Hunter of the Rings

Chapter 13

Having returned to her room to clean her hands properly, Maddie ended up taking yet another bath; she rested for a short while before she heard a knock at the door to the room she had been given as her own while she and the Fellowship were in Rohan. She called out, asking who was there "it's Arwen!" the familiar voice answered; Maddie called for her to enter since there was a screen standing before the bath, hiding her away. "How are you, sweetie?" the She-Elf asked as she took a seat on the bed, earning a short and sweet answer; it didn't do much in convincing her friend which was very clear, earning a sigh from the teenager "I killed a man, Arwen...I've never done that before" she reminded. Arwen defended the young girl's actions, reminding her of what Gríma was doing and was planning to do "I know" Maddie agreed as she stood from the bath, wrapping a towel around her thin frame before moving from behind the screen "I'll be fine by tomorrow, just...need to adjust and come to terms with it" she signed as she leant against a wall, folding her arms across her chest. "How's Théoden?" Maddie questioned, glad to hear that he was back to his old self completely and that the people of Rohan were glad to see their King once again "ah, so that was what those chants were that I could hear earlier" she realised, a smile falling upon her face at the thought. Maddie had left her friends, both old and new, to venture into the village without her; she had needed to be alone after her confrontation with Gríma, needing to process all that had happened. "That is why they have decided to host a celebration tonight, in honour of both King Théoden's recovery and the Fellowship's arrival" Arwen revealed with excitement, seeming to make sense to the girl as she had wondered why her friend had changed her clothes and was now wearing a lovely light green long dress, her hair done elegantly while she supported a light amount of makeup. "I don't have anything to change into though" Maddie realised, one of the royal maids having taken her only set of clothes to wash and dry them for her; Arwen moved over towards the wardrobe that was in the corner of the room and opened the doors, revealing a selection of clothes "we might have to find something that fits you, but we can always alter it" she reassured.

For the next forty minutes, the two women went through the collection of dresses with Maddie trying on the ones she liked; most were far too big on her thanks to her thin form, but they eventually came across one dress that only needed a little bit of adjusting with the aid of a needle and thread. The shoulder straps were far too long for the teenager and it was too loose around her torso, but it was nothing Maddie couldn't fix! It was a beautiful baby blue dress where it ended at her ankles around the back while the front fell to her knees; there were thick straps on either side of the teenager's shoulders that held the dress up while a gap rested between the strap and the rest of the sleeve which loosely fell to her wrist. The dress had a traditional square neckline, both resting low and high enough for Maddie feel comfortable; it had a sort of built in corset which helped with tightening the dress around the girl's torso, it fastening with two thin ribbons around the front. While Maddie made the needed adjustments to the dress, she sat down and remained as still as she could while her dear friend helped her with her hair and makeup; this was all very new to the teenager, having never even worn makeup or done her hair any other way other than ponytails and buns. As soon as they were both done, Maddie quickly changed out of the towel and into the dress; she stepped out from behind the screen as she finished tying her close shut, finishing by securely tying the ribbons into a small bow. "You look beautiful, Maddie!" Arwen smiled, her eyes softening as she watched the fifteen year old step before a mirror leaning against a wall; Maddie briefly examined herself, taking a moment to look at her hair. The She Elf had before she too smiled, feeling somewhat pretty. "All eyes will be on you tonight, that's for sure" the She Elf mused, earning a chuckle from the teenager as she rolled her eyes "well, if I wasn't nervous before, I am now" she jested, though she hoped her friend was somewhat wrong. Maddie still wasn't used to being the centre of attention, or even just having any attention on her; it was a little overwhelming and make the shadows look quite lovely. "Wait! What about your shoes?" Arwen stated, realising that they hadn't found or picked any out for the girl; Maddie merely grabbed her own boots from beside the door, explaining how a kind maid had cleaned them for her before returning them to her while she had been bathing.

