Chapter 20: Slipping From The Horse

She had no idea what time it was and it greatly disturbed her.

Tess had laid down to try and get some sleep a little while after Éomer had spoken with her but rest did not come to her. She tossed and turned and rolled and was sure that someone was going to wake up from all her huffing soon. No one did wake up, however, and she left to her thoughts. Her eyes scanned the horizon for any sign of day, but it was still pitch black and the moon was only just passed the centre of the sky.

There was still a long time until dawn.

With a grunt she stood up and walked to the horses, trying to find the peace she usually felt around Hasufel. The thick smell of horse filled her nose as she hid her face in the warhorse's side, and he gave a soft whicker as she started stroking him.

"Me again," she mumbled softly. Ever since the group had set out for Isengard sleep had escaped Tess' grasp, her nights filled with nightmares that would wake her and send her straight for Hasufel's side, eyes wide watching the shadows of Fangorn until the light of day managed to seep in slightly. She had thought that perhaps the dreams were because she felt vulnerable in the forest and that now they were on the plains she would feel safer somehow. She was wrong.

Tess quickly looked over her shoulder to where Gamling was keeping watch, the King's guard almost unaware of her as he kept his eyes glued to the plains. Happy that he was up wind of her she started mumbling to Hasufel, telling him of what monsters had plagued her mind during sleep.

"They were Uruk-hai that had Naomi again…Pippin and Merry as well, I guess it's because this place is similar to where we stopped," Hasufel silently listened as he always did.

"Éomer was there, charging in to save us all like he did that night but the Uruks laughed and suddenly everyone just dropped dead," Tess fell silent and Hasufel whuffed at her.

"It's a lot scarier in my mind," She spat her tongue out childishly before sinking to the ground and leaning against the horse's leg, a yawn erupting from her mouth. For a while she sat with her eyes burning as they craved sleep, but she wished not to fall back into another nightmare. Try as she might she could not escape her exhaustion and soon her head was nodding forward. Just when she thought to go back to her bedroll however, something out on the plains moved. It took her a few goes before she could actually focus on it, but when she did she gasped. Less than two hundred meters away was a pack of rider-less wargs, silently running towards the camp from the south-east.

"Oh god, no!" Scrambling to her feet seemed impossible, her legs shaking violently beneath her.

"Wake up! Everybody get up!" Every possible rock that she could trip on she did, more than once ending in her falling flat on her fast as she raced for her blade. She winced slightly when on her second fall she cut her left cheek bone on a sharp rock.

"What is it! What's going on!" Naomi was by her side in an instant, the rest of the camp bursting into action when they saw Tess grabbing her weapons.

"The remaining wargs from the attack on the way to Helm's Deep!" Tess yelled pointing to the place where she'd see the pack, only now there was nothing there.

"Where'd they go?" Everybody stood quietly, scanning the plains for any sign of the animals. A long moment later Legolas turned back to the women.

"There is nothing out there," He reported and Naomi rolled her eyes.

"N-No there has to be! There was a pack- about fifteen of them not 150 meters from here!"

"You haven't been sleeping much, maybe you're just really tired," Naomi reasoned as the camp settled back down, everyone preparing to go back to sleep.

"No, I did see something out there!" With a loud huff she marched back to Hasufel's side and scanned the area again.

"I'm telling you," she said as she turned back to Naomi,

"I saw somethi-,"

A scream burst from Tess' lungs before she could finish.

Before her fifteen wargs fought noisily over the bodies of her friends. Bones crunched as limbs were crushed and more than once she heard the screams of Pippin and Merry.

"Cold be heart and hand and bone, cold be travelers far from home,"

An eerie voice happily sang over the screams and Tess looked frantically around herself to find the source of the voice.

"They do not see what lies ahead when sun has failed and moon is dead,"

All at once there was a bright flash of light and suddenly everything started growing dark, the moon fading from its place in the sky.

"Thieves…they're filthy little thieves!" The voice was clearer and closer now, so close that Tess jumped and looked to her right.

"They stole it from us!" The voice was suddenly to the left of her, and just when she looked over the creature moved.

"Kill them!"

"No…," Tess said against it in a panic.

"Kill them!" It echoed around her, driving her mad.

