-Meduseld, 7 July 3018 Third Age
"Rhiannon, come. The time is here."
Without a word, a tall young woman slipped from her bed as the chamber was once again encased in darkness, and leaned down, pulling a travel bag from beneath her bed. Moving quickly, she changed into a pair of dark leggings and a long tunic before sliding her thick sock clad feet into a pair of soft boots. Picking up a thick leather belt, she carefully fastened it around her waist before sliding two knives into either side of it, readily at hand if needed. Glancing around the room to make sure nothing was out of place, and no one was hovering in the shadows, watching her, she picked up a thick, fur-lined traveling cloak and settled it around her shoulders, fastening it with care before pulling her long brown locks from beneath the heavy material. Picking up the bag, she lifted it onto her shoulder before picking up a sword in its sheath from a trunk, and slipping from the chamber. Her dark blue eyes darted the hall as she made her way through the cavernous area as quietly and quickly as possible, thankful for years of sneaking around that she knew her way through the hall. Letting herself out a side door, she hurried down to the stables.
"That was faster than I expected. Eliana is ready, as is Hama." Theodred, the prince of Rohan nodded towards two figures standing with him.
"Will this truly work, brother?" Rhiannon, Lady and Fourth Marshall of the Mark of Rohan raised her eyebrows at her foster brother before glancing at the two figures there with them.
"It will. Eliana and Hama will ride towards Gondor, and I will tell Grima and Father that you are going to care for an ailing aunt. Eliana will care for the elderly woman, and Hama will return here, while you ride to take Rohan's place with Boromir at Rivendell." The young price spoke quietly as he helped Hama fasten Rhiannon's sword to her horse. "Eliana looks enough like you from a distance that no one will tell the difference."
Giving a short nod, Rhiannon easily mounted her horse, as the other woman and the soldier mounted theirs. All three riders raised their hoods, and waited for Theodred's signal. Rhiannon rode first, directing her horse towards the west, riding as quietly as was possible. Moments later, Eliana and Hama burst from the stable together, riding for the east as Theodred made his way back up towards the hall of Meduseld, keeping his gaze towards the east, as if he knew that someone would be watching. As he reached the last step leading up to the golden hall, he feigned surprise when the door opened and a slight figure dressed completely in black stepped out, a nosy look plain on his pallid face.
"Grima." Theodred greeted his uncle's advisor with a slight nod.
"And what are you doing up at this late hour, Prince Theodred?" Grima Wormtongue eyed the young prince carefully.
"We received word that Rhiannon's aunt is ill. She and Hama are riding for Gondor now. Hama will return after he sees the lady safe in Minas Tirith." Theodred spoke quietly, nodding towards the riding figures heading east towards Gondor.
"Ah. I see." Grima looked slightly disappointed, and turned, making his way back into the hall once more.
Theodred waited until the short man was back inside, and the door shut before glancing towards the west, and could just barely make out Rhiannon's form riding hard and fast, and knew that it wouldn't take her long to meet up with Boromir, the son of the Steward of Gondor, who would be riding with her to Rivendell, to attend Elrond's council as well. Slipping back into the hall, the tall prince made his way towards the sleeping chambers, and with a worried heart, let himself disrobe and climb into his bed to sleep, and prepare to ride off with a mixture of his own men and Rhiannon's men to guard and defend the Westfold of the land.
Rhiannon kept her gaze ahead, knowing that if she was spotted, Grima would send men after her, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to outrun them forever. She needed a clean getaway, to meet Boromir near the edge of the land, so that they could make the long travel to Rivendell, which would take nearly three months. But it would be worth it. Representing Rohan was a high honor, and it should have been her foster father, King Theoden taking the spot, but with his new frailty, he wouldn't have survived the trip, and Theodred, his son, did not want to make the journey and leave his father alone. So he had chosen Rhiannon in his stead. Glancing around as she neared the border of Rohan and the open lands, she finally spotted a lone figure sitting upon a horse, covered by a thick traveling cloak and hood.
"Boromir?" She called tentatively, hoping it was the Gondorian captain she had met only a few times.
"Hello, Lady Rhiannon. I'm glad to see that you got away safely." Boromir nudged his horse, riding over to the young woman. "I saw your people riding east, and knew you would be coming soon. Was such a deception really necessary?"
