Noelle drew her sword, Legolas his bow, and Gimli gripped his axe, as they slowly followed the trail of orc tracks uphill through the woods. There was definitely more than one Orc. The tracks were unnaturally huge.
"Uruk-hai," said Legolas. "Saruman's filthy breed." The contempt and disgust in his voice was obvious.
Suddenly Noelle heard a clang. Her head jerked back to Legolas and Gimli. "You hear that?" she asked with a frown.
"Yes," said Legolas. "Up the hill!"
The three of them raced uphill where a group of one hundred orcs were fighting Aragorn on ancient ruins of some structure. Being the expert swordsman that he was, Aragorn was holding his ground, but the orcs definitely had the advantage.
"Where's Frodo?" Noelle screamed at him, as she clashed blades with a six foot tall orc. Noelle had never seen any kind this big and strong before.
"He's gone! I let him go."
Let him go?
"Aragorn, go!" Legolas shouted. He shot an arrow into two orcs at once.
Aragorn tried to make his way out of the stone ruins, but couldn't even get past them.
This new breed of orcs was too strong for Noelle to physically fight, not that she was a bodybuilder or anything to begin with, but training with a sword for years had given her enough muscle to at least hold her own against them.
She Force-pushed a big one away from her and his body slammed into one of the stone pillars. Gimli impaled it with his axe before Noelle could finish him off.
"Thanks!" she called.
"Anytime lass!"
"I wish I had my lightsaber," Noelle grunted between clenched teeth in frustration. That would make things a lot easier.
"Your what?" Legolas called. Of course he had heard that.
Or at least another sword.
She ducked an Uruk-hai's blade, and slashed him in the side. He howled, staggering down to his right a little bit. Before he could recover and try and strike another blow, Noelle held him down with the Force, and stabbed him in the chest.
Legolas pulled out his two white knives, realizing that a bow and arrow wouldn't work so well close-range.
An orc with two swords came charging at Noelle about to bring them down on her head. Raising her sword in a horizontal position, Noelle blocked the blow, but the Uruk hai moved his right sword trying to strike at her arm. Without thinking, Noelle threw out her left hand to defend herself, the blade slicing her palm. Holding down a cry of pain, Noelle lifted three of her fingers on the other hand to Force-push the orc away from her.
The orc grunted, falling to the ground, and Noelle stabbed him in the stomach. She huffed, pushing the hair out of her face. She probably should have tied it back, but she almost always wore it down.
She glanced down at her left palm, and her eyes widened. The cut was pretty bad. If she were back home, she would say she needed stitches. But there wasn't time to patch it up now, as she sensed another orc coming at her head. Noelle raised her blade to defend herself before she saw an arrow in its brain.
Legolas.
He had pulled out his bow again, and was picking off the remainder of the orcs left on the top of the hill.
Aragorn was in the corner, wrestling with an orc behind a tree. Noelle was about to go help him before one came running at her. Reacting quicker than she had meant to, she picked him up with the Force and held him in midair. Legolas' arrow went flying through him and he stopped moving. Noelle dropped him.
That was it. Aside from the orc Aragorn was still wrestling, the rest of them were either dead or in pursuit of the hobbits.
The hobbits!
Noelle couldn't believe she had forgotten them! Merry, Pippin, Sam and Frodo were out there somewhere.
Legolas killed the orc Aragorn had been fighting.
Noelle took a deep breath, stopping herself from immediately running off into the woods to find the hobbits. Her mind was clouded by her emotions right now. She needed to stop. To think.
She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing and the Force. The hobbits were close, but not dead. They were in danger. The Dark Side was all around them in the forest.
The sound of a horn rang through the air and interrupted Noelle's meditative thoughts.
"The horn of Gondor!" cried Legolas.
"Boromir!" Aragorn shot past Legolas and raced down the hill.
"Wait laddie!" Gimli called after him. The dwarf, slowed down by his stature and his armor, followed Aragorn, leaving Noelle and Legolas alone.
Noelle put her right hand to her temple. Her vision was blurring a little bit. "The hobbits!" she remembered. "Frodo!" She was about to move to follow Aragorn as well, before she felt a strong hand grab her arm.
