Chapter Two
Rúmil was soon out of sight in the fast flowing current. Haldir slowed down and settled into a pace meant for endurance, not speed. Unless something unusual happened, Rúmil would no doubt get out as soon as he could, and where the banks were lower. Haldir was sure he would find his brother sitting along side the river, cursing about his lost bow or ruined cloak. He ran on, fully expecting to catch up to him in the next few minutes.
Rúmil was still being held captive by the tree limb. He finally managed to loose himself from his cloak. He kept hold of the tree limb though, as the current was moving much too fast for him to try and swim for the side. Besides, the banks were still very steep and he would not be able to get out. He wrapped an arm around a smaller branch to keep himself afloat as he struggled to free himself from his broken quiver. He meant to save the straps and buckles, but the quiver itself was ruined. His knives were missing too. He hoped Haldir had picked up his bow at least. If not, the only thing Rúmil had left for weapons was the dagger in his boot. Well, he hoped it was still there.
After he sent the ruined quiver downstream, he started looking for a spot to get out of the water. He knew he could let go of the branch and swim for the side, if only he could find a low enough place to climb out. He was also a little concerned with how far he'd been carried. He hoped Haldir could catch up to him, he wasn't looking forward to being here with no weapons. Rúmil also wanted to get out of the water soon, his legs and feet were numb from the cold.
As the river followed a slight bend, Rúmil saw his chance. The banks were still high, but a tree had been uprooted and it's top was in the river while the roots were still attached to the ground up above. Rúmil had only to steer towards it, let go of his branch, then climb up to the bank. The tree looked to be anchored well by its roots, although the part of it in the water was moving with the swift current. Rúmil realized that he might knock the whole thing loose if he allowed the branch he held onto to hit the floating bridge. He let go, pushing away from it and started swimming for the half-submerged tree.
He reached the tree in a short time but found that it was less steady than it looked from a distance. It was actually just barely hanging on by its roots, and though heavy, it was floating on the top of the water. Rúmil struggled, but almost got on top of it. Then disaster struck. The limb that had started this whole odyssey, which Rúmil thought he'd kicked away, was bearing down on the tree that he was barely clinging to. Of course, Rúmil's boots were slippery and so was the tree. When the troublesome branch hit the floating tree, it knocked Rúmil loose. He hit his head on the waterlogged trunk of the clinging tree, but somehow managed to cling to the tree.
The branch, having caused it's last bit of mischief, twisted and floated around the hung tree, leaving Rúmil laying along the trunk, trying to pull himself up, just before he blacked out from the knock on the head.
~*~*~
Théodred sighed softly and hoisted his pack and saddle up over his shoulder. He hated to leave his horse here, out in the open, but he was alone and he didn't have even basic tools to bury him or build a cairn. The horse was young, and had spooked at a thunderclap during the storm. Théodred was barely able to keep his seat, but even with his in-born talent with horses, he was unable to stop the horse's terror filled flight across the plain. The animal had stepped into a hole and flipped over, hitting his head, killing him instantly. Théodred was lucky that he'd been able to roll away from the horse so it hadn't landed on him. He marked the place in his mind, hoping to bring some of the warriors back so they could give the animal a proper burial.
Théodred was alone, scouting, when the storm sprang up. His captain, Gareth, had sent him ahead of the Éored to find the spot where the orcs were crossing the Anduin. They planned an ambush, but they wanted to be sure of the path the orcs would be on. He calculated that they wouldn't even start looking for him for at least four days, then two days to reach him on horseback. He adjusted his packs and the saddle and started walking along the river. He could still do the job he'd set out to do; it would just take him longer on foot.
He hiked for the rest of that afternoon then settled on the ground for a quick meal and a light rest. The Riders were a distance out of their territory, but they had need of information, so they had sent a small force out. Once they had the needed information, they would call in reinforcements to ambush the orcs. Théodred knew that when he didn't return in four days, they would come looking for him. He wasn't worried, he had provisions and weapons, and although he would have preferred to have a horse, he could certainly get by without one.
He was walking along the banks when he noticed that a tree had apparently fallen into the river. He walked over and carefully peered over the edge, trying to step lightly since he had no idea if the bank would support his weight. He looked down at the tree and was just about to turn away when he caught sight of a silvery glint coming from the branches. Théodred took a chance and stepped closer, one foot on the bank, the other on the roots of the tree. He could see that it was a person, a woman by the looks of it. Long, silvery blond hair and a slight build. The rider took a deep breath and inched out further along the tree trunk, dropping to his hands and knees, then crawling along on his belly as the trunk narrowed.
