Éomer Imagine: Hearts Fire.

Éomer Imagine: Hearts Fire. Part Ten

In the immediate aftermath of finding out that her mother was missing, (Y/N) went into a wired and frenzied state of reasoning. The maid bolted her way back to her chambers, hastily dressing herself in a cotton dress that lay sprawled across the floor as she tossed some essential supplies into her thread-bare knapsack. A short trip to the kitchen saw two old and leathery water skins filled to burst, and without squandering any more precious time, the girl sprinted back through the darkened corridors, practically bouncing off the walls as she found her way into the entrance hall, coming to an abrupt stop in front of the swelling crowd.

Her father now stood in the middle of the rabble, tall and commanding as he delegated roles to each of the group. People began to shout questions at him, confused and upset. Some even shouted at each other, the heightened sense of worry echoing with them all. The servants who had decided to stay behind in Meduseld had also come out of the halls with food wrapped up in small hessian bags, sharing them out between the search party and passing around well-wishes with hugs of good luck. After some more raised and panicked voices, and a few stern words for them all from an angry Polaird, a couple of the men busied everyone by passing around daggers and weapons, giving Fredrin a chance to shakily prepare himself to lead them all back out into the hot downpour of summer rain. "Now, remember-" He boomed across to them all, pulling his dampened hood back over his tangled hair. "-Call out as loud as you can if you find anything that could tell us what has happened. No matter how small, an inclination as to where my wife is will make all the difference-" Fredrin gave a small nod of his head and passed a sad smile to his daughter before quickly glancing around at his friends. "-Myself and (Y/N) appreciate all that you lot are doing."

The front doors of the royal hall were pushed open and the hoard slowly spilled out onto the street, waiting for further instructions and gossiping between themselves. Fredrin scanned all the faces that stared at him, suddenly nervous and clueless as how to proceed. He had not planned this far ahead and was now kicking himself for the urgent pace of the search. As she found herself standing in the middle of the gathering, (Y/N) could feel her fathers palpable anguish, and came to his aid by calling out that searching the meadows was the best place to begin, slowly commencing to lead them all down to the main gates. It took all of her effort to stay on two feet, as the dirt pathways had become dangerously slick with the constant torrent of water from the summer storm. But despite the slow pace, the mob had reached the town exit in good time. Two guards saw the steady commotion approaching, and came hobbling out from the shelter of their stations, squinting their eyes as they crossed spears and an impassive look unfurled across their faces.

"No-one is to leave the village." The taller of the pair shouted, eyeing them all suspiciously.

"My wife is missing! I need to be out there!" Fredrin cried out over the noise of the heavy rain, pushing his way to the front as he recognised the other of the soldiers and began pleading with him desperately.  

"I'm sorry-" The stout man called, the hold on his weapon faltering slightly. He was round at the stomach, but had the legs of an athlete, made of solid muscle. His helmet covered the majority of his features, apart from the smoothness of his rich, brown eyes and the sunken wrinkles that surrounded them. He cleared his throat, obviously feeling a little threatened. "-My Lord Éomer has ordered that no-one is to leave the village."

"Oh, please-" (Y/N) yelled, almost throwing down her bag in frustration and stamping her feet. "-I will handle Éomer, he will understand. But we must start looking for my mother, there is no time to loose!!"