A/N: Yes! I'm back! Thanks so much to star queen since I have the spellings
right. Yay! I still don't own anything except for Niliwen. It's still an AU
(see chapter 3 for what I mean). Have fun!
Breaking more Rules
After the incident in the woods, I thought that I was really going to get it from Faramir and Éowyn. Thankfully, those two were quite forgiving when it came to the fact that I was afraid of heights. However, it was Beregond who was quite cross at my actions that day. On my part, I was afraid of what would happen at court thanks to our idiocy and my phobias. Éowyn had told me before that there were three sides to living a life like this. They are the everyday sides, the field side and the diplomatic side. So far, my field and everyday life was a hilarious comedy of errors.
Then, the opportunity came for me to show what a courtly or klutzy lady I could be. King Éomer of Rohan, Éowyn's older brother was marrying Faramir's cousin Lothíriel of Dol Amroth in January of next year. Naturally, this was another big diplomatic occasion, so everyone was as busy as bees again. Éowyn was pretty much forced to give Beregond and me a crash course on Rohirric and on some customs in Rohan. As of this writing, I'm still struggling with the language and I think I'm going to get the hang of it in probably another Age.
Anyway, we set out for Rohan early in January, and I have to admit that the trip was quite tiring. I suffered from a sore bottom since we were going on a long horseback trip, not a leisurely patrol in Ithilien where we could camp at the slightest notice. This was another story altogether. Beregond left me in charge of Bergil, who had to be persuaded to come along on this trip. Honestly, I wondered how could Éowyn ride the long leagues from Edoras to Minas Tirith, and still have the strength to face off the Witch- King.
Upon our arrival in Edoras, I was left to bring the horses to the stables, where I accidentally crashed into several stableboys. "Sorry!" I said after I'd exchanged a few harsh words with them. The boys whispered among themselves in Rohirric, and I had to struggle to figure out what they meant. Turned out that they were insulting me. I threw back a reply, and in the process I managed to mix up Rohirric and Westron in the same sentence. Oops.
Thirty minutes later, Elfhelm the Marshal escorted me to the Golden Hall after he'd gotten me out of my argument with the stable boys. By now I was thoroughly embarrassed so I was hesitant to speak to my companions about what had delayed me at the stables. For sure, Beregond would doubt my sanity if I let him know. Well, just as always, I didn't have to tell anyone, for whom else but the Princess of Dol Amroth herself had passed by the stables and heard nearly half of my babble. After I found out about this from Elfhelm, I was sure that either the stable boys or Princess Lothíriel herself would tell the King, and soon the news would reach Faramir, Éowyn, Beregond and Bergil. In short, I was in another scrape.
I learned the hard way that stablehands are faster than princesses when it comes to giving news. True enough, before I met up with Éowyn, she'd heard about my scrape three times: once from a stablehand, the second and third times from her brother and her future sister-in-law. "I'm sorry for my actions," I said remorsefully after she called me into her sitting room. "I can see sometimes your tongue runs faster than your mind. You must be more prudent next time, Niliwen" she said. "I will. Is there anything you also wanted, Éowyn?" I said. "No, but you should know that supper is at eight, and please be on your best behavior, at least until we leave. King Elessar and Queen Arwen are arriving tonight, if not tomorrow. You may go to your room" she replied. I left the room quickly, glad that I hadn't been chastised too badly.
Turns out I wasn't the only one who had a language problem. Believe it or not, my biggest critic Beregond actually got slightly humiliated in the marketplace while trying to buy a few rolls of bread. Bergil really had to keep a straight face while his father was trying to extricate himself from his little fix. Then Faramir himself got slightly confused when he was talking to some of the lords of this realm. Thankfully he was able to keep his composure and apologize, quite unlike what Beregond and I did in our own situations. I found this all out from Bergil sometime before dinner, and the arrival of the King and Queen of Gondor.
Over the next few days, things went just fine, until the day of the wedding itself. It all began when I woke up an hour later than usual. Great, for someone who is supposed to be helping out and whom by all rights should be up early, I woke up late. I found out later that I didn't really have to worry since everyone, even the bride overslept. The reason for this was because of all the preparations, some last minute drinking and some attempts at a stag party for King Éomer.
But for now, this fact wasn't known to me as I peeked into Faramir and Éowyn's sitting room. Surprisingly, all was silent. Now this was strange because I knew that Faramir at least would be up at this time. Well, I was debating on whether to knock to try to wake them up or leave them in peace, when the door leading to the bedroom in front of me swung open. "What time is it?" I heard Faramir ask. "It's already half-past nine sir. Wasn't the ceremony supposed to begin at eleven?" I replied. Then I heard someone run to the sitting room door behind me at the same time that I saw Éowyn appear beside her husband. "My lady, forgive me for interrupt-" a lackey said breathlessly as he threw the door open. "Yes, we know we're late" Éowyn said. "Well, we mustn't waste time now, otherwise we're not going to hear the end of this" Faramir said as I began to leave the room.
