Fear No Darkness

Story Downloaded from Open Scrolls Archive (https://www.openscrolls.net)

Title: Fear No Darkness (#557)
Author: Novedhelion
Chapters: 3

Archive: Tolkien
Category: Lord of the Rings (Movieverse)
Description: How did Théoden get from "What do we owe Gondor?" to "Rohan will answer!" ? A short story about what motivates a king... A bow to Shawn R. McKee for the translation of "The Song of the Mounds of Mundberg" into Anglo Saxon and kind permission granted to use it!
Published: 20 Jan 2004
Updated: 20 Jan 2004
Warnings: None to speak of...
Type: Romance
Characters: Théoden, OFC

Chapter 1 - Chapter One

Chapter One

*********
We hierdon �ara horna on ��m hringde beorgum
��m sweorda scinde on ��m su�-cynerice.
Stedas gongdon eodon to ��m Stana-Lond
windlice ��m morgena. Wig w�s on�lde.

We heard of the horns in the hills ringing,
the swords shining in the South-Kingdom.
Steeds went striding to the Stoningland
as wind in the morning. War was kindled.
*********

Raucous laughter filled the Great Hall of Meduseld as the two hobbits finished their song and tipped up their tankards. Th�oden stood, hands folded behind his back, chuckling at the two imps.

The king surveyed the room. So many faces now missing. Their victory at Helm's Deep had been sound, but not without grievous loss. Their feast tonight was not only to celebrate their conquest, but to honor those who had been lost. Rohan had much to be grateful for.

Scanning the crowd, he found himself once again searching for a particular face. He had caught himself doing so on several occasions since the White Wizard had freed him from Saruman's spell. It had been heartbreaking to find his son had died while he had been bewitched, and he could not bear the thought of it happening to another he loved.

The evening passed, the boisterous crowd finally thinning late into the night. Th�oden said his farewells and headed for his chamber. Creaking the heavy wooden door open, he stepped into the darkened room. The dying fire cast a soft glow in one corner. He strode to the hearth, selected a log and tossed it into the grate. Picking up the poker to encourage the flames, he leaned on the mantle shelf above the hearth.

"Sy �u hal, Hlaford min." The soft voice came from behind him. Startled, the king turned quickly as a lamp flickered to life on the table. His heart pounding, he stared at the woman seated in the chair. A smile crossed her lips at his apparent stupefaction. He blinked hard and looked again, as if trying to focus his eyes. She rose from her seat and approached him.

"Has it been so long that you have forgotten me, Hlaford min?" She glided across the floor and stood in front of him. "You were never before one lacking words."

Th�oden gaped at the lady before him. He had looked for her at every opportunity since recovering his mind and will. He had wanted to ask about her, to inquire as to her whereabouts, but to do so would have violated the promise he had made her. The only thing she had ever asked him for was her privacy. She did not wish the entire city of Edoras to be privy to her affairs. So he had refrained, afraid his inquiry would induce too many questions.

"Edlyn," he finally murmured.

She chuckled. "Th�oden, I thought when Master Gandalf freed you from that spell you had regained your power of speech."

The king smiled. "'Tis not that spell which has rendered me speechless, my Lady," he said softly.

Edlyn raised her soft grey eyes to his blue, her mouth curving into the smile that made his heart stop. "Edlyn," he whispered, pulling her into his arms, tight against him. "I have looked for you ever since..." his voice trailed off as she pulled back and looked up at him. "I have missed you, Edlyn."

"And I, you, Hlaford min."

"For much longer, I deem," Th�oden said, cupping her face in his hands. He could not help but smile at her. Her reddish hair was neatly braided, set with cords of gold that accented the blonde highlights, here and there touched with grey. Even at her age, her fair skin was smooth, save a few small lines that appeared in the corners of her eyes when she smiled. "I am sorry, Edlyn, for what I must have put you through."

She put a delicate hand over his lips. "Do not speak of it, Th�oden. The power that held you is no more. It will not separate us again."

Th�oden shook his head. "Yet I must regret the time lost." He hesitated. "My son is dead."

"I know," Edlyn responded, taking his hands in hers. "I was there, at his burial."

The king looked surprised. "You did not see me. I did not wish to make it more difficult for you," she explained, before he could ask. "Circumstances were complicated enough."

"I had so hoped you were alive," he said softly. "I feared you had been lost as well, when I heard that your village--"

"It will take more than a marauding band of Dunlendings to off me, Hlaford min," she teased. "I stayed for a while with family, in the north, but I returned when news of your victory at Helm's Deep reached us."

Th�oden drew in a deep breath, pulling her to him again. "My dearest Edlyn," he said quietly, his gaze searching her face. "I have no right to ask anything of you, I know..."

"Th�oden, you know that you have only to ask, and whatever wish I can grant you, I will."

"Edlyn, will you stay with me this night?"

