Author’s Notes: I don’t own anyone from Lord of the Rings. If I did Frodo wouldn’t have gone on to the Grey Havens. Legolas would be teaching me how to use a bow and arrow. Aragorn and Arwen would have been married long before the Ring was found. I don't own any of the Inu-Yasha characters. If I did, Sesshomaru would be joining Legolas in teaching me how to use a sword. Enjoy.

Sorry about it taking so long to update but we've had to wait until my father-in-law to have surgery and my daughter is finishing school so I've been busy. Hopefully this summer will go fairly slowly but you never know what will happen as each day goes.

The Realms of Middle Earth Part 2

By: Carey Ann Lupin

Chapter 3

Home of the Horse Lords

Tori sat on Kirara’s back and flew high above Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, who had decided that running was much better than flying, Sesshomaru, who wasn’t happy at all, and Miroku, who had yet to complain about the running that they were doing. Kirara noticed that Aragorn had stopped and was kneeling on the ground. She landed beside him and Tori slipped off her back.

“What did you find?” Tori tried to kneel next to him but couldn’t since he was looking at the tracks near some rocks so she remained standing slightly behind him.

“They are less than a day ahead of us.” Aragorn looked up slightly. He looked up and saw Legolas looking off into the distance. “Legolas, what do your elf-eyes see?”

“The Uruks turn north toward Isengard.” Legolas eyes barely moved from the horizon.

“Saruman.” Aragorn clenched his hand around the hilt of his sworn tightly. “Come. Let us keep moving.”

Tori wearily mounted Kirara again before holding out a hand to Gimli. “I think you’d better ride up here with me, Gimli. I don’t want you to pass out from exhaustion.”

“I’ll be fine, milady.” Gimli continued running after Legolas and Aragorn.

Sesshomaru patted Kirara’s head softly. “You are not tired, Tori?”

“No, it’s just that I’m worried about everyone. I get the feeling that we’re not going to like what is about to happen to us next.”

Sesshomaru nodded before Kirara took off into the air. He looked at Miroku who was leaning heavily on a boulder. “Come. We must hurry.”

“I’m coming.” Miroku started to run again before Sesshomaru swung him onto his back. “Thank you.”

“There is no need for my mate to kill me when you drop from exhaustion. She is already going to hurt Gimli.” Sesshomaru started after Aragorn and Legolas.

-----

Tori was getting bored watching the men looking for Uruk tracks when they knew where they were taking their friends. Suddenly Aragorn stopped and picked something up from the ground. Kirara flew down so that they were hovering right over Aragorn and Legolas.

“What is it, Aragorn?” Tori leaned slightly so that she could see what was in Aragorn’s hand.

“Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall.” Aragorn looked up at Legolas, Tori, and Sesshomaru as they stared at the leaf brooch in his hand.

“Well, we can’t give up hope.” Tori patted Kirara’s head to signal to head back up again before Aragorn scrambled to his feet. “They might be trying to tell that they went this way.”

“Their pace has quickened.” Aragorn started to run again. “They’ve caught our scent.”

Sesshomaru summoned his demon cloud and flew up to Tori. “Do you have more of that stuff that hides a person’s scent, my love?”

“We used the last of it yesterday but Sango, Kagome, and Rin each had some in their packs.” Tori gave Sesshomaru a slight frown. “And that doesn’t help us now.”

“It has helped us to catch up to them so do not worry about the consequences of not having enough.” Sesshomaru kissed her cheek before heading back to the ground.

-----

Aragorn stopped at the top of the hills and looked out over the rolling plains before them. “Rohan, home of the Horse Lords.”

Sesshomaru stood beside the young man. “Rohan?”

“It’s the land closest to Isengard.” Aragorn’s hand lay on the hilt of his sword. “The question is why would they come through here? The people of Rohan would kill them on sight. It makes no sense.”

Kirara landed on the other side of Aragorn and Tori slid off her back before Kirara turned back into her smaller form. “Actually it does. I used to see it all the time when we were working on cases. The criminal would hide in plain sight. The thing is that a lot of times where they hide was where they had friends. These friends would help the criminal out by hiding them until the heat off or the cops found them. What’s to keep us from knowing that Saruman has an ally here in Rohan? We haven’t heard any news in weeks so something has to be up.” Tori crossed her arms. “I say that we keep going into Rohan while we follow the Uruks trail until we find one the people of Rohan and ask them what’s been happening in Rohan. We just might get a surprising answer.” She scooped Kirara into her arms since the fire cat had been traveling for three days straight with very little rest. She shook her head slightly as Aragorn and Sesshomaru watched her slip Kirara into one of the pockets of her pack. “What? She’s been flying for three days. Don’t you think she deserves a break?”

