Well…I'm back! And I apologize for the great lack of updating! And I also greatly appreciate the E-mail that…erm…someone sent me, asking so nicely for another chapter! I just sort of…forgot. This should be done by….oh….probably end of June. Well, this part anyway, but I won't give away the end! *g*
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"So I was running, running up the stairs, and ran into the cafeteria, and it was the wrong one, so I had to turn around, and run to…oh gods…"
Kat stopped Tiro suddenly. Sirrah looked around, wondering what was going on. She wasn't surprised at Kat's prayer, there were, after all, several Gods in middle earth, but she couldn't see anything out of the usual order of things.
"What happened to the water?" Kat asked Gandalf. "This was obviously a great river once, but it is void of flowing water!"
Éomer nodded at Kat's expressed amazement.
"Indeed, this had become a dreary place. What sickness has befallen the river? Many fair things Saruman has destroyed: has he devoured the springs of Isen also?"
"This is the Isen?" Kat asked.
A few of the men nodded, looking downfallen. Sirrah was shaking her head, smiling bemusedly.
Kat, you idiot, don't you remember?
Kat paused, turning to see Sirrah smirking in the faint moonlight. Then she remembered what had happened to the river.
Oh good grief!! I *am* an idiot!
No contest there.
I dunno, I think boromir could give me a run for the money.
Sirrah grinned.
Possibly, but you'd still win…lose…whatever.
Whatever indeed. I had completely forgotten, stupid Saruman.
Sirrah chuckeld.
Stupid quest, stupid fellowship!
Kat finished.
Stupid Ring!
Sirrah's hand was pressed against the nape of her neck as she looked up in thought.
"Yeah…" she muttered, "Stupid ring."
Kat, seeing her mood go somber, tried to cheer her up.
"Come now. Don't look so depressed! We're in Middle earth!"
Sirrah started, looking at Kat again, grinning.
"Yeah. We are!"
They laughed as if this were a new occurrence, gathering a few more strange looks, which they ignored. The joy was soon covered though when they reached Théoden, who was in a decidedly somber mood.
"Why do you laugh as if it is summer, witches, when all around you lies the death and destruction of Saruman? There has been battle here, yet still you laugh as if no man has passed from this world!" He asked, voice stinging both.
Kat turned to look at him.
"Theoden king, you have no clue. We have seen more carnage in our life than many of your soldiers, and each battle was even more pointless than the last. We have no choice but to make our peace with the ghosts of men, and live our life."
Sirrah was wordless, and had turned and rode away as Kat shot her comment back. Anyone that knew Kat would not have been fooled by her speech, the trembling and barely suppressed tears in her voice were obvious. As she rode after Sirrah, they saw tears on her cheeks in the moonlight.
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The girls stayed in the back of the ranks for a long while, leaving many of the men who had heard Kat in confusion. How could they, girls of sixteen have seen more than a seasoned soldier? Only Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn and Gandalf had a shade of an idea, and even that was vague. They tried to explain to Théoden what Kat had been speaking of, but finally, Théoden held up his hand and told them that he would ask himself. The remnants of the fellowship that had been outside of Moria looked at eachother skeptically, but said nothing of Boromir's attempt at an apology. But then, they reasoned, he had not insulted Kat and Sirrah as Boromir had, and her anger had not had the edge that they had heard after Gandalf fell.
Meanwhile, Kat and Sirrah were attempting to smile again. Théoden's words had been only a question, but the pain and scorn in his voice had bitten at them.
"Granted," Kat said, scrubbing her eyes, "It *was* a valid question."
Sirrah nodded, still calming.
"Yes, it was, but I'm not sure you should have blown up at him like that."
Kat shook her head.
"I think he'll get over it…at least…I hope so." She shrugged. "At least I didn't slap him."
Sirrah chuckled wetly.
"I wouldn't bet on that happening again for while, besides, it takes a bit more than that."
Kat shrugged.
"I do take offence at odd things. Still, I'm going to stay away from him for awhile."
Sirrah smirked.
"Out of his protection or your own?"
Kat tapped her chin.
"I dunno, mostly mine, cause I'm afraid he'll be majorly offended by me calling him clueless."
"If they even understand the phrase."
"True. But still, I wasn't exactly sugar coating it." She giggled. "I just wonder what the guy's thought."
Sirrah sniggered.
"Their minds most likely went straight to the time that you kicked Boromir's ass."
"I did *not* kick his ass, I simply chewed on it. There's a difference."
Sirrah began to laugh now.
"You chewed Boromir's ass? Without me? Come on, I want in!"
Kat yelped at the connotations.
"You are *so* dead!"
Sirrah led Chaos away a bit from Kat, who in turn led Tiro closer to Chaos. She tried to reach over and smack her, but stopped when she nearly fell off.
"Bwah!" said Sirrah, grinning.
Kat stuck her tongue out at Sirrah, who simply stuck her tongue out back. Kat then had an odd idea. Using her magic, which had replenished itself considerably on their ride, she made a ball of light in her hand. It was weightless, odorless, and quite frankly, if her hand hadn't been bright green, she wouldn't have been able to tell it was there. Smirking, she lobbed it at Sirrah who jerked.
