They stood there for a few minutes before Carrie shuddered with the cold. She then, to her dismay, yawned, giving away her sleepiness. Legolas turned to her.
"You are cold. You are tired. You should go back inside and sleep."
Carrie shook her head, suppressing another yawn. "No, I'll be alright." She looked in his eyes and saw the doubt in her statement and his determination for her to return to bed. "You won't come with me?"
"Nay. I will remain here." He turned back to the east.
"Aren't you tired and cold?" He shook his head. "Then I will stay out here with you." He turned back to her and she relented, seeing the look in his eyes. "Ok, ok! I'll go to bed!" Stubborn, he was, she thought. Stubborn, but probably right. She placed her hand lightly on his arm and reached up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. He smiled slightly at her, gently running his hands through her hair once more.
"I'll see you in the morning?" she asked. He nodded at her distractedly. She smiled at him then turned and walked away, back towards her room.
She had almost reached her room when she heard a great commotion coming from the hall. 'What could that be, at this time of night?' she wondered. She began to run towards the hall. She stopped short, becoming momentarily disoriented as to which direction the hall was when someone ran into her, knocking her off balance.
She and the other person would have both ended up on the floor if a pair of hands had not grabbed them both and supported them. When she regained her balance she turned to see Eomer holding her and Eowyn up. Eowyn must have been the one who ran into her, for if it had been Eomer, she would most likely be more hurt than she was. Once he realized the two women were stable, he ran ahead towards the hall. She and Eowyn ran after him. They reached the hall just after him and stood in the doorway. The noise had stopped, but everyone was still in disarray.
Carrie glanced around the room from behind Eomer, who was standing in the doorway, watching the scene. She saw Merry, or was it Pippin, lying on the floor in quite a frenzied state with Gandalf kneeling over him, talking to him quietly. She saw the other Hobbit kneeling slightly away from them, looking on worriedly. She saw Legolas kneeling across the room, holding onto Aragorn, who was lying dazedly half on Legolas, half on the floor. She saw Gimli sitting on one of the cots, looking very much half-asleep.
Nobody except Gandalf and Pippin spoke for quite a while. Once Pippin seemed to calm down, Gandalf turned to Eomer.
"You can return to your chambers." He set his gaze on Eowyn then on Carrie, and then back to Eomer. "It is over, here." Carrie couldn't help but continue to stare at the Hobbit lying dazedly on the ground. A movement across the room grabbed her attention and she saw Aragorn and Legolas standing up, Legolas looking at Aragorn uneasily. Legolas glanced at her and held her gaze briefly, an anxious look on his face, before he turned back to Aragorn.
Eomer turned to the two women. "Come. Tomorrow dawns early." He strode away from the room with Carrie and Eowyn following a few paces behind.
Eowyn turned to Carrie as they walked. "What do you suppose just happened?"
Carrie shook her head, bewildered. "I...I don't know." She tried desperately to remember any such thing that had happened at Edoras, but couldn't recall reading of any. Quite disturbed that this could be yet another deviation, and that she could have caused it, she shrugged uneasily at Eowyn. "But I don't think it was good."
Eowyn nodded in agreement and they continued the rest of the walk in silence.
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The next day did not dawn early for Carrie. In fact, she probably slept later than she had the entire time since she had arrived in middle earth. Apparently, there were far more pressing matters for everyone to worry about than what time she got up and for this she was thankful.
By the time she had washed, dressed, and found her way to the hall, Gandalf and Pippin had left for Gondor. Now that she was thinking about it, she could have sworn that Gandalf and Pippin had gone directly from Isengard to Gondor, but it had been a long time since she had read the book. She entered the hall and looked around. Everyone was standing or sitting around, silent as death. Legolas and Aragorn were off by themselves, deep in quiet conversation, so she approached Gimli.
As she came near, he offered her a wan smile. "Greetings, my lady," he said quietly. "I'm afraid you missed breakfast."
Carrie risked a glance towards Aragorn and Legolas, and saw both with tense expressions. She turned back to Gimli. "That's ok. I'm not hungry."
