Enjoy and review!
~littledragoneyes
Chapter 3:
After traveling many miles, we reached the kingdom of Rohan. Edoras. A mere, fairly big hill with many homes built on it, and on the very top, the Golden Hall of Meduseld.
Finally.
We paused for a moment, the three travelers and one White Wizard now in a gray cloak, letting the steeds regain their breath and rest for a minute or so. As we rested, they gazed on to Edoras, wondering what evil has befallen it now. "Edoras and the Golden Hall of Meduseld." Gandalf said, as if explaining what was there, even though everyone of us knew. Even us horses knew. "There dwells Théoden, King of Rohan, whose mind is overthrown. Saruman's hold over King Théoden is now very strong."
I huffed. No wonder why that pale-faced Wormtongue was now living in there, and was mysteriously always stalking poor Lady Èowyn. I can still remember her screaming and shouting at him to stay away from her. Yes, that was an interesting event.
With a final warning, Gandalf said, "Be careful what you say. Do not look for welcome here."
Fine with me. I'll welcome my oats and hay, thank you very much.
And then break time was over. Spurring us forward, we raced across the remaining piece of land. I passed all-too familiar scenery. I can still remember the way I ran with my mother and father when I was released outside the stables to train my legs to become one of a war horse. Muscular, strong, and lean. I sniffed the air, taking in great, deep gulps of air and filling my lungs. It even smelled the same.
Yet there was one difference.
A black flag, embroidered with gold and red thread and lining all around the edges of the flag, surrounding a single white horse with gold, drifted from somewhere, lazily on the wind. It floated over my head. Glancing at it, I saw it land near Aragorn and Hasufel as they came in from the rear. I frowned, and caught Hasufel's gaze, who looked quite startled to see it, but we could do nothing about it.
"It's a bad omen." Hasufel said quietly as we trotted into Edoras.
"What, that nobody's picking it up?"
"Well, yeah, that too. But...it gives me the shudders." He looked at me with big brown eyes. "The flag of Rohan fell to the ground. Nobody bothered to pick it up..."
We were receiving sidelong looks from the villagers. Some were a little stunned to see us, some were a little disgusted. Some were suspicious. Some wore slightly expressionless faces. Hmm. Some greetings war horses get. Do we need to have familiar captains, lieutenants, generals, or even mere soldiers to be on our backs to be recognized and be praised for?
"You'll find more cheer in a graveyard." Gimli commented.
Our masters dismounted us, much to my relief. My back was beginning to ache and become stiff.
I remembered being born and raised here, in the stables. I hadn't been back in a month so far. Once our riders dismounted (Much to my relief - my sore back was becoming stiff now) and we were seperated by three stable boys for each of us horses. Shadowfax, of course, mighty and noble-looking as he was, was taken to one of the bigger stables, and cleaner ones, while we were pulled off to the side like regular war horses.
I eyed my old stable longingly, which was just across from the stable I was now in. I could remember every hole in the wood, wall, and corner. I remembered that I could peek through the holes to spy on the outside world.
But here, in this new stable, it must've been redone, because it smelled new and there were no holes. Hasufel was placed besides me. Though next to him was another horse. Another chestnut horse, like Hasufel, but he was slightly older than us two. Just a bit more experience, a bit more knowledge, and a bit more strategy and tactics that he can execute properly. His name? Brego.
He eyed Hasufel, who looked at me nervously.
"So, tell me, Arod and Hasufel, where do you come from?" Shadowfax began a conversation as we were brushed down and given food. Hasufel obviously wanted to talk first. Like always.
"We come from Edoras, sir." He began politely. "Right in this barn. Born and raised as Rohan war horses."
A stableboy gently placed a bucket of oats in my stall and I began diving into it hungrily. The stableboy quickly jerked his hand out of my stall before as if I could accidentally eat it with my oats and his hand as well. Shadowfax and Hasufel were already beginning to speak about their different lives and commenting on each other's jokes. But what do I care? I'm starving...
"Arod?" My head shot up, alert and tense for a second, until I realized that it was just Shadowfax, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "What about you?" He asked.
"What? Oh, sorry, I wasn't paying attention..." I felt my ears grow slightly hot.
Somehow now I felt very awkward. The horse lord said, "Why don't you join our conversation?" I blinked. I wasn't very good at conversations. I liked to keep to myself usually. But I didn't know how to explain that at this moment. "Erm, okay."
Hasufel sniggered, but hid it as he went for another round of hay. "Hasufel has told me his account of the battle at Fangorn Forest. What is yours?" Shadowfax sounded interested. I swallowed nervously, thinking about the events of the past few days.
"Well...I remember there were Orcs fighting and snarling all around me when I charged into battle, with my master, Caruryn. We were both well-prepared for death and pain. We were fighting very well, cutting down each Orc in our way. Then, when all seemed well, Caruryn called for the prince and they were discussing something I didn't understand. And the prince's horse, Firefoot, who was also my friend, was talking to me. It was a mild argument about who killed more Orcs in the battle, but then it turned into a miscommunication, and finally, he was yelling at me for a bad mistake I did." To my embarassment, I sounded regretful.
