The new King and Queen of Rohan, part 2
The following morning, it seemed like everyone was in high spirit. And no big wonder, really, a coronation was a big event and given that Rohan was an ally of Gondor, it felt extra important for the two sons of the current Steward and their four cousins to be there as guests.
"Good to hear that Miss Rhaenys helped you by being a translator for yourself and her cousins when she presented you for them. It is good to try finding new friends and finding a way to make those secret alliances that we women often do in order to lessen some large-scale damage done by the ego or pride of men. Even a stepdaughter to an allied King is important in her own way, even if she is not sired by the King."
Lothíriel listened to her future sister-in-law Faeleth as she got some help in fixing the last details on her hair so her thick hair was gathered neatly in the long braid starting from the crown of her head and checking so her Anarkali suit did not tighten around her body in a way that did not flatter her curvy forms.
"Adar said that I will not have to feel restricted to the Gondorian nobility for a husband. With the Steward marrying my aunt and his two heirs as my cousins, suitors will come for my hand but he would like me to help tying Gondor and Rohan together through marriage."
Faeleth listened carefully. She was not yet familiar with what the current Prince of Dol Amroth hoped for his only daughter, but she could see what it could be wise to use marriage in the hope that Gondor and Rohan would be connected by more than just the Oath of Eorl the Young.
"Well, the Queen Mother is from a side branch of the House of Dol Amroth if I remember right. Sure, you can not marry the young Prince as a possible Queen consort because it is eleven years between your respective births, but the new King has a cousin that is eight years older than you, Lothíriel. A sister-son to the abdicated King and first-cousin to his successor is not too bad of a match. And not only that, as a member of the three Marshals of the Riddermark that commands the forces of Rohan, he would be a powerful marriage match."
As a daughter of a noble who was one of several commanders of the armies of Gondor, Faeleth knew what she talked about. It was not merely this widespread knowledge of the military that had gotten Elphir interested in her, but Faeleth also came from a old noble bloodline that were of Númenórean blood yet its members were known for supporting the belief of being more tolerant to those not of Númenórean blood, which had helped a lot with any possible problems they could otherwise have with Sita as the current Princess Consort of Dol Amroth.
"You think so?"
Of course, with the height that Morwen had passed down to her descendants, it was rather difficult to not notice Éomer since he was one of the tallest Rohirrim in Edoras, just like his uncle, aunt, cousin and sister. Lothíriel was still three years away from the earliest allowed age for marriage in Gondor for women, but nothing risky could come of a harmless infatuation which so often was a first learning step in love and romance.
"If anything, try to enjoy this coronation as one of the guests. Especially as it is impossible to know if Gondor will have a King again."
That was true, Lothíriel recalled. Many had more of less given up the possibility of Gondor getting a King again over the passing of time, for this very year marked 964 years since the last sight of the unwed and childness King Eärnur as he had rode past the gates of Minas Morgul where he undoubtedly met his death by the Witch-King of Angmar, and 25 generations since the Ruling Stewards had started to be the rulers of Gondor.
"I will, no worry, Faeleth. I have both my brothers and cousins to come to my rescue if needed."
For her own clothing today, Elia had chosen a caftan dress made in dark orange silk and silver embroidery. The colours were meant to present Dorne, but on both sides of her skirt the white horse of Rohan had been carefully embroidered as a sign towards the kingdom that she would soon be the Queen consort of. With her hair set up in a half updo, her earrings and necklace would be clearly visible. But she left her head bare for the crown that she would be crowned with by her husband, because that was tradition for the new King of Rohan to place a crown on his wife as a proof of that she would rule at his side, and ruling as an equal regent if she became widowed while their son and heir still was underage at the time her husband joined his ancestors in the afterlife.
"It is hard to choose when you looked your finest; at the wedding or today," Théodred said as he took in the full view of his Dornish princess, himself dressed in the fine clothes that he had worn at their wedding but with some new details added to show his new status from today on.
"I would choose when our twins were born, for that was a sign of the Valar and Mother Rhoyne blessing our union."
Perhaps she was being biased given that she had spent nine years with Théodred, five of them as his wife, against her three short years as the wife of Rhaegar, but Elia would never change her thoughts now when she knew the differences between her two husbands:
She would always end up choosing Théodred, because he had proven himself an honest person from the very beginning and proving himself to the royal prince that Rhaegar had failed to be in the long run. Compared to the very manly Prince of Rohan who had faced responsibility from an early age due to various circumstances, the Targaryen prince had been a spoiled airhead who had been born to too-young parents and treated as someone who could not do wrong.
