Chapter 4

"Eowyn!" Evelyn called joyfully, seeing her friend in the doorway. She could vaguely recall hearing her friend speak while she was in her coma like state, but she had yet to see her in person, though she imagined she had been busy with business of her own to tend to.

"Evelyn, my friend, it is good to see you up!" She replied, a huge grin spreading across her face as she swept into the room with a tray of refreshments. Secretly she wondered if this was the same woman she had seen just moments before beating and screaming at Elladan. Clearly she had managed to compose herself, the only betraying factor were her puffy red eyes. This was a woman who had mastered the art of concealment.

Still smiling at her friend, she set down the tray of fruits and tea and took a seat across from the other woman. "I had hoped to find you free this afternoon." It was not a complete lie. She had wanted to see her friend since her awakening, but she found she was not sure what she would be faced with and that worried her. Eowyn also found she worried over what she should or should not say. What did one say to someone who had been through everything Evelyn had? She did not know and know she had gotten slung unprepared into the situation by Elladan.

"It is good to be up! And nice to have female company for once," Evelyn joked.

"I am sorry I have not come to see you before. Elladan has kept you quite busy and I just got leave of the healers to venture from my own quarters." She replied, a small smile still on her face.

"Healing wing? Why have you been here? Were you hurt?" Evelyn questioned, a frown causing her forehead to crease as she looked at her friend.

"Aye, I was. During the Battle of Pelenor." She did not want to say more, she did not want to mention it was at the hands of the Nazgul, though she did not want to lie to her friend. With a deep breath and a downward glance Eowyn forced herself to continue. "It was at the hands of the Witch King of Angmar. He killed my Uncle."

"King Théoden is dead?" Evelyn interrupted, shock written clearly all over her face. It was obvious she had not been told much of anything since she woke.

Holding back the tears of the still raw emotions, Eowyn nodded, "The Rohirrim rode to the aid of Gondor as the armies of Mordor and Minas Morgul were emptied. King Théoden and my brother led them to battle."

"Your brother, he is okay?"

She looked back up at her friend, a small but sad smile on her lips, "Yes, he travels back from the Black Gate with the others."

"I am sorry for the loss of your uncle; I know it must be hard for you both." She said as she reached out her right hand to give Eowyn's an encouraging squeeze. She had not been very fond of Eowyn's uncle, though he had been more than fair to her; Evelyn had not wanted him dead.

"Thank you. There has been too much death, but now, now we can rebuild and live in peace with the darkness of Sauron destroyed." She gave Evelyn's hand a return squeeze, but she could have sworn that through her smile, she saw a flicker of doubt and shadow cross the other woman's face.

Peace. Would their peace now? Evelyn thought back to her time with the Valor. They had wanted her to come back for a reason, she had some role to play, and she did not think that involved peace. However, she would not that to her friend, nor anyone for that matter, at least not yet. Who she needed to speak with was Gandalf, and he was not here at the moment, and when he returned she was sure his free time would be limited. She let out an internal sigh, doing her best to keep her face free of her doubts.

Looking back at Eowyn, she smiled, and returned to their conversation, pulling her mind away from her dark thoughts. She wanted to find out all the details of the battle, before and after, and she knew Eowyn would tell her. The shield maiden had kept it all inside for too long.

She looked at the ellon sitting across from her, pretending to be enthralled by a book, but the bored expression on his face gave him away. Evelyn held back a snicker; he was doing this for her after all. He could leave her alone after their workouts and his meetings, but he chose to spend his free time with her so she was not always alone. Eowyn the past few days had been a bit preoccupied by a certain steward of Gondor. Not that she blamed her friend; she needed some happiness after all the death that had surrounded her, them all, lately.

"Would you tell me of your home?" she asked, watching as he dropped the book down to look at her, his grey eyes questioning her slightly. "I do not know if I will ever get to see Rivendell, I would at least like to have an idea as to what I am missing out on."

He laughed and it was musical bells sounding around her, damn the elves she thought. She may have gone through many changes, but other than her singing voice, she spoke and laughed the same, and it was harsh to her ears against the elves.

"I am sure you will be able to venture their one day, but I will gladly tell you of it." Elladan closed the book gently and set it on the table between them. He had taken her to a different location today; it was a small patio with lovely wooded tables and chairs, though for now, they were alone. More people walked these paths, which she was sure was the reason he picked it. Every day he took her more into the heart of the city to get the people more used to her and vise versa, though she knew they would never be truly accepting of her, more of toleration at best.

Imladris, Rivendell, or the Last Homely House, as some know it is nestled in the Misty Mountains, in a large open Valley. The main area of the city is build in beautiful, intricately carved white stone and blonde wood and carved into the side of the mountain. Large waterfalls spill from below the balconies in the Bruinen. Here he have our houses of healing, the family quarters, guest quarters and the great hall, which we also call the Hall of Fire. When you visit, you can find out why for yourself." He smiled at her and the continued, "Below on the lower levels we keep our smithies, stables, markets and other such areas. From here there is a stone bridge over the river that leads to the other side and out through our hidden path to leave or enter our city. The base of the city is where most of our population lives, and of course our training grounds."

"It sounds beautiful." Evelyn replied with eyes closed, picturing the grandness of the city her friend described to her. She hoped one day that she would be able to see it in person.

