Here we go chapter 5. Changed the secondary category to 'Angst' from 'Action/Adventure'. Overall I think it fits better : shrugs : This chapter was much easier to write than the last, the ideas just flowed out. This chapter will end up very important to the overall plot. Mostly it's more symbolic stuff, but remembering the key events in this chapter will help you in the future . Enjoy!
What We Do With It
Chapter 5
Angrily Eowyn headed towards the stables. She should've realized last night was too good to be true! Grima knew they had talked and that's why she was in her current position. Théoden promised a ride outside these accursed walls. And Grima knew! He knew it wouldn't help him achieve… whatever he was trying to achieve, so he convinced the king otherwise.
And now, Eowyn was banned from even sitting atop a horse.
That was Eowyn's current predicament. The worst part was Eomer wasn't there to comfort her. He was always there when things went wrong. And when he wasn't around, she could always vent her anger by racing her horse against the wind; but not this time.
"Um…excuse me, milady?"
Eowyn snapped her head up to see a nervous looking guard in front of the stables.
"Yes sir?"
"I'm….I am afraid that I…cannot…allow you to pass." He finished his sentence meekly, having seen the shield maiden in her foul temper before.
"I realize I cannot ride, but I still wish to groom my mare."
"I understand, milady, however I've been ordered to not let you enter the stables…under any circumstance." The poor guard was breaking out in a cold sweat at this point.
"Who decreed this?"
"Grima Wormtongue."
Eowyn screamed in frustration and kicked a near by water trough as she turned away from the stables. Everything she held dear was falling apart. And Eowyn blamed Him! She didn't bother to even consider anything, or anybody else. He sent her cousin away. He forced her brother to face perilous situations more often than he should. Her uncle was loosing his soul, lost to the world, because of Him. And the people of Rohan? They had simply given up on life altogether. And now, she couldn't even ride a horse because of Him! This had gone too far! She couldn't control herself, her thoughts, anything.
"I wish this town would burn to the ground! Just so I can escape this hell!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, sobbing. She didn't care that the whole town heard her cry. She couldn't take it anymore, she wished she were dead.
Someone lurking near by heard her cry, and decided it could be used to their advantage.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
The town was in complete chaos. It was in the dead of night when Crysta woke to the sounds of screaming. Rolling out of her bed in the servant's quarters, she sleepily tried to run to the window. As her eyes adjusted, she noticed a bright light coming from further down the hill. Then she noticed the smoke rising amidst the light she now knew to be flames. Someone had set fire to one of the small huts!
Crysta quickly put on an old blouse Eowyn had given her, along with an old pair of riding pants, again donated by Eowyn. Slipping her own shoes on, Crysta ran out the palace and down the hill to see what was going on and if she could help stop it.
Eowyn was down there already. She and some of the village men and managed to order the people in a line. The line stretched from the fire to a none-to-near water trough. Buckets were being filled of water and passed down the line, while empty buckets returned at the same time. Crysta ran to the trough and started filling empty buckets.
What seemed like an eternity later, the fire was extinguished. Crysta was devastated. She had never witnessed such a tragedy. Sure she had heard of them, watched them on TV and in movies, but it actually happening was a totally different experience all together. She looked around, trying to find Eowyn. When she did, she found her comforting a woman who was crying. The lady couldn't have been over thirty. She was sobbing uncontrollably.
Crysta slowly crept forward and then stopped unsure of what to do. Eowyn looked up, and seeing Crysta, motioned to her to remain where she was.
"My baby...my poor baby girl! She's gone! Gone!"
Slowly turning towards the ashes, Crysta bent down and after sorting through a few piece of the house that were still intact, found a small wooden horse. There were little dents in it, which she assumed to be teeth marks. A tear rolled down her cheek and she didn't bother to wipe it away. In truth, she didn't have time. For in that instance she heard another cry. This time, however, it was a cry of pain, coming from Eowyn.
"Peace, peace! I mean no harm!"
"Get away from me! You did this! I know you did!"
"Good lady, peace! I did no such thing! I would never do this to anyone!"
"Shut up! You call yourself a shield maiden of Rohan? I heard you! The whole town heard you wish this whole town burned to ashes!"
"It was a cry of furry! I wasn't thinking at time!"
"You lie wench!"
No matter what Eowyn said, the villager would have none of it. She was convinced Eowyn had burned to house. Crysta vaguely remembered hearing someone cry out that she wished the city would burn. But one look at Eowyn would tell any sane person that she truly regretted her words now.
The rest of the people seemed to be against Eowyn as well. Crysta tried to run to her side but was shoved to the ground. Her muscles were too tired and tense to respond, so she just watched the scene from her spot in the dirt.
"Please…I didn't do it I swear my live on it!"
"Go cry to your precious uncle!" someone gibed from the crowd. A loud cheer of agreements rang out. The man seemed encouraged by this and decided to continue.
