Disclaimer: I only own Danielle. Middle Earth and everything else in it belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien.
Danielle turned and looked about the battlefield, but she saw neither Eowyn nor Merry among the men sifting through the carnage. In those last minutes of the battle, she had drifted away from where she'd last seen them. Danielle set off walking with her eyes cast down, looking for them as she stepped around the fallen bodies. The empty stares and the smell of blood made her feel sick to her stomach, but she pressed on. It wasn't long before she spotted Eowyn's head of long, blonde hair and ran to her, throwing herself onto her knees to examine her. She was unconscious, and Danielle feared the worst. Her friend had sustained no additional injuries that she could discern, so how was it that she seemed to be declining so rapidly? What was that rider she had killed?
Danielle was relieved to find a pulse when she pressed her fingers to Eowyn's neck, and yet the relief was feeble. Her heartbeat was weak, and Danielle couldn't tell how much time she had before Eowyn fell beyond their help. She could already be past that point. Danielle knew she had to find help for her immediately if there was any hope for her, and so slid her arms under Eowyn and tried to lift her. As worn as Danielle was from battle, she was able to muster enough strength to lift her, if only just.
"Someone help!" Danielle's eyes roamed the field for another soldier who might help her, but everyone was scattered as they sifted through the wrecked field. "Please, help!" No one came, and she felt a surge of panic as she looked around, torn. Where was Merry? She didn't want to leave him on the field, but Eowyn needed help. Even if she could spot him, there was no way she'd be strong enough to carry them both. As it was, her arms were weakened by battle and shook as they tried to support Eowyn's weight.
Walking through the field was a challenge. Holding Eowyn blocked her from seeing her feet to navigate around the dead soldiers, but she soon spotted Eomer standing with a few of his men, not far ahead. He was looking around, as though he already suspected something. As though he already knew something was wrong.
"Eomer!" she called as loud as she could manage. His response was immediate.
He ran to her at a sprint, his eyes frenzied. As he reached them, he bent over and cradled his sister's face in his hands and let out an agonized cry. "Eowyn! How come you here? What madness or devilry is this?"
"She's alive," Danielle said as she struggled to hold her up. "Eomer, I can't carry her!" Danielle tried to be gentle as she placed her friend in her brother's outstretched arms, and as he received her he held her close, sobbing in earnest.
"She killed a man on a flying... I don't know what it was," Danielle said, stammering out information. "He was in black and... I don't know what happened! She was fine!"
Eomer looked up from Eowyn only briefly with a look of despair mingled with wonder. "You mean to say it was she who killed the witch king of Angmar?"
"I don't know who that is," Danielle said, feeling helpless for her lack of knowledge. She wished she had more information. "Whatever is wrong, she was fine and now she won't wake up!"
Eomer nodded, realizing that whatever had afflicted his sister was aggressive and would progress quickly. "I must go," he said, urgent, and turned toward the city without another word. She watched him retreat, wishing there was more she could do, but then she remembered that there was.
Danielle turned back to where she'd found Eowyn, and began searching as she went with new fervor. More time was passing, and she worried that Merry was slipping away as she searched for him.
She looked behind every horse and large orc, knowing it would be too easy to overlook a hobbit in the wreckage. Eventually, when she walked around a fallen oliphaunt, she found a small body hunched over. She recognized the curly head of hair, and ran closer to find Pippin draping his cloak over Merry.
Pippin looked up at her with fear and concern when she knelt beside them. As glad as she was to see him, there was no time for proper greetings. Looking into his wide eyes, she knew he was of the same mind.
"He needs help," Pippin said.
"We'll get him inside," Danielle said and hoisted him up. He was much lighter than Eowyn, and so she set off as quickly as she could without jostling him. As they started moving, Merry's eyes flickered open.
"There you are," he said, dazed as he looked up at her. "I thought we'd lost you."
"I'm fine," Danielle said. "How do you feel?"
"Cold."
Fear prickled Danielle at his remark. She remembered vividly the cold that had crept up on her when she'd lost all that blood through her shoulder wound, and yet she saw no significant blood on the hobbit. She couldn't tell if Merry was bleeding internally, or if it was simply from fighting the masked man in black. Either way, she took it as a sign that his body was on the verge of failing.
