Aralas Love Story

Book 2 Chapter 5- The Road to Helm's Deep

Ada and I rode behind dad and King Theoden and we were all listening to Gimli talking about Dwarf women for whatever reason I didn't know.

"It's true you don't see many dwarf women and in fact their so alike in voice and appearance, that they're often mistaken for dwarf men." Gimli was telling Eowyn and she looked back at dad

"It's the beards." he whispered and made a motion with his hand by moving it from his chin and back down.

Eowyn chuckled quietly and looked back up at Gimli who was on top of a horse "This in turn has risen the belief that there are no dwarf women and that dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground!" Eowyn laughed loudly

"Which is of course ridiculous...woah!" Gimli shouted in surprise as the horse Gimli was on ran off and Gimli fell off

Eowyn ran off to see if he was alright dusting off his back. "It's alright, it's alright. Nobody panic. That was deliberate, it was deliberate." Gimli said

"I have not seen my niece smile for a long time. She was a girl when her father was brought back dead, cut down by orcs. She watched her mother succumb to grief, then she was alone to tend to a king in growing fear. Doomed to wait upon a old man who should have loved her like a father. " I heard Theoden admit to dad.

I heard Spirit whimper and I started rubbing her head. The king looked at me and smiled. "You look like your mother and father and your grandparents too." He stated and I looked up "You knew my grandparents and mother and father?" I asked. 

"Yes. Your Grandfather was a knight in Rohan. He met your grandmother who was an elf. They had a child who was a elf too. She met a guard in Gondor and they married and had you. There are strange tales of what happened next. How are your parents?" Theoden asked and my eyes wandered to the floor.

"I don't know. I was found by Ada and dad on the forest floor. They watched me grow up and raised me as their own." I said quietly and Ada put his hand on top of mine "I- I didn't know. I'm sorry for your loss." the king stated

Evening soon fell and the people made camp. I sat with my back to a tree and Shadow, Athena, Luna, and Spirit were near me.

I was lost in thought when a voice interrupted me of my thoughts. "I made some stew. It isn't much, but it's hot. I unfortunately only have one bowl left." Eowyn said and threw me a glance.

"It's ok. I'm not very hungry." I said softly and threw a small smile her way. It wasn't a lie. I wasn't feeling very hungry.

Dad gave Eowyn a smile as she handed him a bowl of soup. "Thank you." dad said and brought the spoon to his mouth. I watched as he took a sip and barely managed to keep from spitting out. "It's good." dad lied

"Really?" Eowyn asked and dad nodded. Eowyn turned and started to walk away not knowing that dad was pouring out the soup. "My uncle told me a strange thing." Eowyn said surprising dad and he accidentaly poured the soup onto his hand

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. "He said that you rode to war with Thengel my grandfather, but he must be mistaken." Eowyn started "King Theoden had a good memory, he was only a small child at the time." dad replied

Eowyn knelt before dad and examined him "Then you must be at least 60." Eowyn said starting to guess dad's age "70? You cannot be 80." she said "87." dad replied causing Eowyn's mouth to drop open slightly as she stood up.

"You are one of the Dunedain, a descendant of Numenor, blessed with long life. It is said that your race has passed into legend." Eowyn stated "Please eat." Eowyn said and sat down next to dad making sure he ate.

After he had ate all of the soup Eowyn left. "Come over here." dad said and patted the spot next to him. I crawled over to him and layed my head on his lap. Dad started playing with my hair and I soon fell asleep only to fall asleep into a dream.

I was in Saruman's dungeon "Why hello love." a eerie voice said. I turned around and there standing in front of me was the wizard himself.

I gasped against my will and stepped backward only to find that there was a wall behind me. "Scared love?" Saruman asked and I stepped forward "No." I said confidently.

The wizard let out a icy laugh "Oh I beg to differ." he said "I know one of the haflings gave you the ring. I look forward to seeing you in person." Saruman said and pushed me against the wall and pinned my arms above my head.

"When I see you. You'll give me the ring." he whispered into my ear before letting go of me. and that's when I woke up in a cold sweat.

I was panting and shivering even though I was sweating.

I looked frantically around me trying to take in my surroundings. "Lass?" I heard someone whisper.

My head shot to the voice and I saw that it was only Gimli. "Are you ok?" Gimli asked me and I nodded my head. Gimli got up and walked quietly toward me

"What is it lass?" Gimli asked. "It's alright you can tell me anything." he said softly and so I told him. I told him about my dream.

"It'll be alright. Shh. " he said and patted my shoulder. "Want me to tell you a story?" Gimli asked and I nodded.

I lay down and Gimli started a story. The story of Thorin's quest from Gloin's perspective was the story he told me.

As I was about to drift off to sleep again I decided to ask Gimli a very important question. "Gimli. Don't tell Ada, or dad. Please." I whispered my eyes pleading.

Gimli looked like he was debating against this until he finally nodded. "Alright." he said "Promise?" I asked "Promise." He said and I smiled before drifting off to sleep.