In version 1.0 of this story, I would have woken up by now, though as I progress my writing skills, I feel that it's way too soon to end the Middle Earth portion of the story. So here I am...still Middle Earth. i do hope you all appreciate that.
Warnings: not sure yet. I'm making this up as I go. like, seriously.
Disclaimers: don't own LOTR,etc…
Reviews and Feedback: always welcomed. oh by the way, if they're not actually going to the Westfold in the movie, let me know so I can change it. 'cause I'm not really sure XD.
Note: i appologize in advance for the shortness of the chapter. You know...shorter than usual.

Chapter 7: arrival

It was another ten miles from the hill to the wooden gates of the Westfold. If I could have, I would have jumped off that horse to walk with Aragorn and the guys, but Gandalf had me secured in between his arms. I felt confident in my ability to walk; I had the past eighty miles (give or take) to regain strength, which I'm sure I had plenty of by now. Then again…every time I told myself that I had enough strength to stand up, to walk under my own power, it turned out that I didn't.

Something's happening to me. Should I be worried?

I swayed sideways on the horse. Gandalf's balustrade-arms kept me in place. It was probably very irrational that I still wanted to walk with the guys.

Yes, it is. You're in no condition to walk.

I feel fine.

Besides, give Aragorn and Legolas some…some time alone.

How alone can they be? They're with us. Besides, I don't even know what's up with them. So I saw them sitting together last night. They're good friends, maybe they were just friending it up. This made me think, though. My earlier thoughts about how maybe what I saw in the movie isn't quite what's going on here may apply to Aragorn and Legolas's friendship as well. So if the movie and this world aren't the same, then maybe Aragorn and Legolas….

Nonsense. You're thinking too much into it.

And then I jump to conclusions. Like always. So I make my own conclusions without structure or proof, but at the same time, it's not like I can go up and ask them about it. It's not my place.

This isn't my place. Just being here. I felt so…well, out of place. It's a weird feeling, really. How would I affect the outcome of the war? And ultimately, everything after that? If we won this impending battle, would it change the outcome of everything else?

I don't even know how much longer I'm going to be here. I don't even know if I want to be here anymore. Sure, I could change the outcome of the battle so that we don't lose miserably, sure I could save Haldir's life. But I couldn't see into the future and be sure of what was to come.

Not anymore.

Everyone was counting on me to get them through this battle, though. Everyone was counting on me to tell them all about Rohan and Gondor and whatever. If I suddenly stopped offering my services, if instead I merely become deadweight, if they find no more use for me…then I'm done for, pretty much.

You don't know that for sure.

I don't know anything for sure anymore.

.xXx.

I didn't pay much attention to our ascent into the Westfold. The villagers stared at us as we rode in (and walked in) through the gates. I didn't notice them. Aragorn had noticed my change in attitude, my progressive silence as we entered the Westfold.

"You've gotten rather quiet…"

He didn't ask anything else after I didn't answer. I could tell that he wanted to, but had decided not to press it any further. Maybe I'll tell him later. None of the others inquired my silence.

At the base of the palace stairs, we dismounted. A blood rush to my head and I stumbled. Aragorn caught me. I tried to look up at him, but my vision was blurry. The others started up the stairs, and Aragorn started to go with them. I still couldn't see, so I reached out and grabbed his hand. He looked down at me and wordlessly led me up the stairs, supporting me.

"You've gotten rather quiet," he said again after we cleared the first half.

"Sorry," I muttered. "I've been…doing a lot of thinking." I could see him smiling. I must be getting my sight back.

"Anything good?"

I deliberated briefly. "Probably not." I saw his face change into something of a confused expression, though he did not inquire further. We had arrived at the doors.

A guard approached us. I didn't pay much attention to what he was saying, but I knew he was giving us the not-allowed-to-approach-Théoden-so-heavily-armed speech. So while Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn disarmed themselves, Gandalf and I stood back. Gandalf needed his "weapon" to walk, and I had nothing to be confiscated. Well, not unless they discovered my cell phone, though I'd already proven it to be useless.

Gandalf dissuaded the guard from taking his staff, and we went in to the palace.

It was almost how I remembered it from the movie. A large, dimly lit palace room, guards lined up among the statues and pillars, a long rug leading to the throne in which sat an elderly king and his dark, brooding minion whispering deceiving nothings into his ear as we approached. I began glaring him down.

"Watch the right-hand man," I whispered to Aragorn, tugging on his arm. He nodded once towards me, though I knew that Wormtongue wouldn't be a direct threat to us.

