Chapter...
(A.N. Here we go. Gonna be interesting. Hope you enjoy!)
Orian stood next to Briano, brushing out his main. Soon they would leave, and everything was ready. Turning, she noticed Eowyn coming towards her. "Greetings." She said quietly.
"Greetings." Eowyn answered. She paused, taking in Orian's dress. "I see that they're letting you come with them and fight."
"Yes." Orian answered. She did not mean to be short with the human, but she had a lot of things on her mind and did not truly know the Rohan.
"Strange." Eowyn said, coming beside Orian and taking in the site of Briano. "My brother sees that you are able to fight while I am not."
Orian paused, sighing. "My brother never let me come in his company either." She said, remembering her own protests, and his joking that all she could do was make the enemy laugh.
At this, Eowyn looked at her with surprise. "You have a brother?"
Orian nodded, fastening her elvish sword to her saddle. "Once. He died over a hundred years ago."
"I'm sorry." Eowyn said. "How did he die?"
"In battle."Orian answered. "He sacrificed himself so that one of his friends would live."
There was silence, and Eowyn pulled at her long blonde hair. "I must ask you." She said suddenly. "What is your name? The men are beginning to wonder, and I haven't been able to ask my brother."
Orian nodded, smiling. "Of course, how rude of me. My name is Orian."
With that, Eowyn took in a deep breath. "Than it was Prince Legolas who your brother saved?"
Orian cocked her head to the side. "Yes. How did you know that?"
"Lord Aragorn told me." Eowyn answered, suddenly remembering the elf's conversation with the heir of Gondor down in the stables of the Golden Hall. "After the Prince heard the false news of your death-" She paused, not knowing where to go on, and looked up at the she-elf.
Orian's eyes were wide, and her mouth was open in surprise. "I had no idea." She whispered. "Legolas thinks that I was killed?"
Eowyn nodded. "As did everyone else."
****LATER***
"Mount your horses!" The King yelled.
Orian swung herself up onto Briano's back, and he reared with excitement. She didn't hold him back, and let the stallion have his fun.
Briano crashed down to the earth, and Orian steadied herself comfortably in the saddle. She now wore Rohan armor, and helmet. However, she still had her bow across her shoulder and an elvish sword at her side.
"We ride for Gondor and Minus Tirith!" The Rohan king yelled.
Orian glanced around, and noticed that some of the Rohans were staring at her. She leaned down, whispering into Briano's ear to be still, and the great stallion halted his prancing.
The Rohan king raised his arm. "We ride!" He yelled. "For Gondor!"
With that, all the riders spurred their steeds forwards, and a great thundering shook the ground as the hundreds of horses galloped across the earth.
Orian spurred Briano on, and the black horse bolted. Quickly, he gained speed on the lead riders. Orian leaned forwards, her face nearly in Briano's black main as he crossed the ground with long steady strides. She was lighter than any of the other Rohans, and Briano was a horse which was great in stature. Eventually, she got to the lead of the great army of Rohans, and stayed there.
They tore across the planes. Their horses hooves barely touching the ground. After a while, Orian glanced around, and noticed that she wasn't the only smaller rider of the group. Beside her, with a hobbit in front of him, was a slight-boned rider with wisps of blond hair coming from beneath it's helmet. Instantly Orian recognized just who it was. She reached over, and touched the shoulder of the warrior.
Eowyn turned in surprise, and met Orian's gaze. She was greatly relieved that it wasn't her brother who had gotten her attention, and Merry turned to see just who Eowyn was looking at.
Orian waved, giving them a great big smile.
Eowyn laughed, and Merry made a little sound of surprise, and then waved back. So this was how it would be. Eowyn smiled to herself, sometimes girls just had to stick together.
***The Mountain Pass***
"The way is shut." Legolas read, looking up at the cave entrance. "The dead are who built it, and are they who keep it."
There was a chill in the air that made Legolas's bones ache, and the shadows were moist. Everything felt of death, or dying. He held onto Lazaro's reins, and gazed into the black hole of the cave's mouth.
