Disclaimer: yeah LOTR not mine. Missy, Morsus, Aerona mine!
So there is an offhand comment made by Eomer here about gods, I couldn't figure out if Valar was a belief held by all of middle earth or not so forgive me if it is. Also, if at anytime you want to cast or change your vote for who she ends up with feel free! Please review, I love reviews, good or bad.
Bluelibellule13: hah I'm glad I was able to make you like Eomer. Now that ive introduced them all it should be interesting.
Lintered: Yeah that potion is gonna come into play real soon, just keep reading! Please!
Missy awoke feeling very groggy. She was also bouncing, her face was rubbing against leather and something sturdy was wrapped around her waist. She opened her eyes to see the scenery passing by quickly, which caused her to jolt up and almost off the horse she was perched on.
"It is alright!" Eomer said from his place behind her, his arm tightening its grip on her waist. She looked up into his face as the event of the previous night came back to her.
"Pippin…Merry, did you find them?" She asked looking around at all the other riders, hoping to see a hobbit on the back of their steeds. Eomer slowed his horse down and his men instantly slowed as well.
"We did not find any others, only you." She felt tears come to her eyes, biting her lip at the thought of those poor hobbits dying at the hands of the orcs. They deserved better than that.
"I have to find Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli… they were looking for us." She said and Eomer gestured to his men.
"You will stay with us until we find your traveling companions. I swear to you Missy, no harm shall come to you as long as you are under my protection." She looked up at him with shinning eyes.
"You called me Missy." This made her throw her arms around him and hug him tightly. He chuckled and patted her on the back with one hand while still holding the reins with the other. It seemed to him that she was not use to people doing as she asked and he found that hard to believe. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his entire life and that was after she had been kidnapped by orcs. He could only imagine how breath taking it would be to see her in the great halls of his beloved Edoras, with a dress fit for a queen and her tantalizing dark hair flowing down her back.
"Eomer you are my new favorite person in the whole world." He smiled softly at her oddly phrased sentiment. He recalled some of his men talking about the first time they had seen their wives and he had always found it absurd. The idea that a harden soldier could go soft inside all because of a pair of pretty eyes was insanity, but he was currently mush.
"Do you know how to ride a horse?" He asked. She nodded, her mind going back to that horrid summer she had been forced to go to Napa with her father a year after her mother had left them. Eomer made a whistling noise and one of his men brought a riderless horse forward.
"This is Arod." She noted that his hands never left her waist as she jumped onto the horse's back. A rider appeared next to her with her staff in hand.
"Oh thank you Jesus!" She shouted as she hugged her staff to her tightly. The rider gave an appreciated chuckle.
"You're welcome milady but my name is Garthan." She laughed simply because she knew he was serious. ~ * ~
Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli heard a rumble that seemed to vibrate the ground. They used a clump of boulders as a hiding place and simply watched as the band of horsemen rode past.
"Riders of Rohan! What news from the mark?" Aragorn called and then led his two companions into the open. They were surrounded in a matter of seconds, and at the point of several spears.
"What business do an elf, a man, and a dwarf have in the Riddermark? Speak quickly!" Eomer demanded.
"Tell me your name horse master, and I shall tell you mine." Gimli responded smartly. Eomer dismounted and moved towards them.
"I would cut off your head, dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground." Legolas strung his bow within seconds and had it pointed at Eomer's face. The spears closed in tighter. Aragorn pushed his friend's bow down and gave them both a look telling them to calm down.
"I am Ara-"
"Aragorn!" All heads turned to the girl who was now on her feet and pushing her way through the mass of horses. She flew towards them and every spear pulled back instantly. Aragorn barley had a second to catch her as she flung herself into his arms.
"Artemis! You are safe." He sounded relieved and neither of them noticed Legolas and Eomer glare at their display.
"Eomer, these are the friends I told you about. This is Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli." She said with a grin.
"What of Merry and Pippin?" Legolas asked and she frowned instantly.
"We slaughtered the Uruks during the night. Lady Missy lost her friends in the chaos and my men left none alive, nor did we note two children in the dead." Eomer answered for her. Aragorn could see the apprehension still in his eyes so he held out his hand in a friendly gesture.
"I thank you for keeping Artemis safe in our absence. We are friends of Rohan and Thoeden, your King." Eomer only looked at Aragorn's outstretched hand before taking off his helmet.
"Theoden no longer recognizes friend from foe, not even his own kin." Aragorn pulled his hand back, realizing Eomer would not take it.
"Saruman has poisoned the King and claimed lordship over these lands. Those in my company are loyal to Rohan and for that we are banished. The white wizard is cunning, he walks here and there they say, as an old man hooded and cloaked, and everywhere his spies slip past our nets." Aragorn gave him a nod.
"We are no spies." Missy reached out and placed a hand on Eomer's arm.
"Eomer, they are my friends, if you think they are spies then you think I'm one to." She said sounded a little hurt. She had become instantly attached to Eomer and the thought that he could think so low of her hurt.
"Of course not Missy, but one can never be too careful." Eomer turned back to Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli.
"Look for your friends, but do not trust a hope… it has forsaken these lands." He called for two horses, the one Missy had been riding and another.
"May these horses far you better fortune then their former masters. Lady Missy, you are more than welcome to continue with our company." Eomer said turning to her fully. It was easy for her three friends to see that the Third Marshall of the Riddermark was smitten with her.
"Thank you Eomer, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try and find Merry and Pippin." She moved forward and hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go of the only person who had ever accepted her instantly in that crazy place. She kissed his cheek before he put his helmet on and climbed back on his horse.
