This story was originally posted a while back. I decided to go back and read it one day, and I realized a horrible typo I had made, along with a few other errors. So, I felt the need to go back and edit. It is still the same, minus some spelling and grammatical mistakes. I hope you enjoy it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Faegryn looked out across the dark plane. It must have been well past midnight, yet she did not know why she could not sleep. She was only eleven. What great stresses could an eleven year old have? How does father do it? She wondered to herself. He is the King's advisor. He must have many worries, yet he manages to get a full night of sleep every night.
She sometimes liked the seclusion, though. Rohan looked so beautiful in the dark, not bothered by the presence of anyone or anything. She loved Rohan greatly and often wondered if she loved her beautiful country more than anything else. How wonderful it would be to be queen. But again she was only eleven, so these dreamy thoughts soon turned to loneliness.
Eowyn, she thought, Eowyn might want to come out here. I'm sure she does not sleep either. She quickly went inside to get her best friend. She lightly knocked on Eowyn's door and Eowyn quickly answered.
"What is it, Faegryn? Is something wrong?" Eowyn asked
"No. Did I wake you?"
"No."
"Well let's go outside." Faegryn said cheerily.
"What?" Eowyn inquired, still trying to figure out if Faegryn had woken her or not.
"Outside, in the garden. It's beautiful this time of night. Come on." She grabbed her friend and they tiptoed outside.
At first they just marveled at the loveliness of the country at night. After a while they got bored with that so they began to play tag. A little while later even that got boring, and sleepless and boring was not as good combination for them. They sat in the garden, not knowing what to do. The two tried to think of a way they could make the sleeplessness easier.
After a few minutes Eowyn spoke. "We should get Eomer and Theodred. I'm sure they aren't asleep either." Faegryn pondered this idea. Eomer and Theodred were Eowyn's brother and cousin. They were both five years older than the two girls and both very handsome. Theodred was the king's son, but he never acted the way Faegryn expected a prince to act (meaning he was nice to everyone, but so was everyone in Rohan). Eomer was harder to discribe for Faegryn. She had had a crush on him since before she could remember and she found it hard to function properly when he was around.
It would be nice to see him…them. She thought to herself. "Alright" she replied simply, trying not to show too much enthusiasm. They walked over to Eomer's balcony and began throwing pebbles at the door. After a minute or so Eomer appeared on the balcony. He had been sleeping, but not very well.
"What are you doing down there?" he asked.
Eowyn stepped a little closer to the balcony so she would not have to speak too loudly. "We couldn't sleep, so we came down here. We thought you and Theodred would like to join us."
The idea sounded a bit weird to Eomer. Why would he want to baby-sit a couple of little girls? But he thought about it for a moment, or so and decide it might be fun. Yet he still did not want to admit that he liked his little sister's idea so he rolled his eves for show, and then replied, "I'll be there in a minute".
A couple minutes later Eomer and Theodred joined the girls in the garden. None of the four of them had ever considered the others "close friends" (aside from Eowyn and Faegryn), but they began to be close friends. They began talking of their futures. How Theodred would someday be king, and how he could dub Faegryn a "Lady of Rohan" (a title which her mother was about to receive) and then they would all four be nobles.
About an hour later everyone was getting tired. Each of them was waiting for someone else to admit tiredness. Finally Faegryn broke down and yawned.
"It is getting quite late. Perhaps we should go back inside." Eomer said responding to Faegryn's yawn.
"You're right." Faegryn replied yawning again, which caused a chain reaction of everyone yawning, "It must be well past one."
The four of them reluctantly scattered to their rooms. Faegryn went to sleep right when her head hit the pillow, which was something that was very rare for her. She did not even realize how deep she was in dreamland until her mother woke her up the next morning.
"Faegryn, you must wake up. They need your help getting ready for the party." her mother said waking her.
