Breaking Through
By Dark Alavine
The thunder of horses' hooves echoed through the Canyon, thousands of mustangs rounded the bend into the open field. Each one tossing their manes in delight, neighing with the freedom, they would travel over the plains, unharmed, and this was how Alavine wanted it. Freedom, how she craved it, oh how she envied it. These mustangs were free, only one would not. She smiled, this was her time. She leapt from the ledge and down unto the back of a black mustang. Quickly, she wrapped her fingers in his mane, letting him run with the wind.
The mustang snorted and carried on, 'Run free friend while you can' she thought, the wind picked up, making her hair billow in the breeze, the mustang snorted and dipped its head into the wind.
Night came with a storm; billowing clouds came in from the north. The sky was dark, but for Alavine and the mustang, the storm was nothing. Alavine made sure to stay on, this was her right, her freedom, and she was not going to lose it.
Rain poured down, thunder rolled through the sky, blinding flashes of lightning spread across the plains. The sky was black, pouring down from the heavens, forcing Alavine and the mustang faster into the storm seeking shelter.
Alavine coughed, spiting out rain. Her clothes were soaking, sticking to her body. She bent down and patted the mustangs flank. "Good boy" she whispered as the sight of a cave appeared.
He whinnied, and started slowing to a canter, no warning came, and only the shout of a girl and the desperate cry of a horse as they both tumbled down off the cliff that had appeared so suddenly.
Alavine opened one eye, moving her head she looked around. They were on a ledge, on the side of a cliff, with no help, in the middle of a storm, what was worse. She shifted her weight; the mustang snorted and rested its head once again on the ground. She reached up and patted its flank.
"Hush boy, hush" she whispered to it. Blood dripped from her forehead, stinging her eyes. Shaking it off her, she carefully looked over the horse. The pure black coat was now matted with blood, but with whose blood she did not know, before she collapsed on top of the horse into the black abyss.
- - - - -
Éomer traveled upon the plains, as usual. Behind him, rode Marcus, his trusted advisor. He sighed, nothing was in sight, so why was he out here again? Oh yes, a solider had burst into the Hall, he had respectfully bowed and lowered his gaze in acknowledgement, then had started with his report.
"Sir, the scouts have spotted a fallen horse and rider off of to the east, on the side of the cliff. The scouts had said that the horse had carried a rider from the gorge only to collapse at the top. The scouts did not go any closer without word from you, my king" he said. Éomer had quickly nodded and had ordered for his horse, Snowmane, to be saddled. He had quickly gone and followed the solider out of Edoras.
"Sir, there up ahead!" the solider shouted back to him, Éomer rode ahead, the scouts parting as he rode by. There, surrounded by his men, was a black stallion, a white star upon its forehead. Behind it was a mound, deathly still. The horse snorted any time a solider tried to step near the mound.
Éomer dismounted and let another solider take Snowmane. He carefully approached the stallion.
"Easy boy, I'm not going to hurt you. Took a little tumble off the cliff didn't you?" Éomer spoke to the horse. He snorted and pawed the ground. Éomer edged closer, still whispering softly to the horse. Minute after minute, Éomer got closer to the horse, soon he was patting it, making sure that it was fine, and in the same moment, realizing that the blood on the horse's coat, was not its own.
The stallion snorted and nudged the mound with its muzzle, making it roll. Gasps went up around him as he turned the figure unto its back. He was starring into the face of a young girl. Her lips were pale, her skin had a bronze coloring but that was quickly fading in the light snow that was now falling. She dressed rather weirdly to say, long breeches with an odd kind of pattern to them fanned out like bells at the bottoms. Éomer bent down to study the girl more closely. Her shirt was light, were in heavens name what was she thinking, wearing that light of clothing in the dead of winter!
"My lord, what is to be done?" a soldier asked, Éomer turned to him, "The stallion will not leave her, bring my horse, the eored shall ride with me back to Edoras. Send word to my sister about this girl, by messenger bird." He said, gathering the girl's body in his arms.
He placed the girl before him on the horse and they rode ahead, a surge of galloping hooves pounding the ground, readying for the three-day ride ahead.
Nightfall came quickly, Marcus had quickly informed him that the men did not want to stop, they would rest the next day for mid-supper. Éomer nodded and cast a careful glance back at the black stallion; of course, it was standing tall, its ears alert listening to the conversations around him.
Éomer rode ahead and once again the surge of thundering hooves were heard on the plains. The weather was cooperating, staying clear and bright, shading the men, when they needed it.
Due to the fast traveling of his eored, they would reach Edoras by next midday. The plains were soon passing by in a whirl of colors. Although the scenery improved, the girl did not. She grew pale, beads of perspiration forming on her brow, making her gashes only look worse. He had already held her close to his chest, making his cloak wrap around her, he kept one had balanced around her waist to keep her from falling and the other controlling Snowmane.
Shouts went up the next day, the cavalry was home, and they had arrived at Edoras.
- - - - -
Eored-A group of men, often starting around twenty men, who would travel with the king or a chief Marshal, when they would travel.
Mustang-What cowboys in the western United States would call wild horses. Mustang means 'Untamed'. Mustangs were the Indians used, it is said they are lifelong partners to whoever rides them. Many were killed along the lines of battle. They have wide feet and thier coat can very from a solid color to any mis matched color there is.
In case you didn't get why the grass was green in the beginging of the story, it is because when she shifted worlds, Edoras was in the middle of winter.