"Gah!"
Kat began to giggle. Some of the men were glancing backwards nevously, wondering where the light was coming from. Sirrah narrowed her eyes and made her own ball of light, the same thing, with the exception that it was blue. She threw it at Kat with deadly accuracy, but was let down when Kat suddenly threw a green ball of light at the blue one and both disappeared.
"That's not fair!"
"All's fair in love and war!"
Sirrah glared.
"That's it. Your going down!"
Kat smirked.
"Bring it on!"
For another five minutes, there was a small light war in the back of the ranks. The only indication of it, however, was muffled giggles and the occasional yelp.
~^~
Ten minutes later, the company stopped. Kat and Sirrah somehow ended up near the front. Neither was sure exactly how, but suspected it was because they were all no gathered around a small Island, where there was a mound with spears surrounding it. They were going to slink quietly to the back again, but Aragorn come suddenly beside them. He looked weary, but not angry, as a mother looks when her child has been playing hide and seek.
"Come now, witches. Théoden King has forgiven you, and wishes you with him again."
Kat's jaw dropped.
"Your kidding, right? I insulted royalty, and I don't even get a slap on the hand?" She slapped a hand over her mouth. Through her hand, she looked at Sirrah.
Did I really just say that? she asked meekly mind to mind.
"Yes, you did." Sirrah replied normally for Aragorn's sake.
Aragorn merely smiled easily, as he had become accustomed to do.
"Théoden is kind for royalty. Should we ever reach Minas Tirith, I would not suggest doing it to Denethor."
Kat removed her hand from her mouth.
"Pity. As I remember, he's quite a prick. At least I like Théoden."
Sirrah giggled. Aragorn simply shook his head, and rode, indicating for them to follow, which they gladly did.
~^~
Almost as soon as they returned with Aragorn, the company set out again, calling farewell to the mound of fallen soldiers. Kat kissed a hand in farewell, then dashed off after Sirrah, who had bowed. A man heard her prayer and was glad, but never told any one else of her promise to the dead.
"Farewell, men of the Mark, your battle was not in vain!"
The man smiled again as they continued on, now confident.
~^~
They stopped at what Sirrah identified as two in the morning. Kat didn't care. She was too tired to do anything but dismount her horse and glare at Sirrah, who was awake and semi chipper.
"Your far too chipper for two in the morning."
"Your always far too chipper for eight in the morning, why is this any different?"
Kat huffed and began to rub down Tiro with her hands, since they had no brushes. The men of the mark had light saddles, so it was rarely nessacary to take them off, only to loosen them when stopped. When done, they sat down, taking out something to eat. Kat mused while they did.
"I'm too tired to sleep, but I'm so bored that that seems like the only option…"
Sirrah grinned.
"Too tired to sleep is a common state for me."
Kat nodded.
"Sounds about right. But I wish there was something to do. I'm not about to sleep, though…" she yawned, "It sounds like an awful good idea…" she sat back and was nearly immediately asleep.
Sirrah shook her head.
"Dork…" she muttered, then lay down herself.
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It had been an hour when both Kat and Sirrah woke up at the same time, looked at eachother, and sat up.
"Sirrah…"
"Yeah Kat, I feel it…"
Kat bit a lip and wimpered.
"Oh gods, not the birds again…"
Sirrah stood up, giving her hand to Kat to help her up.
Shivering, Kat got up. They peered around into the darkness, with all of the men sleeping, most so lightly that it almost couldn't be considered sleeping. Kat and Sirrah looked around the camp, wondering what was going on and why they were so uneasy. They had only a moment to wait, and then the horns blew, surprising both. All of the men practically jumped up, swords at the ready. Gandalf called for them to put their swords away, and most did. Kat and Sirrah however, didn't even hear the order, and no one noticed them both collapse onto the ground.
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In all fact, Sirrah thought, Fortune telling is quite pointless, as one can rarely tell what the disaster is going to *be*only that they are going to happen.
It was like waking from sleep to a telephone, except the telephone was much lower pitched. It was a chant, she realized slowly, in some language she didn't recognize. It couldn't be elvish, she'd recognize the lilt of that language, it was something different. Finally, she remembered that she had eyes, and opened them.
"What the *hell* was that?" was the first thing out of her mouth.
Gandalf stopped chanting suddenly, looking slightly surprised. He didn't answer though, and appeared to turn to Kat, who was still out. Sirrah sat up, rubbing her head. It was still pitch dark out, but it wasn't the same kind of dark. Gandalf seemed to be having trouble with Kat, she was twitching but not responding. Tenatively, Sirrah reached to Kat's mind.
Kat?
Sirrah couldn't get an answer really, it was so dark and oppressive in her friend's mind that she began to worry. Suddenly Gandalf stood and began to shout, his staff throwing the landscape into relief. When he had shouted the last words, his staff went suddenly dark, and Kat rolled over, wimpering again. Sirrah really began to worry.
