All Shall Fade

Chapter 26

Plan of Action

As I marched back into the throne room of Meduseld, I noticed that most of the funeral mourners were gone. Eowdrin and her sister were sitting at one of the long tables, talking quietly to each other as Legolas and Gimli sat nearby. I slid myself down on to the bench beside them as I heard Aragorn enter the hall behind me. I hadn’t spoken a word to him since he’d found me, even though he’d apologised and I’d kind of accepted it. I rested my hands on the table and scowled at the continuous flow of blood that was trickling across my fingers. I could feel everyone around me staring, waiting for an explanation as to why I was ruining the furniture with my spurting of blood, and it wasn’t long before Eowdrin appeared on the bench beside me.

“What happened to your hand?” She asked in a hushed tone.

“Wormtongue.” I answered simply and I heard her inhale quietly.

“Did he attack you?” She whispered, and I resisted the urge to laugh.

“Quite the opposite actually.” I smiled wryly as I examined my hand and grimaced at my split knuckles, “Looking back now I probably should have gone for his jaw… Going for the teeth probably wasn’t my best idea.”

Eowdrin was quiet for a moment as she processed this. “I’m glad somebody stood up to him… I never liked him.” She sighed, “The way he used to look at me and Eówyn…” She broke off with a shudder just as Aragorn sat across from me at the table. I sighed and turned towards him, firing him a ‘What is it now?’ glance. He gestured for me to hold out my hand and I rolled my eyes as I complied. He carefully wiped away the blood with a damp cloth and I hissed in pain each time the cloth he was using brushed across the wound. He apologised softly as I glared at the table, wondering why he always seemed to be patching me up. I only looked up as I heard the doors to the hall being flung open. My eyes widened in alarm as I saw Gandalf and Théoden walking in each carrying a small child. I was about to stand and go help them, but Aragorn pulled me back so he could quickly finish bandaging my fingers together.

“Thanks.” I mumbled quickly as I stood and the two children were set on the bench Eówyn was sitting on. One was a girl who couldn’t have been any older than six; the other was a boy who looked around ten. They looked like they were brother and sister. I watched as orders were given to find them food, and I glanced to Eowdrin who stood at my side, anxiously looking on as the children were set at the table.

“What happened?” I asked as bowls of soup were placed in front of the children.

“They appeared on a horse, the boy was unconscious.” Théoden murmured solemnly. I walked forward and sat opposite the children with Eowdrin at my side. Eówyn wrapped a blanket around the little girl as we waited for them to finish eating before we stared bombarding them with questions.

“Did you come from the Westfold?” Eowdrin finally asked, and the boy looked up, nodding.

“Yes, I am Eothain and this is Freda.” He gestured to himself and his sister, “Our village there was attacked by Wild men, and strange creatures. They were like orcs, but more powerful.” He answered, his eyes nervously flickering around the room.

“Uruk-Hai…” I mumbled under my breath as I ran one hand through my hair.

“They burnt our homes, and our mother only just had time to send us away.” He continued as his sister looked up, and Eówyn stood and walked over to Théoden.

“They had no warning. They were unarmed. Now the Wildmen are moving through Westfold, burning as they go. Rick, cot, and tree.” She spoke angrily and I swallowed hard as Freda looked around.

“Where is momma?” She asked, and I sighed. If they were the only ones to escape the village, then it was highly unlikely that their mother had survived… But how could you explain that to a child? I could only lean across the table to hush her as Gandalf looked up from where he was seated beside Théoden on his throne.

“This is but a taste of the terror that Saruman will unleash. All the more potent for he is driven now by fear of Sauron.” He muttered, laying his hand on the arm of Théoden’s throne, and I didn’t miss the look the king fired at the wizard, “Ride out and meet him head on. Draw him away from your women and children. You must fight.”

“You have two thousand good men riding north as we speak. Eómer is loyal to you. His men will return and fight for their king.” Aragorn said calmly from behind me, but I didn’t turn to look at him, I was more interested in the look Eówyn and Eowdrin exchanged when the name ‘Eómer’ was mentioned.

“They will be three hundred leagues from here by now. Eómer cannot help us.” Théoden sighed, standing and slowly pacing across from his throne, “I know what it is you want of me, but I will not bring further death to my people. I will not risk open war.”

“Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not.” Aragorn spoke up again, and this time I couldn’t help but turn to look at him as he casually smoked his pipe and leant on the table.

“When last I looked, Théoden, not Aragorn, was king of Rohan.” Théoden spat venomously and I raised an eyebrow. Obviously someone was touchy about his crown.

