shieldmaiden_rohan

It had been a pleasant day, for all that it had been spent moving as quickly as possible towards Helm’s Deep. The weather was good, the caravan traveled well, and she’d had another conversation with Gimli about his people. He was far friendlier than any of the other dwarves she’d met as they moved through Rohan, but then most of those Dwarves had been traveling smiths. It was a hard life for anyone, even without the legendary unfriendliness of Dwarves. Gimli was more like the Rohirrim. He was certainly no horseman, but he was good-natured, fierce, and steadfast. She would be pleased to fight alongside him, if given the chance. She would be pleased to fight alongside any of the four riders, if given the chance. She had secret hopes for standing alongside Aragorn in other ways as well, though she spoke of it to no one.

Of course pleasant times could not last, not with the Riddermark in danger from all sides, and she started as the sounds of fighting came over the hill where the outriders had gone ahead. The next few moments were a blur as the Rohirrim separated from the caravan and she felt her heart beating faster. Perhaps now she would be permitted to fight. Everyone able to hold a sword would be needed to keep the caravan safe. Surely Theoden King would see that, and she looked up as he whirled Snowmane back towards her.

“You must lead the people to Helm’s Deep and make haste,” Theoden ordered her.

“I can fight,” she argued, feeling the cage close around her again. Once more she was not permitted to serve in the way she had trained.

“No!” he said. “You must do this. For me.”

She could not countermand a direct order from her king, nor from her uncle, and she turned away so he would not see the anger on her face. She would lead her people. She would take them to Helm’s Deep.

“Make for the lower road!” she called to the caravan. “Stay together!”

The caravan started moving even more quickly, urged along by the caravan-guards, and she glanced up to see Aragorn whirling away on Hasufel. Some fear entered her heart, some fear that she could not name, and she stared at him until he was gone over the ridge.

When she turned back to the caravan, it was not there. She was not there. She didn’t recognize the trees or the mountains, nor the sounds of the animals around her. What had happened? What magic was this? What wizardry? Where were her people?

She might have stood there forever, trying to understand what had happened, if she had not heard a terrible sound, a low growling that filled her with dread and then with steel. There was a Warg somewhere near, and she had no sword. She had her boot-knife, though, and she would fight it as a shieldmaiden of Rohan should. She stripped her surcoat off, dropped her hair under her dress, then pulled out her knife. One boot-knife against a Warg would do almost nothing, but she would at least slow the Warg down and give the caravan more of a chance. She would keep her people safe.

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So the brothers, for surely they were or close enough to be, did not prefer to mention their status, but their uncle had no such feelings. It reminded her strongly of herself in comparison to Theoden King. Had she not mentioned her relationship to her uncle after her status as a shieldmaiden?

"My grandfather has not ruled Rohan for many years, Lord Thorin," she replied. "He sleeps with his kin and mine under the simbelmyne. But ... Erebor? That is the mountain Lord Gimli hails from. He has spoken of it, though not in any great detail."

All knew that dwarves were quite secretive, and she did not wish to bring trouble to Gimli, even if he was not here in this strange warm, humid place. She rather wished he was. She wished any of the four riders were. Now that the flush of the battle was fading, she was very confused.

Kili laughed aloud. "Gimli? The lad has only just grown past my knee!" And at that he stood a little straighter. He was no boy, but in dwarvish years Kili was still very young, and in truth there were not so many years between himself and Gimli. Still, Kili had been allowed to quest, and Gimli had not.

It was sobering to realize that even so, it was Gimli, not Kili, who lived to see Erebor returned to its rightful lineage. Suddenly heavy of heart, Kili looked to Thorin. "Erebor. It was not all in vain, then."

Fili was occupying his looks with a faintly displeased glare in Thorin's direction, for he did not want to be a prince here. He was happy to simply settle into trade. He cast a look to Kili, dropping his brother's hand when he realized he still held it to calm him. "The line of Durin need only end for victory," he quietly spoke, his bitterness still heavy on such a subject.

