After what seemed like forever, our little band of warrior-women reached another cavern along the mountain pass, but I had no memory of how I had gotten there. I yanked myself from Éowyn's grasp and ran to a far-away column. Unable to contain myself any longer, I dropped on my hands and knees and dry-heaved. The pain that exploded in my chest from heaving was unbearable, but the urge to vomit was stronger. I had to purge my rage somehow.

After a few long deep breaths, I sat on my heels and looked down at my hands, still clutching the dagger and ribbon until my knuckles were bone-white. My hands were covered in oily black Uruk-hai blood. What have I done? I curled up into a ball, letting my sweat-moistened hair hang in front of my face, and started crying again, only softer this time. A gentle hand closed around my shoulder.

"I am sorry," Éowyn whispered to me. "I asked too much of you."

I shook my head vehemently, but did not speak. My throat was too raw from screaming and crying. With shaky fingers, I slipped the dagger back into its sheath and tied my ribbon around my own bicep. I sat there in sullen silence for a few moments until Éowyn bade me to continue the trek through the mountain pass. We needed to catch up with the rest of the women and children. As I trudged alongside Éowyn in the dark under-earth corridor, my thoughts were a tangled web of shock, anger, and grief, causing a painful pounding sensation between my eyes, as if someone had taken a jackhammer to my forehead. My stomach rumbled with hunger; I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten—this morning, maybe? I didn't know. I barely felt Éowyn slip her hand around mine, but I was so numb that I did not respond.

At length, we stepped into a smaller cavern lit by a few make-shift torches. The other women and the children clapped and cheered as we entered. The warrior-women around me went to their families, hugging their necks and kissing their children. After a moment of hesitation, Éowyn left my side to greet the other women as well. Suddenly finding myself alone, I leaned up against a column and slid downward until I was sitting on the ground with my arms wrapped around my knees.

Celwyn sought me out and knelt in front of me, little Ældenbrand waddling beside her. He smiled and tried to hug me, but seeing the tempestuous look on my face and the blood on my hands, Celwyn held him back. "Lady Rebecca is not well, child," she said quietly against his protests. "Go find your friends." With a huff and an impish scowl, Ældenbrand scampered away, leaving Celwyn and I to talk alone. The old woman grasped my chin with her bony and wrinkled fingers; her skin was uncharacteristically soft and light to the touch. She forced me to look into her deep brown eyes. "Tell me," she said and pointed to the ribbon around my arm. "What has become of you?"

"Ælred is dead," I replied flatly. "But I have slain the foul creature that took his life."

Celwyn's eyes glistened with tears. She gently drew me into an embrace and wept silently into my shoulder, but I could not comfort her. Ælred was dead. I had taken a life—Uruk-hai though it may be. If I hadn't understood post-traumatic stress disorder before, I understood it now. The feel of the Uruk's slick blood on my fingers would haunt my memory for the rest of my life.

XxXxXxX

It took a lot of persuading, but Celwyn finally convinced me to lie down and rest. I lay on one of the women's cloaks and closed my eyes, but the intense pain flaring up in my lower back kept me from falling asleep. I turned over onto my back and pulled my knees to my chest to relieve the tension in my sciatic nerves; it helped ease the pain somewhat. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep again. I felt something lay down and curl up next to me; it was Ældenbrand. He rested his cheek on my bosom and promptly fell asleep. My heart softened, and I managed a small smile. I gently rubbed the child's back and began to hum softly to myself. After a few minutes, I was sleeping, albeit rather uneasily.

I am standing under a spotlight in a dark room of unknown size. My family and friends are crowded around me within the ring of light. I see my mother—a smiling woman in her early forties whose hair is just starting to show its silver. I see my younger sister, and she smiles at me with her half-crooked smile—a rather endearing feature of hers. With dark brown hair, porcelain skin, and a slender figure, she is much prettier than I; but she has been with me in my darkest hours to tell me that I am beautiful and that she loves me. My father and step-parents are there too, as well as their respective families.

Ever so slowly and imperceptibly, the spotlight narrows. Those unfortunate enough to be on the outer rim—past boyfriends and old friends—fade into the dark expanse. At first, I am confused about their disappearance, but a moment later I am unconcerned, as if they had never existed.

They have been forgotten.

XxXxXxX

"Rebecca," Éowyn said as she gently shook me awake. I slowly opened my eyes and rubbed the sleep from them. "Good," Éowyn said and smiled. "The battle is won, my friend. We are returning to Edoras." She helped me to my feet. My vision blurred from standing up too quickly, but otherwise I felt better after my nap—at least, my body did. My heart, on the other hand, was far from mended.

