A Winter Lady For A King.
Chapter III: And The Queen Becomes A Mother.
Marjut ran as fast as she could through the empty halls until she finally reached Eihhlin's chambers. Opening the door, she stepped into the dark room and hesitated for a moment as she saw her daughter sleeping. Was she really going to do it? Was she to play the part of the bearer of what she knew the princess would call "bad news"? Marjut wasn't sure why she felt like this; it was like she was about to witness the fall of the last petal of the last rose of summer. Was it sadness? Was it guilt? She didn't know. She didn't care. All she cared about at the moment was that she had to wake her daughter up from the only peace she had ever had to bring her back to the ugly, ugly reality.
Taking a deep breath, she silently closed the door and slowly walked to Eihhlin's bed, carefully sitting on it.
-Eihhlin. –she called as she slightly shook her. –Eihhlin. –the sound of her own name seemed to wake up the princess and, as she opened her eyes, she immediately frowned as she saw her mother was the one to wake her up.
-Mother? What are you doing here? –Eihhlin asked, still half asleep.
-I have to tell you something, Eihhlin. –the queen answered calmly, although she was very nervous.
-What is it? –was the princess' next question as she sat up in bed, now more awake.
-Your father, he… –Marjut paused, thinking of the best way to give her the news, but she knew there were no soft words to say it. –He offered your hand in matrimony to Lord Éomer. And the king of Rohan accepted it.
Eihhlin thought she was still asleep for a moment, but she knew that, if it was a dream, her mother wouldn't be in it.
-You mean…? –she tried to speak, but only a faint whisper came out and quickly faded away. She got up from bed and walked to the window in silence.
-Say something, Eihhlin. –the mother pleaded.
-You know what bothers me the most? –the young princess asked and a short silence followed as Marjut waited for the answer. –Is the fact that I can't even hate him; I feel absolutely nothing towards him for doing this to me. I feel nothing for him or you. –she paused for a moment and turned around to face her mother. –Why did you come here? Why did you tell me?
-I… thought I should warn you. –the queen managed to say, hurt by Eihhlin's cold words. But what surprised her the most was the calm state of the princess; she'd expected her to explode for the very first time in her life, to cry and scream hysterically, to threaten to kill herself. But she hadn't done any of those things. Eihhlin simply looked out the window lost in thought like she often did and not a word about the arrangement or Éomer had come out of her mouth.
-Well, I've been informed. Thank you. –the daughter stated, still looking out the window. Marjut knew her daughter wouldn't say another word that night and, still hurt by the coldness that had always surrounded Eihhlin, she stood up from the bed and silently left the room.
Once in the hall, the queen finally broke. Her tears ran freely down her face as she recalled Eihhlin's indifference towards her. Deep in her heart, she had wished her daughter to seek comfort in her after the news, but the young woman remained distant as always. Marjut faced the fact that she was about to lose the daughter she had never been a mother to and only now she realized how much she meant to her.
-How could I be so blind? –she asked herself between muffled sobs. Guilt was slowly consuming her soul as she thought about the first child she had given birth to and the unhappiness she would live in if she refused to learn to love her husband. Marjut wasn't sure if Eihhlin had ever felt love for anyone or anything similar. Not even her little brothers had that privilege. What had she done?
Knowing she would marry a complete stranger wasn't something Eihhlin was glad about, but she couldn't say she was surprised about it. She had always expected something like that coming from her father. This kind of situation was difficult for her because she didn't know what to do or what to say; she had some difficulty in dealing with feelings, so she felt nothing at all. She couldn't even if she tried.
Now that she was wide awake, there was no chance to go back to sleep, so she changed into a blue dress and, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, she left her chambers without a sound.
Éomer couldn't rest as he was always waking up with Eihhlin's image in his mind. He didn't know this young woman, so why was she the only thing he could think about? Feeling it was impossible to sleep in that agitation, the king of Rohan decided to get dressed and go outside for a walk. Maybe he could clear his thoughts from her and think straight.
After getting lost a couple of times, he finally found the exit to the garden, which was already covered with thin snow. This reminded him of Théoden telling him that Vathinia had the most beautiful winter the entire Arda had ever seen. A small smile formed in Éomer's lips as he recalled that and other stories his uncle had told him when he was a child.
Taking a random direction, he walked through the garden knowing he wasn't a child anymore and that he was about to possess something more beautiful than Vathinia's winter. But, somehow, he didn't feel happy about it; he knew he should, but something prevented that happiness from existing.
Éomer stopped abruptly as he saw a figure, a fragile figure sitting on a small rock facing the rising sun. Taking a few steps forward, he realized it was Eihhlin, his future wife, his future queen, sitting there with her back to him, completely unaware of his presence. Should he say something? Should he leave her to her thoughts? He wished to stay and talk to her, try to know her, but he feared she wouldn't respond to his attempt to make conversation. Would he simply wait for the wedding without knowing Eihhlin's feelings about it or would he take the first step into her heart and her mind in that same moment, in that same garden?