Disclaimer: Middle-Earth and its wonderful characters are property of the all mighty J.R.R. Tolkien. Movie references come from the great mind of Peter Jackson. I seek not to steal their vision, only to humbly expand, add a dash of humor, and of course promote the power of friendship and adventure.
Time passed and the sun parted the curtain of clouds, as if it were peeking at its visitors. Sarah blinked open her eyes and wondered aloud, "Why do I feel like I'm lying in mud?" She sat up and looked around her. "Oh it just bloody figures."
She crawled her way over to Alex. The sun's rays seemed to make her shine and Sarah resisted the urge to say, 'ohhh shiny!' She nudged Alex, who seemed to be mumbling Elvish. "Wake up, nap time is over."
Alex opened one eye. "Five more minutes?"
Sarah gave her a look. "Have you seen where you are yet?"
Alex sat up and grumbled, "Never mind."
They crawled over to Kristi who was mumbling and tossing her head. They automatically thought it was the leaf that was dripping water onto her forehead. Kristi opened her eyes at their approach and flinched at a drop of water. "Chinese water torture? Damn, you guys are deadly."
"You should know that by now," Sarah said helping her up.
Alex stood and looked around. "Do you guys have the same feeling that I do?"
Kristi wrung out her wet hair, "Hmm, is it a moist feeling?"
"Other than that," Alex replied.
"Then it must be the feeling that we're back in Middle-Earth," Sarah said looking around as well.
Kristi folded her arms and exchanged a look with Alex, "wasn't our fault this time."
Alex shook her head. "Nope, not us." They both eyed Sarah.
Sarah mimicked their looks. "Well, it was inevitable wasn't it?"
Kristi paused. "You know guys, we each were responsible. . ."
"Yes, yes we know this," Alex said peeling a wet leaf from her arm.
"Well, I was going to point out that it went in the order that we were born. Alex the oldest was first, then me in the middle was second, and Sarah as the youngest was last," Kristi said mentally calculating.
Sarah blinked. "Hey, you're right. You didn't hit your head after all."
Alex looked to her. "Maybe she did and it knocked some sense into her."
"Hey!" Kristi picked up a handful of mud.
"You wouldn't dare," Alex said narrowing her eyes.
Kristi smirked and Sarah quickly armed herself, recognizing that look. Several minutes later, after they were sufficiently caked in mud, they heard the sound of horse hooves. After staring at each other for a moment they quickly ran to a nearby stream.
Kristi's teeth chattered as she tried the water with her hand. "Gah! It's cold!"
"But what if they're guys?" Sarah pointed out as she waded in, "We can't be filthy in front of them."
"This place hardly seems to be up to date on the latest hygiene trends," Alex said. She seemed to consider stopping, but frankly she wanted to get the mud out of her hair, so she went in after Sarah. She inwardly wondered what the record was for the number of showers in one day.
Kristi sighed, but jumped in. As she washed her arms she started humming a 'rubber ducky' song, until Alex and Sarah swiftly splashed her with water. "Hey, you guys just be glad that I haven't tried catching fish yet."
Sarah gave her a look. "Kristi, why are you holding that rock?"
Alex laughed, "Are you going to try and smote one again?"
Sarah laughed with her. . .until an arrow splashed into the water beside them. Alex and Kristi both stared at Kristi in wonder. "What?! I swear it wasn't me!"
Someone cleared their throat and the girls' attentions turned to the shore of the stream. Five men on horseback, four of which had their arrows trained on them, stood staring at them, trying to hide amusement.
Alex softly whined, "damn. And I thought it would be Legolas."
Sarah muttered, "I wish it was Legolas too."
Kristi hissed to them, "I'm not a miracle worker!" She turned around fully to the men, their armor glinted in the sun and their horses pawed at the soft ground. She didn't have to turn around to see that Sarah was mouthing the word, 'ponies.' She cleared her throat, "um. . .hi. I mean, greetings."
Sarah glared at them. "Do you mind? We're trying to bathe here!"
Alex and Kristi gave Sarah a long, long look.
The front soldier spoke, "what is your business in the realm of Rohan?"
Alex gulped, "we're just travelers."
"Where are your steeds? Your companions? Three women traveling alone is naught but suspicious. Are you spies?"
"No!" Sarah tried to reason with him. "We've lost our way is all and we're searching for the nearest settlement."
