Tolwyn made her way back to Edoras along the same route she had come. She had enough energy from the food and rest she had gotten, but the journey was still rough. She wished often for a nice, hot bath and a comfortable bed. But she arrived at the gates of Edoras in the late evening on July 1st. She tied Baldor up outside the gate again, making sure he was where none of the guards could see him. She snuck through the gate unnoticed and crept to an alleyway.

Tolwyn made her way up the hill to where the Golden Hall was. She walked around in the shadows outside the side of it, and finally located her brother's bedroom window. There was no light showing from it. Tolwyn began to ascend the wall. She was slow, for it was very difficult. After about ten minutes she reached her brother's window and pulled herself onto the ledge. She didn't look, just rolled herself inside, afraid of falling out.

Elfwine, who was asleep, awoke to a loud THUMP and clattering on the floor of his room. He sat up, pulled off the sheets and stood. "Who's there?!" he murmured. Tolwyn could see him searching for a weapon as he spoke. She sat up as well as she could and looked straight at him. "Calm down, Elfwine, 'tis only me," she whispered. He stopped searching and instead lit a candle.
"Tolwyn!" He exclaimed in a whisper, and kneeled by her. Her brother quickly pulled her into a tight hug. "Elfwine, I need your help! Let go of me," Tolwyn gasped breathlessly. Elfwine did so, and helped her to her feet. "Did you decide to come back?" he asked. Before she could respond he went on to say, "Father was in tears when he discovered you gone. I've only seen him cry one other time, and that was after Mother's funeral. He really does care about you."

Tolwyn sighed. She had already set her mind to traveling, and was not going to give up her dream now. This decision on her part was selfish, perhaps immature, but she did not know it at the time. All she knew was that she wished to be stronger. "Elfwine, sit with me. I have to tell you what happened." So they sat together on his bed, and she told him all of what she did in Minas Tirith. When she ended with her not agreeing to Eldarion's deal, she told him her plan.

"As long as Eldarion never finds out I kept my secret, he'll never tell it himself," she said. Elfwine, who had listened to this patiently, took off Tolwyn's helm. "You are scarred," he said softly, lovingly. "You are tired, bruised. Please, Tolwyn, just stay here… I don't want you hurt."

"And neither did Father!" Tolwyn hissed. "That is why he would have me traded, sent off! I must leave, Elfwine. I am not changing my mind." Elfwine sighed, and stood up. "You are prepared to be dirty and tired your whole life? Fine. It is your decision. But I have some things to give you first." Elfwine pulled on a shirt (for he had been sleeping shirtless, due to warm weather). He crept quietly out his door and down the hall, barefoot. Tolwyn sat and listened, and waited for him. He came back soon, hiding something behind his back.

"Close your eyes," he said. She could hear him walk to her and kneel in front of her. "Now, open them," he said, and when she did she gasped in surprise. In Elfwine's arms was a bow, long and wooden. It had simbelmyne blooms engraved in gold in the handle and at both ends of it. "I made it myself, over the year," said Elfwine, grinning. "I didn't make this, but it goes with the bow." With that he pulled a quiver full of arrows out of hiding and presented it to her. The quiver was one that had been passed down for generations of royal Eorlingas, and it had beautiful designs and a leather strap on it. The arrows had grey feathers on them, as did all Rohan arrows. The heads were a black metal, and the same shape as the heads of the spears the Riders had.

"Elfwine, I… don't know what to say," Tolwyn breathed. Along with swordsmanship and riding he had taught her how to shoot arrows, and she had become fair enough at it. She was even a little disappointed when she had no bow the night she ran away. "Thank you!" She exclaimed quietly, and hugged her brother's neck. "I shall use them well, and think of you whenever I do." She stored them in a safe place until she left.

Tolwyn planned on leaving again, that very night. But first she needed what she had forgotten the first time. Food, and drink, and money for when she needed it. This required a lot of sneaking around the hallways on Elfwine's part. He snuck to the kitchen and got apples, bread, and a water-flask, and made three trips doing so. Tolwyn also thought of other things she would need. Healing herbs and strips of cloth, which a trip to the healing room took care of; some hunting knives, a bowl, a spoon, a small cooking-pot, which Elfwine made another trip to the kitchen for; Tolwyn even had him sneak to her room, to get a blanket and some other things.

