Reminder:: Tolkien's works are not mine, obviously. This is just a fan fiction.

Happy New Year everyone! A new year and a new place for Sarah to explore. n_n Sorry this update's a bit late, I've been really busy lately and my computer has been slow. Enjoy!

Chapter Twelve :: The White City

It was sunset when a small party arrived from Minas Tirith to 'collect' me. I wished to see off Captain Faramir and the man whose name I didn't know, but that luxury was not offered to me. As the men in black uniform prepared to leave after a long report from the warriors of Osgiliath, I went to round up Huan.

Alatar peacefully remained behind as I walked through the city ruins. The men's distant voices echoed in the stone. It soon grew silent as I passed through the rubble, trying to remember where I had come from. Being unfamiliar with this city, I could easily get lost.

Huan's barking soon caught my ears and I ran forward. My weathered boots tapped the stone. It was very eerie. The buildings and abandoned homes loomed over my head. I felt I was being watched by mortal eyes, as impossible as that may be.

As I rounded my third street corner, I finally heard Huan's signature sniffing. He was up ahead sniffing a doorway to a white building. It was very shady and I could barely see him.

"Huan! Come here," I ordered as I walked up to him. He saw me and emerged wagging his tail. I patted his head to congratulate him for his obedience and turned to leave.

For some reason, I felt I had to look back when I was at the end of the street. Huan was well ahead of me, eagerly running back to the men of Gondor, but something intrigued me. Looking at Huan's retreating form up ahead, I looked back and stepped back out onto the street.

The street was old. Very old. I did not know how old this city was, but it must've been thousands of years. The earth had changed and rocks were displaced from the ground's movements. Roofs were collapsed in, but otherwise, there were still pots and carving stones and bowls scattered about by the empty doors. It made me wonder what people thousands of years from where I was standing would think this city was. Would they even know the name? Would the artwork of the architecture and pottery still remain to be admired?

As I thought these things, I looked up to the sky and saw the clouds were still thickly gathered. A breach came every now as the sun poked through, but not from the east. Sun out of the west, telling of sundown, shone every now and again to take away the chill. Down the street, I was surprised to see a figure standing. Startled at first, I peered and squinted to see who it could be. It looked like a girl… As soon as I saw her, a ray of sun hit the street where she stood and she was gone. I waited impatiently for the clouds to pass and when they did, the girl was not there in the shade.

Uneasy, I turned around and ran down the street Huan took. It led me back to the familiar center fountain I had seen and the street after that took me to Huan sitting obediently before the guards.

They saw me approach and I must've had a look upon my face that stated my anxiety at what I thought I had seen.

"Is something the matter, lady?" The man across from me asked.

"I… um…" How could I possibly word it so that I didn't sound mad? Hm… I don't see how I could…

"Something troubles you." A man commented.

I nodded slowly. "I am not sure of what I have seen…"

They looked confused for the most part, but the man who first spoke guessed it: "A person?"

"Yes." I admitted. "They disappeared though, so my eyes must not be as they should."

"It has been rumored before that Osgiliath is haunted by those left behind. I would not dwell on it." The man smiled.

I bowed my head, accepting what he said and walked with them to the gate where I would take my leave. I couldn't help looking back once more though, curious to see more. My eyes were not satisfied by strange phenomena again, though, so I gave up after quickly scanning the city. I might not be here again after all.

The sun told us we only had an hour before it would be dark. I was told to get on Alatar and I waved my goodbye to those who remained in the city for… whatever their reason was to stay. Higher orders most likely. Our company passed through the gates and rode west through many fields and farms. We were not in a hurry, so there was plenty of time to look at the scenery while the sun lasted. Tillers were packing up their supplies as we passed and ready to go home to a warm supper. I hadn't worked today and I was ready for a warm supper.

