Chapter 3
Back at the House of Theoden in Rohan, Eowyn in deed was throwing china plates against the wall of her bedroom. "Stay home, Eowyn." She snarled. "You are a Lady of Kings, Eowyn." SMASH. "Stay behind and remain a hermitt why don't you, Eowyn?" SMASH. She stood breathing heavily as she stared at the mess on the floor. Not that she cared. No one was here to yell at her anyway. She picked up another plate from her bedspread and looked at it. "Are you going to sit here and take this?" She shouted angrily. "Are you going to LET ME THROW YOU?" SMASH. She let out a yell at this point and fell to her hands and knees, her body shaking with angry sobs. It took her a second before she lifted her head to gaze out the window at the darkening sky.
"I am getting nowwhere this way." She sighed. Then an evil smile crossed her lips. "I will have my OWN adventure. After all-I am an adult, am I not?" She rubbed her hands together and let out an almost meniacal laugh. "Go against their wishes, yes. Exactly." She straightened the front of her dress and quickly checked her complexion and hair in the mirror before hurrying out into the villiage to find a horse, and decided that she would ride to one of the main cities targeted by Saruman: Gondor. 'I will prove myself yet,' she thought.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Meanwhile, Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Theoden and company continued their treck through the forest. Legolas, though exhausted as he was, refused to give in to sleep. It was a good thing too, because he suddenly saw something that he thought the rest of the group should know about. "There are eyes!" he cried suddenly, startling Aragorn, who had been in an almost trance-like state.
"What? Legolas, are you all right?" he asked in alarm.
The Elf nodded, fighting a bit of dizziness that had overtaken him due to the stifling heat in the forest. "I see eyes, Aragorn....eyes looking out from the shadows of the boughs! I have never seen such eyes before." He nearly slid off of the horse, but Aragorn caught him just in time.
"Gandalf," the ranger began, "I think when we come out of this forest we ought to take a while to rest. Legolas looks ready to keel over..."
The wizard smiled at Legolas, who was trying to convince Aragorn to allow him to take control of the reins. Finally, Aragorn complied, and the young Elf gripped the long strips of thick leather in his hands. He felt somewhat stronger when he had control of the horse rather than just being a passenger.
"I suppose a short rest would not hurt," Gandalf replied. "But those eyes you see, Legolas, are the eyes of Ents. Come, let us catch up with Theoden and his men so we can tell them of our plan."
The four companions urged their horses into a quick canter and caught up with the rest of the company who were a good twenty feet ahead. The others had noticed the mysterious dark shapes in the distance that Legolas had been referring to, and were a bit frightened. When Gandalf reassured them that the shapes were not the least bit harmless, Theoden spoke of the legends he'd heard of these marvelous treehearders.
"We cared little for what lay beyond the borders of our land," the king explained, sounding a bit guilty. "Songs we have that tell of these things, but we are forgetting them, teaching them only to children, as a careless custom. And now the songs have come down among us out of strange places and walk visible beneath the sun." (TTT p. 197)
Legolas smiled weakly. "I do hope we stop soon, Aragorn. I do not think I can continue much further without a rest and a piece of lembas or a drink of water. I am feeling dizzy."
Aragorn sighed. He knew the Elf's symptoms were the left over side effects from the poison, and that these side effects could possibly last forever at this rate. "We will stop, Legolas, I promise." As a precaution, the ranger rested his bare hand against the Elf's neck, checking for any signs of a temperature. When he found nothing, he felt a bit of relief go through him. The last thing the company needed was for Legolas to come down with another fever while out in the wild.
Finally, they left the forest, and came to the banks of a river, where they decided would be a good place to stop for the time being. Legolas allowed Aragorn to help him down from the horse, and even took the advantage of leaning on the ranger's arm while they walked to a boulder which was sticking out of ground. "Lean against this for support while we sit," Aragorn told Legolas, helping him to the ground.
Gimli sat down beside Legolas after the Elf was settled, and watched as Theoden and his men tended to their horses, feeding them and giving them fresh water. "Come and join us, Eomer," Gimli offered, patting the bare patch of grass beside him. "you look like you could use a good rest, sir."
Eomer chuckled after he gave his horse a pat on the side. "Thank you, master dwarf." He grinned at Aragorn who had taken out his pipe and was liting it. When Eomer sat down, it took him a few moments to get comfortable. Eventually all of the men were sitting, and with the help of Theoden and Gandalf, rations were passed around so that everyone had something to eat and fresh water to drink.
"I do not feel well, Aragorn." Legolas whispered after sipping from the canteen. "I feel dizzy."
Aragorn smiled gently at him. "It is an after effect of the poison, my friend. You will feel dizzy and weak for a bit. Hopefully you will regain your full strength in time."
