Chapter Eight
Nora glanced wildly at Eowyn, panic rising in her.
"How did you know?" she whispered. "No one knows!"
Eoywn gave her a warm smile. "Don't be afraid! I know much, but perhaps not enough. If I tell you how I knew, would you tell me the rest of your story?"
Nora couldn't have smiling more nervously. This woman from her favorite story was telling her why she knew she wasn't from Middle Earth. Was Eoywn magical? Nora doubted it, but weighed the possibilities.
"Will you?" she asked again. "I promise I won't tell anyone, even my brother!"
Nora sighed and gave in. "Alright. Just please tell me how you knew! If it was this obvious... it would be a disaster."
They entered a large room, complete with a warm bed, a fireplace and a table with chairs. The walls were built of stone and it looked comfortable and snug. Clothing, weapons were littered on the floor and draped onto the bed.
"Is this your room?" Nora questioned.
Eowyn nodded. "Please sit. You look tired." She drew up a chair and offered it to her.
Nora looked at her gratefully and collapsed onto it, forgetting who she was supposed to be.
Eowyn sat down herself and crossed her arms together. She eyed Nora warily and spoke first. "This I will tell you. Middle Earth is in grave danger, as many may have told you."
"Just please tell me how you knew! No one told me, but I realized myself!" Nora said, unhappily. "I made that mistake! I was stupid enough to do it, to tip Middle Earth off the scale!"
"It was an accident, when I found out." Eowyn told her, ignoring the comment. "I was only a child when it happened."
Nora looked at her with surprise. "What happened?"
Eowyn took a deep breath. "A seer came to Edoras once, but my father (she flinched slightly at the word) would not let me see her. He thought, of course, it was for my own good, and didn't want my mind filled with lies and false predictions. This however, made me more confused and curious. That night, I slipped out of my room, and stole down to the local village where she was supposed to be. The seer told me..." Eowyn gave her a little smile. "She told me that Middle Earth was to face two paths. Both, would face a great evil. On one path, the evil would be defeated, with much sacrifice and hardship. The other path would change the future completely, and the outcome was unknown, though it was possible the two paths could combine or change."
Just then, a chambermaid came in, carrying a silver tray of food and drink. She set it on the table, eyed Nora, and then quickly left. Eowyn poured wine into two goblets and then handed one to her. Nora, who hadn't drank for many hours, gulped the whole contents down, trying to ignore the bitterness that came to her tongue.
The Rohirrim continued with her story. "She said as if it was a prophecy;
"A human will appear in Rohan, having been betrayed by evil but would have betrayed good as well, having been sent from another world."
Nora hung her head, she had nothing left to say. She was feeling guilty, and her stomach was turning from the wine. "I was probably that person."
Eowyn laughed, her eyes filled with warmth. "I sense how you feel. Do not worry! I have not finished my story."
Nora groaned. "How much worse can it get?"
"Not much!" she gave her a reassuring look. "He or she would have the power to change the evil, or to destroy it. That's the most I know now."
"So that's it?" Nora turned to look at Eowyn. "What am I meant to do?"
"I don't know. The most I can tell you is that the fate of Middle Earth rests, mostly in your hands. Something will come along and sweep you back onto your feet." She winked at her. "You know, I never got to find out what your real name was....?" Eowyn left the sentence there, waiting for her companion to finish it.
"It's Nora. But please just call me Eothiden, I prefer my real name to be kept a secret."
"Of course. Oh, one last thing Nor- I mean Eothiden. You know your journey will begin, in three days, just as the sun sinks and darkness falls."
Nora shivered slightly. This is so unexpected! she thought. I've got myself into a huge mess, and now I'm getting myself out.
"And now, you tell me my story." Nora almost jumped. Eowyn's voice had cut into her thoughts so suddenly.
"Oh, well..."Nora took a deep breath and then slowly began explaining everything to her. She searched through her memory, and truthfully told Eowyn everything, though she extracted out the parts that she thought was a bit too extreme. (The fact that she was a LOTR fan, her room and her family life.)
When she had finished, Nora was feeling exhausted. Eowyn sat silently, looking thoughtful. Her golden hair was shining, reflected from the candles lit and she looked very calm.
She spoke first. "This is serious Eothiden. Although I can probably not help you, I can still give a little council. Her voice was firm and she looked at Nora with concern.
"First, never reveal your true name to anyone. Go by any name but that. It is surprising how easily you can be found, when people recognize what you are most commonly called by."
Sounds a bit like Frodo, thought Nora with a smile. She shifted a bit on her chair and nodded to Eowyn.
"Second of all, don't talk to unnecessary people. We tend to remember who we talk to each day, and sometimes you want to travel untraced."
Nora silently agreed with her. She was wondering what Aragorn thought of her. Feeling uncomfortable, she pushed that thought away and nodded.
"And third and most important, use the truth wisely." she sighed. "Truth. It is yet good and bad. Sometimes, it must be hidden and at urgent times, it should be revealed. Choose wisely when to say it, it could be your life."
Eowyn said this all seriously. Nora was just about to open her mouth, when someone opened the door.
Eomer was still wearing his armor but he had taken off his helmet. His usual stern look was now calm. He glanced at his sister for a moment, giving her a warm smile.
"I've been looking all over for you two you know." the warrior grumbled. "Aren't you hungry?" he gestured at the open window, which revealed a dark, star covered sky. "There's still some food left in the Dining Hall, so if you need something, just go there."
"Don't worry." Eowyn assured him. "We'll be fine. Eothiden and I were discussing.... her current situation." she finished.
"Of course. Help her as you can. She needs it." He left, almost reluctantly, saying that he had work to do.
Nora sighed and settled herself back into the chair.
Whatever I'm going to face, I hope I'm ready! she thought, almost amusedly.
Thanks for reading! I appreciate reviews, and I accept flames. A writer gets discouraged without any feedback! Thanks, to all my past readers and reviewers!
Athena Diagon Cat- Yeah, I needed to introduce something new to the story! Hope you liked it!
TheAngryPrincess13- OK, thanks for reading and reviewing!
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Queen Lela- I reviewed! Your story is fantastic! Please continue to write.
Vane Alasse- Once again, thanks for so paitiently reading! You've been really helpful to keep this story going! So, thanks!
Arie – Lol, well I hope I checked the spelling well enough this time! :D
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That's it for now!