Author's Name: Dae'kyra
Story Title: Awake in a Dream
Characters/Pairs: Éomer/Lothíriel
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: This is FanFiction. I obviously own nothing...except maybe the idea for the story. The song Awake in a Dream belongs to Kalan Porter.
Summary: While in Dol Amroth, Éomer encounters a vision. Is it fantasy or reality? One-shot.
Awake in a Dream
I never thought,
That one day you'd be come a part of my life
Still you were always with me
When I lay my head down at night
Could you really be here with me?
Has my wish come true tonight?
'Cause now, now it seems
I'm wide awake in this dream
And I'll do, I'll do anything
To stay here forever
And if this is a dream
I'm not going to wake up
But if I'm awake I won't close my eyes again
Pale moonlight shone through the open window. He could hear the waves crashing against the rocks far below. The salt sea air filled his lungs, as he took a deep breath.
Éomer stared out at the sea stretching out before him. It was a change from the wind-swept plains and tall mountains that he was used to. He sighed as he thought of his home. The people, the horses, the warm sun-kissed grasses, and the clean fresh air...Yes, Dol Amroth was quite different from Edoras.
Politics and alliances had brought Rohan's king to the sea-side city. He had befriended Prince Imrahil while they fought together. They had even saved each other's lives a few times. Once Éomer had buried his uncle and been crowned king of Rohan, Imrahil had called him to Dol Amroth to talk about an alliance between their families. It had been a joyful reunion.
Éomer saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look down the corridor and saw the flutter of a cloak as the figure disappeared around the corner. Curious and a bit suspicious, Éomer followed the shadowy figure. Leading him down numerous halls and a few staircases, the figure stopped in front of a heavy wooden door. Glancing furtively around, the shadow person pushed hard on the door and slipped into the room. Éomer hid in the shadows, waiting. Then he also, slowly pushed the door open and slid into the dark room.
Hiding in the shadows, he saw that the room was in fact, the palace kitchen. Huge pots hung over the waiting fireplaces. Quickly turning his head, he saw the trailing end of the cloaked person slipping out a side servant's door. He followed and found himself outside. He was standing on the wet dewy grass with the moon shining all around him. As the light breeze ruffled his hair, Éomer looked down the small slope and saw a rough pathway leading to a small borderline of trees. Coming to the trees, Éomer found that just beyond he could see the great stretch of glistening white sand. Beyond that he saw the moonlit sea stretching past the horizon. He was awed by the greatness of it and almost didn't see the reason for he was here. Sliding behind one of the trees near the beach, he watched as the shadowed figure moved down the beach. Stopping almost in front of Éomer, the figure reached up and pulled the hood back.
Éomer's eyes went wide. The figure turned slightly and the moonlight fell on her face. For now Éomer saw that it was a woman he had been following. Her skin was deeply tanned and her hair fell down her shoulders in an ebony cascade of curls. She reached up and brushed a curl away from her face and Éomer stared at her eyes. Deep emerald and flecked with gold, her eyes shone with inner light. To Éomer it seemed that even the starlit silver of Arwen Undómiel couldn't compare. Like jewels they looked, but none Éomer had ever seen. He decided right then that the vision before him must be a fae or wood spirit.
The fae undid the clasp holding her cloak. It dropped softly to the sand. Éomer's eyes widened further as he saw that she was only wearing a thin, white shift. With the light shining through, quite a bit was visible. The spirit moved to the water's edge and to Éomer's surprise kept walking. The waves pushed against her legs, but she continued until she was waist deep. Then suddenly she was gone. Éomer strained to see and cursed the moment the moon went behind a cloud.
Waiting for the cloud to pass, Éomer chewed on his lip. Finally the moon passed through and filtered down to the dark waters. Éomer saw that the spirit had swum out to a large rock sticking out of the water. She climbed up and stood, looking out to the horizon. Éomer flushed a little when he saw that her wet dress was clinging quite tightly to her slender body. Not much was hidden.
He watched as she raised her arms to touch above her head, and leapt off the rock into a graceful swan dive. She cut into the water with hardly a splash. Éomer immediately changed his mind about her. This was no wood spirit. She had to be a sea nymph.
The moon shone down and the stars twinkled above and Éomer lost all track of everything but the vision before him. Time seemed frozen, stopped right at that moment. He wondered if he had strayed into a dream, and feared waking up.
After what seemed like eternity, the nymph rose out of the water. She stood for a moment, looking back out to the sea. At last she turned back to the trees and headed toward the palace. Éomer ducked behind a tree, but still she stopped. She gazed into the dark mass of trees.
Éomer couldn't help but watch her. Then he realized his mistake. Her golden green eyes met his and widened slightly. He flushed and chewed on his lip. The shock faded from her eyes and was replaced with something Éomer couldn't place. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly and she smiled softly. Her eyes twinkled and then she was gone.
The breeze rustled the leaves. The waves swept onto the shore. The moon shimmered on the white sand. The stars glittered and danced in the heavens. The sea nymph had disappeared into the shadows and Éomer slowly began to awaken from his dream-like state. He looked back to the beach before he headed back to the palace. The waves glided up the shoreline. They looked as if they were dancing along the beach.
Dancing like the stars in her eyes.