You might want to read back a bit due to my obscenely long hiatus. I apologize.
Chapter 14
The journey from the East Fold to Elfhelm's home was a long and slow one. Gertrude was too old and suffered too much from painful joints to ride, so they were forced to bring a cart where she could sit more comfortably. Fortunately this also enabled them to bring along most of their possessions, both from the women's home and from Uldred's.
Uldred had needed a day to decide whether to follow Néela and Gertrude to the West Fold or not, but had eventually agreed to come along. What his deliberations were, Néela didn't know, but she was glad he was with them. Since they had left Sinddal he had acted as their own personal guard, complete with his Rohirrim armour and weapons, and it gave her a comfort that allowed her to relax and enjoy the travelling.
When he was scouting their surroundings and rode a distance away, she could almost imagine that he was Éomer, riding in her periphery and always watching out for her. Of course those fantasies only lasted for a second or two until her eyes were compelled to focus on the rider and see his tan horse and slighter build. But when he caught her looking she would always smile at him and look away.
Halla, bless her, pulled the cart as if there was no weight at all on it, and Gertrude sat next to Néela up front most of the time, observing their surroundings and keeping an ever sharp eye her young companions.
"You know that boy would go through hell's fire for you, dear. Every time you look at him he turns bright red and starts to stutter in infatuation, but what are your intentions towards him, if I may ask?" She asked Néela.
Néela looked utterly puzzled at her, not quite understanding what boy she was referring to. When she understood that the 'boy' in question was in fact Uldred, she gave a hearty laugh. "You are off your rock, finally, Gertrude! And here I was, thinking that you would linger on the edge of lunacy for the remainder of your life!" She sputtered as she cracked i laughter.
When Gertrude's demeanor remained serious and she just continued to look pointedly at Néela, the young woman's giggles slowly died down.
"Oh, Gertrude. You cannot be serious! Uldred is my friend, and he knows just as well as you where my heart lies." She finally managed through a crooked smile.
"Yes, he knows about your great love. But he also knows that there are no prospects for you in that great love." The old woman callously said. "And I think that he hopes to give you such a prospect, once you realize this."
Néela grew silent and started to see her previous interactions with Uldred in a new light, one that she was not entirely sure she was comfortable with.
Have I been leading him on? And if so, for how long has he held hope that I would turn my eyes at him in that way? This cannot be happening, I need him to be my friend! What if he turns away from me and never wants to speak to me again? Oh no... I can't let that happen. Could I ever be happy if I let him court me, love me, even marry me? No, this is unthinkable. I would always compare him, always find him lacking. Éru, I hope Gertrude is wrong, just this once. Batty old woman! Why'd she have to bring this up??
For the rest of their journey through Rohan, she was careful to not be caught staring at Uldred, and she started to reserve her smiles for Gertrude only. She still spoke to him when the three of them shared meals and around the fire at night, but she was always a bit more guarded with her words and demeanour now. Poor Uldred seemed bewildered at her change towards him and the mood of their merry company soon became a somber and quiet one.
They arrived at Elfhelm's home three and a half weeks after setting out from Sinddal, and Néela realised that 'home' was an inappropriate term for the place. It was a fortress made in wood and stone surrounded by a city only second to Édoras in size and splendour. The streets of the town were lined with flower beds and in the gentle spring air was the soothing perfume of hundreds of budding and blossoming flowers in all the colours of the rainbow.
Every house, every home bore signs of the previous years being hard on the land, but at the same time, every building and garden showed that repairs and new additions were under way. Newly painted walls, piles of fresh planks, tiles, stones, wrought iron and tools for construction were present all over the town. There was a bustling activity of people mending, working and noise from market stands, children, dogs, chickens and general crowds.
Néela and uldred were in awe of the city, having never been there before and not having been told of the size of the town made them speechless.
"What is this place?" Uldred finally asked Gertrude.
"Adorheim. The far western point of the Kingdom of Rohan." She said. "The river Adorn runs on the other side, below the hills and joins with the river Isen ten miles down stream. This was once the capitol of Rohan before protection from orcs and other monsters became necessary, and the court was moved to Edoras. For many years it was an outpost run mainly by corrupt lords and brigands, but it would seem that that has changed. Maybe."
"Let's find this Elfhelm and find out where we're supposed to go and what we're supposed to be doing here, shall we?" Néela said to them both.