The woman had managed to crawl part ways up the trunk, so Théodred thought he could manage carrying-or dragging her back to solid ground. The tree was moving in the still swift current, but it seemed like it would hold. Théodred was able to get a hold on the woman's arms, and he began to pull her up so he could get a better grip on slightly built body. When he had moved her closer to him, he was surprised at how solid she was. She looked small, but from the feel of her, she was quite.strong.
He struggled a bit getting them both back up to solid ground. He took a good look at the woman. She was dressed in a tunic and leggings. Théodred turned her over, on her back to see if he could figure out what attention she needed for injuries. He jumped back when he moved her hair out of her face and saw the pointed ears. Théodred had never seen an elf this closely before. He knew enough about them to realize that this was no woman though, despite the slight build and long hair. This would be one of the elven warriors from Lothlorien. A male elf.
~*~*~
Rúmil groaned as he came to. He felt like he'd been kicked or punched for several hours and he was sure his head needed to explode to feel better. He was lying on the ground, it was dark and there was someone leaning over him. Actually, as he became more aware, he could tell he had his head in the someone's lap.
"Haldir?"
Théodred smiled down at the drowsy elf.
"No. No Haldir here. I'm Théodred. How do you feel?"
Rúmil was alert enough now to realize that the man had to be from Rohan. Théodred. Surely a common name, for what would the heir to the throne be doing this far from home and seemingly alone? Théodred had rested his hands on Rúmil's shoulders, Rúmil wasn't sure if it was to hold him there or not.
"Uh.sore. And my head hurts. How did I get here? Uh.Where *is* here?"
"We are near the river, in Rohan. You are far from your borders, elf. Why?"
"Scouting." Rúmil decided honesty was the best policy. "The Lady Galadriel has heard tidings of increased orc activity, so my brother and I were sent to check it out. Why are you here all alone?"
"I am scouting as well. The storm frightened my horse and he bolted, stepped into a hole and ended up killing himself and nearly me. Will you be missed soon? My patrol will come looking for me soon but we will not be able to take you back."
Rúmil tried to sit up so Théodred moved his hands, helping the elf to a sitting position. His head still ached and throbbed, but Rúmil felt at a distinct disadvantage lying there, with his head in the man's lap. Théodred waited until Rúmil was sitting up, looking pale but better than he had when he'd fished him off that tree. He was sporting an ugly bruise and a lump on his forehead, but there'd been no permanent injuries as far as he could tell.
Rúmil looked at the young man, and smiled.
"I owe you my thanks, Théodred. The last thing I remember was climbing up that tree then everything got fuzzy and black."
"How exactly did you get *on* that tree? And where is your brother? Um.Haldir?"
Rúmil explained how the storm that killed Théodred's horse had sent Rúmil into the river.
"Haldir should be on his way here. He was running along the banks, hoping to catch up to me at some point. Do you know exactly how far we might be from Lothlorien?"
Rúmil had been trying to figure that out since he woke up resting in Théodred's lap. He didn't travel out of Lorien much, though he'd learned to speak the languages of men and dwarves, due to Haldir's insistence. He was glad of that now. However, he didn't know how far he'd been carried, the speed of the current had disoriented him. It hadn't helped that he wasn't completely sure where he'd been knocked into the water, either.
Théodred shook his head, dark locks just brushing his shoulders. "Not exactly. I've never been there. I would think a few days ride or less."
Rúmil groaned at the thought. A few days ride meant many days on foot. Well, best not think about that until he had to. It was getting dark out, and he was tired. He didn't even have a cloak to wrap up in, but he could handle that. He was more worried now about having to set off across the plains without decent weapons. He startled Théodred when he lunged for his boot, hoping to find his dagger. It was. He pulled it out to look at it and Théodred jumped up, drawing his sword from its sheath.
Rúmil quickly put the weapon down on the ground and held his hands up, palms facing Théodred.
"My apologies. I have lost my other weapons and wanted to make sure I still had something for defense. I should have warned you."
"Yes, you should have." Théodred sheathed the sword and nodded, sitting back down and pulling the saddlebags to his lap. "I have some food in here, would you like something to eat?"
