The Wild Westfold

By: Lauthica Green Clinkenbeard

Chapter Seven: The Sister

I made my way down the familiar hall to the kitchen. Once again I dare not go out through the front door. As I pushed open the heavy wooden door a foul smell reached my nose. It looked like no one had been in the kitchen for a very long time. Soiled dishes lay piled up and spoiled, rotten food was out on all the tables covered with maggots. Flies buzzed around like a cloud. It was absolutely putrid. I covered my nose and mouth and hurried across the room to the door in the far corner. I pulled on the handle. It was locked! Had no one cooked a decent meal around here? I cringed as I looked around to see if there were keys lying nearby. I found a large cast iron skillet that wasn't as dirty as the rest of the dishes and picked it up. I held my breath as I gripped the skillet with both hands and swung it down on the locked handle hard. The handle came free and the door opened slightly. I dropped the skillet and ran outside taking in large gasps of the fresh, crisp air.

The royal stables were just behind Meduseld. I hurried around the side of the building. Two of the men who had dragged Eomer from the mead hall stood at the archway that opened up into the stables. I hesitated for only a moment. Bravery took hold of my heart and I put my proudest expression on my face as approached them with my head held high and my shoulders tall. They both turned to look at me. One man who had black curls quickly moved and came between me and the entrance to the stables.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked. He looked me over, but not as Eomer had earlier. His face read less than chivalrous intentions.

"You have no quarrel with me. Let me pass." I demanded glaring up at him. He frowned.

"There is a traitor in there. He could be capable of anything." The other man said and he grabbed my arm. "Let me escort you back into the hall, miss."

I pulled my arm away, "Don't touch me, Swine! Eomer is no traitor!" The other man reached out and grabbed both my arms from behind and pulled me against him.

"Are you a traitor too?" he said leaning into my ear. "Do you want to be punished?"

"If you do not release me I will spare you no mercy." I said. Both of the men laughed.

"She thinks she has claws!" said the other man. I was very angry now. Too long had I stood back and hid away my true self. I was no weak and feeble woman! I lifted my leg swiftly behind me up between the man's legs. He groaned and fell to the ground. The other man rushed me. I watched his movements closely and tripped him just as he lunged at me. His head smacked into the heavy wood beam and he landed on top of the other man unconscious. I relaxed and started to enter the stables.

"Surprise!"

I turned around quickly. Another thug came out of nowhere from the side of the stable. He had his fist raised high ready to strike me. I raised my hands up in a flinch waiting for the blow…it never came. I opened my eyes. Eomer had a firm grip on the man's fist. He twisted the man's arm behind his back. The man screamed as his arm snapped loudly. Eomer flipped him over and added him to the pile of subdued thugs. Eomer looked up at me. I thought he would say something but he returned to the stable. I followed him. He started to fix the straps of his saddle. I raised an eyebrow.

"You really are going to leave?" I asked. "Why won't you fight?"

"The war in Edoras is waging within the walls of the king's mind where I can no longer fight. I'm going somewhere where I can still do my duty to Rohan." He said finishing the last strap. He looked at me. I could see the pain in his eyes. He loved Rohan, and he loved his uncle. To see both in the state they were in was killing him inside…or so I thought.

"You are but one man, Eomer." I said and I reached out and set on hand on his shoulder.

"I do not go alone. I have long foreseen this decline. My Rohhirum have pledged to ride with me. We are all leaving and bound for the borders of the Riddermark." He said and to my surprise he moved away from me crossing the stable where his things were resting on a shelf.

"Are you angry?" I asked following him. He looked at me briefly but said nothing. He attached his sword to his belt and grabbed a small bag. He then walked back over to his horse where he attached the small bag.

Why was he acting like this? Hama practically had to pry him off of me earlier. I grabbed his arm and stopped him. "What's wrong?" I asked. He tried to pull his arm away but I held my grip.

"Let go!" he demanded.

"Not until you talk to me!" I yelled demanded back. He gave me a strange look and then used his free hand to shove me back. I released his arm and glared at him. I hurried over and stood in front of his horse crossing my arms.

