She continued to dust the shelves of the empty, newly repaired house. As she did do, she thought to herself, over and over...
She could not do this anymore. She was useless, standing by while her loved ones got hurt or were put in danger. She even accidentally contributed to some hurts herself. Last night had been the last straw, and she chose to flee for the protection of her babies.
Oh, her babies. She would do anything for these two. It was becoming more and more obvious how much they were her top priority, regardless of the excruciating pain she felt right now. She knew that the lives of her friends were secondary to the lives of her twins. She paused, lowering one hand and placing it over her stomach. She sighed, she had abandoned friends last night for these two.
Egfor had told her it was not her fight. Nimraph assured her he would be alright. But what if something did happen? She could not even bear the thought of Egfor being arrested! She gripped the cleaning rag and haplessly continued to dust. She knew what her path was. She would do anything, regardless of the painful cost, for all four of her children.
An extreme solution entered her mind. She had cut herself off before. She had killed childhood friends, buried her heart beneath a poker face of frost. She had been rancorous before, all to preserve herself. She had fled before, abandoned before. Did she have to do something similar now? Would she be forced to pretend her closest friends meant nothing to her while she took care of her family?
She shuddered. No, of course not. There had to be a better way.
She sighed, finishing the dusting job. She slumped, exhaustion taking its toll on her. Demlemoth had told her, over and over, to trust her friends and let them fight. She still struggled. She still was unsure that she could trust Egfor and Helmwod with their own safety. Yet, she had to. For her babies, for her children, and for her worrying husband, she had to.
With a sigh, she tossed the cleaning rag into a watery bucket. Another woman looked up from scrubbing the floors. She pushed some black hair back as she raised an eyebrow, "Miss, are you alright? Do you need to break?"
Eira was hunkered over, sweating, and worn. Circles were beneath her eyes, and her body was bloating and swelling in pregnancy. She shook her head, "I'm fine."
The woman raised an eyebrow, "You are the pregnant wife of that reclusive Gondorian Noble, are you not?"
Eira looked over to the woman, hair in her face. She nodded.
The woman stood up, green dress flowing, as she pointed to the chair in the corner of the room, "Rest."
Eira tensed up, "You can't tell m-"
"-If not for you, your baby."
Eira paused in that moment. With an exasperated sigh, she scuffed her shoes and sat down on the wooden chair.
The woman blinked her grey eyes in exasperation. She shook her head, "Are you sure you should be doing this?"
Eira looked away, "I need to help."
The woman scoffed, "You already cook for everyone every day, perhaps that is enough? Talk to your supervisor, I am sure he-"
Eira looked up, still stubborn, "I used to spend long hours in a relentless farm as a child, sunrise to sunset, with little to no food! As a child! I can handle a little dusting!"
The woman crossed her arms, "If you will not speak to anyone about lightening your load, I will. Pregnancy is a new monster entirely, miss. You obviously need to rest up."
Eira glared, "Who do you think you are, ordering me around like this? I'm free!"
The woman smirked, "You are free to live your life as you want, but you have limits. I am Feruieth, a Ranger of the Dunedain. I recently healed from a broken leg and offered to help these people as a part of my oath. Yet, it required some rest first."
She approached the half Mordain, "I understand that feeling, being trapped due to circumstances of health while others toil. Yet for me, it was just my leg. You? You are pregnant. You need to take care of them, mistress, for their betterment."
Eira faltered, lowering her head, "I... You're right... But I can't just drop this?"
Eira felt Feruieth place a hand on her shoulder, "Talk to your supervisors. Work something out. I am sure they will understand."
Eira looked up to see Feruieth offering a small smile. The woman turned and walked over to the bucket, "I shall finish this building up. You rest now. It feels kind of... nice, not being the noble watching others toil for once."
Eira reluctantly rested as the Ranger finished cleaning the house. She rested her head, leaning against the wall as surprising slumber overtook her. In her sleep, she saw two young faces looking up to her in need. Eira smiled, "Don't worry, little ones. From now on, you are my top priority. Rest now..."
