The next morning, Gandalf was not at all happy with the decision as he burst through the doors out to the stable.
"Helm's Deep!" he shouted angrily as he walked beside Aragorn and Amdiriel while Legolas and Gimli trailed behind them. "They flee to the mountains when they should stand and fight. Who will defend them if not their King?" he asked grumpily as they got to the stables. Legolas and Gimli decided to tend t their horse while the other two followed after Gandalf to Shaowfax's stable.
"He is only doing what he thinks is right for his people. Helm's Deep has saved them in the past." Aragorn tried to reason. "There is now out of that ravine. Théoden is walking into a trap, thinks he is leading them to safety." Gandalf replied. Aragorn then opened the stable door for the wizard. Gandalf entered but still looked at the two leaders next to him. "What they will get is a massacre. Théoden has a strong will but I fear for him, I fear for the survival of Rohan. He will need both of you before the end. The people of Rohan will need both of you. The defenses have to hold." Gandalf told them. Aragorn and Amdiriel nodded, "They will hold." Aragorn promised. Gandalf looked at the two before him before turning to pet Shadowfax "The Grey Pilgrim... that's what they used to call me. Three hundred lives of men I've walked this earth and now I have no time." He said and climbed up onto Shadowfax, who then turned ready to run out while Aragorn and Amdiriel held the stable gates open. "With luck, my search will not be in vain. Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the East." Gandalf instructed them, the two nodded to him and then moved out of the way. "Go." the said and with that they were off, Shadowfax running out, nearly running over Legolas and Gimli as they did.
Amdiriel watched as they go. "Do you think he will make it time?" Amdiriel asked. "I hope so, for Rohan." Aragorn replied. "Come we must get ready." he told her. They begin to prepare the horse Amdiriel had gone out to get water for her horse when she heard loud fussing of the men in the stables followed by a loud begin, she could tell the horse was scared but that the sound of the horse was familiar. Amdiriel left her bucket and ran back towards the stables.
"Brego?" she asked when she got to the entrance, there she found Aragorn speaking to him in elvish. "Oh good, you've calmed him." she said and approached the horse. when the horse saw her he nudged her with his nose, causing Amdiriel to chuckle as she petted him.
"I've heard of the magic of elves but I did not look for it in a ranger form the north. You speak as one of their own." Éowyn said as she approached Aragorn. Aragorn looked at her as it dawned on him and Amdiriel that she did not know who Argorn was. "I was raised in Rivedell for a time." was the only explanation Aragorn gave her before he said "Turn this fellow free, he has seen enough of war."
Amdiirel then spoke up "I'll let him loose. He has a tendency to bite people he is not comfortable with including Éomer." She said with a chuckle at the memory. Aragorn smiled and let her take the horse, leading it out of the stable. She pulled off the reins still hooked on before stroking his mane. "It will be alright. You are free, old friend." she told him. The horse looked at her and then out to the open plains then back to her. "You will find them. Go." she whispered. The horse neighed and then ran off, free from all pain. Amdrieil smiled as she watched Brego run. He stopped at the edge of the first and looked back at Amdiriel who smiled and raised her hand to wave goodbye. The horse neighed before running off. Amdiriel smiled "May you find peace, like your rider." she whispered before she walked back to the stables to prepare her own horse.
When done, she walked back to the Hall where she found Éowyn swinging a blade quite nicely, her back was turned to her. She then saw Aragorn walked forward and pulled his dagger from his side while Amdireil stayed behind and watched. She swings around and is met by Aragorn, who blocks her parry. "You have some skills with a blade." he told the wide-eyed Éowyn who then with a swift move, swings her sword and renders Aragorn vulnerable. Aragorn puts his blade down and Éowyn stands there for a moment, blade still pointed at him till she retracts it, "Women of this country learned long ago: Those without swords may still die upon them. I fear neither death nor pain." She said and put the sword back onto the trunk she found it.
"What do you fear, my lady?" he asked Éowyn looked to him and replied "A cage. To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them and all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or desire."
