Hey all! Thank you for the reviews, I'm glad you liked Chapter 8. I don't know if this chapter is any good, but let me know. I hope you like it and I'll be updating again soon. As always, let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Lord of the Rings. I only own Lilly.
Chapter 9: A Discussion with the Wizard and Minas Tirith
The next several days passed without incident, and Lilly sat near the fireplace reading once again. She sighed, closed her book and stood. Lilly had to meet Gandalf soon and she was very nervous. She smoothed out her dark green skirt and made her way from her room and through the corridors. She turned the corner to head to the library when she came into contact with something hard. Lilly stumbled but was saved by an arm around her waist. She looked up and smiled as her eyes once again found those of Eomer. He smiled and steadied her on her feet. "Thank you. We seem to have a habit of crashing into one another," Lilly said with a smile. Their relationship had healed itself over her keeping her secrets from him, and even though they had not seen each other much since her birthday they still managed to grow closer.
"That we do, Lillyana. Where are you going?" Eomer asked.
"I am meeting with Gandalf today. He wanted to speak to me, about what I am not really certain." Eomer nodded and she gave him a nervous smile. She had yet to wear the hair comb he gave her. Lilly was afraid she would ruin it, especially after what Eowyn had told her.
Flashback
After coming inside Lilly rushed over to Eowyn and gently pulled her away from Faramir and several others. Eowyn followed her and furrowed her brow. "What is it Lilly?" she asked. Lilly held the comb close to her and sighed.
"Your brother gave me something that belonged to your mother," Lilly whispered. Eowyn's eyes widened.
"What did he give you?" Lilly held out the comb and Eowyn took a sharp breath.
"Our mother wore that the day she married our father, and during every celebration. It was her favorite piece she owned. Eomer kept it as a keepsake and vowed to give it to . . ." Eowyn trailed off and Lilly furrowed her brow.
"Give it to whom?" Lilly asked and Eowyn shook her head.
"It is not important." However, Lilly failed to notice the small smile that found its way across Eowyn's face. Lilly sighed.
"Eowyn, I cannot take this. It is too important to both of you." Lilly tried to give it to Eowyn but she just smiled and shook her head.
"My brother gave it to you and he wants you to have it. I will not go against his wishes." Eowyn paused and took Lilly's hand. "Let us celebrate! Come!" With that she led Lilly to the others and had a wonderful time the rest of the evening.
End Flashback
"Ah, I see," Eomer said with a smile. They stood there for a moment longer just staring at each other. Lilly realized what she was doing and blushed. She looked away and cleared her throat. She glanced back at him and gave him a smile.
"I shall see you later, your majesty. I must be going." Eomer nodded and Lilly brushed past him quickly and walked towards the library. Eomer sighed turned to head to his council meeting regarding the rebuilding of the villages. Lilly walked into the library and smiled at Gandalf who was sitting waiting for her. "Good afternoon, Gandalf." He smiled at her.
"Good afternoon, Lilly. Have a seat," Gandalf said and motioned to the seat across from him. Lilly sat down and began to play nervously with her fingers. "I would like to discuss a few things with you, mainly about how you think you got here." Lilly sighed.
"I don't know how I got here Gandalf. I woke up one morning, got dressed for the day and was heading down the stairs when I tripped and fell and instead of landing at the foot of the stairs, I landed on the gravel rode outside the Golden Hall." Gandalf nodded in understanding, but smiled at her.
"You made a wish did you not?" Lilly furrowed her brow.
"Yes, before I went to sleep I made a wish . . ." Lilly trailed off remembering that the star she made her wish on burst in the night sky. "The star that I wished on burst, and I watched it as it disappeared." Gandalf nodded.
"The Valar heard you wish and brought you to a place where you would find the happiness you longed for." Lilly slouched back in her chair and put her head in her hands.
"That would explain a few things," she mumbled to herself and Gandalf raised an eyebrow.
"What would it explain, Lilly?" Lilly sat up and looked at Gandalf.
"It explains why a feel so safe here, and other things." Lilly stood and walked over to the window. For some reason, when she was inside she was always drawn the windows so she could see outside. She stood there just looking out over Rohan. After a moment, she turned and looked at the wizard. "There is still a lot I don't understand, Gandalf. How can Middle Earth be real? How can you know of me? How can all of this be happening?" Gandalf stood and walked over to her. Lilly looked up to meet his eyes and they seemed to sparkle at her.
"I'm afraid I cannot answer your questions." Lilly sighed and looked down, but Gandalf lifted her chin so she was looking at him. "Time is the only thing that can answer your question. All will reveal itself in time." Gandalf gave her a smile and she returned it with a small one of her own.
Months passed and Gandalf had left Edoras a week after his first talk with Lilly. The kingdom of Rohan was slowly rebuilding itself and the villages were starting to come together. Eomer ruled over the lands with a fair but firm hand, and was now preparing to leave Edoras for a time and travel to Minas Tirith for the wedding of King Elessar and Lady Arwen as well as his sister's wedding to Faramir. Spring had come to Rohan and the grassy plains were once again full of life.
