My dear readers,
The job situation has kept me from adding a new chapter this last week. But I intend to go on, for anyone who is wondering. Even if I decide to stop (and it looks like I will, for reasons that I will explain later in more detail), I will not do so before the end of the movie of TTT, so we still have the war of Helm's Deep before us.
I know many of you guys have been waiting for this very moment. Let's see if it was worth it and if you will like it.
The curtain opens..and act 20 begins...
***********************************
"Promise you will return to me!"
"You know I can not promise such a thing," she whispered and embraced her stronger.
"Promise, Irulan!"
"I can not," she whispered again and gently stroked Eowyn's back.
Eowyn crushed her with her embrace. "And I can NOT lose you again, Irulan!"
Irulan had to use a lot of strength to break free. She looked at Eowyn who had tears rolling down her face. "I thought you were done crying," she said, a sad smile adorning her lips. Eowyn turned her head, but did not stop crying. An old woman passing by them, entering the caves where the women and children had sought refuge, looked at them with open curiosity. "You are Shield-Maiden of Rohan. You can not afford to be sentimental, Eowyn", Irulan said.
"I don't care!" the blonde woman bit back. "You better come back to me, Irulan! You said we would roam Middle Earth!"
Irulan laughed softly. "True. I might have to reconsider dying tonight, then," she said. Eowyn's face fell again. "Ah stop it!" Irulan said with exasperation. "You were always the strong one. You still are. What should I do when you are in this state?" She stepped closer and gently squeezed Eowyn's shoulder. "Eowyn.......we shall be united......either way."
Eowyn shook off Irulan's arm in fury and turned on her heels to leave. She did not look back. Irulan sighed. The terrible fact was that if she died.....if all who were fighting out there died.....it only meant that Eowyn and the rest of the women and children in the caves would die too. Perhaps their unification was to be earlier than thought.
She slowly walked up the stone stairs that Eowyn had ran up. Everyone seemed to be rushing back and forth constantly........it seems like the whole place was chaotic already. Women, men and children were flowing by her, but Irulan saw none. She was lost in thoughts. She felt oddly distant and disconnected from this battle. She wished to be as involved as Aragorn was. He was king and he acted like one. But although Irulan, too, was human and she too had royal blood, she felt no such responsibility or attachment. Gandalf had not come and as much as she tried to deny it, her hope was fading. It was a war that they simply could not win and there were moments she just wanted to scream and protest at the ridiculous effort, and it took all her strength to keep silent.
Irulan sighed and looked at the Rohirrim rushing past her. She had come to the realization that during this journey she had shed some of the things that were binding her to her own race, only to form different attachments. She was human, yes, but her honor and allegiance was to the world in total. Having spent so much time with such company, maybe it was normal that she had become protective of both elves and dwarves and hobbits alike. She was not the Black Knight fighting for Gondor anymore. She was Irulan.....fighting for things that were far greater than that.......and even though they would pass and change in time, as Galadriel had said, it did not mean that she would have to like that change.
She found herself back in the room where the rest of the fellowship was waiting. They were getting ready for the battle, trying on their iron vests, sharpening their tools for the last time. She would do neither. "Irulan, perhaps you should consider wearing one anyway. It is heavy but very protective," tried Legolas again.
She just glanced back at him. "Legolas, you know as well as I do that these things are simply not practical. You don't wear them. Why do you expect me to drag myself around in this nonsense?"
"Not to mention that they are tailored rather poorly! Mine is just too tight around the waist!" mumbled Gimli and she turned to see him surrounded by a pool of iron vest, that was made for someone at least twice his height.
"Ah Gimli!" she said and grinned in amusement, "These things are made for skinny humans. No one considered a dwarf with your muscles while making them!"
Gimli grinned in pleasure. "Hah! Irulan, you are just my kind of woman! You have a keen eye!"
At that moment a horn echoed and Legolas and Aragorn turned to look at each other. "That is no orc horn!" said Legolas and a smile crept up his face. He ran ahead, closely followed by Aragorn. Irulan helped Gimli out of the vest and they ran after the two men to see what the tumult was about.
They rushed into the open to stand with Eomer, who stood looking at an incoming party of........'Elves?' thought Irulan stunned. She had not seen them in their war attire before........and yet they were distinctively elves. She looked down to a very stunned Gimli and they both turned to continue watching the incoming elven party. "What is going on, Eomer?" Irulan said softly, her eyes not leaving the view in front of her.
Eomer turned to her and he had a wonderful look of hope on his face. "Elves, Irulan......they have come to assist us!"
She looked back, baffled. Then her surprise turned into joy. "I knew it! I knew Middle Earth was better than this!" she said with enthusiasm. "Our own kind did not come, Eomer, but elves did!" Eomer looked stunned himself for a moment. Then he softly nodded, with distinctive confusion on his face. "True," he said a long time later and Irulan barely picked it up. "Irulan, your friends speak with the captain, further down the line. I can see them from here," he said.
Irulan raised herself on her toes to look. "Where? Oh......yes......I see them. But that looks like........" and she was gone so quickly, Eomer did not even realize that the woman running in the shown direction was the very same woman who had been talking to him a moment ago. Him and Gimli exchanged looks and decided to join the rest.
"You were right!" her voice sounded above the tumult and Aragorn, Legolas and Haldir turn towards her, "We DID meet again!"
"Irulan!" said Haldir with surprise and a beautiful smile spread on his lips. He looked even more handsome in battle gear! "Your presence alone would have drawn me here, if I had known!" He said and bowed softly.
Irulan giggled with amusement and quickly ran up to him. She decided to skip the protocol this time and hugged Haldir heartily, to which he -to her surprise- reacted quite warmly and hugged her back with the same enthusiasm. "You look so handsome in this thing!" she said with sparkling eyes.
