A.N. Yay! Now we're on to Return of the King! * is happy * PLEASE REVIEW!
On second thought, I'm not going to do the Narnia part of this for NaNoWriMo. I've got a better idea. Much better. So this story'll be on hiatus for a month.
Disclaimer: * sighs * I…do…not…own…Lord…of…the…Rings. Is…that…clear? I do not own (well, I do) Golden Sun – that is, I don't own the actual thing. Of course, I own the game…
Chapter 1
After a day in Fangorn, Gimli was STILL slightly nervous about being in the dark forest. "I don't like it. It's too…tight."
Kestrel facepalmed once again. "GIMLI! What's your problem? What do you mean, 'it's too tight'?" she mimicked sarcastically. "It's a friggin FOREST, for Eru's sake! How is it tight? Heck, Gimli, I'm not as short as a dwarf, and I feel like this forest is airy and elegant!"
"We dwarves are accustomed to being underground! We do not like the forest!" the stocky dwarf argued back.
Kestrel drew breath to reply, but suddenly Aragorn, who had moved to the head of the line, gave a shout. "We've made it!"
"Made it where?" she called.
Legolas shook his head, smiling. "Made it to Isengard, you dummy."
"Oh, is that a challenge?" she joked back, urging Lorthan on out of the woods.
Her first look on Isengard revealed that there had been a battle there. And a lopsided one, by the looks of it. Heck, all the walls are torn down!There were two small figures sitting on what was left of the eastern wall, but she couldn't make them out, so she called Legolas up.
"You see those two people? Who are they?" she asked, pointing.
After a moment he laughed and said, "Kestrel, that's Merry and Pippin!"
0oO0oO0oO0oO0
As they came closer, Merry and Pippin saw them and stood up. With a flourish, Merry stood up and said, "Welcome, my lords, to Isengard!"
"Oh, then, what am I?" Kestrel asked, glaring at them. But she couldn't stay angry at them for long, so great was her relief at personally seeing them alive and well. But still…sexists.
Merry pretended that he hadn't heard her, but being "a fool of a Took", Pippin said, "You're not important enough to be included." Kestrel's eyebrows shot up.
"Oh? REALLY now. I was under the impression that I was a member of the Fellowship, more than YOU, Peregrin Took." she said hotly.
Merry laughed. "She does have a point there, Pippin. And anyways, she used your full name. You can't argue with THAT."
It was then that Kestrel realized that Gimli realized (A.N.SORRY FOR INTERRUPTING! But did you follow that?What I'm saying here is that Gimli realized what the hobbits were doing, and Kestrel realized that he realized that…do you follow? Whatever. Moving on.) that the hobbits were smoking, drinking, and essentially enjoying themselves. "A merry hunt you've led us on, and now we find you feasting…and smoking!" Interesting. He finds the fact that they're smoking more important and outrageous than the fact that they've found some beer…ale…whatever and lots of food…I will NEVER understand dwarves.
"We are sitting on a field of victory," * nom nom nom * "and enjoying a few well-earned comforts!" * nom nom nom * Pippin said and chewed at the same time. Merry leaned forward and blew a perfectly round smoke ring as Pippin went on. "The salted pork" * nom nom nom * "is particularly good."
Gimli's eyes widened in amazement and indignation. "Salted pork?"
Kestrel sighed. "They're hobbits. What could you possibly be expecting from them? 'Oh, we defeated the Orcs of Isengard single-handedly and are now keeping Saruman locked in Orthanc'? Or 'we helped Frodo destroy the Ring and are just about to head back to the Shire now'? Or 'We found a stock of food when we destroyed the place and are saving it for you?' Seriously…"
"We're under orders from Treebeard, who's taken over management of Isengard!" Merry broke in in their defense. "He wants to see Gandalf!"
Gandalf raised AN eyebrow. "Oh? Then why didn't you mention this sooner?"
"Um…um…oh…uh…we…" Pippin stuttered.
Kestrel raised her hands and let them fall in exasperation. "Whatever. So where is this…Treebeard? And who, or should I say what, is he?"
"Treebeard…is an Ent." Gandalf said.
She cocked her head. "An Ent? And what's THAT supposed to tell me?"
"Ents. Tree-herders. Shepherds of the forest." Merry said. Kestrel was slightly surprised that he was the one to explain to her. He's normally such a clumsy hobbit…well not exactly clumsy, but annoying, stupid, and generally there just for comic relief. Since when does he know all this stuff? He's changed since last I saw him…
Kestrel shrugged. "I guess I'll know him when I see him, because your description does nothing for me. Sorry, but yeah."
