Chapter 12
"Lawen," said Éowyn. "My how you've grown."
"Your majesty," Lawen said with a bow. "It is a pleasure to see you."
"You do not have to bow to me, my dear," Éowyn said. "You are the Princess of Middle-earth. We bow to you."
"Please, Lady Éowyn," Lawen said, "I don't want anyone bowing to me."
"What brings you here then?" asked Éowyn, leading them into the thrown room.
"I'm on my way somewhere," said Lawen. "It's a long journey that I'm looking forward to."
"Where is this journey taking you?" asked the queen of the horse people as she sat on her thrown.
"Far from here, Lady Éowyn," Lawen said. "I do not know where exactly but it is going to help me find myself."
"Excellent," said the queen. "Who is your friend, my dear?"
"Oh, your majesty, this is Malithra the sorceress," said Lawen. "Malithra, this is her majesty the Queen of Rohan."
"It is an honor to meet you, your majesty," Malithra said with a curtsy.
"You both must be tired," Éowyn said. "Théoden, why don't you show these two young women to their rooms."
"Yes, mother," Théoden said with a smile. "Please follow me."
Théoden led the two women from the thrown room into a hall lined with doors. He soon stopped at a door on the left and said, "Malithra, this will be your room while you are here."
"Thank you, Prince Théoden," Malithra said going into her room.
Lawen followed Théoden down the hall until they came to doors that were decorated even more than the door to Malithra's room. As they walked deeper into the castle, she locked her arms with her tall guide. Théoden was a tall muscular man with long brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a suit of armor adorned with horses from his helmet to his feet.
"I'm going to guess that we're in the royal area of the castle," said Lawen, looking up at him.
"Correct," Théoden said, looking down into her sparkling green eyes. "This will be your room."
They had stopped in front of a room with emerald green fabric flowing around the door. Théoden opened the door, stepped back, and allowed Lawen to enter her room. The room was filled with green fabric covering several pieces of furniture.
"This is your room," he said closing the door behind him. "Do you like it?"
Lawen sat on the bed and looked at him. "Or course," she said shyly. "You remembered my favorite color."
"How could I forget," he said. "You always wore green no matter what it was. Even the trim on your riding suit is green."
"That's true," said Lawen, grinning mischievously. "Why don't you go get out of that suit of armor and I'll change into something a little more comfortable when my cloths get here. Then we can talk about what's happened over the last eleven years."
A sly grin spread over Théoden's lips. "Of course," he said opening the door. "I'll send your things right down."
"Okay," said Lawen as the door closed.
Once Lawen was back in her dark green gown and Théoden in his normal cloths, the two spent hours talking about the last several years. As the sun disappeared behind the mountains, Lawen's tough attitude changed into a sweet and fun loving attitude.
"When I stopped you earlier you acted as though I was the bad guy," said Théoden as they stood outside watching the sky change from pinks and reds to blues and black. "Now your completely different. Why is that?"
"I feel safer in the dark," said Lawen looking up at him. "I can hide in the shadows and not worry about things."
"I see," Théoden said wrapping his arm around her waist. "You never answered me about whether or not you have found that special someone."
"I don't know if I have or not," Lawen said looking away from him. "After leaving the castle without a word I wouldn't be surprised if he never wants to see me again."
"No one knows you left home," said Théoden surprised. "What made you do that?"
"I don't know," said Lawen walking away from him. "I just don't know what's going on anymore. I'm so confused."
Théoden slowly wrapped his arms around Lawen and held her to him. "Let's go to your room," he said. "It's late and you must be tired."
"Okay," she said as he led her back into the castle.
As they entered Lawen's room, Théoden quickly closed the door behind her. They sat down on the bed side by side and Lawen leaned against him. Soon, Théoden could no longer ignore the urge to kiss this sweet and innocent soul that he had fallen in love with. He gently cupped the young elf's chin in his hand and tipped her head upwards so that he could look into her eyes. Slowly, he lowered his lips to hers.
A wave of heat washed over Lawen's body as Théoden kissed her. This felt so right, but was it? Or was it wrong in every aspect? Should she be kissing this prince while she may still have a chance with Legolas? As Théoden continued to kiss the young princess, her worries seemed to melt away. This is what she wanted. She wanted to be loved by someone who would truly show it. She wanted to be needed.
Slowly both began to undress and soon were naked and under the pale green sheets of the bed. Gently, Théoden kissed Lawen's silky body as she lay there enjoying his touch. As the night dragged on, Lawen soon curled up against Théoden and fell asleep. He carefully kissed the sleeping princess and soon, too, fell asleep.
