THE FORGOTTEN

Running Through Rohan

Disclaimer: I do not own the Lord of the Rings

Authors note: Again, I shall be quoting/paraphrasing the book! And for grins – review!

They ran on through the dusk and all through the night. Legolas found some dead orcs and Lothril cringed. Cruelly hewn they were, and the stench was horrible! They had been dead for a few hours and already starting to smell… though they smelled when they were alive too. Gimli made some comment about the hobbits meeting their end in that place.

"No Gimli, if they had, their corpses would be here. Saruman wants them for questioning, that is certain. Otherwise they would have been killed with Boromir," Lothril said.

"That brings me both fear and hope," Aragorn said. He then searched all the area around the corpses until the sun rose. It was then that he found tracks. All four sped off, following the new trail. After a time they came to a steep ridge and looked down. As Lothril gazed about the landscape, Legolas looked up and saw an eagle. Lothril looked up and saw him, but Aragorn and Gimli could not. She looked back at the plain about the same time Legolas did and saw a great, swift moving company. How frustrating it was! She could see the company, she knew that Merry and Pippin were right there, and yet, there was nothing they could do for them but run. Well, run and sing. Lothril had supposed that Saruman was helping to speed the Uruk-hai along and hinder them. Two could play that game. As she ran she sang a song of hope and it seemed to her that they all ran just a little faster and lighter as the gloom was lifted slightly from their hearts.

They ran on, occasionally finding something left by the orcs. "Pigs!" Lothril spat as she looked at the debris. They climbed down a narrow ravine and suddenly they came into the thick green grass of Rohan. It seemed to Lothril that they had suddenly crossed the line that marked end of winter and the beginning of spring. The smell of herbs and flowers were in the air that made Legolas and Lothril breathe deeply. How nice it was to smell those scents again! If she could have, she would have thrown herself into the grass and stayed there for a week. However, she could not. She took one more draught of the green smell and continued on.

They ran single file until Aragorn told them to halt. He found the footprints of the hobbits. Lothril was delighted when Aragorn found the broach. They were getting closer! When he did, Legolas and Gimli exclaimed "The brooch of an elven-cloak!" at the same time. She suppressed a laugh. They were in such perfect unison it sounded rehearsed. The other three were so preoccupied with the find that they didn't notice her muffled giggle.

"Well Lothril, it seems that you were right," Gimli said.

"Yes, but I hope that Pippin did not pay too dearly for his boldness," Legolas said. "Let us go on! The thought of Merry and Pippin being driven like cattle burns my heart."

"They are often being carried because they cannot keep up and they are in want of haste," Lothril said.

All three of them stopped and looked at her with something like horror on their faces.

"They are being carried on the backs of their captors, by and large, because they cannot keep up. It is horribly unpleasant and disgusting, but all things considered, they are being treated extremely well for orc captives. They are not to be touched, toyed, or tampered with until they reach Saruman, which is obviously sparing them a good deal of horrors. Though we need to hasten after them, for the moment we do not need to fear any permanent damage being done to them," she explained.

"Have you foreseen this?" Aragorn asked, sounding skeptical. She seemed to be in possession of the gift of foresight, but this seemed far too detailed for any foresight he had been given or heard about.

Lothril hesitated then said, "Let us call it foreknowledge, rather than foresight and leave it there."

He wondered, but said no more and took some hope from the knowledge that the hobbits were being at least somewhat decently and resumed their hunt. On they ran, as they did the sun rose higher and higher, and then sunk into the western sky. One day had now passed since Boromir had died. As night came, Aragorn halted.

"We must now decide; do we rest by night, or go on while our will and strength hold?" Aragorn asked.

"If I thought our enemy would rest this night, I would say rest. Otherwise they shall leave us far behind. I think we should go on," Legolas said.

"If we go on by night, we shall not be able to follow the trail," Gimli replied.

The debate continued on until Aragorn said, "What say you Lothril?"

She looked at the faces of her three companions. "I–" she balked and thought it over then said, "Oh, I vote sleep."

Aragorn and Gimli were content with her decision and cast themselves upon the ground.

"Lothril, are you certain that we should sleep tonight?" Legolas whispered.

"Yes Legolas, quite certain," she replied.

He frowned, "I know that the orcs are not stopping this night. I fear that they shall gain such a great lead that we shall never be able to catch up with them."

"If we did not stop now by choice, in the end Aragorn and Gimli would be forced to stop by sheer exhaustion. It is best we all rest now."