Gimli sighed, lowering his head and closing his eyes.
"Perhaps a song or two would cheer us all up," Eomer suggested. "When my men and I were banished from Rohan by Wormtongue, we often sang as we rode and that kept up our spirits."
Gimli sniggered. "I could not at this moment imagine what your voice would sound like," he teased. "Certainly not like that of a fair maiden."
Eomer scowled. "I will not respond to such a retort, Gimli, son of Gloin." He looked at Aragorn. "What do you say, friend? Shall we engage in a song?"
Aragorn chortled. "What did you slip into your water, Eomer?"
"I think a song is a very good idea, Aragorn," Gandalf spoke up. He was leaning against Shadowfax's legs, his staff resting across his lap.
"Very well then." Eomer stood up and bowed, causing laughter and the sound of clapping from the other men to fill the silence. Legolas watched the man, not smiling at all. He felt Aragorn place a hand on his shoulder, and turned to the ranger, who nodded respectfully.
"This should cheer you up, my friend." Aragorn whispered. "Allow me to join you, Eomer son of Eomund."
Eomer clasped a hand on Aragorn's back, nearly causing the ranger to stumble forward from the strength. Then Eomer began to sing, his voice coming out very deep and cracking a bit:
"There was a merry passenger, a messenger, a mariner he built a gilded gondola to wander in, and had in her a load of yellow oranges and porridge for his provender; he perfumed her with marjoram and cardamom and lavender." (Tolkien Reader)
As Legolas listened to the words, he was reminded of Eowyn who was still back in Rohan, probably furious with them for having left her behind. Well, more or less furious with Aragorn and Theoden more than he.
It amused Legolas greately when they got to the verse,
"He sat and sang a melody, his errantry a-tarrying; he begged a pretty butterfly that fluttered by to marry him. She scorned him and she scoffed at him, She laughed at him unpitying So long he studied wizardry And sigaldry and smithying."
Before the others knew it, Legolas had fallen sound asleep, laying on the soft grass, using his cloak for a pillow. Aragorn folded his arms, frowning a bit. "He is so tired," he told Eomer quietly. "I think we should give him at least a good half an hour's rest before we start up again."
"Shhhhh." Whispered Gimli, taking off his cloak and putting it over the sleeping Elf as a blanket. Eomer nodded, and soon the company lapsed into quiet chatter, trying not to wake Legolas who was snoring a bit from slight conjestion.
When the half an hour was up, Aragorn woke Legolas, who was not happy about being aroused from his peaceful nap, but understood that they could not linger in one place for long. "Those uruk-hai could be anywhere," Aragorn told Legolas as he aided the young prince back into the horse and hopped up behind him.
"Aragorn," Gimli announced, "can I ride with him a bit? I kind of miss my old seat."
Aragorn chuckled. "Not at this point in time, Gimli. Legolas is still not feeling well and it is safer if he rides with me, as I can give him better support."
Gimli scowled as Gandalf at that moment, lifted him around the waist and hoisted him up onto Shadowfax. "I HATE riding horses," the dwarf growled under his breath. "Fell off one twice already...not a good experience to go by..."
Legolas smiled weakly at the dwarf as he felt the horse begin to trot again. The small nap he had managed to obtain helped him somewhat, but he still felt fairly woozy. He listened to Eomer tell Gandalf that "this is become a dreary place. What sickness has befallen the river? Many fair things Saruman has destroyed: has he devoured the springs of Isen too?"
Gandalf frowned. "So it would seem," he sighed.
"So much death everywhere," Theoden sighed. "So much hate."
Legolas agreed full-heartedly. "This darkness seems to drawl on forever, does it not?" he asked warily, leaning limply against Aragorn, who was sitting as straight as possible.
"Aye," sighed Gimli. "This darkness never seems to end."
"You are holding the reins too tightly," Aragorn told the Elf. "Your knuckles are turning white. Here, let me take them for you...."
"No!" Legolas snapped angrily. "I am not a child. Do not treat me as one! It is bad enough that I am feeling as awful as I am right now."
Aragorn was a bit taken aback by his companion's retort, but Gandalf eased the tension. "He was only trying to help you, Legolas. I understand you are not well, and that you still wish to keep your pride, but pride is not going to aid you in your full recovery. So I suggest allowing Aragorn to take hold of the reins for a while."
The young Elf stared at the wizard, his mouth hanging open. No one had ever talked to him like that before. (Well, with the exception of his father...) He finally complied and allowed Aragorn to take the reins, but much to his disgust. He leaned back against Aragorn, allowing the motion of the horse to relax him. The motion eventually put him to sleep again, and Aragorn stationed himself around the Elf so he could use his arms as support, so Legolas would not slip off on either side.
'Rest well, my friend.' The ranger thought with a smile.
