Rangers of the North (Aragorn)

Chapter Fourteen: Uruk Hai

Legolas and Gimli soon joined them in the fight. Legolas shot arrow after arrow, and Gimli swung his axe at every orc that came near him. The two had started some kind of killing contest, and Averael could hear Gimly counting under his breath with every swing. She grappled with an Uruk for a moment, shouting as she reached to her side dagger, dropped her sword, spun around and stabbed the Uruk in the back of the neck before he could harm her. They suddenly heard three short horn blasts from further away. She turned her head.

"The Horn of Gondor!" Legolas said. 

"Boromir!" Aragorn shouted. Averael ran towards the sound. The hobbits were bound to be with the man. Aragorn followed, but was slowed by more orcs. She ran faster as she heard the horn again, louder. Soon, Boromir was in sight. She saw Merry and Pippin fighting alongside Boromir, throwing rocks.

"Run! Run!" Boromir shouted to the halflings. Averael came forward, attacking the orc closest. Behind her, the Uruk leader stood on a hilltop. She was oblivious to the fact that the Uruk was aiming at her. Boromir shouted and ran towards her. She looked at him in confusion as he rammed into her, knocking her over. She looked up at him, ready to yell at him, and gasped. 

"Boromir!" He had an arrow sticking in his shoulder. He fell. Merry and Pippin stopped mid-throw, staring in unbelief. 

"No!" Averael reached out to him, but withdrew her hand quickly. Boromir stood, and swung his sword at another orc. The chieftain aimed again. Another arrow landed in Boromir's stomach. He gasped and fell to his knees. Averael put a hand over her mouth, then stood up as another orc attacked her. She killed it quickly, and looked to Boromir again. He kept fighting. His horn was cloven in two, and hung at his side. Averael cut down another Uruk-Hai behind her and threw down her sword, grabbing a crude bow from a fallen Uruk and an arrow, turning to aim at the chieftan. She heard the twang of a bowstring, and her head snapped around. She was too late.

Another arrow stuck out of Boromir's chest. He fell to his knees one last time and swayed there, faintly blinking. The hobbits ran forward shouting, but two orcs scooped them up and carried them off. Averael tried to chase after, but was blocked by even more orcs. The troop passed by quickly, and the hobbits were lost. Averael leaned against a tree in defeat, and a tear she did not know she had shed ran down her cheek. She turned.

The chieftain had walked forward, and was aiming a forth arrow at the dying man in front of him. Averael watched in disbelief. Before the arrow could fly, Aragorn smashed into the orc. They fought vigorously, and Aragorn lost his sword and was thrown down. Averael stepped forward nervously. He fought on. The orc threw his shield at him as he got up, pinning Aragorn to a tree. The chieftain aimed a sword blow, and Averael's heart raced. Aragorn escaped before the blow could land, and pulled out his knife. He stabbed the orc in the leg, and the orc pulled it out, seemingly painless, and licked the blood off of the knife before throwing it. 

Aragorn found his sword and batted the knife away, stepping forward and dismembering the Uruk's left arm. The orc dove and grabbed the knife, aimed for Aragorn, but twisted at the last second and threw the knife at Averael. Her eyes widened and she ducked at the last second, hearing the knife whiz past her head. Aragorn swung one last time at the orc, cutting off its head. The rest of its body fell to the ground, lifeless. 

Aragorn ran to Boromir's side. The warrior had fallen to the ground, the arrows sticking out of him. Averael stood up quickly, stunned, and rushed to him as well. Aragorn knelt beside him, and Boromir grabbed his shoulder.

"They took the little ones!" He gasped. Aragorn shook his head.

"Be still."

"Frodo! Where is Frodo?" Boromir asked frantically, breathing heavy because of his wounds. Averael grimaced as she remembered her arrow wound in Moria. 

"I let Frodo go." Aragorn respoded. 

"Then you did what I could not." Boromir said. "I tried to take the Ring from him." 

"The Ring is beyond our reach now." Aragorn said. 

"Forgive me. I did not see it. I have failed you all."

Averael knelt down quickly. "No, Boromir! You have fought bravely! You have kept your honor!" She said. Aragorn reached forward to remove the arrows. Averael stared at Boromir, trying to sort out her thoughts. She had never really liked him, and she had assumed the feeling was mutual. Yet, he had taken those arrows for her. She didn't know what to think. Boromir was a stronger man than she had thought. 

"Leave it! It is over. The world of men will fall, and all will come to darkness... and my city to ruin." Boromir said, stopping Aragorn. 

"I do not know what strength is in my blood, but I swear to you I will not let the White City fall... nor out people fail."

"Our people?" Boromir looked at Averael. "Our people." He reached for his sword, and Averael quickly grabbed it and gave it to him. Aragorn helped him clasp it to his chest. 

"I would have followed you my Brother... my Captain... my King!" Boromir gasped out his last words, and passed. Though he had not been a ranger like them, the three were all connected through Gondor, and Averael felt a sudden feeling of guilt. She bowed her head, touching her hand to her forehead and to her lips in respect. Aragorn made the same gesture.

"Rest in peace, Son of Gondor." He said, bowing forward and lightly kissing Boromir's forehead. Legolas and Gimli ran in, and saw the scene. Legolas looked sadly at Boromir, as Gimli turned and bowed his head. Aragorn stood. 

"They will look for his coming at the White Tower. But he will not return." He said. Averael leaned forward and pulled an arrow out of Boromir's lifeless body. She couldn't bear looking at the black shafts and feathers sticking out. Setting one aside, she wiped a tear away and attempted to continue with blurred vision. Aragorn knelt and put a hand over hers, and she looked up into his eyes. She blinked and two more tears fell, and she buried her head in his shoulder, unsuccessfully holding in a sob. He put a hand on her head and held her for a moment, then helped her stand up. She sobbed again, and looked down at Boromir.

"I should have died." She said quietly. Aragorn looked at her confused. She looked up. "That arrow was meant for me. He pushed me out of the way... to take it for me." She sobbed. Aragorn wiped away a tear on her cheek. 

"It's alright now." He said. "We need to find the hobbits before this happens to them." Her head sunk down again, and she lost more tears. 

"I could've-- could've saved them," She sobbed. "I didn't, I let them go, I-" Aragorn placed a finger on her lips. She looked up and their eyes met. She took a deep breath and nodded. They knelt together to remove the last arrows from Boromir's body.

***

Averael looked down at Boromir as he lay in one of the sleek Elven boats. His sword lay with him, and his shield rested at his head. The cloven ox-horn lay at his side, and his body had no arrows in it. She watched as the boat floated down the river and descended towards the waterfall. Legolas shoved the last boat into the water.

"Hurry! Frodo and Sam have reached the eastern shore!" He said to the remaining Fellowship. Aragorn stood and said nothing. "You mean not to follow them?" Legolas walked back up to them. 

"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands." Aragorn said.

"Then it has all been in vain! The Fellowship has failed!" Gimli said. Aragorn put his hands on Legolas and Gimli's shoulders. 

"Not if we hold true to each other! We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not while we have strength left. Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light." He looked up at Averael standing across from him and grinned.

"Let's hunt some orc."