Chapter 4: Wormtongue
At dinner, Seven sat beside Éowyn, who spent much of her time seeing to the King's meal. Most of the conversation was in the native language of Rohan and Seven didn't catch any of it. Partway through the meal, Éowyn leaned over and whispered, "Once we're alone I'll start teaching you some of our language. They won't like it, but it's rude of them to exclude you so." Seven nodded in acknowledgement.
For the most part the others ignored Seven. Only Éowyn spoke to her at all, but the people nearby kept talking to her in their language, so she was barely able to talk to Seven herself. They got through the meal well despite it. Seven was still adjusting to taking food for sustenance, but the hot meal was a definite improvement over the trail rations she had been eating. Nevertheless, she ate lightly in case the food upset her stomach. She had heard that it could be rather unpleasant.
That evening, the two of them went back to sewing, and Éowyn started teaching Seven the language of the Rohirrim. She also told Seven a bit more about Rohan, the Rohirrim, and Edoras. The two of them arranged a pallet for Seven beside Éowyn's bed. It was much better than sleeping on the ground. Night fell, and the two of them went to bed. It was nearly an hour before Seven finally fell asleep, but she woke better rested than she had been in days.
Éowyn spent the day introducing Seven to Edoras. Éowyn continued teaching her the language, and Seven learned quickly. By the end of the day she could understand a few words of conversation. Éowyn cautioned her not to let on that she understood. The day after that was much the same. Éowyn became more comfortable with Seven's presence as time passed. They fell into a routine, Seven helping Éowyn with whatever duties she had, Éowyn teaching Seven about life in Edoras, as well as life in Middle Earth in general, even though she wasn't aware of it. They usually spent the evenings sewing, and Seven managed to sew a tunic, loose pants, and a cloak for herself as well as adjusting the seams on the dress from Éowyn to fit her. Seven managed to avoid sharing any very personal information or anything about where she'd come from, but she did learn a bit about Éowyn.
Éowyn was an orphan, her parents dead. Her mother had been a sister to the king, who now considered Éowyn as part of his household. The concept of household was a broad one, extending to distant relatives and servants. Éowyn did her best to care for the king, but she felt that Gríma was doing something to keep him ill. Seven couldn't get from her whether this was an actual poison or something psychological. Éowyn was obviously bothered by the situation, but she did not fully understand the nature of the king's illness herself, nor did she share fully with Seven. Seven tried to watch for signs of poisoning or any other reason for the illness, but could find none.
About a week after Seven arrived, she and Éowyn managed to finish their day's tasks before lunch. After the meal, she pulled Seven back to the room the two of them shared. "No one is going to worry about us for the rest of the afternoon. I have a place where I practice with a sword about half an hour's ride away. If you're willing, let's ride out there and practice."
"I am willing."
"The interesting part will be getting out without being stopped. The men are suspicious of you, and they may not approve of us going out into the countryside. Still, we can try. Go ahead and change into your riding clothes. It will be obvious we're leaving, anyway. Our best bet is to go about our business without any more explanation than necessary." Éowyn apparently trusted her enough to go out alone. Their relationship had changed over the last week from suspicion to tentative friends. Éowyn seemed to enjoy having a co-conspirator. Seven was different enough that Éowyn didn't feel the necessity to distance herself from Seven like she did with her own people. Despite the differences, Seven seemed to be enough like her—strong and independent—for there to be a real connection. The trust that had arisen between them was surprising, but it felt natural. Éowyn truly felt that Seven meant her no harm, and Seven had been careful to do nothing to alienate herself from Éowyn.
The two women changed into riding clothes, then headed for the stables. Éowyn saddled her own horse, then showed Seven how to saddle another one she selected from the stables. They mounted the horses, then rode to the gate. Seven had never ridden a horse alone before, but the animal followed Éowyn's horse easily enough. The guard there stopped them, addressing Éowyn in their native language.
"Where are you going, Lady Éowyn?"
"We wish to ride in the countryside."
"What of her?"
"What of her? She will not harm me, nor will she leave. She has nowhere to go. You need not worry."
"Wormtongue said that she is to be watched closely."