"Do not divert my mind, Irulan! How can I concentrate on such a grave matter when you dazzle me with your kind words?" he laughed warmly and took her by the hand to look her up and down once more. "I should leave Lothlorien more often," he said finally, "your kind is too beautiful a sight to miss!"
She heard someone clearing her throat behind her and remembered that they were surrounded by a large number of men.......not to mention her fellowship stalkers! And yes.....each and every one of those was looking at her and Haldir........and with a rude stare, too. "Welcome, captain," said Eomer, and it looked like he meant to break the silence rather than show friendship of any sort at the moment, "I am Eomer, captain of Rohan. We are greatly indebted for such a gesture. You were much needed."
Haldir smiled and bowed slightly. "As I have said to your King before, it is us who are honored, Master Eomer. We came willingly and with pleasure to fight by your side."
Irulan looked up at him with adoration and a moment later he returned that look with another breath-taking smile.
"Irulan, you must have a lot to tell me," he said softly. "I am fairly sure that your voyage was a very adventurous one. And even though we have a battle ahead of us, I can think of no better way to spend this dreadful time."
Irulan grinned with pleasure. "Ah.......I still owe you for that city tour, Haldir! How can I EVER refuse?!" She laughed out loud and forgetting about everything and everyone else, took his offered arm.
"Master Aragorn, King Theoden," Haldir said to both men who, too, had obviously forgotten about the battle and had been watching the duo with narrowed eyes, "my men await your orders. Please excuse me now." With that, the couple walked away, Irulan already telling him about what had happened after they had left Lothlorien.
Legolas remained rooted with his mouth hanging open. That impossible elf had just smoothly taken his woman and walked away as if he was going for a trip in the forest! 'She is not YOUR woman!' he scolded himself inwardly once more. And once more another part of him was about to argue that she was, when he heard someone clear his throat next to him. He turned to see Eomer standing right next to him.
"Who is that........elf?" the man said, his eyes still following Irulan and Haldir as they walked away, his voice trying desperately to sound not interested, but very badly failing to do so.
Legolas pursed his lips and looked in the same direction. "Captain guard of the Lothlorien elves," he hissed a moment later. If Eomer intended to mock him, he would just kill the man on the spot right now! He was furious at the fact that his.........that is, Irulan, had chosen to walk off with that elf without so much as a backwards glance in the first place!
"I know that," said Eomer with displeasure. "I meant, who is he......to HER."
Legolas snapped around and looked at the Rohirrim, who was staring at him sheepishly without blinking. "Nobody, of course!" he said with a careful tone.
"Pray tell me then why they look so.......comfortable with each other?" Eomer's eyebrows shot up and to Legolas' surprise he looked as angry as himself. But then......he might just be misreading the expression of the man as he so often tended to do with mortals. Instead of answering, he looked over Eomer's shoulder to Aragorn and the ranger was looking towards Irulan's direction himself (along with all the other present men and probably most of the elves). He locked eyes with Legolas and approached, Gimli following close behind. Legolas' eyes diverted back to Eomer who still staring at him with that odd angry expression.
"They met in Lothlorien and became......friends," said Legolas, pushing his chin up and trying not to show too much how this conversation was disturbing him due to more than one reason.
A silence prevailed and Eomer did not leave, although he was standing with the Fellowship now, and that had made him always uncomfortable before. "I do not like it," he said finally and he actually managed to sound matter-of- factly.
Legolas cast him a sidelong glance. "Neither do I." Then he realized that he had spoken out loud and the next part came out with obvious irritation. "But we could hardly interfere, Master Eomer, don't you think?"
Eomer pursed his lips and once more turned to look him in the eye. Legolas realized with surprise that Eomer was probably the only mortal he had met who could look an elf in the eye with so much anger and threat. His eyebrows softly rose in recognition of this fact. "So I assume that you will just stand here like this?" the captain of Rohan finally said, crossing his arms on his chest.
"Haldir and Irulan are friends," said Aragorn, looking from one man to the other and trying to understand why they were having such an odd conversation. "I am certain that........"
"What if he asks her permission to braid her hair?" boomed Gimli suddenly from below him. Legolas literally paled and even Aragorn's eyes widened. Eomer looked from one to the other and then back, very well aware that he was missing something.
"What does that mean? Speak a language that I can understand, dwarf!" he said finally, unable to keep it in any longer.
The dwarf gave him an annoyed look that obviously judged him for his ignorance. "To put is shortly, what if he intends to become more........intimate with her?" he said finally.
"Irulan would not allow him to do such a thing," said Legolas with determination and looked away hastily, hoping that none could see his anxiety. True, Irulan would not. But then.....Haldir looked like the sly kind of elf. 'He is an elf! He would not attempt such a thing now,' he told himself......but his heart refused to calm down!
"The Irulan I knew would not have allowed many things," Eomer said dryly and looked Legolas up and down to make his point. "I would not be too sure about such matters anymore."
"Legolas is right, Master Eomer," said Aragorn hastily, trying to calm down the company, "we could hardly interfere with her friendships. It would not be......proper," he finished.
"Proper?!" Eomer exclaimed a trifle too loud and turned to look at the stunned ranger. "Should I assume that you are truly concerned of doing everything in the proper way?!" He watched Aragorn looking down at the dwarf with a confused expression and the other simply pursing his lips and staring into the distance. "You have disappointed me greatly......all three of you!" Eomer said finally and clasped his hands behind his back, looking into the distance.
"Disappointed you?!" boomed Gimli with shock.
