Disclaimer: I only own Danielle and Lanya. Middle Earth and everything else in it belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien.
The ride to the Fields of Cormallen in Ithilien was a challenge. For three full days the armies rode, though their progress was slowed by their unconscious and disabled soldiers. Many had to be dragged on stretchers behind the horses, and others needed to be assisted with the ride. Aragorn insisted that Danielle fell into the latter category, and so she rode with him for the majority of the journey. She did not object. With her arms wrapped around him, she was able to rest her head against his back and try to calm the pounding sensation that had not let up since she'd hit her head. Her eyes drifted shut only fifteen minutes after they set off, and she finally conceded to her body's attempt to pull her under.
Danielle slept for most of the ride, finding that she had trouble keeping alert for long periods of time. By the end of the first day, the world no longer seemed to shift and sway around her, and yet she still occasionally felt disoriented. Whether that was a symptom of her concussion or because of her erratic sleeping schedule, however, she could not be sure. Her headache stretched through the whole journey, persisting even as they reached Cormallen.
Though Cormallen offered little in ways of space for so large an army, Danielle was brought to her own tent to rest, on the edge of the field near a grove of beech trees that housed Sam and Frodo's, but on the opposite side of the field from the King's chambers. The privacy was a welcome change after weeks on the road with the men of Rohan and Gondor, though she regretted that she could not stay with Aragorn. She had gotten used to sharing a tent with him, but she knew that it was inappropriate, by Middle Earth's standards, for a woman to share a bed with the future king. Now that their lives were no longer threatened by Sauron's shadow, she had no sufficient way to justify their previous sleeping arrangements.
During the days, Aragorn and Gandalf held meetings with Imrahil and Eomer to discuss plans to restore order to Middle Earth. Though Sauron had been defeated, he left behind extensive damage, and many orcs and others loyal to him - the Easterlings and the Southrons - still roamed the country. They sent out bands of men to find them and assess whether they still posed a threat to the people of Rohan and Gondor, and subdue them if need be. More riders were sent back to Mordor to destroy the fortresses that remained. Every day, soldiers returned to report on their progress and damages done to the nearby villages.
At first, Danielle attended these meetings, but quickly found that there was little she could contribute in ways of strategy or knowledge of the lands and people. She next turned to the prospect of helping treat injured soldiers, but the healers that were gradually arriving from the neighboring regions would not accept her help. Her stab wound and the slash down her arm were hidden from view, but each person she approached had only to see her arm in a sling before refusing her outright. Instead, she spent her days either sitting by Frodo and Sam's bed in hopes of them waking up - often in Pippin's company - or walking along the Anduin. Her thoughts often fixated on what she would do now that the Ring was destroyed. Her months in Middle Earth had been entirely focused on this task, and now it was over. She didn't have to train. She didn't have to fight. What, then, was there for her to do? It was all she knew to do in Middle Earth, and she no longer knew what kind of life she would live or how she would find purpose. What was her identity there, if not a fighter?
She might have talked to Aragorn about her concerns, but she saw little of him. During all hours of the day, and even sometimes at night, unresolved issues demanded his attention. He rarely took breaks, and now that they no longer shared sleeping quarters Danielle was lucky if she managed ten minutes alone with him. During those times, they would lie together or walk through the woods, but with each day Danielle watched him grow increasingly weary.
Danielle's tent brightened abruptly, with beams of sunlight cast over her face and forcing her poorly adjusted eyes to squint. The sudden light streaming through her tent had woken her, leaving her disoriented and confused. Why was it so bright? It was not until the light broadened further that she realized that someone was pulling back the door flaps. Squinting through the blinding light, she made out the back of a small, squat form reaching to tie back the canvas. Danielle pulled her blankets up to cover her face and protect her eyes from the brightness pouring into her tent.
"Time to get up," said the woman. Her voice was sweet and authoritative, and Danielle recognized it immediately. She felt her blankets slip out of her fingers as the woman yanked them down. The sight that greeted her confirmed the familiarity of the voice, though Danielle could scarcely believe it.
"Lanya?"
"Of course, dear," she said, planting her hands on her hips in an act of exasperation. "Who else would it be?"
"What are you doing here?" Danielle asked, unable to think through a logical explanation in her post-sleep stupor. "Why aren't you in Rohan?"
Lanya retrieved a small traveler's bag sitting by the canvas walls. "I very well could not leave you to heal on your own," she said as she loosened the drawstrings. "I doubt if another nurse could manage you. The Valar know I barely can."
Danielle smiled, and almost as though it were contagious, a matching smile cracked through Lanya's exasperation. She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Danielle into her arms. Danielle's eyes drifted shut as she took in the familiar scent of soap and herbs.
"I shouldn't be surprised you have been badgering the other healers," Lanya said, pulling back just enough to give Danielle a reproachful glare. "They all know who you are. 'You wait and see,' they said. 'It will hardly be a day before she comes to you looking for work.' I know you know better than that."
"I want to help."
"It is enough to rest, I should think, after riding to battle at the Black Gates."
"I fought the orcs even with my shoulder injury," Danielle said. "Surely I can handle dressing injuries."
Lanya pulled her bag back onto her lap and rummaged around inside. "A lot of good that did, I am sure," she said as she pulled out a jar of thick cream. "Go on, let me see this shoulder of yours."
Danielle loosened the ties in the neck of her nightgown and slipped it down over her shoulder. Lanya's warm fingers traced the incision wound which had scabbed and peeled, leaving a jagged, wide span of red scar tissue behind. "Have you continued to stretch your arm?"
"Every day."
"How does your shoulder respond to it?"
"There is only mild aching, now," Danielle said, and began to move her arm in gentle circles to demonstrate, and paused once it was stretched out from her side. "It only hurts here," she said, and the lowered her arm to her side and rotated it back slightly, "and here. I can't move it further back than that."
