Emma stepped out of her makeshift "bathroom" after cleaning off all the dirt, sweat, and blood from that day's activities. Carling was waiting in her bedroom, a brilliant red dress spread out on the bed.

"What is that?" Emma eyed the dress suspiciously.

"Blythe finished another one of your dresses," Carling beamed.

"And you wanted to show me before putting it away in the wardrobe, right?"

Carling actually rolled her eyes, "You're wearing it to the dance tonight." It was not a question.

"Carling, this dress can be seen from the other end of the city, everyone will be staring at me in this, and they do that enough already."

"Why did you order a red dress if you weren't going to wear it?" Carling tisked.

"Because you made me!" Emma yelled.

"Yes, but here it is and Blythe is expecting to see you in it tonight, if there's ever an occasion for this dress, it's tonight."

Emma sighed, she had promised the first dance to Eomer. That on its own would create enough gossip, now she was going to walk into that hall in the most brilliantly red dress she had ever seen. She would've stood out at the Met Gala in this dress. Carling dressed her with extra care, adding curls and braiding intricate patterns.

"I didn't know you could do this," Emma said in awe.

"I've been practicing," she smiled.

"You know," Emma remembered, "you never did point out your man at the tournament."

Carling blushed crimson, "I hoped you'd forgotten. He's...well...he's not my man. His name is Jackson but I doubt he even knows I exist," she sighed.

"You should dance with him tonight," Emma pressed.

"I can't just go up and ask him!" Carling was scandalized.

"Why not?" Emma shrugged.

"Women don't ask men to dance, it isn't done," Carling explained, like she was a child.

"Right," Emma cringed as she remembered once again how extremely out of place she was.

"You're ready," Carling looked satisfied, "you look beautiful."

"Thank you, Carling. You look lovely too, I'm sorry I didn't mention it until just now." Carling did look very pretty, she had braided flowers into her hair and worn her best dress, a pretty white dress with green trimming.

"Let's go?" Emma asked, Carling squealed in reply.

When they walked into the hall, Emma quickly scanned the sea of people. She tried to tell herself that she was just admiring the view, but she knew that she was also looking for someone. She spotted him, and she froze. Several thoughts raced through her mind at the same time, the least graphic being that Eomer cleans up good. She realized then that she hadn't seen him in all his noble glory since she arrived, he was always on his way or coming back from training or patrol. Now, Eomer was freshly bathed, beard trimmed, and wearing his finest clothing. It wasn't until he looked up at her and grinned that she realized that she had been staring at him quite blatantly. She hoped no one else noticed, though a quick glance at Carling told her that at least one other person had.

In her defense, Eomer was the one staring now. Her cheeks flushed when he blatantly looked her up and down. She decided this silent ogling between the two of them should probably be cut off, so she headed towards her usual place at the head table. Eomer headed there as well. They met at their seats, and Eomer gave her his first real compliment, "You look beautiful," he said. There was no hinting, no prevarication, no guessing games, just a full-on, honest compliment.

"Thank you," she smiled, "you look quite nice as well."

He chuckled, "I'll settle for quite nice I suppose." He pulled out her chair and they sat to eat.

As Madge had predicted the food, while better than usual, was not exactly a feast in the way Rohan would usually celebrate. Even while the Rohirrim tried to have a day to forget the troubles that were upon them, they were still conscious that they had to eat tomorrow as well. That being said, there was nothing too interesting to discuss during the meal. Eomer and Emma chatted with each other and with others at the table and before long it seemed that the real excitement was upon them.

Eomer stood when the time to dance arrived. As the Lord of Aldburg and the winner of the tournament, he would get to start the dancing. He held his hand out for Emma, she paused for a moment, dreading the embarrassment that was sure to follow, and then took his hand. He led her to the center of the center of the hall where the tables had been cleared. A small band had set up in the corner of the room. There were several string instruments and percussionists as well as a few instruments that seemed similar to flutes or some other kind of wind instrument. Eomer put his right hand in the middle of her back and took her hand with the other, then the music started. Emma hadn't really known what exactly to expect so when the music started she was determined to follow along as best as possible. It seemed that the dancing was a sort of jig, fast paced and full of turns. In order to lead her through the turns and circles of the dance, Eomer held her close. Emma thought it may have been closer than necessary. She could feel his heartbeat and her hand on his shoulder felt his muscles flex as he danced. Her mind shut down thoughts of any other time that Eomer could hold her like this before they even got started.

