At Your Service

4. Gondor

We travelled this way for a couple of weeks, we kept heading south stopping by in villages we crossed on the road to enjoy a warm meal or just rest for a while.
When I started smelling salt in the air, I realised we must have reached the harbour. I had never seen the sea, never felt sand or salt water between my toes. Enthusiastically I urged Shadow to galop faster until we were out of the forest and met with another town rising up on the shoreline.

"What is this place?" I whispered as Shadow was walking through the abandoned streets. There were a couple of big white towers, and grey stone houses build on the cliffs.
There was a staircase build in the cliffs itself. I bound my pony to a tree as curiosity got the best of me and I started descending the stairs. There seemed to be hundreds of them, but I had time so I kept walking until I reached the bottom where a giant hole was made in the cliffs.
The hole was carved with such precision I guessed this was the work of elves. The way they build their towers and houses already gave me the impression, but no human could ever make a tunnel this large. I doubted even dwarves could do this.
As I walked deeper into the tunnel the echoes of the waves surrounded me. I kept walking deeper in the dark until I found a big white boat. It was bound to a pole, oars neatly hang on the wall and the sails were nicely folded and bound to the mast.
I climbed the boat to inspect it even closer, I climbed the mast and pretended to be at open sea. When I slid down I ran up to the wheel and turned it shouting "Ahoy! Setting sail in five, everyone with me?"
The boat bobbed up and down due to a strong wave that entered the tunnel causing me to immediately step backwards startled before laughing to myself.
"What a terrible pirate I would be." I muttered walking back down and jumping off the boat. I browsed some more among stored goods in the tunnel which led me to find a compass and binoculars and taking them with me. Those could always come in handy.
After climbing up the hundreds of stairs again, I walked with Shadow through the city for some time. Although no one seemed to live here anymore, the buildings were still in good condition, here and there nature took over and a tree or plant grew through the roof of a building. Colourful flowers could be found everywhere, on steps, along fountains and walls. The fusion of nature and the beauty of buildings from a bygone era made me daydream.
"You see Shadow, this is what I mean have you ever seen anything so beautiful in a village full of people? I don't think so, people ruin all that is beautiful. It is like a curse, no matter how hard they try, a people so selfish and rotten, cannot bring around anything beautiful." I spoke to my pony after which I took a seat on a bench and looked out over the open sea and harbour for a long time. The sound of the waves calmed me as the salty air blew through my hair.
At nightfall, we set up camp under some trees. Tomorrow I turned eighteen and I didn't mind spending my birthday in a city such as this one.

The following day it was time to move on. We travelled all the way to Minas Tirith where I pulled the same trick on the steward of Gondor as I did with de king of Rohan. I mean why shouldn't I, Gondor no longer had a king since the disappearance of king Eärnur. That was the year 2050. In the meantime over 700 years had passed.
The steward was as much a foundling staying in a kingdom that wasn't his as I was. Sadly for me life in Minas Tirith was far from luxurious. The king didn't allow me to stay in his palace, but he offered me a room in an inn where I could work for my stay. I barely made any money for long days work and people looked down on me everywhere I went.
Yes I had dwarven features and I was a long way from home. Yet when I was there to serve them their food and clean their sheets they didn't mind.
I got bored of cleaning bedsheets and serving drunk men and so I left the inn and began stealing from the bastards looking down on me. If they could treat me like shit I would give them a reason for it.
That's how after only a month of living in the city I had to flee again when I got caught stealing gold and silver from the register of a pub.

