**To Isengard**
Théoden and Gandalf led the exodus from Helm's Deep out onto the plain, but soon the company would split. Erkenbrand had been left behind with a company of men to repair Helm's Deep and bury the fallen. Théoden, Ẻomer, Gandalf, Aragorn, Haldir, Legolas, Gimli and Miranda along with twenty of Théoden's men would continue on to Isengard. The rest of the riders and soldiers, led by Ẻowyn, would escort the women and children back to Edoras.
At dusk, Miranda was nearly passed out on her horse. Gimli had been rambling on and on to Legolas about how beautiful the caves of Helm's Deep had been, and Miranda was tuning them out. Haldir rode beside her and tried to help her stay awake by engaging her in conversation.
"How's your shoulder?" Haldir asked.
"A little sore, but its fine," Miranda said. "What is Isengard like?"
"It is nothing like its former glory, for Saruman has destroyed much in his pursuit of dark power," Gandalf answered for Haldir. "I was there yesterday, but I'm sure that much has changed since then."
Gandalf's comment was interrupted by a collective gasp from the other riders. Ahead of them was a vast forest that was completely out of place.
"What wizardry is this that grows a forest in the plains where naught but grass has grown for ages?" Théoden asked in wonder. "Is this your doing, Gandalf?"
"No wizardry of my making, and none of Saruman's," Gandalf said. "This is of a power far older."
"Always you speak in riddles," Théoden said.
"Your answers lie in Isengard," Gandalf said.
Gandalf urged Shadowfax on and he led the company into the forest. At first approach, it seemed that the trees were so close together that there would be no possible way through. But as they got closer, a passage seemed to appear out of nowhere, and Gandalf rode right into it. Théoden and the company followed warily, and Miranda was suddenly wide awake again.
It was some time before the company passed through the forest and emerged on the other side. Miranda heaved a sigh of relief when she finally rode out from under the oppressive branches and into the moonlight again. She felt as though she had been holding her breath for hours. Haldir had stayed close to her during the odd journey, and Miranda looked over at him.
"Thanks," she said quietly.
Haldir smiled in understanding and just gave her a friendly nod.
Ahead of them was the banks of the Isen river, and Gandalf and Théoden decided that they would camp there. Everyone was grateful for the promise of rest after the battle and long ride. As the company grew closer to the river, it was obvious that something was wrong.
"It's too quiet," Ẻomer said. "The river is dry."
"Yes, and look out there," Aragorn said as he pointed toward the smoke rising from Isengard. "It looks as though the Wizard's Vale is on fire."
"That looks more like steam than smoke," Ẻomer said. "No doubt Saruman is brewing some devilry to greet us."
"Perhaps Saruman is boiling all the waters of the Isen, and that is why the river is dry," Legolas said.
Miranda shuddered involuntarily and pulled her cloak around her. She loved and trusted Gandalf, but an evil wizard frightened her. She was glad that Gandalf was with them, just in case this Saruman did have something up his sleeve.
The company reached the banks of the now dry river, Isen, and set up camp. Everyone was exhausted, and Miranda let one of the men tend her horse while she went right to sleep. It had been some time since she had slept, and her exhaustion brought on strange dreams.
Frodo, Sam and some thin and gaunt creature were in the custody of a group of men. They were heading into a city, and there was a battle going on. Miranda looked closely at the leader and he seemed strangely familiar to her. He greeted one of his men as they entered the city, and Miranda listened.
"Tell my father that Lord Faramir has brought him a mighty gift," he said.
"Do you want to know what happened to Boromir?" Sam asked him angrily. "Do you want to know what killed your brother? He tried to take the Ring from Frodo. The Ring drove your brother Mad!"
"Faramir, let me go," Frodo pleaded…
Miranda gasped. Boromir's brother…the city must be the one that Boromir wanted to show me, Miranda thought.
Suddenly, she was startled by a high pitched scream…
"Nazgul!" Faramir shouted and everyone was looking up at the sky…
Miranda moaned softly in her sleep and started thrashing about. Most of the company was sleeping, except for Gandalf, Haldir and the fellowship. Haldir had been lounging not far from Miranda and he immediately sat up to wake her.
"No," Gandalf said firmly. "Don't wake her."
"But it's a nightmare," Haldir insisted.
"It is a vision," Gandalf corrected. "I want her to see everything she can before she wakes."
