A/N: This will probably not make much sense unless you've read Heart of the Horselord and its two sequels, (all posted on this site.)

Lisswyn sat staring glumly out the window of her and Eomer's sitting room. It was mid-afternoon, and as always, there was much to do, but she felt entitled to a short break. Her time of the month had started, and beyond the usual weakness, there was discouragement. A tear slid down her cheek, and she impatiently brushed it away. Many women reported feeling weepy a week or so before the actual cycle rather than once it started – but they weren't queens, expected to bear an heir as soon as possible. Or sooner than that, even.

She was scowling down at her stomach when the door opened and Eomer entered, his expression concerned. "Tille said she thought I'd find you here. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She stood, walked over to lean against his chest. "My body has just informed me that I'm not yet carrying your heir, my lord," she said with a sigh.

"Ah." He brought his arms up, pulled her close, and Lisswyn rubbed her cheek against him. She felt him press a kiss onto her hair, then rest his chin on her head for a moment before pulling away slightly, and tilting her face up to his. "I've told you that my parents had been wed for nearly two years before I was born," he said gently. "Such is true for many couples. Our people are eager for an heir – as is their king," he added with some amusement. "But no one but you is particularly alarmed that you've not yet conceived, not after just five months of marriage."

"I know. I just feel like I won't really be accepted as queen until I've performed this particular duty," she said a bit dryly.

He grinned at her tone. "That's not true, and you know it. But as soon as your monthly time is past, we'll keep trying." He kissed her, let it linger for a moment in promise, then said, "in the meantime, I wonder if you'd find Brynwyn and bring her to the stables."

He was obviously excited, and it was hard to stay discouraged in the face of it. "It's time?"

"The saddle I had made has just arrived. It would have been cruel to introduce her to her pony, but not let her ride." His grin was a bit mischievous now.

"Actually, it would most likely have resulted in her trying to figure out how to use your saddle – sized for Firefoot – on the pony," she responded wryly.

He chuckled, and with a final light kiss, started toward the door. "You're probably right. I'll see you in the stables."

She found her sister in the kitchen, helping Liffild. The other woman was chopping vegetables while Brynwyn played with Liffild's six month old son. The sight of the baby brought another pang, but she pushed it aside. Eomer was right, and patience was in order. In the meanwhile, her sister was about to be a very happy little girl.

She smiled when they looked up, and held out her sister's cloak she'd stopped to collect. "Brynwyn, the king wishes to see you in the stables."

The little girl's eyes widened with delight. "Maybe he's going to take me for a ride on Firefoot!"

Despite her obvious excitement – it was undecided as to whether she loved Eomer or his horse more – she leaned over and gently kissed the baby on the forehead before turning to run to Lisswyn. As she pulled the cloak on, Lisswyn exchanged a smile with Liffild, then took Brynwyn's hand as they started out, her sister still chattering.

It was warmer out than she'd realized, a beautiful April afternoon. Maybe the cloak hadn't been necessary after all, she mused. They entered the stables, and Brynwyn pulled away from her to go to Firefoot's stall, obviously a bit puzzled that Eomer wasn't there. The big warhorse stuck his head over his stall and whuffed at her, though, making her laugh.

Then Eomer spoke from the other end of the stables, loud enough to be heard, but quiet enough not to startle the animals. "Brynwyn."

They turned, and started toward him, with Brynwyn giving Firefoot a puzzled glance over her shoulder before running the rest of the way to Eomer. He caught her up in his arms and hugged her, and, as always, his obvious love for her sister touched Lisswyn.

"Are we going for a ride?" Brynwyn asked.

"You are," Eomer's tone was teasing as he opened a stall door, then set her down inside it. Lisswyn peeked over the door, and saw a gray pony.

It turned its head and smelled Brynwyn, who was looking up at Eomer with an expression of astonishment. "It's little."

"Just your size."

"It's mine?" her voice rose in excitement, and the pony's ears twitched.

"Yours. It's time you learned to ride on your own." He took the bridle and began to lead the animal out of the stall. "For now, though, you must only ride her when someone is with you. Do you understand?"

"It's a girl? What's her name?"

"Brynwyn." His voice was firm. "Do you understand that you must not attempt to ride her unless an adult is with you?"

"Yes, sire," she said.

