Sielge: I am happy you like the opening to this story, it should made the reader curious to read more. Glad it worked with you! =)

Grumpy: It's strange to have you writing a review to my story because you were always reviewing the same stories that I read before. To have you review now my story is… yes, as I said, feels odd to me – but not in a bad way! =)
Thank you for the compliments about my writing style, they mean a lot to me.
Hehe, now they are going to tell Aragorn that he isn't to come on the journey… Yes, I wouldn't want to tell him either!
I fear this story won't go as far as the Paths of the Dead, I am sorry to disappoint you. Well, not all of the chapters are written out at the moment, everything is possible, but I don't intend to write as far.

AM: Hehe, when I wrote the "practice"-thing I thought exactly the same thing. The two really suffer a lot in the hands of the ff-writer… g
I'm glad you liked the story up till now!

Ringmarciel: Yes, I normally don't write or read any fics that take place during LotR but this one just wanted to come out. I wouldn't have worked before, because I needed Aragorn as he is during LotR with all the leadership-thing. Glad you liked it nonetheless!
Actually, I never liked Legolas in the books and in the movies, he only began to catch my interest in FFs. It is good to see that you liked that I pictured him a bit differently.

Catmint: blush Thank you a lot! I love your stories as well, most of all "Why?". I've written a ficlet with the same topic in it and I have some relation to it as well. If you're curious, you can find it in my authored story. It's the other story in English.

Elessar-Greenleaf: Thank you for the compliments! I always intend to keep the character IN-character, but I also like to give them an unknown touch of something else. Just take Legolas' jealousy as an example. I like to add some traits and feelings, but I always want to make it believable for the reader. I'm glad it worked this time! =)
I don't like slash stories either. I know some homosexuals and they are all very nice and kind, it's not that I hate homosexuality I just don't like to read about Legolas and Aragorn being gay, that's all.
You've written a novel? Really published and everything? I would like to publish a novel some day as well but I'm far away from it at the moment. Nevertheless, writing is fun and I will keep doing it though I don't get paid for it. =)

Yavanna: knuddel Schön dich auch hier zu sehen! Und mich freut es natürlich sehr, dass dir auch diese Geschichte hier gefällt. Ja, am Anfang, wenn man es sich nicht gewohnt ist, dann ist es schon etwas schwierig, sich bei solchen Geschichten auf Englisch reinzulesen, aber glaub mir, man lernt es extrem schnell.
Nein, ich war noch nie auf einem Austauschjahr. Das längste das ich je in einem englischsprachigen Land was, das war England London, und da waren wir eine Woche… ;) Ich habe aber meine Englischkenntnisse auch nicht wirklich vom Unterricht, obwohl ich da auch sehr gefördert werde. Es kommt tatsächlich grösstenteils vom Lesen von Büchern und eben auch FFs. Es ist erstaunlich, wie sich meine Kenntnisse verbessert haben seit ich englische FFs lese… Und nun bin ich sogar so weit, auf Englisch zu schreiben, was übrigens sehr schön ist. Anders irgendwie, aber trotzdem schön.
Gut dass dir der Konflikt zwischen Aragorn und Legolas gefällt, der wird nämlich noch eine Rolle im weiteren Verlauf spielen. Und wie er darauf reagiert, dass er nicht mit nach Isengard darf, das erfährst du jetzt in diesem Kapitel… ;)

Aragornwriter: Thank you a lot! You already gave me a lot of trust in myself because of your long e-mail and I am so glad you like the story.
This new dimension between Aragorn and Legolas as you call it was very important to me, I wanted to show their relationship from a different side. I'm glad that you liked Éowyn she is going to play an important role in the story later. She is even a bit more important than Legolas… But don't mention that to the Legolas-fans out there or they won't read my story anymore. =))
I don't mind not getting more reviews, I liked every one I got for this chapter. You pointed out very clearly that my story is readable and I believe in your opinion quite strongly because I know what a skilled writer you are yourself. So thank you again, you are just wonderful!

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Thanks to anyone who took the time to review, I appreciated every single review I got.

Here comes the second chapter. I fear I won't be able to post the third chapter as soon as I posted this one but believe me that I will keep on writing. I am going on vacation next week so I won't have much time to write on this story. And I have another story going on in German, which I can't neglect either so please be patient with me.

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Chapter Two

The heavy-laden tray swayed precariously as the Shieldmaiden of Rohan stepped around the corner and pushed the wooden door open. Sunrays danced merrily on the stone floor of the small room as if they still celebrated the victory of the Rohirrim two days ago and the beautiful morning promised to become a sunny and warm day in early spring.