“Then what is the king’s decision?” Gandalf asked, only slightly diffusing the tense situation as I glanced at Aragorn. He met my gaze, but his expression was impossible to read. Damn him for being such a closed book…

Why was I even worrying about that?

Why should I care?

I don’t care.

I turned back to the issue at hand as we waited for Théoden to speak.

“We ride for Helm’s Deep.” He said finally, and one of the guards near the door sprang up and ran outside. Somebody began banging a gong as he started announcing what Théoden had said to the citizens. Gandalf angrily stood and made for the door, with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli hot on his heels. The Gandalf Posse. I bit my lip to stop myself giggling as I rose to my feet and leaned over to Eowdrin.

“What’s Helm’s Deep?” I asked quietly.

“A fortress in the mountains.” She replied, frowning as if she wondered why I didn’t already know – and then I realised that she didn’t know that I wasn’t from this world. I must blend in better than I’d thought. I made a mental note to tell her later as I smiled.

“Gotcha.” I nodded, before jogging out the door to catch up with The Gandalf Posse.

Outside the hall, people were already preparing to leave. Carts were constantly being wheeled across my path as I made for the stables where I’d seen everyone disappear moments ago. I weaved around a crowd of people and jumped over a pile of baskets containing assorted vegetables before I finally made it in to the stables.

“- At dawn, look to the east.” I glanced around as I caught a few words of whatever Gandalf had been saying, and spotted him and Aragorn in Shadowfax’s stable. Gandalf had already mounted the horse.

“Go.” Aragorn said softly, opening the stable door, and suddenly, Shadowfax was galloping towards me. I felt the back of my coat get grabbed and I jumped back as the white horse thundered past, carrying Gandalf away. I turned to see that Legolas was the one who had pulled me back.

“Thanks.” I breathed, knowing that if he hadn’t I’d probably be mush under the horse’s hooves by now. “Where is he going?” I asked, looking out the door as the horse and rider left the city.

“He has gone to find Eómer, the king’s nephew, and his company of Rohirrim.” He said softly, and I nodded as Aragorn walked towards us.

“We ride out in the morning.” He informed us as he stopped at my side at looked to me. “You should find a horse of your own.” He said, and I suppressed a smile and folded my arms.

“Alright, I can take a hint.” I sighed, “You don’t want me clinging on to you and Hasufel anymore.” I dramatically tossed my hair over one shoulder and marched off towards the other side of the stables.

“I didn’t mean-”

“It’s too easy to make fun of you!” I laughed, cutting him off as I walked away. I snuck a glance over my shoulder and smirked as I saw him shake his head and turn away, before I went to find a stable hand. I asked if there were any free horses, and I was lead to a stall containing a pale, dappled grey creature, a little shorter than Hasufel.

“Her name is Aduial.” The stable hand informed me before walking off. I smiled as I let myself in to the stable.

“Hello.” I said, slowly walking forward as the horse stared at me with an expression of extreme boredom. I outstretched one of my hands and she sniffed it timidly, before nuzzling it, obviously looking for food. I smiled and chanced another step closer as she nipped at my fingers. “Sorry, I don’t have anything.” I murmured, scratching her forehead with my other hand as she snorted in disappointment.

“Here.” I turned as I heard someone speak behind me, and smiled as I saw Eowdrin leaning across from the next stall. She had half an apple in her outstretched hand and I took it and offered it to Aduial.

“Thanks.” I smiled as she happily took it from my hand and crunched it. I glanced over at Eowdrin and watched as she groomed a flea-bitten grey horse. “Is she yours?” I asked, leaning over the wooden half-wall between the stalls.

“Yes, her name is Rienne.” Eowdrin nodded, before resuming brushing down the horse’s coat. I smiled to myself – I’d taken a wild guess assuming that the horse was female, but then again, it was a fifty-fifty chance. I turned back to Aduial and found a brush sitting in one corner of her stall. I carefully began to brush down her coat, whilst she tried searching my pockets for more treats.

“I’ll bring you something tomorrow.” I laughed as I stepped back to admire my handiwork. She nickered softly as I scratched behind her ear. “I’ll see you tomorrow, ok?” I smiled as I let myself out of the stable and met Eowdrin outside. The sun was beginning to set as we climbed the steps to the hall. “Wow.” I breathed, turning so I could watch as it slipped behind the distant horizon of mountains, painting the darkening sky in shades of pinks and oranges. I turned back to see Eowdrin waiting for me at the doors, and I followed her inside.