Aragorn shook his head "You are a daughter of kings, a shieldmaiden of Rohan." he told her, sheathing his knife. "I do not think that would be your fate." he said to her. Amdiriel could see the look in Éowyn's eyes, it was a look of hope, of someone believing in her, someone who could be more to her. Amdiriel quickly turned, bringing the hood of her cloak up as she walked to her room to grab the last bit of her things. Aragorn hadbowed to Éowyn who then gazed after him as he walked away. Aragorn could feel the stare but his stare was on the dark cloak that was disappearing down the halls. He knew who it belonged to but he felt something was wrong, though he wanted to figure out what he needed to help prepare things, he figured he would ask her later. he hoped maybe if they had a few moments along he could finally talk to her.
The people left Edoras believing they would not return but others were believing they would. Amdiriel, Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn rode in front with the King as they exited the city.
They crossed over big open plains and mountainsides. Amdiriel and Legolas rode behind Aragorn and Théoden who were listening to Gimli who sat on Éwoyn's horse as she held the reins, he was talking about how you don't see a lot of dwarf women. Everyone laughed as the horse suddenly jetted off, throwing Gimli of it's back in the process.
"It's true you don't see many Dwarf women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they're often mistaken for Dwarf men." Gimli said. Éowyn smiles and looks back at Aragorn. "It's the beards" he whispered and motioned in front of his face by his chin moving his hand down. Éowyn chuckled and looked forward, continuing to listen to Gimli. "And this, in turn, has given rise to the belief that there are no Dwarf women. And that dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground!" that made Éowyn laugh loudly.
"Hehehe! Which is of course ridiculous… Whoa!"Gimli yelled as the horse suddenly rears up and gallops away as Éowyn loses her hold on the reins. Gimli falls off after a short distance and lands with a loud thump, causing everyone to at least chuckle. Éowyn then runs after him to help aid him.
"It's alright, it's alright. Nobody panic. That was deliberate. It was deliberate." said Gimli.
Amdiriel had ridden up beside Théoden who looked to see Aragorn smiling at his niece. "I have not seen my niece smile for a long time. She was a girl when they brought her father back dead cut down by orcs." said the king making Aragorn's smile falter as he looked to the lady. "She watched her mother succumb to grief, then she was left alone, to tend to a king in growing fear. Doomed to wait upon an old man who should have loved her as a father." Théoden admitted. Amdiriel looked to see Aragorn's reaction but in her heart, she wished she hadn't. He looked as if enchanted by her, blond hair blowing in the wind, pale skin being shined on by the sun and her eyes glowing brightly.
Amdiriel then spoke to Théoden "We all made decisions we regret, especially when it came to grief, but now is your chance to make things right. At least you get that chance, she gets that chance after everything she's been through. A lot of us do not, I would not waste it, my lord." She said. Both men next to her rode on silently until she turned to Legolas. "Shall we scout ahead?" she asked, looking for an escape of silence. Legolas knew this and nodded, both kicked their horses to ride out in front of the crowd.
"Are you going to tell me or not?" he asked once they got to the front. "You know I will, I just do not want to talk about it right at this moment." she replied. Legolas nodded, kind of already having an inkling at what had upset his friend.
As evening fell upon them, the people made camp, Amdiriel made sure to put herself to use more so, so she could avoid a certain ranger. After that, she sat on a rock by herself and sharpened her weapons. That is where Aragorn found her, she said nothing to him as he sat down next to her, figuring she would speak when she was ready, so he pulled his weapons and he too began to clean them.
When he was just about done with his sword he was about to at least start some type of a conversation but Éowyn had come over, a medium-size cauldron hanging from her arm with something hot in it and a bowl and spoon in another hand. She approached the two almost carefully, both looking up from their weapons as she did. "I made some stew, it isn't much but it's hot, unfortunately, I only have one bowl." she told them. Amdiriel gave her a soft smile, she could smell the stew from where she sat and it did not agree with her stomach. "That is alright, I actually just ate." she said, it wasn't a lie, she had had some dried fruit before she decided to busy herself with her weapons. Éowyn smiled and gave the bowl to Aragorn and handed him the spoon. Aragorn gave her a small smile as he nodded. "Thank you." He then dipped his spoon into the liquid and Amdiriel could not tell what the white goo was on it. He stuck the spoon in his mouth and immediately stopped when it touched his tongue. he then looked up to see Eowyn watching him intently and full of hope. He attempted to swallow, succeeding on the second try then looked up to the lady. "It's good." he barely got out. "Really?" she replied and turned away almost embarrassed. She got a few steps "It is not nice to lie." Amdiriel told him in a low whisper as Aragorn started to pour out the 'stew'.
