If you're still with me, you are freaking AMAZING.

Apologies for the way over due update! It's just getting so close to the end and I don't wanna mess anything up .

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Dagger Drops

The air was cold and the smell of ash would have made her eyes water if she was on a lower level of the city. As it was Tess stood in one of the many garden balconies that littered the eastern side of the top level of Minas Tirith. The warm colours of sunset had long since passed and all that remained was the dark grey of dusk that coated the sky like thick a blanket. The light breeze ruffled her short hair as she gazed out over the silent plains, only tiny yellow spots showing where the guards had set up bonfires to warm themselves as they kept a look out for trouble.

"It was when the City was burning," Tess spoke, her eyes locked on the horizon.

"That's when I first thought I was going to die,"

"Fire is never a gentle master," Noted a deep voice, encouraging her to keep talking. That was why Gandalf had asked her here, to speak of what had happened.

"I could hear the screams of the people above me; I didn't know that the Orcs had broken through the gate," Her sweaty hands were shaking; they had been for some time, as she wiped them against her brown breeches. A white long sleeved shirt was tucked into her pants, the high collar effectively hiding many of the bruises that ringed around her neck.

"Everyone in the cells just thought it was because of the fire, we all thought we were going to burn to death, but then the first wave of Orcs broke through the prison gates…we could hear them all the way down on the fifth level," The Minas Tirith dungeon system was very effective. It backed onto the cliff face with sturdy iron gates as the only entry and exit, keeping the civilians out and the condemned in. Once you were passed the gates there was several cells used as holding pens whilst your offence, name and sentence was written down. From there you were either escorted up to one of the three levels above ground if you were someone from high society and hadn't managed to pay you way out or down to one of seven below. Minus one, two and three harbored petty thieves, minus four held accomplished thieves and minus five held criminals that had killed. The deeper you got, the worse the reason you were there. Tess had been stashed in minus level two originally with the few other women that had been sentenced, until the guards thought she was being too noisy. She was still noisy on level five, but at least no one could hear here down there.

In the end, being unmanageable had saved her life.

"They took their time going down the levels, they knew we weren't going anywhere," She whispered through the lump in her throat.

"Men were screaming for the guards to let us out, asking if we could at least fight for our lives…but no one came, we were trapped," Her voice cracked as she struggled to get through her sentence.

"Grown men were crying and praying for a miracle…one man…asked me t-to strangle him," Her hand flew to her mouth as she remembered him. His brown eyes pleading with salty tears leaving trails on his filthy face.

"S-said he wanted to d-die by the hands of a woman and not a beast," Small sobs escaped her lips, she couldn't hold them back.

"For h-hours all we h-heard were screams, they e-echoed down to us, telling us what was coming and what we couldn't avoid," Her hands slid up to the sides of her head, fingers burying themselves into her hair.

She could feel it all again.

The fear in her chest making her sick, the howls of death ringing in her ears.

She didn't know her legs gave out until Gandalf's arms were wrapped around her and lowering her onto the ground.

"The first wave arrived on the fifth level-!" She had to pause so she could choke back another sob. Gently the wizard pulled her hands away from her head, holding them in his calloused ones instead.

"They taunted us from behind the bars wh-while they sorted through the pile of keys," She was fighting the urge to be sick as she continued, knowing she had to get through telling this or she would never sleep again.

"I didn't-I don't know what h-happened," she managed after some time.

"One minute I was in a cell, the next I was fighting for my life," She didn't remember all the details, she had been running on instinct. As soon as the door to the cell had opened she'd attacked, killing and stealing weapons on her way to the gate that separated level four from level five. With that closed and locked they stood a chance of surviving for some time longer.

"It was long enough…a second wave managed to break through, but we defeated them and after that no more came," Her breathing was starting to regulate again as she came to the end of her story.

"No one dared to leave level five, so we waited, that was when guards arrived and ordered us back into our cells, the punishment was death if we didn't," she gave a grim chuckle here.

"They left us to die; I think they were upset we didn't," her hands made small fists as she raised her head to look at the dark night sky.

