Within Dreams [A Legolas love story]

Shadowfall

"Legolas!" I exclaimed, as one of them sprang towards him. He had seen him, though he nodded in my direction in thanks, and easily deflected his blow with one of his white knives.

"Gianna, do you know how many there are?" he asked, in the middle of ducking a heavy hit from the mace of a heavily armored Remnant.

"I have no idea," I said, gritting my teeth as I tried to leap towards one of the others. He easily sidestepped me and grinned wickedly.

They were fast, almost as fast as the lithe elves, with the aid of their power. I tried to figure out by looking which of the four Remnants had attained Falcon's power, but to no avail. Instead, I knew I must focus unwaveringly if this was to get anywhere.

However, two things happened at once.

Faewyn, who I only recognized from her unbound mane of raven black hair because she was wearing full armor, had leapt over an embankment several metres in front of me, deftly shooting arrows at the four men to confuse them.

I could do nothing but acknowledge her presence as just then, scores of men, orcs, and some of the twisted goblin creatures recognised by their shuffling gait came out from the ruins in front of us, swirling over the ridge in a chaotic horde. I could not yet see the men of Gondor, but knew that the reason the opposition had made themselves known was because an attack was imminent.

I narrowly avoided being relieved of an arm as I turned to counter yet another attack. Somehow, it was impossible to disentangle myself even for a moment; there was always another man waiting to block me.

From over the shoulder of the fierce-looking man I fought, I noticed a few other familiar faces tangled in the fray, including Maldor, who must have continued towards Mordor after seeing me pass safely by their watchful eyes.

I grimaced as I felt the sharp snick of a sword through my tunic, blood rapidly staining the tear. Although the wound was not life-threatening, I was in no way outfitted to fight anyone, wearing only what I had worn in the river--absolutely nothing that would protect me.

Except for the glowing sword I held. That was the one advantage, as my opposition was much more wary, given that they were all Remnants. Often, rather than take an open opportunity to stab me in the stomach, they stepped back to avoid the deadly light of my weapon.

The few elves that were trying to beat back the Remnants to give me a chance to attack were more than a match for them, neglecting the fact that each time they dealt a fatal blow, the other simply grinned hollowly. Legolas beheaded one of them with a single stroke of his knife, and though he disappeared, he would not be truly dead until I struck him with the sword.

However, it was a relief to have one less person to try to fight against. Meanwhile, three mounted soldiers from the Gondorian regiment, the middle which carried a scroll and the two flanking soldiers which bore the standard of the king, approached the command of the other army.

I desperately tried to keep up with the proceedings but was otherwise engaged. The Remnant in front of me had lunged to my right, so I jumped aside. Slow on his guard, he left his own right exposed.

I sprang forward and buried the sword to the hilt in his side, causing him to drop his sword and whirl back to me.

But it was already too late, and he crumpled to the ground. Two down, too many to go, I thought savagely.