*。☆。
★。＼｜／。★
˚ ₊ ♡ ❰ BALLAD OF BROKEN SWORDS ❱
*✧ ─── ❝ ❪ evil lives here ❫ ❞
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˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ACT TWO  ── audentes fortuna iuvat 🏹 ⁺⑅

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CHILDREN OF ARDA DUOLOGY  ⋆ ☄.
♯ ❝ WE MAKE A GOOD TEAM ❞
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
˚ ₊ ♡ the third age ─── year 3019
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━━ ˚ ₊ ♡ 🏹
❝ 𝘪'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙨
𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙩 𝘮𝘺 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝 ❞

*✧ ─── THERE WAS AN ECHOING BLAST; A GREAT HORN WAS BLOWN—DEAFENING AND DREADFUL AS THE NOISE ROLLS THROUGH THE ANCIENT HALLWAYS. THE DRUMBEAT CONTINUING, WALLS SHOOK and the company shudders. Fear slithers through them as another harsh horn-call echoes along the dark and Gyda's eyes flicker towards a dull blue light that emits from Frodo's half unsheathed sword.

Shrill cries rang out, stampeding footsteps resounding from the stone steps just outside the chamber.

"Orcs!" Legolas exclaims and the Fellowship clampers into action as swords are drawn, steel glinting in the pale light whilst Boromir is the first to rush towards the Western door.

Clang.

An arrow lodges itself mere centimeters from his face, burrowed in the dark wood as it splinters. Heavy feet were heard in the corridor, coming closer and closer and Gyda shifts forward with confident strides to approach Elgarain. The two Elleth's standing side by side, worried gazes fixated on the door.

Boromir had flung himself back, heaving on a stone pillar. "Stay back! Get close to Gandalf!" Aragorn commands firmly, dropping the torch he had held on the ground in favor of helping close the door.

"They have a cave troll." He sighs exaggerated, catching an axe Legolas threw him and wedges it between the splintered wood.

"Come on." Gyda pulls Elgarain backwards as the Fellowship retreats backwards. A moment of tense silence follows, and all the brunette can feel is her heart thundering in her chest as her grip on her sword tightens.

Her muscles tense when there was a loud blow on the door that made it quiver, dust settling in the air and shrill war cries echoed.

The door grind and shake as wood splinters shoot through the air—and then it cracked, driving back the wedge.

"Let them come!" Gimli shouted fearlessly, "There is one Dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath."

Axes come breaking through and Gyda watches Legolas release an arrow, it swishes through the air before hitting its mark. But it is too late—and the wedge can no longer hold against the onslaught from the other side.

Gyda takes in a deep breath, and releases it just as the Orcs come rushing through the door and she leaps forward with all her might, letting her sword clash against the dented and dirty armor of her enemy.

There was a bellow as her sword pierced through its skin, black blood dripping from the sharpened steel edge of her sword when she pulled it back. Dodging, she side-stepped another one, knocking it back with her elbow before ramming her foot against its back. The orc fell to his knees and in one quick motion she grabbed its shoulders and sliced her sword against its neck.

The orc gurgles on its blood before dropping face down on the stone ground when she let's go of its shoulder.

She staggers back, grunting when a body crashes into her from the side, and she twirls around, gritting her teeth and lifting her leg up to kick the orc backward. As it stumbles, Gyda moves forward, sidestepping as the Orc lashes out at her. But she is quicker, hitting its head with the pommel of her sword before letting the sharp edge of her sword drag across its back. Black blood spurts from the wound and it shrieks.

Gripping her sword firmly with both hands, Gyda drives her sword through its back, finishing the Orc.

Heaving in a deep breath, Gyda gains a moment to observe the chaos around them as the Fellowship fights their enemy, her worried gaze settles on the Hobbits for a moment, but to her utter relief they seem to hold their own with the help of Boromir.

For a moment her heart stutters when she doesn't immediately see Elgarain among the group, but for a moment her eyes catch the familiar blue ones of Legolas. He's further away from her, firing his arrows in quick succession and as if he senses her worry for her Queen, he tilts his head sideways.

Following the direction of his gesture she can breath again when she sees Elgarain fighting with her glaive, quick and strong strikes and a fiercely determined expression on her face.

But Gyda doesn't have anymore time to linger as she feels the familiar burning sensation of steel cutting through flesh. She hisses, instinctively grabbing the bloodied cut on her upper arm and ducking beneath the sword slicing through the air.

A shuddering breath escapes her lips and with one hand clutching her wound, and the other tightly holding onto her sword, she pushes herself back up to her full height, letting her sword swiftly come down on the arm of her attacker. The sheer force let's her slice completely through the skin and bone and the Orc howls in pain.

It glares up at her, unstable on its feet but Gyda doesn't care as she finishes the job with on clean stab through the gut.

When her eyes flicker up to look at Elgarain again, fear runs through her as the watches the Elleth retreating backwards, waving her glaive around in a threatening manner. Her back hits the stone wall and with a desperate scream the High-Queen lungs forward, piercing the chest plate of the orc.

Black blood squirts on her face, and she stumbles backward in the hopes of getting her spear back, her movements are panicked as the other Orc approaches her.

