Disclaimer: Do I really have to repeat myself?
Warning: Be warned... this chapter has something from both book and movie that may seem a little... well, not Tolkien. But this is a fan fiction, right? I can do whatever I want. (POOOOOR characters...)
Things Worth Fighting For
Chapter 6
"This is not good," the youngest man said. "We must change our plan! We must do something quickly or it will fail."
His brother looked at him. "It will not fail, do you hear me? It will not fail."
The old man rose from the chair. "It all depends on the return of the princess."
"What if she does not return, father?" the youngest man asked. "What then?"
The oldest brother looked at their father. "She could be dead."
The old man nodded. "That is indeed a possibility, but until I know that for certain we cannot do anything. If she does not return she is a threat against our rule of Gondor, as the left living relative of any Gondorian royal house."
"What about the Steward's son, Boromir?" the youngest brother asked. "He has been gone a long time now. What if he returns?"
"Have you not heard little brother?" the oldest brother asked. "Rumours have it that the oldest son of Denethor is dead," he grinned. "And I have also heard that the Steward is using his other son too hard, and if that is true, I believe we do not even have to worry about Faramir. I think he will die before the war is over."
"That is good," the old man said. "You must be ready, my sons. When I say so, it is time for a new royal house that will rule Gondor."
They were silent and waited for their chance to strike. Neither man nor horse made a sound. Some of the riders glanced at each other, wondering what would happen. Would the man next to them survive? Would they survive?
Éomer and the more experienced riders did not think like that. They were calm and the thoughts that filled their heads were how to do this best possible.
Lothíriel's heart was pounding so hard she was sure the riders next to her heard. Never in her entire life had she ever imagined to be in this position. But then again, she had never imagined that her father would arrange her marriage against her will either.
With a silent command from Éomer, the riders closed the ring around the Orcs. None were going to escape.
One single Orc had moved away from the others, and Éomer quickly ended his miserable life. The riders rode forth and charged the Orcs.
With the training she had received after coming to Rohan, added to the one she had from Dol Amroth, Lothíriel managed very well. She was cutting Orc skulls as good as the other riders and she was rather good at it.
She saw Éomer swing his sword better than anyone she had ever seen. From atop his formidable warhorse, he used both sword and spear to kill the Orcs that dared to believe they could kill the leader of the men that had attacked them.
Suddenly she felt a cold pain in her left shoulder. What could that be? She looked down she noticed the arrow there. She noticed she had fallen of her horse, but Thalion were standing over her, protecting her from the battle that were still going on.
She looked around and saw Orcs fleeing. She saw that Éomer had dismounted and were fighting one of the Orcs, one of their leaders, sword to sword. Éomer did not give the Orc any openings, and at last the Orc was slain by the Third Marshal of the Mark. And only then Lothíriel allowed her eyes to close.
She woke up by someone laying her in the grass. The sun had barely risen and she knew she had not been unconscious for long. Someone was taking her armour off. She heard someone telling her to take it easy.
Suddenly she understood what was happening. "Déorl..."
"Don't worry, Farabor," Déorl answered. "We'll have you fixed up in no time." And with that he had her armour off and was starting to take off her shirt.
"Déorl, no..." It was too late. Déorl backed away from her in surprise, his eyes wide.
"Farabor..." he stared at her. "You are a woman!"
"What is so important for me to see?" Éomer asked annoyed. He had been very busy when Éothain came and told him there was something he needed to see. He had been in the middle of helping some of his men with the dead men and horses. "Éothain, answer me. What can be more important than..."
Éothain cut him off. "Believe me, Éomer, you want to see this. Actually, you must handle this, because I have no idea what to do."
They went over to where four riders were standing and on the ground was a wounded rider. But it was something funny with the wounded rider. And as Éomer came closer he knew why. On the ground was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Her hair was dark as the night and in the sunlight it was a strong contrast to all the golden haired riders. Her eyes were green and looking at him. Her left shoulder was bandaged. Her skin was lightly tanned and looked like silk. Éomer found himself wondering how it would be like to touch it. He quickly thought of something else and looked at the men standing around her.
Helmling only looked at the ground; Déorl looked like a child who had just been told that he was not allowed to play with his father's sword; Galrim looked confused and Halmod looked like someone had just stolen his horse.
"What is going on?" Éomer demanded to know. He looked at all of them, before he turned his gaze at the woman. He studied her for a long time. "Farabor is not really your name, is it?"
"No..." Lothíriel said quietly.
Éomer looked at the others. "I want a word with her alone."
Éothain nodded and left and the others followed. Éomer turned at Lothíriel again. "What is it?"
She could not give him her real name. That would simply get her free escort back to Dol Amroth. And at the same time she did not want to lie to him. Oh, please! When did you start to care if you lied to him or not? After all, you lied about being a man. "Liriel," Lothíriel answered.