Throwing on the boots, Maddie realised that the One Ring could be seen resting against her chest; Arwen noticed this also, but reassured her that, thanks to Gríma, the entirety of Rohan knew she had the One Ring and so there was no reason to hide it. Even though she wasn't too sure if that was a good idea or not, Maddie merely left the chain around her neck before she quickly tied the lases of her boots; Arwen guided them out of the room and through the hallways before they reached the great hall. You could hear it before you saw it! From the music to laughter to mere chatter, the room was busy and bursting with life! It was quite the sight. Over at one of the tables, the rest of the Fellowship - all washed and wearing clean clothes - were enjoying the ale that Rohan had to offer while talking with one another; Legolas was the first to notice the only two female members of their group and soon found himself unable to take his eyes off of them. The Dwarf, wizard and two men noticed their friend when he didn't reply to their conversation and saw his staring state; they followed his gaze. Aragorn and Gimli felt their eyes grow wide while as Gandalf sent the two a smile; Boromir merely watched for a short moment before returning his attention to his pint of ale. As both Maddie and Arwen sat and joined their friends, Aragorn complimented them to which Gimli and Legolas agreed "this is a new side to you, Maddie Hunter" Gandalf hummed; the teenager merely sent him a playful wink as she took the small cup of ale that was being held out for her while guards and people of Rohan joined them. Taking a sip of the beverage, Maddie soon pulled a face of disgust and held the liquid in her mouth, not wishing to swallow it; those around erupted into laughter, watching as she placed the cup down before taking the empty one Legolas handed her, quickly spitting the ale out and into the new cup. "Not to your taste, lass?" Gimli laughed as she complained of the taste; Maddie merely handed the full cup of ale to the Dwarf, deciding to merely stick to water. It was in that moment, however, that another voice spoke up "I had a feeling you might think that" it was Èowyn; she came over to the full table and placed a jug before the teenager with a cup beside it "I had some fresh orange juice made up for you" she smiled down at the girl as she thanked her.

As the evening went on, the more entertaining it got. At one point, however, the King approached Maddie in order to ask how she was; the young girl assured him that she was alright, enjoying the celebrations with glee. "I hear you were the main entertainment at that little tavern you worked at before meeting some of your friends" Théoden stated, having recalled Gandalf telling him as such during the tale of how he had met the Ring Bearer; Maddie nodded in agreement, explaining how her boss would have her sing and dance to their paying customers. "Will you honour us with a demonstration?" the man requested, startling the young girl as she wasn't quite expecting it; Maddie wasn't sure if she should, but she felt she couldn't quite deny a King his request. "If that is what you wish" she bowed her head. Silencing the entire room with a single hand gesture, Théoden moved to sit in his thrown as all eyes turned to the fifteen year old; she took a deep breath, feeling her hands turn sweaty and her heart race at the sudden attention. Lucky for her, she knew the exact song that would work for just an occasion. Stamping her foot against the stone floor, Maddie started a rhythm that the room full of people quickly joined in with, either stamping their feet or clapping their hands; Maddie opened her mouth and began to sing, her legs and arms moving to the familiar rhythm that she had learnt years before. The entire great hall joined in with the dancing, singing along the best they could to the new song while continuing to clap and stamp their feet. As the song came to an end, Théoden thanked the young girl with a kind kiss to the cheek and an embrace, complimenting her voice before allowing her to return to her friends; she spotted Gimli, Boromir and Legolas with some of the guards as they were all in an ale drinking competition - high amusing to see - while Gandalf was sat in the corner of the hall, watching with a grin with his pipe in hand. 'Where's Aragorn and Arwen?' she wondered after searching the entire hall, wishing to speak to them about their next course of action in regard to their quest; the teenager made her way through the halls until she reached Aragorn's room where she began to rise her hand to knock. Her movements were halted, however, when a strange sound came from the room; Maddie was confused for less than a few seconds before she recalled the many different times back when she worked at The Prancing Pony. She would be walking past the many rooms within the tavern, either cleaning or putting things away, when those exact sound could be heard; she always knew to make a quick and quiet exit whenever that happened. And with wide horror struck eyes, Maddie did that exact thing; she turned and rushed away from the door in embarrassment, back to the party where she sat down in an attempt to rid her mind of what she knew her two dear friends were up to.