Chapter Twenty-Three
Fright overcame me, even though sense kept reminding myself that Sauron was gone. With no warning, Meneldor swept into a dive that would have looked spectacular, I'm sure, had I been watching from the ground, instead of on his back.
The ground rushed to meet us, and the eagle landed jarringly on a jagged rock. Gwaihir descended, and Mithrandir dismounted, looking expectantly at me.
"Where is it?" He asked.
"I don't-" I began angrily, but suddenly, the familiar pulling started up. "This way." I interrupted myself, climbing down from the rock.
It was unbearably hot. Waves from the ground wafted up, distorting objects and giving them a sinister look. Shuddering, I stepped gingerly onto the black ground. It was hard and sharp feeling, but I ignored it. The tugging was drawing me north, towards the fallen tower.
Yes, yes, closer towards the kill-zone, please, the sarcastic voice of sanity was whispering to me. I ignored it, and maintained a steady gait.
Mt. Doom continued its exhales of lava and smoke, shaking the ground unnervingly.
Nearer and nearer grew the remains of Barad-Dur, and even in defeat, it eminated evil and hate. I heard Mithrandir's footsteps softly following my own, and I could feel his expectant gaze locked on me.
The bag on my shoulders seemed even heavier than before, and I marveled how just two palantiri could feel so cumbersome.
The current was strong now, and it dragged me to the very edge of the wreckage, where it grew even more forceful.
"Here." I directed, falling to my knees with the weight of my pack and the pulling. The ground was still hot, but very solid. The tugging increased, and I slung off my bag and supported myself with my hands.
Mithrandir was at my side, kneeling on the ground and looking anxiously at me. Then he began to mutter something in another tongue, and the pulling grew slightly more gentle.
Struck by an idea, I pulled out both palantiri, and held one in my hands loosely, concentrating on the palantir below the rock.
Heat seared my hands, and I dropped the sphere in pain. Like a magnet, both palantiri rolled together, and began to radiate a white-red glow. The part of my brain I had used to control the palantiri felt as if it had wrapped itself around the rest of my brain, and was draining all my energy on something.
My sight went black, although my eyes were open and I was consious. Out of the darkness, a thin grey fissure appeared, and split into two, which split again, and soon my whole sight was like a silver spiderweb of cracks.
With a sound of shattering glass, my sight returned, and when I looked down, there was a crater of broken rock, and in the center, lay the palantir, like an egg in a nest. The other two palantiri had rolled off to the side, and were now black as they had ever been.
I gently scooped the sphere from the rock, and held it tightly, looking up at Mithrandir. I was suprised to find him smiling.
"Eleanor, what exactly are you not capable of?"
Not knowing how to respond to this, I merely grinned, wrapped all the palantiri in separate cloth, and placed them in my bag.
.
As I squinted my eyes open, Minas Tirith was close. I couldn't have been more grateful if I had just realized the world as I knew it was going to be populated solely by Hobbits.
Meneldor landed with a thump on the wall of the battlement, and I tumbled off quickly, dragging my bag behind me from the weight. Mithrandir remained by the eagles, speaking to them softly in their own language. Deciding to leave them alone, I hurried to the citedel. It was nightfall, and light flickered in the windows.
I flung one of the doors open, singing, "I'm back!"
All eyes turned to me, and I felt my face get hot from embarassment. It wasn't just my friends, as I expected. But then there's that old saying my uncle Vern used to say, 'when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me,' and it still held true. My friends were present, but so were all the highest guards of the city and their wives, sitting at a table full of food, and Aragorn was standing holding his goblet high as if he had been in the middle of making a toast.
"Come join us, El." Legolas invited, breaking the awkward silence. Still red in the face, I lugged my bag over and plopped down in a chair next to Pippin and Gimli.
When Aragorn finished his toast, and everyone continued eating, Pippin leaned over, and whispered, "Thanks."
"For what?" I asked curiously. Pippin reddened, "Earlier, Merry talked me into eatin' one of those," he pointed generally to a plate of small yellow pods with black speckles on it, "and it was so horrible tastin' I spat it back on my plate. Evereh'one was starin' a' me, and Strider tried to divert the attention from me by makin' a toast, bu' then you came in."
"Ah." I laughed, tucking my napkin in my lap, "I guess I won't be eating one of those anytime soon, then."
Pippin grinned, and helped himself to another plate of mushrooms. Still smiling, I looked around the table, and in return, a few guards stared stonily back.
With my humor waning, my gaze wandered to where Eomer and Faramir were talking. The former looked up, grinned my way, and turned back to his discussion.
