Marie: Here ya go. Read it cuz I know u want to.
Rannyn rushed down the hill as fast as he and Isidien could go. He had seen it all- the Rider attacking Threwen, her retaliation and then…he saw her go down.
What if…?
He didn't let himself think thoughts like that. He was a Rider of the Riddermark. He had been in battles with orcs. He'd survived an orc ambush with only a deep scar on his arm as a memento. He could take on whatever it was that had attacked her.
Suddenly his view was blocked.
Urgh. These stupid hills. I didn't see this one!
He had been up on one of the highest hills in the area and the two were farther away than he had first expected. He and his horse worked their way down into a small valley and then tried to get up the other side. He could only hope he got there in time.
Threwen cried out. The pain was searing through her. Where had he stabbed her? Her mind raced wildly. She felt the impact of the ground underneath her. In her line of vision, which was clouded slightly by the pain, she saw the Rider smile with satisfaction.
But he hadn't won. Threwen, who luckily had developed a high pain tolerance, was able to clear her mind. It seemed he no longer had a dark hold on her and she could think.
The heart. He had aimed for the heart. But he had missed. Her left shoulder was bleeding profusely but he got her in the muscles and tendons, making the mistake of missing her organs. She clutched her arm and waited, waited for her opportunity.
It came. The Rider turned his back and started toward his horse, which was standing in front of hers. The saddle bag and all its contents were just within reach.
Threwen jumped up, a throbbing ache coursing through her whole body. She grasped her sword and snuck up behind him. This was her chance to be free, once and for all.
Stupid hills. Stupid Riders. He paused. Foolish Threwen. Another thought. Foolish Rannyn.
It struck him all of a sudden, like a punch in the stomach. He couldn't lose her. He knew, right then, that he couldn't bear it. She had gotten herself into some mess, which he guessed resulted from something in her past. He had thought her foolish.
But you're the fool. You weren't there to protect her. And now it might be too late.
Rannyn stopped. Too late. What if he were too late? He knew he wouldn't be able to live with it. This girl- this girl who'd turned his world upside down recently, this girl who kept her secrets bottled up inside her and would never give him a straight answer, this girl who he now couldn't get out of his head- this girl was someone he wanted to protect and be with more than anyone ever before. He'd been lonely for so long but the emptiness was gone.
But now that you've realized this, you might've lost her. He could've kicked himself.
Rannyn clenched his fists. I'm not gonna let that happen.
The young Rider got a sudden burst of determination. He was not going to let her die out here.
With a brief thought of victory and a fleeting doubt of failure, Threwen lunged, throwing all the might she had left into that one swing. She had one shot and this was it.
She hit her target. The Rider didn't even see it coming. He went down with a brief cry of surprise, his head wrenching around to look her straight in the eye as she hit him. He tumbled to the ground, the weapon protruding out of his back. Threwen pulled it out when he hit the ground, a little blood smearing on her hands. He gasped once and then he was gone.
Trembling, she dropped the weapon in the grass, the world seeming to go in slow motion. Her sight went fuzzy and she looked down. His eyes, those eyes had instilled such fear in her when she saw them, were now glazed over, staring lifelessly across the hills and grass of Rohan, his blood now staining the plains where he had attempted to leave the body of a young girl.
You just killed him. You just killed a man. And you will have to live with that for the rest of your life.
Threwen wiped her blood tainted and shaking hands on the grass around her. She walked away from the scene and clutched herself, a big black hole forming inside of her as she slowly crumpled to the ground. Her left arm and that whole side of her chest ached but she didn't even notice it. She was numb from head to toe, the scene before her forever etched in her eyes.
She was alone. She was a murderer. She had been a spy for Saruman. And now she had no home, no one to love her. She was alone.
He crested the hill and felt the weight of death in the air. He thought he was too late. A body. A body was lying by a horse, a blood covered sword next to it. Rannyn dismounted and walked slowly over to the now dead form, his heart nearly stopped. He turned it over. And gazed into the wrong face.
Bewildered he looked around. Asimma was still there but her manner wasn't quite what it was normally. It was as if she was afraid to go anywhere, to move, until her master came back.
Threwen.
Rannyn turned at a soft thump of someone hittting the ground. There, lying a little distance away, now unconscious, was Threwen, a horrible gash in her shoulder.
No.
He rushed to her, grasping for her hand, which still had a faint feeling of warmth to it. He pressed it to his face, his eyes started to water up a bit. He looked long and hard at her face, studying every feature.
She can't die. She has to hold on.
He felt a horrible sorrow welling up within him. The darkness that hits someone when they think that the most important thing in their life was about to be taken away. And there was nothing that they could do about it. Despair. Shock. Desolation.
But he got a hold of his senses. He needed to verify everything. Maybe she was okay. He inspected the wound, having seen a lot of injuries after combat. The Dark Rider's sword had pierced her shoulder but nothing else. It would heal but she needed help. Fast.
After a short-lived moment of horror mixed with fear, he gently picked up her knocked around body, noticing the purple bruise on her face. He had to think back to the day he found her, the day his life had changed.
Then he stopped his short trek back to Isidien, the reality hitting him. This had happened before. That man, that thing had attacked her that day when he found her. It was the exact same looking bruise, the exact same side of the face. He had seen him hit her this time.
He shifted her weight in his arms and placed her on Isidien in front of him. He whistled for Asimma and the mare came galloping up. He headed out for Edoras. He was going to save her. No one would hurt her again.
End Note: Now you have the resolution to the suspense.