Consequences of a Huntress
Chapter 10
Edoras
Aragorn road ahead of Legolas and Gimli. His lips curled into a worried frown and his grip in the horse's reins was tight. They had left the Riders feeling far more rejuvenated in spirit than they had been since beginning to look for their kidnapped friends. With the news that one of the Knight Elves had not only been found dead, but in such a way it left little doubt of the identity of the killer allowed them to hope. The news that Brianna's own friends from her world had found their way into Arda and were actively looking for both her and their enemies had also been welcome news. If it meant Brianna's burdened could be lifted, even just a little, then Aragorn couldn't find it within himself to begrudge their presence.
He hadn't been able to find much of their doings at the Entwash. The forest was a different matter entirely. Here, Aragorn found his good mood soured. There was little trace of their companions outside of the forest fringe no matter how hard they looked. Any trail, if ever there was one, was hidden from view. Disheartened they made camp a little way beyond the field once darkness took away the day. They hid under a spreading tree, chestnut from what Aragorn could tell, and huddled under their blankets.
"Shall we light a fire?" asked a shivering Gimli.
Aragorn shook his head and glanced at the tree above them, "No, I think not. Our paths cross under these branches and I would rather not procure the wrath of the forest."
Gimli shook his head, "There's brush enough for a fire. I have no need to cut living wood."
He stood, much to Aragorn's dismay, and gathered enough dead wood to make a blaze. Once he coaxed a small flame to life the small company huddled near it. Aragorn saw Legolas look up and give a small startled gasp.
"The tree seems glad of the fire," he said.
Aragorn followed his friend's gaze and saw he was right. The tree seemed to bend towards the blaze and rub its limbs over the heat. A shudder ran along his spine. Silence fell between them, each of their mouths turned down into a frown. Gimli surged to his feet suddenly and startled Aragorn from his morose thoughts.
He followed the dwarf's gaze and saw an old man, bent double, leaning on a staff and shrouded in a great cloak. The old man didn't speak or make a sign. Aragorn stood.
"Well father, what can we do for you?" he asked and strode forward.
He blinked and the old man was gone. Aragorn stopped his approach, stunned.
"What-?"
"Saruman do you think?" Legolas asked.
Aragorn shook his head, unable to answer. It could have easily been Saruman, but he wasn't sure.
"The horses!" cried Legolas suddenly.
Aragorn and Gimli turned their attention from where the old man had been and saw that the horses were gone. He frowned. Now he had to wonder. Were they being hunted by Saruman?
His heart turned to ice.
If it was Saruman then there was a good possibility that Brianna, Merry and Pippin were in his clutches.
Aragorn closed his eyes, fists clenched. If they were then Saruman was due for a very pointed conversation.
"Bloody hell!" Brianna gasped out, stunned, "you're a tree! A talking tree!"
Merry and Pippin shivered next to her and wore the same stunned expression she did. Brianna was completely at a loss for what to do.
"A tree? I am no tree! I am an Ent, or that's what they call me. They also call me Fangorn, though others make it Treebeard," he said.
Brianna just kept staring, jaw hanging open, completely at a loss for how to take this bit of information. The Hobbits remained where they were.
"But what are you? I would have mistaken you for orc and trodden on you had I not heard you first," his, she guessed it was a "he", tone was calm and deliberate.
"I… I'm an elf," she replied.
Her shock gave way to amusement. This was an Ent? A walking, talking, tree with an interesting personality. What was she to do with him she wondered.
"An elf? My, you are quite small to be an elf. Are you sure?" asked Treebeard.
Brianna crossed her arms and frowned, "I'm quite sure, thank you very much."
He "harrumphed" and said, "No need to become testy, little elfling, I did not know your kind can grow to such a short stature."
She blinked and decided to let the subject of her height drop for the moment and shook her head, "I'm not from Arda. I'm from Earth. The elves of Earth are a bit different than the elves here."
"Earth," Treebeard tried thoughtfully, "I'm intrigued, but I am afraid our time grows short. A friend of mine will be most interested in your arrival."
This snapped Merry and Pippin out of their daze and put Brianna on edge again.
"Friend? Who is this friend?" Merry asked, alarmed.
Brianna contemplated lighting a flame in the palm of her hand just to make a point. After all, she didn't have qualms about burning the forest down should it decide its anger outweighed her authority over it. It was a slight authority, but an authority nevertheless.
"An old mutual friend, I should think, Master Merridoc."
