Life After Death
NOTE: I don't own LOTR or any of the characters.
Michaela90, I am going by the extended versions of the LOTR movies. I prefer the extended versions since I do get to play more with Éowyn's character.
We were in the sick room, Freda and I, waiting for her brother, Eothain, as Freda had been kind to inform me. The boy was not injured so I suspected that it was only due to exhaustion that he had fainted.
Sitting in the chair beside the bed, I watched Freda as she sat by her brother's side playing with Eothain's hair and glancing up at me once in a while. It was an awkward situation which I had found myself in. This had to stop!
"Do you know who I am?" I spoke up in a soft voice. I did not wish to frighten the girl by inquiring as to why they had rode to Edoras, Freda seemed to be the sort of girl who would, if asked the wrong question to, close herself off.
Freda looked up at me in a manner that most others would have considered impertinent for a girl her age, yet I thought it sort of a reflection of my manners at times. She was sizing me up as she was determining if I was someone of importance or a servant.
"You are a Lady," she stated after a moment before returning her eyes to her brother. Her fingers traced Eothain's cheek bones, jaw line, and eyebrows; it was sweet moment to see this child sit there over her brother while in her own world, away from the horrors that were going on at that time.
Leaning forward I asked in a low voice, "Does he normally awake when you do that?" She nodded. "I used to do that to my brother too, he hated it so much, especially if it was very early in the morning."
"Eothain says that it tickles too much," Freda replied, tapping her brother's nose a few times.
"It does," groaned Eothain, weakly waving Freda's hand away from his face as he opened his eyes. The first thing he probably noticed was that he was no longer out on the beautiful plains of our country but inside a room with a strange ceiling than the one he had known all his life.
He cocked his head to look at Freda then he turned it to me and he just stared wide-eyed at me for a moment with fear in his eyes. Something had happened to these children; that was certain.
Standing up, I curtsied to him and kept my hands within his sights so that he could see if I was to try anything harmful to either him or Freda. I could not fault the boy for having me under suspicion. After all, he did not know where he was or who I was.
"Greetings young Eothain, I am Lady Éowyn," I informed him and he seemed to relax at the mention of my name.
"We made it to Edoras then?" he inquired, anticipation tainting his voice.
"Yes, you are in the Hall of Meduseld," I assured him as the boy sat up in his excitement, causing his head to ache a bit. "Be careful young one, you had taken quite a fall before."
"I cannot just lie here, Mama said I had to raise the alarm in Edoras!" protested Eothain, causing me to have to hold him back with a hand.
Interested, I sat down on the bed behind Freda while keeping Eothain from moving too quickly again. "Why do you need to raise the alarm?" I asked him. The boy bit his lower lip and seemed to hesitate whether to tell me or not. "You can tell me Eothain, then I can tell my uncle, King Théoden and he will decide what action to take."
"Mama, told me to raise the alarm," he protested.
"Yes well, my Uncle may not heed the warning coming from you than he will from me," I reasoned, yet Eothain still was reluctant to tell me anything. "Please, Eothain, tell me what had happened that you had to travel to Edoras on horseback for so long. Your horse was exhausted and in desperate need of food, water, and rest."
Freda seemed to tense up a bit at the mention of the horse, and I realized just how scared she had been, alone, on the back of the horse with only me, a complete stranger, to help her.
Finishing his contemplation, Eothain leaned against the wall, ready to begin his tale. "The Wild Men had attacked our village, and Mama said that they may have attacked more before us."
The Wild Men? was my thought at the time. What were they doing? Had they all gone mad!
"Where are you from?" I asked the children.
Freda seemed to think about it for a moment, she must have wanted to answer my questions so badly but could not since she did not know the answers, or perhaps not understand my questions.
"We are from the Westfold," Eothain answered.
That was sort of information I needed to know, these were the details my Uncle and the others would want to know when I told them to children's tale.
"The Westfold…Why would the Wild Men have attacked your village? Was your village armed in any way, with any weapons or military?"
Eothain was silent for a moment as he thought about it. He was searching hard for the answer, digging deep into his mind, seeking out the answer. I had to know if the village was armed, if they were then my Uncle will most likely send some men to reinforce the military there. Of course, if their home was armed and under attack, there would be no true reason to sound the alarm. There was something more to this story.
