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Draugen kicked the rocks before him off the cliff side rather carelessly. No point in being sneaky. He had been all about gallivanting about the countryside and dragging a helpless woman back to the shell of her homeland. But this woman was not helpless and she was being damn near impossible to find. Stupid human, Draugen thought, she probably just keeled over and died kicking a rock off the hill, he stopped to watch it tumble down the steep face of the mountainside. He gazed upon the expanse of land beneath him, a vast array of golden grass and great, mighty stones lay out below him. He thought to himself, how unlucky it might be for one to fall, when he heard a rustle behind him like that of a wild animal. Quickly, he slid down the path as a tall, thin woman lunged from her hiding spot with a rock that looked far too heavy for her to successfully wield. She stumbled hitting the ground, the goblin she was expecting to be there was no longer around, and she almost fell herself, only managing to save herself from doom by dropping the weight of the stone. It cracked loudly on the face of the mountain as it descended into unknown territory. He laughed at her gall, and she whipped her head around with crazed eyes, full of anger and fear.
It was now that Draugen got a good look at the girl. She stood about a head taller than he, and her long limbs must have been deceptively strong to be able to even lift that stone. She wore a tattered and dirty blue underdress, and a brown apron that was in very ill repair. Her eyes were sky blue and her hair may have once been blonde. The leaves and dirt and malnutrition had taken all color and sheen from her and left her with a very light grey-brown instead of the golden locks that may have once blessed her head. She, who was frozen in her spot, finally decided on running straight at Draugen, regardless of the fact she'd just almost died and they hadn't even fought yet. Draugen simply let her come.
Her body dipped forward as a punch trained on his face came hurling towards him while he stepped to the side again and landed a good knee to her stomach. As the woman doubled over in pain, Draugen took the opportunity to grab a handful of her once beautiful golden locks and pull her head up. She hissed audibly and Draugen thought about how much like a fish she looked, gasping at the heavens with eyes open wide. He opened his mouth to tell her he was taking her to Grima, but all too soon he felt an elbow collide with his crotch. Hard.
Draugen went down like a bag full of rocks and hit the ground with no small amount of force. Still holding onto the woman's hair, he felt her straddle his chest and a balled up fist came down on him mercilessly. He used his free hand to cover up, but ultimately let her go to use both arms after several unrelenting blows found their mark. Amidst the onslaught he managed to cry out, "Holy Hell, woman, will you stop?"
And suprisingly enough, she did. Her hand grasped the front of his shirt and heaved him up, face to face with her. "Why should I?" she growled, ignoring his goblin stench.
"I was sent here to help you." Draugen whispered and he knew it didn't sound convincing but it was the truth.
She laughed bitterly, and he had expected her to. She rolled her eyes and hissed, "Nice try, you little shit." another punch to the head started brand new string of hits. Damn, this woman was prepared to beat him to death with her bare hands.
"It's true," he pleaded, once again at her mercy. "Grima sent me, said you were alive."
The fists halted in their tracks and her body seemed to relax for half a second.
"Grima sent you?"
Draugen shrugged as best one could while being pinned to the ground. "Goblins lie a lot little lady but I have no reason to lie about that."
She looked around at the landscape, apperently this gave her a lot to think about. Her chest heaved from exertion and her head began to feel light. She had barely slept and rarely ate for weeks though, she had enough water to last her centuries. Almost forgetting about him, she felt the goblin squirm beneath her.
"Hey, uh, if you're going to sit there in reverance, you think you could let me up maybe?" Eowyn glared down at Draugen and he grinned a toothy grin at her.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" She eyed him suspiciously.
"Well..." Draugen propped himself up on his elbows and cocked his head to the side. "I guess you'll just have to trust me then, hm?"
Eowyn furrowed her brow at the Goblin who looked at her expectantly. Her hand slipped down and took hold of the dagger he'd carried on his belt. Unsheathing it, she stood and let him up saying, "Fine, but this," she brandished the accursed blade. "Is mine now."
Draugen held his hands up in a placating manner, then set his fist on his hips, sizing up the woman before him.
"Will you go to Grima, woman?"
Her frown deepend, and without warning she began to trudge up the path. Dra uh gen did not follow, and she had to turn and nod for him to come. "Are you coming or not? You look like hell. Worse than the usual Goblin. I wont be walking to Edoras with you stinking like you do."
