"Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail the victorious dead." The King said lifting his goblet in a salute. "Hail!" The rest of the Men and other people in the Hall shouted before drinking from their cup.
The Rohirrim and everyone else begin to party and celebrate. The celebrations were bittersweet as people noticed Men, friends, children missing from the celebrations. Numbered with those that had died. Aragorn and Boromir watched as the Elf and Dwarf prepared for their drinking contest. "Another opportunity for them to prove whose race is superior to the other again." Boromir said cheekily to Aragorn, who laughed at his remark. They watched as Legolas took a small sip of his drink while Gimli chugged his down.
Boromir soon moved closer to better watch the competition, leaving Aragorn further back by himself. So caught up in his friends antics was he that he didn't notice the blonde haired maiden that appeared at his side. "Westu, Aragorn, hál." (Be-thou Aragorn well) Éowyn said, a somewhat sad smile on her face.
He smiled back at her, unsure of how she felt after they had spoken before the battle. At least she was still smiling at him but it seemed to be tinged with more sadness now. "Why do you not celebrate with your people my lady? Tonight is certainly not time for sadness." He told her.
She merely smiled at him then nodded her head. Aragorn stood there as if waiting for her to say something before walking away. Éowyn watched after him longingly. Her uncle joined her soon after Aragorn had left. "I am happy for you. He is an honourable man," he said to her knowingly. "Yet I also fear for you. He loves another."
The smile Éowyn had on her face before was wiped away with those three words. He loves another. "He loves someone who is dead Uncle. She is dead," she said indignantly. "He will have to move on one day."
The King looked at her alarmed and unsure of what to do or say. "Dead or not, he still loves her. I do not want you to long for him and then get your heartbroken. I only wish to look out for you."
Éowyn looked at her Uncle sadly, willing the tears to go away but before she knew it, tears were falling from her eyes. Théoden moved to embrace his niece, praying for the Valar to help her through this heartache. He moved them until they were outside, away from prying eyes. "Why does he not want me Uncle? Am I not good or beautiful enough?" She asked him, the tears still falling from her eyes.
"It is nothing like that. I know that he cares about you, he just..." he trailed off, trying to find the words.
"He just doesn't love me." Éowyn stated, her mind remembering the words he had spoken to her before the battle. "He cares enough to wish me joy and happiness but he cannot be the one to give it to me. He only wishes for me to find a love so strong where death cannot even lessen my feelings." She said, echoing the words he had spoken to her only a few days ago. The King comforted his niece for as long as he could until his duties as a King called him back to the celebration. Éowyn, not being one to want to appear weak in front of others immediately cleaned her face and walked back into the celebration with her head held high.
The singing, dancing and drinking lasted well into the night. Legolas won the drinking contest, proclaiming that Elves are better than Dwarves jokingly. He celebrated his win arrogantly, a huge smirk on his face until Pippin beat him in a drinking contest with Hobbits being the victorious race and the ones who could hold their liquor the best. Everyone soon fell asleep, many men just sleeping where they had passed out.
Aragorn felt himself wake up some time in the middle of the night. His dreams had been haunting. He saw Eleniel's death. Frodo and Sam's death. He saw the whole Fellowship dead. Deciding that he wouldn't be getting anymore sleep, Aragorn decided to get some air to clear his mind. Walking out of the communal bedroom that the Fellowship shared, he moved to leave the Golden Hall. Outside he found Legolas and Boromir smoking. Approaching his friends, they look towards Mordor.
"The stars are veiled. Something stirs in the East. A sleepless malice. The Eye of the enemy is moving." Legolas told him, Aragorn agreeing with the Elf.
While the Ranger and Elf talked, inside the communal bedroom, the Hobbits were awake. "No! Pippin, no! Don't touch it!," Merry yelled at his friend but his words fell on deaf ears. His hands touched the Palantír as if in a trance. As soon as his skin touched the orb, his body seized up and began to thrash in pain. Pippin's eyes were clenched close as if in pain as sweat seemed to drip from him.
"Gandalf! Please, help him!" Merry yelled, trying to wake the Wizard. The door to their room slammed open as Boromir, Aragorn and Legolas ran into the room. The Ranger ran towards the Hobbit, stealing the orb from his hands.
Immediately Aragorn felt all the pain that Pippin had felt as a menacing voice spoke to him. "Elessar, Elessar, Elessar," Sauron said, his deadly voice grating to the Ranger. "You shall fail. You shall fail. You shall fail." The Palantír fell from Aragorn's hands and rolled across the floor. An awake Gandalf threw a cloth over the orb, covering it from the view of everyone.
Gandalf tended to a terrified Pippin while Aragorn sat up from where he had fallen. He found Boromir and them at his side but he only shook his head that he was fine and instead moved over to comfort Pippin. The Hobbit latched his arms around the waist of the Ranger and visibly calmed down in Aragorn's arms. He may not have much experience with comforting others but Pippin was his friend, his family so if the Hobbit only needed him nearby then he would do exactly that.
"What did you see?," Aragorn asked the Hobbit quietly so as to not startle him.
Pippin looked at the Ranger, his eyes wide with fear as he looked around the group. "A tree... there was a white tree in a courtyard of stone... it was dead. The city was burning." The group minus the Hobbits and Gimli gasped in horror before looking at Aragorn and Boromir.
"Minas Tirith." Boromir said fearfully as his eyes began to water. "I must go. I must warn my people." The man stood and began to pack. None of the others tried to stop him knowing that he needed to leave.