I once again fled with only my backpack and an extra pouch of gold and silver pieces. Shadow carrying me out of the city as fast as she could.
Sadly this time the guards were not far behind and followed us out of the city on horses.
I knew I could never outrun them so I figured I'd have to be smart.
I had carried a short bow and some arrows, as long as Shadow kept a steady pace I could shoot arrows at them. I also had my pocketknife and a stolen dagger for which I was now very glad I didn't have time to sell.
"Halt!" One of the guards shouted as he was closing in.
I had to act fast, part of me was still hoping for a way out of this, cover of trees, a hidden path, yet on these open fields I stood no chance of escaping. Shadow was running toward a mountain pass, but the horses would have caught up with us long before we'd get there.
I took my chances and grabbed my bow and arrows while Shadow kept a steady pace.
It took all my concentration not to fall as I cocked an arrow on my bow. I closed one eye and aimed at the guard closest to us.
I hesitated until I saw him draw a sword, I had never killed anyone before and had never been threatened with death myself if you don't count all the times when I almost starved to death anyway.
The fact that this man unquestioningly came at me with a sword ready to impale me, made me release the arrow. To my great surprise, it also hit the man perfectly in the chest, causing him to flip forward and fall off the horse. Only two more to go, though I hoped these would give up they urged their horses even more.
"Grab her!" I heard them growl. I cocked my bow again. Another arrow hit the man to my left in the shoulder. He got off balance for a moment, but eventually stayed put so it took me another arrow to wound him enough so that he too fell off the horse which also stopped the animal's pursuit.
Meanwhile, the latter had managed to catch up with me which made me think fast. In the rush of the moment I wanted to hang my bow around my waist to grab my dagger. However, this caused me to lose my arrows. Meanwhile, the man had come riding up beside me and swung his sword brutally in my direction, only just allowing me to duck and lie flat on Shadow's neck.
A lot of swearing left my lips when I lost my stirrup and had to grab onto her mane.
The man readied his sword for a second attack as he sent his horse even closer as if to ram us. Although the horse was only following orders from its rider, I realised this was my chance, without thinking too long I buried my dagger in the horse's shoulder causing it to let out a scream of pain and stand on its hind legs throwing off its rider before he too fell. This way we could finally escape.
I may have lost the dagger and my arrows, but I was alive. After taking a few more moments to recover myself and get my foot back in the stirrup, I sat back up and looked back defeated at the soldiers I had just single-handedly killed.
Fortunately, Shadow knew where to run to and kept following a tight path ahead considering I was unable to think clearly myself. The only thought that kept running through my mind was the moment the soldier unceremoniously swung his sword at me and was ready to take me out without any doubt. I may have stolen from his people, yet the gaze in his eyes, the way my life meant nothing to him haunted me for days and nights.

Shadow brought us through mountain paths to the Anduin river. We followed the river for days only resting for short periods of times until we reached Emyn Muil. The mountain pass was dangerous territory. The people of Gondor feared those mountains for many had died traying to pass them. Due to bad weather it was often very clouded. This made it dangerous to traverse as you couldn't always see where you stepped, making it easy to misstep and fall down the mountain path.
Most passed around these mountains or took the river by boat.
Next to Emyn Muil were the marshes, ever since the last Allience of Men and Elves these marches were said to be cursed with all the death bodies of the elves and men who died there.
While I had learned to trust Shadow with my life I dismounted the pony upon entering the mountain paths making sure that I walked ahead so I'd know if there were cracks and gabs in the path that could sent us to our death.
We had been walking around for three days when I felt like I was going in circles.
I recognized the mountain tops, passed by a tree that looked the same for two times already.
I tried to take another path, yet day after day went by and we seemed stuck in these mountains.
We ran out of food and water after a week, when we were lucky we stumbled upon a little stream of water coming down from the mountain tops allowing us to drink yet there was hardly anything to hunt which made it a lot harder to find enough food.
I shot a couple of wild rabbits, with some handmade arrows, but there was barely any meat on them. Shadow tried eating leaves every time we came across a tree.
After a week and a half I had given up, Shadow laid down under a tree with me laying by her side resting my back against her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry Shadow." I whispered my lips dry and cracked.
Shadow snorted as if she understood me.
"I probably deserve to die like this, I don't know where to go. I'm a failure, but you. You didn't deserve this, you're a loyal pony and the first living being who actually stood by me without asking anything in return." I said.
Shadow laid her head in my lap allowing me to pet her nose and forehead.
Hot tears were streaming down my face when I realisation hit me I was foolish enough to believe I could ever be more than a pathetic girl in a shithole village caring for the children her mother abandoned.