The three of them froze and Brianna turned, mouth agape, and feeling as if her consciousness couldn't bare another shock for the day despite how pleasant it was. There, standing by a close beech tree, was Gandalf - grey cloaked and all. She breathed and breathed and breathed. It didn't work. The stress of the entire situation, of knowing that Boromir had died for them trying to save them, of having keenly felt the loss of two friends from the Fellowship, finally caught up with her. She tried to speak, but the only sound that came out was a croaking sob. Tears pricked her eyes.
Merry and Pippin turned to look at the old wizard and let out identical cries of joy. They lurched forward and ran towards Gandalf who had knelt to the forest floor, hands outstretched and ready to meet them. The pair practically bore the old man over. Brianna couldn't move. She was too busy trying not to cry.
The grey eyes, after crinkling with laughter after the exaltations of Merry and Pippin, met her teal ones. They softened and he stood.
"It is I, Brianna Davis, Gandalf, your old friend back from the other side and here to give aid to the war against Sauron and your enemies," he said.
She tried to speak, tried to say something intelligent, and failed miserably. The only thing Brianna found herself able to do was fall to the ground and sob uncontrollably - happy and sad and frustrated all at once.*
Aragorn had looked for half of the morning, but he had finally discovered the remnants of their companions' captivity. He was able to follow the signs of their passing into the forest, as the three of them had rightly guessed, and plunged into the forest. All signs of their passing were two days old. It frustrated him to be so incredibly close to finding the three of them alive, yet not, it seemed, close enough. He wanted to see them. He wanted to see her if only to see the light in her teal orbs and that perpetually bemused smile gracing her lips.
At length they came upon a rock wall with rough steps leading to a high shelf. Aragorn glanced up at it with a frown. He hadn't the heart to tell the others that he'd
lost all sense of Brianna's presence with the Hobbits some time back. This was, if only, because he needed to focus on what he could see before him. If something had happened to her Aragorn couldn't deal with the pool of fear at that time. It could wait until the Hobbits, at least, were safe and sound. Brianna would undoubtedly kill him if he'd allowed his emotions to get in the way of keeping Merry and Pippin alive. She certainly never would.
Sunlight gleamed through breaking clouds and upper branches of the trees fell away for just a bit. The three of them could see into the sky, much to Aragorn's relief, and the current feelings of moroseness melted away if only for a little bit.
"Let us go up and look about us. I still feel my breath short and I should like to taste freer air for a while," Legolas suggested.
Aragorn couldn't argue his elf-friend's point. He could feel the dense air of the forest baring down on him as well. A glance to one side told him that Gimli was also negatively affected by the forest. They climbed up. Aragorn trailed the two carefully inspecting the steps and ledges closely. When they reached the top he saw signs of the Hobbits again, but only the them. There was no light tread of an elf-lady's feet. No strand of hair caught in a tree branch. No piece of cloth. Nothing to suggest that Brianna was with them.
He pursed his lips and stood up from where he inspected the top step and cast his gaze about him. There wasn't anything of use. The shelf they were one faced southward and eastward, but the landscape was only visible eastward.
"I am sure the Hobbits, at the least, were up here, but I can see other marks, strange marks," he said.
"Not the lass?" Gimli asked.
Aragorn shook his head, "No, these marks suggest something much larger than Brianna. I know not what it is."
"Hmm," Legolas said thoughtfully, "Is it possible that something may have happened to her to cause them to become separated?"
"Let us hope not!" Gimli said fretfully, "Whatever her enemies and ours wish to use her for it cannot be for anything but some foul purpose!"
Aragorn agreed, but didn't add anything to the conversation. It was better for his psyche, as leader of the group, if he didn't fuel the flames of his own fear and apprehension rolling in his gut.
"Look, Aragorn! There is the old man!" Gimli hissed, startling Aragorn from his thoughts.
Aragorn looked and beheld a bent figure moving slowly. He looked like an old beggar-man wearily leaning on a bent staff while walking through the trees. Aragorn's eyes narrowed at him. Old man indeed. He most certainly thought not.
Legolas drew his bow at Gimli's urging, but didn't draw back to shoot. Aragorn silently agreed with his friend's opinion on the matter. As untrustworthy as this old man seemed it wouldn't have been right for them just to shoot him unawares.
"Well met indeed, my friends!" called the old man, "I wish to speak with you. Will you come down or shall I come up?"