"My Uncle told me a strange thing." Éowyn said, surprising the other two. Aragorn trying to catch the bowl so it didn't look like he was pouring it out but ended up spilling the hot liquid on himself. Amdiriel had to bite her lip as a small chuckle passed her lips, Aragorn threw Amdiriel a look before he looked back to Eowyn who was coming back to talk with them "He said that you rode to war with Thengel, my grandfather but he must be mistaken. " she told Aragorn. "King Theoden has a good memory, he was only a small child at the time." Aragorn replied. Eowyn knelt before the ranger "The you must be at least 60." Aragorn made a face like she was being generous with his age. "70?... you can not be 80." she asked. "87." he replied. Eowyn's mouth dropped slightly as she stood to her feet. "You are one of the Dunedain, a descendant of Numenor, blessed with long life. It was said that your race had passed into legend." She stated. Aragorn nodded "There are very few of us left." he said and looked to Amdiriel. Éowyn looked to her as well and put the pieces together. "I thought you were an elf." she said. Amdiriel nodded "I am but only half, my mother was an elf my father was of the Dunedain. There are very few of us, the northern kingdom was destroyed long ago." She explained. "I am sorry." Eowyn replied. "Please eat." she tells Aragorn "Yes, Aragorn you must eat to make sure you are at top strength. I, however, need to find Legolas, he said something about duel of wits or something like that." Amdiriel teased as she got up and sheathed her dagger. Aragorn's look said don't you dare leave but all Amdiriel did was throw him a smile before she walked away, spotting Legolas not too far in the distance.
Legolas smirked as he saw Amdiriel approach him. "So are you going to tell me what is bothering you?" he asked when she joined his side. Amdiriel was silent for a moment as she looked at the ground "Lord Elrond offered me a spot on one of the last ships leaving Middle-Earth. I promised him I would go with him if he loved another." She told him. Legolas knew she was referring to Legolas. "Who else could he possibly love?" he asked. Amdiriel tilted her head in the direction where he could find Aragorn and the woman in question. "She is perfect." Amdiriel replied. "They barely know each other." Legolas reminded her. "I have seen the way she looks at him. She has feelings for him. Give it time he can grow to love her too." Amdiriel replied. "Amdiriel, I have seen the way he looks at you. He looks at you like you are the most beautiful thing in the world. He cares deeply about you maybe even loves you with or without the spell." Legolas told her. "But she is a better suit for him. A better suit for a queen." Amdiriel said. Legolas sighed "No, you know the people best. You can heal them because you know first hand what they have faced. For Aragorn, I have never seen a more perfect match, the way you are there of each other, the way you encourage, support even look at each other. I could not imagine anyone better for either of you. You are more than enough, Amdiriel. Aragorn would surely be lost without you." He told her. "Thank you, my friend."
Later on in the night, Aragorn approached Amdiriel "Are you alright? You seemed a little off earlier." Amdiriel gave him a smile. "I know I'm sorry, I'm just stressed. I have a feeling like something is coming and I don't know what it is." Aragorn nodded and laced his fingers with hers. He said nothing, just let his thumb run over her knuckles, trying to calm her. "We are going to be alright." he whispered. Amdiriel nodded and smiled at him. Again, the words he had wished to say were on the tip of his lips had it not been for Gimli calling for Amdiriel, it had been her turn to keep watch. Amdiriel turned and nodded then turned back to Aragorn. In her bravery, she leaned forward and placed a kiss on the ranger's cheek. "Maybe one day you will be able to say what you have been wanting to." she whispered "Goodnight, my lord." She said as she leaned away. "Goodnight, my lady." he said then bowed to her. Amdiriel smiled as she felt her heartbeat fast in her chest, the blush rising to her cheek as watched the ranger leave. Gimli coughed loudly, bringing Amdiriel back to reality. "I wish you two would just kiss and be done with it." he grumbled as he left, the blush on Amdiriel cheeks. She sighed went off to where she was to relieve the current soldier on duty.