I'm sorry for another long wait XD

But I'm that this chapter is worth it in the end...

And the title to the chapter practically explains what happens XD

Emotional Roller-coaster

The next day, after having such an emotional revelation with Legolas, we set out again for Helm's Deep.

I rode behind Legolas, listening to the conversation that was happening around us. I was listening to Legolas and Gimli bicker, mostly because they are the loudest, and were arguing about some manly thing; who is better fighter or something.

Honestly, those two have been trying to outdo each other since the beginning of the Fellowship.

"I could slay twice as many Orcs with my hand tied behind my back!" Gimli shouted.

Legolas rolls his eyes. "I could defeat an army of Orcs," he paused. "Blindfolded,"

Ooohh, you got him there. I shake my head. I look at who Gimli was riding with and saw that it was Eowyn, of course. Gimli seemed to have taken quiet a liking to her.

Eowyn had a grin on her face, listening to the two argue and bicker with each other. I, on the other hand, was already bored with it.

"So Eowyn!" I shouted over the two males that were accompanying us.

They didn't even seem to notice my yelling. Geeze.

Eowyn turned toward me with a smile still on her face. "Yes?"

"How are you this fine afternoon?" I ask politely. I was already scraping the bottom of the conversation barrel. Initiating small talk was something I usually don't do.

She grinned wider. "I am wonderful. How about yourself?"

If I didn't have Legolas in front of me I would have dramatically fallen forward. But I settled with a dramatic sigh instead. "I'm sorry to say that I am bored. These two seem to talk about boring stuff rather talk to us, beautiful ladies!" I made sure to say loud enough so that they could hear me.

Instead they continue their conversation about what weapon was best.

"Jerks," I mumble. Eowyn giggles.

"Men will be men," She says.

I huff. "More like boys,"

I then feel a small pinch on my forearm. I jumped with a small 'eep!', and tightened my hold on the Elf in front of me.

"I heard that," Legolas turns his head to me; a mischievous grin on his lips.

I hear Gimli and Eowyn chuckle in the background. I pout, feeling my face heat up because of the now very close proximity of our bodies and the noise that escaped me when he pinched me.

"Jerk," was my only comeback. He just laughed a little. I decided that two could play at that game. I reached down and pinched his side, surprising him. He jumped a little to the right and caused the horse to make some sort of snort.

This caused Gimli and Eowyn to laugh harder. Probably at the look on his face.

He turned to me sharply, a weak glare, attached with a small smile. I, on the other hand, was holding in my laughter as best I could. But they only managed to sound like snickers.

He just stares at me for a while and grabs my hand. "We are making the horse uncomfortable," He states; a weak glare still targeted at me.

"Sorry. Guess I can't keep my hands off of you," I tease. Legolas' lips twitch in amusement.

"Do we need to separate you two?" I heard Eowyn asked teasingly. Legolas and I break eye contact to stare at the small audience, consisting of Gimli and Eowyn.

I blush at the comment. "No!" I answer, almost too quickly. "We aren't children," I recover.

Eowyn gives me that same look she did yesterday. One that says that she knows too much if you ask me.

Legolas straightens himself and chuckles a little. "I may not be the child, but…" he lets the sentence hang. I caught the meaning behind it and I squeezed his lungs enough to make him cough a little.

"You were saying?" I ask cheekily.

Our little episode was interrupted by two of the guards ride quickly to the front of the group. The four of us watch them ride past and stop our horses. Legolas pats my hands signaling me to release him as he hops off the horse.

He jumps down gracefully and by the serious look on his face, something was wrong. He tells me to stay on the horse as he goes to talk to Aragorn, leaving me alone with a concerned Eowyn and a struggling Gimli.

Feeling like I had to, I gripped the reins of the horse, which was still standing still, and waited to see what was going on.

Then out of nowhere, a big creature, which resembles a hyena, with brown fur comes out and attacks one of the guards that rode past us.

"Wargs!" The other guard shouts. The Warg turns to the other guard and tries to attack him, but Legolas shoots an arrow in its eye, killing it instantly.

