Lord of the Rings Oneshots

Rewrite the Stars | Haldir

Your body felt like it was on fire.

Like there was a flame slowly traveling up your body, burning anything it touches, only leaving behind ashes. It moves slowly, painstakingly slow, drawing out each agonizing moment just a second too long. Each time you'd attempt to will it away it would persist, despite the rain drenching you and everyone else. Every breath sounded like you were screaming into an endless void that drowned out every other sense as you gripped your longsword tightly. Your eyelashes tickled the tops of your cheeks, faintly caressing them each time you'd blink; the gentle touch a stark contrast to the stifling fear you were drowning in. You'd been tip toeing around this moment, forcing the thoughts and worries out of your brain. An attempt to deal with it another day, or perhaps never have to deal with it. But that's not how time works, so here you and everyone are, dealing with it.

The army of orcs marched towards Helm's Deep, their burning torches only minorly flickering in the rain. The Uruk Hai general let out a guttural yell, the sound sending a chill down your spine. It raised the hairs on the back of your neck and formed goosebumps across any exposed skin. The beasts in full plate began chanting, the animalistic noice grating to your ears as they beat their spears into the ground. The pain in your head was nearly unbearable, their offbeat chants clashed against one another. Not that you expected orcs to be in perfect tune with each other. The only solace you found was the blade in your hand. The grip on it was so tight you couldn't feel anything in that arm, causing you to glance at it to ensure the limb was even still attached.

And has a man's arrow he had knocked loosened, piercing into one of the orcs, everything stopped. The orcs silenced immediately, both sides watching bewildered for a moment. Your ability to breath stopped altogether. The battle was inevitable, you knew that, but that didn't mean you didn't want to prolong it. But that was no longer an option when the orcs began to scream, the noise more unnerving than their initial war chants.

And then they were running. The sea of orcs rushing towards the wall like cockroaches skittering from the light. Except these cockroaches were terrifying; donning full plate armor and wielding deadly weapons they would gladly use to butcher you. Aragorn shouts out a command to the elven archers, moving them into action immediately. Your eyes briefly land on Haldir, the Marchwarden a mere three people away from you. A bigger pit settled in your stomach and your eyes moved to scan the rest of the elven army.

He's going to die; they're all going to die.

And the dread must've shown on your face, because for a miniscule of a second, Haldir met your gaze. His expression asked a million questions as his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. But before you can do a thing, he's firing another arrow at the orcs, gaze long gone from your form. A flurry of arrows fire from behind you on the ground level, soaring high above your head as they pierced into the approaching force. A moment too soon, they've descended upon you, clinging to crudely made ladders that find purchase against the stone.

For a brief moment they appeared more like a group of monkeys hanging off a tree rather than the grotesque beasts they were, but the humor was swiftly wiped from your mind when a large Uruk Hai charged you. You managed to dodge his attack, not attempting to parry from previous experiences. Instead you nimbly rolled towards his blind spot and stuck your blade deep into his skin. But as soon as he fell, another took his place, and then another, and then another.

And as your sword slices through the neck of an orc, you catch one last glimpse at Haldir as he disappears in the swarm of bodies. You wanted to chase after Haldir, to scream what awaited him in a few hours, that his death was written into the stars. Yell at him that the gods intend for him to be slaughtered by these beasts as he watched the warriors under his command fall as well. And for a moment you almost did. You almost ran towards him so you could drag him away from the battlefield, no matter how much he fought against you.