Fight or flight

"Edoras and the Golden Hall of Meduseld. There dwells Théoden, King of Rohan, whose mind is overthrown. Saruman's hold over King Théoden is now very strong." Gandalf told them as they drew close to the city of men. "Be careful what you say. Do not look for welcome here." The wizard warned as they made the final approach. The stronghold was built upon a hill, a tall timber wall protected the entire circumference, the buildings were like old English cottages with thickly thatched roofs and all the people they passed were dressed in dark colours of mourning. Elle noticed Aragorn stare up and followed his gaze to a figure dressed in white outside the doors of the King's hall.

Quickly they had their horses taken to a stable for food and rest, before the four headed towards the fabled Golden Hall. They moved up the steps with haste but were stopped at the doors by Rohirrin soldiers dressed in fine armour that resembled Chris'.

"I cannot allow you before Théoden-King so armed, Gandalf Greyhame. By order of Gríma Wormtongue." The last he said with a bitter edge to his voice, it seemed he disliked the King's advisor and for good reason. The wizard gave his companions a nod for them to disarm. They began to hand over their weapons to the guards, which Elle was less than happy about, Varda had given her the swords and she really really liked them. They were pretty and oh soo shiny. Reluctantly she handed them over much to the surprise of the guard, who had assumed she was unarmed being female and all.

"Not a scratch." She said severely with her hand still on the scabbard. He nodded dumbly before stepping back to allow them through. Elle was also sure she heard Gandalf chuckle at the little interaction.

"Your staff." The lead warrior, Háma, gestured begrudgingly to the wizard's weapon.

"Hmm?" Gandalf glanced at it as if the thought of it being a weapon had not occurred to him. "Oh. You would not part an old man from his walking stick?" He said innocently, hunching slightly to give the impression he was anything but dangerous. Háma hesitated for a moment before he nodded for them to be allowed through. Elle noticed the wink Gandalf gave Aragorn and could not help the conspiratory smile that crept across her lips as she walked in beside the ranger. At the end of the hall a large throne inlaid with equine inspired carvings was occupied by a man whom she assumed was Théoden but he did not look like the strong king one would expect from this world. He was frail and withered, covered in thick furs as if afraid of being touched by the cold even though a large fire pit was in the centre of the hall. Its heat could be felt the second they had walked in. To the side there were other soldiers in Rohirrin garb, servants, members of the king's court and a group of wild looking hostile men who followed their steps as they made their way through the hall.

"The courtesy of your hall is somewhat lessened of late, Théoden King." Gandalf spoke loudly as he approached the king. Elle did not realise the others had stopped until she felt a hand gently clasp onto her elbow and pulled her backwards. She looked up to see Aragorn give a slight shake of his head before he released her and began watching the aggressive looking men that had moved to either side of the hall as if to flank the visitors. Her gaze then returned to the wizard as he conversed with the slimy advisor of the king. He really was too, his features were sharp, his skin was sickly pale and his hair was dark lank and really greasy. It was like he was born to be a snivelling bad guy's puppet and with a name like Gríma Wormtongue there was little else he could really do. She surmised in her head until she realised what was happening.

"His staff! I told you to take the wizard's staff!" He snapped as the antagonistic looking guards attacked. Suddenly Elle found herself in a fist fight, with three large hairy men making their way towards her. It was then she was glad of the hand to hand forms Legolas had taught her during their time in the fellowship. Using the natural defences of her vessel she evaded each fist and kick that went her way and managed to get a few of her own in too before the guys, who had obviously handled their assailants faster, took them down.

"Hey! They were my bad guys!" She said in a slightly annoyed tone with her hands firmly placed on her hips, there was no way she would be a damsel in distress, before she span in time to see Gandalf begin to draw Saruman's influence from Théoden. Suddenly the woman in white dashed past her in aid of her king only to be stopped short by Aragorn.

'She must be Éowyn.' Elle thought as she looked at the pale woman, she did look fragile but her face was determined. 'A wolf in sheep's clothing?' She mused.

"Rohan is mine!" Came a voice that did not sound like it had only moments before. The still frail looking king spoke with strength and power that did not originate from the man before her. Then she recognised it as the voice she had heard on the wind in the misty mountains, Saruman's voice. Though she thought Christopher Lee's voice was much better; the real Saruman's was quite imposing especially from another's lips.