As a sob left my mouth I suddenly felt a warm breeze through my hair. I swallowed hard looking around in confusion. I must be losing my mind thinking I'd feel a warm breeze in a place like this.
I hadn't seen the sun in over a week, the mountains were always covered in a dense fog, at night it was freezing cold and we had to find shelter for the rain pouring down half of the time.
Yet while I was looking around I noticed a few clouds making way for soft rays of sunshine.
"All is not lost." A deep voice sounded in my mind while I felt the warmth of the sun on my skin.
"Who are you?" I spat crawling upright and looking around the path, yet there was no one to be seen, not on the path, not higher up the mountains nor in any cracks or holes.
"I am your destiny." The voice spoke.
I laughed "Destiny? Please it's my destiny to die in a place like this. Is that what this is? Am I dying?" I snapped raising my arms as I looked up at the sky as if I was daring whoever spoke to me to take me away from here.
"No child. I'm not that destiny, you're not dying. I am hope, I am your way out of here." The voice spoke loud and clear now.
I closed my eyes for a moment and started rubbing my temples. "I'm not crazy." I mumbled.
"No. You're not. Now come. Follow me." When I opened my eyes I saw a dark shadow with one arm raised urging me to follow.
I had no idea if what I saw was even real, but the fact that the sun was shining now and I hadn't seen a living soul here until now made me take Shadow's reins. "Come on girl, let's go." I told her before getting up and quickly following the phantom that already walked around the corner.
"Hey hold up! Wait for me!" I shouted.
"Come." The voice encouraged me.
Shadow and I walked for hours following the orders of the voice in my head. I wasn't sure if it was real, the voice, the phantom, it all felt like I was losing my mind. Yet I rather followed a ghost than die in a place like this without even trying.
When the phantom suddenly went through a dark tunnel I halted Shadow and looked around in fear. "Come back, where does this lead to?" I questioned.
"Come, do you want to get out or not?" The voice questioned.
I thought about all the bones and skeletons of both men and animals I already passed in the time I walked these mountain paths. Shadow and I would become one of them if I didn't try everything to get out. Even if I had to go through a dark tunnel.
All of a sudden I saw a light in the tunnel. I narrowed my eyes trying to make out what it was when I noticed it was a torch.
I held on tight to Shadow's reins "Do you trust me?" I questioned the horse softly petting her neck. She snorted as response, I wasn't sure if that was a good thing, but I started leading her inside the tunnel. When I reached the burning torch I grabbed it of the wall and walked on.
The tunnel was just big enough to fit Shadow. I could only hope it would not get narrower or that we wouldn't have to turn around. With every step, I heard the echo of Shadow's hooves and as if I was going mad, I thought I heard the beating of my own heart as well. My breathing and footsteps seemed too loud for this place. Still, I kept walking. At one point, I thought the tunnel would never end. I was tired, so hungry and most of all I wanted to cry in a corner. But I persevered, I had lost track of time long ago. Shadow, no matter how restless she felt, stayed faithfully by my side.
When I suddenly saw a point of light further down the tunnel I quickened my pace. "Come on Shadow." I encouraged her. Soft whinnying echoed through the tunnel like a hopeful call.
When I was sure I saw sunlight and the green of trees I nearly ran to it until I suddenly felt water under my feet.
I stood still at once shining the torch on the floor noticing there was a lake in between me and our freedom. I could almost feel the warmth of the sun, smell the fresh breeze in the treeline.
I slowly walked deeper and deeper into the lake.
I had no idea what surprises would await me here, but I rather took my chances than turn around.