"What IS that you're smoking?" Gimli asked. Kestrel sighed inwardly. Of COURSE, that's what you care about the most. Typical.
Pippin smiled and said, "1417, I think. South-farthing. Longbottom-leaf, that's pretty obvious."
"The best leaf in all of the Shire!" Merry pronounced, blowing out another perfect smoke circle.
Gandalf shook his head impatiently. "All well and good, Master Brandybuck, but we really must get to Treebeard. May you tell us where he is?"
"Over there." Merry pointed. The rest of them instinctively followed his finger, though Kestrel could see nothing but a small dark blob in front of a big dark blob.
She shrugged. "I'll take your word for it. I haven't got the eyes of an Elf."
"Obviously." Legolas said, and smiled. With a command in Elvish, he spurred Arod on through the remnants of the wall and towards the tower of Orthanc, Gimli wildly hanging on. The rest of them followed at a more sedate pace, Kestrel noticing as she got closer that this Ent-Treebeard-person-thingy looked remarkably like a tree, yet according to Merry, he wasn't a tree. That's assuming Merry knew what he was talking about, which Iam inclined to believe, since nobody did anything to argue with him or disprove him.
She also noticed that Treebeard spoke VERY slowly and deliberately, somewhat reminding her of Elrond. "Hoom! Young master, Gandalf. I'm glad you've come. Wood and water, stock and stone I can master, but there's a wizard to manage here – locked in his tower." Heck, he sounds a lot like Tret from the Golden Sun games. There's a similarity – thinking tree-like beings…maybe that's how ALL thinking tree-like beings talk.*shrugs*Heh. Whatever. She found herself tapping her foot and rolling her eyes as Treebeard spoke. Could he talk ANY slower? We've got things to do here!
"And there, Saruman must remain under your ever-vigilant guard, Treebeard." Gandalf said, nodding in appreciation.
Gimli grunted as he hit the ground heavily. "Oh, let's just have his head and be done with it." Why did you dismount? We're going to go back to Edoras in like fifteen minutes at the most! Idiot.
"No! He has no power anymore." Gandalf said.
Kestrel sighed. "For once, I agree with Gimli." she said, ignoring the glare the stocky dwarf sent her. "Why not just kill him?"
"Kestrel! He no longer poses a threat to us. If we kill him now, we will be no better than he was. He's helpless. Do you want to kill a helpless man?" Aragorn asked hotly.
And again, Kestrel threw up her hands in exasperation. "He's not a man! He's a friggin Istari, just like Gandalf! And anyways, it's not like he's some person that we can have mercy on! He's done bad things, and he knows it. He did them willingly. Seriously. It's not that hard. Gandalf, just let me in there! It won't be too lopsided…after all, wouldn't he still have his staff?"
"I can't let you go in there, Kestrel." Legolas said, looking her in the eye. "How do we know that he doesn't have anything in there?"
She closed her eyes and sighed. "Does it really matter? Face it, Legolas, you're overprotective. Seriously."
"No, Kestrel. You're not going, and that's that." Aragorn said, turning his horse around.
It was then that Kestrel noticed the water swirling about Lorthan's hooves, being the extremely unobservant person that she was. "Water? Where did this come from?"
"Some of the younger and more hasty Ents…hoom…broke the dam. The filth of Saruman is washing away. Trees will come back to live here." Treebeard said, if you could really call what he was doing legit TALKING. "Young trees, wild trees."
"Pippin!" Aragorn admonished suddenly. Kestrel looked over at the little hobbit, who had jumped off of Hasufel and was currently picking something up out of the muddy water.
She urged Lorthan over to look at what Pippin had picked up. "What IS that?" For Pippin had a polished spherical blackstone in his hands. "No, really. What the heck is that?"
"Well…hoom…bless…my…bark!" Treebeard said, swaying.
Théoden was watching the stone with interest. "A Seeing-stone."
"Peregrin Took, I'll take that, my lad." Gandalf said, holding out a hand. Indecisive, Pippin looked from the stone, to Gandalf, and back to the stone again. "Quickly now!" After a moment's more hesitation, Pippin placed the stone in Gandalf's hand. The wizard immediately hid it under his white robes, riding away from Pippin. "We head back to Edoras!"
