Only 2 exam papers left, whew! Totally blew my Physics. Ugh. Never mind, shall try to forget about it by writing fanfiction.

Chapter 41 : Dinner

"You help your mother, all right? Make sure she doesn't have too much to handle," Éomer instructed his son.

Lothíriel laughed. "You make me sound like an old woman!"

Éomer grinned and kissed his wife's forehead. "You are an old woman."

"You're older than me," Lothíriel said with a smile. "Travel safely."

Éomer nodded, and after giving Elfwine a hug, he was off. Elfwine stood next to his mother, waving when his father turned at the gate. He had volunteered to go with his father, in case he needed help, but for some reason Lothíriel had been rather insistent at Elfwine's staying in Edoras, and Éomer always took his wife's counsel seriously. Elfwine didn't understand why his mother had been so set on his staying home this time, when she had always encouraged him to go with his father, but he told himself that there was some reason that he would see later on, something that his mother had already foreseen.

Éomer and his men were already out of sight, but Lothíriel and Elfwine continued to stand in silence. Finally, Lothíriel broke the silence. "Why don't you invite Meren to dinner tonight? She could join the two of us."

Elfwine cleared his throat. "Oh, all right… but she must be busy now… I could ask Freda to pass her a message…"

"Why a message? Surely you could go to the kitchens and ask her yourself?" Lothíriel glanced at her son. "I'm sure you've gone there and spoken to her before."

"Only when Elboron dragged me down. I didn't want to disturb her while she was working," Elfwine replied awkwardly.

"I'm sure she would be glad for the occasional distraction," Lothíriel said, turning back to the hall, and leaving her son standing outside in the middle of what he felt was a very awkward situation.

"Meren?"

Meren spun around, hands flying to her hair, completely forgetting that they were full of flour. Therefore, the result was her facing Elfwine with flour in her hair.

Elfwine shifted his feet. "Oh… I'm sorry if I startled you," he said. "Or disturbed your work."

"That's all right," she replied, hurriedly trying to get the flour out of her hair. "I'm glad you came to see me." And she meant it.

"Really?" Elfwine looked pleased. Then a reddish tinge came to his face. "Eh… my mother asked if you would join us for dinner."

Being asked to dinner by the queen was a great honour, but Meren could not help but feel a little disappointed. "Your mother?"

Elfwine turned redder. "I would like it if you joined us."

Meren felt her own cheeks heating up as she smiled. "It would be an honour to join you. I'll speak to Alanna." She gestured to the dough she had been kneading. "Well… I have to get back to work now. I'll see you later." She gave him another smile. "Thank you for the invitation."

"It was nothing," Elfwine said. "It would be nice to have a friend at dinner." He began to back out of the kitchen. "I'll see you later, then."

"Keep still and let me do your hair for you!"

Meren sighed and stopped fidgeting as her friend Morwen started fussing about with her hair. "I don't see how my hair's going to make much of a difference."

"Well, at least you'll look nice," Morwen replied. "That's very important." Her eyes sparkled. "I can't believe you're having a meal with royalty!"

"Morwen, Elfwine's a friend! I don't at him as royalty anymore," Meren said. "And besides, I've already met the queen before. She seems nice."

"Don't try to act as if this doesn't matter, Meren! It does, and you know it."

Morwen was right; it did matter. The truth was, there were butterflies fluttering about in Meren's stomach, so much so that she was beginning to wonder if she actually could eat. And the most confusing part was that she was not in the least bit worried about how she behaved around the queen, but about how Elfwine would see her. She told herself that it was ridiculous, that they were friends and she could just be herself, but somehow this felt different. It was more formal, and it seemed as if there were things that were expected of her that she did not even know of. And she so badly wanted to be perfect in front of Elfwine.

"There, it's beautiful," Morwen said, satisfied. "Stand up, let me look!"

Meren stood up obediently and turned. She was wearing her best dress, but it was just dark green and plain, and there was nothing special about it at all. Morwen had plaited her hair, fastening it with the only piece of jewellery she had: a silver clasp with an image of a running horse engraved on it. Her mother had given it to her when she left home. Overall, she looked much better than she usually did, but she still didn't feel very beautiful. "I look plain," she said.

Morwen shook her head. "You look lovely. Don't you worry about a thing."

Elfwine entered the hall, and sat down at the table diagonally below the throne. They only had the table moved to the centre of the hall when there were guests. He looked around him, smiling at the guards by the door. His eyes drifted up to the throne. That he would one day sit there was something he could not yet believe. He could not imagine actually being in charge, making decisions instead of just giving suggestions. The idea scared him, but at the same time, it sent a shiver of anticipation up his spine. Imagine all the things I could do for my country! But, of course, he was glad that it would be a long time yet before he would have to take charge. He could not imagine doing a better job than his father.

"Daydreaming?" The voice broke through his thoughts, and he turned to see Meren smiling at him, and knew that his face was turning red (again). She looked beautiful, with her hair so neatly pulled back, and that simple green dress which suited her so well.