Back at the House of Theoden in Rohan, Eowyn in deed was throwing china plates against the wall of her bedroom. "Stay home, Eowyn." She snarled. "You are a Lady of Kings, Eowyn." SMASH. "Stay behind and remain a hermitt why don't you, Eowyn?" SMASH. She stood breathing heavily as she stared at the mess on the floor. Not that she cared. No one was here to yell at her anyway. She picked up another plate from her bedspread and looked at it. "Are you going to sit here and take this?" She shouted angrily. "Are you going to LET ME THROW YOU?" SMASH. She let out a yell at this point and fell to her hands and knees, her body shaking with angry sobs. It took her a second before she lifted her head to gaze out the window at the darkening sky.
"I am getting nowwhere this way." She sighed. Then an evil smile crossed her lips. "I will have my OWN adventure. After all-I am an adult, am I not?" She rubbed her hands together and let out an almost meniacal laugh. "Go against their wishes, yes. Exactly." She straightened the front of her dress and quickly checked her complexion and hair in the mirror before hurrying out into the villiage to find a horse, and decided that she would ride to one of the main cities targeted by Saruman: Gondor. 'I will prove myself yet,' she thought.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Meanwhile, Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Theoden and company continued their treck through the forest. Legolas, though exhausted as he was, refused to give in to sleep. It was a good thing too, because he suddenly saw something that he thought the rest of the group should know about. "There are eyes!" he cried suddenly, startling Aragorn, who had been in an almost trance-like state.
"What? Legolas, are you all right?" he asked in alarm.
The Elf nodded, fighting a bit of dizziness that had overtaken him due to the stifling heat in the forest. "I see eyes, Aragorn....eyes looking out from the shadows of the boughs! I have never seen such eyes before." He nearly slid off of the horse, but Aragorn caught him just in time.
"Gandalf," the ranger began, "I think when we come out of this forest we ought to take a while to rest. Legolas looks ready to keel over..."
The wizard smiled at Legolas, who was trying to convince Aragorn to allow him to take control of the reins. Finally, Aragorn complied, and the young Elf gripped the long strips of thick leather in his hands. He felt somewhat stronger when he had control of the horse rather than just being a passenger.
"I suppose a short rest would not hurt," Gandalf replied. "But those eyes you see, Legolas, are the eyes of Ents. Come, let us catch up with Theoden and his men so we can tell them of our plan."
The four companions urged their horses into a quick canter and caught up with the rest of the company who were a good twenty feet ahead. The others had noticed the mysterious dark shapes in the distance that Legolas had been referring to, and were a bit frightened. When Gandalf reassured them that the shapes were not the least bit harmless, Theoden spoke of the legends he'd heard of these marvelous treehearders.
"We cared little for what lay beyond the borders of our land," the king explained, sounding a bit guilty. "Songs we have that tell of these things, but we are forgetting them, teaching them only to children, as a careless custom. And now the songs have come down among us out of strange places and walk visible beneath the sun." (TTT p. 197)
Legolas smiled weakly. "I do hope we stop soon, Aragorn. I do not think I can continue much further without a rest and a piece of lembas or a drink of water. I am feeling dizzy."
Aragorn sighed. He knew the Elf's symptoms were the left over side effects from the poison, and that these side effects could possibly last forever at this rate. "We will stop, Legolas, I promise." As a precaution, the ranger rested his bare hand against the Elf's neck, checking for any signs of a temperature. When he found nothing, he felt a bit of relief go through him. The last thing the company needed was for Legolas to come down with another fever while out in the wild.
Finally, they left the forest, and came to the banks of a river, where they decided would be a good place to stop for the time being. Legolas allowed Aragorn to help him down from the horse, and even took the advantage of leaning on the ranger's arm while they walked to a boulder which was sticking out of ground. "Lean against this for support while we sit," Aragorn told Legolas, helping him to the ground.
Gimli sat down beside Legolas after the Elf was settled, and watched as Theoden and his men tended to their horses, feeding them and giving them fresh water. "Come and join us, Eomer," Gimli offered, patting the bare patch of grass beside him. "you look like you could use a good rest, sir."
Eomer chuckled after he gave his horse a pat on the side. "Thank you, master dwarf." He grinned at Aragorn who had taken out his pipe and was liting it. When Eomer sat down, it took him a few moments to get comfortable. Eventually all of the men were sitting, and with the help of Theoden and Gandalf, rations were passed around so that everyone had something to eat and fresh water to drink.
"I do not feel well, Aragorn." Legolas whispered after sipping from the canteen. "I feel dizzy."
Aragorn smiled gently at him. "It is an after effect of the poison, my friend. You will feel dizzy and weak for a bit. Hopefully you will regain your full strength in time."
