A/N—I've found I love writing for Lothiriel! I grew up reading David
Eddings' fantasy novels and always loved his conversation style of writing.
He focused on intimate moments between his characters as the broader story
happened around them. I can see that's where my writing is taking me. As
always, thanks for your input...I will try to put it to good use. Hope
you're enjoying the story!
__________________________________________________________________________
Lothiriel awoke the morning of the harvest celebration to the sound of knocking on her chamber door. She noticed the light in her room was dim, for the sun had just started to rise. The knocking had started again after a brief pause, this time a little louder. The princess quickly pulled back her blankets and searched her room for her robe to cover her sleeping gown. By then the knocking had increased to a much more aggressive pace. "I'm coming!" she half shouted a little irritated with the early morning intrusion that had woke her from a particularly nice dream involving herself, Eomer, and a secluded hay loft in the royal stables.
She found her robe and slipped it on as she worked her way toward the door. In the low light she tripped over a footstool sitting in front of her bed and cursed under her breath. She stumbled forward to the door, opened it at mid-knock, and came face to face with her soon to be sister-in-law, Eowyn.
"So?" Eowyn, said.
"So, what?" Lothiriel asked, her eyes still blurred from sleep.
"Did he give it to you?" Eowyn said as she swept past her slightly confused friend and into the chamber. "Did you like it?"
Lothiriel turned to look at the blond Princess of Ithilien and said in a tired voice, "Eowyn, what hour is it?"
"Early." Eowyn said as she plopped herself down on Lothiriel's bed.
"Isn't your husband going to miss you this early in the morning?" Lothiriel said and then sat down rather ungracefully in a chair next to the bed.
Eowyn made an indelicate noise, waved her hand dismissively, and said, "Faramir sleeps like the dead and is a late riser. He'll just think I woke up at my usual time."
"Lucky him," Lothiriel said, her voice thick with sarcasm.
Eowyn stuck her tongue out at her fellow princess and then assumed a look of anticipation. "So, come on! I see he gave you the gown," she said as she jutted her thumb in the direction of Eomer's gift hanging on the wall. "Tell me what you think of it!"
Lothiriel sat up in her chair, smiled at Eowyn, and said, "I love it. He told me you helped him pick it out. Thank you."
Eowyn wrinkled her face at Lothiriel. "Oh, I just made sure he told the dressmaker the correct size and gave my opinion about the style he had chosen," she said, her voice bright and cheerful. "He picked everything out by himself. I was fairly proud of him." She laughed in a way that immediately reminded Lothiriel of Eomer. The siblings had many matched mannerisms, Lothiriel had noticed recently; the way they laughed, how they looked when they were concentrating on an important task, and definitely how they swore in Rohirric.
"Well, regardless," Lothiriel replied, "I thank you again for your efforts." She lifted herself from her chair and walked over to her dressing table. "And I love the necklace too!"
"Necklace?" Eowyn asked and moved to stand next to Lothiriel.
"Didn't he show you?" Lothiriel said as she pulled Eomer's second gift from its wooden box. "He told me he had it made for me after our introduction at his coronation." She handed it to Eowyn and, she noticed as her friend's eyes widened.
"Did he now," Eowyn said under her breath as she carefully viewed the gold horse pendant and mithril chain for a few moments. "You said he had this made for you right after you met?"
"Yes," Lothiriel said, her voice wearied. "Why?"
Eowyn still looked closely at the necklace and said, "This is very similar to a gift my Uncle Théoden gave to his wife, Elfhild, when they wed, and she became Queen of Rohan. It looks like my brother had eyes for you sooner than he led us to believe." Lothiriel blushed at Eowyn's words and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Eowyn laughed mischievously and handed the necklace back to Lothiriel. "Well, at least he had the common sense to wait and give it to you after you were betrothed. That little bauble around your neck would've caused quite the commotion in Edoras' court had he given it to you sooner."
Lothiriel put the pendant and chain back in its box while Eowyn positioned herself comfortably on the bed again. "I suppose I should try this on and make sure it does fit correctly," Lothiriel said as she attempted to change the subject and pointed to the gown on the wall.
