After a busy day, Éomer breathed deeply as he took seat in the King's table for supper. It was surprising how many things his advisers could come up with when he was away even for such a short time. Often he appreciated the opportunity to bury himself in matters of the realm, but right now he would just have preferred to be as any young, recently betrothed man.

He had a moment to wonder if Gytha and the ladies had decided to keep his bride to themselves, when at last their company appeared. The chatelaine was there with Lothíriel, as were Scýne and a group of other women of the household. Éomer smiled to himself; they looked a bit like a flock of birds with bright feathers. But his princess stood out with her raven hair, and he thought to himself if she felt very out of place here.

She smiled when she came to the dais, and Éomer got up on his feet to pull out a chair for her next to his own seat. She quickly tiptoed to kiss his cheek and then settled down with a similar little huff as he had made before. Himiel stood close by, as though she didn't trust the bridegroom to keep his hands to himself even in the very feasting hall of his home.

"Did the ladies keep you very busy?" he asked Lothíriel with a fond smile. He knew how excited some of them had been to meet his bride; Gytha especially had much looked forward to her visit.

"Oh, they were perfectly nice. There's just so much to learn and to see, and it's all a little overwhelming", Lothíriel responded and sipped her wine. Usually, the drink was not served in his table, except for when his southern friends were visiting Edoras.

"I can imagine", Éomer agreed and pushed the basket of fresh bread closer to her. "I keep forgetting how foreign all this must be for you."

"It's not that strange, actually. If I've learned anything, it's that... people are always people, no matter where you go", she said thoughtfully and considered the dish before her. She glanced at him with a smile, "Gytha spoke very warmly of you. I didn't know that she regards you so fondly."

"She only had one daughter, who was full grown when Gytha came to work in Meduseld. She had already given up hope of having more children... I suppose that's why she took such interest in Éowyn and I. We were a pair of orphans, and she a mother without a child to take care of..." Éomer said in quiet tones, recalling those days long past with some bittersweet fondness. Sometimes, he rather felt he would have turned out much worse if Gytha hadn't been there.

"I see. It explains a lot", Lothíriel mused, brushing his hand gently with her own. She looked at him again, "She also showed me your rooms."

"Did you like the royal chambers?" he wanted to know. He wasn't sure why it seemed important, but he was eager that she would approve of the apartment they would share together.

"Yes, I did. It's so cozy and warm, I felt like home already. The furniture here is so beautiful! The details your carpenters are able to carve is just astonishing. And there are so many colours, I rather feel like I have lived in the middle of grey until now", she said with a large smile. But then her expression became thoughtful, "You don't spend much time in your rooms, do you?"

Should he be surprised that she had noticed? It was true at any rate. He often felt quite lonely in those rooms, and preferred the noise of the Hall to the silent, empty apartment.

"No, I can't say that I do. But I imagine that should change when you are here for good", he told her softly, reaching for her hand on the table. Himiel cleared her throat, but Éomer let his hand linger for a few moments more before pulling it back again. A soft blush adorned Lothíriel's cheeks.

With a smile, he continued, "In any case, feel free to bring anything you want from Dol Amroth. And if you find anything here that pleases your eye, then just say the word and I'll have the ladies refurnish it for you."

"I'm not going to take over it, dear heart. It's your own, too", she pointed out. Then she gave him a look of feigned severity, "If you keep this up, there is a fair chance of you spoiling me silly."

"A man has every right to spoil his wife", he announced piously, making her laugh.

He would have preferred her company alone, but it was then Amrothos arrived and joined them. However the Prince had spent the day, Éomer did not know. But he guessed his friend had been paying visits to his friends in Edoras.

Perhaps some free time away from his duty as a chaperone had cheered him up, for after dinner Amrothos didn't protest when Éomer offered to escort them to Éothain's house, and he even walked a little way back behind him and Lothíriel, allowing the two some privacy. They strolled slowly arm in arm, and she leaned against him. Often she looked up with bright eyes and he felt like a man enchanted.

"I hope the ladies did not make you feel very awkward today", he said at length, glancing at his bride. "I tried to tell them you're not like the women of this land, and that you aren't so well accustomed to personal questions from practical strangers."

"It's fine. They were courteous – after their own fashion. It's true their manner was unlike what I'm familiar with, but I was prepared for it", she answered evenly, looking ahead and down the road.

"Still", Éomer said with a small sigh, "You must know I would have done this properly, if we had..."

