Summary: A welcome surprise greets the people of Rohan as they wait for the Battle of the Hornburg to begin. Rated T by Caitie (Arwen & Legolas)
March 3, 3019
Aaaooooo. The sound of a war horn rang ominously through the air. The men of Rohan all froze in place. They had finally come, the Uruk-hai were finally here. The fear and anticipation of their arrival was over. Aaaooooo. The horn blew again in the cold winter air. The moonlight glinted off helmets of the Uruk-hai soldiers. They marched in formation, their feet pounding in unison as they marched across the bridge towards the keep. It was then as the moon peeked out from behind the clouds that they realized, it wasn't the Uruk-hai, it was the Elves with long bows in hand.
"Open the gate!" someone shouted from high up on the battlements. "Open the gate!" repeated another. With a groan the gate started to lift, the Elves slowly started to trickle through.
King Theoden descended a stone staircase, a look of confusion and wonderment on his face as he watched the Elves walk past him. The two Elves that stood at the head of the formation broke away and approached him. One was a man with long blonde hair and a deep red cloak hanging off of his broad shoulders. The other was a woman, and something about her long dark hair and her slender figure was so familiar to him.
"I bring word from Elrond," the woman started. "There once was an alliance between Elves and Men. Long ago we fought and died together." Theoden could hear someone running behind him and soon after Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli appeared on the staircase. The woman smiled when she saw them. "We come to honor that allegiance."
"Arwen," Aragorn said as he walked past Theoden. He wrapped his arms around the woman's shoulder, she embraced him back, but her eyes were watching someone else. Theoden turned to see Legolas staring back and all of a sudden it made perfect sense. This was Legolas' wife, he turned back to her. Aragorn moved on to awkwardly embrace the man beside Arwen. "You are most welcome," he said.
In unison the Elven soldier all turned their heads to look at their commanders, their bodies turning to follow suit. The butts of their long bows made a resounding thump as they came into contact with the stone floor. Arwen smiled, "We are proud to fight alongside men once more," she said.
Theoden continued to stare back in awe at a loss for words. Ten minutes ago they had no hope of winning this battle, but now, now they had a chance, more than just a chance.
"Haldir," Arwen said, looking to the man beside her. "Go with the king, see where we wants us."
"Of course, my lady," Haldir answered, approaching the king.
Legolas descended the rest of the steps in silence, this couldn't be real, she wasn't really here. Was she? "Say something," she said, her voice so familiar to him, the voice that had been haunting his dreams for the past three months. And suddenly he was moving towards her, pulling her close into his body and kissing her hard on the lips. She let out a breathy laugh that felt warm against his cold skin.
"You're not supposed to be here," he said, holding her face between his hands and looking deep in her soft blue eyes.
"I am supposed here," she said quietly. "I am always supposed to be with you."
"No, Arwen…" Legolas started.
"Yes, Legolas, I am," she said with such finality that Legolas didn't dare say anything back. "The Uruk-hai are at least another hour out or so, so we can either make the most of what little time we have or we can continue to argue. It's your choice."
..::..
Arwen's long white cloak lay in a rumpled heap on the dusty carpet of Legolas' room. Pieces of her silver armor were also scattered around the room, and Legolas' leather shoulder guards, various articles of clothing all discarded.
Their love was slow and soft, after three months of being apart it's what they needed. And when they were finished they just lay in the bed together, holding each other as close to themselves as they could. Legolas ran a hand through her long hair, twisting the intricate braids in his hand.
As much as Legolas hated that she was here, he was glad for it too. Deep inside of him he knew that she should be with Alida and Leonid, but he also knew he needed her there. There was nothing that inspired him to fight as hard as he could like the way she inspired him. But what about their children? What if something happened and they were left as orphans.
Somehow Arwen knew what he was thinking. She always knew. "We're going to go home to them," she said quietly.
"You don't know that," Legolas said.
"No," she answered. "I don't know that. But I do know that if we don't do what we have to do, there won't be a home to go back to."
Legolas kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer to him. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to banish the thought out of his head.
The men inside the keep were moving now, the Uruk-hai must have been spotted. It was time.