Eomer shook his head with displeasure, not turning towards him. "I was beginning to think that you were doing a good job at protecting her." He slowly looked each of the three baffled man up and down as he proceeded: "I was tempted to believe that she was safe with you; that I did not need to worry for her any longer. But.......I was obviously wrong!" he spat. "A man offers his arm and walks away almost dancing with her and all you three do is stand back and watch!" The silence seemed to go on forever. The fellowship stared back at each other with both confusion and disturbance growing on their faces. "And you!" Eomer suddenly hissed at Legolas whose eyes widened with surprise at such an attack, "You were all protective and possessive when Irulan cared to talk to me -and I am a much older friend, mind you- so now you happen to be 'understanding' and 'civilized' while she follows someone she has only known for a few days?!"
Legolas' mouth dropped open and he found nothing to say. He slowly turned around and looked towards the direction the couple had disappeared, not really seeing anything.
"We can possibly not lock Irulan away!" said Aragorn finally, trying not to show how much he felt disturbed by this whole issue, himself. Irulan had this tendency to forget herself in the presence of elves. And the fact that Haldir had asked her before for a braid.....was not good AT ALL. He glanced at Legolas, but the elf was lost in some inner battle.
"Who is talking about locking her away?" said Eomer with a cool voice.
Gimli shook his head and looked up to the Rohirrim. "I understand that you have known her through many years?" he said, careful not to appear too interested. The man nodded. A moment passed as Gimli exchanged glances with Aragorn, then Legolas. "I presume that you must have a lot of experience in the matter, then?" Eomer almost rolled his eyes with annoyance. "Well......what would YOU do?" the dwarf spat finally.
Eomer threw another look into the distance then turned to the company at hand. Man, elf and dwarf were observing him with obvious curiosity now. "I see that you all have a lot to learn about women! And even after that, you have much more to learn about Irulan if you want to succeed in the art." He sighed and made eye contact with each, again. "Under the circumstances, we can not go and interfere. We can not call Irulan or Haldir, either. It would make her furious, to say the least." He waited a moment longer, then turned around and scanning the crowd behind him, beckoned to one of the younger boys lined up there amongst the men. The lad came running, pleasure in his eyes to be called to an errand by the captain himself. "What is your name, boy?" he asked gently.
"Gemor, sir!" the boy said with a loud thunder.
"Alright, Gemor, listen carefully. You know who Lady Irulan is?" The boy nodded with enthusiasm. "Captain Haldir and Lady Irulan have walked off into that direction. You will go and find them. But do not seem hasty, understood?" The boy nodded again. "Instead, I want you to pretend surprised to see her, once you find them. Then approach her and ask her if she does not mean to join the rest of her friends who were leaving the fortress to scout ahead for the incoming army. Can you pretend to be surprised?" A moment of doubt passed on the features of the boy, but then he hastily shook it off and nodded once more with determination. Eomer smiled. "Alright. Under no circumstances tell her that you have talked to me. Just say that you heard our conversation about this and that you thought she knew. Off you go!" Gemor bowed solemnly and then rushed off into the darkness, soon disappearing from eyesight.
The four men stared after the boy, not speaking for a while. Finally Gimli sighed and threw an unreadable glance at Eomer. "That was pretty foxy, Master Eomer!"
Eomer felt like grinning, but swiftly suppressed the urge. He had no intention of becoming too close with this party. "I hope it will work."
"I know it will," said Aragorn, grinning, "we have a lot to learn from you!"
Gimli shifted with discomfort. It was true that Eomer had just surprised him with his talent in the area, but he did not feel like flattering that man too much. The silence was not comfortable either, so he chose to change the subject. "That elf is simply too bold!"
"Who can blame him? Irulan is a wonderful person. And a very attractive woman," Eomer said flatly. "You better get used to this," he added a moment later, casting a brief sidelong glance at Legolas without turning his head.
Legolas was barely holding himself in check as it was. He would rather stride out there and grab Irulan by the hand and drag her back. But then.......he knew well enough that he could not and certainly would not isolate her from all her friends neither now nor in the future. The problem was........these were not really her friends......in the sense Aragorn or Gimli were and certainly not in the sense Eowyn was. These men were encircling her like vultures, always trying to get a piece of her attention, a little while of her time. And they were not fighting with honor, either! And true, she should never be treated like some prisoner, stuffed away from the interest of others......and yet.......Legolas just could not help it. He knew that Irulan loved no other. But he was jealous of everything when it came to her. The slightest look of admiration on her face; the smallest sign of interest was just enough a spark to light the fire of jealousy in him. For he wanted ALL that concerned her just for himself. He wanted to be the sole object of all her admiration, interest and liking. It was raw, it was barbaric and highly disturbing, but it was the truth. He could hide it, he could pretend about it.......but it would not change his heart.
"I am prepared to fight for her," he replied Eomer with a determined look.
Eomer nodded with approval. "I certainly hope you are," he said, and it was obvious that he really meant it. True, her being with Legolas was not a very nice option in itself.....but at least the man was a respectable creature! As insane as it was, the idea of Irulan being with Legolas was far better than Irulan being with that Haldir guy.......or some other stupid man like Endor or her other past suitors. Eomer felt growing discomfort for the fact that he was actually a partner in crime with these men now and even more than that, for the fact that he was beginning to like and respect them. "I am more than tired of saving her, Master Legolas," he added a moment later absent-mindedly. "Irulan has an astonishing number of admirers and not all are......" he stopped himself before he could say 'like you' in a complimentary fashion and swiftly added ".......decent".
Confusion engulfed him. 'What is happening to me?' Eomer thought with frustration, 'I could possibly not side with these......horrible men.....' he glanced around at the members of the Fellowship encircling him, 'but I have actually begun to like them!' He took a deep breath to calm himself. 'This is an emergency," he told himself over and over again, "that's all it is..an emergency." He was about to turn on his heels to leave, when he saw Irulan running towards them and decided to remain.
Automatically all four men turned away from her and ignited a hearty but silent discussion about leaving the fortress in the dark and scouting ahead. It felt so natural and so easy, given enough time, they would have believed in the act themselves.
