A/N: Sadly I do not own Lord of the Rings.
***Chapter 5***
**Saffy's POV**
Nimiwen and I strode into the main hall of Edoras as people began to take their seats at the many benches throughout the room. There were open seats beside Legolas and Gimli towards the front of the room, near to Gandalf and Aragorn. A hush had fallen over the hall by the time that we had settled into our places on the bench.
Eowyn kneeled before Theoden as he sat upon his throne, Eomer standing to his right side. She proffered a goblet filled with a wine to the King, bowing her head as she did so. A tender smile crossed the king's face as he took the goblet from her.
"Tonight, we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country." Theoden proclaimed, raising the goblet into the air as he stood before the people of Rohan. "Hail the victorious dead!"
A cry of 'Hail' filled the room as every person repeated after the king. The tankards of ale which had filled the tables were raised and brought to the lips of their holder. I glanced quickly around the room, knowing that had those people not died by the swords of Uruk-hai they too would be toasting in the golden hall, before I raised the mug to my lips and took a swig.
The calm silence which had filled the hall was quickly diminished as cheers and food abounded. Laughter filled the air along with music from a few players in one of the corners. Women filtered into the room, as the majority were not expected to attend the toast to the victorious dead, as they were not warriors and had not faced battle. A few of the tables were pushed aside to create an impromptu dance floor, and somehow I let Nimiwen drag me onto the floor. Well, not that it took too much convincing, dancing was one of the things that I loved to do.
We spun around on the dance floor, earning cheers as our bodies moved in tandem, shifting along with the beat. The music continued to rise as the song neared its climax, Nimiwen spinning me around with speed as my skirt flared out around me. With the last note of the song, she spun me into her arms and dropped me down into a dip, causing an eruption of cheers to fill the air along with applause.
If only for moment, my mind had been completely cleared of troubles; it didn't matter that I was in a world not my own, or that my best friend was currently in what could be considered hell on earth, I was in the arms of the woman that I loved and it was an incredible feeling.
"It's the Dwarves who go swimming with little, hairy women." Gimli cried loudly inter-mixing his words with laughter as he drank.
Deciding that this could be amusing, I dragged Nimiwen over towards where Gimli and Legolas were having a drinking contest as Eomer continued to present the full tankards to the pair. I sidled up next to Eomer, leaning in close so that the man could hear me over the sounds of celebration which filled the hall.
"Who's winning?" I questioned, my eyes dancing between the Dwarf and Elf.
"I can't tell." Eomer admitted, glancing down at me and Nimiwen. "They both have consumed the same amount of ale, enough to knock even the sturdiest man to the floor."
"Elves have a high tolerance to alcohol. Especially due to the fact that the brews of Man are much weaker than that of the Elves." Nimiwen interjected, causing the two of us to turn to her shock dancing within our eyes. "What? I haven't always been a well-respected warrior-maiden."
A laugh burst from Eomer as he slightly shook his head before turning his attention back to the drinkers. I turned to Nimiwen with a teasing smile on my lips, leaning in close to her ear so that my breath caressed the sensitive point at the end of her ear. "You never told me you had a wild side."
Her eyes met mine and a fiery passion raged within her ocean blue eyes. She raised a single perfectly formed blonde eyebrow in a challenging gesture before her lips danced to my ear and she whispered softly, "Would you like to see it?"
A soft laugh erupted from my lips as I nodded before nestling into her arms and watching Legolas' face. There was a wave of guilt when I thought about how I could be perfectly happy with the Elf that I loved, but his love was a traitor residing now in Mordor and set to be the next dark queen. Across his face there was little sign of emotion, but within his eyes there was a pain there. A slight smile crossed his face as he eyed Gimli taking another deep drink of ale before his nose crinkled at the sound of a raucous fart expelling from the dwarf. Not that I could blame the Elf, I took a step back away from the table at the sound.
After another drink, Legolas raised his hand as though inspecting it for damage; his fingers moving experimentally before his face.
"I feel something." Legolas stated with confusion tinting his tone. "A slight tingling in my fingers. I think it's affecting me."
The Elf looked up to Eomer as though silently asking whether or not the alcohol was actually causing the sensation within his fingers. Before the man could answer however, Gimli interrupted with a loud burp before a laugh.
"Hah, what did I say?" Gimli roared in amusement. "The Elf can't hold his liquor."
My eyes wavered to the pile of tankards before Legolas, totaling to over twenty. Considering that he was only now being affected by the alcohol he was holding up fairly well. My eyes moved back to Gimli as his laughter subsided and his expression screwed up, eyes crossing. The Dwarf fell backwards as his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out from too much to drink. Legolas calmly surveyed this, peering down at the downed Dwarf. His eyes flickered up to the three of us standing around the table.
"Game over." Legolas stated simply, a smile tugging at his lips.
Eomer was the first to come out of his momentary shock as he burst out laughing at the Elven prince. I joined in the laughter, finding hilarity in Legolas' innocent expression. Instead of staying around to help with the relocation of the unconscious dwarf, Nimiwen dragged me back over to where the tables were pushed to the sides. I gave a slight wave back to my friends before we continued to dance the night away.