Suddenly, there was a gush of chilling air, and he heard a howl deep in the earth which made his skin crawl. Lazaro reared, and the reins were pulled away from his hands.
Aragorn called after his horse, but Legolas didn't bother, knowing that there was no way that Lazaro would come to him. If he had bolted, the horse could not control his fear any longer, and would not return.
"I do not fear death." Aragorn said, partially to himself. Turning toward the cave, the heir of Gondor entered in, the darkness swallowing him up.
Legolas looked into the chilling blackness. Standing there, he had to ask himself. Did he fear death? What was life anymore to him anyway? Determinedly, he lowered his chin, and strode forwards. Middle-Earth needed their aid, and what was he holding back anyway? Nothing. The only reason he had wished to live earlier was to return to Orian, and now that would never be, so he had no reason to fear death. Death was quick, and would simply end this part of his journey. No. He did not fear death. With that, Legolas entered the cave, and the closeness nearly smothered him.
***The Traveling Roharrim**
Orian had seen the battle of Gondor miles away, due to her elven eyes. But as they rode to the very edge, she could see everything in detail.
The white city was already on fire, and had sustained heavy damage. Huge Orc and Uruk-Hai armies were outside the walls and some had even broke through. It seemed that they had arrived just in time.
Calls came to the riders to form lines, and Orian pulled Briano back so that they stood beside the Rohans. The Rohan king rode up and down the ranks.
"Today, many spears will be broken, and many shields will be split." He yelled. "But today, we fight!"
However, Orian wasn't really listening to what the human was saying. Her mind was far away, and her eyes saw the Golden Wood. She remembered her childhood, her friends, and her brother. Her father's face as he had once smiled upon her, and Haldir's laughter ringing through the woods. 'This war is going to be greater than any. And more terrible than any.' Haldir had said. 'But we will not let our youngers remember us as the ones who left them in time of trouble.' Orian gritted her teeth, remembering her last night in Lothlorien. 'We will fight!' They had yelled, raising their bows in the air. 'We will fight for Middle-Earth! For Freedom!' She would remember those words forever, as long as she still breathed.
It was then that the King drew his sword, passing his riders for one last time. Orian watched, and then a mighty shout arose from the Rohan ranks. The words were barely distinguishable, but they rose their swords high in the air.
Orian drew her long elvish sword, raising herself up high in the saddle. She cried out, her voice mingling with the voices of the humans. Then, the Rohan's horn was blown, and the charge was sounded.
They spurred their horses foreward, and Briano, despite galloping for hours already, surged ahead. Ground and vally shook as the great company of riders streamed down the hill. The rising sun came out behind the smoke of the burning city, and for once their was light.
As they rode the Orcs shot out some of the horses out from under the riders, but still they kept coming. The Rohans had arrived, and they were going to be aid for Gondor.
Orian was one of the first to meet up hand-to-hand with the Orc. Briano leaped into the ranks, his hooves soon becoming black and stained in Orcish blood.
Orian swung her sword this way and then that. Arrows flew past her, and she ducked, her helmet flying off. Another volley of arrows came and one nicked her cheek, drawing a stream of crimson elvish blood. It only enraged her further.
***The Docks***
"About time you pirate scum!" An orc captain yelled. "Late as usual." He paused. "Well, come on."
It was then that Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli leaped out of the pirate ships and landed on the docks. Legolas half-chuckled as the orc looked at them with dumb surprise. Together they charged, a lone elf, man, and dwarf against a whole rank of orc soldiers. Or were they alone?
Green mists materialized out of nothing, revealing an army of the dead. Aragorn lead the charge, and the dwellers of the mountain came out of the sea, destroying every orc in their path. Legolas smiled, and gazed up at the white city of Gondor.
