From here on I will be posting vignettes or substantial stories concerning
Mayda Theodri and her new life in Edoras. I am including them in this story
so that people who liked 'The heir of Théodred' can read on about its
heroine and to save a lot of confusion with posting a new story and trying
to explain who this girl is. Anyway, I just wanted to enforce that this is
no longer part of the main story, but a continuation of the character's
life. I will only post when the stories are complete, so updating will not
be as frequent from now on. Though this first one is rather short :D and
merely for the purpose of introducing three characters that will feature
predominantly from now on.
The heir of Théodred
Princesses and Miscreants
Mayda ambled along the corridor lazily. She was shattered from the morning's activities and was more than ready to tuck into the lunch that she knew was being served from the smell that was wafting in from the great hall. Well aware that she was hardly dressed for court in her riding gear and that she smelled substantially like horse, she still continued on to the hall. She was greeted with many kinds stares and waves as she walked in and headed straight to her favoured seat. Luckily for her, her aunt was not present or the young queen would have sent her straight back to change into more appropriate garb. King Éomer was amongst the courtiers and Mayda dropped down next to him on the bench.
"You smell," he said simply as she reached out to serve herself.
"As do you on occasion, though I say nothing of it," the girl retorted cheerfully and she tucked in greedily. Éomer laughed out loud and ruffled her hair fondly. Over the year that Mayda had been living with them at Meduseld he had grown so attached to her that now neither he or his wife could imagine a time where she was not there with them. Certainly the eight- year-old had entirely come into her own and was loved by all, but she still was known to mope on occasion and Éomer was well aware that this was because she missed companions her own age. The village's children often gave the young rogue a wide birth, falsely believing her to be haughty and boring – despite the girl's regular adventures that were well known across the entire village.
"How has your day been?" Éomer asked his niece. Mayda shrugged her shoulders and continued to chew on her mouthful of bread and ham. " I did not see you this morning at breakfast. I cannot fathom how you rise ere the sun each day and ride off without a morsel of food inside of you. I believe your aunt will be delighted once your mentor returns and order along with him!" Mayda swallowed and chuckled.
"Not a chance," she said with a mischievous grin. "Master Hamlingson has no desire to instil order in me. He's even more anarchic than I and you know it! That's why I love him and do not try to burn his desk to the ground." Éomer grinned broadly and nodded. Lothiriel had been quite taken aback by his desire to employ the services of the bizarre Lore Master from Minas Tirith, but upon his arrival she had seen the cunning in her husband's plan as Mayda fell instantly for his adventurous tales and his peculiar countenance. "As for my day I rode as far as I could to the North in an attempt to find something fun to do, but I found nothing that sparked my curiosity so returned home." Suddenly she perked up a bit. "I did catch sight of a stag and attempted to shoot him with my bow, but I missed by this much..." She indicated a few inches with her grubby fingers. Éomer chuckled.
"That was a fine shot then my lady," he said and he wiped his hands having finished his lunch. "I should take you hunting once more and you shall show me, but now I must return to pressing business." Mayda's face fell and she looked down at her meal dejectedly. Éomer smiled fondly and leaned down resting his chin on her shoulder. "Enjoy your time off while you still can. Instead of travelling North to the bare mountains, go South the forest and explore!" With this he tickled her briefly sending her into fits of laughter before he kissed the top of her head and walked off. Within minutes the girl shovelled down the rest of her food and headed off herself in the direction of the main doors. The sun was still high in the sky giving her plenty of time for another outing, so she headed towards the stables and decided she was well in the mood for a swim.