"Madre, Feder!"
All four of the children now come to show off their own clothes that would be worn on this important event, and Elia smiled in pride over the sight. Perhaps Aegon would never be King himself, and Rhaenys would never be a royal princess that was the sister to a King, but their promised future as nobles in Rohan was far better than what could have been. While still so young, only four years old since the first day of this August, Aégnor and Andréth also had a secured future.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
The coronation ceremony was simple, at least by Westerosi standards from what Lysa recalled as she had been one of the many important noble guests at the coronation that made Robert Baratheon the new King of Westeros and the first non-Targaryen King for nearly three hundred years. No big ceremony inside a holy building, no anointing of the new monarch with holy oils, yet it was fitting the culture of Rohan which did not have any big temples or other indoor places of worship for the Valar.
Leading his court for the last time towards the large stone circle with the central altar, Théoden rode in the front with his sons and daughter-in-law right behind him, his grandchildren, nephew, niece, sister and mother following after them as a sign of belonging to the royal family. The important guests from Gondor being next together with the Martells, then followed by the other two Marshals of the Riddermark and Rohirric nobles according to their rank.
"Théoden kyneg! Théoden kyneg!"
While Théoden was the first known King of Rohan to abdicate, it was for understandable health reasons that many commoners around his own age could relate to, for even the position as King of Rohan did not spare the holder from health issues that could show up in a life where the King and his male relatives faced the same dangers as their people and many of the nobles trusted his judgment that his Kingdom would fare better with his son in change, for Théodred were a mature adult with all the experience he needed in his new role and married with a family as well.
By placing his sword and own crown on the central altar, Théoden showed the Valar that he was leaving his Kingdom to the next generation.
"I trust you, my son, to manage this burden with the faithful woman at your side. So kneel for the last time, and take the role you were born to."
Taking a deep breath to not not get a lump in the throat, Théodred knelt in front of his father so everyone could see the royal power formally being shifted by the crown that would be placed on his head. It was a new crown as per the tradition that each King of Rohan would have a distinct crown so future generations would know which crown that belonged to each King, crafted in steel and decorated with small fire opals, diamonds and emeralds in a circle across the middle as a tribute to Dorne and Rohan, the homelands of the new Queen and her King.
With the crown now on his head as a sign of that he was the new King, Théodred rose carefully to stand in his full height and holding the crown that Elia now would wear as his Queen consort and she knelt so he could place the crown on her own head. Elia's crown was made in copper, and decorated in the same manner as her husband's. When she was helped back to her feet by him and both turning to face the gathered crowd, the people called out their new titles:
"Hail, Théodred Kyneg! Hail, Elia Cwen!"
With everyone kneeling for them, it was the starting mark of their reign as the eighteenth King of Rohan and his consort. Despite that it was not needed for him as a now previous King, Théoden still offered his own sword to his son as a part of his oath of fealty for the new leader. In return, Théodred gently helped his father stand up, mindful of the arthritis that the former King tried to hide because he did not want to seem weak. By helping his father back to his feet, Théodred also proved that he stayed true to his father by showing filial piety.
"With my own son still a young child, I trust you to be the First Marshal of the Riddermark if I am injured in such a manner that I can not lead the Rohirrim, feder, if it shall not become a burden too great for you in the coming years."
By giving his father the authority to lead the Muster of Edoras if he could not due to illness or injury, Théodred made it clear that he still respected his father. Of course, by taking up the role of King, Théodred could no longer be the Second Marshal of the Riddermark, so he had to name someone to fill that role now and few saw a problem in him giving the highly respected noble Elfhelm this position. As Éomer already had taken the role of Third Marshal of the Riddermark some years ago, he therefore swore his oath of fealty to his cousin as such.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Naturally it was a great celebration after the coronation, with lots of food, drink and entertainment.
"Look, it seems like Padre have found a kindred spirit, perhaps about history or something such," Oberyn said with a small smile to Doran when they spotted Ihsan sitting a bit further away with Faramir, and Éowyn acting as a translator because she had learned some of the language in Dorne from Elia and would be able to help Ihsan understand the Sindarin that was spoken in Gondor. But now it seemed like their widowed father let the two younger persons end up talking with each other, for the younger son of the Steward and the female cousin of the new King focused on each other.
"More like trying to be a match-maker without showing it since he has a good eye for spotting when two people may suit each other even with different personalities," Doran laughed, taking more of his wine.
