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A New Problem	By : Nathalia Category: Lord of the Rings Movies > Het - Male/Female Views: 2789 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Lord of the Rings book series and movie series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Disclaimer: I should not have to point this out by
now. I do not own Lord of the Rings. The characters all belong to Tolkien.

Summary: We�ve seen them against Sauron, Mary-Sue and
Valar knows what else. Now the Fellowship is up against an entirely new horror.
Will they (and Middle-Earth) survive?

A/N � I may be switching Point Of Views around a bit
later on. However, unless stated otherwise, the story is from Natasha�s POV.

Chapter Eight

Th�oden called to him, asking
what was wrong. The answer chilled me to my bones.
�Wargs! We are under attack!�

My mind started running
through all the swearwords I knew of. I stood frozen until Bella�s voice shook
me out of my shocked state.

We ran toward Eowyn, who was
protesting that she could fight. She gave a faint scowl when her Uncle refused
and told her to lead the people to Helms Deep. She looked ready to protest
further when I grabbed her arm. �Eowyn, these people need a leader. Their king
just galloped off to fight; your brother is who knows where, so that leaves
you. Lead us, please.�

I was not about to admit it,
especially in front of a four-year-old, but I was scared out of my mind just
then. Eowyn needed to lead before the people started to panic more than they
already were.

My friend looked at me. �Do
you not want to fight, I have taught you how?�

I gave her an
�are-you-out-of-your-mind� look. Why did my friend have to choose the most inopportune
moments to insist on proving that she could do more than act as a china
ornament. �But I am not skilled enough to go into battle and survive! I prefer
fights where I stand a chance of coming out relatively intact. Your people are
panicking; they need you to lead them. I do not even know where Helm�s Deep
is!�

Finally, she gave the barest
of nods and started calling out orders. I breathed a sigh of relief; Eowyn
could be unreasonably stubborn when she wished. Bella tugged on my arm, her
eyes wide. I lifted her into my arms and followed after the White Lady of
Rohan.

A good hour later, we came in
sight of an open plain. Up against the cliffs on the other side of said plain,
a very solid looking fortress was built. From the relieved cries behind me, I
formed the correct assumption that this was Helm�s Deep.

Behind us, a woman I did not
know spoke to Eowyn, her voice overjoyed, saying �We�re safe, my lady, we�re
safe.�

Inside the fortress, we set
to finding places to put everyone and sorting out which supplies went where,
and so on. Eothen and Freda had met up with their mother again, for which I was
grateful.

Organizing things took up our
time until the riders returned from battle, far fewer in number than when they
set out. I could see King Th�oden, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli and several of the
Rohirrim that I had known from my stay in the Golden Hall. Noticeably missing,
however, was a certain Heir of Isildur.

Eowyn, Bella and I almost ran
down the steps to where the warriors were dismounting. Eowyn�s face fell when
she took in the number of faces absent from the company. �So few. So few of you
have returned.� Her Uncle nodded grimly, his face hard. She turned toward
Gimli, �But Lord Aragorn, where is he?�
Gimli looked uncomfortable
and his voice was gruffer than normal as he answered, �He fell.� Who knew that
two simple words, six letters, could put a person into such a state of shock?

Well, aside from the obvious,
anyway. Read the books, seen the movies, been near Eowyn since she laid eyes on
him�

Okay, anyone with eyes could
have seen that she had a crush on him but I don�t think many expected it to go
further than that.
Manners may not get you everywhere,
but they do tend to get a response from people who were brought up to be
polite. I sent Bella to pull Eowyn out of it and keep her distracted for a
while, and then pulled Boromir aside. �Tell me, please.�

Boromir told me what happened
after the refugee column parted from the Rohirrim when the warg riders
attacked. From Legolas�s equestrian stunts, to the various styles of fighting,
to Aragorn being unable to detach himself from a warg before they both went
over a cliff. I would have preferred a slightly more general summary, but I
suppose that as a Captain of Gondor, Boromir would be more used to giving
detailed reports. When he finished, I thanked him and escorted him to the
healers. He may have thought himself perfectly all right, but I was not keen on
taking chances with the bloody gash in his arm. Especially when the physical
well-being of Bella and me was directly connected to how well he could fight. I
finally resorted to pointing out that a sword was not much good without an arm
to hold it. The ruse worked, and I went in search of Eowyn.

