Chapter 7 : Quiet Talk

"Éomer!"

Éomer turned to catch his sister in his arms, and gave her a hug. "Hello, Éowyn. It's so good to see you, sister." He released Éowyn to shake Faramir's hand. "Good to see you too, Prince."

"Don't call me that, it sounds strange," Faramir said. "Come, you might want to rest and wash before dinner."

"Yes, of course. Can't go for dinner as the dusty traveller I am now, can I?" Éomer agreed. "Who is already in Ithilien, anyway? Is Aragorn here yet?"

Éowyn shook her head. "The king isn't here yet, but we expect that he will be arriving soon. Perhaps in a day or two. Right now there's Gimli and Legolas…"

"My cousin Elphir and his sister Lothíriel," Faramir finished.

Éomer nodded. So Lothíriel has come to Emyn Arnen… He wondered what he should say to her, and whether it would be best to pretend that nothing had happened between them, to save Lothíriel from embarrassment.

Lost in his thoughts, he followed his sister and brother-in-law to the room they had prepared for him.

Lothíriel entered the hall, where the table was already set for dinner. She took her place next to Elphir, and found herself sitting opposite a handsome young man with long blonde hair and blue eyes. He nodded at her in acknowledgement and she realised that he was no Man, but an Elf. And she started to see that next to him was seated a dwarf with a very thick brown beard. It must be Legolas and Gimli, Father told me about them.

"So, how is your father?" Gimli was asking Elphir.

"Very well, thank you for asking. He would have come to Ithilien personally, but felt that he had spent too much time out of Dol Amroth. Which is why he sent me, and my sister Lothíriel."

Legolas smiled at Lothíriel. "How do you find Ithilien, Lady Lothíriel?"

"I've only been here a day, but I must admit that it is very beautiful. Everything that Faramir told me about Emyn Arnen I finally see to be true, and more besides. Ithilien could be one of the most beautiful places on Middle-earth, with care," Lothíriel replied, in the most polite tone she could muster. It was no common occasion to be in the company of an Elf, and Lothíriel was in awe of Legolas, of whom her father had spoken of highly.

Legolas nodded in agreement, please. "Yes, that is what I feel as well. Elves are coming to Ithilien. Not to Emyn Arnen, this area is for Men, but we Elves will dwell in Ithilien, and together Ithilien will blossom."

"It would be wonderful to have Elves in Ithilien, my lord," Elphir said eagerly.

"And Dwarves in the Glittering Caves," Legolas said, clapping his best friend Gimli on the shoulder.

"Good times have returned once more," Gimli agreed.

The conversation broke when Faramir and Éowyn entered the room. Behind them came a tall young man, and Lothíriel saw that it was Éomer. Everyone stood up to greet him. "Wonderful to see you again, King Éomer," Gimli said warmly, pumping Éomer's hand up and down most enthusiastically.

"My friend, you will wrench his arm off!" Legolas remarked, laughing.

"Yes, please, Gimli, spare my arm. I have great need of it," Éomer joked.

Elphir shook the hand that Éomer just extracted from Gimli's grasp. "Good to see you, my lord. My father sends his best regards," he said.

Éomer nodded in acknowledgement and returned the greeting, then turned to Lothíriel. A smile spread across his face as he spoke. "I'm delighted to see you here, Lady Lothíriel. Your father told me that it never was easy to get you to leave your home, and so I had almost lost hope in seeing you again."

Lothíriel blushed, flattered that Éomer had wanted to see her again. "I promised your sister that I would come to visit her in her new home, my lord, and I always keep my promises."

"I'm glad you do."

Éowyn laughed. "Come, let's not just stand around saying nice things to each other! This is supposed to be a dinner, let's all just get settled down and fill ourselves."

To that, no one had any argument, and so everyone took their places again, and dinner was served.

After dinner, Elphir declared that he was exhausted, and went to bed. Lothíriel, however, was not in the least tired, and went walking around Emyn Arnen with Legolas.

"What is it like, living next to the Sea?" Legolas asked.

Lothíriel was a little taken aback by the look of eagerness on Legolas' face. It made him look a curious child, burning with a thousand questions for an adult. It was so ironic; to Legolas, Lothíriel was probably nothing but a baby. But she knew how to answer his question, and answer it she did, without any hesitation. "The Sea is simply beautiful. It can calm you whenever you're feeling troubled. I spend most of my time sitting on a cliff looking out to sea. It's the most wonderful feeling in the world." She looked at him questioningly. "Have you never seen the Sea?"

Legolas sighed. "I have heard the call of the gulls."

Lothíriel kept silent. She did not understand exactly what it was like for the Elf to feel the longing he did for the sea. "I don't suppose your longing can be understood by Men," she said out loud.

Legolas nodded. "I don't suppose it can," he said. "Well, I will keep it to myself for now, I suppose. There is much on Middle-earth that will claim my attention." He looked up at the sky. "It's getting rather dark, and I think I will retire for today. Would you like me to accompany you back to your room?" he asked.

Lothíriel smiled at him and shook her head. "Thank you, my lord, but I think I will stay out here for a little longer. I'm not tired; and I think the air will do me some good."

Legolas nodded and bid her goodnight. Lothíriel watched as he walked away from her, then sat down on the ground, leaning against the stone steps leading up to the hall. She closed her eyes, feeling the cool night air around her. Come to think of it, I am a little tired… she thought to herself. But she did not want to go into her room. She wanted to be out here, enjoying the refreshing coolness of the air.

"It's a beautiful night, is it not?"

Lothíriel's flew open. She knew that voice now. "My lord Éomer!" she said, starting to get up.

Éomer held up a hand. "Please, sit. You don't have to stand up to greet me every time you see me, you know." He sat down next to her as she settled down again. "Ithilien is lovely. I can see that Éowyn will be very happy here."

"You really care about her, don't you?" Lothíriel remarked.

"Of course I do. She's my closest kin. It's been just the two of us for such a long time, it's a little strange to adapt now."

"Just the two of you?"

"My father was cut down by Orcs when I was eleven, and my mother passed away from grief shortly after. My uncle took Éowyn and I in, and treated us like his own, and of course we had Théodred, the best cousin I could have ever asked for. But my sister and I, it still felt like all we had were each other. We've been taking care of each other for such a long time."

Lothíriel marvelled at how much Éomer loved his sister, marvelled at how a hardened warrior like he could be so tender at the same time. "Must have been difficult for the both of you to lose both your parents. And I thought that it was hard for me to lose my mother. At least I still have Father. I don't know what I would do if I was left alone in this world."

"It was difficult for Éowyn and I, but I'm sure that doesn't make it less difficult for you to lose your mother," Éomer said seriously. "My uncle told me once that it's different for everyone when we lose a loved one, and I believe that it's true. Tell me about your mother. She must have been a remarkable woman."

"She was," Lothíriel remarked, nodding. "She was wonderful. I don't think anyone ever knew me better. We were so close, like best friends; we did almost everything together. She loved all her children, of course, but I suppose that being the only daughter brought us closer together." She sighed. "It was almost impossible to comfort me when she died. Erchirion and Amrothos had each other, as usual, and my father and Elphir spent a lot of time together, trying to forget what we had all just lost by dealing with the country's business with more than the usual fervour, and I was kind of left alone."

"Must have been lonely."

"It was."

They lapsed into silence, and Lothíriel leaned her head against the stone again. Everything was so peaceful and quiet, and drowsily she felt sleep claim her.