Miranda saw Frodo nearly taken by the Nazgul if not for the swift intervention of Sam. Then she was suddenly overwhelmed by the sight of a giant fiery eye. She felt suffocated by it, and knew immediately that it was the eye she had heard Gandalf talk about, the eye of Sauron…
Haldir looked at Miranda again and frowned. He didn't like to see the terrified look on her face, but he settled back down and waited.
Aragorn didn't like it either. "Gandalf," he said warningly.
Legolas and Gimli both glared at Gandalf for insisting they just wait.
Gandalf sighed and walked over to sit next to Miranda. She had stopped tossing, but it was obvious that she was still in the middle of a dream. Gandalf gently brushed her hair from her face and whispered, "Miranda, wake up."
Her eyes opened immediately, and she looked at Gandalf.
"You saw something?" Gandalf asked.
"Frodo and Sam are near Mordor," Miranda said quietly. "I…saw…" Miranda stopped abruptly when she realized everyone was listening.
"Go on," Gandalf said. "I can see little that concerns our young hobbits, Miranda. Your sight is all I have in this matter."
"They are in a city," Miranda said. "For the moment they are safe."
"There is something more," Gandalf said suspiciously.
Miranda sat up and looked around. She leaned over to Gandalf and whispered, "I saw the eye, and I think it saw me."
Gandalf's expression was dark and contemplative. He nodded and got up. He looked back at Miranda and said, "Don't worry about it, just go back to sleep." He turned away again and went for a walk.
Miranda frowned at Gandalf, but lay back down and tried to calm her heart rate again. She was too tired to argue. She also figured if she went to sleep right away, no one would ask her anymore questions about her dream.
Aragorn leaned over to Legolas and asked, "Did you hear what she whispered to Gandalf?"
Gimli perked up his ears in anticipation of the answer when Legolas nodded.
"She saw the eye, and she thought it could see her as well," he said softly. "She's very frightened."
"At least we know that Frodo is safe," Aragorn said.
Haldir had walked over to sit by Gimli and he frowned, "Gandalf shouldn't have used her like that."
"Gandalf is very wise," Aragorn said. "He would not allow her to be hurt."
"She is already hurt," Haldir said. Miranda was too young to see the things she had seen these past few days. Haldir could only imagine what horrors her visions might show her. He couldn't understand why she stayed with the soldiers instead of returning to the safety of Edoras with the other women. "Why do you let her stay?" he asked Aragorn.
"Miranda is part of the fellowship," Aragorn said. "It is her choice to stay. I tried to get her to remain in Lorien, but she insisted she had to continue."
"None of us could convince her to stay behind," Legolas said. "She belongs with us."
"The girl has earned her place," Gimli said. "Leave her be."
Haldir glanced back at her, now sleeping peacefully and couldn't help the half smile that crept onto his face. "She's brave," he said. "That's for certain."
"You like her," Legolas said in elvish, and gave Haldir a knowing smile.
Haldir looked at Legolas with a frown. "She's my friend," he said defensively.
Aragorn chuckled at Haldir's quick response. "There's no need to be defensive, Haldir. We all like her," Aragorn said.
"That's not what he meant," Haldir said as he pointed at Legolas.
Legolas just laughed and went to find Gandalf.
Haldir went back to his spot by Miranda and ignored the quiet laughter behind him.
Gimli and Aragorn both finally settled down for a little sleep.
*****
Gandalf heard Legolas approach, and already knew what the elf was going to say.
"Why did you do that, Gandalf?" Legolas asked.
"We needed to know," Gandalf said. "Miranda is much stronger than you give her credit for."
"Gandalf, does Miranda know what is going to happen?" Legolas asked.
"Only little pieces here and there," Gandalf said thoughtfully. "Like the parts of a tapestry; odd shaped colored pieces that seem like nothing until they are stitched together to make the whole."
"So she cannot see if we will win," Legolas said dejectedly.
"Don't lose hope simply because you do not know the outcome, Legolas Greenleaf," Gandalf said. "We cannot see if we win, but neither can we see that we lose."
"How do you keep hope?" Legolas asked.
"Because there is still much that is good in this world," Gandalf said confidently. "We have more allies than we know."
Legolas looked out over the horizon and pondered Gandalf's words.
"There is also great comfort in knowing that Frodo and Sam are still on their way to Mordor with the Ring," Gandalf added.
"And can the eye see Miranda?" Legolas asked.
Gandalf looked over at Legolas, and then smiled. "I sometimes forget that Elves hear as well as they see," he said. "I do not know if the enemy is aware of Miranda. His energy is bent on finding the Ring, so it is possible that he has no idea there is a seer yet living in Middle Earth."
