They made love to each other several times that night. It was the best sex Ari had ever had, perhaps because it meant more to her than just a casual lay and a good time. With Eomer, it was different, the whole thing, from the look in his eyes to the way he touched her body. Ari finally awoke that morning with her hands entwined with Eomer's, her head upon his strong arm. She felt comfortable and warm….and safe. She'd never felt so safe with another man, not even her father. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Ari felt certain that this was the greatest thing in the world and wished that she never had to move from that moment; the moment where she could feel Eomer, hear his heart beat, smell him…Eomer began to stir behind her, his hand slowly caressed her side. He leaned up and placed a gentle kiss at the curve of her neck and watched as she smiled slowly.

"Good Morning." He whispered close to her ear. She opened her eyes and looked back at him.

"Good morning." She said groggily. She stretched her arms above her head and rolled to face him. He kissed her and then looked into her beautiful gray eyes. Nothing needed to be said between them. Eomer and Ari were still cuddling when there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Eomer called out.

"Hama, My Lord. Your presence is required at the throne room."

"I'll be there soon." Eomer nuzzled his head into Ari's neck and sighed, his breath tickling Ari's throat. "If only I could stop time and stay here with you forever…" He kissed her and then swiftly got out of bed and dressed. He approached the bedside and kissed her gently before leaving. Ari got out of bed soon after and dressed herself. She went back to her room, bathed and changed clothes. She wandered the city until lunchtime when she went back to eat something. There was still a celebratory air around the city as the coronation had been only the day before.

When night fell she went back to Eomer's room.

Ari and Eomer spent as much time together as they could. Every spare moment they could get they took for themselves. She was wandering through the city markets one day and he pulled her down a deep dark alley and into a hidden courtyard where they made out for some time before Ari had the strength to break the tryst before it went too far. Another time she snuck up on him in the stables and they ended up making love in the loft. It wasn't long until odd things began happening around the city. Pots, boxes and jars inexplicably exploded without warning, tapestries spontaneously combusted. The weather was unpredictable; one minute sunny and warm, the next snowing. Ari never saw any of these occurrences with her own eyes, but she realized that when the strange events were happening it was usually while she was with Eomer.

She eventually was summoned to meet with Aragorn. She didn't understand why she would be called to the throne room, but she knew by the messenger's tone that it was urgent. She was wearing her leather pants and a tunic she'd borrowed from Eomer. She walked into the big room and stared around at the tall marble columns and big alabaster statues. The floor was a dark gray color and shone with the high polish that had been painstakingly worked into it. It was an imposing room. Ari saw Gimli standing to one side and went to join him.

"What's this all about?" she whispered. But the dwarf only shook his head and stared at Aragorn upon the throne. He was dealing with some business and had not yet noticed Ari off to the side. Ari found a chair deep in the shadows and flopped listlessly into it, picking at her fingernails. Ari watched from her spot in the shadows as everyone, including Eomer filed in.

"Gimli, where did Arianna go?" Aragorn asked when the other business had been taken care of. "I thought I saw her a moment ago."

"I do not know my friend…she wandered off some time ago."

"We'll call for her again in time, for now I wish to discuss some things." Pippin snickered softly and grinned at Arianna. He knew where she was but would not tattle on her.

"Has anyone else noticed anything strange occurring?" Gandalf asked from the steps leading up to Aragorn's great throne.

"Aye—one minute the sky is sunny the next it's snowing." Merry answered.

"Urns and jars explode without reason or provocation." Faramir added.

"It is only spill over, from the destruction of the great ring, isn't it?" Pippin asked, but Gandalf was already shaking his head.

"Nay, there is a great imbalance in our world. Something is out of place."

"Arianna." Ari heard her name whispered by many different people in the room.

"No….she can't be the reason." Pippin said staring at her.

"She always said she was of another world." Merry said softly.

"What do we do?"

"I'm not sure, but we must find a way to send her back." Ari's breath caught in her chest. This was by far the moment she'd been dreading since she had allowed herself to fall head over heels for Eomer. She had always known it would come, but she didn't think she'd have to hear about it so soon. She steadied herself as best she could and rose from her eat and strode into the light.

"So, what do we do?" Everyone turned to where Ari stood leaning lazily against one of the large pillars.

"How long have you been listening?" Gandalf looked shocked.

"Ari, we meant to break this to you differently…." Faramir offered gently.

"It's alright…I'm not blind, I've noticed the strange occurrences too."

"Then you understand that you can not stay in Middle Earth." Aragorn said softly.

"Yes." Ari closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could not bear to look at Eomer for if he felt for her half of what she felt for him she knew it pained him to listen to this discussion.

"How did you arrive here anyway?" Gimli asked bringing her out of her brief reverie. "It's not as if you just appeared upon a horse beside Eomer." Eomer turned his face away from the group.

"I was riding my motorcycle to the bar after my soccer game." She could see the confused looks and decided to elaborate. "A motorcycle is a machine that people can ride…and a bar is a…..a tavern if you will." She looked over to where Eomer stood, his face showing little emotion; he seemed to be trying to block what she was saying. She thought back to the moment when she'd been driving along the road. "A sinkhole opened up before me and I tried to turn away from it, but I fell in. When I woke up, I was here—Rohan---Middle Earth."

"What of your motorcycle?" Gandalf asked.

"It was totaled when I got here…members of the Rohirrim picked me up and brought me to the Golden Hall."

The interrogation Ari experienced for the next hour was draining. Eventually she got pissed off and left the throne room swearing at those left behind. Eomer found her hours later in the stables sitting in the rafters.

"Do you know that you are a very hard person to find?" Eomer said leaning against the door frame. "Gondor is a very big city."

"Fantastic." Ari's voice was dead.

"What's wrong Ari?" Eomer said coming into the stable and climbing into the rafters to sit across from Ari.

"Nothing." Ari shimmied through the sky light and onto the heavy thatched roof. She hugged her knees closer to her and stared at the distant mountains. Eomer settled in close beside her and sighed.

"I knew this day would come, I did---but I was hoping it wouldn't."

"We both were." Eomer drew her closer to him. "This world is not yours. Your family, friends, neighbors…no one you know is here."

"I don't care!" Ari said shrugging him off. "that doesn't mean anything!"

"But it does Arianna—you need your family to help support you."

"I need you." Eomer kissed Ari deeply and held her until well after the sunset.

It was three days before Eomer and Ari were summoned back to the throne room. Three days full of love-making and happiness for Ari and Eomer.