[Ealasaide]

Benia

Benia was still holding Gilly tightly around the shoulders, speaking to her softly and trying to stop her from trembling after her difficult river crossing, when she looked across to the far bank just in time to see Dúlrain and Toby ride into the dark waters of the Bruinen. Her body tensed as she watched the current take them, the hobbit's head suddenly disappearing under the water. Sensing Benia's sudden distraction, Gilly looked out over the water as well. Both of them watched as Kaldir, still waist deep in the river, grasped the safety line with both hands and, putting his full weight behind it, pulled the rope taut.

As Dúlrain's head briefly dropped below the surface, Benia loosed her grip on Gilly and moved swiftly toward the water's edge. Two heads broke the surface of the river, both man and hobbit, coughing and sputtering as they fought for air.

"Benia!" cried Gilly behind her. "Don't go too deep! Your skirts!"

Looking down, Benia saw that she was already up to her knees in the dark water. If she went any further the current would surely seize her skirts like wind into a sail. With no safety line, there would be nothing Kaldir or anyone else could do to save her from being swept downstream. She stopped, scarcely breathing, and watched as the horse with its two riders continued to struggle against the rushing force of the water. After what seemed to be an eternity, the brown horse's hooves seemed to find the river bottom. As Dir surged forward toward the bank, Kaldir caught the reins and guided the horse in. Benia turned and ran back toward Gilly and the others, nearly weeping with relief that they had all made it across.

She listened happily as Kaldir and Dúlrain exchanged a few bantering sentences about Toby, but her joy and relief evaporated quickly when Dúlrain suddenly lurched forward, holding his injured side. "Dúlrain, are you all right?" she asked as he slid slowly from his saddle. His face had taken on a deathly pallor.

"I'll be fine in a minute," he answered lightly, trying to smile. "The water took it out of me a bit."

"Oh, no..." Benia whispered to herself, coming around the side of his horse to where Dúlrain stood. Her amber eyes went wide with horror as she saw that his side, his hand, and even the length of Kaldir's rope that had secured him to the safety line were all soaked in his blood. "Kaldir!" she called out as she hurried toward Dúlrain, her face drawn in fear. "Kaldir - now!"

Seeing that Dúlrain was maintaining his feet only by holding on to the neck of his horse, Benia rushed forward and caught him in her arms, faltering only slightly as his weight shifted from the horse's neck to her. Within seconds, Kaldir was at her side. He cut the tether that bound Dúlrain to the safety line with his dagger. The bloody rope fell to the ground. Then, sheathing his dagger, Kaldir looked around for someplace he could take Dúlrain where he could be at least somewhat sheltered. Orcs were already beginning to gather on the far river bank. He scowled as an arrow broke the surface of the Bruinen about ten feet from the waterline.

Catching Benia’s eye, Kaldir shook his head. “You will have to do what you can for him for the moment.” He gestured toward the far side of the river with a tilt of his head. “We must act quickly.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Benia watched as Kaldir reached out and gave Dúlrain's elven rope a sharp tug. It fell into the water, the knot on the far bank having obligingly given way. To prevent the orcs from making use of it, he rapidly reeled it in.

Holding Dúlrain, Benia felt increasingly helpless as Kaldir attended to other matters like the rope, and not to Dúlrain's wound. She knew he had no choice - all of their lives were at stake. He had to see to their defense first. After all, what good would it do to see to Dúlrain's wound and staunch the flow of blood, only to have them all instantly slaughtered by orcs? She would have to take care of Dúlrain herself, just as she had taken care of her father's wounds on more than one occasion in the past. She pressed her bare cheek, the one without the spangled chain, against Dúlrain's face and, placing her lips against his ear, spoke to him softly.

