A/N: Yay! Chapter two! Tehe. Read and enjoy!
"What's that over there?"
Eomer, Third Marshal of the Mark, looked up upon hearing one of his companions say this. He peered out into the distance toward where the rider was pointing to see what appeared to be the outline of a horse with no rider. Wanting to be sure he called one his nearby riders up to him.
"Rannyn, go over yonder and check that out, will you? Never can be too careful, especially in these dark times," Eomer said. "If it is just a stray horse, bring it back to us
The young blonde rider nodded and swiftly trotted over to the seemingly abandoned horse. It took a while, as the animal was farther away than it had originally seemed out on the vast plain, but he quickly got nearer to it, enough to see what appeared to have happened.
The sight made him gasp. On the ground, beside the horse, lay the rider- an unconscious woman.
Rannyn stopped abruptly and dismounted, rushing to aid the knocked-out girl. He rolled her over onto her back and winced when he saw a deep purple bruise across her right cheek, along with a lump the size of a goose egg on her head where she had struck the ground. He brushed away her long blonde hair, wondering what he should do.
He decided that the best course of action was to take her back to Edoras and to safety. He tied her horse to his and put her up in his saddle, soon joining her. He balanced her in front of him and rode off back to the Riddermark as fast as he could without jeopardizing both her and his safety.
"Lord Eomer! This woman was thrown from her horse! I should take her back to Edoras and to safety!" called Rannyn when he rode up.
The marshal seemed to agree with this. He nodded for him to go back to the capital and then he, along with the rest of the riders, rode out away from the town.
Rannyn rode slowly back to Edoras, not wanting to jar the poor woman more than she already was. It took a while as they were quite a ways away already. Soon it got dark and cold and Rannyn realized that they would not reach the city before midnight, though you could see the lights from its fires from their position.
He decided that the woman's health was more important and that in order to continue the journey it would be easier if she were conscious and able to ride her own horse.
He dismounted and lifted her gently from the saddle, his strong arms flexing underneath the extra weight. Sure she was slender, but she was tall and a little bit bulky to carry, even for a man like Rannyn.
The young man made camp and built a fire, covering the temporarily comatose girl with a blanket he found in her pack. Apparently she had planned on spending the night in the countryside anyway, although he couldn't imagine why since it was extremely dangerous, even for a Rider in the Riddermark.
However, she must've known what she was doing for Rannyn had also discovered a large knife in her knapsack when he was looking for a blanket.
Rannyn had just gone to get a bite to eat from his saddlebag when he returned to find the young woman had awoken. She looked about, a confused look on her face, her long blonde curls tossled a bit.
"Good evening," he said, smiling at her.
"Where am I?" she asked groggily.
"In Rohan, where else?" he replied sarcastically. He grinned at her again, hoping to put her at ease.
She ran a hand through her hair, staring at this strange man sitting by her in the firelight. She rubbed the lump on her head gingerly.
"Who are you?" she asked cautiously. She looked at him a bit suspiciously and had put her hand to the belt that was strapped about her waist.
"I should be asking that of you, for it is highly uncommon to find an armed woman unconscious lying outside of Edoras." He motioned toward her belt. "Do you have another knife in there? Or perhaps you were searching for something less pain-inflicting."
She looked at him with wide green eyes. Obviously the young woman had not expected this man to know so much about her when she had not even met him before.
"My name is Threwen," she said reluctantly, after a long silence.
"Ah," was the young man's only reply for a while. Finally he said, "I am Rannyn, a Rider of the Riddermark. I found you and was attempting to take you back to Edoras when nightfall came. I figured you'd rather sleep out here than taking a bumpy ride all the way back to town on the back of my horse."
She seemed to think about this and then nodded, agreeing with him. He smiled at her again, a bit amused at her silence. She was obviously not planning to tell him anything about herself.
"So, what happened to you? Were you simply planning on taking a leisurely camping trip out to dangerous plains of Rohan or were darker forces at work here?" He motioned toward her bruised face and the swollen lump on her head.
She seemed reluctant at first and then she simply said, "I was out for a ride when my horse reared. I fell off."
Rannyn wanted to ask why the horse reared since there had to be a reason, but he decided against it. Rest first, questions later, he thought.
The two settled down by the dying firelight and underneath the infinite mass of stars above them, slowly falling asleep, both wondering what the next day would bring.
End note: um…review…that's all I've got to say for now…