With a last longing look at the black tower of Orthanc, Kestrel reluctantly turned Lorthan around to follow him. Darn it. I really wanted to do something monumental in this world. I guess that'll just have to wait.
Something flickered in her vision. She blinked twice and looked again. On the balcony of Orthanc was a transparent image, similar to the one that she had seen on the plains near Helm's Deep. Alindra? What the heck!"Um, Legolas?"
With Gimli in tow, he trotted over to look at the balcony. "Is that what I think it is?"
"What're you two looking at? Come on, let's just get back to Edoras!" Gimli protested. The other two paid no attention to them.
Kestrel sighed. "Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't. But what the heck is it doing here?"
"The laws of Arda are falling apart." Legolas responded. "This shouldn't be there. This shouldn't be happening."
Kestrel rolled her eyes. "None of this should be happening. The Ring should have been destroyed three thousand years ago. Angel should be a perfectly normal person. Gimli should be tall."
"Hey!"
She smirked. "Okay, not that last part, but yeah, whatever. We don't live in a normal world, Legolas. We don't live in normal times." She gestured at Gimli, sitting behind him. "In normal times, would an Elf be sharing a horse with a dwarf? Would a female be chosen as part of an important and dangerous quest? Would we be…" Kestrel let that thought trail off, not wanting Gimli to know anything about their relationship.
"No, Kestrel, none of these things would have happened. But it's not just the Ring." He lowered his voice. "This malice is spreading ever outward, and only we can stop it. But remember this…nothing will ever be the same."
0oO0oO0oO0oO0
Gimli breathed a VERY loud sigh of relief when they left Fangorn Forest for the last time. "I'm not going back in THERE ever again!"
"Well, Gimli, perhaps you will, perhaps you won't. But it's really not up to you to decide." Kestrel smiled.
Legolas shrugged, also smiling. "It's strange, isn't it? You can put a dwarf in a completely closed-in cave, and he could live there happily for the rest of his years. Yet when you put one in a forest with fresh air, growing things, and running water, he'll say that it's too tight. Another reason why I will never understand a dwarf."
"Grrr…" Gimli growled, raising his axe halfheartedly before lowering it again. "Oh, never mind."
Kestrel raised her eyebrows and continued on silently for a while, as did the rest of them. "Théoden King! How long until Edoras?" she called to the king, who had assumed the lead from Gandalf. She herself was the rear guard.
"We're a good half day's ride from there yet!" he called back. Kestrel sighed. Pity. I was looking forward to seeing Éowyn, and hopefully I could take Angel off her hands and…oh, I don't know. Try to send her back?Lord Elrond said that he didn't know how to send her back, and I don't remember Galadriel or Celeborn saying anything about it.*sigh*
She actually sighed out loud. "Darn it." And so she spent the next six hours trying to figure out how to send Angel back where she belonged – on Earth. Needless to say, her efforts were fruitless. All they did was get her pitched headlong onto the rolling plains when Lorthan apparently got pissed at her totally-out-of-it-ness.
He turned a great brown eye on her as she was getting up. You idiot.
"Not my fault, okay? I'm one of those people who get bored REALLY easily." Kestrel said. And then: Oh crap. I just talked to my horse in public, essentially. So she shut up, shot Lorthan a look that said Shut up or I'll leave you with Angel at which he snorted, and got back on him. She sighed. If I zone out again…Lorthan, I'm going to KILL you! Since when are horses so freaking ANNOYING?
She couldn't see Legolas' face from behind him, but she could swear that he was smirking."I see you're talking to your horse again." At the murderous look that Kestrel shot him (apparently he could feel her glare burning into his back), he laughed and spurred Arod on to inhuman speeds (if that word works for a horse) while Gimli bounced and desperately tried to cling on.
"As much as I love you, I want to kill you with every fiber of my being." Kestrel called after him as she urged Lorthan on. Of course, being him, he didn't do anything. "You…!"
Noticing that she had fallen behind, Aragorn turned Hasufel around and trotted to her. "Horse trouble, Kestrel?"
"Heck yeah. This…CREATURE is being VERY annoying. Lorthan, GET MOVING!" she yelled. As she expected, but hoped wouldn't happen, Lorthan snorted again.
Aragorn raised his eyebrows. "I could swear he understood you."
"He did." Kestrel sighed. "And I won't be able to get anywhere if he stops being so obstinate."
After a moment's thought, Aragorn brightened. "You know what you could do? Take Hasufel and ride him as hard as you can to Edoras. Find Angel and get her here on her unicorn. Let's see what happens then."
