Disclaimer: If I were lucky enough to own anything, I'd own Sean Bean. Mmmm….scrummy. Sadly, I'm not lucky enough to own anything.
Chapter 21: Rohan Ale: Drink Responsibly
I was clean once again. Before dinner, I'd managed to get a bath and clothes. While it was still a dress, I was so grateful for something clean to wear that I barely minded.
The simple green dress was actually lovely, though walking in a real skirt was taking some getting used to. I may have matured since coming to Middle Earth, but my coordination certainly hadn't. I'd already tripped and rammed my head into a door frame once this evening.
Still, I had no other choice until my own things were finished being repaired. I felt a little bad for whatever poor seamstress had to sew my Chase Dress, as I'd come to think of it. I'd really done a number on it as I'd tripped and stumbled on my way to and then through Fanghorn Forest.
After dinner, I'd come outside the great hall to think. I looked out across the great expanse of Rohan.
A change had come over me since I'd entered this land. It was more than maturity. Dealing with other humans again had affected me. Boromir and Aragorn were one thing, because I knew where I stood with them, and knew what their fates were. Elves were immortal, and for the most part, I knew what would happen to them as well.
Humans, however, were another story all together. I could relate to them, because I was human. And I affected their lives in a much greater way than that of elves.
It was beginning to feel like I was two different people: Rose, and The Seer. When I was Rose, I was myself. I was the clumsy and sarcastic 18 year old that was quickly falling in love with Gondor's Golden Boy.
But when I was The Seer, I became detached and cold, and wore the careful veneer of infallibility and near-omniscience. I had developed almost the perfect poker face. Even my manner of speaking changed when I became The Seer; it became slow, calculated, and completely unemotional, very much like Galadriel's. I knew what was expected of me by the other humans, and I played the part.
But it was more than just playing the part, I realized as I gazed down at the city. That cold façade kept emotions from clouding my judgment when making decisions. It also instilled confidence in the people who sought my knowledge, confidence that was necessary if I expected them to follow where I led them.
I wasn't two different people, however. The Seer was just a mask. I was always Rose, even when wearing my Poker Face, as I'd come to think of it. The Seer may have been the face to order the death of Grima, but the heart was still very much Rose. I felt I'd lost a piece of my innocence today.
Boromir found me there, and came to stand beside me. I didn't take my eyes off of the mountains. The flags whipped in the breeze as I looked out across Rohan, fiddling with my belt. We were silent for a long while, but I suspected what was coming.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you kill him?"
"Technically, I didn't. Hama did." Boromir just looked at me. I met his eyes briefly before turning back to the view. I let go of the gold cord around my waist and put on my emotionless Poker face, once again becoming The Seer. "Because his death solves a multitude of needless problems. Trust me, you should be glad I gave the order."
"I will never be glad when a life is lost needlessly," Boromir vehemently denied.
"Needlessly, Boromir," I asked, looking at him then. "His death spares dozens of lives."
A young page boy interrupted us then, looking scared to death to be in our presence.
"Both of you are summoned by the King," he stuttered, eyes wide. Boromir and I stared at each other for a moment before he bowed his head slightly, meaning for me to go first.
I swept into the hall, to see the King surrounded by advisors, obviously planning for the attack on Edoras. They looked up when we entered. Knowing well what was coming, my mask was once again locked in place.
Eowyn was speaking. "They had no warning. They were unarmed. Now the wildmen are moving through the Westfold, burning as they go. Rick, cot and tree."
"Where's mama," asked the little girl she was tending to. I looked at her. Children were a major weak spot for me.
"Your mother yet lives," I said before Eowyn could shush her. The entire room looked at me as I stood beside her. "She made it out of the village safely, and you will see her again soon."
"So it is true, then, what Gandalf has told me. You are a Seer," Theoden said. It wasn't a question, so I merely looked at him. His eyes held slight awe, but his face and demeanor betrayed nothing. "This is good, very good. You are welcome in our halls. We will need all the advantages at our disposal."