"A scout!" Legolas shouts.

"Wargs! We are under attack!" Aragorn shouts. Those were the magic words to get the villagers cry in panic. "Get them out of here!"

"All riders to the head of the column!" Théoden shouts. Arod, the horse I was on top of, starts to get restless and I tried my best not to fall off.

I then see Gimli, who had hopped off Eoywn's horse to try and get on Arod. "Come on, get me up there, I'm a rider!" He shouts to me, trying to get on. I reach down and tried lugging him on as uncomfortable the fit is.

I then realized that I would be controlling the horse.

"What are ya' waiting for!?" He shouts at me.

"Don't yell at me! I don't even like driving!" I gripped the reins and tried getting him to go. "How do you even get him to move!?"

Gimli tries kicking Arod in the side. "Snap the reins!"

I do so and Arod starts to charge forward with the rest of the riders and there horses.

I hold onto the reins tightly, also hearing Gimli yell in glee. I tried steering Arod towards Legolas, but it didn't work out as I had planned. Instead, Arod jumps and lifts me in the air, along with Gimli. I felt said dwarf fall off and rolls into a Warg.

"Gimli!" I shout at him.

"Don't worry lass!" I heard him. Then I faintly heard. "Bring your pretty face to my axe!"

I regain my grip on the reins and steer my way around the Wargs that tried swiping at Arod and me. I saw Legolas a few yards away, take down two Wargs and their riders. I nudge Arod in the right direction and called out his name. He turns back and sees me. He turns back again and draws another arrow and kills a third. I pull on the reins a little and Arod responded how I wanted this time!

Arod slowed a little as we passed Legolas he starts to run toward us and makes a smooth leap onto the horse behind me.

"I'm surprised you haven't fallen off yet!" He shouts over the commotion.

"I come all this way, riding a horse for the first time on my own, and this is the thanks I get!?" I shout back, not at all angry. I jump slightly when he wraps an arm around my waist, the other holding his bow.

"Forgive me; I am simply surprised is all,"

I huff and snap the reins and kick my heels into the horses' side and pushed him into a gallop. "Well, I did lose Gimli before finding you!" He laughs a little more at the thought.

Suddenly the Wargs and their riders are right in front of us. Legolas lets go of me and with his incredible balance, he draws an arrow and hits a Warg rider in the chest, causing him to fall off of the beast it was riding. But the Warg still charged at us. The crazy elf behind me takes out his knives and lands a small cut on the Wargs back.

"Stay on the horse!" Legolas shouts and then is suddenly gone from behind me.

I look back to see him circle with the Warg. "Stay on the-!?" I didn't finish my sentence and pull on Arod's reins and make him stop. Arod rears up and causes me to fall off. I get up rubbing my head and watch as Arod gallops out of the battlefield.

I roll over and stand on my feet just in time to see a Warg and its rider come charging at me. I dove for the ground, just barely missing the sword that would've decapitated me. I drew my sword and got ready for another attack.

The Warg growled lowly at me and snapped it's maw at me. I held Strife in front of me with my right hand and its cylinder-like sheath in my left.

The Warg charged and I jumped to the side and dug my blade into its side while blocking the riders axe with the sheath in my hand. The Warg rolled over hurt, but not dead. The rider hopped off and snarled at me. I finally realized that the riders were actually Orcs; much skinner than what I'm used to.

It didn't hesitate to swing its axe wildly at me, and I practically broke my neck dodging and ducking. Thinking fast I blocked its axe with Strife and then jammed the sheath in its gut. Gulping down the fear, I raised Strife once again and stroked downward onto its shoulder, making it kneel. I then swiped sideways and took off its head.

Bile rose in my throat as black blood spurted out, but I was able to keep down my breakfast and turned away to find Legolas.

More Orcs and Wargs came my way, making it harder to find my Elf.

My Elf?

I shook the thought away and blocked an attack from an Orc. Instead of taking the defensive, I decided to shake it up. I pushed the Orcs weapon away and started to slash at it. I stepped forward and cut its arm off. It roared in pain, giving me an opening to stab it in the heart.

