I had never really thought about how big Middle Earth was outside of the Mark, but as we rode on the days turned into weeks. I mean, the Mark was big on its own. I just never had the imagination to even try and picture the rest of Arda.
I had just marked the twenty-fourth day of our journey as we had stopped to rest. Ryce said we were close to the Old Ford where the bridge would be and he was happy about how fast we were going.
'I must admit, I had thought you would complain more about riding so much,' he said as he gave me two apples and a small fish.
'Oh no, I enjoy the riding. The fish, however, I have tasted enough of. Tomorrow we should try to find a rabbit or bird,' he laughed out loud.
'I would kill for some chicken,' he said.
'I miss Olfete's mashed potatoes with carrots,' I said longingly. He gave me a look and I realized I had slipped up in saying Olfete. Ryce looked around, but we were at the edge of the river and we could see far around us. If there was anyone there, it could only have been a cloaked elf of some sort. Ever since we had come close to Mirkwood I had felt uneasy. After I had finished eating, I took my boots off and rolled my legging higher up my legs before I went into the water to wash up a bit. The dirk I always kept in my boot I had now strapped to my belt.
I was untangling the braid in my hair. There were a lot of knots in my hair and I closed my eyes in pain as I tried to sort them out. I heard the water splash around me and I thought Ryce had joined me in the water. Then I felt something cold touch my neck and I froze. I opened my eyes and stared in the face of a man who looked at me with a look full of suspicion. His eyes bore into mine and they looked so angry.
'You have been following me for days. Who are you?' the man said. Where was Ryce? I wanted to turn around to look, but decided against it. Maybe he had been able to hide.
'I was not aware I was following you,' I said. Best to say as little as possible, just as Ryce and I had talked about.
'Lies! Who are you? I will not ask again,' he pressed his sword just a bit further in my neck.
'I am no danger to you. You are the one with the sword to my neck. I am just travelling, minding my own matters,' I said with feigned confidence, hoping he would not see through it. I felt like I had heard his voice before, but I could not quite place it. The pressure behind his sword lessened and I relaxed ever so slightly.
'Where is your companion?' my mind worked fast. He said we had been following him for days, so he had seen that I was not alone. Or was he following us? From what direction had he come? Only then did I notice that he was soaking wet. His hair was in strands around his face. The anger in his eyes had not faded one bit.
'I do not know,' the pressure increased again.
'I would advise you to stop lying. As you said, I am the one with a sword to your throat,' he said calmly. Then it clicked. His voice - this was Boromir. My eyes widened as I looked at him. I was looking at my brother for the first time. My mind went blank for moments.
'Speak, woman!' he had grown impatient. I was frozen. I could not stop looking at his face. I had forgotten what my father looked like, but I could see my mother in his eyes. Our mother. I had not prepared myself enough for what I would do when I finally saw him, and now it was too late. Would I tell him who I was immediately? Would I say I was Odile? Sorrun?
Where was Ryce?!
'Have you suddenly turned deaf?' I needed to say something.
'He is likely to be tending to the horses,' I said. How was I going to get myself out of this situation?
'Tell me your name,' it sounded as though his patience had run out. I breathed in deeply. I was sure this was Boromir. I felt it.
'My name is Sorrun. You have spoken to Theoden King weeks ago, we both know about what. My companion and I are to accompany you. I did not lie when I said that I was not aware we were following you, but we were trying to find you,' his eyes looked me over a couple of times.
'Is that so? Then why has it taken you so long to find me?' he demanded.
'We first thought you had taken a different route. We went through the Entwood at the beginning of our journey before we realized you had gone another direction,' he seemed to ponder this.
'King Theoden sent a woman on this quest? How strange,' he did not really sound angry at this, more genuinely surprised. It would never have happened in Gondor.
'She is telling the truth, Boromir, now would you please be so kind as to remove your dagger?' Ryce said from behind me. Sword, dagger, potato, potahto. I was thankful Ryce finally decided to appear. I felt sweat drippling down my neck. Or was it water?
'And who are you?' Boromir said, still slightly suspicious as he had not lowered his dagger.
'My name is Ryce. You saw me when you were in Rohan,' he said. Boromir turned his full attention to Ryce and whatever he saw made him drop his hostility and he removed the blade from my neck. The atmosphere changed and it was a bit… awkward now.
'I am glad we finally found you. How were you able to sneak up on me?' I asked.
'Once I became aware you were following me, I decided to cross the river so I could see who you were and what your intentions were. I swam here when I saw you were taking a break,' he said.
'I see. Where is your horse?'
'Being tended to at the Old Ford. There was something wrong with his shoe. Also, it made it easier for me to sneak up on you without my horse. He is easily spotted,'. He moved out of the water to where Ryce was and I followed him with my eyes. I was not sure what I expected Boromir would look like, but now that I saw him, I could not imagine him differently. He had a certain pride in how he walked and talked, he was quite tall and broad shouldered, and his voice demanded to be listened to. Yet his eyes… I could not read them. He seemed intimidating to me.
I finished up in the water and went back to the dry land. Ryce and Boromir were talking about the band of orcs we had seen.
'It was one of the biggest parties I have ever seen,' Boromir said. So he had seen them, too.
'It is not common for them to walk around during the day. I wonder why that was,' Ryce said.
'I would say they are marching towards some place where there will be even more,' Boromir said grimly. Boromir turned to me.
'You look familiar. Do I know you?' I felt a shock go through me, too soon.
'That seems unlikely. I would remember you, but I do not, so we do not,' I said, priding myself in not really lying. Then I saw his look. First he looked puzzled and then he looked me up and down. Oh no. I realised what I said could easily be misinterpreted as flattering or even, I swallowed, flirting.
'We should go and collect your horse,' Ryce said and I shot him a grateful look.
'I should get my bearings from the other side first,' Boromir looked from me to Ryce before he took off. There was an awkward silence between Ryce and me.
'How should we proceed? Are we to ride together on Tordag or Hefric, or do you want to ride with Boromir? I do not think he would ride off with one of our horses, so I think you and I should ride together,' Ryce said as we started collecting our bags.
'I agree. Let him take Hefric, Tordag is not used to having a different rider on him. And besides, your horse is way too stubborn to listen to anyone but you,' I said.
'And I take great pride in that!' Ryce responded, we both laughed at that and started to pack our horses.
And so the first part of our journey was completed. We had found Boromir and the three of us would travel the rest of the way to Rivendell together.
Somehow I felt like the biggest challenges were yet to come.