"Your words bring me little comfort."

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I am sorry, but I am afraid my company will not bring you much comfort this night either. I must sleep tonight. Good night Legolas." She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and then lay down upon the grass. He watched her do so and noted that she closed her eyes. This puzzled him, but he said nothing.

She had closed her eyes so she could concentrate on seeing people from afar. The first she sought were Merry and Pippin. She could see a darkness moving in the night and knew it to be the uruk-hai as they were heading towards Isengard. It was hard for her to see them, as the same power that was striving to hinder them and speed the uruk-hai also made it difficult for her to follow them. Though she could strive against it during the day, it was hard for her to focus enough to see the hobbits and chase them at the same time. She then turned her mind towards Frodo and Sam. They were also shrouded by darkness, but they were only just under the edge of it. She was having trouble piercing the shadow that was stretching over them, but she could just see them. She couldn't tell if Gollum had caught up with them or not, only that they were there. The closer they drew to Mordor, the less she would be able to see.

In the physical world however, Legolas was looking at Lothril who was only breathing a little heavier than normal with her eyes closed. What was she doing?

At length she decided she had done enough looking abroad for the night and allowed her thoughts to give way to sleep for the night. Legolas saw her eyes open at last and wondered.

The next morning, before the sun rose, Aragorn and Gimli awoke. Aragorn stretched himself upon the ground to listen for rumor of the orcs. He laid there a very great while and at long last arose and said, "The sounds are confused and dim. The sound of horses can be heard, and they are drawing ever closer. I wonder what is happening in this land," Aragorn said. While speaking the last part he looked at Lothril.

"Much. There is much happening," she answered.

"When this is all over, if days of peace come, we are sitting down and you are answering all my questions," Aragorn replied.

"As you wish," she answered with a smile.

They ran on; the third day of the chase had begun. They did not speak much during the run, as Lothril was intermittently working to slow the progress of the uruk-hai. Not that she figured she would do much to effect it, but she thought Saruman might notice, and per her orders, that was what she wanted.

At dusk they halted again. There was much talk, but Lothril did not listen to any of it; she cast herself upon the ground and slept. The next morning she was awakened by Legolas crying "Awake! Awake!" She jumped up with the others and off they ran, stopping only once or twice. All that day she focused on running, and left Saruman to puzzle at who was contending with him. Besides, as the days wore on, she decided she would be better served helping Aragorn and Gimli maintain their strength, and so focused on that.

That evening, Legolas urged them to climb to the top of a hill to rest. Lothril was still wide awake. As Aragorn and Gimli slept, fitfully at times, Legolas and Lothril stood upon the hill top. Each had an arm around the other's waist. He began singing softly to himself; she recognized the song and started singing with him. As they sang, the stars appeared, almost as if their song was making them appear. Once during the night Aragorn awoke and saw the two figures standing and singing. Aragorn smiled, he was of the same opinion Samwise was, Legolas was far too nice of an elf to go through the ages alone. He went back to sleep.

"Lothril, how are Frodo and Sam?" Legolas asked.

Her eyes closed as she thought for a moment about how many days it had been since they had left the river. "They are climbing Emyn Muil, soon to meet Gollum," she said.

"Gollum!" Legolas repeated sounding slightly distressed.

"Yes, Gollum. Do not worry, as evil as he may be, there is still good left in him," she tried to assure. "And as Mithrandir said, he has a part to play yet."

He sighed. He wanted to help Frodo and Sam; he wanted to save Merry and Pippin! Yet, he was stuck on a hill top, only able to look out and wonder what was going on. She felt his frustration.

"I know," she said out loud. She placed a kiss on his cheek. He put his other arm around her, thus drawing her closer to him. He placed a kiss upon her mouth. Once they broke apart she looked into his eyes.

"Legolas, I..."

"Do not speak," he said. He embraced her gently and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "I am frustrated. All I want is..." he trailed off.

"To make the world right again? I know. I feel the exact same way! I am tormented Legolas! I could have saved Merry and Pippin from being kidnapped by simply telling them to stay by the river, I could have forced my company on Frodo and Sam, I could have saved Boromir's life, I could have saved Gandalf from... No, I could not. There is a reason that I had to allow all those things to happen. Surely you can understand how one small thing can change the course of the future. I know, or can guess the reasons why all these things have happened, as painful as they are, they had to. I wish I could tell you… but I cannot."

