Hope ↠ LOTR

III. Rise

The companions were finally allowed to take a rest, no longer pursuing their endangered friends or having the weight of a time limit on their shoulders. Athena aided Gimli in preparing and lighting the campfire, and as soon as they had eaten she made her bed beside the fire and fell into a much needed deep sleep, her head resting against her makeshift pillow made from a folded blanket.

The next morning she was awoken by a hand shaking her shoulder. As much as she wanted to continue to rest her aching limbs she knew that they had to keep moving in order to get to Edoras, so she unwillingly pried her eyes open and blinked a few times to adjust them to the light of the morning, sitting herself up with the hand on her shoulder dropping.

"I'm sorry to wake you, but we're about to head off now," Legolas explained to her, reaching out to pluck a strand of grass from her hair that it had tangled itself into.

"It's alright. Thank you for waking me," she sent him a reassuring smile and looked over his shoulder with a chuckle when she saw that Aragorn was having a much harder time waking the grumbling Gimli up.

Legolas followed her gaze and smiled at the sight of the Dwarf batting away Aragorn's hand that relentlessly shook his shoulder, muttering protests under his breath.

"Do you still think he's a goblin mutant?" She asked him, his head whipping around to face her with confusion which only caused her to chuckle more. "Do you not remember what you asked his father when you first found us in Mirkwood?"

Recognition flashed across his blue eyes before a look of both guilt and embarrassment crossed his features. "I was not the same then as I am now. My opinion has changed on many things. No, I don't think he is a goblin mutant anymore," he answered, allowing a small laugh to leave him when he repeated the insult that he had spoken a long time ago. "I'm surprised you remember that."

"There are parts of the journey I remember more than others, I suppose that was one of the events that I could not forget," she explained as she pushed herself to stand up, stretching her arms above her head.

The both of them gathered up the supplies that had been used and packed them back into their bags, Gimli eventually waking up and joining them with an exhausted Aragorn at his side from having to wake him up, quietly telling Legolas that next time it was his turn to wake the Dwarf before they mounted their respective horses.

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Their horses came to a standstill when they spotted the city that they were searching for, a prominent hill with many houses lying atop it, a large and sturdy wall encasing Edoras and protecting it from unwanted enemies (though that seemed futile now that the enemies had already wormed their way inside).

"Edoras and the Golden Hall of Meduseld. There dwells Théoden, King of Rohan, whose mind is overthrown. Saruman's hold over King Théoden is now very strong," Gandalf informed them, "be careful what you say. Do not look for welcome here."

The horses continued onwards and towards the towering city. After their encounter with Éomer she had no false hope that they would be greeted with open arms. The days had grown darker with the rise of Sauron and Rohan was not as it had been when last she saw it, many places were very different with the threat of destruction looming over them.

Hasufel's steps faltered when they reached the gate to Edoras, the flag of Rohan floating down from the sky and landing on the grass before rolling across it. It was a fitting gesture for what had become of Rohan. Aragorn urged their steed past the gate and they continued through Edoras until they reached the Golden Hall of Meduseld situated at the very top of the hill and overlooking the rest of the city and the lands of the Riddermark.