"You're not going anywhere!" I exclaimed. I was furious with him and I expected him to say something snide back to me, but instead he burst out in laughter.

"Do you really think you can stop me? You couldn't stop me when you were thirteen what chance do you think you have now?" he asked crossing his own arms.

"I'm not moving from this spot." I said sternly. "You cannot leave Edoras!" Eomer rolled his eyes. He suddenly reached out and grabbed my waist. He lifted me up. I gasped and held onto his arms as he spun me around and threw me down in a pile of hay. He mounted his horse quickly. I looked at him infuriated and shocked.

"I know you Deya. I know that you will try to follow me. I also know too well that I can do nothing to stop you. You will do as you please. Understand this, however, with me and the Rohhirum gone from Edoras who is left to defend the king? If you heed my words you will go back into the hall and pretend that we never spoke. I cannot bear to think of Grima trying to arrest you. But if word reaches my ears that he or any of his thugs have laid a hand on a single hair on your head, I will risk execution and return to Edoras to avenge you." He said. I managed to get back up on my feet. His words were truth. I could not follow him.

He trotted up next to me and stared into my eyes. He reached down and placed his hand on my cheek. He looked like he was going to say something as his expression softened and his lips parted. He closed his mouth and his hand left my cheek.

"Hyah!" he called out and galloped out of the stables to the main road. I watched him as he left. I then looked over to the shelf. Eomer had left his helmet. I grabbed it.

"Eomer!" I called out running down the road after him. I caught up with him at the front gate. Several other riders were waiting for him. He was issuing orders but stopped and turned around when I called out to him. He laughed when he saw his helmet and dismounted his horse. He walked over and held out his hand. I didn't hand it to him. I smiled a devilish grin.

I raised the helmet to my mouth and kissed the horse emblem on the cowl. Eomer turned bright red and his eyes came alive with fire as they stared into mine. I stood on my tip toes and put his helmet on his head myself. I said nothing and neither did he. We stared at each other. He started to lean toward me but I turned from him and ran at full speed up the road. I ran all the way back to Meduseld. I sprinted up the stairs and hurried over to the same spot on the platform I had stood earlier gazing out onto the plains that surrounded Edoras. The front doors opened and Hama came out and stood next to me.

"Grima isn't happy, Deya, but I don't think he will try anything rash. I told him that you were an old friend of the royal family." He said.

"If Grima will banish the royal family itself what hope do I have against such tyranny?" I asked. Hama sighed and put his arm around my shoulder.

"I don't know, child. I know. All is ill in Rohan." He said and he too turned his attention to the plains.

I watched the group of riders leave Edoras. It was impossible to tell which one was Eomer. I feared for him. Anything could happen on the borders, especially with so much evil infecting the country. But this was just a fraction of the atrocities. What was going on in the rest of the world? I then noticed that one rider had lingered in the back of the group. My gaze fell to him. He stopped on the same hill I had stopped on my journey home all those years ago. My heart skipped a beat. It was Eomer. He stood there for a couple of minutes looking back at Edoras before disappearing over the hill. I wondered if he looked back only for his love of Edoras. I wondered if he looked back for me.

"Deya?" Hama asked.

"What?" I asked turning to look at him. He pointed to my face. I reached up and realized that I was crying. I gasped and hurried away from Hama wiping off my cheeks. The front door was still open where Hama had exited. I entered.

Grima was standing in the corner by the fire. King Théoden was no longer sitting in his throne. My expression turned serious.

"Where is Théoden?" I asked walking briskly over to Grima.

"He has been taken back to bed. He was tired." He said looking at me. "Your name is Déorwyrdhnes, right? What other business do you have in Edoras besides 'reporting what I already know' as you said so forcefully before?" he asked.

My temper was rising again. Hama entered the hall and when he saw me growing angry he hurried over to us.