"I agree," Eowyn said, "and we have a big day ahead of us." She left her position on the bed again and headed across the room toward Lothiriel and the gown with a determined look on her face. "We have to make sure your gown fits and then meet Lady Arwen at the royal baths, for she has invited us to a day of pampering and relaxation before the celebration tonight."
A little surprised at the high queen's generous offer Lothiriel said, "That is quite an honor."
Eowyn started to unhook Lothiriel's gown from its hanger on the wall and said, "Not only that, she has arranged for two of her ladies-in-waiting to help us dress for tonight." She shrugged at Lothiriel's amused look. "What can I say? She likes us, and who can blame her with her main female companionship consisting of artificial, overbearing ladies of the court." Eowyn twisted her face and stuck her tongue out as if in disgust.
"Quite right!" Lothiriel said in agreement and laughed loudly.
"Ugh...did you see Lady Athermal at dinner last night?" Eowyn said as she started to undo the many buttons that held the back of Lothiriel's new gown closed. "She was groveling to Arwen and Elessar so fiercely I thought the Citadel guards were going to have to get a shovel from the stables to clean her from the floor."
"I saw it," Lothiriel said and rolled her eyes. "I don't know how Lady Arwen remains so gracious in the face of such people." She was digging through one of her travel chests looking for the appropriate petticoats to wear under the gown. She found what she was looking for and started to disrobe from her sleeping gown.
"Ah, but that is a skill you too will have to acquire," Eowyn said as she placed her hands through the bodice of the gown and out the bottom so it could be lifted over Lothiriel's head, "for the court of Edoras is not as caddy as Minas Tirith, but still hosts people who will make your skin crawl with their dreadful insincerity." She faked a shudder with her shoulders, and she smiled a crooked smile at Lothiriel.
Lothiriel giggled at Eowyn and turned to stand in front of the blond woman, her hands lifted over her head. Eowyn grabbed a hold of Lothiriel's raised hands and guided the gown carefully over the princess's head. "Oh, I've had some practice being the only princess in my father's court at Dol Amroth," Lothiriel said, her voice muffled by the gown's fabric as her head emerged through the top of the bodice, "but I suspect it will...how should I say this...intensify once I become a queen."
"There!" Eowyn said with satisfaction as she straightened the skirt of the dress over Lothiriel's layers of undergarments and turned her to face a long mirror next to the dressing table. "I think this is going to fit you perfectly."
Lothiriel looked at her reflection and admired the gown's elegant simplicity. A small smile graced her lips. "You guessed my size?" she asked Eowyn, her voice tinged with disbelief.
Eowyn stopped buttoning the back of the dress and glanced over Lothiriel's shoulder, a feigned solemn look on her face, and said to their reflections in the mirror, "Well, no, not actually. I had Eomer send a messenger to Dol Amroth two weeks ago so we could have your exact measurements from your personal dressmaker."
"Oh," said Lothiriel, "the mystery is revealed."
"Yes," Eowyn said with a smile. "I have a good eye for such things, but not that good. And I'll say another thing; your father should have no worries about you remaining chaste while in this gown. You'd be wed by the time Eomer could get all the buttons of this dress undone with those big hands of his!"
Lothiriel laughed loudly, covered her mouth with her hand, and said, "Maybe this isn't such a wonderful dress after all!"
"Spoken like a true rider's woman!" Eowyn said and smiled broadly. "Don't let Eomer catch you talking like that. He may consider it an invitation for debauchery." The two princesses erupted with gales of laughter and leaned on each other for support.
After they admired the gown a little more, placed it back on its hanger on the wall, and Lothiriel had changed into a simple linen dress, the two women made their way to the royal baths located on the other side of the palace. "This is going to be a grand day!" Eowyn said, her eyes filled with excitement. "Our gentlemen are in council with Elessar all day so I know they will be hungering for a carefree evening."
Lothiriel smiled at Eowyn's observation and said, "No doubt! And we get to take our breakfast while at the baths." Both Eowyn and Lothiriel sighed deeply. They looked at each other and commenced in harmonized giggles as they joined hands and increased their pace to the baths.
