Thank you Bex, Egleriel, and lightangel.
Anfieldgyul-Thank you. If you don't mind my asking, what would you like me to describe exactly? I'm trying to avoid describing the actual landscape b/c I don't want to mislabel anything and my only 'source' is the movie. Yes, it is a possible A/E.
Malva-I am so glad you liked my Legolas/Gimli conversations. Unlike with Eowyn and Saruman, those two are difficult. I was trying to get them to talk without copying what others have done and wasn't sure how successful I was. Thanks.
Author's Note: This is only a short update b/c I am trying to borrow the books from the library to create the actual land realistically-without directly copying his words. The Shield Maids introduced are a combination of Tolkien's people and those I created for my "I Am Eowyn" story. Really, Idis was supposed to be Theoden's daughter and was dropped from the story.
Part 9:
"Lady Eowyn!" A distressed voice called from outside the main building. "Hurry! We need your help!"
Throwing back the thick blanket, Eowyn went to her window and looked down. A man dressed in brown was waving his hat and calling to her. From the sound of his voice, he'd been doing so for quite some time. It took her a few seconds but she recognized the salt and pepper hair of Baldur, an old comrade of her father's. Leaning out carefully, she called down to him. "Give me a moment to change and I shall be with you. What is wrong?"
"It is my daughter. Oh, hurry up. Do." The urgency in his voice touched her, as did the fear in his eyes.
"I'll be down as soon as I can." She soothed, moving back to remove her gown and pulled on more appropriate garb. From the sound of things, she'd need her bag. As part of the royal family, she had been trained to handle medical emergencies. It was no surprise to her when Saruman joined her at the door. Together, they walked out into the crisp morning air and over to the waiting horses. "Lead on, Baldur."
As they rode after him, Eowyn couldn't help but glance over at Saruman in puzzled wonder. He had joined her several times on her regular visits to the villages and it still bothered her. The people barely tolerated him and did nothing to disguise it. Saruman didn't let it bother him and she never saw any hint of his disgust at the conditions he found. Even when the livestock roaming inside the house did little to break his calm facade, he simply stood back and engaged the inhabitants in conversation while she did what needed to be done.
His actions in Edoras would imply that he was trying to isolate her from everyone. Yet, he never tried to stop her from leaving. Even though he traveled with her, there was nothing to stop her from fleeing his side. It bothered her that she couldn't figure out what he was up to. And she could feel him breaching her walls, slowly but surely.
They stopped in front of one house and she could hear the screams of pain. Baldur leaped off his horse and entered, giving them both an appealing look. Wincing slightly, she figured out what the situation inside was. She slid off the horse into Saruman's arms without a trace of discomfort on her face.
Turning, she removed the things she needed. Overhead a kittiwake flew by and her eyes narrowed, distressed. She hadn't anything new to report, what if something had happened to Eomer?
"Lady Eowyn?" A concerned voice asked, invading her thoughts.
Startled, she turned towards the house and saw Saruman waiting for her by the door, a questioning expression on his face. Moving towards him briskly, she ordered her thoughts to be still. "I wish you hadn't come with me this time. Baldur's daughter sounds as though she's giving birth. Men have no place in this."
"Lady Eowyn, I have never been ranked among men, though I am male. If I have the power to offer aid, I shall do so. It is what I am here for. Nor am I entirely helpless." His tone was mildly rebuking as well as amused.
"I hope you are not expecting this to be easy."
"I do not. Part of our training involved the medicinal arts. I was one of the few exposed to a birthing." He was quiet, feeling that it would do no harm to drop some personal history into the conversation. "I do not feel that it will be easy for us and I know that she will go through an immense trial of strength. Shall we?" Reminding her of her duty.
She passed through the door, silently. The rift inside her was widening.
***
Queen Idis was bathing, resting her head against the cool stone. A sharp knock roused her slightly from her contemplation, "Enter!" It was sharp and unhappy.
Helena walked in, a note in her hands and a kittiwake trailing behind her. "A message from your cousin."
"Read it," she commanded her second, opening one eye.
"My dear cousin Idis,
Why have you not joined in the battle
to save Middle-Earth as once the
maidens did?
Know ye not that Sauron is back and
his ring is awakened? The Nazgul roam
the land freely.
Isildur's heir is coming into himself. He
appears to be a good man, though quite
unsure of himself. But I shouldn't be
making judgments.
If you are still hurt by Uncle's actions, I
beg you to forgive him. Eowyn is in the
greatest of dangers. I am afraid that our
old friend Wormtongue has succeeded in
his plans to dispose of Theoden. Saruman
now resides in Edoras....
Helena stopped, the letter ripped from her hands. "My lady?" She pressed, watching the distraught woman read. "Idis?"