When all the food was cleared away, and the goblets were refilled with wine, the buzz of conversations died, resulting in everyone in silence looking around, waiting for something to happen.
There was the sound of a door opening, and every bored eye targeted the source. In strolled four men, each carrying an instrument of some kind.
Conversations started up again as the men started playing a cheerful sounding song. I glanced over at where Eowyn and Faramir were sitting. The two, talking in low voices, stood up, and walked away from the table to where the musicians played. The couple began to dance lively steps, and a few other guards and their wives followed suit. I smiled, watching them twirl and move, with expressions of such content on their faces.
The next song was something like a waltz, and Merry got up from his seat, and walked over to me.
"Will you dance with me?" He inquired solemnly. Grinning wider, I nodded, and what ensued proved difficult, but no doubt entertaining for the others.
While I, bent over, and Merry, wearing such a dignified countenance as he trodded on my feet, we 'glided' across the floor to a tune straight from another world. The experience was truly something no dance instructor could have prepared me for. When the song ended, we both sat back down, and watched the others. As the music continued to play, I danced with Aragorn, Eomer, Legolas, Pippin, and then Merry again.
One by one, the guards and their wives trickled out, until only Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Merry, Pippin, Eomer, Eowyn, Faramir, Sam, the musicians, and I remained.
I got up, and wandered to the door, with vague thoughts of seeing if Mithrandir was still out conversing with the eagles. As I closed the door behind me, I was glad to still hear the strains of music from within. Mithrandir had gone, as had the eagles, I noted, meandering to the edge of the battlement, and looking down at the dark city.
The night was cloudy, and the moon was but a disc of white haze. I looked up at it, thinking about the future. What awaited me in years to come?
A hand rested itself on my shoulder, making me shriek, jerk, and whirl around. Eomer was looking startled at me, "Forgive me, El, I did not mean to scare you."
"Next time tell me when you're behind me." I gasped, feeling my heart rate lower to normal.
"My apologies," Eomer repeated, "what is on your mind?"
"The future."
"As is mine."
I turned back to look at the horizon, "What do you see?"
"I must return with my men to the Hall of Meduseld, to help my own people gain back our rightful land. And you?"
It sounded so noble, I felt inferior when I replied, "Find the last two palantiri, and find a place to wander or live for the rest of my life."
"You have no home?" Eomer asked, concerned.
"No." I replied, the weight of the truth smothering me again. It was silent for a while, and I tilted my head to look back up at the moon.
"You will be always welcome in Rohan," Eomer began. I heard him inhale deeply, and the continue, "I had hoped..." but then he trailed off.
Curiously, I turned around. "What?" In the faint light of the moon, I could see Eomer redden.
"I had hoped," He started again, but then paused, "that is to say...Forgive me, but there seems to be no other way to put it. El, I love you. I've loved you since I first saw you at Helm's Deep, coming out to greet Lord Aragorn. I wish-" he cut himself off, seeing the expression on my face.
I was in shock. I liked Eomer. I liked him alot. But did I love him? I looked back at his anxious face, trying to organize thoughts that refused to do any such thing.
"Since I already seem to have spoken out of line, one more action can do no harm." Eomer sighed, drawing me close and kissing me swiftly on the lips. Without another word, he walked hurriedly away.
I remained standing there, with my thoughts so hopelessly jumbled, I had no idea how long I had been ruminating over what had happened.
Exhaling slowly, I turned around, and re-entered the citadel. Aragorn and Faramir were the only ones in the room now, and both looked up from their discussion when I closed the door behind me.
"Are you ill?" Aragorn asked, standing up. Seeing my blank expression, he supported his question, "You're pale, and look lost."
"Oh," I replied, quietly, "no, I'm fine. Just...tired."
Aragorn muttered something to Faramir, who nodded. The former advanced on me, but first picked up my bag still under the chair I had sat at.
"Come, I'll show you to your room."
He did just that, and as soon as I laid down, I fell instantly asleep.
.
When I awoke the next morning, I realized that the room contained not one bed, but two. Eowyn was sleeping still on the far side of the room, so I quietly got out of bed, and searched for my bag.
Aragorn had set it by the foot of the bed, and I dug around in it, withdrawing the blue dress, and changing into it quickly. It was nice to wear it again, and I felt much more free in it rather than when I had worn the heavy wool dress.
I slipped out of the room, and down the long corrider. I heard voices in the distance, and tried to reach them.
