Silweyn stood on the battlements overlooking the plains of Gondor. She had been in Minas Tirith six days now and was getting restless. She had mostly been in council with Aragorn. It had been decided that there would be an alliance with Gondor and Arianon. The beacon method was going to be set up with the two cities. She was also doing the same with Eomer. Eowyn seemed to have been avoiding her. As if she was still not sure what to make of Silweyn, but whenSilweyn told Aragorn this, he merely laughed.

"Silweyn, can you not see?"

"See what?"

"You have everything she wants."

"I do?"

"You can ride out into battle without being in disguise. There is no-one to stop you from doing that. No-one says out loud that they disapprove of you carrying a sword. Eowyn had to go dressed as a man into battle, and not a lot of people knew she could wield a sword."

"I see."

Silweyn knew it would be an idea to make a friendship with Eowyn, but she'd have to find her for a start. She sighed loudly. Eomer had come up behind her.

"Bored?"

"No, just restless."

He stayed beside her, and was about to say something more when:

"My Lady Silweyn!"

Silweyn turned to see one of her men coming up to her.

"My Lady, several of the men are feeling restless. What do you propose we do? You know they'll wreak havoc if we don't watch out."

Silweyn laughed lightly. She turned and looked at the slightly muddy fields bordering the city. It had rained heavily the previous day. She had an idea.

"Wait here, Deanith. I'll be back in a moment. Excuse me, Eomer."

She left leaving the two men staring after her in puzzlement. She returned 10 minutes later wearing an old tunic and leggings. She had a pair of what looked like ankle boots hanging over her shoulder.

"Come Deanith, where is your luggage?"

"In my lodgings my lady."

"Take me to them and tell the men to get into their Rudith gear." (The Arianon form of rugby.)

Deanith looked delighted. "I'll go and assemble the teams' right away, My Lady." Silweyn made her way down to Deanith lodgings with Eomer still on her tail.

"What is Rudith?" Eomer asked.

"Rudith? It's a game we play in my lands. It's a rough game. The aim is to get the ball across the line. There are 15 men to a team, and you have to tackle them to get the ball off them. It's a dangerous sport though. We've had a couple of cracked skulls, broken bones with people tackling incorrectly or getting in the way. Mainly it's because of the boots though."

She stopped and showed Eomer what she was carrying. "They're made of hard leather, and the studs here, see? They're made of deer antlers or animal bone. So if they make contact with your head, it hurts."

"It sounds incredibly violent for…" he stopped.

"Women to play?" Silweyn finished. "I suppose it is. But, I need a way of letting of steam too, and I don't intend to do it, by sitting at a desk sewing." She entered Deanith's lodgings and came out holding a ball shaped like an almond. "It's made of pigs' bladder. So it's very strong." she said in response to Eomers obvious oncoming question

When she and Eomer had got to the bottom level, she found the rest of the men waiting for her. Silweyn picked captains, (Deanith and herself.) and then started to sort out the teams. Of course not all her men were playing; a lot didn't want to play today.

"What's going on?" came Aragorn's voice, just as the team had finished being picked.

"We're about to have a game of Rudith, Aragorn."

"Rudith? Not that sport again, Silweyn" came Legolas voice.

"Why?"

"What is this sport?" asked Aragorn perplexed.

"I'll explain the rules," sighed Legolas.

"Deanith, is the pitch set up?" asked Silweyn

"Of course."

"Then, let's play!"

They all streamed onto the pitch. Many of the Rohirrim and Gondorian soldiers had come to watch as well as the people of Minas Tirith. They were all interested to see what this 'sport' was.

"What's going on?" Silweyn heard the voice of Eowyn and then heard the voice of Legolas explaining the rules.

"Who's going to start first?" asked Deanith.

"Eomer!" Silweyn shouted.

"Who do you pick? Me or Deanith?"

"Well, I" he said looking flustered. "Silweyn." He replied.

"Right, so we start." Said Silweyn. She turned to look at Eomer and smiled at him. Silweyn's eyes probably lingered more than they should. She was snapped out of her reverie with:

"My Lady, are you ready to begin?"

"Of course."

Silweyn tapped the ball gently with her foot and darted off towards the other end of her pitch. Trouble was, the opposition was coming at her. She threw the ball to one of her team mates and dropped back. He was soon tackled. As he fell to the floor, he placed the ball on the floor at arms reach, Silweyn saw it and sprinted towards without hesitating, she picked the ball up with one swift movement, and sprit ed towards the line. She knew the opposition was on her tail. She could sense one of them right behind her…. She threw herself over the line and placed the ball firmly on the ground. Her team cheered. Silweyn laughed at the sight of her spectators faces. None of them had ever seen a game like this before, and they were not sure what to make of this obviously. Eowyn, however looked with longing at the game as if she really wanted to play. When they had the break in the middle of the game, one of her men came upt o her and said:

"I'm very sorry, My Lady, but I cannot play anymore today. I have damaged my arm and need to go and visit the Houses of Healing."

"Fair enough Eordath. I understand. I will find a substitute."

"But who?" Silweyn smiled and walked over to Eowyn.

An hour later, Silweyn and Eowyn were muddy and were laughing as they traipsed up to the top level.

"Can I play next time?" asked Eowyn.

"Of course!" Silweyn cried. "You were a natural!"

They were still laughing and chatting when they reached the top level.

"By the Valar." Legolas said when he looked at them both. "You two need a wash."

"Oh Legolas, it's only a bit of mud." Silweyn said to him, laughing."Come on, Eowyn."

An hour later, night had bestowed itself upon the city of Minas Tirith. Silweyn now washed and fed wandered around the gardens. Everyone else was inside. It was Aragorn's coronation tomorrow. Silweyn knew she would have to wear a dress. She had been living in different pairs of tunics and leggings for the past month. Now she would have to wear a dress. She was not that happy about it. It was a nice green though, which supposedly brought out the best of her brown eyes and hair. In Silweyn's opinion, no dress could make the best of her plain features. She was still pondering on the opinions of her mind, when she walked straight into someone.

"Eomer! I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going."

'It matters not." He said softly. He was looking straight into her eyes. Silweyn looked back at his. Neither seemed to notice as their faces grew closer and closer together. Eomer's lips lightly brushed Silweyn's. Silweyn opened her eyes. In fact, she had not noticed they were closed. Eomer was looking at her. He then suddenly said: "I'm sorry, my Lady. That was improper of me." He began to walk away, when Silweyn called after him.

"No. It was not." Eomer turned. He came back up to Silweyn again and held her chin with his hand. He kissed her more firmly this time. Silweyn kissed him back. He was about to deepen the kiss, when:

"My Lord Eomer? My Lord Eomer?" It was a member of the palace looking for him. Silweyn and Eomer broke apart before the servant caught them. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement to keep this secret. When the servant found them, they were lightly chatting. Silweyn went to bed that night dreaming of the two kisses she had had that night and how right they felt. She smiled in her sleep and rolled over.