A/N: Oh SNAP, Book Three is here! I know I said I'd have this one started like, last week, but I'm back in college now, and life got a bit crazy for me for awhile, haha. But here we are! Better late than never, right?

As always, I'm pumped to get this book going. This is the one where things start to get...stranger, I think. I've got lots of cool stuff planned, so I hope you all stick around! If you're new to this series, make sure you go back and read Books One and Two before going any further! It won't make much sense if you start reading here first, haha.

For all my returning readers: Good to see you back! :D Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

The Changing Destinies Series: Book Three

Staying Strong

-Erin-

"Shall I describe it to you? Or would you like me to find you a box?"

I laughed, clapping my hands together as I leaned back into the cushioned couch. "Me!" I said, pointing towards the image of Gimli on the TV screen. "That's so me, I'm so fucking short." A ripple of laughter echoed throughout the group, four of my closest friends and I gathered together in my living room for a movie night I was hosting. Naturally, The Two Towers was what I'd chosen, and we were enjoying ourselves so far. As I watched the approaching Uruk army close in on the walls of Helm's Deep, I leaned forward in my seat, hands over mouth in anticipation.

Suddenly, the image froze, a soft click abruptly bringing up the lights. I frowned at Kathryn, who stood by the light switch with the remote in hand. "Hey, what the hell? What gives?"

She ignored me, motioning for us to stand. "Guys, come check this out! The sunset's so pretty right now!"

I gave her a skeptical look, rising with the others as we all went along with it. My arms stretched up over my head, and I took a deep breath. "Okay, I guess it's fine. Now's a good time for a break anyway." Turning, I followed my friends out of the living room and onto my front porch, and as I looked up, I gasped. Kathryn was right - it was gorgeous. The clouds were thin and sparsely scattered across the sky, which was an incredible mix of reds and blues unlike anything I'd ever seen. It was amazing, and for a moment, the five of us just stood there, taking it all in. I stepped forward a bit more, in awe of the scenery. "...Wow..."

But just then, I heard an urgent shout from inside the house. "Erin!"

At my name, I spun, looking back through the doorway to see a distant form all the way at the back of the house. "...Mom?" I could hardly see her, but I felt drawn back inside. At that moment, the wind picked up speed, suddenly turning into a great gust and swallowing up her words before they could reach me. I could see her trying to tell me something, frantically waving her hands for me to come to her, but the wind drowned her out. "Mom!" I started to run, but just as I reached the front door, the wind slammed it shut, and my pulse quickened as I reached for the handle. I jiggled it, pushing hard, but to no avail. It was locked. "Mom!" I shouted again, banging on the door. "Mom, come open it!"

A second later, however, I heard someone call for me again. "Erin!" I turned again, this time to Kathryn's frantic shout, and my eyes went wide when I saw why she was freaking out. The once brilliant sunset had vanished, and the sky had gone black as dark, angry storm clouds rolled in from the horizon. I felt the wind whipping my hair into my face and ran back to my friends, who all also looked panicked. "Erin, the windows are all open!" Kathryn said. "Everything's going to get soaked!"

"Then go close them!" I replied. Makenzie and Sydney immediately sprung into action, running around the sides of the house to close everything up against the oncoming rain. Kathryn, however, turned and ran into the street, and I blinked, confused by her actions. "Kathryn!" I shouted, chasing after her. "What are you doing?" As soon as I stepped out into the road, I was soaked. The rain had hit fast and hard - it was practically a torrential downpour.

I caught up to her tall, dark-haired form and grabbed her shoulder from behind, but when she turned around, it wasn't Kathryn anymore. I jerked back, shocked to now see Aragorn standing before me, looking angry. "Where is he?" he demanded.

I blinked. "What? I-"

"Where is he?" he said again, taking a step towards me. "You killed him, Erin."

My eyes bulged. "Who? What are you talking about?"

"You killed him!" he repeated. I took a fearful step back - he was furious. "Why did you kill him, Erin?!"

"I... I don't know!" I cried, feebly holding up my hands. "I don't know what you mean, I don't-"

All of a sudden, I heard an impossibly loud banging from behind me. I turned towards the noise and screamed - the Uruk-Hai. Their entire army was marching towards me - my house was gone. The rain still came down in sheets, and thunder boomed in the skies above. I stumbled back, shaking. What was I supposed to do?