As they entered the wing of the palace that housed the baths they smelled lavender and rose in the air. They passed under a tall stone archway and into a small garden that separated the actual baths from the palace. Lothiriel noticed the morning air was brisk, and the sky was cloudless. The women stepped into the tiled foyer of the royal baths and saw Queen Arwen just inside. She spoke quietly with one of the female servants. Lothiriel and Eowyn waited in the foyer until the queen's attention was centered on them, and then they gracefully curtsied. "Queen Arwen," said the princesses in unison.
"Please," said the queen as she approached the women, "let us forget about court formalities." Arwen smiled softly at Eowyn and Lothiriel. "It is refreshing to be in the company of two ladies so like myself, and I would not have titles come between us today!" Eowyn winked discreetly at Lothiriel.
Eowyn and Lothiriel both nodded their agreement with Arwen, and the three ladies moved into the main chamber of the building. It housed a large bath, rectangle in shape and big enough for several people, which was in the center of the chamber. The water it held was clear and steaming in the cool morning air. Off to the side of the chamber was a smaller circular bath filled with water milky in color from dissolved bath salts and oils. Three female servants were busy on the far side of the room laying out long, soft cotton robes and setting a table with fruits, breads and cheeses. After they finished their work, Arwen thanked and excused the servants.
"I hope the food is to your liking," Arwen said as she pointed to the table. "If we like, our mid day meal can be served here as well." Lothiriel noted how the queen's voice always had a musical quality; it put her at ease and often made her smile.
"The food looks delicious." Eowyn said. "Thank you for your hospitality."
"It is I who should thank you for accepting my invitation," Arwen said, her voice laced with laughter, "for I wish to hear all about how your marriage to Faramir fares, and Lothiriel's late night rides across the fields of Pelennor with her intended!" Lothiriel's face flushed at Arwen's words, and Eowyn laughed merrily at her friend's expense. Arwen put a comforting hand on Lothiriel's shoulder and with a twinkle in her eyes said, "Let us fill ourselves completely, take to the baths, and talk of things most dear to our hearts!"
A/N-Not too much longer and then we get to party!
Lothiriel awoke the morning of the harvest celebration to the sound of knocking on her chamber door. She noticed the light in her room was dim, for the sun had just started to rise. The knocking had started again after a brief pause, this time a little louder. The princess quickly pulled back her blankets and searched her room for her robe to cover her sleeping gown. By then the knocking had increased to a much more aggressive pace. "I'm coming!" she half shouted a little irritated with the early morning intrusion that had woke her from a particularly nice dream involving herself, Eomer, and a secluded hay loft in the royal stables.
She found her robe and slipped it on as she worked her way toward the door. In the low light she tripped over a footstool sitting in front of her bed and cursed under her breath. She stumbled forward to the door, opened it at mid-knock, and came face to face with her soon to be sister-in-law, Eowyn.
"So?" Eowyn, said.
"So, what?" Lothiriel asked, her eyes still blurred from sleep.
"Did he give it to you?" Eowyn said as she swept past her slightly confused friend and into the chamber. "Did you like it?"
Lothiriel turned to look at the blond Princess of Ithilien and said in a tired voice, "Eowyn, what hour is it?"
"Early." Eowyn said as she plopped herself down on Lothiriel's bed.
"Isn't your husband going to miss you this early in the morning?" Lothiriel said and then sat down rather ungracefully in a chair next to the bed.
Eowyn made an indelicate noise, waved her hand dismissively, and said, "Faramir sleeps like the dead and is a late riser. He'll just think I woke up at my usual time."
"Lucky him," Lothiriel said, her voice thick with sarcasm.
Eowyn stuck her tongue out at her fellow princess and then assumed a look of anticipation. "So, come on! I see he gave you the gown," she said as she jutted her thumb in the direction of Eomer's gift hanging on the wall. "Tell me what you think of it!"
Lothiriel sat up in her chair, smiled at Eowyn, and said, "I love it. He told me you helped him pick it out. Thank you."