Before she knew it, the dance had come to an end. There was loud cheering and calls for this or that favorite song. Eomer smiled at her and seemed like he was about to say something, but they were interrupted. The crowd quickly crushed around them and circled Eomer, he would be a popular dance partner, it seemed. As they were separated by the crush of dancers, Emma saw Declan walk over and say, "you're a great dancer, would you dance to the second song with me?"

Emma didn't have a reason to say no, so she smiled and accepted, taking his hand as the music started up again. Out of the corner of her eye he saw Eomer step forward with another partner. She was a beautiful young woman: tall, blonde, with emerald green eyes and the sweetest face Emma had ever seen. They made a good couple, and Emma tried not to be too disappointed to see how much better they fit than she and Eomer did. He was giving her an odd look in turn. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought he looked angry, but she hadn't done anything to make him angry at her. At least, she didn't think so. She was distracted during her dance with Declan, thinking over whatever could have upset Eomer so much between their dance and the second. Maybe someone in the crowd had said something to him? The second dance ended and Declan quickly asked for another, in this way she danced three songs with him. It felt like it was time to retreat when finally, Cedric cut in, requesting the next song. Emma was grateful, Declan seemed to be getting ahead of himself. He hadn't really done anything wrong, but it was clear he liked her a lot more than she liked him. The night passed in this way, Emma dancing with one or another of the riders, though never with Eomer or Declan again. She began to get tired of the fast-paced dancing and decided to head to bed when the first round of partygoers began to leave. She said goodnight to Carling, who had spent most of the night dancing with a handsome young man, and left the main hall with little fanfare. As she turned the corner into the corridor that led to her room, she felt a hand grab her upper arm and turn her to face its owner. She was about to scream when she realized the man towering over her was Eomer.

"Did you enjoy the dance?" He said, eyes shining with an emotion Emma couldn't place.

"Yes, it was fun," Emma said, wary of whatever it was he was thinking of, "I didn't get a chance to thank you for teaching me."

"Good," he mumbled, "you looked like you were having fun."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, because the way he said it made it clear he wasn't making a benign observation.

"Just that you seemed to be popular with the riders. Especially Declan." He said his name as if it were something unpleasant.

"Look, I hope you're not hinting at what I think you're hinting at," she glared at him, "I was just dancing. If you don't mind, I'm tired. Goodnight," she tried to pull her arm away but he held her steady. He slowly backed her into the wall and put his hands gently on her hips, her breath caught.

"I thought we had fun dancing too," he whispered.

"We did," why are we whispering?

"I don't like seeing you dance with other men," he growled out.

"You were dancing with other women," she quipped back, eyebrow raising. He didn't deny her statement, but he didn't apologize for his first either. The air between them was charged, a strange mix of anger and desire.

"Why are you so difficult?" He spat out.

"Why are you so rude?" She replied. He was getting closer; her eyes were drawn to his and her face tilted forward. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought he was about to kiss her.

He was frowning, "do you like Declan?"

"He's my friend," she said.

"Men and women can't be friends," he frowned.

"Yes, they can be, at least where I come from," she said quickly.

"Well, here, they aren't," he said icily, "I can guarantee Declan doesn't see you as just a friend."

"Why do you care?" She said, this was the question that had been running her through her mind since she arrived. She couldn't believe it was what Madge and Carling were constantly badgering her about.

"Because..." he thought, "you're under my protection."

She huffed, "oh please, you're supposed to be protecting me from orcs not flirting from your riders."

"So, you admit you were flirting?" He said angrily.

"No! You're the one who says I was flirting! And if I was it would be none of your business!"

"It would be," he ground out, stepping closer to her somehow, eyes blazing.

"Why?" She breathed out.

"Because..."

"Lord Eomer?" A voice called out, one that sounded suspiciously like Declan.

Eomer stepped away and called back, "What?!" in a very unhappy voice.

"Sinead asked me to look for you," he called turning the corner, "oh," he said when he saw Emma and Eomer standing so close together. "I apologize," he said, "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"You didn't interrupt anything," Eomer replied quickly. He stepped away from Emma without looking at her and said, "take me to Sinead," following behind Declan.

Emma watched Eomer retreat. You didn't interrupt anything.