A/N: Three weeks till the EE comes out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! First on going Eomer/Lothiriel fic.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, though I wish I did in some of the cases.
Éomer rode his horse in the place that he had always occupied, next to the king. Though it was truly he who was king, he did not trust the roads at the moment. Too many enemies were out to kill any of the new rulers of Arda, so Éomer thought to be on the safe side and not be king until he met with Imrahil in Dol Amroth. One of his trusted men was in his place, through Éomer still had the sword of the king of Rohan.
So the party came upon the city as such, Éomer still waiting till he met his friend to reveal who he was. The streets of the city were bustling with life. There were merchants yelling out their prices, trying to be louder than the next. Their voices were carried on a sea filled breeze that came through the city. The streets did clear so the party could be let through, all looking upon the new comers. Some had never seen anyone like the ones in the party, and looked on in interest.
The street wound to the palace, glittering white in the sun. Waiting at the steps for the company, was a man and a woman. Neither, however, looked to be of the family of Dol Amroth. Their clothes were plain and they seemed to wish to fade into the shadows. The men dismounted, Éomer staying towards the back, knowing that he had said he would not reveal himself until he met with Imrahil. Yet, at this point, it was more that he still was not used to the idea that he was king of Rohan, and should then be treated as such.
"Welcome, my lords, to Dol Amroth, I am sorry to say that Imrahil and his sons were detained in Minas Tirith for a day or so and shall hopefully be returning tomorrow. The stables are this way." The man said leading the way to where the stables were. Éomer was impressed with the quality of the stables, for a place that was a sea port, it was impressive.
The woman was still waiting when they returned form the stables, not knowing what to do. "My name is Inwë, and if you need anything, I will be in the kitchens. Where you are to be saying is not ready yet, the quarters will be ready in a short while, feel free to look around or look around the city." And she curtseyed and quickly left.
Éomer turned to his men and addressed them. "Well, we have sometime here, do what you please. Since we are now in the city, I should be addressed as King. Thank you Elfhelm for being in my place for the journey." Éomer said sternly, and then turned to leave, when his men began to follow. "You do not have to follow me, do as you please, I will make it back here, and there is no need to worry." Éomer tried not to smile, thinking it strange that his men would want to follow and protect him out of battle. Finally, his men complied and Éomer had time to see the city, alone. It felt nice to just be a solider again, not having people follow him or want him to be somewhere.
Walking through the streets, Éomer felt a little more like his old self, before Théodred died, before he knew that he would be king, or was king. He came upon library, made of the same white stone as the palace, and in looking at where he had walked, not far from it.
The library was probably more for the people of the palace, or else why would it be there? It was, however, still separate form the building, so it was not entirely part of it. Éomer was curious about what was inside, that and that he wanted to escape the stares of the people on the streets.
Inside, light streamed through the front and high slights in the walls. Depicted on the walls were scenes of the sea, gulls flying or ships upon the waters. There were rows of books in shelves, though not as many as to fill the entire building. It seems to be more of an escape from the palace, rather than a place to read. Candles rested in the shadowed corners of the room, trying to help bring the light to the dark places. Then, a young woman came out of one of the shadows, bringing some more candles to help with lighting the room.
Her long dark hair was in a braid down her back. Her dress was plain, but not to suggest that she was poor or of nobility, though the way she held herself did. Éomer was taken by how she acted, even before he met her. She did not notice his presence, and was humming while she placed the candles in their places.
She then turned her head and noticed Éomer. She walked towards him, meeting his eyes on the way. Her eyes were the blue of the sea on a clear day. She seemed confident in herself, not afraid of him.
"Welcome, stranger, to this fair place." She said in a clear voice. Éomer was surprised she did not say "my lord", though was grateful she had not. "What brings one not of this city to this place?" Her eyes still held his, compelling him to speak.
"I was just wondering the city, my lady. I came in here to escape the eyes of the people on the streets." Éomer said.
"Well not many come in here during this time of day. Pray tell where do you hail from, for your accent is none that I have heard before."
"I am from Rohan. It is my first time in this city." Éomer said, not willing to admit the whole truth to a lady he did not know.
"The King of Rohan is in the city today, and will stay for awhile, you are in his party, I presume." She said, keeping her eyes locked on his. Éomer felt he could not lie, that if he did not say the truth, she would keep his gaze forever, or worse, break it.
"I am in his company, yes. He is a good man." Éomer could not help but brag about himself a little. And it was the truth that he was in the King's company, and so was she for that matter.
"Are you just saying that because he is your king or because he is a good man?"
"He is a good man, whether he were my King or a fellow solider." Éomer said, feeling the need to defend himself to her. This woman seemed to captivate him; he could not end this conversation if he wanted to.
Her eyes quickly darted away from his when they heard the sound of footsteps behind them. She seemed anxious at who it was.
"I must go," Her words were hurried and her spell over him was broken. She turned and headed back to the door she had come through, but not before Éomer could catch her.
"What is your name, my lady, for I do not know it." He wanted to force her eyes to met his, to see if the spell was not gone, that it could be cast again.
"...íriel." She said, though there might have been more before the last word, for she turned in her head while she spoke. Almost at the door, she turned and motioned for Éomer to come to her. "Meet me tomorrow morning. There are some cliffs that are secluded, they are behind this place. Be there shortly after you have breakfasted." With that she ran off, leaving Éomer alone.
He turned and saw it was a soldier of the city, the one whose footfalls had made her want to run. 'Why had Íriel run off at the sight of him?' he wondered. His chambers were ready by the time he returned. Éomer decided it was best to wash up for the day. The sun was beginning to set as he left, and Éomer wondered if they would allow him to take his evening mean in his rooms.
Lothíriel knew she should not have missed the arrival of the party from Rohan, but she could not bring herself to go. She went to the library instead, fearing that she would be found any where else she went. She had left with out telling without telling anyone, once the party had appeared in the city.
She had not expected one of them to come there, to see her hiding from the world. Though when he had, she could not resist the thought of him. He was tall and broad shouldered. Lothíriel had not been able to help himself with asking him the questions. 'Why did I say I would meet him?' With her thoughts, she headed back to the palace, and to see if she could just stay in her rooms the rest of the night.
Yet, leaving was another story. Lothíriel came upon the guard that had made her need to leave, and he gave her a stern look.
"Princess Lothíriel, you should not have left, especially not without telling anyone, your father will want to have words with you when he returns." At this, Lothíriel knew she was going to be in trouble, there was no way she was going to escape her fate. Her father would end up telling her that she should have been there, and then saying she would have to have a guard with her every time she left. The only thought she could cling to was that the leaving with a guard would end soon enough.
"I know that he will want words with me, thank you. Now I am going to go back and stay in my chambers for the rest of the night."
With that Lothíriel left, leaving the guard standing there, confused with what had just happened. The only thought on Lothíriel's mind, however, was not the impeding conversation with her father, but the horse lord she was to meet tomorrow morning.
A/N: Ok, so if you think a library is not possible, originally it was a temple, but then after a great debate, it turns out that there were no temples. Because people in Middle Earth do not entirely "pray to" the Valar. So sorry about that.