Chapter Ten – Old Friends
Arlannis watched the Orcs scatter as the horses charged into their midst. Despite the pain and weakness that assailed her, she rolled onto her back. She was about to struggle to a sitting position when a giant stallion soared over her body and she thought better of it. Its rider paid her no heed and from her low vantage point, Arlannis' feverish eyes thought she could make out the trappings of a Rohan horse warrior.
All around her the cries of battle mingled with cries of pain. Arlannis turned her head this way and that in a desperate attempt to find her hobbit friends, but with no success. They had fled.
Gradually, she became aware of a lessening in the clamour around her but was too weak from blood loss to make sense of it. A surge of darkness hit her and her eyes closed briefly, or so she thought. When they re-opened the battle was over and the smell of burning flesh filled the air.
Arlannis could feel herself being dragged by the feet over rough ground, she tried to cry out but her throat was too dry for speech. Sickness coursed through her as the smell of cooking flesh grew stronger. Smoke obscured her vision and she tried to call out again, this time with some success.
'Stop!' cried a voice Arlannis thought she knew.
'What is this? Since when do Orcs wear leather boots?' it continued in stern tones.
Arlannis' exhausted wits finally matched a name with the speaker, 'Eomer?' she croaked weakly.
'Arlannis!' came the shocked reply and then a dagger was cutting her bonds. 'Take note, fools! You had better learn to tell friend from foe!' this to the man who had been dragging her to the pyre.
'Get water! Now!' a swift order barked and a skin of stale water was held to her lips.
'What happened here? It's not like you to need rescuing, Arlannis,' Eomer said when she had drained the skin well nigh dry.
'It was not by choice, my friend,' she replied, weakly, 'but I am grateful, more than words can say, that you happened by when you did.'
Eomer's face blanched in the glow of the pyre as he took in the extent of her wounds. He raised a hand to her face but refrained from touching the mutilations left by the Orcs. 'Can you sit a horse?' he asked intently.
Arlannis shook her head. 'I can barely stand, Eomer,' she whispered, 'I have been a captive for days.'
Eomer nodded, 'Then my steed shall have to do double duty, for we must leave here immediately. You can tell me the tale of how a Ranger nearly ended up as food for Orcs on the way.'
'Wait, Eomer,' protested Arlannis, 'I was not alone, I had two friends, they would seem as children to you and your men, they're halflings…'
'We did not see these beings of which you speak, my friend and now it is time to go,' was her answer after Eomer had called out her description of Merry and Pippin to the other riders, but to no avail. 'You need to get to the healers at Edoras, Arlannis, lest those wounds of yours fester.'
Arlannis tried to protest further but Eomer caught her up in his arms and set her upon his horse before him. Exhaustion claimed her and at last she succumbed to sleep in the security of Eomer's arms. When she awoke it was to delirium, the landscape jerked and tumbled around her and still the men of Rohan galloped on.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Aragorn listened intently while Legolas and Gimli remained motionless lest they distract him.
'Riders approach,' he said eventually, 'we shall see if we find friends in the land of Rohan.'
Within a few moments, the riders were in sight and passing the small band of hunters.
'What news of the North, riders of Rohan?' called Aragorn loudly.
The war party turned from their path with lightning speed and within a minute Aragorn and his two companions found themselves at the centre of a ring of tightly pressed horseflesh.
The companions reacted instinctively to the threat and bows were nocked, axes raised and swords drawn as the ring drew tighter.
Legolas was an excellent horseman but even he was impressed at the riders' display of control in encircling them so swiftly. The leader pushed his mount through the circle to speak with them. And then, all thoughts of horses disappeared from Legolas' mind. For he could see Arlannis and she was alive!
He surged towards her, his only thought to touch her and make sure this was not some waking dream, but the men of Rohan had spears levelled at his face and Aragorn pushed him back even as the same joy lit his face at the sight of his sister.
'Arlannis,' he called, 'it is a joy to find you safe, sister!'
* * * * * * * * * * *
Sister, the tall man in the grass had called her his sister. Eomer glanced down at the Ranger in his arms, her breath came slowly and her eyes were glazed and dull. The blood had dried on her face and matted her short hair.
'Arlannis is your sister?' he asked.
