As usual...
Darrinia: I'm glad you liked it! of course Sebastian and Beiste supports them, I think everything is sweeter that way. ¡un beso, preciosa!
Mildlifecrissis: hehehe, yeah, it's in LotR too ;) It was funny writing the scene in which blam find out they are not a secret... I think it's nice that Beiste and Sebastian are so supportive, Blaine and Sam deserve only the best. Thank you so much!
CHAPTER 4: ROHAN
Following Rachel's directions, Kitty and Marley made it to Mordor's Black Gate, which left them breathless from the magnificence of it –and from the fear it awakened on them. They were lucky enough to find it opening, as a squadron of Sauron's army was making its way in, but it was indeed very risky to try and enter.
Kitty and Marley looked at each other and were ready to make a jump towards the gate when Rachel roughly grabbed their shoulders and brought them down on their backs.
"No, madam!" Rachel yelled. "They catch you! Don't take it to him! He wants the precious, and the precious is wanting to go back to him. But we mustn't let him have it"
Kitty looked intently at Rachel, trying to decipher in her eyes if he could trust her. Then she looked at the gate and saw that the last soldiers were crossing and it would be soon closing, so she jumped again towards it, only to be stopped by Rachel again.
"No! There's another way!" she yelled. "More secret. A dark way"
"Why haven't you spoken about this before?" Marley reproached her, grabbing her unceremoniously by her shoulders.
"Because Master did not ask!" Rachel defended herself.
"She's up to something" Marley turned to Kitty to try and open her eyes to what she considered not worth of their trust.
"Are you saying there's another way into Mordor?" Kitty asked Rachel, ignoring Marley's suspicions.
"Yes. There's a path and some stairs. And then a tunnel" Rachel answered.
Kitty observed how the gate finally closed and knew they had definitely lost that chance.
"She's lead us this far, Marley" Kitty said, turning to her friend.
"Madam Kitty, no" Marley tried to convince her, as she didn't trust Rachel one bit.
"She's been true to her word" Kitty insisted.
"No" Marley implored.
"Lead the way, Rachel" Kitty made her decision, once again not listening to Marley, who sighed sadly, hurt by her friend's lack of trust in her good judgement.
"Good Rachel always helps" Rachel replied with a satisfied smile.
The curious fellowship formed by a wizard, a man, an elf and a dwarf, meanwhile, reached the walls of Edoras at last after a long day of travelling with their horses.
"Edoras and the Golden Hall of Medused" Beiste informed the others. "There dwells Burt, King of Rohan, whose mind is overthrown. Sue's hold over King Burt is now very strong. Be careful with what you say. Do not look for welcome here" Beiste advised them before starting her horse again towards the gate.
Sam looked intently at the riders on the horse next to his, who looked back at him, puzzled.
"You both heard that, did you? Be careful with what you say. I hope you behave this time" Sam warned them, making Blaine lower his gaze in embarrassment.
"Sam, we learned the lesson, you don't have to treat us like little kids" Sebastian grumbled, and Sam had to suppress a chuckle at his companions' different reactions to his words.
"I hope so" Sam answered, this time with humor in his voice, as he squeezed Blaine's shoulder lovingly to show him he was only joking and made his horse move, so Blaine and Sebastian followed him.
They left their horses right in front of the stairs that lead to the palace of the King, once inside the beautiful city, and went up with the intention of seeing him.
"I cannot allow you before King Burt so armed, Beiste Greyhame" the warriors guarding the gates advised them. "By order of Kurt Wormtongue"
Beiste, who had made sure to cover herself with a big cloak to hide she was a white wizard now, didn't seem very pleased with such an order, especially if it was not coming from the King itself, but she decided to obey nonetheless, and she nodded at her travelling companions to surrender their weapons to the guards, which they did.
"Your staff" the guard insisted when Beiste didn't give it away.
"You would not part an old woman from her walking stick" Beiste pleaded, feigning having to lean on it to stand and holding onto Blaine's arm for support, so the guard would be convinced of her fragility and let them pass.
When they crossed the threshold of the Throne Room, Kurt seemed not very pleased with their presence, and turned to King Burt, whose mind he had totally abducted on Sauron's account, to inform him of his presence.
"My lord, Beiste the Grey is coming"
"The courtesy of your hall is somewhat lessened of late, Burt" Beiste announced when they were all inside, surrounded by guards, and the gates had been closed behind them.
"He's not welcome" Kurt whispered at Burt's ear, dominating his mind.
"Why should I welcome you, Beiste Stormcrow?" Burt said in a loud and slow voice, to Kurt's orders.
"A just question, my liege" Kurt assured him. "Late is the hour in which this conjurer chooses to appear"
"Be silent!" Beiste ordered Kurt confidently. "Keep your forked tongue behind your teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm" Beiste threatened, moving her staff in front of her.
"Her staff!" Kurt exclaimed, full of fear. "I told you to take the wizard's staff!" he reproached the guardians.