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As it turned out, Elfhelm was a most gracious host, who had been expecting Néela and her company since he received a letter from his newly appointed king. The letter had ordered him to accommodate them with their own cottages on the outskirts of town, Néela's a bit further away than the others as per her request. She had wanted the possibility of solitude after so many years with other people watching over her shoulder, good natured or not.
The marshal had had his men repair and furnish three separate houses so that they were ready for for the East Folders to move right into, though they still needed to be personalized with carpets, pictures, pillows, flowers, blankets and whatnot. Néela's garden was not large, but still big enough that there was a floral section with a bench and table and a herbal section for her spices, vegetables and herbs, along with a small orchard of cherry, apple and pear thee, all in full blossom in this season.
Uldred had been accepted into the home guard division of the marshal's éored, and was very content with this, as he would not be required to go out on patrol, but would still be able to provide a service with his military skills. This pleased Néela very much, because she knew how important it was to her friend to have a useful profession. At first, Elfhelm had proclaimed that she herself did not need to work, and that everything she needed would be provided for her. She had been furious when she heard this; Parked at the outskirts of Rohan as an embarrassing secret of the King's, supported like a secret mistress? No thank you! She would provide for herself or die trying, so help her.
Elfhelm's grandiose manners had been somewhat subdued at this. "But sweet girl, I have been charged with your well being and safety under pain of death. And though I know the king personally as a good friend, I actually think he means it when it comes to you. Will you not let me help you?" He asked.
"Very well," she sighed. "You may help me find a suitable employment, as I have no preferred profession to start up with."
Elfhelm thought on this for a minute before exclaiming, "Ah! I have an idea. My eldest daughter is fourteen and in need of a governess. Alas, my wife sadly died giving birth to my third child three years past. Would you be interested in taking on this job, perhaps? We have a cook and a servant for cleaning and such, but I would appreciate it greatly if you could teach her a bit of what it means to run a household and behave as a lady. She is too spoiled by me I'm afraid, to know how to cook, clean, wash and ... well I don't know what ladies do, really."
"Oh. Well... ahm... My Lord, I don't know what you've heard of me, but I'm not sure you'd want someone of my stature to teach your daughter about the obligations of... a lady." She blushed furiously at the shame of admitting to her fall from grace.
Elfhelm took her by the elbow and led her gently to his study where he shut the door. "Listen, Néela. I rode with Éomer when he was a marshal, and I've seen you two together. What more is, he is my friend, and I know the effect your love – and parting – has had on him. There was nothing casual or careless about it, wherefore I have no objections to you joining my household, and as far as I am concerned, you honour is unsoiled and intact."
He sighed heavily and adjusted the sheep skin cape on his shoulders. "That being said, I will encourage you to consider this relocation a fresh start and not tell your story to anyone unless you absolutely trust them. People are not always as magnanimous as one would like."
"Except you, my Lord. You most certainly are. I thank you dearly for your kindness and your offer. I accept it with honour." She started to bow, but was stopped by a heavy hand on her shoulder. With a fatherly smile, Elfhelmpulled her into a bear hug and as he released her, he steadied her with a small shake.
"It will be good to see you blossom and heal, my dear. Welcome, once again." He rumbled with a quiet chuckle and left the study and a moved girl in his wake who barely held her tears at his kindness.
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As it turned out, being a governess to a spoiled, haughty teenage girl, who had all her life been used to being told she was right and getting her way, was no light task. Néela had been put in a situation where she was to teach the snooty girl things that she had no interest in learning, on top of trying to get her to respect her as a superior, a person of some authority, which was nigh impossible because no example had ever been sat for her before.
After a third day of being blown off for the most ridiculous reasons every time she tried to make an appointment with the girl, she returned home and plumped into her couch with a steaming huff.
"This is absolutely absurd!" She shouted at the walls. Ugh, there's no way I'll ever get through to that stuck up little brat! I need leverage over her to get her to listen...hmm... What does she care about?... Guess I'll have to watch her closely for a few days.She contemplated until her growling stomach told her to feed it.
The next day she started watching the girl, Isa, from afar. She watched as she interacted and whispered and squealed with her girlfriends, as she ignored the servants of the house even when they spoke to her, as she shopped for ribbons for her hair and dresses, as she teased a pimple faced boy until he ran from her and her "evil fluffy followers" as Néela had secretly and not so lovingly named them.