"No, I was just… thinking," he said, getting up. He gestured to a place opposite him. "Why don't you sit down? My mother will be here soon. She was in my father's study a little while ago."

Meren nodded, taking her seat. "Are you in charge, now that your father isn't in Edoras?"

"Mother is, but I'm supposed to help her as much as I can. One day I'll probably be left completely in charge of things here."

"Isn't that frightening? I would never be able to handle something like that. I would probably make a huge mess out of things."

"Well, I've been brought up for that. I've had tutors since I was seven, and at sixteen my father started to train me to become a king. It can be a little intimidating, but I'm sure I can find a way to manage should the occasion arise."

"I'm glad you're the heir to the throne. You'll do a wonderful job for the country," Meren told him truthfully.

Lothíriel entered the hall as Elfwine tried to hide how immensely pleased he was. He and Meren both stood up to greet her. Lothíriel smiled, gesturing for them to sit. She smiled and nodded to one of the guards, who returned the smile and left to deliver the message to the kitchens that dinner could be served. She took her seat at the head of the table between the two youths. "I'm glad you could join us, Meren," she said warmly.

Meren bowed her head as the food was set on the table. "I'll always have time for you and your son, my lady," she said politely.

"And you'll always be welcome at our table. Come, help yourself."

Meren could hardly believe what a good time she was having. The queen was both friendly and animated, and it was so easy to converse with her without feeling awkward at all. And, in the presence of his mother, Elfwine also loosened up and spoke more freely.

"Oh, Elfwine, I received a letter from Dol Amroth today," Lothíriel said. "It was from your uncles Erchirion and Amrothos."

"Really?" Elfwine grinned. "What did they say?"

"Apparently young Galador's in trouble again. He sabotaged Amrothos' stew with five spoonfuls of salt."

Mother and son laughed. When they sobered down, Elfwine explained to Meren, "Galador is my cousin, son of my uncle Elphir. He's ten and always in trouble."

"I highly suspect that he's inherited some of that blood that my brothers Erchirion and Amrothos have. They've always been the ones in trouble in Dol Amroth, but they've seemed to quieten down now," Lothíriel added.

"They sound very interesting," Meren said with a smile. "I wish my family was as interesting."

"Every family must have an interesting story or two to tell," Elfwine said. "I can't believe that there's a family in the whole Middle-Earth without something worth speaking of. It's just impossible."

"Tell us about your family, Meren," Lothíriel said. "I don't think it's fair for us to be talking about our family here the whole time while you just listen. You must miss your family."

Meren thought about it, her family back in their little village in the Westfold. "I do miss them," she confessed. "I'm the youngest in the family. I have two sisters and a brother. Our life was simple and routine, nothing much ever happened. We didn't have much, but we were happy anyway."

"Why did you leave?" Elfwine's eyes stared straight into hers, making her shiver slightly.

"My sisters… both of them got married at the age of eighteen and just settled down, spending their days with their husbands the exact same way they spent their days at home with us. I didn't want that. I wanted to see more before I settled down, before I was tied down by anything. So I wrote to my aunt, Alanna, and asked her if she could find work for me in Edoras. She did, and so now I'm here."

"That was brave of you, Meren," Lothíriel said sincerely. "When I was your age, I hated leaving my home. As far as I was concerned, I was perfectly happy staying where I was, spending my days with my brothers right till the end of time."

Meren blushed at the compliment. "Well then, my lady, I must say it's lucky for Rohan that you changed your mind."

Elfwine laughed. "My father changed her mind. Didn't he, Mother?" The look he gave his mother was such a cheeky one that Meren was rather taken aback.

"Oh, Elfwine." Lothíriel's cheeks coloured slightly. Then she recovered and gave her son one of her famous secretive smiles. "Your father did a good job of changing my mind and winning my heart. One day it'll be your turn. And I hope that when that day comes, the girl will be someone as lovely as Meren."

Elfwine's face turned bright red, and Meren was sure that all her blood had rushed up to her face.

"I had a good time at dinner today," Meren said as they walked under the stars in the gardens. "You must thank your mother for me again."

"I will."

Meren glanced at Elfwine, walking with his hands behind his back, looking down at the ground. "You were different today."

"How so?"

Meren smiled and shrugged. "You seemed… more relaxed. Freer. You didn't seem as distant as you usually do." She grinned. "Your behaviour reminded me a little of Elboron today. So much at ease."

Elfwine shot her a look, and she thought she saw a flash of disappointment. "Elboron?" He said that name as if it sounded strange on his tongue. Then he gave her a smile. "Do you miss him?"

"Yes, I do. We had good times when he was here, didn't we?"

Elfwine looked up at the sky, remaining silent for the longest time before saying, "Yes, yes we did."

I've been thinking about my older fanfics… especially my 2 Legomances. I read through them recently and they seem horrible now. I've been considering "revising" them. As in, I'll keep the storylines, re-write them and post them up again. What do you think? Should I do it? Give me your views please! THANKS.