03 – The long road

Jake sighed as Emily began to fall behind. She was clutching her side as the pain began to affect her breathing. Beads of sweat ran along her brow, her cheeks flushing a bright rose colour. She seemed almost desperate to hide her pain.

"We should take a break." He said, stopping and taking a quick look around. There was nothing in sight, not tree or being. "I guess here will do."

Emily slowly caught up and slumped to the ground.

"This walking business is insane." She muttered in between deep breaths.

Jake nodded as he got comfy on the hard ground.

"Sure is. Don't Gandalf and the others come back through this way? I mean, in the movies didn't Eomer rush off to kill those orc bastards?" he asked.

"Yeah, but who knows what day it is now and when that's supposed to happen. I don't think we should hang around too long. There were a lot of Orcs running around Rohan. At least there was in the books." Emily answered as she dug through the small bag looking for the water skin.

Jake's eyes grew wide. He very much doubted the small dagger Eomer had gifted him would be enough defence against a full grown orc.

"Well let's keep our breaks short then." Jake said looking around again. He felt a great unease about this place.

Not long after the pair were continuing their journey well into the afternoon. As the sun began to descend behind them, it was then that they really began to notice what surrounded them. A golden hue fell onto the fields before them, like a beacon lighting the way. It gave Jake a surge of hope.

"So how much do you know about this place?" Jake asked as he fell into step with Emily.

"Uh, a bit I guess. I mean I've read the books, seen the movies. I wouldn't say I know great deal but enough." She replied.

Jake nodded.

"So where do we find that Gandalf wizard guy?"

Emily fell silent for a moment deep in thought.

"Well, this is only a guess. I have no real evidence, but it's just what I gathered from what Eomer told us. He and his men were heading towards Fangorn, weren't they? And he did mention a band of orcs. So, my guess is that Gandalf will arrive in Edoras in a few days."

Jake blinked twice, clearly confused.

"How the hell do you figure that?"

"Just following the basic story line." Emily shrugged.

"What? The movies or the books? How do we know which one is right?" Jake pressed, becoming more anxious.

Emily frowned.

"I don't know which one yet. When I know I'll let you know." She huffed and started to over take.

Jake rolled his eyes and followed at his own pace in frustration.


When the sun was bordering the horizon Emily called Jake to a halt, after finally falling behind again.

"We can't keep going in the dark." She said defeated.

"And what if those orcs come for us? Do you want to be sitting ducks?" he protested; his normally cool blue eyes becoming fierce with determination.

It was then Emily noticed it. As the last of the sun filtered across them, it hung on Jakes brow for a moment. Coupled with sweat, the light played a cruel trick on Emily. He looked almost regal to her, like a prince, high and mighty.

'Suits his attitude at the moment.' She thought, shaking the notion and concentrating on the task at hand.

"No, I don't want that." Emily spat. "But we can't exactly see in the dark now, can we? And if we get a fire going we'll just draw attention to ourselves."

They glared at each other for a moment, neither willing to back down and the light on Jake's brow faltered. Emily raised a brow, challenging Jake. They both knew that in light of the situation, maybe a little trust on her behalf wouldn't go astray. After all, she had known where they were to begin with.


Jake scowled as he picked at the dried meat they'd been given, though the pains in his stomach begged to differ, his mood otherwise told him he wasn't in the least hungry. Emily pretended not to notice and kept her eyes looking west, back to where they'd appeared. From where they sat she could just make out the border of a large forest, and what she could gather was Fangorn and every fibre of her being was hoping that somewhere in that forest, the remaining fellowship were meeting up with Gandalf tomorrow.

The air around them began to grow colder, a chill blowing along their hill peak. Emily shivered, wrapping her jacket around herself tighter. Her eyes drifted over and saw that Jake was doing the same thing. The pair was clearly not well enough equipped for Rohan's weather.

As the sun began to hide itself behind the horizon, the temperature began to drop further. Jake sighed, getting to his feet then flopping down beside Emily, huddling against her slightly, trying to keep them both warm even though his pride did not want to comply.

"Eomer will be fighting those orcs soon." Emily muttered, her eyes looking towards the forest. Her chest twinged at the thought.

