A/N: Thank you to Andraste Emeraldpetal for helping me out with the travel
times and distances and stuff.
Chapter 4: Arrival
Lothien bent down so she was flat against her horse's back and whispered frantically in its ear, urging it to go faster.
"Hiril nin!" called her escort who was lagging far behind her. "Please, hiril nin! It is almost dark! We must stop to rest!"
The Elven princess lifted her eyes to the sky, and saw that he sun was, indeed, sinking below the horizon. She sighed and slowed her horse to a light canter, then to a stop. Lothien climbed off the horse and patted its heaving flanks. "Hannon lle," she whispered in its ear. The stallion shook its mane in arrogance, then plodded off to find pasture. Galdor jumped off his own horse and sent it after Lothien's.
"My apologies, Galdor," Lothien said to her escort, "I am in a hurry to reach Minas Tirith. I hope you under stand."
"It's no problem at all, hiril nin, but I do believe that if we continue at the pace we are going, we will set a record for the travel time between the two realms." It was true. Lothien had forced the horses to keep up a gallop from dawn until dusk, and in seven days, the journey, which would normally take several weeks, was half completed.
Lothien assisted in the lighting of the fire, then took the bread Galdor offered her and chewed thoughtfully. It had been seven days. Thranduil would be leaving in the morning. At the rate Galdor and Lothien were going, though, they would probably be in Gondor for a while before her father reached the capital city. They might even beat Legolas.
The meal was finished in silence and the two Elves rested until sunrise.
~~~~~~~
Morning came and both Lothien and Galdor packed up their few belongings and got ready to leave. A shrill whistle from the Elven guard brought the horses to them. The signs of fatigue from the last day were visible on both mounts, but that was soon to change.
Lothien stepped toward her own stallion first and placed both hands on the horse's side. Galdor watched expectantly, still amazed at his superior's talent even though he had seen her do in every morning since the two had left Mirkwood.
Lothien closed her eyes and imagined energy from her own body flowing into the horse. Almost immediately, she felt the stallion regain all energy lost the previous day. It stamped its front feet impatiently on the ground, eager to get going. Lothien moved on and did the same to Galdor's horse. The act took a lot out of her, but she wanted to get to Minas Tirith as soon as possible. Besides, with the practice she'd had as a child, she was somewhat used to it.
Galdor gazed upon her in awe and she laughed. "It's not that special, Galdor. Any Elf can do it, they just need to be trained properly."
"I'm aware of that, hiril nin, I've just never seen it done before."
She mounted her own stallion and looked off into the horizon. "To Gondor!" she called, and rode off leaving Galdor still standing on the ground behind her.
~~~~~~~
As expected, Lothien and Galdor did reach Minas Tirith before Legolas. The journey had taken 13 days from start to finish, but only because of the talent of the Elven horses; Lothien had only helped them along the way.
Lothien was welcomed warmly, despite the fact that her brother was believed to be a murderer. Stupid Humans, Lothien thought, how could Legolas have stood to spend time with them let alone fall in love with one? Galdor was sent home with a promise from Lothien she would travel back with her father.
Lothien sat on her bed in the room generously provided for her and sighed. She was the only Elf in Minas Tirith. She withed she had brought something to pass the time. There might be something in the library of Minas Tirith. It wouldn't hurt to check. The Elf maiden stood up and headed out the door. She smiled to herself as she left the room. These will be the longest weeks of my life.
~~~~~~~
Eowyn was the only one in the library when the Elf walked in. The woman glanced up briefly when the fair-haired Elven maiden entered then returned to her book. All of a sudden, her head snapped up again. An Elf in Minas Tirith? The only one who ever came on a regular basis was Legolas, and this was definitely not Legolas.
She returned to her own book, trying her best to ignore the visitor, but her curiosity got the better of her. "Excuse me?" she timidly asked the Elf who was deeply immersed in her own reading.
The maiden looked up in surprise. "Yes?"