She now sounded a bit subdued, and Eomer reached over, lifted her chin. "She's yours, and I want you to enjoy getting to know her and learning to ride her. But I want both of you safe, too. Her name is Star," he said, finally answering her question.

Lisswyn gave a soft snort at the unimaginative name, and he looked up, grimaced. "I didn't name her," he muttered.

"Star." Brynwyn spoke to the pony, who nudged her shoulder, making the little girl giggle. "When can I ride her?"

"Now, but in the paddock."

Lisswyn followed them out, watched her sister's first riding lesson. It brought back memories of her father teaching her to ride, and she grinned.

Then she saw Andric standing off to the side, a dejected look on his face, and her own smile faltered. Eoden was helping with the lesson – why wasn't Andric? He tended to be even more protective of Brynwyn than his older brother.

She walked over to lean against the fence next to him. He hunched his shoulders in response, his scowl deepening.

"What's wrong?"

He didn't reply, just stared at the scene in the paddock, unhappiness radiating off him. After a moment, though, she realized he was more focused on the pony than the people, and she let out a slow breath. What was she to say? He was too old for a pony, but probably wasn't ready for a horse of his own.

She started to speak, to offer some sort of comfort. "Someday—"

"Mounts are for heroes and girls. I've got chores." His tone was flat and bitter, and he barely glanced at her before turning to walk around the paddock back towards the stables, his head down, no longer looking at the scene in the paddock.

But in his eyes, beyond the bitterness and anger, she'd seen loneliness and despair, and it wrenched at her.

Heroes. Eomer had given Eoden Fleetfoot, the horse the boy had ridden wildly across the plains of the Mark in a desperate effort to reach Eomer and his riders before orcs attacked Edoras. So grateful were the people for Eoden's action, no one had ever remarked on the extravagance of the gesture, despite Fleetfoot having been sired by Eomer's own stallion. And she'd never heard even any hint of Eoden bragging about it – indeed, she'd seen him allowing other boys to ride the horse. Those that could, at least.

And that certainly included his brother, as the boys were close. But apparently seeing Brynwyn with a pony had brought Andric's resentment out. And why not? Had Eomer ever told the boy when he might expect such an honor? If so, he'd not mentioned it to her.

Part of the problem might be the boys' position in Edoras, she admitted. They worked in the stables, where they were overseen by Breghelm, the stable master who'd helped raise Eomer when he'd come as an orphan to Edoras. They'd even chosen to sleep there, in the rooms above the stables where the other lads had their beds.

But they ate each evening at the king's table, and spent some part of the time before bed with her, Eomer and Brynwyn in their sitting room. She'd insisted on that, had needed that. They were as much her family as Brynwyn was, and Eomer had accepted them as such – would probably have done so even if he hadn't made a promise to their mother to see them cared for as she lay dying.

She knew her friend well, and knew it would never have occurred to Maegwen that by 'care for them' Eomer had meant to raise them himself, but such was the man he was. There were differences between their situation and the one he'd found himself in as an orphan at Edoras, of course, starting with the fact that he had been of royal blood. But she suspected Eomer saw more the similarities than those differences.

And none of that answered the question of what to do about Andric. He'd always been the quieter of the boys, and while she knew Eomer cared about him, he tended to talk more to Eoden in the evenings, possibly because Eoden talked first.

But perhaps there was more to it than that. Eoden had been closer to his father and older brothers, and had been the most wounded when none of them had come home from the war. But as the youngest, Andric had been closer to Maegwen, and had been more directly hurt by her death.

Maybe that meant he somehow needed Lisswyn more than he needed Eomer, but if so, she didn't know what to do or how to help him. She wasn't Maegwen, would never be, and it seemed a different a matter for Eomer to be like a father to them than for her to try to mother nearly grown boys, however much she might want to. If the war hadn't happened, if the village hadn't been destroyed, they both were of an age to have been apprenticed by now.

Full of dismay, she leaned against the fence. Maybe it was just as well that she wasn't yet with child. Apparently there was a lot she yet needed to learn about rearing children.

"Lisswyn! Look! I'm riding!" Brynwyn's voice interrupted her thoughts, and she looked over at her sister. She was indeed riding, being led around the paddock by Eoden while Eomer walked beside her.

She smiled in response. "You are, indeed." She'd have to have some riding trousers made for her. Hitching up her skirt, which had sort of worked today due to its fullness, wouldn't work with many of her other skirts.