*

The next morning, Eowdrin shook me awake at dawn – despite my loudly voiced protests – and we made our way to the stables. I yawned as I carried Aduial’s saddle to her stable and let myself in. She stood there dozily munching her hay as I brushed her down and set the saddle on her back. Eowdrin showed me how to adjust it and how to put her bridle on, and I smiled as I completed tacking her up.

“There, don’t you look pretty?” I cooed, patting her as she once again searched me for food. I sighed and pulled an apple out of my pocket that I’d saved from my breakfast. “Now don’t think I’m going to be giving you treats all the time, or you’ll get fat.” I teased as I heard some kind of commotion in one of the stalls across from Aduial’s. I turned to see two men struggling with a tall bay horse that was rearing up on to its hind legs. As they tried to calm it, I noticed Aragorn slowly approaching them. He handed the saddle he was carrying to a stable hand before walking forwards.

“That horse is half mad, my Lord. There's nothing you can do. Leave him.” One of the guards advised him, and I watched curiously as he ignored him and kept walking. He murmured something in Elvish as he took one of the horse’s ropes from one of the men trying to restrain him, and gently stroked the animal’s neck. The other man handed him the rope as the horse jogged on the spot anxiously and Aragorn continued to calmly murmur things to him. Gradually, the frightened horse seemed to relax, and let Aragorn scratch his forehead. I smiled as I watched him talk to the horse, but I felt frustrated that I didn’t know what he was saying. It sounded nice anyway.

“His name is Brego. He was my cousin's horse.” I glanced up at the sound of Eówyn’s voice and saw her in the stall beside Aragorn. Again, he murmured something to the horse, and I noticed him smile a little as he petted him. “I have heard of the magic of Elves, but I did not look for it in a Ranger from the North.” Eówyn said, “You speak as one of their own.”

“I was raised in Rivendell for a time.” Aragorn murmured, just loudly enough for me to hear him. I frowned, realising that I hadn’t known that about him. In fact, I didn’t know much about Aragorn at all. “Turn this fellow free. He has seen enough of war.” He said softly, handing the horse’s ropes to one of the men from earlier, before he went to recover his saddle. He turned and spotted me, and I blushed as I realised I had been staring. I turned back to Aduial quickly, pretending that I hadn’t noticed him. When I turned back, he was gone.

I sighed and opened the stable door and made my way back to the hall to gather my possessions before we left. Eowdrin had already gone back to her room, and I found her packing a small bag. I didn’t have that much, aside from the clothes on my back and my weapons, so I belted my sheathed swords to my waist and slung my bow and quiver of arrows over my shoulder.

“See you outside.” I mumbled to Eowdrin as I left the room and walked back towards the hall. I paused as I heard the metallic clang of two blades meeting, and as I neared the hall I heard voices.

“You have some skill with a blade.” I recognised the sound of Aragorn’s voice easily as I continued walking.

“The women of this country learned long ago that those without swords can still die upon them. I fear neither death nor pain.” I sighed as I realised he was talking to Eówyn. She seemed to have developed a liking for him. I paused in the doorway leading to the hall so I could hear their conversation better. It wasn’t exactly eavesdropping if they were holding their conversation in a public place…

“What do you fear, my lady?” Aragorn said softly.

“A cage.” Eówyn answered, “To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them. And all chance of valour has gone beyond recall or desire.” He voice was strong and unwavering, but I sensed a vulnerability behind her brave words.

“You are a daughter of kings. A shieldmaiden of Rohan.” Aragorn said, “I do not think that will be your fate.” I heard him walk away and I rolled my eyes. Even though I hadn’t seen them, I was pretty sure that there had been some definite flirting going on… And it bothered me much more than it should have done. I sighed and walked out into the hall and quickly made my way to the stables. I opened Aduial’s stall and lead her out. We walked out to the front of the hall where the riders seemed to be assembling, and I swung myself into her saddle. This riding business definitely got easier with practice.

“Are you alright?” I turned as Legolas rode up beside me with Gimli behind him, and I was suddenly aware of the sullen expression I’d been wearing.

“Uh yeah, I’m just tired I guess.” I tried to laugh light-heartedly, but he didn’t seem convinced. I plastered a smile on my face as I nudged Aduial forward and instead of focusing on Aragorn, I decided to focus on my riding. That seemed to keep my brain preoccupied as we rode out of the city, but it didn’t stop me wondering why I was so preoccupied by him, and the fact that he and Eówyn seemed to be getting pretty chummy.

Maybe I was just looking out for him.

At least, that was what I managed to convince myself I was doing.