"Your clothing is strange and your accents are suspicious." The soldier stared pointedly at Alex and Kristi. "Come out of that water this instant and we shall wait for our Captain to arrive." He whispered to one of the soldiers and he rode away.
The girls got out of the water and huddled together.
"Do you have any weapons?"
Kristi glared at him. "Where would we possibly stash weapons? Our clothing is sticking to our skin."
Alex growled. "If he comes close I'm going to kick him."
Sarah was eyeing their ponies and trying to get a better look at the soldiers under the helmets. They had accents and it was agreed upon that accents were hot.
The soldier looked to them for a long moment but decided against searching them. The light haired one looked ready to pounce, the one with strange metal about her eyes was staring at his pony for too long, and the darker haired one seemed to glare daggers at him and that was weapons enough for him.
Nearly half an hour later they saw the soldier coming with his Captain. Alex, Kristi, and Sarah had since taken to shivering on the ground.
"Whose idea was it to go in the stream?" Kristi asked.
"Whose idea was it to start a mud fight?" Sarah asked turning to her.
"Does that guy look familiar?" Alex asked breaking that 'idea' round of questioning.
The Captain rode up to them, took off his helmet, and dismounted.
The girls' eyes widened.
"Eomer," Sarah said trying not to oogle.
Eomer blinked, "do I know you?"
"We ate a dinner once with you at Edoras," Alex said.
"Yes, we accompanied Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli," Kristi said.
"Ah yes," Eomer said recalling. "My sister talked of you as well." He paused, "what were your names again?"
Sarah whispered to Alex and Kristi, "not the smartest crayon in the box, but hey he's a looker."
Alex stifled a giggle and Kristi elbowed her. Sarah gave them a sly look and introduced them all over again. She casually walked over to his horse and pet it.
Eomer shifted a little. "Come, we must go back to camp. We do not want to delay the others. We gather our numbers for the march to Gondor. I am sure your companions will be glad to see you. I recall them worrying for you when you disappeared."
Alex blinked, "Gondor."
Kristi inwardly wondered how much time had passed.
Eomer mounted his horse and extended his hand to Sarah. "Come along, we must not delay."
Sarah grinned widely and climbed behind him. Kristi inwardly thought, 'that lucky devil.'
Alex groaned, "damn it."
Kristi whispered Legolas' name repeatedly into Alex's ear to calm her down, before picking a decent soldier to share a horse with.
An hour later they arrived at the camp and were freezing more than they were before. Sarah seemed a bit reluctant to climb off of the horse with Eomer, but Alex and Kristi's looks convinced her of the consequences of lingering too long. Alex and Sarah shivered at a wind that blew by them and Kristi tried to warm her fingers, which had since gone numb.
Eowyn emerged from a tent to greet her bother and blinked in surprise at seeing the girls.
Eomer motioned to the three. "Look what we have fished out of a stream."
Eowyn gave him a look, walked over to him, took off his helmet, and whapped him upside the back of his head.
"What was that for?!"
"For not taking better care of them. Can't you tell they're freezing?!"
Kristi muttered, "Now we know where the brains of the family went."
"I brought them here," Eomer protested, rubbing the back of his head. "You know I'm going to have a permanent lump. . ."
"You just be glad, you have a lump and nothing else," Eowyn said. She patted her brother on the back. "Now, why don't you go tell Aragorn and the others that Alex, Kristi, and Sarah are safe."
Alex whispered, "She remembered our names."
Eomer sighed. "I was just going to do that." He led his horse away muttering something about, "females."
Eowyn smiled warmly and walked over to the girls. "Come warm yourselves by the fire ladies and then we can get you some clean and," she looked them up and down, "dry clothes."
The girls smiled and expressed their thanks.
Alex, Kristi, and Sarah warmed themselves by the fire for a time. They each wished for some marshmallows to toast and that the soldiers who passed by them more than one time would stop looking so obvious. They were relieved when Eowyn motioned them over to a tent for clothes.
She laid out various items of clothing for them. "It is not much, but I think I have found your sizes."
"It's more than enough," Alex said, "thank you."
"We really appreciate it," Sarah said as she was examining some riding boots.
Kristi smiled and nodded to Eowyn in thanks. She left and the girls started sifting through the clothes, trying to find their size.
Author's Note: Can't you feel the sibling love? I know I can, lol. In the next chapter, humor comes from one of the most unlikely of places as the Three reunite with those they've met before. Climbs on top of a horse, picks up a flag, which reads 'Please review!' and then rides around the review button ever so suggestively Next update in 3 days.
