"So you are staying at the encampment, right?"
Stella's head whipped around to look at Eowyn. She almost couldn't believe the words had just escaped her mouth.
"What? No, why do you think that?" Stella demanded turning her shocked look to Aragorn.
"You are married. I believe it is safe to assume that you have been participating in marital relations? Putting yourself in risk would be selfish, just in case." The blonde reasoned.
Stella barely stifled a laugh. Eowyn was always so to the point, almost to a fault. 'Of course people would think I would be pregnant within the month.' She rolled her eyes. She didn't blame the people for thinking that way, it was obviously a very real fear for many women, but Stella had never thought it applied to herself.
"Yes, Eowyn, it is safe to assume I have been participating in 'marital relations.' But I don't have to worry about pregnancy, at least not for another two years. I am perfectly safe to accompany my friends." Stella explained.
Aragorn's head shifted in her direction as she explained. He had been unaware of her inability to become pregnant and had been thinking the same thing as Eowyn but had been reluctant to bring it up.
"What do you mean you don't have to worry? Every woman needs to worry." Eowyn argued.
"Not me. After Liz's attack I took a medicine that stops me from getting pregnant. I lived in fear of any man coming so close as to give me a hug so I took measures to make myself feel safer. That way if I were to ever be assaulted, it would be awful but I wouldn't have to have the bastard's baby." Stella shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, I want a baby but up until recently the plan was to wait until I had graduated school and found a job and made enough money to settle down in the countryside. 'Having babes is an expensive sport.' My grandmother used to say that whenever she saw me."
"What kind of medicine is this? It sounds like magic." Eowyn asked sounding envious.
"Magic? Devilry? I guess it all depends on which party you agree with."
"Party?" Aragorn asked.
"Yes there are these people that believe that women should not use the medicine. They say that it is a sin against God not to have his children. They call themselves a party."
"Who? Who would say that?"
"My father for one." Stella stated leaving the statement to hang there like a lead balloon. She nudged Ares to move faster.
Egging the horse into a gallop she moved ahead of most of the travellers. She waved at several of the men she passed. She noticed most of them from one point or another. Some waved amused by her light-hearted smile that disguised her sadness.
"Hey boys, watch this!" She called earning most of their attention.
Without pausing to think she threw her right leg over the saddle, thankful that she had found a pair of trousers that fit her, she let both of her legs drag on the left side of the horse before hopping up and sliding back into the saddle and doing the same thing on the other side. Her actions were met with applause and cheering causing her to continue, gaining confidence with each trick she performed. At one point she found herself facing backwards and made silly faces at the weary travellers.
She flipped herself around and looked forward seeing a large tree lying across her path. It would have been easy to simply go around it as the rest of the travellers were doing however she found an incredible urge to jump. She tugged on the reins. It was as if Ares had read her mind, he knew exactly what she wanted to have happen before it happened. Ares well cleared the log and landed on the opposite side. Stella clapped him on the neck, turning to see the rest of the group staring at her. She smiled a broad grin and turned back to the road. She knew some people knew that she had ridden horses since she was six but very few knew her actual talents.
She was out of breath but the energy she exerted attempting to control her breathing took time away from her thinking about her father. As much as they fought there were still moments that she missed him. More than her father she missed her mother, the over bearing personality that always aimed to please. She missed everyone though she tried her best to hide it. She was even starting to miss knitting that stupid hat.
She dismounted her horse and waited for Eowyn to come to her. As her blonde friend was in hearing distance Stella called to her.
"I miss my home. I think you would have liked it." Stella stated. "It is very different from this place, not all for the better but it is different. I mean there are wars and evil and all that, and discerning between good and bad is a heck of a lot harder, but for some reason I can't shake the idea that you would be a pretty good fit. Strong women, my home can always use another of those." She laughed.
"What do you miss most about home?" Eowyn asked, her voice had turned soft as if she were talking to a child.
"Honestly? I miss so much. I miss music, I miss my bed, but the thing I miss the most is my mom. The last time I spoke to her we didn't agree on my path. She wanted me to finish my education and get a job but I wasn't happy so I wanted to come home. I thought I had convinced her that me coming home was going to be a good thing, but the morning before I left with Aragorn she called. We got into a fight about finding a job and my father. The last thing I told her was to stay away from me. I bet she thinks I hate her. It's funny, I'm so used to arguing with my father that at some level it just stops sinking in. With Mom, it's different we never fight."
"You just left?"
"Yeah, I did. I lost my brother, my boyfriend, I hated school, I had destroyed my relationship with my father, emotionally I was so dead there was nothing holding me home anymore. So I left."
"Maybe this is what you needed. You speak of being happy, do you find your happiness here?" Eowyn asked.
"Most of the time, yes, I am happy and I wasn't at home so this is better. I just sometimes miss what I had."
"We all miss what we used to have."
The two women continued on in silence until night was on the approach.
