Rannyn awoke to a strange feeling of cold. He sat up and realized that his blanket was gone. In fact, practically everything was gone- packed on the two horses that lay standing nearby.

"Do you normally sleep in this late?"

He looked up, startled to hear a female voice and then he remembered the events of the previous evening.

"Do you normally make assumptions that because I slept in one time that I normally sleep in late?" he countered.

She looked a bit confused at this comment and frowned at him. Then she sat down on the ground across from him, munching on a piece of bread. She absentmindedly rubbed the lump on her head, careful to avoid touching the horrible bruise that streaked across her face.

"I'll call a healer once we get into town to make sure you don't have any more severe damage," Rannyn informed her, noticing her stroking the knob.

She seemed to object to this. "No, I'll be fine. I don't need a healer."

Rannyn was a might taken aback by her firm tone. Why wouldn't she want to be taken to the doctor? It was for the good of her health. Didn't she know that?

Should I ask her now? What really happened to her last night? I don't think she would have been able to be thrown from her horse and end up with a shiner like that across her face.

"So what happened to you?" he asked quietly, stoking the fire a bit. He planned to make breakfast to give himself time to get more information out of her.

She looked up at him, bewildered. "I already told you. My horse threw me."

Rannyn glanced over at her horse, who was calmly grazing with his mount, and chuckled. "That mare? Nah, I doubt she'd ever do that to you."

"Asimma can get skittish at times. I'm the one who tamed her, but she's a wild animal at heart," pointed out Threwen.

Okay, so that's a lie, but one won't hurt will it? she thought. After all, he should be content with the information I've given him.

He still didn't seem to buy it, but he left it at that. He changed the subject toward herself, rather than her activities the night before.

"How long have you lived in Edoras?" he asked.

She paused and then said, "A week. I just moved here from a nearby village. It was pillaged by orcs."

Rannyn sighed. "They're running free across our lands, unchecked. At least, that's what Lord Eomer is saying." He looked at her thoughtful face and asked solemnly, "Did you lose anyone?"

What he really wanted to ask was 'did you lose a husband' but he thought that would be a bit inappropriate. He really didn't want to bring her into town all beat up and then end up getting slugged by her husband.

She responded quicker than he had anticipated. "No. I am alone. I don't have a family. Or a husband."

Rannyn noted that Threwen had added that last little detail on, as if she needed to clarify it. He only nodded in response. They sat in silence for a while until she posed her own question.

"What about you? Do you have a family?" Or a wife? She wanted to ask this but kept that little question to herself.

He laughed. "Ah, turned the tables have we? Now I'm the one being interrogated!" He laughed again and then responded, smiling, "No, it's just me. Well, me and Isidien."

Rannyn noticed that she seemed a bit alarmed at this response.

If he's married I want to smack him because he should've taken me home last night if that's the case. Him coming into town with me this morning could start rumors. .

"Who is that?" she asked quickly, waiting for his reply.

He calmly motioned toward his horse that was grazing lazily by the camp, unaware of the weight she was already carrying in the form of bags and bags of supplies.

Threwen breathed a sigh of relief, although she didn't know why. She was the last person to care about stupid rumors. If she ever stayed in one place for very long they always started whispering about her. She normally just shrugged it off.

Rannyn decided to abandon the idea of a large breakfast since Threwen didn't seem like the most talkative person. He and his new female companion broke camp and were soon outside Edoras.

Threwen hadn't talked much during the ride, though that was no surprise to Rannyn. He asked her where she lived and she merely pointed to a small cottage that was located near the Golden Hall.

He dropped her off and then left. Threwen thought she was finally rid of the pesky Rider, but she was never more wrong!

Threwen piddled about her cottage for the rest of that day. Her head often ached causing her to rest often. She couldn't lose her health, not now. Too much was at stake.

Maybe being in bad health is a good thing. It would give me an excuse not to go on with it… No, that's too risky. I can't.

Since she refused to answer the door, along with the 'do not disturb' sign on the front gate, she figured she would have a restful day. After a while people stopped trying to welcome her and then they just ignored her all together.

I should've thought of the sign idea earlier this week. Then maybe I'd have less bread to deal with…

Since she had taken all these measures to get people to leave her alone, you can imagine her surprise at hearing a very loud banging on her door. Even more shocking than the fact that she actually answered it was who she found standing at her doorstep- a healer, accompanied by none other than Rannyn, Rider of the Riddermark!

"What are you doing here!" she demanded, still a bit caught off guard.

Rannyn merely grinned. "I said I was going to get you a doctor," he said.

Threwen frowned. "I told you, I can take care of myself!" she exclaimed.

The healer ignored their quarrel and quickly entered the small cottage. He looked about, all the while clucking his tongue at her dirty house. She had been in the process of cleaning it before she was so rudely interrupted…

She followed the two men with her eyes, not wanting them to chance upon anything amongst her belongings that would arouse their suspicion. She was still a bit bewildered at the whole situation. The healer seemed to be more concerned with her living conditions than with her.

He was an old man with a long white beard to match the snowy tuft of hair that was sticking out on the top of his head. He finally turned toward her and nodded.

It took a moment for Threwen to realize that he was nodding to someone behind her. And who else could it be but Rannyn? He put a strong hand on her shoulder and propelled her to a chair. For some reason she did not feel the need to retaliate, as she normally would have with anyone else.

The odd old man inspected the lump on her head, along with the deep bruise across her right cheek. He discovered that she also had a sprained wrist, which made sense to Threwen since it had been ailing her since she woke up that morning. The ride into Edoras hadn't really helped much.

Finally he declared her perfectly fine except for being a bit banged up from the ordeal. He told her she should probably get some rest just in case the knock to the head was more severe than he had thought. Threwen only nodded. She was listening alright, but who said she had to follow anyone's instructions?

Except that's what got her into this little situation in the first place- challenging her orders. She should know that it's dangerous not to listen to her employer. The bash on her cheek was proof.

Finally the healer left…except Rannyn stayed, much to Threwen's annoyance. Why did he need to stick around? Hadn't she made it clear that she didn't need assistance, that she was perfectly fine on her own?

It soon became apparent that he wasn't intending to leave anytime soon. He pulled up a chair and sat on it backwards, resting his arms on the back of the chair, facing her. They both sat, looking at each for a while, until Threwen broke the awkward silence.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked in what she knew was a rude tone. After all, he had saved her the night before…

But he only grinned at this question. "I don't know you very well, but I do know you have absolutely no intention of following the doctor's instructions. I'm not leaving until you've drank some tea and gone to bed."

Threwen stared at this strange young man. Who did he think he was?

After a few moments of looking intently at each other, Rannyn finally decided to take action. He got up, found a kettle and fixed the tea the apothecary had left her. He set it down on the table.

"I'm not leaving until you drink this." He looked at her.

She scowled and said, "Then you'll be here for quite a while."

"Very well. I'd better make us some lunch, too."

A/N: I appreciate reviews, but don't need them to survive.