Disclaimer - I do not own LOTR
Lauren was at the stage of sleep where you are aware of things around you but you don't fully process what's going on. In Lauren's mind, she was cuddling up to a warm furry pillow and had a blanket across her stomach. The cold on her feet made her realize how warm the pillow and blanket were.
"Pillow?"
Reality snapped Lauren awake and she sat up, well she tried to anyway. Sundance had his head on Lauren's stomach and refused to move. Apparently, Sundance decided to lie down next to Lauren and in her sleep Lauren ended up moving, lying on Sundance and using his shoulder as a pillow; and then he decided to use her as a pillow. Well they were both warm at least.
She reached over to where her bag was and she pulled out more lembas bread and an apple. Sundance eyed the apple and happily took it when it was offered to him. As the pair ate, they rested for just a minute more before Lauren snuck out from under Sundance's head and brushed the dirt off her jeans.
Lauren eyed her pack then the stream then back to her pack.
"Oh, why not."
She went to her pack, took out the soaps then went to the stream to wash up. Although she was sure that no one was watching, she cleaned up in record time. Even though her shirt and jeans were still clean per-say, Lauren decided to change into the riding outfit that Arwen gave her. The clothes fit almost perfectly, the pants were a tad tight but she had muscular thighs; there was nothing she could do about that.
After stuffing the dirty clothes into a separate part of the bag, until they could be cleaned she managed to get Sundance up so she could redo the girth and strap the pack to the back of the saddle. Once everything was good to go, she jumped in the saddle and tapped his sides with the spurs.
"Let's ride like the wind, Sundance! Heya!"
Sundance gave a whinny then took off across the river and head East toward Helm's Deep. The moon wasn't full which helped in concealing Lauren in the darkness but it made things a little tricky. She knew that she need to keep the White Mountains on her right-hand side, otherwise she'd be in Gondor and that necessarily wasn't a bad thing but she really needed to be in Rohan.
Someone must have been watching over Lauren that night because she passed by Isengard and Helm's Deep without any problems.
"Sundance my boy, I think we just about used up all our luck on that run."
Sundance shook his sweaty neck in response. They were literally running all night. Just being near Isengard sent Sundance on edge and he couldn't stand still; which worked out in Lauren's case really. They slowed to a walk once they were fully passed Helm's Deep. At least they were in friendly territory; even if Theoden was currently tainted by Saruman's evil influence, which is why she decided to pass by the main city and continue. It still shocked her that Saruman didn't catch her presence when she passed the Isen River but who was she to question his lapse in concentration?
They continued at a rather leisurely pace compared to what their pace was for the last few days. Sundance was certainly grateful for it, although he'd never complain. Rider and horse recouped their strength as they continued their journey across the Riddermark and to Rauros Falls.
Many, many hours later Lauren came to the city of Aldburg after crossing the Entwash. A city never looked so welcoming. When Lauren approached the gate of the city, the guard on duty came forward and held out his hand in front of him in a signal to halt.
"What is it you desire here?"
Lauren almost scoffed at the rudeness but she couldn't blame him, he was just doing his job and the free peoples of Middle Earth were on the verge of war.
"I have been traveling for many days. I am on my way to the White City where my parent's parents live. I was sent in an effort to draw them from there and to a place that might be safer, if there is such a place anymore."
The guard gave Lauren a sympathetic smile.
"Aye, there are a few places but they are hard to come by. There is an inn that has comfortable rooms, they will give you a discount for helping out with some of the chores if you are short on money; but you didn't hear that from me."
Lauren laughed along with the guard. It lifted her heart and she suddenly felt much happier and full of hope.
"If you don't mind me asking my Lady, why would your family send a woman by herself out into the wild when there are fell creatures that could harm you?"
She gave the guard a sly smile and lifted the side of her robe that hid her bow and other weapons.
"Ah, I see. Well, enjoy your stay my Lady."
"Thank you kind Sir; I'm looking forward to having a warm meal for once. Good day to you!"