Then, finally, a breakthrough presented itself when Isa and two other girls went to the army's training ground outside the town. It came to Néela as she watched the girls fawn over the young recruits, and especially when one of them won a sword fight and looked up at Isa. She blushed furiously and quickly lowered her eyes to the ground as if embarrassed to have been caught ogling him. Got you! Néela thought. Finally, a weak spot. Now we can get to work.
The girls left shortly after and Néela climbed through the bars of the fence to go talk to the recruit of Isa's fancy.
"Hey kid!" She shouted at him, effectively diverting his attention from a duel he was now watching. As he turned, she saw that he was older than she had thought him from afar, perhaps around twenty years old, with a very handsome face and broad shoulders yet waiting to be filled out fully. He looked up at her questioningly and then gave her a once over, evaluating her looks and social standing.
"Yeah?" He said, apparently deeming her attractive enough to answer, but not important enough to answer respectfully. A match made in heaven if Isa gets him, Néela snickered to herself.
"What's your name, soldier?" She asked in a slightly flirtatious way. No reason to not use her arsenal against him if he was dumb enough to fall for it.
"Who wants to know?" He returned with an arrogant smirk that might have seemed attractive if Néela wasn't about to start giggling at him for the artificial behaviour.
"My name's Néela."
"Danlon, son of Dantan. What can I do to you?" He deliberately misspoke, making his friends roar with laughter.
"Well, Danlon, son of Danton. I'd like to ask you some questions if you don't mind?" Néela wiped the flirtyness off his face with those words, but before he had a chance to answer, the trainer yelled at him as he came marching over.
"DANLON! I've told you to keep your girls out of the training grounds! Get back to work!"
"Oh no sir, I'm not an admirer of his. I was merely here to get a few hours of practice myself, you see." Néela told the angry man.
"Really, little miss? And perhaps you were challenging the pup to a duel too, hmm?" His sarcastic reply ruffled Néela's feathers and she bristled angrily.
"Sure." She turned to the flabbergasted Danlon. "Is it okay by you if I use knives?" She asked.
"Uhh, okay...?" The young man said.
"Excellent! Let's see you get beaten by Danlon, then. That'll teach you to stay out of the training grounds, woman. Danlon; go easy, I don't want any fatal or permanent damage." The instructor barked out.
"Yes sir," Danlon replied before getting into the fenced in ring with solid dirt ground. He started to take position with his short sword as Néela drew her two knives from their secret hiding places in her skirts. They had been a gift from Éomer and were slightly curved blades the length of her lower arm, decorated with a fine silver carving of runes along the blade. The one said Defender of Rohan beauty and the other said Death of Rohan foe.The handles were bound by leather and each had a small knob of silver, shaped like horse's heads with jade eyes, for balancing the blade perfectly.
When Néela took position with her right knife held like a sword, lifted and ready to strike or stab, and the left one held along her forearm as a sharp defence, ready to slice or ward off enemy blades, the men whistled and started to whisper among themselves about her fine weapons and apparent experience with them.
"How about a bet, Danlon?" Néela said, just loud enough for only him to hear.
"What did you have in mind?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow a bit.
"I win, I get to ask you anything I want for an hour." She said.
"And If I win?"
"Name your price." She grinned ferally.
"A kiss. For an hour." He said, thinking he had an easy duel and possibly even easier female companionship ahead of him.
That would really ruin my chances to gain access to Isa, Néela thought. Not to mention destroy my newly gained reputation as a respectable woman.
Danlon saw her blanch a bit at his proposition and smirked as he thought he had gotten her to back down from the bet.
"Deal." Néela heard her voice reply in defiance to the arrogance before her. What? DEAL?? What happened to conferring with me before answering, you moron? –Oops, sorry. Oh, forget it, just don't loose, got it? Okay, got it. Yeesh!
Her thoughts were interrupted by the instructor who yelled; "Ready? Fight!" And then the game started.
Danlon started circling her to gauge her footwork and balance and looking for an opening in Néela's defence. There were none.
She had been taught patience well for all the times she had engaged in a premature attack to be cut down by Éomer, and she held her ground, letting the young man circle her, following his position and anticipating an attack.