I finally found her in the
room that we were to share while in Helm�s Deep. Eowyn was seated on the bed,
holding Bella, and crying.

That threw me for a loop. I
am fine when it comes to upset children but I have no clue how to act when it
comes to people my age and up. Especially because most of the experience that I
do have is with my sisters and my younger one, Alice, would rather throw something and scream at you than
accept an offer of help.

I sat down next to them, not
saying anything. A minute or so after, Eowyn sniffed and wiped her eyes. I
offered her a tissue from my bag and waited. My friend blew her nose and looked
at me, �That can�t have gone down well for my image as the �unbreakable White
Lady of Rohan� could it?�
I shrugged, �I don�t think
many people saw it and I am not about to rush around screaming the possibility
that Lady Eowyn is subject to actual emotion if you do not wish me to.�

That earned a watery laugh.
�I am not that bad, am I?�

I smiled back, �Depends.
There are those who see you as some higher being, distant as the stars. I
suppose you would have to be at times. I see you as an actual person, with real
flaws, strengths and emotions. It all depends on your view point.�
I stood and wet a cloth in
the washbasin, handing it over. Eowyn wiped her face, looking a bit better. We
sat for a while, talking about whatever came to mind. Our families, dreams,
fears and everything in between. Eventually, it began to grow dark and the
topic of hopes came up. Eowyn spoke first �It may seem foolish, but do you
think it possible to survive a fall from a cliff?�

I smiled faintly, �Working
with children, I learned not to disregard anything as impossible until it is
proven so.� I changed track slightly, �Did you know that the Elves call Aragorn
�Estel�? It means �hope�. Perhaps Aragorn will live up to the name.�

Eowyn pulled a face in my
direction. �Sometimes hope can prove false. Why do you cling to it so?
Especially in a time when nothing is certain?�

I looked at her. �False or
not, it is hope that had gotten me this far. Hope that my family could stay so
when my parents separated. Hope that I could make my own way when I left school
early. Hope that I could survive in a land where everything was strange and I
also had a child to protect.� My smile was slightly bitter, �If I do not hold
to some hope, I will go mad. Simple as that.�

A bell rang, calling everyone
for the evening meal. We rose and I took a bracelet that I had bought recently
out of my bag. It had originally been a �hello� gift for my dad�s girlfriend
when she visited us in Australia, (She lives overseas) but I think it might serve a
different purpose here. It was very similar to the one I wore: Dark brown
thread intricately knotted and set with a carved jade flower, with four round
jade beads on each side. I handed it to Eowyn. She looked at me, then at the
bracelet.

I smiled sadly at the unasked
question. �Jade stone. Where I am from, it symbolizes love and healing. I
thought you might like it.�

Eowyn accepted and slipped it
over her wrist, tightening it so it would not fall off.

We closed the door and headed
down to dinner.

I was around the middle of
the next day when our missing ranger showed up. I won�t mince words, he really
was a mess. I was in the Hall, surrounded by children, keeping them occupied
while their parents were busy, when I heard Gimli out in the courtyard,
bellowing, �Where is he? Get out of my way; I�m going to kill him!�

Mm. It looked like Aragorn
had returned. Eowyn would be pleased.