Lauren spurred Sundance forward and followed the directions to the lodge that the guard had mentioned. Sure enough down the road, not too far from the gate stood the lodge. Coming from the top was steady smoke. That either meant warmth or hot food, either way it made Lauren's stomach growl and body ache. It was odd, she was eating regular meals so she shouldn't be that hungry but most of it was bread and long-living fruit; she needed a hardy meal, preferably with meat, and maybe a long bath with lots of scented soap.
She came up to the main door and tethered Sundance to a pole that was erected outside in the street. Now what was she to do with her pack and weapons? They were too heavy for her to carry in but she didn't want to risk not taking them inside with her. Just as Lauren was about to take the straps off the heavy pack, a man walked outside and went over to her when he saw her struggle with the straps of the pack.
"Can I help you, my Lady? Do you wish to stay at the Inn?"
Lauren smiled at the man, maybe she didn't have to worry about her things after all.
"Yes, I was just trying to figure out if I should go in or not. I feel odd leaving my things unattended. Where I come from people steal things that don't have someone to watch over them, I'm still adjusting."
The man nodded and took the pack off Sundance.
"That doesn't sound like a nice place to live. Welcome to East Riddermark, the people here look out for one another. My brother-in-law runs the Inn; I'll bring your things to a room while you check in with him. He's the loud one behind the counter, ya can't miss'm."
The man walked into the Inn and Lauren followed. He continued around the many tables that were scattered about the lobby, which doubled as an eating area, and walked through a hall where Lauren assumed the rooms were. She went over to the counter and the only man behind it greeted her.
"Well hello there. Are you new in town?"
Lauren smiled.
"Yes, I'm traveling to the Minis Tirith to fetch my grandparents. I was told that the rooms here were extremely comfortable; I don't mind the saddle, mind you, but several days of it tends to wear on a body after a while."
The burly man laughed, it was a throaty laugh too; he kind of reminded Lauren of a rugged Santa Clause, but without the long beard and red coat.
"Well, we have plenty of rooms and they all come with meals so you need not worry about that either. Now, are you by yourself or did you travel with company?"
Lauren was about to answer when the man from before came back around the corner and walked up to them.
"I set her up in the fifth room. I'm going to head home now, you know how your sister gets if people aren't on time."
The two men laughed, either this happened often or they just really understood each other. It made Lauren's head hurt slightly trying to figure out the whole situation. After the first man left, the other bent down behind the counter and came back up with a single key.
"This is for your room. There is only one copy for safety reasons; not there is any cause for concern but it might ease the mind a bit. Now finish getting yourself settled in then we'll see to it that you get a proper meal."
All previous thoughts fled her mind and Lauren felt happy again, maybe it really was just the mention of food. If all she could think about was her stomach then she was going to have serious problems later on. For now, though she had to figure out where she could stable Sundance.
"My horse needs to be tended to. Where do you suggest I go?"
The man thought for a second then snapped his fingers as he figured out his answer.
"Continue down the road until you come to the main square. Make a left and keep going; you'll see a small paddock. They're the best on this side of the Riddermark. It's a small place by our standards but you couldn't find better service."
Lauren thanked the man and went to Sundance to finish taking all her belongings off him; she even took the saddle and gear. Inside a pouch on a saddlebag, the stable master had placed cleaning materials for leather. After dinner, Lauren wanted to try it out. All that was left on Sundance was the halter when Lauren was finished. The pair began walking through the streets that, thankfully, weren't too crowded. Eventually Lauren came to the stable; it only took two times of her getting lost, which was better than her record at Rivendell.
When she entered a young boy came up to her and offered to take her horse in for a few coins. She had to send Elrond a letter thanking him for putting a decent amount of coins into a pouch inside the pack. It didn't help though that she didn't know what coin was what.
"Would this be enough for two days worth of water, food, a stall and grooming for my horse?"
The boys eyes went wide and he nodded his head vigorously.
"Yes my Lady. That is quite enough. He will be the best looking- well fed horse in all of Rohan."
Lauren laughed as she placed the coin into his small palm.
