Lothíriel turned so quickly Amrothos had to fight to keep his seat. In the distance, Lothíriel could see a fair-haired woman running, in her arms she held a bundle tightly. Behind her was a large animal the like Lothíriel had never seen before. Something clicked within Lothíriel and she leapt forward, heedless of any danger to herself. She allowed her instincts to come over her as she wove between trees as if she had been doing it all her life. She suddenly felt lighter and burst forward with even greater speed. The woman had just entered a clearing when Lothíriel jumped over them.
From deep within her she let out a loud roar and reared back, kicking her front legs out. She was a bundle of anger and fear bundled up in the instinct to protect. She felt her hooves make contact with something as a searing pain tore through her side and belly. The claws cut through the leather straps and her saddle fell onto the ground with a thud. She shoved the feeling of pain aside and instead turned with all her weight and kicked with her powerful hind legs. Just as she turned, she saw that racing from what had been behind her was Éomer atop Firefoot, his sword glinting in the sunlight. With skill that must have taken years of practice, Éomer leaned down hard in the saddle, throwing his sword out to the side, slicing off the beast's head in a single lop.
The anger flooded out of Lothíriel and made way for relief, though it didn't last very long as she felt herself collapsing close to where the woman and what she now saw was a crying baby stood. Her side was wrought with pain and just as she started to close her eyes she saw that Éomer's expression had turned from that of a warrior to shock.
'Perhaps it is somewhat shocking to see a horse run to danger unbidden than away from it.' She sighed as she felt an odd sense of cold. 'I must be bleeding. I remember some soldiers being frightened by the feeling of cold as they died.' Something else was odd. Her bridle felt like they didn't fit properly anymore. 'It must have been torn too.' She felt a sense of calm as she continued to close her eyes. Then she suddenly felt something fall on top of her.
It was warm and scratchy. Reflexively she closed her hands around the material. 'Hands?' She opened her eyes in surprise and saw that indeed, as she lay on the ground, naked underneath a heavy cloak. Close to her head she saw tendrils of dark, gold hair hanging down. Just as she began to turn her head slightly, the sound of hooves from several horses thundered up.
"My lady, are you well?" Came Éomer's deep voice from above her, where the gold hair led. Somehow he felt distant.
"Lothíriel!" Amrothos cried, and she felt his footsteps against the ground, "What on-" he didn't get a chance to finish as Éomer carefully picked her up. The pain burned through her as if it was freshly cut and she screamed. He held her tightly enough to ensure that she did not fall from within his arms.
"Erkenbrand, ride swiftly back to Edoras and prepare the healers to aid Princess Lothíriel. Then send out a messenger to Imrahil to inform him on the whereabouts of his daughter."
"Yes, my king!" She heard a voice say calmly before the sound of hooves against dirt faded away into the distance.
"Amrothos, please ride behind Éothain. I will ensure that your sister makes it back to Edoras alive." Éomer's tone made it clear that his order was not up for discussion. "We must return with all haste."
How he had managed to get atop his horse with her in his arms, she doubted she would ever remember but there was a feeling of warmth and security once they were settled. He called Firefoot into motion. She finally managed to look up at him. While he was paying attention to the way ahead, he did glance down long enough to see her gaze on him.
"Worry not," she could feel his heartbeat, "we'll be back soon. Try to stay awake until then."
"It's nice to be able to properly meet now." She felt delusional and doubted he could even hear her. "It's ironic. I doubted that I would ever be human again, but at least being this way when I die will give my family some peace of mind rather than thinking I'm wandering the plains forever." She smiled to herself.
"You're not going to die." He didn't look down then, instead spurring Firefoot to go faster than before.
A/N: And now she's human again! Oh but what will happen next? I hopefully won't be too long before updating once again! I look forward to hearing what you think of Lothíriel's rapid transformation!