Without waiting for an actual reply the old man began to climb. Aragorn felt both wary and perplexed. If this was Saruman he most certainly wasn't like anything he'd ever expected him to be.
"Now! Stop him Legolas!" Gimli exclaimed.
"Did I not say I wished to speak with you?" asked the old man grumpily, "Put away the bow, Master Elf! And you, Master Dwarf, pray take your hand away from your ax-shaft until I am up! We will not need such arguments."
Aragorn watched as his friends complied, completely dumbfounded by what he saw before him. The other two were just as perplexed and all three simply stared as the old man leapt nimbly onto the shelf.
"Well met again, and what, pray tell, are an Elf, a Man, and a Dwarf doing in these parts garbed in elven fashion? No doubt there is a tale worth hearing behind it all," the old man said once he reached the top and faced them.
"You speak as one who knows Fangorn well. Is that so?" Aragorn asked.
"Not well I can assure you. That would be the study of many lives. But I come here now and again," the old man said.
"We are looking for two hobbits and an elf-lady. We believe they passed through here, but beyond that I know not," Aragorn said.
"Ah, yes, Hobbits and an Elf-Lady. The Hobbits were here, but the elf-lady is somewhere else," the old man replied sagely.
"Your name," Gimli blurted, "what is your name?"
Aragorn watched their new companion warily, waiting for him to answer.
"Ah, my name! And you wish to know more about where the Hobbits are now, I dare say? Let us sit down so we may discuss this in comfort," he moved to sit and the folds of his cloak parted to reveal pure white underneath.
All three of them drew their weapons.
"Saruman!" Gimli hissed.
Aragorn watched as his friend tensed, ready to spring into battle, when something completely unexpected made him freeze in place. A bronze head appeared behind Saruman and heaved herself onto the shelf. Teal eyes glinted with amusement and then gave the wizard a reproachful glare.
"Really Gandalf! Did you have to scare them to death?" Brianna asked.
Gandalf, not Saruman, Aragorn could see now, grunted and replied, "I was trying to see if they were as astute as you and the Hobbits were. Apparently not."
She rolled her eyes, "I wasn't on high alert for Saruman who is most certainly not welcome here from what I can tell."
Brianna glanced at the trees, amusement still etched on her brow and lips. Aragorn felt his heart skip several beats. It really was her. This wasn't some wizard's trick. No amount of magic could ever duplicate her spirit no matter how great the user was. She was alive.
"You really can sense their intentions, yes?" Gandalf asked.
"Of course," she replied, smug.
Brianna finally turned her attention to them and fixed a huge smile on her bright, beautiful, face, "Hello, Legolas, Gimli… Aragorn. As you can see I'm completely fine! Merry and Pippin are also fine. They're communing with an Ent."
"I was going to tell them that," muttered Gandalf.
"You took too long," Brianna chided primly.
Aragorn swallowed, taking in every quirk of her brown, tilt of her lips, and expression in her eyes. The sun glinted off of her bronze hair making it resemble gold. It also wasn't in the braid she'd plated it into before being captured. Each strand flowed freely down her back, grazing her hips, and moved gently with the breeze. Her pale skin took on a pleasant, yellow hue, resembling the sun's rays.
Something else finally reared into Aragorn's forethought and startled him even more. He felt his jaw loosen and he openly gaped at the wizard who was Gandalf. It was Gandalf. Gandalf was alive.
"Mithrandir," Legolas breathed.
Gandalf and Brianna were alive. Aragorn clenched his teeth as his eyes began to burn.
The wizard cleared his throat, "Well, now that we all know who the other is let us discuss important things sitting down."
Gandalf bent to the ground. Brianna shook her head and followed suit. She looked his way, just for a moment, and Aragorn fought the urge to reach out to her then. He wasn't certain if he could.
"But, you are clothed in white," Gimli said, dumbfounded.
"Yes, I am white now," Said Gandalf, "Indeed I am Saruman, one might almost say, Saruman as he should have been. But come now, tell me of yourselves! I have passed through fire and deep water, since we parted."
"What do you wish to know?"Aragorn asked once he found his voice.
Brianna's amused expression faded and she glanced at Gandalf. The wizard nodded to her and she closed her eyes, frown marring her face. When she opened them Aragorn saw her expression was troubled.
"I told Gandalf of your coming to Lothlorien, the worsening situation of the quest, and how Merry, Pippin and I were captured and why, but there's a few things that I don't know…" she trailed off.
Aragorn understood. She wanted to know of Boromir's fate.
