Summary: Danger collides with Eowyn's family when they decide to spend the day alone by the river. Rated M by Savannah (Aragorn & Eowyn)
Year 10
The sound of the waves on the shore hit Eowyn first, her fingers feeling the cold wet sand under her. She opened her eyes, expecting now to see the overcast sky above her, like she had three nights in a row since she had come to Rohan. But when she opened her eyes, dark grey storm clouds fought for space in the sky above her, thunder rumbling in the distance. She sat up, watching the waves rise high out of the water, crashing angrily on the shore. Fear gripped Eowyn's spine forcing her to stand. The water crashed white at the shore hungrily, as if trying to get to her, to claim her, to swallow her. Eowyn pushed herself backwards in the never-ending sand, trying to get away from the water.
Lightning crashed down in front of her, hitting the water and sending shock through the wet sand. Eowyn screamed as the thunder washed over her, rattling her bones. It was so loud she thought her eardrums would burst. She tried to run but the sand was too deep, pulling on her ankles so she fell hard, her face slamming to the ground. She tasted blood; grit stuck to her tear tracks. She was so afraid, she felt bile rising in her throat.
Aragorn, Eowyn thought. She had to get back to him, if she could be in his arms, she would be safe. She lifted her face and saw a white figure coming towards her.
Arwen knelt in front of her, brushing the hair away from her face lovingly. She was speaking to her but Eowyn couldn't hear the words over her sobs and the thunder that never seemed to stop. Arwen pulled her into her arms, holding her head close to her chest and smoothing her hand over her head. Eowyn looked up at the woman in front of her, her eyes pleading. Arwen cupped her cheeks, looking deep into her eyes. She was speaking, trying to tell Eowyn something, but thunder crashed overhead and the heaven released themselves on them, spilling torrents of water down. Eowyn blinked through the water that soaked her through, Arwen still dry in front of her.
"Home," Eowyn heard as she tried to gasp for air, rain filling her mouth and nose. She tried to breathe but no air filled her lungs. "Home." The word rang in her ears and she felt like she was drowning, the water had found her in one way or another.
..::..
Eowyn shot up, gasping for air. The room was pitch black, the sun setting completely while she was asleep. Eowyn didn't remember falling asleep or even getting into bed. She looked down at herself, she was still wearing the clothes from the day, her feet were still in her boots. The fear from her dream still clung to her as she tried to catch her breath. Her head hung, her hair a curtain around her face. She looked down at her hands, barely visible in the dark. So white, she thought to herself, watching her hands shake like leaves on the wind. She tipped her head back, trying to shake away the darkness that clung to her like the cold sweat on her skin.
Taking a deep breath, Eowyn thought of Arwen's words. "Home." It was the only thing she had heard, but she knew what she had to do. Arwen was calling her home. Back to her home in Imladris, to her family and her children.
A knock at the door that connected her childhood room to her brother's startled Eowyn out of her thoughts. Then it swung slowly open and Eldarion stood in the frame. Light leaked around him from the fire burning in his room so that Eowyn could not see his face. But when he spoke, she heard the concern in his voice. "Are you alright, Mother?" He asked, taking a step into the room. The protectiveness Eowyn saw in his face so many times towards Awena now turned to her.
"It was just a bad dream," Eowyn said, smiling across the room at Eldarion.
Eldarion took another tentative step into the room. "But I heard you screaming."
Eowyn stood up slowly, hardly trusting her shaky knees to hold her up. She crossed the room, taking Eldarion in her arms. Holding his head to her chest, she ran a hand over his soft curls like Arwen had down to her only moments before in her dream. "You know the stories I tell you sometimes, about the war?" She asked, leading Eldarion back to his bed. "Well sometimes I dream about those times." She only partly lied. She did have nightmares about her past, but now her dreams had turned to the future and she found blood there as well.
..::..
Aragorn walked slowly through the torch-lit halls of the Golden Hall, rolling over Eomer's words in his mind. Orcs breeding meant that eradicating them forever would be harder than they had ever thought. Anger boiled up in him. He had built this world for his children, built it with his sword and his blood. And yet, he wondered if it was the world he wanted to leave to them, if there could ever be true peace.
When he reached the door to his room it swung open to complete darkness. Aragorn stepped into the dark room and found the door to his children's room open, warm red firelight streaming in. Eowyn sat on the bed, her head leaned back on the headboard, her legs draped over the side. Eldarion's head was in her lap, his cheeks pressed into her thigh, his lips parted in sleep and one arm wrapped protectively around her middle. Eowyn was running her hand over his hair, humming softly, her own eyes closed.
Aragorn walked to the door, soundlessly leaning in the frame watching the scene before him. His anger disappeared as his heart swelled at the tender scene. This was everything he had fought for. He took a long breath, trying to memorize every detail of his family before him, how perfect it was. Eowyn's eyes drifted open and her head turned lazily towards him, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Aragorn let go of the long breath and marveled at how beautiful she was. Her hair was golden in the soft light, her cheeks flushed and her eyes heavy with dark lashes.
Eowyn looked down at Eldarion and Aragorn understood her silent request, stepping into the room. Slowly, he moved Eldarion's arms form around her waist then lifted his head very softly, letting Eowyn slip out form under him. Aragorn tugged at the pillow from the other side of the bed and tucked it under the sleeping boy's head. He crouched down beside the bed and smiled at his son, resting his hand on his back lovingly.
"They always look so much younger asleep," Eowyn said under her breath. Standing behind Aragorn, she wrapped her arms around herself and looked down at her children asleep beside each other.
