Part 125 of the Elfwine Chronicles. The Elfwine Chronicles are a series of one-shots built around the family group of Eomer, Lothiriel and Elfwine. The total number will depend on how many ideas I get for new vignettes.

Imagination

(March, 5 IV)

Eomer dropped his cloak on a chair along the wall of the Golden Hall. The gathering had gotten rather warm, and he discarded this formality in favor of being more relaxed with the company. They were all friends, after all, and none would think ill of him for such casualness.

At least once a year he tried to host the members of the king's guard and their families for dinner, and such was the occasion now. Because there were so many of them, he did it over two days, and this was the second of them. The Hall was filled with riders, wives and children, including his own wife and son. Though he would only voice such an opinion to Lothiriel, he far preferred these gatherings to the formal state dinners with foreign guests or even the nobility of Edoras. This was more relaxed and, usually, it did not take long for all concerned to begin treating him more as a friend than a monarch. Though he understood the need for some distance in order to maintain discipline, he saw no reason it could not be dispensed with once in a while, and he had never seen any slip in respect because of this sort of thing.

While Eomer and Lothiriel moved among the crowd, greeting their guests and making sure all had plenty to eat and drink, their son Elfwine, nearly four years of age, had grown weary of all these people. Wandering off to the side, giving a huge yawn as he did, he discovered Eomer's cloak. It did not take long before he had it covering the chair and had ensconced himself underneath, pretending he was hiding in a cave. For a time, the dogs of Meduseld were willing to play with him, but their noses indicated food was to be had and that was a far greater attraction.

Left to his own devices once more, he pretended he was a great bear, hibernating in his cave for the winter. Though he was growing weary, he resisted giving in to slumber and next envisioned himself off on a great orc hunt. It was a cold winter night and he was settling into his tent until the daylight. Sleepiness was winning out, and he snuggled into the cloak, pretending it was the blankets of the bedding he was sharing with his father. Yes, he and Papa had slain many orcs today and they must rest up so they could continue tomorrow. With one last sigh, he finally dozed.

It was some time later when Lothiriel noticed she had not seen Elfwine for a while, and enlisted Eomer to help her look for their son. They saw no reason to raise any alarm, so they quietly circulated about the room, casting their eyes around for any sign of him. Eomer noticed that his cloak had slipped onto the floor and, knowing his wife would chastize him for being careless, he went to return it to the chair seat.

He caught a corner of it, but a tug brought resistance. Puzzled, he bent and examined the pile of cloth more closely, then broke into a grin at the sight that greeted his eyes. Curled in a ball and fast asleep, his son was snuggled into the folds of material. Carefully, he lifted the bundle into his arms and carried Elfwine off to find his wife. At the sight of them, Lothiriel smiled tenderly, pressing a kiss to the cherubic face. "If Papa is not available, his cloak will suffice?" she asked of her husband, and he grinned in response.

"Apparently so! I will get him to bed and return in a moment, my love."

Once in the nursery, Eomer laid the boy in his bed. He started to remove the cloak and tuck him under his bedcovers, but then he paused. Brushing the boy's hair back from his face he smiled again, then kissed Elfwine's brow. "Sleep well, my little horse lord," he whispered, tucking the cloak cozily about the child. Let the boy dream of being held in Papa's arms if he wished.

THE END

2/12/07

End note: It is best that you read the Elfwine Chronicles in the order they were written. The more of them that I wrote, the more likely I was to make reference to one of the previous ones and something that happened there. If you want to read them in order, go to the top of this page and click on my name (Deandra). That will take you to my profile page. Scroll down and you will find all the stories I have written. The Elfwine Chronicles are in order from bottom to top since ffn shows them in the order they were posted. A few were posted out of number order, but you can read them in posting order or number order since those few won't be affected in the story content.