"For as tempting as it may be, I do not want to know. Many elves have been gifted with foresight and as often as not, it has proven to be as dangerous as it is useful," he replied.

"You are wise. Though I think this a little more than foresight, it is no easy thing to bear. Indeed, it is maddening. I know the road ahead, but can say nothing and I am terrified I shall do something to change it. At the same time, I only know my road so long as it coincides with you, Aragorn, and Gimli; and I know my orders, but there is much that is unknown between those things for me," she said.

"Why did you come with us?" Legolas asked suddenly. "Why did you not continue on to Minas Tirith alone?"

She frowned. "I suppose I may tell you, though understand I am leaving out much by necessity. There are two reasons. First, though I did study maps at Elrond's house, I brought none with me and none of them were so detailed as to allow me make the journey to Minas Tirith alone. For if I followed the river, I should have ran into several river crossings that would prove difficult, to say nothing else of the rest of the terrain, and then at some point gone out of my way and navigate towards the city across country with no map or means of guiding myself. Second, going with Aragorn shall help me accomplish my mission more efficiently than if I went directly to Minas Tirith."

Legolas raised a brow at the last sentence, but then said, "That is reasonable. And I am glad you came with us anyway, for if the Fellowship had remained whole, and you continued to Gondor with Aragorn and Boromir, my heart would have longed to go with you, but I should have stayed with Frodo and the rest, lest Mithrandir had other designs. When he fell I then determined I would wait and see how things fared, and indeed while Frodo was making his decision, I was making my own plans. If he wished us all to go to Emyn Muil then that is where I should have gone. If he had decided we first go to Minas Tirith, then I would have gone so far and then determined if I stayed with you or carried on.".

"Out of curiosity, what did you think he would do?" Lothril asked.

Legolas shook his head, "I am not sure. I suspected he was not looking to go to Minas Tirith, or else he would have said so right away, I think. He knew that is where Boromir was going, and it was no secret at the Council that Aragorn intended to go there also. What puzzled me is why he did not immediately say he would go through Emyn Muil, except perhaps he did not want Aragorn and Boromir to think they needed to follow him, perhaps? I know not." He paused and looked at Lothril and asked, "Do you know what he was thinking?"

She knit her brows in concentration, trying to remember that part of the book. "Hmm… only so far as Samwise guessed it, which is he knew the rest of his road is incredibly dangerous and could not bring himself to lead anyone else into such peril, and so he was trying to work out a way he could go and go alone."

Legolas thought it over a minute then said, "I suppose I can see why he would think so. I am glad Samwise is with him, though."

Lothril nodded. "Indeed."

"Enough of this speculation. Let us enjoy the peace and solitude that we have while we can," he said, pulling her close to himself once more.

"Yes, for we will not have it long," she quietly replied, resting her head on his shoulder and putting her arms around him. She closed her eyes and let her thoughts wander, and they wandered back down the road she had traveled over the last few months. Sooner or later she would find herself back in school where she started. The idea was almost laughable – going from chasing orcs, combating evil, talking with Valar, and befriending kings to worrying about history exams, algebra problems, and how to sneak out of the house to hunt orcs without arousing suspicion from parents, police, or the DNR. No, this was not going to be easy. She began to fret a bit about going back. How was she going to sneak out of the house to hunt orcs without getting in trouble on every level? It's not like her house was even sorta near where they were suspected to be. With good traffic and tiny bit of speeding she was three and half hours away. She reckoned if she was careful, she'd make it the distance from her bedroom door to the front door before she was caught.

Legolas sensed the change in her mood. "What is wrong? You are worrying about something."

She inhaled deeply. "Ooh, I was just thinking about how I shall ever manage to hunt orcs back home. My mother and father trust me a good deal, but not nearly enough to let me go off alone for an undetermined amount of time. And if I were to explain the whole thing to them, they would either laugh and say no, or think I had gone mad."

"Lothril, you are worrying about things you can do nothing about or at least nothing at the moment. The time to solve that problem is a ways off yet. At present, we have a very pressing set of circumstances that need our attention, your attention. Besides, the Valar said you would receive help, did they not? It may be that the help they send will solve these problems for you, making all your fretting for naught," he chided.

"You are right. Over thinking is one of my flaws that I cannot seem to better," she admitted. There were many things that she had gotten better about over the years. Over thinking things she could nothing about was not one of them. She exasperated herself sometimes.

"Do not worry Lothril, I overlook your flaws," he assured.

She gave a quiet laugh. "You are too nice to me!" she half joked.