"Noelle your hand," Legolas insisted. "You are injured." He relaxed his grip, realizing he shouldn't have been that forceful.
"I know," Noelle said distractedly. "It doesn't matter. I'm not important. We have to make sure Frodo is ok," she breathed.
Legolas released her arm, but stepped closer. "You are important to me. Aragorn will find Frodo. You must take care of yourself."
Noelle stared at him in stunned silence. "I'm fine," she whispered.
Legolas touched her wounded hand. "Allow me if you will not."
Noelle didn't object or move as Legolas examined her hand. She didn't know how to react.
"Is it bad?" she asked, looking at the tops of the trees instead of at her hand or Legolas.
"Not if it is cared for properly," said Legolas, giving her a stern look. "For now, it should be bound, but it must be cleaned and treated with medicine. Do you still have your old cloak?"
"Yes-" Reluctantly, Noelle pulled Ahsoka's old grey off her shoulders. The Lothlorien one was still in her bag back at camp.
Legolas took it from her, pulled out one of his knives, and sliced off a long strip. Then he gently and firmly wrapped it around her hand.
"Thank you," Noelle breathed. "You didn't have to do that you know, Legolas."
Legolas nodded. "You are welcome. But I did have to, because you would not have."
Noelle smiled slightly. "You're right. I wouldn't have, but it wasn't an emergency," she said pointedly.
Legolas just shook his head. "Come!" he gestured for her to follow him in the path Aragorn and Gimli had gone.
Legolas stopped briefly. "Are you well, Gimli?"
"Oh yes lad! I'm fine! don't worry about ... me! Just find... the hobbits!" he breathed.
Giving Gimli one last concerned look, Legolas and Noelle kept running.
The steep hill was littered with orc bodies- more than Noelle could count. Underneath a tree a few yards away was Aragorn, kneeling over...
"... Boromir," Noelle whispered.
Aragorn touched his hand to his forehead, then his lips, then he kissed Boromir's forehead.
Noelle felt a sob in her throat, so she covered her mouth with her uninjured hand. She looked away. How many more people did she have to watch die?
Aragorn stood up, as tears rolled down his cheeks. "They will look for his coming from the white tower, but he will not return."
~~~~~~
They had sent Boromir's body down the Falls of Rauros on one of the two remaining boats. The other one had been presumably taken by Frodo and Sam. Merry and Pippin were missing.
"Hurry!" Legolas pushed the one last boat they had into deeper waters. "Frodo and Sam have reached the Eastern Shore."
Noelle didn't move. Neither did Aragorn.
"We should split up," Noelle said quietly. "Some of us follow Frodo and Sam. Some of us go after Merry and Pippin. We can meet back up in Gondor. I'll go with Frodo and Sam-"
"No," Aragorn cut her off.
"You mean not to follow them?" Legolas asked, exchanging a look with Noelle.
"Aragorn, I promised Frodo I would see this quest to the end," Noelle said evenly. "I have to go with him."
"No," said Aragorn again, shaking his head lightly. He came over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I know you promised to protect him Noelle, as I did. But can you protect him from yourself?"
"I-" the words caught in her throat, as she looked up into Aragorn's eyes, and she understood what he had meant. Could she resist the temptation? Boromir hadn't been able to. She understood Aragorn's concern. The closer the Ring got to Mordor, the more anxious it would be to get back to its Master. And now that Gandalf was gone, Noelle was the most powerful member of the Fellowship.
She nodded in understanding.
Aragorn looked up at the others. "Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands."
Then whose is it?
"Then it has all been in vain," said Gimli. "The Fellowship has failed."
The three of them stepped closer to Aragorn, who placed his hands on their shoulders. "Not if we hold true to eachother. We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not while we have strength left!" He sheathed his knife. "Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light. Let's hunt some orc!"
Gimli looked at Noelle and Legolas and smiled. "YES!" He laughed and ran off.
Noelle looked at Legolas and smiled. Then they both ran off into the woods after Aragorn and Gimli.