I ended up in the main room, recognizing the voices of Aragorn, Mithrandir, and Eomer around the corner.
"-and the messages have been sent." Mithrandir finished.
I stopped dead in my tracks. If Mithrandir saw me, he would spring something on me, or say something...not very nice, as usual. I decided to wait until he had gone to enter the room.
"Thank you," I heard Aragorn say, "Eomer, are you well? You have not spoken much all morning."
"I cannot say, my lord, my health is fine, but my heart...I do not know what to make of it."
It was silent for a moment, then Eomer continued reluctantly, "Yesternight, I told Lady Eleanor that I love her. Her reaction," he paused, "was not as I had hoped it would be."
I suddenly felt ashamed. Here I was, listening in on a conversation not meant for me to hear, while Eomer's heart was pressumably breaking. I turned on my heel to return to my room, and perhaps ask Eowyn what I might do.
However, the sconce on the wall had other ideas. It was head height, and I knocked right into it. I let out a yell of indignant pain before I could stop myself. The talking ceased immediately.
Rubbing my forehead, I walked into the room, and gestured to the wall, "The sconce caught me by suprise."
Aragorn chuckled, but the other two remained silent. Eomer, sweeping his gaze passed me, stood up, and strode out of the room.
"Eleanor," Mithrandir barked, "what are you doing in that ridiculous dress? Go change into that ugly grey one; you have a long day ahead of you."
"What am I to do, pray tell?" I demanded, my mood declining rapidly.
"You must go find the last palantiri. Meneldor has agreed to take you to the last two locations."
Oh joy.
.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
.
AAAclub: No pick-axes required luckily. Evil tools...grrr. Confusing me yet? Yea, verily, yea. Hehe.
Laureline: Hmmm, do you think I've made Gandalf into too evil of a character? It always seemed to me that he liked certain people, but for others, he immediatley chose not to favor. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's me.
Empress Guinevere Sparrow: Elvish... Got it. Wait. Yes, it's off to Mordor we go! Yey. Funny you should mention that El settle down with a husband and start a family.... Death to Mary-Sue fanfics! Yey. Actually, I've started writing a revenge of the Mry-Sues, where the Fellowship has to one by one shake off or kill any Mary-Sues that wander into the Middle Earth. It's only going to be a one chapter fic, I think, but I will load it one of these days....
Fright overcame me, even though sense kept reminding myself that Sauron was gone. With no warning, Meneldor swept into a dive that would have looked spectacular, I'm sure, had I been watching from the ground, instead of on his back.
The ground rushed to meet us, and the eagle landed jarringly on a jagged rock. Gwaihir descended, and Mithrandir dismounted, looking expectantly at me.
"Where is it?" He asked.
"I don't-" I began angrily, but suddenly, the familiar pulling started up. "This way." I interrupted myself, climbing down from the rock.
It was unbearably hot. Waves from the ground wafted up, distorting objects and giving them a sinister look. Shuddering, I stepped gingerly onto the black ground. It was hard and sharp feeling, but I ignored it. The tugging was drawing me north, towards the fallen tower.
Yes, yes, closer towards the kill-zone, please, the sarcastic voice of sanity was whispering to me. I ignored it, and maintained a steady gait.
Mt. Doom continued its exhales of lava and smoke, shaking the ground unnervingly.
Nearer and nearer grew the remains of Barad-Dur, and even in defeat, it eminated evil and hate. I heard Mithrandir's footsteps softly following my own, and I could feel his expectant gaze locked on me.
The bag on my shoulders seemed even heavier than before, and I marveled how just two palantiri could feel so cumbersome.
The current was strong now, and it dragged me to the very edge of the wreckage, where it grew even more forceful.
"Here." I directed, falling to my knees with the weight of my pack and the pulling. The ground was still hot, but very solid. The tugging increased, and I slung off my bag and supported myself with my hands.
Mithrandir was at my side, kneeling on the ground and looking anxiously at me. Then he began to mutter something in another tongue, and the pulling grew slightly more gentle.
Struck by an idea, I pulled out both palantiri, and held one in my hands loosely, concentrating on the palantir below the rock.
Heat seared my hands, and I dropped the sphere in pain. Like a magnet, both palantiri rolled together, and began to radiate a white-red glow. The part of my brain I had used to control the palantiri felt as if it had wrapped itself around the rest of my brain, and was draining all my energy on something.
My sight went black, although my eyes were open and I was consious. Out of the darkness, a thin grey fissure appeared, and split into two, which split again, and soon my whole sight was like a silver spiderweb of cracks.