The city before me was my favorite out of all the places I had seen so far. An entire civilization of people was carved into the rock of a mountain to form many levels for homes, markets, and the like. Thousands could comfortably live here and the walls seemed to be impenetrable. We passed through said outer wall with a password and every gate afterwards needed a password as well. I was gifted with a few curious glances as the leader of our troop gave them and rode to upper levels. The people here did not dress quite the same as my family in Rohan. We dressed for work. As we rose higher and higher on the levels of the city, people were dressed lavishly and looked like they hadn't ever chased a chicken in their life. It made me feel very inferior, but I suppose it's simply a different lifestyle.

The men started to split up after awhile to fill out other orders or return to their posts. Eventually, there was only I and two guards. Their uniforms were black, as I had previously stated, but they had a silver tree with seven stars hovering over top it like a crown. They must've been elite.

"Take her to the Houses. I will inform the Lord Denethor of the latest developments in Osgiliath." The first man stated and galloped off.

The second continued along and I followed at a slow pace to a more secluded section of the city. I caught a glimpse or two of a garden as we rounded the corner and gave up our horses to a stable boy. I looked at the young man, seeing some Linius in him. He smiled at me, but when I tried to smile back, I found only sadness and frowned, bowing my head to look at my feet. Huan followed close behind me as the man in guard uniform rapped on a door.

In a moment it was answered by an elderly man. He wore a badge or metal of some sort. It probably meant he was in charge here.

"Beregond? Of the Citadel? Is something the matter, milord?" The man asked quickly.

"Do not excite yourself." The man now labeled Beregond answered. "This is…?"

"Lady." I mumbled.

They looked at me for a moment before Beregond caught on. "Lady. She has forgotten her name and needs rest. She has traveled far. If you could watch over her until someone of more authority finds a better place she should be kept—"

"Yes, sir." The man nodded and smiled at me. "Come inside, child."

I looked at Beregond for permission and he nodded. "No need to fear, the girl will be taken care of."

Beregond nodded and walked away with a bow. I was led into a very smelly room. Not smelly in a bad way, I suppose. It was rather stuffy but intoxicating in its own way. There was some sort of plant burning. The smoke reminded me of all the fires I had seen… I did not like fire.

The man closed the door behind him and walked across the room to a branching hallway. He beckoned me to follow and for the millionth time since I landed here, I obeyed. He led me to a room that faced west. Really, the Houses of Healing were rather large. I probably could have gotten a room that faced anywhere. But for some particular reason, I was given this room. There was a small bed, a chair, a wash basin on a desk, and a window. The warden told me to wait here so he could find some help.

When the door was closed, I gave Huan a hug. I was glad they didn't take him from me. He hopped up onto the bed and I made my way to the window. There was a small latch that was rather high up, so I had some difficulty opening it. I ended up standing on the rickety chair and jumping up to unlatch the window and nearly falling down. I pushed on the glass and peered out over the landscape. The wall made a sheer drop down from my window that led to a street below. The house across from me was at least a floor shorter so I could see well above it. The sun was gone, but I imagined I would be able to watch the sunset most days from here. I think I would like that.

Suddenly the door opened so I shut the window but didn't latch it. There was a woman carrying a tray with some simple food items. She also had a bucket strung through her arm. She looked very kind but stressed out. Her face was rather thin and her fingers were spidery but quick as she went about her work. She gave me a soft smile and set down the tray. She adjusted her bonnet-like hat that concealed most of her grey hair before introducing herself.

"Hello, dear. I'm Ioreth! Come, come! Time to freshen up. What's your name, dear?"

"They call me Lady."

"Hm, never heard of that being done before. But the warden says you've been through quite a lot. Are you hurt?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't think so."

"Well, I had better have a look anyway. I hear you've travelled far. From Rohan! Lovely country, I hear it is. Nice to hear from the Rohirrim, it is."

Rohirrim? I was familiar with the term. I remembered once I asked Beleg what people of Rohan were named. Like those of the East were Easterlings and so forth. He answered we were Eorlingas, but many referred to us as the Rohirrim, or the horse-lords.

"Do you know what's been going on in Edoras, young lady? Everyone is most anxious to hear about the developments of the war in Rohan." Ioreth pressed as she helped me undress.

