Lost in the Wood (A Legolas Fanfic)

Chapter 10

Helms deep is not a place I have ever visited, and I honestly thought it was rather ominous to look at as we approached. The walls surrounding the city were carved into a mountainside, the castles peak barely sticking up over the rest, and large (and rather thin) bridge leading to the main gate to the city. The defenses itself were quite good, the tall walls and thick cement would hold off the army of orcs at least for a little while. The fight seems futile, and Theoden led us directly into a trap, getting the entire city in one place to wipe it out entirely. My mind was reeling with thoughts as we rode into the city, quickly having soldiers prepare for a war.

"I do not think he realizes what we are up against." I muttered to Aragorn as he walked next to me to the throne room.

"He believes he is doing what is best for his people, Vani. That alone is admirable." Aragorn responded quietly.

"Maybe so, but it is also quite stupid. All of his people are going to die. He has put all of them in one place, easier access for them to be slaughtered."

"Vani."

I kept my mouth shut for the rest of the walk, not wanting to cause further conflict. I felt a soft hand on my shoulder, causing me to turn around and meet the perfect bright blue eyes of Legolas.

"I agree with you, Vani." Legolas whispered to me with a smile.

"I'm glad someone does." I replied, returning the smile.

As we entered the throne room, Theoden standing in the middle of the room looking at all of us, I let out a long sigh at the realization that we all were probably going to die in this fight. Theoden walked up to the rest of us, a look of concern plastered on his face, but the stubbornness of his decision ever present.

"Gather all the men that are able bodied to fight. We need every strong hand we can find." Theoden ordered his guards.

"This was a mistake, Theoden." I stated, hoping he would change his decision and we could escape through the tunnels under the city.

"The Deeps defenses will hold, they have never failed me before."

"Were you up against ten thousand orcs before? And not just any orc, these ones are heavily armored and rather intelligent."

"You think my men can't hold them off? You think my defenses are weak? Just because you are an elf does not mean you are the most intelligent one in this room. You may leave if you truly feel at risk here."

"They are all going to die, and you do not care! You wish to sacrifice your own people for your stubbornness."

I quickly stormed away from him into a nearby hallway, leaning against the wall, frustration running through me making me want to scream. I could not believe that he was so willing to throw away the lives of so many, just because he wanted to prove that Helms Deep had the best defenses in Middle Earth, even though it wasn't even close to true. He wanted to prove a point to Gondor, but didn't think the rest of us saw right through him and recognized that. I pushed myself off of the wall and began walking back outside to get fresh air and to get away from Theoden completely.

"You really need to control that temper of yours sometimes, Vani." I heard Gimli say from behind me as he was trying to catch up.

"Coming from a dwarf whom has the worst temper in middle earth." I replied, stopping in my tracks and smiling at him.

"I do know when to bite my tongue though, lass. As much as we all agree with you, this is still his kingdom to command and we must follow his orders."

"I follow no one's orders. Especially when it comes to sacrificing men for someone's own selfish need."

"I understand, lass. But we must come together and defend these poor people as much as we can. We are their only hope."

Gimli softly patted my arm before quickly walking past me to help the men get ready for battle. I sighed rather loudly, following closely behind him. As I turned the corner, I saw guards pulling boys as young as twelve years of age and as old as 70 years of age to fight in this battle, making my stomach churn. I looked in shock as they were beginning to hand them armor and send them to the armory to get their weapons. I felt a soft hand land on my shoulder, tears beginning to form in my eyes at the shock of the desperation on Theodens part for pulling this age group of men.

"Some of these poor souls have seen far too few winters." I said softly, trying to hold my tears back.

"Or far too many." Gimli spoke up and said from beside me.

It was Legolas' hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. I slowly reached up and laid my hand on top of his, feeling the claminess of his hand, telling me he was also rather nervous for this battle. As we stood there, we heard a horn blowing in the distance, causing Legolas and I to look at one another with hope. Aragorn looked at us with concern, thinking the orcs were arriving early.

"That is no orc horn!" Legolas said as he ran towards the front gate.

"OPEN THE GATE!" I heard a man yell from the top of the wall.

As the gate opened, Legolas and I were at the entrance awaiting who was going to walk through. As the man walked through, I pulled him into a tight hug.

"Haldir!" I exclaimed as we hugged, sheer excitement and optimism filling my body.

"You are most welcome." Aragorn said with a huge smile on his face as he slapped Haldir's shoulder.

"We come from Lord Elrond of Rivendell. Elves fought side my side with men once, and we have come to honor that allegiance." Haldir said with a smile as he looked at us.

"My father sent you?" I asked him.

"Yes, Vani." Haldir said as he smiled at me softly.

I couldn't believe my father sent elven troops to defend a mans city. The only man my father ever really liked or tolerated was Aragorn, so this was quite the shock for me. I guess his heart was bigger than I thought after all. After several hours of preparations, we had men stationed at every major outlet, and lined atop the walls. In the field opening, elven archers were in groups, ready to fire at a moments notice. There were even more elves standing atop the walls with men, side by side. I was standing next to Legolas, Gimli on his other side. In the distance we began seeing the glow of torches, and the sound of thundering boots against the ground. I took a deep breath, preparing for what was to come next.