Celwyn and her grandson had already joined the group making the trek back to Helm's Deep. Ældenbrand left his grandmother's side and ran to me with a bright smile on his round face, his arms stretched upward. I swept him into my arms and kissed his face. "I love you, Ældenbrand," I whispered into his ear, remembering what he had said to me before my skirmish.

He wrapped his short arms around my neck and kissed my cheek. "Mama better now?" he cooed. I nodded and rubbed his back as I joined Celwyn in the dark corridor. The walk seemed much shorter than before. As we finally came upon the glittering caverns near the Keep, I saw my rumpled brown shoulder bag stuffed into a crevice between two stalagmites. With a wry smile, I veered from the group and picked it up.

The carcasses of the Uruk-hai had been moved from the caverns, but their blood and stench remained. I closed my eyes to avoid seeing the black blood stains under my booted feet. I maneuvered my way up the passage into the Keep, careful not to make a false step for Ældenbrand's sake. We were met at the top by several weary Rohirrim who ushered us outside. I drew a long breath, grateful for the chance to breathe cool fresh air again. The sun was low in the clear morning sky, but at least I could see it now.

Éowyn gasped and rushed past me to a familiar face: Aragorn. She threw her arms around him and told him how glad she was to see him alive and well. He looked tired, to say the least.

"I am glad that you are well also," he replied and tentatively returned her embrace. "And you as well, Lady Rebecca," he said to me as I approached.

Oddly enough, I didn't feel giddy around him. I might have been too exhausted, but I had a feeling that my crush on Aragorn had come to an end, and I was thankful. I smiled weakly. "I'm a little worse for wear," I replied. "But I'm fine now." Ældenbrand sighed against my neck.

"We will see you in Edoras?" Éowyn asked Aragorn before she followed me down the stone steps. Aragorn nodded and smiled.

I caught a glimpse of a helmeted soldier standing on the landing at the bottom the stairs. My heart skipped a beat, half-hoping he was Ælred. The soldier removed his helmet, and my face fell. It wasn't him. I sighed and followed the women down the next flight of stone stairs.

XxXxXxX

I spent the next day and a half—the time it took for all of the people to trek back to Edoras—ruminating somberly about my situation. Gandalf had returned with Éomer just in time to turn the battle in our favor, but—I remembered—there were still many things Gandalf had to do before even considering how to send me back home. I would be stuck in Middle-Earth until this war ended. Thankfully, I had Éowyn, Celwyn, and Ældenbrand, but I had to return home sometime. My family must be worried about me.

Are they? My cynical side asked. Would they really want me back if they knew what I had done?

I shoved that thought to the back of my mind and re-situated the sack of potatoes over my shoulder. Ældenbrand toddled beside me, carrying his own small sack of provisions. Celwyn was on my other side with a basket of vegetables in her arms. Éowyn had moved to the front of the column.

"There is something I must confess, Lady Rebecca," Celwyn said to me. I tilted my face to her in understanding. "I was wary to believe my own eyes at first, but now I know otherwise. Your resemblance to Branwyn is uncanny."

I was curious, as well as confused. "Who is Branwyn?"

"Perhaps I should have held my tongue," Celwyn said with a wry smile on her wrinkled lips. "Branwyn was Ælred's wife."

The sound of his name sent chills down my spine. "Is that why both you and Ælred stare at me sometimes?"

Celwyn nodded. "And why little Ældenbrand is taken with you. You remind us all of her."

My heart sank. Ælred had only showed interest in me because I looked like his dead wife—how comforting. The last thing I needed was to be compared to a dead lover. I needed to change the topic of conversation before I did or said something foolish.

Fortunately for me, Celwyn sensed my unease. "My apologies, Lady," she said. "We will not speak of this now."

The day drew onward as we pressed toward Edoras along the mountains. The Golden Hall of Meduseld was visible in the distance, a shining pinnacle of safety, but there were still a few more hours left in our journey. Some of the people cried out in relief; others, such as myself, remained sullen and reclusive. I looked over my shoulder and released a heavy sigh. All of the excitement I had felt upon my arrival to Middle-Earth was gone; I just wanted to go home.

XxXXxXxX

A/N: Unfortunately, my updating streak is winding down. I've just gone and wore myself out, kind of like my OC. You'd be surprised how tired I was after writing about the battle; it took a lot out of me emotionally. This chapter was basically a little bit of filler to transition into the next part of the story which takes place during Return of the King. I won't leave this story untouched for months on end like I had done previously, but I am going to take a break to recharge for my next writing spree. Thanks to all of my reviewers! Your support means the world to me.

God bless,

HiddenValor