''My friends, welcome to Rohan.''
Aerin knew it the moment they reached it. Aerin announced it with a smile and warm sunshine on her face. Finally, a familiar land. And the weather of the day was beautiful. Looking back down to continue their tracking, Aerin noticed a novelty. Her heart jumped with joy. ''The hobbits!'' She exclaimed. ''This must have been Pippin, here...'' Aragorn bent down and picked up something from the ground. It was the Elven brooch, dirty but not broken. ''Not idly do the leaves of Lórien fall,'' he said, and Aerin understood what he meant. ''They may yet be alive,'' agreed Legolas. ''One of them left it as a sign. They are alive. They must be,'' Aerin said. ''The Uruks do not yet know that they don't have the Ringbearer. And I'm sure they'd want him alive.''
''Smart thinking, lass,'' said Gimli.
''Less than a day ahead of us. Come!'' Aragorn started running again and the rest followed, eagerly, but tiredly. Gimli was last again, he stumbled quite a few times and Aerin shouting ''Come, Gimli!'' did not aid in anything. He fell once and rolled across the ground, she feared he had broken a limb. ''Gimli, are you alright?''
''Of course I'm alright,'' he grumbled and dusted himself off, before he rushed forward again. He ran with his head held up as high as ever, and Aerin knew he was embarrassed from the fall. She felt a sudden surge of affection for the Dwarf. ''I'm wasted on cross-country,'' he grumbled, ''We dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances.'' Aerin laughed, which was a bad move considering how much out of breath she was. ''Look!'' She pointed to the lands in front, once we'd finally reached the top of a smaller hill. ''Home of the horse-lords,'' announced Aragorn.
Beautiful green plains were before them. They seemed cold in a sense, as there weren't many trees, or anything for that matter, not as far as human eye could see. Simply grass reaching the horizon. But Aerin's heart also felt warmer in an unusual manner; she felt less endangered upon crossing the borders of Rohan, even though danger was still there, and it was just as great. Knowing that Aerin was again in a Kingdom of Men once more felt encouraging for a reason she did not know, though she was still just another stranger in those lands. ''There's something strange at work here. Some evil gives speed to these creatures, sets its will against us,'' said Aragorn. ''Legolas! What do your elf eyes see?''
''The Uruks turn Northeast. They are taking the hobbits to Isengard!'' Aerin stopped moving, ''Saruman.''
...
Aerin had lost all track of time. They ran for a very long while, and days all seemed the same to her. They ran as fast as we could, and gradually they were losing strength, but the Orcs ahead of them didn't seem to lose any. They barely talked; other than Legolas, they all used their minds to convince their bodies they could run some more. Gimli was doing it out loud. ''Keep breathing, that's the key! Breathe! Hooh!'' The Uruks moved at an abnormal speed. ''They run as if the very whips of their masters were behind them,'' Legolas said once and he said it perfectly. It was exactly so.
Night came and Aerin started getting even more tired. All she could do was yawn and slow the pace a little bit, because they were not going to stop all night. They were still running when dawn came. Slowly, but running. ''A red sun rises. Blood has been spilt this night,'' said Legolas, and Aerin almost shivered. She did not want to think about it.
Aerin heard horses in the distance. It must be the Riders of Rohan patrolling their lands, she thought, but they ran to take shelter anyway.
They hid behind large rocks nearby, and Aerin peeked to see who was coming their way. A large group of cavalry came into sight. They had passed them and the four of them remained unseen. Suddenly, Aragorn came out of hiding and shouted: ''Riders of Rohan! What news from the Mark?'' Confused, Aerin still followed his lead, as did all of them. They all stepped out from the shadows, and at a signal from their captain, the riders made a quick turn and headed towards us, encircling them completely.
The next thing Aerin knew, they pointed their spears at them. Aerin did not like the sight of a spear pointed between her eyes. As a matter of fact, it made her blood boil, and it was stirring up her bad temper. It seemed like wherever they went, someone was ready to kill them, even if said someone was supposed to be a friend instead of a foe. ''What business does an elf, an elleth, man and a dwarf have in the Riddermark?'' the captain addressed them. ''Speak quickly!''
