When Ari woke up she hurt all over. Her hands were manacled and chained to the wall, the heavy cuffs slicing into her skin. Shackles bound her ankles and a thick, short length of chain kept her feet from extending more than a half step. The chain would only let her walk a few feet, enough to pace a little bit and to use the bathroom. When she slept, the chains cut painfully into her sides. The only light in her cell came through a small door at the base of the door that opened and a bowl of water was slid through or gruel for an occasional meal. They were starving Ari into submission as well as a sporadic beating. She had no idea how long she languished in the dungeons. She tried to count but lost track at over 250,000 seconds. She tried to sing, shout, scream…anything to break the monotony—but only received warnings and was forced to go without food or water for prolonged periods of time. If she continued after the warnings, she was beaten severely.

Ari slept as best she could, curled beneath a thin, smelly blanket. She'd been beaten the day before for clanging her chains against the wall. Her face and sides hurt and she just wished her body would give up the ghost. Her teeth chattered in the damp of her cell when she saw a light appear higher than normal in the door.

"Maybe the floor is sinking…or maybe I'm shrinking…" This was not good for Ari and she knew it…her mental state was crumbling. The thoughts moved slowly through her mind and she stared at the golden square high in the door. A set of eyes appeared briefly at the opening and searched the cell. They centered on Ari for a moment and then disappeared. She heard a key turn in the door and then watched as it creaked open slowly. Ari crouched back into the wall, she was terrified that it was a guard coming back to torture her.

"Shh---I'm here to help you. Don't be afraid." Ari stared blankly at the man towering over her. Half blinded by the torchlight coming in through the cell door she squinted up at him. He crouched down and held out a hand; Ari flinched away from him. "My name is Eomer…I believe you're innocent." Ari searched his features and found his eyes to be honest and clear. There was no trickery in them and Ari decided that she needed to either place her faith in this Eomer, or end up dying in the cell. She grasped his tunic and pulled herself up so she could look him in the eye.

"Then get me out of here." Her voice was hoarse from her last screaming fit and a lack of water. Eomer quickly moved to unshackle her bruised and bleeding ankles then the manacles about her wrists. A look out in the hall shouted that a guard was coming before Eomer could unlock the first heavy metal cuff. Eomer drew his sword and hastily broke the chain with one swing. He helped Ari and had to half carry her out of the dark dungeon.

"Can you run?"

"Are you nuts? My feet are cut all to hell from those shackles—I can barely walk." Eomer stopped and lifted her quickly and walked faster to keep up with his lookout.

"More guards sir." The man said as he looked out onto a cross hall. "What should we do?"

Eomer thought for a minute before he looked at Ari. "Can you act dead?" Ari nodded her head; her voice didn't seem to want to work. Eomer set her down and pulled a hood over his handsome features. "Ready?" Eomer bent down and lined his shoulder up with Ari's gut, lifting her up and slinging her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Ari dropped her arms down and went limp, her chains scraping quietly on the floor with every step Eomer took.

"Who is that?" Ari's heart froze at the sound of a guard's voice.

"It's just some poor dead idiot." The lookout replied.

"Alright, get 'em out, before they start to smell." Eomer moved quickly past the guard and through a door. Even though Ari's eyes were closed the light still hurt. Eomer threw her roughly across a saddle.

"Sorry." He whispered at her slight grunt. He mounted behind her and walked the horse slowly through the gate and began their move out of sight of the watch towers of the City of Rohan. Slowly Eomer brought his horse into a slow trot.

"Could you not…." Ari grunted again as the saddle rammed into her already battered body.

"It will be another moment before you can sit up." He whispered. "We're almost out of view." They crested a small hill and then dropped into a shallow valley. Eomer dismounted and helped Ari down as well. "Are you alright?"

"NO!" Ari plopped down in the tall grass and grasped her sore stomach. She looked around trying to catch her bearings and catch her breath. She squinted at her surroundings still adjusting to the bright light.

"I know you're tired and sore…but we need to move on. It won't take long for them to discover that you're gone." Eomer helped lift Ari into the saddle behind him where she could wrap her arms around him.

"Where are we going exactly?"

"Just over the next few rises….my camp is there." With the gentle gait of the horse Ari fell asleep with her head against Eomer's shoulder and didn't wake up until she felt the horse start to slow down. Eomer grasped Ari's arm and helped lower her to the ground where she stood on unsteady legs. Eomer dismounted after and gave his horse to another man to take care of. Ari looked around briefly. They were in a deeply shadowed valley with green, grassy hills and a clear stream running through the bottom. Several tents lined the river and the horses were farther downstream. Ari hobbled towards the creek bed but her legs gave out under her. Eomer came to her aid and helped her farther up the creek bed to where a larger tent stood. Eomer spread a blanket beside Ari and then lifted her onto it.

