DISCLAIMER: Lord of the Rings isn't mine, and that's all there is to it. Gwen and Maedron are mine, and that's that! Oh, and Gwen's nurse is mine too.
Gwen paced outside of Eowyn's room in the House of Healing, waiting for news of her friend's condition.
" Gwen, you must sleep," begged Maedron. She ignored him and continued her vigil. A couple of hours ago, Aragorn had kicked her out of the room and gone in with an old nurse named Ioreth. Gwen had not left the door since.
" You are exhausted, your arm is hurt, you have been fighting and riding all day and probably longer, and on top of it all, you haven't eaten or had anything to drink since you staggered up here three hours ago. You haven't slept since who knows when. Please, go rest. I will wake you if Aragorn brings any news," he continued relentlessly. Gwen turned on him in irritation at his constant begging.
" I am not leaving this door until I know whether she is alive or dead, and if you do not like it, then YOU leave!" she hissed angrily as she turned her back and began to walk back and forth again. Maedron watched her, silently admiring her stubbornness and loyalty to her friend. Gwen stumbled and he grabbed her uninjured arm and caught her.
" Gwen, you can barely walk. Go to sleep," he said firmly. She turned on him again, this time in tears.
" I do not want to leave," she said very slowly, as if he were stupid.
" I shouldn't have let her leave the camp in Rohan. I could have done something to stop her!" Gwen went on as she stared at the door. Maedron grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eye.
" You know very well that Eowyn would have left even if you had tried to stop her. She is as strong willed as you are," he said. Gwen stood, silently contemplating the truth in what he said. He is right. I wanted to go as badly as she did. I just didn't think THIS would happen, she thought to herself. Maedron seized this opportunity of stillness and picked Gwen up.
" Hey, what are you doing/" she said in protest.
" Taking you to one of these nurses so you can get some food, sleep, and have your arm looked at. It will do you no good to protest, I am not taking you back to that door to pointlessly exhaust yourself. I honestly don't know how you do it. When was the last time you slept and had a decent meal? Probably not since you rode out yesterday. You have been riding a horse and fighting all day long, been hurt in probably more than one place, and you manage to walk all the way up to the House of Healing, AND pace for hours in front of a closed door. Do you see my point? (pause) Gwen?" he said as he looked down at the still form in his arms. Gwen had obviously fallen asleep during the first two sentences of his tirade. He shrugged and walked n in silence. Soon, he ran into a nurse, who, upon taking one look at the girl in his arms, ushered him into an empty room.
" Lay her down there," said the woman, pointing at the empty bed. Maedron did so and the nurse pushed him out of the room.
" You go on now, you look almost as tired as she does. I will take good care of her. My name is Nori, if you have any questions," she said quickly as she shut the door. Maedron looked at the door for a moment, slightly baffled at what had happened in the last minute, then went on to the room that he was sharing with Legolas and Gimli. They were not there, so he took a chair and sat down in front of the fire and began to think. His thoughts were disrupted when Aragorn walked into the room.
" How is Eowyn?" Maedron asked.
" Eowyn will survive, although she is badly hurt," Aragorn replied as he pulled a chair up to the fire.
" I had to carry Gwen away from the door to get her to sleep. She was quite irritated," Maedron remarked. Aragorn smiled.
" Gwen doesn't like to be hurt. It makes her angry, and with what happened to Eowyn, it was all too much for her," said Aragorn. Maedron nodded.
" She feels like she should have made Eowyn stay," the elf said. Aragorn thought for a moment, then answered.
" The chances of Gwen making Eowyn stay were the same as you trying to make Gwen stay," he said. Maedron looked up.
" I didn't want her to be hurt. I wanted to have the assurance of riding back to that camp and meeting her there. It obviously didn't work," he said.
" Both are very stubborn and strong willed women. But talk to Gwen. Tell her why you wanted her to stay. I think she will understand," said Aragorn as he stood up and opened the door. Maedron nodded good night as he walked out. He then sat for a while, contemplating Aragorn's words.
Gwen awoke when a sunray from the window shone down upon her face. She yawned and stretched, then winced as her battle weary body complained. She was lying in a soft bed, covered in warm blankets. The room was somewhat small, but very cozy with the fire going in the fireplace. Gwen pushed herself up for a moment and, remembering Eowyn, began to rise to change out of the nightgown and put her clothes on. Before she could get out of bed, however, the nurse Nori bustled into the room.
" Now, don't you get up just yet. I was only able to get a short look at your arm last night. Now is the time to fix it up right," she said as she began putting bandages and a bowl of hot water on the bed. Gwen looked at the bowl warily, knowing how badly the water was going to hurt.
" Now, just you hold still for a moment, and it will all be over before you know it," Nori said cheerily, as if she was about to enjoy the torturous remedy she was about to apply. Gwen pulled up the sleeve of her nightgown and winced at the sight of her wound. Although is was not as bad as wounds she had received in the past, Nori was right, she hadn't been able to give it proper care the night before. The wound was covered in dry blood and had grown tight, so Gwen couldn't flex her arm.
" Oh dear, it's gong to take longer than I thought," said Nori. Gwen watched with wide eyes as Nori brought the steaming rag to the wound. At the last second, Gwen stuffed a sheet corner in her mouth to keep from crying out loud. Legolas, Gimli, and Maedron, who were standing outside and down the hall, heard a loud, animal - like screech. All three of them turned down the hall.
" What on earth was that?" asked Gimli.
