Tattoo Girl and Middle Earth

15

"You'd find more cheer in a graveyard," Gimli comments.

"They have ears, you know. They might have heard that," I sarcastically tell him.

A fallen banner catches my eye and I frown at it. A fallen banner means a fallen kingdom.

Gandalf pretty says a bunch of fancy words in a language I think was English, but I'm not sure so I translated them to 'if you know what's good for you don't do anything Pippin would do.' I think my translation is pretty accurate.

"By order of Grima Wormtongue, you may not go before the king armed so."

I roll my eyes at the guard as I take off my swords. Then I hand over all but one of my daggers, the other remains in my boot. Aragorn gives me a look when he notices this and I pretend I don't see him. Geez dad, take a chill pill.

The guard tells Gandalf to hand over his staff, and I have to hide my smirk.

"You would not part an old man from his walking stick, would you?" Gandalf askes pretending to be innocent.

The guard thinks it over and decides he's either not in the mood for following orders or Gandalf's actually fooling him because he let's us continue forward. I catch Gandalf sending us all a wink when the guards are not looking.

Rule breaking odds defying club right here, don't mind us.

Look out Grimey, here we come.

The king looks kind of cobweby sitting on his throne before us. Grima looks well, grimey and ghastly and ghostly and greasey. He really needs some sun cause he's kinda translucent. Like a Snape costume gone wrong.

Wait! I'm supposed to be paying attention!

I focus back on what's happening just in time to avoid a guard punching my already ugly nose. Personally, no matter how ugly it is I don't want to get punched in it because someone told me once that you could get your nose-bone stuck in your brain and die. I don't know if that's true but I don't want to find out.

I sidestep him parrying the punch and ridgehanding him in the gut, all too perfectly to not finish the sequence. So I follow up with a roundhouse kick to his gut. Cause why not?

I notice Eowyn run forward and grab her, keeping her from doing so.

"Gandalf's helping him just watch," I tell her and she nods in understanding.

We watch as the king becomes to look younger and healthier, I release Eowyn and she runs forward to his side.

"I know your face, Eowyn," Theoden says looking at his niece.

"Dark have been my dreams of late," Theoden continues, flexing his fingers.

"Perhaps your hands would remember their old strength again if they held your sword?" Gandalf suggests.

A servant rushes off to get the king's sword. Speaking of swords, I want mine back.

The servant is back holding the king's sword for him to unsheath it, he does and I admire it. It's a good sword, but mine are better. Because they're mine, duh.

"Tell me where is Theodren, where is my son?"

Ah, about that...

.

Eowyn leads me to a guest room I can stay in. Thankfully, the tub is already full when we get there. I waste no time dumping my weapons and cloak on the floor.

"I'll be back with a dress for you, Lady River," Eowyn says before leaving the room.

I thoroughly scrub myself trying to get rid of the dirt, at least there's less than last time. By the time I'm done I smell like roses and the water has turned a disgusting shade of brown. I don't remember rolling in dirt but I might have.