Let us die
facing our foes
Make them
bleed while we can
Make them
pay through the nose
Make them
pay for every man
Let others
rise to take our place
Until the
earth is free!
- Les Miserables
What happened next was so fast that even Kate
could not quite say what had happened.
One minute she was charting Aragorn’s progress towards Frodo and Jason’s
progress towards Boromir… the next, the forest was swarming with orcs! These were not the gremlin-like creatures
they had fought in Moria, these orcs were taller, heavier, better armed… and
out in the daylight! From her perch in
the trees, Katie fired arrow after arrow, stunned by her own Elvish aim. The Fellowship scattered and she could no
longer see any of the hobbits.
Concerned as she was with killing off any snarling orcs that seemed
about to overpower one of her friends, she failed to notice Boromir a good
distance off, struggling mightily to protect Merry and Pippin. It took a blast from his horn to gain her
full attention.
“The Horn of Gondor!” Legolas cried out. “Kate!
Which way is he?”
“There!” she pointed. “Hurry!
He’s got Merry and Pip with him!
But they’re outnumbered!”
Aragorn and Jason sped off towards the sound,
but Gimli and Legolas had their own orcs to deal with. Kate reached behind her for more arrows,
hoping to clear a path for them. But
there were so many!
“Little she-elf! In the tree!” one of the orcs spotted her and sent up the
warning.
A flurry of arrows sang past her, striking the
tree and whipping through the leaves.
Kate shrieked and climbed higher as seven orcs gathered around the base,
growling and mumbling about the things they would do to her when they caught
her. Kate’s heart shook and tears stung
behind her eyes as she climbed, more arrows whizzing past her ears. One grazed her arm and she yelped, nearly
losing her grip on the branches. She
wanted to scream for Legolas, but her voice caught in her throat…the pendant
around her neck had begun to glow softly, warming her cheeks. Like an unseen pair of hands massaging away
knotted muscles, her fears were eased away in a second.
She had to get away from these evil things
herself. Taking a deep breath, she shot
out over a sturdy branch, running along its rough surface nimbly. The orcs below roared and tried to follow
her path from the ground, aiming their bows at her vainly. She ran and jumped from tree to tree like a
squirrel, never slowing down to check on her would-be captors.
Her luck deserted her in one shot, a branch
snapping from underneath her and sending her crashing down to the forest
floor. She landed with a thud and skies
above swam fuzzily, her body stunned by the impact. Her shock did not last long, the sound of running footsteps
prompting her to her feet. The orcs had
seen her fall and four of them were closing in!
Knowing that her bow would do no good, Kate
drew her short sword and took off running, leaping over fallen orcs and tree
limbs. In her bag, Maximus barked and
growled at her pursuers, incensed that anyone should threaten his owner. It was only due to her heightened senses
that Kate noticed the little dog leap from his safe carry-all and race back
towards the hulking, sword-bearing orcs.
“Max!” she slid to a stop and did an abrupt
about-face, taking off after her entirely-too-brave pet. The dog’s small size and loud barks confused
the orcs and they halted, struggling to pick out the min pin as he zipped
around them, growling.
One finally grew tired of Max’s antics and
seized the little dog harshly, causing his to yelp in pained surprise. Before he could hurt him any further
however, an arrow screamed through the air and struck him right between the
eyes. He fell dead to the ground,
dropping Max and leaving his comrades to stare at an enraged she-elf.
Sword drawn, pendant flaming, and eyes
glittering with fury, Kate stood ready to fight. “Don’t. Touch. My.
Dog.”
Without any further warning, she lunged at
them, wielding her sword with graceless severity. But fine or otherwise, her anger served her. The orcs had not expected their prey to
fight back so fiercely before they could corner her. They backed away as she fought them; in her turn, Kate knew that
she could not hold them off once their surprise dispersed. Quick as lightning, she snatched Maximus up
and dashed up the nearest tree, leaving behind a triad of confused and
frustrated orcs. Still dangerously
angry, Kate took full advantage of her position and drew an arrow, shooting
another orc without a sound. Two more
shots and his comrades fell as well.
The forest was quiet, eerily so. Kate slid from the tree and raced off,
running silently over the ground. Gimli
quickly came into view, wrenching his axe from the chest of a dead orc.
“Gimli!” she called. “Are you okay? Where is
everyone?”
Gimli grinned at her, apparently relieved by
her sudden appearance. “It’ll take more
than a bunch of war-painted orcs to take me.
Legolas is over there retrieving his arrows. Last I saw, Aragorn and Jason were headed that way.”
“Then we should head that way too, don’t you
think?” she suggested, feeling oddly elated from the fight and almost eager for
more.
Gimli looked at her appraisingly. “You are a strange elf, Kate… anxious for
more fight.”
She shrugged.
“C’mon… let’s go make sure everyone else is okay. Legolas!
Save some arrows for me and come on!”
Legolas joined them eagerly. “We ran out of orcs.”
“I hate it when that happens.” Kate replied.
“My apologies… I killed more than my share.”
Gimli grunted mock-seriously.
“You?” Legolas coughed. “All you did was swing an axe around. My arrows hit many more orcs than you did.”
“That so?” Gimli growled in friendly
argument. “I think you elves are just
too vain to admit when you’ve been bested.”
“I will admit that I have been bested if and
when it occurs, friend dwarf.” Legolas insisted, his grey eyes glinting
mischievously.
“Oh
stuff it, you two.” Kate sighed. “Honestly… males… next time just keep a
count of how many orcs you take and then argue all you want over who caused the
most havoc.”
“Agreed.
I will run you into the ground, friend-elf.” Gimli nodded in challenge.
“We shall see, friend-dwarf.”
“Let’s get going, friend-morons.” Kate tossed
out, skipping ahead before either male could react.
“Ai!
You conniving little she-troll!”
Legolas called in teasing anger as he chased after her. “You will pay for that comment!”
“You have to catch me first, princeling!” she
yelled over her shoulder, scampering towards where Aragorn and Jason had run during
the skirmish.
She stopped dead in her tracks, nearly
pitching over when she reached a clearing.
The bodies of dead and dying orcs littered the forest floor, leaves
black with their inky blood. But that
was not what stopped her.