"You must speak to him Sunniva, I have spoken as much as I can bear and he will not listen, his stubbornness knows no respite."
Éowyn paced in the small quarters, her tears soon turning to anger at what had taken place between herself and her brother this night.
"I know not what I could say my lady, he will no more listen to an old woman than his own blood." Sunniva said, hands grasping gently to bring the agitated woman before her to some calm.
"You are as his blood." Éowyn snapped allowing herself to be stilled for a moment. "We must sway him, for all our sakes, his wishes cannot be brought forth and become a marriage. It does not bear thinking of what may come after. The nobles that will take advantage of a weak king ruled by his love of a woman so easily used as a puppet, as blackmail." Her hand flew to her mouth as more horrors flashed before her eyes. "Men like Grima will hold sway again over the Golden Hall."
"It may not come to all that, Éomer is strong willed." Sunniva tried to soothe.
"My uncle was strong, my uncle was a great king of men and still he fell." She brushed damp hair from her forehead. "If only my brother would listen to some reason."
"Éomer is obstinate; this is what he has always been. He knows I have my own concerns about his current situation, but what can I do Éowyn, deny him my help?"
"Yes, by all Béma! I would have you deny him!"
Sunniva looked taken aback and covered her mouth with her hands in shock. "My lady." She breathed. "You should not take the name of the Valar in vain."
Éowyn looked vexed at this reprisal and crossed her arms. "You must know some way to talk to him of this, to show him his wisdom is unsound on this matter?" She gently chewed her nail distractedly. "There must be something we can do, for no one else can."
Sunniva squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, knowing the secret that could be the answer and the calamity to all their current woes. Éowyn stopped, noticing the movement in mid bite, her eyes widening.
"What is it you know?" She pressed breathlessly, her body slowly coming to kneel beside Sunniva. "I would have you tell me, now."
"It is..." Sunniva stopped, her gaze dropping to the ground in shame. "A dangerous thing I know, one that may cause great hurt... great suffering." She said slowly.
"Is it greater than the fall of our people?" Éowyn said.
"No." Sunniva answered reluctantly. "It is not."
"Is it dangerous for my brother? Would his life be forfeit?"
"No, not if it remained unknown to those that did not need to know."
"I cannot stand here guessing the whole night Sunniva... I..." Éowyn's eyes lit up with understanding. "It is Aedre you speak of, it is she that will be put in harm's way?"
Sunniva nodded sadly, revealing this was a hard choice.
"Will you not tell me?"
This time Sunniva shook her head. "This I cannot do, if I can save her still, I would do so." She paused rising to her feet. "I will tell Éomer when it is right, soon." She reassured. "I will bear this and the punishment as I should have when I knew the truth of these matters." She picked up her woollen shawl from nearby and wrapped it slowly about her shoulders, warding off the cool drafts. "I have been an old fool in all this."
"Punishment?" Éowyn said with alarm. "Of what punishment do you speak?" She stood, taking the older woman's arm to restrain her for taking any further steps. "Will this harm you, is this dangerous for you also?"
"Perhaps." Sunniva said with a warm smile.
"Then there must be another way, one we have not yet thought of." Éowyn's eyes were wide and the tears had begun to re-surface.
"There is no other way, you know this." Sunniva said certainly. "We have been here for many hours, dawn is now upon us and we have no more time to talk." She patted Éowyn's hand tenderly, telling her to let go. "This is the only way."
"But I would not wish to lose you Sunniva, I do not think I could bear it." She bit her lip willing back the stinging tears. "You were the only one I could turn to after my mother's death, after all was lost, you still remained strong. I cannot bear it."
"We must all bear burdens we would not wish. " She took the younger woman into a motherly embrace. "And naught is yet set in stone, if I can find a way for all to be well, I shall do so, on this you have my word." She placed a soft kiss upon the crown of Éowyn's head before letting go. "Now, it is day and we must sleep, rest and be ready for what is to come."
"I will not sacrifice nor forfeit your life."
"It will not come to that, there now, don't cry." Sunniva said giving Éowyn a handkerchief to dab her tears with. "All must be set right in the Golden Hall, and I must bear the blame for allowing it to come this far, for it is my silence that has lead us all here, down this contrary path. Now, I must protect my Aedre as best I can, I must free the king to do what is right for Rohan." She gave Éowyn a steely look. "You must be steadfast and strong for your brother Éowyn, he will need you now as his darkest hour is upon him and he will have want of all the light to bring him through."
"Yes." Éowyn whispered feeling the weight of what these words meant.
"I fear..." Sunniva began but faltered and smiled instead, the familiar expression strained as she herself fought back tears.
"Speak what you will." Éowyn said fighting for her composure to be steadfast now.