***The fight On the Other Side of the White City***
The orcs were on the run. And the Rohans felt the taste of a possible victory. Orian rode Briano hard on the orc's heels. She had put away her sword, and now shot her bow. An orc went down, a white swan arrow sticking out from his neck, and Briano trampled him under his hooves.
Orian drew another arrow, and shot, her target falling dead before he touched the ground. She was about to draw another arrow when she glanced up. Her eyes became wide, and she pulled up on Briano's reins so hard that the black horse reared, squealing in protest. Elephants.
"Form line!" The Rohan king yelled, desperately regathering his riders.
Orian reined Briano around, and headed back to the Rohan troops. As soon as she got there, she again pulled her stallion so that he faced the advancing giants from the East.
She had never seen an Elephant before, but had read about them in her studies of the Eastern Cultures. However, these were not what she hade suspected. They were immense.
"Sound the charge!" The king yelled, and a Rohan trumpet was blown. Again Orian ordered Briano to break away, and the stallion obeyed.
Orian let loose of the reins, and drew an arrow to her bow. Carefully, trying to keep her arm steady while Briano galloped in great strides, she aimed at one of the huge beast's forehead. She loosed her arrow, and it sailed through the air- imbedding itself into the Elephant's thick hide.
The site was amazing. Arrow in it's forehead, the elephant was slow to react, and tried to keep on going, but it stumbled and came crashing down. It came down with a booming sound and the elephant rolled over and over on it's side, crushing hundreds of orcs beneath it.
Suddenly, their was a screech overhead, and Orian's elvish ears felt the pain of the cry of the Nazgul. Orian looked up, just in time to see the great claws of a winged dragon come down and grab both her and Briano.
Orian's heart went up into her mouth as she was lurched high up into the air. Looking down, Orian saw the claws of the winged dragon claw deep into Briano's black hide. Her stallion shrieked, kicking violently. However, luckily for her, Orian was not in the dragon's grip. She was suddenly empowered with something more than herself, and drew her sword. Orian climbed out of her saddle, knowing that the dragon would drop her at any moment, and swung herself up past the dragon's wings, and onto the black beast's back.
The wind blew her brown hair behind her as the dragon's wings beat against the air. Orian's sense of balance was all that kept her from falling hundreds of feet, and she gripped her long sword in her hands. However, the height was not what worried her, it was the dragon's rider.
A hooded figure of a Nazgul turned to face her, and the blackness beneath the layers of cloth made her shiver. There was a shrieking sound of a horse, but Orian didn't hear it, concentrating fully on the task at hand. Leaping forwards, Orian took the advantage of surprise, swinging her elvish sword she brought it down on the vile minion of the Dark Lord.
Pain seared through her arms as her sword passed between the shoulders and head of the black rider. She barely stayed on her feet, while the Nazgul fell from the dragon's neck. Quickly, Orian dashed for the reins of the fearsome beast, barely grabbing them before they slid away.
Pulling up, Orian desperately tried to rein the dragon. However, it was a beast of Mordor, and could only be controlled by the vile Nazgul. As soon as it flew low enough, Orian again raised her sword, slashing at the creature's neck.
The dragon fell to the earth, and Orian jumped away, dropping from the dragon as the beast crashed and then writhed in agony on the ground.
Getting up, Orian again took a firm grip on her sword, coming at a run toward the black beast. She slashed down, and ended the job and taking the beast's head completely off it's neck.
Glancing around, Orian saw that the battle was practically over, and as she watched, the last elephant fell. It was then, that she began to shake. Had she really done that? Orian reached a trembling hand up to her forehead, and stumbled away from the dead dragon. Where was Briano?
***Later***
Eomir walked along the battle-field. Smoke was drifting through the air, and everything stank of orc. He wiped at his nose, trying in vein to be rid of the stench.
Wearily, he was walking for the gates of the White City. His horse had been shot out from under him, and thus was reduced to walking.
Looking around, however, he spotted someone wearing Rohan armor. When he came he saw that it was in fact the she-elf, Lady Orian. It made his heart a little lighter to see that she had lived through the battle, but in a way he wasn't truly surprised. She was an elf after all.
