Author's Note: Again, thankies for all of the LOVELY reviews! And to Jedi Padfoot about the romance between Legolas and Idrial- Maaaaaybe, Maaaaaaaabye not. (Grins evilly)

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Merry gasped and slapped a hand over his mouth. Pippin looked disgusted. Idrial, though she had seen worse things in her life, covered her eyes and turned away. Morwen's eyes widened, but she did not show happiness nor complete and utter shock. Berethor looked like he was about to be sick. Theodan, shocked, drew his horse back. Gandalf did not take his eyes from Saruman's body.

"Send word to all our allies, and to every corner of Middle Earth that still stands free." Gandalf said urgently. "The enemy moves against us. We need to know where he'll strike next." Suddenly, the wheel began to turn into the water, taking Saruman's impaled body with it. Eaoden calmly dismounted his horse, and began to retch. Berethor followed his lead.

Treebeard stomped up to them. "The filth of Saruman…" He wheezed in his slow, raspy voice. "…Is washing away. Trees… will come back to… live here. Young trees… Wild trees…" Suddenly, Pippin saw something glinting in the water. He carefully climbed off of Aragorn's horse towards it.

"Pippin!" Aragorn called. Pippin reached into the water… and carefully pulled out the Palantir. Gandalf rode up behind him.

"Bless my bark!" Treebeard puffed.

"Peregrin Took!" Gandalf said in a commanding voice, making Pippin wince slightly. It didn't take long to remind him that Gandalf still had authority over him. "I'll take that, my lad. Quickly now," He added, when he saw Pippin staring at it. He leaned off Shadowfax a bit as Pippin handed the Palantir up to him. Gandalf quickly wrapped it in his robes.

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Later on, everyone had gathered back in Edoras. Theodan held his glass high, and said: "Tonight, we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail, the victorious dead!" He called.

"Hail!" The rest of the hall called out, also raising their cups and glasses. The celebrations then began. Men, women and children crowded the Golden Hall of Edoras, eating, drinking, and in Merry and Pippin's case, singing.

But to the side of the hall, a game was about to take place. "No pauses," Eomer was saying as Idrial approached the group of men. "No spills," The young man was passing out cups of ale to the men gathered around, including (Idrial was surprised to see) Legolas.

"And no regurgitation!" Gimli chimed in. Hadhod, who was sitting next to him, chuckled and patted his friend on the back. In all honesty, this was the first time since she met Hadhod that Idrial had seen him smile.

"Right. What's the point of playing if it's all going to come back up later on?" He said. The men laughed at that.

"So… It's a drinking game?" Legolas asked.

"Last one standing wins!" Gimli said. Suddenly, a mischievous glint appeared in his eye. "Though, laddie, I don't suppose you'd be up to it." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "I hear elves aren't up to drinking large quantities of ale. You certainly wouldn't be able to handle it, princeling." Legolas looked affronted. Idrial smiled.

"Are you going to take that lying down, Legolas?" She asked. Legolas jumped a good foot in the air when she spoke- clearly with all the noise, he hadn't realized that the elleth(1) was there. He turned to face her, and nearly dropped the cup in his hands. Gone was Idrial's traveling jerkin and breeches, in favor of a slightly low-cut dress that looked as though it were woven from fire. Her hair was down, she was cleaned up, and she adorned something of a tiara on her head. She looked stunning.

And in Legolas' eyes, very attractive. He swallowed for a minute, and realized that Gimli and Hadhod were still watching him, along with Eomer and the other men. "We will see who cannot hold their liquor," Legolas said smoothly, taking a sip from his cup. Idrial smiled and sat down across from Gimli and Hadhod.

About thirty minutes into the game, Gimli was speaking complete nonsense. "It's the dwarves that go swimming with little hairy women," Gimli jabbered, shaking in his seat. Idrial shot an amused look at Legolas, who smiled briefly. He, in the true elven fashion, showed no signs of drunkenness.

