There And Back Again?
Chapter Four: Of Saddle Sores and Bedrolls
I hurriedly drew my horse up alongside Eothir, who was staring stonily ahead, looking angry.
"I am sorry if I caused you trouble," I ventured, remembering the kindness of his face when he had woken me up.
He looked startled for a moment, then smiled.
"I am not vexed with you, lass. But there are some"- he grimaced as though he had tasted something spoiled- "who are overeager to have me gone, and would direct the troop to greater harshness than is needed in a peaceful land."
I coughed, gathering that there was some internal conflict in the troop beyond my almost non-existent knowledge.
He looked inquisitively at my button-down white shirt.
"Strange garb you wear, lass," he commented. "Never have I seen such cloth. It is a shame that you cannot remember the land of your birth."
We then rode along in silence for awhile, conversation impeded by the fact that I didn't know what to say to a Rider of Rohan. And I was still in shock.
"M sister is kind," he offered suddenly, awkward. "I think she would be glad of another child in her home."
I gulped, uncertain whether my dubious housekeeping and diplomatic skills would suffice in a Rohirric household. For that matter, LotR didn't mention a word of what a typical Rohirric household would be like; I didn't have the slightest idea of what to expect.
Suddenly, my eyes filled with tears. I stared at the horse's mane, willing them to go away- something told me that only bravery would help in this situation.
"Perhaps you could befriend my daughter," Eothir was saying. "She is lonely, and it would do her well to have another girl to be companion to her."
I tried to smile, the feeling of being completely alone in an alien land almost suffocating me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, swallowing past the lump in my throat. I could only do my best.
The sun gradually sank behind the treetops as we rode on in silence. Dark came swiftly, the red sun melting into the green plain, and Eothir drew rein on his horse.
"Here we stop," he said, pointing at a large flat grass-covered clearing. There was a bedroll in my horse's saddlebags. I pulled it out.
Eothir spread his bedroll on the ground, flung himself down, and was asleep almost immediately. I rolled mine out more slowly, and lay inside it, staring at the stars.
I could see thousands. Even in Stratford, a relatively countrified New Jersey town, there was too much smog to really see the stars- but the sky here was perfectly clear, and I could perceive the constellations sharply against the velvet dome of heaven.
A vision of the old, creaky house on the vertical hill in Stratford covered the stars, and the lump in my throat swelled.
Will I ever see my house again?
I fell asleep with tears in my eyes, shivering as the night grew cold.
The morning came brightly, and the sun blinded me momentarily. I panicked at first when I saw Eothir, mounted and armed, waiting for me to get up; soon, however, memory returned and I packed away the bedroll, wincing at the saddle sores that made walking a painful experience.
It would be a long ride.