The Road Goes Ever On And On
Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings. All that I own is the plot and Tithenwen.
Chapter Ten: Things Fall Apart
Upon arrival at the stables, Mary took out her anger on Tithenwen. And she was more than just pissed.
"What the hell did you think you were doing back there, Tess? Huh? What the bloody hell were you thinking?" stormed Mary, her hand tensing upon the hilt of her sword.
"My name is not Tess!" hissed Tithenwen, swinging off the back of ES Brego with practiced ease and drawing Anduril.
Mary drew her sword and Tithenwen smiled as she prepared to fight with Mary. But before either one could strike, Aragorn and Faramir pulled the pair apart, Aragorn holding onto Tithenwen and Faramir trying to keep Mary from killing someone.
"Let me at her!" cried Mary.
"Tithenwen, if you wish to fight, please do so outside of the stable…" begged Aragorn, releasing Tithenwen.
Tithenwen marched right outside the stable and waited for Mary.
"Let go of me Faramir! I want to show her that she's needs to not mess with me! She's asking for it!" Mary yelled.
"Please, Mary, don't do this!" pleaded Faramir.
"I will do what I want to do and you can not change that!"
"Mary…"
Mary pulled herself free and ignoring Faramir, met Tithenwen outside the stable in a clash of steel.
Mary was attacking first, while Tithenwen parried her attacks. And when she saw an opening, Tithenwen attacked, forcing Mary to block or be hit. On and on the fight went, the two fighters evenly matched. No blows landed on either one until Becca tried to interfere.
"Tess!" cried Becca, receiving not as much as a glance in her direction. "Tithenwen! Stop this fight! What did you always tell me? Not to pick fights? To only stand up for yourself and those who need your help? Why can't you do that? Why can't you see what you are doing? Picking a fight that neither of you can win? Your fight isn't with your allies, but your enemies!"
Tithenwen shot a look at Becca, confusion showing on her face. Anduril hung loosely at her side, as she stared at her cousin. Mary took advantage and her blade flashed dangerously close to Tithenwen. Tithenwen saw the blade flash and brought Anduril back up to block an attack from Mary. But she was slow and Mary's sharp blade sliced her cheek. Tithenwen retaliated, launching a lightening fast counter-attack at Mary. Mary blocked it, locking her blade against Tithenwen's, freezing the fight.
"Mary," said Tithenwen softly. "She's right. We shouldn't be fighting each other. We should be helping each other. Can we stop this fight?"
"Why should I stop?"
"I've just realized what must be done to deal with Saruman. I'm the only one who can kill him, so if you kill me, Middle-earth will be his. But I don't care about my life. I care about the people, people like Nicholas who gave their life so we could live."
"So?"
"I ask you to join me in the fight against Saruman. I want your help Mary. Please, I need you as a friend, not an enemy."
"Well…"
"If not for others, do it for Faramir."
A change came across Mary causing her to lower her blade and Tithenwen to lower her sword too. Tithenwen sheathed Anduril and Mary sheathed her sword, each keeping a close eye on the other's movements. Mary stuck her right hand out and Tithenwen followed her lead, extending her right hand too, unsure of what Mary was about to do.
"I will help you, Tess, on one condition…"
"What's that?"
"That if I want to fight, no one with bother me. And I mean no one."
"Deal," said Tithenwen and the pair shook hands. Everyone around them breathed a sigh of relief.
"What? Did you all honestly think that I'd kill her?" asked Mary.
"Well…" came the group's murmur.
"I shouldn't have even bothered to ask…" mumbled Mary.
Tithenwen headed back inside the stable, and went straight to where ES Brego was standing, in the middle of the stable. She grabbed him around the neck and hugged him tightly, burying her face into his tangled black mane. Her tears streaked his soft and fuzzy neck as she cried.
"What is going on Brego? What has happened to me? Who am I? Why did Nicholas have to die?" she asked between sobs, her voice muffled by ES Brego's neck.
"You know the answer to that already, Tithenwen. Nicholas told you. And you've always known who you were…" came Arwen's voice softly, as she stepped into view from a dark corner, tears in her eyes.
"Then who am I?" Tithenwen asked, whirling around to face Arwen.
"You used to be known as Tess. Tithenwen is in fact the Elvish version of Teresa. So you are still Tess, just using an Elvish name, which is fine. You would have had an Elvish name, had Aragorn and I been able to keep you."
"So I'm this Tess person that everyone keeps thinking I am?"