"Boromir fell prey to Rosier's magic," Legolas informed them.
Aragorn felt grateful for his friend's input. He hadn't been entirely sure if he could bring himself to tell her. Brianna's devastated turn of expression was conviction enough for him to know that he never wanted to have cause to be the one to place it on her face again.
"Who killed Rosier?" she asked after a moment.
Aragorn inclined his head, "It was I who slew him."
She studied him for a minute then nodded, "Makes sense."
"Legolas distracted him enough to give me a chance to land the killing blow. It was close," he told her.
Gandalf nodded, "For what this Rosier fellow is, according to what Miss Davis has told me, you are lucky to be alive."
Brianna nodded, "The Fallen are powerful. Fighting them tends to cause a lot of destruction and death. It's why I was captured. I couldn't risk the fight getting out of hand and, potentially, killing all of you."
"Are you that powerful, Brianna?" Legolas asked.
Aragorn wondered if he was thinking about the moment between Brianna and Boromir before they were ambushed. He noticed that she looked uncomfortable.
"You could say I am," she muttered, "but there's a price to it and, for a while, my magic had been hidden from me so I haven't had the… er… lifetime experience with it that other elf children on earth had. I trained as a huntress and fought Fallen Angels without it. That wasn't easy and I had help."
She looked pensive and a little sad. Aragorn studied her, really studied her, and wondered why.
"Power doesn't matter, though, since I couldn't protect myself let alone Boromir," she stated.
Gandalf placed a fatherly hand on her shoulder. Aragorn wanted to gather her into his arms and carry her off back to Rivendell or Lothlorien so her could hide her away from anything else that is dark and evil.
"Don't blame yourself for Boromir's death, lass. If such a battle is as destructive as you say then we are all lucky Aragorn's hadn't escalated," Gimli said with a smile.
She gave him a tentative smile in return and Aragorn resolved to, somehow, convince her Gimli was right. She clearly didn't believe him. In the meantime Aragorn told Gandalf of what the company experienced concerning Frodo and Sam. Gandalf informed him of what he knew of the enemy.
"We are lucky that Saruman's plans for the hobbits and Brianna have failed thus far. He may, yet, give up on Merry and Pippin. As it is they are safe for the time being with the Ents. Brianna is another matter entirely, but not one I'm comfortable with keeping hidden in the depths of Fangorn. Without her familial magic he cannot hope to regain his physical form which is what he essentially wants her for. That and the power to bend the Three to his will without having to acquire the rings for himself," Gandalf said.
Aragorn frowned and turned to Brianna and asked, "How can the Dark Lord hope to use your magic without her consent?"
Brianna looked both irritated and uncomfortable as she answered, "I… elven marriages in my world take the phrase 'until death do us part' very seriously. To the point where we bind ourselves to whoever we choose to spend our lives with and them to us. For most elves it normally just ties their lives to each others'. Humans and mortal magic users get extended life-spans. I'm… a different story. My magic…"*
"The Dark Lord wants to marry you?" Legolas asked, horrified.
She looked irritated and incredibly reluctant to answer. Aragorn's jaw clenched again, but he took care to keep his face devoid of any expression that could give away exactly how he felt about the subject.
"Yes, the bastard wants to marry me. He's not in love with me or anything, he just wants to bind himself to the body Nix created for him permanently and have use of my power. My magic becomes tied to him and he gets extra authority he otherwise wouldn't; especially over elves," she explained.
"Why?" asked Gimli.
Aragorn glanced at Gandalf who looked grim.
Gandalf already knows the answer to this curiosity, he realized.
"I'm… I was… the queen of the elves," she said.
Aragorn could not find it within himself to keep his face blank. He had little doubt that the shock of her revelation was plainly displayed on his face. Gandalf's grave expression told him that the wizard most definitely already knew. Legolas was equally just as surprised.
"You were the queen of the elves?" he asked.
She nodded, "I abdicated the throne to my cousin for… reasons. But, since he doesn't have children at this time I'm still the heir. I still have power. I can still give Sauron dominion over my people if I'm not careful. From what the Knight Elves were gloating about, Nix and Hecate have plans to make sure I have no control over the situation should I be caught."
"But it doesn't make sense for you to be in the thick of battle!" Gimli exclaimed.
Aragorn silently agreed. Gandalf shook his head.
"I can assure you, master dwarf, that her being in the thick of the battle is exactly where she needs to be if Frodo has any chance of succeeding," the wizard said.
