A/N: Glad to see some of you guys are still reading! Makes me happy. :) I'm glad you guys are liking the story and I am attempting to update more regularly... it really depends on the business of my real life, sooo.. I can't promise anything except that I will try.

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Chapter 11

I woke up with a knot in my stomach. Looking out the window, I wished for rain. My hopes were swept away as I glimpsed a cloudless sky, the sun smoldering high in the sky.

The night before, Eowyn informed me we would be taking our picnic the next day. Though I smiled and assured her that I was looking forward to the outing, anxiety had been creeping up on me the entire night. My dreams were riddled with visions of me, having lost complete control of my horse, galloping wildly across the Pelennor only to inevitably be thrown off, slam into a tree, and die. Never mind that there were no trees out in the middle of the Pelennor.

"Oh, it's so exciting, lady," Erendis told me as she laced me into my riding outfit. It was an average gown, though made of much sturdier fabric than I had become accustomed to. The skirts were far fuller to ensure modesty. Eowyn had whispered to me, the night before, that I would be allowed to ride astride as she did. Arwen, who would be a part of our company, would ride side-saddle as she always did.

I had been relieved; I was positive I would not have been able to learn to ride side-saddle and learn to ride all in the same day. Now I had nearly convinced myself that even looking at a horse was an impossibility; I was sure to faint right away.

Erendis's face was flushed with excitement as mine should have been. "How exciting, Lady!" she exclaimed, tying the final laces on my dress.

"Erendis, perhaps you could come along with me," I suggested absentmindedly, pressing a hand to my stomach. It felt as though it were on a roller coaster.

"What a thing to say, Lady," Her tone reminded me of an older woman, telling me my words were nonsense. "I will be fine here, plenty of things to do." Her eyes betrayed her cheery tone. She would've liked to go very much. I realized at that moment that Erendis had probably never been outside of the city, much less ridden a horse. I felt guilty, that I was in a position of privelege that I had done nothing to deserve.

Impulsively, I reached for her and hugged her, whispering in her ear, "I am very glad we are friends, Erendis."

She pulled away, standing there awkwardly. "I am as well, Lady." She opened her mouth as though to say something further, closed it, and opened it again. "Before you came, I did not have many friends. I am happy to be serving you."

A few minutes more and I was ready to leave. The group would breakfast and leave directly afterwards. I knew I wouldn't be able to eat anything but I sat at the table, conversing with the others as they discussed the outing. As far as I knew, it would be Eowyn, Faramir, Arwen and Aragorn, and perhaps some others, as well as some soldiers for protection. It was ironic, the great King of Gondor and a renowned warrior himself, having soldiers for protection.

We split into two groups after breakfast. The ladies and I headed straight towards the stables while the men went to attend to some last-minute details. Arwen, Eowyn and I reached the stables ten minutes later. Morwing and Taite, Eowyn's companion from Ithilien, were waiting for us there.

"To be honest, Anna," Eowyn said, leaning down and whispering, "The men didn't need to take care of any business. I just wanted to shoo them away so that you can practice mounting and dismounting a few times. Since this is your first time riding, I did not want you to be embarassed,"

A sudden rush of overwhelming gratitude brought tears to my eyes and I hugged her fiercely. I had not even considered that my first mounting experience would have an audience.

She laughed, a light, wonderful sound that warmed my heart and took away my anxiety for the moment. Anything Eowyn could do, I would attempt. She was, after all, my role model.

Eowyn took my arm and led me inside the stables. Odors assaulted my nose, some pleasant, some not. The sweet smell of oats mingled with the musky scent of hay and the pungent smell of horse manure. I crinkled my nose slightly, causing Eowyn to laugh again. "You get used to the smell, I promise."

We passed a stall and a horse stuck his head out. I leaned away quickly, not expecting the sudden movement. The horse in the stall across from me whinnied, a loud, high-pitched noise that caused me to jump. I scolded myself for being startled by horses and followed Eowyn, who had moved on down the aisle of the stable.

"This is Devona. Her name means protector. She has served me faithfully for many years." Eowyn leaned towards the dark horse. The mare's nearly black coat shone, and her long mane was neatly plaited. I was shocked to see absolute trust in the horse's eyes as she surveyed Eowyn.

