#chef4whiphan

[the-shattered-shield]

@chefwhiphand ~Cont.

The next morning

He wakes up early the next morning and he can feel you next to him. It's then that he remembers you're lying beside him. With a smile, he kisses your neck and he slips out of bed. He goes and he takes a quick bath, using some of the water that was left in his basin and then he gets dressed. You can feel him sits down on the mattress to put his boots on.

He leans over to you, turning around. He can see you stir and wake up, and he smiles at that sleepy look on your face. "Kate," he says quietly, laying his lips on your neck before looking back up at you. "I'll be back,I promise. I'm just going to a friend of mine's to get some clothng for you. You can stay asleep if you'd like. I know you're tired." 

[the-shattered-shield]

@chef4whiphand ~Cont.

"You could have been found by an orc hunting party," he says, his voice husky. "You couldn't even begin to imagine the horrors of what they would have done to you." 

He can't help but laugh a little as you say that bit about his reputation. "Oh, my love, were you not listening earlier? It would be bad for my reputation if I didn't have a woman home with me, even if I couldn't recall her name." He laughs again, leaning over and laying his lips on your forehead.

"Worry not, you're in good hands. I am deeply, deeply sorry if you cannot get home. I know...what that feels like, wanting to get home when you know that you cannot. I am sorry your heart aches. But...I suppose I can try to mend it for you, if you'd let me. We can make this house a home."

He's bold for saying something like that, but he knows that he /needs/ to, otherwise you'll think he's just being nice and letting you stay. He appreciates you. He likes you as a woman. You're strong and beautiful and he would want nothing more than to be your man. Without another word, he rolls onto his back, just looking up at the ceiling and relaxing into his pillows. 

[the-shattered-shield]

A Lapse In the Universes ~ Cont.

He turns back around to Kate as he rides, just so he can speak to her. "We are in the realm of the horse-lords, the land of Rohan, or the Mark as some would call it. This is Edoras. I have lived here my whole life."

He ride across the loppy grass and up the long hill, coming to a path that takes them to front gate. He rides past the graves and Kate can see them, even in the pouring rain, and she can’t help but notice the tiny, beautiful white flowers, Simbelmynë, that grow over Gondolin and at the tomb of Elendil. It’s the only place where they grow… 

He slows Grenjar to a trot as they come up the walkway and he stops in front of the large gates, waiting for the guards to pull then open. He's welcomed with wide smiles and hello's as he comes in and he nudges Grenjar in the direction of the stable. "Just follow my lead," he says to you quietly. 

He hops down as he goes to the back of the stable and he offers Kate a hand down. "You, milady, are very lucky today. You'll be meeting my king." He helps her down and then he gets Grenjar into his stable, giving him a quick brush down and drying him. He pulls off his saddle and he hangs it up. He hums a little as he puts some fresh water and some hay in the stable for him to enjoy and then he leaves with you.

One of the stable lads gives him a huge hug. "Good to have you home," the boy says to him. He just laughs and nods his head. "It is good, yes." 

As the boy walks away, Audun turns to Kate and he gives her a dry tunic from his bag. "Here, put this on. I don't want you catching a sickness." He nods to a room behind her, right off from the stable and he gives her a small smile. "I won't go anywhere. I will wait out here for you, I promise." 

When she comes back, he just nods his head, a smile on his lips. "Better?" he asks. "Just try and follow my lead. I may have not told you everything earlier. I am a good friend of the king's son and I am to see him tonight, just to say that I am back. I want you to come with me, I want you to see our halls. They are vast and beautiful."

He comes over to her, giving her a tiny, shy smile. "Do not fear him. He may look scary but he is a good man, with a good heart, and he respects woman over anyone." A moment passes before he touche her arm gently, a sincere expression on his face. "I will try and get you home, milady. I made that promise and I intend to keep it. But tonight, tonight it is raining and I am home for the first time in a year. Let's just relax and try to think of a plan for tomorrow. You look utterly exhausted and trust me when I say that no good can be done on an empty stomach with a tired mind and body."

He offers her an arm. "Come," he says quietly. "You will like Théodred and his father."

[the-shattered-shield]

A Lapse In The Universes ~ Cont.

He looks to Kate with a worried expression. There's another crack of thunder and it starts to rain. He sighs, stopping Grenjar, tugging on the reins gently. "I suppose it couldn't hurt now," he says with a chuckle. He helps her down. There's something gentle about the way he wraps his arm around her so she doesn't lose her balance and fall.

He hops down as well, looking at her, feeling bad that she's so far from home. So lost. So confused. It wasn't too long ago that he felt the same way. He decided then that he would help her get back, no mattered what the consequences may be. He would have wanted someone to help him, were the roles reversed. He cared too much, like always, but that piece of his character wasn't always a fault.

[the-shattered-shield]

A Lapse In The Universes

Audun had been gone too long. He just wanted to find a quicker way home. He missed his people, he missed his king, he missed his home. He missed the rolling hills, the sound of laughter and children playing. He had seen far too much war. He needed to be near the happier folk. He missed his brother, his nephews, the smell of good cooking coming from a make-shift kitchen. 

  He would give anything to find a woman to love, someone who would rope him and tie him down for good. He had bedded many women in his time but none of them were marriage kind, nor the kind who prayed every night for a family and a good, long life in a home surrounded by the good people of Rohan or its surrounding towns. He longed for that, not that he would ever admit it to anyone, perhaps even himself. 

  He swung his leg up and landed on his horse, settling into his saddle and fixing the wine sack at his side. He had decided for the gap of Rohan, to pass the Misty Mountains and from there, he would pass both the Isen and the Adorn rivers. They lay at the edge of the kingdom of Rohan. It was an easy path for him to follow to return home.

  He was a rider of the Mark, he knew how to get home in a swift, easy way. It had been almost a year but he was finally on his way now. His heart felt like it was mending itself, if only for the idea of making it home alright. He knew everyone would be so happy to see him. No doubt he was thought to be dead…