"I went willingly, on the promise that my whereabouts was made known to you," Tess raised her brown eyes to Gandalf's blue ones.

"It took a while but I'm glad you got me out of that place," she smiled, wincing slightly when she stretched her split lip too far again.

"You had many people quite concerned," Gandalf admitted, glancing to the side briefly. The woman before him turned to see Éomer standing just inside the hall, a slightly pained slightly guilty look on his face.

"My apologies, I meant not to drop eves," He said after clearing his throat.

"It's alright; did you hear the whole story?" She asked as both she and Gandalf stood. The man of Rohan moved further into garden.

"I heard enough," he murmured as he came to stand before the pair. The woman took a shuddering breath to calm herself, before planting a grim smile on her face.

"The main thing is that I'm alive and Denethor can no longer torment Faramir," Tess looked out over the city and so she missed it when Éomer bristled slightly at the name of the new Steward.

Gandalf, however, did not miss it.

"Indeed, it seems with his father's death young Faramir now has the freedom to pursue his own interests," with a knowing little grin the wizard raised his eyebrows at the Horselord beside him.

"One of them being your dear sister I believe,"

"Ha! Interest indeed, he seems to have become love at first sight," Tess said with her own cheeky grin, brown eyes glassy with happiness. Faramir was a good man and she had no doubt he'd be able to win over the Shield Maiden of Rohan in no time.

"Yes, Eowyn seems to have noticed his glances," Éomer said gruffly, his brows curving down slightly.

Of course the Maiden's older brother would take a little more convincing.

"I don't th…think…I don't-," She twitched her head slightly, her words turning to mush in her mouth as she tried to draw a solid breath.

Sounds melted away, all except that of her heart thumping heavily in her chest.

She didn't know she was wavering on her feet until someone had to catch her from falling flat on her face.

Blue and hazel eyes were swimming in and out of focus, keeping her own open was becoming harder task.

An eye ringed with fire opened in front of her, swallowing all of her senses, striping her bare, crushing the life from her and drowning her in darkness.

And then she could scream.

/\\

It was a horrible feeling.

She could feel him inside her mind, directing her through the passageways to the main hall. Her legs moved without her permission and although she could not feel the pain she knew the stitches in her leg were splitting because she didn't have her crutch under her arm. Instead a thin dagger was tightly gripped in her white fingers, the pale moonlight making the metal look sinister.

She couldn't let go of it, no matter how much she wanted to she couldn't stop moving and she couldn't open her mouth for help either.

Naomi was a prisoner in her own body.

Salty trails fell freely from her blue eyes, wide with fear as her hands pushed open the last door in her way.

She wanted to throw up when she saw who she was being herded towards.

Aragorn's back was towards her as he kneeled before the throne, his sword lying forgotten just out of reach. The Palantír was to his left, the flicker of an eye coming and going as she moved closer.

Naomi could feel saliva running over her chin as she tried to force words into her mouth, no not even words, she just wanted to make a sound. Any sound, whether it was a scream or a mumble she didn't care, she just wanted him to see her.

But there was nothing and the future King's back remained facing her, ears deaf to her approach.

'Get up! Aragorn…hear me! Hear me! Come on damn it!' she screamed at him wordlessly, trying to throw her soul at him and make him turn. His shoulder remained slumped over and fresh tears erupted over her cheeks. She'd never seen Aragorn looks so weak before.

'The men and women of this world are weak! And those of your world are even weaker!' Saruman's words came into her mind from when he'd been trapped in his tower, bellowing down at them.

'You have a darkness in your heart! A shadow that you will no longer be able to ignore!'

But she didn't ever want to hurt Aragorn, she'd felt horribly guilty when she'd caused him pain in Rohan when Sauron had touched her through the-

Her eyes flitted to the forgotten Palantír.

'The Dark Lord will call for you soon,'

The pieces started to move in her mind.

Her feet moved her closer to the Ranger.

She remembered the first time she'd encountered dark forces, way back in Rivendell. She thought of the burning words that Gandalf had spoken in the council, words in Sauron's tongue. If it had been a direct link to Sauron she was sure she would have lost her mind.