As he came closer, he saw what she was doing. It was a sad sight to see indeed. The she-elf was sitting next to her mighty stallion, and trying to soothe it by caressing it's strong neck. At times, the black horse would wimper deep in it's chest, but couldn't even raise it's head. The stallion lay in a horrible position, and instantly Eomir knew that the horse's back was broken. It was then, that he no-longer felt the difference between the she-elf and one of his own riders.
Eomir rested his hand on Orian's shoulder, trying to comfort her. "He's dying, Lady." He said. The she-elf looked up at him, her eyes full of tears, and her face cut and bloody.
"I know." Orian answered, taking in the site of the Rohan captain. She remembered him from the time Eowyn had requested that he give Orian a place among his riders, and was pleased to see him alive. She turned back to Briano, knowing that all hope for her old friend was in no use. "I wish I could ease his suffering." She whispered, her voice breaking. "But I cant, I-" She rubbed her face, tears streaking the dirt and muck on her cheeks.
Eomir kneeled next to her. "Let me." He said softly, as if speaking to his sister. He remembered once when her horse had broken several legs in a gully and he had to do the same thing because Eowyn couldn't bring herself to. And because couldn't bare to see her cry.
Orian turned to look into Eomir's dark brown eyes. She knew what he was talking about, and took in deep shuddering breath. Slowly, she nodded her head.
Eomir stood up, taking the she-elf's hands and lifting her to her feet. "Wait over there."
Orian nodded silently, taking her sword in her hands, and walking away. It was when she got a little distance off she stopped, but did not turn around. She heard the sound of Eomir's sword leaving it's sheath, but then nothing. Soon, the Rohan walked up beside her, placing a hand her shoulder.
"Come." Eomir said softly. "Let's go."
To Be Continued
(A.N. I'm sure some of you don't understand that, but maybe when you have horses or dogs of your own like I do, you will. I'm adding two chapters at a time, so keep on going.)
(A.N. Here we go. Gonna be interesting. Hope you enjoy!)
Orian stood next to Briano, brushing out his main. Soon they would leave, and everything was ready. Turning, she noticed Eowyn coming towards her. "Greetings." She said quietly.
"Greetings." Eowyn answered. She paused, taking in Orian's dress. "I see that they're letting you come with them and fight."
"Yes." Orian answered. She did not mean to be short with the human, but she had a lot of things on her mind and did not truly know the Rohan.
"Strange." Eowyn said, coming beside Orian and taking in the site of Briano. "My brother sees that you are able to fight while I am not."
Orian paused, sighing. "My brother never let me come in his company either." She said, remembering her own protests, and his joking that all she could do was make the enemy laugh.
At this, Eowyn looked at her with surprise. "You have a brother?"
Orian nodded, fastening her elvish sword to her saddle. "Once. He died over a hundred years ago."
"I'm sorry." Eowyn said. "How did he die?"
"In battle."Orian answered. "He sacrificed himself so that one of his friends would live."
There was silence, and Eowyn pulled at her long blonde hair. "I must ask you." She said suddenly. "What is your name? The men are beginning to wonder, and I haven't been able to ask my brother."
Orian nodded, smiling. "Of course, how rude of me. My name is Orian."
With that, Eowyn took in a deep breath. "Than it was Prince Legolas who your brother saved?"
Orian cocked her head to the side. "Yes. How did you know that?"
"Lord Aragorn told me." Eowyn answered, suddenly remembering the elf's conversation with the heir of Gondor down in the stables of the Golden Hall. "After the Prince heard the false news of your death-" She paused, not knowing where to go on, and looked up at the she-elf.
Orian's eyes were wide, and her mouth was open in surprise. "I had no idea." She whispered. "Legolas thinks that I was killed?"
Eowyn nodded. "As did everyone else."
****LATER***
"Mount your horses!" The King yelled.
