Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 37 : A New Friend
Elfwine frowned at the horsemen before him. It was time to leave Dol Amroth, after spending two weeks there. He didn't want to go. If he went home, he wouldn't be able to play with Elboron anymore, and it would be a very long time before they would get to meet again.
"Mother, can't we stay in Dol Amroth a little longer?" he asked, tugging on his mother's skirts to get her attention.
Lothíriel bent down and kissed his cheek. "No matter how long we stay, we will still have to leave eventually," she told him gently. "Besides, it's time to get back to Edoras. There'll be much for your father to take care of there."
For the first time in his life Elfwine wished fervently that his father were not the King of Rohan, so they could stay in Dol Amroth longer. Then he wouldn't have to leave his friend so soon.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and Elfwine turned, looking down slightly on his friend. Elboron looked solemn, and stuck out his hand. "Goodbye," he said seriously.
Elfwine shook his hand. "Goodbye," he replied.
Elboron nodded, then looked earnestly at his older friend. "We'll meet again, right? Then we can play together again!"
Elfwine looked up at his mother for confirmation, and when she nodded, he grinned confidently at Elboron. "I'll see you again. We're best friends!"
Fourteen years later…
"You cheated!" Elboron insisted indignantly.
Elfwine laughed. "My friend, I'm the Prince of the Horse-Lords! I have no need to cheat!" Pulling on the reins of his majestic brown stallion, he began making his way to the stables. "Come, Elboron, just admit that you lost the race again!"
"If we weren't best friends, I'd probably kill you right now," Elboron said sulkily, but they both knew that he didn't mean a word of it.
They attended to their horses personally. Elfwine's father had always said, "When you're away from home, your horse is your best friend. Do you just toss your best friend over to a groom?" After they were certain that the horses had everything that they would possibly need, they left the stables, stopping only to stroke the King's magnificent steed.
In the hall, everything had been laid out for lunch. Lothíriel was already there. As always, seeing his mother always brought about a wave of admiration. She sat at her place quietly, lost in her own thoughts. A small smile played about her lips; as if she had a secret she was keeping from the rest of the world, as if she knew something that everyone else didn't. When the two young men approached the table, she looked up at them, the secret smile replaced by an open, warm one. "Well, I see that you've remembered lunch today," she remarked. "Who won the race?"
Elboron jerked his head in Elfwine's direction as he sat down. "Elfwine can't be beaten, Aunt Lothíriel. I think I'll be giving up soon."
Lothíriel laughed. "I assure you, Elboron, that my son can be beaten. I've done it several times myself."
Elboron laughed along with her, but Elfwine was not in the least embarrassed. It was nothing to be ashamed at, losing to his mother. She had been an excellent rider when she was growing up in Dol Amroth, and all these years in Rohan had only served to improve her skill. "You are a very skilled rider, Mother," he said good-naturedly.
"And I agree."
Everyone turned to see Éomer coming in, a smile on his face. He was now forty-nine, but had lost none of his youthful vigour. His manner simply demanded respect, and his people gave it to him most readily. Elfwine and Elboron instinctively rose, waiting until he was seated before taking their seats again. Éomer hardly took any notice of that; it was expected of the boys to do that, something that Éomer had gone through himself. "Come, the two of you must be hungry after racing again," he said warmly. "Let's not leave the food cold, shall we?" He paused, as if trying to recall something, and then said, "Elfwine, later you must join me for the meeting with the captains."
Elfwine nodded. He was nineteen now, and it was important that he began to take a small part in the ruling of the country. His father was still healthy and strong, but as Elfwine's tutors said, learning how to become a king was not something that could be done in a year or two. Every morning he trained with the other young soldiers, and when Elboron visited, Elboron would also take part in the training. Together they worked hard at their combat skills; it was important that a ruler could be able to fight for his country when it was necessary. And Elfwine had recently been attending meetings with his father. At first he had expected them to be dull, but he found that some were really quite interesting, and that he actually did have views that could be contributed. All in all, Elfwine rather enjoyed his training to be king.
Elboron sat on the steps leading up to the hall, looking out at the plains that surrounded him. Elfwine was at a meeting with his father, and Lothíriel had wandered off somewhere. Elboron suspected that his aunt had gone riding, and the thought made him smile. In so many ways, his aunt was so similar to his mother that it made Edoras seem like home all the more.
Elboron sighed, thinking of home. He knew that when he got home, he would have to participate in the ruling of Ithilien again. Elfwine's training had started when he was sixteen, and it was now the same with Elboron. But unlike his cousin, Elboron did not have any real interest in political matters. His father was a good ruler, that he knew, and Faramir did try his best to get his son involved, but Elboron never found anything that made him feel needed. He enjoyed his combat training, but the meetings bored him. He didn't understand why he had to attend them all with his father. Politics left him frustrated and irritable.
"Well, whether you like it or not, you've got at least two hours to yourself," he muttered. Standing up, he looked around, wondering what he could possibly be up to for two hours. Perhaps he could go look for Freda? He hadn't seen her much since coming to Edoras. He didn't know where she was. Sometimes she spent time with Lothíriel, Elboron seriously doubted that she would be riding with his aunt. She could be in the kitchens, though. Freda liked the smell of freshly baked bread; that Elboron remembered.
Having made up his mind, Elboron began to make his way to the kitchens.