As was mentioned earlier Faegryn's mother, Dalygryn, was receiving a special honor that day. The king was honoring her with the title "Lady of Rohan", which was only given to the most respected, and since the people of Rohan loved parties so much, any reason to celebrate was turned into a huge feast with a ball afterwards. Faegryn always helped set up for parties because she loved them so much. She especially loved watching various guards and men of the city falling over with drunkenness during the drinking games.
That night was brilliant with a huge feast and several barrels of ale. Two people had already fallen over in the drinking game and several people, including Faegryn's parents, would not leave the dance floor. Faegryn was so proud of her mother. She had always wanted to receive that title herself, so her mother receiving it made it that much more real for her. She, Eowyn, Eomer, and Theodred were standing off to the side when King Theoden approached them.
"How do you feel about your mother getting such a high honor?" he asked Faegryn.
"I am very proud of her, milord. I hope to be in her place someday" she replied.
"I am sure you will be" the king said, beginning to walk off. He walked over to Faegryn's father. "Faedren, that daughter of yours is going to be the queen of Rohan someday." He said to his advisor.
"Why do you say that?" Faedren questioned happily.
"I've never seen a young girl more faithful to her country. I could not see her as anything less than a queen" King Theoden replied.
Eomer, who had walked off from the rest of the group for a moment, heard the whole conversation between the king and his advisor. It almost sounded like they were planning a betrothal for Theodred and Faegryn. Eomer could not figure out why, but he suddenly got jealous.
The four continued to meet on nights when they all could not sleep. Every night that they did not meet Faegryn still found it hard to sleep, but if they did meet she slept fine afterward. Early one morning before anyone in the palace had awoken, and after a virtually sleepless night, Faegryn decided to go riding like she did most mornings when she woke early. She quietly went to the stables, got her horse ready and, after much struggle, mounted her horse and rode out. While riding she noticed someone on horseback in the distance. They were riding toward each other and as they got closer she realized it was Eomer.
"What are you doing out here so early?" he asked when they met up.
"I am out here every morning at this time." she replied. "What are you doing?"
"I woke up early, and decided to go for a ride." he said, then after a second of silence he spoke again. "Do you ever sleep?"
"Not really." Faegryn replied.
"I'll race you back to the stables" she said after a few seconds. She darted off before Eomer could comprehend what she said, but she only beat him by a second. When they got back to the stables Eomer quickly dismounted and tied his horse up. He turned to see Faegryn still on her horse, looking at the ground in fright. She had stopped in a different part of the stables and could not get to the pole that she usually slid down on. Eomer helped her off her horse, and he began to wonder when he stopped thinking of her as a stupid little girl.
That night they met in the garden as usual. Eomer and Theodred began talking of some political matter that the girls really cared nothing about.
"When will they arrive?" Eomer asked Theodred after a minute or so of conversation.
"Tomorrow morning."
"Who?" Eowyn asked.
"Prince Imrahil and his children" Theodred answered.
Terror shot through Faegryn's whole body. "Princess Lothiriel hates me," she shrieked recalling how Lothiriel had tormented her every time she came."
"She does not hate you." Eomer responded.
"Yes she does" Faegryn politely argued.
"Well, she will be polite to you if we have anything to do with it" Eowyn said stepping in.
"Just because I am the youngest and shortest does not mean you have to protect me, " Faegryn replied.
"Of course it does" Theodred argued. "What kind of soldiers would we be if we did not protect a Lady of Rohan"
This made Faegryn giggle, and they all began joking with each other.
The next day everyone in the palace went to greet the royal family of Dol Armoth, Prince Imrahil, his three sons, and his only daughter, Lothiriel. Princess Lothiriel, as always, was very polite to everyone except for Faegryn. She had no idea why Lothiriel was so mean to her, but it was obvious she did not like her.
"Hello, Prince Theodred" the Princess said politely. "Hello Princess Eowyn, Prince Eomer" she continued in the same tone. Then suddenly, as if Faegryn had just spit in her face and Lothiriel was too polite to tell her where to go Lothiriel said "Faegryn."