"You want to be used as bait?" Legolas exclaimed.
Brianna shrugged, "If I get caught, Frodo still has a chance to destroy the ring and weaken Sauron. If Frodo is caught, whether Sauron marries me or not is irrelevant. Defeating him will be next to impossible even with me helping."
"And your people," Aragorn felt the need to interject.
She looked at him, stunned, "What?"
"Your people are here looking for you," he elaborated, "we met one of them on the road. He called himself Mafortion, the Grey Wizard."
Her countenance changed immediately. Her eyes brightened and she grinned.
"Really? Well then we might actually have a bit of a chance," she chirped.
"Even so," said Gandalf, "we do have little time as of yet. We must go to Edoras and seek out Theoden in his hall for you all are needed; especially you, Aragorn. The light of Anduril must now be uncovered in battle. There is war in Rohan, and much evil: it goes ill with Theoden."
Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli exchanged confused glances.
"But what of the hobbits? Are we never to see them again?" Legolas asked.
Brianna smirked, "Oh, they're a little bit busy."
"Busy? With what?" asked Gimli.
She smiled that same feral smile she had turned toward the Nazgul the night she and Legolas shot it down. It seemed so long ago.
"Oh, helping our little friends in the forest," she replied sagely.
Aragorn raised an eyebrow. She winked at him. Gandalf stood and smiled at them all.
"Come then, we have work to do. The tide has turned and for the better I would say. Our resident royalty is needed in the Golden Hall," Gandalf said.
Aragorn rose with him, "Lead the way, my friend."
Brianna, Legolas and Gimli rose after and Gandalf led the way.
It had been hard for Brianna to refrain from looking at Aragorn too much. Her heart felt like it stopped for a moment when her eyes met his blue ones. He hadn't needed to say anything. She saw just how relieved he was to see that she was alive and mostly well.
She frowned as she nimbly stepped over a tree-root. Aragorn had kept his expression carefully blank when she had told him and the company why, exactly, Sauron wanted to marry her. A shudder crawled up her spine at the thought. Her enemies would try every avenue to secure his loyalty to whoever they crossed into Arda for. Evidently it wasn't for Ba'al. He was dead. She took extra steps to make certain of that years ago when she killed him. Who, exactly, the power behind the force was she didn't know. Her heritage was common knowledge as were the perks of marrying anyone part of the royal household.
Not that there are many of the royal house left, she thought.
A frown crossed her face while she vaguely listened to Gandalf recounting his time in Moria and how and why he survived. She'd already been told this.
With this in mind, could it… is it possible that my coming here wasn't an accident? Had that battle all those months ago been a trap? If it was a trap why didn't they have anyone waiting for me on the other side? Unless… she stopped walking as horror crept into her heart. The Nazgul had known I would be there! I've been a target from the very beginning! Well shit!
"Brianna?"
She looked up to see Aragorn, who had lagged behind the others when he noticed she hadn't followed, looking at her with concern shimmering in his eyes. She looked away from him, not wanting him to see just how afraid she really was. All that pomp and circumstance aside, with these new developments and suspicions, Brianna couldn't be sure if being any sort of distraction was a good idea or not.
"What's wrong?" he asked, stepping closer.
She shook her head, "Nothing. Just thought a disturbing thought."
"Care to share it?"
She shook her head, "It's not important."
Aragorn's lips thinned and his jaw went rigid. She stopped an exasperated sigh before it escaped her lips.
"An unimportant disturbing thought that stops you in your tracks?" he asked.
The sarcasm is strong in this one, she thought and crossed her arms.
"It's disturbing, yes, but voicing it will only make the rest of you worry about me more than you already do," she replied.
Aragorn closed his eyes and released a long, drawn-out, breath. Brianna watched him silently and waited for the storm. She couldn't tell if he was angry or frustrated, or both.
"I tracked you and the hobbits for three days across Rohan and another through this forest. I had to keep myself from allowing my fear of losing you from clouding my judgment. Here, in the forest, I lost all trace of your presence though now I suppose I know why. I was afraid. Now you tell me that our enemy is after you now, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if you'd been a target since you arrived here in Arda. I will always fear for you, Brianna, whether you like it or not," he said.
She closed her eyes and felt… she wasn't sure exactly how she felt. Unbalanced was one way to put it. Unnerved was another; especially given how Aragorn seemed to have come to the same conclusion she had.
"I wish you wouldn't worry. It would make my part in this easier," she said.
