Sorry for the too long wait. Life and college and covid did a collective oop. Thanks for your continued support!
Eomer and co had apparently only just made it for the feast, looking a bit ruffled but wearing clean clothes. He was standing in the place next to Theoden that had been left empty at the feast for Theodred, and I guess this was the first official event where Eomer filled his capacity as crown prince. His seat was also in Theodred's old place at the table, and Eothain now occupied the place of Third Marshal. Eowyn, much to my satisfaction, had been moved from the end and serving the table, to the seat Grima used to occupy at Theoden's immediate left.
The eating part of the feast actually ended fairly quickly. Or, at least, the 'sit and gorge yourself' part. When we stood and pushed the tables to the outskirts of the Hall, servants quickly re-loaded them with a variety of medieval party foods. So, essentially, all the dinner leftovers piled on to sharing platters. And some made into skewers. There were desserts too though, little cakes drizzled with honey, some sort of oatmeal cookie, and lots of apples. Eomer came up to me as I was stuffing my face with roasted apple in honey, and I tried not to groan out my complete humiliation at having the literal crown prince witness the supremely graceful moment of chipmunk cheeks and licking sticky fingers. At least he seemed more amused than disgusted?
"It gladdens me to see you enjoying the sweets, My Lady Nic. I hear the honeyed apple is particularly good, if a little ungraceful for eating."
Yeah… definitely amused. He winked. I blushed.
Then he grabbed my hand to kiss my knuckles again. Like, what the actual fuck? Was this entirely normal? Literally only Eomer and Legolas had greeted me like this. And, I'd just been licking honey off those fingers.
"Um, ah yes? I would have to agree. This was a favorite treat at home that I very rarely got to have."
"Truly? Then I am glad we can provide you a little bit of your old home, here in your new one."
...oof. Maybe I shouldn't have just gratefully accepted his offer of home? Now what do I say? 'Actually, I'm being elf-ified because I can't deal with medieval humans, sorry but adios amigo' just didn't seem very diplomatic.
"Ah well, I have yet to decide where my new home will be, but thank you nonetheless," I flailed a hand awkwardly, "Really, your country is beautiful, and the horses enough to have me completely enamoured, but I have only seen Rohan. I am a wandering soul, and would never be happy settling in the first place I came to. There is just so much of the world left to see."
He frowned, but honestly I was pretty proud of how diplomatically I handled the 'nice place, I'd hate it here' conversation.
"You will, however, return to us once you have satisfied your desire to wander."
It wasn't a question, and well… I always did have a thing about men being controlling of women…
"Perhaps, Lord Eomer. However it won't be for more than a visit. Once the war is over there will be no more place for a Shield Maiden, and I am not a Lady of a court, I am far too independent and unruly for such things. The World of Men in Arda is just that, a world of men. The Eldar, I have heard, put more stock on an individual's skills than their gender. As such, as much as I am grateful for your generous offer of a home here, I do not expect to ever take you up on it."
"A kingdom of elves is no place for a human woman," his frown deepened, "Are your own people truly so repulsive to you?"
"Now, please do not put words into my mouth, Your Majesty. I am not repulsed by the race of men, I merely do not feel at home here. Besides, I have already been given an elvish name, and Prince Legolas confirms that I am more elleth than woman anyway. I do not know, however, if I will find a home with them. Perhaps there is no home for me in Arda, and I will spend my days wandering perpetually from place to place. However it may be, I know that I would not be happy taking up permanent residence here, regardless of my love for the horses and the Lady Eowyn."
So, maybe I shouldn't go off at royals, but.
"I will be forever honored to be named Shield Maiden, and fully intend to visit if I am still welcome. I mean no insult My Lord. I have been searching for a place of belonging and happiness my entire life. Now that I have the opportunity to find such a place, I will not squander it."
Does that fix it any? Or am I just digging a deeper hole? Eomer was frowning, but didn't look red-faced or anything.
"I see. Perhaps we can yet persuade you to change your mind." He bowed, then melted back into the crowd.
Bullet dodged?
I stood there for a moment, then shrugged and turned back to the dessert table, grabbing another handful of the honey apples then working my own way back through the crowd. In the other direction. The man obviously needed some time to cool off. I made a face, why did he care so much, anyway? Shouldn't he be eager to get rid of the one putting ideas in his sister's head? In the movies he was a deal less than supportive, actually derogatory about Eowyn's desire to fight. The books, I don't really remember specifics, but she did still ride in secret. So what made him want me to stay?
"I see not enough joy on that face for a night of celebration!" I did not jump. I didn't.