How I haven't died yet, I have no idea. Hell, how I haven't been seriously injured was a miracle itself.

Out of nowhere, a force covered in dark brown fur tackled me into the ground, causing me to drop my blade and watch it as it skittered away from me along the grass.

I gasped as it tried taking a bite out of me. Luckily the adrenalin in my veins caused my head to move to the right, just missing its razor-like teeth. With my hand now free, I did the only thing I could think to do:

Punch it in the face.

I made sure that I hit it hard enough to throw out my arm, and was glad that the Warg reared up and let out a pain filled whine when I hit it in the eye. And with most of its weight off me, I reached for Strife and was able to barely grasp the cold metal of the hilt. I grasped it firmly and swung it towards the Warg on top of me. Strife's sharp blade cut through most of the fur and fat around its throat, but it wasn't enough to decapitate. Blood spurted out onto my blade and some getting on my face. I slipped out from underneath the giant dog creature and rolled onto a crouch.

The Warg whimpered in pain, but still looked determined to fight. It launched at me, not giving me enough time to dodge. So with some really quick thinking, I stuck my blade out and was able to stab it through its mouth and through the top of its head.

Pain shot through my right bicep and my left side. The Warg collapsed dead on me making the pain in my right arm increase.

I then realized that stabbing it through the mouth has caused one of its large fangs to pierce into my arm. I cry out a little when I shifted, trying to get out from underneath the damn thing.

"Legolas is going to be pissed," I mutter to myself. I gave a dry laugh; that's what I think of in this type of situation?

I push the Wargs snout up with my free hand trying to get the large fang out of my arm. I cry out a little, feeling a couple tears weld up, when it's finally free and got a whiff of the Wargs breath.

If seeing decapitated Orc heads or bits of Warg brain on my sword won't make me puke, the smell of dead Warg breath will.

"Dear lord! What do they feed you?" I ask the dead Warg. "Rotten meat covered in shit?"

I finally get my sword free and drag myself from underneath the dead animal. I flinch when I feel my side rub agents the dirt. I look down and see that the Warg had gotten me twice before he died. It was able to sink a claw into my side.

I struggle to get up; holding onto the stab wound on my arm with my left and covered the gashes on my side with my right.

I look around to the almost empty battlefield to try and look for a familiar face. And I did see one.

Aragorn. But what stuck fear through me for the fifth time today, was him getting dragged off the side of the cliff.

"Aragorn!" I shout weakly. I ran to him as fast as I could manage. I was able to grasp his arm with my left hand. He grabbed back, but he was too heavy. I felt his sleeve start to slip through my bloody fingers. I grabbed his hand with my injured arm and held in another cry of pain. "Hold on!" I shouted at him.

He doesn't say anything, but gives a small smile. Before I could do anything, he slips through my grasp falling into the river below.

"Aragorn!" I shouted, trying to make another desperate attempt to reach him. I watch as he plummets into the raging waters in utter silence. I retracted myself onto solid ground and huddled into a ball on my forearms and knees.

I started to cry. The memory of Aragorn falling to his possible doom played over and over in my mind. I let out a tiny sob that only irritated the wound on my side. I hold onto it to try and stop the bleeding.

"Seralyn!" I heard Legolas shout. He runs to me and lays a hand on my shaking back. "Seralyn, where is Aragorn?" He asks almost frantically.

A wheezing laughter starts before I even open my mouth. Gimli stands over the dying Orc and shouts, "Tell me what happened and I will ease your passing," He threatens.

The dying Orc laughs again. "Why don't you, ask the little girl?" He coughs out. I rest my forehead onto the ground and let out another sob. The Orc starts laughing evilly. "She tried saving him, but her pudgy little hands couldn't handle the weight and he slipped right outta her grasp!" He laughs again, but not before coughing out more ebony blood.

I feel Legolas leave my side to look over the cliff himself and turn back to the dying Orc. "You lie!"

Hearing him say that made me feel all the more worse.

The Orc chortles and then dies before answering him.

