DISCLAIMER: The names, places, things are Tolkien's. I think we can all figure out what is who's.
AN: thanks for all the reviews!! I'm glad you enjoyed! Well, these past chapters have been fluff filled, so I hope you're enjoying it, hehe. =]
Chapter 11: Fights and Famous Kisses
Two Months Later...
Lothiriel sat impatiently as Daerien stood behind the chair the Princess sat in, brushing her hair and straightening the small tangles that scattered. It had been two months of courtship for Eomer and Lothiriel, two blissful months in Lothiriel's eyes. Every other week he would come to Dol Amroth to spend time with the Princess, and whenever Eomer was coming the whole city knew it. Lothiriel was quite cheerful on those days, and she would always look out towards the entrance of the city, waiting for Eomer's arrival. She was also quite anxious on those days, never having patience for anything, as sitting in the chair waiting for Daerien to finish with her hair proved.
"Stop fidgeting Lothiriel! It will get done no sooner!" Daerien said, quite annoyed with Lothiriel's childish behavior.
"Well is it not finished already? Does it look quite terrible that it is not even presentable? Eomer will be here any moment..." Lothiriel trailed off, sounding annoyed herself.
"My Lord Eomer can wait, Lothiriel, your hair looks wretched this day. If only you had not tried to go out riding when you know you are terrible at it. How many times did you slip onto the dirt trying to get on that horse?" Daerien half giggled as she asked her question.
Lothiriel scoffed, and replied, "It is of no importance. Can you just brush my hair in silence then?" And with that the two women fell silent, Daerien diligently working at the Princess's hair. Lothiriel had been trying to practice riding, to better herself at it to impress Eomer. She felt quite embarrassed that she favored the King of the Horse Lords and she could barely ride a horse herself.
"There," Daerien said with a sigh, finally breaking the silence. "It is more than presentable now."
"Thank you Daerien," Lothiriel replied, turning to hug her, then hurried to put on the deep blue dress accented with white trim that she chose to wear for Eomer's arrival. Having yet to slip her arms through the sleeves, as Daerien held up the dress that covered the rest of her body, a horn coming from the outside gate sounded, and immediately Lothiriel knew that Eomer and his company had arrived. She rushed putting on the dress, Daerien clasping the dress close as fast as her hands could. Putting on her slipper- shoes, she ran out of the room, not waiting a moment longer to greet her man.
When Lothiriel arrived in the main hall, she felt her breath stop short as she saw Eomer speaking with her Father. It had only been a week and some days since she last saw him, but the time felt endless to her. Lothiriel was quite fond of Eomer, and as every week passed the fondness grew, until her heart was in a place where she questioned whether or not it to be love.
Eomer noticed Lothiriel from behind Imrahil's shoulder, her dark blue dress making her skin look like porcelain. He felt breathless at the moment, Imrahil noticing that the young King no longer paid attention to his words, and turned to see Lothiriel approaching. Lothiriel ran to Eomer, the King scooping her in his arms and embracing her warmly, lifting her off the ground a bit and spinning once, joyously.
"I missed you," she breathed softly, her face buried in his golden hair.
"I missed you as well," he replied, letting her down gently, neither of them breaking their embrace as they held each other close.
"It has been too long."
"Too long?" Eomer chuckled lightly. "It has only been a week!"
"Yes and this week has been the longest!"
"You say that every time I arrive!" Both laughed lightly as Eomer held her in his arms, resting his forehead upon hers. Imrahil smiled, and addressed Eomer.
"Eomer, you did tell your men that there is food in the dining hall, did you not?" This has become a ritual in the past two months, for Imrahil knew the riders have grown weary and hungry, and would not hear of them finding food elsewhere.
"Aye, after they take the horses to the stables, they will come to eat, but I fear they will not stay for long after their stomachs are full."
"So, they have found better company in the city," Lothiriel stated amused. With each visit, the company Eomer brought with him grew slightly. From as little as five to six men, to a riding company of fifteen men, all eligible bachelors of Rohan, who wished to find a woman of favor in the seaside city, having no luck in Riddermark.