Suddenly, Legolas stopped, and examined his hand curiously. "I feel something." He said. Idrial and Eomer exchanged brief looks before turning back to the Prince. He looked at them. "A slight tingle in my fingers. I think it's affecting me," He said. Eomer raised an eyebrow at this, while Idrial looked rather concerned. Gimli slammed down another tankard and laughed drunkenly.

"What'd I say? He can't hold his liquor!" He slurred. He then promptly crossed his eyes and fell backward off his seat. Hadhod blinked, and then calmly put down his cup. If Gimli couldn't beat the elf, no one could. Idrial burst out laughing, and Legolas smiled quaintly.

"Game over."

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Merry and Pippin, meanwhile, had found their own calling. They did more then just drink. While everyone else was getting dead-drunk, they drank AND encouraged people to get drunk at the same time. It was truly the work of a couple of geniuses.

"Oh you can search far and wide

You can drink the whole town dry

But you'll never find a beer so brown

But you'll never find a beer so brown

As the one we drink in our hometown

As the one we drink in our hometown

You can drink your fancy ales,

You can drink them by the flagon,

But the only brew for the brave and true

Comes from the Green Dragon!"

And with the end of their song and dance, Merry and Pippin knocked their glasses together and drank while Eaoden picked himself off the floor. While doing their dance on the tables, one of the Hobbits had kicked a flagon of ale at Eaoden on accident and sent him sprawling(2). Pippin looked at the Outrider of Rohan and the bruise growing around his eye.

"Oops- sorry Eaoden. It was unintentional." He said. Eaoden waved it off.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," His voice was slightly slurred, and Elegost (Who was sitting right next to him) realized he was drunk. Or at least dangerously close to becoming drunk. Elegost did not want to have to worry about hangovers in the morning, so he only drank one cup of ale. What fun, He thought. Tomorrow morning, I'll be surrounded by men with hangovers. I'd rather face the Witch-King of Angmar.

A minute later, Berethor came and sat down in Eaoden's seat. The Outrider had gone to chat with a few of his fellows. "So," He said. "How are you this evening?" And again, Elegost could pick up the slight slur of the man's voice. But Berethor did not have a drink with him, and the slur wasn't that bad, so Elegost figured he'd only have a minor headache in the morning, if that even.

"Fine, Berethor. Just fine. And you?" Berethor gave his head a little shake, and he seemed more alert now.

"A little tipsy," He admitted. "But otherwise, I'm all right." He rubbed his head. "Although I broke a promise I made to myself after my twentieth birthday," He said. Elegost raised an eyebrow.

"And that was?"

"Well," Berethor said. "On my twentieth birthday, my father took me, my older brother and some of his friends to a bar. We had a few drinks, I got home, I was dead-drunk-"

"I hate to interrupt," Elegost said. "But where was your father?"

"Still at the bar with my brother and his friends. Drinking was like a hobby to him." A brief wince appeared over his face, and Elegost assumed that this one was not from the ale. "But anyway, I came home, it wasn't too late at night, and my sisters were still awake." His eyes narrowed. "They, being the little devils they are, recognized I was drunk and manipulated me to their will."

"And what precisely was their will?" Elegost asked, now seriously amused. Berethor winced again.

"Just as a note, the will of two eleven-year-old girls is not pretty. Though they claimed I was rather pretty looking." Elegost's eyes widened.

"They didn't… " He said.

"They did," Berethor said solemnly. Elegost tilted his head to the side to snicker in private, while Berethor groaned.

"I got an ear full of it from mother when I woke up the next morning with a hangover in my skull and rouge all over my face. I promised myself I'd never get drunk again. And yes, Elegost, laugh it up! So funny when it doesn't happen to you, hm?" Elegost stopped snickering at his friend's expense and straightened up.

"You're not drunk," He informed the Gondorian. "You're a little tipsy, but not drunk. Just don't drink any more ale and you'll be fine."