After a while, Legolas grabs something out of the dead Orc's fist and pulls out a silvery pendent. I choke down another sob, causing me to shake and make an embarrassing blubbering noise. I felt someone lay there hand on my back again, trying to sooth me.

"Get the wounded on horses. The wolves of Isengard will return," I heard Théoden say. "Leave the dead," He says dreadfully. I flinch at those words.

I wanted to get up and protest; we needed to find Aragorn. But my body was in too much pain and my mind was at disarray.

After a few short minutes, hands nudge me up and pull me to my feet. I stood on wobbly knees and whipped the tears off my face, probably smearing some blood across my face. But at this particular moment, I could care less.

I was practically dragged onto Arod, behind Legolas. I felt like a puppet because he had to force my arms around his waist.

"I tried," I mutter weakly. "I honestly did. I'm sorry," Legolas shushes me and lets me rest my bloodied forehead on his back.

"It's okay," Was all he said.

During the ride back to Helm's Deep, I wondered if he was disappointed in me. That caused the dams to burst and let tears fall silently down my face again.

We arrived at Helm's Deep, and I didn't really feel like looking around to see what it looked like.

"Make way for the King!" I heard a guard shout.

From what I could see from behind Legolas, Eowyn comes running down. "So few. So few of you have returned," She says quietly.

"Our people are safe," The king says. "We have paid for it with many lives,"

There was a short pause. "Lord Aragorn, where is he?"

Everything was a goddamn reminder of my failure!

"Sera!" I heard Eowyn shout suddenly, probably surprised to see my bloody and beaten body behind Legolas. "Are you alright? You are still bleeding!" She says putting a hand on my thigh. "We should get you bandaged," She says.

She helps me off of Arod and puts and arm around her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. I knew that she did feel something for him, and his death would affect her more than it has affected me.

"Sorry? What for?" She questions. I shake my head and let Gimli answer.

"My lady," He says first. "Aragorn, he…he fell," I don't know how Eowyn got what he meant, but it sure hit her hard. She says nothing and slowly walks me somewhere to get patched up.

Eowyn was quiet as she gathered supplies. I could tell that she was holding in tears and wanted to fix me up before she went and cried.

And the guilt just kept building.

She led me to a room where all the other soldiers were being tended to, and set me down on an empty cot.

"It's my fault," I rasped. "If I wasn't so reckless, I would have been strong enough—" Eowyn shakes her head and places a hand on my shoulder.

"It couldn't have been your fault," She says quietly, helping me remove my shoulder pads. I flinched when I moved my arm.

"How do you know?" I asked, the guilt obviously shown.

"Because, I know you wouldn't have let him die if you could stop it. And since you are injured you couldn't have saved him,"

"But—"

"You said it yourself, you shouldn't let every death effect you," She paused. Her voice more solemn. "He wouldn't want you blaming yourself,"

I sat there, letting her clean and stitch my arm closed. Once she started to wrap it I spoke again. "I'm not very good at following my own advice," I smile sadly. I looked up at her and saw that she was feeling almost depressed. "But, I guess I can try,"

That brings a small smile to her face. "You are brave,"

I chuckle a little. "There is a fine line between brave and stupid," I say as she begins to clean the four gashes on my left side.

She smiles a little. "You think you are stupid?"

"Sometimes,"

She decides to change the subject again. "Legolas was very worried when I took you away,"

"Is that so?" I ask blankly. She raises an eyebrow.

"What is it? Did something happen between the two of you?" She asks; a hint of concern in her voice.

I shrug. "I don't know for sure. But he didn't say anything at all to me after…" I trail off, hoping she knows what I'm talking about. She does.

"You can't think that he blames you too, do you?" She asks with surprise this time as she reaches for some bandages.

My silence was her reply. "Sera," She sighs. "I can say, from someone who hardly knows him, that he does not blame you either," She says sternly.

"Then why didn't he say a word to me?" I ask.

She shrugs, suddenly looking tired. "You should ask him yourself. As I said, I hardly know him,"

She had a point. Albeit a little contradictive, but a good point none the less.

