Chapter 16; The Riders of Rohan

The sun climbed the afternoon sky then descended slowly as light clouds scattered the orange pink sky from its bottom in the distant South. The sun sank then and long shadows rose before us, reaching out like long arms from the west; it was one day since Boromir fell nothing had changed since the day before: still the Orcs were far ahead and we far behind with no sight of them on the level plains. I felt as if I ran in a spinning wheel; going nowhere though I had my purpose. Aragorn stopped as night came, we had only rested twice and now, twelve leagues lay between what we sought and us.

"We have come at last to a hard choice." He said as I fell to my knees on the ground, trying to catch my breath. "Shall we rest by night, or shall we go on while our will and strength hold?" I sat on the hard, coarse soil as Aragorn spoke. Running so far for so long was hard, and I hated running; my throat burned with dry irritation. This situation reminded me of an old friend from high school who adored running cross country and she and I would sometimes debate over which was better, my sports or cross country. For the longest time she stood firm and I admired her fervor until she got tendonitis, and she was never able to run again.

"Unless our enemies rest also, then they will leave us far behind if we stay to sleep." Legolas' voice drew me from my thoughts.

"Surely," Gimli panted, "Even Orcs must pause on the march?"

"Seldom will Orcs journey in the open under the sun, and yet these have done so," Legolas replied, "Certainly they will not rest by night."

"But if we travel by night, how will we follow their trail?" I asked pointedly. Legolas turned from us and looked ahead as he answered,

"The trail is straight, and turns neither left nor right as far as my eyes can see." He turned back to us.

"We will not walk in the dark," Aragorn said at length, "I will not chance missing the trail or signs of other coming and in going that risk would be greater. If the moon gave enough light, we would use it but alas! He sets early and is young and pale."

"And tonight is shrouded anyway," Gimli murmured, "Would that the Lady had given us light, such a gift as she gave to Frodo."

"It will be more needed where it is bestowed," Aragorn replied. "With him lies the true Quest. Ours is but a small matter in the great deeds of this time. A vain pursuit from its beginning, maybe, which no choice of mine can mar or mend; well, I have chosen. So let us use the time as best as we may." I was glad of his choice for the running had exhausted me. Almost at once, Aragorn cast himself to the ground and fell at once asleep having not slept since before we arrived in Parth Galen. Gimli too fell asleep, but Legolas remained standing, gazing northwards into the darkness, thoughtful and silent. I watched him as he watched and was moved by his steadiness. In the soft moonlight he seemed to glow, almost give off and aura of, something. It was strange, he knew that the Uruk-Hai were not resting and moving on wards with our friends. Then, weariness overcame my will and my eyes shut.

"They are far away," I heard Legolas' voice say, though it was distant. "I know in my heart that they have not rested this night. Only an eagle could overtake them now."

"Nonetheless we will still follow as we may." Aragorn's voice answered strongly. I heard his feet moving in the dry grass to Gimli where he roused him. "Come! We must go. The scent is growing cold." I heard Gimli grunt and rolled onto my back. "On your feet Laura," his voice then said to me. I answered wearily,

"But I did not sleep! Only moments ago I shut my eyes!" I opened my eyes and looked about as Legolas answered me,

"You must be mistaken, for you slept the entire night." It was still dark and the sun had not yet risen. As I stood I grumbled,

"But it is still dark, even Legolas on a hill top could not see them till the sun is up."

"I fear that they have passed beyond my sight from hill or plain under moon or sun." Legolas answered me solemnly. I stood and looked about me dazedly, I felt as if I had not slept at all and the night was cut short; I was cheated out of valuable sleep. I felt my side and found my sword. I sighed and as Aragorn said,

"The rumor of the earth is dark and confused." I looked to him and saw him lying on the ground with his ear pressed to the earth. "Nothing walks upon it for many miles about us. Faint and far are the feet of our enemies. But loud are the hooves of the horses. It comes to my mind that I heard them, even as I lay on the ground asleep, and they troubled my dreams: horses galloping, passing in the West. But now they are drawing ever further from us, riding northward. I wonder what is happening in this land!"

"Let us go!" Legolas exclaimed as he sprang away, followed closely by Aragorn. Gimli and I swaggered after them murmuring ill wills, curses, and wishes for sleep. We began our chase on that third day and at dusk we stopped again; we had not rested that day and my legs and lungs ached.

"Over twenty leagues we have passed this day and it is good." Said Aragorn as he looked into the distance.

"And still it is not enough." Legolas answered, "Now I do most grudge any time of rest or any halt of our chase. The Orcs have run before us, as if the very whips of their masters were behind them." I fought to keep my eyes open as I drank some of what little water we had and ate some lembas bread; the light, taste filled my mouth and my heart and mind were lightened. A new strength came to my legs and I was eased; often, in my heart, I thanked the lady a million times over for her gift of bread, for it was in this bread that I often found my will and strength.

"This is a bitter end to our hope and all our toil!" Gimli said as he ground his teeth, and that was last I heard before I blinked and my eyes did not reopen out of exhaustion.