Gimli didn't agree with me though, and laughed uproariously before continuing his thought, "You need a good ale, and some real entertainment! Come on, elfy and I are having a drinking contest!"
"Oh no. No, no, no. I am not going to just stand there and watch you guzzle ale like pigs!" But apparently my protests meant nothing, because the four foot five ball of muscle and iron was dragging me through the crowd like some sort of crack the whip game. I think I managed without knocking anyone over, but I can't be sure. Unfortunately, said drinking game was proctored by our resident Lord Eomer, and it was all I could do not to groan audibly. Literally, the one person I was actively trying to avoid.
"Legolas! I brought Nic!" Gimli suddenly exclaimed loudly (the dwarf was already some cups in), then suddenly finished his mad dash by launching me at said elf.
"Sorry!" I squeaked as I fetched up against his chest. He just chuckled and grabbed my shoulders.
"No need to apologize. Your clumsiness is endearing." He winked, and I blushed brightly.
"I'm not clumsy, Gimli thought a game of crack the whip was in order."
He raised an eyebrow, "Crack the whip?"
"A children's game from back home," an arm fell around my shoulder, conveniently pushing me closer to Legolas. I glared at Keoke, but he ignored me and kept on, "It's usually played with more people, but everybody stands in a line holding hands, then the person at the front runs around trying to get enough momentum and sharp turns to send the last person flying. It can be lots of fun, but also painful."
Legolas looked bemused, but just shook his head a bit and extracted me from under Keoke's arm. This, of course, put me under his arm, up against his side, and my blush returned.
"I'm beginning to feel like you guys see me as a bit of luggage."
They laughed.
"I hate to interrupt-"
Ah, right. Eomer. Shit.
We turned to face him, and I almost frowned at the bewildering mix of emotions playing across his face.
"Are we, or are we not going to have a game of drinking?"
I guess he settled on annoyed. I sighed.
"We are!" Bless Gimli and his lack of social awareness.
"In that case, I will excuse myself and leave you guys to it. I have no interest in such games. Have fun!" I ducked away from Legolas before he could stop me, dodged Kee, and dove back into the crowd. Overdramatic? Maybe. Effective though, so I can't bring myself to care.
Not too long after escaping the drinking game, I found myself out on the porch. The (surprisingly) heavy fabric of my dress moved slightly in the breeze, and
I suppressed a shiver. It wasn't necessarily cold, and the satin was warm against my skin, but there was something chilling in the breeze. I turned to look at the other side of the view. There, under roiling black clouds, was the red glow of Mordor. No wonder. Talk about the creepiest of creepy places. I turned and sat facing out from the hall, looking over the Riddermark. This put Mordor not quite all the way behind me, and the awareness of it never faded. It loomed and broiled and burned so hot I swear that shoulder was warmer than the other.
I don't know how long I sat out there, but it was the opportunity I needed to contemplate and sort and try to get my mind in order over everything that happened. What I landed on was this:
I would be sad to lose Kee, but it was immeasurably better to be here.
Kee would be happy on Earth, I would be happy here. It would be worth it.
Immortality isn't as scary when you aren't the only one.
Immortality isn't as scary when you can die from injuries and heartbreak.
The amount of physical activity necessary for life here is immensely satisfying.
Despite the active apocalypse threat, life here is more simple and therefore, less stressful.
Legolas. Just Legolas.
And the rest of the Fellowship, really.
All told, it was obviously the right choice to stay here, impending world-ending war or not.
"You are deep in thought."
I didn't jump. I didn't. Even so, Legolas chuckled as he hauled me to my feet and wrapped an arm around my waist, tucking me under his cloak. It was long, and soft, and smelled like him. I curled in closer and leaned my head on his shoulder. Fuck, if he was going to encourage being comfortable with physical touch, I was one hundred percent taking advantage of that.
"Just organizing my thoughts on what's happened since we arrived here. It's been a pretty crazy time. But, despite everything, a pretty good one too." I shrugged.
He hummed, and we stood together quietly for a few moments.
"So, how did your drinking game go?"
"I won," he smirked, "Master Gimli was passed out on the floor before I even felt my fingers tingling."
I laughed, "I don't think tingling fingers is a normal response to alcohol, but you do seem pretty sober."
It was his turn to shrug, and we both chuckled a bit before falling back into silent observation of the night. Well, that and enjoying each other's quiet company. We stood for long moments in stillness and quiet, and I could feel as his warmth seeped into me. At some point, he started playing with my hair, slowly pulling it from it's braids. It was all I could do not to fall asleep where I stood.
