Eomer galloped ahead of the group, the horse with Alexa struggling to keep up with his pace. She looked rather silly strapped to the horse, but no matter how much it jolted she did not wake, instead she lived in a world of haunted dreams from which she begged to be woken.

Alexa's Dream

She had been having dreams about falling ever since she had touched the small object in her hand three weeks ago. And yesterday she had collapsed on the side of the mountain track, with dark and twisted images flashing across her mind. Brushing it off as tiredness, it had only been when these had led her to find the bodies of three hikers that had been attacked by wolves did she start to freak out.

She wished her father was there, he would know what to do. Instead he was hiding somewhere on the other side of the world, she didn't even know how to reach him. But she pressed on, she knew what she had to do.

So here she was, standing at the base of the Lofoten Wall. Staring up at the smooth wall of ice, her stomach churned at the thought of having to get to the top.

'It has to be destroyed in Asgard,' her father had instructed. 'Only there can it be broken'

She spent the next seven hours climbing the wall, finally climbing over the edge and staring down at the valley of Asgard, home of the Norse Gods.

She didn't believe in them, of course, but it was better to humour her father. And since all that had changed since she had received the amulet, she was starting to believe that maybe not everything was myth.

And as soon as she pulled the amulet out of her jacket, she crushed it easily between two rocks and threw the powder off the edge of the cliff. She had run over it in her car back home and it didn't even scratch it!

As soon as she did this the world changed, and she was standing in the middle of a raging battle. Odin angrily stared down at her, Thor advancing towards her, his mallet ready.

'You will pay for your disobedience,' growled Odin. Thor raised his hammer and slammed it down onto Boromir's head.

End dream

Alexa woke up suddenly.

'No! Boromir!' she screamed. Eomer stirred next to her, sitting up. It was the middle of the night and her cry had not seemed to waken anyone else. He felt thin arms throw themselves around him from behind.

'Boromir! I thought you were dead,' whispered the girl. He gently prised her arms free and turned. The girl looked surprised and jumped away from him in surprise.

'Who are you?' she demanded, finally looking at the men around her lit up faintly by the firelight. 'Where am I?'

'My name is Eomer, and you are in the north of Rohan,' he said gently. 'My men found you two nights ago when we destroyed a band of Uruk Hai'

Her mind was a blank, but she remembered seeing Merry and Pippin.

'Where are Merry and Pippin?' she asked. 'The hobbits?'

'We saw no other prisoners but you,' said Eomer.

'I told them to run...' she trailed off.

'Are you hungry?' he asked. Hunger hit her and she nodded. He handed her some bread and meat, which she wolfed down eagerly.

'Who are you?' he asked her. 'What did the Uruks want with you?'

'My name is Alexa,' she said. 'I'm not sure entirely, but I assume Saruman wanted us for something'

She didn't want to tell Eomer anything about the ring or the fellowship.

'But what were you doing? Why didn't they just kill you?' he asked.

'I don't know,' she said.

'Do not lie to me,' he said. 'I know you are not a mere human'

'What do you mean?' she asked.

'You killed the uruks the other night, with magic,' he said. 'I think you know exactly why Saruman wants you'

Fuck

'And this sword ripped through your spinal cord,' he said, holding up his blade. 'Yet you still live. Explain yourself, or we'll see if you can save yourself twice'

'I cannot explain my magic, as I do not control it,' she said. 'But this will explain why I live'

She pulled out the silver elvish necklace and showed him the pendant.

'This necklace was a gift from Galadriel- it protects its wearer from death by the hands of any man,' she said.

'The lady of the wood? The witch?' he said. 'You have her favour?'

Alexa nodded. 'If you still do not believe me, then run me through and I'll show you again'

Eomer lowered his sword. 'These are strange days, and you tell a stranger tale still. But you still are not telling me everything'

She sighed, looking fearfully at the hordes of men here. She stood no chance if she decided to fight against him.

'I left Rivendell two months ago with nine companions,' she said. 'An elf, a dwarf, a wizard, two men and four hobbits'

'My companions were Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, Gandalf, Merry, Pippin, Frodo, Sam and Boromir of Gondor,' she explained. 'Gandalf fell in Moria, and I know Boromir is dead, but I don't know the fates of the others'

'Of hobbits I know not,' said Eomer. 'But the elf, the dwarf and the man Aragorn are seeking you and your friends'

'You saw them? When?'

'The night before we found you,' he lied. 'They were headed toward Fangorn last we saw them'

'Fangorn?'

'The cursed forest. Where are you from? Are you from Gondor?' he asked.

'I am from the world of men,' she said.

'These really are strange times,' he repeated.

'How do I get to Fangorn? I have to find my friends!' she said.

'We are over 200 leagues from there, and we will not be returning,' Eomer said.

'Well give me a horse and let me find my own way,' she said. He laughed.

'You are my prisoner, you will remain with us,' he said.

'Excuse me?' she asked.

'We saved your life, you are in our debt and will stay here and help us protect our borders,' Eomer said. Alexa gasped in disbelief.

'Your debt? You just told me that I killed those uruks! If anyone is in debt, it's you to me!' she snapped.

Blue light glowed from her eyes for a split second and Eomer looked at her uneasily.

'You can help us!' Eomer begged. 'Orcs are roaming across our lands, killing at will! My people need protection'

Alexa didn't look convinced. 'My path does not concern your horsefolk,' she spat. 'As I recall no one from Rohan sent a representative to Rivendell when you were called for'

'Our king is been possessed by Saruman,' he said. 'I did not know of the summons, otherwise I would've been there as a representative of Edoras'

She sighed. 'Fair enough then. But I am not a prisoner and you can't stop me leaving!'

She stood up, grabbed her cloak and stormed off into the night. She could hear Eomer following her as she stumbled through the undergrowth. This continued for an hour, until she was well and truly lost.

'Probably should have though this through,' she thought aloud. Her stomach growled again and she sat down on a log, staring up at the stars. The light of a torch approached and Eomer stood in front of her.

'Have you had your fun?' he asked. She glared at him, but allowed him to help her up and followed him obediently back to the camp.

'We leave at dawn,' he said as she returned to her blankets. 'Get some rest'

She crawled under the covers, and squeezed her eyes shut. She heard Eomer rustling beside her, watching to make sure she didn't run away again.

There's nothing else I can do, she thought miserably. Looks like I have new companions now...