He didn't get to finish the sentence. She spoke up suddenly: "But would you have noticed me?"

Quickly he looked at her and saw that doubtful, insecure look on her features that he was starting to know by now. He also felt the abrupt need to chase it away.

"Dear heart, you must not think like that. I have been a blind fool for so long, and... maybe that's why someone, Béma or Læs, decided that I needed a little push in the right direction. And I'm glad it happened. It finally opened my eyes", he told her solemnly. She still seemed a little unsure, and so he went on, "I do not regret a single moment we've been together. It is clear I'm not the only one who's glad that you're here. Éothain won't stop congratulating me and if Gytha could grow any more pleased, she would burst. Believe me, they are hard people to convince, but if they are so sure, then what is there to doubt? This is real, Lothíriel. I am yours to keep."

At last, her expression softened. She looked down momentarily, but when she met his gaze again, she seemed sheepish.

"Forgive me. I try not to be such a silly goose – I know you deserve better. Just... be patient with me", said his princess in a quiet voice.

"You are not silly or a goose, Lothíriel. Like I said, I'm the fool here", he said firmly, and at last she smiled a little. She held his arm more tightly and he knew she was reassured again.

Close to Éothain and Scýne's home, he looked at her once more.

"I'm sorry we couldn't spend more time together today", he said at length, gazing at his bride. "I'll try to get away from my advisers tomorrow and take you riding, if you'd like that."

"I would enjoy it very much, yes", she said gladly as a sweet little smile blossomed on her features.

"Then it is settled. Come and meet me tomorrow after breakfast, and I'll take you out to the plains. I'd much like to show you the lands around Edoras", he said, hiding his grin; tomorrow would also be a perfect time to give her a very special present.

"That I will do!" Lothíriel said warmly. In her eyes, there was already an eager look.

After a quick kiss and an embrace, he took his leave of her, telling her good night before going. She and her brother vanished into his captain's home and Éomer himself turned again uphill. He too was anxious for the morning, and to seeing Lothíriel's reaction when she received his gift.

It was entirely likely these thoughts would have preoccupied his mind for the rest of the night, hadn't his eyes then fallen on a familiar face. Aelfrun stood there, half in shadow and looking like she had long expected him. It was months since he had last seen this woman and he had not much thought about her, especially since his fateful trip to Emyn Arnen. Suddenly, he recalled her speaking of visiting her kin in Eastfold when they had last happened upon one another in late May.

Aelfrun was a striking woman: her hair was voluminous mass of red-gold curls that almost seemed to have a shine of their own even in moonlight, she was tall and blessed with curves that any hot-blooded male might find themselves staring at, and her face was very fair. Her temper was fierce, too, and her tongue could be as sharp as a spear-head. She was just the kind of woman he had been prone to attach himself as a younger and more foolish man.

He opened his mouth to greet her, but she spoke before he could.

"You can't be serious", she said in a cool, unimpressed voice.

"Good evening to you as well, Aelfrun", he replied, slowing down his pace only a little. In the back of his head, a small voice was anxiously telling him that he would have to be very, very careful with this woman.

She adjusted her own pace to his – she could do it with more ease than most women.

"Have you lost your mind?" she demanded to know.

"I really have no idea what you are talking about", Éomer said calmly, glancing at her only very briefly.

Aelfrun snorted at his answer.

"Really! Was that a child or a woman you were escorting there? That is supposed to become our queen?" she asked him cuttingly.

It would have been a lie to say he was surprised by her saying this to him. He had not expected it, but neither was he astonished to receive it from her. Of all the people in the Mark, Aelfrun was perhaps the most likely to voice her displeasure at his betrothal. All the same, it was not welcome, and Lothíriel surely did not deserve such contempt from someone who had not even met her properly.

As such, Éomer directed a glare at the woman striding by his side.

"I will not tolerate you mocking her, especially when she has done nothing to earn your resentment", he told her in a voice that held a dire warning to mind what she said next.

"A Gondorian, Éomer! What does she know of Rohirrim? You know there are those who had hoped – who expected – you to find a queen in your own land", Aelfrun said, speaking as though had done a great ill.

He cast her a sharp look.

"Some, or just you, Aelfrun?" he asked her with some irritation. A less composed person might have blushed at this accusation, but not her. Her expression remained collected.

"You are making a mistake", she told him firmly.

"You couldn't be more wrong", Éomer replied, halting at last to look straight at her. He leaned closer and regarded her with one of his more threatening looks when he spoke in a low, warning tone, "This is none of your business, Aelfrun. Stay away from her."

