Night had come. The land was wrapped in a blanket of darkness. A blanket so thick it was almost suffocating to the King as he continued his weary dash across the rolling landscape of Rohan. He had no idea how many nights had passed, nor was he aware of his location. He was living from moment to moment. Not caring for the hour, not caring about anything. He tried his hardest to keep dark thoughts from entering his mind, but they always seemed to come. Over and over a soft voice in his head echoed the question that burned at his very soul. "Why Eomer? Why is he so cold?" Lothiriel's maddening question burned into his mind.

Why? Why bless him with a son, only to take him again? He had only a month of life. Eomer had such dreams for the boy, such hopes, all of which were stolen in the night, disappearing with the last breath of an infant.

It had been his fault. All his fault. That plagued him more than anything. Lothiriel had been so tired, so weary. He had promised to wake first if the baby needed something that night, waking her only if the boy needed feeding. But he did not wake up when needed. Surely if he had not fallen asleep his son would still be living.

Eomer stopped suddenly, exhausted muscles burned in protest. Eomer gazed around the forest, feeling suddenly on guard. Someone else was with him, someone was watching him. He was suddenly fully aware of how dangerous his situation was. However, he gripped his spear in full determination, he would fight to the end of course, and if fate decided to send him to be with his son, so be it. Eomer waited in silence for the moment when his enemy would spring forth into the fray. He was almost itching for a fight, longing to focus on killing rather than allowing his mind to wander back to the dark places it had rested these past days.

The brush shuddered, as if his foe trembled, feeling his fury. Suddenly, a tumbling body came forth, so startled it tripped and rolled onto the ground in a ball of hands and feet, landing itself at Eomer's feet.

The little person looked up at Eomer, its mouth fell open in shock, and it struggled to its feet. This was no foe. It was a boy, a very small boy who could have seen no more than four or five years. The child was clearly Rohirric, and stared up at Eomer in awe. His eyes were wide as he took in the large, impressive warrior.

Eomer was surprised to see such a small one alone and quickly glanced around for someone with the child, but could see no one. It was instinct for Eomer to quickly gather the child into his arms. This was a dangerous part of the country, and it was never safe for such small children to wander alone in the wilds of Rohan.

The boy pulled back to get a better look at the man's face. He seemed surprisingly unafraid of the man who had suddenly gathered him up without a word. The boy turned his head to a side in a curious manner, studying the warrior. Finally he spoke, in a clear, strong, childish voice, breaking the silence that had fallen Eomer.

"Are you my father?" He asked.

Eomer turned to stare into the face of the child, surprised by the sudden and blunt question. He gazed into the hopeful face of the young boy, and his heart broke. Not just for the boy, who seemed to be silently pleading for his search for his father to be over, but for the title of 'father', which he had worn so briefly. He had never heard his son call him that, and he wondered for a moment if his own son's voice would have been as sweet as this boy's.

Eomer turned his face from the boy's so that the child would not see the hot tears that were collecting in his eyes. He refused to let them fall, quickly blinking them away. "No child." He replied softly. "I am afraid I am not your father."

The boy's face fell, "Oh." He was quiet a moment. Then he licked his lips. "Well then, may I get down? I must continue my search!"

"Lad, you are-" Eomer stopped his reply suddenly. He was about to tell the child he was far to small to search for his father alone, but on seeing the child's determined and hopeful face he stopped suddenly.

The boy had gotten the hint of what was about to be said, and a stubborn expression fell on him. "I am a big boy!" He said, crossing his arms. "I am nearly five after all!"

Eomer actually found himself holding back a chuckle at the willful young one. He strangely reminded him of Eowyn at that age. A reference he was sure the boy would not appreciate since Eowyn was a girl, but it still brought back fond memories of the willing little girl his sister had been. "You did not let me finish lad." He answered.

"Oh. All right then." The boy said brightly.

"You are my protection." He answered after a moment's thought. "I am lost, and looking for your village. When I saw you I thought perhaps you could show me the way?" He gathered what he hoped looked like a pleading expression.

The boy smiled brightly, feeling very important. "Very well then! I am Eorinae."

Eomer nodded, putting the child back down. He did not returning the smile, but was grateful for having a distraction from his thoughts. It was night. How late he could not tell, for he had no heed to the change from day to night since he had left Edoras. He watched the boy for a moment as the child yawned. Eorinae needed rest. "We shall rest here tonight." He determined, looking around the area. "How far is your village Eorinae?"

