THE FORGOTTEN

Helm's Deep

Disclaimer: I do not own the Lord of the Rings.

Authors note: Any elvish that I may decide to use will be in italics. Review if you feel like it and grab the popcorn because I feel like this is going to be fun – Lothril is going into battle.

They halted that night to make camp. They had ridden five hours and had more than half their journey ahead of them. For part of the ride, Lothril had been telling her story to Éomer, who was in wide-eyed wonder. Partially because her tale was incredible, and partially because he couldn't quite believe he could hear her so clearly over the sound of the horses, though her voice didn't seem strained at all. What he didn't know and she wasn't about to tell him was that she was speaking to him mentally while saying the words aloud. That way, for all he knew, he was merely hearing her over the thundering hooves. A tent was pitched and Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Lothril, and Gimli were to share it. There had been an attempt at an apology from Théoden about Lothril not having separate accommodations at which Lothril smiled and said she had been hiking in the wild with nine men for two months and that they were practically her kin at this point.

"A strange assortment of kin," said Théoden with a funny little grin on his face.

Lothril chuckled. "Tis my lot, my lord."

Théoden laughed heartily and said, "Aye, but if you will count them as such, I shall not refute you! An elf lady with a dwarf, a man, and a wizard as kin. At least Legolas is of your kind."

Her eyes glittered with amusement. "Ah, but Gandalf is of my kind too. At some point one like Gandalf and an elf were wed and so blood of both is in my veins."

Théoden looked at her with renewed wonder. "I must hear your tale, for it seems with every word you prove to have a more fantastic tale to tell."

She smiled. "I shall as soon as I may."

No fires were lit or songs sung that night, as no one knew what to expect next. In their tent however some conversation was had. Gandalf was smoking Merry's pipe and a pinch of his Old Toby when he looked at Legolas and said, "When we were discussing what happened in Moria, I believe you said that Lothril would not even tell you that I should return. Now I may be much mistaken, but it seemed to me those words held some significance."

"Who told?" Legolas asked with a grin and sounding wholly unsurprised.

Gandalf grinned shook his head, "I arrived in the Golden Wood shortly after you all left. I assume nothing has been made official as yet?"

"No, not yet. Our betrothal is hinging on Frodo's success," Legolas answered.

"Long odds," Gandalf said. "His success has never been anything more than a fool's hope."

Lothril's eyes glittered as she looked at Gandalf and laughed saying, "I should never want to play you in chess, Mithrandir, for you always make the most unlikely move with the most absurd piece imaginable and win. Take the reclaiming of Erebor – you set out with thirteen dwarves and a hobbit to oust a dragon from an incredible stronghold. The odds were so incredibly against their success that anyone else would have said to forget it, and yet you went forward without and all was successful. And here we are again – with even less this time! This time we set forth with ten and are now whittled down to the two least warriors of our company who are looking to do the absurd with an improbable guide against astronomical odds. All the while the noblest, strongest, wisest, and those whom the wise would deem far more suited to the task are out here leagues upon leagues away basically trying to keep the noose from our necks and distract him," she said nodding her head to the East, "long enough to let them succeed." She shook her head and smiled. "It may be a fool's hope, Gandalf, but where you are involved, I shall bet on it every time."

"All the same, there is no guarantee of things going as I want them to," Gandalf replied.

"No, there is not," Lothril said. "Even with what I know, I shall not pretend that I do not see how the wheels could come spinning off at any moment. But so far, so good."

The conversation faded to silence and soon all were asleep. Perhaps three hours later Lothril awoke. Her dreams had been riddled with the sounds of horses, marching armies, and the smells of blood and smoke and filled with sounds of death. The fact that she was heading into her first proper, pitched battle had successfully managed to creep up and besiege her thoughts. She sat up in the darkness and pressed her fingers to her temples. The small melee she had faced in Moria was about to look like a school yard brawl compared to what was coming. She stood up and exited the tent and walked to and fro in the middle of the great circle of tents.

Aragorn awoke but a few moments later and saw that Lothril was gone and that her weapons and chainmail shirt were still in the tent. He grabbed his knife and put it in his belt and headed outside to look for her and found her pacing back and forth in the midst of the camp. Quickly he jogged over to her.