'She is my younger sister,' came the answer, 'I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn, these are my companions, Legolas of the Mirkwood Elves and Gimli of the Dwarves. We come in peace, seeking only to reclaim our comrades taken in battle.'
'I am Eomer, nephew to Theoden, King of the Golden Hall. Arlannis has spoken to me of you and it is well that she did for otherwise you would find yourselves shallow graves this day,' said Eomer.
Aragorn could see Legolas and Gimli bristle at this but he would not allow pride to rob him of the joy of finding Arlannis alive. Or was she? His sister looked deathly pale and dried blood obscured the left side of her face.
'Arlannis?' he tried, but there was no reply.
'I grieve with you for she has been sorely hurt, Aragorn, son of Arathorn,' said Eomer, 'the Orcs were in the course of butchering her when we attacked. I am taking her to Edoras, to the healers there.'
He gestured and the spears lowered and just as slowly Legolas and Gimli relaxed their grip on their weapons.
Eomer dismounted and gently pulled Arlannis off the horse and beckoned the three companions forward the better to see her. For her part she seemed not to be aware of what was happening. She just stared blankly and did not recognise Aragorn when he pressed her hand and called her name. Gimli muttered curses under his breath as her wounds were revealed. Her jerkin had been torn to strips and the gashes on her skin were an unwholesome dark red. But worst of all was her face. The wound left by the Orc's dagger had festered overnight and the left side of her face was swollen and dark and here Legolas and Aragorn, hardened warriors both, turned white as they saw what remained of her left ear.
Aragorn shook with anguish as he looked upon her mutilation, but brought it under control. Turning to Eomer, he asked, 'Can your healers restore my sister?'
Eomer met his gaze squarely, 'I do not know,' he replied, 'I hope so, for Arlannis is a valued friend to me. You may be certain that I will do whatever I can to assure her recovery.'
Eomer gazed down upon the woman cradled in his arms, 'We must get her to Edoras with all haste if we are to save her,' he said.
'The hobbits!' exclaimed Gimli suddenly 'What of the hobbits?'
Eomer answered him as he lifted Arlannis into the saddle again. 'They were taken with Arlannis, but were gone by the time we arrived. We made a search, albeit a quick one but we did not find them. It is possible they sought refuge in Fangorn forest. I can spare you horses for your journey, but you must choose quickly whether to follow me to Edoras or continue to search for your other friends.'
The riders were milling about ready to depart. Eomer saw the agony of the decision writ plain upon Aragorn's face. The choice was clear, follow his wounded sister or seek a pair of halfling friends lost in the night.
'Do you have a sister?' he asked Eomer directly, staring into the man of Rohan's face. Not many men could hold Aragorn's gaze if there were any doubt in their hearts, but Eomer's eyes never wavered.
'I do. And I would die to protect both mine and yours,' he answered, without hesitation.
Aragorn sighed as if he had received the answer he sought, 'Then we will accept your offer of horses and continue the hunt. But when they are found we will hasten to Edoras. Until then I charge you with Arlannis' safety. Treat her as you would your own sister.' He stepped forward and pressed Arlannis' hand to his lips and said in a low voice, 'Hold fast, Arlannis, until we meet again.' She stirred slightly at this familiar contact but did not rouse from her stupor.
Then he drew Gilraen's sword from his belt and passed it to Eomer saying, 'Give this to her when she wakes.'
* * * * * * * * * * *
Legolas' mind whirled as he watched the men of Rohan gallop away carrying Arlannis with them. His immortal heart felt weighed down with a pain he had never before suffered. He stood staring as the horsemen disappeared from view over the horizon; so loath was he to part with Arlannis once she had been found.
'Come, Legolas,' said Aragorn, gently 'we have to find the halflings.'
Legolas turned with an angry retort on his lips but stopped when he saw the tightly drawn lines of worry across his friend's face. Instead he said, 'I would that we had not left her.'
'It is what Arlannis would wish us to do,' said Aragorn, 'and there is no aid we could give her that the healers in Edoras cannot.' Compassion lit the Ranger's eyes as Legolas turned back to the empty horizon.
'We will see her again, Legolas,' said Aragorn, 'my sister is a Ranger and our kind do not die easily.'
But Legolas could not be comforted by words. The pain remained within him just as he knew it would until he saw Arlannis restored to herself again.
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