A/N: welcome to my first Lord of the Rings fic! i should warn you all, i've only watched the movies, i haven't read the books. however, arrangements are in order for me to read them...soon. hopefully when i have the money to buy them. anyway, here's the first chapter of what i hope to be an enjoyable story for all. DISCLAIMER: i do not own Lord of the Rings, that belongs to JRR Tolkien. enjoy!
Chapter 1: Affect
The great hall in Rohan was crowded after Eomer's coronation with everyone that had attended, even the king and queen of Gondor, who he bid good evening to before continuing his stroll around the room. He was looking for his sister and her husband. He had seen her earlier among the crowd when he was crowned, he knew she was here.
Eomer froze when a pair of hands suddenly covered his eyes but a smile soon crept to his lips when a familiar voice teased, "If you do not know who I am I will be very cross with you."
"Eowyn," he smiled a little wider.
The hands fell from his eyes as he turned to see a beautiful woman with flowing blonde hair and glowing blue eyes dressed in her finest as she grinned up at him. He grinned as he gripped her waist and spun her around a few times before setting her back down on the floor as she laughed and they hugged each other close.
"I've missed you, sister," he murmured into her hair before they pulled away from each other. "I trust your husband has been taking good care of you? He should be, after taking you so far away from me."
"We are only three days ride, brother," Eowyn retorted. "And yes, he has been taking good care of me."
"Where is he?"
"He is not here. He wanted to be here, but Aragorn needed him in Minas Tirith. An advisor's duties are never done, I suppose."
"How nice of him to spare you," Eomer smirked as Eowyn slid her arm around his to walk with him. "You're here alone?"
"Of course not," she smiled. "I've brought my handmaiden with me. She is here somewhere."
She looked around the room for a moment but her search was cut short when someone greeted them. They strolled the room, greeted by others for a few moments before it seemed they were at liberty to talk again.
"How long will you be staying in Rohan?" Eomer asked her and Eowyn gave him a sly smirk.
"Anxious to see me depart, brother?" she joked and he gave her a slight glare.
"Of course not," he replied. "I would wish you to live here once again if Faramir were not one Aragorn's chief advisors."
"And Faramir would accept your offer," Eowyn assured him, hugging his arm. "To answer your question, I thought I would stay for a week or so, if that is agreeable."
"Stay as long as you wish," Eomer insisted, patting one of her hands wrapped around his arm. "It will be nice having you here again. Almost the way things used to be."
"Almost," Eowyn nodded, solemnly as they both remembered their uncle for a moment. Eomer stopped them and turned to face her as she looked up at him in wonder.
"He dreamed of a fine death," he assured her. "And it was."
"I know," she nodded with a small sniffle then shook her sadness away and said, "You and I should go riding tomorrow morning. We've not been riding together in ages."
"That is because you got upset whenever we would race and I won," he retorted, allowing the change of subject.
"We shall see who wins tomorrow then, won't we?" she smirked back and he smiled, shaking his head at her before glancing at the crowd. He looked back at the crowd again, his smile dropping and his eyes widening, making Eowyn frown in wonder at her brother. "Eomer? What's wrong?"
He didn't say a word and didn't look at her as he moved through the crowded room, ignoring his sister calling him. He kept his eyes fixed on one spot: a head of curly blonde hair that he had seen the face of a moment ago before it turned away. He stopped behind the girl, her long, golden hair facing him and now that he was here, he had no idea what to do. His heart skipped when she turned around and her eyes widened before she shot her gaze to the floor, bowing her head.
"My lord Eomer," she murmured with a curtsy, her gaze still on the floor.
He said nothing and she still didn't lift her head, even as he stepped toward her. His hand came up to her chin and pulled her gaze up to his. In that moment there was no one else but the two of them when his eyes locked with hers and he felt he could hardly breathe. The girl's gaze shifted as she swallowed, obviously nervous or afraid, but he only stared at her, taking in everything about her. The wide eyes that were the color of the sea and just as deep, the high cheek bones, long jaw and slender nose that sat above full, rosy lips, all on a fair complexion which was only stained red by the blush over her cheeks.
Her gaze fell again but he gently pushed her chin up again, his hand never moving from it as his eyes scanned over her features again to settle on her lips. They were calling to him, pulling him in, and before he could stop himself, his face was leaning toward hers. Her eyes widened but she didn't move away when his lips gently touched hers and coaxed her to kiss him back. Her lips moved just as gently against his and a moment later he pulled away to look into her eyes again.
She lowered her head only slightly away from his lips before looking up at him as his hand lowered from her chin. She was trembling, noticeably and her breathing was slightly shaken as she licked her lips, their gazes still locked. Eomer felt his heart thumping in his chest and realized he hadn't even asked her name. He opened his mouth to ask her but was cut off when someone he hadn't greeted yet came up and slapped him on the back.
He turned away from the girl long enough to give a quick smile and handshake, but when he turned back to her, she was gone. Frowning at the empty space he turned away and began looking for her face in the crowd.
"Eomer?"
He turned to see his sister frowning at him as she approached.
"There you are," she sighed. "Where did you go?"
He glanced around the crowd as Eowyn frowned at him in wonder, waiting for his answer and without looking at her he replied, "I saw someone…" He trailed off a moment before looking back at her and lied, "I thought I saw someone I knew, but I was wrong."
