A/N:
This is the last chapter of Duty and Desire. Thank you for reading and a special thanks to all who have left reviews or have decided to follow or favourite this story.
Chapter Twenty One
When Eomer returned to Edoras, it was early November so the air was cold and the ground was covered with frost. Frige wore a blue wool dress and her grey fur lined cloak as she stood outside Meduseld and waited for him to approach her.
"Well met, Eomer King. I bid you welcome to Meduseld. Please take a drink from this cup as a sign of the hospitality of this hall," Frige greeted him. He nodded and drank the welcoming cup.
"Greetings, my queen. How fares Rohan in my absence?" Eomer asked.
"There was a sickness in one of the horse herds in the Eastfold and a sighting of a warg pack close to a village near the White Mountains while you were in Gondor. Both situations have been resolved. The councillors will tell you more on the morrow," she answered. She turned and went inside Meduseld. Eomer followed her.
"I have told the kitchens of your arrival so they have food and drink prepared for you and your men. If you will excuse me I wished to spend some time with Freya tonight. My other duties have meant that I have not ridden much of late," Frige concluded as they entered the hall. Before he could respond Frige had walked out of the hall. Eomer sat down at a table and eat a late meal with his men.
When Frige returned later to their bedchamber, Eomer was already dressed for bed and had ensured the fire was burning brightly in the heath. Once Frige had removed her cloak, Eomer walked up behind her and placed both his arms around her waist. He leaned in and kissed her cold cheek. She stiffened and then removed his arms a moment later as she walked to the wardrobe.
"Elfwine has been ill these past three days and I got very little sleep thinking of him with the healers. Thankfully he has now fully recovered and is sleeping in our bedchamber once more," Frige told him. Eomer took another look at Elfwine in his cradle when he heard that but his son seemed normal to him.
"I am glad to hear that Elfwine is now hale. I have missed you greatly," Eomer told her as Frige got into their bed. She placed a hand on his arm.
"I have missed you as well. Now get some rest," she told him as she lay down facing him.
"As you wish," he replied. He was quite tired and needed to sleep, Eomer thought. Mayhap a private discussion with Frige could wait until the next day, was his final thought before he fell asleep.
At the evening meal on the morrow Eomer turned to Frige as they finished their meal in the hall.
"May I talk with you privately this evening, my lady?" he asked her.
"If you wish. But first I had promised to read Isabel a story about the wife of Eorl, the first King of Rohan," Frige told him.
"May I join you? I have not heard that story since I was a child," Eomer said.
She nodded and then headed to Isabel's room. Ebba and Etheldred were also present though Aelfric was not. They got comfortable in their chairs close to the fireplace and then Frige began to read. While Ebba, Isabel, and Etheldred paid attention to the story, Eomer found his attention was centred on Frige. As he watched Frige read, Eomer realized that there was no other woman he wanted in his bed, as the mother of his children, or to rule the Eorlingas alongside him. But was she still clinging to the memory of her love with Cerdic? Had she accepted him fully into her heart rather then just their bedchamber? Once they had both wished their children good night, they walked to their bedchamber with Elfwine. Eomer entered first and then closed the door behind Frige as she settled Elfwine down in the cradle. Elfwine was sleeping at the moment so Frige's movements were quiet as she placed a blanket over his body.
"What did you wish to talk to talk to me about?" Frige asked as she turned to face him a moment later.
"I wanted to know what I am to you," Eomer insisted.
"You are my husband and the father of two of my children," she stated.
"But what of your feelings for me? Have your feelings toward me changed since we were wed?" Eomer had to know.
"I will tell you if I may speak more plainly," Frige replied.
"Please do so," Eomer requested as he walked closer to her.
"For some time after our marriage, I thought it was unfaithful to Cerdic's memory to be happy with another man. It was not until the birth of our son when I saw your expression as you held Elfwine for the first time that I felt we could be content as a family together and that my late husband would have wanted that. I am certain of your duty towards the Eorlingas, your skill on the battlefield, your kindness, and that we desire each other in bed. But of your heart in regards to me I know not. You ride away to perform your duties as king but do not tell me of any tidings until you return to Medusled," she explained. Eomer took a deep breath before he answered.
"I am comfortable with the command of men, killing in battle, or riding even when exhausted. But I am not skilled when it comes to expressing my feelings or writing letters. If I had known you wished to hear from me then I would have written to you. I have never told you but I wish you to stay by my side for the rest of our days," he told her firmly.
"Why?" Frige asked.
"The Eorlingas need you as do I. We married out of necessity but I have come to love you," Eomer admitted to Frige as he placed his hands on her shoulders.
"I also love you," Frige stated softly as she looked up at him and placed her hands on his chest. Eomer pulled Frige closer and kissed her. Soon the kiss took on a life of its own which made Eomer forget about everything else except the woman in his arms. Their clothes were hastily removed and they sank to the bed as their focus narrowed to each other. Sometime later, Elfwine gave a loud cry. Frige pulled herself away from him, rose from the bed, and put on a robe before she walked over to the cradle and lifted their son into her arms.
"I know what you need," Frige said quietly a moment later. She lay Elfwine down on the small chest at the foot of their bed and quickly changed the soiled cloth between his legs for a clean one then settled him back into the cradle. She pulled up the blanket around his small body and then watched as he swiftly fell back asleep.
"Come back to bed," Eomer told her. Frige nodded and settled alongside him in their bed. As Eomer drew the blankets up around them he reflected on the fact that when he had first been crowned king, Medusled had felt more like a hall than a home to him. But as he grew closer to Frige and they had children of their own that had changed. Content in that knowledge, Eomer fell asleep alongside his wife.