Being the aggressor seemed to fit Danlon's personality fine, as he suddenly lounged with a series of short, precise strikes against Néela's body and legs. The first two she blocked with her left dagger and the third she jumped over as it was a sweep at her shins. Her dress got caught in the sword's path and got a long rip just above the knee, making the fabic hang as a large garland in front of her.
Not wanting to trip in the rags, Néela quickly backed away from her assailant and tore the rest of the fabric off so that her legs were free. Her Knee high boots covered her calves, but her knees and part of her shapely thighs were visible. This caused a riotous applause from the all male spectators, turning her cheeks crimson and her mood foul.
She saw that her bared legs were distracting her opponent and attacked in a flurry of a right handed strike from above, followed by ducking a desperate swing from the sword, leaning her to the left and returning to backhandDanlon in the face with her right hand and bringing her left dagger up to slice at his body, a move he luckily saw and avoided at the last minute. His posh, embroidered shirt got cut from hip to chest though and when he saw how close he had come to being gutted, he fumed in rage.
"What is wrong with you, woman? You could have killed me! That was my favourite shirt!" He raved.
"Pretty, too," She hissed. "Shouldn't have brought it to a fight then, huh?"
He huffed, and would have answered, but the instructor barked with laughter and told him to get his head in the fight in stead of on the pretty lady's legs, lest he wanted to buy the éored their ale for the rest of the month.
He charged in rage, which was of course a mistake, and Néela sidestepped him to her right twirled around on her left foot and kicked Danlon straight legged in the midriff, stopping him in his track and making him double over, gasping for a breath of air. As he stumbled to his knees, Néela jumped on his back and snaked her right arm around his neck, ready to cut his jugular whilst her left blade touched the back of his neck, making it impossible for him to head butt her.
"You're dead." She whispered into his ear.
Silence.
Then someone in the crowd uttered quiet; "I think I just fell in love." Applause, laughter and loud whoops erupted in a cacophony of noise, and calls of ale went out to the defeated soldier.
As the tension in Danlon's body slowly left him, Néela jumped off and offered a hand up with a smile. Her golden hair was flowing wildly about her flushed face, her green eyes were clear and bright and a sheen of sweat shone off her skin from the adrenaline. She looked like a warrior angel of the ancient tales.
"Didn't see that one coming," He muttered as he accepted her hand and brushed himself off.
"You probably looked at my size and saw weakness, my gender and saw tenderness, at my age and saw inexperience, right? When in stead you should have expected speed, distraction and flexibility in those qualities. Never underestimate an enemy, kid." She said and smiled sisterly at him, effectively establishing that she was not available for any more of his silly advances, but extending an olive branch at the same time. "It was a lesson I learned a hard way myself." She added.
"Actually, I just saw your gender and assumed all of those things," he admitted grudgingly. "But how about if i buy you a mug along with one for each of these dogs, and you can ask me those questions? And maybe i can convince you that I'm not a total idiot in the mean time." He said gesturing over his shoulder at the howling crowd.
"Lead the way." She said.
She found out a lot about Danlon's history during that evening. His likes and dislikes and eventually, she decided that even though he was a bit pompous, he was a nice enough kid. He'd gone to school until he was fifteen, when he enlisted to follow in his father's footsteps. His age was now eighteen, though he looked slightly older, which got him in trouble sometimes when his inexperience didn't match what people expected of him. Like when he had approached the carpenter's young wife because he didn't know she was married, or when he had been drunk out of his mind, trying to keep up with a veteran and ended up throwing up on a superior officer. Both cases ended in bruises and raging headaches.
He remembered Isa well from school, and had seen her watch the training grounds, but he had never gotten up the courage to talk to her, because she was the village Lord's daughter. The admission made him stutter slightly and look into his mug.
"I might be able to help you get to her, Danlon." Néela said. "I'm supposed to be her governess, you see. And if you help me a little bit, I'll see what I can do for you, deal?"
He looked puzzled for a bit and then; "Valar free us from scheming womenfolk. But yes, you have a deal." He shook her hand and gave her a tentative smile.
"I'll be off then. See you later Danlon." She rose and winked at him as she threw the torn piece of fabric of her dress over her shoulder and sauntered out of the common room tent of the éored camp. She whistled on her way home, a plan forming clearly in her mind. Tomorrow was going to be a good day she decided.
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I know it's a bit boring but it will get better, I promise.
I welcome any critisism or comments.