Disclaimer: Very sure I do not own this.
AN: A random inspiration led to as quick drabblish thing. Its unedited. I am beta intolerant. I also know if I try to edit it I'll never post it. So hear I go...
The Silence
It was in silence, that Eoreyn raced along the deserted plains on her mare, Belle.
Her long blonde hair whipped ruthlessly in the wind and caught in her eyes as her forehead beaded with sweat and grime. Her eyes were half closed in tiredness as she continued to push her wearied mare as fast as she could.
They hadn't stopped for days.
Eoreyn was at home when the orcs first arrived. Their guttural shouts breaking through the normal peace of the small cluster of houses. First the school teacher and the children as they stood outside the village during their lessons, then the farmer, then the butcher, the mayor/scribe and the wives. They all fell.
Her father fell.
Her brother fell.
They left none alive.
She had jumped on Belle, and began to ride. And she hadn't stopped riding since. It had been three days. Her muscles were wearied. Mind constantly tip-toeing the edge of sleep. Poor Belle's legs shook so badly it looked like she would shatter. Still, the bold mare galloped on, the spit flying from her mouth with only one thing on both their minds.
Survival.
They had to survive. They had to. They weren't just going to give up now.
The short gasps that came from Eoreyn's mouth and the snorting breaths coming from Belle told you how they had run, how they were still running.
They weren't going to give up. Eoreyn wasn't going to let her father and brother die in vain, they had died to help her. To ensure she got free.
She dared not look back. She didn't want to risk it. She knew if she looked back to see the distance closing between her rapidly fading self and the bloody orcs the barely controlled terror would break through her thin barriers, and without her thinking carefully they surely would make it to Helm's Deep.
She could see it, it sat in between those mountains, a safe haven. She could see the solider's lining the walls as they prepared for battle and for a second the tense silence was shattered as her dry throat gave way to a small cry of relief. She was so close.
Belle skittered unexpectedly as she felt the arrow pass.
They were too close.
Eoreyn's eyes widened as she pushed Belle faster, not that the wonderful horse needed reminding. She had been trained for the rider's of the mark. All of the horses on her family's small ranch had been. Those horses were running free, hopefully they'd find someone to care for them.
The silence was interrupted by the grunts of the orc's beasts and Eoreyn found herself closing her eyes in fear and terror. She opened them to see rider's bursting out of the deep, coming to take down the small raiding party that had been following her.
She saw the flashing golden hair and knew it had to be one of the elves. She could still remember them from when she was very small, when they still interacted with humans. Her father had often sold horses to the elves, he was very talented.
Eoreyn smiled ruefully as she felt Belle shudder once more beneath her. And she stared straight ahead before closing her eyes in resignation. She heard a shout from the elf now only a small distance away from her but she'd heard the orcs pounding towards her.
The twang of the arrow flew, and this one shot true. Belle went down. And silence reigned as Eoreyn fell.