"Awake! Awake!" Legolas cried morning. "It is a red dawn. Strange things await us by the cave of the forest. Good or evil, I do not know; but we are called. Blood has been spilt this night." I rolled to my side feeling as tired and sleep deprived as ever. Half-asleep, I pushed myself to my feet and lumbered forward.

"Come Laura, we must fly." I heard Aragorn tell me as water and lembas was forced into my hands and I began to run. I drank what little water I was allotted and ate half of my lembas wafer. Once again, on what felt like half an hour of sleep, we moved on non-stop until an hour before noon when we came to a river; on its bank were the markings and signs of Orcs.

"They rested here a while," Aragorn said, "but even the outward trail is already old. I fear that your heart spoke truly, Legolas: is it thrice twelve hours, I guess, since the Orcs stood where we now stand. If they held to their pace, then at sundown yesterday they would reach the borders of Fangorn." Legolas looked to the ground disappointed as I rested by the river's side. I drank the clean water and rested. "Look at this." I heard him say and he held something up for all of us to see. There, glinting in his hand was what looked like a newly opened leaf. It was one of the Elven brooches given to us by Galadriel. "Not idly do the leaves of Lórien fall."

"They may yet be alive." Said Legolas quickly, "They may be near."

"I can see nothing away north or west but grass swindling into the mist." Said Gimli, "Could we see the forest if we climbed into the hills?"

"It is still far away." Said Aragorn, "if I remember rightly, these downs run eight leagues or more to the north, and then north-west to the issuing of the Entwash there lies still a wide land, another fifteen leagues it may be. But this brooch did not fall by chance: it was cast away as a token to any that might follow. I think Pippin ran away from the trail for that purpose." At hearing the great distances that Aragorn spoke of my heart dropped, we were still so far away from them that this chase seemed worthless; but to hear of the struggle Pippin faced to leave that brooch behind for us gave me a new strength.

"Then at least he is alive," said Gimli. "And he had the use of his wits, and his legs too. That is heartening. We do not pursue in vain."

"Then let us go! Halting will not aid us in our chase, let's go." I said strongly. I looked out in front of us and saw the long flat plains awaited us; at the end of those plains were the windy uplands of the Wold of Rohan. We began our run once more and ran until sunset. By the time sunset came, we moved with less speed and haste. Aragorn walked behind Gimli and I to occasionally observe some print on the ground and walking as lightly as ever was Legolas, who left no footprint or mark on the ground. I soon came to wonder annoyingly where he came by this boundless energy.

"Let us go up onto the hill." He told us at last and we followed him up the steep slopes of a round hill that looked over the lands.

"Nothing can we see to guide us here," Said Gimli, "Well, now we must halt again to wear the night away. It is growing cold!"

"The wind is north from the snows." Aragorn answered wearily. I locked my knees to keep myself standing as I waited to see what we were to do. My eyes watered out of exhaustion and I splashed a little water in my face to keep them open.

"And ere morning it will be in the East," Legolas replied slowly. "But rest, if you must. Yet do not cast all hope away. Tomorrow is unknown. Rede oft is found at the rising of the sun." When I heard this, I sat down in the dried grass of the hill. I cleared most of the rocks that I saw away from me and I covered my head with the hood of my cloak. After wrapping myself in my Lórien cloak, I lay down and shut my eyes where after I immediately fell asleep. Slowly the night grew colder and it was hard for me to sleep even through my exhaustion. Every time I awoke, I saw Legolas walking to and fro or singing softly to himself in his own tongue. Finally the dawn came and I was awakened, surprisingly, by Gimli. With few words we ate and set out once more; it was now that the lack of sleep that hindered me. As I ran shut my eyes for I had been running for almost four days now and my legs ached so badly that with every step my hips, joints, and bones seemed to grind against one another; yet, with a bite of lembas and a swig of water I had enough to sustain me for a short while. We finally came to the land of Rohan and looked out upon it hopefully. In the distance, we could all see a dark, swift-moving shadow passing over the green of Rohan.

"Legolas, what do your eyes see?" Aragorn asked.

"Riders, one hundred and five of them; their hair is yellow and their leader tall. Their spears are bright." He answered and I was suddenly interested. Those riders must be the riders of Rohan. "They are not far off."

"Let us hide." Aragorn said, and we all his behind some rocks. Soon the sounds of many hooves came nearer and nearer until they passed. They were a large group of horsemen indeed and they had long spears in hand. After they passed, Aragorn stood from the rocks and came out of hiding. "Riders of Rohan! What news from the mark?" He yelled out to them as one by one we came out from behind the rocks. I stood between Legolas and Aragorn and was suddenly worried when the riders turned in a great formation with speed to the spot where we stood.

"Aragorn, I'm not sure that was such a good idea." I said as the riders approached us and soon we were encircled by a ring of great horses, all at least fifteen hands or more; as the horses and their riders stopped, they lowered their spears level with us leaving us no place for escape. I was dead silent as I saw the spearheads glint in the sun only inches away from me. A tall man then rode forward and confronted us curtly.

