How did it come to this?
Loyal to her family, her lands and her people, Théadain, the illegitimate daughter of Théoden, King of Rohan, has little concern for the world that lies beyond her familiar grasslands. When all that she loves is threatened...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Chapter 28
"Boromir?" Théadain called as she ran amongst the trees, trying desperately to decipher where his path had been leading him, judging by his tracks her friend had been wandering with no sense of purpose or direction. "Boromir!" She cried desperately as the tracks became fainter, spinning around as she tried to spot his form amongst the dense trees.
"Théadain?" The broken whisper behind her made her turn, a dry sob of relief falling from her lips as she saw Boromir stagger from behind a tree.
"Thank goodness, Boromir-" She breathed, catching him in her arms and hugging him tightly, "Come on, we have to get back to the boats, something's coming, we have to move-" She pulled back, tugging at his gloved hands as he shook his head.
"Frodo- I... Théa I did something terrible..." He breathed as dread gripped her, "I tried to take the Ring, I-I don't know what came over me..."
"Oh Boromir..." She breathed, gently cupping his jaw as tears swam in his eyes, "Where did he go? Was Frodo alright?"
"I- I don't know, he disappeared..." He whispered, gripping her wrist to ground himself.
"Aragorn was following him, he'll be alright." She promised, "Whatever happened can be forgiven Boromir, Frodo will understand, but we have to go-"
Her urgent words caught in her throat as a roar ripped through the peace of the forest, chilling her to the bone. Fearfully, she gripped Boromir tighter, not daring to move as she listened to the growing sound of trampling feet and clashing metal. Whatever it was that hunted them, it was here.
"Aragorn is out there." She whispered fearfully, "They all are-"
"We'll find them." He breathed, drawing on some internal strength as he straightened, looking around to identify where the sounds were coming from. She nodded, stepping back to draw her sword, momentarily regretting leaving her coat and vambraces in her boat as the prospect of a fight loomed.
"There..." She breathed, seeing the armoured figures running through the trees where the ground sloped away in the direction of the river; "The Hobbits are on the riverbank, we have to draw them away."
"Quickly." He breathed, urging her forward with a hand on her back.
Without thinking, she dashed down the hill with a yell, her feet kicking up flurries of leaves as the first figures turned. She had not realised from a distance just how tall they were, or heavy muscled and armoured. Her stomach knotted as she tried to decipher what they were as the first snarled at her and raised a crude, hooked blade. Their skin and features seemed similar to orcs, but they moved in daylight and they were so much bigger.
But now she had closed the gap between them, crying out as she ducked its swipe and drove her sword into the seam where its chest armour met shoulder. She had no more time to ponder the creature's race as she was set upon by two more, using the higher ground she stood on to knock them back as Boromir fiercely fought another two. With the small group strewn at their feet, Théadain looked around, knowing she could hear more but unable to see them amongst the dense trees.