"If there is change at all I want you to keep it, alright. Get yourself something to eat or new clothes, but don't waste it. I'm staying at the Inn by the gate. If something goes wrong you'll send for me?"
"Oh yes my Lady, thank you my Lady!"
The boy took Sundance's reigns and led him to a stall in the back; it was a corner stall and had slightly more room than the others. Lauren smiled; the boy was kind and smart. She watched him work for a while and while he groomed Sundance, he talked to him. Laughter tickled her throat but she held it in until she was outside. The boy was just so darn cute!
Lauren returned to her room back at the inn and got all cleaned up. She had it arranged for her riding outfits to be cleaned and left at her door. It meant that she would have to wear an Elven outfit in a very non-Elven city but Lauren would make do. Even though she didn't plan on leaving the lobby, the Inn seemed like a popular place for people to get together and forget about the troubles that were outside the door, and therefore was getting crowded. The lobby had a wonderful aroma to it; different spices used in the cooked food and the roaring fire that was in the corner gave off a smoky smell. Lauren chose a small table by the fire and opened her book to read. Just as she began to read, a waitress came up to her and asked if she would have some food.
"Please, whatever is nice and hot, nothing cold. I've been eating bread and fruit for the past few days, if meat is available that would be wonderful."
The woman nodded then went behind the counter to get the requested food. A few minutes passed by and Lauren finished a chapter in her book and was onto the second one of the night when a plate heaping with food was placed on her table.
"Here you are. If you don't finish it all we'll put it away for you to take later. Although you probably should try to eat it all, we women must keep up a proper diet so that when we are with child the newborn will get lots of nutrition. Eat up."
Lauren was a little taken aback from the woman's statement but was still in her right mind to thank her for all the food.
I guess she was just trying to be nice, which really wasn't a bad thing. This food really does look good, she's right, I probably will eat it all.
By the time Lauren finished reading, she ate more the three quarters of the food that was on the plate. Her cup of water was even full, which was odd because Lauren remembered drinking it. Lauren stood and caught the waitress's eye and nodded a farewell. She took the plate with her into the room; thankfully her outfits were cleaned and at the foot of the door. Midnight snacks were the best and if she was going to leave tomorrow afternoon she'd need all the energy she could get.
That night Lauren slept like a rock, not even a pack of wargs could have woken her up if they tried. Lauren woke up when she thought she heard someone moving about in the room. She pretended to be asleep, hoping to catch the snooper unawares. That was until she heard a flapping sound.
"Flapping?"
Lauren sat up and there on her dresser pecking at the crumbs on the plate was what looked like house finch. It was a beautiful bird. Lauren rose quietly, not wanting to disturb the creature. She reached into her pack and pulled out a packet of lembas bread. At first, she felt bad using the bread but she planned to buy more food while she was here. Once half of a piece of the bread was broken into crumbs, she whistled softly to the finch. The finch perked its head up and looked around. Lauren lifted her hand and tilted it toward the bird so it could see that more food was in her hand. The bird hopped so it was facing Lauren then it flew to the bed and regarded her as he tilted his head this way and that. She was happy that it was male, male birds always seemed to be prettier; but that was because their colors were used to attract a mate.
"Come on then. I'm not going to hurt you. Look it's yummy."
To show that the food was alright she took a crumb and ate it. Why she was trying to show this to a bird she didn't know but it worked. The finch hopped over and Lauren lowered her hand so that he could eat the crumbs, which he devoured. When he was done, he looked up at her and chirped.
"More?"
The bird chirped again and hopped on her hand.
"Alright, alright, no need to beg. Man, you're worse than a dog, here."
Lauren broke up the rest of the bread and fed it to the finch. After the finch was done, it decided to preen itself on her bed. Lauren slowly moved her legs out from under the bed covers so she could stand up. It was almost noon now and she had to get going. After washing up she put her original riding outfit on and left a coin on the dresser, someone had to be in charge of cleaning the rooms and her mom and dad taught her proper manners. Lauren left the bird on the bed to continue preening itself as she went to stable to retrieve Sundance and to ask for help moving her things as well as replenishing her supply of food. The groom was more than willing to help her and when Lauren went back into the room she was greeted by a series of chirps from the finch, which was still on her bed.