I was feeling too awkward to answer her right away. "Er – no, I have never been to Edoras."

"Really? What a shame. I was hoping to hear of something. Oh, that's quite alright dear, no harm done. I'm not one to gossip, but it's always nice to be informed on the current events, don't you agree?"

To my surprise, another two women randomly walked in. I was glad to at least have underwear… They brought with them a heavy wooden tub with bathing things. I honestly couldn't thank them enough.

Ioreth then left so I could bathe by myself. She promised to get me fresh clothing before she left me to scrub away the travelling dust. When she soon came back, I was out of the tub and as dry as I could get. What she brought as clothes puzzled me. I had seen other women wear things like it, but I never tried.

"Have a nice bath? You look much better already! A few days of rest would do you well, too. Yes, yes, put that on. Much better suited to you than these man clothes."

What she pulled over my head was much more comfortable than pants, so I didn't complain. No matter how strange it was. It felt like pants whose legs were split open and then sewed to each other. It was nice, and surprisingly not chilly. The fabric was very warm.

"What is this?" I asked, looking down and choking a little. Ioreth was tightening the strap about my waist a little tighter than I would have liked.

"My, aren't you thin? Must get some meat on those bones!" She laughed. "Oh, what's what dear? The dress? Never worn one? My… Never heard of that before either… Seems a bit… anyway, I'm glad it fits you well. Why don't you eat something? Here, take some bread. Go on, it won't bite."

I started to eat while she continued to adjust my dress. After the tightening and prodding, it wasn't nearly as comfortable as it had begun with. Afterwards, she brushed through my hair and made the blankets ready for sleeping. Wait… This was only a night dress? I couldn't imagine what a dress would feel like during the day…

"There you are! Just come and call if you need me. I'll be back tomorrow morning with your breakfast ready. Sweet dreams!"

I waved to the kind lady and snuggled into the heavy covers. From where I lay, I could see out the window at the dark sky. I rolled over and could see the door. The hinges were on the opposite side, so if someone opened it, I would be able to see out into the hall, too. As I was about to close my eyes, a shadow passed by the door. The torch like was blocked a bit and then completely blotted out by the arrival of another figure.

"So who is she, Ioreth? Did she say anything interesting?"

"She says she's from Rohan!"

"My! Quite a distance to travel on one's own!"

"That's what I said, dear, that's what I said." Ioreth's voice agreed.

The other female voice pressured for more. "Anything else? What's her name?"

"That's just the thing – says she doesn't remember."

"Oh, the poor dear."

"My thoughts exactly. Must've been roughed up quite a lot to have the memory knocked clean out of her like that. Such a pity."

"Yes, a pity."

"What interested me the most though, is her reaction when I brought her a dress. Says she never worn one before!"

"No! Unheard of!"

"Quite, quite! So I says, too. Just thinking to meself though 'what kind of a home was she raised in'? Not a very civil one if they make their women wear pants! Can you imagine? Cavorting about in trousers all the day?"

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Exactly. Well… At least she's here now. I'll take good care of her. Make sure she knows all the customs and the like. Perhaps she could help me with the herbs… I've been needing a runner since Menel left and got married. Now she's up to her eyeballs in sons!"

"So I've heard!" The other voice gossiped. "'Course you can't send her out quite yet."

"Oh, no! She has much resting to do. Quite tired, poor thing. But did you hear from Taurwen about the—"

Hear her voice became too quiet for me to eavesdrop. The other women then exclaimed an: "No! Really?" before the shadows disappeared down the hall with giggles.

I thought about what I had heard. Even though one may feel sorry for themselves at times, it's really not fun to be pitied. Makes one feel pathetic and degraded. Helpless. Like I haven't a chance at happiness in the world. Do I though? Ever since I can remember, this world has thrown every horrible pot shot its got my way to make my life all the more miserable. It could only get better, right? But would it? Is it even possible? I was too tired to think about it any further. But as I drifted off to sleep, I wondered what was ruder... Gossiping or eavesdropping?