Welcome back!
Here's chapter 2, a few days early if you noticed. Thank viggomaniac for that. Viggomaniac, thanks for that SUPER AWESOME review! It made me happy all day even though we got a pop quiz in history!
See Ch. 1 for summary/disclaimer, yadda yadda yadda.
And on with the story!
Eowyn sat behind the throne, astounded at the sight before her eyes. Aragorn had seemed alright, even when he picked up the ball, which had begun to glow. He concentrated on the sight before his eyes and spoke in a strange voice. Eowyn had never heard him so serious before. A sudden sound startled her out of her musings. Aragorn was still gazing into the orb, but instead of the iron will and determination in his silver eyes, she recognized pain. And fear. Eowyn drew back against the wall, trembling. What could he have seen to cause him this distress? She was once again drawn out of her thoughts by a noise, this one being a solid thunk on the ground.
Eowyn, startled, turned fully around and gaped at the scene before her. Aragorn had either dropped or threw the ball to the ground, and he was standing over it, breathing heavily. And suddenly a flash of silver cascaded to the ground. Eowyn squinted to see it, and realized it was Aragorn's necklace, the one from the elf-maiden he loved. Shock registering in her face, she watched as it met the ground and split into a thousand shining shards. But even then that was not the last thing to fall. Aragorn collapsed to his knees amid the pieces and put his face in his hand, his head bowed.
Aragorn dropped to his knees, wanting nothing more to lie down and die. What hope had he, Aragorn, against the might of Sauron and his armies? He had now lost everything dear to him and wanted to give up. Listen to yourself! His inner voice chided him. You would doom the Quest to failure, all because of your own weakness and losses! Think of the hundreds of widows, of children without fathers, of your friends! Frodo and Sam have gotten so far only to have their guardian lose faith in them?
"No!" he told himself. "I will not abandon them. I will not forsake their sacrifice. I will go without hope!"
With this new resolve eating away at his grief, he stood, took a deep breath, and sheathed his sword. He paused in a reverent moment, losing himself one final time. He murmured a prayer to the Valar to save Arwen and to keep her happy in Valinor. But, unfortunately, so lost was he in his grief, that he didn't hear the footsteps of several men coming toward him.
Eowyn watched reverently as Aragorn rose to his feet and sheathed his sword. She so admired his courage, his will to go on after- Wait! Were those footsteps? Eowyn silently scampered to the other side of the throne, taking care to have the sword ready in its sheath. When she saw who it was, she released her breath. There were only a few soldiers, Gondorian ones. But they were wearing slightly altered uniforms. They all had a red 'X' painted on their helms. And another thing, one was carrying a heavy club. Gondorians didn't use such barbaric weapons. Who were these men? And why were they here, and heading to Aragorn? Comprehension suddenly dawned on her. They were coming to attack him! Alone, he stood no chance. The biggest one was nearly twice his size.
She watched with bated breath as they silently surrounded Aragorn. "Come on!" she cried in her mind. "Look around you! Fight!" But before Aragorn even looked up, one of the men (clearly the leader) said in a mocking voice,
"Well, it seems we have a king in our hands. We can't have that, now can we?" Aragorn's hand at once flew to his sword hilt, but it was too late. The man with the club smote him a solid blow to the head. Aragorn instantly crumpled unconsciously to the ground.
"Hurry." The leader ordered. "Bind him well, and take his weapons. Dawn will be here in a few hours." The brutes obeyed. In about a minute, they had Aragorn's sword, dagger, and hunting knife in a pile and were busily binding him. "Let's go, come on! You, Dagrion, carry him, and Angrand, carry his things." The leader began walking back the way they had come in, and to Eowyn's surprise, not out of the citadel. Dagrion, the one with the club, hoisted Aragorn over his shoulder. From this position, Eowyn saw that his hands had been twisted behind him, and his legs bound at the ankles and knees. Blood trickled from his raven black hair.
Eowyn gripped the edge of the throne, her knuckles turning white. She knew she could not take on these men, not in her current state. But the dishonor! They had snuck up on a grief-stricken man and attacked him.
Once the men were out of sight, she quickly emerged from her hiding place. Her mind reeled. What should she do? Get help? But from who? That, at least, was obvious. She would go to her brother, or the Lord Legolas or Gimli, or even Gandalf. But the only problem was that she didn't know where anyone was. It would take her at least an hour to find them, and Aragorn was in danger every minute.
Then the answer was obvious. She would have to find him. It would be simple. She stood more chance than an army. Eowyn was more than aware of her ability to blend into her surroundings. She had, at very least, used it in the company of the Rohirrim. All she had to do was find a disguise, which she could pick up on the way. Resolved on the matter, she looked around for any helpful items. Her eyes fell on the mysterious ball. She shuddered. She didn't want to use it, but she should at least hide it, lest it should fall into the wrong hands. Eowyn quickly found the cloth it had been in before, and wrapped it up, managing not to touch it. Then, using the very tips of her fingers, she stowed it behind the throne. There. She paused one more time and made sure the sword was secure. Her mind resolved, she stole silently away in the direction the men had gone.
Well, there we are! Some action stuff at last! Will Eowyn find him? What major torment is Aragorn in for (he he he)? Why not REVIEW and find out! Once again, chapter 3 should be up within the week, depending on REVIEWS!
See ya then!
-QueenofFlarmphgal