And I was. If I had been smarter, at least a bit more focused, then Caruryn's wrist wouldn't have been broken. "And then...behind Firefoot there was an Orc, faking that it was dead. It had a sword in his hand was going to kill the prince." Memories were a silent flashback, only pictures of what happened. "And I saw the Orc, so I shoved aside Firefoot, but in my frenzy, Caruryn was knocked off me and the Orc killed him."
My voice was full of sorrow. "I didn't mean for him to die."
Hasufel and Shadowfax had both stopped eating and was curiously listening quietly to what I had to say.
"And so that's why you don't treat that Prince of Mirkwood very well?" Shadowfax asked gently. I blinked and shook my head slightly, breaking out of my trance.
"Sorry, what?"
"Legolas. The Prince of Mirkwood." He was very patient with me.
"Who?" I had no idea what he was talking about. Hasufel sighed.
"Pointy-ears." He told me, rolling his eyes. "Oh!" I exclaimed, remembering. "Yes, him. What about him?" Hasufel looked like he was going to die of my stupidness. "You don't like him, do you?" he asked.
I thought for a minute, considering Hasufel's words. "Well, I don't not like him..."
"You hate him." Hasufel finished. I stared at him, feeling uncomfortable. "I remember him innocently walking in the stables and when he tried to brush your mane, you nearly snapped off his hand. Which, if I'm not mistaken, implies that you do hate him."
"Not that much!" I objected. "It's just..."
"So you do hate him. Why?"
I sighed, giving in. "Okay, fine, I admit it, I don't favor him. Why, I'm not so sure. Maybe it's because of Caruryn or something..." Shadowfax seemed to read my mind easily. "You don't like him because you want Caruryn back. You feel guilty that you were being careless and got Caruryn hurt, didn't you?" I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it might be that."
"And you've grown up to be a war horse." I looked at the horse lord. Now that was just plain creepy. He could read my mind exactly, although I couldn't even put the words in the right way to make it easy for them to understand. What is with those Mearas horses...reading minds and all that hullabaloo..."Your father and mother were war horses as well. They were both disciplined, forceful, and exposed you to the vulnerabilities of life and war. I don't think they were very good parents." He mused.
I stared in shock. How did he know these things?
"And they raised you as they fought in battles. You've seen battle scars on your father before. Whenever you did something wrong, by mistake, they would scold you harshly as if you were in the army as well. You've been raised and born as a war horse. You don't know the difference between a friend and enemy. You don't trust anyone, don't you?" He asked quietly.
"H-how - what, why - how do you know of these things?" I asked incredulously. I never shared anything like that with anyone, not even Firefoot! Shadowfax merely smiled. "I belonged to the House of Eorl, Lord of Rohan. I saw you growing up in these stables. I watched your life and your parents. They were Ember and Knight, weren't they? The two toughest, reliable, and stubborn horses that I had ever met in my life."
I snorted, indignation flashing in my dark eyes. "They were not stubborn!" I snapped, forgetting my manners to present to the horse lord. "They were good parents..."
"Yes, but they never gave you the same respect that you had for them, didn't you? You wanted to follow them into war. I remember that stable boy dragging you back into the stables when they went out. You were so caught up in those depths that you didn't realize that war isn't all that fun."
"I did not think it was fun!"
"Seems like you did."
I pouted, biting back a sharp retort, feeling very annoyed at this point. Who was he to tell me what I thought and felt? I was my own horse and spirit, and he was his. Mind your own business, horse lord. No offense anyways.
I sighed, giving up. "Okay, fine, maybe it was a bit of fun and games," I admitted, mostly to myself instead of speaking to them. "But still, I was raised to be like this. Wasn't I?" Somehow, I didn't feel very convinced, even at my own words of persuasion.
Nobody said anything while I thought to myself. Why did I want to go to war that badly? Was it merely of my pride and arrogance, or was it because I really did want to defend Edoras and Rohan?
Or was it because I wanted glory and honor all to myself?
I could never tell. Nor would I ever know.
Except someone barged right into the stables. Everyone quieted and stared at a single man, sweating slightly, as he chose a random horse. "Hey!" The horse neighed. "Wormtongue!"
The pale, dark-haired man swore as he fumbled with the saddle and the bridle, and nearly dropped it in a hurry. The horse, which was now that I recognized to be Vin, a dark chestnut with a white mark on his forehead. He was a...rather fiery and restless horse...very arrogant and proud at times...I wouldn't favor him if I were a soldier and had to ride him. And an interesting level of...short temper too. And curses often...
Vin glared at Wormtongue. "What's your problem?" He snapped.
Did I mention he also had a temper? Think I did...
The pale man ignored Vin's sharp retorts mixed with swearing and leapt on him, galloping out of the stables, and from the sound of it, leaving Edoras.