Just then, another voice called to me from nearby. "Erin!" Still urgent, but somehow softer. I looked to my left, nearly collapsing with relief when I saw Legolas standing there, hand outstretched to me. "Come, we must go!" Without hesitating, I grabbed his hand and we took off running, away from the Uruks as fast as we could go. We tore across land, through forests and over plains, leaving the threat of the army behind us. I glanced behind us once, hoping we were safe, but when I looked forward again, I was shocked. A great mansion stood before us, but it was blackened and burned. Chaotic noise could be heard from inside, and Legolas turned to me with a grim expression. "She is in there, Erin."

"Who?"

"Kaia."

As soon as he said her name, terror gripped my heart, and I felt Legolas release my hand. "Where?" I asked. "We have to save her!"

He only gave me an uncertain look. "We'll split up," he declared. "You must find her, Erin, do you understand?"

I nodded, then immediately took off running towards the house, bursting through the front doors in an instant and immediately choking on the thick, hot air. There were bodies everywhere, moving around and crowding the house beyond belief. I didn't notice faces; I didn't care. I hardly paid any attention to anything as I found the stairs and ran to the second, then third, then fourth floor. I could still hear the thunder and the war cries of the Uruk-Hai ringing in my ears. As I came to the top of the steps, I tripped, falling to the ground as the crowd around me laughed. I pulled myself to my feet, looking up at a man I didn't recognize who stood before me with his arms crossed. "Kaia!" I shouted. "Do you know where she is?"

The man smirked, chuckling darkly as he stepped aside, nodding to a small room at the back of the house. "Yeah, she's in there." I bolted for the door, but just as I reached it, he grabbed me, laughing again as I tried to break free. "No, no, no, you can't go in there. She's having fun."

The door to the small room swung open, and I screamed. Kaia was sitting on the floor, looking lifeless, bloody and bruised like she'd been beaten. She was completely unresponsive. "KAIA!" I screamed, thrashing and struggling to escape the man's grip. "Let me GO!" But the man kept his grip, and my panic spiked as another man moved inside the room, an unfriendly looking vial in his hand. I kicked back hard, earning a grunt from my captor, but wasn't let go. "KAIA!" I screamed again, crying as the man with the vial bent down to grab her by the jaw, opening her mouth.

"Look how afraid you are," the man holding me teased. "So, so afraid, little girl." I kept trying to pull away. "Your friend is going to sleep now, you know that? All alone, she'll sleep there."

I screamed again, this time in fury, digging my nails into his arm, desperate to get to Kaia. "LET ME GO!" But I wasn't quick enough, and he was too strong, and I watched, horrified, as the second man opened the vial, about to force its contents down her throat. "NO! Don't kill her! KAIA!"

–

My eyes snapped open as soon as a hand touched my shoulder, and I flinched away, gasping for breath. ...Kaia... I felt a cold sheen of sweat on my forehead and rolled over, seeing Legolas' concerned face staring back at me. It took me a second to process. At first, I'd nearly forgotten where I was. What just happened?

His eyes searched mine, unsettled by my evident panic. "Are you well, mela?"

I didn't answer him for a moment, just slowly sat up, reaching to feel the texture of my cloak around me and the grassy earth beneath me. I took in my surroundings - a grey, dreary sky lightened by the dawn, fog covering the hills around us. No black house. No strange man. No Kaia. "...I'm sorry," I whispered. "It was a dream."

Still, Legolas remained knelt at my side, moving to gently grasp my hand. "You needn't be sorry," he replied, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. "But we must move on soon. Aragorn wishes for us to continue." He let me go, turning away to help gather up my things.

I stayed still, staring blankly ahead. Of course I'd been freaked out by whatever had happened with Kaia, but oddly enough, that wasn't what stuck with me. "...Legolas..." He stopped, turning back to me as I looked at him, still in shock. "...I saw my mom."

At that, his entire expression shifted, also surprised. "In your dream?"

"Yeah," I nodded, looking down again. "I... I was home... in my house, with my friends, and... she was there. And I tried to run to her, but I couldn't." My gaze landed on the silver birthstone ring I wore; the one she'd given me ages ago. I felt a lump rise in my throat as I looked at it. "...Our birthday's coming up soon," I said softly. "I'm still not used to celebrating mine without celebrating hers, too." My voice wavered, and I let out a shaky breath as Legolas pulled me close, wrapping his arms around me as I tried to hold myself together. "...I miss her," I whispered into his chest. "So, so much."