Rúmil was surprised that Théodred regarded him with so little suspicion. He knew that generally, the men of Rohan had little use for elves, and were slightly intimidated by the Lady Galadriel. They called her a witch sometimes. He was starving though, and nodded. He would have to rely on Théodred's generosity if he didn't want to get stuck here, mostly weaponless, no food and without even a cloak. He tiredly rubbed his eyes, hoping that Haldir might arrive soon.
Rúmil didn't know what the waybread was called, but it reminded him of lembas, only it didn't taste as good. It was filling though, and after a drink of water, shared from Théodred's waterskin, Rúmil realized how tired and sore he really was but he figured he better offer to share watch with the young man.
"Shall I take the first watch?"
Théodred smiled and shook his head no. "I'll wake you later." He rummaged in his packs once more and tossed a cloak to Rúmil. "Here. It's not much, but I'm afraid we'll have to make do."
Rúmil nodded his thanks once more and wrapped up in the cloak before lying down to sleep a little more.
Théodred watched the elf sleep. It was eerie, how he didn't close his eyes, but you could tell when he was sleeping, or whatever the elves called it. Théodred's hand itched with the urge to touch the soft blond hair. And those lips. If anyone's lips begged for kissing, Rúmil's did. Théodred had nothing against males being with males. He spent most of his time in the company of warriors, and it was nothing new to him. It wasn't something the warriors as a group made public, but when among their own, it was acceptable, even expected. But just because the Rohirrim practiced it, didn't mean the elves did. Théodred couldn't help it though, the elf was beautiful, in a definitely masculine way.
Théodred sat up all night, watching the elf and listening to the night around them. He didn't realize how much he usually relied on his horse to stand watch. He'd have to mention that to Gareth. They should train without the horses sometimes.
When the sun rose the next morning, Rúmil sat up with a groan. He was less pale than he had been, but he still had a nasty bruise above his eye. Théodred offered more of the bread and they both had some water.
"Why didn't you wake me? I would have taken a turn at watch."
"You needed the rest. I can sleep a little today while you watch."
Rúmil looked a little uncomfortable at that. He'd intended to start hiking back upstream, maybe catching up with Haldir sooner. He'd have to borrow food though. And maybe an extra waterskin, if Théodred had one. When he saw how really tired the man was, he thought again. Actually, a day of rest would do him no harm either. He just hoped Haldir wouldn't be too angry.
Rúmil was soon out of sight in the fast flowing current. Haldir slowed down and settled into a pace meant for endurance, not speed. Unless something unusual happened, Rúmil would no doubt get out as soon as he could, and where the banks were lower. Haldir was sure he would find his brother sitting along side the river, cursing about his lost bow or ruined cloak. He ran on, fully expecting to catch up to him in the next few minutes.
Rúmil was still being held captive by the tree limb. He finally managed to loose himself from his cloak. He kept hold of the tree limb though, as the current was moving much too fast for him to try and swim for the side. Besides, the banks were still very steep and he would not be able to get out. He wrapped an arm around a smaller branch to keep himself afloat as he struggled to free himself from his broken quiver. He meant to save the straps and buckles, but the quiver itself was ruined. His knives were missing too. He hoped Haldir had picked up his bow at least. If not, the only thing Rúmil had left for weapons was the dagger in his boot. Well, he hoped it was still there.
After he sent the ruined quiver downstream, he started looking for a spot to get out of the water. He knew he could let go of the branch and swim for the side, if only he could find a low enough place to climb out. He was also a little concerned with how far he'd been carried. He hoped Haldir could catch up to him, he wasn't looking forward to being here with no weapons. Rúmil also wanted to get out of the water soon, his legs and feet were numb from the cold.
As the river followed a slight bend, Rúmil saw his chance. The banks were still high, but a tree had been uprooted and it's top was in the river while the roots were still attached to the ground up above. Rúmil had only to steer towards it, let go of his branch, then climb up to the bank. The tree looked to be anchored well by its roots, although the part of it in the water was moving with the swift current. Rúmil realized that he might knock the whole thing loose if he allowed the branch he held onto to hit the floating bridge. He let go, pushing away from it and started swimming for the half-submerged tree.
He reached the tree in a short time but found that it was less steady than it looked from a distance. It was actually just barely hanging on by its roots, and though heavy, it was floating on the top of the water. Rúmil struggled, but almost got on top of it. Then disaster struck. The limb that had started this whole odyssey, which Rúmil thought he'd kicked away, was bearing down on the tree that he was barely clinging to. Of course, Rúmil's boots were slippery and so was the tree. When the troublesome branch hit the floating tree, it knocked Rúmil loose. He hit his head on the waterlogged trunk of the clinging tree, but somehow managed to cling to the tree.