"Lothril, it is dangerous to go wandering off," Aragorn whispered to her in elvish.

She sighed sadly and replied, "I am sorry to worry you, Aragorn."

"My friend, what is wrong? What draws you away at such an hour?"

"I am thinking. Mostly about how all that is right, good, and free is only kept so by the blood of good men. It is a grief to me."

Aragorn clasped her hands tightly in his. "It is a grief to all who treasure such things, and that is why they are willing to sacrifice themselves for it. Ask any man here if they think their lives worth the price to protect home and kin, and they shall answer you with an unflinching yes. We are mortal. Death comes for us all in the end, and if by our death we can ensure freedom and safety for those we love, then it is but a small matter. You are elf-kind. Death does not hold the same meaning for you, so perhaps you do not understand."

Lothril looked up at him and smiled sadly. "You forget, Aragorn. I grew up human. The long years of human history where I am from are soaked in the blood of men who fought for everything from freedom from tyranny to the expansion of great empires and the vanity of their kings. I think I begin to see things as both elf and adan. But it is all a grief to me."

He looked at his friend with understanding. "It is to me also, but that is why I fight. To end the evil and right what is wrong, and to bring about days of peace."

She inhaled deeply and slowly breathed out. "I thank you for your words, Aragorn. You encourage me."

Aragorn smiled at her and gave her a hug. "I find even those who give hope to others need it given to themselves at times. You have given me hope, Lothril. I am glad I could return the favor. I think your love is missing you by now. We should head back to the tent before he notices you are gone."

She looked past Aragorn's shoulder and said, "It seems he did miss me."

Legolas walked up and before he could utter a word, Aragorn took Legolas' hand and placed it in Lothril's and said as he walked by, "She needs you, you know." He gave him a wink and walked back to the tent. Legolas looked at Lothril for a moment inquisitively.

"I awoke to find both you and Aragorn had parted. I wondered what was wrong and wondered more when I found you two here talking," Legolas said. "What is wrong?"

Lothril watched Aragorn retreat for a moment then looked at Legolas. "I could not sleep. I was grieving at the thought that many men shall die before this is all over. Men, elves, and dwarves. So many lives – but Estel was true to his name and gave me hope and comfort. I was letting the shadows poison my thoughts. Even now I can feel them trying to reclaim my hope and turn it to despair."

Without a word Legolas pulled her in and held her tight and very softly began to sing. The shadows that seemed to surround her heart dissipated with his voice. After a time he lead her back to the tent, still singing very softly and continued to do so until she was asleep.

The next morning the company awoke early and within an hour were set off again. Théoden arranged to have Lothril riding beside him and had her tell her story as they rode. It took longer to tell though than it did with Éomer, because Théoden would stop her to ask questions which would lead off on explanatory tangents about the Valar, their servants, and ancient lore. As they talked Théoden kept saying things like, "Do we live in a world where myths and legends walk beneath the sun as we do?" to which Lothril would reply, "They are no more myths and legends than the mountains and hills." At length they came to a brief halt and Lothril returned to her place with Éomer and Legolas.

"Have a nice talk with Théoden King?" Legolas asked.

Lothril looked ponderous as she said, "If nothing else, I gave him a bit of perspective. He kept asking about things which lead to some discussion of the Valar, Maiar, and Eldar."

Éomer looked at her and said, "You mentioned those things when we spoke, but I dared not to inquire further. It seemed to me a world of unseen things lay behind your words."

"Indeed there is, and like all things there is both good and evil at work. But take heart for good and evil do not change between man and elf and Valar. What one calls good, the others do also and so in many respects we are fighting for the same things that unseen powers having been striving for since the beginning. We are merely the latest soldiers to take up the cause."

"If it has been so from the beginning, then shall we see no end to evil?" Éomer asked.

Lothril got a curious smile on her face that caused even Legolas to wonder a little at it. "The first evil came forth long before even the elves awoke and the last evil shall end long after we are all departed from this Middle-earth but one day it shall be utterly destroyed. Then all shall be remade and in that remaking there shall be no stain. So take heart, friend. Our cause is truest and noblest and all that fight the darkness and evil shall be rewarded for their deeds in due time. We do not fight in vain, no matter what the outcome may seem, for good shall have the ultimate victory."