"What business does an Elf, Men and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark? Speak quickly!" I took a tiny step backwards but stopped quickly when a sharp prod reminded me that I was still surrounded by spears. This man thought that I was man too, I realized a while after he addressed us and then really realized how sleep deprived I was to not care.

"Give me your name, horse master, and I shall give you mine." Gimli said bravely, I looked out of the corner of my eye at Legolas and Aragorn who stood silently watching the man before us. He dismounted and stood tall over Gimli as he spoke loudly,

"I would cut off your head…Dwarf…if it stood but a little higher off the ground." In a flash I felt the air move as Legolas fit an arrow to his bow and pointed it at this tall rider.

"You would die before your stroke fell!" He exclaimed and I felt metal spearheads poke into my skin. Aragorn pushed Legolas' hand down, then turned to the rider as he said,

"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimli, son of Glóin, Laura of, umm, daughter of…" he was silent and looked at me. I looked back at him and said,

"Daughter of William." Aragorn nodded and continued.

"Laura, daughter of William, and Legolas, from the Woodland Realm. We are friend of Rohan and Théoden your king." It was silent for a while as the tall man before us examined us.

"Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe." The man said sadly and slipped off his helmet. He had long golden hair and a fair face, his hair fell before his eyes as he finished, "not even his own kin." It was then that I felt the cold of the metal spearheads leave my back and saw all the spears raised. "I am Èomer son of Éomund. Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over this land. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished. The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked." He looked at Legolas and then at me. I think he was surprised to find that I was indeed a woman traveling with these three other males. "Everywhere his spies slip past our nets."

"We are no spies." Aragorn interrupted, taking Éomer's sight off of me. "We track a band of Uruk-Hai westward across the plains. They have taken two of our friends captive." Èomer was slow to answer,

"The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night."

"And our friends?" Gimli asked quickly.

"We found none but Orcs." Èomer replied solemnly.

"But that is strange indeed." Said Aragorn, "Did you search the slain? Were there no bodies other than those Orc-kind? They would be small, only children to your eyes, unshod but clad in grey."

"We left none alive. We counted all the slain and despoiled them, and then we piled the carcasses and burned them as is our custom. The ashes are smoking still." There was silence between us as this information sank in.

"They are dead?" Gimli asked sadly; Èomer nodded and looked down as he said,

"I am sorry." I saw Legolas put a hand on Gimli's shoulder out of grief and Aragorn looked down at the ground. I looked to the ground out of weariness and uncertainty. Soon Èomer raised hand and whistled, "Brego! Hasufel! Arod!" he called and three horses to his side; already reined and saddled. "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell good Lords and Lady." He said as he mounted his horse and replaced his helmet. "Look for your friends but do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands. We ride North!" He called to his fellow riders and rode off into the distance. The three horses stayed by my side as they watched their former owners gallop off without them. I looked to the horse beside me and felt relieved that I no longer had to travel on foot. The horse given to me was named Hasufel and was a dark-grey color. A lighter, younger, fierier horse named Arod was given to Legolas and a dark roan horse named Brego was Aragorn's. I stroked Hasufel's neck softly as I examined the saddle and reins. They were no style that I have never seen before, like an elaborate mix between an English and western saddle, but I knew I could ride it. I was lucky enough to learn how to ride in my youth and my sister and I became good having ridden for a few years. But when our trainer moved to a different state we were never able to replace her.

"Laura," I heard Aragorn ask; I looked to him as he helped Gimli into the saddle behind Legolas. He then mounted his horse and asked, "Will you be able to ride?" I shrugged and mounted Hasufel; it was nice to be on a horse again, I had truly missed it.

"Yes," I said to Aragorn as I sat happily on my horse. "It's been a while since I've been on a horse, so give me a few minutes and I'll be alright." I looked at Legolas who had just mounted his horse and Gimli sitting tightly behind him. We all looked at each other and I asked, "So, what are we waiting for? Let's go." We all smiled and set off; the horses of Rohan were very strong and swift for we had only cantered a while when I looked back and saw that Èomer and his company were only specks in the distance.

Chapter 15 Review Replies

Nightwoman: I know, I can only imagine the pain she is going through as well. I mean…I've had a friend die before but never anyone that close to me…

Ms. Unknown: Actually I didn't! He died in the last one as well, but oh well! Sorry I took it off! I announced that I would in the newsletter in advance! Oh well! If you would like a link to the original story I can find one for you though.

Elora Nova: Oh my gosh! Well, the story really hasn't taken off yet, and actually I'm surprised that I have this many people interested in it at this state!

Llenya the Fair: Great! I would love to add you to my mailing list! Could you confirm your E-mail with me?

TriGemini: Yeah, Dwelling is definitely a no-no! I dwell and I have to stop…but I believe that there is a difference between dwelling on something and remembering…you have to remember, you never can forget.