The Exile's Daughter

The Battle of the Barrows

Another unearthly call assaulted my ears and I whipped around to see a second wight swooping towards me. This time, I was ready for its tricks. I ignored with a quaking, terrified imitation of courage the pleas of the thing emulating my father's voice and clashed by blade against it. However, this creature seemed to have a blade of its own. It brought up the rusted dagger almost to my neck. Though I knew them to be strong, those bones were surely brittle. Using my left sword, I swung upwards with every ounce of strength I had. With my right, I crashed downwards. The dagger not only fell out of the wight's ghastly fingers but broke in two between us. However, the creature would not stop advancing.

"Nesseldë, you could have prevented this."

I stumbled backwards. My father's voice was speaking again.

"No", I gasped "I couldn't save you".

"It's your fault."

"Atar!" I fell to the ground at the anger in that voice, tears in my eyes. The wight swooped down on me. It's robes smelt of decomposed flesh. Like my father himself must now. (Q: Father!)

"Join us".

I tried to raise a sword, but I had no strength left. I choked on a sob. The wight closed its bony fingers around my left wrist tightly, digging into the delicate skin around my veins. I shouted at the pain, but even my own voice seemed distant now, as if I no longer belonged to it. I couldn't breathe anymore, but what was the point of trying?

A shout of fury came from somewhere above me. Air forced itself through my lungs again. The wight was thrown from my heaving figure and I sat up, gulping in the air while the first vestiges of dawn heralded a new day. Legolas was beating back the creature, hatred etched into his every pore. I struggled to my feet and stood beside him, forgetting my wrist and turning my swords towards the wight. He stepped slightly back to let me have my revenge. I cut the hands off, then the head, just to be sure. The creature screeched, painfully loud, swooping away.

Legolas turned to me once it had gone. His eyes were wide with shock. "Are you hurt?" He said urgently, forgetting himself and sheathing his hunting knife so he could clutch my upper arms with his hands.

"I-" My breathing was fast. Thoughts swirled around my head: my father dying in front of my eyes, my footsteps rushing away from the scene with barely a whisper, the furious shouts of the men. I looked down at my wrist. The force of the wight's grip had loosened the buckle on my arm guard. "I don't know". My voice was shaking.

"It's okay. You're okay.", Legolas said quietly. We both looked around as Halbarad was assailed by a wight. "I swear I will stay close." He added, speaking quicker and quicker as the battle seemed to materialise around us. I nodded, wishing for a few moments longer to collect myself. The mocking imitation of my father's voice was still ringing in my ears. Legolas kept a strong hold on my arms as I panted.

"Chase it!" I glanced around to see Halbarad on his knees and shouting, the wight he had been fighting retreating to the barrows. Mastering myself fully and tearing away from Legolas, I obeyed him unthinkingly, running towards the mounds a few feet away. As I reached them, the wraith turned around to attack again but, just as my brother called to me desperately from its evil depths, a flash of bright light exploded around me.

Gandalf stood on the mounds, his staff aloft and his lined face full of fury. He pointed his light at the wight assailing me and, with my blades and his staff, we drove it back into a barrow. Tar ran over to help push the heavy stone of the grave on top, trapping the creature in its tomb.

I turned at the cry of a familiar voice. Legolas was close by, as he had promised. I could hear not what the wight said to trick him, but it was clear from the wide, tear filled eyes, the open mouth, that the words of the demon had distressed him. My stomach dropped. The wight reached my terrified friend and went to grip his arm as it had mine. It swopped closer, whispering something into his ear.