A/N: Hey guy's, here's chapter 37; enjoy.

Uncertain Fates

In the wee hours of that next morning, Caleb was dragged from his sleeping place and taken to a hill, over-looking a small, but deep river.

Selwyn started things off by giving him a harsh kick in his face. The force of the kick caused Caleb to fall back onto a hard rock.

"Now, tell me…soldier of Rohan, where do our enemies intend to attack from next?" he asked, his flaming eyes bored into the young soldier.

Caleb could feel the blood oozing down the back of his neck, but he would rather die than be disloyal to his countrymen. "I know nothing; the future plans were not revealed to me—if there are any," as he said this, he grimaced from the pain of his earlier wounds.

Selwyn punched the defenseless soldier in the face: "You lie!" he spat. "I have no patience for such scum."

One of the elves believed what Caleb was saying; what if they had captured the wrong soldier. "Selwyn," he said, walking up to the raging elf. "Perhaps he is not lyi-"

"Shut up!" Selwyn interrupted, cutting him off; he knelt down so that he was at about the same level as Caleb. "Listen to me soldier; your lies are useless, and if you do not speak the truth now…" he allowed his voice to trail off as he looked at the river, he then turned back to Caleb,"… Then you shall be thrown into the river, and by the time your rotting, lifeless corpse resurfaces, you will not even be recognizable."

Caleb stared at Selwyn—he had made his choice. "I do not care what you say you are going to do to me: It will not make me tell you, for how can I tell you something that I do not know? I glad to know that I will never have to look upon your wretched face again!"

0-0

Faramir was awakened by a kick in the ribs by Selwyn.

"Get up; we are setting our course for Mordor," was all that the elf said before walking off.

Faramir sat up and glanced into the corner where the Rohirric young man was—only to find that he was gone. Faramir frowned at this, but didn't have the time to think on it much, right now he had to focus on the return to Mordor.

000

As Boromir, Eomer, and Theodred cleaned their weapons, they reminisced on the days events; they all could hear the sound of a horses hoofs, but they paid no attention—until the horseman was right in front of them; he dismounted and greeted them in respectable fashion.

"My lords, I come in the names of lord Denethor and lord Théoden; they have requested that you all return to Minas Tirith at once."

Boromir dropped his sword and stood up; "Why? What is going on?"

"They recently received news that lady Eowyn has returned to Minas Tirith."

Eomer and Theodred paled and dropped their swords—they knew that this was not good.

0-0

Eowyn sat in the solitude of her old room; she had arrived in Minas Tirith in the wee hours of the morning, and had been brought to the Citadel immediately, and from there was, of course, taken to her quarters.

She had been by herself; staring out of the window, fearing what might befall her next.

She gasped as she heard a knock on the door, for it interrupted her thoughts; but she composed herself quickly.

"Who is there?" she asked at a tone which was loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to hear.

"It is me, my lady," answered Norah's voice. "Are you alright?"

Eowyn breathed a sigh of relief; that was one upside in returning to Minas Tirith, for she had felt like she needed to talk to her maid while she was away more than once.

Once Eowyn opened the door, she embraced her handmaiden. "Oh, Norah; I cannot tell you how happy I am to see you again!"

Norah returned the embrace, but the only thing was that she felt a little differently than Eowyn: she felt guilt.

She regretted everything that had happened while Eowyn had been gone, and she would have given anything to confess it to the lady of Rohan right then and there, but for some reason, she just could not bring herself to.

"I am glad to see you again, my lady; despite the circumstances."

Eowyn pulled out of the hug; "Despite the circumstances indeed. In some sense, it all just feels like a dream—a very bad dream."

"Do not speak such things, my lady," said Norah trying to comfort her. "Everything happens for a reason."

"I cannot see what good my returning will do; now I am forced to live in a cage for the rest of my life!"

"Before things get better, they have to get worse, my lady; do you remember when you told me that?"

Eowyn smiled faintly, despite the fact that she now felt empty and hopeless.

Eowyn had been about ten and Norah thirteen, when Eowyn had fallen gravely ill; Norah had sat by her side day and night, weeping for her mistress. Despite the situation, Eowyn didn't want to see Norah crying so hard, for she believed that she was going to get better—and it was at that moment that she spoke those words to her despairing maid.

"I remember," Eowyn said in a low voice. "It seems like it was just yesterday…we were riding freely—no marriage…no unhappiness. I cannot believe that the rest of my life is going to be wasted away—I am married to Boromir, a man that I don't love! It was not my own choice! And when he is old and decrepit, I must try to love him still!" Eowyn was so angry that she wanted to break something so badly.

"My lady, he is only older than you by seventeen years, you need not worry about—"

"Shut your mouth!" Eowyn snapped. "I would rather be alone right now."

Norah, stunned by Eowyn's sharp remark, left without another word.

000

The lord of Gondor and the lord's of Rohan rode together; they had had to leave sooner than expected, and they spoke not a word to each other, but it was needless to say that one person was on all of their minds: Eowyn.

Theodred and Eomer were furious that she had been caught, and at the same time they were scared for her, for they knew that it was impossible to protect her from Denethor's wrath.

Boromir, on the other hand, was just anxious to see her again; he didn't have the slightest idea of what he was going to say to her, but he knew that they would have to talk. He just hoped that Denethor hadn't gotten to her first…