"My name is Eowyn, daughter of Theodwyn. Who, if I may be so bold to ask, are you?"
"I am Lothien of Mirkwood, here to defend my younger brother, Legolas."
"Legolas?" Eowyn had heard the awful rumors being tossed through the city, but they were just words. "Certainly you needn't come all the way to Gondor just to quell some rumors?"
Lothien looked at the former shield-maiden with disbelief - almost disgust. "Do you not know?" she asked with a voice that matched her face. "At this very moment, Legolas is being escorted to Minas Tirith under suspicion of murder. If he is proven guilty, he will be sentenced to death. Have you been living under a rock these past few weeks, or are you just stupider than most Humans?"
Eowyn looked hurt. "I live in Ithilien with my husband; news sometimes does not reach us as quick as I'd like it to. I would ask you," she added, "That the next time you speak to me, you refrain from insulting me or my kind, as I said nothing meant to offend you."
Lothien looked into the eyes of the other woman and sighed. "You are right. I am truly sorry. I wouldn't know if you'd understand or not, but it is hard to be cordial to a people who are convinced your baby brother is a killer."
"All is forgiven." Eowyn suddenly snapped her book closed. "I do not know why my husband and I were not informed of this anyway. . ." she said thoughtfully.
"Is there something you can do to change the people's decision?" Lothien asked eagerly.
"Faramir - that's my husband - is the Steward of Gondor. Since the line of Kings has ended, rule is forever more in the hands of the Stewards. Faramir should have been consulted on the capture of your brother. I shall have to ask him about it tonight."
"Eowyn?" The conversation was interrupted by a Man whom even Lothien had to admit was handsome standing at the door.
"That is my husband. We are returning home." Eowyn stood up and nodded to Lothien. "Although things did start off rather badly, in the end I am glad to have met you. I hope we will have a chance to talk again soon." She returned her book to the shelf and joined her husband at the door. Faramir put an arm around Eowyn, raised an eyebrow at the Elf sitting at the table, and the two left.
Lothien shook her head and returned to reading. A nice girl, she thought, but I'm not here to make friends.
Chapter 4: Arrival
Lothien bent down so she was flat against her horse's back and whispered frantically in its ear, urging it to go faster.
"Hiril nin!" called her escort who was lagging far behind her. "Please, hiril nin! It is almost dark! We must stop to rest!"
The Elven princess lifted her eyes to the sky, and saw that he sun was, indeed, sinking below the horizon. She sighed and slowed her horse to a light canter, then to a stop. Lothien climbed off the horse and patted its heaving flanks. "Hannon lle," she whispered in its ear. The stallion shook its mane in arrogance, then plodded off to find pasture. Galdor jumped off his own horse and sent it after Lothien's.
"My apologies, Galdor," Lothien said to her escort, "I am in a hurry to reach Minas Tirith. I hope you under stand."
"It's no problem at all, hiril nin, but I do believe that if we continue at the pace we are going, we will set a record for the travel time between the two realms." It was true. Lothien had forced the horses to keep up a gallop from dawn until dusk, and in seven days, the journey, which would normally take several weeks, was half completed.
Lothien assisted in the lighting of the fire, then took the bread Galdor offered her and chewed thoughtfully. It had been seven days. Thranduil would be leaving in the morning. At the rate Galdor and Lothien were going, though, they would probably be in Gondor for a while before her father reached the capital city. They might even beat Legolas.
The meal was finished in silence and the two Elves rested until sunrise.
~~~~~~~
Morning came and both Lothien and Galdor packed up their few belongings and got ready to leave. A shrill whistle from the Elven guard brought the horses to them. The signs of fatigue from the last day were visible on both mounts, but that was soon to change.
Lothien stepped toward her own stallion first and placed both hands on the horse's side. Galdor watched expectantly, still amazed at his superior's talent even though he had seen her do in every morning since the two had left Mirkwood.