Saruman had brought her to Middle Earth because she was easier to control than the people of this world.

'But I didn't arrive in Orthanc…it was Rivendell instead, somehow Saruman's power was thrown off…'

Her hand started twitching.

She was just reaching the ten foot mark, coming ever closer to the unaware man.

'You were a mistake! You were not meant to survive the trip to Middle-Earth.'

Tess.

Tess had been taken by accident.

Tess had thrown off Saruman's power.

Tess had landed in Moria.

Naomi reached eight feet.

'The presence of the Balrog was too much for Tess?' Naomi asked Aragorn in a small voice.

'The presence of the Ring and the Balrog together was too much for her, you may well have had the same difficulty dealing with such Dark Powers had you not have spent so much time in the presence of the Ring before we entered Moria,'

'A direct link between me and Sauron couldn't be established; I started to grow immune to the Dark Powers of this world,'

Another tear dropped from her eye.

Five feet.

'He finally managed to create a connection in Rohan when I touched Pippin…he's been able to reach me using that connection now that the Palantír is uncovered!'

Her hands started to get sweaty.

Three feet.

'If I could somehow break that connection,'

She could almost touch him.

'I have to break it!'

Her arms started moving up, the dagger shakily finding a position above her head in both hands.

'I…can't stop!'

Her limbs burned as she tried to hold them there.

'Please-! Someone-! Anyone-!'

Her heart beat heavily in chest.

'HELP!'

A tiny hiccup escaped her mouth.

Aragorn's head shot up.

The dagger started to drop.

And then somehow the world was sideways.

Naomi's body thrashed, but the movements were stifled. The tip of the dagger caught and ripped against something. Frothy spit escaped her lips as a pathetic replacement for the scream she was trying her hardest to release.

'Help me!' she pleaded to whoever was stopping her. 'Don't let go!'

Black and red flashed in the corner of her vision that consisted mainly of marble floor. Her blue eyes locked onto what she recognized as the Palantír.

The red eye wreathed in flames seared into her mind as words started to fill it.

I see you

Skaiash gratûrzbûth farkh

There is no life

Latdarûkûrzash grishizubu shakrimpizishu skaish

In the void

Gaakh, Farkhat ashtûrum amatdash latslai-grish aghquill skaisû slaiquil

Only

Ash durbatulûk agh Snagaulat burzumaghâsh

Death

When darkness pulled over she was reminded of the times she had gone swimming.

Of the thick, absolute silence that blocked off every sound except for the heavy rush of blood pumping under her ears.

Of the way it made her feel weightless and yet slow at the same time as her circulatory system worked harder to use up every ounce of oxygen.

Of the way her burning chest felt like it was going to burst unless she surfaced.

And of the way everything sounded too loud and too close when she again broke the skin.

/\\

Tess panted unsteadily at the use of energy she didn't have.

The fire covering her body so hot it was a cold burn.

Pictures flashed through her mind and she almost lost her consciousness several times, but then she'd see the woman under her and she'd find strength.

Naomi writhed beneath her, face down on the marble floor of the main hall.

Her eyes were wide open but not seeing and her mouth wide open but not screaming.

"C-Cover it-!" She managed to shriek to the dazed Aragorn. She didn't know what he had seen in the Palantír, but it was enough to have rattled his ability to jump into a situation with all senses go.

"Aragorn!" She was starting to lose the battle against her friend.

Naomi was both taller than her and had more muscle mass after eating decent meals while Tess just made it over her shoulder and had been living in a dungeon for the past week. Her hands were clamped down on the woman's wrists, holding the dagger firmly to the ground. It had come too close to drawing Tess' blood when she had shoulder rushed her friend to the ground in the first place, the metal barely missing Aragorn's back and coming so close to Tess' shoulder that it had sliced through the white fabric of her shirt.

"Aragorn! Wake the fuck up!" She roared when Naomi managed to head butt her in the face, blood immediately dripping down her chin from her nose in a long red line. Tess was unsure if it was the sight of blood or the foreign expletive that finally jostled Aragorn, but found she found she really didn't care either way. After taking in the scene the male immediately jumped to his feet, snatched the velvet cloth and dropped it completely over the Palantír.