Time passed and the sun parted the curtain of clouds, as if it were peeking at its visitors. Sarah blinked open her eyes and wondered aloud, "Why do I feel like I'm lying in mud?" She sat up and looked around her. "Oh it just bloody figures."
She crawled her way over to Alex. The sun's rays seemed to make her shine and Sarah resisted the urge to say, 'ohhh shiny!' She nudged Alex, who seemed to be mumbling Elvish. "Wake up, nap time is over."
Alex opened one eye. "Five more minutes?"
Sarah gave her a look. "Have you seen where you are yet?"
Alex sat up and grumbled, "Never mind."
They crawled over to Kristi who was mumbling and tossing her head. They automatically thought it was the leaf that was dripping water onto her forehead. Kristi opened her eyes at their approach and flinched at a drop of water. "Chinese water torture? Damn, you guys are deadly."
"You should know that by now," Sarah said helping her up.
Alex stood and looked around. "Do you guys have the same feeling that I do?"
Kristi wrung out her wet hair, "Hmm, is it a moist feeling?"
"Other than that," Alex replied.
"Then it must be the feeling that we're back in Middle-Earth," Sarah said looking around as well.
Kristi folded her arms and exchanged a look with Alex, "wasn't our fault this time."
Alex shook her head. "Nope, not us." They both eyed Sarah.
Sarah mimicked their looks. "Well, it was inevitable wasn't it?"
Kristi paused. "You know guys, we each were responsible. . ."
"Yes, yes we know this," Alex said peeling a wet leaf from her arm.
"Well, I was going to point out that it went in the order that we were born. Alex the oldest was first, then me in the middle was second, and Sarah as the youngest was last," Kristi said mentally calculating.
Sarah blinked. "Hey, you're right. You didn't hit your head after all."
Alex looked to her. "Maybe she did and it knocked some sense into her."
"Hey!" Kristi picked up a handful of mud.
"You wouldn't dare," Alex said narrowing her eyes.
Kristi smirked and Sarah quickly armed herself, recognizing that look. Several minutes later, after they were sufficiently caked in mud, they heard the sound of horse hooves. After staring at each other for a moment they quickly ran to a nearby stream.
Kristi's teeth chattered as she tried the water with her hand. "Gah! It's cold!"
"But what if they're guys?" Sarah pointed out as she waded in, "We can't be filthy in front of them."
"This place hardly seems to be up to date on the latest hygiene trends," Alex said. She seemed to consider stopping, but frankly she wanted to get the mud out of her hair, so she went in after Sarah. She inwardly wondered what the record was for the number of showers in one day.
Kristi sighed, but jumped in. As she washed her arms she started humming a 'rubber ducky' song, until Alex and Sarah swiftly splashed her with water. "Hey, you guys just be glad that I haven't tried catching fish yet."
Sarah gave her a look. "Kristi, why are you holding that rock?"
Alex laughed, "Are you going to try and smote one again?"
Sarah laughed with her. . .until an arrow splashed into the water beside them. Alex and Kristi both stared at Kristi in wonder. "What?! I swear it wasn't me!"
Someone cleared their throat and the girls' attentions turned to the shore of the stream. Five men on horseback, four of which had their arrows trained on them, stood staring at them, trying to hide amusement.
Alex softly whined, "damn. And I thought it would be Legolas."
Sarah muttered, "I wish it was Legolas too."
Kristi hissed to them, "I'm not a miracle worker!" She turned around fully to the men, their armor glinted in the sun and their horses pawed at the soft ground. She didn't have to turn around to see that Sarah was mouthing the word, 'ponies.' She cleared her throat, "um. . .hi. I mean, greetings."
Sarah glared at them. "Do you mind? We're trying to bathe here!"
Alex and Kristi gave Sarah a long, long look.
The front soldier spoke, "what is your business in the realm of Rohan?"
Alex gulped, "we're just travelers."
"Where are your steeds? Your companions? Three women traveling alone is naught but suspicious. Are you spies?"
"No!" Sarah tried to reason with him. "We've lost our way is all and we're searching for the nearest settlement."
"Your clothing is strange and your accents are suspicious." The soldier stared pointedly at Alex and Kristi. "Come out of that water this instant and we shall wait for our Captain to arrive." He whispered to one of the soldiers and he rode away.