"I know," he whispered back, stroking my hair. We stayed like that for awhile as I replayed the dream over and over in my head, remembering how I'd barely even gotten a glimpse of her face. But somehow, it was enough. It was enough to remind me what I'd lost, the loss that could still sting as painfully as a fresh wound even after five years. I tried not to let myself think about it too much, not wanting to get caught up in old memories. But it still hurt, knowing they were now only old memories. My parents, my family... an entire life. Gone. Like it had only ever been a fairytale.

Finally, after a couple moments of stillness together, Legolas quietly urged me to get up and finish preparing to leave. Together, we worked in silence, grabbing all my stuff and getting it packed away before I let him lift me up onto his back. Thank God for elven stamina and his strength, because my broken foot left me with no way to run along with the others as we traveled south in pursuit of the Uruk-Hai. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, feeling safe and secure there. In fact, Legolas was probably the only one who'd been able to make me feel safe recently. I nestled my chin at the base of his neck, watching as Gimli, Aragorn, and Kathryn also made ready to leave. No one spoke, which only magnified the uncomfortable tension among our group. It seemed like everyone was on edge, even more so than usual. Not that I could blame them, though. Ever since the events at Amon Hen had gone down a couple days ago...things had been different for all of us. Suddenly, this adventure had gotten a whole lot tougher - even more so than what I'd predicted.

As soon as Aragorn gave us the signal, we took off, quickly picking up speed into a full-on run across the plains. I looked up at the sky, depressing as it was. There's a storm coming, I noted, gripping Legolas a little tighter as I remembered my dream. And probably in more ways than one.

–

-Kathryn-

So much running.

So.

Much.

RUNNING.

I'd never been an athlete to begin with, so how I lasted even a day moving at almost a full sprint is beyond me. I guess the first day my determination to get to Kaia and Pippin had been at an all time high or something, I don't know. Either way, I didn't want to slow everyone else down, so I tried to keep myself at the top of my game by keeping a steady pace and staying hydrated. Sometimes we literally ran all day and all night without stopping. It was crazy. I'd never gone through anything so physically intense my whole life. Aragorn was pushing us hard, though with good reason. Two of our friends were in mortal danger, and it was now up to us to save them. I tried not to think about it too much, though, which honestly wasn't hard. God knows I have a thousand other things on my mind right now anyway.

As I ran, I glanced ahead at Erin, clinging to Legolas' back as he carried her without a single complaint. I hadn't said more than two words to her since our confrontation in the woods three days ago. I could barely even bring myself to meet her gaze. Whenever I looked at her, all I could see was the image of her standing in front of me, terrified for her life, a deep, undeniable fear in her eyes. It would be etched into my memory forever, I knew. I'd always remember it as the day I tried to kill my best friend. The day I'd willingly, actively tried to slit her throat...

I shuddered at my own thoughts, looking away from her again. How? How could I have been so weak - so incredibly stupid that I let the Ring control me so easily? I was ashamed of myself. I don't even deserve to be in this Fellowship. I was about to ruin everything and put the entire quest in jeopardy. I'd been about to kill people, and I probably would've done it if Erin hadn't fought me off. I didn't even want to imagine how things might've gone if I'd actually been able to accomplish whatever the Ring had persuaded me to do. It would've been an even bigger mess than things were now. Even though the split of the Fellowship had been kind of disastrous, I knew things were better this way in the long run. No matter how much I liked Frodo, I was more than happy to see him gone. It meant he was far away from me, and the Ring with him. I didn't have to worry about it anymore. Good riddance to that fucked up piece of jewelry. I'd be happy to never see even a glimpse of that thing ever again.

As I continued moving at a steady jog up the side of a hill, I glanced down at the knife now firmly hooked onto my belt. The familiar grief clung to me like a weight strapped to my back, inescapable no matter how hard I tried to forget it. I felt a lump rise in my throat as I saw his smiling face in my head; heard his laugh ringing in my ears. God...you have no idea what I'd give to have you back. It felt so foreign to not have him running along with me. So...wrong. The world had suddenly gone dull and flat. I felt hollow on the inside, like someone had reached into me and scraped out all my emotion and feeling. Numb. I'd gone numb. Boromir's last words rolled around in my head constantly, reminding me of the promise I'd made him, and it made my chest hurt to think about it. Please come back, I thought, looking up to the darkening sky as a distant roll of thunder boomed in the distance. Tell me this is all a joke. Tell me I'm only dreaming, please... Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes, and I hurried to wipe them away. I don't want to be here. I don't want to do this stupid fucking quest that I keep hopelessly fucking up. I want you back. I want my life back.