"Be gone!" The wizard commanded as he thrust his staff towards the possessed king, who was then thrown back in his throne and groaned loudly as he was ripped from Saruman's control. Éowyn rushed forward just in time to catch the king as he slumped forward in his chair. When he finally looked up at her his eyes were physically clearer and his whole appearance began to change into that of a younger and stronger looking man.

"I know your face. Éowyn… Éowyn." He recognised his niece causing her to weep with joy as she embraced him. Happily he looked up and noticed his visitors as if they had not been there a moment ago. "Gandalf?"

"Breathe the free air again, my friend." The white wizard said smiling.

"That went well, which city should we save next?" Elle whispered jokingly to Legolas who had come to stand beside her after the impromptu battle.

"I have never travelled to Minas Tirith before." He said with his eyebrows raised in humour.

"Just you wait, you will before the end." She said attempting a mysterious air. He was about to question her when the sound of Gríma being hauled out caught their attention. "That's our cue!" Quickly they followed as the snivelling advisor was literally thrown out of the hall to land in a messy heap on the stairs. The renewed king advanced upon him menacingly grasping his sword as Gríma grovelled for his life.

"Your leechcraft would have had me crawling on all fours like a beast!" He cried as he raised his sword ready to end Gríma's life before Aragorn appeared beside him and beseeched him to lower his weapon.

"No, my lord! No, my lord. Let him go. Enough blood has been spilled on his account." The king's sword did not lower immediately, dark whispers echoed everywhere but no one could hear them, only Elle. She only realised what was happening when he began to raise his sword while Aragorn attempted to help Gríma to his feet.

"Wait!" She shouted dashing from the crowd to the king's side. "You have just escaped one evil power, do not let wrath ensnare you now." Elle said attempting to sound wise and like someone a king would listen to. Elves did that right? The dark murmurings dispersed immediately as the king looked up at her as the confusion cleared from his eyes.

"Get out of my way!" Gríma snarled as he pushed his way out of Edoras.

"Hail, Théoden king!" Háma called out causing the onlookers to kneel before him. Quickly Elle copied Aragon when he bowed down to the king. What the hell had happened? Was Morgoth meddling again? What good would it have achieved if Gríma had been killed? She wondered utterly confused but knew that had to do as she had promised to Chris. Everything was to stay as close to how it was supposed to be as they could manage.

"Where is Théodred? Where is my son?" Théoden asked suddenly causing those kneeling to look up at him. He did not know his son was dead.

Steam rose as several women scurried around filling the wooden tub with hot water. Théoden was holding his son's funeral that afternoon and the remains of the fellowship had been given leave to use the bathing chambers to clean up for the ceremony. Elle had been thrilled when she had found out that they had baths, she had worried that they may have had to wash in a river or something. Once the tub had been filled the various servants had attempted to aid her but she sent them away, she was more than capable of washing herself, thank you very much. And was she glad to peel off her old clothes. They had done well, considering how long she had been wearing them but the lure of the warm water had her dropping them carelessly on the floor. Soon she was immersed in the clear water of the tub, she had never been so happy to be clean! Beside the bath was a dresser on top of which were bottles of various shapes and sizes. Unsure as to what they were she simply used the ones she liked the smell of and went on from there.

It was when she had rinsed, with what she had assumed was shampoo, from her hair she noticed that her hair really was darker than it had been before. It was still red but where it had been a fiery crimson it had cooled to a warm autumn shade. Honestly she was glad it was at least a little closer to her natural colour.

Soon she finished her bath and towelled herself dry. There was a linen dress slip laid out on the side, which she shrugged on quickly. Elle hoped she could find something to go over it as it wasn't exactly warm or decent. Just as she was considering risking a dash down the hall to figure out where her room was, a gentle tap was heard from the doorway.

"It's open." She called as she ran her fingers through her slightly damp hair. Quickly entered a large stack of linen and fluffy towels, behind it she assumed was another maid. Apparently there was no lack of servants in Rohan. She seemed surprised that Elle had done so much on her own but agreed to lead her to the room the king had granted them.

The girl took Elle to the door and then stood there staring at her, as she had when she walked beside her to take her to the room. With a confused look on her face Elle thanked her for her help and quickly slipped into the room. Inside she found her pack paced beside a small cot. All of the furnishings were carved from wood and within the wood horse based carvings decorated the furniture. Quickly she dug into her pack and pulled out the spare clothes she had packed for herself in Rivendell. She sighed at the misuse of the clean clothes, when she had packed she had not considered the lack of opportunity she had to wash and change, especially around nine males. She noted the other cots in the room and guessed she was bunking with the guys. She sent a silent 'thank you' to Varda for none of the guys being there when she had been more than a little underdressed.