Faegryn, as politely as possible, bowed and said, "Princess." The politeness, of course, baffled Princess Lothiriel, who faked a smile and walked off.
King Theoden and Prince Imrahil made an important political agreement during the duration of the Prince's stay, so of course a party was thrown. More feasting, ale drinking, and dancing. Eowyn and Faegryn sat off to the side watching everyone else. They looked around the room and noticed that Eomer was dancing with Lothiriel, and by the look on his face he appeared to have been forced to dance with her. This made Eowyn slightly laugh. After a minute or so Eomer and the princess stopped dancing and Eomer walked over to the girls.
When he approached the girls he appeared almost unaware that his sister was there. He extended out his hand to Faegryn and said with a smile, "May I have this dance?"
"You certainly may" she replied happily.
Lothiriel shot evil glares at them the entire time they were dancing, but they did not notice. They hardly noticed anything at all.
Over the next five years the kingdom of Rohan was quite pleasant, without war or fighting. The plans of King Theoden, Faedren, and Prince Imrahil soon became known. They planned for Theodred and Faegryn to marry and be the King and Queen of Rohan some day, and they planned for Eomer and Lothiriel to marry. However, they denounced their plans when it became obvious that Eomer and Faegryn were in love. The four friends still met almost every night and Eomer and Faegryn would go riding every morning.
One night when the four of them were in the garden they begin to talk.
"What was father talking to you about today, Eomer?" Theodred asked.
"He is going to promote me to Third Marshal of the Rohirrim." Eomer answered proudly.
"Eomer, that is wonderful!" Faegryn exclaimed.
"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Eowyn questioned.
"I wanted to wait until King Theoden announced it himself."
"But we are special, so you have to tell us before everyone else" Faegryn said.
"Well, I assure you, you will be the first person I dance with at my promotion celebration." Eomer said staring into Faegryn's eyes.
"And when there is a celebration for Lady Faegryn of Rohan you will be the first one I dance with" Faegryn smiled.
The next day Eowyn informed Faegryn that Prince Imrahil and his family would be coming for Eomer's promotion ceremony.
Great, Faegryn thought. The only thing that could ruin one of the best celebrations ever.
About a week later they had the party for Eomer's promotion. King Theoden dubbed him third marshal, presented him to the country, and they began the celebration.
When everyone began to dance Lothiriel approached Eomer.
"Lord Eomer, would you care to dance?" she asked.
Faegryn was heart broken. Would he really dance with Lothiriel instead of her when he promised Faegryn his first dance?
"Forgive me, Princess, but I've already promised someone else the first dance." He said politely bowing and walking off.
"I believe I promised you a dance." He said to Faegryn when he approached her.
They seemed to dance forever. They watched Theodred loose a drinking game, they saw Faedren and King Theoden talking, but they mainly just starred into each other's eyes.
A month later Eomer, Eowyn, and Theodred were waiting outside for Faegryn. They knew she was not asleep, but they could not imagine what was keeping her. When she finally came out she revealed that her parents were moving to Mirkwood, and she had to go with them. Everyone was heart broken, especially Eomer. She told them her and her family were going to leave the day after next. The king was of course upset about loosing his advisor, but he could not keep them. Eowyn and Theodred left early that night to give Eomer and Faegryn some time together. Faegryn promised to return to Rohan someday, Eomer promised to wait for her, and they sealed their promise with a kiss.
The morning after next was very sad. Faegryn was leaving all her friends and her true love. She would not be able to return for five more years. When she left Eowyn and Theodred did not go to the garden anymore, they said it made them too sad, but Eomer went every night, wondering if Faegryn was as sleepless as he was. Faegryn was terribly uncomfortable in Mirkwood and had only made one friend, a handsome elf man. She was very lonely without her best friends. What made matters worse is that she knew she would not be able to return to Rohan until after her 21st birthday.