Gandalf approached Théoden and started saying things with a dynamic and powerful voice. The words were fuzzy in my ears. I knew what he was saying, but my sudden lack of senses had me worrying again.

Laughing. It sounded strained. I think Théoden was laughing. A bright light and Gandalf moved forward. Suddenly Aragorn dashed away from my side. Without any support, I fell to my knees. I could barely see. I could barely hear. I could not move. Every voice around me was a murmur.

I looked up and strained my eyes to see. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli were beating up the guards as Gandalf continued to advance on the king, brandishing his staff before him. Gimli took down Wormtongue and made a threatening remark of some sort.

How long would it take for Gandalf to rid Théoden of Saruman's presence? How long would it take for them to notice that I was still kneeling by the doorway? I leaned forward on my hands.

Then…silence. The clatter of shoes on the cold tile floor, which I could only assume was Eowyn running forward to catch her uncle. Another murmur. I heard my name, then footsteps.

"Are you all right?" Legolas asked, kneeling in front of me. I looked up. Everything was blurry.

"I can't…" I stuttered. I groped for his hand. He caught mine. "See…" I finished. He looked back to Aragorn.

"Blindness?" he said.

"No," I answered, quickly. He turned back to me. "I…everything is blurry." Maybe my contacts fell out.

No, they're still in.

Oh, well…this is just perfect.

.xXx.

My sight gradually returned as the day wore on. Théoden went outside to rid his city of the wretch and to…see his son. Legolas and Gimli stayed inside the palace with me. There was hot soup in front of me, but I barely touched it.

"What's happening to me?" I whispered. Legolas and Gimli were silent for a while.

"I don't know," Legolas replied. "Just get some rest."

And so I did.

.xXx.

Sleeping all the time, so frequently for so long had made me feel like a heavy burden on my companions when we were on the move. But we had made it to Rohan. The guys were plotting out war tactics, which I could only assume I had no place in. Still, I wondered if anyone would think of my knowledge of the future as an advantage.

Or had they finally seen things through my eyes? I doubted it. They still couldn't fully grasp what a movie was, as much as I had tried to explain it. I think I left my pocket dictionary back in the forest north of the Glanduin River, along with all of my school work and such.

Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to listen in on their conversation. I could interject when needed.

I heard voices as I neared the conference room, which I found by wandering around. I'm glad that I had my hearing back. But when I approached, I didn't hear battle plans and I had half-expected to.

Instead, I heard of evacuation plans.

Ah yes, I thought. This is the part where Théoden migrates everyone to Helm's Deep.

I decided to be a part of this. I walked into the room, not exactly revealing my eavesdropping spot beside the doorway. Théoden stopped talking. Everyone looked towards me. It was just like the movie. Théoden, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli were present. Only the first three were really talking, though. Gandalf stood up when he saw me.

"Ah, King Théoden, my friend," he said, striding over to me to place his hands on my shoulders. "I wish to introduce to you our latest ally. This is Miss Kendra. Her extraordinary abilities may prove nothing short of beneficial in the future." Théoden looked me over questioningly.

"And what ability might this be?" he inquired. Gandalf grinned and leaned forward.

"She can see into the future," he said. Théoden leaned back and scratched his goatee thoughtfully.

"Not really," I muttered. "I have a general idea of what's to come."

"Well so does everyone in this room, young one," Théoden replied.

"It's more detailed than that, sir," I said. "Everyone knows that a battle is imminent, that a war is pending. I know, however, the numbers we're up against, how many people we may lose, the enemy's weaknesses, if and when aid will come, and whether or not we win or lose." Théoden stared at me.

"Astounding," he breathed. "How is it that you know all of this?" I bit my lip.

"It's a long story," I answered.

"Her readiness to hand over information regarding the future is hesitant, either way," Gandalf said. "But she does provide assistance when needed." The king nodded.

"So tell me," he said. "Is Helm's Deep adequate battle grounds?" I deliberated. There was one weakness, and that was under the bridge. I supposed that if we kept that guarded and armed, then the walls would be nearly indestructible. I'll tell them about that later.

"It's not perfect, but it's our best chance," I answered. Théoden nodded again, then stood.

"The Orcs will still try to find us here," he said. "We must evacuate to Helm's Deep at once." He and a few guards left the room. I waited until I was sure he was out of earshot.

"We're going to be severely outnumbered," I said. "Saruman, as we speak, is preparing an army of such great magnitudes, I can't even begin to fathom." The others didn't look at me or say anything, but I knew they heard. And I knew we all had the same thought:

We are so screwed.

