Chapter 2

Everyone was in the Golden Hall for a victory feast, those from Rohan, the surviving elves from Rivendell and Lothlórien, and Gimli, the only dwarf.

Eowyn brought her uncle a golden goblet full of wine and everyone stood as Theoden began to speak.

"Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail the victorious dead!" he said, raising his cup upwards.

"Hail!" everyone else in the room said in unison. Naurrîn looked around the room for the gray wizard as she took a sip of her wine.

"Not quite as good as back in Lothlórien, is that not correct, Haldir?" she asked, looking upwards at her brother. He smiled back down at her.

"That is correct, Naurrîn. Tell me, do you miss it?"

Naurrîn looked at him with a sad look in her aqua/hazel coloured eyes. "Sometimes, yes. Others, no. I am finally coming out of my protective shell and speaking for myself again. Zefron and – er – Galadriel helped me with that."

"Naurrîn, do you want to join in a little game we are having with some of the Rohirrim?" Rumil asked, startling Naurrîn a bit as he walked up behind her.

"What kind of game?" she asked as Rumil dragged her away from Haldir and over to where Eomer was explaining the rules to a few other soldiers, Gimli, Legolas and Orophin.

"No pauses," he started, handing Gimli and Legolas a mug of some type of alcohol each, "no spills."

"And, no regurgitation." Gimli said, looking at his mug with a glint in his eye.

"So it's a drinking game?" Legolas asked, looking down at his own mug with distaste.

"A drinking game? Well then count me in." Naurrîn stated, sitting down on the bench opposite from Gimli. All the men around her looked surprised.

"A woman, in a drinking game? This is unheard of." One of the soldiers stated. Naurrîn did her best not to hurt him and settled on grabbing Gimli's drink out of his hand, much to his displeasure, and threw it at him.

"I can join in, and beat, in whatever contest I wish. Pass me and Rumil a mug and let the game begin." Naurrîn simply said with a smirk on her tanned face.

"Last one standing wins." Gimli said, taking another mug from Eomer and gulping it down greedily. Legolas looked down at his mug and cautiously took a sip. Naurrîn was the last to try hers and everyone watched as she tipped it up and gulped it all in one breath.

"Another please." She said, still smirking and thinking to herself that she shouldn't drink too much (she never could hold her alcohol very well) because the last time she did, she ended up telling many people about a secret she had meant to keep to herself. And this time, the secret she could tell was far more dangerous if she did tell.

About five minutes later, and about a dozen or so mugs of alcohol, it was only Legolas, Naurrîn and Gimli left in the game.

"You know, Rumil, this is not all that bad. Why did you drop out of the game? It really is a lot of fun. I'm winning!" That was Naurrîn, a very drunk Naurrîn none the less too, as she finished off yet another mug. "More please!" Eomer looked at her strangely and handed her another one.

"I think that is enough for you, Naurrîn." Rumil said, taking the mug away from her and setting it down on the table. Naurrîn looked down at her hands in surprise.

"Where did it go? Rumil, did you take it?" she asked, slurring her words a bit. Rumil backed up a bit and stood near Eomer by the barrel. Naurrîn growled low in her throat and slipped off her shoe. Rumil, not noticing, laughed at the unique elleth. Very bad idea. Naurrîn picked up her shoe and threw it with quite good accuracy and hit him in the side of the head.

"No one takes mine, it is mine and only mine, now where is it?" Naurrîn demanded. Rumil rubbed his head and pointed to the table. She looked beside her and smiled as she grabbed it and drank it dry, asking for more right afterwards.

"I feel something, a slight tingle in my fingers. I think it's affecting me." Legolas stated, looking a bit confused.

"What did I say, he can't hold his liquor." Gimli said in a very slurred manner before falling backwards, passing out.

"Game over." Legolas said.

"I win!" Naurrîn cried, gesturing to her mound of empty mugs that was a little higher than Gimli's and a few more than Legolas's. "You know what would have been funny?"

"What, Naurrîn?" Orophin questioned, trying not to laugh at the state Naurrîn was in.

"If Zefron was here, in the game too."

"Yes, where is he anyway, I have not seen him since we returned from Isenguard." Eomer said, looking at the drunken elleth in front of him for answers. Naurrîn shrugged her small shoulders.

"How should I know, I have not seen him since we left Lothlórien." She stated, twirling a stray piece of hair in her fingers as she leaned back against the table. Everyone laughed.

"Naurrîn makes up things when she is drunk." Orophin explained.

"But it is true, I am not making it up." Naurrîn insisted. "And then there is Zefra too, she is crazy. Blond hair and violet eyes, not to mention she is crazy."

"You saw Zefron less than two hours ago, when we were returning from Isenguard." Legolas stated, recovering from all the drinking he had just done and not bothering to ask about Zefra, seeing that Naurrîn must have been making it up.

"Yes, that was one Zefron, the fake one. The real Zefron is…" Naurrîn never got to finish her statement because a twinkling blue light surrounded her and she disappeared before their very eyes!

"I take it Zefron is back." Rumil muttered, Orophin nodding in agreement.

