Prophet (a LOTR fanfic)

Wargs

"Helm's Deep!" Gimli scoffed, "They flee to the mountains when they should stand and fight!"

"He's only doing what he thinks is best for his people," Aragorn mumbled as we followed him into the stables. "Helm's Deep has saved them in the past."

"There is no way out of that ravine. Theoden is walking into a trap. He thinks he is leading them to safety, but what they will get is a massacre," Gandalf said.

Legolas, Gimli and I all stopped at the entrance of the barn and watched the two walk on.

"We should prepare for departure," I said, glancing around at the horses. They were getting restless in their stalls. They knew what was coming. "Which ones are ours again?"

"These two, but the king has promised a mount for each of us," Legolas said.

"I see. Well, that is indeed generous. In the meantime, I'm going to go pack." My skirts fanned out as I spun on my heel and began to walk away.

"Pack? what is there to pack?" Gimli sputtered.

"Do you know how many frocks that woman has forced on me?" I called back, "I'm going to need a whole sack to carry them all."

I glanced back at their faces, looking thoroughly scandalized, and laughed.

......................................................

In reality, I just tore apart Eowyn's room looking for my pants. When I finally found them stuffed at the back of her armoire along with my tunic, I nearly cried tears of joy. It seemed as though they had been washed at some point, maybe Eowyn had a change of heart. I stripped out of the dress, folded it up as quickly as I could, and jumped into my pants. The tunic wasn't far behind, and the belt around my waist and cinched before you could say dead orc. My cloak and weapons I had laid out on my cot, and those were on just as quick. My boots I had never changed, so that was one less thing to think about. As for my hair, Eowyn had braided it for me this morning, which had honestly been a religious experience.

It felt so good to be back being me.

I left her room and moved through the hall into the armoury. I grabbed a small sack and some blade oils, rags, and some human-made arrows to add to my host of elven arrows. A knife or two managed to find its way into the bag too, wrapped in a cloth. Then I moved around to where the cooks and kitchen hands were packing carts full of food to take with us on the journey. Strolling past, I scooped what I could from the top of the pile, which happened to be half a loaf of bread and at least a quarter of a wheel of cheese. Just in case.

I went back down to the stable, which was bustling at this point. The sounds of men and horses clashed together, creating a great racket. I caught sight of Eowyn's golden hair, and made a beeline straight for her, dodging men and their horses, some who cowered in fear at the sight of my passing.

"My lady," I bowed when she caught sight of me. "I've been promised a horse, I was wondering if you'd be so kind to point me in its direction."

She eyed my garb distastefully but said nothing, leading me through the mayhem and to a stall towards the back of the stable. we stopped before a dark chestnut with a white stripe, who seemed a little smaller than the other horses. Eowyn reached out and took hold of the horses bridle.

"This was one of my cousin's mares, Hasufal. Unfortunately, my cousin did not keep her in good care and she has been nothing but a nuisance since the snows melted, so you'll have to be a little firm with her. All the tack is right here, and if you need anything else, I'm sure you won't have a problem finding it." She tapped the shape of a saddle under a woollen blanket and flashed me a brilliant smile before sauntering off.