The woman smiled, releasing his hands. She stepped back, and reaching behind her, drew the cords from her hair, letting the red curls tumble from their braids. The king exhaled slowly, his smile widening as she stepped toward him again. "Giese, Hlaford min, I will."

******

Sy �u hal, Hlaford min - Greetings, my Lord
Hlaford min - my Lord
Giese, Hlaford min - Yes, my Lord

Chapter 2 - Chapter Two

Chapter Two
**********
The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.

� Gilbert K. Chesterton
**********

"Apparently the little imp could not resist looking into the stone, and now Gandalf has had to ride to Mundberg. The palant�r warned of an impending attack on the White City, and he has gone to alert Denethor."

Th�oden sat in his chair by the fire, casually running the fingers of one hand through the thick reddish curls. Edlyn sat on the floor in front of him, her hair spilling across his lap, as she leaned back between his knees and sipped her brandy. "Someone should alert them, if they are indeed in danger," she commented.

The king took a draught from his cup. "I do not disagree. I do, however, question why Gandalf thinks Rohan should go to their aid. They did not come to ours when our people were threatened. We have removed the threat of Isengard, with no thanks to Gondor."

Th�oden's fingers twined absentmindedly in the soft waves cascading over his knee, running through to the ends as he gazed at the fire. Edlyn sat quietly, staring straight ahead, her head leaned against one of his knees. He glanced down at her, the elegant profile outlined by the firelight.

Nearly sixteen years ago he had met her, when her husband had been killed. A younger woman of not quite forty at the time, he had given his condolences on her loss. A widow with two young sons. He had thought her attractive at the time but thought nothing else of it. Five years later she had come to him to petition for his assistance in a land dispute she had with a neighboring nobleman who seemed to think that he could push her around simply because she was a woman.

Th�oden almost laughed out loud at the memory. At the hearing he had held, she had put the offender in his place quickly and resolutely. As for the king himself, he was a man vanquished. Never had he been so taken so quickly with any woman. He kept his distance even then for a time, until fate had at last brought them to a place where it was no longer a necessity that their feelings for each other be restrained. Her young sons were grown men. And now, ten years later, she still took his breath away.

He sighed deeply. Of noble birth, she kept all manner of propriety when in public. Among the courtiers, they were simple acquaintances. That was the way she preferred it. She felt it unseemly for a widow of a high-ranking officer to take up with her husband's Lord, but she could not change her affection for the king. So she chosen discretion instead, and Th�oden had respected her wishes.

Having her here again had given him a sense of inner peace he had not had in a long time, but this latest news threatened to disturb it.

"Th�oden," she began quietly, "you did not have time to send a call for aid. You do not know that Gondor would not have answered."

The king looked down at her. "Gondor has been waging her own battles, with Mordor attacking them from the east."

"But still, you do not know that they would not have sent aid, had you called for it."

Th�oden fell silent, contemplating her words. She stared into the fire.

"Gondor has long known the troubles that have plagued us," he countered.

Edlyn turned to face him, peering up into his face in the dim light. "Th�oden," she said firmly, "You are a noble minded man. You wish always to do that which is right."

The king lowered his cup from his mouth, drawing his lips into a tight line. "I would hope that I do," he stated softly.

"Your forefather took an oath. An oath that has been passed down through all the kings of the Mark. An oath to come to the aid of Gondor, if they were to call."

He sighed deeply. She was correct. Years ago �orl the Young had made that oath to the Steward C�rion of Gondor, who had gifted them with the land on which they now dwelled. It was an oath sworn to and upheld by every king that had served Rohan through the years.

"Edlyn, Denethor cares not what happens in Rohan, as long as we keep his nothern borders safe. He does not--"

Edlyn moved to her knees, setting her cup down on the table beside his chair. Leaning forward, she cupped his face in her hands. "Your responsibility," she said, interrupting him, as only one who is dearly loved by the king would dare to do, "is not to the Steward Denethor, freond min." She held his gaze with hers, soft dove grey edged with steel. "Your oath is to the realm of Gondor. Regardless of your personal feelings about Lord Denethor's Stewardship, you have an obligation to fulfill the oath taken by your forefathers. It is you, after all, who will answer to them if you do not."

She held his face in her hands, awaiting a response from him. The king met her gaze, her words like a wave of ice water. The words his father Th�ngel has spoken often came back to him. "...their need shall be our need, and whatsoever evil or threat, or assault may come upon them we will aid them to the utmost end of our strength. This vow shall descend to my heirs all such as may come after me in our new land, and let them keep it in faith unbroken, lest the Shadow fall upon them and they become accursed." He spoke the words softly and slowly, as if digesting their meaning for the first time.

Edlyn raised one eyebrow expectantly, her hands still on his face. Th�oden reached up, grasping her hands in his. "Once again, my dearest Edlyn, you are correct."

She smiled. "You must make whatever decision you feel is best for your people, Th�oden."