“Then you will ride with me.” Sesshomaru scooped Tori into his arms as Aragorn and Legolas started to run again. He glanced behind him as Miroku and Gimli came up behind him panting heavily. “Come we must keep going.”

“We dwarves are wasted on long distance running. We’re natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances.” Gimli’s grip tightened on his axe as he panted his way up the hill.

Miroku nodded slightly. “I agree.” He was just as exhausted as the dwarf but he knew that this was just the beginning.

-----

Legolas paused as he ran up the hill and looked behind him. “A red sun rises. Blood has been spilt this night.”

Tori swallowed hard as she looked over at the elf. “Let’s hope it wasn’t the guys.”

Aragorn stopped at the top of one of the many hills of Rohan when he started to feel a slight rumbling under his feet. He ran to one of the outcroppings and the rest of the group followed. They were barely out of sight before a battalion of horses rode over the hill. Not one of the mounted soldiers noticed the group huddled close to the rocks. Aragorn slowly moved away from the outcropping and toward the horses.

“Riders of Rohan! What news from the Mark?” Aragorn seemed to be taken aback by the fact that the Riders had made a u-turn and were headed back toward them.

Tori stood in the middle of the group with the others around her. The Riders surrounded them and pointed their spears at the five strangers to their land. Tori held up her hands in surrender while the others seemed to tighten their hold on their own weapons. The leader of the group glared down at the smaller group. “What brings an elf, a dwarf, a woman and three men to the Riddermark?”

“I hate to correct you but it is two men and a demon.” Tori’s voice caused the leader of the Riders to turn and look at her.

“I stand corrected, milady.” The leader bowed slightly in his saddle. “I suggest you speak quickly.”

“Give me your name horse rider, and I will tell you mine.” Gimli tightened his grip on his axe.

The leader dismounted quickly and stood in front of Gimli. “I would cut your head from your shoulders if it were just a bit higher.” The leader ignored the guy to his left who was trying to get his attention. Tori tilted her head slightly when she noticed the silvery white hair flowing down his back.

“You would die before your stroke fell.” Legolas had whipped out his bow and an arrow. The mounted Riders shifted slightly so that all the spears were aimed at Legolas.

Aragorn stepped forward slightly and laid his hand on Legolas’s arm. “I am Aragorn son of Arathron. This is Gimli son of Gloin and Legolas of the Woodland Realm as well as Lord Sesshomaru, Lady Tori, and the monk Miroku all of the Western Lands. We are friends of Rohan and of your king Théoden.”

“Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe.” The leader dismounted and removed his helmet. “Not even his own family.” He bowed to the group. “I am Eomer.”

The Rider directly behind Eomer shifted his eyes slightly so that he was looking directly at Sesshomaru, Miroku, and Tori. “Um, Eomer?”

“Not now.” Eomer barely glanced at the man behind him. “Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship of these lands. My company and I are those that are loyal to Rohan and for that we are banished.”

Tori stepped toward Eomer. “That’s awful. Do you and your men have enough supplies? Do any of them need medical treatment?”

“Trust my mate to see to that.” Sesshomaru dropped the bag he had been carrying so that Tori could dig through it.

“My men are fine though a few may have some wounds.” Eomer motioned to the wounded to dismount. “Let Lady Tori see to your wounds.”

The Rider who had been trying to get his attention leaned forward again. “Eomer.”

“In a moment.” Eomer waved the Rider away as he watched the wounded gather around the small woman who was simply shoving armor and clothes out of her way so that she could clean the wounds. He turned back to Aragorn. “The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man hooded and cloaked.” He turned he gaze toward Legolas. “And everywhere his spies slip past our nets.”

Aragorn shook his head slightly. “We are no spies.”

“Finally! That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, Eomer!” The Rider took off his helmet before jumping off his horse. “I know them.”

“You know them, Inu-Yasha?” Eomer jumped out of the way as the small woman who had been bossing his wounded men around ran into the arms of the Rider.

“I should. After all they are my brother, his mate, and my friend.” Inu-Yasha held Tori close to his breastplate while she cried.

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Eomer watched as the gruff man he had gotten to know softened toward this woman.

“I tried to but you kept telling me to wait.” Inu-Yasha looked up at his brother.

