The Arming Of Theoden

The Arming Of Theoden

Posted: December 16, 2005
Title: The Arming of Theoden
Author: LadyHawksShadow
Type: FCS
Characters: Gamling/Theoden, Gamling/Hama (implied)
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I'll put them back when I am done playing.
Timeline: AU
Warnings: implied m/m slash, angst
Beta: Larian Elensar
Author's Notes: I've seen The Two Towers way too many times, is all I can say.

Summary: Gamling helps his king prepare for battle.

*~*

Theoden stripped and washed quickly in a basin of water. He wasn't going to battle looking and smelling like a tired old man. He'd go to the battle in his best dress armor, leading his men to either their victory—or their deaths. The cold water helped revive his body, although not his spirits. He doubted anything would ever revive those.

"My lord?" Gamling stood cautiously to the side, holding a clean set of clothes. The white linen under tunic and breeches hung from one arm while a green and gold outer tunic and matching leggings waited on a bench. Gamling kept his gaze fixed on his king's face, ignoring the erection that even a cold dousing could not diminish. It was a common enough site, king or no, for men facing death often felt the rush of adrenaline and their bodies, as yet having an outlet for the surge of energy, had its own nervous response. Half the men out on the walls would be squirming—even those too old to remember the pleasure—until the actual battle began.

Theoden smiled, erasing for a moment, the lines and creases in his face. Sauron's spell had left its mark upon him. "Fret not, Gamling. I was wool gathering, nothing more." Like Gamling, he was an old war-horse and knew his body was not reacting to sexual stimuli. Yet unlike Gamling, he longed to find release and peace that he would find only in the arms of another living person. The battlefield would take away the physical lust—or transmute it to battle lust—but it would not abate the longing for companionship. Sauron's spell had taken even that from him. Who would trust him, he who had succumbed to a wizard's wiles?

Gamling smiled thinly behind his beard. He could almost read his king's mind. "The men are ready, my lord."

"And here I stand, naked as the day my mother brought me into this world." Theoden held up his hand for peace when Gamling rushed forward with a guilty expression, tunic held out. "I was not chastising you, Gamling. Long did I sit in my hall, a wizard's play-thing, while my people suffered. Now, I fear, we shall all pay the price of it." He stepped forward and stood before Gamling and stared directly into his eyes. "You have paid the heaviest penalty."

Gamling gave a little shake of his head and his hair cascaded over his armored shoulders. His right side man, his shield man, Hama had already perished and the loss left a hole in Gamling's heart. " Hama's presence will be missed upon the walls, my lord."

"Not only the walls, I think," Theoden at last allowed his own gaze to flicker downward.

Gamling did not even blink as he caught the gist of his king's words. True, Hama's presence was needed elsewhere besides the walls. Theirs was a masculine world where women were excluded. A necessary function, women were for cold nights and bearing sons. Bonding and companionship was only found among the warriors who faced life and death with one another; lived and died by the skill of their fellow warriors. "In truth, my lord, Hama was my right side. He died there and I shall not long forget it."

"A king has no right side." Theoden said, once more meeting Gamling's eyes. "We have only duty and kingship. On this night, Gamling, I would welcome a right side."

The invitation came as a surprise to Gamling and this time he did blink. The rapid movement of his eyelids over his eyes masked his surprise and doubt. His brain whirled with thoughts that he did not know how to sort. "My lord, a right side is a commitment," he began and then stopped, knowing that Theoden knew what a right side meant. "A king should have no favorites."

"A king should have someone near him who knows and trusts him, who will carry out word and deed, even unto death," Theoden turned a little and stared through the deep-set window where golden sunshine filtered in precious moments on to the stone floor. "Your loyalty has proven your trustworthiness. I need someone to stand with me, Gamling."

"Your men stand beside you, my lord. Every one of them is your right side."

Theoden turned back to the warrior. "All three hundred of them," his smile was bitter. "Who am I, Gamling?"

"You are our king, sire." Gamling stepped forward. Theoden grunted softly and Gamling knew, then, that Theoden feared, even as he squared his shoulders and prepared to meet the worst that Isengard had to offer—ten thousand blood-thirsty orcs—the king refused to show his fear, but it was there. "The honor is mine, my lord. I will stand by your right side," Gamling sketched a bow. In his heart he apologized to Hama.

Theoden laid his hand on Gamling's shoulder. His throat worked and his lips twitched, but no sound came out. It was up to Gamling to step forward, linen clothing forgotten, and embrace his king. Body to body, the king and his right side stood, their combined heat warming the cold of Theoden's soul.

At last, Gamling stepped aside. "It is time, my lord." He held out the king's clothes.

With his arms outstretched and his shoulders squared, Theoden allowed his right side to dress and arm him for the battle of Helm's Deep.

*****

THE END

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