For a moment they stared at one another, and Aelfrun's expression was as defiant as it was unconvinced. He suppressed a sigh and moved back again.

"She's a sweet, amiable woman who never wished ill for anybody. And if anyone should ever bring her any harm or grief, then that person will find just how full of wrath I can be when provoked", Éomer said in a low, serious tone to the woman standing before him.

Then he turned away, heading for the Golden Hall while he still had his temper in check.

Something told him he was not going to have a peaceful night.


Despite herself, Lothíriel feared to the last minute the possibility that something would rise and thus prevent Éomer from taking her to a ride. Demands on his time were numerous and often unexpected, and so she felt a little apprehensive when she dressed in a riding attire borrowed from Scýne, and braided her hair neatly. She reminded herself that as his wife, she would have to get used to sharing him with the realm, and while he was warm and affectionate towards her without an exception, she knew he wouldn't always be there to shower her with his attention.

When she arrived at the courtyard of Meduseld, Éomer was already there, and stablehands were leading out horses – his own magnificent grey, Amrothos' horse, and a lovely black mare with a white sock on each foot. Relief burst in her chest when she saw her king there and knew that her fears had been in vain, and he would indeed spend some time with her today. When he saw her, his eyes lit up, and she thought she saw something relieved in them. But why should that be?

"Good morning!" he greeted them and came to her, kissing her brow and resting an arm around her shoulders; he did it quickly enough to appease to her chaperone, though she would have preferred a much longer kiss and a proper embrace.

"Good morning to you as well", she spoke softly, looking at the smiling face of her dear horselord and feeling weak in the knees. He was dangerously handsome when he looked so cheerful and she wondered how many ladies before her had fallen for his irresistible charms.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked her eagerly. Almost he seemed like a man younger than his nine and twenty years.

"Yes, I am!" Lothíriel said and felt just as excited to race over the hills she had only admired while travelling here.

"Then come and let me introduce you to someone", he said, pulling her gently by hand to the dark-coated mare. "This here is Moonmaid. She's yours now."

The horse prickled her ears when she heard her name mentioned. She was beautiful indeed, with intelligent eyes and clean, graceful limbs. On her forehead, there was a round, white spot, like the Moon in in night sky. This steed could easily compete with the finest horses her father had in his stables.

"She's mine? Are you joking?" Lothíriel asked in wonder and glanced between him and the animal.

"Of course not. The Queen of Rohan should not go without a horse, don't you agree?" he said and reached to pat Moonmaid's neck. "She's from my own herd, for I chose her for you as soon as I had returned from Mundburg. The future Lady of the Mark should have nothing but the best."

"Thank you!" she exclaimed joyfully and leaped to hug him. Éomer let out a soft laugh and caught her, looking very pleased to have brought her such delight. She knew this was a kingly gift, even for the bride of the lord of this land; she was very well aware that the herds of Rohirrim had not yet recovered from the war. Many a good steed had died on the fields of Pelennor and their loss would take several more years to redeem.

"Can I get one too?" Amrothos asked hopefully. He had stepped closer as well to get a look at the beautiful mare, and his expression betrayed his longing.

"Only if you marry me, and the position of the Queen of the Mark is already reserved for another", Éomer said lightly, resting his arm around Lothíriel's shoulder. She giggled at his statement.

"Yes, brother. Get in line!" Lothíriel quipped, breathless with laughter.

"You two are ridiculous, did you know that?" Amrothos announced indignantly and moved over to his own steed. But she exchanged a grin with her betrothed, and without further ado, he helped her to mount her new steed.

They kept up a moderate pace as they rode through the city, perhaps both to let her get accustomed to Moonmaid and to give her a chance to look around. When they had arrived the other day, she had been so in the heat of the moment that she scarcely recalled more than the faces of many people and the road before them. But now she was able to appreciate the beautiful craftsmanship of Rohirrim and their skill in working with wood. She also noted their weavers and dressmakers seemed to be very skilled in dyeing the cloth they wore, for people wore many colours and delighted in intricate embroideries that echoed the symbols and frames carved in wood. Hopefully, the dressmakers she was to see for her own new wardrobe wouldn't mind her asking a long list of questions.

