Chapter Five

A whisper in my ear jolted me out of my sleep.

"Laefan? Laefan wake up."

"What? What is it?"

I raised myself up on an elbow gazing blearily around at the deserted granary. The angle of the rays of sunlight seeping into the Granary through the holes in the roof told me it must be late afternoon.

"Where is everyone?"

"Laefan, get up, you have to leave now."

Brego's face was pink with anxiety, and he sounded out of breath as if he had been running.

"But- it's not time to leave yet-"

"The guards are coming- they'll be here any minute. We have to get you out of here."

Suddenly alert I scrambled to my feet, heaving my pack onto my shoulder. I did not notice until too late that the wrappings were loose. I watched with horror as the cloth slithered through my fingers spilling the contents onto the floor.

I dived to the floor, gathering up my belongings and stuffing them haphazardly into the cloth.

"Come on" hissed Brego.

" I- "

I froze. There were voices right outside the door.

"What-"

"Get down"

I grabbed Brego by the arm pulling him down behind a pile of crates. Slowly the door creaked open a shaft of light creeping across the dusty floor.

"In here?" A man's voice.

"That's right," A cool, clear voice answered. I knew that voice.

The door opened wider and the silhouette of a man in guard's uniform appeared in the doorway.

"I can't see-"

"He'll be at the back. You'll have to go right in- mind the floorboards, they're rotten." Who is that? It can't be-

"Laefan" Brego tugged at my sleeve "follow me"

On hands and knees he crawled through piles of crates and sacking, scuttling quickly past the exposed areas. I followed him, trying to make as little noise as possible. Behind me I heard the guard stumble and curse. Brego halted suddenly, sitting back on his haunches.

"What is it?" I mouthed.

"Here" he grunted, pointing to a place where one of the planks in the wall had rotted away leaving a gap. He gripped the one above, pulling at it.

"This one's loose. Help me get it free."

Side by side with Brego I tugged at it. With a wrench the plank came free, falling on the floor with a clatter.

"What the- who's there?" the Guard barked, and it was with satisfaction I noted that there was more than a trace of fear in his voice.

"C'mon" Brego muttered, motioning to the gap we had made. Lying down on my stomach I hauled myself through the opening, tumbling out into the sunlight. I turned to help pull the struggling Brego out after me. Wriggling free of the opening he jumped down beside me.

"Phew" he puffed "That was close!"

From inside the building there was a crashing sound and the noise of the guard calling out. Brego and I looked at one another then in mutual accord turned to run.

We stopped a few streets away gasping for breath.

"What do we do now?" Brego panted. I shrugged.

"I need a place to hide- for now. You know the city better than me."

Brego frowned, deep in thought. My thoughts turned back to the voice I had heard in the Granary. I must have been mistaken, surely.

"Brego- you know that other person, with the guard in the Granary. Was that-"

"I know!" Brego cut across me, his face alight with inspiration. "I know where you can hide! C'mon."

I followed him, noticing with surprise that he was heading towards the docks.

The docks were a series of ramshackle jetties leaning out over the Snowbourne to which a handful of dilapidated boats were moored. Once it had been a busy place, bustling with traders and travellers from up the Snowbourne but in recent years, as it became less safe to travel and rumours spread of bands of Orcs patrolling the banks of the Anduin, trade had dwindled. As the times changed, so had the nature of the city, suspicion replacing its former friendliness. The few boats that still made the passage up the Snowbourne to the city had to seek permission to pass through the draw gate over the River and nowadays it was seldom that the Guards on the Wall found occasion to winch open the water gate. So it was that the once lively docks were all but deserted, falling into disrepair.

The docks were empty when Brego and I arrived. I looked around doubtfully as we clambered over the hulks of half- rotting boats.

"Are you sure about this place?"

Brego nodded, beckoning as he clambered on to one of the jetties.

"It's not much further now." He said cheerfully. I followed him, mystified. Short of crouching under one of the boats (not a comfortable position) I couldn't see anywhere to hide on the jetty.

Brego stopped halfway down the jetty and peered over the edge.

"It's here." He said, "We'll have to jump"

He swung himself around and holding on to the edge of the jetty with both hands, lowered himself over the edge, disappearing into the gloom. The jetty cast a deep shadow over the murky water and, in the fading light of the afternoon, I couldn't make out where Brego had landed but it I got the impression that it was a long way down.

"Are you alright?" I called out nervously.

"Yes. The water only comes up to your ankles. Come on, jump!" The answer came from somewhere below me. After a moments hesitation (the waters of the Snowbourne, fresh from the mountain snows, are renowned for their chill) I took the jump.

I landed a few feet below, gasping as the freezing water seeped into my shoes.

Brego's face loomed out from the darkness under the jetty.

"It's this way"

"Why couldn't we have just gone around and under the jetty?" I complained as I followed him the water sloshing around my ankles.

"Bank's too steep" Brego said briefly. "Here"

There in the gloom was a small rowing boat, it's prow driven into the mud under the jetty, the shallow water still lapping at the stern. Brego climbed in and seated himself on one of the wooden slats that I supposed passed for seats in a boat.

"We can wait here until dark"

I climbed slowly in after him.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"That's alright. I've hidden down here before when the Guards were after me. Caught picking a sailor's pocket" he grinned.