Outside where Naurrîn ended up…

Naurrîn had actually ended up in the stables; Templa's to be exact.

"Naegra." (That hurts) Naurrîn moaned; standing up from the pile of hay she landed in with Templa's help. All the alcohol she had consumed earlier had worn off and she now had a hangover.

"Serves you right, mellon nîn." (My friend) A figure in the shadows stated. Naurrîn jumped and hid behind Templa's outstretched wing. A second figure chuckled and they both came out of the shadows.

"Zefron, Zefra! What are both of you doing here?" Naurrîn asked, quickly getting out of the stall and running over to the two gray robed figures.

"Well, we had to stop you from saying something stupid, now didn't we?" Zefra stated, hugging her best friend back as best she could.

"What if they had believed you about what you said about Zefra?" Zefron asked, hugging Naurrîn close to him.

"I guess I should not have drunk so much. But I did win." Naurrîn said, looking sheepish. The twins laughed. "I do regret it now though."

"That is good." Zefron said.

"No, not that. I regret drinking all of that stuff, my head hurts!"

"Where in Middle Earth did you get that fake Zefron and real Zefron stuff?" Zefra questioned. Naurrîn shrugged and nearly fell over if it had not been for Zefron. He picked her up bridal style.

"I think you should be getting back to the feast, Naurrîn." He said. Naurrîn shook her head before stopping because it hurt so much to do so.

"I would rather go to sleep, thank you very much. I am in the room with all the sleeping rolls because I insisted on Eowyn sleeping in her own room and there was no other spare rooms." Naurrîn muttered, leaning her head against Zefron's chest before realizing something. "Why are you two here and not as doubles?"

Zefra's smiling face went into a blank, expressionless one as she replied, "We had something of great importance to discuss, nothing of your concern though, and we could not just do it with doubles, it had to be face to face."

"You wait here, Zefra. I will drop Naurrîn off and return within a few moments." Zefron said to his twin, who grumbled in agreement and slumped against a wall, which was rather hard, seeing as she still had on her quiver of arrows.

Inside…

"Where, in the name of the Valar, is Naurrîn?" Haldir asked his younger brothers.

"We are not sure, we had a little game and she was suddenly gone with a bright, blue light. We are pretty sure it was Zefron's magic though." Orophin explained, seeing as Rumil was off trying to find her still.

"Forgive me for interrupting my lords, but have you seen Naurrîn?" Eowyn asked, walking over to the two arguing elves.

"That is what we are trying to find out right at this moment." Haldir replied.

"I found her," Rumil stated, walking over to his brothers with a look of triumph on his face.

"Where is she? She is not with that no good elven wizard, is she?" Haldir asked. Rumil's smile faded.

"He is taking her to her sleeping quarters." Haldir growled low in his throat and rushed off to find them while muttering something about how idiotic Rumil was for letting them go in the first place.

The sleeping quarters…

"Which one is yours?" Zefron asked, opening up the door to reveal two rows of sleeping rolls. Naurrîn lifted her heavy head from it's spot on Zefron's chest and pointed over to the far corner.

"You should go, before Haldir comes looking for me." Naurrîn muttered as Zefron gently set her down on her bedroll.

"Quite right, I will see you as soon as I can. Zefra is waiting for me. Navaer, Naurrîn, garo bost vaer." (Farewell, Naurrîn, sleep well.) Zefron kissed the top of Naurrîn's head before walking silently out of the room.

It was only moments later that Haldir burst into the room with Orophin and Rumil right behind him.

"Athelil?" (You again?) Naurrîn groaned, turning over to face the wall.

"Where were you?" Haldir demanded, sitting down beside the unique elleth.

"What does it matter? Zefron wanted to talk to me, and teleporting me to him was the fastest thing. Now, leave and let me sleep, I drank way too much alcohol at the game." Naurrîn replied, letting her eyes glaze over as she quickly fell asleep.

"Come, Haldir, the feast is still going on and there is more we can do than just sit here and guard Naurrîn from Zefron." Orophin said, clasping his hand on Haldir's shoulder. Haldir nodded and the three brothers left Naurrîn to sleep in peace… for now.

A few hours later…

Naurrîn was rudely awaken by the sound of two hobbits whispering to each other – not quite whispering though seeing as it had woken her up.

"What are you two doing?" she asked, sitting up just in time to see Pippin take the cloth off of the plantir.

"I just want to look at it, one more time." Pippin stated, wrapping his tiny hands around it. Almost immediately, Naurrîn felt the presence of evil fill the room and she rushed over to the hobbit.

"No Pippin!" Naurrîn cried, grabbing onto the orb just as the young hobbit lifted it up with the image of the great eye in it. Bad idea because now it began to speak to her too.

Naurrîn aqua/hazel eyes grew large as she heard Sauron's voice inside her head.

I see you!

…………………….

DarkAngelPearl: You are very welcome. As for your other questions… you will just have to wait and see for yourself! Evil authoress, I know.

Legolas's Girl 9: Wow, I really wasn't expecting that kind of reaction… that's good, right?

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