A/N: ARGH! Ok, I am SO SO SO SO SO sorry for not updating for like . . . FOREVER! But I've just been so busy . . . I just started high school, and you know how that's like . . . Or maybe not . . . I dunno . . . BUT THE TWO TOWERS FINALLY CAME OUT ON VIDEO! YAY I AM SOOOO HAPPY! WHE! But anyways, go and read the chapter! Oh, and this IS NOT A MARY SUE! I'm gonna introduce another character in this one, and some of our other characters that we love so much are making their appearance as well. And yes . . . I do not own anything. Nada. Zip. Zero. Goose egg. sniff
Chapter 3:
5 Years Later
Whyn, now a young woman, walked passed the wooden houses and up the dirt path carrying two buckets full of water.
She stopped by a few bushes and set the buckets down, wiping her brow with the back of her sleeve. She still wore her tunic and pants, and a few of the women gave her withering looks as they passed by.
She sighed and looked up at the bright sun. Everyone seemed so somber and sullen lately. The reason was because the threat of Saruman the White, the wizard whom they had thought their ally, including that of the Dark Lord Sauron, was growing ever stronger. Saruman was supposedly now corrupting the mind of King Théoden with help from his snake-like advisor Grima Wormtongue. Now orcs were roaming freely across the land, and it was only a matter of time until all hope was lost.
She looked back down to pick up the two buckets, but they weren't there. She frowned. She could've sworn she put them right there . . . She stopped.
"Daron?" she called out, looking towards the bushes. They shook slightly as laughter filled the air and a young man the same age as Whyn emerged, carrying the two buckets with him.
"You should've seen your face, Whyn!" he exclaimed as he handed her the buckets.
"Not funny, Daron," she protested as she grabbed the buckets from him.
"Oh come on, we need more laughter nowadays. Everyone just seems so . . . serious."
Whyn looked at her best friend. His soft brown eyes looked back at her; she could never stay mad at him.
"I'm sorry Daron, I've just had a lot on my mind lately."
He nodded in agreement.
They walked back up the path, Whyn being a bit slower with the weight of the water.
"Let me help you with that," suggested Daron as he lifted one of the buckets out of Whyn's arms.
"Thank you," said Whyn as she flashed him a smile.
"So how has the sword lessons been going?"
"Papa says that I'm getting better by the day."
"That'll be useful for threatening those orcs, eh?"
Whyn nodded. It was always like Daron to joke at times like this.
Gandalf led the way through the gates on Shadowfax as Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli followed on Hasulfed and Arod, the two horses that Eomer, Third Marshal of the Mark and Rider of Rohan, had given them.
Aragorn stopped at the gate and watched as a flag with the emblem of a horse on a green background, the flag of Edoras and Rohan, flew down from above to land on the grassy terrain just outside the gate. He looked at it for a moment before heading through the gates.
They continued up the dirt paths. The people gathered outside stopped what they were doing and gazed at the newcomers as they passed.
"You find more cheer in a graveyard . . ." Gimli stated from his position behind Legolas atop Arod.
Aragorn looked around and silently agreed. He then spotted a young woman, with her golden hair tied back into a single braid, her outfit consisting of a dark blue tunic and brown pants. She was standing next to a young man with brownish hair, and the both of them were holding a bucket full of water each. She held herself in a different position than the rest of the women did; like a trained man would, with slightly muscular arms. It was an odd sight to see a woman wearing men's clothing . . .
Her blue eyes stared at him as he passed by, and he gave her an amused smile. Then he and the rest turned up the path and headed towards the Golden Hall.
"Who were they?" asked Whyn as they disappeared from sight.
"I'm not sure . . ." replied Daron.
A/N: In case you're wondering, I'm following the movies, not the books. Why? ……I don't know.