"I meant- thanks for warning me. You could just have left me to be caught."

Brego looked at me in genuine surprise.

"I wouldn't do that"

But there are others who would. The vision of Aldor's sneering face rose up before me with startling clarity, and suddenly I felt sure I knew whose voice it had been talking to the guard in the Granary.

"It was Aldor, wasn't it? Aldor informed the Guard's on me."

Brego shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, actually- it was Sceotan."

Sceotan? I had learned to expect treachery from Aldor, but this was a surprise. So much for the loyalty of the Gang.

"It was Aldor's idea. When you'd fallen asleep he took Sceotan off into a corner and started whispering to him. I wanted to here what they were saying so I did the tumbler trick."

"The what?"

Brego smiled proudly.

"Aldor taught me. It's a good way of spying on people. You take an ale mug, or a cup- it works best if it's glass- and put it up against a wall. I f you put your ear to the tumbler you can here what they are saying, as clear as if you were right next to them."

"So you went outside to hear them? What did they say?"

"Aldor was saying something about reward money. He said if they told the Guards where to find you then they'd owe us a favour, and that was sure to come in handy. Then Sceotan said very well but they'd better be careful about it as the rest of the Gang wouldn't like it, and that he'd do the talking to the Guards."

"Then he yelled to the rest of the Gang to scatter, as he had business to do and not to be back till sundown. I waited 'till they'd all gone and then came to wake you."

I was silent remembering what Sceotan had told me the night I had joined the Gang. "We're all thieves, all rogues here. But we look out for each other, and we never steal from ourselves. After all if a thief can't trust a thief, who can he trust?" Who indeed? Only Brego, it seemed. My throat stuck as I thought of his loyalty and what it could have cost him.

"That was a big risk to take, warning me. If Sceotan had caught you-"

Brego shrugged.

"You'd do the same for me."

I didn't debate the point. There was an uneasy silence as the water slapped against the boat's prow.

"It's getting darker." I said finally. "You'd better be getting back. If Sceotan notices your missing-"

Brego opened his eyes wide.

"But I'm not going back. I'm coming with you."

I stared at him.

"No, you're not."

"I am. Oh please, Laefan."

" No. It's too dangerous."

"It's dangerous for me here. Sceotan knows I'm your friend and he'll soon put two and two together and then I'll be in trouble. You heard what happened the last time someone crossed him?"

I said nothing. I hadn't thought about that.

"And you'd be less likely to be caught- they're looking for one boy, not two. Please." Brego's eyes swam with tears. I shook my head slowly.

"You don't know what it's like, Brego. You're not used to travelling. Anything might happen on the Road- it's a hard way of life, especially if you've no money…"

"But you'll be there. I know you'll look after me." He said simply. I didn't know what to say. He trusted me. How could I tell him I didn't deserve that trust? I'm not who you think I am.

"So I can come?" He said hopefully, his wide blue eyes searching my face. Tell him. "Laefan?"

"I-I suppose so." I said miserably.

Brego's face broke out in a grin, so infectious that, in spite of myself, I found myself smiling too. It will be good, after all, to have a friend beside me on the road…

"So how are we going to get out of the City? The Guards will be watching the walls."

I thought for a moment.

"Brego, can you swim?"

Brego shook his head

"The only way out of the city I can think of that won't be guarded is the gap beneath the river gate. If we could somehow manage to swim underneath it…"

"That's a brilliant idea!" said Brego breathlessly "And I could just go through the Gates- the guards won't stop me."

"Of course." For a moment I had forgotten it was I who was being pursued.

"You'd better take my pack with you. I can't swim with that on my back."

"Right." He jumped to his feet, hoisting my pack over his shoulder while with the other picking up his own.

"Ready?"

"Now?" I felt that I needed a little more time to brace myself for the waters of the Snowbourne.

"It's getting dark."

Brego's face was eager. I took a deep breath and nodded

"Alright."

***

Brego paused on the end of the jetty, watching me as I waded out into the freezing water.

"I'll meet you by the South Gate." He whispered.

I nodded, biting my lip to keep myself from crying out as the waters closed over my chest.

"Good luck" He called over his shoulder as he ran off up the jetty. I watched as his stocky figure dissolved into the purpling twilight.

Will I ever see him again? I shook my head vigorously to clear it of the unwelcome thought. Of course I will. I looked down at the rushing water. There was no more putting it off. I took a deep breath and plunged into the icy water.

(A very long) Author's note:

On the geography of Edoras- so I'm kind've making this up as I go along. Most cities in the olden days had a wall surrounding them, especially in times of trouble and impending war. As for the docks- they had a river its natural to assume they had something of that kind. I'm actually very ignorant on the subject of boats and the like so any sailors out there will have to forgive me any errors I make in that area.

Someone asked, will there be more Eowyn soon? The answer is unfortunately not for a while, although she will return to the story eventually.

I'm sorry about the amount of time between updates. I'm always thinking I must be punctual and post my next chapter straight off- but then I look down the page and think- urgh I can't send that in and have to spend several days going over it with a fine tooth comb. As it is I've edited this less than usual (hope it doesn't show).

Also I'm lazy. :)