Eventually, they rode out of the gate of Edoras, and now Éomer, who had been riding by her side, suggested them to go a little faster. He remained close by, giving her instructions when she needed it and speaking to her about Rohirric horses. He was a patient and wise teacher, helping her to get more and more at ease with Moonmaid, and though she knew the best she could hope was to be half as good as he was at this, he didn't make her feel insecure. The mare had a sweet temper and she responded well to the touch of her new mistress, and the princess thought to herself perhaps her betrothed knew her even better than she had realised; he could not have chosen her a more suitable mount.

When Lothíriel was growing more confident in the saddle, he suggested they race for a bit, and so they urged their horses to move faster. Then her heart rose with the speed and she let out a laugh of joy and wonder. If the love Rohirrim had for their horses and their free plains had never fully made sense to her, now it surely did!

After a while, they slowed down and she calmed enough to pay attention to the landscape. Éomer rode next to her and spoke softly, pointing at mountaintops and naming them in his own tongue, or showing this or that thing nearby. She listened eagerly and made questions, which he answered with smiles and occasional touch to her hand.

Around midday, they stopped by the river Snowbourn. There some great rocks rested, which they used as seats as they enjoyed a light repast, produced from saddlebags. There were fresh scones with some cheese, dried fruit and cold meats, and an ale skin was passed between them freely. It was such a relaxed, light-hearted setting and Lothíriel was enjoying herself to the fullest.

When she had handed the ale skin to her brother again, Éomer looked suddenly straight at her with a question in his eyes.

"Say, how would you feel about having a second betrothal feast here in Edoras before you leave?" he bluntly inquired without any introduction to the subject. She blinked in surprise.

"... I hadn't really thought about it, to be honest", she said at length,

"A few people asked me only yesterday", Éomer said slowly, rubbing his chin. "I think many are hoping for it – expecting, even. It rather seems they would feel cheated if they don't get a betrothal feast, too, like the court in south did."

"If it's not too much trouble... I mean... I don't want to cause inconvenience", she said with some hesitation.

But the Rohir smiled.

"Who do you think I am, sweet one? If I say there will be a feast, then there damn well shall be, no matter the inconvenience. And believe me, the trouble of it is much lesser than the disappointment of practically everybody would be", he answered steadily before his voice grew a little softer again, "Unless, of course, you don't want to have another celebration."

"No, no! I would love it. I just don't want to seem frivolous or imprudent to your people", she quickly said, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Believe me, you would just be doing them a favour. Last winter was long and hard, and Eorlingas could use some good cheer and feasting for once", he said to her and a shadow passed across his features.

"Then we should have a betrothal feast", she said gently, offering him a warm smile. It seemed to cheer him up too.

"I'll tell Gytha to start the preparations immediately", Éomer said, relaxing again on his seat.

"Wonderful. Just what I needed: a chance for you two act even more like a pair of lovesick fools", Amrothos commented dryly, but his words only made the King and Princess laugh.

Lothíriel would much have liked to spend several more hours riding and exploring the plains, but her betrothed said he had an appointment with his advisers this afternoon, and so they turned back to the city. With a smile, she thought of all that had happened so far and the things that were still ahead of them. A sense of happiness spread in her chest as she looked around herself and saw her king riding by her side. All that she had wished, all that she had feared would never come to pass, was soon to be fulfilled.

She was a mere shade no more.

To be continued.


A/N: Muse remains something hyperactive, so here goes another update for this week! I hope you like it. :)

We've now been properly introduced to Aelfrun, the woman who is not so excited about the betrothal. Personally, I feel it was a good idea to include her. At least, while writing this chapter (and drafting the next), I felt like she spiced up some things!

Thanks for reading and reviewing!


EStrunk - In that case, it was probably a good choice to change things a bit. Your comments often give me good pointers as to whether I'm going the right way or not. :) Also I'm glad you liked the nosy Rohirrim! :D

Tibblets - Thanks! I'm happy to hear you're tagging along. :)

Anon - Yes, it is rather much to take in! But I think she's growing to like them. :) As for Aelfrun, we'll see what she intends now! And you are very much correct. Spring does seem like a long time when they are so impatient!

Jo - I don't think Lothíriel would be annoyed - a little bewildered, perhaps, but on the other hand, she understands well where these questions come from. But now that she has established she's not pregnant (yet!), I think they should be content with that. :)

Nerdanel - Thank you so much! I am glad to hear my writings are not just nonsense piled on more nonsense. :) And it was fun writing her with the ladies! It's always so delightful for me to explore Rohan and Rohirrim through her eyes.

Wondereye - Thank you!