The friends wrote each other as often as possible at first. After the first year the letters started coming less often. They all tried to visit each other several times, but without success. Something would always keep them at home. The next few years went by very slowly, especially for Eomer and Faegryn. They did not know how much longer they could wait, and every moment they were not together seemed like forever.
Eventually Faegryn's 21st birthday became close. Unfortunately she had not received a letter from Eomer for a whole year, and wondered if he had forgotten about her. She wrote Eowyn to find out what was going on. Eowyn replied that Faegryn could not return because war had invaded the country, and it was extremely dangerous. The letter from Eowyn also said that Theodred had been slain in battle. Faegryn was devastated. Her country was under siege and one of her best friends had been killed. She mentioned nothing of Eomer in the letter, though, which was good and bad. It meant that nothing bad had happened to Eomer, but it did not say that Eomer had not forgotten about her.
Two years later Eowyn finally wrote that the war was over and it was safe to return. It also said that King Theoden had died and Eomer was now the king of Rohan. Eowyn also announced that she was engaged to Prince Farmir of Ithilien. Faegryn wrote Eomer to tell her she was to return soon, but he did not reply. She wrote to Eowyn again and again got no reply.
One day Faegryn's elf friend came with news he had heard about Rohan. She had hoped to hear happy news, but did not get what she wanted. "I have just heard the most distressing news." He said. "King Eomer…he is…he is to be married tomorrow." Faegryn's heart stopped beating. She did not know how to respond. "Who is he to marry?" she asked sadly. "Princess Lothiriel of Dol Armoth" her friend replied. Suddenly it became clear. Eomer was over her, and did not want to tell her he was betrothed. Thoughts flew through her head, but none of them made any sense to her. He promised he would wait for he, so why didn't he?
Faegryn eventually decided she should return to Rohan. Even though Eomer still had her heart it would be proper to congratulate him. She wrote a letter informing them of her plans to return, and then prepared to travel.
It had been seven years since Faegryn had been in Rohan and her arrival was bitter-sweat for her. Eowyn and her husband Farmir, who had traveled from Ithilien just to see her, greeted her outside the Golden Hall. She was taken to her old room to stay. After a minute of unpacking there was a knock at the door. It was Eomer.
"Milord" Faegryn said, bowing respectfully. Eomer seemed a little offended by the title, but still spoke politely.
"I just came to see how you were getting settled," he said.
"I am doing quite well, thank you." she replied.
"Well then, I will leave you to your unpacking, good-day" he said as he left.
"Good-day" Faegryn responded.
As she closed the door she leaned against it and began to cry. On the other side of the door Eomer paused and hung his head before he walked off. As he re-entered the main hall Lothiriel approached him.
"That girl that arrived today, how do you know her?" the queen asked.
"She was one of my best friends, do you not remember her?" Eomer replied.
"Oh" Lothiriel remembered, "That retched little girl who used to follow you around everywhere."
"You make her sound horrible." Eomer said shocked by what his wife had said.
"Wasn't she?" Lothiriel asked.
"No" Eomer argued. "And she didn't follow me, we walked together."
Lothiriel rolled her eyes. "You make it sound like you were in love with her."
Later that night neither Eomer nor Faegryn could sleep. They both ended up out in the garden. Faegryn got there first, and when the king arrived he was slightly uncomfortable.
"Forgive me, I did not realize anyone was here," he said.
"I was unable to sleep, so…" Faegryn stopped mid sentence and Eomer began to smile.
"Are you laughing at me, milord?" she asked.
"You have not changed a bit." Eomer said still smiling. Suddenly his smile faded and he continued. "Yet you have changed so much".
" I haven't really." she said as Eomer sat down beside her. She did not want to be there. She knew if they talked for long they would end up talking about how they used to be. Just the thought of that conversation nearly brought tears to her eyes.
The conversation turned sooner than Faegryn expected, when after a minute or so of silence Eomer spoke. "What happened?" he asked, obviously referring to their promises that were broken.