"She wanted to visit my family, sir. Deya is like a daughter to me." He said putting his hand on my shoulder. "She will be staying with us for a time here in Edoras." He said and he inched between me and Grima. Grima raised an eyebrow…or rather his nub where his eyebrow should have been.

"I see…." He said, "You do realize that you still have three days of active duty on the Edoras defense before you return to your house."

Hama glared at him, "My house is but a brisk walk from the stables. I would be gone for less than ten minutes." He said.

"Why would you risk the king's safety for those ten minutes? Are you so cruel? Have you not seen his ill condition?" Grima asked.

"He is ill because of…." I started to say, but Hama nudged me to keep my mouth shut.

"Then, I shall write a letter to my wife and have her send up Halice to escort Deya down to the house." Hama said.

"Are you ill as well?" Grima asked. "Your house is but a brisk walk from the stables. Why would you waste a valuable parchment to write to your wife?"

Hama was very angry but he did not act and said nothing. He nodded at Grima. Grima then looked at me again. I glared at him.

"She can stay here in Meduseld until you holiday home. There is an open room now." He said and he looked back at the fireplace away from us.

"Wouldn't it be better for her to share a room with Lady Eowyn? You wouldn't want a young maiden to roam the halls alone, would you?" Hama asked.

"Maiden?" Grima asked turning around to face us fully. "This creature is no lady. She would come into the hall of the king and attack his council. She would speak hushed tones with a traitor; no doubt perhaps a whore from his past." He suddenly leaned in very close to my face. His breath was almost as putrid as the kitchen. "She acts like a man, proud but rash. Or perhaps a young and wild stud who just needs to be broken."

"Grima," Hama said raising his voice, "She is the honored company of the king."

"Even a king is still held accountable for his actions. If she wants to act like a man she can be stabled as one. I will say no more, Hama." Grima said coldly. Hama nodded at him and then he nodded at me. I followed him through an archway into a long hallway.

"I hate that man." Hama said as he walked.

"Who is he exactly?" I asked.

"He showed up in Edoras eleven years ago. Said he was an apprentice of Saruman the Wise. We were naïve and blind and let him wander into the king's favour. Now…" Hama couldn't finish his sentence. One of Grima's thugs passed us in the hall. "We shall talk in more detail when we get to my house. My daughter Julia is just a little older than you. She married recently but her husband was called back to duty before they could find a house for themselves. She could use a friendly face to keep her company."

"I didn't know you had a daughter." I said.

"I didn't realize until this morning….I have two." He said and he stopped at a door and smiled at me. I was so touched by his words that I gave him a great big hug.

"Thank you, Hama. I am sorry that I was so rude when we first met." I said.

"That's all in the past." He said and he opened the door. "Now, the thing you need to know about Eomer's room is….."

"Eomer's? Why am I to stay in Eomer's?" I asked surprised.

"Grima has the halls full of his thugs. This really is the only room that is available, but the door has no lock. I am going to talk to my friend Gamling. He is much like Eomer and is very dedicated and loyal. He has great influence over the guards. I will see to it that this door is closely watched while you are inside" He said.

"I can take care of myself. I knocked out two of those thugs down at the stables when I went to talk to Eomer." I said. Hama eyes widened.

"You did what?...it matters not." He said shaking his head in disapproval.

The door a few feet down and across the hall opened and the woman from the hall earlier came out. Hama nodded at her. She nodded back at him and looked at me and got a disgusted expression on her face. She turned her nose up and walked down the opposite direction of the hall. Hama sighed.

"Pay no heed to Eowyn. She has had much on her mind as of late." He said.

"That is Eowyn? That is Eomer's sister?" I asked. I did not recognize her. She had changed much and looked a great deal older than she was. She was very fair, far fairer than I.

"I have to get back to the hall and watch the front door. Try not to wander around too much." He said. I nodded my head and he walked down the hall in the same direction as Eowyn. I entered Eomer's room.

It was dark. There was only one window and no fire or candles had been lit. That was my first task. I nearly tripped on a pile of clothes on the floor. After I got the fire lit I realized there was quite a bit on the floor. Eomer may be clean cut and neat in appearance but he was very disorganized and messy. The bed wasn't even made up. I felt my cheeks grow hot. It felt wrong to sleep in his bed. I felt like I was intruding on his privacy.