Aragorn touched his lips to Eldarion's forehead then turned to Eowyn smiling and nodding. He stood, crossing the space between them. Eowyn smiled, looking up at him as he towered over her, his hands coming to rest on her arms. The love in her eyes melted every part of him, he took her in his arms and tucked her in, like the other half of him. He kissed the top of her head and whispered into her hair, "I remember the day they were born. It feels like only moments ago."
Eowyn nodded against Aragorn's chest and pulled away slightly to look up at him. Aragorn ran his hand over her cheekbones, then the sides of her head tucking her long hair back away from her face. He stared down into her eyes, dark in the firelight. Eowyn stood on her tiptoes and touched her lips to his, letting her eyes drift shut. Aragorn let his hands run over her back, feeling the warmth of her body next to him. She sunk back down, letting her eyes slowly slide open, her dark lashes soft on her cheek.
Aragorn moved his shoulders, dipping slightly to hook his arm under her knees, lifting her into his arms. Eowyn let her head rest on his shoulder as he walked back into their room, clicking the door closed behind them. Aragorn laid Eowyn down on the bed, her fingers balling at his shirt, pulling him down with her. His feet slipped on the soft carpet and he fell on top of her, the weight of his body pushing air out of her in a huff. Eowyn burst into laughter, tipping her head back, her body shaking under Aragorn. Aragorn smiled at the sound of her laugh, filling him with joy. He propped himself on his elbows, looking down at her perfect face.
Eowyn loved the feeling of his body on hers, the warmth of his presence so close to her, the pressure of his hips on hers, even the lightness of not being able to catch a deep breath. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him back down so that his cheek rest on her chest and she for once could kiss the top of his head.
Aragorn's arms snaked their way under Eowyn, holding her body tight. "Eowyn," he breathed, so many things contained in her name.
Eowyn began to run her fingers through his hair, softly detangling the work of the wind. Then she ran her nails down his back gently, making him groan with easy pleasure. Eowyn laughed. "I know where Eldarion gets it," she said. "You sound like hounds. A good scratch and you're straight to sleep." Aragorn grinned as Eowyn's arms squeezed him tightly, ruffling his hair with her breath. "Let's go riding tomorrow," Eowyn said. "Breathe in the fresh air, feel the sun. We can take the children for a picnic by the river."
Aragorn tried to roll of her, but Eowyn's arms held him still. At the threat of his movement, she began to run her fingers over his back again in lazy patterns. Aragorn relaxed at her touch, feeling his head lift slightly with each of her breaths. He tipped his head back, gaining access her to neck and planted a kiss, tasting the salt of her skin.
Eowyn closed her eyes, letting her hands still, sleep calling to her. Aragorn shifted slightly, pulling his arms out from under her. Lifting his head to kiss each of her collarbones then work over her chest, pulling the fabric as low as it would go to kiss the soft skin just between her breasts. Eowyn let her eyes drift closed at his touch, her breath growing low and deep. She let Aragorn sit up enough to pull his shirt up over his head then unfasten his pants, slipping each leg out. He pulled at the hem of her shirt and she lifted her arms dreamily, letting him pull it up over her head, the cool air on her bare abdomen. He pulled at the drawstrings of her pants and she lifted her hips, allowing him to slip those off as well.
But then Aragorn folded her into him, tangling their legs and pulling the blankets from the crumpled heap at the end of the bed to cover them. Eowyn dragged her finger up his sides, making him shiver. She pulled her eyelids open to look at his face above hers, sleep trying to pull them back to close. He smiled down at her. "Shhhh," he whispered. "Sleep." Kissing one closed eye and then the other, he brushed a thumb over her cheek, watching as her head rolled sideways on the pillow. He smiled at her peaceful face, just like their children she looked so much younger in sleep. He nuzzled his face into her neck. "I just want to lay as close to you as I can," he said deeply. "Feel your skin on mine."
Eowyn moaned her answer, using the last of her energy to rest her hand on his head, feeling his hair like silk on her fingers. Then, pressed so closely together, they slipped into sleep.
..::..
Eowyn rode beside Aragorn, her long hair let loose and blowing in the wind. Her brow was knit together and she looked off into the distance, her eyes seeming to watch for something Aragorn could not see. Eowyn's heart called out to Arwen, her eyes searching for her form on the horizon.
"What troubles?" Aragorn asked, steering his horse close to hers to that their legs brushed.
Eowyn smiled across at him. "Nothing," she said, leaning in even closer.
Aragorn met her lips, coming together. "I know you're lying," he said, holding onto her chin. "You have always talked in your sleep, I heard you calling out her name."
Eowyn glanced down. "I see her walking sometimes in my dreams, cloaked in moonlight."
Aragorn nodded. "But they are not nightmares?"
Eowyn shook her head. "No, I just miss her," Eowyn lied, looking back up into his grey eyes.
"Who, Mother?" Eldarion asked, pulling his horse up beside her. He remembered her screaming the night before, his brow knitting together when she said they were not nightmares. He had never known his parents to keep anything from each other before.
"Arwen," Eowyn said, smiling down at her son.
"Your best friend?" Eldarion asked, recalling her stories of the most beautiful woman. He could imagine her dark hair and sapphire eyes, how she had fought with the legendary Hadafang. His mother's stories made her seem larger than life and it was hard to him to imagine a being of such grace and strength ever walking the earth. His mother had many stories of Legolas, who she had known since childhood; of Elves and Hobbits. Stories about his father and even herself. But Eldarion's favorites were about Arwen and he often found himself daydreaming about her, conjuring her when he played with his toy swords.
