Conflicting Wishes

Title: Conflicting Wishes
Author: EW
Rating: PG
Timeline: Post Battle for Helm’s Deep
Disclaimer: I do not own Tolkien.
Notes: none
Summary: 100 word drabble about how thousands of men went to war in Rohan, but few returned to their families.


They flooded throughout the caves; running to wives and frightened children, the younger ones to their mothers. Regardless, the women broke down, whether from joy, relief, or despair. Many men came not. The women had recognized this as a possibility, that many would die, but countless hoped in vain that it would be someone else’s loved one. They hoped that their families would not be affected by death. Those unmet moved to the front of the caves, thinking that perhaps their men would come later, but in their hearts they knew the truth. The other women’s wishes had come true.