"What do you think you are doing?!" she yelled at them when she was close enough and they turned, pretending that they had just seen her.
"Irulan........I thought.......you were busy," said Eomer with mock discomfort and glanced over her shoulder to see a somewhat disappointed Haldir walking towards them. He barely kept himself from grinning.
She threw him an angry look. "You can not go out there!" She said and pushed her chin up. "It is dangerous!"
"Irulan, we know these details," said Gimli with irritation, looking her up and down, "now go and let us talk!"
She pursed her lips in anger and strode towards them. "If you are going, so am I!"
"Please Irulan, we have not come to a decision yet. But it certainly would not include you. As you have said, it is too dangerous," Legolas said softly and for some reason he looked extremely happy. She thought that odd for a moment, but then quickly pushed it away, trying to solve the matter at hand.
"Legolas, cut it out! Do I need to remind you of a certain BOND?" She turned to Aragorn then. "Aragorn, I have a right to attend!"
Aragorn looked at her for a long moment. He then turned to the other men and then slowly looked at her again. "Well my friends," he said finally, "she is right. But I can not risk her life. If she wishes to come, I would rather not go myself. We can still not see them.........but we will have to wait. The Uruks must be close now."
Eomer resented this next part, but he knew that he would have to do it, for the sake of the act. He frowned. "Perhaps not all of us have to leave. Legolas here has a keener sight. He may go and......."
"What? No! Legolas can NOT go. It is way too dangerous to scout ahead in a time like this!" interrupted him Irulan with pure anger. Legolas' eyebrows arched and he glanced at Aragorn who was doing his best not to grin openly. Gimli though, whose back was turned to Irulan dared a wide grin and looked up at Eomer with pure admiration on his face. The captain of Rohan saw him, of course, but being trained in this art, gave no indication of doing so.
"Irulan be quiet. Master Eomer has a point there," pressed on Aragorn.
"I can go," said Legolas and it sounded terribly heroic.
"You can NOT!" she said with frustration and grabbed his arm. "Please, Legolas!" she begged a moment later.
The elf looked down at her with pure love, but remained not moving. Instead he forced himself to throw a questioning look at Eomer and Aragorn. Irulan, too, turned towards them. "What is wrong with you?" she hissed with anger. "I thought you wiser than to send someone out at this stage! You know it is downright suicide!" The men stared back at her with blank expressions. "If he goes, I will too," she said finally and it was obvious that no force in this world would dare to challenge that statement.
"But Irulan," tried Legolas softly, but she cut him off.
"No, Legolas. These men are out of their minds! I will not allow it!"
Gimli turned to look at Haldir, who was standing close by and watching the exchange with a blank expression. "Master Haldir, we thought.....your conversation would be longer."
"As did I," the elf said bitterly, "however, this news has excited Irulan very much."
"Irulan, how rude of you! I think you should continue your conversation with our guest! We can handle this," said Eomer with a cool voice.
Irulan just looked back at him with narrowed eyes. "Haldir and I can converse later, do not worry, Eomer," she hissed. "I think I will not dare to leave you men to their stupidity again!" With that, she held Legolas' hand and pushed up her chin to Eomer.
The captain of Rohan felt a pang of jealousy and anger wash over him, but glancing in Haldir's direction once more, managed to suppress it. 'Suddenly there are too many elves for my taste in Rohan!' he thought and looked down. "Then I must agree with Aragorn. We will not go. Now if you'll excuse me.......I have other matters to attend to," he said and hastily strode away.
Irulan looked from dwarf to man, from man to elf. She finally settled on Legolas, who was looking down at her with incredible joy. "You were going to leave without me?" she said with a dangerous tone. The smile vanished from his face. He swallowed softly. He did not know what to say, so he said nothing. Irulan thankfully turned to Aragorn and Gimli, who had obviously not foreseen this part either and looked uncomfortable themselves. 'Eomer was right!' thought Aragorn with desperation, 'we still have a lot to learn about women!'
Just when they thought that nothing could save them from the coming flood of accusation now, Irulan blinked and smiled with pleasure. "Haldir, don't go anywhere! There's someone I would like you to meet," he said hastily and walked off. The men, following her gaze, saw Eowyn standing next to Eomer and watched Irulan walk towards her friend. Aragorn sighed with relief. 'If that was not divine intervention, I don't know what is!' he thought.
"Her hair is braided!" said Haldir suddenly with utter surprise, still watching Irulan striding away. They all turned to look at him and he looked very confused. A smile crept on Legolas' lips.
"How very observant of you!" mumbled Gimli.
"I.......did not see it before," Haldir managed to say after a long and, by the looks of it, painful moment.
"I am surprised it has failed to catch your keen eye, Master Haldir," Legolas said coolly.
"Perhaps because the work of our Woodland kin can not be really considered a competition to ours," Haldir said a moment later and the three men gasped.
"I think it is defeat that makes your tongue so sharp," said Legolas, ironically sounding much, much sharper himself.
"To accept a defeat, I must be allowed an attempt myself," Haldir said with that irritatingly cool expression of his. Aragorn dared to glance down at Gimli who was watching the two elves as if he expected them to grab each other's hair any moment now.
"You dare not touch an already braided hair! I would think higher of you than that," said Legolas icily, very expressive about the fact that he was in fact not thinking higher of Haldir at all.
"Braids can be undone. Others can be woven," replied the other with a shrug.
"Neither the hair nor the braid belongs to you. I suggest you withdraw your intentions this instant and leave!" Legolas hissed.
Haldir, though, remained calm and unmoved by the act. "The pin belongs to me. It is obvious to me that my gift is valued."
"Haldir! Meet Lady Eowyn, my best friend!" Irulan said suddenly from beside him and Haldir turned around to look at the most astonishing creature he had ever laid eyes on.