Lothien closed her eyes and imagined energy from her own body flowing into the horse. Almost immediately, she felt the stallion regain all energy lost the previous day. It stamped its front feet impatiently on the ground, eager to get going. Lothien moved on and did the same to Galdor's horse. The act took a lot out of her, but she wanted to get to Minas Tirith as soon as possible. Besides, with the practice she'd had as a child, she was somewhat used to it.
Galdor gazed upon her in awe and she laughed. "It's not that special, Galdor. Any Elf can do it, they just need to be trained properly."
"I'm aware of that, hiril nin, I've just never seen it done before."
She mounted her own stallion and looked off into the horizon. "To Gondor!" she called, and rode off leaving Galdor still standing on the ground behind her.
~~~~~~~
As expected, Lothien and Galdor did reach Minas Tirith before Legolas. The journey had taken 13 days from start to finish, but only because of the talent of the Elven horses; Lothien had only helped them along the way.
Lothien was welcomed warmly, despite the fact that her brother was believed to be a murderer. Stupid Humans, Lothien thought, how could Legolas have stood to spend time with them let alone fall in love with one? Galdor was sent home with a promise from Lothien she would travel back with her father.
Lothien sat on her bed in the room generously provided for her and sighed. She was the only Elf in Minas Tirith. She withed she had brought something to pass the time. There might be something in the library of Minas Tirith. It wouldn't hurt to check. The Elf maiden stood up and headed out the door. She smiled to herself as she left the room. These will be the longest weeks of my life.
~~~~~~~
Eowyn was the only one in the library when the Elf walked in. The woman glanced up briefly when the fair-haired Elven maiden entered then returned to her book. All of a sudden, her head snapped up again. An Elf in Minas Tirith? The only one who ever came on a regular basis was Legolas, and this was definitely not Legolas.
She returned to her own book, trying her best to ignore the visitor, but her curiosity got the better of her. "Excuse me?" she timidly asked the Elf who was deeply immersed in her own reading.
The maiden looked up in surprise. "Yes?"
"My name is Eowyn, daughter of Theodwyn. Who, if I may be so bold to ask, are you?"
"I am Lothien of Mirkwood, here to defend my younger brother, Legolas."
"Legolas?" Eowyn had heard the awful rumors being tossed through the city, but they were just words. "Certainly you needn't come all the way to Gondor just to quell some rumors?"
Lothien looked at the former shield-maiden with disbelief - almost disgust. "Do you not know?" she asked with a voice that matched her face. "At this very moment, Legolas is being escorted to Minas Tirith under suspicion of murder. If he is proven guilty, he will be sentenced to death. Have you been living under a rock these past few weeks, or are you just stupider than most Humans?"
Eowyn looked hurt. "I live in Ithilien with my husband; news sometimes does not reach us as quick as I'd like it to. I would ask you," she added, "That the next time you speak to me, you refrain from insulting me or my kind, as I said nothing meant to offend you."
Lothien looked into the eyes of the other woman and sighed. "You are right. I am truly sorry. I wouldn't know if you'd understand or not, but it is hard to be cordial to a people who are convinced your baby brother is a killer."
"All is forgiven." Eowyn suddenly snapped her book closed. "I do not know why my husband and I were not informed of this anyway. . ." she said thoughtfully.
"Is there something you can do to change the people's decision?" Lothien asked eagerly.
"Faramir - that's my husband - is the Steward of Gondor. Since the line of Kings has ended, rule is forever more in the hands of the Stewards. Faramir should have been consulted on the capture of your brother. I shall have to ask him about it tonight."
"Eowyn?" The conversation was interrupted by a Man whom even Lothien had to admit was handsome standing at the door.
"That is my husband. We are returning home." Eowyn stood up and nodded to Lothien. "Although things did start off rather badly, in the end I am glad to have met you. I hope we will have a chance to talk again soon." She returned her book to the shelf and joined her husband at the door. Faramir put an arm around Eowyn, raised an eyebrow at the Elf sitting at the table, and the two left.
Lothien shook her head and returned to reading. A nice girl, she thought, but I'm not here to make friends.