Disclaimer: La. Based on the characters, names, places, and dates of JRR Tolkien's Middle Earth and The Lord of the Rings. All corruptions belong to me! :)
Explanation: Been reading all the challenge fics for Countries United, and since I already wrote one myself, I needed to vent all my pent-up Eomer/Lothiriel sentiments. Sorry ;)
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The first thing I did when I accidentally overheard my father considering marrying me off to the King of Rohan was to sit down. The second thing involved a red face, punching a favorite pillow, and several heated vows to myself not to cooperate with anything. But rage soon faded to fear. What if father did decide to send me to Rohan? I knew that he would never deliberately hurt me, but he could be archaic in his practices at times and still believed firmly in the necessity of arranged marriages.
I did not mind the arrangement of a marriage so much as the possibility that I might go into it with no foreknowledge of my groom (other than that he was a fine warrior and had the good fortune to have an extremely likeable younger sister). So I did what anyone in my position would have done. I sought out my cousin-in-law.
Eowyn was giving unsolicited advice to the warden of Dol Amroth's City Hospital when I found her. I interrupted her discourse on the proper way to store comfrey and pulled her aside.
"What is it, Lothiriel?" She put her hands on her hips and waited impatiently.
"Will you tell me about your brother?" I blurted out, and then hastily explained myself. "You see, I've just overheard my father planning a possible betrothal between King Eomer and I, and before I make any sort of comment on the matter, I'd really like to have a better idea of what I'll be dealing with…" I trailed off and looked at Eowyn's amused face. She crossed her arms and leaned her head against the white stone wall.
"Don't you think you should wait until something's final before you jump to conclusions?"
I grimaced. "From what I heard, it practically is. Father said he was merely waiting for a reply from the Rohirrim to officially open negotiations."
"And no one bothered to ask you about any of this?" Eowyn's gaze was sharp now. I backed up a step.
"No…father has this thing for arranged marriages, since his and mother's worked out so well. He seems to forget that it took Elphir and Haida nearly two years to even stand each other."
Eowyn was looking very grim. She sighed, and then said, "Why don't you simply talk to Imrahil about all this? From what I've seen, he would never force you into something you really didn't want."
"That's why I want you to tell me about Eomer." She blinked at me. I tried to explain. "If not him, it will only be someone else later. So if he sounds reasonably acceptable, why not just get it over with?"
"That's it? You're just going to roll over and saddle yourself to a man you don't even know just because your father tells you to?"
I considered that for a moment. She didn't paint the matter in a very attractive light, but I supposed it was accurate enough. I shrugged. "Well, I was very angry at first… but I want to have a family someday and…why don't you just tell me about Eomer and let me worry about the details?" Flustered, I pushed my hair back and crossed my arms. Eowyn giggled and sat down on a small bench. She patted the space next to her.
"So you want to know about my brother do you?" She mused for a moment. "Well, he's at least the third-best soldier I've ever seen, and he could give the first two more than a little trouble. He rides like the wind, but I give more credit to his good taste in horseflesh than actual ability." Eowyn's eyes twinkled with sisterly rivalry. "He gets along well with most people, though he can be harsh and brief with strangers. Eomer is an excellent judge of character, but if he takes a disliking to you it's nearly hopeless to get back in his good graces." She hesitated and looked sideways at me. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but you need to know the bad as well as the good. Eomer is known for his, uh…conquests. His manners are rough, but could know doubt be softened if he put forth a little effort. He tends to be overly protective, and cares a little too much for honor and glory." Eowyn smiled wryly. "And coming from me, that's saying something!"
I was silent for a moment. Except for the bit about the conquests, and the manners, he sounded…disturbingly perfect. I eyed Eowyn. "There must be a catch."
"The catch, my dear cousin, is that no matter how nice someone might seem, nothing on this earth can predict whether you will feel any attracting for them or not. The only way you will be able to tell if you might make a successful marriage with my brother is to meet him for yourself." She stood up and headed back towards the warden's office. Before reaching the door, she turned with a swish of skirts to face me again.
"Would you like to have an adventure?"
I tilted my head to the side. "What?"
"I have a rather shocking idea. I'll come to your room tonight and discuss it with you." With that, Eowyn left.
I stood alone there in the hallway for some time, thinking about my future, until I was interrupted by a harried summons to come to father's council room.
As soon as I entered, I knew.
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Me: OK, cryptic, I know. My beginnings are always awkward…this will get more interesting as it goes along. Promise! Now REVIEW! :D