"That is no Orc horn." Legolas mutters, running out of the room and up the stairs, Aragorn and Gimli close behind. I linger for several moments, thinking about what just happened, but I shrug it off and follow. I decide to act as if nothing happened.
"Send for the King! Open the gate!" Someone cries, and I emerge outside. I can't find the others, so I squeeze and push through the crowd to get to the front. Ignoring the glares and nudges of the men around me, I make it to the front at last to see an army of Elves marching towards the gate. The gate opens and I get away from the crowd, running down another flight of stairs to greet them. Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn are already there, along with the King.
"How is this possible?" Théoden murmurs. A single elf emerges from the sea of elves and smiles. Haldir. These are the Elves from Lórien!
"I bring word from Elrond of Rivendell. An alliance once existed between Elves and Men. Long ago, we fought and died together." Haldir responds, looking around. "We have come to honour that allegiance."
"Mae govannen, Haldir. (well met, Haldir.)" Legolas greets Haldir, smiling. Aragorn unexpectedly hugs him, looking relieved to have help from the Elves.
"You are most welcome." Haldir says.
The army of Elves behind Haldir suddenly lower their bows and turn in unison, their footsteps echoing through the stone walls. I smile to myself a little. We now stand a chance against the Orcs.
"We are proud to fight alongside men once more." Haldir declares.
We make our way back up to the top of the wall and find places to stand. I position myself next to Legolas and Gimli, fiddling with my swords and flipping them in my hands anxiously. I have a bad habit of flipping my blades in stressful situations, which isn't really good. I do it out of instinct, so I don't exactly realize I'm doing it so I don't focus on not cutting myself. Once, I was twirling them absent-mindedly and my left dagger slipped from my grasp. I caught it, but I obtained a long scar running along my palm.
"Argh, you could have picked a better spot." Gimli complains to Legolas. Legolas smiles at the short dwarf, trying to see over the thick stone wall. I smirk and gaze at the horizon, where an army of Uruk-Hai slowly approach us. Above them, the sky is stormy and dark, the clouds threatening to spill rain on us at any given moment. There are no stars. The Uruk's torches flicker in the distance, burning bright against the dark of the night, like small, evil stars that symbolize battle.
Footsteps approach us and I tilt my head to see Aragorn walking nearby, about to pass us.
"Well lad, by the luck you live by, let's hope it lasts the night." Gimli says to Aragorn, who stops walking and turns to face us. I nod at him in acknoledgement. Thunder growls in the sky and I cast a weary glance at the clouds.
"Your friends are with you, Aragorn." Legolas tells him. Aragorn smiles and continues to walk away.
We stand in tense silence for several minutes, just watching. Watching the Uruk-Hai thunder closer and closer. Watching the clouds collect above us. All you can hear are the footsteps and chanting of the Uruk-Hai, and the occasional cough or sigh of a man.
"Do you think-!" I turn to ask Legolas a question, but am cut off by an abnormally loud rumble of thunder from above, and rain starts to fall down on us. I shut my eyes, the droplets cascading down my face, on my clothes, in my hair. How ironic that, on the eve of battle, there's a rain storm. I wait for the rain to lessen, but it never does. If anything, it gets heavier and the air chills. I shiver and continue to watch the Uruk-Hai. I can now see their ugly faces and designs in their armour. They shout and yell, stomping on the ground.
"A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha e faelas!" Aragorn shouts in Elvish, and I wrinkle my eyebrows in confusion. What? "Show them no mercy, for you shall recieve none!" Well, that's encouraging, I think sarcastically.
The Uruks come to a halt at the base of the keep. The one at the front- the leader, I presume- bellows loudly, and they stare at us menacingly. I glare right back at them, but they don't seem fazed one bit. Gimli hops a little, trying to see over the wall. I break my little staring contest with a particularly ugly Uruk to see that the wall stops at Gimli's forehead, not passing his eyebrows when he jumps. For me, it doesn't even pass my chest. Legolas watches Gimli, smirking.
"Shall I describe it to you?" Legolas offers, and Gimli looks up at him in confusion. "Or would you like me to find you a box?"
I snort and turn away, rolling my eyes. Gimli laughs, and starts to say something, but is cut off by the thunderous noise of the Uruk-Hai. They roar and slam their spears into the ground to intimidate us.
I hear the sound of metal on metal behind me. Aragorn draws his sword, and I tighten my grip on mine, swallowing tightly. The archers, including Legolas, pull out their bows, notch an arrow and aim in unison, waiting for their cue to fire. Gimli continues to jump. I watch as they wait.
