Stars

Chapter 29

Hi, guys! If you guys haven't already seen, I've posted a poll in kinda chapter 27. Go check it out! And yes, I changed dialog (again). Enjoy, comment, vote!  ,<|:)

The dwarves on the mountain watched with wide eyes and bated breath as masses of stone gray charged into the ranks of shining bronze.

"Let's go!" Legolas shouted, unsheathing his long sword and charging down the hill. Tauriel followed, drawing her twin daggers, adrenaline filling her veins.

Thump. Thumpthump. Thumpthumpthump.

Legolas skidded to a halt, throwing out a hand to stop Tauriel. "Wait!" he hissed, looking for the source of the noise.

"That noise...!" Tauriel's eyes widened, remembering the history books of the Last Alliance, remembering the description of the noise of the great Earth-Eaters.

The fighting between elves, dwarves, and men slowly stopped, both friend and foe turning toward the rumbling. The battle field's tension was palpable, every warrior turned toward the rumbling in the earth, waiting for something to happen.

"Wereworms," whispered Gandalf forebodingly, his eyes widening as he realized what the sound meant.

Parts of the ground rose and cracked, large worm-like, star-shaped mouthed creatures erupted from the earth, swaying and biting. Those nearest the wereworms backed away swiftly, even the most gallant soldiers wary of approaching this ancient enemy.

A new rumbling began, the march of several thousand armored feet.

An army of orcs wielding dirty, rusty weapons approached, blowing a horn that made even the ears of dwarves flinch. The mass of black moved to the foot of the hill, where they stopped, letting the shock of their presence sink in.

"Orcs..?!" gasped Tauriel. "Here?"

Legolas had no words for this sudden turn of events. He could only gape the revolting creatures, and for a moment, thought that they were here for the gold too.

Moments passed, feeling like centuries.

Dain looked around bewildered for a moment before regaining his "composure". "Well?!" snarled Dain, waving his hammer dangerously in the air. "Go get 'em!"

And the army of dwarves merged, marching to meet the mass of sneering orcs.  The first line of dwarves all righted their shields, digging the bottom tip into the ground. The second line did the same on top of the first line. In the cracks, spears poked out, sharp and ready to pierce any who charged into the line of shields.

The elves returned to their formation again, organized as ever, but Thranduil gave no order to attack. He sat, as if simply waiting for an audience complaining of robbers.

"Thranduil! This is madness! Will you not fight?!" Gandalf growled, stalking to the Elvenking. Even  he was shocked by Thranduil's insensitivity toward the dwarves.

Thranduil said nothing, face blank as ever. It was as if he had not heard Gandalf.

"Thranduil!"

"What is your father doing?" Tauriel hissed, not daring to believe this was the same elf to took her in and let her stay in his palace.

Meanwhile, the orcs had begun to march toward the line of shields, not waiting for the elves answer. Bloody, filthy mouths snarled underneath the equally dirty helmets, meaning clear. They wanted blood.

"Stand fast!" shouted Dain, atop his armored warthog as his army shifted uncomfortably.

The tension in the dwarf army was so thick, Legolas was sure he could feel it from miles away.

Just as the orc army hit the line of shields, rank after rank of elves used the dwarf shield line as a staircase, leaping into the fray of orcs, finally convinced by Gandalf.

Dain stared indignantly at the elves, glaring at a smirking Thranduil.

"That pointy eared princess.." growled Dain, headbutting an orc and smashing his skull with his spiked hammer.

"Fall back to the city!" Bard called, looking rather panicked as his already tiny group of people were crushed by orcs. The humans rushed back to the remains of Dale, pushing and yelling in a messy group, desperate to get to safety.

"Come on!" Tauriel charged down the hill, shooting orcs with deadly precision.

Legolas glanced up at the mountain. Thorin watched the battle with almost a calm expression. The other dwarves seemed to be arguing with him about something. Then, they disappeared into the mountain.

'Hmph. Cowards,' thought Legolas, decapitating two orcs in one slash. He fought for a while before he realized he had lost track of his red-headed companion.'Where's Tauriel?' Panic threatening to flood him, he fought his way through the crowd of orcs, urgently searching for her.

'Calm down, she's the captain of the guard and very able to fight and defend herself,' he tried to console himself, but he could not stop fear rising into his throat. Suddenly he saw a flash of auburn hair. 'There!'

Pushing past the dwarves, he saw Tauriel, stabbing and slashing at several orcs. Relief flooded him, making him feel almost lightheaded.

"Don't run off like that!" he scolded, though too relieved to be angry.

She snorted. "Legolas, I'm the captain of the guard!" A shadow of sadness crossed her face, darkening her features. "Or used to be, anyway."

And then she was gone again, having finished off all the orcs in the close vicinity.

"What did I just say?" Legolas called after her, but not really angry.

Sighing, he turned toward his own opponents, but not without a small smile on his face.

Drawing his fighting knives, he stabbed an approaching orc in the forehead, and using another orc as a lever, flipped out of harm's way while slashing any advancing orcs.

The sun began to fall, and the numbers of dwarves, men, and elves dwindled, while the orcs kept on advancing.

"Damn it!  We can't hold them off-!" shouted a dwarf, cut off as an orc stabbed a spear through the dwarf's stomach.

Privately, Legolas agreed, but as a prince, he knew he had to keep the elven army's morale up as best he could. Or at least set an example. With an attempt at renewed vigor, he plunged forward into a cluster of orcs, decapitating half of them in one stroke. Again and again, he brought his sword to destroy the repulsive creatures. But at last, his arm began to twitch with exhaustion. He knew he couldn't keep on fighting in close quarters. Dodging through the battling ranks, he made his way to the top of a lone pinnacle-like rock, slowly picking off enemies and battle-bred birds one by one, occasionally pulling a dagger when a bird (vulture-like creatures, Legolas insisted) came too close. Although this was less strenuous than melee fighting, Legolas' arms felt like boulders had been attached to them.

'Just..keep..shooting,' he thought rather despairingly. Not knowing what time it was (fog was thick where Legolas stood), he kept doggedly shooting, doing his best to ignore the stabbing pains in his arms.

After a while, just when Legolas was sure his arms would fall off if he shot one more vulture-like creature, he heard a faint scream. Tauriel's scream.

Stopping, he listened carefully for a moment. No, it couldn't be. He must have imagined it. 'What in the name of Belain..?'

Shaking his head, he turned back to shooting. Then, he heard it again. Loud and clear, a scream of agony. There was no mistaking it this time. It was Tauriel's scream, clear as day. Forgetting everything for a moment, he felt numb with fear and shock as he squinted through the fog. Terror seized him as he watched a troll throw her against the rock wall. Her limp, lifeless body crashed into the cliff and fell to the ground like a rag doll. He reached for an arrow, praying, praying that she was alive.

'Hold on, Tauriel, I'm coming,' he thought feeling around his quiver, panic gripped him as he felt only air. His hand groped around the quiver. Of all times, why now? He heard a thump behind him. He turned, and a plan formed in his mind. He would not let her die. Not now, not ever.