Eowyn wrinkled her face at Lothiriel. "Oh, I just made sure he told the dressmaker the correct size and gave my opinion about the style he had chosen," she said, her voice bright and cheerful. "He picked everything out by himself. I was fairly proud of him." She laughed in a way that immediately reminded Lothiriel of Eomer. The siblings had many matched mannerisms, Lothiriel had noticed recently; the way they laughed, how they looked when they were concentrating on an important task, and definitely how they swore in Rohirric.
"Well, regardless," Lothiriel replied, "I thank you again for your efforts." She lifted herself from her chair and walked over to her dressing table. "And I love the necklace too!"
"Necklace?" Eowyn asked and moved to stand next to Lothiriel.
"Didn't he show you?" Lothiriel said as she pulled Eomer's second gift from its wooden box. "He told me he had it made for me after our introduction at his coronation." She handed it to Eowyn and, she noticed as her friend's eyes widened.
"Did he now," Eowyn said under her breath as she carefully viewed the gold horse pendant and mithril chain for a few moments. "You said he had this made for you right after you met?"
"Yes," Lothiriel said, her voice wearied. "Why?"
Eowyn still looked closely at the necklace and said, "This is very similar to a gift my Uncle Théoden gave to his wife, Elfhild, when they wed, and she became Queen of Rohan. It looks like my brother had eyes for you sooner than he led us to believe." Lothiriel blushed at Eowyn's words and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Eowyn laughed mischievously and handed the necklace back to Lothiriel. "Well, at least he had the common sense to wait and give it to you after you were betrothed. That little bauble around your neck would've caused quite the commotion in Edoras' court had he given it to you sooner."
Lothiriel put the pendant and chain back in its box while Eowyn positioned herself comfortably on the bed again. "I suppose I should try this on and make sure it does fit correctly," Lothiriel said as she attempted to change the subject and pointed to the gown on the wall.
"I agree," Eowyn said, "and we have a big day ahead of us." She left her position on the bed again and headed across the room toward Lothiriel and the gown with a determined look on her face. "We have to make sure your gown fits and then meet Lady Arwen at the royal baths, for she has invited us to a day of pampering and relaxation before the celebration tonight."
A little surprised at the high queen's generous offer Lothiriel said, "That is quite an honor."
Eowyn started to unhook Lothiriel's gown from its hanger on the wall and said, "Not only that, she has arranged for two of her ladies-in-waiting to help us dress for tonight." She shrugged at Lothiriel's amused look. "What can I say? She likes us, and who can blame her with her main female companionship consisting of artificial, overbearing ladies of the court." Eowyn twisted her face and stuck her tongue out as if in disgust.
"Quite right!" Lothiriel said in agreement and laughed loudly.
"Ugh...did you see Lady Athermal at dinner last night?" Eowyn said as she started to undo the many buttons that held the back of Lothiriel's new gown closed. "She was groveling to Arwen and Elessar so fiercely I thought the Citadel guards were going to have to get a shovel from the stables to clean her from the floor."
"I saw it," Lothiriel said and rolled her eyes. "I don't know how Lady Arwen remains so gracious in the face of such people." She was digging through one of her travel chests looking for the appropriate petticoats to wear under the gown. She found what she was looking for and started to disrobe from her sleeping gown.
"Ah, but that is a skill you too will have to acquire," Eowyn said as she placed her hands through the bodice of the gown and out the bottom so it could be lifted over Lothiriel's head, "for the court of Edoras is not as caddy as Minas Tirith, but still hosts people who will make your skin crawl with their dreadful insincerity." She faked a shudder with her shoulders, and she smiled a crooked smile at Lothiriel.
Lothiriel giggled at Eowyn and turned to stand in front of the blond woman, her hands lifted over her head. Eowyn grabbed a hold of Lothiriel's raised hands and guided the gown carefully over the princess's head. "Oh, I've had some practice being the only princess in my father's court at Dol Amroth," Lothiriel said, her voice muffled by the gown's fabric as her head emerged through the top of the bodice, "but I suspect it will...how should I say this...intensify once I become a queen."