The branch, having caused it's last bit of mischief, twisted and floated around the hung tree, leaving Rúmil laying along the trunk, trying to pull himself up, just before he blacked out from the knock on the head.
~*~*~
Théodred sighed softly and hoisted his pack and saddle up over his shoulder. He hated to leave his horse here, out in the open, but he was alone and he didn't have even basic tools to bury him or build a cairn. The horse was young, and had spooked at a thunderclap during the storm. Théodred was barely able to keep his seat, but even with his in-born talent with horses, he was unable to stop the horse's terror filled flight across the plain. The animal had stepped into a hole and flipped over, hitting his head, killing him instantly. Théodred was lucky that he'd been able to roll away from the horse so it hadn't landed on him. He marked the place in his mind, hoping to bring some of the warriors back so they could give the animal a proper burial.
Théodred was alone, scouting, when the storm sprang up. His captain, Gareth, had sent him ahead of the Éored to find the spot where the orcs were crossing the Anduin. They planned an ambush, but they wanted to be sure of the path the orcs would be on. He calculated that they wouldn't even start looking for him for at least four days, then two days to reach him on horseback. He adjusted his packs and the saddle and started walking along the river. He could still do the job he'd set out to do; it would just take him longer on foot.
He hiked for the rest of that afternoon then settled on the ground for a quick meal and a light rest. The Riders were a distance out of their territory, but they had need of information, so they had sent a small force out. Once they had the needed information, they would call in reinforcements to ambush the orcs. Théodred knew that when he didn't return in four days, they would come looking for him. He wasn't worried, he had provisions and weapons, and although he would have preferred to have a horse, he could certainly get by without one.
He was walking along the banks when he noticed that a tree had apparently fallen into the river. He walked over and carefully peered over the edge, trying to step lightly since he had no idea if the bank would support his weight. He looked down at the tree and was just about to turn away when he caught sight of a silvery glint coming from the branches. Théodred took a chance and stepped closer, one foot on the bank, the other on the roots of the tree. He could see that it was a person, a woman by the looks of it. Long, silvery blond hair and a slight build. The rider took a deep breath and inched out further along the tree trunk, dropping to his hands and knees, then crawling along on his belly as the trunk narrowed.
The woman had managed to crawl part ways up the trunk, so Théodred thought he could manage carrying-or dragging her back to solid ground. The tree was moving in the still swift current, but it seemed like it would hold. Théodred was able to get a hold on the woman's arms, and he began to pull her up so he could get a better grip on slightly built body. When he had moved her closer to him, he was surprised at how solid she was. She looked small, but from the feel of her, she was quite.strong.
He struggled a bit getting them both back up to solid ground. He took a good look at the woman. She was dressed in a tunic and leggings. Théodred turned her over, on her back to see if he could figure out what attention she needed for injuries. He jumped back when he moved her hair out of her face and saw the pointed ears. Théodred had never seen an elf this closely before. He knew enough about them to realize that this was no woman though, despite the slight build and long hair. This would be one of the elven warriors from Lothlorien. A male elf.
~*~*~
Rúmil groaned as he came to. He felt like he'd been kicked or punched for several hours and he was sure his head needed to explode to feel better. He was lying on the ground, it was dark and there was someone leaning over him. Actually, as he became more aware, he could tell he had his head in the someone's lap.
"Haldir?"
Théodred smiled down at the drowsy elf.
"No. No Haldir here. I'm Théodred. How do you feel?"
Rúmil was alert enough now to realize that the man had to be from Rohan. Théodred. Surely a common name, for what would the heir to the throne be doing this far from home and seemingly alone? Théodred had rested his hands on Rúmil's shoulders, Rúmil wasn't sure if it was to hold him there or not.
"Uh.sore. And my head hurts. How did I get here? Uh.Where *is* here?"
"We are near the river, in Rohan. You are far from your borders, elf. Why?"
"Scouting." Rúmil decided honesty was the best policy. "The Lady Galadriel has heard tidings of increased orc activity, so my brother and I were sent to check it out. Why are you here all alone?"
"I am scouting as well. The storm frightened my horse and he bolted, stepped into a hole and ended up killing himself and nearly me. Will you be missed soon? My patrol will come looking for me soon but we will not be able to take you back."