"I will tell you what I can, Theoden, son of Thengel, but there are some things, some decisions, I cannot help you make," I said, my eyes wary.
"You will help us now, then." Again, it wasn't a question. He gestured at the maps on the table. "We plan our next move."
Gandalf spoke first. "Ride out and meet Saruman's forces head on. Draw him away from your women and children. You must fight."
"You have two thousand good men riding north as we speak. Éomer is loyal to you. His men will return and fight for their king," Aragorn said, taking a puff from his pipe.
Theoden shook his head. "They will be three hundred leagues from here by now. Éomer cannot help us. I know what it is that you want of me. But I will not bring further death to my people. I will not risk open war."
"Open war is upon you. Whether you would risk it or not," Aragorn retorted. Theoden looked at him, his eyes flashing.
"When last I looked, Théoden, not Aragorn, was king of Rohan." Silence reigned.
"Then what is the King's decision," Gandalf asked at last. Theoden paused, and looked to where I leaned against a table, my arms crossed.
"Seer," he asked, locking eyes with me. I kept my face expressionless. I should have known he would ask me, I thought, kicking myself. I stayed silent for a moment, carefully choosing my words.
"Saruman has amassed an army far greater than you have yet seen. He has bred ten thousand orc and uruk-hai soldiers and will empty Isengard when he deems the time right. You are right not to meet him in battle on the plains, but Aragorn is also right, in that open war is upon you."
Theoden's chin rose, as though he refused to give in to despair. "I refuse to let my people die." I inclined my head to him, beginning to respect this man.
"Do not abandon all hope, Theoden King. Send a rider out for Eomer and summon him to your side," I said, pointedly locking eyes with Gandalf. "Have him go to Helms Deep, where we will meet him with all our refugees." I heard Aragorn and Gandalf begin to protest, but I carried on. "It is there that you will make Rohan's greatest stand."
Theoden stayed silent for a moment, obviously weighing it over in his mind.
"It will be done."
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I could read a lot in the looks Aragorn and Gandalf kept sending me. Finally, I grew tired of it and excused myself, setting off down the hill in search of a pub. I was determined to get something to drink after so stressful a day. I was mentally exhausted. For the rest of the night, I was just gonna be Rose.
At long last, I came across one. With the somber mood of the city, there were only a few people inside, all of them guards from Meduseld. I was easily recognized when I entered, and one of the guards left his companions and came up to me at the bar.
"They say you're a seer," he said in Common, his accent thick enough that it took me a moment to understand what he said. I recognized him. He had been the one to take my swords when we first entered the Meduseld. He was handsome, tall, and charmingly self-confident. He looked only a little older than I was.
"For once, they would be right," I said dryly, smiling. "Word gets around fast here, I see. My name is Rose, and you are Ther." I laughed at his surprised face when I said his name.
He returned my smile with a quizzical one of his own. "Indeed I am. Is this part of your magic?"
"Do you really want to know how I know?" He nodded so I leaned in, gesturing for him to do the same. "I heard one of the other guards address you," I whispered in his ear conspiratorially. We both began to laugh as I straightened.
"Well, Lady Rose, will you allow a simple soldier to buy you a drink?" I smiled and nodded. "What would you like?"
"Well, I haven't been here before, so you'll have to tell me what's good," I said as he hailed a barmaid. He ordered me ale, and then invited me to meet his companions. They all stood as we approached.
"Lady Rose, may I present Eulm, Haulm, Dirulm, and Helir, soldiers of Rohan," he said, each bowing slightly as Ther introduced them.
"It's a pleasure to meet y'all," I said with a smile, taking the seat that was pulled out for me.
"You rode in with my Lord Boromir and Gandalf," said the one named Eulm. "You must be a great lady to have such an escort."
"I am no great lady," I said, shaking my head. I thanked the barmaid when she brought my drink. "I travel with my companions out of necessity. Actually, where I come from, I'm no one special."