Just when Elegost thought the entertainment portion of the night was over, he discovered it was just beginning. You know what's funnier then a drunken Berethor getting rouge put on his face? A very drunken Morwen coming over and plopping herself on Berethor's lap.

"'Ello Bertor! (hic) 'Ello Elgost!" She slurred. Berethor groaned.

"Oh Gods, Morwen, you're as drunk as a fish." He said. Elegost cast a glance to the corner where he saw Gimli asleep on the table; someone had moved him from the floor after he passed out.

"Or as drunk as Gimli." He muttered. "I will not envy you in the morning, Morwen." Morwen did something between a giggle and a hiccup, burying her head in Berethor's shoulder. Elegost snickered.

"I do think she's rather attracted to you, Berethor." He said. Berethor glared at him, and then pulled Morwen up so that their eyes met.

"Ah… Morwen? Exactly how many drinks have you had in the last hour?" He asked gently. Morwen seemed to think for a moment.

"Um… More than Merry… but less than Gimli!" She giggled. Berethor winced and looked over at Elegost, who still seemed highly amused at his friend's situation.

"Care to help?" Berethor muttered as Morwen squirmed, still on his lap. Elegost stopped snickering and sighed.

"There's really not much that can be done. She's going to have the mother of all hangovers in the morning though- you might as well get her to bed." He snickered again. "Bertor." Berethor made a face.

"Fine. I'll be back in a few minutes, Elgost." He drawled back. He made to get up, and then realized that the Rohirric woman was still on his lap. "Um, Morwen, could you please get off my lap?" Morwen made a sad puppy-dog face.

"Do I have to?" Elegost was roaring with laughter by now, attracting the attention of several bystanders. Berethor blushed.

"Yes, Morwen, you have to. I bringing you to bed." Morwen's pout reminded Berethor very much of his younger sisters expressions when they didn't get their way.

"But 'M not sleepy," She slurred as she stood up, crossing her arms. Berethor thanked any and all Gods listening that most of the people in the hall were drunk, or this would be terribly embarrassing. Grabbing Morwen's arm gently, he pulled her towards the sleeping accommodations for the evening. He found the makeshift bed with Morwen's supplies next to it, and settled her down in it.

"Just try to sleep, okay Morwen?" He muttered. Morwen looked at him for a moment, and then did something rather unexpected- She kissed him. On the lips. Not on the cheek, not on the forehead, on the lips. Berethor was certainly surprised by this, and reacted like any other red-blooded male in his situation would- he kissed her back. When they pulled apart, Morwen grinned drunkenly.

"G'night Beretor," She crooned. Berethor nodded, and felt severely disappointed when he realized that Morwen would probably not remember this tomorrow morning.

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While Berethor tucked Morwen in for the evening, Elegost found a new form of entertainment. If he had to deal with hungover men tomorrow, then at least he'd be able to enjoy the drunken men tonight. Eaoden was dancing around with Merry and Pippin, who had strummed up a new song, to the joy of many, many drunken men.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! To the bottle I go

To heal my heart and drown my woe.

Rain may fall and wind may blow

And many miles be still to go

But under a tree I will lie

And let the clouds go sailing by!" (3)

Though this song was shorter then the others, the men cheered all the same. This time, Pippin avoided kicking anything at some bystander, and Eaoden was still alert enough to stay away from the table as the Hobbits danced. Suddenly, Hadhod came out of nowhere and plopped down next to the Ranger.

"Ai, Ranger. What are you up to?" Elegost blinked.

"I thought you went and got yourself drunk with Gimli," He said. Hadhod shook his head.

"I gave up the drinking game after Gimli passed out. If he couldn't beat Legolas, I don't think I can. Besides- I've come to dislike hangovers." Elegost nodded.

"My sentiments exactly."