"And why do you say that?" he asked with a grin.

"Because you are. You overlook my flaws, you laugh at my jokes; that alone is enough!"

"Which, overlooking your flaws or laughing at your jokes?"

"Both," she answered with a grin.

The night wore on in peace and quiet, at least on that hill. Only a few minutes before the sun rose, Lothril remembered what day it was; it was the day she was to meet Éomer. A small thrill ran through her, the challenge, for her, was about to begin.

She was still in his arms as the sun was barely peaking above the horizon, and Aragorn awoke and sat up. He saw them and assumed they were about to kiss. "I am sorry, am I interrupting anything?" he said grinning impishly.

Lothril was going to say no, but before she could speak Legolas blurted out, "Yes, as a matter of fact you are. Go back to sleep until the sun has risen above the hills, that should be enough time."

Much to her surprise, Aragorn laid back down with his ear to the ground and Legolas leaned down to kiss her.

"Legolas Greenleaf, what are you-" she began, but he kissed her before she could finish.

"You were asking something?" Legolas asked.

"I believe you have answered it," she said, sounding a little breathless.

Aragorn suddenly stood and walked just past them to gaze out across the uplands in the pale morning light.

"What is it Aragorn?" Legolas asked, letting go of Lothril and looking out.

"I hear a faint rumor – I see a dark swift-moving blur," Aragorn said then cast himself upon the ground again.

Legolas and Lothril stood and shaded their eyes against the morning light and saw small figures of horsemen and the glint of the morning light on their spears, and behind them the dark curling threads of smoke from a great burning. Gimli was awake now and stood still and silent, hearing nothing but the air moving in the grass.

"Riders!" Aragorn cried. "Many riders on swift steeds are heading towards us!"

"Yes," said Legolas, "there are one hundred and five. Yellow is their hair, and bright are their spears. Their leader is very tall."

"Keen are the eyes of the Elves," Aragorn smiled.

"You truly cannot see them?" Lothril asked.

Aragorn shook his head. "They are still mostly a dark blur to me."

"How far off are they?" Lothril asked, turning her head slightly towards Legolas.

"A little over five leagues," he answered.

"Hmm. I suppose I have forgotten what human vision is like," Lothril said. "When I was yet mortal, my vision was poor and this whole land would have only looked like fuzzy rolling green blurs. I wore something to help my vision return to normal, but often I struggled anyway for other reasons."

"Five leagues or one, we cannot escape them," Gimli said. "Shall we wait for them here or go on our way?"

"We will wait," Aragorn said.

"It is just as well. They heading back down the orc-trail," Lothril said.

"We may get news from them," Aragorn said.

"Or spears," Gimli said.

"Do not be so gloomy, master dwarf," Lothril said. "It is unlikely that they should be so rash as to spear four wanderers on sight."

"Let us not be an easy mark on the hilltop, regardless," Aragorn said. With that the four of them went to the foot of the hill and sat huddled together with their cloaks wrapped around them against the thin and searching wind. Lothril pulled her hood up deep and allowed it to shield her face. Time past slowly Lothril began singing to herself.

"What is it you are singing?" Legolas asked.

"Hmm? Oh, I did not realize I was. It was a song Finrod taught me," she answered.

"Finrod?" Legolas said, sounding shocked, Aragorn looked at her also surprised.

"Yes, he was one of my teachers in Valinor. As I said after I awoke, it seemed I was there much longer than three days. Anyway, it is a song of spring. I suppose I ought to be careful singing it though – I may cause the flowers to bloom too early," she said with a slight frown.

"Surely you could not," Gimli said.

"Could I not?"

Suddenly Gimli wasn't sure that she couldn't, but decided it was a mystery too great for him to solve and changed the subject. "What do you know of these horsemen, Aragorn? Do we sit here waiting for sudden death?"

Aragorn began telling Gimli what he knew of the Rohirrim and Lothril listened with some interest. Before Aragorn was done speaking, Legolas and Lothril could both hear the distant sound of the galloping horses, and at length even Gimli could hear them. The cries of clear, strong voices came ringing over the fields and suddenly the horsemen were thundering past them, shaking the very ground beneath them. They remained sitting even as Aragorn stood and hailed them.

The speed and skill with which the riders turned and surrounded them was magnificent and Lothril thought she had never seen such impressive horsemanship. Even as the circle closed around them and a thicket of spears were pointed at them, Aragorn did not stir and neither did the others. This was a moment where Lothril was exceedingly glad she knew what would happen, for if this scene played out and she did not, she was certain she would not be as calm as she was. As it was, she was unmoved.

