Eomer was walking towards his tent to sleep a couple of hours before sunrise, when he saw someone sitting on the battlements of the fortress, away from the fires, staring at the decreasing half moon. He recognized the silhouette cut against the starry sky. He walked toward the steps that lead to the battlements, as he saw a lean shadow also carrying a bow approaching the one seated on the wall. Eomer cursed under his breath and decided to talk later to Cyrene, who was the one sitting on the wall. Having another scene with the elf, which was approaching her at the moment, was not what he had in mind when telling her about his feelings and asking her to stay in Edoras with him. He was a fool for not having recognized his feelings for the Amazon sooner.

Legolas was sure that Cyrene could not hear him approaching for no human could hear an elf walk, except maybe Aragorn, who had been brought up in Rivendell among elves.

So he was startled to hear Cyrene ask, without turning her head, "What can I do for you, Master Legolas?"

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier today, Mistress Cyrene"

"You do? Well then you are a very exceptional male, Master Elf, since all males are so used to confound women with possessions that they wouldn't even notice their mistake. You are forgiven. Go and have your rest before the ride to Isengard"

She almost heard him grin. "Elves almost don't need any rest, Mistress. Seems like Amazons don't bother to sleep either." She felt for a moment like smiling too. This elf was indeed distracting her from the dark thoughts she was trying to sort out in her head. The prospect of being with her sisters in matter of days was disturbing; she didn't think she was ready for the encounter.

"I am saying my prayers to the Goddess, Master Legolas. Then I will rest."

"Do you mind if I join you, Mistress? I would like to know more about your people."

"My people? Would you judge us again by the standards of those who are different to us and by the old tales spun by those who never knew the Amazons?"

"I promise to try not to judge what I do not know of, Mistress. May I join you?"

She sighed. She was not going to sleep. And maybe she just needed to forget her thoughts of exile and duty for a while. She nodded to the elf that carefully sat down close, but not too close to her. She recognized the manner. It was the same way she would have used by accustoming a horse to be touched by humans. Close enough to be recognized but not too close not to scare the horse away. , she thought wryly.

Some time later, Cyrene had almost forgotten her reserves about Legolas. He was a great companion. She had told him about the origins of the Amazons and he had told her about the creation of the elves. She avoided telling him about the customs of the Amazons regarding men. Just enjoyed listening to his tales and stories. At the sound of his pleasant voice she felt at ease and relaxed.

Legolas was enjoying sitting in the dark next to Cyrene. Since he was curious about her and the Amazons, he listened to her low voice telling him about ancient stories from gods, goddesses and long forgotten wars. He could tell the woman was exhausted and troubled but he also sensed she was relaxing in his presence.

While Cyrene was shifting, accommodating against the wall, she felt her forearm cramp. It was something she had since she was very young, the cramping of her forearms or calves. She knew her cramped hand wasn't a pretty sight, so she hid her arm in the shadows while she single-handedly untied the lacings of her wrist-guard to massage her arm.

Legolas noticed something was wrong with Cyrene, but didn't see what was bothering her. He thought if he should ask her or just come closer, to see if he could help her, risking her rejection. He came closer.

The woman had removed her wrist guard and thrown it on the ground and was slowly massaging her forearm, trying to unclench her hand. Her fingers were tensed, her hand looked almost like a claw. It was painful, but she would ease the pain soon. She turned her attention from her hand and found Legolas kneeling at her side, closer than before. He just reached silently for her hurting hand and stopped before touching it, asking her with a look if he might take her arm. She looked for a couple of seconds into his gentle eyes and nodded. Then turned her face away, as if embarrassed by the ugly sight of her cramping hand.

The elf focused on the amazons arm. By the clenching of the hand and the tensed muscles, he imagined it was painful. He touched her skin very lightly and started massaging gently the muscles and bending the fingers. He looked up as he heard that Cyrene had inhaled sharply at his touch, but her face was still averted from him.

"Is the pain subsiding, Mistress? Do not be ashamed about the cramp. Archers suffer these injuries often" he offered. "Even elven archers suffer them, when they overexert themselves."

Cyrene was touched by the sympathy of the words. She looked back at his face, with a smile on her lips. "I thank you for your kindness, master elf. You have wondrous hands, the pain is fading now. "

Under his warm hands, the fingers began loosening up and the muscles of her arm relaxed. As soon as her arm felt like normal again, the effect of the elf's touch on her skin, on her arm, began spreading to the rest of her body like the warmth of fire after having been in the cold for too long. Her senses began to tingle, aware of the closeness of this male. She put her left hand on his and stopped the massaging, lifting her right arm from his hands.

"I thank you again for your assistance, Master Legolas. You have been a true and kind brother in arms to me."

Legolas understood her wish and retreated to where he was sitting before. This woman was intriguing, fascinating, but he did not wish to rush anything with Cyrene. He sat back leaning on the wall, close to her and began singing softly an elvish lullaby. She laced her wrist-guard again, and folded her right arm into her cloak. She leaned also against the wall, and listened to his song. Slowly her eyes fell shut, as she peacefully drifted into slumber.