I want to go home.

–

-Kaia-

I was roughly jolted awake from a dreamless sleep, wincing as my head smacked into the back of a cold metal helmet. Christ. So much for trying to sleep. For a second, I stayed still, not wanting to open my eyes at all. I think part of me was convinced that if I just kept my eyes shut and pretended it was all a bad dream, it'd all go away. But of course, that wasn't my reality. My reality was a miserable one, made even worse every time I remembered that I'd brought it on myself. God, why did I ever decide to do this? Then I remembered the answer, and my eyes immediately snapped open. Pippin.

I turned my head, looking over to see Pippin still asleep on the back of the Uruk next to me, bouncing along as our captors ran, their steel boots smashing heavily into the soft ground. I lifted my head, scanning the territory, and frowned. Nothing but yellowed grass and rocks. No different from last time. Oh, joy. I lowered my head again. How many more days of this shit do we have to go through? Where are we? Where are these guys even taking us? Of course, I could answer none of these questions, which only infuriated me more. This was a nightmare. I was hungry, cold, and thirsty. My body still ached from the hell that we'd gone through the other day by the river, and now my muscles were cramping from being stuck in the same position for so long. I still had blood caked all over my clothes (both Uruk's and my own) and smelled like a dead animal carcass (though still better than the guy carrying me). I was a mess. I felt so disgusting and grimy that I was seriously considering knocking myself out just so I wouldn't have to deal with any of this shit anymore.

In short, I was starting to regret my decision to play captive. Honestly, I hadn't thought it through too much when I'd thrown myself into the arms of the Uruk-Hai. I hadn't expected them to bind my hands and feet, nor had I expected them to take most of my weapons from me. I had a small blade or two hidden in my boots, but they weren't doing me much good now. Looking ahead, I spotted the guy who had my twin blades, and I scowled. I'd hoped the Uruks would've been stupid and left them with me. Apparently I'd underestimated them there. The other thing bothering me, though, was how quick they'd been to scoop me up and take me away. Somehow, I sensed they had a particular interest in me beyond that of a normal prisoner, but couldn't figure out why. Sure, I was a fighter, but why would that be worth keeping me alive for? What game are they playing?

After trying and failing to come up with any answers, I sighed, trying not to retch at the stench of the pack. Not too long afterwards, though, I heard my name whispered from the side. "Kaia! Kaia, are you awake?"

I turned to look back over, happy to at least see he was still alive. "Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"Could be better," he said, managing a tiny smile. It quickly evaporated, though, as he then nervously glanced around. "...Do you think they're gonna do anything to us?"

"I don't know," I said to him. "I-"

"'EY!" The abrupt shout cut me off, and I glanced up to meet the withering glare of an Uruk not far ahead. "You two ain't to be talkin'! Shut it!"

I snarled right back at him. "I'll talk if I want to, dick!"

As soon as the words left my mouth, the procession stopped, and I rolled my eyes. Great. Now we've got to go through even more bullshit. The Uruk slowly walked back to me, his beady grey eyes staring me down from their sockets set deep into his flat face. He looked like he'd been thrown up against a window or something. "Well, well, well! Look what we have here. A wench with a mouth. I didn't know they came all feisty like you." The rest of the Uruk crew laughed cruelly, and I tried to pull away as he reached forward, gripping my chin tightly with his meaty hand. "But I'm the one in charge here, girl. Not you. So you'd best not cause no trouble, or we'll stop bein' so nice to ya."

"How about you stop touching my goddamn face?" I sneered, ripping my chin free. I continued to glare at the Uruk as he stook there, still looking at me with a flash of anger in his eyes. "The fuck are you looking at? Do I scare you?"

As soon as I said it, he drew back his hand and brutally smacked me across the face. I let out a small gasp, surprised by the attack, looking back to the Uruk leader as a stinging pain spread through my cheek. "You don't scare me, girl." He cast one last scowl in my direction before walking away, heading back to the front of the pack without another word.

I stared at him, fuming as a few of the other Uruks snickered. It took all I had not to tear free of my bonds and beat the shit out of him then and there, but I couldn't, no matter how much I wanted to. There was nothing I could do, which only fueled my anger. I couldn't do a damn thing to defend myself, even from humiliation. Ignoring Pippin's concerned look, I slumped down again as the line started moving once more, trying to get my head resting comfortably against the back of my carrier's neck. Good fucking God. It'll take a miracle to get us out of this one.

