Hey updating twice in one day it is amazing!
In this chapter you may have to keep an open mind as some of the character may act in a way you think they would not.
R&R thanks for all of the support
Chapter nine
The vile man known as Wormtongue flew from the great halls steps rolling down them and groaning in pain as he came to a stop. Theoden making his way slowly down the steps sword in grasp ready to strike down the traitor.
"I've only ever served you, my lord" the man pleaded crawling backwards down the remaining steps to get away from his former master.
"Your leechcraft would have had me crawling on all fours like a beast!"
A crowd of people had gathered at the top and bottom of the Halls steps watching the display take place, knowing full well what the King was going to do to the poor excuse for a man.
"Send me not from your sight" he begged just as Theoden rose his sword to end his life. To the surprise of many Aragorn stepped forward catching the blade before it had the chance to be lowered, saving the life of the pathetic man who lay at their feet.
"No, my lord! No my lord" the pair struggled for a moment on control of the sword "Let him go. Enough blood has been spilt on his account." Having stayed the king's hand, Aragorn moved forward and extended his hand to Grima, a gesture of mercy. Upon the steps the company watched as Wormtongue spat upon the hand of Aragorn, displaying utter contempt before fleeing.
"Get out of my way!" he screamed, pushing his way through. All for silent for but a moment before the call of a man was heard
"Hail, Theoden King!" the few village people present knelt before him, and those upon the steps to the hall bowed their heads in respect for the King. Bee stood next to Legolas the pair bowing their heads simultaneously with all the grace of which an elf could posses, while the dwarf and hobbit did so in their own time, Celandine seeming to find the whole situation quite strange.
Turning slowly to head back up the stairs Théoden's eyes swept across those who stood upon them looking for one person in particular but not finding him.
"Where is Theodred? Where is my son?"
Bee and Celandine found it quite depressing walking behind the heir the Rohan throne as he was carried down to be buried amongst his ancestors, the passed the crying people of Rohan who were saying goodbye to their prince.
Celandine had never seen such sadness before, and was even saddened by the death of a man that she had never met before. Slowly as the prince was entering his grave Eowyn began to sing in the ancestral tongue of Rohan.
"Bealocwealm hafao frecan forth onsended, giedd sculon singan gleomenn sorgiende on Meduselde thaet he ma waere his dryhtne and maga deorost."
The sound of her voice breaking made even the elves sad, her voice carried with the wind so that all the people of Rohan heard her words echoing across the land. As the sound of her voice dwindled, others took up the song, weeping and wailing, lamenting their loss. The king's face was as stone, staring blankly ahead as the body of his son was born to its final resting place. The door to the tomb closed with a final bang, like the deep throb of a drum.
"Hiro ro hîdh ab 'wanath" (may he find peace after death) Bee intoned with a bowed head, displaying uncharacteristic reverence and solemnity. This unnerved Celandine and she drew closer to her. She felt as if she had better say something; pay this man some respect even though she never knew him. She bowed her head also.
"May he be born safely along the river and find sanctuary in the land of his fore-fathers" intoning a prayer she had once read in a mannish story book. It was all she knew. Slowly the people of Rohan that had gathered began to make their way back up the hill towards their houses to further grieve the loss of their prince. Gandalf and Theoden stood closely together; making it clear to the company they wanted to talk in private. Aragorn placed a hand on the hobbits shoulder.
"Come let them talk" he said to the company. No one protested this decision and they all began to journey up the hill, Bee's head still bowed. She knew what it was like to lose someone close to you and held the utmost respect and sympathy for the King of Rohan. She looked back at the burial mound one more time, but seemed to look past it, seeing not the prince, but some one she herself had lost.
The company reached the Hall quicker than expected and were greeted by a warm meal that lay across one of the tables, Eowyn stood close to the Hall doors waiting for her Uncle to arrive. Wasting no time the hobbit and Dwarf took a seat next to each other at the table and began to dig in. Aragorn took a seat opposite them lighting up his pipe, drawing from it thoughtfully, brooding over the event s of the day. The two elves took a little longer to take their places but eventually Legolas stood leaning against a pillar close by to Aragorn, and Bee took a seat on the floor crossing her legs making herself more comfortable. For a moment all that was heard was the clatter of cutlery and chewing from the dwarf and hobbit.