Jake nodded. He was still a bit sour but realised Emily was trying to keep the peace. He needed her as much a she needed him if they had any hope of surviving this freak accident.

"How's your side feeling?" Jake asked, attempting to mend the gap between them.

Emily's face tried to cover the truth. She gave a small smile and lifted her shirt, pressing her fingers gingerly to her wound. She could tell even in the starlight that it was still quite bruised, but the pain didn't linger like it had the day before.

"It's fine. Getting better." She said, wrapping herself up again.

"That's good to hear." Jake replied.

Silence fell between them for some time. They tried to get comfortable on the cold hard ground, nestling themselves between the rocks and grass tufts.

"Ugh!" Jake moaned as he turned onto his side. "Definitely not my idea of a good time."

Emily giggled and rolled her eyes.

"then what's your idea of a good time?" she questioned with a sly look in her eyes.

Jake grinned at her, his eyes twinkling.

"Being back home for starters. Working on my ride, playing ball. There's a Twins' game on this weekend which would have been unreal to see. They were playing Detroit." Jake mused, staring up into the sky.

Emily smiled, her eyes looking up as well. In the sky, there was one star in particular that caught her attention. It shone brighter than the others, and with its light, it brought her a glimmer of hope.

"What about you?" Jake asked, snapping Emily out of her thoughts.

She thought for a moment.

"Honestly, nothing exciting." She admitted. "My life revolves around study and things like that, personal research. It's quite pathetic."

It was now Jake's turn to laugh. He let out a bellow that caused Emily to frown.

"No need to rub it in." Emily scowled.

"At least you have direction in your life." He said with a shrug. "And certainty. All I've got is a foolish dream."

Emily raised herself onto her elbows and considered Jake's now fallen face. She gave him a small smile.

"Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly." She said.

Jake looked upon her, his thoughts weighing up what she had just said. He could see behind her façade there was an air of wisdom about the young woman, even if she could not see it.

Again there was silence as they both glazed up at the stars. Jake finally let go of his thoughts.

"We should take turns in watch." He said. "I'll take the first if you want to get some rest. You look worn out."

Emily nodded

"Good idea." She said stifling a yawn and rolling onto her uninjured side, using an arm as a pillow and curling up into a ball. She realised it wouldn't be an easy feet to sleep, but weariness at least would allow some peace. Emily nestled herself into the grass, letting it brush against her and keep her warm. It seemed to get thicker the longer she laid there and before long she was asleep.

Jake stood up and walked about their makeshift campsite for a time, pacing back and forth trying to keep warm and watching the horizon for any movement. A few hours before daybreak, Jake could barely keep moving, and with wounded pride he had Emily relieve him.

Already half awake she slowly lifted herself up onto her feet and began her own pacing, and though she kept an eye out, they always drifted back towards Fangorn. A knot in her stomach told her to keep her eyes peeled. That something was going to happen soon. She couldn't place it exactly, even after she spent hours pondering it.

As dawn began to break she could see a great movement on Fangorn's borders. Though her eyes strained to see, her instincts told her that this was Eomer and his men, and they were to come upon the Uruk's of Saruman.

Cries in the early morning light woke Jake with a start. He sat up and was on his feet in an instant, joining Emily on the hillside. She barely noticed him, instead her eyes remained focused on the bloody skirmish. The dust rolled and utter chaos erupted. They could hear the distant yells of fallen men and orcs alike as they met their ends.

Jake's mind was racing. Realisation began to hit. This really wasn't a dream, he had woken from a nightmare and remained in it. He sobered up quickly.

"We need to leave." He muttered.

Emily cast him a sideways glance.

"I want to see what happens." She said, quickly turning her gaze back.

"No!" Jake all but shouted. "We need to get moving. It's not safe to stay here! If any of those orcs survive they of those orcs survive they'll go running and for all we know they'll come this way."

He went back to their camp and packed up what little belongings they had, throwing Emily's satchel and the small back Eomer had gifted them over his shoulders. When Emily hadn't moved he walked over, and dragged her off by the arm, ignoring her protests.

They had to get to Edoras.


Well, I hope you enjoyed this one. Please review!

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