The warm, rich smell of cakes filled his senses as he entered, looking around over the heads of the busy women. He didn't see Freda anywhere, and was just about to ask someone when he heard a laugh and was almost bowled over.
Grabbing a corner of the nearest table to keep from falling flat on his face, he staggered and turned round to see who it was who had bumped into him.
The first thing he saw was a pair of dark brown eyes. Then he saw her golden hair, and then he noticed the incredibly embarrassed look she was wearing. It brought a smile to his face.
"I'm sor…" she began to say, but Elboron cut her off with a grin.
"That's all right," he said. "Serves me right for standing in the middle of the kitchen while there are women hard at work all around."
She returned his smile. "I suppose you're right," she said. "You really shouldn't be down here."
"Meren!" Alanna, the head cook, hurried over. "Apologise to Prince Elboron!" She turned to Elboron with a smile, "I'm sorry, my lord, but my niece is new here."
"That's all right," Elboron said for the second time. The girl, Meren, was staring at him now.
"How may I help you, my lord?" Alanna asked.
"Oh, I was just wondering if Freda was here." Elboron took another look around. "I don't see her, so I suppose that answers my question."
"No, Freda hasn't been here to help out today." Alanna laughed. "The Prince of Rohan is in a meeting with his father, I suppose?"
Elboron grinned at the jovial head cook. "You know me well, Alanna," he said.
She nodded. "Well, Freda might come down later," she said. "You could sit down and wait. Here, have some of these." She passed a plate of square biscuits to him.
Elboron pulled a stool over to him and sat down. "I'll be very fat by the time I return to Ithilien," he remarked.
"With all the running about you do with our prince, I doubt it," Alanna replied with a wink as she went off to continue her work.
Elboron looked about the kitchen, breathing in the lovely smells, and noticed that Meren was still standing there. "Are you all right?" he asked.
She shook herself. "Yes, yes I am," she replied hastily. "I… I just…" She shook her head, and then started again. "You're from Gondor?"
"Yes, I am. I live in Ithilien," Elboron said.
A smile spread across Meren's face. "What's it like?" she asked eagerly. "I've never been out of Rohan in my life. The greatest journey of my life was to come here from the Westfold."
Elboron gestured to another stool. "Why don't you sit down and I'll tell you?"
Meren looked around. "I don't know… my aunt might…"
Elboron waved to Alanna. "Alanna, do you mind if I kept your niece from her work? She could keep me company while I wait for Freda."
Alanna couldn't find any way to say no, and so Meren sat down in front of Elboron. He gave her a friendly smile, and began to tell her as much as he could about his home. He told her of the flowers and the trees, the birds and little animals, the weather… it had not struck him until then that he missed Emyn Arnen, and he told her so.
Meren smiled and nodded. "I understand just how you feel. I never thought that I loved my life in the Westfold so much until I came to Edoras. Now I keep thinking about home."
"Why did you leave?"
Meren shrugged. "I wanted to see Edoras. I wanted to find work and stand on my own two feet. I didn't want to be like my sisters, just growing up to become someone's wife. Every single day of their lives will the same. I didn't want that."
"How about now?"
"I still want adventure," Meren admitted. "And I am enjoying myself, but this is rather different from what I expected."
"How so?" Elboron had to admit that he was enjoying speaking to Meren, and was finding her rather interesting.
"Well, I never expected myself to be chatting to the son of the Prince of Ithilien like he was an old friend, for one!" she replied with a smile. "But this is fun."
"Yes, it is." Elboron noticed Freda entering the kitchens. "Oh, Freda is here now. I have to go. I think I'll try to persuade her to go out walking around with me." He stood up. "I suppose I'll talk to you later? After dinner, perhaps?"
"Yes, why not?"
Elfwine hurried after Elboron after dinner. "Where are you going?" he asked.
"To meet a friend," Elboron replied simply.
A friend? Other than himself, Elfwine didn't know that Elboron had other friends in Edoras. "Who?"
"Come along and you'll see!"
Elfwine followed, full of curiosity. "Why are we going towards the kitchens?"
"Come along!" Elboron led the way into the kitchens, waving at Alanna. He didn't stop till he approached a girl Elfwine didn't recognise.
She must be new, he thought to himself. He knew everyone working in Methuseld, by sight if not by name. He studied her face. She wasn't beautiful like his mother, but something about her made her seem special. She smiled brightly when she saw Elboron, and Elfwine realised why. She was a girl with confidence, a confidence that radiated from inside her.
"Hello!" she said warmly. "I thought you'd forget!"
"I never forget my friends," Elboron replied with a grin. He jerked his head towards Elfwine. "Elfwine, this is Meren. Meren, this is my best friend Elfwine."
"I know," Meren said, bowing her head politely to Elfwine. "It's an honour to meet you, my prince."
Elfwine shook his head, fidgeting. "There's no need to call me that," he said awkwardly. "Elfwine will do." He didn't understand why, but he suddenly seemed unable to say anything sensible. It was as if his brain had left his head!
Meren nodded with a smile. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Elfwine." She turned back to Elboron. "Alanna said that if you came, I could stop my work. Where shall we go, then?"
"The gardens? I love it when it's dark there," Elboron said. "Have you been there?"
Meren shook her head. "I'd like to see it. What do you think, Elfwine?"
Elfwine nodded his head dumbly. "The garden are lovely, you should see it."
With that, it was settled, and the three went on their way.