Book 2: chapter 18

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The next morning we set out early. I feel my body sway lightly at the steady pace of the horse beneath me, my eyes shut tight as I try to rest. No sleep comes to me though and in my tired state, I begin to wish I were more like an elf.

Aragorn, who holds onto the reigns, converses quietly with Éowyn who walks beside him. She asks him about his necklace, the Evenstar that Arwen gave him. A long silence ensues before he finally tells her that his love has left for another world.

I was about to nod off when my back goes rigid in response to what my instinct tells me, my hand grasping for the hilt of my sword.

"Therith? What is it?" Aragorn urges, immediately catching on to my alarm. I watch the horizon carefully, the hills sloping downward ahead of us and hindering my sight, but not all senses are so.

"The scent of a fiend." I hiss, making the two look forward in alarm.

Aragorn rushes forward to find Legolas. It is not long after that he returns, alarming the King of our enemy after Legolas confirms that we are under attack. Wargs approach and have already made victims of our scouts.

Éowyn is made to lead the people to Helm's deep by the King as Aragorn jumps on the horse behind me, urging it into a run and blending in with the other rider present.

Rushing down the slopes, we soon face a decent sized warg troop, orcs riding on their backs. I manage to send ahead an arrow or two before they reach us, making me turn to my sword before long.

"What are you doing?!" Aragorn yells over the fray as I climb and crouch on top of the horse.

"Helping!" I shout, catapulting myself off the horse and onto the grass into a roll. Getting up, I run over to a lone warg, digging my sword in its side.

It collapses onto another warg, a painful grunt coming from underneath it. "How are you holding up Gimli?" I question, looking down to see not even half of his body sticking out beneath the heap of dead wargs. "I have been better lass. Now help me get these creatures off of me!" he growls.

Cutting down an approaching orc, I turn and grab hold of the warg that lies on top, pulling as Gimli pushes. One by one, we get rid off them until Gimli finally stands, breathing hard. "Thanks lass."

I nod, patting his shoulder before whipping around and cutting the warg and rider that came up behind.

Before long, the battle passes; neither orc nor warg has remained alive to my knowledge. Looking around, I try to see if everyone is accounted for. We have lost a few lives ourselves it seems, but I suppose it could be worse.

"Aragorn!" Legolas shouts, looking around wildly. Maybe I was too quick to speak. Looking around me, I indeed see no sign of him.

A heavily wounded orc catches our attention as he laughs mockingly at our efforts to find him. Gimli steps up to him and brandishes his axe. "Tell me where he is, and I'll ease your suffering."

The orc goes to laugh again, but coughs while spitting out those horrible words; "He's dead.... He took a little tumble off the cliff." he chuckles as blood drips from his ghastly mouth.

Legolas grabs onto him angrily. "You lie." he hisses before the orc perishes mid-laughter.

Something then catches the elf's eye. Clutched within the filthy orcs' hands is a token very familiar to us. The Evenstar has been ripped from Aragorn's neck.

"No." I whisper in disbelief, scrambling for the cliff-side and looking down for any sign of Aragorn, but far below are only the white rapids.

The King, who stands beside us, turns to his men. "Get the wounded on horses, the wolves of Isengard will return... Leave the dead." he says in a resolute voice, making us look at him in disbelief.

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