"She was so much more than a friend," Eowyn said to Eldarion, her eyes staring dreamily to the horizon as if she could see her standing there. "She was like a sister to me, the closest thing I ever had to a mother." Eowyn recalled memories they shared; sitting across the fire from one another, fighting next to each other, the night the twins had been born. Then she saw Arwen as she had been laying in the darkened throne room, her sword on her chest. "She always took care of me," she said, smiling down at Eldarion, blinking back tears in her eyes. "Even in death, she has always been my guiding light." Eowyn felt Aragorn's hand land on her knee and she turned to smile to at him, her eyes sad.
"I wish I could have met her," Eldarion said. "Even just once or in a dream, like you see her, Mother."
Aragorn and Eowyn exchanged a sad look between them. "You will see her children soon," Eowyn said. "Arwen and Legolas will always live on in them." She reached her hand over to cup Eldarion's chin, brushing her thumb on his soft skin. "As I live in you." Eldarion nodded up at his mother, looking into her deep blue eyes, identical to his own.
Awena's pony came trotting up beside Aragorn and she looked up at her smiling. "How much longer are we going to ride for?" She asked.
"Just about an hour," Aragorn answered. "We'll be t the river in time to eat our dinner, perhaps stay until sunset and then ride back at dusk." He smiled down at Awena. Awena nodded. "Come here." Aragorn laughed, struck by Awena's sweetness. He grabbed Awena under the arms and lifted her onto his horse. He tucked her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.
"I love you, Daddy," Awena said and she nestled into his arms.
"I like this," Eldarion said.
Eowyn turned to look at him. "Like what?" she asked.
"Being just us, our family without a million other people around us."
Eowyn nodded, looking between her son and daughter then finally up to Aragorn's eyes. She felt something inside her settle that she didn't know had been there, restless.
..::..
Aragorn leaned against the trunk of a tree, the rough bark a familiar feeling to his body, so much more than the cold stone of his throne. Eowyn lay next to him, her head on his chest, her body pressed to his, arms draped over his stomach. He held her tightly to him. She was warmth and life, their hearts beating forever in the same rhythm. He watched the children playing in the shallow water of the rocky river bed. Awena had her wooden horses, a gift from her uncle, the King of Rohan. Eldarion was a little deeper, his pant legs rolled up to his knees, trudging around in the water, picking up and throwing stones, each time getting a little farther.
Aragorn turned back to Eowyn, marveling at the way the sunlight lit both her hair and her son's into gold. He lifted his hand from her shoulder and ran his fingers down the silken texture of her hair. Eowyn lifted her face up to his and smiled. Aragorn felt his whole body soften even more, looking into the oceans of her eyes. "Do you wish you had been a ranger's wife?" He asked, stroking her hair. "That we could have been a family in that small cottage?"
Eowyn's smile faded slightly and she shook her head in disagreement. "You were born to be a king, Aragorn," she said.
Aragorn nodded and looked back up at his children, the warm sunlight glinting off the water.
"Sometimes I have dreams about that cottage," Eowyn said. "In the dreams, Legolas and Arwen are always alive, Eldarion is our middle child."
Aragorn pulled Eowyn into his lap, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and holding her close, knowing that they both mourned that life. Eowyn relaxed her back into Aragorn's chest, letting her head tip back to rest against his shoulder.
"But there is nothing more I want now than to be close to you and watch as our children grow." Eowyn smiled, watching as Eldarion kicked up a spray of water and it rained down on Awena as she burst into giggles.
"Eldarion!" Awena screamed. "Elly, it's cold!"
"I see so much of my brother and I in them," Eowyn said, tracing the blue veins on the back of Aragorn's hand. "What was it like, growing up among the Elves?"
Aragorn chuckled. "I was lonely," he said. "I tormented Elrond and the twins."
"But they were your family," Eowyn said. "How can a child torment their own family?"
Aragorn perched his chin on her head, the movement so simple yet so relaxed in a way that they weren't when they were at home, when he was the King of Gondor, so many eyes on them always. "Eldarion and Awena are almost three years apart," he said. "The twins were almost three thousand years older than I was. They didn't have much time to play with me."
"What do you think they'll be like grown? Eowyn asked. "They are such happy children; I would do anything to let them keep that happiness."
Aragorn nodded in agreement, dipping his head to press a kiss into her neck. "Eldarion will be chased through the streets by girls," Aragorn said into the skin of her shoulder.
Eowyn laughed. "And Awena?" She asked. "Will she also be courted by thousands?" She joked.
"Mmhmm," Aragorn said in agreement. "And I will terrify them all to death," he growled into her ear. Eowyn laughed as his beard tickled her skin, pushing him away, but he held her tight, attacking her neck with kisses.
"Momma, look," Eldarion yelled, running toward from the banks of the river. "Look what I found!" In his hand was a sword, its blade rusted and dull.
Eowyn smiled and stood, walking the short distance to where Eldarion stood holding the blade up with two hands.
"It was in the river!" Eldarion said excitedly.
Eowyn nodded, looking at the long blade, almost as tall as Eldarion himself. "It's a great sword," she said, placing her hands on Eldarion's shoulders.
Aragorn came up to them, holding his hand out. Eldarion handed it over reluctantly. "Can I keep it?" Eldarion asked, turning to look up at his mother.
Eldarion had grown up so quickly that his head brushed Eowyn's chin and she smiled sadly at the thought that soon he would stand over her. She cupped his chin, taking in his still boyish features. "Let's see what your father has to say," she said, looking up at Aragorn as he examined the sword's blade, balancing it in his hand.
"It's expertly weighted," Aragorn said. "It seems there was once writing on the blade, it is Elvish." He handed it back to Eldarion. "It is no toy, Eldarion," he said firmly. "This thing was made for one purpose, to kill. You will have to train and learn how to use it properly and sharpen and it and take care of the steel."
Eldarion nodded, his eyes transfixed on the blade.