"I'll see you again right?" She asked and he gave her a tiny smirk.
"Only if the Gods are kind." She waved to the rest of the riders as they departed. She looked back at her friends and sighed.
"What happened when you were taken?" Legolas asked and she moved towards Arod in silence for a moment.
"They carried the hobbits and made me run, which sucked. Finally we stopped after three days, and they made me drink this last blue stuff… then they started fighting over eating out legs." The three were approaching her slowly, taking in her quick description.
"Then one of them tried to… well Eomer showed up and saved me but I lost the two of them in the fight." She gestured for one of them to get on Arod and was not surprised when Aragorn stepped up first and mounted the horse. He flipped her on behind him with ease and then Legolas pulled the dwarf up on his horse. It wasn't long before they reached the burnt carcasses of the Uruk, and from there they began their search.
"It's one of their wee belts." Gimli suddenly said and pulled a hobbit sized belt out of the wreckage. Missy bit her lip as tears filled her eyes, Legolas began to mutter a prayer in elvish. Aragorn suddenly kicked a helmet and screamed.
"We've failed them." Gimli said and Missy put a hand on his shoulder.
"No, I failed them. If I hadn't passed out maybe I could have saved them." Her eyes traveled to Legolas who had the same glazed look in his eyes when Gandalf fell into shadow.
"You were right about me." Legolas choked on his reply but Aragorn beat him to the punch.
"A hobbit lay here." All three heads turned towards the Ranger who began tracking their path, if only to tell their last moment. He traced them across the field and once he picked up their broken bonds they were all filled with a sudden hope.
"The tracks lead away from the battle…into Fangorn Forest." Aragorn looked up into the deadly trees, a place that seemed more uninviting than Mordor itself.
"What madness drove them in there?" Gimli asked and then without a world all four of them plunged into the forest together. They heard odd groaning noises and Missy had the feeling she was being watched. She stayed in between the Ranger and the elf, using her staff as a walking stick more than a weapon. Gimli found Orc blood and they picked up the pace a bit. Aragorn was confused by some strange tracks but Legolas was more focused on the trees.
"This forest is old. Very old. Full of memory and anger." Missy glanced over at him with a tiny smile.
"You can tell what they are feeling?" For the first time in a very long time Legolas gave her a genuine smile.
"I can sense their emotions, yes." A loud groan cut through the air and Gimli raised his axe and turned in a circle, waiting for something to attack him. Legolas announced that the trees were speaking to each other and Aragorn immediately ordered his dwarf friend to lower his axe. Missy held her staff close to her, she was still very inadequate with it but it was like a life line in that hostile place.
"The white wizard approaches." Legolas announced. Aragorn told them to not to let him speak or he would put a spell on them. The elf notched an arrow into his bow, Gimli raised his axe, and Aragorn grabbed the hilt of his sword slowly.
"Now!" He shouted and the three of them sprung into action, Missy simply stood behind them and watched. The arrow and axe were deflected easily and Aragorn was forced to drop his sword as it began burning his hand, and a white light blinded them all.
"You track the footsteps of two hobbits." The wizard said and Missy was the first one to speak.
"What have you done to them?"
"They passed this way the day before yesterday, they met someone they did not expect, does that comfort you?" The old man asked and Aragorn demanded that he show himself. When the light faded the smiling face that appeared was none other than Gandalf. Missy pushed through the three warriors and flung her arms around him.
"Don't you scare us like that again!" She chided as he chuckled and patted her on the back.
"But you fell." Aragorn stated in disbelief. Missy took a few steps back until she was beside him again. Gandalf told them of his fight with the Balrog and how he died and was reborn as Gandalf the White.
"Does this mean… you're more powerful?" Missy asked carefully. Gandalf gave her a sad smile and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I can not send you home child, only Aerona could and for all of Middle Earth she would not give up her one chance at becoming whole again." Missy felt her lip start to quiver as she turned her back on all four of them. She didn't really understand it herself, usually she was one to seek comfort but this wasn't something she could cry her way out of. Gandalf gestured for them to start walking and Aragorn grabbed Missy by the arm gently and pulled her along.
"Come Artemis, we did not travel this far to lose you now." She gave him a small smile and grabbed his hand, interlocking her fingers with his. He stared down at their joined hands for a moment but dismissed any comment he was about to make and continued on, pulling her along behind him.
"One stage of your journey is over, another one begins. War has come to Rohan. We must ride to Edoras with all speed." Gandalf told them.
"That is Eomer's home." Missy piped up and all four males turned to look at her.
"What? He told me when we were riding." Aragorn's hand slipped from hers and she frowned at the lack of contact. Gimli broke the silence by saying it was no short ride to Edoras but what was said in reply she could not hear as she picked up pace after stumbling over an up grown root. They finally emerged out of the forest and Gandalf whistled loudly. A beautiful white horse came running over the hillside towards them.
"That is one of the mearas, unless my eyes be cheated by some spell." Legolas said.
"He is beautiful!" Missy cried and to all of their surprise Shadowfax went right past Gandalf and over to Missy, nudging her with his nose. She giggled and ran her hand down his nose.
"Yes you are, you're so pretty!" Gandalf looked annoyed but at his second, much shorter, whistle Shadowfax came back to him.
"Shadowfax has been my friend through many dangers, he is the lord of all horses. Feel honored Artemis, I have seen him only come to one person so unabashedly confident and that person is me." Missy grinned and allowed Aragorn to pull her up onto Arod.
"Do you think we can convince the King to unbanish Eomer?" She asked Aragorn and she was simply shushed.
"Geez, you guys PMS more than I do."