Thank you all for the reviews once again! They mean a lot to me because they inspire me to write more so keep them coming! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Lord of the Rings. I only own Lilly.


Chapter 4: Nightmares and Awakening

Lilly was lost in her nightmares of her life growing up. Lilly fought to get out of the nightmares but they would not let her out.

Dream

"Mommy? Mommy, please wake up," Lilly said as she shook her mother's shoulder. Lilly looked down at her mother's cold body and tears fell from her eyes.

"Lilly?" came an old voice from the hall. "Lilly, what is the matter dear?" Ms. Maggie asked as she stepped inside. Lilly looked up with tears in her eyes. "Oh dear!" Ms. Maggie said as she looked at Jessie lying dead and Lilly trying to wake her mother as she laid on the dirty living room floor. "Come with me Lilly." The next thing Lilly knew she was being taken by an older police woman with a bag of clothes and her teddy bear. She cried the whole time and she didn't want to leave Ms. Maggie but they told her that she couldn't stay there because her mommy was gone and she needed to go to a place where she could be taken care of.

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It was Lilly's eleventh birthday and she was sitting in the middle of a small bedroom that held only a twin bed and a nightstand with a pink and white lamp on it. She was playing with her teddy bear and smiling. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey, you never know dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away. The other night dear, when I was sleeping, I dreamt I held you in my arms, but when I awoke dear, I was mistaken and I hung my head and I cried," Lilly sang quietly as she rocked her teddy bear. It was a song that Ms. Maggie used to sing to her before her mom died. The home she was living in now wasn't the best place she had been, and they really didn't pay any attention to her. At breakfast that morning they didn't even say happy birthday to her or anything else. Suddenly, the door to her room was busted open and Lilly jumped as she looked up and came face to face with her foster mother, Sara's, boyfriend, Jason. Lilly's eyes went wide and she crawled up onto the bed. She was small for her age, only about 4'8" and 80 pounds so she curled her self up as tight as she good. "You no good little brat!" he slurred. Lilly knew he had been drinking. "Sara told me that you didn't finish the laundry or your other chores today, which means no dinner or breakfast tomorrow!" He stepped over to the bed and grabbed her arm tight.

"Please don't! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, please," Lilly pleaded. Jason just raised his hand and smacked her hard across the face. Lilly started crying as he threw her on the floor and started to beat her again. Soon Lilly gave into the darkness that began to surround her and everything went black.


Lilly woke with a start and she sat up quickly, and opened her eyes taking deep breaths. She looked around the room once she gained her bearings and was confused as to where she was. The room was warm and a fire was roaring in the fireplace giving the room a limited amount of light. The blankets she was wrapped in were a deep red and gold and there were furs draped at the end of the bed. There was a nightstand with a candle burning and a basin of water on the right of the bed and to the left there was a window not far from the bed and the night sky shined through. The drapes were a dark green outlined in gold. In front of the fireplace, there were also two sitting chairs and the door to the chambers was open slightly letting the firelight from the hall into the room. Lilly brought her hand to her forehead and sighed. When she moved, she noticed her body no longer ached. She moved her hand to the cut that was on her forehead only to feel a smooth scar and nothing more. Lilly furrowed her brow and suddenly the door opened to reveal an older woman with gold and gray hair that was curly and tucked into a scarf around her head. She was rather tall and thin with a slightly aged face that was busy looking over the herbs in her hands.

Eowirethien counted the bushels of herbs when she looked up and nearly dropped the herbs she was carrying. Lilly was sitting up looking confused and very afraid. Eowirethien rushed over to her and the woman backed away from her. "Milady, it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you. I've been taking care of you for the past two weeks. You've been unconscious because of a fever," Eowirethien said as she sat down the herbs and held out her hand to Lilly. Lilly looked at the woman still not certain what to do. So far, the only one who had been kind to her was Gamling.

'Wait, did she say two weeks?' Lilly thought. She looked at the woman's face again and saw only kindness in the woman's brown eyes. "H-how long was I out?" Lilly asked quietly. Her voice was slightly croaked. She raised her hand to her throat and Eowirethien smiled at her and handed her a cup of water.

"Two weeks, milady. Our king returned and brought you to me to take care of you. Your fever did not break until this morning and we were thankful for that but were not certain to when you'd wake." Eowirethien paused and took the empty cup from Lilly. "King Eomer and his sister, Lady Eowyn, were greatly worried for you. Lady Eowyn spent many hours each day helping me take care of you, milady. She felt terrible for the way Roryn treated you." At the mention of his name Lilly's eyes went wide and Eowirethien gave her a small smile. "Do not worry, milady. The king has passed down punishment on him and once he has word that you are awake, Roryn shall be forever banished from Rohan." Lilly's beating heart settled slightly and she nodded. "My name is Eowirethien, milady." Lilly gave the older woman a slight smile.

"I'm Lilly." She paused and thought about Gamling and how she wanted to see him. "Eowirethien, where is Gamling? I would like to speak with him and thank him for taking care of me while I was in the dungeon." Eowirethien looked at Lilly and smiled.

"I'm afraid, Lord Gamling was sent with a scouting party to one of the villages. He should be returning in a few days." Lilly nodded. "However, I must go and get the king. He requested to see you as soon as you woke." Lilly's eyes widened. She was going to be face to face with Eomer, one of her favorite characters from Lord of the Rings.

"Isn't it too late to bother him?" Eowirethien shook her head.