The boy laughed as the bird flew over to Lauren and settled down on her pack, which she had in her hand.
"I think he wants to go with you my Lady."
Lauren shook her head as she swung the pack onto her back, causing the weapons at her side to cling. The finch didn't seem bothered by this and just flew around her and perched back on her pack.
"He can follow if he wants to but how many travelers have pet birds with them that you know of?"
The boy thought for a moment as he gathered up her tack and bow.
"None my Lady but what harm could come of it? Most of the animals here become attached to someone eventually. It's just how it is."
Lauren inwardly sighed; this journey of hers was beginning to mirror The First Test by Tamora Pierce. She should just change her name to Kelandry or Diana now and save herself the trouble of doing it later.
There I go again talking about things that make no sense in times like these.
A chirp brought Lauren back to reality. The finch was still with her as she tied the pack to the back lip of the saddle. As the pack moved, the finch took to the air and rested on upon the horn of the saddle. Lauren shook her head and was yet again reminded of Kel and her friends. She could only thank the stars that it was only one bird and not a flock. Even when she mounted the bird still rested on the horn.
"Well then little friend, looks like I'll be enjoying your company for a while."
She thanked the young boy for all his help and was back on the road. Traveling was much easier for both of them now that they were well rested and fed. They set of at a moderate trot to begin with. The finch did not like the trot so much compared to the walk so he decided to rest on the pack again.
The day continued and they kept their pace relatively the same. As the sun began to dip beyond the horizon there was a small host of orcs that Lauren assumed to be a scouting party. At that point, Lauren hurried their pace and they flew across the open field and into the cover of the woods.
"We best find a place to settle down for the night huh my friends? First I'd like to find where the Fellowship will make their camp, assuming I am early, which I think I am."
The finch chirped yet again. He would use the same chirp if Lauren asked if he wanted more bread so she assumed that it was an affirmative. She slowed Sundance to a trot again as she looked for signs of the river. The moon was high in the sky when they finally found the place where the Fellowship was when they landed by the Falls. The boats that they used weren't there and neither was there any sign in the ground of their camp. Lauren let out a sigh of relief; she was early.
"Right then Saezuri, Sundance let's see if we can find a ruin that still has a roof on it."
Saezuri was the Japanese word for chirp or as far as Lauren learned it. She wasn't very far along, so she could have just named the beautiful bird something offensive but it sounded pretty. Plus, Lauren had a feeling that the people of Middle Earth didn't know Japanese so if Saezuri didn't mean chirp, it meant chirp now.
The rest of the night was spent looking for a suitable place to rest. While on the search, they happened upon the spot where Boromir was supposed to fall. Lauren quickly tied a cloth to a low tree branch so she knew where to go next time. As she surveyed the area, an idea was beginning to form in her mind of how she could go about killing the Uruk-hai. She couldn't fight all of them off, that was obvious. Hell, they took two of the Rohirrim down after they ran all those leagues. If she hid in the tree then she would be safe from sword and axe… unless there were more than one of them that had bows, then she might be in trouble. She would worry about that then. Right now, she still had to find a place for the night.
An hour or two passed before Saezuri took off and flew a few feet away before chirping a little tune. He began to fly back but then did a flip and went back to where he just was.
"Ok so you want me to follow I get it, I get it, no need to go into a tizzy."
Saezuri came back and settled back on the horn now that they were at a walk. He seemed to let out a little huff as he puffed his chest out. Lauren gave him a stroke down his back.
"Let's see what you found lovey."
They got to the spot where Saezuri wanted to go and just down the hill was a small building. Its door was still intact somehow but half the roof was missing. Well, it was better than no roof; they'd take it.
Finally, in a moderately safe place to rest, Lauren rolled out a blanket to sleep on and she used her pack as a pillow. Sundance was tied to a pole sticking out of the wall and Saezuri decided to rest in the hole of the saddle where the saddle met Sundance's back. Being so close to where Boromir fell was slightly unnerving and it took Lauren a while to fall asleep.
