, and us remaining soldiers followed suit. Even the elves cried out in excitement.
The entire scene made me smile. Sure, we were riding out to our deaths, but there was something special about all of this. Here were men with absolutely no hope to survive, whose world was getting destroyed right before their eyes. Yet with several encouraging words, they were ready to throw their lives away, just so their women and children would have a small chance to get away. Now, it doesn't sound so glorious, but look at it from another perspective. Here I was, dying with them.
I don't want to die. I want to go home to Mirkwood. I want to watch my kids grow, and I want to be able to kiss my wife again. I know that I'm immature, and I'm certainly not perfect. Still, ever since I was a little boy, I've read of these brave knights running out onto the battlefield to defend their castle against all hopes. When I was little, I'd play knights and dragons, and I always imagined myself as the hero that saved a princess.
I'm not wearing dazzling armor, and there are no dragons. Still, I had Maerwen- my princess- and I was fighting for something worthy of protection. A free world.
If there's any way to die, it's like this. With honor.
Several soldiers herded out the horses, which had been kept in the safety of the keep's storage rooms. They had been kept saddled, just in case, and there were more than enough to go around. A few men stayed to guard the cave doors, but the rest of us hopped onto our own horses and prepared for the attack.
"Are you ready for this?" Legolas asked me, sitting on the horse next to me with Gimli behind him.
"Is anyone ever ready?" I asked, a small hint of laughter in my voice. "I'll be fine."
Legolas nodded. "You have been a good friend to me, James."
"I wish that I could say the same." I teased him. "But in all reality... Thanks. For everything."
He nodded, just as the doors were being freed from their restraints.
I took a deep breath. This is it.
(Sophie)
I was awoken by a loud shouting, and Kristy shaking me back to consciousness.
"All women and children are to flee from the caves, through the mountain pass! Leave everything behind, asides from what food you can carry. No time to waste! Make haste, make haste!"
All hell broke loose as the women struggled to wake up their sleeping children, and as old women struggled to walk. We were in no position to run for our lives, and, in some cases, we could barely walk. Were we supposed to leave the old ones behind? Is this some kind of test for social Darwinism? Would it be wrong for me to run for my life?
A part of me just wanted us to all grab swords and go help the men. A big part of me, actually. I love those people out there, and I don't know about you, but I get violent when those I love are being threatened. Women fight for America, why can't we fight for Rohan? There's no way that we can outrun a horde of these uruk-hai, anyways. We might as well put up a fight to remember. Send a messenger to tell our story, just like they did for the Spartans.
So... Does this mean that my friends are already dead? I know Boromir, and I heard plenty of stories in Gondor of his amazing ability to hold Osgiliath. I can't imagine him as the type to give up.
Is he dead?
My heart sank.
They're sending us away... There's no way that any of the men will survive unless they run, too. And, by the looks of it, they have every intention to fight to the death.
By the looks of it, Kristy's having the same thoughts as I was.
"Come on!" Eowyn shoved bags of food into our arms. "We must go! Now!"
You know that it's bad when Eowyn herself is retreating. Kristy and I exchanged short glances before jogging to the front of the line. It was like we were in a bad dream, and no matter how hard we tried, we just couldn't get our legs to move fast enough. I took one glance back to see the men shutting the doors, and piling up what little we had against it.
There's no waking up from this... Is there?
(James)
It was more of an adrenaline rush than I could have ever imagined.
All of the pain in my arms faded away as the doors were open, and our horses ran out, trampling any uruk-hai that stood in their way. The army of orcs outside was still so massive, it was clear that we couldn't win. Still, all fear was gone. It was a curious feeling, but not the worst.
Our horses cleared the bridge, and the filthy monsters that had been running up it quickly turned to get out of the way. It was almost laughable, had they not prepared their spears for us on the other side.
We made a huge dent in their ranks, our horses throwing us right into their center. We hacked and we slashed, but, soon enough, our men began to fall, one by one.
That was until something amazing happened.
For whatever reason, someone looked up to the large hill above us. Immediately, they cried out, "Gandalf has arrived!"
Gandalf?
Nearly ever man turned to look up the hill, not believing their ears. Yet there he was, in all of his glory. Then, a second figure joined him. And then another, and another, and two more, and then twenty more. Before I knew it, the entire hill was swarming with horsemen, and the brightest light shined from Gandalf's staff. Our enemy panicked to prepare themselves for the army of horsemen headed full speed down the hill, but it was no use. Gandalf's bright light blinded them, and the horses broke through with ease.
My heart pounded even harder than before. We were going to win this thing!
The orcs turned in panic and began to run away, but the most curious thing had changed about the horizon. Trees had seemingly moved onto the plains that had once been open, and it is there where the orcs ran for cover.
"Stay away from the trees!" One soldier cried, and I found it better to not question him. I am POSITIVE that those trees weren't there, before.
The battle that had taken all night was over within moments. Not a single orc remained, and the now massive army of men cheered, myself included.
I was alive... We all were going to be okay! Kristy and Sophie wouldn't have to run, anymore, and I'd be able to see my family again!
Tears of joy welled up in my eyes, and I hugged the first man that I ran into. He himself was laughing heartily, and he returned the hug without hesitation.