TWANG!
I turn in surprise to see an arrow flying through the air and embedding itself in a Uruk-Hai's neck, the weakest spot in their armour. I stick my head out and over the edge of the wall to see an old, grey-haired man holding an unloaded bow, looking guilty to say the least. I shake my head and lean back. That's why older men should not be fighting tonight.
The Uruk falls with a screech, and everything is silent.
"Dartho! (hold!)" Aragorn commands, his voice echoing. I bite my lip.
The Uruk-Hai's roar and shout even louder, the leader raising his sword. I suck in a breath as they charge straight at the gate to the keep. The battle begins.
"Faeg i-varv dîn na lanc a nu ranc. (their armoue is weak at the neck and under the arms.)" Legolas says to the archers nearby.
"Leithio i philinn! (fire!)" Aragorn shouts loudly, and a wave of arrows fly towards the Uruk-Hai below, many of them screeching and falling. I flinch as the last few arrows whiz over my head from behind, and I pray that no arrow would accidentally hit me later on.
"Did they hit anything?" Gimli questions, but Legolas does not answer. He simply aims another arrow and lets it fly. For several minutes, Gimli and I watch as Legolas rapidly fires arrows down at the enemy, his quiver still full of arrows as he reaches for yet another one. I wait impatiently and anxiously for my turn to fight, and Gimli holds his axe in front of him and shakes it.
"Send them to me, come on!" Gimli grunts, eager to fight. I raise my eyebrow at him just as an arrow whizzes through the air in the opposite direction that we are sending them in. It lodges itself in an Elf's chest, who falls forwards and topples from the wall. Several more arrows fly towards us, one flying past Legolas and I.
Several ladders slam into the stone walls and the Uruk's begin to climb up. I run over to the nearest ladder and slice the head off of the first Uruk, not stopping to watch as it falls into the chaos below.
"Legolas, two already!" Gimli shouts proudly, hitting Uruk's with his axe with force. Legolas glances at him.
"I'm on seventeen!" He shouts back.
"Argh! I'll have no pointy-ear outscoring me!" Gimli grumbles, and I snicker before turning back to the ladder. A Uruk jumps off the ladder onto the platform in front of me and snarls, raising its curved blade above his head in an amateur move. I cross my arms and slice off its arms, and kick it square in the chest. It squeals and falls backwards onto other Uruks.
"Nineteen!" I hear Legolas cry.
More ladders rise from below, more Uruk-Hai climbing onto the wall. I slice, stab, punch and kick, but they are more powerful than Orcs.
"Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Twenty one. Twenty two." Gimli counts as he kills more Uruks. I don't count, focusing on surviving rather than a silly competition. I'm not going to stop them, though- it's amusing to see Gimli determined to beat Legolas.
A Uruk growls from behind me and I turn to see it's sword coming straight at me. I quickly raise my own swords in defence and grunt as it pushes me against the wall. I grimace, trying to push the blade away from my face and get away from the edge of the wall, but the Uruk is strong. Then, I have an idea. I lower my right blade and immediately his sword inches towards my face. My left arm isn't as strong as my dominant arm. The tip of his blade slices through the skin on my cheek and I raise my right arm and flip the blade backwards in my hand, stabbing the Uruk in the side of his head. He groans and slumps forwards, and I kick him to the side. Blood drips down the side of my face, but I ignore it and keep fighting.
"Northway! Nauthannen!" Aragorn yells, and the Elves fire arrows to a group of Uruk-Hai. They march towards a side gate, using shields to protect themselves. Some of them fall from the sides, arrows sticking out of their bodies, but that's not enough to stop them. I frown and continue to fight, slicing off limbs and beheading Uruks. I suddenly some Uruks carrying explosives to the drain below us. My eyes widen at the realization, but I can't stop them from up here without a bow. A large Uruk runs forwards, carrying a torch.
"Togo hon dad, Legolas! Dago hon! (Legolas, stop him! Kill him!)" Aragorn yells to Legolas, still fighting Uruks.
"Legolas!" I screech as the elf turns and notches an arrow. He aims and fires quickly. The Uruk staggers but continues to run. Legolas fires another arrow, and the Uruk begins to fall. But, jumping last second, he manages to light the explosives. A loud noise echoes loudly and I feel like I'm falling, and I close my eyes tightly. I hit the ground hard, and look up to see a section of the wall gone, water filling the ground where it used to be. Aragorn lies on the ground closeby, and somebody yells,
"Aragorn! Vivienne!"