Within an hour she had reached the forest brim and she jumped off her steed Lindnîn, (she had been Mayda's birthday present from Éomer), a descendent of Brego, and let her run loose in the meadow while she made her way through the thin layer of trees separating her from the swimming pool. As she approached she heard several voices and lots of splashing. She frowned deeply and peered round a large tree to see three children she recognised from Edoras frolicking in the pool. With a heavy grimace she retreated and leant against the tree deep in thought. She had no idea that others knew of this little retreat and she felt quite put out that she had to share it with other children. She decided to leave the pool for an hour and take her uncle's advice. With a mind set on exploring she set out into the thick forest, her short blade (her birthday gift from Faramir) held tightly in her hand should she come across something sinister. Unfortunately for her – she would love a bit of excitement – nothing out of the ordinary happened, though she did run across a ruined fort that could have been an outlook post before the forest engulfed it. After deciding it to claim it as her own she headed back to pool and to her annoyance found the children were still enjoying the pool. Grimly thinking of the return journey with nothing to show for it she decided to show herself. Making sure she put her sword away she stepped out from her cover.
"Hello," she called to them, unable to hide the petulance of her tone. They looked around in surprise and seeing who it was cast each other significant looks.
"What do you want?" the ringleader of the trio, a feisty looking girl, demanded wading out of the water and stepping out of the water. Mayda stared at her in an unimpressed fashion and shook her head.
"I came for a swim," she said ignoring the territorial behaviour of the little gang.
"Well we're swimming here right now," the girl said defensively. " And here in Rohan, you royals don't have priority to everything!" Mayda frowned and tilted her head to one side.
"What makes you think that is what I believe?" she asked sounding putout. The children exchanged a glance once more, before shrugging.
"Well we're not going!" the only boy of the trio eventually stated. Mayda shrugged.
"I would not wish for you to go on my account," she said trying to sound as diplomatic as she could, perfectly covering her grumpiness at being treated like a common thief and bully. "I would though ask that you allow me to join you? It is stiflingly hot and I would love to bathe before I return home." The trio of children looked at each other once more and eventually the leader nodded roughly.
"If you must," she said and Mayda nodded graciously.
"I thank you," she said softly and she shrugged off her shirt and her boots revealing her sword and the curved Elven knife she had been given by the King of the Reunited Kingdom as a gift, he had thought very highly of her grandfather and wished to honour him somehow. She kept it strapped around her chest for emergencies. Well aware that she was being watched she undid both scabbard and knife and left them to the side feeling vulnerable. She rolled up her britches slightly before paddling into the water. The children swam over to the swing and Mayda pouted slightly despite herself as that had been her desired destination. She contented herself by swimming over to the waterfall and playing in the spray as the others watched her suspiciously.
"Why do you hate me so much?" Mayda eventually called to the from behind the curtain of water.
"Who says we hate you?" one of them called back, though from their tone it was pretty evident that they did dislike her a great deal.
"It just seems that way," Mayda said softly and she sighed heavily thinking back to her days in Archanion where she had many friends. Though her life there was miserable, she still had children to play with...children that didn't shun her for being who she was. They played in silence for a long time until Mayda wanted to use the swing badly and she swam out from the waterfall to find it deserted. The children were in fact inspecting her blades. "What are you doing?" Mayda demanded sounding slightly angry. She never liked anyone touching her weapons as they were her livelihood and such precious gifts. Startled the children grabbed them and ran. " Hey!" Mayda shouted angrily and she ran after them through the woods, forgetting her boots and her old shirt. Soon they breeched the woods and Mayda saw that the children too had come on horse. As they mounted and kicked their horses into motion she looked about and finally saw her steed. She whistled loudly and Lindnîn came running. Within instants Mayda had dragged herself onto her back and was in pursuit of the thieving children.
The chase was a long one and the children headed not in the direction of Edoras, but to the East down the borders of the White Mountains. As Mayda started closing in on them – Lindnîn was one of the Mearas, stronger and faster than the horses these children rode – they jumped down and ran back into the forest. Mayda followed quickly and sprinted to keep up with them. Darting to and fro, splitting up and rejoining, passing their bounty from one to another, the miscreants tried to lose the princess, but Mayda had a keen eye and never lost track of her weapons.