"Let's show our boy how it's done," Eowyn said, smirking at Aragorn, her eyes alight with fire.
Aragorn crossed his arms, smirking right back as Eowyn walked to their mounts, drawing her own sword from its resting place. "It has been a while since we wielded swords, let alone at each other." Aragorn raised his eye brows and found the hilt of his sword in an instant, pulling it from its sheath with a metallic hiss.
"You two fought each other?" Eldarion asked in shock.
"Only to practice," Aragorn said reassuringly.
"And for the sheer joy of it," Eowyn said, relishing the weight of the blade in her hands. "I've always loved knocking your father onto his back." Eowyn's eyes danced as she moved forward, holding the blade upright.
"Move aside, Eldarion," Aragorn said, lowering his gaze to watch Eowyn move towards him. "You mother will say it's a game, but she's not playing."
Eowyn smiled so wide, Aragorn could see all her teeth, then she lunged at Aragorn, their swords glinting and clanging together. Aragorn blocked attack after attack, barely moving his body and yet his swords moved faster than Eldarion could see. Eldarion watched in wonder at the speed of their movements and remembered all the stories he had heard of their prowess on the battlefield. His parents faded away before his eyes and before him moved two warriors out of fables.
Eowyn ducked under a swinging blow and ran around Aragorn, using her smaller size to her advantage. In one single movement she had found a large rock behind Aragorn and jumped up onto it. Before Eldarion knew what was happening, he watched as she raised her blade above her head, jumping high into the air above Aragorn, bringing her sword down in a blazing arc of sun. Eldarion's eyes widened as time seemed to slow and then Aragorn twirled on his heels, his sword arcing up to meet Eowyn's, as if he could see into her mind, anticipating every move before she even made it.
"Don't hurt him!" Eldarion yelled. His father's sword was held up in one hand, his mother's in two, pressing down on it with all her strength, their bodies only inches away from one another.
"I will run my blade through your heart," Eowyn said, locking Aragorn's steel gaze on her own.
Aragorn smiled and, in one quick movement, shifted so Eowyn's blade came thudding to the earth, its tip embedded in the soil only inches from his boot. "You already have," he said. Aragorn used his free arm to pull her body into his, closing the gap between them.
Eowyn laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, touching their foreheads together. The sun was warm on her back and Aragorn's arms around her waist were even warmer. She smiled at the comfort she felt, being close to him. Just as her eyes began to drift shut, she heard a scream of terror from the river bank. "Awena," she said, knowing the voice as well as her own. She spun out of Aragorn's arms and grabbed her sword, running towards the river.
Aragorn's eye snapped in the direction of the sound and Awena and saw the toe of her boots dragging in the water. She was screaming his name, an Orc's dirty clawed hand tangled in her hair, holding her small body in the air like a rag doll. Aragorn felt his blood instantly turn to flames. Eowyn was already halfway to the bank, Aragorn's eyes landed on Eldarion, he was safe. He scanned the brush around them as he took off in the same direction.
As Eowyn reached the Orc, he tossed the little girl aside, laughing as she hit the ground hard, her lip breaking open on the rocks and mud smearing her delicate skin. Eowyn reached the Orc and swung at him, the light around her glowing off her hair. He raised his jagged blade but was no match for her speed and in one swift move his head fell into the current, his body sinking down after it.
As Aragorn ran to join Eowyn, he watched in horror as Orcs seemed to flood out of the brush. Where they had come from? He wondered, and how has he missed their approach? "Eldarion!" He yelled, watching Eowyn fell the Orc. "Stay close to me."
Eldarion ran after his father, still clutching the found sword in his hands.
Aragorn reached the water just as Eowyn was turning from her kill towards Awena. Aragorn reached down and scooped the child up into his arms, looking over her for injuries.
"There are more," Eowyn said breathlessly from beside Aragorn, watching the Orcs splash into the water around them.
"What do they want?" Eldarion screamed.
"To kill us," Eowyn said, pushing Eldarion behind her back and raising her sword.
Aragorn held Awena to his side, pressing her face into his shoulder and shielding her body and her eyes. Together, Eowyn and Aragorn moved instinctively closer, their backs almost touching with Eldarion safely behind them.
"There are so many," Eowyn said, watching them form a semi-circle around them.
Aragorn lunged at the Orc that dared come close to them, their blades ringing together for a second before Aragorn moved fast as lightning and slid his blade into the chest of the Orc.
Eowyn glanced over her shoulder, but at their backs the water grew deeper, the current rushing past them. There was no way out but forward. Eowyn held up her sword, waiting for an Orc to attack.
"You have to run," Aragorn said. "Take the children and get out of here."
Eowyn's eyes met Aragorn's. The idea of him alone in the water flashed through her mind. At least forty Orcs surrounded them, inching slowly closer, cackling to each other at the easy prey. Eowyn nodded once, she knew Aragorn could hold them off. She would hide their children somewhere safe then come back and make every one of these Orcs bleed. She would have revenge for what they had done to her child. The thought alone made her snarl. She nodded once to Aragorn, pulling Awena away from his body and into her own arms. The little girl was quiet but her whole body shook in pure terror.
Aragorn touched her gently then Eowyn's cheek. "Stay with your mother," he said to Eldarion who nodded bravely. An Orc saw its opportunity as Aragorn faced away and jumped onto his back, knocking him to his knees. Without hesitation, Aragorn ripped it from his back, pinning it down int the water and slicing its neck wide open with the dagger he pulled from his boot.
Even as Aragorn launched into a full attack, distracting the Orcs as Eowyn ran in the direction of the shore, she couldn't help but smile that even now Aragorn was armed to teeth, always prepared. But her smile faded, dropped from her lips when she heard Eldarion cry out behind her. His foot slipped on the rocky shore and he fell into the shallow water, skinning his palms. She turned in an instant as Orcs surrounded the fallen boy. Eowyn was beside him in a heartbeat, slashing at the closest Orc, opening a long black gash from his middle to his chin.