Naomi's entire body went limp in a second.

Fear prickled the back of Tess' throat as she quickly snatched the dagger out of a pale hand and tossed it some feet away. It skidded to a stop at several pairs of booted feet, their faces unimportant to her however, as she slid off her friend and rolled her onto her back. Blue eyes stared listlessly into nothing and Tess felt her panic rising.

"Naomi!" Her voice cracked uselessly as she tried to breathe around her bloody nose through an exhausted chest. She knew she was hyperventilating because white blotches appeared in her vision and her head felt light. Warm hands gently gripped the sides of her face and she took a shuddering breath in, her bottom lip quivering as tears welled in her eyes.

'Too late too late too late too late-!'

Words echoed around inside of her skull, as well as pictures and feelings.

She must have looked like she was going to pass out because the next thing she knew Gimli had given her a sharp slap across the face.

"Master Dwarf-!"

"Do not give me that Horsemaster! Look at her, back to breathin' now," Gimli said gruffly to Éomer, both of whom were crouched in front of Tess.

'In front of? No…above,' With a slow blink she realized she was on her back. Her breaths became longer and steadier as she looked around her, trying to figure out what had happened in the moments she'd been absent due to her panic attack.

Gandalf, Legolas and Aragorn were all looking over Naomi, who was blinking rapidly but still not moving. A large amount of blood had pooled around the pale woman's legs, her wound from the Fell Beast had opened up after the extended use of her leg without the use of her crutch. The action had taken its toll on the stitches. Naomi had explained the whole ordeal to Tess; of her part in the Battle, her fight with the Nazgûl's mount, the horse that had saved her life. Still Tess couldn't help the swell of guilt at the thought of the possibility that it had be her causing more damage while she was pinning her friend down.

"Her leg? I-Is her leg alright? I didn't hurt her too much did I?" Tess asked weakly around gasps of air. She was attempting to get to her feet, but Éomer would have none of that and gently tried to push her back down, all the while assuring her that the wound opening was not her fault. Tess was a stubborn woman, however, and when Éomer looked away from her she quickly twisted out of his grip and crawled to her friend.

Gandalf was whispering slurred words in a different language, his aged hand delicately placed against the side of Naomi's temple. Legolas was by his side, holding the incapacitated woman's hand tightly as he watched every movement with a stricken look on his face. Aragorn was on the other side of the two; his shoulders slumped as he worked on wrapping Naomi's leg with a shred of her nightgown until they could get the stitches re-sewn. So concentrated on the task was he that when Tess placed a hand on his shoulder, he all but jumped out of his skin.

"Are you alright?" she questioned quietly, looking over him for any injury she may have missed before. Aragorn gave a stiff nod and was about to say something but was cut off with a scream. Everyone except Gandalf jerked in surprise and Legolas winced at the sharp noise to his Elven ears.

It was more than just the noise of straining vocal cords though; it was the sound of pain and terror. It was the sound of a woman whose mind had been invaded by the bitter poison of the cold burning fire.

But it was also the sound of liberation, the sound of a first breath and the sound of hope as she truly opened her eyes again.

Air rushed out of Tess' lungs in a big sigh, an almost drugged smile lifting her lips as a couple of tears burst over her cheeks. Screaming was good, in a way, screaming meant she was alive at least. The collective relief of the room was cut short quickly as Naomi choked before vomiting to the side, narrowly missing Tess' lap as she knelt close to her friend's head.

"The void-! N-Nothing…nothing in th-the void!" Naomi howled at the top of her lungs when she wasn't throwing up or trying to breathe.

"On-only death," she choked before grasping onto Gandalf's hand at her head with a crushing force.

"There is only death!" Suddenly she stopped still again, her head rolling heavily to the left, her eyes roaming around Tess' face before resting on her eyes.

