The refugees were all talking and walking towards Helm's Deep.
"It's true, you don't see many Dwarf women." Gimli was saying. "And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance that they're often mistaken for Dwarf men."
Éowyn smiled and looked back to Aragorn.
"It's the beards." He whispered, making an invisible beard with his right hand. Éowyn shushed him from the side of her mouth to keep him quiet so Gimli didn't hear him.
"This, in turn, has given rise to the belief that there are no Dwarf women!" Gimli made a wide gesture with his hands and snorted. "And that Dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground!"
Éowyn snickered.
"Which is, of course, ridiculous." The Dwarf finished.
The horse suddenly neighed, then reared, sending Gimli flying off out of the saddle onto the ground.
Some of the refugee women jumped back a bit, so as not to be hit by the horse, and Éowyn ran to him, laughing.
"It's all right." Gimli assured everyone. "Nobody panic."
Gimli tried to get up, but Éowyn helped him up the rest of the way.
"That was deliberate." Gimli said, obviously lying. "It was deliberate."
"I haven't seen my niece smile for a long time. She was a girl when they brought her father back dead. Cut down by Orcs." Théoden said, smiling sadly.
Aragorn nodded. Éowyn was still laughing and brushing Gimli's back, while trying not to fall over.
"She watched her mother succumb to grief. Then she was left alone, to tend her king in growing fear. Doomed to wait upon an old man who should have loved her as a father." Théoden sighed.
Aragorn glanced Éowyn, who returned with a smile.
Vana scoffed. It was obvious what Éowyn was thinking. Éowyn was in love.
"Not gonna happen."
She saw Legolas looking at her.
"Be nice, Vana."
"Whatever."
********
Éowyn walked over towards Aragorn with a steaming pot.
Passing Gimli, she stopped.
"Gimli." She held out the pot so that Gimli could have a look, Gimli looked, and then backed away, shaking his hands.
"No, I couldn't." He said. "I really couldn't."
Éowyn slowed down for a few seconds and then continued to walk towards Aragorn. Éowyn looked at the Dúnedan, who was cleaning his sword. He looked up at her.
"I made some stew." She said, holding out a bowl. "It isn't much, but it's hot."
"Thank you." Aragorn said, keeping a straight face.
Aragorn took a bite, looked up at Éowyn, and scrunched up his face. He nodded at her.
"It's good." He lied.
"Really?" Éowyn's face lit up.
She turned and started to walk away, while Aragorn tried to dump the rest of it into the grass.
She started to turn around and struck up more conversation. "My uncle told me a strange thing."
Aragorn tried to stable the bowl on his knee right before Éowyn turned around.
"He said that you rode to war with Thengel, my grandfather." She continued. "But he must be mistaken."
"King Théoden has a good memory." Aragorn commented, trying to hide his distaste at the stew. "He was only a small child at the time."
Éowyn's eyes widened. "Then you must be at least sixty." She said, obviously adding up the sum in her head. "Seventy? But you cannot be eighty!"
"Eighty-seven." Aragorn said, as modestly as he could, but with a slightly smug smile on his face.
Éowyn suddenly realized. "You are one of the Dúnedain." She said, as understanding dawned across her face. "A descendant of Númenor, blessed with long life. It was said that your race had passed into legend."
Aragorn didn't appear to like being reminded of the fact. "There are few of us left." He said, rather sadly. "The Northern Kingdom was destroyed long ago."
Éowyn seemed to sense what she said had been amiss. "I'm sorry. Please, eat."
Vana walked up from her tent to see Éowyn standing over Aragorn, watching him finish his stew. She put her hand to her mouth to hide her giggles. She had rather odd giggles, since she had no voice. She just went through the motions of laughing without making any actual sound. It freaked some people out. That made her rather sad. Why couldn't she laugh too?
Because her laugh was different. That was why. Being different could decide if you lived or you died, sometimes.
********
"Where is she? The woman who gave you that jewel." Vana heard Éowyn asking.
Aragorn made no reply, but stared into space dreamily.
"My lord?" Éowyn was confused by the Heir of Isildur's lack of response.
"She is sailing to the Undying Lands with all that is left of her kin." He replied, as if coming out of a trance.
Vana suddenly saw Wargs in the distance. She reckoned that they were probably close enough for humans to see also. She rode quickly up to Háma, and tapped his shoulder. She motioned in the direction of the Wargs. His eyes widened upon seeing them, before he yelled: "Wargs!"
"What is it?" Théoden had heard the shout. He turned to Aragorn. "What do you see?"
"Wargs!" Aragorn yelled. "We're under attack!"
A woman screamed. The sound of terror.
"Get them out of here!" Aragorn shouted, gesturing to the refugees.
Aragorn ran over to Éowyn, who had his horse. He flung over the reigns onto the horse's back.
"All riders to the head of the column!" Théoden was shouting orders.
Gimli had several people helping him onto his horse.
"Come on." Gimli was grumbling. "Get me up here. I'm a rider. Come on."
Gimli almost fell over the other side of the horse.