Idis looked over at her, then back at the letter in her hands. "We must seek I'opia's advice." Her voice, when she finally spoke, barely covered her grief.
"She will only tell you to go and help the Gondorians, ignoring Rohan for the moment." Helena pointed out, handing her a robe. "It is what she has been saying for years."
"And maybe this Saruman situation will change that." The queen snapped, pulling her hair up into a towel. "Call her and Narvanata together, we must have a counsel of war."
"And if she says to go to Gondor?"
There was a long pause, Idis' hands clenched together tightly. She let out her breath in a hiss, her shoulders tight with her rage. "Then we will abide by her wishes."
Helena waited until the queen was gone before reaching for the letter on the floor. Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a deep breath and finished reading. Give us strength, she thought, give us strength to turn her away again.
***
Surprisingly, their journey was quiet. Gandalf was worried, though he didn't want the hobbits to be hurt. He just didn't trust the stillness, something was wrong. But what? Why was Saruman waiting? Why was Sauron?
They were not exactly a small group. So, why wasn't Sauron moving?
"Aragorn, a word?" Gandalf questioned once camp was set. This was their last night under the shelter of the forest. Soon, they would be splitting up.
He nodded and walked towards the Istari, knowing that Boromir would be behind him. It used to bother him but now the presence was reassuring. "What is it?"
"This lack of action on our enemies part. It isn't normal for a silence like this to surround a group such as ours."
It wasn't until Gandalf said it that Aragorn realized what had been missing. "But isn't that a good thing? I thought we wanted to preserve lives and especially the hobbit's innocence."
"My friend, I do. But I would rather we had some indication or sign of our enemies." Gandalf could be enigmatic when he wanted to but in this case, he wanted his feelings to be clearly known.
"You are right. Do you think its possible that our numbers frightened them and they are waiting for a smaller target?"
The gray wizard's head shook. "Goblins and orcs will always outnumber us. Even when they don't, their sheer brutality more than makes up for it. It would be foolish to assume that we are intimidating them."
"Especially since my brother is keeping them distracted on two of the roads to Mordor and one of the Gondor paths." Elladan quietly spoke from the darkness. "Where's Eomer?"
"With his horse," Aragorn said sardonically.
"Makes sense," the elf replied. "It is his one comfort." He faded into the night and found the man of Rohan leaning against a tree. "Eomer?"
"Elladan?" He sat up, shocked to see the elf. "What's happened?"
Anfieldgyul-Thank you. If you don't mind my asking, what would you like me to describe exactly? I'm trying to avoid describing the actual landscape b/c I don't want to mislabel anything and my only 'source' is the movie. Yes, it is a possible A/E.
Malva-I am so glad you liked my Legolas/Gimli conversations. Unlike with Eowyn and Saruman, those two are difficult. I was trying to get them to talk without copying what others have done and wasn't sure how successful I was. Thanks.
Author's Note: This is only a short update b/c I am trying to borrow the books from the library to create the actual land realistically-without directly copying his words. The Shield Maids introduced are a combination of Tolkien's people and those I created for my "I Am Eowyn" story. Really, Idis was supposed to be Theoden's daughter and was dropped from the story.
Part 9:
"Lady Eowyn!" A distressed voice called from outside the main building. "Hurry! We need your help!"
Throwing back the thick blanket, Eowyn went to her window and looked down. A man dressed in brown was waving his hat and calling to her. From the sound of his voice, he'd been doing so for quite some time. It took her a few seconds but she recognized the salt and pepper hair of Baldur, an old comrade of her father's. Leaning out carefully, she called down to him. "Give me a moment to change and I shall be with you. What is wrong?"
"It is my daughter. Oh, hurry up. Do." The urgency in his voice touched her, as did the fear in his eyes.
"I'll be down as soon as I can." She soothed, moving back to remove her gown and pulled on more appropriate garb. From the sound of things, she'd need her bag. As part of the royal family, she had been trained to handle medical emergencies. It was no surprise to her when Saruman joined her at the door. Together, they walked out into the crisp morning air and over to the waiting horses. "Lead on, Baldur."
As they rode after him, Eowyn couldn't help but glance over at Saruman in puzzled wonder. He had joined her several times on her regular visits to the villages and it still bothered her. The people barely tolerated him and did nothing to disguise it. Saruman didn't let it bother him and she never saw any hint of his disgust at the conditions he found. Even when the livestock roaming inside the house did little to break his calm facade, he simply stood back and engaged the inhabitants in conversation while she did what needed to be done.
His actions in Edoras would imply that he was trying to isolate her from everyone. Yet, he never tried to stop her from leaving. Even though he traveled with her, there was nothing to stop her from fleeing his side. It bothered her that she couldn't figure out what he was up to. And she could feel him breaching her walls, slowly but surely.