Aragorn was there in a second, somehow cutting through the Orcs faster than Eowyn could remember him ever moving. The threat to his children had awoken a part of him she had never seen before, even during the war he hadn't moved with such fury. Aragorn picked up the boy out of the water by the back of his shirt and dragged him to the shore, setting him on the dry bank and then wordlessly turning back to cut through the Orcs that followed him. He turned to Eowyn for only a second. "Keep them safe," he said, his voice a command. He paused for a moment to look into the blue waters of her eyes.
Eowyn nodded, not wanting to leave his side, where she had always stood, ready to fight alongside him.
"Go!" He yelled and pushed her after Eldarion.
Eowyn turned then ran, holding Awena tight to her chest. They ran together, the three of them into the dense trees, branches whipping past them. Eowyn turned to look over her shoulder, a handful of Orcs had broken away from the rest, running after them. Eowyn sheathed her sword and grabbed Eldarion's bloodied hand, pulling him along as fast as she could through the underbrush. She scanned the trees, looking for the hollowed-out caves she had once played in with her brother.
Finally, Eowyn's eyes caught on a stone opening where the river had once cut a deep tunnel into the rock. As they reached the mouth of the cave, she slid Awena's small wet body, paralyzed with fear, down to the ground, motioning for Eldarion to hold her.
Without thought, Eldarion sat next to her, pulling his sister into his lap and wrapping his arms around her back as she buried her face into his shoulder. Awena started to sob.
Eowyn turned back to the Orcs that had followed, stepping out into the forest slowly. Her long white dress swirled around her ankles, her whole form radiated pure fury. She raised her blade and the orcs slowed. She had felled a Nazgul with this blade and enough Orcs to populate an entire city and none of them had threatened her children.
..::..
Aragorn let sound fade away from him as his focus trained at keeping the Orcs contained to the shore. In his mind he saw Eowyn, how she had been last night half asleep, Eldarion on her lap, Awena tucked beside her. He would die here on this shore without a thought if it meant they could get back to that moment, of being together asleep and safe in each other's arms.
Then suddenly, sound came flooding back into Aragorn's mind as pain ripped through his shoulder. He dropped to a knee, growing as he reached to his shoulder, finding a knife embedded there hilt deep. Ten Orcs rushed past him and disappeared into the forest. In one quick pull, he had ripped the small blade from his shoulder and was on his feet again. He felt blood drip over his shoulder and down his back, but it couldn't slow his movements as he attacked again.
..::..
Eldarion held Awena close, the cold of the cave floor seeping into his bones. His mother stood just a few feet away from the entrance to the cave, fighting five Orcs at once. She moved like lightning, blocking and attacking each Orc that came at her. Eldarion found himself holding his breath watching her fight, fear pushing the breath out of his lungs. He clung to Awena a much as she clung to him. He thought of his father alone on the shore of the river surrounded by more Orcs than he had ever seen. Cold sweat covered his body and he felt tears slipping down his cheeks. He took a shaking breath as Eowyn killed the last of the five Orcs.
Eowyn looked over her shoulder at Eldarion. "Stay here and stay quiet," she said.
Eldarion felt like he could hardly recognize the woman before him, who had hugged him and kissed him, and had sung him to sleep. Drops of black blood splattered her dress, her sleeve was torn, exposing an angry red gash along her arm. Her features were the same, but the warmth and love he knew so well had faded into cold wrath, her eyes blazing in a way he had never seen before.
"You're hurt," was all Eldarion could manage to say.
Eowyn softened, the flames that had burned in her eyes, cold as steel and threatening death, faded. She smiled down at Eldarion, stooping to brush a hand over his head and down Awena's back, who hadn't dared to lift her face. "It's barely a scratch," she said, standing back up and turning to leave them safe and hidden in the cave. Her face darkened once more as ten new Orcs broke through the trees.
"Mother!" Eldarion yelled, but she was already charging for them, meeting them with a clash of metal twenty feet from the cave.
Eldarion began to push himself backwards, father into the cave. Fresh terror choked his airway. Awena had the back of his shirt balled in her fists, her tears soaking through the front. Eldarion glanced down at her as she whimpered, her face a mess of tears and mud, her mouth smeared with blood. When he looked back up, his eyes found those of an Orc who had turned away from his mother and sniffed the air. Eldarion had time to yelp, scrambling back even farther into the cave. And then the Orc was taking off towards him.
..::..
Eowyn pulled her sword free with a grunt as another Orc fell to the ground in front of her. His chest was open, spurting black blood up onto the hem of her once white dress. Blood lust had consumed her completely. The only sound her own heart thundering her ears as she moved with deft grace towards the next Orc, blocking his sweeping blow. Easily, she swiped her sword around her body, letting the Orc's crude weapon slide off the sharpened blade of her own sword, then swung it up and around. The Orc's head fell forward firs then its body following seconds later.
Running with the rhythm of her own heart hammering in chest, Eowyn was on to the next Orc. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement, but it wasn't towards her. And Orc had cut away from the group, running wide away from her. She almost smiled, fire singing through her veins. This is what she had been born to do, it had been long since she had fought monsters. Then she felt the wind knocked out of her as she turned and realized he wasn't running away form her but towards something else.