Where they were socializing with a few of the ladies-in-waiting that lived in Meduseld as part of serving Elia or Morwen, Mellario and Ellaria were also noticing things could become a little promising in the future.
"If I am not wrong, that handsome young fellow talking to Arianne now is Daemon Sand. He has grown up nicely since they must have seen each other last."
Of course, Mellario was not worried about her daughter perhaps getting a crush on Daemon now seeing how he promised to look like an adult in a few years. If things went as intended, then Daemon would be able to bend the rule about not being a possible suitor to the future ruling Princess by being a bastard, because she had heard that Aldor and his wife Dewfled was talking about adopting Daemon for real so he would become a legal child by adoption and thus be able to marry Arianne while letting their firstborn be the heir to Aldor's ancestral estate without letting a possible succession confusion happen in the future.
"Daemon have a good reputation despite his birth, and his commoner blood from his birth mother is yet another victory against the Targaryen inbreeding from Daenerys that the Martells have tried to suppress over the past century by marrying as distant relatives as possible or even adding in new blood as yourself, the other mothers to the four oldest Sand Snakes, myself and Théodred," Ellaria agreed. The two women could see that Arianne almost seemed spellbound by Daemon when he offered her to be his dance partner, but they were also in an age where romance could be a tricky thing.
"Well, she knows that we would not want her to be married yet. The age of eighteen at the earliest, as we told her, and preferable to a man that she will not regret marrying later when they have children of their own. Marriage is one of those big changes in life that is no joke."
Even at being counted as a legal adult now by law in Dorne and Westeros, Arianne knew better than rushing into marriage. Her future as the next ruling Princess of Dorne was already secured, and she had three younger brothers as her first heirs if anything should happen before she married. It would have been a different case if she had been an only child and had fewer cousins.
Thanks to the merry mood created by the music, Lothíriel had joined others in dancing and now found Éomer as her partner for the next dance. Blushing at realizing who it was, she still managed to avoid tripping over her own feet.
"I hope that this coronation has been pleasant so far, Princess?" he asked, showing the manners that Morwen had taught her five children and three surviving grandchildren to use when people from Gondor were around.
"Yes, and I am very happy over being one of the guests. Shows one of the joys of having pen pals like Rhaenys and learning of the culture that Queen Elia comes from. She and your cousin are a fine pair together."
Having danced together with their cousins and other relatives before taking a small break, Rhaenys and Aegon were now watching Éomer and Lothíriel together. She could see from his eyes that his gift of foresight could perhaps be acting up.
"Are you too sensing that something important will come from them?" Rhaenys whispered in a soft voice to her brother, nodding towards the dancing couple as Faramir and Éowyn also joined the dancing. Rhaenys may not have the same magic as her brother, but the part of her soul that once had been Mara, the daughter of Khamúl, would still sometimes react to whatever Aegon would soon have a new vision.
"Grandmother Rhaella will be reborn as the first child of Éomer and Lothíriel at the beginning of March in less than five years."
However, Aegon could not explain why he had also sensed a massive feeling of danger in that vision. Was it a warning about the future war against Sauron? Yet somehow, he knew that Helm's Deep would be the place.
"Really?" Rhaenys breathed in wonder, "then she will be given all the personal freedom and choices to live her own life as she wants, that she was denied as a Targaryen Princess and Queen! She will finally have a real family that loves her!"
Without any doubt, the two siblings already knew, Éomer and Lothíriel would be the loving, supporting parents for the reborn Rhaella that the long-dead Jaehaerys II and Shaera Targaryen had never been to their only daughter. If there was any woman from Westeros who deserved happiness in a new life, it was Rhaella.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Author note: King is kyneg and and Queen is cwen in Anglo-Saxon
As per my attempt of giving the various female characters realistic differences as well following that RL historical cultures across the world had different beauty standards (AND ignoring that Martin seems to favor modern beauty standards of slim female bodies), Lothíriel is going to be a plus-size biracial beauty
I headcanon the Anarkali suit to be the formal dress for high-status women in the part of Harad where the ancestors of the current Princess consort Sita of Dol Amroth came from. Why did they leave Harad and ended up in Gondor where they were seen as Easterlings? A civil war between the followers of Sauron and those who did not want to follow him anymore.
Since Elphir is the future Prince of Dol Amroth after Imrahil, I figured that I could try to give his future wife a name and some form of personality too, since Lothíriel is still going to be underage for another three years, meaning that she will not leave her childhood home yet and the fact that their son Alphros is a toddler during the War of the Ring. Faeleth is a female name that means "Just/Generous One" in Sindarin, which is spoken in Gondor