"There!" Eowyn said with satisfaction as she straightened the skirt of the dress over Lothiriel's layers of undergarments and turned her to face a long mirror next to the dressing table. "I think this is going to fit you perfectly."
Lothiriel looked at her reflection and admired the gown's elegant simplicity. A small smile graced her lips. "You guessed my size?" she asked Eowyn, her voice tinged with disbelief.
Eowyn stopped buttoning the back of the dress and glanced over Lothiriel's shoulder, a feigned solemn look on her face, and said to their reflections in the mirror, "Well, no, not actually. I had Eomer send a messenger to Dol Amroth two weeks ago so we could have your exact measurements from your personal dressmaker."
"Oh," said Lothiriel, "the mystery is revealed."
"Yes," Eowyn said with a smile. "I have a good eye for such things, but not that good. And I'll say another thing; your father should have no worries about you remaining chaste while in this gown. You'd be wed by the time Eomer could get all the buttons of this dress undone with those big hands of his!"
Lothiriel laughed loudly, covered her mouth with her hand, and said, "Maybe this isn't such a wonderful dress after all!"
"Spoken like a true rider's woman!" Eowyn said and smiled broadly. "Don't let Eomer catch you talking like that. He may consider it an invitation for debauchery." The two princesses erupted with gales of laughter and leaned on each other for support.
After they admired the gown a little more, placed it back on its hanger on the wall, and Lothiriel had changed into a simple linen dress, the two women made their way to the royal baths located on the other side of the palace. "This is going to be a grand day!" Eowyn said, her eyes filled with excitement. "Our gentlemen are in council with Elessar all day so I know they will be hungering for a carefree evening."
Lothiriel smiled at Eowyn's observation and said, "No doubt! And we get to take our breakfast while at the baths." Both Eowyn and Lothiriel sighed deeply. They looked at each other and commenced in harmonized giggles as they joined hands and increased their pace to the baths.
As they entered the wing of the palace that housed the baths they smelled lavender and rose in the air. They passed under a tall stone archway and into a small garden that separated the actual baths from the palace. Lothiriel noticed the morning air was brisk, and the sky was cloudless. The women stepped into the tiled foyer of the royal baths and saw Queen Arwen just inside. She spoke quietly with one of the female servants. Lothiriel and Eowyn waited in the foyer until the queen's attention was centered on them, and then they gracefully curtsied. "Queen Arwen," said the princesses in unison.
"Please," said the queen as she approached the women, "let us forget about court formalities." Arwen smiled softly at Eowyn and Lothiriel. "It is refreshing to be in the company of two ladies so like myself, and I would not have titles come between us today!" Eowyn winked discreetly at Lothiriel.
Eowyn and Lothiriel both nodded their agreement with Arwen, and the three ladies moved into the main chamber of the building. It housed a large bath, rectangle in shape and big enough for several people, which was in the center of the chamber. The water it held was clear and steaming in the cool morning air. Off to the side of the chamber was a smaller circular bath filled with water milky in color from dissolved bath salts and oils. Three female servants were busy on the far side of the room laying out long, soft cotton robes and setting a table with fruits, breads and cheeses. After they finished their work, Arwen thanked and excused the servants.
"I hope the food is to your liking," Arwen said as she pointed to the table. "If we like, our mid day meal can be served here as well." Lothiriel noted how the queen's voice always had a musical quality; it put her at ease and often made her smile.
"The food looks delicious." Eowyn said. "Thank you for your hospitality."
"It is I who should thank you for accepting my invitation," Arwen said, her voice laced with laughter, "for I wish to hear all about how your marriage to Faramir fares, and Lothiriel's late night rides across the fields of Pelennor with her intended!" Lothiriel's face flushed at Arwen's words, and Eowyn laughed merrily at her friend's expense. Arwen put a comforting hand on Lothiriel's shoulder and with a twinkle in her eyes said, "Let us fill ourselves completely, take to the baths, and talk of things most dear to our hearts!"
A/N-Not too much longer and then we get to party!