Dashing toward Elgarain, Gyda rushing through the thick of the battlefield and just as the Orcs raising his sword the deal out a killing blow, Gyda thrusts her sword through its back. The Orc staggers before dropping on the ground, sword clattering on the stone floor.

Green eyes meet hazel and relief floods both their faces. With a grunt, Elgarain manages to finally pull her spear back, stumbling backward a bit.

Gyda latches onto her wrist to stabilize her, before pulling her away from the wall and closer to her. Elgarain mutters something under her breath before gifting her a grateful smile. Gyda nods, a small teasing smile displayed on her lips despite the dire situation. "Watch your feet, Tarinya."

"This is not the moment—" Elgarain moves suddenly, knife glinting in the light as she simultaneously pushing Gyda to the side and steps forward the stab an approach Orc in the head. "—Never let your guard down." She finished breathlessly.

Gyda opens her mouth to respond, but instead her eyes widen, "Duck."

Elgarain does without question and Gyda had thrown her knife before the High-Queen could blink. The small knife had lodges itself in the eye of the Orc creeping up on Elgarain and it fell on the ground with a loud thud.

Pulling the High-Queen back up to her full height, Gyda twirls around, sword facing outwards whilst her back presses against Elgarain's.

Together they move, slicing, stabbing and thrusting their respective weapons, together they are undefeatable. In perfect unison they cut through their enemies. As though they were able to read each other's every thought, anticipate every move the other would make. As though they were made of the same stars...

A loud roar comes from their left, followed by the desperate shouts of the Hobbits. Gyda's head snaps to the side, panic rising through her body like a heatwave when she spots the humongous cave troll drag Frodo across the ground, holding him by his feet. He's kicking and trashing around in its grip, trying with all his might to free himself.

In a hopeless attempt, she watches him try to defend himself, by raising his sword. He manages to cut the thick, grey hide of the creature. It couldn't have hurt much more than the sting of a wasp, but the Troll released the Hobbit anyway.

But any relief that had flooded through him, was immediately diminished when, instead of letting him go, it reaches for its forked spear that had fallen onto the ground. With a roar that made the walls shudder, the creature raises the weapon high above it's head, only to stop when Aragorn jumped in between the two of them.

Gyda can feel her body tense, and her worried gaze lands on Elgarain who gasps with teary eyes as she watches the human man fall. Sensing Elgarain's next actions, Gyda reaches out to hold the High-Queen back, but she moves out of reach, the fabric of her cloak slipping through her fingers.

Gyda shouts, desperate as Elgarain marches without thought into the thick of the battle, slaying Orcs without remorse. Any other day, Gyda would be proud of Elgarain's skill, but she knew, without a doubt, emotions were clouding her thoughts, and her common sense.

In a split second Elgarain made a decision—disregarding her spear. "Aragorn!" She shouts, and the man's eyes land on her just as she lets her spear fly through the air.

The wounded man catches it, closing his fist around the beautifully carved wood and thrusts the weapon upward, piercing the Troll's ribcage.

With bathed breath, Gyda watches the creature stagger upon his feet, waving its arm about to keep itself upright before swinging its huge fist. It's fist connects with Aragorn's body, and the man flies through the air, as if he was a weightless ragdoll.

A scream was torn from Elgarain's lips and Gyda can only rush after the Elleth as she plows through the onslaught of Orcs, stabbing her knife and slicing in quick succession.

Gyda follows her lead, swinging her sword and kicking away any Orc that decides to come closer to her High-Queen without her noticing.

A harsh scream falls from her throat as another Orc manages to kick her. She falls forward, one knee hitting the ground, while she uses her sword to keep her upright. Reaching for another dagger strapped to her belt, she twirls it between her fingers, lashing out in a quick stroke that has the Orc gurgling on his own blood before crashing to the ground.

Pushing herself up, she throws a dagger at an orc creeping up behind Elgarain, the Elleth too consumed with her desperation to get to Aragorn to notice the danger lurking behind her. But that was her job, her vow and oath to be Elgarain's shield and sword when the High-Queen could not do it herself.

As she ran towards the chaos, Gyda stumbles to a sudden halt at the sight before her; With a roar the Troll pushes his weapon through Frodo's stomach, growling with satisfaction as all color was drained from the Hobbits' face.

Her heart aches, but the fight was not over, and there was no time to grief. Determination flashes before her eyes as she eyes the cave Troll. Dashing towards Elgarain now that the High-Queen stopped moving, she pulls at her arm, masking her worries under a façade of calmness.

When Elgarain's teary eyes latch on to her, her face softens. "You're not a healer right now, Tarinya. Now, it's your job to fight. When our enemies are down, it's your job to heal." She firmly instructs, hoping to clear the fog of emotions bubbling inside her.

Taking in a deep breath, Elgarain nods and Gyda is glad there's no argument. "You bring down that hruo, I'll clear a path for you." She states firmly.

Gyda tightened her grip on her sword, eyes determined, then she took off in a sprint.