Finally with a stroke of luck they ran into a clearing at the centre of which lay the remains of a fire. The place had a foul stench and the remains of rabbits and fish littered the ground. Had Mayda been paying attention she instantly would have recognised the place for what it was: an Orc camp, but in her anger she saw only her possessions and in this open ground she had the greater speed and caught up with the boy-thief. She tackled him to the ground and there was a scuffle for the blades. In an instant Mayda laid hands on her short sword and unsheathed it, pressing it to the boy's throat.
"I would return my possessions to me if I were you," she said evilly looking at her sheathed knife the boy held. He gulped and handed it to her, she barely had enough time to lift her britches and fasten it to her calf when she heard a foul laughter in the woods to the east of the clearing. Jumping up, the girl released her captive and despite themselves the two young children huddled together as the laughter grew closer.
"We're in an orc encampment," the boy hissed. Mayda nodded and rolled her eyes.
"I know," she hissed back crossly and she gripped her sword harder. She was about to suggest running when she felt something strike the back of her head. Her eyes swam with tears before white clouds filled her vision and she fell down unconscious.
X X X
"Oh a tasty treat, haven't had one of them in a long time," a foul voice cackled, causing Mayda to open her eyes with a start. Rough bonds had her pinned to a tree and beside her the other children lay whispered to each other in frightened tones. Mayda wiggled her leg and was relieved to feel the tight leather strap she had tied her knife to her leg with. Her sword was gone, but at least they were still armed.
"Hey you," Mayda whispered harshly catching the attention of the smaller girl who lay by her legs. All the children stopped and looked to her in fear. "Don't look so frightened!" she ordered softly. "We're going to get out of this." They looked disbelieving.
"How can we? There are three of them," the boy countered.
"Yeah, and we're tied to a tree," the leader added a lot less boldly now. Mayda nodded quickly and looked to the younger girl.
"I have a knife hidden on my left leg, if you roll onto your side you can undo your bonds on it," she instructed. The children looked unconvinced, something that caused Mayda to sigh exasperatedly. "Don't look at me like that. I don't want to be their dinner either," she said urgently and she lifted her left leg slightly, trying to dislodge the knife sheath. After eyeing the young princess cautiously the leader girl finally nodded.
"Just do it Laiken," she complained under her breath. The young girl nodded resolutely and rolled onto her side and started to rub her bonds on the blade. Eventually she cut through and undid her ties.
"Now what?" this Laiken girl asked softly. Mayda looked at the three orcs and sized them up. She had fought orcs twice before since her coming into Rohan when she came across them on her journeys. The most she had taken on was two, but perhaps she could distract them enough to give the others a chance to get away.
"Untie me and I shall distract them," Mayda ordered. The others stared at her incredulously. Mayda gave them an urgent look. " Trust me okay? Once I've led them away you can untie the others and make your way back to the horses!" The children conferred softly once more until finally the leader nodded.
"Very well, but if you desert us, I will not pass to the halls of waiting, but shall remain and haunt your miserable days," she said roughly. Mayda laughed despite herself and nodded.
"Very well, that sounds fair!" Laiken started discreetly untying her bonds whilst the leader looked at her with an unreadable look. Eventually as Mayda felt the rope come loose she spoke.
"I'm Arin," she said shamefully. "Sorry we...sorry we stole your blades." Mayda grinned and shrugged, before reaching down and grabbing her knife. With this she jumped to her feet.
"Hey you foul fiends, should you wish to make a meal out of me then you are out of luck!" Herewith she scarpered as fast as her legs could carry her in the opposite direction to the horses. To her relief all three followed her in their rage leaving the other three captive.
The orcs were faster than Mayda had anticipated and they chased her through the trees with precision and stealth. It was tough keeping ahead of them, but Mayda kept it up and once she had given the children enough time to escape she turned around and led the orcs back in the direction of the camp. As she dove out of the trees and into the plains she saw the children had fled and looked around for her steed. She whistled desperately, but Lindnîn did not come. The footsteps behind her signified that the orcs were upon her and she ducked down, an Orcen blade missing the top of her head by mere inches and she stuck the foul beast that had tried to kill her. It fell to the ground with a grunt and the girl looked around to see the other two had her surrounded.
