Shadow Hunter-LegolasxOC

36: I Know You (Edited)

She didn't know how long the battle had lasted. Time had always been a minuscule thing for Varilerin, an insignificant working of the world which should be ignored when one approaches eager to kill oneself. She could only guess that it had been a day since the first Nazgul landed on the walls of Minas Tirith, that it had been days since she escaped Osgiliath, that night and day could not be discerned anymore. No stars could give her the assurance that she would emerge alive, that Varda was watching over her. She could no longer feel her muscles working their way with her swords, decapitating enemies and stepping over corpses. Her ears could no longer differentiate between Men's screams and Orcs' shrieks, trolls' roars or Nazgul's hiss.

All she knew was that she was still alive. Alive and breathing the rage of war, the desire to avenge her fallen friends and soldiers. She gazed to the horizon, but saw none of their reinforcements approaching. Had their plead for help failed? Or had Rohan fallen prey to their enemy's sheer number of forces on their way here?

Varilerin shook her head. No wishful or sceptical thinking could save her. She instead counted the number of soldiers atop the walls, finding them measly. "Retreat! Focus on the gates!" Varilerin ordered. The Men, who had only survived this far by relying on Varilerin and their mere willpower, immediately obeyed. They had exhausted all their arrows and catapults, so it would be useless for them to hold the walls any longer.

Just as she was about to follow the Men, her eyes caught something. Below, the battering rams had been replaced by one five times their size. It was the shape of a wolf, with flames sparking from its mouth, and it was carried by two burly trolls.

Varilerin's eyes widened. She scurried down, searching for Gandalf. The Wizard had left her to defend the lower levels and the gates, and it took not much time for her to spot his white-cladded figure amongst the armoured Men. He was riding Shadowfax, directing the remaining archers to take down the trolls carrying the battering rams. "Kill them! Kill the trolls!" he shouted. Yet, the trolls did not waver, instead enraged by the arrows imbibed on their shoulders. Varilerin could only watch, for her quiver was empty and her hands were too exhausted to hold her bow properly.

The wall shook as the battering ram finally began hammering against the gates. Varilerin staggered forward along with the soldiers, before being thrown to the side by the next hit of the rams. Finally, she arrived beside Gandalf, taking a deep breath she deserved.

"The wall has been breached. It will not be long for the first level to be lost," Varilerin reported. Above, Orcs from the siege towers began to flood in, unstoppable by the lack of forces lining the upper wall. With them, a single figure emerged, his red eyes searching for Varilerin. "Once the gates have been taken down, we need to retreat to the city. And... I have a reason to believe that Vrasari is leading the siege of the city."

"Should I fear that single man or should I fear what lies beyond this gate?" Gandalf muttered grimly, narrowing his eyes.

"Both," Varilerin whispered. "Either way, our lives are forfeit unless a miracle happens. Fortunately, the citizens have fully retreated to the upper levels. I only hope that Rohan will come soon, for we do not have all the time in the world.

"Indeed, we do not," Gandalf remarked. He too, had seen Vrasari entering the battle. He sensed the anxiety growing in Varilerin's heart, one which had lingered since the day Vrasari tried to assassinate Theoden. "Vrasari is hunting you, you know this. If you wish to have a better chance at surviving, you should meet him away from this chaos. If he s indeed such a great threat, you are the one capable of taking him down."

Varilerin looked at Gandalf, her face pale even with all the blood splotching her skin. "I have come far too far just to die needlessly," Varilerin said. The gates shook again, and this time they heard a crack. "I will return, alive."