The guard returned to Ghash, tossing a handful of raw meat carelessly into the cell. The guard watched him with a hateful glare for a moment, as if he expected Ghash to pounce upon the mass of flesh like a starved hound. But Ghash returned his gaze, not moving to so much as blink. The guard stepped from the bars and leaned against the wall, leaving Ghash in relative peace.

He looked to the meat that lay upon the stone, slowly rising and approaching it. He gathered the pieces, shooting a final glare upon the guard before he returned to the stone bed. The meat was likely the poorest quality scraps of mutton they had. It was cold, tough, and now dust-coated, but as hungry as he was, he wasn't about to complain, and while he thought against stating it, the fact remained that he had eaten far worse gladly.

Having eaten a passable amount, he tried to rest, but the most he was willing to risk was only a few minutes at a time of mixed sleep and wakefulness. He guessed dawn had broken as three men approached his cell door wordlessly. They led him from the prison to the training yard. There stood rows of uncomfortable, yet curious men. Some young, some old, some who had seen him, and some who hadn't, but all raw metal, ready to be beaten into shape.

Rubbing the weariness out of her eyes, she looked over to her sleeping companion. Dawn was about to break, so they should probably get going. She reached over and gently shook her arm. "Dani? It's time to get going." She shifted and groaned as she slowly began to wake up. She jumped for a moment as she looked over and realized she was dangling from a tree. She gathered herself and sat up.

"Good morning, my lady. Now, this is a turn." she said.

"What?" asked Elayin.

"Well, its always been me waking you!" she said.

Elayin chuckled, "Yeah, but to be fair, I don't usually sleep in on my own." she said.

"Well I hope you don't usually wake up before dawn!" she said.

"No, but as I said, we need to get as far as possible before they realize we're gone. Come on." she said before she dropped down from the tree. She quickly realized that this action was to never be repeated until after the child was born. She stood for a moment trying to keep her insides inside.

"My lady!" she exclaimed.

"No, no, I'm fine, just moved too fast. Come on." Dani tried to follow but instead sat looking very lost. Elayin walked to her, offering to help her down. Dani responded by shooting her an offended look and scrambling down from the tree. "Alright then, lets head out!" said Elayin, turning to the path ahead.

"My lady!" Dani exclaimed.

"What?" answered Elayin in exasperation.

"Don't you think we should eat? Neither you nor I ate supper last night." Suggested Dani.

Elayin gave a sigh. "Yeah, alright, ok, we eat breakfast, then we go!" she conceded, much to Dani's satisfaction.

Ghash had spent some time training them more or less individually, but now he stood, his back to the stone wall, watching as the men sparred amongst themselves. Sparring one on one was good to lay down a foundation, but if the men trained together, then he could teach them a lot faster. He watched and critiqued, his arms crossed, ignoring the guards that watched him with similar scrutiny.

"Take five." Called the man, Háma, who had been in charge of watching them as Aragorn was needed elsewhere. The men, quite happily spread out on the grass, exhausted and panting, though their energy began to return as they passed around a jug of mead and exchanged conversation. Ghash remained silent, letting them talk amongst themselves in peace, despite the fact that most of their conversation lingered on war, their chances, and their trainer. But he said nothing, he simply listened. Not that he could avoid listening in if he'd tried.

The following days went much like this. Ghash would train the men till night fall, then he would return to his cell. Sometimes Aragorn over looked the training, though most days he was elsewhere. Ghash was aware of a growing change in the men. They were growing more and more bold, losing their fear of Ghash, likely because they knew he couldn't attack them or else he'd be killed. They may have been losing their fear, but not their suspicion, and mistrust. He would expect no less. He noticed this change most in their conversations, which grew all the more provocative, almost trying to get a rise out of him, particularly from one hot-headed young man. He was fairly tall, and broad-shouldered, with fiery red hair, and a decent sword arm. He had the makings of a good soldier, but not if he couldn't direct his temper.

Such a day came finding the men resting, and Ghash sitting silently on the ground, his back to the wall. Phrases and insults kept indirectly coming his way, trying to make him angry, but it all fell flat, which only kept them coming. "When I heard we were training for war, I never once thought that would mean having to train with an orc." he grumbled. Uruk Hai, Ghash silently thought. "After everything, we're still under the thumb of these bastards." a low murmur of agreement went over the men. "And yet he's got the stones to sit there and act like he's on our side!" said the man, loudly casting a glare on Ghash, who met his gaze.