"Boromir, you cannot go right now," Gandalf said. "It is late. At least wait til we have spoken with the King to see if he will send help for your people." Boromir sighed and nodded reluctantly although it looked like he wanted to do anything but wait til morning.
When morning came, the group found themselves gathered in the Golden Hall. Théoden sat atop of his throne, Gamling and Éomer at his side while the Fellowship sat before him. "We've been strangely fortunate. Pippin saw in the Palantír a glimpse of the enemy's plan. Sauron moves to strike the city of Minas Tirith."
"He will raze Minas Tirith to the ground before he sees a King return to the throne of men. If the Beacons of Gondor are lit, Rohan must be ready for war." Gandalf said to the King.
Everyone watched as a disgruntled expression appeared on the Kings face. "Tell me... why should we ride to the aid of those who did not come to ours?," the King asked the Wizard, the anger clear in his face. "What do we owe Gondor?"
Before Gandalf could stop him, Boromir had stood and snapped at the King. "What do you owe Gondor, you say?," Boromir retorted, glaring at the King with rage filled eyes. "I fought for you, your people. Our King, the Heir to the throne of Gondor fought for your people," he said, pointing at Aragorn.
"Do you not remember that it was he that never once gave up on your soldiers? You had already accepted your defeat yet he gave no indication of accepting defeat and instead gave the men hope. Do you really blame them for not riding to your aid when you sent no word to them asking for aid?," Boromir snapped back at the King, fiercely defending his home and people.
"How could they not have seen our enemies closing in on us?" Théoden insisted stubbornly to the man but Boromir only shook his head in response.
"You think they can read minds in Gondor or something?," The Gondorian said sarcastically, openly mocking the King now to the amusement of the rest of the Fellowship and the chagrin of Gandalf. "You are not willing to send aid because they did not come to yours? What about the elves? What do they owe Rohan?"asked Boromir.
Théoden's face turned sheepish while Boromir stood smug in front of the King. "Does the oath of Eorl mean nothing to the House of Éothéod?" Boromir left the room, telling the group that he rode for Minas Tirith. Gandalf also said that he was going to Minas Tirith, along with Pippin. The Fellowship left the King and his men to themselves, hoping that the King would choose to help Gondor.
Boromir, Gandalf and Pippin hurriedly made their way to the stables, the rest of the Fellowship followed closely. "Why did you look? Why do you always have to look!" Merry asked his Hobbit friend.
"I'm sorry. I can't help it." Pippin replies sadly, Merry only shook his head at the other Hobbit. The night before the Hobbits had decided for Merry to keep Ringil. No one knew about the sword they carried as the Hobbits did not have the time to show it to the Fellowship before the event with the Palantír happened.
Boromir lifted Pippin onto Hasufel before getting on behind him. He nodded to the group before speaking to Aragorn, "Do not worry my King. I would die before seeing our city fall," he said, smiling at his friend. "I await for the day when you shall sit on the throne."
Aragorn smiled widely at the man then spoke, "Good luck my friend." Soon the group rode out of the stables. They watched their horses fly across the plains until they disappeared fully from sight. "We will see them again, won't we Aragorn?," Merry asked the man hopefully. Aragorn puts his hand onto Merry's shoulder, squeezing it in comfort.
"I am sure that we will see them soon."
It had been a few weeks since Gandalf, Boromir and Pippin had left Edoras for Minas Tirith. The Fellowship spent much of that time sitting outside so they would be able to see if the beacons of Minas Tirith are ever lit. One day, Aragorn sat alone on the steps outside the Golden Hall smoking. The others were off doing who knows what when the Ranger noticed a flickering light upon the White Mountains.
He ran eagerly into the Golden Hall exclaiming, "The Beacons of Minas Tirith! The Beacons are lit!," he shouted interrupting whatever it was that the King was going to say. "Gondor calls for aid."
Aragorn watched with baited breath as the King thought over what to do before finally coming to a decision. "And Rohan will answer. Muster the Rohirrim!" Preparations for war and battle start immediately. Messengers are sent out all over the Riddermark calling for every able bodied man to gather at Dunharrow. Soldiers everywhere prepare for battle. Gathering weapons and horses. Farewelling family members.
"You ride with us?," Aragorn asked Éowyn as he exited the stables to find her preparing her horse.
The lady nodded her head, "Just to the encampment. It's tradition for the women of the court to farewell the men." Aragorn nodded at her words although he also knew that she also came because she wanted to convince her uncle to let her fight.
Aragorn moved to where the Fellowship were gathered near the front by the King. Gimli rode with Legolas while Merry rode on his own pony. "Now is the hour, Riders of Rohan, oaths you have taken! Now, fulfill them all! To Lord and Land!" Éomer shouted causing roars of encouragement from many of the Men before they rode out of Edoras to Dunharrow and then to Minas Tirith.
The men of Rohan constantly glanced back at Edoras. Who knew when they would see their city again?
So I decided to stick with Aragorn and them for this chapter lol. I honestly just really want Aragorn and Eleniel to reunite but I realize that I can't just ignore everything and suddenly make her appear haha. Anyways getting closer and closer to the end of the book, kinda lol. If you find mistakes then sorry. I check over my work and then suddenly I read through it after it's been published and I find another mistake lol. Also if you don't know what the oath of Eorl or Cirion is then it was an oath and alliance established between Rohan and Gondor to always send aid whenever help was needed.
Anyways hope you enjoyed xx