Éowyn, however, had no attention left for the weather, her concentration lay elsewhere. Moving quietly to the nightstand, she put down the tray loaded with a light breakfast, bandages, herbs, water and two fresh linen blankets. She straightened up, but her gaze never left the form of the sleeping man in the bed. His features were relaxed, although even in sleep a slight frown rested on his face. He had seemed ragged and weatherworn to her when she had first seen him on the steps in front of Meduseld, the Golden Hall in Edoras, but now his countenance was peaceful and soft, almost youthful. An air of dignity and nobility she had not detected before surrounded him and she thought him beautiful, just laying there.

A slight blush reddened her cheeks as she caught herself staring at him in such an unrefined way. Shaking her head she tried to drive away the unwanted thoughts but they clung to her mind as her gaze still clung to Aragorn's face.

Éowyn stood there for long moments before she remembered her task and with a sigh, she stepped to the side of his bed, bending one knee so that she was closer to him. She was loath to wake him from his peaceful slumber but she knew that she had to, nevertheless.

"Lord Aragorn," she said softly stretching out one hand to touch him upon the shoulder. "Lord Aragorn, you must wake."

With almost childlike fascination she watched him struggle to open his eyes at her gentle touch and look around bleary-eyed. His gaze cleared a bit when it came to rest upon her face.

"Lady Éowyn," he murmured, his voice still rough from sleep. "It is becoming quite a habit of mine, your face being the first thing I see when I open my eyes."

She laughed lightly at his jest and was happy to see a smile grace his lips as well.

"I hope you are not too disappointed that it is none of your friends are at your side, but merely a plain woman of Rohan."

A shadow ghosted over Aragorn's face as he remembered his quarrel with Legolas the evening before but he mastered his features quickly as he saw Éowyn misreading his change of mood.

"There is so much light and strength around you, Milady, no man could hope better than to see your face. It lifts my spirits at once. And you are no mere woman, you know that."

Éowyn's face lit up at his gentle words. There lay friendship and politeness behind his words, nothing more, but her heart was tempted to read in them something deeper. She smiled at him, reaching for the tray with food on it.

"I brought you breakfast. Here is bread and a bowl of milk for you. I could not find anything better in the keep."

Something akin to shame lay in her voice for the meagre breakfast, but he accepted it gratefully for he had not eaten anything for some days. Silence fell over the room while Aragorn sat in bed, slowly eating what had been given to him. He still felt ill and his head wound troubled him so he managed to eat only half the food she brought.

"Thank you," he said and gave her the bowl back before he carefully lay down again, resting his aching head against the soft pillows.

"I need to see to your wounds before you go to sleep again."

For a short moment, Aragorn was tempted to tell her that he felt fine, but he doubted that it would work with her.

'Well,' he reminded himself. 'Did it ever work? Well, I can't remember, but it is always worth a try.'

"Roll up your shirt. And do not even try to declare yourself recovered. I will not give up bothering you before I have seen the wound."

Éowyn's voice was firm and she stemmed her hands in her hips, looking down at him sternly.

'So much for my plan….'

Aragorn tried to look at her with big innocent eyes, but she held her ground, a cloth and a bowl of water in one hand. The man sighed tiredly and rolled up his shirt to reveal a heavy layer of white bandages around his middle. There were only a few spots of red to be seen on the outside layer where it had bled through the dressing.

"Oh, you actually managed to stay in bed and not make the bleeding worse," Éowyn said in a praising, slightly sarcastic voice. "I am very proud of you."

'Well, I did not have a lot of opportunities to escape, I was unconscious or sleeping most of the time' Aragorn mused.

"I would never act differently," the Ranger said in a hesitant voice and was instantly met with the gaze of a highly doubtful Éowyn. Her eyebrows climbed so high that they nearly disappeared in her hairline, making her slightly resemble Elrond, Lord of Rivendell.

"Of course," was her only answer beside a snort.

Aragorn felt a bit insulted by her sarcasm but every thought of light banter and humour disappeared from his thoughts when the White Lady had laid free his injured side and began to cleanse it with a soft cloth. The pain clouded his vision and his mind. All he could do was restrain himself from clutching his side.

Everything began to swim out of focus again, but he clung to awareness like a lost sailor to a piece of wood in the raging sea. He would not pass out in front of Éowyn again… he would not pass out… he would not…

The next sensation he became aware of was the comfortable feeling of a cool cloth, wiping his forehead. There were voices again, talking softly to each other. The cloth and the coldness disappeared suddenly, only to be replaced by a fresh one some moments later. Aragorn gave a sigh of contentment as the coolness took away the worst of his headache. The cloth vanished again and this time did not return back to him after a few seconds.

