Princess of China

After the funeral for Théoden's son, we sat in the hall. Gimli was chowing down and not coming up for air. I sat next to Aragorn who was smoking and Legolas stood behind us. Two children on horseback had been found. They had ridden from a village that had been attacked by Wild Men.

"They had no warning. They were unarmed." The woman, Eowyn said. "Now the Wild Men are moving through the Westfold, burning as they go. Rick, cot and tree."

"Where is Mama?" The little girl asked.

"This is but a taste of the terror that Saruman will unleash." Gandalf said from his spot next to Théoden at the throne. "All the more potent for he is driven now by fear of Sauron. Ride out and meet him head on. Draw him away from your women and children. You must fight."

"You have 2000 good men riding north as we speak. Eomer is loyal to you. His men will return to fight for their king." Aragorn said.

Théoden got up from his throne. "They will be 300 leagues from here by now. Eomer cannot help us." Gandalf stood up and started approaching Théoden. "I know what it is you want from me, but I will not bring further death to my people. I will not risk open war."

"Open war is upon you, whether you risk it or not." Aragorn said.

Théoden turned towards him. "When last I looked, Théoden, not Aragorn was king of Rohan."

Oh snap! I thought. Gimli took a big drink of his ale and belched, easing the tension a little.

"Then what is the king's decision?" Gandalf asked.

"We will go to Helm's Deep."

And so we did. We left in the afternoon, the entire city trailing out of Edoras. I rode by Legolas on my own horse, though I was still unsure and unsteady.

"It's true you don't see many dwarf women." Gimli said, trying to keep the long journey from being too boring. "And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they're often mistaken for dwarf men." Eowyn, who was leading Gimli's horse, turned and looked at Aragorn.

"It's the beards." Aragorn whispered.

"This, in turn, has given rise to the belief that there are no Dwarf women, and that Dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground," I smiled at Gimli's animation. "which is, of course, ridiculous." Suddenly, the horse took off running and Gimli fell to the ground. "It's alright. Nobody panic." Eowyn ran over to him and Théoden rode up beside Aragorn. "That was deliberate. It was deliberate."

"I haven't seen my niece smile for a long time." Théoden said. "She was a girl when they brought her father back dead. Cut down by Orcs. She watched her mother succumb to grief. Then she was left alone, to tend to her king in growing fear. Doomed to wait upon an old man who should have loved her like a father."

We rode on for a few hours before stopping for the night. I had constant chills running down my spine and that feeling of being watched came back.

"You should rest." Legolas said to me.

"I've got too much on my mind."

Legolas sat down next to me. "Then speak."

"I'm just worried about my grandmother. I've been gone for so long and she can barely take care of herself. I just hope she's alright. And I'm kinda homesick. I miss the Big Apple."

"Big Apple?"

"That's a nickname for the city I live in. It's the biggest city in the country. 'If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere' which is true because life's tough there, but it's all I've ever known."

The sun went down and the air got cold, well cooler than it was before. I curled up on the ground, using my cloak as a blanket and slowly drifted off to sleep.

*Dream*

I was lying in a bed, wrapped in silk sheets and very much naked. I looked around the dimly lit room to the balcony where a shirtless man was standing.

'No way.' I whispered.

I stood up, wrapping the sheet around myself before walking towards him.

'It's very peaceful outside.' He said, turning to me.

'Yes. A nice change.'

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against his chest, his chin resting on top of my head.

'You are alone, Aria." A voice echoed in my head. 'Everyone around you will die.'

Suddenly I was watching a battle. An inhumanly tall man in armor was marching toward Aragorn. I shouted at him to run, but he didn't move.

'You will bring death to those you care about.'

I ran towards Aragorn but tripped over something. I looked and almost vomited. Merry and Pippin. I watched as Gimli was taken down by a troll and the man in armor stabbed Aragorn in the chest. Legolas in his distraction was taken down by an orc. The man in armor turned towards me and raised his sword, but someone in all white took the blow for me. Gandalf.

'You see, you will be the end of everyone, and then you will die slowly and painfully from pity and grief.'

I sat straight up, sick to my stomach. The sun was just barely rising and people were stirring.

"Are you alright, my lady?" Hama asked me.

"Yes. Just a bad dream."

I couldn't look at anyone for a while. My brain was trying to process the dream. Two soldiers rode ahead of the group over the hill we were approaching, where Legolas stood.

There were shouts from ahead and Legolas disappeared. Aragorn ran ahead then ran back as Théoden rode towards him.

"Wargs! We're under attack!" He yelled. The woman and children started panicking. I had no idea what a Warg was, but I knew it couldn't be good.

I followed the riders up the hill next to Gimli. We picked up Legolas on the way over the hill. I knew I could have just went with the women and children, but I was worried my dream would come true.

Théoden yelled "charge!" and we hit the ugliest creatures I'd ever seen. I slashed my sword at anything that came at me. While I was distracted with an orc, I was tackled from my horse by a Warg. I hit the ground, my sword sliding from my hand and my foot stuck under my horse. I tried to free my foot and reach for my sword as the Warg charged at me. I raised my left arm to protect my face. I had my foot free as its jaws clamped around my arm. I cried out before stabbing it through the throat.

An orc spotted me on the ground and started walking towards me. I tried to get up, only to fall back because of the pain in my foot. I was a wounded zebra staring into the face of a hungry lion. A lion who got an arrow through the throat from my elf hero who chose to ride by at that moment. I flipped on to my hands and knees and stood up. Despite the pain I limped over to where Théoden, Legolas and Gimli were standing, looking over a cliff.

I looked around and the wind was knocked out of me as I realized what had happened. A stray tear ran down my face and I wiped it hastily.

"I don't know whether to call you brave or foolish." Théoden said to me.

"Both would suffice." I tried to move my left arm but gritted my teeth to keep the pain hidden.

"Come." Théoden helped me on his horse before climbing on behind me.

I took one last look at the cliff, the sinister laughing echoing in my head.