Everyone was hugging, actually. It was definitely something else.
Still, the joy couldn't last forever. We had countless dead and wounded back behind the walls. We mounted our horses and ran to them, making sure to send a messenger to bring back the women and children. We'll need all the help we can get with the amount of wounded we've got.
The first thing I did was fall down on a stone fragment left from the blast that tore down our walls. The men who had just arrived took it upon themselves to gather the wounded and dead, for the rest of us had been up for about ten hours fighting a hopeless battle. I rested my head against the hilt of my bloody sword, taking in deep breaths to calm my nerves.
I had been in deep thought for a few moments before another soldier came and sat by me. I didn't really look at him, too tired to open my eyes.
"Some battle, eh?" The soldier asked me casually.
I laughed. "Yeah... Some battle."
He nodded and remained silent for a while. "You're not from Rohan. Are you going back to your family after this?"
I shrugged, not entirely ready to think about it. "I don't know. I've got a sister, here, and friends. Yet there's nothing I want more than to hold my wife in my arms, again..."
"Ah, yes..." The soldier sighed. "Love is a beautiful thing. Worth dying for, you know."
Amen to that. "Are you married?" I asked, figuring that I'd return his politeness. It felt weird, though, just having a casual conversation.
The man laughed. "No, no. Not yet."
Awh, that sucks. "Betrothed?"
Again, he chuckled. "No. I've got a while to wait before I can become betrothed."
Huh... I bet the girl's got a stubborn father.
We sat there in silence for the longest time. Still, I never looked at him, but out of the corner of my eye, I could see that he wore a helmet and the armor of the men who had only arrived this morning.
After a while, the man sighed. "James..."
"Yeah?" I replied, not really thinking about how he knew my name.
"I am disappointed in you."
My mind went blank. "... Excuse me?" I turned for the first time to look at the man.
He removed his helmet, revealing a familiar face.
"Collin?" I whispered, hardly believing my eyes.
"I sat here next to you for ages! Heck, I even talked to you! And you still didn't recognize me?" He crossed his arms, turning his nose from me in disgust. "You didn't even look at me. Obviously your mother never taught you manners."
All I could do was look at him. "Am I dead?"
He frowned. "You might as well be. The world has no use for rude pricks such as yourself."
First, I pinched myself. Then, I pinched him.
"Ow!" He punched me in the shoulder.
"You're alive!" I cried out, pointing at him like I'd just witnessed him stealing from the grocery store.
He raised an eyebrow at me. "Is that a bad thing?"
"Yes! I mean... No! I mean..."
Collin shook his head. "Goodness. Some friend you are."
"James!" I heard Aragorn's voice approaching. "Come help with the- ... Collin?" He stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide.
"Can you believe him, Aragorn?" Collin threw his hands into the air. "I sit by him for a good twenty minutes, and he doesn't even recognize me! I always thought that I was a more memorable person, but I guess not..."
"But... How?" Aragorn pointed to Collin's chest, confusion clear all over his face.
Collin smiled. "You see, James? Aragorn doesn't question my existence. He's just a tad confused, which makes sense, I suppose. I mean... You left me with two arrows sticking out of my chest. That couldn't have looked very good... It surely didn't feel good..." He placed a hand on his chest, wincing at the memory of his pain. "Still a bit tender..."
"What happened?" Aragorn asked in barely a whisper. "How did you survive?"
Collin shrugged. "Galadriel's a nice lady. I'm not quite sure why she wanted to help me, though... I guess I'm just lovable."
Finally, a small smile broke out on my lips. "Collin!" I jumped forward and wrapped him in a giant bear hug.
He laughed, returning the hug with a small pat on the back. "There there, James. Calm down..."'
Aragorn turned away, shouting down a little ways, "Legolas, Gimli! Come here!"
The dwarf arrived first, followed closely by Legolas.
Their eyes shot open.
"Laddie?" Gimli ran forward, tackling him in a hug, as well. "You're alive!"
He laughed, greeting his old friend. "Nice to see you, too." He looked past the dwarf, however, and sent Aragorn a questioning glance. "Where's Boromir?"
"He was injured, but he should be alright." Legolas replied for Aragorn. "Just a small gash over the left shoulder."
Collin breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I would have killed you all, had he died."
"We have to find Sophie!" I took Collin's arm and pulled him up. She'll pee herself when she sees Collin! At the moment, I didn't really care how he survived, or how Galadriel helped him. I was just happy to have my best friend back. Whether or not I was in a sweet dream was beyond me, but I was going to enjoy this while I could.
Collin, however, pulled back. "Don't you dare tell her I'm here!" Everyone turned to stare at him. He smiled. "I want it to be a surprise. I'll tell her, myself."
Aragorn nodded. "Alright. But first off, tell me what happened."
Gimli chuckled. "After you survived that fall from the cliff, I will believe anything..."
Our old friend laughed. "Alright, but it's not a glamorous story, or anything..."
Sorry! This should have been out earlier, but I got busy.
Don't question my motives in 'killing' Collin! It makes sense, just hold your horses. 'Twill all be explained in the next chapter or two. :)