"Come, my love," she said calmly as a black arrow pierced the water only a few feet from where they stood. "You must walk with me now. Just a little way. There is shelter ahead in the trees." Turning, she took most of his weight across her shoulders as she guided him toward the thin fringe of trees that separated them from the sheer face of the rock cliff that rose ahead of them. He nodded and began to walk, but his steps were slow and unsteady. Benia could tell that he was holding on to consciousness by nothing more than sheer determination. Behind her, she could hear Kaldir barking instructions at Gilly and Toby, that they were to get up and make for the trees at once. Glancing back, she saw that he had his own and Dúlrain's horses by the reins and was running in pursuit of Gilly's pony who had wandered a short distance upstream. Her own mare was barely visible through the darkness, far up on the bank among the trees. Ignoring all of this, she continued guiding Dúlrain steadily toward the trees.

"Just a little farther, my love," she whispered as another orc arrow skittered harmlessly across the stones to their right. In a few more steps, the two of them would be safe among the trees, and out of the range of the orcs' arrows. His hand tightened around hers whenever she spoke, though he said nothing in response.

Benia no longer cared if Dúlrain knew the true depths of her feeling for him. Her mother’s warnings about hiding her heart from the world no longer mattered to her. Dúlrain’s lifeblood was seeping away through the gash in his side. All that mattered to her now was saving him, stopping the flow of blood from his body before it was too late.

As she reached the shelter of the trees, she was joined by Gilly, who helped her to lay Dúlrain comfortably on the ground in a bed of dry leaves. At the sight of the blood, Gilly shook her head. “Oh, my,” she murmured.

“Give me your pinafore,” ordered Benia. “I haven’t the time to get anything from my pack.” Gently, she opened Dúlrain’s shirt and pulled it aside to expose the gaping mouth of the wound. Dúlrain faded from consciousness.

Gilly nodded and did as she was told, taking off her wet pinafore and handing it to Benia, who first wrung it out, then wadded it into a knot and pressed it against the gash. “Pressure,” she said, only half to Gilly. “Pressure will stop the bleeding.”

Gilly nodded and continued to hover helplessly at Benia’s shoulder. A second later, she was joined by Kaldir, who had handed the reins of the horses over to Toby with the admonition that he make himself useful. Kaldir was bleeding now, too, from a gash on his upper arm, having been grazed by an orc’s arrow. He leaned over Dúlrain’s unconscious countenance. “How is he?”

“Unconscious,” answered Gilly.

“How’s the bleeding?”

Benia moved the soggy pinafore aside for an instant and looked at the gash. The flow of blood did seem to be slowing. “I think it’s stopping,” she answered cautiously.

Kaldir nodded. “Good. We must move at once.”

Benia looked up, her amber eyes flashing. “No. It will kill him.”

“It will kill him if we stay. The orcs have found us and it will be only a matter of time before they figure out a way to cross the Bruinen. Put a fresh binding on the wound. We ride at once for the stair.”

Benia pushed the blood-soaked pinafore into Gilly’s hand and rose to her feet, tears rising in her eyes. “He can’t possibly ride and you know it.”

Kaldir’s icy eyes narrowed. “He will ride if I have to carry him in my arms. Now do as I say or get out of the way. His life and all our lives depend on it.”

Benia felt Gilly’s hand lightly touch her wrist. “He’s right, Benia. Mr. Dúlrain said much the same thing to me on the far bank. Kaldir will take care of him. Won’t you, Mr. Kaldir?”

Kaldir nodded. “As if his life were my own. Now, move.”

With shaking hands, Benia knelt and ripped a few strips of cloth from the hem of her dress. Between the three of them, Kaldir, Benia, and Gilly lifted Dúlrain and, taking the strips Benia had ripped from her dress, tightly bound the blood-soaked pinafore into place. Within moments, they were all mounted again, this time with Toby riding behind Benia on her bay mare. She took the lead, while Gilly rode behind her on the little pack pony. Kaldir brought up the rear with Dúlrain’s unconscious figure propped heavily against him on the front of his saddle. He led Dúlrain’s horse by the reins. Keeping as close as possible to foot of the cliff and under the thin cover of trees, they rode as quickly as they could manage toward the south and the staircase that would gain them admittance to Imladris.