The job situation has kept me from adding a new chapter this last week. But I intend to go on, for anyone who is wondering. Even if I decide to stop (and it looks like I will, for reasons that I will explain later in more detail), I will not do so before the end of the movie of TTT, so we still have the war of Helm's Deep before us.
I know many of you guys have been waiting for this very moment. Let's see if it was worth it and if you will like it.
The curtain opens..and act 20 begins...
***********************************
"Promise you will return to me!"
"You know I can not promise such a thing," she whispered and embraced her stronger.
"Promise, Irulan!"
"I can not," she whispered again and gently stroked Eowyn's back.
Eowyn crushed her with her embrace. "And I can NOT lose you again, Irulan!"
Irulan had to use a lot of strength to break free. She looked at Eowyn who had tears rolling down her face. "I thought you were done crying," she said, a sad smile adorning her lips. Eowyn turned her head, but did not stop crying. An old woman passing by them, entering the caves where the women and children had sought refuge, looked at them with open curiosity. "You are Shield-Maiden of Rohan. You can not afford to be sentimental, Eowyn", Irulan said.
"I don't care!" the blonde woman bit back. "You better come back to me, Irulan! You said we would roam Middle Earth!"
Irulan laughed softly. "True. I might have to reconsider dying tonight, then," she said. Eowyn's face fell again. "Ah stop it!" Irulan said with exasperation. "You were always the strong one. You still are. What should I do when you are in this state?" She stepped closer and gently squeezed Eowyn's shoulder. "Eowyn.......we shall be united......either way."
Eowyn shook off Irulan's arm in fury and turned on her heels to leave. She did not look back. Irulan sighed. The terrible fact was that if she died.....if all who were fighting out there died.....it only meant that Eowyn and the rest of the women and children in the caves would die too. Perhaps their unification was to be earlier than thought.
She slowly walked up the stone stairs that Eowyn had ran up. Everyone seemed to be rushing back and forth constantly........it seems like the whole place was chaotic already. Women, men and children were flowing by her, but Irulan saw none. She was lost in thoughts. She felt oddly distant and disconnected from this battle. She wished to be as involved as Aragorn was. He was king and he acted like one. But although Irulan, too, was human and she too had royal blood, she felt no such responsibility or attachment. Gandalf had not come and as much as she tried to deny it, her hope was fading. It was a war that they simply could not win and there were moments she just wanted to scream and protest at the ridiculous effort, and it took all her strength to keep silent.
Irulan sighed and looked at the Rohirrim rushing past her. She had come to the realization that during this journey she had shed some of the things that were binding her to her own race, only to form different attachments. She was human, yes, but her honor and allegiance was to the world in total. Having spent so much time with such company, maybe it was normal that she had become protective of both elves and dwarves and hobbits alike. She was not the Black Knight fighting for Gondor anymore. She was Irulan.....fighting for things that were far greater than that.......and even though they would pass and change in time, as Galadriel had said, it did not mean that she would have to like that change.
She found herself back in the room where the rest of the fellowship was waiting. They were getting ready for the battle, trying on their iron vests, sharpening their tools for the last time. She would do neither. "Irulan, perhaps you should consider wearing one anyway. It is heavy but very protective," tried Legolas again.
She just glanced back at him. "Legolas, you know as well as I do that these things are simply not practical. You don't wear them. Why do you expect me to drag myself around in this nonsense?"
"Not to mention that they are tailored rather poorly! Mine is just too tight around the waist!" mumbled Gimli and she turned to see him surrounded by a pool of iron vest, that was made for someone at least twice his height.
"Ah Gimli!" she said and grinned in amusement, "These things are made for skinny humans. No one considered a dwarf with your muscles while making them!"
Gimli grinned in pleasure. "Hah! Irulan, you are just my kind of woman! You have a keen eye!"
At that moment a horn echoed and Legolas and Aragorn turned to look at each other. "That is no orc horn!" said Legolas and a smile crept up his face. He ran ahead, closely followed by Aragorn. Irulan helped Gimli out of the vest and they ran after the two men to see what the tumult was about.
They rushed into the open to stand with Eomer, who stood looking at an incoming party of........'Elves?' thought Irulan stunned. She had not seen them in their war attire before........and yet they were distinctively elves. She looked down to a very stunned Gimli and they both turned to continue watching the incoming elven party. "What is going on, Eomer?" Irulan said softly, her eyes not leaving the view in front of her.
Eomer turned to her and he had a wonderful look of hope on his face. "Elves, Irulan......they have come to assist us!"
She looked back, baffled. Then her surprise turned into joy. "I knew it! I knew Middle Earth was better than this!" she said with enthusiasm. "Our own kind did not come, Eomer, but elves did!" Eomer looked stunned himself for a moment. Then he softly nodded, with distinctive confusion on his face. "True," he said a long time later and Irulan barely picked it up. "Irulan, your friends speak with the captain, further down the line. I can see them from here," he said.
Irulan raised herself on her toes to look. "Where? Oh......yes......I see them. But that looks like........" and she was gone so quickly, Eomer did not even realize that the woman running in the shown direction was the very same woman who had been talking to him a moment ago. Him and Gimli exchanged looks and decided to join the rest.
"You were right!" her voice sounded above the tumult and Aragorn, Legolas and Haldir turn towards her, "We DID meet again!"
"Irulan!" said Haldir with surprise and a beautiful smile spread on his lips. He looked even more handsome in battle gear! "Your presence alone would have drawn me here, if I had known!" He said and bowed softly.
Irulan giggled with amusement and quickly ran up to him. She decided to skip the protocol this time and hugged Haldir heartily, to which he -to her surprise- reacted quite warmly and hugged her back with the same enthusiasm. "You look so handsome in this thing!" she said with sparkling eyes.