"Nay, milady, the sun has just passed over the horizon and the king is still in his study. I shall be back in just a moment." With that Eowirethien left Lilly. Lilly quickly ran her fingers through her hair to find that they went through smoothly like she had just brushed her hair. She assumed that Eowirethien and maybe even Eowyn had been keeping her clean and brushing her hair. Soon, Lilly heard footsteps approaching and she couldn't get her eyes to look anywhere but at the fire burning in front of her bed. Then she heard Eowirethien's soft voice. "Milady, King Eomer is here to see you." Lilly looked at Eowirethien then slowly moved her eyes to look at Eomer. There he stood and Lilly's mouth nearly dropped open. He looked nearly identical to Karl Urban from the movie but he looked nearly twice the size. He made Eowirethien look so small, and Lilly assumed she was around 5'10", and he was dressed in a dark green tunic and brown leggings and boots. He had to have been at least five inches taller than Eowirethien and his hair was a golden blonde/brown color and his beard was neatly trimmed. Lilly realized she was staring at him and moved her eyes to her hands. She heard movement and looked to the right to have her eyes meet a chest covered in a green tunic. Her eyes moved up to lock with his deep brown eyes that were full of concern. Lilly felt her cheeks grow hot and she knew that she was blushing. Eomer gave her a kind smile and Lilly returned it with a shy one of her own.

"Lady Lilly, I am glad to see that you have awoken. All of us were worried that you would not recover from your fever," he said quietly. Lilly felt her cheeks flush deeper and bowed her head.

"Thank you, your majesty. Thank you for everything," Lilly said quietly. "I do not know how I am going to repay you."

"There is no need for repayment, Lady Lilly. There is much I need to discuss with you," Eomer said as he looked into her deep blue eyes. Her eyes held him mesmerized for he had never seen eyes that color before. His mind was still reeling from the news Eowirethien had given him earlier that evening and because of it he was even more determined to keep her there in the hall, until he felt she was safe. Lilly gave him a nervous smile. Even though Lilly knew he was a good man, his presence still unnerved her. She knew he would never raise his hand to her or harm her in any way, but something still would not let her trust him completely.

"I will do my best, your majesty, to answer your questions," Lilly said as she looked at Eomer. He gave her a slight smile and nodded his head. Eomer walked over and pulled one of the chairs from the fireplace over by the bed and sat down. Lilly looked at him and prayed her nervousness wasn't showing.

"Where do you come from?" Eomer asked. Lilly met his gaze and took a deep breath.

"Somewhere far away from here. A place that doesn't even exist in Middle Earth," Lilly said quietly. Eomer furrowed his brow at her.

"How do you know that?" Lilly began to play with her fingers but kept her eyes on his. She was nervous and she just knew she was blushing slightly.

"I know a little about this place and I know where I am from is no where near here." Eomer nodded but still not understand what she was trying to say. He wanted to know about the marks on her back and was trying to figure out how to ask her.

"Eowirethien told me of markings on your back, where did you get them?" Lilly's eyes widened and she quickly looked away from his face. Eomer saw the hurt that flashed in her eyes before she quickly looked away and he wanted to take back his words.

"That is a private matter, your majesty, that I will not share," Lilly said her voice trembling. Those marks came from Jason, when he whipped her with his belt a week before Christmas and two months after her eleventh birthday. She'd done everything she could to forget about them and had succeeded for the most part. No one ever knew about those marks, except for Sara and Jason, and now Eowirethien and Eomer knew of them. Eomer looked at her and sighed quietly when he saw a tear fall from her face onto her hands that rested in her lap.

"Forgive me. I did not mean to pry, I was just curious." Lilly just nodded and kept her eyes on her hands. Eomer stood and moved the chair back by the fireplace. He stepped back to her bed. "I will let you rest for the remainder of the night, Lady Lilly." Lilly looked up at him and wiped away the fallen tears from her cheeks. Eomer's heart clenched once more and he was even more confused.

"Good night, your majesty," Lilly whispered. Eomer nodded.

"Sleep well, milady." With that Eomer turned and saw Eowirethien who was standing by the door. He nodded his head to her and made his way to his chambers that was two doors down from Lilly's. He sighed when he entered his room and ran his hands over his face, before he walked into the wash room to ready for bed.


Eowirethien gave Lilly a small smile and walked over to the small table she had sat up with her herbs and liquids for treating Lilly. "The King meant no harm, milady. He is simply concerned. All of us have grown concerned for your well being, especially the King," Eowirethien said as she mixed a warm liquid. She turned with the cup in her hands and began to walk towards the bed. "He blames himself for your state because he was not here when you appeared to us." Lilly dried her face and shook her head.

"He didn't know that I would come, and I didn't even know I would come here. How could he blame himself?" Lilly asked as she looked at Eowirethien. The older woman shook her head.

"Our King carries a heavy heart since the death of his cousin and uncle. The kingdom of Rohan rests upon his shoulders, shoulders that never expected to rule." Lilly nodded and took the offered up.

"He shouldn't feel guilt over me though. I'm not even suppose to be here." Eowirethien gave Lilly a warm smile.

"And how do you know that?" Lilly furrowed her brow at the woman. "The Valar decides all of our fates, young one. Yours could have been to come here, to Rohan. Only time will tell." Lilly gave a slight smile and nodded her head. She looked at the golden liquid in the cup and raised an eyebrow as she looked at Eowirethien. Eowirethien laughed quietly and shook her head. "Do not worry, it is just an herbal drink that will help you gain your strength back and help you sleep through the night," Eowirethien said with a smile. Lilly nodded and drank the sweet tasting liquid. Once she was done, she indeed did feel tired and Eowirethien smiled at her as she took the empty cup. "I shall see you in the morn, milady. Sleep well." Lilly smiled at her.

"Good night Eowirethien," Lilly said quietly as she laid back down onto the pillow and sighed as she was finally able to relish the comfort of the bed and the scent of the bedding. It had a spicy scent to it and another that she could not figure out, however, the scent was very relaxing and comforting to her and for the first time in her entire life she felt safe and that everything was going to be alright.