Disclaimer: No I don't own Lord of the Rings and I don't plan to use this story for profit. If that does happen I am sure the great J.R.R. Tolkien will rise from his grave and make sure that my muses somehow turn against me.
They mounted the horses then headed in the direction of Rohan. As the hours of traveling passed by they each found a way to keep themselves entertained. Alex was safely between Legolas' arms and talking with him about nature. Kristi and Aragorn were engaged in many conversations about the best way to fight with swords. And Sarah found it relatively easy to stay on Shadowfax without a saddle and was trying to get Gandalf to fess up on Shadowfax's origins and how the horse was trained. As night began to fall they set up a camp, with the intent of reaching Edoras in the morning.
The girls watched in awe as Gandalf easily started a fire with his staff.
"How did you do that?" Alex asked.
"Magic," Gandalf answered simply.
"Can I try making a fire with that?" Kristi asked hopefully.
"No," Gandalf said.
"How about me? Can I try?" Sarah asked.
"He won't even let me try," Aragorn commented.
This drew a discrete chuckle from Legolas and stifled giggles from the girls. Gimli brought out a bag of mushrooms and everyone stared at them for a long moment. It was evident that certain members of the fellowship were missing. Gimli got up abruptly claiming he wasn't hungry and Gandalf went after him. Legolas and Aragorn stared at the mushrooms forlornly.
Alex sat next to Legolas, "are you all right?"
Legolas just nodded.
Sarah turned to Aragorn, "same question."
He did a similar nod as Legolas.
Kristi sighed and mumbled so only Sarah and Alex could hear, "time for some therapy." Speaking up, "you guys miss Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Frodo don't you?"
"Their presence is missed," Legolas said.
"I only wish we knew that they were all right," Aragorn admitted honestly.
"Don't worry," Alex said putting a hand on Legolas' arm. "You'll see them again."
"I'm sure that they're all fine," Sarah said in agreement.
Kristi looked between Legolas and Aragorn. "You have to believe that they are indeed all right, which believe me they are. Everything will be right in the end."
Legolas nodded slightly.
"You should all get some rest. I'll take first watch," Aragorn said standing.
Gimli and Gandalf eventually returned and they all prepared to rest. Night passed and the watch rotated among the guys. Alex and Sarah slept peacefully, as did Kristi for a while at least. It hadn't occurred to her that she had gone two days without sleep. . .that she hadn't dreamed yet in Middle-Earth.
Kristi woke up with a start from her dream as the sun started to rise. She put a hand to her temple and blinked as she noticed Gandalf looking to her.
"Bad dream?" he asked.
She nodded, "it's nothing though."
"Did you dream of darkness?" Gandalf asked.
Kristi blinked absently rubbing her left arm, not answering him. Sarah woke up and turned to Kristi. "Morning all ready?"
"Yeah," Kristi answered, glad to change the subject from Gandalf's questioning.
Alex seemed to wake up at the same time Legolas did and they continued on their way to Edoras once more. As they neared the city, the girls found that it greatly resembled the Edoras they had seen in the movies.
They dismounted as they neared the city gates and Gandalf turned to the girls. "Why don't you go take the horses to the stables? We have some business to take care of with the king."
"We'll see you soon," Legolas said walking with the guys.
Sarah happily led Shadowfax toward the stable, taking the lead. Alex followed with Legolas' steed, whispering Elvish to it. What exactly she was whispering they didn't know. Kristi led Aragorn's horse, a horse that thought it was amusing to try and nip Kristi's shoulder every time she turned around. As they reached the stable Sarah conversed with the stable boy. . .or perhaps we should say stable man because this guy was not a boy and had hair that was. . .but that's not the point. The point is Sarah knew what to do with the horses and was going to make sure they were treated with the utmost respect.
By the time they had finished with the horses, they noticed there was a commotion outside of the palace's steps. A greasy haired guy was literally being kicked out and the girls instantly knew it was Wormtongue.
"Ozzy?" Kristi asked quietly.
Alex and Sarah smacked her.
"If he's Ozzy, then I'm Sharon," Sarah said.
Alex just looked at Wormtongue and said what was on all of their minds, "eww."
As Wormtongue made his way toward a horse, his gaze locked on the girls. Sarah averted her eyes, Kristi grasped her left arm, and Alex froze as Wormtongue's gaze locked on her.
