AN: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I'm so relieved that I haven't
gotten flamed yet...*knocks on wood* But don't stop ;)
**Standard Disclaimer Here**
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
The next day Eomer asked me to go riding with him. I was nervous about spending so much time alone with him...but I did want to see more of Rohan, and who better to show one around a country than the king?
At first we traveled in rather awkward silence, conversing politely about the weather and things like that when necessary. Eventually, though, we both opened up a little more. I learned a great deal about Eomer son of Eomund. He told me about the early deaths of his parents, how he and his sister had been raised by their uncle Théoden, and how he had become heir to the throne when his cousin had died. I sensed from the way he spoke that he did not think he was a particularly good king, but that he did the best he could because it seemed to keep the people happy.
In turn I told him of my childhood following my brothers around in Dol Amroth. I related to him the story of my mother's death and how it had changed my father. When she passed away, Father became determined to see that I was raised "properly", even though there was no real female role model around. Hence the extensive etiquette lessons, and his attempts at marrying me off.
"I don't see why he would think not having your mother around would make it any more difficult to raise you. After all, my sister didn't have a mother to take after, and she turned out just fine." Eomer commented.
I stifled a laugh. "While I personally admire Eowyn a great deal, Eomer, most courtiers and nobles probably wouldn't consider her the perfect woman. I mean, a true Lady, to those stiff-shirts, would stay at home and embroider rather than go to war to help protect her home."
Eomer pulled his horse to a stop and looked at me. "And what would you do, Princess? Would you ride into battle if your home were endangered?"
I thought he was joking. "What? And wrinkle my riding habit?" I feigned indignant shock.
He laughed. What a nice laugh he had, too...
"I'm serious, Princess. Would you?"
I hesitated. I had the strangest feeling he was testing me. "Well...I'd like to think I would. And if it came down to it, that the enemy were at the gate and a breach was imminent, I think I could find the courage to fight to the death. But I fear I lack the iron-will to follow the army outside the city to do battle."
Eomer continued to study me rather oddly. There was an intensity in his hazel eyes that startled me, made me feel self-conscious. I was having trouble maintaining eye-contact with him. Suddenly he gave a curt nod.
"Yes. You have courage, though you're not a warrior. Courage is needed not only in war, but in life." He nudged his horse forward and we rode alongside silently for some time.
What happened next I can only blame on my pride, stupidity, and...well...stupidity. With no warning, I suddenly felt the urge to show off. Glancing briefly at Eomer, who was pensively staring off into the distance, I took a deep breath and carefully stood up on the back of my horse.
It was a trick I had learned when I was the age that demands constant attention, and the only way I seemed to get it was by becoming covered in mud somehow. I still remembered the basics of it, and all appeared to be going well, so I ignored Eomer's commands to get down and urged my horse up to a faster pace. It was fantastic—the wind rushing into my face, the smooth gait of the animal underneath me...
The Rohirric horse I was riding was an excellent mount. He jumped over the log in our path perfectly. It was my own stupid fault I fell off—I hadn't been paying attention to the ground, only to the sky and my own elation. I think I screamed, but I'm not sure, because as soon as I hit the ground I blacked out.
^~^~^
When I woke up, I was somewhere warm and comfortable. Keeping my eyes closed, I took a breath. It smelled like soap, horse, and something else; something nice. I tried to open my eyes then, but the blinding sunlight forced them closed again. I groaned.
"Don't try to move. You hit your head. I don't think it's very bad, but I can't be sure. Just hold still for a minute." Eomer's voice came from very close by. Too close
I jerked up to a sitting position and stared, ignoring the painful light. Good grief, what was I doing? I was lying in King Eomer's arms, THAT's what I was doing. He was sitting on the ground holding me. A flash of pain at the back of my head stopped me.
"Ow...let me up."
"No." He pulled me back down with my head against his chest. It probably would have been exceedingly comfortable, but my sense of propriety (and extreme embarrassment!) kept me stiff as a board and wouldn't let me lean up against him. "Oh, relax." He said. "I'm not THAT bad, am I?"