They stopped in front of one house and she could hear the screams of pain. Baldur leaped off his horse and entered, giving them both an appealing look. Wincing slightly, she figured out what the situation inside was. She slid off the horse into Saruman's arms without a trace of discomfort on her face.
Turning, she removed the things she needed. Overhead a kittiwake flew by and her eyes narrowed, distressed. She hadn't anything new to report, what if something had happened to Eomer?
"Lady Eowyn?" A concerned voice asked, invading her thoughts.
Startled, she turned towards the house and saw Saruman waiting for her by the door, a questioning expression on his face. Moving towards him briskly, she ordered her thoughts to be still. "I wish you hadn't come with me this time. Baldur's daughter sounds as though she's giving birth. Men have no place in this."
"Lady Eowyn, I have never been ranked among men, though I am male. If I have the power to offer aid, I shall do so. It is what I am here for. Nor am I entirely helpless." His tone was mildly rebuking as well as amused.
"I hope you are not expecting this to be easy."
"I do not. Part of our training involved the medicinal arts. I was one of the few exposed to a birthing." He was quiet, feeling that it would do no harm to drop some personal history into the conversation. "I do not feel that it will be easy for us and I know that she will go through an immense trial of strength. Shall we?" Reminding her of her duty.
She passed through the door, silently. The rift inside her was widening.
***
Queen Idis was bathing, resting her head against the cool stone. A sharp knock roused her slightly from her contemplation, "Enter!" It was sharp and unhappy.
Helena walked in, a note in her hands and a kittiwake trailing behind her. "A message from your cousin."
"Read it," she commanded her second, opening one eye.
"My dear cousin Idis,
Why have you not joined in the battle
to save Middle-Earth as once the
maidens did?
Know ye not that Sauron is back and
his ring is awakened? The Nazgul roam
the land freely.
Isildur's heir is coming into himself. He
appears to be a good man, though quite
unsure of himself. But I shouldn't be
making judgments.
If you are still hurt by Uncle's actions, I
beg you to forgive him. Eowyn is in the
greatest of dangers. I am afraid that our
old friend Wormtongue has succeeded in
his plans to dispose of Theoden. Saruman
now resides in Edoras....
Helena stopped, the letter ripped from her hands. "My lady?" She pressed, watching the distraught woman read. "Idis?"
Idis looked over at her, then back at the letter in her hands. "We must seek I'opia's advice." Her voice, when she finally spoke, barely covered her grief.
"She will only tell you to go and help the Gondorians, ignoring Rohan for the moment." Helena pointed out, handing her a robe. "It is what she has been saying for years."
"And maybe this Saruman situation will change that." The queen snapped, pulling her hair up into a towel. "Call her and Narvanata together, we must have a counsel of war."
"And if she says to go to Gondor?"
There was a long pause, Idis' hands clenched together tightly. She let out her breath in a hiss, her shoulders tight with her rage. "Then we will abide by her wishes."
Helena waited until the queen was gone before reaching for the letter on the floor. Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a deep breath and finished reading. Give us strength, she thought, give us strength to turn her away again.
***
Surprisingly, their journey was quiet. Gandalf was worried, though he didn't want the hobbits to be hurt. He just didn't trust the stillness, something was wrong. But what? Why was Saruman waiting? Why was Sauron?
They were not exactly a small group. So, why wasn't Sauron moving?
"Aragorn, a word?" Gandalf questioned once camp was set. This was their last night under the shelter of the forest. Soon, they would be splitting up.
He nodded and walked towards the Istari, knowing that Boromir would be behind him. It used to bother him but now the presence was reassuring. "What is it?"
"This lack of action on our enemies part. It isn't normal for a silence like this to surround a group such as ours."
It wasn't until Gandalf said it that Aragorn realized what had been missing. "But isn't that a good thing? I thought we wanted to preserve lives and especially the hobbit's innocence."
"My friend, I do. But I would rather we had some indication or sign of our enemies." Gandalf could be enigmatic when he wanted to but in this case, he wanted his feelings to be clearly known.
"You are right. Do you think its possible that our numbers frightened them and they are waiting for a smaller target?"
The gray wizard's head shook. "Goblins and orcs will always outnumber us. Even when they don't, their sheer brutality more than makes up for it. It would be foolish to assume that we are intimidating them."
"Especially since my brother is keeping them distracted on two of the roads to Mordor and one of the Gondor paths." Elladan quietly spoke from the darkness. "Where's Eomer?"
"With his horse," Aragorn said sardonically.
"Makes sense," the elf replied. "It is his one comfort." He faded into the night and found the man of Rohan leaning against a tree. "Eomer?"
"Elladan?" He sat up, shocked to see the elf. "What's happened?"