I scramble to my feet as I see the Uruks invading the keep. Aragorn stands up, dazed, and I pick up my swords from where they lie on the floor. I dash down the stairs nearby, taking them two at a time, and watch as Legolas slides down a shield down the stairs, shooting arrows. I roll my eyes at him and continue to fight the Uruk-Hai.
Time seems to disappear as I continue my routine. Slice. Stab. Slice. Stab. People yell orders nearby and far away, but it all turns to quiet, muffled sounds as I kill yet another Uruk. My cheek stings, the blood dried on the side of my face, and cuts on my arms and torso have joined the collection. I lost a hunting knife when I threw it at a Uruk that was approaching a young boy, but I don't need it anymore. My swords are covered with blood, the tip glinting in the moonlight. I fight with Gimli and Legolas, who continue to kill. Legolas had put his bow away a while ago, slicing Uruks with his knives instead. Gimli still uses his axe.
"Am marad!" I hear Aragorn shouting from farther away, and I wrinkle my nose in confusion as I stab an Uruk in the heart and throw it to the side. "Nan barad! Haldir! Nan barad!"
I turn my head to look for Aragorn, and he bounds forwards towards Gimli, pulling him away from his enemy.
"What did you say?" I yell at him.
"Pull back to the Keep." He mutters as he and Legolas pull Gimli away, and I follow after them.
The men and elves follow us quickly to the Keep, and I run ahead of my friends to guide them. I hear Aragorn yell, "Haldir!" and I turn to see Haldir stagger, a Uruk's sword in his back. Aragorn runs and catches him as he falls, and I turn away from the scene. I can't watch, although I barely knew the elf. He sacrificed his life for someone else's battle.
I slice off a Uruk's head and it topples to the floor, dark blood spurting onto my already covered hands. Turning away and running towards the front of the group, I help the soldiers trying to keep the Uruk's out.
"Brace the gate!" A soldier yells, and they try to hold the tattered gate together. I take a deep breath, watching as they try. There's no point- the gate is in ruins. The wood flies apart and the Uruk's stream in, and we start fighting immediately. I hear a groan from Théoden next to me, and I turn wildly to see a spear in his side.
"Théoden!" I screech, but he grabs the spear and thrusts it into the Uruk's throat. He staggers backwards before some soldiers help him out of the fight.
"We can't hold them much longer." A soldier says to Théoden. I crane my neck to listen to Théoden's decision, but a Uruk chooses this moment to stab me in the arm. I grunt and stagger backwards, the blade tearing its way out of my skin. I blink rapidly and regain my balance, readying my stance to fight again, but the Uruk's head is suddenly gone. I blink again in confusion as it's body topples to the ground and I catch Aragorn's eye as he fights. I smile at him in appreciation and he nods before disappearing into the crowd. My forearm sears with pain, my cheek still stinging slightly. Blood seeps through my armour and sweat sticks my hair to my forehead.
"Hold them!" Théoden yells. I make my way over to the wall and lean against it, praying that no Uruk would notice me.
"How long do you need?" I hear Aragorn shout back. I rip off a section of my shirt and quickly bind my arm.
"As long as you can give me!" Théoden replies. I draw my swords once more and make my way over to Aragorn, killing any Uruk in my way.
"I'm coming with you." I say firmly and Aragorn nods hesitantly.
"Gimli!" He calls to the dwarf, who follows us out through a door. We stand on a narrow ledge made of stone. We inch along the stone wall until we get to the corner, and Aragorn sticks out his head to see. Gimli, in front of me, grips his axe tightly.
"What is it?" I whisper.
"They are trying to break down the door." He mutters.
"Oh, come on! We can take them." Gimli says impatiently.
"It's a long way." Aragorn states, and I raise my eyebrows.
"Toss me." Gimli mumbles quietly.
"What?" Aragorn and I both exclaim quietly in unison.
"I cannot jump the distance. You'll have to toss me." He mutters, embarrassed. "Don't tell the Elf." He adds in a whisper, referring to Legolas. I snort.
"Not a word." Aragorn reassures him. "Ready?" He asks Gimli before picking him up and throwing him across the gap with a yell. Aragorn then leaps across swiftly, and I follow. I land on the stone causeway and stab a Uruk between the eyes.
A/N: This took me so long to write omg. Battle sequences are always so hard to figure out!! I literally have to think about it, act it out physically and then decide how to write it, haha! And deciding how Vivienne fights is so difficult- I want her to be a great fighter, but not too experienced and realistic.
Anywho, thank you for reading! Leave a vote, comment, recommend this to your friends!
Thank yoouuuu alll!!!
Shay xx