"That is a start," Éomer said and glanced down at her, something that made her feel very small. "Are you from Gondor?" Lothíriel only nodded. "Why did you come to Rohan? Surely the story you gave at Aldburg cannot be true."
She had to say something. She wanted to tell him everything, but could not bring herself to do so. She could not say 'I have lied to you, my name is Lothíriel and I am a princess from Dol Amroth. I ran away from home because I am too stubborn to marry the man my father has arranged for me to wed, so I ran to Rohan. By the way, has anyone ever told you that you look very handsome in your armour?'
No, that would not work. "Well, I..."
"Well?" Éomer wondered if he had enough patience to let her explain everything.
"I... I wanted to see the world," Lothíriel answered.
Éomer looked sceptically at her. "You wanted to see the world? I cannot even begin to imagine that your family would allow you to leave, especially with the war so close."
"I do not have to explain my family situation to you," Lothíriel said.
"Why did you pretend to be a rider?" Éomer asked.
"Would you even consider letting me fight if you knew I was a girl?" Lothíriel asked. "Of course you would not. That is why I had to pretend to be a man."
"But why not in Gondor?" Éomer asked. "Why in Rohan?"
"I would not be able to convince anyone I was a man. I know too many Gondorians that would be able to recognize me," Lothíriel answered. "Here I had a better chance not to get caught."
"Well, you were caught," Éomer reminded her.
"I did not exactly plan to get hurt, Lord Éomer," Lothíriel said.
"The thought did not even occur to you?" Éomer asked.
"Of course I knew it was a possibility," Lothíriel said. "But I did not expect it to happen."
Éomer considered the possibilities he had. He could not send her back to Edoras, since she had been banished with the rest of them and anyone who escorted her back would be in danger for his own life. He could not leave her here with Orcs and other dangers, because that would probably result in her death. And send her to Gondor was not an option, since he could not risk any of his men being discovered by any patrols and he could not send her alone. She would probably not go willingly to Gondor anyway.
"How do I know you are not lying to me? After all, you could be a spy," Éomer said.
"A spy from Gondor?" Lothíriel asked. "Why would Gondor bother to send spies to Rohan?"
"Perhaps you are a spy for the Dark Lord. His servants can take many forms; why not send a woman to spy on Rohan?" Éomer looked at her.
"That is something of the most ridiculous I have ever heard," Lothíriel said. "I am not a spy. If I were, would I choose to be banished with you?"
She did have a point. "Why did you choose to be banished with us?" Éomer asked.
"I don't know. It is not like I had anything better to do," Lothíriel answered. "So what are you going to do to me?"
"Be ready to ride. Your wound is not that bad. The armour protected you from being hurt badly," Éomer said and left her.
Lothíriel felt like she rode naked. She had her armour on, not wishing to look so different from the others in case they would meet someone, and it was safer in case they ran into some Orcs on the way, but still she felt as if every man in the éored could see right through her armour. No doubt the news that she was a girl had spread quickly.
"So what is your name?" Halmod asked. She had not noticed him, Galrim or Déorl before he spoke.
"Liriel," she answered. She looked at them. "I am sorry for deceiving you. For making you think I was someone I am not."
"I want to know why you did it," Galrim said.
Lothíriel looked at him. "You want to fight, right?" He nodded. "Is it so different that I am a woman? I can fight just as well as you can. I have already proven that I can. It is just that because I am a woman I knew I would not be allowed to fight if anyone knew."
"I can understand why you did it, Far... Liriel," Déorl said and gave her a supportive smile. Lothíriel smiled back, happy someone understood.
"I do too," Galrim said. "It is just hard to understand you are a woman now."
Lothíriel could not help but grin. "I have always been a woman, Galrim."
He grinned back at her. "Well, it takes a while to get used to the thought."
Halmod only shook his head a rode ahead.
Lothíriel looked at the other two. "He really is not comfortable with all this is he?"
Galrim shrugged. "No, he's not. I don't think he likes the thought about a woman riding with the éored."
"Don't worry," Déorl said. "He'll get around soon enough."
"I hope you are right, Déorl," Lothíriel said. She had become good friends with Déorl, Galrim and Halmod. It saddened her to see that Halmod could not accept the fact that she was a girl.
Out of nowhere a voice called from behind them: "Riders of Rohan, what news from the Mark?"
Without any verbal command, the Rohirrim checked their steeds, wheeled, and came charging round. They made a running circle around the three people standing there, and without a word or cry they halted. They pointed their spears at the strangers and then Éomer rode forth. He did not stop before he was sure he was within range to use his sword if that became necessary. "What business does an Elf, a Man and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark?" he asked. "Speak quickly," he added when none of them said anything.
"Give me your name, horse-master, and I shall give you mine," the Dwarf said.