"That was a mistake girl," one of them sneered and it approached with a large hooked blade of Uruk origin – obviously a stolen object. Mayda was beginning to think that perhaps she had overestimated her abilities when a horse cried from behind her. She spun around in time to find Arin and her steed run down the foul Orc that was about to attack her from behind. The boy then appeared from the cover of the trees and ran down the remaining Orc. Mayda breathed out in relief and looked up at her rescuers with gratitude. Then with a small nod she looked over the corpses until she found her short sword. She rubbed the grime from the sheath and tied it back to her belt.
Only now did Lindnîn appear over a bluff, led by Laiken on her own steed. Once they got near Mayda mounted her horse and stroked her main lovingly.
"I'm sorry I took her, I just didn't want anything to happen to her, she's such a fine creature," Laiken managed apologetically. Mayda grinned and shrugged.
"No harm done," she said cheerfully and the children faced off, looking from one to the other triumphantly. "I thank you for saving my life," Mayda eventually said nobly. The children giggled and shook their heads.
"You saved ours didn't you?" the boy said and he half-saluted her. " Mathain at your service my princess." Mayda blushed slightly and looked away from the boy to the girls. They were grinning happily at the princess, a strange bond that you can only have with someone who you have faced death with, had grown between them and now they were bound in friendship.
"I'm starving, let's get back!" Arin finally said and the others agreed wholeheartedly.
"We can sneak into the kitchens in Meduseld if you like," Mayda suggested as they trotted off in a small line. " They always have amazing food stashed away, but I know how to find it!" The children looked as though they had been promised their weight in gold and nodded delightedly.
So off they went, firm friends by the time they reached Edoras in fits of laughter at each other's tales. They laughed even louder when they received many odd stares from the villagers. They were all clad in britches and none wore boots after all. None stared harder than Lothiriel as Mayda led her newfound friends through the great hall in the direction of the corridors beyond. She looked like she very much wanted to say something, but Éomer joined her side and whispered something in her ear that made her smile. Before Mayda disappeared through the door she looked back and caught the wink Éomer granted her. She grinned gleefully before sneaking off to cause more mischief, only now, with the company of children just like her!
X X X
Short, but sets the scene for later stories.
The heir of Théodred
Princesses and Miscreants
Mayda ambled along the corridor lazily. She was shattered from the morning's activities and was more than ready to tuck into the lunch that she knew was being served from the smell that was wafting in from the great hall. Well aware that she was hardly dressed for court in her riding gear and that she smelled substantially like horse, she still continued on to the hall. She was greeted with many kinds stares and waves as she walked in and headed straight to her favoured seat. Luckily for her, her aunt was not present or the young queen would have sent her straight back to change into more appropriate garb. King Éomer was amongst the courtiers and Mayda dropped down next to him on the bench.
"You smell," he said simply as she reached out to serve herself.
"As do you on occasion, though I say nothing of it," the girl retorted cheerfully and she tucked in greedily. Éomer laughed out loud and ruffled her hair fondly. Over the year that Mayda had been living with them at Meduseld he had grown so attached to her that now neither he or his wife could imagine a time where she was not there with them. Certainly the eight- year-old had entirely come into her own and was loved by all, but she still was known to mope on occasion and Éomer was well aware that this was because she missed companions her own age. The village's children often gave the young rogue a wide birth, falsely believing her to be haughty and boring – despite the girl's regular adventures that were well known across the entire village.
"How has your day been?" Éomer asked his niece. Mayda shrugged her shoulders and continued to chew on her mouthful of bread and ham. " I did not see you this morning at breakfast. I cannot fathom how you rise ere the sun each day and ride off without a morsel of food inside of you. I believe your aunt will be delighted once your mentor returns and order along with him!" Mayda swallowed and chuckled.
