New chapter, yay! Enjoy and thanks for the 55 reviews! I love you all! Sorry if Eomer is a little OOC and sorry if the Golden Hall isn't accurate. I'm pretty sure I made up some of it...sorry! The chapter ends at a somewhat odd place but I wanted to post it tonight and I didn't have time to write more. Forgive me! At least Estrella is described in this chapter! Now, without further ado, onto the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Lord of the Rings.

Chapter 7:

I woke up to a light shake off my shoulder.

"What?" I asked groggily, without opening my eyes, instead nestling my head deeper into the warm thing that I was leaning against. I heard an amused chuckle.

"My Lady, wake up." A soft voice said, close to my ear. "We need to get off the horse."

"No," I told the voice, willing it to go away. I still hadn't opened my eyes. The voice laughed again.

"Merry and Pippin are in danger." He tried. I waved my hand dismissively.

"They can fend for themselves." I replied, trying to fall back asleep. I had been having such a nice dream. I feared that if I opened my eyes, it would be lost.

"Hey!" I heard a small voice shout. I could practically feel whoever was talking to me grinning.

"Alright, you leave me no choice." The voice said seriously.

I yelped as I felt myself being lifted up. My eyes snapped open to stare at someone's back. I had been thrown over Eomer's shoulder. I kicked and shouted at him to let me go as he dismounted but to no avail. He handed the reins to someone I couldn't see, while still holding onto me.

"Eomer!" I whined. He laughed at my dismay and I couldn't help but join in.

"Ask nicely," he commanded.

"Fine! Will you please let me down?" I asked between giggles.

"Alright," he agreed before placing me on the ground and giving me a cheeky smile. I stuck out my tongue at him causing him to laugh once more. I glared at him.

"Meanie," I said.

"Meanie?" he repeated. "I've never heard that before." He said it so sincerely that I did not doubt him for a moment. "It sounds like something a child might say."

"Are you calling me a child?" I demanded.

"I might be." He replied. I narrowed my eyes and gave him a death stare. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Why'd you wake me up?" I asked.

"We're here." He told me, seeming to be glad I'd changed the subject.

He gestured around and I noticed for the first time that there were people watching us, including the company we had travelled with. Legolas's eyes narrowed at the two of us and I turned away quickly, deciding to examine my surroundings instead of having to feel his unwavering gaze upon me.

We were in what seemed to be a rural town with houses made of stone and wood, thatched roofs completing the look. I gazed up to the top of the hill where there was a larger building that looked to be a hall of some sort. At first I thought it looked like some kind of large barn or something but as we got closer I noticed the gold details and the flags waving in the wind outside

"Welcome to the Golden Hall of Edoras," Theoden announced proudly as we walked in.

The hall was much more impressive on the inside, in my opinion. There was a throne at the end of it covered in furs and great pillars of wood and gold that held the structure up. There were a few tables scattered around and a large cauldron in the middle in the room. I could see multiple entrances which I guess led off to separate rooms.

"Eomer! My King! My lord, you have returned!" a female voice called. I turned to look at who had spoken and I immediately felt jealous.

She was a beautiful woman with long golden hair that fell to her waist in waves. Her skin was pale and perfect and her grey eyes made me feel as if I was inferior especially as I caught sight of my reflection in a mirror that had been moved out into the hall for whatever reason. She ran to hug Eomer, Theoden and Aragorn, though he seemed a little shocked at that and she pulled herself away quickly, seeming embarrassed.

I paid them no mind as gazed at myself, not remembering what I looked like. It's odd to see yourself for the first time. A bit surreal, really.

I was beautiful, I guess, but certainly not "as beautiful as the night sky" as Pippin had said. I guess he had suggested Star due to my thick blonde hair. It reached to about my mid back and wasn't really anything special. It wasn't straight but it did not form the perfect waves that the other woman possessed either. It tended to be a bit on the darker side, I noticed, depending on how the light hit it and it was cut in a layered style. As for the rest of me, I wasn't fantastic in the other aspects of my appearance either. My skin was a regular tone and my body wasn't anything particularly amazing. I was fit enough to be thin, which was good but other than that there wasn't anything too great about my form. I was average height and my chest and hips weren't too large or too small. My lips were a regular shade of pink and not especially full or thin. All in all, I was pretty average, maybe slightly more on the pretty side. Or maybe I was gorgeous and I just judged myself too harshly; I don't know.

I moved closer to mirror to look at my eyes, the only thing that seemed to be actually unique. They were an odd shade that I hadn't really seen before. They weren't blue or grey but rather something in between, with a hint of green. The closer I got to the mirror the more obvious the brown and yellow specks in them were. How strange.

"You act as if you've never seen yourself before," I heard someone say. I turned to look at Legolas who was regarding me with something akin to curiosity. Everyone else was occupied with other things so our conversation was somewhat private.

"I haven't," I told him as I turned back to the mirror.

"You've never seen your own reflection?" Legolas asked in a disbelieving tone as he approached me. I shook my head as I watched him carefully in the mirror. "How can that be?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure."

He was looking at me oddly again and I wanted him to stop. He had finally stopped moving, now right behind me. He seemed to be about to say something when Gandalf called us all to a table. I went quickly, relieved to be away from Legolas. I wanted to be around him, of course, but he also made me nervous and I didn't want to say anything I would regret.

Theoden had told the guards to leave and asked the pretty lady, whom he called Eowyn, to leave as well, so I knew it was serious. Gandalf was watching me and I stared right back at him, too stubborn to be the first to yield.