“And their friends? Do you know them?”

Inu-Yasha shook his head slightly. “Nope.”

“I’ve been traveling with them since we left Rivendell so I’ll vouch for them.” Tori untangled herself from Inu-Yasha’s arms and looked up at Eomer.

Eomer nodded slightly before turning back to Aragorn. Aragorn seemed pleased that they were no longer being thought of as spies. “We are tracking a party of Uruk-hai westward across the plains. They have taken four of our friends captive.”

Eomer tried to look away from Aragorn. “We slaughtered the Uruks during the night.”

Gimli stepped toward Eomer. “But there were two Hobbits and demons with them. Did you see them?”

“The Hobbits and Shippo are small. They would seem like children to your eyes.”

“And Shippo is a child.” Tori looked up at Inu-Yasha as he smirked slightly.

“And the other?” Eomer barley glanced at Inu-Yasha.

“He is as tall as a man and looks almost like an elf.” Sesshomaru’s voice sounded gravelly as he growled low in his throat.

“We did not see them. However, with the battle it is possible that they escaped.” Eomer refused to look at Inu-Yasha who was growling in his throat. “But we left none alive.” Eomer pointed toward the horizon where a plume of smoke rose up into view. “We piled the carcasses and burned them.” He didn’t turn when he heard Tori gasp slightly.

Gimli looked at Eomer disbelievingly. “Dead?”

Eomer nodded once. “I am sorry.” Legolas’s eyes looked dead as Eomer turned and whistled. “Hasufel! Arod! Symbelmyne! Eorlingas!” Four horses came toward Eomer. He grabbed hold of two of the bridles while Inu-Yasha grabbed the other two. “May these horses bear you to better fortune than that of their former masters.”

“Thank you.” Aragorn took hold of the two bridles that Eomer held while Sesshomaru took the others from his little brother.

“Look but do not hope.” Eomer turned to look at Inu-Yasha who was helping Tori onto the back of Eorlingas. “I take it that you are going with them.” Inu-Yasha nodded. “Very well. Take your horse.” Eomer nodded before turning to look at the group once more before turning to Inu-Yasha. “I wish you would stay but I know that you must find the rest of your group. If you have need of us, we ride north.”

“Yeah. It was fun fighting alongside you and the rest of the Riders.” Inu-Yasha clasp Eomer’s hand before turning and mounting his horse. “Come on. I’ll show you where we killed the bastards.”

The group waved one last time at the Riders before riding away from the group.

-----

They rode for several miles before they came upon the smoldering pile of carcasses. Tori turned her head slightly so that she could bury her face into Sesshomaru’s chest and keep from throwing up at the disgusting smell of burning flesh. Aragorn dismounted and stared at the smoldering pile of bodies as Gimli dug through them looking for any sign that their friends had been there. He stopped suddenly and pulled out a small belt that was badly burned but not completely destroyed.

“It’s one of their wee belts.” Gimli tried to keep the tears from his eyes as he looked up from the belt.

Legolas whispered something that none of them could make out while Aragorn kicked a helmet and screamed before falling to his knees. Tori cried softly as Sesshomaru rubbed her back. Miroku offered several prayers for their fallen companions. Inu-Yasha looked confused which wasn’t much better than normal as he watched Aragorn shift slightly to look at some tracks near him.

“A Hobbit lay here.” Aragorn moved some of the straw near him. “And the other with a smaller body between them.”

Tori whipped her head around. “Shippo?”

Aragorn nodded slightly as he moved slightly to look at the tracks again. “A taller person lay here.”

“Koga.” Miroku smiled broadly. “I knew that they wouldn’t let some ugly beings get them down.”

Aragorn started to move quickly across the ground as Inu-Yasha watched him. “What’s he doing?”

“Hush. He’s tracking them.” Tori waved Inu-Yasha away from her. “If they’re still alive then Aragorn will find them.”

“They crawled. Their hands were bound.” Aragorn picked up a length of rope. “The bonds were cut.” Aragorn moved along the path it seemed that only he could see. “They ran over here and were followed.” He started to run after the tracks. “The tracks lead away from the battle…” Aragorn stopped at the edge of the forest. “…and into Fangorn Forest.”

“Fangorn?” Gimli gripped his axe tightly.

“Why go into the forest?” Tori moved to stand between Aragorn and Sesshomaru.

“Most likely to get away from whoever was following them.” Inu-Yasha laid his hand on the hilt of Tetsusaiga.