"Not a chance," she said with a mischievous grin. "Master Hamlingson has no desire to instil order in me. He's even more anarchic than I and you know it! That's why I love him and do not try to burn his desk to the ground." Éomer grinned broadly and nodded. Lothiriel had been quite taken aback by his desire to employ the services of the bizarre Lore Master from Minas Tirith, but upon his arrival she had seen the cunning in her husband's plan as Mayda fell instantly for his adventurous tales and his peculiar countenance. "As for my day I rode as far as I could to the North in an attempt to find something fun to do, but I found nothing that sparked my curiosity so returned home." Suddenly she perked up a bit. "I did catch sight of a stag and attempted to shoot him with my bow, but I missed by this much..." She indicated a few inches with her grubby fingers. Éomer chuckled.
"That was a fine shot then my lady," he said and he wiped his hands having finished his lunch. "I should take you hunting once more and you shall show me, but now I must return to pressing business." Mayda's face fell and she looked down at her meal dejectedly. Éomer smiled fondly and leaned down resting his chin on her shoulder. "Enjoy your time off while you still can. Instead of travelling North to the bare mountains, go South the forest and explore!" With this he tickled her briefly sending her into fits of laughter before he kissed the top of her head and walked off. Within minutes the girl shovelled down the rest of her food and headed off herself in the direction of the main doors. The sun was still high in the sky giving her plenty of time for another outing, so she headed towards the stables and decided she was well in the mood for a swim.
Within an hour she had reached the forest brim and she jumped off her steed Lindnîn, (she had been Mayda's birthday present from Éomer), a descendent of Brego, and let her run loose in the meadow while she made her way through the thin layer of trees separating her from the swimming pool. As she approached she heard several voices and lots of splashing. She frowned deeply and peered round a large tree to see three children she recognised from Edoras frolicking in the pool. With a heavy grimace she retreated and leant against the tree deep in thought. She had no idea that others knew of this little retreat and she felt quite put out that she had to share it with other children. She decided to leave the pool for an hour and take her uncle's advice. With a mind set on exploring she set out into the thick forest, her short blade (her birthday gift from Faramir) held tightly in her hand should she come across something sinister. Unfortunately for her – she would love a bit of excitement – nothing out of the ordinary happened, though she did run across a ruined fort that could have been an outlook post before the forest engulfed it. After deciding it to claim it as her own she headed back to pool and to her annoyance found the children were still enjoying the pool. Grimly thinking of the return journey with nothing to show for it she decided to show herself. Making sure she put her sword away she stepped out from her cover.
"Hello," she called to them, unable to hide the petulance of her tone. They looked around in surprise and seeing who it was cast each other significant looks.
"What do you want?" the ringleader of the trio, a feisty looking girl, demanded wading out of the water and stepping out of the water. Mayda stared at her in an unimpressed fashion and shook her head.
"I came for a swim," she said ignoring the territorial behaviour of the little gang.
"Well we're swimming here right now," the girl said defensively. " And here in Rohan, you royals don't have priority to everything!" Mayda frowned and tilted her head to one side.
"What makes you think that is what I believe?" she asked sounding putout. The children exchanged a glance once more, before shrugging.
"Well we're not going!" the only boy of the trio eventually stated. Mayda shrugged.
"I would not wish for you to go on my account," she said trying to sound as diplomatic as she could, perfectly covering her grumpiness at being treated like a common thief and bully. "I would though ask that you allow me to join you? It is stiflingly hot and I would love to bathe before I return home." The trio of children looked at each other once more and eventually the leader nodded roughly.
"If you must," she said and Mayda nodded graciously.
"I thank you," she said softly and she shrugged off her shirt and her boots revealing her sword and the curved Elven knife she had been given by the King of the Reunited Kingdom as a gift, he had thought very highly of her grandfather and wished to honour him somehow. She kept it strapped around her chest for emergencies. Well aware that she was being watched she undid both scabbard and knife and left them to the side feeling vulnerable. She rolled up her britches slightly before paddling into the water. The children swam over to the swing and Mayda pouted slightly despite herself as that had been her desired destination. She contented herself by swimming over to the waterfall and playing in the spray as the others watched her suspiciously.