Aragorn was not pleased at all. They did this deliberately, only to lure him back to wakefulness! The Human opened his eyes to glare at the person who denied him that simple pleasure but when he saw how many people were present, the cloth and the headache lay forgotten.

There was Gandalf, right next to him, sitting in a chair and holding a bowl of water and the cloth. Gimli stood beside Gandalf and one hand played with his long beard, eyes distant and deep in thoughts. Near the door, leaning on the wall was Éomer, Marshall of the Riddermark, an earnest expression on his face. And the last one in the room was Legolas, his friend from long ago. The Elf stood at the window, seemingly a bit apart from the others. His gaze was not on his Human friend, but on the wide plains and the mountains.

Guilt overcame Aragorn and he comprehended that their argument was not yet sorted out.

"It is good you are awake, my boy," Gandalf said calmly. "We need to talk."

Aragorn nodded, pushing himself a bit upright against the pillow and - he only noticed now - the clean blankets around him. Éowyn must have brought them with her.

"I see," the Ranger said, trying to put some strength in his wavering voice. "It must be something important or you would not all be here. Is there bad news?"

A feeling of unease washed over him as the picture of a second army of Uruk-Hai attacking the fortress came to his mind. Or had something happened to Éowyn or the king?

"No, it is not what you think," Gandalf reassured him, easily reading and interpreting the concern on Aragorn's face. "But we still need to undo the source of war, the source of the evil. We must make sure the one who stands behind all this destruction cannot build such an army again. You know who it is, don't you?"

"Saruman," Aragorn answered, a growing sense of apprehension filling his mind.

Gandalf nodded.

"Yes exactly. He still sits in his tower, perhaps working on a new plan already. We cannot let him do this unhindered, Aragorn, we must restrain him. Beside that, I have a meeting to attend in Isengard."

"When do you plan to go?"

Aragorn looked from one to the other, but all of his friends refused to meet his gaze. Finally, Gandalf sighed, rubbing his brow.

"Tomorrow morning. We plan to leave at first light. When all goes well, we will be back in four days."

Silence lay over them like a heavy blanket. After a while Aragorn asked softly, "You do not intend to take me with you, do you? You will leave me behind."

The wizard took his chair and moved a bit closer to the bed.

"I am sorry to say this, but yes, we will leave you here. You are not fit to go anywhere and we intend to make haste. There is no way you could keep up with us in your present condition. And even if you were able to keep up, I would not allow it. You need to heal, Aragorn, you need to rest and get better, because there are many tasks only you can master."

There was again a long silence, everyone was holding his breath and waiting for Aragorn to speak. But the Ranger just closed his eyes, turning his head away, seemingly accepting his lot.

"You have to understand," Éomer spoke up now, stepping up to Aragorn's bed. "I would have sent some of my men to get this piece of work done, but there are not many left. Some of them are injured, the rest is grieving. I have to give them time or they will lose their trust in me."

"You do not need to justify yourself, Éomer. I understand perfectly well."

Aragorn's tone was cold, but weariness was streaking through it again, like a threadbare cloth. Oh yes, he understood.

"You will be well here, laddie," Gimli commented, giving his legs a reassuring pat. "We will be back in no time."

The Ranger only nodded, closing his eyes again.

"We will be leaving you to your rest, then," Gandalf said and stood up.

Gimli and Éomer moved to the door, only Legolas remained where he was standing at the window for some moments longer. Then he faced Aragorn, gave him a small smile and said, "I will look in on you later."

Aragorn nodded and the Elf left the room as well. The heavy door fell shut and only then the Human opened his eyes again, staring unseeingly at the ceiling.

He was left behind.

He knew he should not feel so frustrated and disappointed, it was only for his best that they left him here, but nevertheless, the unwanted feelings assaulted him like a pack of angry wolves. Never, not once in his life he had been left behind when such an important mission had been at stake. He had always managed to complete his tasks, even when injured.

Besides, he felt that this mission was dangerous, he sensed it with every fibre of his being. But did the others feel it, too? They had to be warned, or even better, he should be going with them.

However, he clearly knew that this was impossible. He was a healer himself and he recognized the signs his body was sending him unmistakably. There was no way he could stay on a horse for a whole day without ripping open all of his wounds and bleeding to death. Nor was he able to even stay on his two feet for any length of time. He would be a hindrance to his friends if he went with them.