"How long were you imprisoned?" He asked, trying to break the silence.

"Hell if I know…where are we anyway?"

"We're still in Rohan…this is my camp." Ari shook her head slowly and sighed. This was just too much for her right now. "We need to get these manacles off of you before we move on." Eomer said reaching for her hand.

"Move on?" Ari instinctively pulled her hand away.

"Aye—we can not stay here. We've been banished." The look on Eomer's face as he looked around was one of contempt. Ari gave him her hand and let him look at the deep, painful cuts on her wrists. "I'm not sure how these are going to come off—but I'm sure it will hurt."

"I have no doubt of it."

"You're not from here, are you?" Eomer picked up a cloth and began to slowly bathe some of the dried blood from her wrists.

"No—Nowhere near here." Ari stared at Eomer—he seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place him.

"Am I hurting you?"

"No, Not---YET!" Eomer twisted the manacle on her already horribly scarred wrist. Ari hissed as a new trickle of blood slid down her arm.

"Sorry..." He wiped the new stream off quickly and looked at the lock mechanism and shrugged. "I'm just not sure what to do" Eomer reached out and picked up a hooked tool lying on the blanket. He began to try to jimmy the lock open, each twist of the tool causing her great agony.

"Hey—let me try." Ari wrenched her hand away from Eomer's and ignored the burning wave of pain and nausea that rocked through her. She took several slow, deep breaths before she continued. "I need that too—" Gingerly she took the hook device and managed to figure the mechanism out, but could not pop the lock because the hook was too big. "I need a bobby pin…can you pull one out of my hair?" Eomer leaned forward and untangled one from the ratty tangle that was her once beautiful hair. "One more…" Ari made quick work of the lock on her left wrist. The heavy metal cuff fell heavily from her arm and clanked softly onto the blanket. Ari hissed as the cold air hit her liberated wrist. "Damn, that hurt…"

"How did you do that?" Eomer looked at her, amazed that she'd made such short work of the cuff.

"You learn a lot in prison, especially picking locks." The lock on the other wrist was turned away from her and with as much pain as the left one had caused her; she was hesitant to try to turn it herself. "Would you mind turning the cuff for me?" Ari asked Eomer.

"Are you sure?"

"Just do it…"Ari gritted her teeth as Eomer turned the cuff quickly towards her. She picked it with her left hand and one pin clenched between her teeth, working furiously to get the cuff off; blood trickling down her arm. Eomer helped clean her arms and wrapped her wrists in bandages. "Thank you."

Eomer looked up into Ari's eyes and she brought hers to meet his slowly. Ari could see all the sadness of the world in his eyes. "I'm not sure why you did this…"

"My Uncle has not been himself—ever since that snake came into his council." Ari dropped the subject and licked at her bloodied lip subconsciously. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"I'm starving!" Eomer retrieved some food and water for her and watched fascinated as she devoured it.

"Well, you know my name….but if it isn't too much to ask—what is yours?"

"Arianna." Ari wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, not caring how un-lady like it might seem, or how much the motion hurt. "I'm sorry—Arianna Carver…my friends call me Ari." Eomer smiled.

"Then I hope you will permit me to call you Ari."

"I'd like that." Ari sat back and looked at her tattered leather pants….they'd split along the seams a while ago and the black, supple leather was now stained and cracked in places.

"We'll find you some more suitable clothes when we get the chance." Eomer said, following her gaze. A man came up to Eomer and the two men moved away from where Ari lay beside the creek. She dangled her feet in the cool water and let it wash over her injuries. Eomer returned and crouched beside her. "Do you think you can ride?"

"I think I can handle it."

"Good, we retrieved your pack, at least I think it's your pack, and you can wash in the tent just there if you feel like it. But please, hurry." Ari nodded and went to the tent and threw some cold water on her face. She dug through her bag and thought about brushing her hair, but took one look at the tangle her pony trail was in and decided it would take too long. Instead she threw on her hoodie, and her jacket. When she emerged from the tent Eomer was standing outside holding onto her boots. She didn't enjoy putting them on, but knew she needed to in order to ride. Eomer took her bag from her and helped her into the saddle behind him. "We'll secure you a mount of your own as soon as we can." Ari nodded and the whole group of roughly fifty men followed.