With a sound of shattering glass, my sight returned, and when I looked down, there was a crater of broken rock, and in the center, lay the palantir, like an egg in a nest. The other two palantiri had rolled off to the side, and were now black as they had ever been.
I gently scooped the sphere from the rock, and held it tightly, looking up at Mithrandir. I was suprised to find him smiling.
"Eleanor, what exactly are you not capable of?"
Not knowing how to respond to this, I merely grinned, wrapped all the palantiri in separate cloth, and placed them in my bag.
.
As I squinted my eyes open, Minas Tirith was close. I couldn't have been more grateful if I had just realized the world as I knew it was going to be populated solely by Hobbits.
Meneldor landed with a thump on the wall of the battlement, and I tumbled off quickly, dragging my bag behind me from the weight. Mithrandir remained by the eagles, speaking to them softly in their own language. Deciding to leave them alone, I hurried to the citedel. It was nightfall, and light flickered in the windows.
I flung one of the doors open, singing, "I'm back!"
All eyes turned to me, and I felt my face get hot from embarassment. It wasn't just my friends, as I expected. But then there's that old saying my uncle Vern used to say, 'when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me,' and it still held true. My friends were present, but so were all the highest guards of the city and their wives, sitting at a table full of food, and Aragorn was standing holding his goblet high as if he had been in the middle of making a toast.
"Come join us, El." Legolas invited, breaking the awkward silence. Still red in the face, I lugged my bag over and plopped down in a chair next to Pippin and Gimli.
When Aragorn finished his toast, and everyone continued eating, Pippin leaned over, and whispered, "Thanks."
"For what?" I asked curiously. Pippin reddened, "Earlier, Merry talked me into eatin' one of those," he pointed generally to a plate of small yellow pods with black speckles on it, "and it was so horrible tastin' I spat it back on my plate. Evereh'one was starin' a' me, and Strider tried to divert the attention from me by makin' a toast, bu' then you came in."
"Ah." I laughed, tucking my napkin in my lap, "I guess I won't be eating one of those anytime soon, then."
Pippin grinned, and helped himself to another plate of mushrooms. Still smiling, I looked around the table, and in return, a few guards stared stonily back.
With my humor waning, my gaze wandered to where Eomer and Faramir were talking. The former looked up, grinned my way, and turned back to his discussion.
When all the food was cleared away, and the goblets were refilled with wine, the buzz of conversations died, resulting in everyone in silence looking around, waiting for something to happen.
There was the sound of a door opening, and every bored eye targeted the source. In strolled four men, each carrying an instrument of some kind.
Conversations started up again as the men started playing a cheerful sounding song. I glanced over at where Eowyn and Faramir were sitting. The two, talking in low voices, stood up, and walked away from the table to where the musicians played. The couple began to dance lively steps, and a few other guards and their wives followed suit. I smiled, watching them twirl and move, with expressions of such content on their faces.
The next song was something like a waltz, and Merry got up from his seat, and walked over to me.
"Will you dance with me?" He inquired solemnly. Grinning wider, I nodded, and what ensued proved difficult, but no doubt entertaining for the others.
While I, bent over, and Merry, wearing such a dignified countenance as he trodded on my feet, we 'glided' across the floor to a tune straight from another world. The experience was truly something no dance instructor could have prepared me for. When the song ended, we both sat back down, and watched the others. As the music continued to play, I danced with Aragorn, Eomer, Legolas, Pippin, and then Merry again.
One by one, the guards and their wives trickled out, until only Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Merry, Pippin, Eomer, Eowyn, Faramir, Sam, the musicians, and I remained.
I got up, and wandered to the door, with vague thoughts of seeing if Mithrandir was still out conversing with the eagles. As I closed the door behind me, I was glad to still hear the strains of music from within. Mithrandir had gone, as had the eagles, I noted, meandering to the edge of the battlement, and looking down at the dark city.
The night was cloudy, and the moon was but a disc of white haze. I looked up at it, thinking about the future. What awaited me in years to come?
A hand rested itself on my shoulder, making me shriek, jerk, and whirl around. Eomer was looking startled at me, "Forgive me, El, I did not mean to scare you."
"Next time tell me when you're behind me." I gasped, feeling my heart rate lower to normal.
"My apologies," Eomer repeated, "what is on your mind?"
"The future."
"As is mine."
I turned back to look at the horizon, "What do you see?"
"I must return with my men to the Hall of Meduseld, to help my own people gain back our rightful land. And you?"