"So you can continue your reckless behavior?" Aragorn asked wryly.
Brianna glared at him, "If that's what you want to call it, yes!"
"Why?"
"Because…" she took a breath and averted her gaze from his intense one, "because that way you won't end up like Boromir. I don't… I don't think I can go through that. I couldn't even mourn Boromir properly because I was trying to keep Merry and Pippin alive. If you worry about me, you'll try to protect me, and when you protect me you neglect everything else and we can't afford that. If I have to die to save Arda then I will, but I know the rest of you won't let that happen."
Aragorn shook his head, "Brianna we protect each other not only you. I'll admit your circumstance makes me uneasy, but we will not prevail in this war if none of us are together. Like it or not you are an important asset that we have. You are also someone the Dark Lord seems to want. You are not going to fight this alone. I will not let you!"
He wasn't yelling, but the inflection of his voice told her that he was frustrated. Brianna closed her eyes.
"Aragorn…" she started, but trailed off when she opened her eyes again and caught his expression.
He was pained.
"I… I had thought we would be too late," he said, "I feared Saruman already had you."
She swallowed.
"And I… I didn't know what the enemy wanted from you then," he said.
Brianna's brows furrowed. Why her specifically?
"Aragorn, I'm fine. At least I'm fine for the moment," she assured him.
"I know," he said.
He looked over his shoulder. The rest of their group was far ahead, but she knew where they were and what direction they were heading in.
"We should go. We've fallen farther behind," he said.
She made a decision.
"Aragorn?"
He looked at her. Brianna stealed herself.
"I… the thought was… was that the enemy meant for me to come here in the first place. That it was planned by them. That's what it was," she said and swallowed.
Why did I tell him that?
He held out his hand. She took it and he gently pulled her forward towards their companions.
"It seems we had the same conclusion, then."
She nodded and tried very hard not to be too affected by the warmth of his hand and the way it enveloped hers. She thought she succeeded, but she couldn't be sure.
I should say it, even if the idea of him always trying to keep me alive scares the shit out of me, I should say it, she thought.
"Aragorn," she started again.
He stopped and looked at her. Brianna fixed him with a tentative smile.
"Thank you for trying to rescue me… us," she said.
His grip on her hand tightened ever so slightly and the expression in his blue eyes communicated a sense of wary pleasure. Brianna felt her smile lax into a pleased grin. When he caught that she evidently meant what she said Aragorn sent her a small, shy, smile.
"We had doubted our success for a while there. Speaking with Mafortion lightened our hearts when he informed us of what The Riders had found. The corpse of a knight elf who seemed to have been boiled from the inside," he said when he caught the confused look on her face, "when we had some hint that the three of you were alive we took it."
They began to walk again as he spoke. Brianna noticed that they were catching up to the rest of their small group fairly quickly and felt a small pang of regret. This was the most truly alone time she and Aragorn had since they left Lothlorien.
"I wouldn't have worried too much if I had been in your position. Then again, I know the idiots Nix and Hecate sent and know for a fact that they're not the brightest tools in the shed. The only one with minimal competence was Rosier and you killed him," she smirked at the thought.
Aragorn chuckled, "You do have a better understanding of your enemies than I,"
"And don't you forget it, Ranger," she replied impishly.
"Perish the thought," he quipped.
Their banter ceased when they exited the forest and joined their companions in the grassy plains beyond the eaves. Gandalf fixed the two of them with a raised white eyebrow.
"I did say time was of the essence at some point I believe," Gandalf stated pointedly.
"We were exchanging words that needed to be said," Aragorn replied, unperturbed.
"Oh? And what sort of words were that?" asked Gimli who decided to sport the most abhorrently wicked grin.
Brianna cast her gaze to the cloudless sky. Of course the teasing concerning her and Aragorn's friendship would begin when Gandalf returned! If she and Aragorn weren't careful then the quips about their supposed feelings for each other (which she suspected may be correct on her part) would increase tenfold.
"Words of comfort and exhortation where each were needed," Aragorn said in a tone that implied he was purposefully ignoring the double-meaning behind Gimli's question.
Before Gimli could turn the line of thought to where Brianna knew he was going to she turned to Gandalf and asked, "How do you propose we get to Edoras quickly, Gandalf? I'm not sure if you noticed, but we're all on foot."
Gandalf fixed her with a withering look. She met it with an intelligent quirk of her eyebrow indicating she fully expected her question to be answered.
