Chapter 10 : A Silly Girl's Thoughts
Lothíriel looked around her room, trying to see if there was anything she had forgotten. She and Elphir would begin their journey back to Dol Amroth the next morning, after two weeks spent in Emyn Arnen.
After she was satisfied that she had everything packed, she left her room for a last look around Ithilien. She had grown to love it, the beauty, the quiet, the peace, and she willingly admitted to herself that she would be rather sorry to leave.
The sun was just about to set, a flame burning in the sky, about to be extinguished. It cast an ethereal orange glow over the land, and the view simply took Lothíriel's breath away. She stood at the top of the steps, motionless, just taking it all in.
"It's so beautiful," she said softly when someone came to stand beside her.
"Yes, yes it is," Éomer agreed. "You are returning to Dol Amroth tomorrow morning?"
Lothíriel nodded. "And you?"
"I'll be staying for a day longer. I must confess that I don't really want to leave my sister. It's been… different… without her in Rohan. Even though we did have our quarrels sometimes, for some reason I thought that she would be around forever, always there for me to bicker with, and to make me look a complete fool, and to help me take care of things." Éomer sighed. "But she'll be happy here, as I said before."
Lothíriel looked out again, the sun almost meeting the earth. "Yes, Éowyn will be happy here. And my cousin loves her very, very much, it's clear to anyone. They will be happy, and so will all the people here. Life will be like a dream, a very pleasant dream, all in a golden haze."
Éomer laughed. "That was very poetic, my lady."
Lothíriel reached out and took his hand. "Come I want to show you something."
Lothíriel led Éomer down a path, and said over her shoulder, "Faramir showed me this place when I arrived. I've come back here a few times in these two weeks, and I thought that I would show it to you just before I left." She gestured to a hole in the rock. "That leads to a cavern behind the falls, and Faramir brought me there. But I found a way down, down to the pool."
They went down a slightly rockier path, and stopped just before the pool Lothíriel was speaking of. Éomer looked around in amazement. The orange sunlight spilled over the rock and into the pool, and everything seemed to be glowing. "A golden haze indeed," he said with a smile.
"I'll miss this place when I get home."
"I thought such beauty was only possible in paintings, but now I see this before me…" Éomer trailed off, lost for words. "Well, thank you, for showing me this."
"You're welcome."
Lothíriel smiled up at him, her face close. He could see the light reflected in her eyes, and saw her beauty illuminated in the warm glow of the sunset.
He smiled back, then turned to look around him once more. "Thank you, again, I must say it. Éowyn never showed me this, and I'm her brother!" In the middle of all this loveliness, he felt himself relax, every muscle in his body loosened.
Which was why he was completely unprepared, and had swallowed a whole mouthful of water before he broke through the surface.
"What… what… what… was that for?" he sputtered, spitting out water.
Lothíriel laughed and winked at him. "I just… just thought I would do that," she said.
"You're wicked… you're really horrid, you know." Éomer pushed his wet hair out of his eyes, completely drenched.
"You were just thanking me a moment ago," Lothíriel teased. "I thought I wasn't strong enough to move you anyway, but just one push and in you went!"
Éomer could find no words to express himself, and settled for splashing as much water as he could on Lothíriel.
Lothíriel ran behind Éomer all the way back to their rooms. The sun had set, and it was getting cold. "If I get sick, it's going to be all your fault!" Éomer called back to her as they hurried down the hallway.
"I'm sure you're not that weak, Éomer! You're a warrior of Rohan, for goodness sake!" she said, unable to control her laughter.
Éomer muttered something, pushed open the door of his room, and slammed it shut, calling out a good night to Lothíriel. Lothíriel giggled to herself and kept on walking; her room was two doors away from his.
Elphir was just coming out of his room as Lothíriel reached her door. "Lothíriel!" he exclaimed. "You're drenched!" Grabbing her, he yanked her into his room, and picked up his cloak, throwing it about her. "What on earth have you been doing?" he demanded, rubbing her arms to make sure she got warm.
Lothíriel pushed him away. "I'm fine, brother, I'm not going to catch my death or anything," she protested. She giggled again. "You wouldn't call me drenched if you saw Éomer."
Elphir's eyes widened. "What have you done to Éomer?"
Lothíriel put on her most innocent look. "Nothing…" She caught the look Elphir gave her, and relented. "I pushed him into a pool."
"I thought only Erchirion and Amrothos did such things," Elphir said with a sigh. "What did you do that for? He's the King of Rohan!"
"He's a friend," Lothíriel argued, sitting down. "Relax, brother, he's not going to start a war or anything. In fact… I think he rather enjoyed it."
Elphir threw his arms up in defeat. Then he glanced at his sister, and grinned. "So… how wet is he?"
"Like a drowned rat. Actually I think he swallowed some water."
Their laughter rang in the room, brother and sister sharing a joke.
Lothíriel pulled the blanket up to her chin, but her eyes remained wide open. Her mind kept replaying the scenes at the pool, over and over again, unrelenting.
She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. She didn't understand. Why did she keep seeing his face in her mind, just after he thanked her? Their faces were so close; she was staring straight into his eyes, and for the very first time it struck her that he was the most handsome man she had ever met. And why did that make things suddenly seem different? Why had she wanted to get even closer to him? She simply didn't understand what was happening to her.
She turned in bed, trying to block it out of her mind. Just a silly girl's thoughts, she told herself sternly.