"Do not divert my mind, Irulan! How can I concentrate on such a grave matter when you dazzle me with your kind words?" he laughed warmly and took her by the hand to look her up and down once more. "I should leave Lothlorien more often," he said finally, "your kind is too beautiful a sight to miss!"
She heard someone clearing her throat behind her and remembered that they were surrounded by a large number of men.......not to mention her fellowship stalkers! And yes.....each and every one of those was looking at her and Haldir........and with a rude stare, too. "Welcome, captain," said Eomer, and it looked like he meant to break the silence rather than show friendship of any sort at the moment, "I am Eomer, captain of Rohan. We are greatly indebted for such a gesture. You were much needed."
Haldir smiled and bowed slightly. "As I have said to your King before, it is us who are honored, Master Eomer. We came willingly and with pleasure to fight by your side."
Irulan looked up at him with adoration and a moment later he returned that look with another breath-taking smile.
"Irulan, you must have a lot to tell me," he said softly. "I am fairly sure that your voyage was a very adventurous one. And even though we have a battle ahead of us, I can think of no better way to spend this dreadful time."
Irulan grinned with pleasure. "Ah.......I still owe you for that city tour, Haldir! How can I EVER refuse?!" She laughed out loud and forgetting about everything and everyone else, took his offered arm.
"Master Aragorn, King Theoden," Haldir said to both men who, too, had obviously forgotten about the battle and had been watching the duo with narrowed eyes, "my men await your orders. Please excuse me now." With that, the couple walked away, Irulan already telling him about what had happened after they had left Lothlorien.
Legolas remained rooted with his mouth hanging open. That impossible elf had just smoothly taken his woman and walked away as if he was going for a trip in the forest! 'She is not YOUR woman!' he scolded himself inwardly once more. And once more another part of him was about to argue that she was, when he heard someone clear his throat next to him. He turned to see Eomer standing right next to him.
"Who is that........elf?" the man said, his eyes still following Irulan and Haldir as they walked away, his voice trying desperately to sound not interested, but very badly failing to do so.
Legolas pursed his lips and looked in the same direction. "Captain guard of the Lothlorien elves," he hissed a moment later. If Eomer intended to mock him, he would just kill the man on the spot right now! He was furious at the fact that his.........that is, Irulan, had chosen to walk off with that elf without so much as a backwards glance in the first place!
"I know that," said Eomer with displeasure. "I meant, who is he......to HER."
Legolas snapped around and looked at the Rohirrim, who was staring at him sheepishly without blinking. "Nobody, of course!" he said with a careful tone.
"Pray tell me then why they look so.......comfortable with each other?" Eomer's eyebrows shot up and to Legolas' surprise he looked as angry as himself. But then......he might just be misreading the expression of the man as he so often tended to do with mortals. Instead of answering, he looked over Eomer's shoulder to Aragorn and the ranger was looking towards Irulan's direction himself (along with all the other present men and probably most of the elves). He locked eyes with Legolas and approached, Gimli following close behind. Legolas' eyes diverted back to Eomer who still staring at him with that odd angry expression.
"They met in Lothlorien and became......friends," said Legolas, pushing his chin up and trying not to show too much how this conversation was disturbing him due to more than one reason.
A silence prevailed and Eomer did not leave, although he was standing with the Fellowship now, and that had made him always uncomfortable before. "I do not like it," he said finally and he actually managed to sound matter-of- factly.
Legolas cast him a sidelong glance. "Neither do I." Then he realized that he had spoken out loud and the next part came out with obvious irritation. "But we could hardly interfere, Master Eomer, don't you think?"
Eomer pursed his lips and once more turned to look him in the eye. Legolas realized with surprise that Eomer was probably the only mortal he had met who could look an elf in the eye with so much anger and threat. His eyebrows softly rose in recognition of this fact. "So I assume that you will just stand here like this?" the captain of Rohan finally said, crossing his arms on his chest.
"Haldir and Irulan are friends," said Aragorn, looking from one man to the other and trying to understand why they were having such an odd conversation. "I am certain that........"
"What if he asks her permission to braid her hair?" boomed Gimli suddenly from below him. Legolas literally paled and even Aragorn's eyes widened. Eomer looked from one to the other and then back, very well aware that he was missing something.
"What does that mean? Speak a language that I can understand, dwarf!" he said finally, unable to keep it in any longer.
The dwarf gave him an annoyed look that obviously judged him for his ignorance. "To put is shortly, what if he intends to become more........intimate with her?" he said finally.
"Irulan would not allow him to do such a thing," said Legolas with determination and looked away hastily, hoping that none could see his anxiety. True, Irulan would not. But then.....Haldir looked like the sly kind of elf. 'He is an elf! He would not attempt such a thing now,' he told himself......but his heart refused to calm down!
"The Irulan I knew would not have allowed many things," Eomer said dryly and looked Legolas up and down to make his point. "I would not be too sure about such matters anymore."
"Legolas is right, Master Eomer," said Aragorn hastily, trying to calm down the company, "we could hardly interfere with her friendships. It would not be......proper," he finished.
"Proper?!" Eomer exclaimed a trifle too loud and turned to look at the stunned ranger. "Should I assume that you are truly concerned of doing everything in the proper way?!" He watched Aragorn looking down at the dwarf with a confused expression and the other simply pursing his lips and staring into the distance. "You have disappointed me greatly......all three of you!" Eomer said finally and clasped his hands behind his back, looking into the distance.
"Disappointed you?!" boomed Gimli with shock.