Our quiet was interrupted by near-silent footsteps, and Legolas' hand stilled in my hair. I opened my eyes, When had they closed? and recognized that Aragorn had come to join us. His eyes, though, were fixed on the broiling clouds over Mordor.
"The stars are veiled," Legolas' voice vibrated in my ear, "Something stirs in the East, a-"
"Oh shit!" I jerked away, "I totally forgot! The Palantir, Pippin!" And turned to run inside, gathering my skirts in my hand. As much as Pippin's encounter with the damn thing was important, it didn't need to be that long. Besides, if I could grab it from him with my skirts or a blanket or something, Aragorn wouldn't need to touch it.
I could hear both men behind me as a tore through the Hall, though neither tried to stop me or ask questions. When I whirled into the doorway, Merry was just beginning to call for help and Pippin was falling to the floor. I leaped forward, letting go of my skirt and tripping on it even as I scooped up a nearby blanket and fell to my knees next to Pippin. His forehead was shiny with sweat, face frozen even as his body contorted and writhed. Quickly, I scooped the Palantir from his hands with the blanket.
Time froze.
I was kneeling on the floor in the bunk room, losing my balance and tipping over, but I was also engulfed in flame. For a second that lasted an eternity, I stared at the White Tree of Gondor wreathed in flame, and was shook apart by a voice that spoke in two languages simultaneously, one unmistakable as the Dark Speech, the other Common, "I see you!"
I gasped, and time resumed with me collapsing against Legolas When did he get down here? as I dropped the only half-bundled object onto the floor. It made a dull thunk, the blanket thankfully hiding it from view and preventing it from rolling away. He grasped my shoulders tightly, pulling me against his chest as I tried to control my breathing. Every muscle ached. It felt like I'd tried to run a marathon. Or trained all day without stretching.
By the time I recovered myself enough to be aware of my surroundings, Gandalf and Merry were fussing at and scolding a recovering Pippin, and Aragorn was hovering awkwardly between us. Yes, awkwardly. Even eighty-seven year old Kings of the West have the capability to be awkward.
I pulled away from Legolas to better curl into the fetal position, only for Keoke to suddenly make an appearance by glomping on top of me. It made the stretch just a little too much, and I groaned as I keeled over, dumping him on the floor. It didn't take him long to scramble on top of me again, his concern blending his words together into vaguely English-sounding gibberish.
"Uhg, Kee. Get off," I whined, "I'm sore enough already without your bony elbows in my ribcage!"
"Why did you grab the stupid glowy rock?"
"Um, because it was hurting Pippin and I didn't think it would affect me through the blanket? Gandalf had it wrapped in cloth."
He sighed, and slumped to the side, so now we only looked slightly less idiotic lying sprawled next to each other on the floor, instead of sprawled on top.
"I'm going to wrap you in bubble wrap."
"No bubble wrap in Middle Earth, good luck with that. Besides, I'm not that accident prone. I've never even broken a bone."
Kee flailed, and I barely escaped getting smacked in the face, "But you're always hurt somehow! I stand by my case. And I bet everyone would agree with me."
"Hmm, indeed."
Freaking Gandalf.
"It seems you are at least somewhat of a magnet for trouble, Narían. Now," he stepped up next to us and peered down at me severely (which like, the dude has got to be at least six four, and I was lying on the ground. Boot. Ant.), "Did you see anything when you took the Palantir?"
"Lots of fire. Just a snapshot of Gondor in flames, and His voice saying "I see you" in a creepy double of Common and the Dark speech of Mordor. I'm not sure if he was still talking to Pippin, or what. But well, if Saruman wasn't lying, He already knew we existed, so even if he did get a glimpse it wouldn't be enough to cause any harm. Not at this point. He's already set on Gondor."
"Hmm," he stroked his beard, "Yes. I think it would be wise."
"Nope," I scrambled up, "I am going with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, do you hear? I'm not going anywhere near that nutcase. He'd lock me up in the tower for being a woman, to hell with needing every sword they can get. He's batty."
Gandalf frowned at me, but I frowned right back. There was no way I was going to Gondor, where I would have to watch Denedick be a shitty dad and try to murder Faramir.
...Shit. Faramir.
Godsdamn it all.
"You are starting to see it my way."
"No I'm not," I muttered, "I just know there's something that needs fixing in Gondor. Something virtually impossible." I sighed and dragged my hands down my face. How to fix that one? Could I even do anything about it if I went with Gandalf and Pippin? How could I prevent that mad charge on Osgiliath?