Orian swung herself up onto Briano's back, and he reared with excitement. She didn't hold him back, and let the stallion have his fun.
Briano crashed down to the earth, and Orian steadied herself comfortably in the saddle. She now wore Rohan armor, and helmet. However, she still had her bow across her shoulder and an elvish sword at her side.
"We ride for Gondor and Minus Tirith!" The Rohan king yelled.
Orian glanced around, and noticed that some of the Rohans were staring at her. She leaned down, whispering into Briano's ear to be still, and the great stallion halted his prancing.
The Rohan king raised his arm. "We ride!" He yelled. "For Gondor!"
With that, all the riders spurred their steeds forwards, and a great thundering shook the ground as the hundreds of horses galloped across the earth.
Orian spurred Briano on, and the black horse bolted. Quickly, he gained speed on the lead riders. Orian leaned forwards, her face nearly in Briano's black main as he crossed the ground with long steady strides. She was lighter than any of the other Rohans, and Briano was a horse which was great in stature. Eventually, she got to the lead of the great army of Rohans, and stayed there.
They tore across the planes. Their horses hooves barely touching the ground. After a while, Orian glanced around, and noticed that she wasn't the only smaller rider of the group. Beside her, with a hobbit in front of him, was a slight-boned rider with wisps of blond hair coming from beneath it's helmet. Instantly Orian recognized just who it was. She reached over, and touched the shoulder of the warrior.
Eowyn turned in surprise, and met Orian's gaze. She was greatly relieved that it wasn't her brother who had gotten her attention, and Merry turned to see just who Eowyn was looking at.
Orian waved, giving them a great big smile.
Eowyn laughed, and Merry made a little sound of surprise, and then waved back. So this was how it would be. Eowyn smiled to herself, sometimes girls just had to stick together.
***The Mountain Pass***
"The way is shut." Legolas read, looking up at the cave entrance. "The dead are who built it, and are they who keep it."
There was a chill in the air that made Legolas's bones ache, and the shadows were moist. Everything felt of death, or dying. He held onto Lazaro's reins, and gazed into the black hole of the cave's mouth.
Suddenly, there was a gush of chilling air, and he heard a howl deep in the earth which made his skin crawl. Lazaro reared, and the reins were pulled away from his hands.
Aragorn called after his horse, but Legolas didn't bother, knowing that there was no way that Lazaro would come to him. If he had bolted, the horse could not control his fear any longer, and would not return.
"I do not fear death." Aragorn said, partially to himself. Turning toward the cave, the heir of Gondor entered in, the darkness swallowing him up.
Legolas looked into the chilling blackness. Standing there, he had to ask himself. Did he fear death? What was life anymore to him anyway? Determinedly, he lowered his chin, and strode forwards. Middle-Earth needed their aid, and what was he holding back anyway? Nothing. The only reason he had wished to live earlier was to return to Orian, and now that would never be, so he had no reason to fear death. Death was quick, and would simply end this part of his journey. No. He did not fear death. With that, Legolas entered the cave, and the closeness nearly smothered him.
***The Traveling Roharrim**
Orian had seen the battle of Gondor miles away, due to her elven eyes. But as they rode to the very edge, she could see everything in detail.
The white city was already on fire, and had sustained heavy damage. Huge Orc and Uruk-Hai armies were outside the walls and some had even broke through. It seemed that they had arrived just in time.
Calls came to the riders to form lines, and Orian pulled Briano back so that they stood beside the Rohans. The Rohan king rode up and down the ranks.
"Today, many spears will be broken, and many shields will be split." He yelled. "But today, we fight!"
However, Orian wasn't really listening to what the human was saying. Her mind was far away, and her eyes saw the Golden Wood. She remembered her childhood, her friends, and her brother. Her father's face as he had once smiled upon her, and Haldir's laughter ringing through the woods. 'This war is going to be greater than any. And more terrible than any.' Haldir had said. 'But we will not let our youngers remember us as the ones who left them in time of trouble.' Orian gritted her teeth, remembering her last night in Lothlorien. 'We will fight!' They had yelled, raising their bows in the air. 'We will fight for Middle-Earth! For Freedom!' She would remember those words forever, as long as she still breathed.