"Time presses, we shall not walk, Miss Davis," he said and with that he turned west towards the waning afternoon sun and let out a long, drawn out, low whistle.
The waited and before long were gratified with the sounds of hooves thundering across the country-side. Brianna could see, coming up from behind a hill, three horses. Two of them looked like common war horses with their large, muscular builds, but the third in their group took her breath away. It was a beautiful white horse. An actual white horse and not those not-quite-white-actually-grey horses that people who didn't know any better claimed were white. The beast was magnificent with a broad chest and lean, powerful, leg muscles that seemed to take forever to reach the ground. It's tail and mane flew out behind it as it galloped up to them ahead the other two.
"Hasufel and Arod," Legolas observed and glanced at her, "the horses the Rohirrim loaned us to search for you in Fangorn, but I am afraid I know not this magnificent lord before them. I have not seen his like before."
Neither have I, thought a very stunned Brianna.
"Nor will you again, Master Elf. That is Shadowfax chief of the Mearas, lord of horses. He has come to me specifically," Gandalf said and reached out his hand.
Shadowfax reached him and Gandalf murmured softly to him. Brianna watched as the horse Legolas identified as Hasufel whinnied up to Aragorn and nuzzled his neck. She smiled and reached up to let the horse sniff her hand.
"See? Just as friendly as he is, but probably better looking," she said cheekily.
Aragorn laughed softly, "I will not argue with that assessment, Anna."
He helped her into the saddle and climbed up behind her. Brianna ignored how her entire body seemed to flush and shiver with excitement at the prospect of being so near him for hours on end. She tried to keep herself from relaxing into him, but failed to when her body, then, was hit with a wave of exhaustion and she sagged against his chest.
"Sleep, you've earned it," he said shortly after her body went limp against his.
"But, what if - ?"
"Sleep. You will need your strength, and soon I fear. Sleep," he urged.
Brianna wanted to protest more, but it seemed her eyelids and the rhythmic gallop of Hasufel was too much for her psyche to bare. She closed her eyes and felt her mind drift off into a sweet oblivion where she felt safe for the first time since living memory.
Aragorn secured Brianna safely in their saddle before allowing himself to take the reigns at full gallop with both hands. They'd been riding for hours already into the plains that skirted the high mountain peaks of the Misty Mountains. Fangorn was well behind them. It had taken until dusk for Brianna to decide that she wanted to sleep. He wasn't even certain if she had noticed the passing of time. Her body began stiff and alert, trying to appear more than capable of pushing beyond her exhausted limits. He wasn't even sure she would wake once Gandalf finally did allow them to stop for a brief respite.
To make her more comfortable Aragorn hand leaned down and forward ever so slightly so as to better accommodate her neck on his shoulder. That and the extra movement caused by the galloping horse made his muscles stiff and sore by the time midnight passed and the day's first hour dawned. Above him stars blanketed the night sky and the moon was nowhere to be seen and wouldn't be for another night.
She barely stirred from her slumber when Gandalf stopped them for a few hours rest. Aragorn gently lay her onto the soft grass of the plains and then lowered himself to the ground a few feet away. Her listened to her quiet breathing and stared at the night sky as clouds rolled from the mountains to blanket the starry canopy. In the background he heard the tell tale signs of sleep from Legolas and Gimli.
Brianna woke when Gandalf roused them to press on and seemed rejuvenated from her slumber. They rode in silence; however, and the hours passed until the waxing moon, barely visible through the clouds, sank into the West. At dawn Shadowfax halted their trek and Brianna straightened from where she comfortably rested against Aragorn's chest.
"Are we here, Gandalf?" she asked.
"Yes," the wizard replied, " Edoras those courts are called and Meduseld is that golden hall. There dwells Theoden, son of Thengel, King of the Mark of Rohan. Proceed with caution for war is on the road. This must be handled with a certain amount of tact and elegance, so you will leave all the talking to me."
Aragorn was quite certain he sent Brianna a very pointed look. The elleth in front of him merely rolled her eyes, but said nothing.
They came to the gates by mid-morning. Brianna looked at the walls with a calculated interest Aragorn knew was purely academic. Their way was barred with spears by the gate's sentries who spoke their particular language.
"Norse-like," Brianna muttered with a concentrated frown.
"Norse-like?" Aragorn whispered.
"I'll explain later," she said with a slight wave of her hand.
"Speak your names, strangers, and your business here," demanded one of the two sentries.
Brianna shifted in her seat, but remained noticeably silent.
