Éothain stood with his arms crossed as he glared at his king. "You have done some foolish things in your time, but going out, alone, with no armor and only a sword to protect you! I know that we are in a time of peace, but there is always a chance at danger. Do I need to remind you that you are the last of your line?" He continued muttering under his breath as Éomer clapped his friend on the shoulder.
"You worry as much as a mother hen." He chuckled, "All turned out well enough. In fact, thanks to Lothíriel we may extend our peace to the people of Dunland and begin to mend the pains caused by long-standing enemies."
"Indeed I must thank Lady Lothíriel for I believe had you been on your own you might have walked right into one of those spears." He turned and walked away, "I swear, the fact that you turned her down is probably the worst decision you've ever made as a man and as a king." He began grumbling under his breath again as he walked away from his king. Éomer smiled to himself before leaving the room himself.
It had taken less than an hour for the dunlendings to arrive outside of Edoras where they were permitted to set up camp while the elder, his wife and two grandchildren were permitted to stay within one of the guest houses near Meduseld. They would need to meet in order to come to terms, but Éomer knew that the elder meant buisness about creating peace between their nations and it gave Éomer hope for the future of Rohan. There would be some, especially in the Westfold who would not be keen initially to trade and anything else to do with dunlendings, but he would see to it the peace would be maintained and the nation would prosper.
As soon as he stepped outside he spotted Lothíriel. She was chatting with the elder's wife in a mixture of westron and dûnish. Every once and a while, Lothíriel would say a word and the woman would correct her. Lothíriel's brow would furrow slightly as she repeated the word three times before continuing on with the conversation. The words that Éothain had spoken resounded with him. It had been a mistake, a grave one, and hopefully he could fix it before she left for Dol Amroth.
As he approached, Lothíriel spotted him and smiled. "This is Gerta. We've been talking about some of the customs of Dunland." Gerta turned to face Éomer and bowed slightly, though Éomer could see that it was difficult for her to bend forward. He reached out and helped her straighten.
"Please, don't hurt yourself in order to placate to me." He gave her a reassuring look. "I would ask that you and your husband come join me for our supper this evening and until then, please feel free to rest." Gerta nodded, her face relaxing.
"I will give your invitation to my husband." She nodded her head, rather than bow a second time before turning away, walking slowly to the guest house. As soon as she was out of earshot, Éomer turned to Lothíriel.
"I see that you're adding another language to your arsenal." Lothíriel lifted her chin at his comment.
"We work with the tools we are given." She paused for a moment, "You know, I could act as your interpreter while everything is being hashed out between Rohan and Dunland."
"I'm sure having someone along to smooth any miscommunication during translation would be a great benefit." He smiled. "In fact, I think having you by my side would benefit the whole of Rohan." Lothíriel's brow drew together as she looked warily at Éomer.
"What are you saying?" She crossed her arms over her chest.
Éomer moved closer to her, lowering his voice, "I'm saying that I don't know if I've ever met anyone who is as smart, decisive, diplomatic, witty and beautiful as you. I am saying that I have been a fool." Her arms came unfolded and fell to her sides as her eyes widened. "I'm asking if you would consider becoming my wife."
Lothíriel's mouth opened and closed a few times as she was about to say something but stopped herself before finally the words came out. "I thought we would only be friends. I thought I would have to enjoy my time with you and leave my feelings as unrequited." Éomer gently caught her by the chin and looked into her eyes.
"I didn't believe in love at first sight, and though it took some time for me to sort out my feelings, I believe I loved you since the day you saved my life and returned to your human form." He laughed quietly, "I know I've an odd way of showing it sometimes."
"Perhaps practice will make you better." She finally smiled.
"Perhaps it will." He bent covered the remaining distance and scooped her up into an engulfing kiss. She melted into him as his lips brushed and collided against her smoothed edges. His hands cupped her head gently while he tasted some of the honey from the mead they'd had that afternoon. Her own hands reached round him, her fingers tightening on the muscles on his back and he buried himself further into her.
"Well that answers that question!" Came a laugh. Éomer hated to do it, but he broke the kiss to look up and see Amrothos looking fairly smug. "You might want to conclude your smooching because Father's banner is on the horizon.
"Oh!" Lothíriel's face flushed, "what will we tell him?"
"What's to tell? As far as he's concerned, you're still engaged to him in the first place." Amrothos laughed again, "Though that was only an arranged match rather than anything to do with love."
"I think it's good that he's arrived already here." Éomer stated. "Because that means we can have the wedding as early as tomorrow."
"Are you sure?" Lothíriel looked shocked. "In Gondor it's customary to have an engagement period of a year at least. Not to mention the people that ought to be present."
"You will not be queen of Gondor but of Rohan and most of Rohan is still present or nearby from the Summer festival. So long as your family is present, there is nothing in the mark's traditions that state we must wait." Lothíriel's face smoothed.
"Then I suggest we prepare to greet my father upon his arrival." She laughed.