Soon she was dressed in clean breeches and a fine elven tunic that looked smart enough to wear at a funeral but was practical as well. Elle then caught her reflection in a well-polished metal plate that served as a mirror. She looked more like her, the real her, than when she had first seen Eircassiel. Had Chris' vessel changed too? Noticing the comb she brushed it through her knotted locks and once she looked relatively presentable she nodded to herself. It was time to find the others.

It did not take long for Elle to find her companions, stood quietly in the sombre main hall of the king. They had all been cleaned up and stood a little away from the mourners who had crowded room. Quietly she made her way towards them. The elf was the first to notice her presence and couldn't hide his smirk when he saw her but it swiftly disappeared. She gave him an inquisitive look to which he just picked up a few slightly damp strands of her hair. She shrugged and he rolled his eyes. It wasn't like they had hair dryers.

Soon they joined the precession, only a few steps behind the king, down towards several flower covered mounds just outside the city. The whole affair made her heart heavy, the sadness radiated off people so strongly for the death of their prince. Éowyn's haunting lament echoed throughout the crowd as they placed Théodred in his final resting place. Many came forward and spoke fond words of the prince before the people began to disburse. After several minutes it was clear the king wanted to be left to grieve privately and the wizard gestured for them to head back into Meduseld.

The walk back was slow and the only sounds that could be heard were the odd singing bird or a horse blustering in its stall. When they entered the Golden Hall it was equally as quiet. It had never occurred to Elle before how much this prince had really meant to these people, he was just sped past in the film, she wondered what kind of person he was and what he would have done for Rohan had he lived.

"You're oddly quiet, Lass." Her head snapped up and she realised she was sat at a table with Gimli, who was looking at her expectantly.

"Huh?" She shook her head slightly, and then a young servant girl brought a tray overflowing with food and received an approving grunt from the dwarf. "Oh, I was just thinking about stuff."

"Come, eat. Get some meat on those bones." He said before he took a large bite out of some form of meat. It was true that Eircassiel was a lot fitter than Elle had been, being an elf and all she was expected to be willowy but she was hungry. Shrugging her shoulders she picked up a chunk of bread and ate it with some cheese. Moments later she noticed people had begun to filter out as Aragorn and Legolas approached the table. Sliding down the bench she allowed Aragorn next to her, opposite to Gimli as she had been, and Legolas leaned on the supporting pillar behind the ranger. Then Éowyn stepped into the hall, even though she was in her mourning wear Elle really did think she looked very pretty, especially with her hair up. She still seemed to be in shock and had a glassy look in her eyes.

"Eircassiel, you are a strange elleth!" Aragorn spoke attempting to contain his laughter beside her. She gave his a blank look to which he reached forward and brushed away stray bread crumbs from her mouth. She laughed as the ranger dusted the crumbs from his fingers.

"You're not meant to carry them on your cheeks for later." The dwarf joked in his thick brogue accent.

"Says the one who carries a feast in his beard!" Elle retorted as a lump of meat fell into the thick mess of hair, causing a small bout of laughter from the group. Glancing up Elle noticed Éowyn was stood watching them curiously and with a smile on her face Elle gestured for her to join them. The Rohirrin just looked at her as if confused by her actions and then she noticed so were her companions.

"What? Can't I make friends?" She huffed a little at the males as the woman left the hall.

"It seems not." The elf teased before she turned and swatted him on the arm.

"What is it pick on Elle day or something?" She folded her arms and turned from the males.

The sound of the wooden doors bursting open immediately stopped their jesting as they watched Théoden, Gandalf and Éowyn escort two small children into the hall. The king and wizard seemed to be having a deep debate about what they were planning to do as the shield maiden saw to the children's needs. Théoden and Gandalf sat in the throne and the advisor's chair as they asked the children to repeat what they had said to bring the rest of the room up to speed. The boy, who seemed the older one, spoke about the swarms of men that came to attack their village, burning, plundering and doing other terrible things. The girl seemed to be under the impression that her mother was in Edoras as she had promised she would be. Elle looked at her sympathetically, the poor thing. It was then that the discussion began.

To stay and fight or to flee? But Elle already knew the answer.