Part 169 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.

I'm sure it's Lady Bluejay's fault that we all have a mental image of Lothiriel's Aunt Ivriniel as an uptight shrew (she has written several masterful renditions of her like that; Lialathuveril also), but Lia and I were saying how someone should write a "sweet" Ivriniel story. This doesn't totally qualify as that, but she isn't a shrew…

Eccentricity

(Dol Amroth, early July, 3020 III)

"At last!" Lothiriel said, turning from the balcony railing to smile at her husband. "You did not truly see Dol Amroth at its best when you came before. This time I will be able to show you so much more!"

Eomer wrapped an arm around her, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Certainly I am here in happier circumstances than the last time!" He paused, then stared meaningfully down at her. "You are not going to introduce me to any more former suitors, I trust! Even though we are wed, I have no desire to meet men who knew you before I did, and who once claimed your heart!"

She laughed and laid her head against his shoulder. "No, there was only the one, and you have more than supplanted him in my heart!" After a moment, she added, a bit hesitantly, "There is someone you have not met as yet, however. I am sure you have heard us mention Aunt Ivriniel. She is in her seventies now and rarely leaves her house, much less Dol Amroth, thus she was not at our wedding. She was ailing last winter and so I did not attempt to introduce you then, but she will want to meet my husband."

Something in Lothiriel's tone caused Eomer to glance down curiously at her. "And?" he prompted, suspecting there was more to this than greeting a relative.

Lothiriel chewed on her lip a moment, before attempting an explanation. "Aunt Ivriniel is…unique, my love. I am not sure I can fully explain it, but she is very plain-spoken, and she…has unusual ideas. My father sometimes blames her for my behavior, claiming she corrupted me."

Eomer snickered, and commented, "Perhaps I should thank her then! I rather enjoy your untoward behavior!"

She slapped his arm, but grinned ruefully at him and shrugged. "I cannot deny she has likely influenced my thinking on occasion." There was another pause, and then unexpectedly she queried, "Do you like cats?"

Eomer's eyebrows knit together in surprise. "Cats? I suppose so. I have never had occasion to be around them much. We have a few in most barns to control the mice, but I have never paid them a great deal of attention. I am more familiar with dogs, as you know. Why?"

Lothiriel smiled and looked evasively away. "Ivriniel is fond of cats and has a few."

He suspected that was not the whole of the matter, but he might as well wait and see for himself. "So, when will you introduce us?" he asked.

Sheepishly, she informed him, "Aunt Ivriniel sent a note saying we should be there tomorrow for dinner."

Eomer's eyes narrowed at this 'summons', but as his wife seemed inclined to go through with it, he would accommodate her. Taking her in his embrace, he bent and kissed her nose. "For you, anything. Were Sauron still alive and you wished me to take tea with him, I would do it!" he avowed.

She snickered, then, burying her face in his chest, murmured, "You might find tea with Sauron more…sedate!"

She was laughing; he could definitely feel the slight quaking of her body that gave it away. Whatever his bride was up to, this should prove an interesting experience! Still, if it was anything too dreadful, he felt sure she would warn him. That she found it amusing likely meant he would also – eventually!

xxx

"Who is there?" a voice demanded from the drawing room as Eomer and Lothiriel were greeting the servant who had shown them in.

"It is Lothiriel, Aunt Ivriniel. And I have brought my husband, Eomer, also, so you could meet him," Lothiriel called back, moving in that direction. Eomer slowly followed her to the doorway, wondering what he was about to find in the next room.

Despite her age, the woman sitting before him had virtually no gray in her hair, though she did peer at him as though having difficulty seeing properly. Even though seated, Eomer could guess that she was not quite so tall as most of Imrahil's family. At the sight of them in the doorway, she stood and shuffled toward them, despite the fact that Eomer could detect no indication of infirmity that might cause her to move so. Her abrupt rising from her seat dislodged two cats – one from the armrest and the other from her lap – but she took no notice of them as they bolted, dashing under furniture. Their movement drew his eyes around the room, and he only just managed to repress a gasp of astonishment. Ivriniel had a few cats? A quick estimate put them at nearly a dozen, and that was assuming he was seeing all of them! They were sprawled on the windowseat, sitting on the tables, scattered over the furniture, and a few were gazing at him suspiciously from under chairs and desks.

Lothiriel reached for his hand, drawing him with her to meet her approaching aunt partway across the room. He had expected that the women would greet and engage in the usual pleasantries, but Ivriniel took no apparent notice of her niece, instead shuffling right up until she was almost on top of Eomer. He barely kept himself from stepping back from her nearness. Peering up at him, as she was more than a head shorter than he was, she closely studied his face, then looked him up and down. He kept silent during this perusal and, at length, she turned away and returned to her chair. "Fine looking man, Lothiriel. I know you love him. Amrothos has told me all the tales of your dealings with him prior to your marriage." She plunked back into her chair, and waved a hand around the room. "Well, sit down. Just chase the beasts away from whichever seat you want."

