A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I was thrilled to get six reviews on the first chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 2: Capture
A group of human males on horses surrounded Seven. Each of them had a spear pointed at her. The weapons were primitive, but effective. Seven sat up slowly, keeping her hands in plain view. One of the humans jerked the head of his spear up sharply. Seven had no frame of reference for clothing quality in this world, but his appeared to be of better materials than the others, and from that and his actions, she assumed he was a leader of some sort. She took the jerk on the spear as a sign to stand up. She did so slowly, leaving her hands up by her shoulders rather than using them for balance.
The one who had gestured her up said something in a language Seven didn't understand. The sound of the language was rolling, much like the hills around them. She kept her face blank and calm while he spoke. He finished and motioned to her with his hand.
"I do not understand your language." Seven kept her voice even as she spoke. The leader nodded.
"Why are you here?" His voice was stern, but at least she could understand.
"I am lost. I am looking for a settlement." She didn't want to reveal too much of her situation to this hostile person.
"How did you come to be in Rohan?"
"I am lost." It was true enough. Q had dropped her in the middle of nowhere and she had never known her way.
"Alone?"
"I was separated from my companion."
"You are deep within our borders. You must have traveled many days to be here. And how did you enter our lands without notice?"
"I do not know. I do not know the local geography. I cannot give you more explanation."
The men talked among themselves for a moment. Seven couldn't catch any of their language. They never took their eyes off her. Finally, the leader turned his attention back to Seven. "We will take you to our city, Edoras, where our king will decide what to do with you. Remove the dagger in your boot and place it on the ground. Put the bag beside it."
The hem of the skirt must have slipped up too high when Seven stretched. She reached down and removed the dagger from her boot. She laid the sheathed dagger down in front of her, at arm's length, then stepped back. One of the men dismounted and took the dagger, never dropping his eyes from her. He picked up the bag and stepped back, then looked through it quickly and threw it back to her.
When the man with the dagger had returned to his horse, the leader spoke to Seven again. "Do you know how to ride a horse?"
"No, but I can adapt."
The rider looked a little confused, but nodded. "You will ride with me." He handed his spear to another rider, but kept the sword hanging from his hip. "Put your foot in the stirrup and use it to lift yourself." He rode to her, then reached a hand down to her to help her up. Seven gauged the task at hand, then put her foot in the stirrup and lifted herself onto the horse without taking the rider's hand. She settled the skirt somewhat awkwardly. It was full enough to hang over her legs discreetly, even on the horse. If the culture fit the archaic clothing, that would be significant.
Riding a horse was a unique experience for Seven. She had to hold on to the rider's midsection to maintain her balance, and the bumping was somewhat uncomfortable on her backside. They stopped for a little food near noon. Seven ate some of the food she had in her bag rather than take anything from the riders. Aside from watching her closely, they ignored her throughout the meal. They remounted and rode for most of the afternoon.
In the late afternoon, they reached a settlement. It looked much like medieval settlements of ancient earth. There were signs of some affluence: many people had some color to their clothing and the building on a hill in the center of the settlement was decorated in rich wood and gold. She wondered briefly if this was Earth of the past, but dismissed the idea quickly. She would have recognized the language, or at least some of the names, if it was Earth. Q had told her this was a different dimension entirely, and it seemed ever more likely as time passed.
The leader of the riders called something to a guard on top of the wall surrounding the settlement, and the guard opened the gate. The riders rode inside and dismounted. Someone took Seven's arm firmly. There was a large building a few yards away, and out of it walked a little human. Seven did not place much credence on instincts or "gut impressions", but she instantly felt that this man was someone to be avoided. A moment later, a young woman with long, blond hair walked out of the building. She seemed startled to see Seven, and she quickly addressed the riders in their own language. While Seven could not understand the words, it was obvious from the tone of their voices they were arguing. Every so often, the little man would say something, but the others seemed to brush off his comments without actually confronting him.
Eventually, the argument concluded and the woman walked over to Seven. The man holding Seven's arm released his grip. The young woman looked her over for a moment, then said, "I am Éowyn. Théodred has told me how he found you. You'll be taken to see Théoden King shortly, but until then I will have charge of you. I do not know if the men's suspicion is founded or not, but do not betray me or attempt to leave. If you do, the guards will be less than kind."
Seven nodded. "I will not resist. I am called Seven of Nine."
The young woman looked at her strangely for a moment, then nodded. "Come with me." She led Seven to a small room with another doorway opening into a small room. In the main room there was a bed and the adjoining room held a large bathtub filled with steaming water.
"Go ahead and take a bath and I'll see about either finding you some clean clothes or washing these." Seven walked into the bathroom. There was no door, so she stood as far behind the separating wall as she could to undress. She tossed the clothes around the corner, then slipped into the hot water. She had never taken a water bath before. She had always used a sonic shower, far more efficient than water showering, much less bathing. The hot water was a shock to her skin, but she forced herself to sink down into it. Once she adjusted to the heat, she found the sensation pleasant. She used the bar of rough soap to clean herself, including her hair, rinsing it off as well as she could. The soap and dirt remaining in the water made the process very inefficient and her eyes smarted when she got some of the soapy water in them.
Finishing with the cleaning process, Seven looked around for something to dry herself. A large piece of heavy cloth was laid out on a table across the room. She grabbed it and used it to dry herself. Looking out the door, she found a robe on the bed. She wrapped herself in the towel and walked over to the bed. She took the robe back into the bathroom and put it on.
Seven sat for a moment and pondered her situation. She did not understand the language or culture she found herself in, and there was little chance Q would return her to Vulcan any time soon. This was obviously a primitive and suspicious culture. She would have to fare for herself without any allies or technology. She could only hope the officials of the place would not be overly hostile and that they would be reasonable and she would be able to stall until Q returned to take her back to Vulcan.