"And where would that be," Ther asked. They all looked at me.
I hesitated. "A long way from here," I said after a moment, glancing down at the table, refusing to become homesick. I looked back up and changed the subject. "Shall we toast to a renewed King Theoden and to the great men who guard this land," I asked with a smile. A resounding 'aye' answered my question. I choked on my gulp of ale.
"Do you not like it, Lady," Ther asked, obviously hiding a smile. I swallowed again, unable to keep a slight grimace from my face.
"No, no. I like it," I assured him, wheezing. "It's just…it's a LOT stronger than beers we have at home. Took me by surprise is all."
The men started laughing. "Your first taste of Rohan's famous ale is always one to remember," Dirulm chuckled. We talked for a few hours while the alcohol and conversation flowed freely. Shortly we were toasting anything and everything we could, and when Gimli and Boromir walked in and found me, we toasted them too. Well, to be more specific, we drunkenly toasted Gimli and "Mr. Sexy Pants" as I referred to him. We entreated them to drink with us, and by the time we left, all were completely smashed.
"Y'all aren't sober," I chastised them as I clung to Boromir. His arm was across my shoulders as we walked, my arm around his waist. I couldn't tell if it was out of affection or an attempt to keep us both upright. Gimli drunkenly looked at me. I giggled and pointed to myself, "but don't worry. I'm not drunk either." I paused, frowning. "That's not right. No, I mean, I'm not sober either. There we go," I said as I got it right. We waved goodbye as one by one, the men left the group to stumble home.
"I think she's had too much," Boromir whispered loudly to Ther as we stumbled up the hill. He pointed at me.
"She can't handle her liquor," Ther slurred in agreement. I flapped my hand at him dismissively.
"Pfft, I ain't as think as you drunk I am," I slurred. Wait, that wasn't right either. I giggled.
I tripped over…well, air, actually, but for a horrible moment, I thought the Earth was capsizing. "Hold on to your pants, boys! We're goin' under," I yelled before Boromir hauled me upright again. "Oh, false alarm," I said as the world went back to normal. "Why, thank you, Mr. Sexy Pants," I said, grinning at him widely.
As we approached Meduseld, we all drunkenly shushed each other, inadvertently being extremely loud. Hearing the noise, Legolas came out, looking at us with one eyebrow raised.
"Will Turner!" He looked both startled and confused at my cheer. I began to laugh and stumbled over to him. He caught me as I tripped and fell against him. I giggled hysterically. I smiled, and gestured for him to lean down.
"Yarr, I'm a pirate," I said, before bursting into hysterical giggles. Boromir started laughing so hard he snorted, causing the remaining group to howl with laughter. Still laughing madly, we made our way to the main room where pallets were laid out for all of us.
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I woke up on the floor beside my pallet, my blanket bunched up under my head while my pillow lay unused on the bed. Stretching, I grimaced. My head was pounding, my stomach churning, and my body was sore from a night spent on the ground.
At my groan, Boromir shot up from his pallet next to me. "Wha…huh," he spluttered, looking around in alarm and confusion before his eyes rested on me. I rolled on to my pallet and sat up, legs splayed in front of me while I slouched over. Blearily I looked at him. Suddenly, a shadow fell over me and I looked up to see a grinning Legolas. In his hands were two mugs.
"Morning, sunshine," he said, smirking. "How's that hangover doing?"
"Stop yelling," I whispered pathetically as I took the cup from him and sniffed it suspiciously. It smelled ok, but I wasn't sure if my stomach would tolerate anything after the sheer volume of alcohol I'd consumed the night before. Besides, the last concoction I'd taken from an elf still had me (literally) jumping at ghosts around every corner.
"Drink it, it'll help," he said, smiling. "Besides, you have to get up."
"Why," I asked, eyeing him with suspicion.
"You get to ride up front with the King today," he said cheerfully, obviously enjoying my misery. I groaned again, this time louder. "That includes you, Mr. Sexy Pants," he said, smirking at Boromir. I blushed, recalling my drunken nickname for him.