The encampment Eowyn was talking about had built up in Stella's mind. She had envisioned some sort of permanent settlement so she was understandably discouraged when all she saw before her was grass and rock. It was situated on a ledge of a mountain and Stella could not suppress a sigh. 'There go my hopes of a soft bed.' She thought as she saw men unpacking tents and lugging equipment.
Stella was exhausted from traveling from traveling and though she would never admit it her bum was becoming sore from the constant jostle of the saddle. She was used to working on a horse every day but in short burst of time, with breaks for food and work and school.
For once she was thankful that there was nothing expected of her. She just wanted to find a quite place to curl up and go to sleep. However life, apparently, had other plans for Stella. Eowyn was asking her to help prepare food for the troops and Stella was artfully excusing herself from coming anywhere close to the things that people were going to eat when several of the horses became restless and tugging on their reigns. Even Ares was acting up, Stella went over to sooth him but her attempts were futile.
She was confused; she had never seen horses act this way without some sort of outside threat.
"What the hell is wrong with them?" She cried as several others came to her aide in calming the horses.
Eomer turned to Legolas and responded.
"It is the mountain. They are nervous for good reason! That mountain is evil." He whispered ominously.
"Hey buddy! I was asking the question, I would much appreciate it if you responded to me." Stella yelled. "Perhaps I need to take you to the mat again to show you just who you are messing with."
Eomer laughed as he sized up Stella.
"One lucky swing hardly qualifies as a victory." He sneered.
"That's it. Come here and say that to my face you big brute! Put your money where your mouth is!" She fumed.
She raised her fists and hade a beckoning motion with her hands.
"Stella, Stella! Stop this. It is silly to fight with friends." Legolas interrupted attempting to defuse the situation that had caught many peoples attention.
"No! He obviously doesn't see us as equals so I am going to prove that we are. Right here, right now." She argued lunging for the man that gazed on furious at her claims.
"I will not fight a lady!" he proclaimed before turning around and making to leave.
"Why, you self righteous piece of - " lacking the words to identify him she picked up an orb of manure and lobbed it at the back of his head. "Don't walk away from me when I am talking to you, it's rude!"
Eomer turned back, his eyes spoke a greater anger than his words could ever convey.
"What did you just throw at me?"
"I would have thought you would be better acquainted with your kinsmen." She taunted. "Now are you going to let me prove to all of these nice soldiers that I can take you or would you rather let their imagination dig your grave?"
Aragorn strode over, stepping in between the two.
"What is the matter?" he asked in a calm voice.
Stella was the only one that composed herself enough to answer, Eomer was still glowering.
"Just measuring dicks." She smiled crudely. "I'm winning. Now step aside and let me fight my own battles."
"Stella." Aragorn murmured in a warning tone
"Just let me do this. They are never going to accept me if I don't. This is my in, let me take it." She begged in a voice so low that only Aragorn could hear.
"Fine but if it goes too far I will step in." He conceited.
Stella nodded and turned back to the towering man.
"Did you receive your fathers permission?" Eomer barked harshly as he looked at Aragorn who had stepped back taking Legolas with him.
"How did you know he likes it when I call him daddy?" she asked with a smirk. "That's an awful habit, spying." She teased.
Eomer turned red but composed himself well.
"Enough talk," Stella finally proclaimed. "If you want to prove that I do not deserve the respect for you to even look at me do it now." She slowly began to circle him.
It was then that Eomer lunged at her swinging his arms widely. Stella only narrowly missed his arms as she ducked under him.
"Come on bad boy!" She called as he spun to find her again. "Is that all you got?"
She bounced on the balls of her feet raising her fist to protect her face. Their antics had drawn quite a crowd and from what Stella could tell they were avidly cheering their favourite. She would be surprised if someone wasn't taking bets on the whole thing.
This time Stella decided she was going to be on the offensive. She aimed one good blow to Eomer's shoulder before retreating back and allowing him to take another sloppy blow. This time she was not so lucky as his fist made contact with her jaw. She saw stars but managed to keep herself up and alert. She spit out blood and saw out of the corner of her eye Aragorn stepping in to end this whole thing.
"Son of a bitch!" She yelled.
The pain shooting through her jaw only made her want to fight harder and win. She took several shots at Eomer's face.
"An eye for an eye baby!" She cried as she saw Eomer spit a small amount of blood out of his mouth.
They struggled for almost ten minutes, each landing a few good punches on the other. She moved to land another punch but was blocked by Eomer's strong forearm. She tried to use her free hand to land a punch to the gut but he grabbed her wrist and twisted it around her back. Her breathing was heavy and sweat trickled down her brow.
"Nice but do you want me to sing now?" She asked in a breathless tone.
"Sing?" he asked in an equally tired voice.
"Yeah." She grunted.
She elbowed him in the solar plexus at the same time as stomping on his instep. His grip loosened enough for her to turn around and she forced the base of her hand upwards into his nose. She smirked knowing that the last part would only add insult to injury. She gripped her hands on his shoulders and used his weight to propel her knee into his groin before tossing him onto the ground. She straddled his body before flopping herself on top of him effectively pining Eomer to the ground.