"Well, dinner is in a few hours, as you may already know Eomer, so I suspect that you would like to rest until then," Imrahil said, as he motioned for a servant to lead him to his room. Truthfully the formalities were not needed, as Eomer knew exactly which room the servant would lead him to, having stayed in the room so many times that he could lead himself to it, but Imrahil felt it necessary. Eomer was still a King after all.
"I will go with him," Lothiriel announced, Imrahil raising an eyebrow at her, but she only smiled sweetly and kissed his cheek. "Do not worry Father, I only seek his company for conversation," she said, taking Eomer's arm and walking with him towards the room.
Moments Later...
Once the servant had left the room Lothiriel quickly pulled Eomer to her, pressing her lips against his own, wrapping her arms around his neck and melting in the moment. She would not let him go, only parting for a few moments to catch her breathe, exploring his lips with her own as her passion for him grew stronger. Amidst their passion, it was Eomer who parted from her, realizing that they were sitting on the bed and in a rather compromising position. Both kept their eyes closed, lips numb from such a fervent kiss, Lothiriel leaning her forehead to his.
"Maybe it has been too long," Eomer breathed softly, causing Lothiriel to giggle and Eomer to smile widely at the sound of it.
"But 'tis not important anymore. What matters is that you are here now, and how I have missed you so. Oh, tomorrow will be a grand day, I have planned it all out for us," Lothiriel said, parting from Eomer and smiling excitedly. Eomer looked to her and watched her eyes gleam, extending his hand to caress her cheek, Lothiriel's face fitting within his palm.
"I am afraid I cannot tomorrow, Lothiriel," he replied meekly, not wanting to insensitively crush her spirits.
"Have you already grown weary of me, King?" she asked jokingly, as Eomer chuckled lightly in reply.
"Quite the contrary, I fear I cannot get enough of you. But I am afraid duty calls me. I received a letter before leaving Edoras, from your Father, telling me of a threat that he fears could grow far worse at the outside borders of Belfalas. Maverick Corsairs from what he tells me. He said that a company was sent out, but tragedy struck."
"We lost one man, he died only days after," Lothiriel replied, turning away from Eomer. "Do not tell me you are serious in joining my brothers tomorrow?"
Eomer gave her a puzzled look. "Of course I am serious. Rohan pledged allegiance to Gondor, if ever Gondor must ride out then the Rohirrim will follow, and so I follow now."
"Do not go," Lothiriel said simply, and rather forcefully, standing up as she did so looking down at Eomer as he sat on the bed, eyebrows furrowed.
"What is the matter with you? You know as well as I that your Father needs help, and it is not as if you are unused to troubled times," he replied, standing to address her.
"True, I am not unused to it, but I did not think that I would have to get used to it once again, and so quickly. Did you not hear me the first time? We lost one man already, and what if tomorrow we lose another, and that man is you? What then will I do?" Lothiriel was now raising her voice, more frustrated than angry. All she could think of was Eomer being carried back into Dol Amroth, injured or worse, and her heart grew cold at the thought.
"Then tell me, Princess, what would you have me do? I will not slight your Father, nor would I abandon your brothers. I will ride out with my company and that is final," Eomer replied, his voice commanding and raised just as Lothiriel's was. Lothiriel felt her heart sink, and worried madly.
"Do what you will then, for I have no power over you, but do not expect me to see you off!" With that Lothiriel ran out of the room, leaving Eomer speechless.
An hour or so Later...
Lothiriel sat in front of her window, looking out into the sea, the moon shining grandly. She had skipped dinner that night, asking Daerien to tell her Father that she was unwell. In truth, she did not want to see Eomer. He had not angered her, nor had he lost favor with her, but she felt so helpless. She did not know why, but having to watch Eomer ride away would be quite the challenge for her, especially if he was riding out to his possible demise. Resting her head in her hand, she let out a heavy sigh, when suddenly there was a knock at the door. Lothiriel sat up and turned to look towards the door.