Her friends stared at her in wonder, for she spoke with such confidence and surety of things that even the wise amongst the elves spoke of hesitatingly. Legolas once again found himself wondering about his love. Did she have answers that even the wise did not? She seemed to possess an understanding of things that escaped the understanding of everyone else; and she spoke of it freely!

The call to continue on was made and they mounted their horses again. Legolas reached out to Lothril's mind and asked, "How do you know of such things?"

"I am a child of three worlds. Those books spoke of the absolute beginning of all things and hinted fairly strongly at the end of all things as well. As I understand the worlds I have lived in and the one that has made them, I think I begin to see, though very dimly, past the end. The song at the beginning was perfect. It was always to be perfect and then Melkor sowed discord, and so the song was adjusted to make even the discord resonate and bring things back towards the original intent, but he continued to do so and the song was marred, or so it seemed, until the very end. At which point, the Valar fail to understand what they heard next, but I think I do. It is an utter end of the earth and a renewal in which every good thing becomes as it should have been all along. I cannot say what shall happen exactly, but I suspect a few things. Particularly that we elves shall see a new day that we have longed for since the beginning, though we did not know it then."

"But how can that be if we perish with Arda?"

She looked at him and smiled widely. "I never said we didn't. My, but the air is heavy. And warm. I knew it would rain, but this feels like it's going to be a doozy of a storm."

"Doozy?"

"It means big, unique, and impressive. It's an idiom from my old world."

Legolas broke into laughter, which caused Éomer and Gimli and Aragorn to look over at their friend in puzzlement. "Oh Lothril! That is one of the things I love most about you! We could be speaking of the weather and you start speaking of something deep and profound relating to it as easily as saying the grass is green, and with the next word you comment on how lovely the sunlight is when it shines through the leaves and start singing children's rhymes. What's more, those whom you are speaking to think nothing of it, for it seems to them that the conversation flowed there as easily and naturally as a leaf on a stream. That is until you leave them and then they start to wonder how they arrived so far down stream with rhymes in their head and pondering the great mysteries of the world."

Lothril's cheeks turned three shades of pink as she laughed. "Thank you, I guess!"

It was night by the time they reached the Deeping-coomb. The storm was not long off now and the air felt as if it could start at any moment. They rode through the coomb into the Dike. At last they dismounted and came to the Deeping Wall. Lothril was awestruck for a moment. She had never seen such a high wall, nor such a thick one before in her life. She had been accustomed to the short thin walls, or chain link fences that are everywhere in our time. They went inside the Hornburg. Lothril jumped up to the top of the wall, which was just above her head where the notches were not, and found herself joined by Legolas. She looked out and found herself all together impressed with the place. The word "stronghold" took on a new meaning for her.

"Now this is a place that I like," Gimli said. "My heart rises the closer I get to the mountains. This country has tough bones. Give me a year and hundred of my people and I would make this place invincible!"

"I have no doubt," Legolas said. "But you are a dwarf, and that is strange folk. I do not like this place, and I do not think I shall like it more by light of day. But you comfort me Gimli, and I am glad to have you standing nigh with your stout legs and hard axe. I wish there were more of your kin here, but I wish for a hundred good archers of Mirkwood more. The Rohirrim have some good bowmen, but they are not elves. There are too few of them here, too few."

"It is dark for archery. All I want right now is sleep. Riding is tiring work! Yet my axe is restless. Give me a row of orc-necks and room to swing and all weariness shall fall from me."

Lothril looked at Legolas. "You do not like this place?"

"No, not at all."

She laughed a little. "Perhaps I have dwarvish blood as well. I like this place! I love mountains. I always have."

"Really, Lady Lothril?" Gimli said, a large smile in his voice.

"Yes Gimli, and caves have always been a wonder to me. After seeing Moria, I think I would enjoy seeing the Lonely Mountain."

Legolas gazed at her wide eyed. What a strange elf she was indeed! Astonishment was the prevailing look on his face. "Lothril, you like caves?"

