soldiers playing nurses [éomer]

It took much longer to get back to the horses than I thought it would, near an hour despite our swift speed. I hadn't realized how far we had followed the girl along the river. I wish we hadn't followed her at all, I wish we'd merely slain the band of orcs and returned to Edoras.

I left Ḗowyn against my better judgement after much persuasion from Théodred. I disliked leaving her alone, with Wormtongue slithering around, following her...watching her. I clenched my teeth at the thought of her left alone with him, no more than our broken Uncle for protection, this did nothing to lighten my mood.

The girl had been kicking and punching wildly since the moment I'd slung her over my shoulder, not even remotely grateful towards us for saving her life, she didn't seem afraid at all, just angry. I was glad when we broke free of the trees and found the horses once more, I was teetering on the edge of asking one of the other men to take a turn at carrying her instead. Her kicking and moaning hadn't hurt at all, it irritated me no end however.

I wanted rid of her.

I let others overtake me once we'd left the shelter of the trees not sure, waiting for instructions from Théodred, I turned to look at him questioningly and felt the girl relax slightly over my shoulder.

He was already walking towards me smirking shamelessly, clearly amused at the blatant abuse I had received from this gypsy girl, his eyes lingered on my broken nose.

"Put her down Ḗomer, let us rest some before we ride back to the others."

I let my eyes wander over the ground looking for an appropriate place to settle her.

"Eom..er" I stiffened suddenly and most of the guard stopped what they were doing to turn and gawp at the girl, it took me a second to realise it had come from her mouth. She said it rather strangely, perhaps it was her accent but she sounded as though she wasn't quite sure how to speak, "Eom..er" she repeated slowly quieter than the first time.

Finally I let my temper get the better of me, this brat had stretched my patience to its limits today with her needless aggression, and there was something off about her, something very unnerving and almost dangerous.

I didn't like the way my name fell from her mouth and had no desire to hear it again. I let my arm drop from her waist and let her fall off my shoulder and land on the ground with a thud.

A strangled cry escaped her lips, not unlike the first time I had heard her, back towards the river.

I hadn't dropped her hard and was so angry I couldn't bring myself to look at her, I watched as the rest of the guard turned towards the sound of the sudden cry, I pursed my lips as I heard her whimpering behind me somewhere on the ground, she was breathing heavily.

"Grimbold take the others back to where we met, let them know all is well. Ḗomer and I will stay behind and tend to the girl's arm, we'll be along soon" Théodred called firmly, walking towards me and putting an arm on my shoulder. He lent in towards me, murmuring quietly in my ear.

"Fetch the bandages will you Ḗomer, we should try and heal her arm some before we take her back to the others, then we'll try to get some sense out of her."

I turned ignoring the men, except for a quick glance and nod towards Grimbold whose eyes seemed intent on me whilst he mounted his horse.

There was a time when I might have scoffed at the idea of carrying a satchel of healing supplies with me out on a ride with my men, there had always been orcs prowling yes, but far enough away to feel at ease on a ride through Rohan. You might catch the odd few every few months, those foolish enough to stray onto out lands but in recent years the bandages and supplies had been needed more often than I cared to remember. I fetched them with a heavy heart, remembering all those men whose wounds were beyond a simple soldier's skill to heal, my men.

Théodred must have seen something in my eyes, he walked towards me taking the satchel from my hands, leading me back towards the shaking girl.

"She looks frightened Ḗomer" Théodred murmured crouching down close to study her.

I had calmed considerably, but I still avoided looking at her as I knelt next to Théodred and retrieved the supplies fumbling about in the dark mixing up a paste to cover her arm with, it wasn't a particularly deep wound, and would heal nicely, without even bandages. There was no need to waste unnecessarily, especially if this stranger was an enemy, you couldn't trust anyone these days. I could feel her eyes on me, analysing me, no doubt glaring still.

I disliked how at ease Théodred seemed to be with her, speaking slowly, asking questions. Théodred would make a fine King when his time came, he was strong, clever and fair, I often worried about how easily taken in he was, trusting willingly. He was still young enough to believe there was hope for us to survive the evils of this world that Rohan would stand, fight and survive against orcs, against Saruman...against Modor.

Théodred's kindness, his hope would be his downfall.

"My name is Théodred." I glanced up in disapproval from the paste I'd been making, towards my naive cousin. The girl shuffled on the ground in front of us scrambling backwards slightly groaning in pain again. This girl wouldn't last long if she didn't toughen up a bit.

"Ḗomer! Grimbold said you both checked the girl for injuries before we entered the woods?" the urgency in Théodred's voice caught me off guard and I finally looked up at the girls face again.

"Grimbold spoke the truth."

"Look Ḗomer! She has been shot in the leg, look! She has been shot in the leg all this time, I see some of the orc-arrow still. It does not look like a clean wound. It looks infected, I think we should get it out. It will not do well for her to ride a horse at least until the arrow head has been removed."

I looked down at the girl, sure Théodred was mistaken. I and Grimbold had both checked, thoroughly just an hour ago. From what I could see in the darkness, the anger was still clear on her face, along with astonishment. I followed her gaze and focused on the mangled mess that was her thigh, yellow seeping from the bloody, infected wound. The end of an orc's an arrow remained lodged in her leg, a nasty crust had formed around the layer of pus. It looked very painful.