Eomer shook his head with displeasure, not turning towards him. "I was beginning to think that you were doing a good job at protecting her." He slowly looked each of the three baffled man up and down as he proceeded: "I was tempted to believe that she was safe with you; that I did not need to worry for her any longer. But.......I was obviously wrong!" he spat. "A man offers his arm and walks away almost dancing with her and all you three do is stand back and watch!" The silence seemed to go on forever. The fellowship stared back at each other with both confusion and disturbance growing on their faces. "And you!" Eomer suddenly hissed at Legolas whose eyes widened with surprise at such an attack, "You were all protective and possessive when Irulan cared to talk to me -and I am a much older friend, mind you- so now you happen to be 'understanding' and 'civilized' while she follows someone she has only known for a few days?!"
Legolas' mouth dropped open and he found nothing to say. He slowly turned around and looked towards the direction the couple had disappeared, not really seeing anything.
"We can possibly not lock Irulan away!" said Aragorn finally, trying not to show how much he felt disturbed by this whole issue, himself. Irulan had this tendency to forget herself in the presence of elves. And the fact that Haldir had asked her before for a braid.....was not good AT ALL. He glanced at Legolas, but the elf was lost in some inner battle.
"Who is talking about locking her away?" said Eomer with a cool voice.
Gimli shook his head and looked up to the Rohirrim. "I understand that you have known her through many years?" he said, careful not to appear too interested. The man nodded. A moment passed as Gimli exchanged glances with Aragorn, then Legolas. "I presume that you must have a lot of experience in the matter, then?" Eomer almost rolled his eyes with annoyance. "Well......what would YOU do?" the dwarf spat finally.
Eomer threw another look into the distance then turned to the company at hand. Man, elf and dwarf were observing him with obvious curiosity now. "I see that you all have a lot to learn about women! And even after that, you have much more to learn about Irulan if you want to succeed in the art." He sighed and made eye contact with each, again. "Under the circumstances, we can not go and interfere. We can not call Irulan or Haldir, either. It would make her furious, to say the least." He waited a moment longer, then turned around and scanning the crowd behind him, beckoned to one of the younger boys lined up there amongst the men. The lad came running, pleasure in his eyes to be called to an errand by the captain himself. "What is your name, boy?" he asked gently.
"Gemor, sir!" the boy said with a loud thunder.
"Alright, Gemor, listen carefully. You know who Lady Irulan is?" The boy nodded with enthusiasm. "Captain Haldir and Lady Irulan have walked off into that direction. You will go and find them. But do not seem hasty, understood?" The boy nodded again. "Instead, I want you to pretend surprised to see her, once you find them. Then approach her and ask her if she does not mean to join the rest of her friends who were leaving the fortress to scout ahead for the incoming army. Can you pretend to be surprised?" A moment of doubt passed on the features of the boy, but then he hastily shook it off and nodded once more with determination. Eomer smiled. "Alright. Under no circumstances tell her that you have talked to me. Just say that you heard our conversation about this and that you thought she knew. Off you go!" Gemor bowed solemnly and then rushed off into the darkness, soon disappearing from eyesight.
The four men stared after the boy, not speaking for a while. Finally Gimli sighed and threw an unreadable glance at Eomer. "That was pretty foxy, Master Eomer!"
Eomer felt like grinning, but swiftly suppressed the urge. He had no intention of becoming too close with this party. "I hope it will work."
"I know it will," said Aragorn, grinning, "we have a lot to learn from you!"
Gimli shifted with discomfort. It was true that Eomer had just surprised him with his talent in the area, but he did not feel like flattering that man too much. The silence was not comfortable either, so he chose to change the subject. "That elf is simply too bold!"
"Who can blame him? Irulan is a wonderful person. And a very attractive woman," Eomer said flatly. "You better get used to this," he added a moment later, casting a brief sidelong glance at Legolas without turning his head.
Legolas was barely holding himself in check as it was. He would rather stride out there and grab Irulan by the hand and drag her back. But then.......he knew well enough that he could not and certainly would not isolate her from all her friends neither now nor in the future. The problem was........these were not really her friends......in the sense Aragorn or Gimli were and certainly not in the sense Eowyn was. These men were encircling her like vultures, always trying to get a piece of her attention, a little while of her time. And they were not fighting with honor, either! And true, she should never be treated like some prisoner, stuffed away from the interest of others......and yet.......Legolas just could not help it. He knew that Irulan loved no other. But he was jealous of everything when it came to her. The slightest look of admiration on her face; the smallest sign of interest was just enough a spark to light the fire of jealousy in him. For he wanted ALL that concerned her just for himself. He wanted to be the sole object of all her admiration, interest and liking. It was raw, it was barbaric and highly disturbing, but it was the truth. He could hide it, he could pretend about it.......but it would not change his heart.
"I am prepared to fight for her," he replied Eomer with a determined look.
Eomer nodded with approval. "I certainly hope you are," he said, and it was obvious that he really meant it. True, her being with Legolas was not a very nice option in itself.....but at least the man was a respectable creature! As insane as it was, the idea of Irulan being with Legolas was far better than Irulan being with that Haldir guy.......or some other stupid man like Endor or her other past suitors. Eomer felt growing discomfort for the fact that he was actually a partner in crime with these men now and even more than that, for the fact that he was beginning to like and respect them. "I am more than tired of saving her, Master Legolas," he added a moment later absent-mindedly. "Irulan has an astonishing number of admirers and not all are......" he stopped himself before he could say 'like you' in a complimentary fashion and swiftly added ".......decent".
Confusion engulfed him. 'What is happening to me?' Eomer thought with frustration, 'I could possibly not side with these......horrible men.....' he glanced around at the members of the Fellowship encircling him, 'but I have actually begun to like them!' He took a deep breath to calm himself. 'This is an emergency," he told himself over and over again, "that's all it is..an emergency." He was about to turn on his heels to leave, when he saw Irulan running towards them and decided to remain.
Automatically all four men turned away from her and ignited a hearty but silent discussion about leaving the fortress in the dark and scouting ahead. It felt so natural and so easy, given enough time, they would have believed in the act themselves.