"Yes Legolas. Not enough to lock myself up in one for hundreds of years at a time, or even years at a time. I think mountains and caves and carved halls are interesting and I enjoy visiting them. And you are one to talk! You have dwelt in a cave for how long?"

"Yes, but they are under hills and are bright and have many doors and windows that look to the outside. It is more like a large castle than anything. You should remember that much from your short stay there."

Gimli just laughed at the prince who gave a scowl at him.

Time was passing slowly. At length Legolas turned to Lothril again and whispered, "Are you ready for battle?"

"As ready as I ever shall be, I suppose," she answered.

"Hebo estel," he said just before he jumped down off the wall. She watched him walk away and gave a sigh.

Suddenly she heard yells and screams from the Dike and the fierce battle cries of me. She spun around and saw the Westfolders had been driven in. Legolas came running back to the wall and lightly leapt onto it. He saw the scene and said to Lothril, "Get off the wall and stay by me as best as you can. I do not want to lose you in the fight."

They jumped down off the wall and told the eager Gimli the scene. As Legolas was giving news Lothril re-braided her hair into a single braid and tied her kerchief around her head and put on her helm. She did not want one hair in her face during the fight. Legolas began walking away. She wanted to look out just once more so she peaked around the edge through one of the great notches for arches and saw what looked like a black mass, dully glinting, crawling towards the wall. She ran after Legolas and found him twenty feet down the wall amidst the archers, his arrow fitted to bow string. She did the same. Suddenly the rain began in heavy sheets. Seconds later the arrows of the enemy came whistling past her ears, but she didn't flinch. Her senses instantly went to work in full capacity. Each arrow she knew exactly how close it was to her whether she needed to move or not. She waited for a signal to shoot, and continued waiting. While waiting for someone, anyone, to give the signal. She remembered the game Legolas and Gimli would play, she decided to keep track for herself. Gimli, who had stayed where he was, wondered why no one had ordered arrows to be returned. He found it incredibly frustrating to be so short and unable to see what was going on. He could hear screaming and sword clanging on shield, and brazen trumpets, but behind the wall, was relative silence.

Suddenly someone behind the wall gave the command and Lothril let her arrow fly and faster than thought she had another fitted and shot. A terrific thud could be heard as the trunks of two mighty trees pounded on the gates.

Lothril heard Aragorn speak to Éomer and realized that they were quite close to them. As the two sped off, she kept loosing arrows as the rain fell and lightening flashed. By the time Gimli returned and told Legolas he had killed two, Lothril had slain fifteen. Shortly after that the sky cleared revealing that the enemy was greater than they had first thought. Even though she knew the outcome, she could not help but feel at least slightly overwhelmed. Moments later, hundreds of ladders were against the walls. Lothril was fiercely shoving them backwards and cutting the ropes in hopes to do some good. In the end she was successful in knocking down ten ladders and killing or paralyzing all that were under them. She couldn't count the bodies though and had to stop her efforts with the ladders when the orcs came up the culvert. She felt something evil coming up behind her. She spun around, drawing her borrowed sword and slew the orc and found herself looking at a large host. She fought marvelously, killing many orcs, and frightening those she couldn't reach. She was deadly in her wrath, almost like a flame to those who stood near her. For a long while Lothril did not have to move an inch to find more enemies to kill. It seemed that the Uruk-hai were drawn to her like moths to flame and they were cut down again and again.

Gimli and Gamling, who had been in the thick of it returned to find the elves and Éomer and Aragorn on the wall, learning on their swords. It was at this point she realized she had lost Legolas. She looked around and saw him slaying a last orc. She went over to him.

"You fought well Lothril," he said when she came up.

"Thank you. You did well yourself," she replied.

He pulled out a whetting stone and began working on his knives.

"Well Master Elf, my count now stands at twenty-one," Gimli proudly smiled.

"That is good Gimli, but my count is now two dozen. It has been knife work up here."

Lothril smiled to herself. She counted twenty-three. Not counting the victims of the ladders, of course.

"How are your knives, Lothril?" Legolas asked.