At eleven, I was still lining up outside the bathing chambers since the servants before me were taking an Age to finish their business. I should've used the upstairs room, but since quite a lot of visitors were queuing, I went to the other chambers, and now I was late and the upstairs chamber was probably locked. I told Beregond that I'd meet him and Bergil later in the Hall, but I guess that meeting would have to be postponed.
At eleven-thirty, I finally arrived in the Hall, just halfway through the ceremony. Indeed, the hall looked magnificent with its many tapestries of the Kings and the splendor of the people seated there. As I picked my way through the crowd, I stepped on a few toes by accident and by the time I reached my companions, I'd received a fair share of verbal abuse from the less delicate of tongue among the servants and dignitaries. "What happened to you?" Bergil asked when he saw me approach, all flustered and red. "Nothing, so keep quiet" I snapped.
The banquet after the ceremony was quite lavish, and even us attendants of the lords and ladies had a good time eating and drinking. By the time the opportunity presented itself to propose toasts to the newlyweds and drink to their health, some present, including me, had a little too much wine. So I was slightly tipsy as I stood to refill some of the cups, and as I picked up a bottle, I could smell the wine on my breath. Beregond noticed that I was close to the point of drunkenness and he cringed a bit as I filled his cup and nearly spilled some wine on the floor.
Fate turned against me since when Prince Imrahil, now King Éomer's father- in-law, began to make his speech, I hiccuped a bit, and some ladies, including Éowyn looked in my direction. I turned pink as I choked out "Excuse me", much to some people's relief. Now I wanted to quit the room, but I had to stay out of politeness. Then I accidentally ate a nice bit of hot pepper that was left on my plate, using the wrong utensil as usual. So, my face was turning scarlet as I looked for some water to wash down the pepper's heat, when I raised the wrong glass as we were raising a toast to the many ties between Gondor and Rohan. Thankfully nobody really noticed, or so I thought.
I knew by now that I'd broken half of the rules of protocol, and I didn't have to be reminded anymore. "There was water in your glass, wasn't there?" Elfhelm asked me as I got up from the table, since there was going to be a dance in celebration. I nodded sheepishly as he tried to control his laughter. "I won't tell anyone" he said. "Please don't" I begged before I heard the music begin.
Nobody danced with me, thankfully. So I was quite happy, yet a bit embarrassed as I retired to my room that evening. On my way up, Beregond met me in the hallway. "You were quite behaved for once today," he said to me. "Thank you, but I know I have a long way to go," I said. But I was quite happy for the compliment. Finally, I was starting to get a grip on my new life.
A/N: Whew! Alright, there's a pretty little button down there that says "Review". Come on, it doesn't bite!
Breaking more Rules
After the incident in the woods, I thought that I was really going to get it from Faramir and Éowyn. Thankfully, those two were quite forgiving when it came to the fact that I was afraid of heights. However, it was Beregond who was quite cross at my actions that day. On my part, I was afraid of what would happen at court thanks to our idiocy and my phobias. Éowyn had told me before that there were three sides to living a life like this. They are the everyday sides, the field side and the diplomatic side. So far, my field and everyday life was a hilarious comedy of errors.
Then, the opportunity came for me to show what a courtly or klutzy lady I could be. King Éomer of Rohan, Éowyn's older brother was marrying Faramir's cousin Lothíriel of Dol Amroth in January of next year. Naturally, this was another big diplomatic occasion, so everyone was as busy as bees again. Éowyn was pretty much forced to give Beregond and me a crash course on Rohirric and on some customs in Rohan. As of this writing, I'm still struggling with the language and I think I'm going to get the hang of it in probably another Age.
Anyway, we set out for Rohan early in January, and I have to admit that the trip was quite tiring. I suffered from a sore bottom since we were going on a long horseback trip, not a leisurely patrol in Ithilien where we could camp at the slightest notice. This was another story altogether. Beregond left me in charge of Bergil, who had to be persuaded to come along on this trip. Honestly, I wondered how could Éowyn ride the long leagues from Edoras to Minas Tirith, and still have the strength to face off the Witch- King.
Upon our arrival in Edoras, I was left to bring the horses to the stables, where I accidentally crashed into several stableboys. "Sorry!" I said after I'd exchanged a few harsh words with them. The boys whispered among themselves in Rohirric, and I had to struggle to figure out what they meant. Turned out that they were insulting me. I threw back a reply, and in the process I managed to mix up Rohirric and Westron in the same sentence. Oops.
Thirty minutes later, Elfhelm the Marshal escorted me to the Golden Hall after he'd gotten me out of my argument with the stable boys. By now I was thoroughly embarrassed so I was hesitant to speak to my companions about what had delayed me at the stables. For sure, Beregond would doubt my sanity if I let him know. Well, just as always, I didn't have to tell anyone, for whom else but the Princess of Dol Amroth herself had passed by the stables and heard nearly half of my babble. After I found out about this from Elfhelm, I was sure that either the stable boys or Princess Lothíriel herself would tell the King, and soon the news would reach Faramir, Éowyn, Beregond and Bergil. In short, I was in another scrape.