"Let me go. I'll ride back to Edoras and get something cool to put on my head..." My voice sounded muffled from his tunic.
"Shh. Rest for a minute, then we'll ride back together. I'm not risking you falling again. It's liable to start a war if Imrahil finds out."
I started to protest but realized he was joking about the war. As if my father would risk lives over something as trivial as a bump on my head!
Despite my protests I ended up riding back in on Eomer's horse, in from of Eomer, with both of Eomer's arms around me, and Eomer at my back yelling at me to lean against him and stop trying to be so damn prissy. His annoyance was obvious, but I had something more important on my mind.
"Please don't tell anyone about me trying to stand on the back of the horse. Please! It would be so embarrassing! Just tell them the horse stumbled and I fell off."
He snorted. "As if anyone's going to believe that one of the mearas just happened to stumble and throw its rider. And you weren't TRYING to stand on the horse, you WERE standing on it, till it jumped. I was quite impressed, actually...that is until you fell. Tell you what. If you quit trying to be noble and not touch me more than is necessary, I won't tell anyone about your little stunt. Deal?"
"We seem to be making a lot of deals lately." I grumbled, but grudgingly allowed myself to relax.
^~^~^
When we arrived back at Meduseld, I was pampered and fussed over by maids and such until Eowyn appeared and threw them all out. She gave me a powder that dulled the pain and put me to sleep, and told me I'd be fine except for a sore body in the morning. I found out later that she was being trained as a healer in Minas Tirith.
Eomer came in to check on me. By that time the powder had me feeling a little loopy.
"Eomer, what kind of soap do you use?" I asked absently.
He frowned at me. "Eowyn, I thought you said she was going to be fine! She's babbling!"
Eowyn looked at us from across the room where she was arranging some flowers. Sounding amused, she said, "Oh, her head will be fine, no doubt about that."
Eomer looked up. "What do you mean? Is she hurt somewhere else?"
Eowyn put on an overly-angelic face. "Nothing. No, she's not hurt. Now out, you. Go command someone. Shoo!"
The last thing I saw before I fell asleep was Eomer.
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
The next day Eomer asked me to go riding with him. I was nervous about spending so much time alone with him...but I did want to see more of Rohan, and who better to show one around a country than the king?
At first we traveled in rather awkward silence, conversing politely about the weather and things like that when necessary. Eventually, though, we both opened up a little more. I learned a great deal about Eomer son of Eomund. He told me about the early deaths of his parents, how he and his sister had been raised by their uncle Théoden, and how he had become heir to the throne when his cousin had died. I sensed from the way he spoke that he did not think he was a particularly good king, but that he did the best he could because it seemed to keep the people happy.
In turn I told him of my childhood following my brothers around in Dol Amroth. I related to him the story of my mother's death and how it had changed my father. When she passed away, Father became determined to see that I was raised "properly", even though there was no real female role model around. Hence the extensive etiquette lessons, and his attempts at marrying me off.
"I don't see why he would think not having your mother around would make it any more difficult to raise you. After all, my sister didn't have a mother to take after, and she turned out just fine." Eomer commented.
I stifled a laugh. "While I personally admire Eowyn a great deal, Eomer, most courtiers and nobles probably wouldn't consider her the perfect woman. I mean, a true Lady, to those stiff-shirts, would stay at home and embroider rather than go to war to help protect her home."
Eomer pulled his horse to a stop and looked at me. "And what would you do, Princess? Would you ride into battle if your home were endangered?"
I thought he was joking. "What? And wrinkle my riding habit?" I feigned indignant shock.
He laughed. What a nice laugh he had, too...
"I'm serious, Princess. Would you?"
I hesitated. I had the strangest feeling he was testing me. "Well...I'd like to think I would. And if it came down to it, that the enemy were at the gate and a breach was imminent, I think I could find the courage to fight to the death. But I fear I lack the iron-will to follow the army outside the city to do battle."
Eomer continued to study me rather oddly. There was an intensity in his hazel eyes that startled me, made me feel self-conscious. I was having trouble maintaining eye-contact with him. Suddenly he gave a curt nod.
