It was on the day that Eomer first rode with the soldiers that they struck their bargain. He remembered with great clarity how his cousin – ten years old, hastily dressed, hair still bound loosely in night braids, eyes rimed and heavy with sleep – was juxtaposed sharply against the backdrop of men, horses, and armour. He assumed that she had come to give her brother one last goodbye, but she turned towards him instead.
'You'll look after him, won't you?'
Theodred pretended to consider it for a moment. 'Yes, although it will most likely be a difficult task.' He continued, slyly, 'You'll have to do something for me in return.'
Her face tightened in apprehension. 'What?'
'You'll have to look after my father.'
She also gave it a moment's thought, before thrusting her hand towards him. 'Yes. I agree.'
After that, it became a routine. That simple affirmation sustained him as Rohan became darker, and he comforted himself with the knowledge that there was at least one person whom he could trust to keep her word.
Many years later, as he lay dying in the Fords of Isen, the words came back to him…
'Look after my brother.'
'Look after my father.'
…and he hoped that Eowyn would be able to keep her end of the bargain.
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Notes: They all belong to Tolkien. Theodred's death at the Fords of Isen is bookverse, because I like it that way. Eowyn is ten years old here, Eomer would be fourteen.