"No," She said louder this time, but the voice was getting louder as well.

"Kill them both!"

"NO!" She was screaming again, her head flying from side to side, every time she turned her head she just missed the creature, and always was it dancing in the corner of her eye.

"The precious will be ours, once the Hobbitses are DEAD!"

From the back of her mind an image of Frodo and Sam lying lifeless in some far off forest rose, and the thought of their little bodies being feasted upon by animals made her sick. Bile spilled over her lips as she emptied what food was in her stomach.

"The rock and pool is nice and cool so juicy sweet…," It was singing again and finally out of the darkness of Fangorn it emerged.

"You…," Tess gasped as he stalked around the decaying campsite on all fours, she instantly recognized the little creature as the thing that had been following them in Moria.

"Our only wish to catch a fish so juicy sweet!"

"Gollum…," She had but whispered the name when the creature's head snapped to look at her. Tess stepped back in fright as he turned towards her but tripped on another rock and fell flat on her back, the impact winding her. A deep growl made her look down past her feet where Gollum had been advancing, the twisted Hobbit replaced now with the hulking figure of a warg.

"No…no no no!" Another loud scream that hurt her own ears left her lips as she pushed herself back so far that she hit the slope of the hill. Feet over head she rolled down backwards until she reached the bottom, but instead of slamming into the ground she fell through it like it was water. Bubbles escaped her mouth in surprise before she kicked her legs and surfaced again. What was once the endless fields of Rohan was now an endless black ocean and the dark waves pushed Tess back under. For all her thrashing and kicking she couldn't resurface and in utter despair she watched the light of the moon fade until it winked out of existence entirely. She couldn't tell what was up or down any more, everything was just one big, inky mass of dark. In the back of her mind she thought she heard someone calling her name, but she could only focus on the thick silence around her. The pressure of the water pushed down on her and a hot band grew across her ribs, her whole chest feeling as if it was going to explode if she didn't relinquish her breath. With a stab of fear she suddenly realized what was happening.

She was drowning.

She was going to die.

/\\

"If we start out soon we should reach Edoras before sun down," Théoden spoke to the group as they sat around eating the last of the food. Théoden and Gandalf continued to speak of how far they would travel and how fast, most of which Naomi tuned out.

"Are you sure you don't want anything else to eat?" She softly asked Tess; who was bruised, pale and looked as if she'd spent the night fighting for her life. The brunette woman shook her head slowly and continued to slowly nibble on the edge of the piece of bread in her hands. With a frown Naomi shook her head and turned back to the conversation.

"Good then! As soon as we have finished here we will set out," Théoden said happily, eager to get back to Meduseld. Merry and Pippin finished most of the food quickly, the rest getting packed up into the horse's saddlebags. The horses were gathered and as a group they prepared to mount up.

"Up you go," Aragorn muttered as he boosted Tess into the saddle, but she was not as strong as he thought and her grip slid from the pommel as her body slid sideways. Éomer however was standing on the other side of Hasufel and caught Tess before she hit the ground. Laughter erupted from the other side of the chestnut horse, Naomi bent over as she expressed her amusement. Weakly Tess chuckled at her stunt, but was too tired for anything more.

"You are not fit to ride a horse," Éomer expressed his concern and Aragorn appeared from the other side with a nod.

"I will take Merry and you shall ride with Éomer, Naomi can handle Hasufel for today," Aragorn told her, taking Merry and lifting him onto Brego.

"But-," Tess' protests died in her mouth as Éomer placed her up in Firefoot's saddle.

"Oh dear god," Her vision swam as she looked to the grass down below her. Without any effort Éomer mounted up behind her and wrapped an arm around her securely.

"I will not let you fall," He told her gently and she swallowed with a nod.

"That's what they all say…,"

Behind them on Hasufel with Pippin was Naomi, laughing joyfully at her predicament.

"Oh the things I could say…" Naomi thought wistfully, but saved them in her mind as the company took to the plains for Edoras and the Golden Hall.

Author's Babbling: Yes! I know! It's kinda short-ish! But it will get my past my brain block and I think that's all that counts right now.

If you have any comments I would love to hear them, but even more so if you have any ideas for where it could go! I open and love adapting my stories for the pleasure of the readers XD

Love you all!

AxM