"Kat?"
Kat looked up, tears beginning to leak out of her eyes.
"Oh my god." She sat up, looking around. Then she sighed, hand over her heart. "I have *never* been so glad to be awake."
Sirrah smiled grimly.
"Funny, you were just complaining about lack of sleep."
Kat shook her head, putting her head in her hands.
"Thankyou Gandalf." She muttered, "I don't think I would have been able to get out on my own."
Sirrah shook her head, Kat seemed to know what she was talking about, and yet Sirrah didn't even remember exactly what had happened. Gandalf nodded, looking grim.
"Learn to close your mind to powers of darkness, mistress Kat." He said primly, whether out of worry or really lecturing her, neither could tell.
Kat nodded, looking properly ashamed at scaring them all so badley.
"Its only the birds and that…stuff Sir. I'll learn." Suddenly growing as proper as he was being.
Gandalf smiled and walked off, going to explain to the King why he had run off.
Sirrah turned to Kat.
"Ok. Would someone mind explaining to me what the *hell* is going on?"
Kat scuffed a foot on the ground.
"I figured something out."
Sirrah sighed.
"Kat, that was not an answer."
"Well…the reason I react so badly to the birds, is that they're something natural, you know how I was so out doorsy at home?" Sirrah nodded, it had been one of their major differences. "Well, it transfered to something…kind of like a connection to nature here. Anything that's been twisted, like Saurman twisted the birds, gives me sort of a panic attack, because it's so askew."
Sirrah shook her head.
"What ever are you going to do when we get home?"
Kat smirked.
"I'll be put in an asylum for sure. But that's why the mist swallowed me so much worse. For some reason, your mind is more closed to things like that."
Something clicked in Sirrah's mind, and she nodded.
"I see. Well, be careful, I don't think it happens again, but still."
Kat nodded, thoroughly miserable.
"And now," she said, having a dramatic mood change, "I shall do exactly the thing I just promised I wouldn't!"
Sirrah snickered.
"Sleep, right?"
Kat nodded, and lay down, asleep within the minute.
~^~
They slept the rest of the night with no interruptions, though Kat was plagued with less then settling dreams, though she didn't term them as nightmares. When they were woken by one of the men, they rose as willingly as they always had, which, granted, was less than willingly, but no one noticed a real difference in either of them. Except Sirrah.
Kat was being too quiet, too reserved. This was unlike her. Usually Sirrah was the one to stay asleep, but she woke willingly while Kat seemed to be stuck until someone shook her shoulder. She woke with a small gasp and rolled to a sitting postion. She was flinchy, and when Sirrah tapped her on the shoulder to hand her her breakfast, she yelped.
Kat, what is *wrong*?
Kat bit a lip.
Truthfully, I don't know, but think that mist gave me something more than nightmares.
Sirrah nodded, she had been blocking the dark powers since just after lorien, it had barely scathed her. Once Gandalf had anchored her to the world, she had had little trouble bringing herself up.
Its given you what Frodo had when he was stabbed. You can feel dark powers nore clearly now.
Kat looked carefully at Sirrah, seeming to study her with both mind and eye.
I suppose that's it. she said finally. But I think I also sense the dead more now. That's not frightening, just a little freaky.
Sirrah cocked an eyebrow as they walked to ready their horses.
The dead? What do you mean? You see dead people now?
Kat giggled hollowly.
No, not like that anyway, I just…feel them. You know how we felt those men at the island? Sirrah nodded. well, it's a bit like that, except more concrete.
Ah. I see…so to speak.
Kat chuckled, sounding better.
I'll be fine, it just takes getting used to.
Sirrah nodded. Kat seemed good at this coping with new powers thing, it kept happening, and she kept sticking with it all. She shook her head as they mounted and readied to leave, how much could either of them take? She was already at her wits end.
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"Funny," mused Kat, "I would think that there'd be trees here…it is below the timberline, and it isn't *that* cold."
Théoden nodded, he had forgiven Kat easily, after hearing stories from Éomer, and the knowledge that if Kat left, Sirrah would go after her.
"There were once, but it appears that Saruman has destroyed them as well."
Kat nodded.
"I had guessed. May I have a whack at him when we get there?"
Gandalf smiled.
"I believe that you will have quite a wait. Saruman has caused Rohan much toil in recent days."
Sirrah nodded.
"Besides, what's your hurry to get in there again? After all, we've seen it before."
Kat laughed.
"Sure, we'll do guided tours. An excellent way to get some money!"
"Not that we really need it."
Kat nodded.
"True. But none the less."
Sirrah nodded.
"And you know what's really great?" Kat looked at her suspiciously. "He gives his cable out free!"
"I thought that was wormtongue."
"Yeah, he's the marketing advisor, and distributes it, but it's Saruman that owns it."
"Ohhhh. I see."
The men, the elf, and the dwarf all shook their heads and tuned the girls out, being much to confused to try and follow the conversation.
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Sorry about the spelling errors, I had to get it up, otherwise I'd forget again!