Thorin gave Fili a long, quiet look. One that asked for pride in who they were and all that they had been and worked toward.

"Those who arrive here from Middle Earth seem, largely, to come from either side of a period of eighty years."

If Kili thought Gimli to be a wee child and Thorin thought Thengel to be king, then she had indeed been drawn from a much later time. It was yet another detail that made no sense to her. But she was a shieldmaiden of Rohan and she would conduct herself as such.

"It is 3019 of the Third Age by the reckoning of the Rohirrim," she confirmed, moving to the edge of the clearing to gather her surcoat and put it on, though she did not fasten it. "Though I believe the holbytla have a different calendar and perhaps dwarves do as well."

"We may well ask," said Kili, cheerful in the face of Fili and Thorin's somberness, though he had to work at it. Left to stew too long in thoughts of what awaited them at home, Fili would be in a sour mood for hours, and Kili clapped a hand to his shoulder and squeezed, his smile bright.

"We have a hobbit, here. The best hobbit, too, by my reckoning," he told Eowyn. "He's a burglar!"

Fili leaned into Kili's touch, as though such a thing could remind him not to speak sharply in Thorin and Eowyn's presence. "He is a fine hobbit who was pushed into being a burglar," Fili calmly corrected. "His name is Bilbo."

"Bilbo Baggins," Thorin agreed. Though he had met no other hobbits in his lifetime, he would agree without reservation that Bilbo was the among the bravest of his kind.

"We had best alert him that there has been battle, but that it has brought another from our world."

"There is one of the holbytla here?" Eowyn asked interestedly but politely. "I have never met one, though I have heard good things about them. Lord Gimli spoke very highly of their courage and their determination. He seemed quite fond of them. But forgive me, my lords, you are right. We should deal with these carcasses ere they begin to stink."

Edited 2014-02-20 02:28 (UTC)

"A wise plan indeed," agreed Kili, smiling again, this time in honest - if no less nefarious - pleasure. "But wiser still to divide our labour. Fili and I will deal with the wargs and their riders, while Thorin escorts you to our hobbit. Is that plan not amenable, uncle?"

Fili glanced up at Kili over his shoulder, privately grateful that he wished to stay at his side. He was also glad that he would be removed from Thorin while the emotions ran heated. "Perhaps it would be best if you were to meet him away from this carnage," he agreed. "We will dispose of the fallen."

"If the lady agrees," Thorin said, looking to the woman. She seemed to be as spirited as any of their own ladies and, if his sister were any indication, she would not be moved until she wished it.

"Have a care with the fire and I will see you tonight."

For a moment, she thought disappointedly that the dwarves might be no better than the men of the Mark, moving her aside when there was work to be done because they thought she could not stomach the burning of carcasses, but Lord Thorin's words belied that. He still gave her own choice as to whether to work here or to move on to meet Mr. Baggins. The name was familiar and she thought it might be the same name as one of the four holbytla that had been a part of the four riders' Fellowship. In truth, part of her was excited to finally be able to meet one of the holbytla.

"If you are quite certain you do not need assistance, I will go with Lord Thorin," she said to Kili and Fili as she pulled her hair out of her dress so it would not be quite so warm against her neck. She would need to plait it if the weather here was always so warm and humid.

"But I hope we will speak again soon and I thank you once more for your assistance."

"It was gladly rendered," replied Kili with another bow. He did not relish the thought of burning the bodies, but the act would be well worth it to see Eowyn and Thorin to Bilbo. No doubt the little fellow longed for more from his home, even if they were not fellow hobbits.

"Come, Fili," he said, dragging at his brother's elbow. "To work!"

Fili allowed himself to be malleable in Kili's arms, dragged with ease as he did not give much resistance. It was only when Thorin and Eowyn seemed upon the horizon that Fili's tense shoulders dropped. "I do not like being labelled a prince on these shores," he said to Kili and though his tone was quiet, it was no less heated. "Nor the reminder that to some, a title and its crown is worth more than a simple life."

Debut

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