Danielle turned to Pippin, who was trotting alongside her. "Run ahead," she said, her voice urgent. "Tell someone he's suffering from the same thing as Eowyn."
"Eowyn?"
Danielle nodded. "Yes, go!" Pippin didn't need more than that. He turned and took off at a sprint towards the city.
It was a challenge walking quickly without shaking Merry. Danielle was beginning to slow from fatigue, but she pressed on, determined to get him back as quickly as she could manage. Merry's eyes gazed up at her as they went, his lids half open, but she was encouraged that he was still awake.
"I did say I wished to see him one more time," he said.
"Quiet," Danielle said, trying to appear strong even as fear twisted her insides. "You are going to see him many more times." She was trying to convince herself of it as much as Merry.
"And we won?"
Danielle nodded. "Yes, we did." She paused. "I think it's largely because of who you helped kill. You were brave. A real knight of Rohan." She thought back to how Theoden had knighted him but then had not permitted him to fight. Merry had played a vital role in the battle. Were it not for him, the witch king would have killed Eowyn, and then who knew if anyone else would have managed the feat?
Merry smiled serenely at her statement, pleased, and his eyes drifted shut. Danielle shook him in her arms, but they did not reopen. She quickened her pace then, but noted that she could still see his pulse throb in his neck. It was slow, but still present.
Danielle was surprised by the damage the city had withstood as she passed through its gate. Whole buildings had been reduced to rubble, and the walls had cracked and crumbled, leaving gaping holes. The people within were running this way and that, looking for loved ones and tending to wounded soldiers. Danielle wasn't sure where to find the house of healing, but assumed it would be near the top, as it had been in Rohan.
By the time Danielle reached the fourth level of the city, she spotted Pippin running toward her. "This way!" he said, and she followed behind him at nearly a jog. "They've got a bed ready for him!" he said as he ran ahead. Danielle had trouble keeping up with him. He kept getting further away, but she was nearly to the top, and soon Pippin stopped by a woman standing by the door.
"This is him!" he spoke to her, a woman Danielle assumed to be a nurse.
"Hand him here," she said to Danielle. As soon as she had eased the hobbit into the nurse's arms she whisked away, with Pippin in tow.
For a moment, as Danielle stood outside the house of healing alone, she felt a dizzying sense of relief. She first leaned against the wall, and when that did not seem enough she sank down against it until she hit the floor. Her chest rose and fell violently as she caught her breath, and she peeled off the vest over her mail to wipe the sweat off her face. She had survived the battle, but there was still much more to do. The war had not been won, and although this victory might boost Men's morale, the Ring had not yet been destroyed. She could hardly fathom the idea of what still lay ahead of them, uncertain she would ever find the energy to wield a sword again, and yet she knew she would. She would fight until she collapsed from exhaustion, and lately that seemed a real possibility. How long could they withstand outnumbered against the forces of Mordor?
As soon as her breathing calmed, Danielle picked herself off the floor. She needed to see how Eowyn and Merry were doing, and whether there was anything she could do to help. As she stepped inside, she found several rooms with lines of bedding filled with wounded soldiers. Nurses moved busily from man to man with bunches of herbs and linen to dress wounds, but she did not spot Eowyn or Merry at first. As she passed through another doorway, however, she spotted them.
Eowyn lay, her skin pale and colorless even as the torch by her bed cast its light upon her. Eomer sat alongside her with his hands clasped tightly in front of his face as he watched his sister, but they were not alone. Aragorn knelt by Eowyn as he labored over her.
Danielle calmed simply at the sight of him, comforted to see that he was well. Although she yearned to run to him, something held her back. There was a sense of intimacy as he looked upon Eowyn with focus and concern. He held her arm with such care as he examined it, that for a moment Danielle worried that Aragorn's feelings had changed, but then she realized how foolish that was. She respected the care he showed to Eowyn, and would expect no less from a man like him. Rather than feeling insecure, she felt content and appeased to watch and let him work without distractions, and so she remained by the doorway admiring his skill and patience.