***Legolas' POV***
It was strange, how simply it was to push thoughts of Deirdre away when given something else to focus upon. As amusing as it was, watching Gimli fall due to his inebriation I would be incredibly grateful to him for the challenge, as it freed my mind for at least a little while. Eomer clapped me on the shoulder after we had settled Gimli on a bedroll, giving me a warm grin of congratulations.
"I'm going out for a bit of air." I informed him, making my way over towards the large doors which led to the fresh air outside the hall.
Eomer nodded and gave me a pitying look; he looked as though he wanted to say something but I just nodded my head and disappeared through the great edifice. The fresh air assaulted my senses, clearing the slight fog of alcohol from my mind and relieving the constant pressure which had been within my head from the excessive noise.
There was a low wall of stones at the edge of the veranda outside the hall, and I strode over to the corner and took a seat on the hard surface. My eyes turned towards the heavens as I found the star of Earendil and my eyes searched the various constellations which painted the night sky. It was relaxing, letting my mind wander so far away in such beauty. I couldn't help the bittersweet taste I felt when surrounded by the night air however. Thoughts of Deirdre filled my mind. The passion which filled her eyes as we shared secret encounters within the forest of Lothlorien, the time that we shared talking at night and I developed the first buds of love for her within my heart. So much of our love was shared at night that it was easy to perceive it was only a dream, something so insubstantial that it seemed to shatter the moment that it was touched by dark hands. Perhaps it was never real at all, but instead only lingered in my mind as a fantasy and hope for what my dear friends had. But the touch of her skin, the sounds which escaped her swollen lips, her whispered words of eternal love. They all seemed to cling within the recesses of my mind, proof of what we had shared.
A hot anger filled my heart as she formed within my mind, the moon and stars shining their silver light upon her skin and making her appear fairer than any other being that ever tread on the soil of Arda. She had been as fair as Lady Varda herself with more inner strength than any elf I had ever met and more passion for battle than even Aragorn. She burned with intensity, whether it was for violence or seduction. But her betrayal is what stung my heart, that being so completely fooled by her I did not expect her to turn her back upon us for a chance at power. She abandoned her last tie to her world for the chance to be a dark queen. The thought that she had only been stringing me along, so that she could gain the position of princess of Mirkwood, stabbed at my very soul. It was something that I had faced before, with power hungry elleths, but never before had I been so vulnerable and emotionally involved with such a creature. Perhaps that was her lure, the trick she used to appear weak and helpless and ensnared the senses like a drug.
While contemplating her nature, I did not hear the footsteps until a heavy hand settled on my shoulder. My hand instinctively flicked up and grabbed the wrist of the being who sought to take advantage of my lowered defenses. But as I flipped the wrist, bending the arm in what would be a painful manner, my eyes flashed towards the face of the man who had approached me. My dearest companion, Aragorn, stood before me a slight expression of pain upon his face but at no point did he allow a cry to escape him.
"I apologize, my friend. I'm a bit on edge." I informed him, releasing his wrist and lowering my hand back to the cold stone which I sat upon.
"What thoughts cause you to fear an attack on a night of celebration in Edoras, might I ask." Aragorn questioned, taking a seat next to my and gazing out onto the horizon his eyes occasionally flickering to the stars above us.
"What thoughts would you expect to plague my mind?" I asked him rhetorically, knowing he knew exactly what was bothering me.
"Ah, so Deirdre has you so occupied that you left the celebration." He mused aloud, sadness and pity seeping into his voice.
It was something that beginning to perturb me, the never ending pity; that I had loved someone who betrayed us so completely. I think that the only person who still clung to the illusion that Deirdre was not in league with Sauron was Saffron, but as each day passed I could see the resolve and hope dimming within her and falling to acceptance.
"Yes, I feel a fool to have been unable to see her nature, to have been so close to a traitor. To think that I actually loved her, but it seems it was all one-sided." I spoke aloud, feeling some of the emotion which I was steadfastly holding back seep into my voice.
"Do you truly believe that?" Aragorn asked, looking away from the stars and straight at me, shock apparent upon his face. "That she never loved you."
"Aragorn, she has betrayed us. Fled to Isenguard, and now rests within Barad-dur to be Sauron's dark queen. What do you think?" I asked harshly, annoyance that he didn't automatically believe the same filtering through me.
"I know not what has become of the Deirdre that we traveled with, or whether the lies of Saruman and the black tower are to be taken for truth. But I do believe that she loved you." Aragorn stated, his eyes softening but not filling with pity as I half-expected them to.
"Thank you for your counsel, my friend. But I must think on this." I told him, my mind already contemplating what he had told me.
"I will return to the celebration then. I hope that you can push this aside and find some enjoyment tonight, for we may not have the chance to celebrate again for some time." He stated as he rose from the stone and slowly made his way back towards the loud party within.
His steps retreated before they were swallowed up by the cheers and music erupting from the doorway. As the great doors closed behind him, I was once more left to the silence and serenity of the night. My eyes again traced over the constellations and I reflected on what Aragorn had said.
***End Chapter 5***
So there it is. I hope that everyone reading this is enjoying it. I would love to get some feedback from you guys. I am getting really lonely when it comes to the review department.