"I would ask you the same thing." Faegryn said, desperately trying to hold back her tears.
"When I received your father's letter I…" Eomer said but was interrupted by Faegryn.
"What letter?"
Eomer pulled a letter out of his pocket, handed it ot Faegryn, and began to explain. "Your father sent me this letter a year after you left.
Faegryn read the letter and was horrified. It read:
Dear Eomer,
Faegryn has deeply missed you this past year. She has been trying to find a way to tell you, but I am going to speak for her. She found it too hard to wait for you. She is betrothed to an elf man she met when we first arrived. She seems to be very happy with him, and they are to be married as soon as possible. You might as well forget about Faegryn. It would be best not to talk of this with Faegryn in your letters, she does not know I have told you. I am sorry for being the bearer of bad news. I hope you will not hold it against me.
Your Friend,
Lord Faedren
"Oh father, Why?" Faegryn cried out when she finished reading the letter.
"What?" Eomer questioned.
"I don't know why father would lie to you about this."
Eomer became increasingly more upset, as did Faegryn. "What?" he repeated even louder.
"This whole letter is a lie. I have no idea why father would write this, I was never engaged" Faegryn said sadly.
Eomer's heart sank. The only reason he had married Lothiriel was because he thought Faegryn was already married. He was still ashamed, though, because he had been the one who broke their promise. "I was convinced you were already married." he said sadly. "I am so sorry".
Faegryn wiped a tear from her face before Eomer could see. She did not know how to reply, so she simply said, "It is getting late, milord. Your wife will be wondering where you are." They both returned to their rooms, heartbroken. They knew then they had to get over each other. Their old dreams they had when they were younger were now deserted.
The next morning Faegryn went riding just like every morning. After riding for a while she ran into Eomer.
"You are far too predictable, Faegryn" the King said.
"Are you following me, King?" Faegryn asked.
"You would think so, wouldn't you?" Eomer replied.
They smiled at each other as if nothing had happened. They had a moment where they seemed to not realize there was a world around them. Suddenly Lothiriel rode up beside Eomer, and their world disappeared.
"Eomer, what's?" Lothiriel questioned, but stopped mid sentence, noticing Faegryn. "Hello Faegryn" She said cruely. Faegryn was still cringing from the way Lothiriel had said Eomer's name. She quickly noticed the queen had spoken to her.
"Hello Queen" she replied as courteously as she could.
"It's good to see you back in Rohan" Queen Lothiriel said smiling, and holding on to Eomer's arm as if to say "He's mine so give it up." Faegryn almost hung her head at this thought, but regained composure.
"Yes, well, I should be going." she said as she quickly rode off.
Faegryn continued going on her morning rides, but she tried to avoid Eomer. She stopped going into the garden at night, and spent many sleepless nights lying in her bed, wondering what might have happened had her father not sent that letter. Eomer continued to go to the garden every night, secretly hoping Faegryn would come out there.
About two months after Faegryn returned to Rohan, she was out for her morning ride when she saw a group of orcs in the distance. They appeared to be ganging up on someone. Faegryn was a wonderful swords woman, growing up in Rohan, and being trained in swordsmanship by guards of the palace, so she decided to help whoever the orcs were attacking. She rode up and pulled her sword out. She killed off the orcs as if it were horseback riding, like it was something that was routine and obvious. When all the orcs were slaughtered she noticed the person they were attacking was Lothiriel.
Lothiriel was not injured badly, and when she realized what had happened she rushed to the Golden Hall. She ran to her husband, and before she could say a word he asked, "Lothiriel, what is the matter?"
"A group of orcs attacked me!" she shouted.
"What!" the King stood up. "Are you hurt?"
"No. Faegryn saved my life!" the queen replied, pointing to Faegryn, who was standing humbly in behind Lothiriel.
Eomer did not know what to say at first. He just stood there a minute, pondering what was going on. He finally turned to Faegryn. "Is this true?" he asked.