"What do you think you are doing?!" she yelled at them when she was close enough and they turned, pretending that they had just seen her.
"Irulan........I thought.......you were busy," said Eomer with mock discomfort and glanced over her shoulder to see a somewhat disappointed Haldir walking towards them. He barely kept himself from grinning.
She threw him an angry look. "You can not go out there!" She said and pushed her chin up. "It is dangerous!"
"Irulan, we know these details," said Gimli with irritation, looking her up and down, "now go and let us talk!"
She pursed her lips in anger and strode towards them. "If you are going, so am I!"
"Please Irulan, we have not come to a decision yet. But it certainly would not include you. As you have said, it is too dangerous," Legolas said softly and for some reason he looked extremely happy. She thought that odd for a moment, but then quickly pushed it away, trying to solve the matter at hand.
"Legolas, cut it out! Do I need to remind you of a certain BOND?" She turned to Aragorn then. "Aragorn, I have a right to attend!"
Aragorn looked at her for a long moment. He then turned to the other men and then slowly looked at her again. "Well my friends," he said finally, "she is right. But I can not risk her life. If she wishes to come, I would rather not go myself. We can still not see them.........but we will have to wait. The Uruks must be close now."
Eomer resented this next part, but he knew that he would have to do it, for the sake of the act. He frowned. "Perhaps not all of us have to leave. Legolas here has a keener sight. He may go and......."
"What? No! Legolas can NOT go. It is way too dangerous to scout ahead in a time like this!" interrupted him Irulan with pure anger. Legolas' eyebrows arched and he glanced at Aragorn who was doing his best not to grin openly. Gimli though, whose back was turned to Irulan dared a wide grin and looked up at Eomer with pure admiration on his face. The captain of Rohan saw him, of course, but being trained in this art, gave no indication of doing so.
"Irulan be quiet. Master Eomer has a point there," pressed on Aragorn.
"I can go," said Legolas and it sounded terribly heroic.
"You can NOT!" she said with frustration and grabbed his arm. "Please, Legolas!" she begged a moment later.
The elf looked down at her with pure love, but remained not moving. Instead he forced himself to throw a questioning look at Eomer and Aragorn. Irulan, too, turned towards them. "What is wrong with you?" she hissed with anger. "I thought you wiser than to send someone out at this stage! You know it is downright suicide!" The men stared back at her with blank expressions. "If he goes, I will too," she said finally and it was obvious that no force in this world would dare to challenge that statement.
"But Irulan," tried Legolas softly, but she cut him off.
"No, Legolas. These men are out of their minds! I will not allow it!"
Gimli turned to look at Haldir, who was standing close by and watching the exchange with a blank expression. "Master Haldir, we thought.....your conversation would be longer."
"As did I," the elf said bitterly, "however, this news has excited Irulan very much."
"Irulan, how rude of you! I think you should continue your conversation with our guest! We can handle this," said Eomer with a cool voice.
Irulan just looked back at him with narrowed eyes. "Haldir and I can converse later, do not worry, Eomer," she hissed. "I think I will not dare to leave you men to their stupidity again!" With that, she held Legolas' hand and pushed up her chin to Eomer.
The captain of Rohan felt a pang of jealousy and anger wash over him, but glancing in Haldir's direction once more, managed to suppress it. 'Suddenly there are too many elves for my taste in Rohan!' he thought and looked down. "Then I must agree with Aragorn. We will not go. Now if you'll excuse me.......I have other matters to attend to," he said and hastily strode away.
Irulan looked from dwarf to man, from man to elf. She finally settled on Legolas, who was looking down at her with incredible joy. "You were going to leave without me?" she said with a dangerous tone. The smile vanished from his face. He swallowed softly. He did not know what to say, so he said nothing. Irulan thankfully turned to Aragorn and Gimli, who had obviously not foreseen this part either and looked uncomfortable themselves. 'Eomer was right!' thought Aragorn with desperation, 'we still have a lot to learn about women!'
Just when they thought that nothing could save them from the coming flood of accusation now, Irulan blinked and smiled with pleasure. "Haldir, don't go anywhere! There's someone I would like you to meet," he said hastily and walked off. The men, following her gaze, saw Eowyn standing next to Eomer and watched Irulan walk towards her friend. Aragorn sighed with relief. 'If that was not divine intervention, I don't know what is!' he thought.
"Her hair is braided!" said Haldir suddenly with utter surprise, still watching Irulan striding away. They all turned to look at him and he looked very confused. A smile crept on Legolas' lips.
"How very observant of you!" mumbled Gimli.
"I.......did not see it before," Haldir managed to say after a long and, by the looks of it, painful moment.
"I am surprised it has failed to catch your keen eye, Master Haldir," Legolas said coolly.
"Perhaps because the work of our Woodland kin can not be really considered a competition to ours," Haldir said a moment later and the three men gasped.
"I think it is defeat that makes your tongue so sharp," said Legolas, ironically sounding much, much sharper himself.
"To accept a defeat, I must be allowed an attempt myself," Haldir said with that irritatingly cool expression of his. Aragorn dared to glance down at Gimli who was watching the two elves as if he expected them to grab each other's hair any moment now.
"You dare not touch an already braided hair! I would think higher of you than that," said Legolas icily, very expressive about the fact that he was in fact not thinking higher of Haldir at all.
"Braids can be undone. Others can be woven," replied the other with a shrug.
"Neither the hair nor the braid belongs to you. I suggest you withdraw your intentions this instant and leave!" Legolas hissed.
Haldir, though, remained calm and unmoved by the act. "The pin belongs to me. It is obvious to me that my gift is valued."
"Haldir! Meet Lady Eowyn, my best friend!" Irulan said suddenly from beside him and Haldir turned around to look at the most astonishing creature he had ever laid eyes on.