"There is to be a celebration tonight," he announced, taking his gaze off me. "But before that we need to discuss the important matter at hand. Estella." I was a little confused but I assumed he wanted to know where I came from and all that. They wouldn't like it when I told them that I had about the same amount knowledge as they did on the matter. "How did you meet her, Merry and Pippin?"

Merry and Pippin launched into the tale of what had happened when I had showed up. I stayed silent the whole time, just listening like everyone else. From time to time someone would glance my way and the attention made me feel a bit uncomfortable, especially when it was Legolas. It felt the most bearable when it was Eomer. I wasn't sure what it was about him but I felt as if I could trust him, be friends with him. Earlier I hadn't pegged him as the sort of guy who would joke around with you but the way he woke me up changed my opinion of him. I felt as if he didn't show that side of him often, always having to be the duty-driven solider with no time for fun.

Finally Merry and Pippin finished their story and everyone turned their eyes to me once again.

"Where did you come from, lass?" Gimli asked, in what I suppose was his kind tone.

"I don't know," I answered simply.

"You don't know?" Aragorn asked, clearly not believing me.

"I don't know," I repeated. I didn't know what else to say. I glanced around. "It wasn't anything like this place though."

"Is it that you do not know or you just can't remember?" Legolas asked. I stared at him before shrugging.

"Both?" I shrunk back a bit.

"I do not believe her." Gimli decided, his 'kind tone' gone. "I don't trust her. She's a spy!"

"No! I'm not!" I held up my hands as if to show him I meant no harm. "I promise!"

"Promises don't mean much when you're you work for the Enemy!" he advanced towards me and I backed away.

"I'm not lying!" I said desperately, eyeing his large axe. "I'm a horrible liar! And if this enemy of yours had sent me as a spy, I would've had a much better story than just 'I don't remember'."

"She makes a good point." Pippin said from the back, clearly trying to protect me. Have I mentioned how much I love Hobbits?

"The Enemy could've sent you with this story so we would trust you. It's just mad enough to sound true." Aragorn reasoned.

"Please," I said. "You need to believe me."

"Gimli, stop," Legolas said quietly. Gimli kept moving towards me. "Gimli! Stop!" Everyone looked shocked at the sound of his raised voice. His expression was devoid of emotion as he said, "I believe her." before he left, causing us all to stare after him.

"What was that about?" I heard Pippin whisper to Merry.

"Who knows?" Merry responded, looking just as shocked as the others. Eomer laughed and walked over to me.

"Estrella, what have you done to the poor elf?" he asked. I just looked in the direction Legolas had went, bewildered.

"I have no idea."

Eventually Gandalf decided that I was being truthful and that I had been sent to Merry and Pippin for a reason. I almost laughed aloud at that one. I had been sent for a reason but not one that included any of the other members of the group, save Legolas. Again, I felt as if they weren't telling me something but I let it slide, knowing that them even trusting me at all was hard. I wasn't going to push it.

The party started with the King doing some kind of toast. It sounded like some great battle had happened and many men had been lost. I bowed my head but did not drink. Ale and the like were disgusting and as much as I was sorry to the families and friends who had lost people, I wasn't about to start drinking that stuff to show respect.

I made my way over to Eomer who was definitely my closest friend of the group other than Merry and Pippin who were off dancing on a table and singing about a pub.

"So it's a drinking game," I heard Legolas say. He and Gimli stood before Eomer who was passing out drinks.

"Last one standing wins!" Gimli said before grinning at Legolas and starting to drink. I made a small noise of disgust which caused Legolas to notice me. His mood changed immediately from doubt to cold determination and he quickly grabbed a mug and began to drink. I wondered what I had done to inspire such a change in him. I hadn't meant to. He kept drinking, mug after mug while Gimli said drunken things in the background, until he looked down at his fingers in surprise.

"I feel something," he said, in a voice that was so innocent and sweet, I almost sighed aloud. "A slight tingle in my fingers." He looked at Eomer. "I think it's affecting me."

I couldn't help but laugh, Eomer joining in. Legolas narrowed his eyes at me once more which caused me to sober a bit but left me still giggling.

"What did I say?" Gimli's words were all slurred together and he was completely hammered. "He can't hold his liquor." And with that he promptly fell over. I laughed again and Legolas just stared at me for a moment an expression that would've seemed like something of awe, if I hadn't known better. He quickly snapped out if it at the sound of Gimli's body hitting the floor.

"Game over," he commented, looking slightly smug. He glanced at me and there was nothing I wanted to do more then go over to him and pull his lips down to meet mine. I pursed my lips, trying to make that want go away but it only got stronger. We were staring at each other again, something that we, apparently, had down to an art by now. Eomer looked between us.

"I'll just leave you two be..." he said, beginning to turn away.

"No!" Legolas's voice was cold once more, his expression passive and empty. "I was just leaving."

Eomer and I watched him go and I felt sadness creep into my heart.

"What did you do now?" Eomer asked. I shrugged hopelessly.

"I don't know!" Eomer just shook his head at my response.

"Well something about you is putting him off." Eomer told me.

"Thanks," I replied sarcastically. "I hadn't noticed."

"Glad I could help," Eomer said with a grin. I laughed.

"I am apparently very bad at staying mad at you," I commented. Eomer smiled.

"Good."

Love it? Hate it? Please review and tell me what you think! Reviews mean new chapters for you! I would just like to explain this whole Eomer thing going on. The idea is that they'll become good friends fast and he will act the same way he used to/does act around Eowyn with her. NO ROMANTIC INTENTIONS! Sorry again if Eomer is too OOC!

Anyways, tell me what you think!

~Liliana