Syah's Tears

She was just finishing putting her clothes on, from washing up, in the trees below when she heard the voices of her friends. Excitement grew inside of belly, almost overwhelming her. She threw on her boots and turned to watch the men ride by, not seeing her hidden behind the trees and brush. She was going to hug them until they couldn’t stand it anymore! She could almost hear Boromir laughing at her in her mind! She waited until most of the men had ridden by and stopped. They were just beginning to set up camp when someone shouted from the top ledge.

“Whose the horse belong to!?”

It was Gimli. The men ignored it below but Syah shook her head. She laughed as she ran out of the brush and ran up the steep path to the camp. When she stopped, it was to shocked faces. “To me, you stubborn dwarf!”

She laughed again as she pulled Gimli in for a long, tight hug. She didn’t let go until he said, “Lass! You’re killin’ me with this affection!”

She let him go, smiling. “What can I say? I missed you, obstinate dwarf!”

Though he did not say it, she could see the warmth and affection behind the dwarf eyes, she felt his happiness at seeing her again. “You cannot hide from me, dwarf...”

He grunted but did not get a chance to say anything because Aragorn pulled her in for a hug. He held her tight, and kept saying, “Thank Eru! Thank Eru!”

As much as she did not want to let go... “Aragorn, I can’t breathe!”

He laughed as he let her go. “I am sorry, Syah. Your absence has affected me. I am so glad to see your face!”

He noted the clearness of her eyes, the determined look in them. Something was different about her...

Syah jumped into Legolas’ arms, who was standing not three feet from Aragorn. She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt him hold her to him. She was so relieved to be in his arms. There were no words to describe the feelings she was having. She felt his relief as well. She could feel the immense pleasure he was having with her in his arms.

Reluctantly, she let go him and looked into his eyes. “It is good to see you too, elf!”

Legolas’ laughed. “And you, meleth nin.”

Syah could feel the warmth spread through her. He called her his love! She couldn’t speak for a moment. Aragorn saved her.

“Syah, this is Theodin. He is the King of the Mark.”

Her blood acknowledged him immediately as he bowed slightly to her. “You have been talked of highly by these men. You seem strangely familiar to me.”

Syah just smiled at him. “Funny, I was going to say the same thing.”

Theodin smiled back. “Mayhap our souls have seen each other in their pasts.”

“Mayhap,” Syah smiled, keeping the truth to herself.

“Do you have a moment to spare from your friends? There are some who would be very pleasured to meet you.”

She looked back at her friends then back at King. “I would be honored to walk with a King.”

Theodin offered his arm and Syah took it. She was about to be introduced to more family...

*********************

“There is definitely something different about that Lass,” Gimli said when Syah and Theodin were on the ground below them.

“Yes,” Aragorn agreed. “Most definitely. She seems clearer, more determined about something. And she was awful welcoming when she saw us!”

His two companions laughed.

“Especially to elf-boy here!”

Legolas’ smiled and shook his head. “She is at peace with herself. I feel Boromir near her, as if he is with her somehow. Her soul is healed. We are imbedded deeply inside of her now. Somehow, she has healed.”

Aragorn nodded. “I wonder when we will hear that tale.”

Gimli said, “I imagine she’ll tell us when she is ready. There’s no rushing the lass.”

“She seems more...beautiful without the dark clouds hanging over her head. She did not show fear when I called my love. I feared she would run from me.”

Aragorn said, “My friends, I think we have just entered a new phase of her life. She has many secrets now. New knowledge in her mind. It should be an interesting journey.”

****************

Syah had changed into new clothes and she was so beyond grateful that her friends had grabbed her pack before searching for her, Merry and Pippin. Hobbits...she was glad to see that Merry was well and she hugged him as well. He was pleased to see her also. She could feel Frodo, he was weakening, but somehow Syah knew that now was not the time to dwell on Frodo. Something else was more dire at the moment.

When night fell, Syah could feel a change in the air. Something was happening to Aragorn. He had to face his path now, she knew that somehow he had to face it. She had just left Eowyn, who was bound for a fate that would show the world just how strong she truly was, and was on her way to see Legolas and Gimli. But she stopped when she saw the three of them standing in front of the entrance in the mountain. She walked up to them, beside Aragorn.

“My path walks with you, Aragorn,” she said.

Aragorn did not know what to say to her. Her eyes bore a new strength, a new knowledge of who she was and what her path was. He suddenly felt the wealth of friendship she was sending to him. She was not leaving his side until it was time for her too, or she was forced to. He nodded at her and the four walked through the entrance of the haunted mountain.

And something shifted. Syah could feel walls coming down around them. This course, Aragorn’s path, would change the course of the War...