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Lothíriel was becoming more frustrated with the counsel. They had been talking for the last half hour and still had not come to an agreement. She felt they were wasting time discussing politics while the Corsairs threatened the safety of her people.
Slamming her fist on the table she said, "Enough! The time for words is over; it's time to take action."
All of the men in the room fell silent. Éomer saw a fire burning in her eyes. Trembling, one of the counselors came forward to address Lothíriel.
"My lady", he said, "I understand you're upset, but this is not the time for rash actions."
Her eyes became engulfed in flames and her lips tightened.
She nearly spat out the words, "Rash actions!"
She walked swiftly to the window on the back wall.
Pointing to it she said, "Maybe you have forgotten, my lords, what happened a year ago right outside these walls!"
Another of the counselors stepped forward to speak.
Turing to Éomer he said, "I do not think we should be talking about this in front of…"
Lothíriel raised her hand, cutting him off.
Looking to the counselor she said, "No. I think the King of Rohan should hear this."
She turned her eyes to Éomer. Her eyes turned a dull grey and the light had gone out of them. The waves of grief in her eyes crashed and rolled, spilling onto her cheeks. Looking towards the window, she wiped away her tears.
She kept her back to the counselors as she spoke to them.
"All I ask, my lords, is that you support me in any decision I must make. I have listened to your advice this past year and have readily done everything you have asked. Once I have faced the accused, I will have you brought back in for his judgment."
She nodded to the knight standing guard at the door to her left. He escorted the counsel out of the room and into the next one. The only two people that were left in the room were Éomer and Lothíriel.
Éomer walked over to Lothíriel and gently held her arm. She looked up at him and placed her other hand on his and squeezed his hand. Letting go of his hand, she turned back to the window.
"The Corsairs began attacking a year ago. We have experienced attacks before, since we are on right next to the sea. But nothing prepared us for what happened that day."
Éomer let go of her arm and drew closer to her. Lothíriel's heart began pounding harder. Maybe it was because he was so close to her that she could hear him breathing, or because of what she had to tell him.
"My brothers and I were preparing for a hunting trip that morning. I had already gotten my quiver and bow. I remember waiting impatiently for my brothers to get ready."
The corners of her mouth turned up slightly as she recollected that memory. But the smile was soon replaced by tears that welled up in her eyes.
"At that time, Harrick was not a captain. My father promoted him because of what happened that day. If he hadn't been there, I would probably be dead."
Lothíriel could no longer hold back the tears as they streamed down her face. She didn't even try to wipe them away.
"My mother went out early that morning with her handmaiden and two guards. Since I was going hunting that day, I told my handmaiden to take some time for herself until I returned."
Éomer looked at her curiously, a woman who liked to go hunting. She saw the look on his face and nearly laughed out loud.
"I enjoy hunting with my brothers. Sometimes, we even spend two or three days in the woods. We only take bed rolls and blankets to sleep on at night. I would rather sleep under the stars then be cooped up behind these walls."
She allowed herself one more fleeting moment of reminiscing before returning back to grim reality.
"I watched my handmaiden as she walked through the gates and down the stone sea wall. That would be the last time I saw her alive."
Lothíriel paused briefly to wipe away a few tears before continuing.
"My brothers were taking far too long for me to wait inside the castle, so I decided to go outside and enjoy the view from the sea wall."
Her right hand began to tremble uncontrollably, she could not stop it. Éomer reached out and held her hand to steady it, gripping it firmly but gently. Even through her glove, holding his hand made her heart skip a beat. She hid her face as it flooded with color. She took a slow and steady breath before speaking again.
"Everything seemed normal, at first, and then…..I heard my mother screaming. She was saying, 'Don't kill her. Don't kill her. I beg you please, have mercy.' But the Corsairs didn't have mercy. They had already killed the guards and my mother's handmaiden by that time. As I looked over the sea wall, I saw my handmaiden fall dead in the sand."
She held onto Éomer's hand tighter. It had been a long time since she had talked about this with anyone. Strangely, she felt comfortable telling this man she had just met. She felt she could tell him everything, almost everything.
"Two of those horrible men had a tight grip on my mother's arms holding her back."
Her eyes blackened and the fire was back. She let go of Éomer's hand and let her arm fall to her side. She balled up her fists tightly as her body shook with rage.
"My brothers may have been shouting for me, but I didn't hear. Before I knew it, I drew my bow and shot those two men. I shouted at my mother to run as I continued to rain arrows down on the men that were pursuing her."
She looked at him, "I was blind to everything around me except my mother. She was running for the castle as fast as she could. I didn't even notice the arrows that went passed me head."
"You were very brave, then", Éomer said.
"No, I was being foolish. I should've rushed back into the castle. And a few guards tried to pull me back including Harrick. Have you noticed the scar on the right side of his face?"
"Yes, I did."
"He followed me as I raced towards my mother, I was afraid she wouldn't make it. And she didn't. I had almost reached her, when she was shot in the back with an arrow. That only made me run towards her even faster. I caught her as she fell to the ground and she died in my arms. It was only then that I looked up to see Harrick fighting off the Corsairs even though there was blood coming from his face. I quickly got up and Harrick was able to get me to safety."
Lothíriel saw what she hoped was a look of disappointment in Éomer's eyes. Was he jealous of Captain Harrick? This was too much; she covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. She cleared her throat and tried very hard not to smile as to give herself away.
She said slyly, "Of course, after that there was vicious gossip going around that there was something between me and Captain Harrick. Some people even spoke of wedding bells."
She saw Éomer nearly choke. He looked at her with a hint of mischievousness in his eyes.
"It was nothing more than that, vicious gossip", she said coolly.
He looked at her with raised eyebrows and a sly grin. She snapped back to reality as she heard the sound of heavy armour and spears clanging in the hallway.
"That'll be the guards. I won't leave myself completely defenseless. Captain Harrick will be along with the one in question soon."
Éomer quickly walked to her side his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Where do you need me?"
"You don't have to stand that close, just don't go too far", she said.
"Don't worry, I won't"
She couldn't be sure if he was being serious or flirting with her. Right now, she had more important things to worry about.
"Lord Baugdȋr will finally be getting his audience with me. He'll be getting a lot more than he bargained for."