We were speechless and stunned for a good five minutes.
Maybe more.
"But back to the main topic," Hasufel said quickly, breaking the intense silence that had ominously drifted into the barn and hung over our heads like dark storm clouds floating in to make a storm. "You haven't really answered the question completely. Why do you hate him?"
I snorted. "I don't know! And I thought I already told you. It's because of Caruryn. Now he's gone, I don't know what to do, and now I was dragged away from my friends and now I'm stuck with shorty who weighs eight tons and a pointy-ear. I don't want those to be my master!" I hissed.
"Anger issues," Hasufel mused quietly, under his breath.
"I heard that!"
Angrily, I dove into my oats, chewing hard until I swallowed. I eyed a particularly large oat. That can be Hasufel's head, and then I go, Hmm, I'm hungry, I want oats! And then - I plunged my head into the bucket and closed my teeth around that large oat, And then, bam, he's gone! I swallowed.
I raised my head as I sensed someone staring at me intently.
"What?" I asked Shadowfax, the one who was staring at me, trying to calm down. He then shook his head, as if breaking out of a trance, and muttered, "Nothing."
I cast Hasufel a side-glance of confusion. He didn't return my gaze. Shrugging, I kept eating. Suit yourself.
I woke up the next day. I yawned and stood up for another day.
Hay was tossed into my stall all around me, and I eagerly ate my breakfast. Morning had arrived sooner than I had intended it to be. Time flies easily before you know it.
The sound of hooves clomping in the barn reached my ears quickly. My head shot up, as well as Shadowfax and Hasufel's heads. We looked on curiously and quietly as a weary horse was brought into our barn and placed in a stall near us.
Hasufel, as usual, was bright and cheerful and talkative. "Hello!" He called to the horse friendly. "What's your name?"
The horse tiredly looked up at us before saying a quiet word, "Willow." I ran my gaze over his skinny yet lean body. There were a few scratches here and there, and his breath was ragged and panting, as if he had come from a long run. And it seemed that he did.
Horse stable boys milled over him, scrubbing down his dirt and sweat and tending to the scratches on his body. They combed out his hair, freeing it off tangles gently and giving him blankets, food and water. Then they left after they seemed satisfied with their job done. Willow, the horse, finally looked as us nervously before his eyes widened at Shadowfax.
I rolled my eyes. Willow dipped his head in honor. "My lord." He said calmly. "It is a great honor to be in your presence."
I raised my eyebrows. This guy really knew his manners even when he was tired and crabby-looking. "I am Arod," I said gently, trying to sound polite. Then Hasufel introduced himself, and we asked for his story, though slowly so he wouldn't get himself too confused. Slowly does the trick. No rushing, I remembered my mother telling me.
Hmph. Strategic mothers...
"Wild men attacked my village. They are moving westfold as we speak. They burn down everything they see, every house and every barn, and also killing as they go. My master's wife sent her children, Eothain and Freda, I don't know if you've seen them yet, but they are here, I presume - she sent them with me to go to Edoras, here."
Shadowfax scowled for the first time in anger. "Saruman." He said, the only word he said throughout the explanation of why Willow was here.
"But why would he do such a thing?" Hasufel's voice was fearful.
"He fears Sauron, I suppose." I guessed, joining in for the conversation. "He's driven mad by his fear of Sauron, and now he is under his command. And this is what Saruman goes and does."
In the midst of our conversation, Gandalf enters the barn, a staff in one hand, his face determined and stern, talking to the rugged, tall ranger man I had been traveling with earlier. We immediately stopped talking to each other and watched as audiences.
"There is no way out of that of ravine. Theoden is walking into a trap. He thinks he is leading them to safety but what he'll get is a massacre. Theoden has a strong hold but I fear for him. I fear for the survival of Rohan. He will need you before the end there, Aragorn. The people of Rohan will need you. The defenses have to hold." Gandalf said, pausing as he entered Shadowfax's stall, his hand resting on his shoulder.
"They will hold," the other man said, which earlier I had learned was Aragorn.
Gandalf sighed, and then said, "The Grey Pilgrim. That is what they used to call me. Three hundred lives of men have walked this earth and now, I have no time. Good luck. My search will not be in vain. Look to my coming. At first light of the fifth day at dawn, look to the East."
"Go."
The old wizard mounted Shadowfax. "Farewell, my friends," Shadowfax neighed before he charged deliberately out of his stall and out of the barn, into the wilderness and beyond.
Aragorn stood there, sighing, before he headed out as well.
"What was that all about?" Willow asked us. I shrugged. "I don't know. They're doing something now, and I don't want to know it."
Goody ol' Arod.
This either might've been a too short chapter, or maybe a slow one. I have no idea. Chapters will be posted soon, as always. Because I post things way too quickly, either way.
Please review :DD
I baked a fresh plate of cookies. *Holds them up eagerly* Come and get them! ;D
Cheers,
littledragoneyes