Eowyn screamed, her voice raw with rage. Tears burned her eyes as the Orc charged towards the mouth of the cave. Three Orcs still surrounded her and she stepped over the bodies that she had already cut down. Through the trees she saw Eldarion and Awena huddled together, the Orc running right towards them. Fear like she had never felt gripped her. She scanned the distance between herself and the Orc, then to the mouth of the cave. She knew she had no choice. She threw her sword as hard as she could and the Orc went down with a thud into the underbrush, out of sight. Eowyn turned back as an Orc began to laugh too close to her.
"What will you do now without your pretty little sword?" The orc cackled and lunged for her.
Eowyn ducked out of the path of his blade, trying to think of something to use as a weapon. She glanced at the ground and found only soft green leaves growing up around her feet. She looked up just in time to throw herself backwards. The Orc's blade sliced back up towards her, its tip catching on her side and opening a long red gash along her left ribs. Pain bloomed over her as she hit the ground hard, knocking the wind from her lungs. The Orc stepped closer, lifting its blade above his head. Eowyn sucked in air and kicked out at his ankles, she heard the sound of bones snapping at the impact. Scrambling back to her feet Eowyn just had time to meet the second Orc. She glanced over her shoulder at the cave. She could run in the other direction and draw them away from the children, but there were still two Orcs circling her, one could follow her and the other run for the cave.
So weaponless, Eowyn attacked. Never before had she fought so fiercely, before she would have found a way to get back to her weapons or to Aragorn. But now she stood her ground, defending the opening to the cave with her life. The Orc stepped toward her, but before he could move to swing his sword Eowyn had grabbed onto the blade edge, the sword biting into her palms. She didn't have time to scream as the blade cut down to the small bones in her hands, she used all her force to swing it around, driving the point into the orc's eye. His other eye looked at her in shock before he howled, cupping his free hand to his eye.
Eowyn turned to the other Orc, the biggest in the pack, as his hand connected with her neck. He lifted her a if she was weightless and tossed her away. Her body crumpled when she hit the ground, pain almost wiping away her senses as she rolled over herself, feeling her ribs crack on the impact. Her feet found the ground and she pushed herself up, and then she was running at the back of the big Orc. She launched herself into the air and landed on its back. Her fingers found his unsuspecting face and began to claw at his skin, ripping at anything she could find. She found his lips and hooked her fingers inside his open mouth, pulling as hard as she could, ripping the corners of his mouth open farther.
The Orc growled at the pain and shook Eowyn off as easily as a horse shakes a fly off his back. He took off toward the cave without a glance. "Children's flesh is the sweetest," he said.
Eowyn looked back as he made his way to the cave, but she didn't have time to get up before the other Orc was on top of her, its knees pressing into her abdomen. "I'm going to cut you into tiny pieces," he said, abandoning his sword for a jagged bloodied dagger.
Fear gripped Eowyn, but not for herself. Whose red blood was caked on that blade? The pause gave the Orc time enough to slice down Eowyn's face. She turned, but the blade found her temple, dragging an opening all the way down to her jaw. Blood started to pool in her eyes as she looked up at the Orc above, her vision clouded with red. She was pinned to the ground, blood leaking out from the cuts over her body, her broken ribs screamed at her to stop moving. Through the fog that threatened to cloud her vision, she heard Awena's cries and a strange calm passed over her. She barely thought as she reached her arm up at the Orc above her, her fist connecting hard with his haw, sending him backwards. He reeled but as he came back, he drove the dagger deep into her abdomen. She didn't feel anything, only reached for his haw again, this time snapping it as hard as she could to the side. She pushed the dead Orc off of her and sprinted towards the cave, her feet flying through the leaves, jumping over roots. She came crashing into the opening, placing herself in front of her children, just as the large Orc reached the opening.
..::..
Aragorn let the last body slide off the end of his sword, so sharp it cut through flesh like butter, sliding back out just as easily. The dead Orc splashed into the shallow water; its black blood being carried away by the current. Aragorn looked around him, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Sweat covered his body, dampening his clothes and slicking his hair. Water had splashed up as he fought, soaking his pants almost to the waist. He stood in the water for a moment, looking around him at the bodies in piles, their blood draining out around him. He wondered if he was dreaming.
How had so many Orcs traveled without detection? How had they found him? How had he not sensed their approach? It had only been an hour since they had sat, playing together as a family, content and safe. How had things turned so quickly danger and death?
The warm sensation of blood on his back and the pain in his shoulder of torn muscles to wield his sword told him this was reality. Aragorn looked into the forest in the direction Eowyn had run. He took off, following their path easily, cursing the paths made by Orcs that had followed them. His head was down, looking for the path when he heard Eowyn's scream. He knew her sounds well, it wasn't a scream of pain, but of anger and desperation, her voice raw with emotion. His head shot up and he took off in a sprint in the direction of her voice.
..::..
Eowyn stood in the mouth of the cave, her fingers clutching her abdomen where a knife was buried deep in her flesh. She was half bent over, trying to see through the blood drying on the side of her face, her breath coming in shallow gasps. She felt blackness creeping into the corners of her vision and she thrust out her free hand to catch herself on the mouth of the cave.
The Orc stood in front of her, almost amused by the battered body in front of him, as if this tiny broken thing could be the wall that would stop him from getting to the children.
Eowyn lifted her eyes up, defiantly meeting his. "You will not touch them again," she said, her voice raw.
Eldarion couldn't breathe and couldn't think. His mother, the woman he loved more than anything else in the world, stood in front of him. Blood leaked out of her in too many places to count, blooming over the white fabric of her dress as it was patterned with roses. Her long hair was tangled with leaves and twigs and matted in blood, both red and black. He stared in horror at the hilt of the blade in her stomach, blood dribbling over her fingers where she held it in place.