Rúmil tried to sit up so Théodred moved his hands, helping the elf to a sitting position. His head still ached and throbbed, but Rúmil felt at a distinct disadvantage lying there, with his head in the man's lap. Théodred waited until Rúmil was sitting up, looking pale but better than he had when he'd fished him off that tree. He was sporting an ugly bruise and a lump on his forehead, but there'd been no permanent injuries as far as he could tell.
Rúmil looked at the young man, and smiled.
"I owe you my thanks, Théodred. The last thing I remember was climbing up that tree then everything got fuzzy and black."
"How exactly did you get *on* that tree? And where is your brother? Um.Haldir?"
Rúmil explained how the storm that killed Théodred's horse had sent Rúmil into the river.
"Haldir should be on his way here. He was running along the banks, hoping to catch up to me at some point. Do you know exactly how far we might be from Lothlorien?"
Rúmil had been trying to figure that out since he woke up resting in Théodred's lap. He didn't travel out of Lorien much, though he'd learned to speak the languages of men and dwarves, due to Haldir's insistence. He was glad of that now. However, he didn't know how far he'd been carried, the speed of the current had disoriented him. It hadn't helped that he wasn't completely sure where he'd been knocked into the water, either.
Théodred shook his head, dark locks just brushing his shoulders. "Not exactly. I've never been there. I would think a few days ride or less."
Rúmil groaned at the thought. A few days ride meant many days on foot. Well, best not think about that until he had to. It was getting dark out, and he was tired. He didn't even have a cloak to wrap up in, but he could handle that. He was more worried now about having to set off across the plains without decent weapons. He startled Théodred when he lunged for his boot, hoping to find his dagger. It was. He pulled it out to look at it and Théodred jumped up, drawing his sword from its sheath.
Rúmil quickly put the weapon down on the ground and held his hands up, palms facing Théodred.
"My apologies. I have lost my other weapons and wanted to make sure I still had something for defense. I should have warned you."
"Yes, you should have." Théodred sheathed the sword and nodded, sitting back down and pulling the saddlebags to his lap. "I have some food in here, would you like something to eat?"
Rúmil was surprised that Théodred regarded him with so little suspicion. He knew that generally, the men of Rohan had little use for elves, and were slightly intimidated by the Lady Galadriel. They called her a witch sometimes. He was starving though, and nodded. He would have to rely on Théodred's generosity if he didn't want to get stuck here, mostly weaponless, no food and without even a cloak. He tiredly rubbed his eyes, hoping that Haldir might arrive soon.
Rúmil didn't know what the waybread was called, but it reminded him of lembas, only it didn't taste as good. It was filling though, and after a drink of water, shared from Théodred's waterskin, Rúmil realized how tired and sore he really was but he figured he better offer to share watch with the young man.
"Shall I take the first watch?"
Théodred smiled and shook his head no. "I'll wake you later." He rummaged in his packs once more and tossed a cloak to Rúmil. "Here. It's not much, but I'm afraid we'll have to make do."
Rúmil nodded his thanks once more and wrapped up in the cloak before lying down to sleep a little more.
Théodred watched the elf sleep. It was eerie, how he didn't close his eyes, but you could tell when he was sleeping, or whatever the elves called it. Théodred's hand itched with the urge to touch the soft blond hair. And those lips. If anyone's lips begged for kissing, Rúmil's did. Théodred had nothing against males being with males. He spent most of his time in the company of warriors, and it was nothing new to him. It wasn't something the warriors as a group made public, but when among their own, it was acceptable, even expected. But just because the Rohirrim practiced it, didn't mean the elves did. Théodred couldn't help it though, the elf was beautiful, in a definitely masculine way.
Théodred sat up all night, watching the elf and listening to the night around them. He didn't realize how much he usually relied on his horse to stand watch. He'd have to mention that to Gareth. They should train without the horses sometimes.
When the sun rose the next morning, Rúmil sat up with a groan. He was less pale than he had been, but he still had a nasty bruise above his eye. Théodred offered more of the bread and they both had some water.
"Why didn't you wake me? I would have taken a turn at watch."
"You needed the rest. I can sleep a little today while you watch."
Rúmil looked a little uncomfortable at that. He'd intended to start hiking back upstream, maybe catching up with Haldir sooner. He'd have to borrow food though. And maybe an extra waterskin, if Théodred had one. When he saw how really tired the man was, he thought again. Actually, a day of rest would do him no harm either. He just hoped Haldir wouldn't be too angry.