Once Eowyn was done fixing me up, she commanded me to rest and not to move from the small cot that I currently laid in. Deciding that I would have no other time to, I closed my eyes, letting sleep wash over me. And was happy that there were no nightmares anymore.

About an hour or so had passed when I woke up feeling more soar then before. I sat up, happy to see someone left me some water and bread. I drank the water greedily quenching my dry throat, but I didn't feel like I could stomach the food.

I could still smell the Warg breath and brain on me.

I heard the sound of squeaking metal and turned to see that the door had opened to reveal Legolas.

He smiled gently at me, closing the door behind him.

"How are you feeling?" He asks.

I avoid his gaze a look at the new clean shirt I was wearing. Still the same color of my old one. "A little soar. But I'm alright," I reply quietly.

He slowly walked toward me and sat on the edge of my bed. With great care, he lifted my injured arm up. I didn't feel any pain when he touched it.

He sighed fondly. "And how did you get this?" He asked a look of slight amusement in his eyes.

"I stabbed a Warg in the mouth and ended up impaling myself with its tooth," He looked surprised for a moment then shook his head.

"You never listen do you? I told you to stay on the horse," He scolded lightly.

Feeling a little more awake and energetic, I roll my eyes. "Hey, your horse was the one who decided to fling me off the saddle and leaving me to defend for myself,"

He chuckled slightly bringing his hand down my arm, but not letting go. We are silent for a while before he looked back at me. "Why would you think I blamed you for what happened to Aragorn?"

That was sudden.

"Eowyn talked to you, didn't she?" I asked. He didn't move. I sighed. "I don't know. Thinking about it now, I thought that when we were riding back to Helm's Deep and you were completely silent to me," I sighed.

"Do you still think that?"

"Of course not!" I flinch at the echo in my voice. I should be quieter, there were sleeping people in the room with us. "I mean, I think it was me just being childish again, thinking you hated me because I couldn't…" I fell backward onto the pillow behind me in shame and brought my hands to my face.

Legolas chuckles at my reaction. I peeked from behind my fingers and glared. "You just enjoy my pain and embarrassment, don't you?" I asked.

He scoots closer to grab my wrists and pull my hands away from my face and makes me sit up.

"Only a little,"

"Gee thanks. I'm glad someone gets a kick out of my demise," I sigh dramatically. He continues to stare at me, and I had a feeling that he wanted to say something, but reading people wasn't one of the few things I'm good at. "You okay?" I ask with a bit of concern.

He nods, but doesn't say anything.

"I remember someone telling me that I could trust them," I say poking his chest. He gives me a half-smile. "It goes both ways too. You can trust me,"

"I know,"

I roll my eyes. "Then tell me what's obviously bothering you!" I shout a little. He shakes his head slowly and that makes me make a noise in small frustration. "You are so difficult,"

"Says you," He counters. "I've never been more frustrated or worried about anyone in my long years of life,"

I huff. "You can't be that old," I pause. "Can you?"

"I am over two thousand years old," That catches me by surprise. [1]

He looked like he was still in his twenties!

"Surprised?" He asks.

"Well, yeah!" I shout a little, and he shushes me. "You have to remember, I'm not from here," I whisper the last part loudly.

He rolls his eyes. "How could I have forgotten?"

"I will take that as a complement," I pause and give him a weary look. I started poking his face; don't ask me why, I'm just taking advantage of the closeness of our faces. "There is no way you're older than twenty five," I mutter.

I feel his cheeks tighten in a smile. "Believe me, I am,"

"Okay, I believe you," I say putting my hands down. "I mean, I kinda have to,"

He chuckles. "I guess you do," Legolas starts to examine my injured arm again. "Are you sure you're fine?"

I roll my eyes again. "My arm is fine, so is my side, and just in case you are going to ask, my shoulder doesn't even bother me anymore. So stop fussing," I say waving his hand away.

He gets more serious. "You don't have to fight in this battle,"

"Legolas, if you're still trying to—, "Our soon to be argument was interrupted by Eowyn coming through the door.

I then realized that Legolas was incredibly close to me, holding my hand. Awkward.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" She says with a sly grin.