Éomer looked annoyed at him. He gave his spear to Éothain, dismounted, and walked against the Dwarf. "I would cut of your head, Dwarf... if it stood but a little higher from the ground."
The Elf had his bow ready as his spoke, his hands quicker than eyes could see. "You would die before your stroke fell."
If the man had not stepped between them, Éomer would have raised his sword and ended the three of them then and there, although he had his doubts it would go so well.
Lothíriel held her breath, her bow ready in case of battle. How would this end?
The man spoke; "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimli, son of Glóín, and Legolas of the Woodland Realm. We are friends of Rohan and of Théoden, your king."
My king? Éomer wondered. There is but a shell in Edoras sitting on the throne in Meduseld. Théoden has been gone for a long time and I hold little hope he will ever return.
Éomer studied the man closely, and then found that they had no ill intentions towards Rohan. The men of the Mark were not easily fooled, and Éomer was sure this Aragorn was telling the truth. "Théoden does no longer recognize friend from foe. Not even his own kin." As he spoke he removed his helmet and the men took their spears away from the strangers. "I am Éomer, son of Éomund, Third Marshal of the Mark." Although he had given them his name, Éomer was not finished being suspicious towards them. "Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over these lands. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that we are banished," he eyed each of them as he continued. "The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man hooded and cloaked. And every where, his spies slip past our nets."
"We are no spies," Aragorn said.
No, he was not finished being suspicious towards them. Three strangers travelling alone through Rohan were a little too strange that Éomer thought lightly of it. "What are you doing in this land?"
"We are hunting Orcs," Aragorn answered. "We came from Rivendell, through Moria and Lothlórien, and the gifts and the favour of the Lady go with us."
"Then there is a Lady in the Golden Wood, as old tales tell," Éomer said. "Few escape her nets, they say. These are strange days! But if you have her favour, then you also are net-weavers and sorcerers, maybe."
The Dwarf, Gimli, looked angry, and Lothíriel could not really blame him. She had read about Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn in the great library of Dol Amroth, things that had been written down by Mithrellas, the Elven-maid that had wed Imrazôr the Númenórean, and their son, Galador, had been the first Lord of Dol Amroth, and she found it hard to believe anyone could speak in such a fashion about Elves, and especially Lady Galadriel. Yet here was the Marshal speaking of things he had probably never seen.
"You speak evil of that which is fair beyond the reach of your thought, and only little wit can excuse you," Gimli said.
Once again Aragorn had to go between them. "Please, Éomer. Perhaps you would wish to learn more," Éomer nodded and Aragorn continued. "We track a party of Uruk-hai westward across the plain. They have taken two of our friends captive."
"The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night," Éomer told them.
"But there were two Hobbits. Did you see two Hobbits with them?" This time it was no anger in Gimli's voice, only concern.
"They would be small, only children to your eyes," Aragorn added quickly as Éomer looked puzzled at the Dwarf.
"We left none alive," Éomer informed them. He felt bad for them. He knew how it was to lose friends. He had done so himself many times since he became a soldier. "We piled the carcasses and burned them." He pointed towards the smoke from the direction they came.
"Dead?" Gimli asked in disbelief.
"I am sorry," Éomer said and finally reacheda decision. He whistled. "Hasufel! Arod!" Two horses with no rider came forth. He handed the reins to Aragorn. "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell." Aragorn only nodded, and Éomer put his helmet on and mounted. "Look for your friends. But do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands. We ride north!" And as fast as they had halted, the Rohirrim were moving, riding away from the three strangers.
Lothíriel had seen a different side of the Marshal. He had enough compassion to lend them horses, although he had been ready to kill all three of them at some point. And that made him even more magnificent in her opinion.
A "little" note from the author:
The little warning I had at the top was about the meeting between Éomer, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. As you probably saw, it was mainly from the movie, but I put in a few things from the book, and that Éomer said his name was my own idea. (Although he says it in the book too, I did not use that). The reason why I took both from the book and the movie, was that I needed the thing about Gimli and Éomer and their little disagreement about Lady Galadriel, and writing the entire thing from the book would have been too long. You will understand in a later chapter why I needed that to be in here.
Yes, I can see why my use of both Lothíriel and Liriel could be confusing. I hope you all will let me know if something in the story could have been done different or better. Remember, you do not help the author with only positive things, so please tell me if there is something. I will see if I can change it or not, but I will not go back and fix the chapters I have already posted. (Too much work and I don't have enough time for that.)
And then it was my use of were and was. My English is not perfect. I have never claimed it was nor will I ever claim it in the future. As I have said before; English is not my first language.
So my point is that I will try to work on my grammar. And thanks to lady scribe of avandell for pointing out all this. Actually, this has really helped me. I hope you continue to help me, even as small as it may seem to you. I really appreciate it.
And thanks for the reviews. They really make an author happy! (Hint: I want more!)