Th�oden shook his head. "I do not look earnestly for war, my Lady," he said softly, "but I will ride to Gondor alone, sword drawn, ere I allow that Shadow to overtake me again. If Gondor calls, Rohan will fulfill the Oath." He stood, raising her to her feet and pulling her into his embrace.

"If the beacons are lit, Edlyn, I will ride to war."

"I would expect no less of you, Th�oden," she answered softly.

"Edlyn, I may not return."

She leaned back, her grey eyes once again soft, lips curved into a smile. "I would rather risk losing you to an honorable death than see you back under the spell of that worm."

"I do not wish to leave you alone and uncared for."

Stepping away from him, she walked toward the fireplace and turned back to face him. "Freond, I have told you. I will not be uncared for. My sons will see to it-"

"Your sons will ride to war, like the rest of us, and --"

"And if that be the case then so be it!" She spoke with finality, staring down into the fluttering flames. "Th�oden, we have discussed this before." Edlyn met his gaze, her shoulders straight. "I will not usurp your heirs for the throne. I know that now Theodred will not rise to your seat, and if you go to war, �omer will be at your side as ever. Should the unthinkable happen, and both you and �omer not return, then the Lady �owyn should take your place, not me. Call me selfish, my Lord, but I do not want that responsibility. I have no wish to be a queen."

The king sighed. This was not the first time he had heard this argument. She had the same answer every time he had asked her to marry him, of which he had lost count. He walked to where she stood, taking her hand. "Edlyn, I only wish to make known my love for you. Should I die, no one will know."

"Th�oden, I will know."

He leaned forward, touching his lips to her temple. "In my heart, you will always be my queen," he told her.

"And that is enough," she responded quietly, smiling up at him. "That is all I would ask for."

*******
Freond min - my love

Chapter 3 - Chapter Three

Chapter Three
************

There is no greater wonder than the way the face and character of a woman fit so perfectly in a man's mind, and stay there, and he could never tell you why. It just seems it was the thing he most wanted.

� Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
************

King Th�oden stood in his chamber, buckling the gauntlets to his armor. Turning to pick up his cloak, he startled as he saw Edlyn standing there, his cloak folded over her arms. He smiled. "I am glad you came."

Edlyn stepped toward him. "Wild stallions could not have kept me away, Freond min."
She stepped toward him, unfolding his cloak, and draping it about his shoulders. "I would come to farewell you no matter who I had to bribe."

"You bribe my guards?" he asked teasingly.

"Sometimes," she answered coyly. "They are actually quite easy to get past. They are particularly fond of lemon tarts."

"You mock me," he chided, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Never, Hlaford min. I have far too much respect for your station." The redhead grinned sweetly.

"I sometimes doubt my wisdom in showing you those hidden passages," he responded with a grin. He leaned his forehead against hers, pulling her closer, his expression suddenly losing its humor. "Edlyn...if I do not return..."

"Th�oden, please..." she interrupted. "Do not speak of it. War has taken from me before and no doubt will do so again before this life is over. However much we disdain that blood must be spilled, we cannot deny that there are times when we must fight. This is one of those times." She held his gaze. "I would rather have the memory of loving a valiant man," she said seriously, her tone then changing to one of raillery, "than share the rest of my life with a poltroon."

He chuckled. "A poltroon, eh? Well, I cannot have that said about the King of the Mark. It would not do to have songs written of Th�oden the Coward."

They both laughed softly. Th�oden found himself still holding her tightly, reluctant to let go. "I love you, Edlyn."

She pulled back slightly, her soft grey eyes meeting pale blue. "Ic freogane ge, Th�oden."

The king bent and kissed her, a sweet, gentle kiss, then pressed his lips to her forehead.

"Sire!" Gamling's voice echoed through the stone corridor. "I have had your horse brought around."

Th�oden looked down at her once again, smiling. Releasing her at last, he moved to the door. "I am coming, Gamling. I will meet you in the hall." He turned back to Edlyn, intending to say goodbye. She was gone. Picking up Herugrim, his sword, from the table, he sheathed it. With a last look around his chamber, he turned and resolutely headed to meet Gamling.
*****

The people of the city of Edoras watched as the men prepared to leave. Banners flying proudly in the ever present wind atop the hill, the king and his men mounted their steeds. �omer barked orders to the men, who quickly complied, forming their lines as they readied themselves to ride. "Riders of Rohan!" he shouted in a deep voice. "Oaths you have taken! Ride now and fulfill them all! To Lord! To Land!"

The horns rang out through the valley, echoing and reverberating loudly. Th�oden moved with �omer and Gamling to the head of the column, taking a last look around Edoras as they headed to the gate. He spied her, standing discreetly back, her red hair and cloak blowing in the breeze. Straight and tall she stood, bowing slightly as they passed. Th�oden�s mouth curved into a smile as they reached the gate.

"Arise, arise, Riders of Th�oden! Ride now, ride now! Ride for Gondor!"

********
Ic freogane ge - I love you
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