"He can see us,"

Tess recalled an eye wreathed with flames, the very image making her wince as it scalded her mind. Naomi blinked slowly and suddenly she was sobbing again, strange words tumbling from her mouth and making Tess' head ache painfully. Both her hands rushed up to her head, as if applying pressure would stop the pain the words caused her. Legolas too was wincing as if the words were wounding him. Gandalf noticed this and immediately turned to Éomer.

"Get Tess away from here, back to her room," He said quickly, his blue eyes hard on the horselord's.

"The Dark Lord may yet grasp a hold on her mind, do not let her leave until I come," the wizard ordered sternly over Naomi's choked words and Tess' groans of pain. Éomer nodded quickly, pulling a shaky Tess to her feet.

"We must move Naomi to a more secure location, away from the Palantír, into the mountain," Gandalf said as Legolas gently pulled Naomi into his arms.

"I know of a place," Aragorn offered, holding the wounded woman's leg to prevent further damage.

"Good," Gandalf nodded, his eyes turning to Gimli.

"Guard the Palantír until my return, do not uncover it and do not let it move from your sight," He ordered the Dwarf, who promised to do so. With those things settled the group of four departed from the Great Hall, Naomi's sobs fading behind the side door as it closed. As soon as it shut Tess stopped groaning, her legs turned to jelly and if not for Éomer she would have fallen flat on her face.

"You best get her to her quarters, no need for her to be around this rotten orb any longer," Gimli grunted as he pulled out his pipe, settling down on the Steward's chair to watch the Palantír as ordered.

"Aye," Éomer agreed, helping the woman to her feet once again.

"J-Just gimme a minute, my legs are still a little-oh!" She wasn't given any time at all as the horselord promptly scooped her up in his arms.

"I can walk for myself!" She responded weakly, slapping repeatedly against the man's armored chest.

"Lords above-! Just let me help you, stubborn woman," Éomer growled, her movements ceasing and her bottom lip wobbling as she tried to think of a comeback. When she said nothing the man grinned and Tess growled softly, throwing a glare over his shoulder at the chuckling Gimli. The Main Hall disappeared from her sights as the side door closed behind them and for a while she remained hostile, glaring at her bloody pants with her arms crossed over her chest. They passed several maids on their way to the hall of guest quarters, all of them blanching and quickly averting their eyes from the sight of Tess. When it happened a fifth time she couldn't help but frown.

"Do I really look that terrible?" she muttered, mainly to herself but Éomer answered anway.

"Indeed, you are a sickly pale and even without the blood the bruises on your face make that ever more noticeable,"

"Good to know I look hideous," she said sarcastically, her split lip stretching as she pouted.

"Nay, you are still very beautiful woman," the words tumbled from his mouth and suddenly they both stopped breathing. Colour rushed into her cheeks as she risked a glance up, the man's gaze soft as he glanced at her too. Warm breath brushed against her face, making her heart lurch treacherously.

"I- ah- th-this is my room," she coughed averting her eyes, her face getting even hotter when she felt his gaze remain on her. Instead of putting her down like she hoped, Éomer skillfully opened the door to her quarters with one hand. It was a spacious room with a double bed, an open fire place and a writing desk. A closet was pushed against one wall with a door leading to a private bathroom next to it. Naomi was to be given a room similar once her leg recovered enough for her to not need to be so close to the top level medical wards, as was the case with Éowyn. Though comfortable in her guest room, Tess very much envied their shared room. She despised being so alone at night, it felt weird after being constantly surrounded by people whilst on the move. Of course no one would ever hear her say that, she had an ego she liked to hold onto.

"You can…you know, you can put me down now," she said awkwardly. The man did as she asked, turning to close the door once he was sure she'd be fine on her feet. Fine or not she didn't care, as soon as she was put down she went to her closet. Armed with a fresh pair of pants and a new cream shirt she made for the bathroom. She kicked the door closed behind her, not caring when it was left open a crack. The cold fire was still too close to her mind and she was sure Éomer had enough decency to not look. In fact he would probably be staring intently at the fire, his golden hair glinting as it caught the light, his hazel eyes-

'Stop it! Stop it stop it stop it!' She slapped her forehead to get rid of the images and calm her racing heart. The heat on her face seemed to spread over her whole body and she tore off her bloody shirt to help cool herself down. She made to distract herself by filling a basin with water from the pitcher, both of which waited atop a long bench that rested against the wall. That was when she actually caught sight of herself.

