The next morning Eomer made sure he found out exactly what that piece of paper that caused his wife's curses meant. He was very surprised to learn that it was a fertility scheme, he did not think such things existed and he was even more surprised that Glehwyn had lied to Lothiriel in order to assure him more access to her . It seemed that everyone was conspiring with him and it gave him a new sense of power. If his wife were to get pregnant by spring they would have to stay together on account of that and he would no longer be forced to ask her to stay. If she wanted a child then he was going to put in his best effort to ensure her one. This winter was going to be the most fun he had ever had in a relationship. First of all he wanted to play hard to get on a fertile day, see how far she would go to seduce him. He realized he wanted her to beg and that did not make him feel very good about himself.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted by Eothain :

"Milord, some five hundred people are soon going to be at the gates of Edoras. They came from the West because they have no more shelter there. What do we do ?"

"Give word to everybody to make room and heat wherever they can : their homes, their barns. Put up our army tents and get all our men to bring as much wood as possible."

"We also need food and some healers. If they came through this weather they will be frostbitten."
"Do we have food to spare?"

"We have what has been send from Dol Amroth as the Queen's dowry."

"Can we do without it?"

"Not really… not unless we start taking from the people's own provisions."

"I don't know if I should…"

The King was interrupted by Lothiriel bursting into the room.

"Eomer, there are a lot of people approaching."

"I know, they come from the West seeking shelter."

"Can Edoras provide it?"

She seemed genuinely concerned and Eomer felt bad for a second for everything he had thought of her that morning. Then he pushed that feeling aside and answered:

"Shelter, yes. However the food would have to come from your dowry."

"So?"

"So do you allow it?"

"What do you mean do I allow it? What am I supposed to do with all that wheat while these poor people starve?"

"So … yes ?"

"You certainly have an obsession with that word : YES! Give them the food and the shelter. I am going to go see if they need a healer."

"You most certainly will not!"

"Eomer! I worked in the Houses of Healing. I can be of help."

"No! You will stay away."

"Why?!"

"Yes, why?!" Eothain could not help but intervene.

"They may be sick, Lothiriel."

"Exactly!" she shouted.

"I can't risk you catching something."

"I won't. I've been around sick people a lot."

"Not in this weather you haven't. We have healers, they will handle it."

"How are the people ever going to accept me if you don't let me near them?"

"Lothiriel…"

"You don't want me accept me … I'm sorry. It was stupid of me. I'll go."

And with that she made for the door and left for her room.

Eomer knew he had hurt her and did feel sorry for it but he was genuinely concerned with her safety and health. He did want the people to like her but the thought of any possible harm coming to her made him feel as if he had failed as a husband. Little did he realize that all the harm she had come to since she arrived in Rohan was of his own making.

"Milday!" Glehwyn squeaked as she saw the Queen enter her house. "What are you doing here?"

"I need your help."

"Sure. What can I do ?"

"I need some clothes and something to cover my head. I can't be recognized."

"Why?!" the Captain's wife was alarmed.

"There's need for healers. I've seen the people, they are in very bad state, especially the children. I can help."

"I see but why do you need to hide?"

"They needn't know it's me. It might make them nervous. I also need you to translate for me. If your children can spare you."

"Of course, my mother is living with us, I can go."

What Lothiriel did not take into account was that her husband would feel bad enough about forbidding her to help that he would try to further explain to her his reasons and upon finding out she had left Meduseld he would leave all the madness of the five hundred people to his council.

She was hardly out the door when she was literally stopped in her tracks by a very angry Eomer.

"Oh, horse's shit!" she shouted, obviously exasperated. "You have hungry, sick people you need to attend to yet you go around hunting me down. Why?"

"Because , may the gods not strike me dead for saying this, right now you are more important to me… to Rohan than they are!"

"They will not know it is me, nobody will know, I swear."

Eothain had also caught up with his King and right now he was standing by his wife, just as surprised to see the royal couple interact in such an oddly passionate way.

"Lothiriel, I don't care what they know or don't know, I care that you do not get sick. Why can't you listen when I am talking to you?"

"Why can't you? I will not get sick, I will not get hurt and I will definitely will not get more popular than you, these men worship you for some strange reason I will never understand!"

"You will go to your room and stay there! Do you understand ?!"

"No! Why are you so cruel?!"

"Cruel?! For wanting me to spare you?"

"I can't sit around in that room with nothing else to do than wait for you to come and use me for sport."

"For sport ? Really?"

By now Eothain and his wife were really embarrassed by the scene but didn't know how to handle it other than stay put and shut up.

"Eomer, please, I've been just sitting around doing nothing for weeks, I can finally do something useful, please let me. Please."

She was begging and Eomer was really ashamed to feel aroused by this. What was wrong with him when it came to this woman ?

Lothiriel did notice the change in his gaze and without thinking lifted herself on her toes and whispered in his ear:

"If you let me help I will let you do that thing you wanted…with your mouth."

The King was shocked of how well she could read his reactions but in his turn whispered:

"You have already promised to let me do that, why do I need another bargain?"

"I'll let you do that and … whatever else you want."

"Whatever else?"

He couldn't believe he was having this conversation while his people needed him so much. He couldn't believe the Queen was bargaining her body in return for the ability to help his people. Right now she was a much better human than he was but he made a promise to himself to make her happy, very happy for striking this deal.

"Yes. Just no … "

"No what?"

"No others, please."

He took a step back and looked at her. She was red as poppies with tears fighting to leave her eyes.

"I don't understand." He said, this time out loud .

Eothain took his wife's hand and lead her inside the house leaving the young couple to some privacy.

"Lothiriel what do you mean by that?"

"I mean whatever else you want but just you!"