How much help could I be if I was doubtful about my "abilities?" I needed to talk to Aragorn. Gandalf led me back into the room where Aragorn was quietly talking to Legolas and Gimli.

"We get to Helm's Deep, where we take on the Orcs and everything they've got," Gimli summarized. "How hard can that be?" He gave one short laugh. A brief pause and the three of them turned to look at me. I blinked in surprise. They had become so reliant on me. It's like I was spoiling them.

"Um, rather difficult actually," I replied. "Err, Aragorn, can I talk to you?" I pointed over my back and towards the door as I spoke. Aragorn stared at me for about two seconds before turning to briefly look at Legolas.

"Of course," he answered, standing up. Legolas had a look of confusion on his face, but his expression also told me that he wouldn't ask about it right now.

I waited for Aragorn to catch up to me before I turned around and headed for the door. Once there, I wasn't really sure where to go; I still didn't know the castle very well. Come to think of it, I didn't know the castle at all. So I leaned up against the wall right outside the door. Aragorn came around to face me.

"What's on your mind?" he inquired. "More thinking?"

"This is thinking I've been doing for a while now," I answered. It would really help if I could sit down right now. "Let me ask you this first: how much do you rely on my abilities?" He shifted his weight, thinking, scratching his beard as his did.

"No more than I have to," he answered, finally. "It would not be wise at all for any of us to become too dependent on you. It's probably more pressure than you want or need, correct?"

"Yes, definitely," I replied. I bit my lip. Aragorn cocked his head.

"I get the feeling that there was more to that question than you had let me in on," he said. I lowered my head and nodded. He placed a gloved hand on the side of my face and tilted my head up to look at him. He brushed the hair out of my face with his thumb. "What's on your mind?" I sighed.

"I…don't have the same confidence in my abilities that you do," I said, quietly. "I doubt what I know." His expression hardened.

"Why's that?"

"Back in Fangorn Forest, I came to a realization while studying my map," I said. "For an instant, I thought that I had been misreading it the whole time I've been here, identifying wrong rivers, wrong plains…and it made me think. It made me wonder if perhaps I had been wrong about where you found me, where I was leading you, wrong about everything I had told you. It made me wonder if what I had seen in the movies back home was different than what I'm experiencing now. It seems only reasonable." I gave him a few seconds to absorb this. He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off and continued. "It got me thinking that if I had been wrong about all that, what else could I be wrong about? I could very well be leading you all into a false future. All of you are getting your hopes up, hoping that we can win this war, but then what? Should I change the outcome of this battle, and the rest of the future alter, I'm useless to help you. And what after that? I'll be nothing but dead weight to you."

Aragorn scrutinized me. "Is that what you've been worrying about?" I gave one small nod.

"I can't be sure about what I know," I whispered. "I can't be sure about the future. I can't help you anymore." Aragorn stroked my cheek with his thumb. He kneeled in front of me, pulling me down with him.

"Kendra, what you have told us this last week has been nothing short of life-saving," he said. I blinked. Had I really been here this long? I hadn't been keeping track. "Just knowing that you have information about the future has been so helpful to us. You are such a powerful asset to this battle, and wrong or not, you have the best idea of what's to come. And to me, that's better than nothing."

A single tear rolled down my cheek. "But what if I'm stuck here forever?" I stuttered, my voice cracking with fear at the thought. "If I change the future, I don't know what's going to happen then. Then how am I supposed to help?"

Aragorn brushed the drop of salty water away. "We've made it all the way from the Shire to well past Rivendell without your help," he reassured me. "You can check later how far that is, and you'll see that we're very capable people. Don't worry about the future. You can't have complete control over everything, you know. Don't call yourself dead weight; you make it sound like we'd just abandon you." He shifted his position and placed both hands on the sides of my face. "Listen, we'll stick by you for as long as you're here. Don't worry about the future, and don't doubt yourself. Focus on what's happening now."

I smiled. "Thank you, Aragorn," I breathed. "I guess…I just needed to be reminded."

Reminded that you WERE being paranoid all along?

I smiled. Yeah. I was.

I wrapped my arms around Aragorn's neck. He hugged me back, placing one hand on the back of my head. Don't be an idiot, Kendra. I laughed once through my nose. What irrational fears those were.

It's such a comforting feeling.

End Chapter 7

I didn't get to everything that I I did, then this chapter would have been REALLY long. It's probably best that I didn' everything exciting will now be in the next chapter.
if everyone's been waiting for man kissie, ithat's in the next chapter too. :D
please please review!