" It sounds like it came from Gwen's room," Legolas said slowly. They walked down the hall and toward her door. Inside, Nori was proceeding to scrub at Gwen's arm. Gwen was sitting on her bed, eyes shut tightly with the sheet clenched in her teeth. It seemed like an eternity before Nori was satisfied that the wound was clean enough.
" There, that should do. Now hold still while I bandage it up, and for goodness sake, stop whining!" she ordered. Gwen had to use all her self-control to keep from pushing the woman in the fire. She knew Nori meant well, but her bedside manner wasn't the greatest.
" Is it almost done?" Gwen asked as the woman wound a good yard of bandage around Gwen's upper arm.
" Patience is a virtue," Nori sang out. Gwen rolled her eyes.
" Yes, patience is a virtue," came a hushed voice towards the door. Gwen grabbed one of her knives and, before Nori could move, she threw it at the door with all her strength, burying it in the wood up to the hilt. Gwen was satisfied to hear three gasps from the door. Nori glared at Gwen.
" Now why did you have to do that?" she asked angrily. Gwen motioned towards the door. Nori went and opened it and saw the three outside.
" You three go somewhere else, there is a wounded girl inside and I am trying to treat her! How would you like it if you were hurt and was being laughed at? Leave us alone!" she scolded them.
" Yes, Maedron, it isn't nice to laugh at hurt girls who are being treated," said Gwen, a twinkle in her eye. Nori glared at her, then turned to the knife, which had gone clean through the door and was protruding out on the other side.
" Land sakes, how did you throw this hard enough to get it through the door on both sides? And who is going to pull it out?" she asked in awe as she surveyed the damage. Maedron stepped forward.
" Allow me," he said as he effortlessly pulled the blade from the door and walked into the room.
" Now, Gwen, hurt girls shouldn't be throwing sharp, pointy objects at he door," he said as he set it on a table out of her reach and ruffled her short hair. Gwen batted his hand away with a smile.
" Oh, get on with you, Nori still has work to do," Gwen said, indicating her throbbing arm.
" Then you must come see us when you are up and about," said Legolas.
" The food is excellent! We will have some brought for you," added Gimli. Gwen laughed as the three of them walked down the hall, going on in detail of the lovely food. Nori snorted and walked back over to the bed.
" Men, always thinking with their stomachs. There, all finished," she said as she tied the bandage. Gwen looked down at her arm.
" Thank you, it looks very good," said Gwen, for Nori had done a fine job. Nori beamed with pleasure.
" Now, I will go get your clothes and help you dress. No, don't you protest, I'll not have you messing with the bandage," she said as she walked out of the room. A few minutes later, she entered again with Gwen's clothing. Both women then proceeded to get Gwen out of the nightgown and into her clothes.
" Oh, my word, how did you do that?" Nori asked at the sight of the long scar on Gwen's back.
" Oh, an orc gave that to me. Aragorn had to stitch it up," Gwen said as she pulled on her tights. Nori shuddered as she helped Gwen get her underdress over her head. After she was dressed, Gwen left her room and went to find Eowyn. The door to Eowyn's room was open, so she entered.
" Ah, I was hoping you would come soon," Eowyn said weakly. Gwen was delighted to find her alive and awake.
" Oh, sorry I didn't come by sooner. A nurse was busy scalding and binding my arm," Gwen said as she made a face. Eowyn managed a weak laugh. Gwen sat on the floor next to her bed and gave her a detailed report of all that had happened while she had been asleep, causing Eowyn more laughter. Aragorn walked into the room as Gwen finished.
" Gwen, come, the others are waiting, and you need to eat and Eowyn must rest," he said. Gwen nodded and pushed herself to her feet.
" I hate to leave you. But Aragorn is right," Gwen said regretfully. Eowyn smiled at her.
" Go on now, I am sure Maedron is anxious to see you," Eowyn teased her. Gwen blushed and headed out the door. Aragorn walked with her down to the room that the others were in, a slight smile on his face.
" Sit, Gwen," he said, motioning her into a seat near Gimli.
" Now, we all know that Frodo and Sam are in Mordor on their way to Mount Doom. Our hearts tell us that he is still alive," said Aragorn as he walked to the front of the room.
" Sauron has not even begun to think that we would seek to destroy the Ring, so he does not know where it is," said Gandalf.
" We must draw his watchful eye out of Mordor to give the hobbits more of a chance of success. We have decided to challenge Sauron at the Black Gate," stated Aragorn.
" Will he take that bait?" Gwen asked.
" A small army, little hope for success or survival. I think he will accept," said Gimli. Gwen nodded her head in agreement.
" He would accept just to have the satisfaction of crushing us," said Maedron.
" We ride tomorrow at dawn. Be ready, for you will ride with me," said Aragorn. The group dispersed, Gwen walking out with Gimli, Maedron, and Legolas.
" Well, what with war looming up again, I think I shall go sharpen my knives," said Gwen as she headed off towards her room. Maedron turned after her as if he were going to call to her, but could not bring himself to. So he watched her go down the hall, sadness weighing heavily on his heart.
Oh my, I didn't realize how close I was to the end! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year! Keep reading and reviewing!
Pandagrrl: my review button is working? Surprise surprise! My computer browser is being a butt and refuses to let me log into my email account sometimes, so I have to come here to see if I have any reviews until my computer decides to let me in to my email again. I hate computers. But thank you for reviewing, even though I was practically groveling for you to do so ; )