"Come in," she called. The door opened to reveal Idhren, who smiled warmly and closed the door behind her.
"I told Daerien to bring you some stew in a few minutes, I know you must be hungry," Idhren said kindly, sitting upon the bed.
"Only a little," Lothiriel replied, turning her gaze back to the sea. "How did he fare, Idhren?"
"How did who fare, sister?"
"Eomer, at dinner. Had he anything to say when Daerien announced that I would not be coming down?"
"No, he truly had not anything to say, for he was not there. The servant announced him unwell also, much to your Father's suspicion. What happened then, Lothiriel?"
Lothiriel paused for a moment, then stood to make her way to Idhren, and sat next to her, resting her head upon her sister's shoulder, Idhren embracing her lightly. "He rides out tomorrow with my Brothers. I do not wish him to go, but he insists."
"Why then do you not wish him to go, Lothiriel?"
"I worry for him. I do not want to lose him."
Idhren could tell that Lothiriel's fondness for Eomer was gradually growing into something more, but she did not address this. Idhren wanted Lothiriel to come to terms of love on her own, and she wanted her sister to decide for herself if love was the case. "Well then, it is obvious that he will not change his mind. In times like these, Lothiriel, you can only support the one you care for. It is selfish to only think in your own terms. Would it not be better if he knew he had your support to make him stronger?"
Lothiriel pondered this carefully, not responding to Idhren. She knew that she had acted unfairly, though why she did she was not so sure, but when it came down to it, she wanted Eomer to know she cared greatly for him, and that was all that mattered to her for the moment.
The next Morning...
Eomer met his men in the stables, having gotten up when Amrothos had, and walking with him to the stables. Erchirion was already there, preparing his horse like most of the men, telling servants to fetch the food he had asked for from Cook and to distribute it amongst the men. As he and Amrothos made their way to their horses, Eomer noticed Idhren's presence. She was embracing Elphir, caressing his cheek and kissing him lightly, clearly saying good- bye and wishing him a safe journey. Eomer let out a heavy sigh as he eyed the couple.
"Do not fret, Eomer King, my sister will come around." Eomer turned to see Amrothos smile lightly to him, and giving him a slight nod. Eomer only smiled in return, replying softly.
"I am not so sure."
After preparing Firefoot for the journey, packing his bread and flask provided for each man, and suiting up for battle, he looked around the stables once more in hopes of seeing Lothiriel. But all he saw was his men mounting their horses, as well as the Princes and their men mounting their horses. Eomer sighed, and mounted Firefoot, riding to the head of the company along with the three Brothers, as they made their way out of the stables and headed towards the main gate of the city.
Dawn had yet to approach, and much of the city was still asleep, save for a few lights that lit the houses of men who always had early days. After only trotting a few feet, Eomer heard one of his men call to him.
"My Lords," he called, and all four men turned to see the company's horses part slightly, and Lothiriel emerging from the mass.
The four leaders were quite surprised, and Eomer quickly dismounted Firefoot to greet her.
"What are you doing here?" Eomer asked calmly, as the entire company set their gaze on the two.
"I am sorry for the way I acted, I only care for you too much to want to see you get hurt, but I know now that in caring for you I must support you in whatever decision you make. I want to wish you a safe journey, a swift return home, and I wish to give you this," Lothiriel smiled, and slowly removed his helmet. She leaned in towards him, and thinking that Lothiriel would place a kiss on his lips, Eomer closed his eyes in anticipation. Instead, however, Lothiriel kissed him on the nose. "Good luck," she said to him, as Eomer opened his eyes with a disappointed, puzzled look. It was then that Eomer noticed the entire company chuckling lightly, his Rohirrim biting their cheeks to keep from laughing wildly. Eomer's cheeks turned warm and flushed red with embarrassment, Lothiriel only smiling widely.
hehe, a pretty long chapter, and sorry it took me longer to post this one, I wasn't feeling so well last night, so I didn't get the chance to write it until today. thanks again for the reviews!! and remember to keep reviewing!! =]