Gimli sighed, lowering his head and closing his eyes.
"Perhaps a song or two would cheer us all up," Eomer suggested. "When my men and I were banished from Rohan by Wormtongue, we often sang as we rode and that kept up our spirits."
Gimli sniggered. "I could not at this moment imagine what your voice would sound like," he teased. "Certainly not like that of a fair maiden."
Eomer scowled. "I will not respond to such a retort, Gimli, son of Gloin." He looked at Aragorn. "What do you say, friend? Shall we engage in a song?"
Aragorn chortled. "What did you slip into your water, Eomer?"
"I think a song is a very good idea, Aragorn," Gandalf spoke up. He was leaning against Shadowfax's legs, his staff resting across his lap.
"Very well then." Eomer stood up and bowed, causing laughter and the sound of clapping from the other men to fill the silence. Legolas watched the man, not smiling at all. He felt Aragorn place a hand on his shoulder, and turned to the ranger, who nodded respectfully.
"This should cheer you up, my friend." Aragorn whispered. "Allow me to join you, Eomer son of Eomund."
Eomer clasped a hand on Aragorn's back, nearly causing the ranger to stumble forward from the strength. Then Eomer began to sing, his voice coming out very deep and cracking a bit:
"There was a merry passenger, a messenger, a mariner he built a gilded gondola to wander in, and had in her a load of yellow oranges and porridge for his provender; he perfumed her with marjoram and cardamom and lavender." (Tolkien Reader)
As Legolas listened to the words, he was reminded of Eowyn who was still back in Rohan, probably furious with them for having left her behind. Well, more or less furious with Aragorn and Theoden more than he.
It amused Legolas greately when they got to the verse,
"He sat and sang a melody, his errantry a-tarrying; he begged a pretty butterfly that fluttered by to marry him. She scorned him and she scoffed at him, She laughed at him unpitying So long he studied wizardry And sigaldry and smithying."
Before the others knew it, Legolas had fallen sound asleep, laying on the soft grass, using his cloak for a pillow. Aragorn folded his arms, frowning a bit. "He is so tired," he told Eomer quietly. "I think we should give him at least a good half an hour's rest before we start up again."
"Shhhhh." Whispered Gimli, taking off his cloak and putting it over the sleeping Elf as a blanket. Eomer nodded, and soon the company lapsed into quiet chatter, trying not to wake Legolas who was snoring a bit from slight conjestion.
When the half an hour was up, Aragorn woke Legolas, who was not happy about being aroused from his peaceful nap, but understood that they could not linger in one place for long. "Those uruk-hai could be anywhere," Aragorn told Legolas as he aided the young prince back into the horse and hopped up behind him.
"Aragorn," Gimli announced, "can I ride with him a bit? I kind of miss my old seat."
Aragorn chuckled. "Not at this point in time, Gimli. Legolas is still not feeling well and it is safer if he rides with me, as I can give him better support."
Gimli scowled as Gandalf at that moment, lifted him around the waist and hoisted him up onto Shadowfax. "I HATE riding horses," the dwarf growled under his breath. "Fell off one twice already...not a good experience to go by..."
Legolas smiled weakly at the dwarf as he felt the horse begin to trot again. The small nap he had managed to obtain helped him somewhat, but he still felt fairly woozy. He listened to Eomer tell Gandalf that "this is become a dreary place. What sickness has befallen the river? Many fair things Saruman has destroyed: has he devoured the springs of Isen too?"
Gandalf frowned. "So it would seem," he sighed.
"So much death everywhere," Theoden sighed. "So much hate."
Legolas agreed full-heartedly. "This darkness seems to drawl on forever, does it not?" he asked warily, leaning limply against Aragorn, who was sitting as straight as possible.
"Aye," sighed Gimli. "This darkness never seems to end."
"You are holding the reins too tightly," Aragorn told the Elf. "Your knuckles are turning white. Here, let me take them for you...."
"No!" Legolas snapped angrily. "I am not a child. Do not treat me as one! It is bad enough that I am feeling as awful as I am right now."
Aragorn was a bit taken aback by his companion's retort, but Gandalf eased the tension. "He was only trying to help you, Legolas. I understand you are not well, and that you still wish to keep your pride, but pride is not going to aid you in your full recovery. So I suggest allowing Aragorn to take hold of the reins for a while."
The young Elf stared at the wizard, his mouth hanging open. No one had ever talked to him like that before. (Well, with the exception of his father...) He finally complied and allowed Aragorn to take the reins, but much to his disgust. He leaned back against Aragorn, allowing the motion of the horse to relax him. The motion eventually put him to sleep again, and Aragorn stationed himself around the Elf so he could use his arms as support, so Legolas would not slip off on either side.
'Rest well, my friend.' The ranger thought with a smile.
