~Chapter 25~

Although Eomer was unwilling to trust this to anyone else, he carried a contingent of palace guards and Legolas with him. He sought out Reyna, finding her—no surprise—in bed with Laeko. It mattered not that Laeko was taller and probably outweighed Eomer by a good fifty pounds. Simply fury alone allowed Eomer to yank the naked man off of Reyna. Upon seeing the number of guards in the room Laeko chose wisely not to fight back.

Eomer reached for Reyna who was trying to flee, grabbing her by her hair and yanked her out of the bed, and then shoved her naked to the guards. "Where is she Reyna?"

Reyna refused to answer his question, her eyes glittering with hatred and fury as the two guards restrained her. Eomer, had no cause for patience, especially where Reyna was concerned. He'd tried to be reasonable, given her chance after chance, but there was no longer room for being reasonable. There was too much at stake. Two very precious lives.

The fact that she was a woman was no longer of relevance to him and Eomer drew back and hit her. So hard the guards lost their grip on her and she bounced off the far wall. Reyna got back up, wiping the blood from her mouth, snarling venomously, "What hold does the little bitch have over you,Eomer?"

Eomer was only too proud to answer, for there was no shame in it. 'You're the bitch Reyna, jealous, petty, stupid, If you must know I'll tell you. I love her, and the child carries will be my heir."

Over to the side Laeko was taking it all in. Eomer. This man was Eomer, this man was King of Rohan.

An heir, Laeko thought, – this put an entire new outlook on Reyna's crime and his part in it. What kind fool had Reyna just made of him? How had he let her drag him through her bed to his own death For no matter how he looked at it jeopardizing the life of a king's unborn child was not a healthy choice.

Laeko knew without a doubt Eomer was going to kill him for what he'd done to aid Reyna's schemes, but he still confessed in the hopes of a merciful death. "I know where she is."

Reyna glared at Laeko, hissing furiously, "Shut up you fool."

"You never learn do you Reyna?" Eomer glared at her. "One of these days you will learn to keep your mouth shut." This time the blow knocked Reyna to the floor. He looked back at Laeko. "You were saying?

"Reyna had me take her from her cell four days ago, milord, Reyna had made all the arrangements."

Eomer's heart filled with dread because he now had an idea of what was coming. "What arrangements."

"She was sold to passing traders." Eomer turned to look at Reyna still sitting on the floor from his last blow with increasing rage, ready to strike her again, but Legolas interceded, knowing Eomer would eventually feel regret for his loss of control, placing his body between Eomer and his target.

"Enough Eomer, we need find out which way to look." Legolas looked at Laeko, "Which way were they going?

Again, Laeko could only hope for mercy when the time came and he cringed even as he spoke the damning words. "To the slave markets at Dol Amroth."

Eomer looked to the guards. "Take them both to the warden."

The gaurds lifted Reyna from the floor, tying her hands behind her back. She sputtered in protest. "But Eomer, I am naked."

Eomer let his gaze run up and down her body in absolute disgust. "So you are. I hadn't noticed and frankly I don't care. "

****

Eomer had turned Reyna over to Daiken's custody, explaining to him that he may treat Reyna anyway he likes, as long as she is still living when he returns, Eomer wanted the final judgment to be his but he wouldn't know what that judgment would be until he returned, hopefully with Erienne and their child safe and sound.

Aragorn and the others had arrived at Meduseld, and Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas were adamant that they would accompany Eomer on his search for Erienne. Eowyn was quite capable of handling things while they were gone.

The men departed with all haste, the traders had a four-day head start but at the speed the traders would be restricted to with slaves, and having the mountains to tackle it would take a fortnight at the least for the traders to reached Dol Amroth. On horseback pushing limits it wouldn't much more than a week.

There was a genuine hope was that they could overtake them before they reached the markets. If Erienne was sold before they got there, then finding her would be nearly impossible. She could be sold and sent over the sea and the young king would never find her then. Eomer kept telling himself it had only been four days, time was on his side. They would have to check the cities between here and there as well in case the traders passed through them.

Arwen comforted Eowyn when she shed tears after hearing what had befallen her brother's young love, and both women truly feared that there might not be a child by the time the men found Erienne—if they found Erienne. It was a tragedy Eowyn did not wish to contemplate, for if her brother did not find her, he would be utterly lost.

****

Meanwhile, despite her despair, Erienne tried her best to find something positive in each day. The day itself was beautiful. Blue skies, white fluffy clouds. She was no longer blindfolded, nor gagged, but the ropes binding her hands and feet had been replaced with shackles and sturdy chains, not exceedingly heavy, yet strong and well made. The chain between her wrists was maybe four feet long with a ring in the middle giving her some kind of movement. It was ingenious for restraining captives; the ring in the middle serving all kinds of purposes.

Currently the ring had been slid around a pole about 12 feet long that was mounted to the side of the traders supply wagons. There were no ankle chains needed, in fact they would be an impediment, as the slaves bound for market were expected to keep up with the wagons. Erienne was one of several women, chained to the wagon on this side.

It had been five days since Reyna had sold her into slavery. She knew the daily routine now, she did what was expected and they had pretty much left her alone. She had managed to repair her bodice enough to afford minimal modesty, having torn some of her underskirt loose and tucking inside her bodice, so that her breasts were covered. She did not have any intention of inviting sexual attention.

Tonight when they stopped they'd be given bread and water and then the ring in the shackles would once again come into play. The trader would first move the chain over their heads from in front of them to behind them and another chain would be run the through the ring of each set of shackles and would then be fastened with a padlock around a large tree. Holding all of them prisoner together, with their chains behind them.

The benefit was that the ability to move and shift avoided severe muscle aches and pains, making for healthier slaves when they finally reached market. And healthy meant higher profits. The walking provided exercise and fresh air, and being fed twice a day kept them from wasting away. This particular trader knew the benefit of keeping his merchandise in top condition.

****

Back in the dungeons of Meduseld Daiken was taking full advantage of Eomer's command. Reyna would be living when he returned, but not much else. He decided he would return Reyna's hospitality by giving her the exact same accommodation she'd given him shackles and all, with an added gift of sorts. She was gagged as well.

He didn't want hear anything that might of come out of the mouth of such a spiteful bitch. The other difference was that she was naked. If Eomer had not seen fit to return her clothes who was he to gainsay his king. Anyway, it would be a hindrance to her punishments.

Daiken decided she should have all the attention she deserved as befit her station. She was a court whore and therefore would be treated as one. She wanted the sexual attentions of the men of the court, then she would have them, any man who wanted her. The same treatment likely to eventually befall her undeserving victim.

So it was with great pleasure that he took her first. He took enjoyment in her pain, feeling absolutely no shame in his actions, especially after how she'd treated him. As far as he was concerned the heartless bitch deserved everything she was getting and then some. He'd had water, so did she.

He had been left standing in the shackles with no relief, so was she. Reyna had no rest, as man after man who'd fallen victim to Reyna's temper and manipulations came forth to add to her humiliation. Only when she passed out did he have mercy, release her arms so she could rest. Come the next morning the shackles went back on and it all began again.