7-9-03
Hello! I am SO sorry about the late update. My computer has been very temperamental lately, so… basically I have several chapters written out but I haven't actually been able to upload them because the internet connection has been all screwy lately. Sorry everyone! This one is pretty short, but I have lots more in the days to come.
Alternatively, who else saw Pirates of the Caribbean today?!?! *wow * THAT is a good movie.
10. The White Lady of Rohan
The next morning the Grey Company parted. Aragorn and his kinsmen had decided to ride to the Paths of the Dead, while Théoden rode with his men to Edoras.
Eleriel had been forced to make a choice. As much as she wanted to see the capital city of Rohan, her loyalties remained with Aragorn and the Dunédain. Of course, that also meant the continued presence of Legolas. Eleriel had gritted her teeth and informed Aragorn that she would be coming with him, all the while ignoring the smirks and raised eyebrows of her two younger brothers.
Aragorn's kin watched with him as Théoden's host disappeared over the horizon, heading for their home. Aragorn spoke with Halbarad for a moment, before turning to Legolas and Gimli. Eleriel watched as the three remaining members of the Fellowship walked away together. They moved away, but not far enough to hide their words.
Eleriel's eyes widened when she heard Aragorn tell Legolas and Gimli that he had used the Stone of Orthanc. The palantír! she gasped to herself. She heard Aragorn speak to the elf and dwarf of the Paths of the Dead, and heard him recite the words of Malbeth the Seer. These words were already known to her; she was the daughter of Elrond, after all. Finally Aragorn moved to his horse, around which were gathered the Rangers of the North, watching and waiting.
"Come! To the Stone of Erech! I seek the Paths of the Dead. Come with me who will!" Aragorn cried as he sprang upon his horse. Halbarad lifted a horn to his lips and sounded it, and the Heir of Isildur led his people away from the stronghold of Helm's Deep.
Because Aragorn rode different paths than the Riders of Theoden, he passed by Edoras first. The Rohirrim had elected to take mountain paths, while the Grey Company of Aragorn had chosen to cut across the plains, straight for the Stone of Erech.
They rode into the courtyard of the palace at Edoras late that afternoon. A woman greeted them, fair of face. Eleriel looked at her in some interest; this woman was quite obviously...intrigued...by Aragorn. Éowyn supplied them with rooms for the night, as well as a meal for the evening and one in the morning.
"Tomorrow I take the Paths of the Dead." Eleriel listened as Aragorn informed this woman, whom she gathered to be the Lady Éowyn, of their plans. She listened as Éowyn begged Aragorn not to go. Aragorn refused to remain at Edoras, and the rest of the meal was completed in silence. Eleriel watched the men thank their hostess and file quietly from the room to find some rest before the ride to the Paths of the Dead the next morning. She exchanged a glance with Elladan and Elrohir as Eowyn watched Aragorn leave, for the fair woman was quite obviously distressed. They watched her follow Aragorn out of the room, and Elrohir shook his head.
"They are not for each other. Can she not see that?" he asked incredulously.
"No, Elrohir," his twin replied. "I do not think she can. He is, after all, the heir of kings. She seems to be as hard as stone to me. Perhaps this is why she pursues him... such a lord would be a good catch, would he not?"
Elrohir shook his head. "I think she is this way because Aragorn obviously does not care for her in the way she wants him to... and I do not think this infatuation of hers is the result of this one evening, either!"
"Hush, both of you," Eleriel said briskly. "It is not any of those reasons." They stared at her. Eleriel sighed. "Look," she said patiently. "You can tell that she is a warrior, after a fashion, yes?"
"She is," came a voice from the doorway. Eleriel looked up and stifled a sigh when Legolas seated himself beside her. "I believe that many of the women of Rohan are trained as warriors... they call them the Shieldmaidens of Rohan. And I have heard that the Lady Éowyn outstrips them all in talent."
"Lady?" Eleriel asked. "Of what house is she?"
Legolas looked at her in mild surprise. "She is the niece of Theoden, and sister to Éomer," he explained.
Eleriel nodded slowly. "Well, that reinforces what I was going to say." She turned back to her brothers. "If her skill is such as Legolas claims, then she is a formidable warrior. But she is also a Lady. Do you think that she remains here in Edoras, in an empty palace, of her own free will?"
Elladan shrugged. "'Tis the duty of a Lady," he said, as if that explained it all.