"They are fine. I have been using the borrowed sword mostly," she replied as she pulled it out and inspected the blade. "No notches, but it I think it could use a little sharpening." He finished up his knife and handed it to her. She quickly ran it over the sword enough to get the keen edge back, and handed the stone back to Legolas.

The gates of the Hornburg were in ruin, but none had made it over the barricade of rocks and timbers. As they all spoke of the orcs and wildmen and the waning of the night, there was a blare of trumpets and Lothril heard and felt was unmistakably an explosion. Aragorn jumped down into the breach. Legolas and Lothril would have followed, but the attack was too fierce and they stayed at the top of the stair as a defense for the fleeing defenders. Aragorn called retreat and sped up the stairs, stumbling with weariness. At once the orcs leapt forward and tried to grab him and the foremost fell with Legolas' last arrow in his throat. Lothril was about to spring towards the charging orcs when she heard something and looked up. A boulder came crashing down on the stairs and knocked the orcs back down the stairs. Aragorn gained the door just behind Legolas and Lothril and shut it behind him.

"Things go ill my friends," Aragorn said while wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Ill, but not hopeless. Now while we have you here Aragorn. Where is Gimli?" Legolas asked.

"Do not worry about him. He is safe," Lothril answered.

"Where is he?" Legolas asked.

"In the caves, or will be shortly."

"That is too bad. I wished to tell him my tale is now thirty-nine."

Lothril smiled, for her tale was at thirty-seven.

Aragorn gave the news of the situation to Théoden, and once it was given, he, Legolas, and Lothril went back out into the fight. This time, Lothril did not lose Legolas and together the three were a force to reckon with. Both elves moved faster than thought and their actions were swift and precise. Over and over Aragorn rallied the men wherever the fighting was hot. Each time Lothril and Legolas were there to help, and each time the white hot wrath of Lothril shook the enemy with terror and gave renewed hope to the Rohirrim. As she hewed down the enemy she chanted and sang, lending extra power to her hand and driving away the wild men in terror. The orcs would shrink and then renew their efforts only to fall at her hand.

After the orc attack in the Deep was ended, another lull came in the fighting.

At the destruction of the archway above the gate, Legolas grabbed Lothril and they ran back to the king's tower with Aragorn. Suddenly the great horn of the Helm rang out. Never in all her days had she heard such a terrific echo of a horn. It seemed like the very Deep was rattling with it. Inside the tower, everyone mounted their horse and prepared to ride out. Upon the signal they rode forth, slaying many and driving many before them. They looked out at the Deeping-coomb and saw that the land had changed, and that a forest had sprung up in the middle of the night. Even though she knew it would be there, it was a still a sight to take behold. The orcs and wildmen were driven before them and as they rode towards the forest, Aragorn called out "Behold the White Rider! Gandalf is come again!"

Screaming and wailing the orcs were driven under the shadow of the trees, never to be seen again. In the light of the morning Théoden and Gandalf the White Rider met upon the green grass beside the Deeping-stream. Gimli came striding up to Legolas and Lothril from somewhere they hadn't noticed.

"Well Master elf, final count, forty-three," Gimli grinned. "Though my axe is notched as the last one wore an iron collar," he added with a frown.

"Then you have beaten me by one, but I do not grudge you the game. I am glad to see you are well!" Legolas said.

Lothril stood silent, but smiling at her accomplishments.

"What are you smiling about?" Gimli asked.

"Well… no I cannot say."

"Yes you can! Tell us Lothril, why do you smile so broadly?" Gimli asked again.

"Well, I heard you boast of your count, so I kept track of myself, for fun."

"And how did you do?" Gimli asked.

She smiled even broader. "Forty-seven."

"Forty-seven!" he exclaimed.

She nodded her head then headed back over to Leofa to give her a good scratch behind the ears, leaving those two to marvel at her accomplishment.

"Im mel i bess," (I love that woman.) Legolas said, watching her walk away.

Aragorn who was nearby heard his friend's utterance and chuckled quietly.

TRANSLATIONS

hebo estel- have hope

Im mel i bess – I love that woman

Note – 'bess' can be translated woman or wife, depending on context.