I smiled slightly at the bond between horse and rider. I wondered idly how long it took for a horse to trust you completely, and for you to trust your horse. I would have to trust whatever horse would bear me today. A nervous rider rides a nervous horse, I had heard. Eowyn had told me that horses can sense their riders' anxiety, so you must be as calm as possible.

"Well, let us go visit your mount, shall we?" Eowyn gave Devona one final pat and took me two stalls down. I looked nervously inside only to find a horse of medium build. It had a dark dappled coat and large brown eyes that looked at me with interest. "Here," Eowyn said, slipping a chunk of carrot into my hand. I held it out in my palm, offering it to the horse. He stepped forward, sniffed my hand and up my arm, and finally accepted the carrot piece, crunching it loudly.

"This is Torr. He is very gentle and rather small, so he does not make much of a war-horse, but I think he will suit you just fine." She reached forward to scratch his forelock.

A stable hand led Torr out of the stall. He was already saddled, and the lad bridled him with deft and practiced motions. Eowyn led me to Torr's left side and gave me instructions.

"We can start with a block if you'd like." Eowyn motioned to the lad and he brought a sturdy wooden box forward, placing it on the ground right next to Torr, who stood completely still.

I stepped up on the box and gripped the pommel and cantle of the saddle, as Eowyn instructed me. "Now just place your left foot into the stirrup and swing your right leg over, and sit down slowly."

My foot slipped out of the stirrup the first time, but I quickly replaced it. I put my full weight on that foot for a quick second, waiting for the saddle to slip to the side, as I was sure was going to happen. Nothing moved.

I had a difficult time getting my right leg over Torr's back end, but I finally managed it, my skirts in disarray. I grinned widely down at Eowyn, proud of myself to a ridiculous point.

"Very good, Anna. Now dismount and try again."

I protested to no avail. Now that I had mounted the horse, why would I dismount? But Eowyn insisted I practice with and without the block. Several attempts later, I was mounting with little difficulty, even without the block.

"Usually somebody will help you into the saddle, so do not worry about not having the block." She told me once I had mounted for the final time. We had heard the men speaking outside and she led me out, quietly giving me instructions about using the reins.

We reached the end of the stables and she released me, taking the reins of her own mount. I pressed my heels lightly against Torr's flanks to keep him moving and pulled back a bit on the reins when we reached the group. I smiled slightly at my success, surveying the group in front of me. Arwen was mounted, graceful even in riding clothes. Morwing was close to her side. I glimpsed Faramir standing by a roan horse, and Aragorn behind him. My smile grew wider when I realized that Eldarion was sitting with his father in the saddle, protected by Aragorn's strong arm. I was glad the little one would be a part of our group.

And just behind those two men, set a little apart from the rest, was a face I recognized. The man from the feast, from the garden, was with us. I must've looked quizzical because Faramir addressed me.

"I do not know if you have met this man yet, Anna. This is Lucan, a trusted advisor and companion of mine." Faramir smiled at me and I smiled back. His attention was drawn away by Eowyn, who did need assistance mounting, and I turned my gaze back to the man who had drawn closer. I smiled slightly, shyly, not certain what to say. The two meetings we had shared had been very unusual, at least in my book. But at least now I knew his name. Lucan.

"Milady, I see you are surprised to find me a part of your outing." His voice was just as I had remembered it.

"Only in a good way. The more, the merrier!" I said. I truly was glad to have him along. I hoped we could talk again. We seemed to get along well, and I felt comfortable speaking with him. Yes, I was very glad he was coming along.

We spoke for a few more minutes about how we were glad at the prospect of enjoying a day outside the city, in fine weather. Aragorn then announced that everyone was ready to leave, and the company set off. Aragorn rode out first with Arwen by his side, Faramir and Eowyn close behind, continuing the conversation they had been having. Morwing and Taite remained close together, and Lucan and I brought up the rear as we descended to the fields.

A/N: Only two weeks! Not so horrible of a time without an update, is it? Anyway, while I don't love this chapter, it's really all I could come up with at this time.... soooooooo..... here it is. Please review! I love reviews!