Eyes of the Goddess

The four hunters ran across rocks and plains, with Aragorn in the lead Legolas, Boromir, and Gimli trailing behind. Aragorn suddenly stopped and bent down to retrieve an Elven brooch from the ground.

"Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall." Aragorn said rolling the brooch in his hand.

"They may yet be alive." Legolas whispered.

"Thank the Valar!" Boromir said gratefully. His little ones were still alive.

"Less than a day ahead of us, come!" Aragorn called as he b run running again.

Gimli still had not caught up with the group so Legolas called back, "Come Gimli! We are gaining on them."

"I wish that on cross-country we dwarves were natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances." Gimli complained trying hard to catch up to the pack.

Boromir grinned back at Gimli and purposely slowed his pace some so that he wouldn't be so vulnerable running that far back from the leaders. Thankfully their stopping the first night to allow Boromir rest had not put them too far behind.

Aragorn and Legolas topped a hill and came to a stop as they gazed across the plains below. Boromir was soon beside them and Gimli finally managed to catch up struggling for breath.

"Rohan, home of the horse-lords. There's something strange at work here. Some evil gives speed to these creatures. Sets its will against us. Legolas! What do your elf eyes see?" Aragorn asked.

"The Uruks turn northeast. They are taking the Hobbits to Isengard!" Legolas exclaimed.

"Saruman." Aragorn murmured.

"They must think they have the ring bearer." Boromir stated softly.

Aragorn nodded in agreement, that in itself was a very good thing. If they thought they had the ring bearer then they had bought Sam and Frodo much needed time. They continued in their pursuit across the plains throughout the night. When dawn finally broke Legolas glanced at the sunrise.

"A red sun rises. Blood has been spilled this night." Legolas spoke sorrowfully. Boromir hoped it had not been his little ones. He felt a new wave of strength wash over him born of love, love for his brothers. If they did not rescue Merry and Pippin they would certainly avenge their deaths, that Boromir promised himself.

The sudden drumbeats of horses pounding across the plains caused Aragorn to pause. The group of hunters hid behind boulders along a hillside, as a large group of horsemen appeared, galloping at a fast pace with their banners flying.

Aragorn stepped out of hiding as they passed, followed closely by Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli.

"King Théoden's men." Boromir whispered to Aragorn who nodded.

"Riders of Rohan! What news from the Mark?" Aragorn called to the riders.

At a signal from their Marshall, the riders made a quick turn and headed towards them, surrounding the small group in an ever-tightening circle. As they stopped, they pointed their long spears menacingly at them.

"What business does an elf, two men, and a dwarf have in the Riddermark? Speak quickly!" The young Marshall demanded.

"Give me your name, young horsemaster, and I shall give you mine." Gimli said smartly. The dwarf wasn't in the mood for this after three days of nonstop running. Boromir had to suppress a chuckle, and Aragorn rolled his eyes and put his hand on Gimli's shoulder.

The Marshall dismounted his horse and stepped closer to Gimli.

"I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground." The Marshall pronounced in a smirk.

Legolas moved as fast as lightening to notch an arrow at the Marshall's throat.

"You would die before your stroke fell!" Legolas announced for all to hear.

The riders moved in closer their spears edging closer to the strange travelers. An elf defending a dwarf, these indeed were strange travelers. Aragorn pushed down Legolas' bow arm.

Boromir wished this had turned out differently...were he not in the back of the group and could have said something or caught Éomer's eye he could have averted some of this tension. Boromir was about to speak but Aragorn began their introductions before he had a chance.

"I'm Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimli, son of Gloin, and Legolas, from the Woodland realm. This is Boromir Son of Denethor the Steward of Gondor. We are friends of Rohan and of Théoden, your King."

"Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe. Not even his own kin, however I do. Greetings brother Boromir!" Éomer called pushing past a slightly shocked Aragorn to wrap his arms around Boromir. With that the spears were withdrawn and the horsemen backed off from the group.

At Éomer's grasp of Boromir's shoulders he let out a pained hiss behind clenched teeth.

"What's this?" Éomer said noticing the pained look on Boromir's face.

"Recent injuries...they are almost healed now, but still ache" Boromir responded softly.

"By the Valar, Boromir." Then Éomer turned to the rest of the party. "Saruman has poisoned the mind of the King and claimed lordship over this land. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished. The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked. And everywhere his spies slip past our nets." Éomer said looking over the group.

"We are no spies. We track a band of Uruk-Hai westward across the plain. They have taken two of our friends captive." Aragorn responded tersely.

Éomer looked at him shocked. "I should say with the good Captain Boromir among your group you are not spies at all. Of the Uruks you speak, they were destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night."

Gimli all but shouted in a distraught voice, "But there were two Hobbits, did you see two Hobbits with them?"

"They are our friends, Éomer." Boromir said sadly echoing Aragorn's words.

"Theyld bld be small, only children to your eyes." Aragorn told him hoping beyond hope they had found them.

"We left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burned them." He said sorrowfully pointing off in the distance to a smoking pile of corpses.

"Dead?" Gimli asked in astonishment.

Éomer looked at Boromir who had tears running down his face. He had never known the Captain of the White Tower to cry before. These must have been close friends. Éomer considered his words and then nodded briefly. "I am sorry. Hasufel! Arod! Sindain!"

Three beautiful rider-less horses came forth before them.

"May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell. Look for your friends, but do not trust to hope. It is forsaken these lands. Boromir, I wish you safe passage home, avoid Edoras old friend you will not be welcome there." Éomer announced.

"We ride north!" He shouted to his men as he mounted his horse.

Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli rode toward the burning carcasses in silence. Once they arrived and dismounted Gimli began to sift through the smoldering pile, from which he retrieved a charred belt and dagger sheath.

"It's one of their wee belts." Gimli announced to the party sadly.

Legolas closed his eyes and spoke an elvish prayer. "Hiro hyn hîdh ab
'wanath."

Boromir just stood stock still looking around in disbelief. "They cannot be dead. Éomer and his men would not kill those they thought to be children." He reasoned out loud to no one in particular.

Aragorn screamed in frustration and kicked an orc helm before collapsing to his knees. This display of emotion from Aragorn forced Boromir to flinch. He had never witnessed this type of raw emotion from the normally controlled and even sometimes aloof Ranger before.

Still in disbelief Gimli muttered, "We failed them."

Aragorn looked away from the smoldering heap in front of him as something caught his eye.

"A Hobbit lay here... and the other." He said softly as he crawled across the ground. Boromir moved closer to Aragorn and looked at the signs that he was pointing out. Indeed a Hobbit had lay there.

As they moved across the ground, Legolas and Gimli joined in, all following Aragorn.

"They crawled." He moved forward indicating the way the grass lay against the ground. "Their hands were bound." He showed how their hands were together as they crawled across the ground. Boromir nodded in agreement.

"Their bonds were cut. They ran over here... they were followed." Aragorn said moving quickly.

"The tracks lead away from the battle, into... Fangorn Forest." He finished as they all gazed into the wood before them.

"Fangorn! What madness drove them in there?" Gimli asked in trepidation.