Lisswyn watched until Eomer decided the ride was over. Brynwyn didn't complain as much as she might have, allowing them to lead her back into the stables. A few minutes later, she bounded out and ran to Lisswyn, still grinning.

"Eomer-King says I can ride tomorrow. If he's not free to give me lessons, he says Breghelm will, and that one of them will do so everyday it doesn't rain." The words all ran together in her excitement. Then she frowned. "But will Firefoot miss our rides?"

Eomer stepped up behind her. "No, because we'll still go for rides together occasionally," he said with a twinkle in his eye. Lisswyn had long suspected he enjoyed their wild rides around the outside of the city walls as much as Brynwyn did. "But now," he continued, "you had better go wash your hands and tell Tille and Hilde about Star."

She nodded, then looked at Lisswyn.

"I'll be up in a few minutes. I need to talk to the king."

The little girl nodded and ran off. "You'd think she'd be tired," Eomer marveled.

"She'll be excited for hours yet, but will probably fall asleep early. You know she'll want to spend even more time at the stables now, don't you?"

"Breghelm will keep an eye out for her, and will let us know if she's underfoot too much. He says she reminds him of Eowyn – he has a soft spot for her."

"He's not the only one," Lisswyn said rather pointedly.

He smiled, and then it faded. "What happened? I looked over at one point and you looked sad. You're not still anxious about not having conceived?"

She shook her head, then told him what had happened with Andric, unsurprised by the look of dismay that came into his eyes.

"I'll talk to him. I meant to do so right after the battle, when I gave Fleetfoot to Eoden," he said tiredly. "Then rebuilding the city distracted me, and I forgot, and when I remembered, it didn't seem necessary. I've often seen him riding Fleetfoot. It was foolish of me not to realize he'd be wanting a horse of his own, and that he might misunderstand why he's now the only one of the three of them without one, particularly since he's tall enough to ride nearly any horse in the stable," he murmured. Then he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'll find him."

But he couldn't. It was nearly time for the evening meal before Eomer came to tell her that they'd searched all over for the boy, and had only just discovered that a guard remembered seeing him leaving the opened gates of the city. "He took his bedroll with him," he added grimly.

His temper had always been a problem, one that Eomer fought viciously to keep under control. He'd won that battle more often than not since Lisswyn had come into his life, as just her presence could help steady him. But not right now. Seeing her pale face and shattered eyes when he'd told her that Andric had run away… Fury at the boy for having put that look there was so entwined with his own fear that he couldn't begin to separate them. And really, he saw no reason to try.

He was going to throttle Andric when he found him, immediately after he made sure he'd come to no harm and had straightened him out on the matter of the horse.

Eoden caught up with him at the bottom of the stairs. "I'm going with you."

Eomer jerked around. "You're what?"

Eoden swallowed. Backed up a step. "Sire. He's my brother."

"He is." He bit the words out. "And you're staying here." Seeing the frantic look in Eoden's eyes made it a bit easier to rein his temper in. "Did you see the expression on Lisswyn's face? She needs you right now more than Andric does. I'll find him. My men and I won't stop looking until we do. But I need you to stay here."

Some of the panic receded. "You'll find him." A statement of faith rather than a question, one Eomer didn't intend to fail.

"I will."

"I think I know where he may have gone." At Eomer's gesture, he continued, "he likes the hills. That area toward the mountains, just inside the tree line, where there's a stream coming down, near a waterfall. I think he might be planning to camp there."

Eomer felt his fear ease a little more. He knew the place, had camped there himself more than once. "I'm familiar with it. He won't have gone far, Eoden. He's on foot."

"Yes sir. I'll go back to Lisswyn and Brynwyn now." He hesitated.

Eomer nodded, watched him start up the stairs. "I'll find him," he repeated.

A/N 2: My apologies that it's taken so long to keep my promise in posting more follow-up stories to Heart of the Horselord. Part of that is due to having spent the past year working on a novel, and part of it is due to the fact that I knew what topic I wanted to address next (in their lives) but wasn't sure how to approach it.

This is complete in two chapters, both of which will be posted today. It does hint at additional stories still to come, but as with this one, while I know what the topic will be, I have to figure out exactly how things happen. I'll try not to take so long with the next one. :)

Also, I wanted to thank those of you who've continued to leave reviews for the other stories. Those comments, including requests for additional stories, did keep me thinking about these characters and what I might do with them. Thanks!