On the Wings of the Storm

Chapter 19

"I'm sorry," I stammered. "I know it wasn't very wise to..."

"Not wise?" Éomer interrupted me. "Plain stupid is what I'd call it! What did you think you were doing? Or did you not think at all!"

His eyes bored into me, flashing fire behind the slits of his helmet. I looked up at him speechlessly, trying to gather my wits, and that infuriated him even more.

"Of all the brainless things to do!" he exclaimed, and his fingers dug into my shoulders. "Wandering off to explore caves by yourself! We are in the middle of a battle, my lady, not on a pleasure outing on your father's lands."

"I know..."

"You seem to know very little!" he broke in, giving me no chance to finish my sentence. "A two-year old child would have more sense than to quite deliberately endanger herself and those in her care."

What could I say? It had been a foolish thing to do, and I had not been thinking straight. Tears threatened to overwhelm me. "I'm sorry," I choked.

He bent over me, his face only inches away from mine. Orc blood covered him, and the foetid smell of it washed over me. "What you did is absolutely inexcusable! You should have told me the moment you discovered the unmapped passage."

"I know, but..."

"No buts," he snapped. "You had patients to look after, but on a whim you went off on a chase through these caves instead."

That wasn't fair! After all he himself had ordered us away. "It was no whim," I protested, "we went looking for Wuffa's brother. I could not leave a child down here hurt and alone."

His face softened very slightly. "Did you find the boy?"

"Well, actually..." Something wet licked my hand and I started. When I looked down I met Wulf's brown eyes. He wagged his tail.

Éomer followed my glance and frowned. "What is a dog doing down here?"

"Well..." I squirmed and looked around for help. There stood Aeffe with an arm wrapped protectively around a white-faced Wuffa. A wave of relief swept through me to see them unhurt.

"Well?" Éomer asked impatiently.

I swallowed. He would think me a fool. "It was all a bit of a misunderstanding," I explained. "I thought Wuffa was talking about his brother when actually he meant his dog..."

Éomer stared at me as the import of my words slowly sank in. "Are you telling me we came down here to rescue a dog?" He glared at Wulf. "A flea-bitten mongrel! Because of your stupidity my men and I had to risk our lives for a dog?"

It was all getting too much for me. The smell, the sight of death, the memory of Gubrak's hands on me. Why did Éomer have to keep shouting at me? When all I wanted to do was to get out of here and curl up somewhere safe to have a good cry.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Sorry won't bring my men back! Sorry won't ease their pain!"

I opened my mouth in dismay. I had not thought of that. If any of his men had died because of my actions I would never forgive myself!

"My lord," one of Éomer's riders interrupted, "we did not lose anybody. Several men will need to see a healer, but they should all recover."

I recognized Éothain, Éomer's second-in-command. He looked ill at ease, as did the other men who had gathered around us.

Éomer ignored our growing audience. "Pure luck! Luck that Leofe found me quickly, luck that we managed to take the orcs by surprise!" he exclaimed, looming over me. "What if things had gone wrong? You acted with a complete lack of common sense."