Lilly had taken to life in Middle Earth like it was natural for her. Sure, there were a few things she missed, like electricity and running water, but she was never happier. Gamling had taken her under his wing in training her to ride a horse, because Eomer's schedule would not allow him much free time, and Lilly did not want him to get ill from little rest. She improved in her riding, but still had a hard time controlling the horse on her own. So, when she did ride, she needed to ride with a skilled rider.
Lilly and Gamling were coming inside from a lesson and Lilly was laughing heartily at something Gamling had said with her hair flowing behind her in the wind as they went up the stair and stepped inside. Eomer sat at his throne talking to Faramir and Eowyn about traveling back to Minas Tirith in two days, when they came in. When they heard them come inside all three looked towards the door. Gamling hugged Lilly before he turned from her and went down the hall. Lilly looked at the others and smiled. "Good afternoon," Lilly said as she walked towards them. Eomer smiled gently at her. His feelings towards her seemed to have grown on their own, even with the little contact they shared; he now knew that he loved her but was not brave in enough to actually tell her in fear of losing her. Eowyn smiled at Lilly as did Faramir. Eomer and Faramir nodded their good afternoons and Eowyn motioned Lily over to where she stood.
"Lilly, you are traveling with us to Minas Tirith, aren't you?" Eowyn asked as Lilly stopped beside her. Lilly looked at Eowyn then briefly at Eomer and Faramir.
"I do not know," she said quietly. "I would like to, but I still cannot fully ride on my own. I must ride with another, and I don't want to be an inconvenience to anyone." Eowyn smiled and took her hand.
"You must come. I've made arrangements for you at the palace in Minas Tirith and King Elessar and Lady Arwen are eager to meet you," Eowyn said. Lilly looked at her dear friend and sighed. She opened her mouth to speak when another cut her off.
"You shall ride with me," Eomer said as he stood and walked over to his sister and Lilly. "I would like you to come with us. You need to see more of this world than just the plains around Edoras. Gondor is a beautiful land, and its people, though a bit stuffy at times, are good hearted." Lilly laughed and nodded her head.
"Very well, it is decided then," Faramir said as he joined them with a slight smile on his face. "We shall ride at dawn in two days. Although I must disagree, not all of Gondor's people are stuffy as King Eomer suggests." Every onelaughed and talked a littlemorebefore Eowyn dragged Lilly off down the corridor's that led to Eowyn's chamber.
"Eowyn, where are we going?" Lilly asked. Eowyn smiled at her friend as they stopped outsider her room door.
"I have something for you," Eowyn said and opened the door. Lilly followed her inside and waited for her friend. Eowyn pulled from a chest that rested at the end of her bed a satchel of light blue cloth. She sat it down on the bed, all the while Lilly watched on, curious as to what Eowyn was doing. "I had these made for you to wear at King Elessar's wedding and my own." She pulled out two dressed and laid them out on the bed. Lilly slowly walked over and looked at the dresses laid out on the bed.
One dress was a dark violet and looked like velvet, but she was afraid to touch it. The neckline was a scoop neckline and the bodice and upper sleeves looked form fitting. The sleeves, though, belled and flowed freely at the elbow down. The skit past the hips looked loose and flowy. It was by far the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. Lilly briefly looked at Eowyn who was smiling brightly and then looked to the second dress. The second dress was a deep green and the sleeves were similar to that of the first dress, but it had gold embroidery cord around the elbow and the waistline and scoop neckline had the same thin embroidery cord design. Its fit appeared to be the same as the first dress as well, but the fabric was different. It was more of a cotton like material, but looked as smooth as the velvet dress. After looking over the dresses Lilly shook her head and looked towards Eowyn.
"Eowyn, I cannot accept these. They are too much." Eowyn laughed and shook her head.
"I am afraid you must accept them, because you are the only one they shall fit in this entire kingdom!" Lilly laughed and embraced her tightly. Eowyn smiled and returned the embrace.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Lilly repeated as they embraced and Eowyn chuckled quietly. As they pulled away Eowyn smiled at her.
"You are welcome. I shall carry them to Minas Tirith with my belongings, and be sure to bring the hair comb Eomer gave you. You are to wear the green gown the day of King Elessar and Lady Arwen's wedding and I would like for you to wear the comb in your hair." Lilly nodded slowly. Even after all of this time, she had yet to wear it, but the more she thought about it, it made sense. The comb would go perfectly with the gown, and Lilly had a feeling Eowyn had that gown made around the idea of the comb. "Very well, now there is much to do." Eowyn folded the gowns once more and then placed them back in the chest before taking Lilly's arm. "Come!" Lilly laughed and was nearly dragged from the room by Eowyn who was laughing right along with her.
'It's going to be a long couple of days,' Lilly thought to herself as she was pulled down the corridors.