"Yes, milord" she quietly responded. "I saw her in the distance and a small group of orcs were ganging up on her."
"And she slaughtered every one of them!" Lothiriel interrupted.
"That's wonderful." Eomer said gratefully. Faegryn's heart sank a little when she heard how happy Eomer sounded about Lothiriel being alive. Seven years ago he would have not even realized Lothiriel existed, and now it sounded like he genuinely cared for his queen.
"How can I thank you?" Lothiriel asked Faegryn.
"I know exactly how" Eomer answered.
The king suggested they honor Faegryn with the title "Lady of Rohan". Lothiriel couldn't agree more. There was a huge ceremony and party held for Faegryn. The King announced her promotion, and then everyone began dancing and drinking. They also came up to her to congratulate her, and tell her how proud they were of her. Faegryn was proud of herself, but she was also sad. She and Eomer had talked about this day so many years ago, and she had imagined it much different. She had imagined herself being the one on Eomer's arm.
In the middle of these upsetting thoughts, Eomer approached. He smiled at her and bowed, saying "Milady".
She bowed in response, and said "Milord".
Eomer then held out his hand. "I believe you owe me a dance." he said smiling. She took his hand and he led her to the dance floor. They danced just like they had when the party had been for Eomer. Lothiriel look on very jealously from beyond the dance floor, but they had no clue anyone else was alive, just as before. During the dance it occurred to Faegryn that they still had their own world where no one else could get in.
The world was shattered again as Lothiriel approached and asked to cut in. It would not have been proper for Faegryn to say no, so she stepped back, and watched the evil queen dance off with the love of her life. She walked off so quickly she didn't even see the longing look her love gave her as she left.
Faegryn walked over to Eowyn, who helped lighten the sad mood. "You finally made it!" Eowyn shrieked. The pitch of her friends voice made Faegryn smile.
"I know, isn't it wonderful." she replied half-heartedly. She had imagined this moment much differently. She thought she and Eomer would live happily ever after, but Faegryn had given up on happily ever after by now.
While his sister and Faegryn were talking, Eomer was talking to his advisor about the attack against Queen Lothiriel. "I do not understand it." Eomer said. "The only orcs that are alive hide in the mountains. What would bring them here?"
"I agree, milord, it does not make any sense." his advisor, Gamling, replied.
"I will have to solve this mystery before any more damage is done." The king said before walking off.
Everything went on as normal through the next month. There were not even any more orcs spotted anywhere in Rohan, until one day Faegryn was walking in the woods when she heard a group of orcs talking.
"If we want to invade Rohan we will have to weaken it even more" one orc said.
"How do you suppose we do that?" another orc asked.
"We have to make the king weak. And how do we do that?" the first orc said.
"Kill him!" the second orc shouted.
"No" the first orc responded. "We kill the queen. He will be so upset he will not even realize we are invading".
"And then we can take over Rohan!" a third orc yelled. "So when will we go through with our plan?" he finished.
"Tomorrow morning" the first orc said stearnly.
Faegryn panicked. She ran into the palace frenzied. She was looking for the king, but all that she found was the queen.
"Orcs!" she screamed frantically. Queen Lothiriel looked at her like she was crazy, but then again she usually looked at Faegryn like that. "The orcs, they are going to try…" she began, but hesitated. "Oh, I know you love riding, but you must not go tomorrow morning. The orcs, they are going to try to kill you!"
The queen looked very annoyed. It was obvious she did not take Faegryn seriously. "What are you screaming about?" she questioned the frantic girl.
"You can not go riding tomorrow morning. Please don't!" Faegryn pleaded. Lothiriel rolled her eyes and asked the guards to take Lady Faegryn out of the main hall.
Faegryn ran as fast as she could to the stables. Just as she suspected King Eomer was there tending to his horse, Firefoot. She spoke even more frantically this time. "Eomer! The orcs are going to kill Lothiriel! They said if they killed her you would be weak and they could invade! They are going to kill her tomorrow morning when she goes riding! No one will believe me, but you have to. She's going to go out riding anyway and they will kill her! Please, stop her! You have to believe me! Please!" Faegryn begged.