"Can't you tell them that I died or something," I begged pathetically. He just grinned and walked away.
"I don't think he has a soul," Boromir groaned.
In the end, the tea did help, and Boromir and I got dressed (or in my case, straightened, since I had fallen asleep in yesterday's dress) before heading out to breakfast. The entire city was packing, getting ready for the long trek to Helms Deep.
We met up with everyone else at the stables. I noticed that Shadowfax was already gone, and knew that Gandalf had left. I was given a horse of my own to ride this time, though I felt terrible about it. There were many other people who needed the horse far more than I did, but it was required that I ride if I were to accompany the king.
Soon enough, we were standing in front of the stables. "Boromir," I hissed. "Boromir!" Nothing. "Mr. Sexy Pants!" He glanced over at me, and I barely refrained from rolling my eyes. "I need help."
"With what," he asked, bemused. I glanced around to make sure no one else was within hearing distance before I answered him.
"I can't ride a horse," I muttered.
"Rose, we rode to Fanghorn, then to Edoras. What on Earth are you talking about?"
"No, YOU rode to Fanghorn then Edoras. All I did was cling to you, if you'll remember correctly," I hissed. I was less than pleased when he started laughing. "Yeah, laugh it up, Gondor," I said, glaring.
He tried to stifle his laughter. "You mean to tell me that The Great Rose, Seer of Middle Earth, dropped here from another entire WORLD, whose approval is sought by even the very wise and powerful, can't ride a horse."
With that, he absolutely roared with laughter, earning several looks from people surrounding us. My attempts to quiet him did nothing, until at last I kicked him in the shin. That shut him up.
"Alright, alright," he said, though he was still grinning ear to ear. "Here, I'll help you up. Stay close to me and I'll make sure you're alright." I grabbed the reigns as he boosted me up.
Taking his advice, I glued myself to his side, even while I tried to look as regal and self confident as I could. But for several hours afterwards, whenever Boromir would look at me, he would inexplicably burst into laughter while I glared daggers at him.
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Riding with the King was tedious at best. He kept pelting me with questions about the future, and I did my best to parry his questions with vague answers. It took all my self control not to give him ridiculous answers just to mess with him. After several days of this, however, it was beginning to wear on my nerves and patience. I was grateful whenever we stopped and I was allowed a reprieve.
I let one of the stable boys take care of my horse, since I had no idea how to do it. Instead, I flopped down into the soft grass out of the way of everyone. Then, making sure I wasn't about to be stepped on, I lay down and sprawled out stretching out my tired muscles.
I sat up when I noticed on of the women starting a fire to cook on. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a group of children running around playing. Smiling I walked closer to watch them. One of the older boys noticed me. "Sorry, miss. We didn't mean to bother you," he said in his thick accent.
"No, no. You aren't bothering me. I was just watching. It's been a long time since I've seen children play," I said. And then the though occurred to me that, if this were happening in my own world, these children would never be left unattended like this where strangers and pedophiles could snatch them. "May we join them?" He smiled and motioned me closer.
The girls immediately were taken with me, since I was a novelty to them. We sat in a circle. They were still very little, so I taught them the Pattycake clapping game. I was giggling right along with them when I happened to look up and see Boromir staring at me, a peculiar gleam in his eyes. I smiled at him at beckoned him to come join, but he shook his head, continued to stare at me.
After a while, Ther came over to pull me away to dinner. I smiled as I joined him and the rest of the guards from the night before. We were all laughing and passing stories, and I caught Boromir's eye where he sat with the rest of the Fellowship. I smiled at him, but his eyes glanced to Ther, then turned away. I wasn't sure what to think, so I pushed it out of my mind.
I stayed with the guards for a while, laughing with them about their families when the conversation turned unexpectedly to me.
"How is it that a pretty, sweet young thing like you hasn't caught the eye of some fine man," Hama asked, grinning at me.
