The Lady of Rohan

Chapter 13

Siraviel:

A week had gone past since Seleth and I had made up, one week remained till the day of my doom, or wedding as Aronyth liked to call it. During the past week I had become a fantastic actress. I pretended to be positively thrilled with all the preparations, the gown, the guests, but inside I was dying. The only thing that kept me functioning was my darling Seleth. My parents had returned home for a short while to gather their belongings. Royal weddings took days and the banquets and parties afterward took even longer. They would return two days before the actual wedding.

I was in my room, fretting as usual, about what I was going to do when Seleth walked in.

"Hello darling! How are you holding up?"

"Oh Seleth it is just awful! All Aronyth talks about is the wedding. One more week he says bet you can't wait till…after… the wedding he says and gets this horrid look on his face. I can't take it! What are we going to do? I can't marry him!"

"You have to tell your parents as soon as they arrive Sira. They have to believe you. You can't get married to that low-life who plays king all day long. Something must be done. Something has to be done."

"I will tell them the moment they return. In the meantime, I will confide in Filith. I would trust him with my life."

"I am not so sure trusting him with your life would be a wise thing…"

"What do you mean?! Are you saying Filith is not trustworthy?! He is my best friend and my brother Seleth!"

"You are probably right…"

"I am right."

"Of course Sira, it's just… just that he and Aronyth have become good friends recently coincidentally. Aronyth seems to be quite good at becoming friends with people he wants to use."

"Don't be ridiculous Seleth. Filith would never be drawn in like that. You shall see."

I walked out of the room angrily, Filith not trustworthy? I laughed at the thought. I would go speak with him now, I told myself. I should have told him from the beginning.

"I guess I'll stay here then!" Seleth shouted at me from my room.

I stepped into Filith's room and cleared my throat. He turned and smiled at me politely. I ran to hug him but he tuned and carefully pushed me away. I was bewildered. When had Filith ever been proper around me?

"Is something the matter?" I said.

"No, nothing. I have the best news my sister. Aronyth is moving me to Gondor to continue my studies! I will be taught by the most renowned minds! Think of it! I am to become a scholar and quite possibly one of Aronyth's advisors when my studies are complete! He told me so himself. Isn't that fantastic?!"

"Oh… yes. But Filith…"

"I have heard some terrible things about Aronyth but I don't believe a word of it. People can be so jealous at times. Lord Aronyth is a great man and I will slay or turn in the first person to say something against him. Even if it were you sister." He laughed, "But of course you would never say anything of that kind, you are getting married to him. I am so happy to see you married to such a wonderful, truly noble man. You are very lucky."

"Yes… lucky."

"Why just this afternoon I heard Dinious talking badly about the king. He was saying something about Aronyth doing away with people of the kingdom who had done nothing wrong but to speak against him. He spoke of how Aronyth was an inhumane tyrant who tortured for pleasure and used woman like toys. Once one is used, he throws it away and buys himself a new one. Terrible lies he uttered. I turned him in to Aronyth and he had him thrown in prison to be tried for treason."

"What? But Dinious was one of our servants! He was your caretaker through childhood! How could you do something like this And how do you know that he wasn't telling the truth?!"

"How could he not be lying? I am happy to be serving my king."

"Our father is our king."

"Watch your tongue, dear sister. Part of my agreement with Aronyth is to serve him and no other. Aronyth is my king, I am proud to serve him."

"No! I must tell you about him! Everything is not as it appears! He is a wicked man and…"

"Silence! I will hear no more of this. You do not want to push me to my limit Siraviel. We have become too familiar with each other. Though we had a wonderful childhood, that childhood is over. You must treat me as a royal official and nothing more. I must treat you as a princess/ queen to be and nothing more. My King has advised me in this. Now, I have an appointment with my Lord shortly to discuss my studies and future in Gondor. Good day."

I stood in silence. How he had changed! It broke my heart, my dear Filith, my only brother. What had happened? I was so confused. I was sure of only one thing, he could not be trusted. Seleth was right.

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It was 3 days away from the wedding. Nearly everything was complete. My gown was finished, the cakes and food were prepared, the garden was decorated and I still had absolutely no idea what I was going to do. I had been avoiding Filith. My heart ached, knowing I no longer trusted him. I would greatly miss my companion, my friend, my brother.

I took a walk down to the gardens to take my mind off of everything. Though I hated to admit it, they were beautiful. Besides some servants setting up tables, the garden was reasonably empty. I turned behind a high wall of bushes. To my surprise, Seleth was standing there holding a bouquet of white roses.

"Siraviel. I know this is kind of bad timing seeing as how you are getting married in 3 days but had to tell you something. I have made many mistakes and have acted in ways I should not have. But there will never be anyone who loves you more than I do. I have known you since we were little children. We were able to see each other everyday and I never had to be without you. Now that we are older, I fear our separation. I could never be without you Sira, you keep me alive, and you are the reason I continue on even when I despair. If I lost you, I don't know how I would go on. Sira, you make me the happiest man in the world. I am going to ask you a question. If you say no, it will break my heart but I will understand. But if you say yes, if you say yes, you will know love and happiness everyday of your life. Siraviel, Lady of Rohan, will you marry me? Provided of course that we find a way to get you out of marrying the current man you are marrying and then no other scary, powerful men fall in love with you…"

I grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him hard on the lips.

"So… is that a yes?"