Rise (Lord of the Rings)

38 - The Harsh Reality

"Of course you tried archery," Éowyn ranted to me the following day. "You seem like the kind of person that wouldn't let an injury stop her from doing something she very well shouldn't!"

"It was light work," I snapped defensively. "Nothing tore open, if that's what you were worried about."

Éowyn hadn't had the chance to interrogate me until I had gotten back from a morning bath. She didn't get the opportunity to talk to me last night either, because I went to bed before she could talk to me.

Before Éowyn's questioning, I had finally gotten the chance to see Arwen's second outfit for me. The skirt was long, green, and comfortable to move in. The top was the same shade of green and fit snugly on my body. The sleeves were long, concealing my dressings on my right arm. However, the shirt had a bit of a neckline, so the Evenstar was not hidden from others' sight.

"You should be taking better care of yourself, Marlena," Éowyn scolded me.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I handle myself just fine." I put my hands on my hips.

Éowyn's fire in her grey eyes snuffed. A new look took over, curiosity I believe. I blinked, my forehead creased.

"What?" I asked her.

"Where did you get that?" She pointed at the Evenstar.

"Oh." I swallowed, mustering up the courage to tell her. "During the ambush, the Orc rider Aragorn had battled had it. I took it from him."

"And you've kept it since then?"

"I figured he wouldn't want it in the hands of slime."

"Oh." Éowyn looked relieved.

"What was that response for?" I questioned.

"No reason."

"My lady...?"

"Listen, do you mind accompanying me outside today, to walk around and see how everyone is adjusting?"

"I guess I can't do much else other than that," I answered Éowyn, shrugging. "Lead the way."

We stepped out onto the ways of Helm's Deep. People were bustling about, making it look as though we were going to wander into a marketplace. It was like I was staring at different people. In Edoras, they were quiet and looked down, but here, they sounded livelier—they were talking and moving around as though they were very much alive rather than dead.

"I don't know if I want to go into that," I told Éowyn. "I don't know if it will hurt if anyone accidentally bumps into my arm."

"Oh, so now you want to be safe?" Éowyn teased me. "Fine, have it your way. Let's just have a little look around where we are."

Éowyn and I wandered over to a chest. While she went through things, I observed the people some more. I was trying to compare the people of Edoras with the Hobbits in the Shire. They seemed pretty alike, with the way they acted around one another. Though, the population seemed bigger here than back home. There seemed to be many more adults than children, as it should be—having an overabundant amount of children sounded chaotic.

"Marlena!" piped a little girl's voice.

I beamed as I saw Freda sprinting towards me. She tackled my waist, hugging me tightly.

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" she squeaked, bouncing.

"You have?" I asked.

"Yes. I didn't see you yesterday when we got here. We found our mum again!"