Speaking of Legolas…

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The elven prince was currently outside, walking with Idrial. They had grown tired of the noise and wished to experience some actual quiet. Since most of Edoras was at the Hall, it seemed the best place to explore. Idrial had her cloak on, with the hood pulled up. Legolas could see her face only when she turned to look at him. They walked in silence for a moment, and then she spoke.

"Legolas," The prince turned. "How exactly did you become a member of the Fellowship?" She asked.

"I volunteered." Legolas responded. "Lord Elrond said that the Ring had to be taken to Mordor and destroyed. Frodo Baggins, the Ring-bearer, volunteered to take it. The rest of us just sort of fell in behind him." He paused. "What are your reasons for pursuing us, Idrial?"

"Berethor," She said. "He was looking for Boromir of Gondor. He was attacked by Nazgul in Eregion, and I drove them off. I was heading for Lothlorien, so we decided to travel together." Legolas did something of a wince.

"I'm afraid Boromir is-"

"-Dead. Killed in Amon Hen. Yes, I know- Berethor told us."

"I'm sorry."
"It is all right." Idrial said. "When we got closer to Moria, we met Elegost and Hadhod." Legolas' eyes narrowed.

"Another thing that confuses me- Gandalf has told Aragorn, Gimli and I that your company traveled through Moria. How in the name of Eru did you get in? The way was completely collapsed behind us!" Legolas exclaimed.

"The Watcher in the Water." Idrial said coolly. "It attacked us and knocked the debris from the door." Her expression went dull. "But naturally, the door collapsed behind us as well, and we were trapped inside." Legolas chuckled.

"Naturally, of course."

"I had intended on staying in Lothlorien… but decided to stay with my friends. We ended up in the East Emnet Gullies, where we had to wander through a maze of rocks until we got to the Plains of Rohan where we met Morwen and Eaoden… and then we came to Helms Deep. You know the story from there." Legolas nodded.

"I trust you have encountered Orcs?" He asked. Idrial smiled wryly.

"Orcs, goblins, Wargs, Warg Riders, Uruk-Hai, Sea creatures, what haven't we faced?" She asked. Then there was silence. Idrial tilted her head down and began to play with the long sleeve of her gown. It was then that Legolas voiced what they both knew.

"You are uneasy." He said, stopping where he stood. Idrial stopped as well.

"Are you in any manner related to Lady Galadriel, Legolas?" She asked quietly, turning to look at him. Legolas shook his head.

"I am simply good at guessing moods from a person's outward demeanor." He said. "I am exceptionally good at interpreting silences." Idrial smiled. "So from your question, I take it that I am right?"

"Yes." Idrial said. She carefully reached up and removed her hood. The moonlight seemed to make her flaxen hair shine, and Legolas felt his heart skip a beat or two.

"What troubles you?" He asked gently. Idrial sighed and directed her gaze at the moon for a moment.

"My home is under attack. Lothlorien is being assaulted by the Orcs." She said. There was a distinct sadness in her voice, and Legolas felt a pang of sympathy for her. "My brother, Aranel, was in the army that came to Helms Deep. After the battle, he told me what was happening. The only reason my home has not gone up in flames is because of Lady Galadriel. She foresaw the attacks, and they were able to prepare."

"I fear of returning to my home. I fear that when I do, I will find death and destruction. I fear that…" Idrial could not bring herself to finish her sentence. Legolas carefully finished it for her.

"You fear Lothlorien will fall?" He asked. Idrial nodded.

"I fear that when I return, I will find the woods of Lorien burning, and the River Nimrodel dried. I fear I will find my kin slain." Legolas put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"The elves of Lothlorien are strong- they will endure, like they have in the past. You need not worry." He whispered. Idrial looked at him with unfathomable sadness in her eyes.

"I hope that you are right, Legolas. I truly hope that you are right."

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(1): Again, this is a female elf

(2): Remember the guy that got hit in the face in ROTK? Well, that was Eaoden.

(3): I don't own that song. JRR Tolkien does. (mutters something about "that darned genius")