I learned the hard way that stablehands are faster than princesses when it comes to giving news. True enough, before I met up with Éowyn, she'd heard about my scrape three times: once from a stablehand, the second and third times from her brother and her future sister-in-law. "I'm sorry for my actions," I said remorsefully after she called me into her sitting room. "I can see sometimes your tongue runs faster than your mind. You must be more prudent next time, Niliwen" she said. "I will. Is there anything you also wanted, Éowyn?" I said. "No, but you should know that supper is at eight, and please be on your best behavior, at least until we leave. King Elessar and Queen Arwen are arriving tonight, if not tomorrow. You may go to your room" she replied. I left the room quickly, glad that I hadn't been chastised too badly.
Turns out I wasn't the only one who had a language problem. Believe it or not, my biggest critic Beregond actually got slightly humiliated in the marketplace while trying to buy a few rolls of bread. Bergil really had to keep a straight face while his father was trying to extricate himself from his little fix. Then Faramir himself got slightly confused when he was talking to some of the lords of this realm. Thankfully he was able to keep his composure and apologize, quite unlike what Beregond and I did in our own situations. I found this all out from Bergil sometime before dinner, and the arrival of the King and Queen of Gondor.
Over the next few days, things went just fine, until the day of the wedding itself. It all began when I woke up an hour later than usual. Great, for someone who is supposed to be helping out and whom by all rights should be up early, I woke up late. I found out later that I didn't really have to worry since everyone, even the bride overslept. The reason for this was because of all the preparations, some last minute drinking and some attempts at a stag party for King Éomer.
But for now, this fact wasn't known to me as I peeked into Faramir and Éowyn's sitting room. Surprisingly, all was silent. Now this was strange because I knew that Faramir at least would be up at this time. Well, I was debating on whether to knock to try to wake them up or leave them in peace, when the door leading to the bedroom in front of me swung open. "What time is it?" I heard Faramir ask. "It's already half-past nine sir. Wasn't the ceremony supposed to begin at eleven?" I replied. Then I heard someone run to the sitting room door behind me at the same time that I saw Éowyn appear beside her husband. "My lady, forgive me for interrupt-" a lackey said breathlessly as he threw the door open. "Yes, we know we're late" Éowyn said. "Well, we mustn't waste time now, otherwise we're not going to hear the end of this" Faramir said as I began to leave the room.
At eleven, I was still lining up outside the bathing chambers since the servants before me were taking an Age to finish their business. I should've used the upstairs room, but since quite a lot of visitors were queuing, I went to the other chambers, and now I was late and the upstairs chamber was probably locked. I told Beregond that I'd meet him and Bergil later in the Hall, but I guess that meeting would have to be postponed.
At eleven-thirty, I finally arrived in the Hall, just halfway through the ceremony. Indeed, the hall looked magnificent with its many tapestries of the Kings and the splendor of the people seated there. As I picked my way through the crowd, I stepped on a few toes by accident and by the time I reached my companions, I'd received a fair share of verbal abuse from the less delicate of tongue among the servants and dignitaries. "What happened to you?" Bergil asked when he saw me approach, all flustered and red. "Nothing, so keep quiet" I snapped.
The banquet after the ceremony was quite lavish, and even us attendants of the lords and ladies had a good time eating and drinking. By the time the opportunity presented itself to propose toasts to the newlyweds and drink to their health, some present, including me, had a little too much wine. So I was slightly tipsy as I stood to refill some of the cups, and as I picked up a bottle, I could smell the wine on my breath. Beregond noticed that I was close to the point of drunkenness and he cringed a bit as I filled his cup and nearly spilled some wine on the floor.
Fate turned against me since when Prince Imrahil, now King Éomer's father- in-law, began to make his speech, I hiccuped a bit, and some ladies, including Éowyn looked in my direction. I turned pink as I choked out "Excuse me", much to some people's relief. Now I wanted to quit the room, but I had to stay out of politeness. Then I accidentally ate a nice bit of hot pepper that was left on my plate, using the wrong utensil as usual. So, my face was turning scarlet as I looked for some water to wash down the pepper's heat, when I raised the wrong glass as we were raising a toast to the many ties between Gondor and Rohan. Thankfully nobody really noticed, or so I thought.
I knew by now that I'd broken half of the rules of protocol, and I didn't have to be reminded anymore. "There was water in your glass, wasn't there?" Elfhelm asked me as I got up from the table, since there was going to be a dance in celebration. I nodded sheepishly as he tried to control his laughter. "I won't tell anyone" he said. "Please don't" I begged before I heard the music begin.
Nobody danced with me, thankfully. So I was quite happy, yet a bit embarrassed as I retired to my room that evening. On my way up, Beregond met me in the hallway. "You were quite behaved for once today," he said to me. "Thank you, but I know I have a long way to go," I said. But I was quite happy for the compliment. Finally, I was starting to get a grip on my new life.
A/N: Whew! Alright, there's a pretty little button down there that says "Review". Come on, it doesn't bite!