A heavy sigh came deeply from his heart and suddenly frustration welled up in him with new force. He would have liked to throw something at the wall but there was nothing in his reach and getting up was no option, so he started banging his head on the wooden headboard behind him. He hated his weakness and vulnerability! There were so many things left to be done and he was bound to this bed. He should be out there, looking after the wounded, rebuilding the wall, coming up with new plans and most of all accompanying Gandalf and the others to Isengard because he felt the danger out there very clearly. They still depended on him and he could not let them down because of his injury or he would make an awful leader.

Aragorn's head started to hurt again with an unknown fierceness because of the constant banging and he had to stop it. Mangling himself would not help the others a bit.

Lying down again, he felt his thoughts wander and consciousness rapidly fleeing him. The next moment, all of his problems did not matter anymore for he was fast asleep.

Éowyn held a bowl of water to the lips of an older man with a serious leg injury. The man had been feverish and in pain for the last few days. Éowyn did not know whether he would survive the next day or not. Still, she did everything in her power to help him and the other injured.

The small hall was filled with wounded from the battle who lay on their blankets, some of them moaning in pain, others abnormally quiet. Healers rushed from man to man. Every one of them had the same tired nearly listless expression on their face, but they still carried on.

Éowyn sighed and straightened up from the bed of the injured man, wiping away a strand of hair from her face. Her fingers were bloody and left a streak of red in her once golden hair.

This was the room for the badly wounded. The battle had been three days ago but still some of the men were fighting for their life. None of the ones in here held a big chance to survive.

She took the empty bowl and stepped through the door of the room to go and fetch fresh water as she saw her brother passing by, quietly talking to Gandalf. Gimli, the Dwarf, and Legolas were also with them.

"I did not think he would surrender this easily and without protest," Éowyn picked up the last phrase of her brother. "He did not even seem to mind."

"That is where you err, my friend," Gandalf said calmly to Éomer. "He minded a lot that he is to stay here. However, I was a bit surprised, too, that he did not object. Anyway, Aragorn will be fine here. We have to prepare some things for our journey now, there is not much time left."

They intended to step down the stairs to go to the stables but Éowyn run up to her brother and held him back at the sleeve.

"What journey, Éomer? Where do you plan to go?"

Éomer turned to his sister, somewhat surprised at her sudden appearance but he answered her nevertheless.

"We will go to Isengard, dear sister. It is because of Saruman, the false friend of Rohan, that so many men lost their lives. We will bring him to fall and his high tower with him!"

Éowyn pulled back as she heard the anger in her brother's voice but she was not yet satisfied with the answer.

"Why did you never mention such a journey to me?"

"It is not a big journey," Éomer tried to pacify his sister. "We will not be gone for a long time."

"I want to come with you," Éowyn said firmly.

While Gandalf and the others watched, Éomer took his sister's slender hands in his rough ones.

"No, Éowyn. Your place is here, I would not be able to think straight when your life could be in danger. I love you dearly, you know this. However, a foul wizard and a horde of scattered Uruk-Hai are no place for a woman."

Éowyn snatched her hands away, eyes ablaze.

"You think I am not made for war, but what I see inside this room of the injured every day teaches me more of battle and its deadly power than you think. I feel hatred as well, for this enemy of Rohan. I want to feel the sweetness of revenge, too! Why do you deny me this right? I am a Shieldmaiden of Rohan, no nurse-maid! I can fight!"

Éomer raised his hands to placate his sister, but when Éowyn still saw the hard resolve in his eyes, she turned around and run away.

She hurried up the stairs, all the while tears streaming down her eyes in frustration. She needed to get out of here! Finally she pushed open a wooden door and stepped out on the battlement, the wind catching in her hair immediately and dishevelling it all the more. Breathing in deeply, she sank down beside the wall, trying to stop her uncontrollable sobbing. Fortunately, there was no one out on the battlements at this early hour in the evening and no one would see her like this.

Éowyn still felt angry with her brother, but slowly the heat of shame flowed in her cheeks as well. What would the others think of her now? She had behaved as if she was a small girl who was denied a simple pleasure!

'But why did they not understand?' she asked herself desperately. 'I want to fulfil my part in this war, too. And it does not consist of caring for the injured and bringing food to the hungry.'

The wind took away the dryness of her tears and the heat of her shame. She was able to breathe normally again without it hitching in her throat every time she sucked in the fresh air. Resting her head on her drawn up knees, she stared up in the sky. There was only one positive aspect to the whole thing. She would not be staying here alone.

- TBC -