It was then that the King drew his sword, passing his riders for one last time. Orian watched, and then a mighty shout arose from the Rohan ranks. The words were barely distinguishable, but they rose their swords high in the air.
Orian drew her long elvish sword, raising herself up high in the saddle. She cried out, her voice mingling with the voices of the humans. Then, the Rohan's horn was blown, and the charge was sounded.
They spurred their horses foreward, and Briano, despite galloping for hours already, surged ahead. Ground and vally shook as the great company of riders streamed down the hill. The rising sun came out behind the smoke of the burning city, and for once their was light.
As they rode the Orcs shot out some of the horses out from under the riders, but still they kept coming. The Rohans had arrived, and they were going to be aid for Gondor.
Orian was one of the first to meet up hand-to-hand with the Orc. Briano leaped into the ranks, his hooves soon becoming black and stained in Orcish blood.
Orian swung her sword this way and then that. Arrows flew past her, and she ducked, her helmet flying off. Another volley of arrows came and one nicked her cheek, drawing a stream of crimson elvish blood. It only enraged her further.
***The Docks***
"About time you pirate scum!" An orc captain yelled. "Late as usual." He paused. "Well, come on."
It was then that Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli leaped out of the pirate ships and landed on the docks. Legolas half-chuckled as the orc looked at them with dumb surprise. Together they charged, a lone elf, man, and dwarf against a whole rank of orc soldiers. Or were they alone?
Green mists materialized out of nothing, revealing an army of the dead. Aragorn lead the charge, and the dwellers of the mountain came out of the sea, destroying every orc in their path. Legolas smiled, and gazed up at the white city of Gondor.
***The fight On the Other Side of the White City***
The orcs were on the run. And the Rohans felt the taste of a possible victory. Orian rode Briano hard on the orc's heels. She had put away her sword, and now shot her bow. An orc went down, a white swan arrow sticking out from his neck, and Briano trampled him under his hooves.
Orian drew another arrow, and shot, her target falling dead before he touched the ground. She was about to draw another arrow when she glanced up. Her eyes became wide, and she pulled up on Briano's reins so hard that the black horse reared, squealing in protest. Elephants.
"Form line!" The Rohan king yelled, desperately regathering his riders.
Orian reined Briano around, and headed back to the Rohan troops. As soon as she got there, she again pulled her stallion so that he faced the advancing giants from the East.
She had never seen an Elephant before, but had read about them in her studies of the Eastern Cultures. However, these were not what she hade suspected. They were immense.
"Sound the charge!" The king yelled, and a Rohan trumpet was blown. Again Orian ordered Briano to break away, and the stallion obeyed.
Orian let loose of the reins, and drew an arrow to her bow. Carefully, trying to keep her arm steady while Briano galloped in great strides, she aimed at one of the huge beast's forehead. She loosed her arrow, and it sailed through the air- imbedding itself into the Elephant's thick hide.
The site was amazing. Arrow in it's forehead, the elephant was slow to react, and tried to keep on going, but it stumbled and came crashing down. It came down with a booming sound and the elephant rolled over and over on it's side, crushing hundreds of orcs beneath it.
Suddenly, their was a screech overhead, and Orian's elvish ears felt the pain of the cry of the Nazgul. Orian looked up, just in time to see the great claws of a winged dragon come down and grab both her and Briano.
Orian's heart went up into her mouth as she was lurched high up into the air. Looking down, Orian saw the claws of the winged dragon claw deep into Briano's black hide. Her stallion shrieked, kicking violently. However, luckily for her, Orian was not in the dragon's grip. She was suddenly empowered with something more than herself, and drew her sword. Orian climbed out of her saddle, knowing that the dragon would drop her at any moment, and swung herself up past the dragon's wings, and onto the black beast's back.