The girls got out of the water and huddled together.
"Do you have any weapons?"
Kristi glared at him. "Where would we possibly stash weapons? Our clothing is sticking to our skin."
Alex growled. "If he comes close I'm going to kick him."
Sarah was eyeing their ponies and trying to get a better look at the soldiers under the helmets. They had accents and it was agreed upon that accents were hot.
The soldier looked to them for a long moment but decided against searching them. The light haired one looked ready to pounce, the one with strange metal about her eyes was staring at his pony for too long, and the darker haired one seemed to glare daggers at him and that was weapons enough for him.
Nearly half an hour later they saw the soldier coming with his Captain. Alex, Kristi, and Sarah had since taken to shivering on the ground.
"Whose idea was it to go in the stream?" Kristi asked.
"Whose idea was it to start a mud fight?" Sarah asked turning to her.
"Does that guy look familiar?" Alex asked breaking that 'idea' round of questioning.
The Captain rode up to them, took off his helmet, and dismounted.
The girls' eyes widened.
"Eomer," Sarah said trying not to oogle.
Eomer blinked, "do I know you?"
"We ate a dinner once with you at Edoras," Alex said.
"Yes, we accompanied Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli," Kristi said.
"Ah yes," Eomer said recalling. "My sister talked of you as well." He paused, "what were your names again?"
Sarah whispered to Alex and Kristi, "not the smartest crayon in the box, but hey he's a looker."
Alex stifled a giggle and Kristi elbowed her. Sarah gave them a sly look and introduced them all over again. She casually walked over to his horse and pet it.
Eomer shifted a little. "Come, we must go back to camp. We do not want to delay the others. We gather our numbers for the march to Gondor. I am sure your companions will be glad to see you. I recall them worrying for you when you disappeared."
Alex blinked, "Gondor."
Kristi inwardly wondered how much time had passed.
Eomer mounted his horse and extended his hand to Sarah. "Come along, we must not delay."
Sarah grinned widely and climbed behind him. Kristi inwardly thought, 'that lucky devil.'
Alex groaned, "damn it."
Kristi whispered Legolas' name repeatedly into Alex's ear to calm her down, before picking a decent soldier to share a horse with.
An hour later they arrived at the camp and were freezing more than they were before. Sarah seemed a bit reluctant to climb off of the horse with Eomer, but Alex and Kristi's looks convinced her of the consequences of lingering too long. Alex and Sarah shivered at a wind that blew by them and Kristi tried to warm her fingers, which had since gone numb.
Eowyn emerged from a tent to greet her bother and blinked in surprise at seeing the girls.
Eomer motioned to the three. "Look what we have fished out of a stream."
Eowyn gave him a look, walked over to him, took off his helmet, and whapped him upside the back of his head.
"What was that for?!"
"For not taking better care of them. Can't you tell they're freezing?!"
Kristi muttered, "Now we know where the brains of the family went."
"I brought them here," Eomer protested, rubbing the back of his head. "You know I'm going to have a permanent lump. . ."
"You just be glad, you have a lump and nothing else," Eowyn said. She patted her brother on the back. "Now, why don't you go tell Aragorn and the others that Alex, Kristi, and Sarah are safe."
Alex whispered, "She remembered our names."
Eomer sighed. "I was just going to do that." He led his horse away muttering something about, "females."
Eowyn smiled warmly and walked over to the girls. "Come warm yourselves by the fire ladies and then we can get you some clean and," she looked them up and down, "dry clothes."
The girls smiled and expressed their thanks.
Alex, Kristi, and Sarah warmed themselves by the fire for a time. They each wished for some marshmallows to toast and that the soldiers who passed by them more than one time would stop looking so obvious. They were relieved when Eowyn motioned them over to a tent for clothes.
She laid out various items of clothing for them. "It is not much, but I think I have found your sizes."
"It's more than enough," Alex said, "thank you."
"We really appreciate it," Sarah said as she was examining some riding boots.
Kristi smiled and nodded to Eowyn in thanks. She left and the girls started sifting through the clothes, trying to find their size.
Author's Note: Can't you feel the sibling love? I know I can, lol. In the next chapter, humor comes from one of the most unlikely of places as the Three reunite with those they've met before. Climbs on top of a horse, picks up a flag, which reads 'Please review!' and then rides around the review button ever so suggestively Next update in 3 days.