It was a small room compared to that of the infirmary and the guest room I had stayed in long ago. I tidied up what I could and put away the clothes that were clean and set the dirty clothes in a basket by the door. I would launder them myself tomorrow for I feared that all the servants had gone long ago based on the state of the kitchen. I went back to the doorway and looked down the hall. The door Eowyn came out of was still open. I did not think it was her room either.

I walked over to the door and looked inside. A man lay on his back in bed. He was white as death and was covered in a cold sweat. I slowly walked inside. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands when I realized it was Theodred. He had changed much. Time had begun to settle on his face with deepening wrinkles on his forehead. His breathing was ragged. I saw a bowl of hot water next to the bed still steaming and a few rags that were still dry. I picked up a rag and dipped it in the water. I rung it out and began to gently wipe the sweat from his brow. He stirred.

"Eowyn?" he asked weakly.

"No. It's Deya." I said softly. Is eyes flittered open and he looked at me wincing.

"Deya?" he asked weakly. He closed his eyes and passed out once more. I saw the bandages on his chest. I pulled back the covers and winced myself. He had a huge wound on his stomach. Blood among other things were already starting to seep through. There was no chance of survival. He would be lucky if he lived three or four more days. I felt my eyes tear up as I remember him from years ago. He did not deserve such a fate. Where was Lady Da?

I continue to clean and wipe off his face until the water grew cold. I heard footsteps in the hall and Eowyn entered. He stopped in her tracks when she saw me.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked.

"He had a sweat." I said and returned the rag to the bowl of water.

"He has been in sweat since he arrived." She said coldly walking past me. She sat on the bed. "I need to change his bandages. It will not be pretty." She said. "You should go."

"Let me help." I said.

"No." she said sternly.

"What have I done to offend you so? This is the first time we have exchanged words." I said. She glared at me and stood up.

"You did nothing to me." She said, "You hurt my brother. When you fled from Meduseld my brother didn't sleep for near five nights looking for you. He took all the responsibility for letting you escape. He wasn't the same. He took on a bitter demeanor and drifted away from me and Theodred. Now Theodred is dying and Eomer cannot even be here to help ease his last days. You haunted him like a shadow. I saw him slink away into the dark corners of the halls to hide his weeping. Then, after eleven years, you come back into his life out of nowhere as if nothing had happened as you would seek his favour again? Curse you! If I could have one wish I would have you trade places with Theodred. You are heartless and have no soul. I will not let you tear out my brother's heart so you can eat it!" she exclaimed and she left the room quickly.

In my twenty-four years I have been captured by wildmen and bare scars of wounds past. I have fled from Uruk-Hai and faced Grima with no fear. I have defended myself from two full grown men. I have been strong…but Eowyn's words cut through me as if I were parchment. They soaked in and burned like acid all the way to my soul. My eyes welled up.

I left Theodred's room and hurried back down the hall. I entered Eomer's room and slammed the door shut. I leaned against it and slid down to the floor. I fell apart. I could see the scene play out in my head. Eomer returning to the infirmary with good news from the king and finding it empty. I could see him galloping over the plains searching all the way to the East Emnet. I could see him arriving at my old house to find it empty. I looked up. I could see him sitting at the edge of his bed clutching his chest as tears poured from his eyes. What did I do to him? What pain had I inflicted? No wonder he turned so cold in the stables. I had been so naïve that I never once thought of the effects of my actions from his point of view.

I stood up and rushed over to the bed throwing myself onto it. I grabbed a pillow and clutched it to my chest. It smelled just like him and I cried even harder. For eleven years I thought of him. Eleven years of wondering. Eleven years of understanding my feelings and affections. Eleven years of hope. Eleven years of dreams. Now, all is changed. How can I stoke a fire that had long been doused? What did I expect from him? I deserve nothing and silently wished Hama would have let me get arrested.