"Oh, I think she's caught the eye of some man," Eulm said, nudging Ther and laughing. I looked at him in surprise as he blushed and looked at me out of the corner of his eye. I smiled at him and looked down. Since the ground wouldn't open up and swallow me, I decided playing along with them would be the next best idea.
"Oh, but Hama, it is only you I have eyes for," I said, clasping my hands over my heart and batting my eyelashes at him theatrically.
He grinned then held his hand palm out, as if rejecting me. "But no, it is not to be, for I am a married man," he announced, turning his face away dramatically. "We are doomed to be but star-crossed lovers."
I grinned. "Oh, Lady Fortune, stand you auspicious! For I do not think I can stand to be parted from such an ideal visage of masculinity," I said, laying it on thick as I closed my eyes and pretended to swoon. Ther caught me and I cracked one eye and smiled at him.
Suddenly I was whisked out of Ther's arms by Hama. "Alas, I cannot stand to be parted from my honey-moon-pie," he proclaimed, twirling me around as I laughed at the horrible pet name. Suddenly we were dancing without music and he twirled me over and over again in some Rohan dance.
Eventually, I stumbled and he caught me, ending the dance. We were both laughing and breathless by now, so he bowed and I curtsied as I'd seen Eowyn do (although not as gracefully as she).
"I see now how you wooed your wife, Hama. She is a very lucky woman," I said, laughing as he sat down. "But now I must retire," I said. At his feigned groan of displeasure, I sighed dramatically and kept hold of his hand while I moved backwards. "Alas, parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow."
Still smiling, I began walking back to the fire the Fellowship was gathered around. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Boromir standing by the horses and went over to him. I smiled, but there was something in his answering smile that gave me pause. I was about to have an answer though.
As soon as I got close to him, he grabbed me, leaned me back, and kissed me breathless, surprising the crap out of me, not that I was complaining. As I've mentioned before, Boromir is epically amazing at kissing. This kiss was almost better than our first, since he had me leaned back a la the V-Day kiss in New York.
When he finally let me up, I came away dazed. "Woah," I said breathlessly, completely shocked and surprised. He flung his arms around my shoulders and we strolled right passed Ther to where Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas were watching us, amused. I noticed a look pass between Ther and Boromir and I narrowed my eyes. Was this all just a jealousy thing?
"Aragorn, I would like your permission to court Rose," Boromir said.
Wait, jigga what?
"Whoa, hold the phone, what," I snapped. "1, Aragorn is neither my father nor my keeper. 2, what the hell brought this on? And 3, how about asking ME if you can court me, eh?"
"Fine, will you let me court you," he snapped, then took a gusty breath as he realized what he'd just said. I narrowed my eyes, planted a hand on my hip, and raised one eyebrow.
"Oh, that was terribly romantic," I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice. "Just what every girl dreams of. What are you going to do for the proposal? Tie me in a gunny sack and haul my ass to the alter? After all, what girl could say no to such a smooth talker like you?"
"I didn't mean it like that," he said, running his hands through his hair.
"Then please tell me how you meant it," I said, crossing my arms.
"Ah, now, lass, don't be like that," he said..
"Really, Boromir?" My eyes widened incredulously. I shook my head. "You just want to do it because Ther has a thing for me. But I'm not Ther's girl, Boromir. Keep in mind, though, I'm not yours yet either. I deserve more respect than that, and you know it." I sighed as my anger deflated. This was such a stupid fight. I gave him a sad smile and touched his face gently. "I don't want to fight, and I'm not mad. I'm also not interested in Ther as anything more than a friend. There is no reason to be jealous. There is also no reason to rush this."
"I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "And you're right, I should have asked you instead."
I blinked. Was a man admitting he was wrong?
"We good," I asked him. He looked at me blankly, and I realized I'd lapsed into slang again. "Are we settled," I asked instead. He nodded. "Good. Let's get some rest," I said, looking at the rest of the Fellowship. "Tomorrow we reach Helm's Deep."
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