Two more days passed and in those two days Lauren practiced her archery from the tree she marked on the first day. Her aim was improving; she might even challenge Legolas to a match, although the odds were stacked in his favor, being an elf and all.
On the third day, Saezuri began his chirping that Lauren began to associate with come, or look at this. She really was becoming like Kel and it was getting scary. It was a good thing that she couldn't read Sundance as well, although there were times when… right, Saezuri wanted her. Lauren crept up over the hill and followed the direction he went in. There on the bank was the Fellowship and Gandalf wasn't with them. Lauren sent her wishes out to him that he would succeed in defeating the Balrog of Morgoth. Saezuri came back and landed on her shoulder. After watching them for a moment, she hurried back down the hill to where her equipment was. Lauren grabbed her bow and arrows and made for the tree she marked. When she got there, she took off the cloth, tucked it in the back of her jeans and began to climb. Thank goodness she was wearing the jeans that she could do almost anything in, she could even do a split in them, they were that flexible. Climbing the tree was fun and Lauren almost forgot that she should be keeping an eye out for the host of Uruk-hai.
A few minutes passed and she could hear Boromir yell out Frodo's name. It was almost time and her heart was pounding. Saezuri gave a little chirp and tilted his head while looking at Lauren.
"You must be quite for a while Saezuri, its Orc hunting season."
Lauren inwardly laughed at her bad joke and kept scanning the forest for any signs of movement. The minutes flew by and before she knew it, the Orcs were running down the hill after Merry and Pippin. Their job was to take down Isengard by getting to know Fangorn. They had to be taken, as much as Lauren didn't like it. Just as an Orc was about to grab them Boromir came rushing in.
Now where is the nasty that kills you, huh?
In war things happen in a split second, before Lauren could even react to seeing the Uruk-hai, he shot Boromir.
No no no!
Lauren drew an arrow and took aim. Just as the other Uruk-hai was taking aim for a second shot Lauren shot her own arrow. Lady Luck was on her side again because she somehow managed to hit the Uruk-hai right above the clavicle. The impact of the arrow made him stumble slightly; Lauren drew and nocked another arrow. Other Uruk-hai had run around Boromir and grabbed the hobbits while their comrades kept the human busy. Lauren let loose her second arrow, this time it was lower than she wanted and she hit him in the side. At this point, the Uruk-hai was pissed, for lack of a nicer term, and wanted revenge on his attacker. His Uruk-hai had the hobbits as was instructed; he didn't have to be careful anymore. He scanned the trees and found Lauren; a snarl crept upon his face and he barred his ugly teeth. A mix between a growl and a howl ripped its way through the Uruk-hai's throat and Lauren looked at him as if he had gone insane.
Boromir was in no state to help her; he had several Uruk-hai to deal with of his own, even with Aragorn to help they were still pushing themselves. The nasty brute was about to unleash an arrow on Lauren, who had no way to move from her spot in the tree, when an arrow struck him from behind. This arrow was true and a perfect kill shot; and she wanted to go up against Legolas in a bow contest, folly. She'd need a whole lifetime and them some to even be considered his equal, let alone his superior.
Once everything was all calm, the Fellowship, or what remained of it since Frodo and Sam crossed the river, came to the base of the tree.
"Well hello there, fancy meeting you all here in these woods. I was just… having fun climbing this here tree."
Saezuri gave a new sounding chirp and Lauren assumed that he was pointing out her statement to be false.
"My friend here wouldn't come down so I had to come up to get him."
The dwarf gave a laugh and shook his head.
"You're worse than an Elf, Lass. How do you plan on getting down?"
It was Lauren's turn to let out a laugh.
"Just take a step back Master Dwarf and watch for yourself, but since I have an audience I will most likely make a fool of myself."
