The Ranger And The Prince.

The Storm.

Silence. It was an eerie thing to hear before a battle. No one dared speak as the Orc army approached.

Night had fallen and grey clouds covered the sky. All we could see of the enemy was their distant torches rapidly approaching us.

Though Théoden stood proudly at the top of the keep, I could tell he was scared. Not just for himself, but I knew he feared for the safety of his people. His soldiers were terrified and looked to him to fuel their courage.

The Elves stood along the wall of the keep and in the Hornburg. Théoden's men were packed into the keep. We all watched and waited for the battle to start, knowing we were powerless to stop it from happening.

The hours went by painfully, each second the enemy trapped us. The distant marching of their army taunted us all night, the footfalls of ten thousand Uruk-hai filling our ears for hours, drumming on and on with no end.

I found myself stroking Nasha's soft fur for comfort. She was set beside us all night. Her ears were drooped and she would let out small whines as the marching got louder as the army drew closer.

"You could have picked a better spot!" Gimli huffed next to us, his face coming eye level with the wall.

Aragorn joined us momentarily though we all knew his post was with the elves.

"Well, lad, whatever luck you live by, let's hope it lasts the night," Gimli grumbled.

A flash of light filled the air along with the cracking of thunder.

"Your friends are with you, Aragorn." Legolas assured him.

"Let's hope they last the night." Gimli added solemnly, his attempt at a joke not helping the overall feeling of dread.

Another flash of lightning shot through the sky along with another roar of thunder.

The rain started slow, a light shower before it quickly became a downpour. The sound of rain beating down on metal armour mixed with the sound of the marching. There was nothing any of us could do, we just had to endure the rain.

We were scared. We were trapped. We were outnumbered.

Now we were frozen to the bone, our clothes soaked through and weighing down on us.

Finally, the army was close enough for me to see properly. Before, when it was just a blur on the horizon, it just looked like a huge black mass advancing towards us.

Now, it was coming into view properly. I could see every ugly Uruk-hai advancing with their huge pikes raised.

"Show them no mercy for you shall receive none!" Aragorn yelled in elvish to the Lothlórien soldiers on the wall.

The army suddenly stopped, just in front of the fortress. They snarled and roared at us and I could not wait to embed my axe into one of their skulls.

"What's happening out there?" Gimli grumbled irritably, trying to look over the edge of the wall.

"Shall I describe it to you? Or would you like me to find you a box?" Legolas smirked down at the Dwarf who laughed at his comment.

The Uruks started to beat their pikes down on the ground loudly, sending fear into the hearts of the Rohan soldiers.

They beat their shields and flailed their swords in the air like the animals they were.

The archers in the keep readied their bows and nocked their arrows. The Uruks knew they were being targeted but they still didn't attack. That worried me greatly. An army that didn't mind wasting time for the sake of fear mongering was a scary one indeed. They knew that every second they wasted banging their pikes against the ground, the longer our soldiers had time to mock their arrows and steady their aims. The Uruks knew they outnumbered us a hundred to one.