Angel? You mean Glittering-pink-flower-smell Lady?
Kestrel and Aragorn looked at each other. "Did you hear that? Or rather, sense that?" she asked, bewildered.
"Yes." he replied, just as confused.
She sighed. "I used to be able to tell what he was saying only by his body language. And this is Middle-earth, not Narnia. He shouldn't be talking. What is going on?"
The Black-evil-strong-death-smell Destroyers are wreaking havoc on all of existence. That I can talk is only one of the mutations that they have made.
"Those aren't bad descriptions, Lorthan. Glittering-pink-flower-smell Lady…" she snorted. "Black-evil-strong-death-smell Destroyers…Where do you get these things?"
What do you mean? These are their names!
Aragorn cut into their converstation. "Well, Lorthan, if you understand us? We need to get back to Edoras, so if you please, get moving."
Well, that's a nice way to put it.
"Wait, Aragorn…can Hasufel talk?" Kestrel suddenly asked.
He shrugged. "I don't know. Can you, Hasufel?"
Yes. This new voice sounded just as horsey in Kestrel and Aragorn's minds as Lorthan's did, but it was clearly different. Though I normally can't talk to Those-with-two-legs.
A resounding horse equivalent of a sigh echoed in Kestrel and Aragorn's minds. We haven't been able to talk to Those-with-two-legs that long. It started…oh, after we arrived at the Big-stone-stable-in-the-mountains. Lorthan said.
"Big-stone-stable-in-the-mountains?" Kestrel puzzled.
Aragorn, on the other hand, had figured it out. "He means Helm's Deep."
"That makes sense…but really, why are we standing around and chatting? We can't get to Edoras if we're talking with horses in the middle of the wilderness!" Kestrel exclaimed. "Come ON, Lorthan!"
It seemed like Lorthan was about to deliver a scathing reply when Hasufel's voice broke into their heads. Just go, Lorthan. No use in being obstinate. Only the Black-evil-strong-death-smell Destroyers will benefit from that. To Kestrel's amazement, Lorthan actually began plodding forward. Seriously, is Hasufel like his dad or something?
"Thanks, Hasufel." she said out loud.
No problem.
0oO0oO0oO0oO0
To make sure that episode with Lorthan wouldn't happen again, Kestrel took the front. So it was that she was the first to see Éowyn standing up on the stone platform surrounding Meduseld, her white gown and blonde hair billowing back in the wind. To think that I would become almost-best friends with a blonde techically princess! Well, for that matter, Angel was NEVER like a Mary-sue back on Earth…whatever. Screw it.
"Hey, Éowyn! We're back!" she called up.
A voice came floating back down to her. "Good. I'm getting tired of Angel."
"SoRRY! Where is she now?"
"Inside. I was thinking about putting her in the dungeons."
"Ah, I wish that would work. But she's got her Sue magic, and who knows how she'll break out of the cell. But she would break out – that's a given. I'll take her off your hands, though." She was riding in through the gates of Edoras as she said this. The first thing she noticed was that the people seemed much more…enthusiastic? Oh, I don't know. But they don't look as…morose as they were a while ago.
Éowyn came running down to meet them. "Angel's with a guard."
"A guard as in…ONE person, or a guard as in a guard squadron?" Kestrel asked, eyebrows raised.
Smiling, Éowyn replied, "You WOULD ask that. A guard as in a squadron."
"Good. Let me just take care of Lorthan first before taking care of her," Kestrel said, dismounting. "This…obnoxious horse is really getting on my nerves, and who knows what he'll do to me if I see to Angel before him?"
I heard that!
Éowyn looked shell-shocked. "Is it just me, or…"
"Trust me, sister, it's not just you. Yes, he can talk. As can Hasufel, and who knows how many other horses. And it's not fun. This…creature is a smart-aleck and a brat." she said, thumping him on the side.
Ow! …I heard that too!
"Shut up. And that hurt?" She undid the saddle straps and slipped it off. Lorthan breathed an audible horse equivalent of a sigh of relief. "Lorthan, you do realize that I noticed that you sucked in a bellyful of air before whoever it was put your saddle on? Because that saddle was slipping. Majorly slipping. And I had no idea how to put it on – heck, I still have no idea – and I have my pride, you know."
What've you done to be proud of?
"Oh, shut UP." She led Lorthan back to the stables, with Éowyn following, and put him in the one that he had occupied previously. May I have an apple?