"N-no, we had no weapons. The soldiers had left two days before the Wild Men attacked. We were without any help or any means to fight," Eothain stated, clutching the blanket in his small hands. He was a true Rohirrim and would make an excellent soldier in the future; however, for the time being, he was still a child, not a soldier.
"I see…" I trailed, taken back that the Wild Men had done such acts. The question of why they would do such crimes plagued my mind. It confused me so much. "Did they at least send you a warning? Is that how you two got away?"
I was hopeful, I truly was. If the village had at least a warning then perhaps the loss of life was not too great.
However, my hopes were destroyed when Eothain shook his head negatively. My heart cracked as I thought of how many lives that must have been lost due to this attack and possibly other attacks.
"Momma said she would meet us here," Freda muttered.
Staring at the children for a moment I realized just how alone they must have felt being in this strange place without their mother to comfort them. They had nothing of comfort to hold onto except for a promise their mother made. I envied them a bit.
Having lost my mother when I was young I had never felt the comforting arms of a mother wrapped around me or her shoulder to cry upon. I never had that chance to experience the comforts of a mother's touch.
It pained me, it truly did, yet I could not let it show. I had to be strong for these children; I had to be the one to care for them until we found their mother.
Replacing thoughts of my mother for ones of the present, I slapped by knees as I stood. "You two must be hungry from such a long ride. I shall have some soup and bread prepared for you and brought to the hall, then I shall tell my Uncle what has happened. Does that suit you two?"
Their faces glowed from the mere mention of the words 'food,' 'soup,' and 'bread.'
"That would be wonderful!" Eothain nodded.
"Can we see Mama?" Freda's voice piped up.
I did not wish to lie to the children and tell them that I did not know if their mother was in Edoras or not, yet I did not wish to tell them the truth either. The truth just might have broken their hearts.
Smiling gently, I told them, "I will have someone search for your mother and bring her to the hall, if she is in Edoras."
Freda seemed to be calmed by that but Eothain had apparently understood my underlining meaning. Their mother might be died or, hopefully, alive yet not in Edoras. I truly hoped it was the latter.
Exiting the room, I made my way down the hall until I came upon the Elf. This was the first time I had ever gotten to see an Elf. Now that I was no longer singing for my cousin or watching my Uncle send Grima Wormtongue from his sights, I could see that this Elf was enchanting in his appearance. He appeared so human yet held the look of knowledge around his eyes.
I had to wonder how old he was.
"Gandalf bid me to inquire after the children," he informed me.
His voice was just as enchanting as his appearance; very melodic yet gentle like that of a calming brook. I liked his voice, and I hope that I had not made a fool of myself at that moment.
"They are both awake and well. The young boy was kind enough to tell me all that had happened to them," I replied, and now that I look back, I hope I did not blush or stumble over words.
The Elf gave me a dubious expression before he glanced between me and the door of the sick room behind me. I know what he was wondering; why was I leaving the children alone?
"I was on my way to the kitchen to request soup and bread be provided for the children to eat in the hall," I told him. "As well as a guard to the gates to inquire if any other travelers had entered Edoras other than your group."
Giving a curt nod, the Elf turned to head back the way he came. I felt offended! He just turned and left without making any sort of introduction or making an excuse to leave. No, he just left!
Insufferable Elf! my mind screamed at that moment.
Yet, he surprised me when he turned around, and seemed to have found his manners, said, "I shall see that someone makes the inquiry as to any other travelers, and inform someone in the kitchen to have the food prepared, you bring the children out into the hall, Lady Éowyn."
Turning again, he must have thought he was going to leave without giving me his name. He was wrong.
"You have an advantage over me, sir!" I pointed out to him, causing him to halt in his steps. "You know my name yet I know not yours."
I could not sense then or now if the Elf was smirking or still holding on the appearance of indifference when I requested his name. I sometimes wondered if he was impressed that a woman such as I would have been bold enough to speak so, or if he just found me to be a bit impertinent.
Either way, he at least answered me, even though he did not turn around. "My name is Legolas and I am from Mirkwood, if you were wondering." With that he left, and I stood there grinning victoriously. I had one of the travelers' names and only two more to learn.
I entered the hall with the children by my side; I had offered my hand to Freda while we were walking down the hall but it made her lean more toward her brother. I suppose that was the right action to take considering how I was still a stranger and by no means was their mother.