"No," "Yes,"

I give him a small glare. "No. She isn't," He shakes his head and mutters something in Elvish and gets up.

"Our conversation isn't over," He says.

I fall back onto the pillow again. "Yes it is~" I say as he walks out the door. "Stubborn elf," I mutter.

Eowyn smiles fondly and sets down a pile of bandages and other stuff. "What was that about?"

"He was trying to convince me to stay behind while they fight in the upcoming battle," I pout, crossing my arms. "Like hell I am,"

"You are to fight in Helm's Deep?" She asks surprise.

"Well, yeah. Gandalf wouldn't have given me the armor, and I'm sure Lady Galadriel would have given me my sword!" I say a little loudly.

Eowyn came up to me handed me a wet cloth. "You still have dirt and blood on your face," She says.

This makes me blush. "Legolas was talking to me with a dirty and bloody face!?" I shout in agony. I smack the wet cloth onto my face and groan into it.

I hear Eowyn laugh. "I don't think he noticed,"

"How could he not!? I was three inches from his face!" I started scrubbing the cloth into my face and groan in more embarrassment.

"Well, even if he did notice, he didn't say anything about it, did he?" She asked.

I drag it off my face. "No,"

"Then there is nothing to worry about," She says confidently.

"Says you," I grumble child-like.

She shakes her head and walks toward me. "Let me check your wounds again, and then you can leave,"

"Finally!" I shout. "This place stinks and the crowd isn't as lively as I'd like it to be," I look at one of the fallen guards next to me. "No offence," He grumbles something unintelligently and rolls over.

I hear Eowyn sigh again.

After getting the okay form Eowyn, I try and find my way through this place. Going down some of the halls I noticed that a crowd of refugees made their way into a dark tunnel.

I paused for only a moment and then heard shouting.

"He's alive!" I heard a couple of refugees shout from the ground floor of Helm's Deep.

My heart practically stopped when the thought of a certain Strider.

I ran to the edge of the floor I was on to see what they were talking about. And let's just say I've never felt such anger and relief at the same time at that very moment.

"What's goin' on, Lass?" I heard Gimli ask from behind me.

I turned to him fully and smiled. "He's alive!" I repeated. I ran passed him and almost fell on my face getting down the stairs.

"Who?" He asked again.

Half way down the stairs I shouted. "Aragorn!"

"What!?"

Just as I reached the gathering crowd, Gimli had already caught up with me and was making a gap, trying to get through. I followed closely behind him.

"Where is he? Where is he? Get out of the way!" He shouted shoving people out of the way. "I'm gonna kill him!"

As we reach Aragorn Gimli freezes and gets closer. "You are the luckiest, the canniest and the most reckless man I ever knew!" Gimli then tries squeezing the life out of him. "Bless you, laddie!"

Once Gimli releases Aragorn, I knew it was my turn.

I march up to him and punched him in the arm. He grins a little and grabs the spot I just punched him in.

"That's a pleasant way to be greeted," He says jokingly. I, however, was not very amused.

"You deserve it! Do you know how much emotional trauma you caused me?" I shouted. I frown and then tackle him in a hug. "I'm glad you didn't die, though," He places one hand on my shoulder and another on my back, patting me gently.

"I'm sorry," I pull away a punch him, with less force, and smile slightly.

"You better be,"

He smiles again. He then becomes more serious. "Where is the king?" Gimli answers wordlessly and points to the hall, probably still in shock.

We follow Aragorn up the stairs and run into Legolas who stands waiting, arms crossed and a serious look on his face.

"Le ab-dollen," Legolas says. Then smiles at him and gives Aragorn a once over, noticing the various wounds on him that I didn't notice. "You look terrible," He then takes Aragorn's hand and gives him the necklace he took from the Orc. They then clasp shoulders and Aragorn smiles again.

"Hannon le," He says.

Aragorn then marches into the keep where Théoden was. When the remaining Fellowship entered, we got a lot of strange stares. Mostly because Aragorn was alive.

"Aragorn?" Théoden asks, surprised. Aragorn nods once and lets him continue. "H-How did you ever survive?"