"Yes you are. And, I know you don't know how deeply you have hurt your father by not recognizing him. Aragorn, or King Elessar, is your father. You were so close. I was fine with knowing that I might not see you, when I saw you with your father in a dream."
"Aragorn is my ada? Why were we so close?"
"You and your friends came from another world into ours. Recently, your friends went back, which has messed with your memory of the past 19 years."
"19 years? I've missed 19 years?"
"Well it's strange, but you were born on the first day of March, the same day as your father, 19 years ago. Apparently time is slower in the other world, so you were only 16 and your birthday was different there."
"And this affects me how?"
"Until we can all find out what is causing your memory loss, you will keep forgetting things and everything will be hard to understand. But if you can remember a few things, and keep that close, you will be alright until we can figure things out."
"What should I remember?"
"Remember that you can always look to the Evenstar when you need help and trust your feelings and dreams."
"Is that all?"
"If you forgot everything else that you know, at least remember that much," said Arwen with a slight smile as she wiped tears from her eyes.
Tithenwen looked confused but nodded that she understood and then she slowly left the stable, heading back towards the Citadel. As soon as she exited the stable, Aragorn grabbed her by the arm. She glared harshly towards him until she turned her head far enough to see who it was. Then she remembered what the woman had told her and she dropped the glare.
"Tithenwen, are you okay?" asked Aragorn, voice full of concern as he noticed the tears in her eyes.
"I'm fine ada, I think I'll just go and take a rest…" she said, trying to keep from crying about Nicholas.
"Are you sure you are okay? Is there something that you want to tell me?"
"Besides the fact that because of me a whole Ranger camp was destroyed along with Nicholas? All because I'm your daughter? And that I can't remember the last 19 years?"
"Tithenwen…"
"I don't want to hear it ada!" she cried, pulling her arm free. "It's because of me that Nicholas is dead! He was the only friend I had and because he cared for me, he's dead! Nothing can change that! Nothing!"
Tithenwen ran off, and Aragorn started to whine, calling after her, but getting no response. Everyone stared at him, surprised at the scene that they had just witnessed.
"What the bloody hell are you all looking at?" he whined, angered.
"Just a crybaby!" remarked Mary with a smile.
Tithenwen fell asleep in her room. While she was asleep, she forgot everything that she had just learned, which allowed Saruman to enter her mind, via a dream.
Tithenwen was talking to Nicholas. All was quiet in the camp, all the Rangers must have been asleep. Nicholas and Tithenwen sat alone in his tent, speaking to each other in soft, quiet voices. A soft light came from the rising sun, outside the tent, filling the tent with a slight glow, which rested on the Evenstar on Tithenwen's neck.
"The King is in danger, Tithenwen. Gondor is no longer safe for him. You must help him get out of the city." said Nicholas.
"Why me?"
"You are close to him and he will listen to you like he does no other."
"How can you be sure?"
"Stop denying who you are Tithenwen. It's time for you to become who you were born to be. If you don't, Gondor and the King will fall."
Tithenwen swallowed and bit her lip. It was all painfully clear. "And what can I do to stop this" she asked sarcastically.
"You must take the King into the Wild. Then you must make for the Elven haven of Rivendell. But only you and him. No others are to come with you, not even the Queen. And you must tell no one of your destination."
"How can I be sure this is not a trick?"
"What does your heart tell you?"
"That I should trust you, but I'm not sure."
"Trust me, you know that you can…"
"I guess I must," said Tithenwen, her voice conveying a questioning tone. She didn't want to fall into another trap. She could do that. But he was her friend and wouldn't lie to her. If she couldn't trust Nicholas, who could she trust?
Dolly went searching for Tithenwen. And she found her heading out of her room. Dolly stepped in front of her. Tithenwen looked at her confused and placed her hand on the hilt of Anduril.
"What the bloody hell is going on here? Why are you acting so strange?" asked Dolly.
"I have no clue as to what you are talking about?" said Tithenwen, turning away.
"Stop it Tess! Stop all this bullshit! Tell the truth for once in your life! What the hell is going on?"
"I can't because I don't know who the hell you are! And I don't care! Why don't you crawl back into the hole in the ground that you came out of and die!"
"You didn't!"
"Oh yes I did! Now get out of my way!" said Tithenwen with a twisted smile on her face as she pushed Dolly out of the way.
Dolly stood there, mouth open and catching flies as Tithenwen walked away. Something was seriously wrong with her old best friend. And things had defiantly fallen apart between the two. And she wasn't the only one. She knew that Tess had ignored Becca as well. And this was all no longer funny.
Author's Notes:
Chaps 11 12 will be up tomorrow!