Chapter 15
Author's Note: I'm back...about time!
Disclaimer: Still don't own anything from either franchise.
Minerva took her time to carefully scale the side of the cliff. By the time she could see any details about the river below, the ,ist from the current had started to make the slippery rocks almost impossible for even her feline form to traverse. She stopped about 100 feet above the water to look for any sign of Aragorn.
Scouring the shore line, she caught a glimpse of the back of his cloak and head bobbing in the water. Carefully but with a renewed sense of urgency, Minerva pushed herself quickly down the remaining portion of the cliff. When she reached a clearing that was close enough to the river and large enough to accommodate her human form, she transformed and immediately started transfiguring things around her to cross the river.
Within seconds, she had reached Aragorn's prone form and levitated him out of the water to a grassy shore. She found a pulse and tried to bring I'm around with bot magic and a couple of gentle smacks to the face, but he was completely unconscious. Taking the collar out of her pocket, she returned Brego to his normal state and steadied him to transport his companion. Gently lifting Aragorn with magic, she made syre he was secure on the horse and started to look for a way out of the ravine. Just when she thought she would have to wing it, Brego nudged her and started walking in the direction of a path just to the left of the river.
Of course Brego would know the way. Are there any animals here that don't know where everything is?
Brego had successfully carried them away from the river and they were starting to cross some land that looked familiar from Minerva's scouting ahead earlier. As they had journeyed, Minerva took care of the cuts and abrasions that she could see on Aragorn. There were a couple of large gashes on his arms and chest that required a couple extra charms to get them to close. Without some potions they would scar, but at least they were clean and the bleeding had stopped.
She was starting to wonder if she had missed a larger injury on him when he finally started to stir. She pulled back on Brego's reigns to bring him to a halt. She let him slowly come to before she said anything.
"Did you have a nice rest?" Minerva teased lightly.
He let out a groan before opening his eyes a little more to take her in. He carefully climbed down from the horse and steadied himself.
"What happened?"
"Hmm, before or after you went over the cliff?"
There was a moment of confusion and then it hit him.
"I was drug over a cliff," he muttered.
"Yes," she confirmed, "but you are alive and well. Just a little wet and scraped up."
"But," he went back to a confused stare, "how did I survive?"
Minerva offered him a smile before replying, "I just saved you once more. It's alright, I'm sure we will be even by the end of this war."
He smiled at her before placing a hand on her shoulder, "I do truly owe you, Minerva. I did not expect today to be my last, but for a moment, I had accepted it may be."
"I really hope you are back to embracing life, because Brego knows the way, but I'm not sure where the path leads," she said with a chuckle.
Aragorn placed a hand on his trusted companion and looked at Minerva, "From the looks of where we are, I would say he is leading us towards Helm's Deep. Thankfully he does indeed know the way."
Aragorn helped Minerva onto Brego before helping himself up with some difficulty. As much as her spells may have helped him live, there was some serious bruising around his abdomen and chest. With a click of his tongue, Brego took off at a quick pace that soon brought them just to the outskirts of Helm's Deep in a matter of hours.
As they drew nearer to their destination, a disturbing sight across the plains caught their attention.
"Is that-" Minerva trailed off as she tried to find the right words to describe the scene in front of her.
"An Uruk-Hai army," he said with fear in his voice that made Minerva shiver.
In front of them, they watched as the earth seemed to move across the plains. There was nothing but a dark mass of bodies as they marched towards Helm's Deep.
There was an urgency in the way Aragorn commanded Brego forward, almost willing the horse to start flying across the land before them. Minerva took in the distance between them and Helm's Deep and came to the disheartening realization that the army was closing in faster than they were.
"They will be overwhelmed before we make it even close enough to fight from the rear," Minerva whispered to herself.
She didn't know what to do as she heard Aragorn sigh behind her. There was defeat in his voice as he thought about the situation in front of them and urged his horse on. Minerva couldn't help but start to spiral as she allowed the fear of losing more people invade each recess of her mind.
Then there was a voice in her mind...Gandalf.
They were sitting around a camp fire stopping for yet another night on their journey towards hopefully the end of a war. They would be heading up into the mountains he next day and the freezing temperatures were already starting to trickle down their path. Minerva sat nearest to the fire in hope to warm her hands that were now numb and becoming tinged with a blue color. Pulling out her wand, she cast a quick warming charm on each one of the members of their fellowship. She watched as they each shivered as the warmth settled in and each looked to her for an answer.
"We may be journeying towards a dangerous and treacherous path, but we don't have to freeze," she added with a smile.
They all thanked her and went back to lounging about the camp when she felt something warm fall over her shoulders. She turned to find Gandalf sharing his cloak with her and pulling her into his shoulder.