They were joined shortly but not only by the King and Gandalf but by a pair of children brother and sister who were weary from travel. Their faces were smeared with dirt and grassed stands and they exuded an air of the persecution. Eowyn hurried them to the table, called for the empty bowls to be refreshed and bade them eat. Once they were comfortable, she turned to the king, the light of indignation in her eyes. "They had no warning, they were unarmed. Now the wild men are moving through the Wistfold burning as they go, rick cot and tree"
Gimli, Aragorn and Celandine sat also at the table, regarding the urchins brought in from the cold. The boy child kept looking up from his meal, stealing furtive glances at them. Bee and Legolas also exchanged glances; Legolas's fraught with alarm, Bee's with confusion.
"Where is Mama?" the girl asked suddenly, looking to Eowyn who hushed her and wrapt her in a blanket.
Gandalf turned to Theoden and said something which most of the party did not catch, but apparently Aragorn did. He suddenly began to speak, coming into the conversation invited or otherwise.
'You have 2000 good men riding north as we speak. Eomer is loyal to you. He and his mean will return and fight for their king"
Theoden rose from his seat "the will be 300 leagues from here by now. Eomer cannot help us"
Gandalf moved closer, as if to speak but Theoden had not finished.
"I know what it is you want of me, but I will not bring further death to my people. I will not risk open war"
Bee muttered "ta telwa ten tanya" (it's late for that)
Aragorn heard the she-elf's comment and looked to her. Seeing his glance, she smiled innocently and motioned for his pipe. Rolling his eyes, his fished one of his other's from his pocket and handed it to her. He turned back to the king, suddenly serious once more.
"Open war is upon you, whether you would risk or not"
Théoden's eyes grew dark and he advanced towards the ranger "When last I looked, Theoden, not Aragorn was king of Rohan"
"Then what is the king's decision?" Gandalf asked, attempting to defuse the tension and get a decision from the King. The Hall fell into silence awaiting the Kings choice, Bee blew out a puff of smoke not caring of the look of disappointment and disgust on the other Elf's face. Legolas grimaced and turned away, waving his hands to disperse the smoke cloud that irritated his nose and burned his eyes. Aragorn caught this gesture and smiled to himself. Despite the seriousness of the company's mission, the she-elf and the she-hobbit were always able to provide levity and ease the tension.
"We go to Helms Deep"
Bee rose her eyebrows, she had heard of this place before were the people of Rohan hide from their enemies.
"I hear it's nice there this time of year" she said quietly, intending only for she hobbit to hear. Thankfully only she did but as she did not posses the art of subtlety, everyone heard her burst of merriment. She blushed and bowed her head under the confused glances of the Rohirric guards.
"Hama, announce this decision to the people. We must move quickly"
The red haired guard that had greeted them at the door rose and complied with the King's demands, looking a bit upset with the decision the King had made. The king followed soon after the guard his head held high as he swept from the room leaving no room for argument. Gandalf hurried out after him, maybe in an attempt to reason with him. Aragorn hit the table angrily, taking deep calming breaths in order to calm himself, Bee seeing the mans distress held the pipe over her head waiting for the man to take, which he did.
Celandine and Gimli seemed not to notice or tried not to notice the severity of the situation, the pair shared glances awkwardly before carrying on with their meal. Gimli speared another piece of meat.
"Well this is fun" commented Bee
Celandine snorted through her food, sending crumbs of cheese flying from her mouth, Bee gave her friend a look of disgust wiping the food from her shoulder.
"Must you eat with your mouth open?"
