THE next day, they started out early, hoping to reach the keep before the sun fell. The day was just as bland, ordinary, and uneventful as yesterday. They got the villagers to pick up the pace as much as they could with elderly and children. Scouts and patrols were every where making sure the coast was clear. It was all as silent and peaceful as Felina hoped it would be before she and Legolas heard a commotion ahead of them. It sounded like a cry of pain and a sharp screech accompanied by a growl and a roar.
Legolas and Felina ran towards the noise with Aragorn and Lou not too far behind them. Legolas and Felina reached the top of a small hill and on the valley below, saw one of the soldiers on his horse in a sword with an Orc riding a monstrous Warg. He was having a bit of trouble when Felina and Legolas shot down the beast it was riding. The rider falls off of it and Legolas grabs him and slashes his neck with a small dagger.
"A scout!" He shouted back to Aragorn and Lou on top the small hill. The couple were soon out of their line of sight as their figures grew smaller as they ran back to warn the King and the villagers.
"What is it? What do you see?" Theoden called out to the panic stricken pair as they pushed through the crowd and scrambled to get on their horses.
"Warg! We're under attack!"
As soon as Aragorn shouted those words, the citizens of Rohan began to panic in a fear driven frenzy. They cried out in fear and held their loved ones tightly and some scrambled around in confusion and fright. A commotion started amongst them. Theoden began to yell orders to his men and the fighters mounted on their horses.
Aragorn and Lou finally found their horses and unloaded the baggage on it to be more fast and lightweight. They had a servant take care of it. They mounted on their horses and amidst the chaos, all was silenced when they looked into each others eyes.
"Do me a favor. Don't do anything stupid" Lou told him while getting her sword ready.
Aragorn sent her a small smile. "I have a strong feeling it is I who should be saying that to you"
Lou chuckled and they shared a small, sweet but hasty kiss before they rode out with the rest of the fighters. Meanwhile on top of the small hill, Legolas and Felina stood awaiting their company. Sure enough there they were, running in and spreading like ants on the valley. Their Wargs barked viciously and more of them just kept on riding in. Felina and Legolas watched as they grew in number.
Catching them off guard, a black sleek poisoned arrow was sent flying with a twang directly aimed at Legolas. It was stopped midair as Felina grabbed it in her fist just before it could hit the elf in the chest. Legolas looked in shock and sighed in relief at the close call. He didn't want to imagine what would happen if Felina weren't there.
He looked at Felina and saw she was glaring intensely at the arrow and clenched her fist so tight around it that her knuckles went white. She laughed but it wasn't a joyous laugh. It sounded sinister and sly. She released the arrow making it float midair and pointed it toward the direction of the Orc that fired it. In a blink, the Orc was impaled by an arrow through the heart. Felina took out the arrow as it fell dead and nailed it through the Warg's thick skull making it pass through down to its tongue and lower jaw.
"That should teach it" Felina spat. Legolas gulped. Her murderous side had emerged. To be quite honest he could never decide whether to be in awe or to be frightened of this dark shade of Felina. They fired a couple arrows at more Orcs before the riders caught up behind them. With one arm, Legolas swung himself up to his horse which Gimli was also riding on. Felina merely floated onto her horse. Laws of physics? What's that to them?
They rode out hard and fast to meet their foe. They crashed into one another and upon impact, some Wargs and their riders were trampled by horses and some horses and their riders were pounced on by Wargs. Those close enough to each other engaged in a swordfight while mounted on their animals. Some threw spears at the Wargs and made their riders fall and get trampled in the stampede of horses.
Archers shot arrows riding a bit far from the battle zone. Felina took out her arrows and did her usual thing making them sail through the chaos, flying past one dark Orc heart and one Warg skull at a time. She trampled and cut down any that came too close. Meanwhile Lou and Aragorn rode around wildly cutting down anything within an arms length and with added speed and strength, could easily slice off a head. Legolas and Gimli worked in team effort. Legolas shot anything far away and Gimli took care of those that came too close and introduced them to his axe.
It was going well until Gimli fell down the horse. He cried in alarm. Legolas looked back at the sound of the dwarf's shout but had foes to deal with at the same time. Gimli stood up and held his axe. He gani ed the attention of one Warg who had no rider. It growled and made its way towards him. "Bring your pretty face to my axe!" He shouted at the beast. He raised his weapon about ready to strike when Legolas rides by and shoots it dead.
Gimli groaned and shouted angrily. "That one counts as mine!" A Warg them pounced at him from behind and he quickly struck it down with his axe. Unfortunately the animal fell dead on top of the dwarf and Gimli couldn't move.
"Stinking creature" he muttered trying to push it off him. An Orc sees he is trapped and goes for the kill. Gimli was quick enough to grab the Orc's head and snap its neck, killing it. Gimli sighs relieved but the Orc falls dead on top of the Warg on top of Gimli creating a corpse dog pile on the poor dwarf. Gimli now growls frustrated. He sniffs the dead Orc atop him and winced at its horrid stench.
