Mistress of the Fellowship (LOTR)

* 55 * Great Loss to Come

55

From the distance it was a saddening sight watching soldiers go about what Kordelia could only describe as a death march so they could reclaim the overrun city Osgiliath.

Why would men obey orders from a mad man? There was no way they could defeat the orcs! Their numbers were too great and these soldiers were exhausted.

Aggravated and annoyed Kordelia once again snuck into the palace where she witnessed a sight that made her want to shed blood. As she witnessed the steward sit in his high back chair eating the rich food in front of him like a sloppy hog without any sort of sign of responsibility but rather a carefree air that made her want to see his blood fall on the polished tiles as she watched the life fade from his eyes. She wanted so badly to taste that fear as the familiar feel of steel rested in her warm hands that she had come to know so intimately throughout the years. This man may not have played a role in the massacre of her people but what he was doing to his own people was much the same.

Her fingers began to tap slowly at first on the hilt of her father's sword but she began to tap faster and faster until she had to hold onto the handle. Her hand seemed to melt into the blade causing her heart to slow to that calm state where everything becomes so clear and vivid that the world seems to come to a brief halt. She was ready to bring this wicked man to Alexzandron justice.

Slowly she exhaled and took her crouched position as her eyes stayed upon the pompous man who clearly had no right to live. Her instincts took over, knowing exactly where she would land and waited anxiously to feel that surge of terror that would radiate when he saw her and what she was going to do.

Her muscles tensed as they readied to pounce but she was immediately shut down as a familiar song began to be sung by a voice she recognized.

Her eyes shot to the hobbit standing before the steward and was singing to him the very song she had sang on the Anduin River after the fight she had with Aragorn about what being heartless truly was.

Home is behind

The world ahead

And there are many paths to tread

Through shadow

To the edge of night

Until the stars are all alight

Mist and shadow

Cloud and shade

All shall fade

All shall... fade

All while Pippin sang she felt her heart thundering like horse hooves on the ground and it wasn't until he had finished the song that she realized that it was no her heart. It was in fact horses' hooves hitting the ground... charging toward death... to Osgiliath.

The sight was too much for her to bear any longer and so she turned her back to leave the steward to his own fate.

When she returned to the spot she had camped out, Cadeyrn had a hole dug where he had pawed at the ground in what was an anxious manner he had when he was ready to ride to war.

In her native tongue she said, "We stay. This is not our fight. Let evil smite itself out."

Cadeyrn shook his head and reared up onto his hind legs in protest

"Sheetka!" Kordelia said to him in a stern voice which meant, "That's final!" but Cadeyrn was not going to settle down which caused a very uneasy feeling to scream through her body.

She stared at her friend, the last link to the world that was stolen from her by cowards and evil, and he stared back in defiance.

Her eyes widened and she shook her head at him as a tear fell down her cheek. Cadeyrn stopped prancing and acting anxious as his eyes softened. He stepped toward her until their heads were touching which connected them causing more tears to fall down her dirt stained cheeks.

"Niy" she whispered and he lifted his head over her shoulder and with his head he brought her close to his body so she could feel him.

She wrapped her arms around him and drank it everything. The feel of his velvet black coat, his scent, the way the sun shimmered off him now, how his long mane danced in the breeze, the way his taught muscles stood unmovable. She let it all sink in before taking a step back and saying, "These men are evil."

He let out a comforting nicker that let her know he understood before pulling her even closer as even more tears fell as painful memories flooded through her mind. The way her father set her upon Cadeyrn's back for the first time. He was only a young colt and she was the first to ride him, she remembered her mother stepping forward and placing the wooden practice sword in her hand as she sat proudly on the young stallion's strong back. In an instant she was taken to the picture of what was a graveyard full of the countless bodies of her people. This was what evil did.

Slowly he stepped away from her until they were a few feet apart and there he bowed to her before turning and trotting away.

She hung her head as a great unsettling feeling flooded her insides and tore at her heart. She lifted it and looked toward the city of Osgiliath as the haunting song Pippin sang repeated in her head as did the feel of hooves beating the ground up through her body.

It was then that Cadeyrn turned and ran into the fray leaving Kordelia to scream after him on her knees as the tears streamed down her face until she forced back her hatred for men and got to her feet where she grabbed bow but when she turned around a branch fell right in front of her causing her to jump backwards but this time her footing failed and when she fell she hit her head on a rock making the world around her fall into something worse than darkness, complete blackness.

*~*~*~*~* My dearest apologies for taking so long and for the short chapters. I've been in a rut lately and have been struggling, however I am trudging through it and am almost through this tough patch so more to come. Hope you enjoy. More coming soon. *~*~*~*~*