"Now that is a handy piece of magic," he said with even more warmth in his voice than a fire could ever provide.
"It won't work against severe temperatures, but it might make it a little easier to function."
She settled into his shoulder and made sure to bring the cloak closed in front of both of them to keep the heat in.
"You seem to have a spell for everything, my dear," Gandalf said softly, pulling her closer and placing a kiss on the crown of her head.
"I don't know about that," She thought back to may a duel during her auror training when she could have won faster had she employed simple yet effective counter measures that she only thought of afterward.
"You make things better," he smiled down at her, "and you always try to keep us safe. That's what matters."
She felt herself gain control over her breathing and realized she had found her way through another panic attack before it started. Now she could focus on finding a way to get there in time. They all needed her and she had to find a way to get there before the army and warn them. She could send a patrons, but she was unsure if they would listen or if it would give them enough time. She started racking her brain for some sort of charm, spell, or enchantment that would slow the army down. Then it came to her. The answer was simple, but she didn't know if it would work here.
"We need to stop," Minerva turned slightly to get Aragorn's attention.
"No, we need to press on!"
"Please, Aragorn," Minerva pleaded with the desperate man, "I need you to trust me."
After a few seconds of hesitation, Aragorn nodded and pulled Brego to a halt. Minerva immediately got off the horse and focused on her target.
"Wait here for 1 minute. If I'm not back, go," she said with slight nervousness in her voice.
"But where-" before he could finish, Minerva turned on her heals and was gone with a pop.
Aragorn stared at the spot in disbelief. He shouldn't be surprised by the bits of magic at this point, but this was something extraordinary. She had been right in front of him one second and gone the next. He was beginning to wonder if he should carry on without her when with a faint pop she returned.
"Alright, at least I know I can apparate in this world too," Minerva said as she pushed a loose strand of hair out of her face, "I thought for sure I was going to come out of that with a few less limbs."
Aragorn juist looked on as she beckoned him off his horse and offered him her hand.
"What about Brego?" Aragorn asked as he looked at his horse and what remained of their supplies.
"Oh yes," Minerva said while taking out her wand and transfiguring the horse in front of her into a pocket watch.
Aragorn again looked at the whole spectacle with shell shocked awe. All he could do was take her offered hand and stare at the spot the horse once stood.
"This is going to be a bit uncomfortable, but the feeling will pass."
Minerva immediately spun concentrating on the walls that she could see from a distance, and within seconds they were both at their destination. Aragorn was about to say somethign when the feeling caught us to him and he doubled over. Minerva took the free moment to bring Brego back to his noble form, and for a moment she thought the horse gave her a look of annoyance at being transfigured once again.
"Shall we?" Minerva asked as Aragorn straightened up with a little less color in his face.
What he could muster of a smile graced his lips as he and Minerva hurried into the streets of Helm's Deep. After a short journey through the cobblestone streets, they heard the unmistakable voice of a rather angry dwarf.
"Where are they? WHERE are they?" Gimli came into view as Aragorn handed off Brego to a solider, "I'm going to kill them both. Get out of the way!"
Gimli had the largest smile on his face as he saw his two companions standing tall in front of him.
Looking at Aragorn, Gimli pointed a stubby finger at him, "You are the luckiest, the canniest and the most reckless man I ever knew! And you," he shifted his attention to Minerva, "are the most amazing woman I ever did have the pleasure of knowing."
Minerva and Aragorn smiled at him as the dwarf came forward to embrace them.
"Gimli," Aragorn asked, jumping right back to the topic at hand, "where is the king?"
Gimli nodded towards the hall and Minerva followed as they hurried to tell the king of the impending attack. As they hurried forward, Legolas joined them and Minerva saw him give something to Aragorn that seemed to bring the fighting fire back into his eyes. Gimli and Legolas also seemed to have gained some of their energy back at finding out their friend had survived.
By the time they reached the king and told him of what they had seen, the mood had turned somber again. They were all preparing for a war that they thought for a second they could outrun. They now only had one option, fight.
"All Isengard is emptied," Aragorn warned the king as he struggled to explain the enormity of the army marching towards the gates.
"How many?" Theoden finally asked, wishing to understand how much of a challenge this would be and whether or not they stood a chance.
"Ten thousand strong," Aragorn said grimly, "at least."
Thee was no way to hide the pure trepidation the king felt at Aragorn's tale. The kingdom would be crushed in a matter of minutes with an army that size.
"That many?" Theoden asked, more out of disbelief than hope for a different answer.
"It is an army with the singular purpose to destroy the world of men," Aragorn supplied, "and they will be at our gates by nightfall."
After a moment of contemplation, the king had made his decision.
"Let them come!"
Helm's Deep would not be taken without a fight.
TBC...