"Do you fear I would want to bring somebody else to our bed?"

"Would you?"

"Bema, no ! Where did that idea come from?"

"My brothers."

"I see. I can solemnly promise you there will never be any others."

"So … may I help if I give you … that… afterwards?"

"Why should I not ask for my pay in advance?"

"Really?! Your people suffer and you …"

He leaned in and kissed her. She was angry and she did not return it but neither did she pull away.

"I was joking. If you want to help that much, so be it. But you promise to be careful and the moment you feel tired or cold you retire to our room."

"Fine!I am not a child that you need to take care of."

"No, you are my wife and my responsibility."

"Not for much longer."

"You keep bringing that up. Are you that eager to be rid of me ?"

"Yes!" she shouted and though he was certain she didn't mean it, it hurt him badly.

He allowed her to fetch her Lady in Waiting and made sure she was hardly out of his sight all day. Seeing her taking care or his people revealed a Lothiriel he didn't know existed. She was caring, concerned and seemed to have such a soft touch as she attended to the children. He had to go several times and make her drink and take a bite out of a piece of bread and she did not stop until she made sure everybody was warm, fed and decently cared for.

Watching her all day Eomer knew she must have been exhausted. He was too.

As she entered the room she saw the big tub filled with water and realized it must be for her. Of course he would want her to wash if he wanted to … she felt like crying and hated him so much that moment than when he said 'good evening' she could not get herself to reply. She removed her clothes and got in the tub not even caring if he was watching her or not. The hot water felt so good and she was so tired that she just fell asleep.

The sun wasn't up when Lothiriel woke up. She looked at her husband sleeping beside her and trying to remember what had happened the night before she realized it was just blank. She could not remember anything from the moment she had walked into the room. She lifted the blankets and saw that her nightgown was on . Her hair smelled really good so she must have washed it. Why could she not remember anything? She felt all sore from the work she had done the day before so she could not find an indication or whether or not he had done anything to her. Had he gotten her drunk? Her breathing started to go all over the place and that's what woke Eomer up.

"What's wrong?" He asked all panicky because she was panicking again.

"What have you done to me?!"

"Nothing. What do you mean?"

"How did I get into this?" she asked pointing at her gown.

"I put you in that. I figured you did not want to sleep in the tub."

"You washed my hair?"

"It was already wet so yes."

"What else have you done to me?" hate was in her eyes

"I dried you, dressed you, put you to bed and covered you. I do not appreciate what you are implying I did."

"How do I know you didn't?" she was breathing fine now, the panic was gone, now she was just plain angry and he decided he could afford to be that to. Her attitude was insulting.

"First of all I do not take advantage of women when they are passed out. Secondly, you have promised to give me whatever I want when you are awake and responsive so why would I try to steal anything from you? And thirdly, I am very disappointed you still have such a low opinion of me."

"Oh, don't play the offended one ! You bargained with me for bed favors in return for my actually doing something decent."

"No, you bargained bed favors for that. I did not ask for it in return for allowing you to heal, you offered."

"You asked for the … mouth .. thing first!"

"Yes, I bargained one bed favor for another. I gave you what you wanted and asked for something in return. It was you who chose to bring all that into a totally different conversation."

"And you accepted!"

"Lothiriel, you would have been very offended if I hadn't."

"Still you had no right to just take it! "

"I didn't."

She could tell he was truthful. Indeed, why would he do anything to her while she was asleep when clearly his purpose was to embarrass her and see her squirm?

"I wish you had."

"So you could justify hating me right now?"

"So I wouldn't have to go through it wide awake."

"Do you even understand how deeply insulting that is?"

"Why?"

"You would prefer to be passed out when I make love to you and you ask me why?"

"Oh, I … I'm sorry. I was just … I thought you had…" Only now Lothiriel remembered her plan and her purpose. She was supposed to be kind and inviting not insane and doing all possible things to drive him away from her. How could she have forgotten that? Furthermore if indeed he had done nothing but put her to bed (which by now she was sure of)she had no reason to be mean to him.

"You thought I had raped you. Again."

"I'm sorry. I'll let you do whatever you want to me. Now." She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"I don't want to do anything to you now."

"Why not?!"

"Because you are only giving me permission to rape you which is not much better."

"How can you put permission and … that word in the same sentence?"

"So now you can't say it but you can think me capable of it?"

" I KNOW you capable of it!"

Eomer got out of bed and walked to the window.

Lothiriel cursed herself for having said that and in her turn bolted from the covers and went over to him.

"I am so …"

"Sorry. You keep saying that and then a few words later you accuse me again. I know what I did and I am far from proud of it. I should just let you be, we are only pretending to be married to each other. I make you mad and you loathe my every touch."

"I don't. You know I don't. Rather the opposite."

"I am not looking for praise."

"What do you want me to say?"

"The truth. " Saying that Eomer felt like the complete hypocrite he was, asking for honesty when he was so far from it himself.

"What good would it do me to tell you?"

"How is lying to me any better?"

"I have my dignity."

"That indeed you do. I am the evil ogre and you the suffering maiden."

"I think I might have been the ogre right now. Let me make it up to you."

"What do you want from me, Princess ?"

"Let me pretend I am still Queen for a while."

"You are still Queen."

"Then be my King."

"What does that mean?"

She took his hand and lead him back to the bed.

"Lothiriel…"

"Eomer, I had to do as you said all day yesterday. Don't I deserve to be humored a little bit ?"

"You do but I am not sure I am capable of humoring you."

"It doesn't become you to act so insecure, Milord."

"What's with the title all of a sudden?!" He could not understand how she could shift moods so quickly. What really worried him was that she could get himself to switch just like that as well.

"It is yours. As am I. " she said pulling the nightgown over her head.