Soriel slipped out of Meduseld to the stables. Eomer was gone to Minas Tirith today, and he had asked her to stay in Edoras, for she was nearly nine months pregnant and he did not want her to go into labor within the three days ride to the White City. She agreed to this, as she too worried when she would deliver their first child, but it was stressful, for she was also to rule in his stead.
Upon arriving at the stables, she took her horse, and got on (she chose to ride without a saddle because she was an Elf). She rode out of Edoras and into the open plains of Rohan, needing some time to herself to just relax and think.
She found her favorite spot, brought the horse to a halt and dismounted. She removed her riding cloak and spread it on the ground and sat down, allowing her horse to graze and walk about freely. She sat back, leaning on her hands, and sat cross legged. She let her head roll back and watched the clouds that travelled across the sky by the very same wind that now tossed her hair about.
Her husband crossed her mind. Oh, how she loved him. The first year of their marriage had been marvelous, she recalled. Aragorn had told Eomer to take care of his country before worrying about the rest of Middle Earth, and to be with his wife, so he was home every night. Well, Rohan was back on its feet again, but Gondor still needed all the help it could get, for it had suffered the most from the hosts of Mordor. Eomer, being a friend of King Aragorn, rode to his aid, and now he was hardly home.
Soriel missed the magic of love and romance they had shared. It used to be that she could steal kisses while he worked on political papers or was in his study, and lately, he kept the door locked. It used to be that he would drop anything for her, and lately, he would tell her to wait until he finished his work before he showed her attention. It used to be that he would give her a long, passionate kiss before he rode away, despite the fact that everyone could see, but lately, he gave her only a proper swift peck on the cheek before he got on his horse and rode away to Minas Tirith or wherever he was needed.
She was very proud that he could help and wanted to restore Middle Earth to its former glory, before Sauron's armies had burned the beautiful places, such as the Westfold and Osgiliath. However, she still needed her husband to love her like he was supposed to. She wanted him to kiss her like he meant it. She wanted to share looks of longing and desire again. She wanted to be able to set fire in each other's souls again.
She knew very well that this was likely to come since she was the Queen, and the King of Rohan was expected to help with the rebuilding of Middle Earth; however she did not expect that this meant a lack of intimacy and all romance was to be forgotten. That definitely came as a surprise, and not a pleasant one. She wanted to talk to him about this, but every time she tried, he wanted to talk about the baby or what he had done that day. Otherwise, he was away.
She sighed, and decided it was time to go back to the Golden Hall before she was missed. She rose to her feet (with much difficulty due to her huge belly), and then brushed the light dirt and grass off her dress before calling her horse back over.
Just as she was going to lift herself onto her horse, a pair of hands gripped her waist and tried to help her on. She nearly fell over from surprise, and tried to whip around, but she was too heavy to do so. She did turn, only to lock eyes with the very man she had been musing about moments ago.
"Eomer!" she gasped. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Minas Tirith to meet with King Aragorn!"
He chuckled as he took her hand and sat her down on a blanket that he must have laid out while she had her back turned, and he retrieved from his horse a picnic basket. With it, he sat down beside her. He pulled from it a red rose, and held it out to her.
"You didn't think I'd miss our anniversary did you?"