"Why do you hate me so much?" Mayda eventually called to the from behind the curtain of water.
"Who says we hate you?" one of them called back, though from their tone it was pretty evident that they did dislike her a great deal.
"It just seems that way," Mayda said softly and she sighed heavily thinking back to her days in Archanion where she had many friends. Though her life there was miserable, she still had children to play with...children that didn't shun her for being who she was. They played in silence for a long time until Mayda wanted to use the swing badly and she swam out from the waterfall to find it deserted. The children were in fact inspecting her blades. "What are you doing?" Mayda demanded sounding slightly angry. She never liked anyone touching her weapons as they were her livelihood and such precious gifts. Startled the children grabbed them and ran. " Hey!" Mayda shouted angrily and she ran after them through the woods, forgetting her boots and her old shirt. Soon they breeched the woods and Mayda saw that the children too had come on horse. As they mounted and kicked their horses into motion she looked about and finally saw her steed. She whistled loudly and Lindnîn came running. Within instants Mayda had dragged herself onto her back and was in pursuit of the thieving children.
The chase was a long one and the children headed not in the direction of Edoras, but to the East down the borders of the White Mountains. As Mayda started closing in on them – Lindnîn was one of the Mearas, stronger and faster than the horses these children rode – they jumped down and ran back into the forest. Mayda followed quickly and sprinted to keep up with them. Darting to and fro, splitting up and rejoining, passing their bounty from one to another, the miscreants tried to lose the princess, but Mayda had a keen eye and never lost track of her weapons.
Finally with a stroke of luck they ran into a clearing at the centre of which lay the remains of a fire. The place had a foul stench and the remains of rabbits and fish littered the ground. Had Mayda been paying attention she instantly would have recognised the place for what it was: an Orc camp, but in her anger she saw only her possessions and in this open ground she had the greater speed and caught up with the boy-thief. She tackled him to the ground and there was a scuffle for the blades. In an instant Mayda laid hands on her short sword and unsheathed it, pressing it to the boy's throat.
"I would return my possessions to me if I were you," she said evilly looking at her sheathed knife the boy held. He gulped and handed it to her, she barely had enough time to lift her britches and fasten it to her calf when she heard a foul laughter in the woods to the east of the clearing. Jumping up, the girl released her captive and despite themselves the two young children huddled together as the laughter grew closer.
"We're in an orc encampment," the boy hissed. Mayda nodded and rolled her eyes.
"I know," she hissed back crossly and she gripped her sword harder. She was about to suggest running when she felt something strike the back of her head. Her eyes swam with tears before white clouds filled her vision and she fell down unconscious.
X X X
"Oh a tasty treat, haven't had one of them in a long time," a foul voice cackled, causing Mayda to open her eyes with a start. Rough bonds had her pinned to a tree and beside her the other children lay whispered to each other in frightened tones. Mayda wiggled her leg and was relieved to feel the tight leather strap she had tied her knife to her leg with. Her sword was gone, but at least they were still armed.
"Hey you," Mayda whispered harshly catching the attention of the smaller girl who lay by her legs. All the children stopped and looked to her in fear. "Don't look so frightened!" she ordered softly. "We're going to get out of this." They looked disbelieving.
"How can we? There are three of them," the boy countered.
"Yeah, and we're tied to a tree," the leader added a lot less boldly now. Mayda nodded quickly and looked to the younger girl.
"I have a knife hidden on my left leg, if you roll onto your side you can undo your bonds on it," she instructed. The children looked unconvinced, something that caused Mayda to sigh exasperatedly. "Don't look at me like that. I don't want to be their dinner either," she said urgently and she lifted her left leg slightly, trying to dislodge the knife sheath. After eyeing the young princess cautiously the leader girl finally nodded.
"Just do it Laiken," she complained under her breath. The young girl nodded resolutely and rolled onto her side and started to rub her bonds on the blade. Eventually she cut through and undid her ties.