"I... I did see the blood...staining her tunic, I should have checked. I did not think it was an injury. I should have checked. Had I seen it, I would have handled her more gently on the journey here. You are right we must remove the arrow and clean the wound before we travel further." I turned my face away ashamed for succumbing to embarrassed assumptions and causing her further pain carrying her through the forest.

The girl yelled few strange words in our faces in her foreign tongue, glaring openly at me. My guilt remained, but I couldn't help but notice how unattractive she was as her face scrunched up in anger, with blood staining the side of her face, nostrils flared. Théodred remained composed and tried explaining calmly using his hands often.

"We need to remove the arrow, from your leg and clean your wound my Lady. It will hurt, but it must be done before we go any further."

She seemed to understand at least, and her face relaxed a bit in resignation. It was obvious as Théodred turned to me, that neither of us had failed to notice how inappropriate it would be to touch her exposed skin at all, let alone her leg, her thigh.

"Ḗomer, I do not think I can do this. It would be different were it a man or even a young child. But this girl is on the verge of woman-hood. She is little younger than me. I do not think I can touch her, but nor do I wish to order you to so. For you have already expressed your discomfort earlier...I..."

There was no one else but Théodred that I would have done such a thing for, bar Ḗowyn and the King. I pushed my discomfort aside, wishing to end this night as quickly as I could and return to the rest of our men.

"I am glad you have sent the men away Théodred, though I wish Grimbold were here to offer advice. I think she understands though that this must be done and that it is merely a gesture of kindness. I do not think that she speaks our language, nor do I think she is as Grimbold suggested simple. I will do this one thing as quickly as I can cousin, if you truly cannot, though I must insist you stay present, after it has been done we will never speak of it again. Agreed?"

"Agreed" The relief was evident on his face, I hoped the reluctance was as clear on mine.

I shuffled forwards taking bandages from Théodred glancing up at the girls face, she nodded once curtly at me before turning and staring at Théodred behind me. She'd gone bright red, clearly no happier with the situation than I was. My hands were shaking as I held her leg down leaning in too close for comfort, wrapping my hand around the arrow, pulling swiftly.

I felt her slump forwards limply onto my shoulder with a grunt.

"Théodred" I turned ushering my shy, clueless cousin forwards "come sit behind her, hold her still while I clean her leg." He did as I asked immediately, one arm wrapped around her waist leaning her head against his shoulder. I was glad she wasn't awake, it made it quicker but not easier, I felt as though I was violating her somehow. Théodred kept interrupting worriedly, telling me to be careful and gentle, 'don't forget her arm', and double wrap the bandages, and apply extra paste.

I was glad when it was over, I looked up at the girl's blank face relieved, she looked older now that she was asleep and the anger had gone, I still couldn't guess exactly- we would have to find out somehow over the next few days. She didn't look nearly as ugly either, not pretty, she still remained very plain, but not ugly.

"I'll ride with her" Théodred insisted firmly, worry still plain on his face as he scooped her gently into his arms. A thought crossed my mind as I watched him tuck a strand of the girl's dark hair behind her ear, eyes lingering on her face carrying her towards Brego. I watched as Brego leaned down knowingly at the approach of his master, so Théodred could seat her comfortably on his back.

"Théodred..." He turned curious at my hesitation, eyebrows raised.

"Yes" He prompted.

"Théodred...do not get... attached."

You couldn't fake the confusion that filled his innocent face,

"...to the girl" I clarified. "she...try not to get too close..." I don't know why the thought of Théodred pursuing this girl felt so wrong to me, nor why I had such difficulty addressing him about it. I was closer to Théodred than anyone else, possibly even Ḗowyn, though in a very different way, I found I was very reluctant to say more. I don't know what I'd seen in his eyes as he'd watched her tonight. It wasn't lust, nor was it mere chivalry.

Théodred turned and said nothing as he mounted Brego again wrapping his arms around her waist holding her securely in place, safe. We rode in silence until we reached the temporary camp we had set up, had it been just hours ago? I wondered how in such a short space of time I could feel so different, so on edge, nothing had changed at all.

"I'll guard her tonight Ḗomer, let her rest until morning." Théodred's guarded voice interrupted my pondering. He stood once more with the girl in his arms a few feet away, facing me.

"Very well, goodnight cousin." I nodded as he turned walking a little away from the many eyes that followed him, holding the girl awkwardly in one arm so he could make a comfortable bed of blankets to lay her on. He tucked her in securely, protecting her from the cold rain that had started to fall and sat down next to her head, trying hard, and failing at not looking at her.

"Oh Théodred." Grimbold murmured from next to me eyes also fixed on the young prince, head tilted.

We both stood a few seconds longer, watching Théodred, before reality set back in.

"Time for rest men, Ḗomer and I shall take first watch. Eothain and Gorlois shall take second; Sleep!" Grimbold called out to the weary soldiers, leading me towards the burning fire away from Théodred and the girl. I found that I myself, couldn't stop my eyes from glancing back at the little bundle of blankets that lay at my cousin's side.

I felt my face turn into a scowl, this girl was trouble.