Aragorn lifted a few leaves of a plant, one she'd not seen before, and bruised them in his palm. He then dropped them in a pot of steaming water. It wasn't long before the sweet and wholesome scent reached Danielle, a rejuvenating fragrance if there ever was one. Aragorn dipped a cloth into this pot and, after wringing it out, bathed Eowyn's arm in the water. He was gentle as he wiped her brow, and then her neck.
Occasionally, Danielle looked to Eomer, who sat huddled as he watched. Despite the wrinkles he bore on his forehead and the fear in his expression, she could not bring herself to feel guilt for helping Eowyn go to battle. She had known what she was getting into. Danielle suspected that she had expected - and maybe even hoped - that she would die. Although Danielle's insides felt the same sickening worry for Eowyn, she also felt pride for her. Because she had ridden to battle, she had helped turn the tides in their favor. Lady Galadriel had said Danielle would have a role to play in the unfolding events. Even if helping get her two friends get to battle was her one contribution, she would be satisfied.
Aragorn set the cloth back in the pail and then held her hand in both of his. He was speaking to her, although Danielle could not decipher the words. Eomer spoke next, and then Eowyn began to stir. Aragorn held his hand up to her cheek, and then her eyes flickered open. At this, Eomer bowed his head, crying, and got down to hug her close. Aragorn smiled as he watched, but then allowed brother and sister to reunite as he moved to the neighboring cot where Merry lay to begin the process again.
The herb-water was quick to revive Merry, as well, who grasped Pippin's hand as his eyes opened. Aragorn sat and spoke with them for a time as he set the cloth back in the pail and set aside what was left of the plant leaves. Two nurses came by to pick them up, walking past Danielle as they left the room.
"The hands of the king are the hands of a healer, so I've always said," she heard one of the nurses say. Danielle turned and watched as they disappeared around a corner, her brow furrowed. Did they know Aragorn was was the heir?
Danielle turned back to watch as Aragorn reached down to ruffle Merry's hair with a smile, but when he pulled his hand away his eyes flickered up and immediately found hers, as though by reflex. Her breath caught in her throat as he rose up, holding her gaze. She couldn't tame the feelings that ignited in that moment, when the rest of the room seemed to dissolve away. Danielle almost couldn't handle the anticipation, the desire, the love, and even the fear that paralyzed her with their weight and made her head spin. As he came closer she saw those same emotions reflected in his eyes, but as he reached her and cradled her face in his hands, she saw wonder as well.
There was a moment where they stood in silence. Danielle's heart beat wildly in her chest, reverberating through her entire body. It was her only indication that time hadn't stopped as Aragorn wordlessly looked her over.
When he pressed his lips against hers this time, there was no desperation or fervency, but rather tenderness and elation. This was not the same fierce kiss they'd shared at their farewell. Danielle held her hands over his, hardly believing that this moment could be real. Yet, when he pulled back and she felt how his eyes seemed to pierce straight through to her heart, she knew it was.
"You are alright," he breathed out with relief clear in his voice.
"So are you."
Aragorn smiled and kissed her again, long and lingering. Danielle took his hands, lacing her fingers with his, but when he looked down at their joined hands he frowned. He held hers up to examine the gashes in her palms, which were visible through the torn leather of her gloves. Although they were not bleeding heavily, they were covered in the dirt and grime of battle.
"You have not yet received care?" he asked.
Danielle shook her head. "I had to make sure Eowyn and Merry got help," she said. And, of course, she couldn't leave once she had found Aragorn.
He looked around, and then back to Danielle. "Come with me."
A/N: I hope you liked this chapter! I know it took a while for me to get it up, but like I said I had finals and whatnot. Those are over now, although I still have stuff I need to get done for my program before I leave. Regardless, my schedule has freed up considerably. I don't have much written draft left, so I need to catch up with that some. I hope to be able to go back to posting every other day if I can get some good writing time in now, although I can't guarantee it. There is still a decent bit to write. Originally I hadn't expected my story to go beyond 80k words, but clearly that's not happening! I must not be the best estimator, because it looks like I should break 100k words :)
Reviews are much appreciated ;)