"What are these?" he asked, as he gave her a brown paper package tied up with string and a small leather-bound book. "This," said Tolwyn, holding up the package, "Is Aunt Eowyn's dress. I decided to keep it safe and hidden, so they think I ran away in it. And this," she said, holding up the book, "Is a journal that I have kept since I learned how to write." Elfwine also supplied her with a folded map of Middle-Earth and money from his own account, and plenty of money. "You never know when you'll need it," he said, putting it all into a small leather pouch. He also found a tinderbox so Tolwyn could start fires, and a big pack for her to put all her belongings in.

Since the guards, and the innkeeper, and many others in Minas Tirith had seen her, she decided to get a new disguise. She also needed a story; she couldn't just use her aunt's alias anymore. So she talked with Elfwine about it. After a while, they thought of a common name and a story. Tolwyn was now Dernwine, a stable boy from Edoras that had run away because the master of the stable beat him. It was a good story, one Tolwyn could elaborate on well.

They also chose a new disguise for her. Her father's unused breastplate and helm from the War of the Ring were her new armor, along with a plain chainmail shirt. Elfwine told her where all these things were located in the armory, and she planned to get them when she left.

Then, Elfwine made Tolwyn sit down, and he began to talk. "If you're going to live in the wilderness, I have to tell you how. I can't just let you die out there." He then proceeded to tell Tolwyn everything he knew about traveling. He paced back and forth in front of her as he did, stopping to think once in a while. He told her how to build fires, how to hunt and fish, how to pace herself and her horse so they would endure the whole day and not run out of energy.

"If you want to wash yourself, you simply jump in the nearest lake or creek," he said. "But remember to take your armor off… it rusts, you know." He told her how exactly to sleep at night, using her blanket as both a ground cover and as a cover for her. "What if it starts to rain?" Tolwyn inquired. "Then go to the nearest inn," said Elfwine, after thinking for a second. "And what if I'm not near an inn?" Tolwyn asked again. "Then start going towards one… or, build a shelter, though I don't know how you would do that."

Elfwine told her about other small things, little details involving daily life in the wild. "Don't forget to clean your weapons. Stay near civilization, just in case. Travel with groups of other people if you can. If you run out of money or supplies, come back here, and I'll give you some." Elfwine was about to say something else, but he stopped his pacing and looked at Tolwyn. She was crying, silently and slowly.

"What is it? Have you changed your mind? Will you stay?" Elfwine asked eagerly. He held out a hand to her and helped her stand. "I won't be coming back… I'm not just going to live in the wilderness, Elfwine. I'm going to fight. I'm going to go into battle with other braver souls, help to rid Middle-Earth of evil. I might never return." Elfwine let a tear fall down his cheek. "You are always welcome here, sister, you know that," he said, his voice breaking. "I hate to see you leave, but I can't stop you. I will miss you… "

Tolwyn hugged her brother tight. All her tears had been cried, even though of all times to come they should have come then. Her brother was the one person alive in the world that had ever cared for her. Even now he was doing the hardest thing in his life, letting her go. Elfwine pulled her tighter to him, relishing the feel of her slender body against his. She was right, it was likely she wouldn't survive her first year out there. But he wasn't going to tell her that.

"You've done so much for me," Tolwyn whispered in his ear. "Thank you for everything. I love you, brother." Elfwine let out a sob and started crying in earnest. Tolwyn sighed and let him hold her. It was nearing the early hours of the morning, and she had to be gone by sunrise, or she would be caught. She could already see the east sky out his window turning grey.

Elfwine stopped crying after a few minutes, but still held Tolwyn. "I love you too, and always will, he whispered back into her ear. He pulled away, and looked at her. She smiled sweetly up at him as he wiped away his tears. Elfwine took a step towards her, and held her chin in his hands. "You should be going now, don't let me stop you." With that he kissed her brow, a sign of a final goodbye. "I will miss you, Elfwine," Tolwyn whispered. "Farewell."

"Farewell, baby sister," Elfwine whispered back, and watched her as she turned away. She began the difficult climb back down the side of the Golden Hall, and after falling five feet, got up and ran to the armory. She took the designated armor and donned it, and made her way outside the gates again. She mounted Baldor after a few unsuccessful tries, and began to ride east. She came to the top of a hill, and looked back. The sleepy population of Edoras was just beginning to wake, and the Golden Hall gleamed in the rising sun. She filled her mind with the sight of her home, cherishing the memory. Then she turned away in tears, yelled at Baldor, and rode to the rising sun.