The guardians of Kurt, having seen their mistake, immediately run to Beiste with the intention of depriving her from his staff, but Blaine, the one who was closer to her, prevented some of them of coming any closer by fighting them with his fists. Sam and Sebastian, of course, immediately joined him in his defense of the witch, and a big fight broke. The guardians of the King, though, still loyal to the Royal Family, chose not to intervene.
Blaine was occupied with a strong warrior when another one was making his way towards him. Fortunately, Sam had seen it, and used his superior skill on hand-to-hand combat to stop his advances on his lover, punching the lights out of him before he couldn't come any closer to Blaine, who by now was just finishing off his own rival. Sam took a moment to check Blaine's welfare with his eyes, eliciting a grateful smile from the elf, and then moved back to stand at Beiste's side.
"Burt!" Beiste yelled over all the racket. "Too long you have sat in the Shadows. I release you from the spell"
Beiste stretched her hand out in front of Burt's face, with the intention of liberating Burt's mind from the spell that kept him under Kurt's –and Sue's, by extension– power, but Burt, unexpectedly, just started laughing loudly.
"You have no power here, Beiste the Grey" he told Beiste when his laughter faded.
But Beiste just took his cloak off to show the white of his clothes, to which Burt was greatly affected.
"I will draw you, Sue, as poison is drawn from a wound!" Beiste promised, and used her staff to try and free Burt from Sue again.
A young maiden appeared suddenly and tried to make her way to the King, to whom she seemed to have some kind of physical resemblance, but Sam grabbed her arm and stopped her advance.
"Wait" Sam asked, and something in his eyes made her trust him, and she obeyed.
"If I go, Burt does" the voice coming from Burt, undoubtedly belonging to Sue, warned Beiste.
"You did not kill me. You will not kill him" Beiste responded, still using her staff against Sue's power.
"Rohan is mine" Sue's voice insisted.
"Be gone" Beiste ordered, and finally Sue was thrown out of Burt's body and the King's mind was freed from all slavery.
The young woman Sam was keeping back extricated herself from his grip and ran to the King.
"I know your face" Burt told her when at last he was able to recognize her. "Brittany"
"Uncle" she answered, with tears in her eyes.
"Beiste?" he asked, confused.
"Breathe the free air again, my friend" Beiste told him with a smile.
When his sword was given back to the King, he turned to Kurt, who had been lying on the floor under Sebastian's foot, preventing his escape. The King's guardians threw Kurt down the palace stairs outside, but the King had an important thirst of revenge that made him follow him with the intention of killing him.
Just when he was about to strike him with his word, Kurt lying on the floor totally defenseless, Sam grabbed his arms to stop him, begging him not to do it.
"No, my lord!" he pleaded. "Enough blood has been spilt on his account"
Burt, who was still feeling confused after such a long spell, obeyed and lowered his arms. Sam then turned to Kurt and offered his hand to help him stand from the floor. Kurt, though, instead of accepting his help, he spat on Sam's hand before he ran away, undoubtedly toward Isengard and Sue's tower.
Sebastian had to grab Blaine's arms strongly to stop him from going after Kurt, after such an affront had been made to his lover. But somehow Sam sensed it and turned around to look at him and ask him with his gaze to let it go, to which Blaine immediately calmed down and nodded at Sebastian to let go of his arms, with an implicit promise not to fly after Kurt.
It would not be the last time they would see Kurt Wormtongue.
"I could have killed him with my bare hands for doing something like that to you" Blaine mumbled a while later, still fuming about Kurt's insult to his lover.
"It wouldn't have served any purpose if you had" Sam calmly answered, coming to perch behind Blaine on the bench he was sitting on in the throne room and surrounding his waist with his own arms lovingly, while they waited for the others. "By the way, I'm proud of you about not losing your mind and remaining calm"
"I did not, to be honest. Sebastian held me back" Blaine whispered embarrassedly, but Sam just smiled at his lover's sincerity and kissed his neck.
"Yes, but you didn't fight him to be freed and you stayed put. I know it took a great effort for you to do that" he explained as he squeezed Blaine more strongly to him, proud at his self-control.
"I hope you washed your hand before holding me with it" Blaine joked to play down the importance of Sam's appraisal.
Sam laughed wholeheartedly and kissed his cheek, thankful once again to have this wonderful creature next to him. Just at that moment, Beiste, Sebastian, Brittany and Burt entered the room, and Blaine swiftly but discreetly extricated himself from Sam's embrace and stood up to lean against a column. It was okay for Beiste and Sebastian to know about their love, but they did not wish to include more people on their secret yet.
"Now the Wild Men are moving through the Westfold, burning as they go" Brittany explained to her uncle about how Rohan was being besieged, as he was unaware of most of the things that had happened to his country while he was under Sue's spell.