When we entered the hall, the first things to catch the children's eyes were the fires and the two bowls waiting for them at one of the tables with bread and two cups. They looked up at me with questioning eyes.
"Go on, those are yours," I nodded, sending both children dashing to the table and begin to eat greedily.
I wish I could say that my mind and eyes were on the children the throughout but they were not. Instead my eyes and mind were cast to the group of travelers seated several tables behind the children on the opposite of the room. Apparently food was not exclusively prepared for the children, for I saw the platter of breads before the Dwarf.
Removing my eyes and mind from the men, I joined the children at their table. At the end of the table I found a blanket and I wondered if the Elf, Legolas, had made a request for that to be brought as well.
Either way, I was grateful that it was there for it was a bit cool in the hall, despite the fires. I wrapped the blanket about Freda as she had been without any sense of warm since arriving.
"Is all well with your food?" I smiled and Eothain gave me a nod while Freda gave me a smile.
"Have the children told you anything, niece?" Théoden inquired.
Nodding I stood up to explain what Eothain had told me. "They had no warning. They were unarmed," I related to my Uncle. "Now the Wild Men are moving through Westfold, burning as they go." My tone had been sour as I spoke, "Rick, cot, and tree."
Startling me was when Freda spoke up, "Where is momma?"
Leaning down I 'shh'ed in her ear before saying, "I had one of the guards sent to inquire if anyone had seen her."
That seemed to have calmed Freda as she began to eat her soup again, and I turned my attentions to what was being said about the dilemma. For the first time I noticed just how much my Uncle was being affected by the fact that he had been unable to stop this from occurring. I wished to tell him that it was not is fault, but at that moment I could not.
"This," Gandalf the White gestured to the children, "is but a taste of the terror that Saruman will unleash," he told my Uncle and I believed him to be true. "All the more potent for he is driven now by fear of Sauron. Ride out and meet him head on."
Although I agreed with the Wizard I saw the one mistake he made, he had placed his hand on arm of my Uncle's chair. Unknowingly, Gandalf was causing my Uncle to see him as another Grima Wormtongue, for Grima usually sat at my Uncle's right and would sometimes put his hand on the throne much as the Wizard did.
"Draw him away from your women and children," Gandalf continued. "You must fight."
I concurred, most heartily with that statement!
"You have two thousand good men riding north as we speak," I heard the voice of the traveler in black say. "Éomer is loyal to you."
That he is, was my thought, for my brother would always be loyal to our King and not due to the fact that he is our Uncle.
"His men will return and fight for their king," added the Man.
My Uncle rose to his feet, descending the steps, and exclaimed, "They will be three hundred leagues from here by now." He paused and began to approach me while maintaining eye contact with me. He seemed to be searching for something or perhaps I was misreading him and there was only fear that I or the children might be harmed if he did not choose the correct course of action.
"Éomer cannot help us," Théoden sighed, and I saw the Wizard begin to approach him. "I know what it is you want of me," my Uncle informed the Wizard, turning about, "but I will not bring further death to my people. I will not risk open war."
"Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not," interjected the black traveler.
I turned toward the Man, wondering if he knew not he was speaking to, and what he believed gave him power to say such things, but I had to agree. Open war was most likely upon us, but my Uncle had not realized that yet.
Slowly, my Uncle turned to the man and I felt the contempt rather than saw it. "When last I looked, Théoden, not Aragorn, was king of Rohan."
Aragorn; that was the traveler in black's name, and I did not need to ask for it. Good, this is good progress, I now knew two names and I just had to obtain the Dwarf's.
My Uncle and Aragorn stared at each other for a moment, and I wondered what was transpiring between them. However, my thoughts were interrupted the sound of the Dwarf's belch.
Gandalf approached my Uncle again. "Then what is the king's decision?" he asked.
Turning to the Wizard my Uncle took a deep breath before answering, "We shall evacuate Edoras and make our way to Helm's Deep, there we shall take shelter and comfort within the fortress' great walls."
Yea! I'm done with this chapter. Phew! Okay, hopefully I'll have the next chapter up sooner.
Thank you to: hye em yes (thank you for liking the fic), Bonkerz (thank you for providing your two cents and I don't blame you for not liking the whole Théodred/ Éowyn thing), Michaela90 (thank you for being such a big fan of this fic), and Aerinha's Foundry (thank you so much for coming to my defense).