"It's because of him we're forced to live here in this crap!" Again a loud roar of cheers emitted from the crowd.
"His very son even ran away didn't he?" The crowed laughed. "Couldn't stand the life his dear ol' daddy had made, could he?" The crowd backed him up, yelling single words mindlessly from the brave man's sentences. Eowyn managed to pick herself up and leave the place. She was on the verge of tears but refused to be around for them to make fun of her for crying.
Crysta could only watch. If it were a dream, Crysta decided she could've stood up to the angry mob, defended her knew friend and convinced the town that Eowyn was innocent. But this wasn't a fantasy. She was in a land where she knew only two people. She had no idea of their standard way of doing things, or if there even was one. So all she could do was sit in the dirt and watch the whole ordeal take place.
After Eowyn was out of sight the people started to disperse. A few took a minute to examine her, but after deciding the strange girl wasn't worth their time, turned away. Lifting herself off the ground, Crysta moved towards the water trough. A dozen buckets or so lay next to it. She picked on up, filled it with water, and then dumped it on top of her head.
Closing her eyes she let herself get soaked. This caused her already untidy hair to become even more frizzed, and the dirt on her clothes turned into mud. She looked worse than before, but for some odd reason, Crysta needed to do that. Crazy things like that reminded her it was for real. Sitting on the side of the trough so that she wouldn't get any more mud on her, she let the bucket drop to the ground.
Rubbing her temples her fingers, she tried to clear her mind. She then stared at the ashes. Looking to wear she was shoved to the ground; she saw the wooden horse still laying there. For about half an hour she just sat there and stared. It was still night so the only things lighting the town were the stars. She finally got up and turning her back on the rubble and toy horse, walked back towards the house atop the hill.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
The next morning brought in a warm breeze. The town's people went back to their money grubbing, lying, and cheating ways. The events of the night seemed forgotten to all. The only signs suggesting a tragedy had occurred would be the extreme bitterness of the people, and the pill of ashes near the front gate.
Eowyn hadn't slept that night. She sat up by the fire in the main hall. A few servants had passed by but all had successfully avoided conversation and any eye contact at all. Eowyn was fine with this. She didn't want to have to face anyone, not even the servants. Everyone knew what was said last night. Nothing would be the same. Just then she heard someone walking across the stone floor. Looking up she saw Crysta.
Crysta knew it was still really early, and she'd be kicking herself around early afternoon for getting up so early, but she was restless. She decided some fresh air would do her good. The only exit she knew of was the main doors, so when she made her way towards them she was not expecting to find Eowyn.
The two girls looked at each other. Crysta noted Eowyn's puffy eyes, dirt streaked hair and frightened eyes. The fire had died down, and despite the fairly warm atmosphere, Eowyn shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.
Eowyn saw a girl who would any other time be confident and proud. Current situations caused her to be timid and suppress her natural personality. She tilted her head slightly and noticed how uncomfortable she looked in the simple brown dress she had been given to wear.
Both looked at each other, and both understood. It was one of those rare moments where no words need to be said. Though neither could truly understand the other, in that moment they recognized their similarities. With a nod of her head, Crysta excused herself outside.
Eowyn smiled to herself. Looking at Crysta made her realize that she could be worse off. She could get through this. Eowyn had faith that one day things would go back to how they were, before her uncle's sudden depression, before Grima Wormtongue.
Crysta bore similar thoughts. She wouldn't give up on her life; instead she would make the most of what she was given and be thankful. She said a silent prayer for her family, still not knowing what had happened to them.
Looking up her eyes landed on the remnants of last night's fire. She stared at it a little longer and noticed that no one had made any effort to clear it at all. The woman who had been crying that night must've found some place else to live. Scanning the rest of the town she noticed random breaks in the rows of cottages. Then another though struck her.
"What if we rebuild the house?"
TBC……..
Ok. That chapter's out of the way. Next chapter Crysta tries to build a house and gets laughed at. And I promise it will also have a little lighter mood to the whole chapter. I'm really sure where this story is going…but I will tie up all the loose ends when I'm done…somehow.
Now I don't want to be one of those people that say 'I wont update till I have this many reviews!' So I wont. But I would really appreciate a little something please?
Now reviews for chapter 3 and 4 cause I was a bad person and forgot .
lady scribe of avandell – Thanks for the encouraging words! And I agree, Grima is a creepy fellow all around. I hope I don't shame Théoden's downfall in any way. ;-)
Annamariah- Théoden's not been under Grima's influence that long. He's had the guy as an advisor for awhile but just recently has he begun to…blank, I guess you could say. And thanks for pointing out the grammar error! I try really hard to not have any, but no ones perfect lol ;-)
Jousting Elf with a Sabre – I'm soo glad you liked the chapter and I'm sorry for not responding to you and my other ch. 3 reviewers sooner. Chapter 4 bugged me so much I forgot ;; hehe. And thanks for the compliment on my writing!
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