''Give me your name, horsemaster, and I shall give you mine,'' Gimli said proudly and Aerin laughed. ''I would cut off your head, dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground,'' the captain said in a demeaning tone, dismounting his horse, and Aerin felt a strong urge to slap him across the face. Legolas did not waste a single second before he aimed an arrow at him. ''You would die before your stroke fell!''
Aragorn pushed Legolas's arm down trying to calm him, but Aerin loved the way Legolas reacted. Aragorn was in charge, so they listened and obeyed, but a small part of her wished they could put the man in his place just a few times more. But seeking trouble wasn't the way, and Aerin knew that too. They had enough trouble on their plate already. The man finally introduced himself as Éomer, and Aerin found a new respect for him for speaking his name first in spite of all the circumstances.
''You look like trouble,'' Éomer spoke again. ''And what is a elleth doing with you? She looks tortured, as fair as she is.'' There was silence. "Speak!" Éomer demanded and Aerin responded in Elvish. "Iston gin eithad be edhellen , a nin u-chenoig." Legolas laughed whilst Éomer looked on confused. (I can insult you in Elvish, and you won't understand me) Aerin then walked closer towards the man. ''If I look tortured then it is because I have been fighting and chasing Uruk-hai for days. And yet, these are the greetings I get, so excuse me, my Lord, if I don't look altogether presentable,'' Aerin hissed, her voice filled with venom and sharp sarcasm. ''I meant no disrespect, my lady. I'd never have expected you to be fighting Orcs is all.''
''Fair she may be, but she wields her sword better than most of your kin I've seen,'' Legolas retorted. ''Stop. Let us start again,'' said Aragorn calmly. ''I'm Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Aerin, daughter of lord Elrond of Rivendell. This is Gimli, son of Glóin, and Legolas, son of King Thranduil of the Woodland realm. We are friends of Rohan and of Théoden, your king.''
''Théoden no longer recognises friend from foe,'' Éomer said with disappointment, taking off his helmet. Suddenly, all the spears around them were withdrawn. ''... Not even his own kin,'' he continued. ''Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over this land. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished. The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked. And everywhere his spies slip past our nets,'' he looked at each of the Fellowship intently, suspiciously, as if trying to read their minds. ''We are no spies,'' reasoned Aragorn. ''We track a band of Uruk-Hai westward across the plains. They have taken two of our friends captive.''
''The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night.''
''But there were two hobbits; did you see two hobbits with them?'' asked Aerin. ''They would be small, only children to your eyes,'' added Aragorn. ''We left none alive,'' said Éomer. ''We piled the carcasses and burned them.'' He pointed to the smoke in the distance. ''Dead?'' Gimli asked, already devastated. ''I am sorry,'' said Éomer. ''And to you, lady Aerin, I apologise once more. I hope we will meet again in better times than these.''
Aerin nodded as he whistled, and called out the names of Hasufel and Arod, and two horses appeared before them. ''May these horses bear you to better fortune than the former masters. Farewell,'' he said, mounting his horse. ''Look for your friends, but do not trust the hope. It has forsaken these lands... We ride north!!'' And like that, they took off.
''We ride towards the burning pile. Come,'' said Aragorn as he motioned for me to mount the horse we were to share. ''Now, now, Aragorn, I shall ride with you. Go with the Elf, lass,'' said Gimli. ''Alright... but why?'' Aerin laughed softly at his unusual behaviour. ''The weight. And... everything... Just go.'' Aerin did not ask any further and went over to the horse Legolas was preparing. He spoke to the animal softly. ''Gimli told me to ride with you.''
''Oh, he did? Alright then. Front or back?'' He questioned his eyes still fixed on the horse. ''Front. You're taller; I'd like to see ahead.'' Aerin replied quickly as she saw that Aragorn and Gimli were already waiting on their horse. ''Alright.''
''You do not think they're dead, do you?'' Aerin whispered whilst they rode towards the burning pile of bodies. ''I do not think anything, mellon nin. I can only hope.''
''Well, I don't believe it.''
''Come.''
YOU ARE READING
to love someone else
Fanfiction''My heart doesn't matter, does it? Even if it is true, and he feels something for me too, it is still doomed to fail, isn't it? Elves can only love once. I am doomed to die of heartbreak, it's my fate as I know Haldir was the one... I'd never want...