As he rode away Alex was the first to speak, "that was creepy."
Kristi nodded, "I agree."
Sarah looked to Kristi. "Why are you holding your arm?"
Alex's eyes widened as she looked to Kristi. "Wait a minute. . .that's the arm that got cut by the Nazgûl the last time isn't it?"
Kristi let go of her arm. "It just ached a little and yes that is the arm."
Sarah raised an eyebrow. "It's aching?"
"Are you all right?" Alex asked.
"Really guys, I'm fine. Let's go find the guys, get changed, and then get some food."
Alex and Sarah exchanged a look and followed Kristi to do just that. They managed to come across Eowyn who led them to a lady who would get them some clothes. The grandmotherly lady called them 'dearies' and got them clothing which she believed would suit them. Alex was given a light green dress with sleeves that flared out. When she walked she seemed as if a part of nature had graced the streets. Sarah was given a deep blue dress. It conformed to her so that when she walked it seemed as if a part of the sky was on land. Kristi was given a laced up white blouse and dark pants. The outfit and boots fit her snugly and she donned a black cloak seeming as if she was shadow when she walked.
Alex twirled around, "I love this dress."
"It does suit you well," Sarah commented smoothing her own dress.
"You both look good," Kristi said belting a sword at her side.
"Why didn't you want to wear that red dress the lady had?" Alex asked.
"Yeah," Sarah said. "Red is your color."
Kristi shrugged. "Another time, besides we have to find out why we were brought here. And I doubt that dress will help us as much as this," she said motioning to the sword at her side.
The lady, whom they found out was named Arwa, led them to the dining hall. They settled themselves at the table near Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. They noticed Gandalf was near the king and were a bit hesitant to eat because of the eating habits of those around them. They generally ignored Gimli when he ate. . .due to his less than mannerly habits. Aragorn was eating like the other people around him, not seeming to notice he wasn't using any utensils. Legolas was probably the cleanest eater of the bunch and so the girls had what he was having. The last food they had was at Rivendell, greens and succulent choices of meat. The food here resembled legs of mutton and vegetables, whose age they could not tell. Nevertheless they ate it, hunger overtaking them. It was better than raw fish and three hungry women. . .especially these three, would not have been a good thing.
As night came the girls were feeling tired. The talk had begun to center around politics, so they made a discrete retreat out of the door. They found Arwa who led them to a room they would all be sharing. When she left the girls settled themselves in the room.
"That food was. . ." Kristi just trailed off making a face.
"Tell me about it," Alex said. "I'm surprised Legolas would eat that stuff."
"It wasn't that bad," Sarah said. She was after all a college student that dormed. . .she could handle many things, especially when she was hungry. "It was rather filling."
"Okay, so it satiated my hunger," Kristi admitted. "But me being the picky eater I am would normally never eat that."
Alex laid back on one of the beds. "Maybe they'll have better food in the morning."
"Good point," Sarah said. "Let's hit the hay for tonight."
Kristi nodded. "Good idea, I think I'll dream of pizza, chicken fingers, French fries. . ."
Alex groaned. "Don't say things like that, you're making me hungry!"
Sarah threw a pillow at Kristi. . .and the Great Pillow War commenced. Some time later the Great Pillow War came to a stand still, due to the need to sleep.
Morning drew near and Kristi started tossing and turning in her sleep. Alex awoke with a yawn and looked to Kristi sighing. Sarah seemed to be peacefully sleeping, but Alex's attention was diverted when she heard a rustling outside of the window. She got out of her bed slipping on shoes and approached the window. Thinking it may be some kind of animal she unlatched the window and opened it. She couldn't be closer to the truth. . .
Author's Note: Yep, left it off at a bit of a cliffhanger. But no worries, in three days you'll get the update. See? Three powers, three days. . .*trails off as her muses start saying 'hey! Three times three is nine!'* Okay guys enough with the math! Gah! *Suppresses a shiver* Next chapter we'll find out what that noise was and let's just say, the next chapter is a bit darker. . . *unsheathes a sword and makes a fancy showing before cutting throw a curtain. . .on the other side of that curtain a 'submit review' button is seen and Kristi smiles along with her muses*