"No, Elladan! It is the expectations of everyone else! If you were a warrior, would you choose to fight for your country in war, or would you rather stay at home, watching over the household so that the noble warriors would return to a warm, clean, comfortable home?"
There was a silence. "I think I understand..." Elrohir said slowly. "She feels slighted, does she?"
Eleriel shrugged. "That is one way of saying it," she replied curtly before standing. "I bid you good-night. I will see you all in the morning." Turning on her heel, Eleriel walked from the room.
As she walked down the corridor to the room that she had been given for the night, she gazed around her at the bleakness of the place.
The stone walls were cold, forbidding gray, and the sparse tapestries hanging on the walls did little to put more color into the corridors and rooms. Eleriel's footsteps were silent in the corridors, and somehow she came within earshot of a conversation that she was not meant to hear. Eleriel slowed before turning round the corner.
"Your duty is with your people," said a voice, and Eleriel recognized it as Aragorn's.
"Too often have I heard of duty! But am I not of the House of Eorl, a shieldmaden and not a dry-nurse? I have waited on faltering feet long enough. Since they falter no longer, it seems, may I not now spend my life as I will?" It was Éowyn who was speaking, indeed, begging.
"Few may do that with honour, but as for you, lady: did you not accept the charge to govern the people until their lord's return? It you had not been chosen, then some marshal or captain would have been set in the same place, and he could not ride away from his charge, were he weary of it or no." Eleriel shook her head. Wrong answer, Estel! she thought. Eleriel could imagine how Eowyn felt.
"Shall I always be chose? Shall I always be left behind when the Riders depart, to mind the house while they win renown, and fine food and beds when they return?" Eowyn's voice was bitter and desperate, but Eleriel thought that perhaps there was more to her plight than she was letting on. Perhaps, Eleriel mused, perhaps it is just not a chance for valor that pulls her to accompany Aragorn. Eleriel's attention wandered for a moment, before returning to the conversation, where Eowyn was now speaking.
"...They go only because they would not be parted from thee-because they love thee." Eleriel smiled a little; her guess had been right. She heard Eowyn walk away and listened to Aragorn sigh before entering his room.
Eleriel silently shadowed the walking woman. Éowyn walked almost as quietly as an elf down a spiraling stone staircase before pushing a pair of heavy wooden doors open and striding out into the night. Eleriel followed and stopped when the woman paused in a small courtyard, dimly lit by the moonlight. The golden-haired woman sank down onto a small stone bench and sighed. If Eowyn had been a normal maiden, Eleriel would have been willing to bet that she would have been weeping.
"Éowyn?" Eleriel said softly, purposely leaving off the title of "Lady" since Éowyn would mostl likely not appreciate it at the moment.
The woman turned sharply on the bench to look at Eleriel. "Who...?" she began, but Eleriel cut her off.
"I am Eleriel, daughter of Elrond of Rivendell," she said, bowing her head respectfully.
Éowyn looked surprised. "Your father let you come with your brothers?" she asked, obviously envious.
Eleriel shrugged and let her normal stubborn expression move over her face. "I didn't give him much choice. I basically told him that I was coming, whether he liked it or not."
Éowyn nodded, a contemplative look in her eyes. Suddenly she said, "if you are the daughter of Elrond, then you must know Aragorn..."
"I practically raised him," Eleriel said, cutting her off. Seeing the mortal woman's confusion, she explained, "the elves do not show age as others do because we are immortal."
Éowyn nodded and Eleriel shook her head. She had not known that the elves had become so rare on Middle Earth that it was no longer known that they were immortal! Éowyn said, "he is noble and brave, as well as handsome. Why will he not let me come with you?"
Eleriel looked at her sharply. As much as she liked Éowyn, and as much as she disliked the idea of her sister dying, she had to try to stop this somehow. "Oh,I don't know why he won't let you," she said casually. "He is just as stubborn with my sister, Arwen... you'd never know that they have plighted their troth by listening to him order her to stay at home where she is safe!" Eleriel watched with some relief as Éowyn took in the implication. The other woman's eyes widened slightly as she nodded. They sat in silence for some time before Éowyn excused herself and left for bed. Eleriel watched her go before retiring to her own chambers for the night.