He smirks. "Let's just say that it wasn't my time yet,"

Once again, Aragorn becomes more serious and starts talking about a large army of Uruk-Hai that he saw while riding here.

"A great host, you say?" The king asks.

Aragorn nods. "All of Isengard is emptied,"

Théoden pauses, as if trying to soak it all in. "How many?"

"Ten thousand strong at least," He says, barely batting an eyelash.

"Ten thousand!?" The king shouts.

Aragorn steps closer to the, now very pale, king. "It is an army bred for a single purpose: to destroy the world of men," He leans back. "They will be here by nightfall,"

"Let them come!" Théoden shouts, creating some distance from the Ranger. He turns to a guard. "I want every man and strong lad able to bear arms to be ready for battle by nightfall," He commands.

The guard only nods and goes off. Théoden stands at the gate of Helm's Deep, speaking lowly.

"We will cover the causeway and the gate from above. No army has ever breached the Deeping Wall or set foot inside the Hornburg," He says strongly.

Gimli steps up and says, "This is no rabble of mindless Orcs," He argues. "These are Uruk-Hai. Their armor is thick and their shields broad,"

Théoden turns to the Dwarf. "I have fought many wars, Master Dwarf. I know how to defend my own keep,"

Gimli looks slightly offended at that comment. Legolas claps a hand on his shoulder as we follow Aragorn and Théoden back into the hall.

"They will break upon this fortress like water on rock," Théoden says. "Saruman's hordes will pillage and burn, we've seen it before. Crops can be resown; homes rebuilt," He pauses. "Within these walls, we will outlast them,"

Aragorn steps up again. "They do not come to destroy Rohan's crops or villages. They come to destroy its people. Down to the last child!"

Théoden gets into Aragorn's face and seems almost angry. "What would you have me do? Look at my men!" He says referring to the few actual soldiers he has and the militia that he had managed to gather. "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. You must call for aid," Aragorn says, almost desperate.

The king huffs in doubt. "And who will come? Elves? Dwarves? Or perhaps a band of crazed women? We are not so lucky in our friends as you. The old alliances are dead,"

"Gondor will answer,"

"Gondor?" Théoden starts to rant. "Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell? Where was Gondor when our enemies closed around us? Where was Gon…" He trails off. "—No, my lord Aragorn, we are alone," He walks away and started to command more orders.

As he walked away, my eyes were drawn to the murder of crows above.

I wasn't one for superstition or omens, but I did not like how those birds circled above us.

I watched from afar as old men and young boys were being drafted for war. The women and children say their tearful and reluctant farewells as their family are led away by the soldiers. Not being able to handle all the dramatic moments between families any longer, I head back into the armory where Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli were.

Aragorn throws a battered sword back into the pile of weapons and frowns. "Farmer, farriers, stable boys. These are no soldiers,"

Gimli, who was smoking a pipe, sighs. "Most have seen too many winters,"

"Or too few," Legolas adds in. "Look at them. They're frightened. I can see it in their eyes," He says angrily, which was very uncharacteristic. Too me at least.

"Boe a hun…neled herain dan caer menig!" He shouts loudly. I was almost terrified at the harshness in that sentence.

This was a definite sign of how serious this war was. Not like it wasn't serious before.

"Si beruathar hyn. Amar na ned Edroras," Aragorn replies in Elvish.

"Aragorn, men i ndagor. Hyn u- … ortheri. Natha daged aen!"

"Then I shall die as one of them!" Aragorn's voice echoes though the armory and causes the men to pause, watching as he storms out.

Legolas tries to go after him, but Gimli stops him. "Let him go, lad. Let him be,"

Legolas stands there, dejected. I cautiously walk up to him and place a hand on his arm.

"I don't know what you two said, but I'm guessing it's about how we are about three hundred against ten thousand, and there is little to no hope?"

He laughs dryly. "Just about,"

"Well, I have hope," I say. He looks at me. "I mean, sure we're outnumbered, by a lot, but if we've made it this far, I think we can take 'em on. Sure, it's going to be a lot harder, but I believe in Aragorn. And you, of course," I finish, offering a smile.