"Grima Wormtongue is not to be trusted. There's something about him that is off, that makes me and my foster brother and his cousins uncomfortable. And it is not just the way that his eyes follow myself and Eowyn whenever we are in the throne hall when he is there." Rhiannon spoke quietly.
"Then it is safer for you to go to Rivendell, and meet with the council. Come, child. We ride through the night."
With a nod, Rhiannon nudged her horse easily into a trot, and slowly began moving faster, letting the horse run, as it was still somewhat untamed, which all Rhohirrim horses were. It was the horse that chose its rider, not the other way around. She had learned to ride the moment that she had been brought to Rohan, at the age of three, when her father had been killed in Osgilith. And it had been Boromir who had ridden the three day trip with Rhiannon on the saddle in front of him, delivering her to her new foster family. Letting go of the reigns, as she knew the horse would stay in the direction she had pointed her, she pulled her cloak tighter around her body to ward off the cool night air, and glanced around, to check not only for the men that Grima had corrupted coming after her, but also for roaming Orcs or Wild Men, both of whom would come after her and Boromir, and usually patrolled in groups of at least four, which would be a difficult battle. But as the land was clear, she knew that once they reached the region with the Misty Mountains, and the Redhorn Pass, they would be safe. No Orc would travel that far west without having conquered Gondor, Rohan, and be well on the way to conquering the Elves, which simply wasn't likely at this point in the strength of the Eye.
"How long will you be able to ride, my lady?" Boromir spoke quietly.
"I can ride for hours, Boromir. And please, call me Rhiannon. I do not think that we need titles on this trip. It can be very informal." Rhiannon gave a faint smile, her hand stroking her horse's neck, urging him into a faster trot.
As the night waned, the pair only stopped once, to water their horses and stretch their legs before picking up the pace again, neither of them feeling fully comfortable in the flat plains, where they could be easily seen from a distance. The hills would be easier to travel in, easier to hide from enemies and unfriendly eyes, which were popping up in more and more places, as a shadow had grown not only in the east, in Mordor, but also faintly over Orthanc, the tower of the White Wizard, Saruman, which was something that Rhiannon was planning on bringing up at the council, if Saruman was not attending. If he was there, she would simply talk to Elrond alone, and express her worry. As the sun began to rise, Rhiannon glanced over her shoulder, even though Meduseld was well out of sight by now, and felt a piece of her heart being left behind her now.
"Rhiannon? You look sad for some reason. Were you not willing to leave Rohan?" Boromir kept his voice gentle, watching the younger woman.
"I was willing, Boromir, when Theodred asked me to go to the council in his stead. I merely wish that I could have told my beloved that I was leaving. But it was safer that only myself, Theodred, and two of our most trusted people what we had planned." Rhiannon spoke quietly, turning her gaze back to the west.
"You kept quiet from him for his safety. That is a noble thing to do, and nothing to be ashamed of. Who is your champion?"
"Eomer, Theodred's cousin, and the Third Marshall of the Mark. He's my captain, and my soul mate. But neither of us wish to bring a child into this troubled world. It's too dangerous, and Rohan cannot afford to lose me now."
"You make good sense. These times are uneasy, with something growing in the east and a shadow working its way across these lands. There is a chance that the land will have to offer up all the sons for war again, and it will not be pretty."
Rhiannon merely nodded, and let her mind drift to Eomer, and their long walks late into the night, having to sneak back into Meduseld to keep their relationship private from Grima. Only Theodred, Hama, Eowyn, and now Boromir knew how truly connected she and Eomer were, that they both knew that there would be no one else for either of them. But she knew that his stubbornness and his hatred of Grima were becoming more and more apparent, and she worried for his safety, especially with her gone, and if he thought that she was simply in Gondor, not in Rivendell, as she had no way of knowing if Theodred would share the information of where she was with Eomer or Eowyn. Forcing herself to focus on the path that she and Boromir were creating, Rhiannon looked towards the west, wishing that it wouldn't take them three months to travel to Rivendell.
[A/N: I've decided to finally put my LOTR fic on the internet. I'm actually combining two versions that I had, with two separate original characters. This is the introduction of the first, Rhiannon. My second is actually a Wizard, and she'll be introduced in the next chapter. The first few chapters will bounce back and forth between the two characters until the council at Rivendell. Enjoy!]