Vana laughed, partially because it was funny, and partially was she was nervous. A woman gave her a funny look. Vana sighed.
"You must lead the people to Helm's Deep, and make haste." Théoden said to Éowyn.
"I can fight." She said, annoyed at the apparent lack of faith in her ability to wield a sword.
"No!" Théoden said, firmly, but gently. "You must do this, for me."
Éowyn turned away from Théoden and Théoden turned his horse towards the battle.
"Follow me!" He called to his men.
Aragorn got seated on his horse while the refugees tried to run away.
"Forward." Gimli said to his horse is a whisper-yell. "I mean, charge forward."
"Make for the lower ground!" Éowyn cried.
"That's it! Go on!" Gimli encouraged his horse, as it finally started to move.
"Stay together!" Éowyn yelled.
Vana mounted Veluthe and started after Éowyn. If Éowyn felt bad that she couldn't go because she was a woman, even if it was only half-true, Vana wasn't going to go off and fight, either. Éowyn would just get upset.
"Vana, get out here."
"Why?"
"Because I need someone terrible at fighting to make me look even better."
Vana sighed, but went. Legolas wouldn't say that unless she was needed, no matter what he said.
Refugees continued to run while Aragorn looked back at Éowyn, who returned the look. The Rohirrim charged towards the Wargs.
Legolas shot a few of the Wargs before jumping onto his horse. Théoden made a charge signal with his sword as they rode and so did the Orc leader, Sharkû.
The Rohirrim and the Wargs charged at each other, some crashing. A Rohirrim man threw his spear into one of the Orcs, and Legolas killed another Orc with his bow.
Orcs on their Wargs threw horses and their riders around, and then Gimli shouted as he falls off his horse. But then he saw a Warg with no rider on it. It growls at him.
"Bring your pretty face to my axe." He said, an evil grin on his bearded face.
As the Warg charged at Gimli, Legolas shot it with an arrow.
"That one counts as mine!" Gimli complained.
Vana rode up to them. "My terrible fighting skills sent my sword into three Orcs." SHe looked at Legolas' reaction.
He snorted. A graceful, elegant snort, but still a snort.
Gimli turned around just in time to kill a Warg with his axe. The Warg fell onto Gimli, who let out a groan.
"Stinking creature." Gimli grumbled.
Gimli tried to lift the Warg off of him just as an Orc tried to kill him. Gimli lifted his hands and cracked the Orc's neck. He sniffed the Orc and made a disgusted face. Gimli tried once again to get the Warg and the Orc off of him, but now there was another one who saw Gimli in his predicament.
Aragorn could see this, so he pulled up a spear and threw it at the Warg, who fell on top of Gimli The Dwarf let out a bigger groan.
Théoden killed another Orc and thrust his sword into the mouth of a close-by Warg. Aragorn fought with an Orc and twisted his sword into it right before he was thrown off his horse by a charging Warg.
Aragorn got up, grabbed the Warg and got on top of it. He head-butted Sharkû, who was riding the Warg, who hit him and threw him off the side of the Warg. His hand was still attached to the Warg, causing him pain as he rubbed across the ground. He got out his smaller sword and thrusted it into Sharkû, who grabbed Aragorn's shirt before Aragorn threw him off of his Warg. Aragorn tried to get loose of the Warg, but failed. Both him and the Warg fell over the side of the cliff.
Gimli yelled as he killed another Warg. He looked around and saw the rest of the Rohirrim killing and scaring off the remnant of the Wargs.)
"Aragorn!" Legolas called.
"Aragorn?" Gimli's voice was laced with worry.
Vana scanned the area with her eyes; to no avail.
Théoden looked around as Legolas passed Sharkû, who was still alive, lying on the ground. Legolas bent over as to see if there were any tracks Aragorn left.
Sharkû started laughing and Legolas went over to him. Gimli and Vana followed him.
"Tell me what happened and I will ease your passing." Gimli growled.
"He's... Dead." The Orc laughed raucously. "He took a little... Tumble off the cliff."
Legolas grabbed him.
"You lie." Legolas couldn't believe it.
Sharkû laughed, but was cut off as a knife hit him in the back. Vana's knife had killed him instantly.
Legolas looked at her.
"What? Like you wouldn't have done it if you had time."
A smirk hovered over his lips for a second. Then he threw Sharkû back to the ground , but looked at the Orc's hand, seeing something. He picked it up and saw it was the Evenstar. He ran over to the side of the cliff where Théoden was and looked down only to see rushing waters.
"Get the wounded on horses." Théoden said. "The wolves of Isengard will return. Leave the dead."
He gestured to Vana, Legolas, and Gimli. "Come." He said.
They all remounted and followed.
**********
"Our people are safe." Théoden was telling Éowyn. "We have paid for it with many lives."
Gimli approached Éowyn.
"My lady." He said.
"Lord Aragorn..." Éowyn faltered. "Where is he?"
Gimli sighed. "He fell."
Vana fingered her ring. It was all she could do to stop her tears.