8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)

Chapter 7

Caught In The Act

The deep voice of Lord Elrond took on a mock-serious tone as he spoke to them.

"And just what is so funny?"

They all jumped, for none had seen the Lord of Imladris approach.

"Ada! Welcome!"

Aragorn tried his best to look innocent but failed miserably.

Legolas wiped the tears off his cheeks then rose from the ground and faced the Noldor Lord.

"You had to be here to be able to truly appreciate the moment, Lord Elrond. It seems that the twins have again been outpranked by their sister."

He wiped another tear from his cheek, trying not to burst out laughing again.

"Elladan and Elrohir challenged their sister to a friendly little archery competition. The twins shot from here and Anayah shot from way back at the other end of the field. As you can see for yourself," he said, gesturing towards the target and the three arrows which sat at the opposite end of the field, "the distance is significant and your niece's accuracy is unquestionable. Anayah's bet, honorably placed and honorably won, was that your sons will not now pull a prank on either Estel or myself for a month. The expression on the faces of Elladan and Elrohir was unforgettable. And," he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement, "the question of whether or not Noldor archers shoot like girls has now, apparently, been put to rest!"

Estel could hardly contain his laughter although both Elladan and Elrohir were glaring at him.

Lord Elrond looked from the far end of the field to the target at the opposite end of the field where he could plainly see that the longer arrow was indeed sitting in the bullseye between two shorter arrows. When he turned back to the twins, one elegant eyebrow was arched in amusement. The two looked properly humbled, which caused everyone to burst out laughing once again.

"Well, I hate to bring this merry occasion to an end but guests have arrived from Rohan and I have called a special council meeting which will begin after we have eaten. If you would care to join us for lunch it would be appreciated."

The group made their way back to the house, still laughing about the archery competition. Anayah followed behind the family with her hand resting lightly on the neck of her horse and was so deep in thought that she almost walked right passed Elias when he stopped below the balcony where the guests from Rohan were gathering for the luncheon. Something or someone had caught the stallion's eye and he turned his head to look at the people gathered there.

Èomer, son of Èomund, sat quietly and watched the horse, for his people, the Rohirrim, were lovers of horses and Èomer was no exception. Admiration aside, there was something familiar about the animal before him that almost reminded him of a horse he had seen some months before ... except for the white boots ...

Sensing the man's thoughts, Elias turned his head until he made eye contact with the horse lord. Soon after, Èomer saw a she-elf poke her head around the stallion's chest to see what had caught her four-legged friend's attention. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was.

Èomer recognized her instantly and everything clicked into place including why the horse had seemed so familiar to him, white boots or not.

"My lady. It is good to see you again!" Èomer smiled at Anayah when he saw her blush.

"Lord Èomer it is my pleasure as well." Anayah realized that her midnight expeditions had finally caught up with her.

She and Èomer had indeed met before.

Flashback

The horses seemed glad to be home and were busy greeting those that had been left behind some days before. Weaving back and forth behind the herd in an S-pattern, Anayah pushed the last few stragglers into the pasture.

It had been a long three days and nights and exhaustion was finally catching up with her. She had been patrolling the area between the Gap of Rohan and Meduseld and had found the tracks of a large number of horses heading away from the enclosed pastures near the Golden Hall.

Knowing the Rohirrim would not be moving animals away from the Rohan capitol, especially in the middle of the night, Anayah had quickly come to the conclusion that the horses had been stolen. She followed the tracks and soon found the herd as it was driven towards Mordor, a fact that could only mean one thing - the Nazgûl were trying to find more black horses to replace their own. The idea of these fine animals in the service of the minions of the Dark Lord was nauseating to her for it was an undisputed fact that any horse taken and used by the Nazgûl did not live long, and usually died within months from the abuse suffered at the hands of the wraiths.

It had long been her practice to intercept stolen horses and return them to their homes and this herd would be no different. The three human wranglers had at first been surprised to see the black rider galloping towards them, but when the rider pull the ebony-bladed sword from its scabbard, their survival instincts kicked in and they ran - unfortunately, they did not run fast enough.

Now, three days later, the horses were finally home where they belonged. It had been a difficult task to hide the animals during the day and move them at night as the animals had been disinclined to hide anywhere in their own homeland. Now, the end of their journey was at hand and an exhausted, Anayah threw back her hood and breathed deeply, letting the smell of horses, green grass and fresh water act as a balm for her flagging energy level. Her moment of inattentiveness was almost her undoing.

Riding passed a rocky outcropping surrounded by large boulders, she suddenly found herself face-to-face with the Rohirrim cavalry. Their leader, Lord Èomer, sat on his horse, directly in her path while behind him, the rest of the warriors sat, pointing their spears in her direction. For several tense moments Anayah and Èomer stared at each other, then as if Èomer had decided that she was no threat and had, in fact, been returning their horses and not stealing them, had raised his hand and briefly bowed his head. The warriors lowered their spears for an unspoken understanding had been reached between the horse lord and the she-elf. Anayah inclined her head and touched her heart in the elvish gesture of respect then, after once more drawing her hood over her head, she wheeled Elias and galloped back towards the Gap of Rohan, quickly disappearing into the night.

End Flashback

Anayah let the stable master take charge of the care of Elias then after taking leave of her friend, she took a few moments to wash up, then joined the others on the balcony for lunch. Èomer rose from his seat when Lord Elrond introduced her to the Lord and his Lieutenant.

"It seems that you two have met before."

Èomer chuckled but it was Anayah who explained.

"Yes, Uncle, we have. I was returning something that Lord Èomer had lost and, well, let us just say that he caught me in the act!"

Èomer sensed that any further discussion of the matter would not have been appropriate and tactfully changed the topic of conversation to more mundane matters.

TBC