"Why? Dint ya wint te see my dinner?" Bee smirked standing from her spot upon the floor and turning to face the young hobbit, seeing the evil look on her friends face Celandine's smile dropped knowing she was in for it now. Bee sat down at the table next to Aragorn across from her hobbit friend
Reaching across the hobbit plate the she-elf took a piece of cheese tearing it off and placing it in her mouth. The whole room was silent as chewed the cheese expecting it to come back from her mouth at angry second, but for once they were wrong instead of spitting her food back up the remaining piece of bread still in the elves hand was flung across the table to Celandine. Celandine, coming out of her state of shock was quick to reach for something else on her plate and throw it back at the elf. Celandine grabbed one of the abandoned bowls of stew the children had left behind and slung it at Bee. Bee ducked and the gooey mess sailed over her head and hit… Legolas. Everyone in the room took a collective gasp. Legolas, mouth agape, dropped his eyes to his tunic. Time seemed to move in slow motion. Legolas's shoulder's shook and a sound like a strangled scream escaped him. His head suddenly snapped up, giving Bee flashbacks of the first time she met him. She had the sudden desire to laugh but the laugh died in her throat when she saw Legolas's face. His face was dark, the personification of anger. His eyes looked razor sharp and venomous. The she hobbit had not the self control and her glee escaped her in a spluttering giggle. Legolas turned on her at once.
"Enough! This mindless merriment will cease immediately! Do you not realize the significance of what has happened here? This moment calls for sober thinking and yet you behave as children!"
The she-hobbit's grin melted into a look of innocent shock. She was so startled she did not notice her bottom lip was quivering. If she did should would have hidden it but the sudden turn in the elven prince rooted her to her seat with fear. She suddenly felt all her small stature and youth all at once and looked like a scared child.
"Aw c'mon Legolas, lighten up" Bee said, enjoying the princes apparent loss of control. This was sweet vindication for all his contempt when she had lost her temper. But her goading was not without malice. She did not approve of the elf's victimization of her hobbit friend and wanted to let him know he was in dangerous territory by shouting at her. Legolas's gaze swept from Celandine to Beriadanwen.
"Lighten up! Of course this is all a joke to you isn't it? A gleeful little piece to be mocked and laughed at! Everything is to you isn't it! You take nothing seriously do you? This is precisely the attitude that dishonoured your family and got your brother killed!"
In the silence that followed you could have heard a pin drop. No one even dared to breath, just sat motionless; beholding these two elves that had so suddenly turned on each other. Slowly, defiantly Bee got to her feet, locking her gaze with Legolas's. Her sword followed soon after and in a movement so fast it appeared only a blurry flash, the blade rested at Legolas's neck. Legolas did not move. Bee raised her arm, aggressively readying herself to fight.
"How dare you. You know nothing, not of me, not of my family and certainly not of my brother! He was nothing like you, he never was! You could never comprehend him for who he was and then you have the gall to come and tell me it was my fault!" Her arm stiffened. Celandine's eyes were wide with fear and distress and she only just bit back a cry. What had happened to her friend? Who was this terror who had taken her place? Aragorn moved to stand but Bee wasn't finished.
"Thanga yassen templa! (elvish curse) he didn't deserve death but with your words you have earned yours!" with that she moved to strike Legolas down. All at once Aragorn was at her side, gripping her arm and staying her hand.
"Bee! Enough! Stop this! Reserve your steel for the enemy, not squabbles amongst each other!"
Bee struggled against him, her eyes overflowing with pure malice and hatred.
"Legolas. I think now would be a good time for you to go and clean up"
Legolas gave Aragorn a curt nod and turned to go. Once he was gone, Aragorn let go of Bee. She wrenched out of his grip and spat at the ground where Legolas has stood.
"Come on Celandine" she looked to her hobbit friend. She moved to leave but the sight of the quivering little Halfling stopped her.
"Tithen pen, come on" she gestured, impatience evident in her voice. Slowly Celandine shook her head, refusing to move. Bee scowled, muttered something and stormed from the room, pushing past Gandalf as he came through the door. The wizard watched her go and then turned back to the company.
"What happened?"
Aragorn fell onto the seat and put his head in his hands.
Ohhhhhh learning more about Bee's past in this chapter, may lead to a better understanding of why she acts the way she does.