The wind blew her brown hair behind her as the dragon's wings beat against the air. Orian's sense of balance was all that kept her from falling hundreds of feet, and she gripped her long sword in her hands. However, the height was not what worried her, it was the dragon's rider.
A hooded figure of a Nazgul turned to face her, and the blackness beneath the layers of cloth made her shiver. There was a shrieking sound of a horse, but Orian didn't hear it, concentrating fully on the task at hand. Leaping forwards, Orian took the advantage of surprise, swinging her elvish sword she brought it down on the vile minion of the Dark Lord.
Pain seared through her arms as her sword passed between the shoulders and head of the black rider. She barely stayed on her feet, while the Nazgul fell from the dragon's neck. Quickly, Orian dashed for the reins of the fearsome beast, barely grabbing them before they slid away.
Pulling up, Orian desperately tried to rein the dragon. However, it was a beast of Mordor, and could only be controlled by the vile Nazgul. As soon as it flew low enough, Orian again raised her sword, slashing at the creature's neck.
The dragon fell to the earth, and Orian jumped away, dropping from the dragon as the beast crashed and then writhed in agony on the ground.
Getting up, Orian again took a firm grip on her sword, coming at a run toward the black beast. She slashed down, and ended the job and taking the beast's head completely off it's neck.
Glancing around, Orian saw that the battle was practically over, and as she watched, the last elephant fell. It was then, that she began to shake. Had she really done that? Orian reached a trembling hand up to her forehead, and stumbled away from the dead dragon. Where was Briano?
***Later***
Eomir walked along the battle-field. Smoke was drifting through the air, and everything stank of orc. He wiped at his nose, trying in vein to be rid of the stench.
Wearily, he was walking for the gates of the White City. His horse had been shot out from under him, and thus was reduced to walking.
Looking around, however, he spotted someone wearing Rohan armor. When he came he saw that it was in fact the she-elf, Lady Orian. It made his heart a little lighter to see that she had lived through the battle, but in a way he wasn't truly surprised. She was an elf after all.
As he came closer, he saw what she was doing. It was a sad sight to see indeed. The she-elf was sitting next to her mighty stallion, and trying to soothe it by caressing it's strong neck. At times, the black horse would wimper deep in it's chest, but couldn't even raise it's head. The stallion lay in a horrible position, and instantly Eomir knew that the horse's back was broken. It was then, that he no-longer felt the difference between the she-elf and one of his own riders.
Eomir rested his hand on Orian's shoulder, trying to comfort her. "He's dying, Lady." He said. The she-elf looked up at him, her eyes full of tears, and her face cut and bloody.
"I know." Orian answered, taking in the site of the Rohan captain. She remembered him from the time Eowyn had requested that he give Orian a place among his riders, and was pleased to see him alive. She turned back to Briano, knowing that all hope for her old friend was in no use. "I wish I could ease his suffering." She whispered, her voice breaking. "But I cant, I-" She rubbed her face, tears streaking the dirt and muck on her cheeks.
Eomir kneeled next to her. "Let me." He said softly, as if speaking to his sister. He remembered once when her horse had broken several legs in a gully and he had to do the same thing because Eowyn couldn't bring herself to. And because couldn't bare to see her cry.
Orian turned to look into Eomir's dark brown eyes. She knew what he was talking about, and took in deep shuddering breath. Slowly, she nodded her head.
Eomir stood up, taking the she-elf's hands and lifting her to her feet. "Wait over there."
Orian nodded silently, taking her sword in her hands, and walking away. It was when she got a little distance off she stopped, but did not turn around. She heard the sound of Eomir's sword leaving it's sheath, but then nothing. Soon, the Rohan walked up beside her, placing a hand her shoulder.
"Come." Eomir said softly. "Let's go."
To Be Continued
(A.N. I'm sure some of you don't understand that, but maybe when you have horses or dogs of your own like I do, you will. I'm adding two chapters at a time, so keep on going.)