Lothíriel from a large bed somewhere she assumed was within Meduseld. The blankets were warm and soft against her skin. She could feel a long shift covering her body. 'Well at least I'm not naked anymore.' Her long hair was splayed over the pillows. She turned her head and saw Amrothos watching her. His forehead had a small lump that was surrounded with a rather impressive bruise.

"I see the mighty and courageous Flower Dancer has decided to return to the realm of the living." He said, his tone sardonic.

"What on earth happened to you?" She tried to sit up, but the pain in her side screamed in protest, leaving her gasping against the pillow.

"In your headlong pursuit of horsey bravery, you ran me directly into a branch." He shook his head. "Thankfully I fell into some very soft thistles."

"That must be why I felt so much lighter towards the end of my run." She spoke contemplatively.

"What were you thinking?" Amrothos moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "You charged so heedlessly towards that creature, one might think you had a death wish."

"That wasn't it at all." Lothíriel shook her head, "When I heard and saw that –" she was cut off by a quiet knock on the door. It opened slightly and Lothíriel saw Éomer peek inside. When he saw Lothíriel awake, he opened the door more before stepping inside. Lothíriel didn't know why it surprised her that he had come.

"I'm glad to see you're awake. We were all beginning to despair it wouldn't happen." He smiled and Lothíriel felt stirrings within her heart. "Although the price that was paid was nearly greater than any of us could wish, you saved our lives by noticing that warg. Most are rather brutish and stupid but this one seemed to have been clever enough to sneak behind our party. Had we gone on, it most likely would have tried to kill us off, one by one until there were too few to fend it off properly."

Lothíriel chuckled. "I think you should really thank the woman who's scream called your attention to it, not me."

"What woman?" Both Amrothos and Éomer said together, looking from each other back to the bedridden princess.

"Perhaps Aragorn should examine you again." Amrothos felt her forehead.

"The transformation from horse to human must have put a great strain on you, my lady." Éomer's brow was knit together.

"Thinking of that," Amrothos returned to his chair. "How did you become that horse?"

Lothíriel blushed. "Do you remember the fair outside of Minas Tirith?" She waited for Amrothos' nod before continuing. "I went to see a fortune teller there and she told me that I needed to drink a potion to lead me towards a happy marriage." She glanced at Éomer and saw that his expression had changed to slight irritation. "The night before I…went missing, I went out to the plains and drank it, like I had been told."

"Of all the stupid, irresponsible things." Éomer's tone was scathing. "Did you even consider what could have happened to you."

"I didn't think I would become a horse." Lothíriel spat back, annoyed.

"After drinking some unknown potion from an unknown person, I'm beginning to believe you didn't think at all!" With each word he grew louder and Lothíriel wished she could at least sit up in bed so she didn't have to be looking straight up at him.

"It worked out in your favor in the end didn't it?" She half shouted, half questioned.

"That is not the point! You were foolish to accept something so mysterious, and even more the fool for willingly consuming it!"

"And if you were told that if you didn't drink it, there would be a great tradgedy to occur?" Lothíriel ignored the remorse she had felt at her own actions as she continued to defend herself. "Perhaps the reason I'm human again is because that tragedy is no longer set to occur." She turned her face away before speaking the next words. "Besides, I didn't know you and wanted to ensure the life we might lead together would be happy and blessed."

"That's not something you need to be concerned of any longer." Lothíriel heard the door open. "Rohan is in no need for such a naïve queen."

A/N: And another chapter bites the dust. I somewhat enjoy the idea of Éomer stubbornly holding onto a grudge because he was made to worry about someone. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I don't really know how many more there will be. I think I'm letting Éomer and Lothíriel guide me more on this story than the other way around. Is that a little silly?

Hope you enjoyed today's chapter. I'll see if I have time to post more. See you soon.