Gimli gave her a "Humph" and turned to follow her gaze that had returned to Aragorn and Legolas. "And to think," he began, "that had it not been for the events of last night, I would have gotten great pleasure out of tormenting you and that elf this morning." He smirked up at her. "After you so inconspicuously disappeared from the celebration."
Carrie smiled down at him. "Sorry you were deprived of that pleasure," she said dryly.
"Aye lassie, there will be another time. A better, happier time." He sighed. "We all hope."
Carrie nodded silently. She said nothing else, not knowing what to say to the dwarf. Eventually curiosity overcame her and she turned back towards Gimli.
"What exactly happened last night?"
Gimli raised his eyebrows and a look of discomfort passed across his eyes. "Young Master Pippin unwisely took it upon himself to gaze into the seeing stone that we had recovered from Isengard."
Carrie gasped. The palantir! She shook her head in confusion. That happened in Isengard! That was supposed to have happened in Isengard! Severly shaken, Carrie could not say anything, so she just bit her lip and looked anxiously at the floor. Gimli said nothing else on the matter and they stood there in silence for a few moments until she couldn't take it any longer. Besides the dread that she was now experiencing, thinking that she was indeed changing things somehow, the feeling in the room threatened to overcome her. It was an anxious anticipation, an overwhelming feeling of waiting, of hope and dread, of fear and daring, and Carrie needed to escape it. She forced herself to smile in parting at the dwarf and went outside for air. It was no better out there. The feeling seemed to emanate from the hall, effecting all within the city.
Carrie felt like she was gasping for breath when a hand landed on her shoulder. She whirled around and came face to face with Aragorn. She looked and saw Legolas and Gimli behind him. It reminded her of their meetings, those long months ago, and the overwhelming feelings tightened their hold on her. That was, until Aragorn spoke.
"Carrie, come inside. Do not let the darkness into your heart. For we have not lost all. We still have hope."
Hearing his voice was like a breath of fresh air, filling Carrie's chest. No wonder they called him Estel; Hope. She turned to Legolas and saw the look of worry in his eyes and turned to Gimli and saw a similar look. Their concern for her, matched with Aragorn's words dispelled the last of her despair and she followed them back into the hall.
Although Carrie tried hard to push it away, the oppressiveness of the hall continued throughout the day. She joined the men and Eowyn for luncheon, but nobody spoke much. Dinner was more of the same. Between meals, not much happened. Everyone walked around almost as shadows, quiet and pensive. After dinner, Carrie sat with Legolas on the terrace for a long while in silence before retiring to bed.
The next few days were more of the same. Nobody spoke much, though there was much to be said. Nobody did much, though much needed doing. They ate in silence. They slept restlessly. It was as if the entire populace of the town was one being, tormented and expectant. And yet every individual felt wholly alone.
It continued like this until mid day on the fourth day. Carrie was in the hall, just before luncheon. She was standing against the wall with Eowyn, silently watching the men. Some of them were bent over a table, discussing something with the king. Others were standing around, valiantly attempting to look as if this waiting was not effecting them.
Suddenly Aragorn burst into the hall, running towards the king and shouting, "The beacons of Minas Tirith! The beacons are lit!" Everyone turned to look at him. "Gondor calls for aid!" Eowyn left Carrie's side and ran to go stand by her brother.
The king paused for a very long moment while everyone watched him anxiously. "And Rohan will answer!" Theoden narrowed his eyes. "Muster the Rohirrim!"
Well, we've passed the thirty-chapter mark. Honestly, when I started this story I had no idea it would become this big, and we still have a little ways to go yet before the end. This chapter is a bit of a shortie, but the next update should only be in a few days, so you shouldn't have too long to wait. Thank you again to reviewers! Seeing your comments makes me very happy!
Jack-Sparrow-Lover: Thank you! I hoped you wouldn't. There are some other really, really good ones out there.
nilimade: Thank you!
PsychoPixie: Thanks, I'm glad you liked the chapter.
nap-003: I'm so happy that you love the story! I can't really comment on what you hope for, since I know what is going to happen. You'll just have to wait and see…
Crecy: Thanks! I'm delighted that you're back for more!