1.

Wynne spotted the group of elves from a long distance. They had built a simple camp just offshore of the Anduin river, and seemed to be waiting for her, lined up as they were in a semicircle. Almost despite herself she relaxed her seat, causing Vatna, the gray mare she was riding, to slow her pace.

She did not want to come. She did not want to join their quest, she did not want to let them ride her fine horses, and least of all did she want to marry one of them.

But she knew she had no choice. Mother had willed this, planned it a long time probably, and then conspired with Grandmama and Grandpapa to make it happen. Father had complied, as he always did, and sealed the deal with the new king of Gondor. He had offered to lend five riding horses and an equal number of pack horses to the king's friends, the Sindar elves of Mirkwood, and assign his daughter to follow them on their journey, helping them with the horses. The king had happily agreed, knowing that there were no better steads to be found in Middle Earth than the Rohirrim Mearas.

Mother's plan was simple. Wynne would be the only woman of the company, it would be her and five elf males. She would be close to them at all hours, sleeping in their camp, sharing their meals, tending to their wounds if they got any. If she played her cards well, it would only be a matter of time before some or all of them were attracted to her. She must encourage them, especially the two royal elves – the prince and his father. In marrying her daughter to one of them, Mother would finally get the alliance she had dreamed of for such a long time. Elven blood, elven royal blood at that, bred into the lines of Rohan Rohirrim. Her successors would be half elves, long lived and beautiful. The future Lords and Ladies of Örn would be famous.

This was the real reason Wynne was here, she was a means to an end. And she must not fail. If the royal elves turned her down, she had to settle for the lesser ones, but an elf she must marry, or face Mother's punishment. Wynne shuddered at the thought, causing Vatna to prance nervously. The roan mare was sensitive to the mood of her rider, and the memory of Mother's wrath still terrified Wynne.

It had been a few days ago, when Mother told Wynne of her assignment. Wynne had been shocked to learn about the plan, and scared to be sent away alone for the first time in her life. The elves' quest sounded dangerous, they would fight orcs and goblins, trolls and huge spiders, and who knew what else? And how could she ever manage to make them love her? She was no beauty, her life had been spent on horseback so far, and her body was hard, lean, and muscled. No plump arms and soft bosom to impress them with, and her face was all tanned and freckled from the sun. Elven women were gorgeous, Wynne was plain. They would not look at her twice.

This was her protest, these were her doubts, but Mother would not even let her finish speaking. A hard slap on each cheek had silenced Wynne at once.

"You will do as told. You are no child anymore, this summer will be your twentieth. I was married by that age and already with child, and so was your Grandmama. I know you are no beauty, the women of the Örn family never are, and this is why we need the elven blood so badly. Your children will not be plain."

Wynne felt like one of their horses then, just like when Father planned which stallion to mate with which mare to produce the most desired offspring, but she remained silent, knowing Mother would not hesitate to slap her again. Her cheeks still burned, and apparently Mother did not mind if Wynne was covered in bruises when she met the elves.

Mother continued: "Elves are not used to humans, and you will use this against them. Show them some skin, seduce them with alcohol, I do not care what you do, as long as its successful. If you become pregnant first, and marry them after, that is of no matter. Even if they refuse to marry you, we will have the half elf child at least."

Wynne could not keep silent anymore. "What if they get offended at send me away? I would be all alone in the wilderness, and the orcs would kill me." Her voice sounded more childish than she liked, but she could not stop herself.

"Nonsense! They need the horses, and they know it. They will not send you away. They will just think it is the way of human females, and get used to it. And as time passes, their hormones will do its work on them, they will not be able to resist you in the long run. Males are weak."

Wynne felt the bile rise at the thought of seducing an elf, or any male. She had seen horses mate since she was a young girl, she knew exactly what the stallions did with the mares and the thought of this happening to her made her shudder. She was a lone child, and had been living at home with her parents and grandparents until now, she had never even talked in private to another man. They were large and burly, and, judging by the men she saw at the marketplace, they were ugly and stank.

Wynne had only seen an elf once, an elven woman who had bought a horse of Wynne's Father, and she was so beautiful it had almost hurt the eyes to look at her. But elf men might be just like human men, who knew? True, they were said to be beautiful, but then again, human females thought human males were attractive too, didn't they? Maybe Wynne was an oddity to think men ugly and vile, maybe she was a freak, but she could not imagine she would ever want a male to mount her like a stallion.

"I can't do it. Please don't make me!" Wynne begged.

"This is not up for discussion, it is decided already. You will go tomorrow morning." Mother had a threatening frown.

"I refuse! You don't own me. I'm not a mare you can force to mate!" Wynne's outburst surprised even herself. She never talked back to Mother.

Mother's face turned white with fury, and her hand gripped Wynne's arm like a claw when she pulled her to the sleeping area. She did not utter a word, just gave Wynne a push so hard that she fell on top of her bed. Mother closed the door carefully, and advanced slowly on Wynne.

"You will not scream," she said, and Wynne saw that she had taken a horse whip from the stand by the door. "Not a sound, or this will continue twice as long."

Wynne understood. Mother did not want the family to know that she disciplined her daughter like she would a disobedient horse. She swallowed hard in anticipation, knowing all too well how badly the whip smarted, even though it had been many years since she last had tasted it.

Wynne did not count how long the whipping lasted, or how many strokes she got, but the pain afterwards was excruciating. Every inch of her thighs and buttocks was on fire. She was lying belly down on her bed, burrowing her face into a pillow to muffle the sounds of her crying, and heard as from a distance Mother's final words on the matter.

"Think of this as a warning. If you disobey me again, this will be nothing in comparison to what will happen to you then. If you come back without an elf husband, or at least his child in your womb, I will not hesitate to whip you every day, for as long as you remain unmarried."

Wynne knew Mother would keep her promise, she was reliable in that way. She liked to inflict pain, both on horses and her child. Perhaps she beat Father too, who knew?

Maybe even an elf husband was to prefer.

Wynne shuddered, and made Vatna move a little faster again. She had almost reached the elven camp now, and must try to think happier thoughts. She must make them like her, somehow. She had no other option.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Disclaimer:

I do not own Tolkien's worlds or characters. I also apologize in advance for any errors, since English is not my first language.

Don't hesitate to review and make suggestions, I will consider them all. :)