Probably not one of my greatest pep talks.

"Your point?" He asks.

I roll my eyes. "You have to trust Aragorn! I mean he practically came back from the dead, for Pete's sake!" That got his eyes to light up again and smile.

"You seem surprisingly relaxed for someone who is about to go into war,"

I was about to say something witty and sarcastic, but I then realized what he said. "You approve of me fighting in this war?" I asked surprised.

"Yes, because me not approving was going to stop you," I laugh. "But you have to promise that you will—"

"'Not leave your side'. I got it," I roll my eyes. "But it's not like I wanted to anyways," I said slyly, leaning closer to him. He smirked.

"Is that so?"

I leaned in a little closer, making sure only he could hear. "You bet your sweet ass,"

I thought he would have started laughing, but instead he smirked wider and I felt him lean in closer. I was caught off guard and started to blush.

Was he about to–?

"Alright you two, that's enough," I jump away when I heard Gimli speak. "People might start talking," He said with a grin.

My face heated up and I frowned at him. Thanks a lot Gimli.

I look back at Legolas and saw he was also a little annoyed at our Dwarf friend. Legolas smiles mischievously and grabs my hand and leads me out of the armory.

"Let them talk then!" Legolas shouts back. And it takes everything in me to ignore Gimli's boisterous laughter.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask him.

He looks back at me and stops in a shadowed part of Helm's Deep. "Away," He answers simply.

I shake my head in amusement. "Okay. Here's a follow up; Why?"

"To do something that I've been meaning to for a long time," That statement made me blush harder than I ever have before.

I cleared my throat. "A-And that would be?" I didn't get a verbal answer per say, but what I got was a lot better.

He wasted no time in setting his lips on mine. It wasn't what I had imagined at first, but it was nice.

Hell, what am I saying? It was amazing.

He held me close; one hand on my face and the other around my waist. He wasn't ravaging me, if you were wondering. He just pressed his mouth to mine, waiting for my reaction. As he was about to pull away I grabbed his tunic and pulled him back, and this time kissing him back.

I felt his smile against my lips as he pulled me even closer and closed his eyes. It turned a little rougher from then on and I was sure that I was dreaming. But the feel of his lips agents mine felt too real

I was in complete shock.

Like I said, he wasn't my first kiss but he was defiantly the best I've had in my almost eighteen years of living. His lips pressed agents my slightly chapped ones and he didn't seem to mind one bit. Especially since he moved his hands to my waist and couldn't hold them still. His hands squeezed my waist while mine slid up his shoulders and held him closer, desperate to create more friction between our lips.

I didn't realize that we were walking backward until my back hit a stone wall. It was then he pressed closer to me, and it made me gasp. He took that moment to slither his tongue into my mouth and fought for dominance. I knew I stood no chance in beating him at this. I mean, he's been alive for two thousand years. He's had to have had some practice.

And I couldn't find myself caring at the moment.

After a while, I just let him win and while letting him have his way with my mouth, I slid my hands up his neck and into his blonde hair.

Fighting for our lives and the constant falling on my ass had roughened my hands and made his hair feel like silk between my fingers. My pride swelled when I heard him groan a little.

As I massaged his scalp I felt my hand brush agents his pointed ears. And his reaction surprised even me. He gasped lowly and pressed me closer into the wall, kissing me harder.

As much as I wanted this to continue, my lungs had decided now was the best time to breathe.

It took all my willpower to pull away from him and inhale the precious oxygen that he had taken from me. Though, pulling away didn't do much since my skull was practically smashed against the wall.

At this point, I'm sure that I am supposed to say something witty or sarcastic, or, dare I say, romantic.

After catching my breath I started to speak.

"Damn,"

Smooth. Good job brain.

Legolas smirks and pulls back a little further. "You are a true poet," He teases.

"I try,"

[1] - I don't know his exact age at this point. But I'm sure somewhere out there knows XP

Thank you all that reviewed (except you Lazorman08...jk 3) and I hope you guys are ready for the battle at Helm's Deep!

R&R :D