Draugen hid his suprise and feigned offense. "Wow. Grima didnt tell me you were this rude."
Eowyn scoffed at him. She thought on Grima. Who else could have possibly known about Helm's Deep's inner workings. Yes,nit had to be him. First her cousin, now her uncle, probably her brother. She wondered how many of her loved one Grima would take from her before he was satisfied. Before she ws broken and love-starved enough to settle for him. Her face grew hot thinking of her hatred for the worm and she blinked tears from her eyes. I'm going to kill him. she thought to herself.
Turning off to a deer run and cresting a hill, they came upon the pond she'd been staying near, as Eowyn debated with herself on what to do, the Goblin made his way to the pond. Should she kill the goblin and go to Edoras herself? Now that she knew where Grima was, how hard could it be to track him down? But how would she get past all those goblins and orcs undetected without the security of having a reason to be there, and without being with one of their own? As her new unlikely companion dunked his head in the water, she devised a plan. She would go with this goblin, she would gain Grima's trust, and she would slaughter him as he slept, if one of his wicked pets didnt do it first. She hid her pleasure at this ingenious plan and went to the goblin.
His crooked eyebrows raised in suprise when she offered him his dagger back.
"Eowyn." she said.
"Draugen," he replied and took his dagger. sheathing it he stood and beckoned for her to follow. "Shall we?"
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Arya pushed her food about in her wooden bowl, the sound of the small metal spoon scraping against the grain becoming deafening in the silence of the dining hall. Grima had finally trusted her enough to dismiss his guards. It was weird, being around him. Technically, she was his property for all she knew, though they hadnt ever had a real discussion about it. She knew she should hate him, but she didn't have anyone else, in truth. This was the best she had now. Her father was dead, killed at Helm's Deep, the rest of her family was countries away. Still, it wasn't the best of situations, but she felt safer here than she ever did at the Deep. In the weeks she'd been here, aside from punching out a couple of far too confident orc men, she hadn't felt threatened at all.
Helm's Deep was lost. It seemed having to learn to coexist with these beings may be the new norm. Might as well be ahead of the curve. Yet, Grima would take more figuring out than the Orcs and Goblins surrounding them.
He sat and seemed to stare right through her, the bowl before him untouched. She dropped her spoon uncomfortably. She cocked an eyebrow and he didn't seem to react.
"You're acting weird." she commented.
His whole body jerked at once, like waking from a nightmare. Ice blue eyes snapped to hers, and his face slowly turned to a false smile in an attempt to pacify her. "It's nothing." he smoothed, taking a sip of mead from a brass cup.
"You havent eaten." Arya mirrored him, taking her own sip.
"I am just thinking. Thats all. Just thinking..." he muttered, trailing off.
"Just thinking, hm?" Arya eyed Grima suspiciously. He shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny. He wasnt lying. He truly was thinking. Far too much actually. He couldn't insist on this though, Arya could see through his lies as few could. He stared her down. What was he supposed to say? Break down before her and air his grievances out? How he truly worried Saruman or Gandalf would come to take back Edoras. He now had all he wanted, except Eowyn, and she would be on her way if Draugen hadn't failed him, and he knew still that shadows crawled all about the countryside just waiting to whisk it away once more.
He looked at his dining companion. She was something else for sure. He was moody, and brooding, he had done little else but sit in silence and dwell in his anxieties, all the while putting up a front to keep from showing these weaknesses. He'd be eaten alive in seconds if he so much as hinted that he had no idea what to do at this point. He wondered why she hadnt tried to escape, and why she remained here. To watch him break right before her eyes for her own pleasure?
"You know you are free to leave at any time, right?" Grima's eyes narrowed.
"No, I didn't, but thanks." Arya said, rising to gather her bowl, but saying nothing else on the matter. She went for his untouched dish. "I like you, my lord, but I'm not making any more food for you if you're not going to eat it."
His white hand shot up and caught her wrist as she was about to take the bowl. Realizing he grabbed a bit to firmly, he softened his grip. "Leave it." he said, and looked up to meet her eyes. She nodded with a soft "hm" and left the room quickly.
He sighed. Not much left to but appease the woman and keep freaking out.
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