"And that Ladies and Gents, is what we call a Miss Congeniality." She announced to the crowd. "And it is what you get for calling me a whore and not talking to me." She whispered to the man beneath her. "Now someone get me something to drink! I have a headache like no other, I think it might be because someone punched me in the head."
She laughed as a pint of some amber liquid was brought to her as she still sat atop Eomer. It was not until Aragorn pulled her off of the poor man that he was finally able to go off and sulk over his loss.
"So tell me, dear husband, did I make you rich?" She asked as her took another swig of the ale.
"I am sorry?"
"Don't tell me you bet against me?" She asked incredulously. "Or worse, you didn't bet?"
"I did not feel it was appropriate to bet on a fight I did not want to happen in the first place."
"Pshh! Next time you bet on me. Always bet on me." She scolded. "I am sorry I made you worry but now I have their respect as a fighter just in case. Besides he did call me a whore."
"I am just pleased you did not hurt yourself too badly." He murmured while he ran his hands over her jaw.
She let out a low hiss.
"Yeah that is going to bruise tomorrow." She whispered through clenched teeth. "It's fine, lets get out of here. Go to our tent?" She asked with a smirk.
Aragorn nodded and the two left the crowd. They had just gotten to their tent and Stella was helping Aragorn take off his cloak and leather jacket.
"How about we get you out of those pants?" She asked as she leaned in to plant a kiss on his lips.
Without any warning a man stuck his head in.
"What the hell, man! We could have been in the middle of something very private! If you were only five seconds later!" Stella yelled.
"My apologies Lady Ellesar."
Stella's ears perked up at the name but did not mention it.
"Don't worry, I was just caught off guard." She justified before moving away from Aragorn,
"Sir. King Théoden awaits you." He stated, after delivering his message he made a hasty retreat from the tent.
"You scared him." Aragorn stated.
"He scared me." She countered. "What was that he called me? Ellesar?"
"That is my surname. Do you not like it?" He asked with a smile though Stella could see the real question in his eyes.
"It is yours, of course I like it. It just caught me off guard for a minute. I have always been a Maddox; it is so strange to be called something else. But I love your name; I will always love your name. Now, you have to go, the king wants to see you."
"Will you come with me?"
"Are you sure I am wanted? You know I don't really care about how we win this thing, just that we do."
"I would still like you to be there."
Stella nodded and the couple made their way to the king's tent.
As they entered Théoden walked past them murmuring something about a walk.
"The hell is that? I thought he wanted to see you, why would he leave?" Stella asked watching the king make his hasty retreat from the tent.
"That would be because I asked him to." A voice came from the shadows.
There was a movement and all of the sudden and a figure approached them.
"Oh I know you." Stella exclaimed. "Lord Elrond." She stated.
He smiled at her before turning his eye to Aragorn. The two shared a glance and then both looked at Stella.
"Would you like me to leave?" She asked quietly.
"No, no but we do need a moment to talk." Aragorn assured her.
"Well then, don't mind me. I'll just sit over here and occupy myself with something. Do you think Théoden would mind if I drank some of his wine? Probably not." She whispered the last bit to herself before pouring a glass.
Stella tried to be patient however she found her attention being drawn to the quite conversation. It was not until she heard Elrond mention something about certain failure of the war.
"Okay, I have had just about enough of this negative Nancy shit from everybody. Quite telling my husband that he is going to fail. If you aren't going to help then by all means get out because truly your discouraging words are starting to effect me." She finally interrupted.
Elrond nodded to Stella before turning back to Aragorn. The conversation did not last long after her outburst and Lord Elrond was on his way out the door again.
"So what did he want?" Stella asked.
"Among other things, he came to tell me that Arwen is dying." Aragorn whispered looking heartbroken.
"Aragorn, I am so sorry. I know she means a lot to you. What can we do?" She asked softly.
"You are so kind to want to help her." He smiled at her though there was little joy behind it.
"You loved her, she is an important part of your life. While Arwen and I may not have seen eye to eye about some things that does not mean I wish her dead. We will find a way to save her." She comforted. "What else did he come to tell you about?"
"He told me that Sauron's forces were launching a secret attack on Minas Tirith from the river, the south. And he gave me this." Stella looked down at Aragorn's hands and saw a blade resting there.
"What is that? It's beautiful."
"It is a sword, crafted out of the remnants of the sword that defeated Sauron the first time. If I accept this sword I must accept my place as king."
Stella nodded in comprehension.
"I know I told you I was never going to say anything more about the whole king thing but I am going to break my promise just this once. If you were to deny this 'destiny' you would continue to be a ranger, yes?"
Aragorn nodded once in confirmation.
"In that case, what about me? Would I travel with you, or would you leave me behind? Say even if I was to travel with you, would you want children? Would you have them travel with us? How do I fit in? How does a family fit in?"
Aragorn opened his mouth to answer but was instantly hushed by Stella's finger over his lips.
"I don't need an answer right away but if you do decide to stay a ranger you need to think about everything you would give up. Now lets go to bed."
She rose up and held her hand out for his.
"It is a beautiful sword." She whispered finally.