Grinning, Lothiriel guided Eomer over to a settee not far from her aunt's chair, and scooted three cats out of the way. Gingerly Eomer settled beside his wife, not at all sure about what was happening.

"So, Eomer is it?" At his nod, she asked, "Fell in love with my girl, did you? Good man. I do hope you do not have any antiquated notions about changing her! Lovely girl, just as she is! Imrahil keeps trying to make her behave so boringly, acting with all that silly pretentious pomp he deems appropriate. Bah! A lot of nonsense, if you ask me! The girl has a good mind, and I am pleased she did not let herself be forced into some unholy alliance with those hideous noblemen's sons!"

Eomer was rarely ever speechless, but for the life of him he could not think how to respond to Ivriniel's declaration. Lothiriel deftly stepped in to aid him, saying, "Not at all, Aunt. Eomer loves me just as I am, and Rohan is not nearly so stifling as Gondor. I am sure I will be very happy there. I am very happy there."

"Good, good! Care for some tea?" She abruptly changed the subject, leapt up from her chair and shuffled toward the door, not waiting for their response. As she passed Eomer, she dropped the cat she had been holding into his lap. It was difficult to say which of the two was more startled. Hunched stiffly on his right leg, the animal glared up at him momentarily, then gave a hiss and bolted for the open balcony door.

"Tea! Bring us tea!" Ivriniel was yelling into the hallway, and Eomer nearly choked in his effort not to burst out laughing. As she turned and hastened back to her seat, she glanced down at Eomer's lap and asked accusingly, "Where is that beast?"

Trying to smile nonchalantly, Eomer gestured toward the balcony and replied, "He went outside."

"She. Ah well, do not feel bad. She does not particularly like strangers." As Ivriniel continued on to her chair, Eomer could not help wondering why, if that was the case, she had thrown the animal into the lap of a stranger in the first place.

Before Ivriniel reached her chair, a servant appeared bearing a tray with tea and biscuits. "Took you long enough!" she sniffed, as he set it on the low table in front of her.

Eomer would have sworn the man grinned affectionately at the old lady, but he merely told her with an even expression, "Yes, madam."

He turned on his heel and left, saying nothing more and offering no apology, not that Ivriniel seemed to notice. The moment he set down the tray, her attention was on shooing the cats away, as they were enthusiastically seeking to check out the tray of refreshments. "Go on, you blasted creatures! Get away! He had better have brought the cream!"

Sure enough, there were two teapots on the tray and one contained cream. "Lothiriel, dear, would you put this in the beasts' dishes so we can eat in peace?" She handed the cream to Lothiriel, who took it over and portioned it into several dishes lining the stones in front of the fireplace. Instantly the cats abandoned the tea table for this treat. A few squabbles broke out as they vied for position, and Ivriniel bellowed at them, "Hush, you infernal cats! A person cannot think with all that noise. Eomer will not want to visit us again." She smiled sweetly at him, offering a cup of tea that she had poured, and he took it with a polite smile, still rather at a loss for words.

When she turned back to prepare a cup for Lothiriel, he glanced down, and then surreptitiously fished a cat hair out of the steaming liquid. Ah well, he had ingested worse things.

Once the tea was served, Ivriniel leaned back in her chair and studied Eomer again, making him more than a little self-conscious, though he thought he was managing to conceal it. After a moment, she observed, "Quiet fellow, is he not? I should have thought you would attach yourself to a livelier man, Lothiriel."

His wife giggled, and hastily took a sip of tea before answering. "He is not always so, Aunt. I…I believe he is hoping to make a good impression on you." Eomer slanted her a glance at this remark, and she snickered behind her teacup as she took another swallow.

"Honestly, girl! You can be so very silly sometimes! He does not strike me as the quiet, retiring sort, or the kind of man to put a great deal of effort into 'making good impressions'! Tell me something of yourself, Eomer."

Suddenly he had the floor, and all attention was focused on him. There was no keeping silent now, and he wondered what would be appropriate for him to say to this woman. While he had heard various members of Lothiriel's family mention this aunt, he couldn't truly say he had taken much notice or remembered anything in particular. That meant he could only take his cue from what the woman had said and done since his arrival in her home. Generally a fairly good judge of character, he would have to trust in that to carry this interview.

"What would you wish to know, Aunt? I am an orphan, sister-son to Rohan's previous king, and appointed to rule in his stead due to his demise and the death of his only son. My sister, Eowyn, as you probably know, has married a kinsman of yours, Faramir of Minas Tirith, the Steward. Most of my adult life has been spent as a soldier and, truthfully, I am very good at it. It is diplomacy that I find more difficult to master." He paused to judge her reaction to this information; she was staring at the cats lapping up their cream, while she sipped her tea and listened to his discourse.

"Hmmm, nice deep voice. Speaks the Common Tongue with a bit of an accent – understandable, I suppose." Her remarks almost suggested she was thinking aloud to herself, but she suddenly seemed to notice his silence and looked up. "Is that all? Surely there is more to you than that, boy! What are your thoughts, your dreams, your ambitions in life?"

