A/N: I leave for two weeks' vacation on Monday. I'll have my laptop with me and am hoping to post at least one and possibly two chapters while I'm gone (depending on how much revision/editing I get done) but if I don't, don't despair. I return on Monday the 19th, and will be posting regularly after that.
Hearing soft sounds of movement behind him, Eomer turned from the cave entrance where he had been keeping watch, and frowned when he saw the women were assembling in the room right behind the cave entrance. It would have been better, safer, if they had met in one of the back caves. But then, from what he'd seen earlier, most of the other caves were quite small. Maybe this was the only room that would hold them all. At least it would allow him to listen in on the discussion while still being aware of any orc movement on or near the path to the cliffs.
He moved nearer, took a closer look at the women. Lisswyn had not yet returned, but Maegwen and Hilde had entered with four other women. One was rather obviously with child, and he could not prevent a grimace. Had all their men died in the war? Eoden and Andric followed, and settled quietly next to Maegwen. Eoden's face still bore the evidence of his earlier grief, and Eomer saw the younger boy's anxious looks toward his brother. Then they both looked up, looked across the room at him. He met their glances, wondered again what he could do that might yet somehow make a difference in this situation.
Several of the women had obviously been crying, but Maegwen and Hilde both simply looked grim. The pregnant woman was pale, but dry-eyed. Perhaps if you were pregnant and had already lost a husband to orcs, wildmen or battle, the knowledge that the rest of your village had been destroyed was a more minor concern.
Lisswyn entered, her arm around a very young woman. This must be Brecka. Her arms were wrapped around her waist as if for comfort, her eyes glassy with shock. He tried to imagine the loss of a twin, and could not. He remembered finding Eowyn unexpectedly on the battlefield, knew that as deep as his bond with his sister was, it must be weak in comparison to what this woman had shared with her twin.
Maybe it would have been better if the orcs had succeeded in killing him during the initial attack. He didn't have a death wish, but the thought of loss much loss on his behalf was unbearable.
Lisswyn settled Brecka next to the pregnant woman then crossed over to stand next to him. She was pale, but when she spoke, her words were quiet and composed. "As Hilde and Maegwen have told you, the orcs destroyed what was left of the village this morning."
"Do we know that for certain? Perhaps Eoden misheard." The woman sitting closest to him asked the question, and he saw other heads go up. Hope could be a powerful thing.
Eoden did not respond to the implied challenge in the question, only gazed quietly at the woman. Did any of them understand that the very fact that the boy didn't feel the need to defend his report answered the question of its validity?
"No. We do not know for certain. There may still be some alive, or some who were away from the village for some reason. But what Eoden heard was the orcs laughing and boasting about the destruction they wrecked there yesterday afternoon," her voice faltered, "and some details on how many of them died."
He turned his gaze at her, noted her struggle for composure. She must have asked Eoden for some of those details, and anger flared again that he had not been able to spare her that, at least. But then, maybe she would have felt it necessary to know. And given what they were facing, perhaps it was her right.
"Eoden also heard the orcs discussing these caves." One of the women gasped, others simply seemed to freeze. The pregnant woman dropped her head into her hands in despair, while Brecka stared at the floor in front of her as if nothing in the conversation was really reaching her.
Lisswyn continued. "That must now be our pressing concern, not our grief for the village. The orcs have not searched here before because they do not believe the King could have made it up the path by himself. But sooner or later, they will do so."
"Then we are all dead," The woman who had challenged Eoden's report spoke, her voice weary.
Lisswyn slowly shook her head. "Maybe. But maybe not." She hesitated. "There is a chance… for some of us."
They all looked up at that, even Brecka.
"The orcs have no way of knowing how many of us are here." She paused again, seemed to struggle for a long moment, then turned to him, a desperate plea in her eyes.
Eomer understood. It was one thing to come up with a plan that might save some. It was altogether different to ask the rest to volunteer to die. This was something he could spare her.