It sounded so noble, I felt inferior when I replied, "Find the last two palantiri, and find a place to wander or live for the rest of my life."
"You have no home?" Eomer asked, concerned.
"No." I replied, the weight of the truth smothering me again. It was silent for a while, and I tilted my head to look back up at the moon.
"You will be always welcome in Rohan," Eomer began. I heard him inhale deeply, and the continue, "I had hoped..." but then he trailed off.
Curiously, I turned around. "What?" In the faint light of the moon, I could see Eomer redden.
"I had hoped," He started again, but then paused, "that is to say...Forgive me, but there seems to be no other way to put it. El, I love you. I've loved you since I first saw you at Helm's Deep, coming out to greet Lord Aragorn. I wish-" he cut himself off, seeing the expression on my face.
I was in shock. I liked Eomer. I liked him alot. But did I love him? I looked back at his anxious face, trying to organize thoughts that refused to do any such thing.
"Since I already seem to have spoken out of line, one more action can do no harm." Eomer sighed, drawing me close and kissing me swiftly on the lips. Without another word, he walked hurriedly away.
I remained standing there, with my thoughts so hopelessly jumbled, I had no idea how long I had been ruminating over what had happened.
Exhaling slowly, I turned around, and re-entered the citadel. Aragorn and Faramir were the only ones in the room now, and both looked up from their discussion when I closed the door behind me.
"Are you ill?" Aragorn asked, standing up. Seeing my blank expression, he supported his question, "You're pale, and look lost."
"Oh," I replied, quietly, "no, I'm fine. Just...tired."
Aragorn muttered something to Faramir, who nodded. The former advanced on me, but first picked up my bag still under the chair I had sat at.
"Come, I'll show you to your room."
He did just that, and as soon as I laid down, I fell instantly asleep.
.
When I awoke the next morning, I realized that the room contained not one bed, but two. Eowyn was sleeping still on the far side of the room, so I quietly got out of bed, and searched for my bag.
Aragorn had set it by the foot of the bed, and I dug around in it, withdrawing the blue dress, and changing into it quickly. It was nice to wear it again, and I felt much more free in it rather than when I had worn the heavy wool dress.
I slipped out of the room, and down the long corrider. I heard voices in the distance, and tried to reach them.
I ended up in the main room, recognizing the voices of Aragorn, Mithrandir, and Eomer around the corner.
"-and the messages have been sent." Mithrandir finished.
I stopped dead in my tracks. If Mithrandir saw me, he would spring something on me, or say something...not very nice, as usual. I decided to wait until he had gone to enter the room.
"Thank you," I heard Aragorn say, "Eomer, are you well? You have not spoken much all morning."
"I cannot say, my lord, my health is fine, but my heart...I do not know what to make of it."
It was silent for a moment, then Eomer continued reluctantly, "Yesternight, I told Lady Eleanor that I love her. Her reaction," he paused, "was not as I had hoped it would be."
I suddenly felt ashamed. Here I was, listening in on a conversation not meant for me to hear, while Eomer's heart was pressumably breaking. I turned on my heel to return to my room, and perhaps ask Eowyn what I might do.
However, the sconce on the wall had other ideas. It was head height, and I knocked right into it. I let out a yell of indignant pain before I could stop myself. The talking ceased immediately.
Rubbing my forehead, I walked into the room, and gestured to the wall, "The sconce caught me by suprise."
Aragorn chuckled, but the other two remained silent. Eomer, sweeping his gaze passed me, stood up, and strode out of the room.
"Eleanor," Mithrandir barked, "what are you doing in that ridiculous dress? Go change into that ugly grey one; you have a long day ahead of you."
"What am I to do, pray tell?" I demanded, my mood declining rapidly.
"You must go find the last palantiri. Meneldor has agreed to take you to the last two locations."
Oh joy.
.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
.
AAAclub: No pick-axes required luckily. Evil tools...grrr. Confusing me yet? Yea, verily, yea. Hehe.
Laureline: Hmmm, do you think I've made Gandalf into too evil of a character? It always seemed to me that he liked certain people, but for others, he immediatley chose not to favor. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's me.
Empress Guinevere Sparrow: Elvish... Got it. Wait. Yes, it's off to Mordor we go! Yey. Funny you should mention that El settle down with a husband and start a family.... Death to Mary-Sue fanfics! Yey. Actually, I've started writing a revenge of the Mry-Sues, where the Fellowship has to one by one shake off or kill any Mary-Sues that wander into the Middle Earth. It's only going to be a one chapter fic, I think, but I will load it one of these days....