"Faegryn, calm down." he said as calm as possible. "Just breathe. I'll talk to her, but how did you hear this?"
"I was in the woods, and I heard some people coming, so I hid. I heard all of their plan and they are going to kill her! Eomer, please, You have to believe me. No one else will." Faegryn begged again.
"I believe you, Faegryn" Eomer said calmly. He wrapped his arms around her to calm her down. Faegryn backed up a little.
"You believe me?" she asked, almost shocked.
"Of course" the king replied. "I know you would never lie to me."
This made her smile to hear that someone believed her. She looked up at Eomer with tears in her eyes. They couldn't help starring into each other's eyes. The two of them forgot about everything else for a moment and they kissed. When they realized what happened they pulled away. They both apologized and left quickly.
As Faegryn re-entered the palace she ran into Lothiriel. She bowed politely and started to walk off when Lothiriel spoke. "Do not play innocent with me, Lady Faegryn. I know what you are trying to do. You are trying to play the heroine again and get me away from my husband at the same time. You are very clever, but just because he is still in love with you does not mean I have to tolerate you" the queen said rudely.
"I asure you I did not lie." Faegryn responded. " I heard orcs talking in the woods. They plan to kill you when you go riding tomorrow morning, just like I said. I would never lie, especially about something like that."
"Of course, because you are so honest." Lothiriel said right before she walked off. Faegryn ran into her room, and plopped down on her bed. Eowyn, who was still there from the party, entered after her.
"What is the matter, Faegryn?" Eowyn said comfortingly.
"I am in love with a man I cannot love." Faegryn sighed.
Eowyn, knowing exactly what her best friend was talking about, responded calmly. "It seemed much simpler when we were sixteen, didn't it…Perhaps it is time to move on."
"I suppose you are right, but I cannot let the queen be killed. I will have to ride out earlier than she does, and make sure it is safe." she responded as level headed as possible. The next morning she did exactly what she had planned. She went out about a half an hour earlier than Lothiriel usually did, but it was too late. She found the group of orcs in the same place as before, and they were gathered around something…or someone. She approached them, but they ran off leaving a corpse behind. Just as Faegryn suspected, it was Lothiriel. She was too late and now the queen was dead.
Suddenly she saw Eomer riding in the distance. "Eomer!" she screamed to get his attention. He rode up as fast as he could. He did not know how to react when he saw Lothiriel. "Stay here. I will go get help" Eomer said.
"No." Faegryn argued. "You should stay with her. I will get help." She ran into the palace and informed the kingdom doctor. They returned immediately to where Eomer was. They took Lothiriel to the palace and the doctor tried to save her, but Queen Lothiriel was dead.
One morning a few months later Eomer rode out across the planes of his country. He saw Faegryn sitting in a field in the distance. She stood to greet him as soon as she noticed him approaching. "What are you doing up this early?" King Eomer asked.
"I would ask you the same thing, milord." Lady Faegryn replied smiling. She sat down, and Eomer sat beside her.
"I have scarcely seen you these last few months." he said trying to start casual conversation.
"Yes, I have been busy making plans to move back to Mirkwood." She answered.
Eomer was shocked by what she said. "What? You can't move to Mirkwood. You are a lady of Rohan" he replied.
"There is nothing for me here anymore. There is no point in staying." Faegryn answered sadly. "I will be leaving in a few days."
"Is this really what you want?" the king questioned, hoping he could convince her to stay.
"Yes" she said sadly.
The next day Faegryn was in her room packing when Eowyn knocked on the door. "Eowyn, I did not know you were coming" Faegryn said, happy to see her best friend again.
"I wanted it to be a surprise." Eowyn answered. "Eomer told me you are returning to Mirkwood." She saw Faegryn's nod and she could not believe it. "You can't move!" she finished.