The Orc that stood in front of her was twice her size, as tall as his father and even wider. Under his dull grey skin were ropes of muscles. Eowyn seemed to shrink before Eldarion's eyes, her head hanging, her shoulder stooped in pain. He could hear the rasping sound of her breath form where he sat frozen. He watched as blood and sweat dripped from her chin onto the stone ground. The Orc spoke and Eldarion felt warm liquid pool in his lap, his sister so scared at the sound of its voice that her bladder had let loose.
"Awena," Eldaron said under his breath, but Awena's eyes squeezed shut, her grip on him almost painful.
"Why won't you die?" The Orc growled at Eowyn.
Eowyn's head lifted her eyes, meeting his and as she spoke, she drew herself up to her full height. "I am a shield maiden of Rohan," she said, staring into his cold eyes. "I slew the Witch King of Angmar, that no man could kill, and the Nazgul beast he rode on." She stood a step forward. "I am a princess of Rohan and the Queen of Gondor. At my call I could muster all the armies of men."
The Orc stared back at her. "Eowyn," he said her name. She had never heard an Orc say her name, let alone know it as if they spoke about her in their filthy holes.
Eowyn smiled wickedly at his recognition. "You will kneel at my feet before your death," she said, her voice power.
The Orc chuckled. "I will bring back your head to the others under the mountain as my trophy," he growled. "And use your severed neck to pleasure myself."
Eldarion felt his dinner rush up his throat at the images of the Orc's words in his mind. He had to lean over Awena as he heaved it onto the stone floor. He wondered why his mother seemed to be having a conversation with the Orc. At the sound of his vomiting, the Orc's attention snapped to where they sat huddled. Eldarion realized that she had been buying time, distracting him from where her children sat huddled.
The Orc growled and lunged for Eowyn, his fingers wrapping around her neck, sealing off her airway. He lifted her above his head, strong enough to lift her with one hand and he slammed her body into the rock.
Eldarion didn't know what bone broke with the impact, but he heard the snap of it ring through the cave. He watched as the Orc laughed, holding his mother in place.
"Queens die just like everyone else," he said.
Eldarion's eyes found her boots, blood dripped down off a toe; her body pinned, feet off the ground. His eyes trailed her body, covered in dirt and blood up to her beautiful face. Her lips were turning blue and her eyelids became heavy, unable to catch a breath through the Orc's iron grip on her neck. She was weaponless and her energy was completely spent. Eldarion felt panic rise up in him as the life seemed to drain out of Eowyn before his eyes.
..::..
Aragorn ran, trees blurring his vision, fear pushing him forward. He was only able to think of one thing, the faces of his children and the way they looked up at him adoringly. He had to get to them, had to hold them in his arms again. Everything he had was nothing without them. He counted bodies as he ran, pride and hope rising up in him. He knew Eowyn's ferocity and he knew it would only be amplified by the need to protect what was hers, what she had made.
..::..
Eldarion watched Eowyn's eyes close and he couldn't make breath enter his lungs as horror and grief washed over him.
The Orc began to laugh. "So easy," he said, dropping his sword with a clatter to the ground. Reaching his now free hand to grab to Eowyn's white face, pressing her cheek to part her lips. "What a beautiful mouth," he growled.
Eldarion watched Eowyn's hand move slightly at her middle, thinking her body had twitched, but then her hand was moving with purpose and she drew out the blade. Slowly, fresh red blood ran down and in one swift movement she shoved it up into the Orc's ribs. He grunted at the pain, making a strange sucking sound as he tried to fill his now pierced lung with air, his grip on Eowyn's neck loosening.
Eowyn gasped in air, her feet hitting the ground with a thud. Eldarion felt hope flare in him as the Orc looked down at the blood spurting from his chest. Eowyn smiled, leaning back on the rock, her body drooping but filled with fresh air. Her teeth were a straight line of white contrasting to the blood smeared over her. Her eyes met Eldarion's from across the cave and he felt her love warm his entire body, they would be together again.
But with a grunt, the Orc in front of her pulled a long cruel dagger that was strapped to his thigh. His blade was silver, glinting in the light, sharpened to a needle's point. This was no crude Orc's tool meant for hacking.
"Mother!" Eldarion screamed as the blade pierced upward. He would never forget the sound it made as it cut through flesh, scraping along ribs, its hilt finding its home under her beast. Its tip ripped clean through her shoulder, scratching the stone behind her. Eldarion felt his world slip away from him as the blade entered his mother's body. Time seemed to slow as he ripped Awena away from himself and reached for the rusted sword, his fingers finding its hilt.
Eowyn fell sideways, her body in a heap on the floor of the cave. Nothing but fear drove Eldarion forward as the tip of his sword found the Orc's back, he threw all of his weight into it, thrusting it through its chest. He watched the Orc fall away from him, landing dead non top of his mother. He wanted to rush to her, to pull the disgusting creature away from her, but his feet stood frozen to the ground.
..::..
Aragorn stopped short, the breath knocked out of him, his hands beginning to shake and tears flooding his eyes. In the mouth of the cave Eldarion stood as a giant Orc crumpled in front of him, Eldarion's rusted blade stuck into his spine. Behind him, Awena lay on the ground, her arms wrapped around her head, her whole body shaking with sobs.
"Eldarion!" Aragorn called as he ran towards them. The boy's head turned to meet his eyes, tears streamed down his face, his eyes empty. His son, the little boy whose curls bounced as he ran towards him, ready to be scooped into his father's arms, stood before him, black blood splattered across his chest. Aragorn knew the feeling of death intimately, killing was difficult, even with an Orc little more than an animal. Still, Aragorn crashed to his knees in front of the boy, pressing him into his arms. Then he pulled away in a panic, looking him over, his hands still on Eldarion's cheeks. "Are you hurt?" He asked through tears of his own. "Your sister, is she hurt?"