"Holy shit…," she gasped slightly. She wasn't expecting to look decent but…well Naomi hadn't been wrong when she had said Tess resembled a cow with all her black and blue blotches. Crusted blood rested against her chin and top lip from where her friend had head butted her, a bruise the colour of a moldy plum bright on her right cheek bone and another spanning the space of her left temple, a light cut a maroon colour as it healed.

"No wonder they were staring," she told herself breathlessly as she lowered a cloth into the cool water. She hissed several times as she washed away blood from her nose, it was still tender from the abuse, but other than that it was a fairly easy task. Her white shirt was ruined as was her singlet, but her undergarments remain clean which she was thankful for. She tossed her boots into some corner of the room, her black breeches and singlet following before she tugged on clean brown ones. She didn't bother with another undershirt and instead just tugged on the cream shirt she had taken from the closet. The cup on the bench top drew her eye and she couldn't help rising her mouth of the sickly sweet metallic taste that resided within it.

When she started brushing her hair she knew she was trying to put off leaving the bathroom.

"Stop being such an idiot," she grumbled to herself, making her legs take her to the door. Her hand wouldn't open it so she quickly circled the bathroom then rushed at it. She had to open it or she would smack into it.

Éomer jumped at the sound.

"Are you…alright?" he asked hesitantly as she stumbled into the room, rubbing her forehead and glaring at the door as she closed it forcefully behind herself.

"Fine! Just having a disagreement with this hunk of wood," In hindsight kicking it probably wasn't the best idea, but it made notion made her feel slightly better.

"Oh my god!" She gasped, taking her foot in her hand as she hopped towards her bed. Chuckling caught her ears and she glared hotly at the man across the room.

"Yeah, hardy-ha, so funny," she spat sarcastically at him, but couldn't help the grin that pulled at her lips when she saw the mirth in his eyes. It had been far too long since she'd last seen that lightness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, by the way," she announced after the humorous moment had passed.

"What for, if I may ask?" A light frown on his face masked most of his emotions, but the confusion was fairly prominent.

"For making you worry," she said softly, lowering her gaze to the hands she folded in her lap.

"I didn't mean to go sprinting off without saying anything but…well I had to stop Naomi before she-," she coughed to clear her throat from the lump forming.

"Before she hurt anyone,"

His eyebrows lifted as did his confusion. She was talking about when they had been with Gandalf in the courtyard. One minute she had been screaming horrifically on the ground, the next she was disappearing down the hall at a speed that had both men blinking with astonishment.

Quietly he made his way over to her, kneeling before her and gently taking her hands in his gloved ones.

"You had to help your friend, I understand that," his eyes found hers and she couldn't manage to say anything, but her head nodded to show she recognized his forgiveness.

His thumbs dragged lazily across her palms, making her shiver at the feeling. Quietly she cleared her throat and drew her hands back, knocking on his chest plate with her knuckles.

"When was the last time you cleaned this thing?" she asked genuinely interested, eyes taking in the splashes of mud and other such dark substances stuck to it. Éomer raised a hand to his chin to think. A moment later with no answer Tess chuckled.

"When was the last time you took it off?" she dropped her chin onto her propped up arm, chewing her bottom lip in thought as she traced the deep scratches imbedded on it with her left hand. The last time she had seen him without armor on was probably the night in Rohan when they had been drinking for fallen warriors. Actually, that had been the only time she'd seen him without armor.

"The second eve after arriving in Minas Tirith I believe," Éomer answered as he pondered the question. It had rather been by force as well, one of the pushy nurses in the medical wing had told him unless he was clean he was not to visit Éowyn again. His armor had been taken whilst he bathed and polished while he'd slept on a mattress by his sister's bedside.

Of course that had been at least four days ago, much work had been done to help clear the dead from the fields of Pelennor since then.