"And you listen to him?"
"He speaks for the king."
"And that is what he said—that she is to be watched closely?" The guard nodded. "Then there is no problem in her leaving with me. I will be watching her while we are out. She will not be alone." Éowyn switched to the Common Tongue. "Now, please let us pass."
"Very well. Go." The guard answered, also in the Common Tongue.
The two of them rode out. Éowyn explained the basics of riding to Seven, then they set off at a moderate pace. Once she was confident Seven could keep up, Éowyn picked up the pace, and within forty minutes they reached their destination. It was a cluster of trees, in the middle of which stood a little hut. They tied their horses to a tree, and Seven stretched out sore muscles.
"You'll probably be quite sore tomorrow." Éowyn called over her shoulder as she climbed up into a tree. She handed a bundle down to Seven before climbing down. She took the bundle back and unwrapped it, revealing two wooden practice swords and one real one. "If you're as quick to learn these as you are with other things, you'll beat me before the afternoon is out." Éowyn laughed. "Still, I have a few tricks. I suppose we'll both be rather sore tomorrow."
Éowyn handed Seven one of the practice swords and showed her the basics. After a while, the two of them started sparring. At first, Éowyn scored hit after hit, but Seven quickly learned to block the attacks and soon started countering. They continued practicing for much of the afternoon, stopping late in the afternoon, and Éowyn bundled and hid the swords, then the two of them hurried back to the city.
A different soldier was watching at the gate when they returned. As the two women came up, he stopped them. "Éowyn, Wormtongue has convinced the king that you're being deceived by this woman. Théoden is upset that you took her out this afternoon. I doubt either of them suspect where you've been, but you would be wise to take an indirect route from now on. He only noticed your absence because he called for you and no one could find you."
"Than you, Éomer. You won't tell anyone?" Seven knew Éomer was Éowyn's brother, but she didn't know him well. He was always busy with his duties, and in a precarious position where Seven was concerned. He walked a fine line between helping Seven and maintaining favor with the king. Éomer was the Third Marshall of the Riddermark, second only to his cousin Théodred in Théoden's forces. It was strange that he would be keeping guard at the gate.
"No, of course not. I figure anything Wormtongue says is bound to be a deception, so as long as I take the opposite position, I'll probably come out at least partially right. You'd better get inside and cleaned up before dinner. I'll take care of your horses. I'm not on guard myself; Háma is nearby. I just wanted to meet you here to warn you. Don't give them an excuse to cage you."
"Again, thank you." Éowyn gave him a quick hug before heading inside. The two women had time enough only for sponge baths before dinner. As they prepared, Éowyn explained her brother's cryptic comment. "Éomer knows the thing I dread most is to be caged. I'm not a jewel to be put on display. I could fight if given the chance, but I fear they'll never let me." Seven could do nothing but nod with her. Battle was nothing new to Seven, and she didn't relish it, but Éowyn longed for the freedom to try. Finishing their preparations, the two of them rushed off to dinner. Théoden had Éowyn pulled aside after the meal. Seven went back to their room to sew while she waited. Éowyn returned half an hour later. Seven looked up as she entered, but didn't say anything.
"I've been told I've been far too trusting with you, and that you'll stab me in the back the first chance you get, and that you're a spy…"
"That is untrue. I mean you no harm."
"I'm sure. Wormtongue has far too much influence over the king's mind, but none of us can convince him of that. Since Wormtongue doesn't like you, the king is suspicious of you, too, and there's not much I can do about it."
Seven shrugged. "It is inconsequential."
"No, it isn't. They're so rude to you, and I'm worried they may try to turn you out completely."
"I have nowhere to go."
"I know it. It's the reason they haven't done it yet. We'll have to watch our step from now on. Still, I'd like to keep training. Perhaps we can convince Éomer to come with us sometime. He might lend our travels some credibility with the king. He's right, though. We shouldn't go straight there again. Someone might follow us. Wormtongue would love that. Everyone knows that I can fight, but they don't know about that place. Going out there is the only way I can stay in shape. If they found out about that place, Wormtongue might disapprove and ban me from going. If that happened, my fighting ability would suffer."