"Why is that such a threat to him?" Legolas asked.
"Evil operates best in darkness, hidden form the light," Gandalf said. "Seers expose what is hidden, they see into the shadows. Israfel had an inner light that terrified Sauron, and I believe that there is a power for good within Miranda that will surprise us all."
"Including her," Legolas added with a chuckle.
Gandalf laughed quietly, "Yes, quite right."
*****
Miranda woke to the sound of water rushing back into the riverbed. She sat up quickly, and noticed that though it was early, everyone was nearly packed and ready to leave. She frowned at having overslept, yet again and looked around for someone to blame for not waking her.
Gandalf walked over to her with a rather remorseful look on his face.
"I should not have let you suffer through that dream last night," he said to her very quietly. "I told them not to wake you."
"It's not your fault my dreams are scary," Miranda said with a sigh as she gathered up her things. "What good will I be as a seer if you don't give me a chance to see anything."
Gandalf smiled at her answer and gave her a nod. She didn't seem to be angry at him over it.
Miranda saw Ẻomer leading Tempest to her, already saddled and ready. "Good morning, Lady Miranda," Ẻomer said brightly.
"Good morning," Miranda said with a smile. "Thank you for taking care of Tempest for me."
Ẻomer handed her the reigns and gave her a smile. "I trust you slept well," he said.
"As well as a seer can sleep with dark visions," Haldir answered for her as he walked over to the pair.
Ẻomer frowned at the elf's intrusion, and at the thought of the lady's dark visions. "You had a vision? Are you well?" Ẻomer asked her with concern.
Miranda blushed and took a couple steps away from the pair. "Good morning, Haldir," Miranda said. "If you gentlemen will excuse me, I'm sure Tempest could use a drink." She quickly turned and headed for the river, cringing all the way. So she had a bad dream, what was the big deal? She wasn't an invalid!
Haldir and Ẻomer stared at each other for a moment before Ẻomer broke the silence.
"My uncle said she was a seer, but I had no idea…" Ẻomer said. "What does she see?"
Haldir frowned. The last thing Miranda needed was someone else exploiting her sight. "She doesn't like to talk about it," Haldir said quickly. "Let her have some peace." Haldir walked away before he said anything else. He wasn't sure what to think of this young captain, and he didn't like talking about Miranda behind her back.
As soon as everyone had packed, the company continued on to Isengard. Ẻomer rode on one side of Miranda and Haldir rode on the other. Legolas and Gimli were riding beside Haldir, who had a foul mood plastered on his face.
"How are you today, Haldir?" Legolas asked him in elvish.
Haldir glanced over at his friend and gave him a half hearted smile, "Well."
"I see Lord Ẻomer keeps Miranda company today, or hadn't you noticed?" Legolas said nonchalantly.
Haldir feigned an indifferent expression, "I hadn't been paying any attention."
"Of course not," Legolas said with a smile.
Aragorn hadn't meant to eaves drop, but couldn't help overhearing the elves' discussion. He stifled a laugh, but couldn't help the smile. He glanced at Gandalf, who had also heard the conversation, and noticed the smirk. Théoden looked at the pair and had to ask.
"What?" Théoden asked Gandalf.
"Our little seer has admirers," Gandalf said to the king quietly.
Théoden glanced back at Miranda and noticed her riding between the Elf captain and his nephew Ẻomer. Miranda was trying to ignore the pair, and had obviously schooled her expression into a polite and uninterested one. He turned back to the road and laughed quietly.
"The poor girl doesn't know what to think of that," Théoden said quietly to Gandalf who nodded in agreement.
The company came to the crest of a hill and looked down into the valley that was called the wizard's vale. At one time it was a beautiful garden, well tended and inviting. But now it was an ugly shadow of its former glory, the birthplace of Saruman's evil army. The valley was protected by high cliffs on one side, and a great stone wall circled the tower from one side of the cliffs al the way around to the other. At the center was the tower of Orthanc, the home of Saruman, who had betrayed everyone in his lust for power.
Gandalf and Théoden led the company down the road to the entrance of Isengard, a single protected gate that was cut into the surrounding wall. As they approached, it appeared as though the valley had been flooded, and Miranda couldn't help her curiosity.
"The tower is in the middle of a lake?" she asked anyone who felt like answering.
"Not usually," Ẻomer said with a smirk.
"The answers to our questions are at the gate," Gandalf said as he noticed two small figures lounging there. "Let's ask those gatekeepers."
Everyone strained to see, but they were still too far away. Only the elves could see who Gandalf was talking about.