"This may be our last meeting, my lady."
"""""""""""""""""
Aedre lingered by the stables, enjoying the freshness of dawn, she felt the chill wind burning her cheeks, leaving behind a warmness within her skin. The musky scent of horses and hay hung about her like a comforting cloak and she took solace in the familiarity.
She had found no sleep this night and her eyes ached from tiredness. She wondered if the feeling of anxious confusion would ever pass, if she would ever understand what had happened between her and the king. The panic it caused to bloom within her felt like a tremble that made it hard for her to keep still for any length of time and so she willed herself not to dwell on it or try and make sense of what had been, fearing she would lose herself completely to the fear it caused to bubbled forth.
Her eyes took in the many little thatched buildings about her, her gaze lingering upon the large wooden gate below that led to the town beyond and her memories took her back to the first night Éomer had kissed her, chased her down the cold mud laden slope and brought her back once more to kiss her again. She allowed a small, weak smile to spread across her lips at the remembrance, how simple things had seemed back then, before any of this unhappiness and doubt had crept into their lives. Looking out across the terrain she knew so well, Aedre felt like her weary gaze was not the same as it had been, all those years ago, she was not the same Aedre.
She was starting to think it was time to retreat inside when she saw a figure she knew so well striding down the steps towards the stable door. His posture and expression told all was not well with the king of Rohan and Aedre's brow furrowed in concern. Lightly she followed him, not wanting to burden him with her presence if he wanted stillness, but wanting to be near him all the same. In the warmth of the stables, she saw him go to Firefoot and she noticed the familiar tenseness in his muscles as he willed to ride out and free himself of whatever troubled him. Aedre would have revealed herself in this moment to offer comfort, but instead she was forced behind a large wooden pillar to hide as a figure moved deeper in the stables, causing the king to start.
"Who goes?" Éomer demanded gruffly.
"My lord." Came the graceful reply. "I thought none would be here, it is yet only just past dawn. I hope I did not disturb you." The dark haired princess revealed herself fully in the gentle torch light.
"My lady Lothíriel." Éomer gave a small but courteous bow. "No of course not, I am glad of the company." He smiled awkwardly.
"From your look, I think not." She said simply. "It seems you have many concerns weighing upon you."
Éomer shifted uncomfortably. "A king has many concerns." He said a little more harshly than he had wished, but the lady seemed to take no offence.
"I am certain they do." She touched his hand lightly, giving him sympathy without pity, friendship without expectancy. "And a king's concerns are his own burden to carry or share." She stroked Firefoot who chuffed at the attention. She sighed and looked around the stables. "If it pleases you, I can leave you to the silence, I could not sleep and so thought of spending time here, I find comfort in these animals."
"No." Éomer said. "Do not leave on my behalf, although I doubt I will be of much company or entrainment."
They both laughed softly. "That is also acceptable, as I need very little company, I can talk for us both if you wish."
Éomer chuckled. "Then you are indeed the perfect companion for such moments." He felt the heaviness of his argument with Éowyn leaving his shoulders ever so slightly, finding enjoyment in a simple conversation.
"When I had cares, small as they were, a brisk ride always cleared my head." She levelled a steady gaze at him. "I have yet to ride the plains for pleasure here; I have yet to find a capable guide." She darted an accusing look at him, a small smirk pulling at her lips.
"Then I have neglected my guest to an unquestionably rude degree." Éomer said smiling despite himself. "Would you ride with me now?" He cocked a quizzical eyebrow at her. "There is enough light and we could be back before the first morning meal is served."
Lothíriel grinned, an expression that made her look less delicate and more mischievously childlike. "I am not wearing my riding clothes." She chided.
Éomer flapped the material of her skirt, inspecting it for purpose. "It is a warm gown, you need no more."
She hesitated, but made her choice quickly. "Then I accept." Excitement gleamed within her eyes.
"Then let us have the horses readied." Éomer said gesturing for her to follow him. "The stable lads should be about their work somewhere."
Aedre waited in the shadows, her eyes taking in their preparations of readying the horses, then they mounted their own steeds and burst from the stables like a strong wind and cantered out on to the dirt path without a glance back and Aedre followed. Her route took her up the steps to the Mead Hall where she knew she could gain a good view. The pair continued merrily down the slope, past the gate and then through the silent town and out of the main gate within what felt like a blink of an eye. Once they were upon the plains both spurred their mounts onward in a galloping race across grassland and hill, the princesses skirts steamed out behind her like an extension of her own being and together they rode as if the cares of men held no sway.
Aedre watched their dark figures for what seemed an age, until her fingers felt numb with the chill morning air and she had no choice but to retreat back into the warmth of the hall. She cast one look back, to the free plains beyond, and bitterly hated the blue eyed lady.