He turned to the women. "Some of you can leave the caves, slip up to the top of the cliffs, hide there." He saw hope move through the room again. Grimly prepared to kill it. "But if you all go, they will know you were here, will know where you have gone. And you will be trapped there."
"I do not understand, sire. What is the point, then?" The pregnant woman asked the question, a look of confusion on her face.
"Some of us will need to stay here in order to allow the others to flee to safety." Hilde's voice was flat.
The room went quiet for a long moment as the women finally understood what was being proposed. Expressions of horror, shame, guilt, and fear came and went on their faces.
He spoke quietly. "It is me that they want, and if I believed I could save you by giving myself to them, I would." Some shocked expressions at that. Hilde shook her head in denial. "But I do not know enough about the motivation of the orcs, or what is driving them. I do not even know where they came from." He looked around, did not bother to hide his frustration. "We knew that there were still pockets of orcs alive, but had no indication they were this well organized. I can not predict their behavior, but the fact that they destroyed the village even once it was clear I was not there, had not been there, does not give me much hope that if I give myself to them that they will spare you."
"But if they find me here with a few of you, I do not believe they will search further for others." He glanced at them, met their eyes one by one.
"How many of us need to stay?" The pregnant woman asked the question, and Eomer's stomach knotted. Orcs took a particularly vicious delight in how they killed a woman with child. She would not be staying behind.
"The more of your belongings you can carry, the fewer who need to stay behind," Lisswyn answered. "There must be enough of us here to make it look believable, and there must not be so many possessions as to make it obvious there have been more here than they are seeing."
A long moment of silence passed. Several of them looked down, and he saw guilt, shame, and fear on their faces as they struggled with the question of whether to volunteer.
Then Eoden stood. He glanced down at his mother, his expression somber and unapologetic. "I heard them gloating about the destruction of the village." He did not ask for permission, simply moved over to stand next to Lisswyn.
Eomer watched Maegwen, watched her struggle to accept that her son was no longer a child, no longer hers to direct.
Then Andric stood, also looked down at his mother, his face troubled, anxious, torn. He said nothing, simply walked over to stand by his brother.
Maegwen dropped her eyes for a moment. When she looked back up, she glanced first at her sons, then Eomer. Then she stood. "I have sent two sons into battles from which they did not return. I will not walk away from these two." And she moved over to stand next to the boys. Andric walked around her, placed her between himself and Eoden. Rested his hand on her shoulder.
Silence descended again. Brecka stood, walked over to stand with them. She said nothing, allowed the grief and despair on her face to speak for her.
Then Hilde stood, started to speak, stopped at Lisswyn's sound of distress.
"Brynwyn." Her voice thick with tears she was suppressing, Lisswyn held out her hand as if entreating the other woman.
A long look passed between them, and then Hilde nodded, slumped back down on the floor.
Lisswyn glanced back at the other women. Seeming to understand their feelings, she said, "You all have small children." The pregnant woman glanced at her stomach a bit ruefully in response, then back up as Lisswyn continued, her voice still soft. "Your role is to survive, to keep the children quiet and alive. It is another kind of defeat for the orcs." She turned to him for confirmation, and Eomer could only nod. There was nothing he could add. She had found a way to spare them shame and guilt.
Hilde stood. "We should begin gathering our belongings." She walked out without waiting for anyone else.
"Hilde is right. The sooner you can leave, the greater the chance of all of you reaching the top of the cliffs in safety."
The others rose from their positions on the floor and began to exit, talking quietly among themselves. Eomer noted one of them stopping to help the pregnant woman to her feet. Then Maegwen and the others who were staying drifted away as well, presumably to help in the packing process.
He looked down at Lisswyn.
"By your own standard, you should go with them." She looked confused, and he continued. "You made a point of sending all the women with young children up the path. But you yourself have a child to care for."
She glanced away, toward where the others had gone. Then she turned back to him, allowed him to see her grief. "You said that you would not be able to live with yourself if you went with those who hid. These women are my family, this was my idea. I cannot leave." She paused, swallowed. "Hilde will care for Brynwyn," she murmured. She turned and followed the others out.