"That is what Eomer said." Faegryn said slightly smiling.
"Well he is right. You belong here"
"Not anymore. I cannot move on here. If I am going to move on I will have to move back to Mirkwood" she said sadly.
"Fate has given you another chance. You cannot pass it up." Eowyn argued.
"It is not that simple, Eowyn." Faegryn replied.
Eowyn, Princess of Ithilien, nearly ran through her brother's palace to find him. She found him in his study, and immediately started to gripe at the king. "Are you just going to let her leave?" she nearly yelled.
"What can I do?" Eomer said sadly. "It is what she wants."
"No it is not! She loves you!" Eowyn yelled at her brother. The king said nothing. He did not know how to respond. "Do you love her?" his sister asked. He gave a look that let her know the answer was yes. "Then go stop her" Eowyn said, almost begging.
"I can't" Eomer replied, trying to disguise the sadness in his voice. He loved Faegryn more than he'd ever even thought about loving Lothiriel, but he knew there was no way to get her to stay. She was over him, or so he thought. Little did he know she wanted nothing more than for him to run through her door, tell her he couldn't let her leave, and then take her in his arms and kiss her.
The day before Lady Faegryn was supposed to return to Mirkwood she was in her room packing when Eomer entered. He looked around and saw the luggage all ready for Faegryn's departure. "This seems all too familiar" Eomer said. Faegryn jumped, not realizing Eomer had entered.
"Oh, my lord, I did not know you came in" she said, still a little startled.
"I did not mean to frighten you. I just came to bring you this" Eomer said, handing her a piece of folded cloth. She took it out of his hands and let it unfold.
"It's…" Faegryn tried to speak, but found it too hard. Eomer finished the sentence for her.
"It is my old riding tunic. You always said it protected me while I rode, so I thought it would protect you as well." Both of them began to tear up as he spoke. He wrapped the tunic around her shoulders. Faegryn turned her back toward him so she could not see the tears streaming down her face.
"We have wondered so far from the life we dreamed of all those years ago." Eomer said, remembering how in love they used to be.
"I gave up on those dreams quite a while ago." Faegryn said coldly. "If you'll excuse me, my lord, I really must continue packing. Thank you for the tunic." Eomer was shocked by her coldness. He exited, knowing for sure now that he could not convince her to stay.
Faegryn walked into the garden. She looked at the tunic and remembered one night, before she was forced to leave for Mirkwood. It was a night back when the four of them used to meet in the garden almost every night. Eowyn and Theodred had already left, and it was just Eomer and Faegryn. Faegryn sat leaning up against Eomer with his arms around her, and the same tunic wrapped around her shoulders.
"When we are my mother and father's age do you think we will still be as in love as we are now?" the young girl asked.
"Of course we will, my love. I could never love you less than I do now" the future king replied as he kissed her on the cheek.
Faegryn started sobbing recalling the romantic memory. She realized she had been out there for over an hour when Eomer came up behind her.
"I did not expect you to be here, milady," he said politely. She quickly stood up and whipped the tears from her face.
"Yes, I was just thinking." Faegryn said.
"Are you prepared for your journey tomorrow?" Eomer asked, making casual conversation.
"I suppose." she replied.
"When are you going to leave?"
"First thing when the sun comes up."
"And you are sure about this?" Eomer asked, still having hope that she would stay.
Faegryn nodded . "If you will excuse me, milord, I really should be going. I have to get up very early." She started to walk off, when she heard Eomer.
"Faegryn, wait" he called after her. As soon as she stopped he grabbed her, and kissed her. When they pulled away they starred into each other's eyes once again. Finally Eomer spoke. "I cannot let you leave again."
"I have to" Faegryn replied.
"Why?" Eomer asked.
"What reason do I have to stay?" Faegryn said hanging her head.
Eomer put his hand under her chin, and gently lifted her face to where their eyes met. "Your country needs a queen" he said kissing her again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, what do you think? Please review