Kestrel threw up her hands in exasperation. "Oh, you act all bratty and annoying to me, but when you want something, you suck up? I'm not that stupid."
As soon as he realized that he wasn't going to get anything, he snorted and said, Coulda fooled me.
"You're one to talk." she replied, majorly pissed. She closed the gate, and ignoring Lorthan's protests, walked away without giving him even any regular horse feed. When Éowyn expressed her opinion on this, she muttered, "Easy for you to say. You're not the one who got stuck with a talking horse who has an attitude."
Éowyn raised her eyebrows. "Do you always talk to your horses like that?"
Kestrel snorted. "I've never owned a horse, but pretty much ever since that charge at Helm's Deep, Lorthan and I have developed an…INTERESTING relationship. He hates me, I hate him, we work well together. That's how the world turns." Éowyn raised her eyebrows again at this but didn't say anything.
As they climbed the steps to Meduseld, she suddenly said, "You know there's going to be a big victory feast tonight."
"A feast. Wonderful. That's just awesome." Kestrel replied. I hate social events. I hate social events. I hate social events.
Éowyn either failed to notice her sarcasm or just pretended not to notice it, because she said, "You're supposed to wear your best."
"My best, eh? All I've got are black tunics, black leggings, a dark red travel cloak, and a gray Elvish cloak. What would be considered my best?" she asked. I hate social events. I hate social events. I hate social events.
Éowyn shrugged. "I don't know. But…you could borrow one of my dresses…we're about the same size, I reckon."
"Maybe. Whatever." Kestrel said. I…dislike social events.
Still either totally oblivious to Kestrel's attitude or pretending to be oblivious, Éowyn plowed on. "I could show you some of them…you could try them on right now…I swear. Legolas would love to see you in a dress."
"Legolas? What made you mention him? And how do you know?" Kestrel asked, startled.
Éowyn shrugged again. "Just a thought, I guess. Although…" She let that thought trail off, and Kestrel could only guess at what she was thinking. Oh crap. Does she know?
"Do you really want to know our relationship?" she questioned, somewhat frightened.
For the third time, Éowyn shrugged. "I don't care. If you want to tell me, go ahead. But if you don't, that's fine too." But Kestrel could see that curious light in her eye. I swear, she looks like she's going to burst any second now with curiousity. And as much as I'd like to see that, I would miss her if that happened.
"Fine…yeah. We're…together." she said – a carefully planned ambiguous statement. If she thinks that means we're friends, sure, why not?But if she realizes the truth…I was the one stupid enough to offer.
Éowyn was rendered pretty much speechless by this new revelation. "You don't mean…"
"Maybe." Kestrel was getting more and more…unhappy with each passing statement. I'm mentally kicking myself right now…why do I have the mental picture that Lorthan is kicking me?And last time I checked, horses couldn't read minds. But then again, last time I checked, horses couldn't talk, either. What's happening to the world?
After a couple awkward moments of silence in which they entered their room, Éowyn said hesitantly, "So…do you want to borrow one of my dresses?"
"I don't see a better option lying around, so…sure, I guess." Kestrel shrugged. She proceeded to head on over to her bed and sit staring at the wall while Éowyn busied herself with finding a dress that would suit Kestrel.
"Um, a plain white dress isn't exactly the best…black doesn't suit a victory feast…it's too warm for velvet…somehow I think she'll never wear a pink dress…aha! This one'll do. Uh, Kestrel?" Éowyn called. Kestrel spun around to look at the dress that Éowyn had picked out.
She stifled a gasp. The dress was exactly the same as the one she had worn in the clearing. What the heck? How could she have gotten that dress?Or where would she have gotten the pattern? And I wore that dress only about two days ago! Yet another mystery she would have to solve.
Éowyn was now holding it out and shaking it. "Here. Try it on." She gestured towards a corner in which a screen stood. Kestrel stepped behind the screen and put the dress on. Heck, it even feels the same!
"Not bad." Éowyn said approvingly when Kestrel stepped out. "But what are you going to do with your hair? And you can't exactly wear your weapons to a feast?"
Kestrel challenged, "Why not? Aragorn's probably going to come at least with his sword. I'll set aside my dagger and my bow…but this sword is special. And about the hair thing…NOTHING. Bun or ponytail. Unless you want to braid it…"
"I'll braid it for you. And you'll probably have to bring up the matter of your sword with Théoden King." Éowyn said hesitatingly.
Kestrel shrugged and nodded. "I can do that."