The leader dismounted and began questioning Aragorn. "How did you escape our sight? Are you elves?"

"No," Aragorn answered. "Only two of us are elves; Legolas of the Woodland Realm in distant Mirkwood and Lothril of Imladris, emissary of the West. We have, however, passed through Lothlorien, and the gifts and favor of the Lady go with us," Aragorn said.

Lothril's mouth twitched into a brief grin as she stood and gave an elvish bow to the man of Rohan, her face still deeply buried in her hood. Emissary of the West - how official sounding! After she had awoke in Lothlorien, given Aragorn was the default leader, she had told him of the task she had been given by the Valar, but hadn't thought of it as a title. It was true, but that was first time she had heard herself introduced as such. And of Rivendell! Arwen or Elrond must have said something. Her train of thought ended abruptly though when the leader made a foolish comment about Lady Galadriel.

"But if you have her favor, then you also are net-weavers and sorcerers maybe. Why do you not speak, silent ones?" he demanded.

Gimli stood and gripped his axe handle and told him he would give his name if the rider gave his. Lothril stood and placed a hand on Gimli's shoulder, which looked soft, but the dwarf thought felt like a great weight was on his shoulder.

Éomer introduced himself and then Gimli gave his name and insulted Éomer all in one sentence, which then resulted in Lothril's grip tightening and nearly causing him pain, but his stubbornness did not permit him to turn or say anything. Éomer threatened to Gimli and Legolas had arrow on string and bow bent with a movement quicker than sight.

Aragorn sprung between Éomer and Legolas and Lothril threw back her hood and stared at Legolas, telling him mentally to calm down because nothing would happen. Slowly he lowered his bow and returned arrow to quiver, and Gimli let go of his axe as she was pinching a nerve in his shoulder and he was losing feeling in his hand. Aragorn convinced Éomer to hear their tale before striking.

"I will, but wanderers in the Riddermark would be wise to be less haughty in these days of doubt." Éomer glanced at Lothril and realized the second elf was an elf-maid, not an elf-man and added, "I hope it also tells why an elf-maid travels with you," Éomer says. "But first, tell me your right name."

Aragorn began by asking if they were friend or foe of Mordor than began telling their tale, so far as it related as to why they were in Rohan. While he spoke, Lothril kept her hand on Gimli's shoulder and undid the pain she inflicted. He looked up at her with some annoyance but she put on a particularly innocent look and gave his shoulder a parting and painful squeeze before allowing her hand to fall to her side.

Wonder was in the eyes of Éomer as he listened, and then Aragorn at last declared who and what he was and asked Éomer to decide if he would aid or thwart him. In that moment it seemed to his companions that a white flame flickered on his brows like a crown. Éomer stepped back and was in awe and seemed a bit overwhelmed. Who could blame him? Tales and legends standing before him under the waking sun – who wouldn't be taken aback?

At last they got to the news they sought – the riders had killed all the orcs, and found none but orcs. Éomer sent away the rest of his men and spoke with Aragorn about Boromir and Gandalf and the others stood by and listened. The conversation came back around to their business of looking for the hobbits.

After deciding to aid Aragorn and his friends on their mission to find the hobbits, and with a promise from Aragorn they would go to Meduseld as soon as they may and present themselves to Théoden, Éomer gave orders that the spare horses were to be lent to the strangers. Aragorn was lent Hasufel, Legolas and Gimli shared Arod, and Lothril rode upon Leofa. Leofa was a noble horse, not as fiery as Arod, but spirited. She also asked that saddle and rein be removed, for she had learned without them and wasn't sure what she would do if she had them.

"Farewell, and may you find what you seek," cried Éomer. "Return with what speed you may, and let our swords hereafter shine together!"

"I will come," said Aragorn.

"And I will come too," said Gimli. "The matter of the Lady Galadriel lies still between us. I have yet to teach you gentle speech."

"We shall see," said Éomer. "So many strange things have chanced that to learn the praise of a fair lady under the loving strokes of a Dwarf's axe will seem no great wonder. Nor what brings an elven-maid on a desperate orc hunt," he added, looking at Lothril once more. "Perchance she shall explain herself on our next meeting. Farwell!"

Lothril said nothing but smiled. With that they parted and sped off on their way, stopping every so often so Aragorn could examine the tracks.