Wolf of Darkness ||A Lord of the Ring FanFic||

Chapter 20; There's Always Hope

The Two Towers; Disc 2 and my Imagination
Chapter 20; There's Always Hope
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Aaron slowly ascended the bridge to the fortress of Helm's Deep, she was at the back of the line, with Legolas. Gimli sat upon another horse in front of them. Blood still covered her right eye. It had dried making it impossible to see out of. Legolas had told her he would have to look at it when they arrived at Helm's Deep.

Aaron had tried being a horse and a wolf on the march to Helm's Deep. But her mind wasn't in it and her body would change back human. So, Legolas gave her a lift. Now they had arrived at their destination, with wounded and dying men. She tired not to think about the lives lost. Hámas had also died, along with his brother, Háma. Many more soldiers had died too. She didn't even let her mind go back to Aragorn. She needed her mind to be free from grief, and focussed on the task at hand.

"Make way for the king." The gate guard yelled. "Make way for Théoden. Make way for the king." They rode up the stone steps to an open stone court yard. Éowyn greeted them there.

"So few." She said. "So few of you have returned." Théoden looked at her, then helped a wounded man off his horse.

"Our people are safe." He answered. "We have paid for it with many lives." Gimli walked up to Éowyn.

"My lady." She turned to him.

"Lord Aragorn...where is he?" Aaron walked up, with Legolas trying to tend to her eye.

"He fell." Gimli said with a cracked voice. Aaron looked down and away from Legolas. He stopped and gave her the look of 'come on'. Éowyn looked up at Théoden climbing the stairs, he looked at her with grief on his face then continued up. Éowyn sat down upon the bottom step. Aaron walked away, Legolas still followed.

"Aaron! You need that taken care of." He urged

"No. No, I don't." She said quietly. "There are families who lost their, husbands, sons, brothers, and fathers out there. My eye is fine compared to that."

"Your eye is not the only thing I was talking about." He told her in Elvish. She looked down but kept walking. "Where are we going?"

"I'm, going to find the stables, you." She answered in Elvish. "You can go where ever you wish." Legolas stopped walking. He knew she wasn't going to listen to him. She was stubborn and needed time. Aaron watched him stopped but continued on. She soon found the stables, or whatever you would like to call it. It was at the back of the Keep, off to the side. The Keep was large and like the rest of the fortress made completely out of carven stone. The doors to the stables were wide open and the smell of hay and oats was the first thing Aaron smelled. She walked in and went to the third horse she saw; it was Brego. He was tied to a stall post, a brush lay abandoned beside him. He looked at Aaron and gave a nicker. He knew who she was even as a human. "I'll be right there." She told him, still in Elvish. She walked to a water trough and looked at her face in the reflexion. Blood was all over her eye. Her hair needed a good brushing and, as Lily would have said; she smelled like a dog. Aaron grabbed a bucket and dipped it into the water. She then walked to a near by stool and scrubbed at her face. Looking back into the trough, she could see her clean face. The cut came down over her right eye. It was deep and ugly.

That's going to take awhile to heal and it's going to leave a scar. She turned away. Now, to set this fellow free. She went to Brego and untied him. He followed her out of the Keep, through the court yard and outside the walls of the stone city.

"Go, Brego." She whispered into his ear. "Don't let grief and despair come to you. Be free." She released his lead and he walked off. She didn't know why she didn't take the halter off. But something deep down told her to leave it.