"Now what?" this Laiken girl asked softly. Mayda looked at the three orcs and sized them up. She had fought orcs twice before since her coming into Rohan when she came across them on her journeys. The most she had taken on was two, but perhaps she could distract them enough to give the others a chance to get away.
"Untie me and I shall distract them," Mayda ordered. The others stared at her incredulously. Mayda gave them an urgent look. " Trust me okay? Once I've led them away you can untie the others and make your way back to the horses!" The children conferred softly once more until finally the leader nodded.
"Very well, but if you desert us, I will not pass to the halls of waiting, but shall remain and haunt your miserable days," she said roughly. Mayda laughed despite herself and nodded.
"Very well, that sounds fair!" Laiken started discreetly untying her bonds whilst the leader looked at her with an unreadable look. Eventually as Mayda felt the rope come loose she spoke.
"I'm Arin," she said shamefully. "Sorry we...sorry we stole your blades." Mayda grinned and shrugged, before reaching down and grabbing her knife. With this she jumped to her feet.
"Hey you foul fiends, should you wish to make a meal out of me then you are out of luck!" Herewith she scarpered as fast as her legs could carry her in the opposite direction to the horses. To her relief all three followed her in their rage leaving the other three captive.
The orcs were faster than Mayda had anticipated and they chased her through the trees with precision and stealth. It was tough keeping ahead of them, but Mayda kept it up and once she had given the children enough time to escape she turned around and led the orcs back in the direction of the camp. As she dove out of the trees and into the plains she saw the children had fled and looked around for her steed. She whistled desperately, but Lindnîn did not come. The footsteps behind her signified that the orcs were upon her and she ducked down, an Orcen blade missing the top of her head by mere inches and she stuck the foul beast that had tried to kill her. It fell to the ground with a grunt and the girl looked around to see the other two had her surrounded.
"That was a mistake girl," one of them sneered and it approached with a large hooked blade of Uruk origin – obviously a stolen object. Mayda was beginning to think that perhaps she had overestimated her abilities when a horse cried from behind her. She spun around in time to find Arin and her steed run down the foul Orc that was about to attack her from behind. The boy then appeared from the cover of the trees and ran down the remaining Orc. Mayda breathed out in relief and looked up at her rescuers with gratitude. Then with a small nod she looked over the corpses until she found her short sword. She rubbed the grime from the sheath and tied it back to her belt.
Only now did Lindnîn appear over a bluff, led by Laiken on her own steed. Once they got near Mayda mounted her horse and stroked her main lovingly.
"I'm sorry I took her, I just didn't want anything to happen to her, she's such a fine creature," Laiken managed apologetically. Mayda grinned and shrugged.
"No harm done," she said cheerfully and the children faced off, looking from one to the other triumphantly. "I thank you for saving my life," Mayda eventually said nobly. The children giggled and shook their heads.
"You saved ours didn't you?" the boy said and he half-saluted her. " Mathain at your service my princess." Mayda blushed slightly and looked away from the boy to the girls. They were grinning happily at the princess, a strange bond that you can only have with someone who you have faced death with, had grown between them and now they were bound in friendship.
"I'm starving, let's get back!" Arin finally said and the others agreed wholeheartedly.
"We can sneak into the kitchens in Meduseld if you like," Mayda suggested as they trotted off in a small line. " They always have amazing food stashed away, but I know how to find it!" The children looked as though they had been promised their weight in gold and nodded delightedly.
So off they went, firm friends by the time they reached Edoras in fits of laughter at each other's tales. They laughed even louder when they received many odd stares from the villagers. They were all clad in britches and none wore boots after all. None stared harder than Lothiriel as Mayda led her newfound friends through the great hall in the direction of the corridors beyond. She looked like she very much wanted to say something, but Éomer joined her side and whispered something in her ear that made her smile. Before Mayda disappeared through the door she looked back and caught the wink Éomer granted her. She grinned gleefully before sneaking off to cause more mischief, only now, with the company of children just like her!
X X X
Short, but sets the scene for later stories.