–

-Éowyn-

I cursed the great billowing skirts hindering me as I tried to run, wishing I could be rid of the long red gown as I sped through the halls of Meduseld. Even after all these years as a lady of the court, I had never mastered the trick of running in a skirt. I doubted I ever would. And in times such as these, speed was everything. I'd been scouring the halls for Éomer, but had seen no sign of him yet, which only added to my sense of fear. I must find him. I have to, he's the only one who might listen to me.

Finally, I reached the stairwell leading down to the armory, descending it quickly and hoping to find him there. Thankfully, my wishes had not gone unheard, and I was relieved as I entered the low-lit room to see his form several feet away. I marched up to him as he shrugged off his breastplate - clearly he'd only just returned for his latest scouting mission. "Éomer!"

At my voice, he turned, a flash of joy in his dark eyes as he saw me. As soon as I was within arm's reach, he'd discarded the armor in his hands, pulling me close with a sigh of relief. "Éowyn..." he said softly. I felt the stiffness in his shoulders recede. "You are well."

I nodded, taking comfort in his strong embrace. "I'm glad to see you," I replied. "You were gone for so long, I was worried..."

Éomer released me then, his typical somber gaze returning fast. "Too long," he said bitterly. "Longer than any of us expected."

A slight frown showed on my face. "What happened?"

Éomer watched me carefully for a moment, as if deciding whether or not he wished to answer truthfully. But after a moment, something in his eyes shifted again, and his voice was low as he spoke. "...We were ambushed."

My own eyes widened in shock at the news. "What? Ambushed?" He nodded. "Where?"

"Not far from the Entwash, where we'd been sent." He reached to pick up his breastplate again, and I glanced at it, my heart skipping a beat when I noticed a recently made gash in the metal. "But these enemies were different," he went on. "Unlike anything I've ever seen in our lands. Their armor was thick, and their warriors fierce."

"Were they Orcs?" I asked, hoping I did not sound as panicked as I felt.

Éomer shook his head. "No Orc I've ever known has attacked in daylight, but these did so. They attacked us on their own...almost as if they'd been planning to do so."

I stared at him, recognizing the suspicious air of his tone. "...You think Wormtongue is behind this?" I whispered.

"Of course I do," he sneered, disgusted by the mere mention of the man. "He is a snake that has been conspiring against us from the beginning, Éowyn. Now it is clear he will spare no expense to kill us if it means he would gain more power over the throne."

I drew back for a moment, the realization slowly sinking in. "...Kathryn was right," I muttered.

"We should never have let him come so far," he said, unclasping the vambraces from his forearms. "He has weaseled his way in here, breeding war within our own halls and against our own people-"

But then I stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Éomer, this may mean worse things than you know." My tone was grave as he looked at me, sensing my fear as I revealed why I'd been desperately searching for him in the first place. "...Theodred has not yet returned."

At the news, his face fell. "From the Fords of Isen? He left nearly a fortnight ago!"

"I was hoping you would have heard news of his party's return." But Éomer shook his head, and I felt my heart sink like a stone. "If Wormtongue has plotted an ambush against you, then-"

"Theodred is no longer safe," he finished. Almost immediately, he turned, grabbing his breastplate and helmet from where they'd been lain on a nearby table. Within seconds, he'd donned his armor once more, reaching for his spear propped up against the wall as he brushed past me.

"Éomer, wait!" I called, causing him to stop by the door. "You've only just returned!"

He turned, a fear in his eyes which I had not seen in a long time as he slipped his helmet over his head. "He has no idea what's coming, Éowyn. I fear we may already be too late." Before I could say another word to him, he'd disappeared back up the stairs, gone in the blink of an eye. I stayed frozen where I was, helpless, already hearing his wild shouts to rally his men once more.

A shudder ran through me, and I raised a hand to my mouth, taking a shaky breath. Éomer had never believed in praying to the gods, and had always teased me when I had done it as a child. Now, however, I prayed without hesitation. What more could I do? Theodred was in danger. If we lost him... Rohan would fall.

A/N: Kind of a bummer of a first chapter, I know. Wasn't really intentional, but then again...this book is where things start to get dark. Buckle up, folks, cause we're in for a wild ride. ;)

See ya next time! Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave me feedback in a review!