"Now I have a question for you." Elladan spoke again, breaking her from her revere. The sincerity of his voice sent alarm bells ringing through her.

"Okay," She answered warily.

"The company will arrive tomorrow. You have come a long way since you woke. Prince Imrahil and Lord Faramir have granted you a position with us to greet them upon their arrival should you wish it."

Her friends, they would be back, back with her in under twenty-four hours. It made her heart skip a beat; they would all be back with her. Legolas would be back. Her mind froze—the kiss replaying over in her mind—her heart seemed to stop. Could she greet them all, greet Legolas in front of thousands of people she did not know and hold her composure, without embarrassing them all? She was not so sure. Then again, it would be a point to prove to all those who doubted her. She might not belong to them and to Gondor, but she belonged with her friends. Could she do this?

She stood stone still, nestled between Elladan and Eowyn; crowds of Gondorians were gathered behind them. She could feel her tension rising, it was like tiny sparks electricity shooting through her veins. It was like she could feel all the tension around her building as well, as the dust rose on the horizon indicating the arrival of the soldiers.

Time seemed to drag on, the dust cloud now held a tiny speck of black in its midst to indicate the riders approaching. Evelyn did not think they would ever appear. Her legs were so tired; they were beginning to quiver from exertion. Why did she ever agree to this? She had not stood this long since before her capture, what had made Elladan so sure she could do this? She was losing hope.

"You have got this Evelyn," a soft voice whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine as the warm breath blew over her neck. It was Elladan's voice. "It will not be much longer now; the sun plays tricks on the eyes."

And sure enough, he was right, it was not long before she could make out individual horses approaching, the haze of dust tossed up by their hooves, far behind them.

"Just don't leave my side." She spoke quietly in response, terrified she could collapse at any moment.

"Never, Mellon Nin, never." Elladan answered, giving her an encouraging smile.

All too soon the moment she dreaded and eagerly anticipated arrived. Trumpets blared and drums were thumped at the arrival of the King of Gondor and his host. She could not help but smile at Aragorn riding tall in his saddle upon Brego leading the army back to Gondor. He was weary, but there was lightness to him Evelyn had not seen before and it did her heart good, for a moment, all her weariness and pain vanished. Behind him she saw the others, Gimli, Pippin, Merry, and Legolas. There was Legolas. Dirty and weary, but her was there, unharmed. Her heart flipped in her chest and she could not hold back her cough.

Elladan looked to her in concern, "Are you okay? Do you need to return" He questioned, his voice laced with concern and sincerity.

"No," she replied, trying to compose herself, "No, I am okay for now."

He nodded in reply and looked back to the crowd approaching them.

Evelyn could not help but smile, even though the pain of her cheek, whose bandage had just come off, revealing the nasty angry scar beneath. She held her bad arm at the wrist with her good one, hiding the fact that it would not completely straighten.

The party stopped just a few feet short of them, as she was on the front line with Elladan and the leaders of Gondor, her heart in her throat. They all were okay; they all made it back safe and sound, only a little worse for wear. She was okay with that, so was she.

Then They looked at her, truly looked her way since they arrived, and it had been such a long time since Evelyn was filled with so much joy as she was them. She watched as all their faces broke into wide grins, truly genuine smiles as they looked to her. It was like nothing had changed.

Merry and Pippin were on the ground running and attached to her waist before she knew what had happened. They were practically squeezing her to death. Their voices joining together in greeting was completely indiscernible, but Evelyn did not care, she greeted them with equal enthusiasm. Elladan her constant support behind her.

Then she was engulfed in a giant bear hug from Gimli, she closed her eyes and smiled against the pain. "It is good to see ye lass, we thought we'd lost ye there for a moment."

"For a moment there you did," she replied placing a kiss on his dirty forehead, returning his hug as the hobbits tried to wiggle their way out."But I'm back, I'm back."

She looked up into the soft eyes of Aragorn, the man she was once terrified of and now viewed as the brother she never had. She smiled, "Hello Aragorn."

He reached forward; His hands covered in grim and blood, and cupped her face, his thumb tracing lightly over the cut still visible there. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently."I am sorry," he told her, "I am so sorry."

Evelyn looked up and smiled into his eyes, for the moment forgetting her pain and sorrow, "Do not be sorry, we have both returned to each other my brother." And she returned his kiss with one of her own to his cheek and gripped him in a hug, Elladan supporting her from behind. Even with her pain momentarily forgotten, her legs were close to their limit.

"Thank you brother," Aragorn spoke to the figure behind her in Elvish, "Thank you."

Looking past Aragorn's shoulder her heart stopped again, her eyes locked with Legolas'. She found herself frozen looking into his unreadable expression. Could he see it in her face that she remembered his kiss, cold still, even now, feel the warmth of his lips? Did he feel anything at all? Evelyn could not tell.

Then a shrill whinny broke their eye contact as the horse he was holding broke free and race towards her. It was a whinny she was not soon to forget, and tears sprang to her eyes.

"Zenith?" She spoke, Aragorn stepping out f the way just in time to prevent getting trampled and Evelyn felt the familiar warm black muzzle in her hand, the familiar brown face pressed against her chest, and her other hand tangled in the horse ragged black mane.

"Zenith, it is you."