Gimli with all his might, tried his luck and tried to push the dead off him again. But his misfortune continues as another Warg steps on top of the pile he was under. His eyes widen as he has nothing to do now against the beast. Luckily for him now though, Aragorn spots his friend in a tight space, quite literally, and picks up a spear and threw it to the Warg making it fall down on top of the rest of the pile dead as well. Gimli gasped at all the pressure and weight on him.
Aragorn goes back to focus on the rest of the Orcs and Wargs left. He was caught off guard when an unseen Warg pounced on him and knocked him off his horse. Lou, who had glanced towards him like she did occasionally in a battle, cried out his name in horror. She rode to him but it proved difficult with the commotion and the many Wargs in the way. Three riders circled around her with their Wargs barking. Her horse trampled the one in the middle, throwing of its rider and she swung her sword like crazy and in one swift motion, beheaded the other two riders before stabbing each their Wargs through the skull.
She continued to ride toward Aragorn, trampling Orcs without Wargs and stabbing Wargs on her way. He was now stuck to a Warg being dragged toward a cliff. Lou ushered her horse to go faster and faster. She was now as close as she could that she could almost grabbed him. Right at the very edge of the cliff. She outstretched her arm toward him and he outstretched his toward her. Time slowed down. They looked into each other's eyes once more realized the same thing.
They were scared. They were both scared. Aragorn's life was literally on the edge of the cliff and he feared what crazy things Lou might do because of his loss. Lou was watching the only man she may have ever truly loved slowly fall to his death. They were so close. It was almost there. Their fingertips merely brushed and all Lou could grasp was air. He fell down. He was gone.
She froze in shock and felt a cold run through out her body. She couldn't feel the heat of the sun. She couldn't feel the breeze. Her heart stopped beating and her eyes welled up with tears. All was still. She felt empty inside. She felt numb. A sob racked her body. The first move she made after being in a statue like motionless state. "Aragorn" she whispered out painfully as if the breath of her voice had needles. She winced as her voice cracked. She looked down the edge he fell from and curled the hand that almost caught him in a fist.
Another sob racked her body. And another and another and another. She voluntarily fell down her horse and crawled over to the edge kneeling down there with her hands grasping the sharp rocks tight. She looked like she was ready to jump off as well. She saw the raging waters and the violent current that could swallow a man alive but she couldnt see him. She grasped the sharp rocks tighter and felt it cut into her skin and make her bleed. It did nothing to ease the pain.
"ARAGORN! ARAGORN! ARAGORN!" She cried out as if in pain in a desperate voice that cracked every now and then and was cut of by violent sobs. The battle was over. Felina, Legolas, and Gimli went around and searched worriedly not seeing their friend either. Their hearts dropped to their stomach when they found Lou sobbing by the edge of the cliff.
Felina immediately ran to the disheveled, crying Stark and wrapped her arms tightly around the girl. Lou sobbed on Felina's shoulder and hugged her friend back just as tightly. Felina read Lou's mind to figure out what happened and shut her eyes tight to keep herself from tearing up. She wouldn't say it but the Ranger was actually starting to grow on her.
Legolas and Gimli discover a dying Orc laughing evilly. Gimli threatens it with his axe. "Tell me what happened and I will ease your passing" Gimli said.
The Orc smiled showing its broken sharp teeth. "He's"it paused to wheeze and cough. "Dead. He took a little tumble off the cliff"
Legolas refuses to accept this and grabs the Orc. "You lie" Legolas growled. The Orc only continued laughing until it choked and stopped finally dying. Legolas then spots something in the Orc's hand. He took it and widened his eyes when he saw it. It was Lou's pocket watch. He grasped if firmly in his hands. He looked to Felina who was helping a still crying Lou stagger to her feet.
Lou's arm was hung by Felina's shoulder as support for her to stand as she was weak in her knees from shock. Her hands were cut and bleeding but she could care less about it. Felina had her usual emotionless face when it came to situations like these but when her and Legolas' eyes met the ellon was now sure he could see grief in her eyes. She nodded as if to confirm his fears are true.
He ran over to the cliff where King Theoden stood and saw the raging waters but no body. Since there was no body, they hoped Aragorn was still alive.
But they took one glance at the current and the sharp rocks and suddenly doubted it. It was one in a million chance anyone would survive that fall. And even if they did, they would bleed out by a river bank and with no help nearby, still die.
"Get the wounded on the horses" Theoden ordered. "The wolves of Isengard will return. Leave the dead"
At that, Legolas sent Theoden a hard disagreeing look. Aragorn, was just to be left? The families of those men that died would never get to bury their fathers and sons as well. Theoden only gave Legolas a sympathetic look in return.
"Come" he told Legolas. But the ellon, along with Gimli, Felina, and a heartbroken red eyed Lou stood at the edge for a few more moments, lowering their heads for their fallen friend.