He watched her go, knew there was no response he could make. He thought again of her willingness to die in his place, and the quiet comment she had made about no one grieving for her. It was a sharp blow to discover just how untrue that was, and to be unable to do anything about it – either the death she was almost certainly facing, or the feelings he was starting to have for her.
He walked back to the cave entrance. There was still no movement from the orc camp, at least not toward the path to the caves. What were they doing? Where were they from? Had any of his men made it back to Edoras? He'd give anything for answers to even a few of the questions that were plaguing him.
There was a noise behind him, and he turned, watched Eoden walk up to him. The boy stared out at the darkness for a long moment, his body tense, his fists clenched. "I do not want my mother and brother to stay."
"That is not your choice to make," Eomer replied quietly.
"They will die because of me, because I chose to stay." There was desperation and heartbreak in his voice.
"Some needed to stay, Eoden, to give the others a chance."
"I heard what the orcs did. Heard how much they enjoyed the killing." His voice went very quiet. "I know I am going to die. I am not trained to fight." He looked down at his fists, and his tone hardened. "But if I can kill just one of them before they take me, I will consider it worth it."
Eomer said nothing for a long while. Wondered what he could say. It grieved him that this fine boy was not going to live to adulthood. That it was not enough that the Riddermark had been deprived of its adult men, but that now its boys and young men were dying as well. He would have enjoyed watching Eoden turn into the kind of man he was so proud to lead.
Finally, he reached out with his good hand, clasped the boy on the shoulder. "I do not know what fate awaits us, Eoden. And with everything in me, I wish there were a way to spare all of you." He hesitated. "But if this is the way it is to be, if we are to die here, I will consider it an honor to have you next to me when the orcs find us."
It took a moment for the boy to respond. He swallowed. "Thank you, my lord."
Eomer dropped his hand, looked down. "You mentioned that Lisswyn has a sword, but that none of you know how to wield it."
Eoden nodded. "The sword she took from the wildman you saved her from last spring. She kept it, figuring it was at least a weapon. But none of us really knows how to fight with it. Lisswyn has a long hunting knife, she will use that. She defended herself from a pack of wild dogs with it, feels more comfortable with it."
"Go get the sword. I will show you how to hold it."
Eoden looked hopeful at the thought, but as he turned to leave, they heard a noise like a quiet cry from the back of the caves. It was soft, but any noise was unusual.
Eomer looked at him. "Stay here and watch. I will go."
He noted Eoden's nod as he started toward the back. There was quiet activity in most of the rooms as the women packed and sorted their possessions, but none of them had been responsible for the noise he'd heard.
Then he came to one of the rooms the women slept in, and paused in the door. Lisswyn was kneeling in front of Brynwyn, and as he watched, he saw her rub her eyes in weariness.
The little girl had her arms crossed in front of her chest, a mutinous look on her face. It was the first time he'd seen her anything but compliant. She stamped her foot. "No. I am not leaving you."
"Brynwyn, you must go." Lisswyn tried to make her voice firm, but he heard the tremor in it.
"Not unless you come." There were tears just behind the defiance.
Lisswyn reached out, touched Brynwyn's cheek. "I can not."
"Why?"
Lisswyn swallowed. "This was my idea. It would be wrong of me to leave."
"Then I want to stay, too." A tear fell and she rubbed it away impatiently with the heel of her hand, and Eomer wondered if Lisswyn recognized the move as one she made.
"Brynwyn…" Lisswyn paused, steadied herself. "I can only do this if I know you're safe. I need you to be safe, to be well."
"You said you wouldn't leave me. When papa died. You said."
Eomer watched the accusation strike Lisswyn like a physical blow, and wished desperately for a way to help. Wished, even now, that he could come up with a plan that would spare them all. The bitter taste of failure coated his tongue.