Eorinae climbed up to sit on a fallen tree, "I have only been gone a day. So a day's journey it must be!" He said, jumping down from the log to watch Eomer. "Do you have a son?" He asked.

Eomer cringed at the question and shook his head, "My son is dead." He answered softly. "He lived only a bit over a months time."

Eorinae gazed up at the man, a sympathetic expression formed on his young features, an expression with wisdom far beyond his years. "I am sorry." Eorinae replied softly. "My mother is dead too."

At these words Eomer thought suddenly of Lothiriel. He wondered if she was all right, and wondered if she missed him. Why should she? It was his fault their child was dead. He sat down on the damp forest floor, his muscles groaned, protesting the torturous march he had put them through.

The pair sat in silence. Eorinae had curled up by the fallen log, attempting to sleep. He was shivering a bit, Eomer noticed. After a moment of hesitation Eomer held out a hand to the boy, offering him to come closer and share his warmth. There was no sense in the boy freezing to death after all.

Eorinae clambered to his feet and surprised Eomer by climbing into his lap. He curled up in the arms of his protector, his blue eyes sleepy as he gazed about his surroundings. Suddenly he spoke softly, breaking the eerie silence that had fallen upon them.

"Do you think she is watching him?" He asked softly.

Eomer looked down at the young boy, perplexed. "Who?"

"My mother." The boy replied, turning to meet Eomer's eyes. "Do you think she is watching over your son?"

Eomer bit his lip and sighed, gazing up at the stars through the trees. "I don't know." He answered honestly. He then looked at the young boy, who was watching him. "I hope so."

Eorinae seemed satisfied by this answer. He leaned against Eomer with a sleepy yawn. "She must be. That's why she had to leave me. A baby needed her, and she knew that I was a big boy now." He nodded to himself, confident in this answer.

Eomer was surprised by the wisdom in the child's words, but he felt comforted by the boy. He suddenly realized that in his absence Lothiriel must be going mad with worry. He was only adding to her pain at the loss of their son, and he knew he could not run forever. He sighed to himself, watching as Eorinae fell into a gentle slumber. Eomer had lost his son, yes, but there could be other children. Eorinae could never have other parents. If this boy, this young child could find a purpose and continue on than certainly Eomer could as well. Rohan needed him. And most important of all, Lothiriel needed him. In the morning he would return Eorinae to his village, find a horse, and return to Edoras. Life must go on.

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A/N- Aww.... isn't Eorinae cute?? He's not mine! Hehe! Eorinae is on loan from Elessar King. You probably won't see him again in MY story. I just borrowed him because I was stuck and Elessar King was good enough to loan me her character so I could dig myself out of the hole. For more about Eorinae, read her TOTALLY AWESOME story Hunter of Thunder. It's one of my favorites and I'm commanding you to read it. Now.

Anyway, sorry about taking so long to update! I banned myself from fanfiction.net until I finished my evil case study. Which by the way is now complete. All 63 pages of it! Yay! Anyway, as exams are creeping up on me, don't get mad if I don't update really fast. You know me... I'm slow.

Rabid Cow: Yes.... I made Lothiriel insane. Hopefully someone will help the poor girl...... go read some humor! I need some humor too.... I don't know why I'm writing such a depressing story. It's probably to keep me from getting depressed too... anyway, thanks for the review! You rock!

Isa: Yay! I'm glad you like it! Anyway, sorry so long between updates. Stupid real world got in the way! I hate that! Anyway, thanks for the review :-)

Everlong: I should say I'll update when you update! LOL. Just kidding. I've made the brownies and I'll send them in the mail. Eomer will deliver them on a golden platter. Yep. So be on the look out! Thanks for the review!

TeleriMaiden: Yay for your update! You made me break my fanfiction.net fast. Hehe! Anyway, you got more.... it just took a while. SO SORRY! Thanks for the review. And your update. I was happy :-)

All you reviewers rock! You're my heroes! You all get brownies!

Now for the shameless begging. REVIEW!!!!! NOW!!! PLEASE REVIEW! I don't know when I'll get around to updating again. Classes have a way of giving me work. Stupid classes. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Elessar King gets mad cookies and yes, ice cream for lending me Eorinae.

Happy Reading!