Eldarion shook his head, pressing his eyes closed, unable to look at where his mother lay half covered by the body of the Orc.
Aragorn's eyes snapped to the side and he was on the Orc in an instant, pulling his body away from Eowyn with a strangled cry. "Eowyn," he said breathlessly, his voice raw emotion. Panic sunk its claws into him and his thoughts became a jumbled mess of memory and the blood in front of him. His healer's knowledge was buried underneath piles of dread, fear and heartbreaking love. It fought to find the front of his mind, he knew that he had to heal her, to save her.
Instinctively, Aragorn's eyes went to his face, wanting to look into her deep blue eyes, to communicate without words as only the years spent together had taught him. Eowyn lay crumpled on her side, her face pressing into the cold stone under her. He looked at her skin, so white that her freckles stood in harsh contrast. Her lips were parted, their normally bright color diminished to the palest pink. His eyes followed the smear of dark red blood from the side of her face that was pressed into the ground. Aragorn touched her cheek as he had done countless times before, then took her face in both of his hands. As gently as he could, he turned her face to the side, all the breath left his lungs involuntarily in a shaking exhale at the sight of the gash. It was open so deep he could see the white of her skull, the cut ran over her high cheekbone.
Letting his eyes close for second, Aragorn searched deep within himself, then he looked down at the rest of Eowyn. His eyes saw the shallow cut on her shoulder, first cut into the sleeve of her dress and then into her soft skin. As his healer's eyes followed the curves of her body that he knew so well, invisible hands gripped his neck, sealing of his airway. Pain coursed through his veins as if he felt her wounds as his own. He closed his eyes, trying to gather his thoughts and the cool the sense of dread building up in him.
"Father," Eldarion said behind him, his voice sounded so broken and afraid.
Aragorn forced his eyes open and he deftly began to work, reaching for a blade at his hip. He began to cut long strips from the skirt of her dress to wrap around the opening of the wound in her stomach. He choked back sobs as he worked, he wanted to pull her into his arms and cradle her close, but he had no time. His knees were already in a growing pool of blood.
Aragorn glanced over his shoulder and met Eldarion's eyes, he was as white as his mother, his eyes pleading, wanting only to hear his father's comforting voice tell him she would be okay. Aragorn knew what he had to do, he had to give his children their mother back. He would cut his own throat and let his life's blood flow onto her if he thought it would close her wounds. He had to stop the bleeding, get her back to Edoras, cauterize the wounds and build her strength back.
Eowyn's breath hitched as Aragorn tied the knot around her middle tightly, then let out a small moan of pain. Her eyes blinked open; through a red blur she saw Aragorn's face working over her. She felt peace wash over her like a wave, he was there, her children would be safe now. She found the strength to move her arm and found where his hand was pressing firmly into her middle, just above her hip where the first dagger had hug deep into her. She laid her hand, sticky with her own blood, on top of his.
Aragorn paused for a second, looking down at her hand then his eyes shot to her face, meeting her deep blue eyes. The sun had dipped below the horizon, its golden glow replaced with the light blue of early dusk. Inside the cave, it was almost completely dark. He brushed his free hand over her cheek lovingly, looking down into the deep blue of her eyes. "It's alright," he breathed, leaning forward to use the hem of his shirt to wipe the blood away from her brow and where it caked her delicate eyelashes. "Everything will be alright." He started to wrap strips of cloth around the blade in her chest, trying to stabilize it until they reached Edoras, where he had the tools and herbs to control the bleeding.
Eowyn's face contorted in pain at even the slightest movements and her eyes squeezed shut as she growled out a curse.
Aragorn's lips twitched upwards, happy to se her conscious and speaking. "We're going back to Edoras where you can heal," he said, his words stern. "I'm going to heal you, Eowyn."
Eowyn nodded and let her eyes drift shut. Every scrap of energy she had found inside herself to fight for her children was gone now that she knew Aragorn was there, his strong arms holding her together.
Aragorn lifted his head and whistled as loudly as he could, hoping their horses were still in earshot and had not bolted back to their stables at the start of the fight.
Eldarion watched as his father worked, his mother's head bobbing slightly on the cold stone as he tied the bandages around her tighter than Eldarion thought possible. Eldarion started to back away, feeling bile rush into his mouth again. But then his father was speaking to him. "Eldarion," he called, lifting his mother's head so gently, as if it might shatter. Aragorn motioned for him to kneel and placed her head in his lap carefully. "Stay here while I find out horses," Aragorn said, touching his cheek. "Watch her breathing and if it changes scream for me as loudly as you can." Eldarion nodded.
Aragorn moved to pick Awena up off the floor, holding her against his chest. "All the Orcs are dead, you do not need to fear," he said as he walking into the forest, but his words rang hollow as panic gripped his own heart. Hs whistled again and two horses cleared the trees. He said a silent prayer of thanks and hoisted Awena onto one's back. He smoothed her hair once he noticed her skirts were wet with urine and his heart broke at her palpable fear.
Turning back to the cave, Aragorn saw Eldarion brushing his thumb over his mother's temple and looking down at her quiet face. "Why is her skin so cold?" Eldarion asked without looking up, his voice shaking.
Aragorn grabbed his cloak, a gift from Galadriel long ago, and knelt beside Eowyn, wrapping her in it's warm fold and touching her face. The cloak had served him well, protected him more then he could remember; he prayed now that it would protect her too until they were back home safe. Hold on, he pleaded silently. He lifted her broken form into his arms, gently he swung into the horse's saddle, tucking her body into his, careful of the blade still inside her. He pressed her head into his chest and started away from the cave, checking that Eldarion had followed. He urged his horse into a gallop, rushing in the direction of Edoras.