Lauren took a deep breath and swung backward so she was upside down. She extended her arms and dropped her bow and arrows to the ground. At this angle, she could grab the branch below her. All those years of gymnastics were paying off; she grabbed the branch and kicked her feet out simultaneously. She used the momentum of the kick to swing herself around the branch so her stomach was resting on it. From this position, she let herself fall and as she was falling, she twisted so she didn't fall on her back. Lauren picked up her bow and arrow, which Saezuri decided to rest on, before turning and smiling at the Fellowship.
"How long have you planned all of that?"
Aragorn gave her a sly look; he always knew what she was up to somehow.
"Well ya see, Boromir here was going to get himself killed so I climbed the tree and began shooting the nasty brute over there. Oh by the way, thank you Legolas for finishing him off, I was a sitting duck up there."
Aragorn and Legolas shook their heads. Meanwhile Boromir was freaking out, for lack of a better term.
"But they took the little ones!"
Lauren laughed and patted Boromir on his good shoulder. Now that things slightly calmed down Aragorn was tending to Boromir's wound while Legolas and Gimli piled up the Orcs for burning.
"Yes I saw that. Aragorn what do you think we should do?"
Aragorn gave her a sideways glance, was she playing with him? They both knew what was going to happen, was she asking for Boromir's sake?
"We go after them?"
His reply came out more like a question than a statement. Lauren knew what was going to happen, this is true, but she just changed all the outcomes because she saved Boromir but hey, how much could it change?
"Right, good idea! Let's hop to it then! I still have my horse so I'll take they things you can't run with while y'all run ahead. Boromir, you're staying with me. With those wounds, you aren't running too far."
Legolas had come up behind them and smiled at them.
"Has Lauren become a caretaker to us while Gimli and I were working?"
Boromir seemed to sulk a bit. He did not like being manhandled by a mere woman, even if she did sort of save him.
"It would seem so. Lauren there is something that you and I must discuss."
Aragorn was about to turn and leave but Lauren stopped him.
"What you can say can be said in front of everyone. I have a feeling I know what you're going to say and I think that they should know. I know I said I didn't want anyone to know beforehand but new circumstances have arisen."
She looked at Aragorn with a determined look as she finished. Aragorn took a deep breath before speaking.
"Was Boromir supposed to die today?"
"Yes."
Gimli looked confused.
"But you saved him… along with the Elf."
Legolas gave Gimli a slight glare as he rearranged his arrows in his quiver.
"Yes, that's the problem. I knew what was going to happen, which is why I came here today; to stop Boromir's death, if I could. I succeeded with some help, and it might have changed the outcome of the future as I've seen it. That is why Boromir must stay with me until a certain point when I know it is OK to come back."
Now Boromir, Gimli and Legolas were completely confused. Lauren spent the next hour explaining the whole situation with her and how she ended up here in Middle Earth, as well as why a finch was now resting on her head. After things were explained, everyone understood except Boromir.
"But why me? I'm grateful don't get me wrong but I don't understand."
Lauren smiled and put her hand in his.
"I know you think you've done a wrong but you really haven't. You gave Frodo the out he was looking for. He still considers you a friend and when he learned of your death, he grieved. Understand this, by saving you I also saved two others. When you die and you father learns of the ill news, he goes insane, literally. He begins to use the plantír more, which does bad things to him. Faramir is sent out to defend Osgiliath on a fool's mission and almost dies as a result. Your father completely looses it at this point and decided to burn you brother, like the heathen kings of old, his words not mine. Pippin comes with Gandalf just in time to rescue Faramir but in the fray your father catches fire and throws himself off the Citadel."
She took a deep breath before continuing.
"However by saving you, your brother and father are also saved. Although you should probably do something about your father's use of the plantír, it's not at all safe. Sauron is seeing into his plans and slowly gaining control of him, although your father is strong and it won't happen for a while I suppose. But enough about all of that; how was Lothlórien?"
*Author's Note*
Thank you all for reading and thank you moony-as-a-girl, Queen Baka, Music-Maniac-at-117, Emzy2K11, Arabella Cauwell and Triforce for the reviews.
Don't forget to leave a comment :3
Next time on SIME: Now that Boromir is saved what is the plan now? Will things turn out as they're supposed to or has Lauren already begun the ripple-effect?