The next morning they set out early. Their destination was not very far from Edoras, and it would be only a couple of hours before they would enter the tunnels leading them to the Stone. While they were riding, most of the company remained silent, because many were still groggy from lack of sleep. It was still very early in the morning, after all. Eleriel looked around for someone to talk to. Her brothers were chatting with Legolas and Gimli, but Aragorn was riding silently. Although he was in the middle of a host of people, he seemed removed and alone. Eleriel steered her horse over to him.
"Good morning, Aragorn," she said quietly. He started in his saddle and stared at her.
"Eleriel," he said wearily. They had not had much time at all to talk since she had arrived, but Eleriel could tell how weary he was of the War.
"Why did you leave her behind?" she said softly, gently.
He shrugged uncomfortably. "It wasn't my place to give her permission to leave Edoras."
"It wasn't your place to forbid her from coming with you, was it? Besides, you would not be granting her permission to leave, merely permission to come with you if she left."
Aragorn shook his head. "I wonder at you elves sometimes. I forget how convoluted your sense of honor can be at times."
Eleriel smiled at him. "Have you looked at the banner that my sister has sent?"
Aragorn groaned. "I have not." He saw her critical glance and said hurriedly, "only because this is not the right time for it! I will open it and raise it when the time comes, but not a moment sooner."
"Are you so reluctant to accept your fate?" Eleriel asked gently. "You are..."
"The heir of Isildur, I know!" he said, almost snappishly. "But I would not be on this path if it weren't for..." He cut his words off, but Eleriel knew what he had been about to say.
"Weren't for my father, you mean?" she said, pretending to be indignant. She felt a momentary pang of guilt, seeing Aragorn's mortified expression, but forced the guilt down, telling herself that this was something Aragorn needed to hear. "Estel," she said, using the childhood name on purpose, "Arwen loves you no matter what. You know that. It's not just for Arwen that he wants you to do this... it's for you as well. Don't you see that you are the greatest of the descendants of Isildur? The world of men is declining, Aragorn, along with the world of elves. The only problem is that the world of men is what is supposed to take over after the elves have sailed from Middle Earth. It is your responsibilty, Aragorn, and my father intends to see you accept it, even if he has to force you into it."
"But..."
"Don't 'but' me, Aragorn! Someone has to accept this burden, especially in times like these. The kingdoms of men will shatter and break in this war without a leader, Aragorn. Even if-if!-we manage to win this struggle, there will need to be a strong leader to heal the land. They cannot rebuild on their own. The Second-Born Children of Ilúvatar are strong, Aragorn, but even they need help sometimes." Eleriel paused for breath, and smiled a little at the dejected man before her. "Aragorn Elessar." He looked up at the name. "I have known nearly all of the descendents of Isildur... I've had a hand in the upbringings of a few of them! But I say this in all honesty... you are among the most worthy to take up the kingship. Besides," she added with a coy smile, "what kind of life is it for a Lady, the life of a Ranger? I do not know how well she would take to the Prancing Pony in Bree."
Aragorn visibly relaxed in his saddle and laughed a little. "Eleriel," he said, "I don't know how you do it, but you've always been able to pound sense into my head!"
Eleriel laughed along with him and told him, "Blame Grandmother Galadriel."
They continued in silence for a time. Eleriel found her thoughts drifting unstoppably to the overheard conversation in Helm's Deep. He used one of the lost Seeing Stones! she thought to herself in shock. She shook her head slightly, causing the rider beside her to look at her curiously. Eleriel had never actually seen one of the Stones, but she had heard of them and had known people who had used them. Eleriel thought back to a visit she had made to Gondor, several hundred years ago. The Steward at the time had been fairly friendly with the Elves; Elrond had visited him from time to time. Eleriel had accompanied him once, and the Steward, wise for a mortal but still foolish in many ways, had boasted of how he often knew what was happening in his realm at all times. Eleriel remembered that at the time she had been strongly reminded of... she nearly fell off her horse. "Aragorn!" she nearly shrieked. "Aragorn!"
He had ridden ahead a way while she had been pondering, but he turned his horse back at her cry. Legolas and her brothers also rode forward when they heard her shout, and the men around her were looking at her in curiosity and concern.
Ignoring everyone around her, Eleriel turned her face to Aragorn, eyes wide and fearful.
"Aragorn! I have to go to Gondor!"
~~~~~~~~~
Yeah, um, check for updates on Friday, probably. Most likely by mid-afternoon, no promises though. My computer's been a real pain in the, ah, rear end lately, so I don't know what's happening tomorrow with it!