"Well do I understand your speech, but few strangers do. Tell me, why do you not speak in the Common Tongue?" Gandalf asked.
Aragorn watched them carefully. The guards seemed very uneasy about something though he knew not what.
"It is the will of Theoden King that none should enter his gates, save those who know our tongue and are our friends. None are welcome here in times of war. Who are you who come heedlessly over the plains clad in strange garb riding horses like to our own?" asked the guard.
"These horses are yours," Aragorn replied, "They were given to us by Eomer, the Third Marshal of the Mark. We spoke with him and the Grey Wizard, Mafortion. The lady with me is his student."
"Is she now?" cried the guard, "And what, pray, is the lady's name?"
"Brianna, Huntress of the Shadow Division in OLIMPUS," Brianna replied haltingly in their tongue.
Aragorn frowned. Whatever sister tongue this was she clearly barely knew it. The guard frowned and looked to his fellow soldier. The other nodded.
"We shall speak with the king. If the lady is who she says she is then there are friends of hers in the hall looking for her," said the guard.
One of them rushed off to speak with the king. Aragorn watched them, not trusting himself to say anything and fervently wishing Brianna hadn't given away her identity. He knew she had to, though and understood there wasn't much either could do about the situation.
After some time, the guard returned.
"Follow me," he said, "Theoden gives you leave to enter; but any weapon that you bear, be it only a staff, you must leave on the threshold. The doorwardens will keep them."
They opened the gates and the travelers entered, walking in file behind their guide. When they came upon the entrance to the hall Aragorn heard Brianna gasp in front of hall rested on the crown of the hill. Great stone steps leading to a green terrace rose from the grey cobbled streets of Edoras. At the top of the terrace sat two guards, swords drawn and laid on their knees, waiting for them. Aragorn knew that, to Brianna, the guards were inconsequential. She was more interested in the architecture.
Aragorn allowed a small smile to grace his lips.
"There are the doors before you," said their guide, "I must return to my watch. Farewell and may the Lord of the Mark be gracious to you."
They watched him walk away back to the city gates. Then they began the long climb to the doors under the eyes of the watchmen. When they reached the top the guards stood and turned their sword hilts towards them as a sign of peace.
"Hail comers from afar! I am the Doorward of Theoden," said the man in common speech, "Hama is my name. Here I must bid you lay aside your weapons before you enter."
Legolas and Gimli began to unclasp their weapons. Brianna watched them mutely for a few minutes before she, too, relieved herself of her weapons. Aragorn watched in silent amazement as she took out variously hidden daggers and long knives hidden on her person. The guard raised an eyebrow at her. She smiled.
"I like to be prepared," she said.
Reluctantly, Aragorn began to unbuckled Anduril from his belt and silently laid it at the feet of Hama. He looked at the guard.
"I implore you to take care. This sword is part of my past and future. I am loth to part with it for any amount of time, understand," he said.
Hama nodded, "I will not touch this blade and neither will anyone else. Your weapons are safe with me."
The guard turned his attention to Gandalf who had not moved, "Your staff. Forgive me, but that too must be left at the doors."
Gandalf looked offended, "Foolishness! Prudence is one thing, but discourtesy is another. I am old. If I may not lean on my stick as I go, then I will sit out here, until it pleases Theoden to hobble out himself to speak with me."
Brianna shook her head, "Shameful I say! To ignore the courtesies due to such a wise old counselor!"
Aragorn bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from showing any degree of amusement. Brianna and Gandalf were quite a pair, that much was certain.
Hama looked uneasy but replied thusly, "I believe you are friends and folk worthy of honor, who have no evil purpose. Keep your staff. You may go in."
Brianna dropped a slight curtsy and went in first, arm hooked with Gandalf's, when they opened the doors.
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*Here's a bit of Brianna's sad backstory: this rarely ever happens to her. There's a reason, besides her understanding the limits of his skills, why Brianna assumed Boromir was dead without having to be told. Her friends die; especially those friends she cares about. Gandalf returning from the dead is not only unexpected for everyone involved, but also incredibly relieving.
* I will explain more about elven marriages on Earth as time goes on. But this is a small taste. I'm sure some of you are wondering at this curve ball, but trust me, this was planned since chapter 4. To allay some fears of "the enemy falling in love with the heroine", no Sauron will never fall in love with Brianna. He quite literally wants a body so he can exist without the ring's help. He also wants her power (and her body as well). He doesn't have an unhealthy fixation on her. He's just being a douche.