A few minutes later, Aragorn,
Legolas and Gimli entered the Hall to inform Th�oden of the Uruk-Hai army
headed in our direction. Thankfully, most of the children were too busy playing
with a ball that Eowyn and I had managed to make out of rags to pay much
attention. Aragorn urged Th�oden to send out riders calling for aid.
Unfortunately, Th�oden did not share Aragorn�s faith that help would arrive.
Next thing you know, the women and a large percentage of the children were
moving provisions into the caves and boys as young as ten were being taken to
the armoury with the men to be geared for battle.

Eowyn and I followed her idea
of having a weapon in the caves just in case. I had to admit that having the
means to defend myself if worst came to worst did make me feel a bit better.

Slightly less helpful was the
minor outburst from Legolas about the probability of everyone dying, Aragorn
slipping into the common tongue when saying that he would die as one of them.
Nice of him to offer support but if he had to mention death could he have at
least stuck to elvish? The end result was most of the younger fighters (those
not yet too proud to admit they were scared) coming to me or Eowyn to be
re-assured.

What do you do when
confronted with children asking if they will survive the night? What can you
say except to trust to hope and that men are not automatically correct in
everything they say? How do you look upon such a young face, know that you may
never see them again, and say that everything will work out?

My heart broke with each word
I spoke, shattering like glass as I watched them walk away, faces shining with
hope and knowing that that hope would fade again all too soon.

We were ready to bar the
doors to the caverns when we heard the sound of a horn.

Elven warriors marched into
the courtyard, Haldir of Lothlorien at their head. Help uncalled and unlooked
for, perhaps, but certainly welcomed.
I really do not know why
people cannot say something as simple as �hello, would you like help?� without
turning it into a huge fancy speech. I�ll quote it for you here:

�I bring word from Elrond of Rivendell. An alliance
once existed between men and elves. Long ago we fought, and died, together� *pause while
Aragorn, Gimli, Boromir and Legolas rush in* �We come to honour that allegiance.� *another pause while Aragorn and Legolas greet and welcome them* �We are proud to fight amongst men once
more.�

Bloody Drama King.

Not long after that, the
ground begins to shake with the tramp, tramp of Uruk-Hai footsteps. In the caves,
all is silent except for the occasional crying child. Eowyn and I sit near each
other. Bella is silently crying in fear. I hold her close, unsure if it is for
my comfort or hers.

I do not know how much time
passes. Every minute seems longer than an hour. From outside you can hear
shouting, and the sound of sword against shield, metal against metal. But
inside the caves, everything is quiet. No-one wishes to hear the noise of
battle but all are desperate to know what is happening. Do their loved ones
still live? Which side is winning? Is there hope of victory or will we be over
run by the creations of Saruman?

It seems to last forever, but
suddenly we hear the sounds of rejoicing, cheers that the battle is over and
that we have won.
Won, but at what cost? The
surviving fighters can cheer all that they bloody well like, but most of us
would prefer news of our loved one�s safety.

We come out into the
sunlight, searching for family amongst the survivors. Eowyn and I rush toward Th�oden
and the Fellowship. A tall man that I have not seen before joins us soon after.
Eowyn introduces him as her brother, Eomer. Apparently he and Gandalf showed up
at the last minute to save the day with a thousand of the Rohirrim horsemen.

A small part of my brain
rolls its eyes at that. Why is it always a thousand? And why is it always at
the time when all hope seems lost? The larger part of my brain, accompanied my
most of the rest of me, is busy trying not to stare at Eomer.

After things settle down
slightly, we do our best to clean up after the battle. Personally, I am so
thrilled at the fact that we survived that I am having trouble thinking
clearly. So, back to looking after the children.

Eomer is watching as I gather
them up and move to somewhere relatively out of the way. I wonder at the interest,
but brush it off as curiosity as to who I am.

Later, Th�oden, Gandalf,
Eomer, Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, Boromir, Eowyn, Bella and I ride off while
everyone else is busy. We are off to Isenguard, hoping to find Merry and
Pippin.

�A/N: So,
what do people think? Review so I know that people are actually reading this.
Thanks.
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A New Problem