"I think you've had a bit too much excitement today," Eowyn smiled, slipping her arms around one of his again. "It's making you see things."
Eomer gave a small chuckle but glanced around the room to find the mysterious girl that seemed to have captured his heart without even trying.
"It will be nice to sleep in my old room again," Eowyn smiled as Eomer walked her to her chamber. "Being here again…it feels like I'm home."
"I know what you mean," Eomer nodded with a smile of his own and added, "I ordered that everything was to left the way it was the last time you were here."
"Thank you," she smiled, hugging his arm when they reached the door of her chamber and he opened it for her. She walked in and he watched her with a nostalgic smile until his eyes drifted further into the room to see someone else standing in the room as his sister went toward her.
"Everything is prepared, my Lady," the girl curtsied as Eowyn approached her and Eomer stepped into the room.
"Wonderful," Eowyn smiled and pulled the girl by the hand toward Eomer who stopped just inside the door. "Eomer, this is my handmaiden, Isolde."
"My lord," she curtsied, her head bowed as he stared at her with wide eyes and a slack jaw. "It is a pleasure to meet the brother of Lady Eowyn and King of Rohan."
"I told her you're not used to formalities yet," Eowyn explained. "But she insists on being proper at all times." She caught Eomer's expression and frowned, asking, "Brother? Are you alright?"
Eomer glanced from his sister to Isolde and she flipped a long, blonde curl from her sea-green gaze as she turned to Eowyn and said, "We briefly met earlier. We were interrupted before I had the chance to introduce myself properly." She turned her gaze back to Eomer and said, "Forgive me, but I should told you who I was from the start."
"N-No," Eomer finally sputtered, keeping his gaze on Isolde. "It's…no matter."
"Eomer, would it be too much trouble to have cot brought for Isolde?" Eowyn wondered and Isolde turned to her.
"My lady---"
"She may have her own chamber," Eomer cut into Isolde's objection, shooting her gaze back to him. "The chamber next to this one is empty. I can show you to it."
"Please, that will not be necessary---"
"I insist," Eomer interrupted firmly, his gaze locked on Isolde as he held his hand out for her to take.
Eowyn frowned at the exchange as Isolde glanced from Eomer's face to his hand hesitantly setting her own hand into it. His long fingers curled around hers as her pulled her closer and stepped back toward the door.
"We shall return in a moment," he assured Eowyn as he led Isolde from the room and into the hall. He still held her hand as they headed to his left toward the chamber he'd mentioned, silence reigning over them. Isolde glanced up at him a few times but he didn't look back at her and neither one of them still said nothing until they reached the door to the camber and he opened it for her, entreating, "After you."
She nodded a silent thank you and stepped into the room, Eomer following. She looked around as she stepped deeper into the room as Eomer gently shut the chamber door behind him. She whirled around with wide eyes to see him standing in front of the closed door and swallowed, folding her hands in front of her and bowing her head, making her golden curls fall in front of her face as he only stared at her. He slowly stepped toward her as she stayed in her place, unmoving until he was standing directly in front of her and he tilted his head to catch her gaze.
"Why did you run away?" he wondered, softly.
Isolde shot her head up to look at him with wide eyes filled with wonder. He didn't look upset, or angry, but she lowered her gaze again to hide her blush when he smiled at her warmly.
"I…" she trailed off then tried again, admitting, "I do not know."
Eomer lifted a hand to her chin and pulled her gaze back to his as he still smiled, their eyes locking.
"I am sorry I caught you off guard, little one," he murmured, his hand not leaving her chin. "But you have no idea how much you have affected me."
"With all due respect, my lord, I have done nothing," she breathed.
"I know," he replied, his hand on her chin slowly moving up to stroke her cheek. "You did not need to do anything."
"I-I am afraid I do not understand you, my lord," Isolde confessed, trying to concentrate more on his words than his hand now trailing his slender fingers down her neck. He said nothing as his fingers stopped at the collar of her dress and he lifted his hand from her shoulder to place it behind his back, gripping his wrist with his other hand as he pulled it behind him as well.
"My sister and I are going riding tomorrow," he said as she gave a small frown at his sudden change of mood. "I trust you know what she will require?"
"Yes, my lord," Isolde nodded, lowering her gaze to the floor again, her hands still clasped in front of her.
Eomer glanced down at her hands and pulled one of his out from behind his back to take one of her hands into his. Her eyes widened again and she looked up at him as he brought her hand to his face and kissed her knuckles, softly. She chewed on her lower lip as she watched him, his lips lingering on her skin before he pulled away and stared his deep, green-hazel eyes into her sea-greens.
"I bid thee good night," he murmured.
He lowered her hand and turned toward the door to step out and down the hall, leaving Isolde alone in the middle of the room, staring at the door he'd left out of. She heard him bid Eowyn good night and that he would see her in the morning and soon found herself hearing the pounding of her own heart in her ears. She lifted the hand he'd touched and kissed to rub and examine it and felt herself let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
"I think…I understand now," she murmured, softly to herself.
A/N: ok, yeah, kinda short, kinda mushy, but it's gonna get better, i promise. i never write anything without putting in some action awesomeness to set off the romance bits. anyway, if any of you fine readers think i go OOC with anyone, please tell me. i always encourage this, because i've read some fic writers who go way out there with the characters we know and love, and i don't want to be like them. once again, i write the brother-sister dynamic. i dont know why i like that so much, i just do. and so, reviews?