Wrapping her fingers tightly around the hilt of her sword, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the blade. Her face was bloodied and worn but she recognize the fire in her eyes—her father's eyes.

"Gyda!" An arrow whizzed past her head and lodged itself in the skin of the cave troll.

She turns to look at Legolas, his worried blue gaze moves across her body—he's looking for injuries, she realizes and subconsciously she notice, she does the same.

His normally upkept appearance is roughened by the scrimmage of battle, dust covers his pale skin and blood coats his cloak. But he looks unharmed, and she releases her sigh of relief.

Twirling her sword around in her hand, she takes a strong stance as the Troll approaches with thunderous steps. Despite the fatigue clinging to her bones, despite the trembling in her legs, she knows together, they can take it down.

Another arrows flies past her, piercing the greyish skin of the troll and Gyda launches herself forward, a battly cry on her lip as she ducks beneath its legs, slicing her sword through its thigh.

The troll hisses, turning around to swing at her, but she rolls sideways, just as Legolas jumps up, getting the higher ground to shoot his arrows from.

As an arrow burrows itself in its neck the Troll let's out a disgruntled roar, whirling around to face Legolas in favor of attacking Gyda. But the brunette takes her chance, pushing herself up, she climbs a broken pillar, cracked rocks digging in her skin.

Catching Legolas eye, she nods at him and he releases his last arrow, it whizzes through the air, lodging itself in the troll's chest. It stumbles backward and Gyda jumps just as Legolas manages to grab the thick, heavy black chain attached to the collar around its neck. The Ellon pulls, grunting with the strength it takes, forcing the Troll's head down.

In her descend, Gyda brought her sword down. The elven steel piercing its skin like paper. The blade brought down with such brutal force; the tip of the sword came out of the Troll's throat.

As the creature fell, Gyda frees her blade. The ground shaking as the dead Troll  the floor. Gyda broke her fall with a graceful roll before jumping back on her feet. The sudden silence weighed like a heavy blanket in the air.

She breaths out a sigh of relief, smiling up at Legolas as he jogs to meet her by the side of the dead troll. "We make a good team." She whispers breathlessly.

Legolas' smile widens at the words and he clasps her shoulder. "We do."

But the comforting silence does not last long as hurried footsteps breaks their stare. Gyda watches as Elgarain rushes towards Frodo, laying motionlessly on the floor. The two elves run to meet the rest of the Fellowship to watch Elgarain.

She kneels down beside, carefully she reaching out, placing two fingers on the side of his neck.

Frodo gasps for air the moment Elgarain gently rolls him over, his hand clutching his chest as his eyes searching.

Relief filled the room like a tiny sun as the fellowship looked at the Ring Bearer in astonishment.

"He's alive!" Sam cries out as he rushed forwards and fell on his knees besides his dearest friend.

Laughter spills from her own lips at the wonderous sight.

"It would seem," Elgarain says breathlessly, her eyes glued to his chest.

"I'm all right," Frodo assures Elgarain, noticing the puzzled look on her features. "I'm not hurt."

"You should be dead," an exhausted voice comes from Elgarain's left. "That spear would have skewered a wild boar."

Gyda watches fondly as Elgarain's eyes fill with relief, upper lip trembling at the sound of his voice.

"I think there's more to this Hobbit than meets the eye," Gandalf's soft voice cuts through the thick silence.

Frodo pulled his shirt aside, revealing silver chain mail, glittering softly in the dim light of the very mines it was made.

Mithril. Gyda shakes her head, chuckling.

"You are full of surprises, Master Baggins," Gimli states, his eyes filled with warmth at the sight of the small piece of his home that had survived.

"Armor or not..." Elgarain mumbles beneath her breath, reaching out to lift the shirt. Glimpsing over Elgarain's shoulder, Gyda sees the beginning of an ugly bruise forming on his ribcage and two small wounds from where the chainmail had cut his skin. But that was the extend of it, nothing actually harmful. "You'll most likely be sore for a few days but that is all. Normally I would advise you not to walk or run too much but that does not seem like a viable option given the circumstances."

A small smile formed on his features as Frodo nodded at their healer.

"Now you on the other hand," Elgarain tuts, turning to look at Aragorn, voice sharp. "Did you think your head is made of Mithril as well? You shouldn't have moved before I told you so."

He was too stunned to speak, grey eyes observing her carefully and Gyda had never wanted to laugh as much as then.

"It will have to wait," Aragorn speaks through clenched teeth as Elgarain fusses over his wounds. He was clearly in pain, though trying very much to hide it.

"Absolutely not," she protests, already reaching for her satchel.

"Elgarain," he said softly, the sound of her name on his lips making her pause. "There's no time."

It was only then the rest of the Fellowship heard the screeches echoing in the distance. More orcs were coming their way.

"Fine,"

"To the bridge of Khazad-Dûm!" Gandalf orders

Gyda can only smirk at the sight of the man staggering to his feet, stubborn and unrelentlessly selfless despite his pain whilst Elgarain's worried gaze never leaves his figure as she clings to him like a shadow.

So alike.

Gyda can only think as they leave the tomb.

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ELVISH TRANSLATIONS
tarinya — queen
hruo — troll