DISCLAIMER: The names, places, things are Tolkien's. I think we can all figure out what is whose.

AN: thanks for the reviews guys, and sorry this took me awhile to write. but anyways, hope you enjoy!!

Chapter 24: Dreaming

Some Days Later...

"We are almost there." Lothiriel slowly opened her eyes, conscious of where she was: atop a horse. She must have fallen asleep, as she sat quietly behind her brother. They had been traveling almost nonstop for days, wanting to arrive in Rohan as quickly as possible. The last thing she remembered completely was leaving behind their riding party in a village not too far from the outer borders of Rohan. It was Lothiriel's idea to leave and return for them later, desiring not to draw attention to herself when she and Erchirion had arrived in Edoras. If anything, she'd want to arrive in complete secrecy.

"How long have we been traveling?" Lothiriel asked quietly, surveying the open plains.

"Some hours, it will not take long to get to Edoras now."

"I cannot wait," she breathed. It felt like she had been waiting forever to see Eomer, and now that she came so close to doing so, she felt anxious. Though she was excited, she also felt guilty. In addition to misleading her Father's trust, she was forcing Erchirion mislead their Father's trust. But she had to see him. There was no doubt in her mind that her Father had sent him away, and since this was so, he would not return with her to Dol Amroth upon her request. He would only return if Imrahil beckoned to, and there was no possibility of Lothiriel staying in Rohan, yet anyway. However, she had yet to know entirely as to why she wished to go to Edoras in total mystery. For the most part, it was because she wished to surprise Eomer, and that was enough reason for the moment.

She then began to daydream about seeing him. How romantic it would be to sneak into Meduseld and walk amongst him, without him having the slightest clue. Of course, she had no idea how she would accomplish sneaking into Meduseld, nor did she know how she would keep herself hidden from him and walk amongst him without him knowing, but it was nice to dream.

"Halt stranger!" Suddenly Lothiriel was pulled from her reverie at the sound of the voice. Erchirion signaled the horse to halt, as both he and his sister looked to where the voice had come from. A small, wooden tower stood before them. It seemed to be a watch tower, as a stout, fair haired man descended from the top of the rise, making his way to stand before them, pointing his spear. "What business have you in Edoras?" the man asked, his voice strong and bold.

"We come to see the King, we are friends I assure you. We have been stopped at many posts before this upon entering Rohan," Erchirion replied calmly, his tone lined with fatigue.

"As it should be. Friends of the King you say? Odd, I was not told of any visitors arriving today."

"Oh, we come without word, in complete apologies, of course. I meant for it to be a surprise," Lothiriel answered in a humbled manner.

"Well, let me send word to the Golden Hall then. I am not sure I trust..." the officer began, but Lothiriel interrupted him.

"No please, it will ruin the surprise. Can we not enter without the King knowing?"

"Like I was about to explain, I do not know whether to trust completely that you are friends of the King. You may have been able to slip past the other posts, but you will not pass this post so quickly."

"Look, I give you my word that we are friends," Erchirion began, but the snort of the man interrupted him.

"Your word? What have I to do with your word?" he mocked, Lothiriel and Erchirion both sighing in exhaustion and desperation.

"Please sir, let us through. We are very tired from our trip; we wish to revive ourselves in town. Please, take our weapons even if you like, for you will find that we bring few anyhow. We only wish to visit," Lothiriel pleaded. The officer raised his eyebrow in curiosity, running his hand through his long locks, deciding on what to do.

"All right I will humor you two, but give me some sort of proof that you are friends. Where are you from, in the least?"

Erchirion and Lothiriel looked to each other, shocked with one another having completely forgotten to even introduce where they were from. "We are of Dol Amroth. This is my sister Lothiriel and I am Erchirion, children of Imrahil..."

"The Prince!" the officer finished for him. "Well why did you not say something beforehand? Of course you may enter. I apologize for my scrutiny, but you travel with no party and no more than one horse, I did not suspect in the least..."

"It is no offense, really. It had slipped both our minds to say something," Erchirion told him. The man bowed his head and stepped to the side to let them enter. Erchirion and Lothiriel smiled in return, and moved forward but Lothiriel told her brother to stop.

"My Lord!" Lothiriel turned and called to the man, who had began to ascend the tower. He quickly turned and jogged to the front of their horse to address Lothiriel.

"My Lady?"

"If you would be so kind as to not let it slip that we are here, especially to the King, if later the idea of telling him enters your mind. Like I had said before, I wish it to be a surprise."

"Oh, well, of course my Lady, if that is what you wish. But even if I intended on informing the King I could not. He is not in Edoras at the moment."

Lothiriel felt her blood go cold, and she could have sworn her heart stopped at that moment. Her eyes widened, speech disabled.

"He what?" Erchirion asked for her, the shock in his tone a perfect reflection of Lothiriel's mental reaction.

"He is not in Edoras at the present moment, but we received word that he would be arriving later today. Everyone, we hear, is in a panic of course because of the feast this evening. They wish to have it ready before he arrives."

Lothiriel's eyebrows furrowed. "A feast? On what occasion, if I may inquire," she asked.

"Well, they will tell him on the occasion of his return to Edoras, but if I may be frank with you, Princess, it is in truth a ball rather than a feast."

"A ball?"

"Aye, and his closest advisors and marshals have arranged it to surprise him, announcing invitation that every eligible maiden is welcome to come. Now, if you will excuse me, I must return to my post. Good day to you," the officer addressed, bowing to the two then returning to his post.

Erchirion laughed as he motioned for the horse to return to its leisurely pace.

"It is not funny, Erchirion," Lothiriel protested. "What an awful thing for his men to do."

"Awful for whom Lothiriel? You or Eomer?"

"I do not see what difference it would make for either of us! What does he need to meet eligible woman of Rohan for?"

"It seems to me his friends are only looking out for him."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"Well, you cannot doubt that your situation is rather strange. Are you two courting or not?"

"We are! There was only a bit of a mix up."

"He left, Lothiriel."

"He means to return, Erchirion. And what do you know of the matter, anyhow. Quicken the pace, we must prepare for this evening."

"Prepare for this evening? What do you have planned for this evening?"

"You heard the officer, there is a ball, and we are going to attend."

"WE? Did you not hear clearly? He said every eligible maiden, is invited. For one thing, I am no maiden. Secondly how will we attend without being recognized?"

"Do not worry, I will take care of everything. Now gallop, we have no time." Erchirion sighed. He did as he was told, too exhausted from traveling to argue.

TBC...

sorry to leave you hanging. next up? the BALL. hehe, it'll be great, or so I hope I write it to come out great. anyways, hope you enjoyed this bit of filler. and keep up the reviews!! I love reading them. hehe =]