"And here he is, eating our food, sleeping under our roof, and giving us orders!"

"I do what I am commanded. As should you, lest you wish to reproach your lord..." said Ghash at last, turning his gaze away, unconcerned. This seemed like all the man needed to turn his venom on its target directly.

"I respect the king and lord Aragorn, I have nothing but loyalty to them, but anyone can have a lapse in judgment." said the man.

"A necessary lapse. If you wish to put your grievances with the king's decision forward, feel free."

The man stepped angrily forward, "It is not the King I question! You sit there as if you have any right to authority! And yet there you are. You care for nothing and no one and yet we are spare you and spar with you!? That the lords feel you may be useful is one thing, but if you are not hanged by the end, I shall lose hope it the minds of men!" Finished the man, glaring down at him, with a look of rage.

Ghash gave a low sigh and rose from the ground to his full height. He stared thoughtfully at the man, who didn't back down, standing not a foot from him. The men watched them in concern, wondering how far this would go, but Ghash remained calm. "What are you called?" he asked.

"Erengar, son of Gárendar." he said without missing a beat.

"Well, Erengar, tell me, do you hate me?" inquired Ghash.

This took the man by surprise, but he replied saying, "Hmm, let me think. I've got a friend and his wife staying with me, cause scorched rubble is all that's left of their farm. Half my family is fighting in this war, including my grandfather! And my sister's son and daughter will never see their home nor their mother and father again! All because of this damned war, and your damned race!! So yeah, you could say that." Erengar finished.

Ghash silently listened, as the man yelled, standing only a step from him, before nodding. "Good." he began, surprising the man yet again. "Feed that hate. Stoke it, fuel it, let it overcome your fear. This will be your greatest weapon on the field of war. You can hate me all you want, as long as you save that hate for the battle field. But in the meantime, just remember," Ghash grabbed the front of the man's shirt, jerking him forward, and glaring into his face with a snarl, "I am still your Commander!!" he roared, the bass in his voice reverberating through the man.

Everyone was still, even Erengar, as they wondered if they were supposed to stop him. Ghash stared unblinkingly into his eye, daring him to argue. Ghash slowly turned his gaze from the man to Aragorn, who stood, trying to gauge the uruk's next move. Ghash looked back to the man, and after another brief moment, he released his grip and turned away. Everyone in the training yard was silent, watching him suspiciously. Ghash leaned back against the wall, looking back to the staring faces. "Break is over." he said. They turned to Aragorn who faintly nodded in confirmation, sending them back to work.

"Dani, come on!" she called back to her hand maiden who was jogging behind, panting heavily. If Dani knew any decent curses, she'd probably be using them, but all she could do was mentally grumble.

"Can we maybe... Pause...and rest...soon?..." she puffed.

"Why?" asked Elayin, earning a groan from Dani. Elayin sighed but smiled. "Come on, the faster we are, the sooner we can start having campfires." Elayin slowed her pace a little to let Dani catch up, as well as catch her breath.

"You didn't do this the whole while you were gone, did you!?" inquired Dani.

Elayin chuckled. "Goodness, no! I mean I guess I've sort of done trip this twice before, but most of my long walks were slower pace and much, much shorter." she said.

"Good, 'cause I can't imagine someone doing this constantly!" she exclaimed. Elayin chuckled to herself, she could think of someone!

"No, I guess not. But remember Dani, we have to run cause the horses are a lot faster than us, so the more distance the better." She explained. "Anyway, we'll be out of the forest in not too long. I wish we could stay in it longer, but we can't go too near to Dol Guldur." Added Elayin. Dani looked visibly more nervous at the name. Elayin gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, we're not getting too close. Besides, I'm not half bad in a scrap!" She said.

"But my lady, if we are attacked, who's to say you'll be at your fittest? And what should I do?" she questioned.

"Well, obviously we'll try to avoid being attacked, but I should be fine with my bow. and you-... What did you bring for defense?" she asked, slowing her pace to a halt. Dani was quiet as she thought for a moment. Finally, she pulled a kitchen knife from her pack, which had been bound in cloth, as not to cut anything. Elayin raised a brow, "Hmm... We'll have to work something better out for you when we get a chance..." she said. Dani sighed, putting her knife back in her bag. Elayin chuckled, "Don't worry about it, thats why we sleep in trees." she said with a wink as she turned back to their path. "Come on, let's not waste any more time!"