Lanya pursed her lips and took Danielle's arm, moving it to feel the resistance for herself. "It would appear your shoulder is healing thus. Perhaps if you continue to work with it you will see some improvement, but I fear scarcely so."
Danielle nodded. It had been a month since she had sustained the wound at Helm's Deep, and she had wondered if her muscles and tendons had been forced to heal as well as they could given all her activity - which is to say improperly. Still, she could not regret her contributions. Fighting had been her only option.
Lanya fastened Danielle's sling around her neck in the hopes that they could rectify some of the damage. She also applied ointment and herbs to what remained of her other injuries from Morannon. The puncture wound in her side left a marbled bruise behind in various shades of brown, green, and yellow, but was healing properly, as was the shallow slash down her forearm.
As Lanya worked, she discussed the flurry of conflicting emotions running through the people of Rohan. They were in deep mourning for the loss of their King, however many took to dancing in the streets when they heard of the downfall of Sauron only days later. It was, after all, what Theoden had died trying to achieve, and it felt equally inappropriate not to celebrate the end of their terror as it did to feel joy so soon after his death.
"I suppose that is a struggle felt by all," Lanya said. "No one walks away from war unafflicted."
Danielle massaged some cream into what was left of the cut down her arm. "I guess not," she said. "But life goes on and we must keep going with it."
"Indeed." Lanya began putting the jars of ointment and rolls of linen back into her bag, but paused and looked back to Danielle. "And what of you? My word, are you really going to make me ask?"
"You mean Aragorn?"
"What else? Of course I mean Aragorn!"
Heat swelled in Danielle's cheeks as her eyes flickered away. "Things progressed for us," she said. So much had changed since she'd last seen Lanya, and yet she worried. Their relationship was still new and exciting, or rather it should be. They should finally be getting to really know each other now that the danger had passed, and she should be full of butterflies and skipping around with the lighthearted feelings that came with new love, and yet that part was missing.
"Now, what is it, dear?" Lanya asked in gentle tones.
"It's just that since we came here, I've seen very little of him."
Lanya sighed, and her lips pursed together.
"What?" Danielle asked.
"I have said nothing."
"No, but you're definitely thinking something."
Though Lanya remained silent, Danielle noted a distinct look of unease.
"You've been wary of him ever since we met," Danielle said, accusing.
"Aye," Lanya said, unabashed. "Indeed I have, and it is for good reason."
The statement baffled Danielle. "What do you have against him?"
"Oh, he is a fine man, I have nothing against him."
"I don't get what the problem is, then," Danielle said, getting frustrated.
Lanya's eyes swept briefly to the open doorway in thought. "I didn't want to tell you this," she said. "I thought - or hoped, more like - that it would not become an issue."
"Lanya, what is it?" Danielle asked, alarmed by the sudden gravity in Lanya's voice.
"What do you think will come of this?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that of all the kingly lore I've heard, no King has ever taken a common wife."
Danielle sat back as the words sank in. She had once considered that she would not be a suitable partner for Aragorn, but those thoughts had been discarded and forgotten once his feelings for her had become clear.
"Mind you," Lanya said, "I am less learned in the matter than others, but I cannot recall an instance to the contrary."
Danielle wondered if there was more to Aragorn's absence than duty to the people of Middle Earth. She didn't doubt that his work demanded his attention for long hours each day, but could he be doing more to spend time with her? Was this the reason they had seen so little of each other?
"I did not want it to come to this," Lanya said, breaking the silence. "I know you fancy him."
"I'm a bit beyond that," Danielle said, distressed by the thoughts and questions running through her mind. Was this true? Could Aragorn already be thinking about ending their relationship? She didn't want to believe it, and yet she couldn't shake the thought.
Lanya sat on Danielles bed and placed a warm arm around her shoulder. "Now, that does not mean the end. But I worry, still, and I would not have you go into this without knowing what may happen. It is worse to be caught completely unawares, I always say."
"Aragorn spent years as a ranger," Danielle said, remembering that he had lived for years in the wilderness, living a simple life under modest means. "Surely nobility is less important to him."
"That may be so, but do not forget that he also was raised among elves."
Danielle's heart dropped as she remembered Arwen. If she had thought she had a chance with Aragorn as a commoner, the reminder that he had shared a love with an elf quashed that. He'd already been with someone even higher than mortal nobility, the fairest of all living beings. To go from that to a commoner - he might have spent years in the wild, but his noble and highborn roots were deep. Surely it was foolish to think he'd consider a lifelong partner in her.
Danielle knew Aragorn was busy, but surely this was partly why she saw so little of him. Could he be letting distance grow between them? Was it possible that he hadn't anticipated them both living, and so hadn't considered what would come next, once he was king? Everything had changed after Frodo defeated Sauron.
"Maybe I was wrong to say anything," Lanya said, her voice brightening in an attempt to turn the conversation around. "Worries are oft unjustified."
"No," Danielle said. "I'm glad I know."
A/N: I don't know how many of you read my note in my profile, but grad school has kept me swamped. I've recently applied for a major fellowship, and I'm now working on two series of experiments on top of my coursework. It has been hard finding time (or the energy to write when I do), but I'm dedicated to finishing this. I have everything left plotted out very thoroughly now, including the gist of the dialogue for every scene. I also have two full chapters written, but I haven't gotten the chance to go through and edit them. I'm thinking about keeping writing what is left at whatever pace I can manage, and meanwhile aim to post about once a week. I want to get the rest of this written and posted so I can start going back through and fixing some of my previous work (particularly from the beginning of the story. My commitment to this story has grown as I've written it, and I feel like it shows). And yes, I do still plan on writing a few scenes from Aragorn's perspective.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter :) Feedback is always appreciated.