"And it's only a taste of the terror that Sue will unleash" Beiste added, as Burt sat on his throne, overwhelmed by all the terrible information he was receiving. "Ride out and meet him head on. Draw him away from your women and children. You must fight"
"You have two thousand good men riding north as we speak" Sam intervened from his place at the bench. "Puck is loyal to you, his men will return and fight for their king"
"They will be three hundred leagues from here by now!" Burt answered curtly, obviously upset about the fact his nephew was not at his side. "Puck cannot help us. I will not risk open war"
"Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not" Sam contradicted him.
"When last I looked Burt, not Sam, was king of Rohan" Burt told Sam in an offensive reproach, to which Sam heard Blaine behind him hiss in anger, but Sam discreetly extended his hand in a stopping gesture that Blaine obeyed trustingly.
"Then what is the King's decision?" Beiste asked, not liking where this conversation was leading.
"We'll leave the city and make for the refuge of Helm's deep" Burt informed without even looking at any of them, and left the room before anyone could question his decision.
"Helm's deep!" Sebastian exclaimed, angered at the King's cowardice, as he and his friends left the palace to go to the stables to accompany Beiste while he got ready for his departure. "They flee to the mountains when they should stand and fight. Who will defend them if not their King?"
"He's only doing what he thinks is best for his people" Sam defended him, although he disagreed with his decision as much as Sebastian. "Helm's deep has saved them in the past"
"There is no way out of that ravine" Beiste explained, worried. "Burt is walking into a trap. I fear for the survival of Rohan. He will need you before the end, Sam. The people of Rohan will need you. The defenses have to hold"
"They will hold" Sam answered with more confidence than he was really feeling, and he felt grateful for the hand closing around his, showing him his support, as his lover stood at his side.
"And we'll be there for you" Blaine assured him, and Sebastian nodded enthusiastically, to which Sam could only smile in gratitude.
Beiste jumped on her horse, as she was leaving them again on an attempt of getting help for Rohan in other places.
"Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look at the east"
"Go" Sam answered with a nod of his head.
When Sam came back to the palace a while later, he found Brittany practicing her skills with the sword, and he had to admit she was pretty good.
"You have some skill with a blade" Sam told her.
"I fear neither death or pain" she answered, as she sheathed her sword.
"What do you fear, my lady?" Sam asked her, sensing some strong feelings inside the girl that clearly worried her, and wanting to help her.
"A cage. To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them"
"You're a daughter of Kings, a shieldmaiden of Rohan. I do not think that will be your fate" Sam told them reassuringly, and Brittany just looked at him, marvelled at his words and his presence.
Sam bowed his head to her as a farewell and turned around, only to discover Blaine looking at them intently from afar. Sam smiled and immediately went to him, both of them becoming hidden behind a palace column.
"Are you all ready to go, my love?" Sam asked his lover tenderly.
"Yes, I am. It's not like we have a lot to pack, do we?" Blaine answered, equally loving.
Sam chuckled and put his hands to Blaine's waist, pushing him gently against the column, and captured his lips in a kiss that lingered, with Blaine bringing his arms around Sam's neck to pull him closer to him. When the kiss broke, though, Sam, who could read his lover as if it was an open book, could see there was something in Blaine's mind that he was not telling.
"Love, what's wrong? Is there something you don't know how to tell me?" he asked him carefully, wanting to encourage him to open his heart to him.
Blaine smiled at his lover's intuition, and started playing with the man's hair, just to keep his hands occupied.
"Brittany fancies you" he told him directly, not wanting to beat about the bush with Sam.
"What?" Sam asked with a skeptical grin. "No way she does"
"She does, I can see it in her eyes. How she looked at you when you talked to her, and how she was observing you back at the stable as you tried to calm down that crazed horse... She is falling in love with you"
"She just... needs someone to listen to her, and I was there to do that. I don't think she fancies me. And even if she does... you do know I only love you, don't you?" It was very important for Sam to make Blaine understand Brittany didn't mean anything to him.
"Of course I know, you silly" Blaine answered with an honest smile. "I'm not jealous, because I know our love is strong and complete and nobody could change that"
Sam sighed relieved, and strengthened his grip on Blaine's waist.
"Then what is it that worries you, my love?" he asked.
"I don't want her to get hurt. She is a good woman, she doesn't deserve it. Just... be careful"
Sam marvelled at the goodness in Blaine's heart that would make him worry about a person that anybody else would see as a rival.
"I will, I promise"
"I know you'll do. You are a kind- hearted man, Sam" Blaine praised his lover, proud to be his betrothed.
"Ok then, now that we've established that, can you just stop talking about Brittany and kiss me? You've neglected me long enough" Sam suggested with a mischievous smile.
Blaine's only answer was to tighten his grip on Sam to pull him to him and kiss him until both of them were left panting for breath.
CHARACTERS:
Theoden: Burt Hummel
Grima: Kurt Hummel (not family of Burt in here)
Eowyn: Brittany Pierce