Eomer blinked, as this seemed rather personal conversation with someone he had just met. Cocking his head to the side, he answered, "My thoughts – that is a rather broad question, and difficult to answer concisely unless you give me a topic. As for my dreams and ambitions" – he glanced down at Lothiriel and smiled – "firstly to rebuild the Riddermark and establish peace there, and in the course of that I hope that Lothiriel and I will also frame a large family to fill our home with laughing children."

"So, you intend to keep her barefoot and pregnant, do you?" Ivriniel demanded, and Eomer grinned at the blunt remark.

"She may go barefoot how ever much she likes and I will not object. As for the pregnant, well, I certainly will enjoy attempting to bring it about, whether or not I am successful!"

He stopped, wondering if he had overstepped the bounds of propriety with his slightly ribald remark. There was no indication from Lothiriel about the matter, so he could only await Ivriniel's reaction. Then he heard…a snort!

"If you do it properly, I cannot imagine Lothiriel will object to the attempting, either! But who is going to care for this passel of children you wish to have her bear? Nurses, I suppose, or do you expect her to do that and take care of you, also?"

Eomer grinned. He was beginning to like this old woman, despite her unexpected conversation. "I suspect that Lothiriel will wish to care for our children as often as she may do so, but likely a nurse will be needed to assist her so she may have time for her duties as queen. I would hope to participate as frequently as time will allow me to. As for Lothiriel taking care of me in addition to the children, I do not believe I could prevent her from it no matter how hard I tried. She can be most determined!"

Another snort. "Obstinate, is more like it! Head strong! Lovely girl, our Lothiriel. Had to be strong to survive living with all those men, and no mother to show her the way. Did you want something to eat? Most folks eat about now. I do not much care for meals at midday, but it is an established practice, so people expect it, you know."

"You did invite us to dinner, Aunt," Lothiriel interjected, finally rejoining their conversation.

"Did I? Must have been bowing to social pressure. Silly waste of time and food, if you ask me. A few cups of tea and some biscuits tides a person over until supper. Ah well, if I invited you, I had best make good." She had bounded up from her chair once more and shuffled quickly to the doorway. This time Eomer was prepared when she bellowed out, "Food! Bring us food!"

Once more she returned to her chair as though nothing odd had just occurred, and Eomer snuck a glance at his wife, who merely grinned in response. Almost instantly, the same servant shuffled in with a full tray, and began laying it out on the small table near the window. The cats, having finished their cream, hastened to explore what new delights were being made available. The servant was ready for them, however, and the first dish he uncovered held a large bowl of minced fish. Instantly, he had their full attention as he led them back to the hearth and portioned it out in the numerous dishes.

While he did thus, Lothiriel set to dishing up plates of food for her and Eomer. He was a little surprised when she did not even offer to do the same for her aunt, but after that discourse on dinner, he supposed it was pointless, and likely Lothiriel knew what was best. In spite of Ivriniel's view on eating meals at midday, the dinner was actually quite tasty. Eomer wasn't sure he recognized everything he had been served, but he could ask Lothiriel about it later. Possibly it was local delicacies that they did not have in Rohan.

Ivriniel silently watched them eat, and Eomer was grateful that she wasn't going to make him attempt to talk around mouthfuls of food. The instant he swallowed the last bite, however, she started up again. "Have the Rohirrim settled that nasty business with the Dunlendings yet?"

He blinked in astonishment at the question. He wasn't sure what had been more startling, that this seemingly housebound old woman knew of that dispute or that she was inquiring about it. "Do not look so surprised, boy! One does not have to leave their house to know what is going on in the land. I stay on top of things, you may be sure."

He was quite sure she did. Eomer suspected she perhaps knew more than a good many others who should know such things. Drawing his focus back to her question, he answered, "Yes, for the most part. There may still be some lingering resentment of our past troubles, but when we defeated them at Helm's Deep and then treated them mercifully, they swore an oath to never again wage war against us. They even sent an ambassador to Gondor – this November past." It felt odd having such a discussion with an elderly noblewoman, but if that interested her, so be it.

Ivriniel nodded. "Good. There has been enough killing, and you would never find that peace you seek if that old wound could not be healed."

Abruptly, Ivriniel stood. "Time for my nap. I will see you children later, perhaps." Eomer and Lothiriel instantly rose as well. Once more, Ivriniel advanced on Eomer, coming to stand in front of him, again almost touching. Peering up into his face, there was a long pause, and then she smiled approvingly. "I like you, boy! Welcome to the family!" She disappeared out the door, shuffling determinedly down the hall, and never looking back.

For several long moments, nothing was said as Lothiriel moved to link her arm with her husband's. Then he murmured softly, a grin twitching at his mouth, "I like you, also, Aunt Ivriniel!"

THE END

2/10/08

FYI: Ivriniel was born in 2947. She was the eldest child of Prince Adrahil of Dol Amroth. She would be 73 here. This is only a few months into Eomer and Lothiriel's marriage, and follows the stories "Advance" and "Reason", though it does not particularly tie to those stories. This story does make reference to events that took place in "By the Book" and "No Mistake: Redux", prior to Eomer and Lothiriel's marriage.

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.