"Take it off, we'll clean it while we wait for Gandalf," she said hopping to her feet and moving over to the closet. Whoever had filled her closet had taken note of the chain mail she was wearing when she first arrived in Minas Tirith with Gandalf and Pippin. As such a stack of rags and a pot of strange smelling waxy stuff had been provided and though she had yet to use it she had thought it a kind gesture. Éomer was frowning as he followed her, stopping before the fireplace and trying to decide if this was really a good idea.

"Oh come on, no one will attack you and if you really must you can put it back on as soon as we're finished with it," grinned, grabbing what she needed and coming to stand before him. He hummed under his breath but pulled his gloves from his hands, tossing them onto the armchair behind him. Tess smiled at her win and after placing the rags and wax onto the ground moved to help him with the buckles.

"I have to admit, I have no idea how to get this off you," she chuckled nervously, hands finding the buckle to one of his shoulder guards and starting there.

"It is fairly easy, when one knows what to look for," he grinned back and continued with the buckles on his gauntlets. Eight buckles later the arm guards were neatly side by side on the floor and Tess had figured out the shoulder pads were actually connected to a whole piece of chest armor. That piece hooked over his shoulders and clipped onto a second piece of chest armor that protected his front and back. Then there was a thick leather belt that had a loop for his sword and one that crossed over his right shoulder for his shield. Twenty buckles later those pieces of armor sat patiently on the floor while Tess worked on the two shin guards he wore and Éomer pulled off two layers of heavy and light chain mail.

When it was all spread out Tess couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"No wonder you don't wanna take it off often," she smiled up at him, not bothering to get up again and instead reaching over to grab a piece of cloth. Éomer chuckled lightly and joined her on the ground after laying out the chain mail on her bed. He took a seat beside her, his dark brown tunic brushing against her arm as she rubbed the waxy cloth on one of the shin guards.

"Don't you get hot in all this stuff?" she asked a while later, now onto the second shin guard as he continued to clean the large front of his chest plate.

"The climate in Rohan is cold most months, the extra warmth is well met," he told her, glancing at her as she worked. Her bottom lip was tucked in behind her top teeth, her brown eyes dark as she glared at a particularly troublesome patch of mud. She was by far one of the most curious women he had met in his entire life. It was understandable considering the fact that she was from some foreign land over the sea, but she was so very fixated on doing things herself and only asking for help when…well he couldn't actually recall a time she had openly asked for help.

He didn't realize he was staring until she raised an eyebrow at his still hand.

"Gonna make me do all the work?" she asked with a smirk as she looked up at him. His body moved without his consent but he felt no regret as he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. As expected her face lit up like a red flag, her eyes blinking rapidly as he pulled back.

"Wh-what was that for!" She stuttered, breath hitching in her throat as he grinned at her.

"I appreciate your help," he said simply, returning to his work. He almost jumped when soft lips pressed against his jaw.

"I can't reach your forehead," she grumbled with a frown, the pink still evident as she returned to her own work.

'Curious indeed…'

Author's Babbling:

Oh ehm freakin geeeeeeeeee.

I don't know if this could have taken longer to write if I had tried -_-

It took three sleepless nights and several bouts of anger but I made it throuuuughhhh!

And you know what kept me going?

THE WONDERFUL REVIEWSSSSSS~!

To anyone that has reviewed, I love you, seriously, with all my heart 3

I grin like an idiot when I get an email saying [Review for story: Frontline] and sometimes even squeal…those times make mum very concerned.

I wasn't sure if the fluff at the end was entirely necessary…but I just couldn't help it! I hope you like it anyway :3

Sneak peak for the next chapter: More on the topic of WHY Naomi and Tess are in Middle Earth (it's about time they found out…I mean seriously it took me long enough to come up with a good reason) preparation for the upcoming march out to battle aaand possibly some Legolas/Naomi fluff if you guys would like it (SERIOUSLY! Lemme know it you want it or I may not put it…I don't wanna turn to story mushy :/ )

Anyways….i shall stop my rambling about now before I kill you.

LOVE YOU ALL.

The-once-again-not-so-actually-dead-horrible-author

AxM

P.s. let me know if you're actually still with me…xx