"Yes. You have courage, though you're not a warrior. Courage is needed not only in war, but in life." He nudged his horse forward and we rode alongside silently for some time.
What happened next I can only blame on my pride, stupidity, and...well...stupidity. With no warning, I suddenly felt the urge to show off. Glancing briefly at Eomer, who was pensively staring off into the distance, I took a deep breath and carefully stood up on the back of my horse.
It was a trick I had learned when I was the age that demands constant attention, and the only way I seemed to get it was by becoming covered in mud somehow. I still remembered the basics of it, and all appeared to be going well, so I ignored Eomer's commands to get down and urged my horse up to a faster pace. It was fantastic—the wind rushing into my face, the smooth gait of the animal underneath me...
The Rohirric horse I was riding was an excellent mount. He jumped over the log in our path perfectly. It was my own stupid fault I fell off—I hadn't been paying attention to the ground, only to the sky and my own elation. I think I screamed, but I'm not sure, because as soon as I hit the ground I blacked out.
^~^~^
When I woke up, I was somewhere warm and comfortable. Keeping my eyes closed, I took a breath. It smelled like soap, horse, and something else; something nice. I tried to open my eyes then, but the blinding sunlight forced them closed again. I groaned.
"Don't try to move. You hit your head. I don't think it's very bad, but I can't be sure. Just hold still for a minute." Eomer's voice came from very close by. Too close
I jerked up to a sitting position and stared, ignoring the painful light. Good grief, what was I doing? I was lying in King Eomer's arms, THAT's what I was doing. He was sitting on the ground holding me. A flash of pain at the back of my head stopped me.
"Ow...let me up."
"No." He pulled me back down with my head against his chest. It probably would have been exceedingly comfortable, but my sense of propriety (and extreme embarrassment!) kept me stiff as a board and wouldn't let me lean up against him. "Oh, relax." He said. "I'm not THAT bad, am I?"
"Let me go. I'll ride back to Edoras and get something cool to put on my head..." My voice sounded muffled from his tunic.
"Shh. Rest for a minute, then we'll ride back together. I'm not risking you falling again. It's liable to start a war if Imrahil finds out."
I started to protest but realized he was joking about the war. As if my father would risk lives over something as trivial as a bump on my head!
Despite my protests I ended up riding back in on Eomer's horse, in from of Eomer, with both of Eomer's arms around me, and Eomer at my back yelling at me to lean against him and stop trying to be so damn prissy. His annoyance was obvious, but I had something more important on my mind.
"Please don't tell anyone about me trying to stand on the back of the horse. Please! It would be so embarrassing! Just tell them the horse stumbled and I fell off."
He snorted. "As if anyone's going to believe that one of the mearas just happened to stumble and throw its rider. And you weren't TRYING to stand on the horse, you WERE standing on it, till it jumped. I was quite impressed, actually...that is until you fell. Tell you what. If you quit trying to be noble and not touch me more than is necessary, I won't tell anyone about your little stunt. Deal?"
"We seem to be making a lot of deals lately." I grumbled, but grudgingly allowed myself to relax.
^~^~^
When we arrived back at Meduseld, I was pampered and fussed over by maids and such until Eowyn appeared and threw them all out. She gave me a powder that dulled the pain and put me to sleep, and told me I'd be fine except for a sore body in the morning. I found out later that she was being trained as a healer in Minas Tirith.
Eomer came in to check on me. By that time the powder had me feeling a little loopy.
"Eomer, what kind of soap do you use?" I asked absently.
He frowned at me. "Eowyn, I thought you said she was going to be fine! She's babbling!"
Eowyn looked at us from across the room where she was arranging some flowers. Sounding amused, she said, "Oh, her head will be fine, no doubt about that."
Eomer looked up. "What do you mean? Is she hurt somewhere else?"
Eowyn put on an overly-angelic face. "Nothing. No, she's not hurt. Now out, you. Go command someone. Shoo!"
The last thing I saw before I fell asleep was Eomer.