Lisswyn had lost the battle against tears. "I know." It came out as a whisper as she reached out with an unsteady hand, stroked her sister's hair. "I'm sorry. I meant that promise with all my heart. But I should not have promised something not in my power to keep."
Brynwyn started to sob, and moved into Lisswyn's arms. Lisswyn held her tight, her face pressed in her sister's shoulder. After a long moment, Lisswyn moved back a little, wiped the little girl's face. "I must stay here. But I need to know you're safe. You and Hilde. You have to take care of each other. Do you understand?"
At Brynwyn's nod, Lisswyn cleared her throat before continuing. "And there's one thing you must always remember." He saw Lisswyn swallow. "No matter what happens, you must never forget how much I loved you. And mama and papa did, too. Will you remember that?"
The little girl nodded again, wiped her tears on her sleeve, even as she continued to clutch at Lisswyn.
Belatedly, it occurred to Eomer that he was watching an intensely private moment, but he could not bring himself to leave.
Lisswyn kissed Brynwyn, then stood. Took a deep breath. "You must go help Hilde pack. I will be there in a moment. And I will see you again before you go."
Brynwyn nodded, pulled away. Without looking back, she turned, left the room. Lisswyn watched her go, then scrubbed her face with her hands.
And Eomer knew it was not only the youngest sister whose heart was breaking.
He hesitated for a moment. He was reluctant to leave her alone, but was unsure of whether she would welcome his presence. She wiped her cheeks again, sighed. And he started toward her, needing to do or say something.
Lisswyn looked up, startled to see the King coming toward her. Her cheeks flushed. "Sire…I did not hear you come in." She looked away, then back. "All you ever see are my tears." She muttered the words, wiped the last of them from her eyes.
He stopped next to her, stared down at her with a somber expression on his face. "I do not find that surprising, given our current situation."
He hesitated, then reached out, pulled her to him. Lisswyn resisted for a moment, then dropped her head onto his shoulder with a sigh. She should pull away. Should not allow such familiarity, should not encourage her heart to dream dreams that could never see fruition. He was simply being kind, trying to offer what comfort he could.
But it was hard to recall why any of that mattered when she would most likely not live to see the sun set again.
"Brynwyn will be fine. Hilde is a good woman." His voice was soft.
She battled and won another battle against tears. Nodded.
Silence fell, and for a long moment they just stood that way. And Lisswyn found her grief eased by his touch.
It made no sense – they were still going to die. But something about being able to rest her head on his shoulder for a moment, of feeling his arm around her, renewed her courage. Gave her the ability to face saying goodbye to the rest of the women and children.
She pulled away from him a bit, aware that his arm was still around her, and looked up. "Thank you," she said softly.
He looked down at her, an unreadable expression in his eyes. He said nothing, then his arm tightened around her again for a brief moment as he leaned down and pressed his lips against her forehead. Releasing her, he turned and walked back toward the front of the caves.
Lisswyn's heart stuttered, then raced, as she felt the blood rush into her cheeks again. Knowing it was foolish in the extreme, she could not resist reaching up and brushing the area of her forehead that could still feel the touch of his lips.
It meant nothing. It was desperately important that she remember that. But as she walked back to check on how the packing was going, she was not completely sure her heart believed it.
The women were gathering toward the front of the caves, preparing to leave, when Eomer sought out Hilde. She looked up from the bag she was securing, plainly a bit flustered to find the King waiting to speak to her.
"My lord?"
He stared at her for a long moment, then held out his hand. Puzzled, she looked at it, realized he was holding a small bag. She took it, glanced up at him.
"It is my seal." He glanced toward the entrance, then back to her. "Sooner or later, my men will come, will hunt until they find me or establish what happened." His voice was quiet. "When they come, tell them all that has happened here. Of my injury, of your efforts to help me, of the loss of the village." He nodded toward the seal. "Tell them that those of you who survive are under my protection, are to be treated as my kin."
Her mouth dropped open, but before she could speak, he turned and stalked out. Hilde looked down at the seal, then closed her hand tightly around it.