"Your move, Aragorn."
There was a tense silence; the man's steady eyes did not lift from his focus, neither did he show any unrest at the obvious advantage. He waited, quietly, his mind sorting out the uneven puzzle of the chessboard.
"Have you lost, Father?" Asked Eldarion indignantly.
It was the first reasonably merry thing the boy had uttered within the past week; Lothiriel looked at him in undisguised surprise, and Eomer reached out his hands towards Eldarion.
"Come here," he said gruffly, but the boy crossed his arms and shook his head. "See your father's expression? He's unraveling my secrets with his mind. He's thinking. With this," he tapped his own forehead. "But to no avail. You'd better side with me in this one, son, because it looks like your father's lost."
"It's not about winning," Lothiriel said with a smile. "Don't put those thoughts in his head, Eomer."
"I meant no harm," Eomer replied, lifting his hands up.
"My father's going to beat yours," Elfwine said braggingly.
"Llie n'vanima ar' lle atara lanneina," Eldarion snapped back.
"Eldarion," Aragorn finally looked up from the chessboard. "That wasn't very kind."
"What did that mean!" Elfwine whined.
"It's time for you to go to sleep, Elfwine," Lothiriel cut in gracefully.
"Mother," Elfwine whined again.
"Say goodnight to your father, and the King and the young Prince."
"You promised to let me stay here until Eowyn came back!" Elfwine cried again.
"Come," Lothiriel said, passing Elfwine off to a maid who had stepped in on cue. "You too, Eldarion." She expected more resistance from the latter, but none came, and she kissed him on the cheek, more grateful than she would admit.
"Where is my sister?" Eomer asked, once the door had closed.
"She wanted to go for a ride, and was in no temperament to be stopped," Aragorn said.
"She is not healthy enough…"
"Eomer, let her do as she pleases. She would not be persuaded against it."
"You had no right…"
"I had no right to stop her," Aragorn replied.
"Has she come back?" Eomer asked his wife.
"No one has seen here since this morning," Lothiriel replied helplessly.
"For good reason," said a voice from the door. "I have not been here."
"Sister!" Eomer said, standing up.
"Brother," Eowyn replied, not nearly as excited as her brother was. "I need to speak with you."
"Concerning?"
"There is a need for war again."
"Sister, calm yourself. There is no need for war…"
"A Queen has just been killed. Is this no need for war? You've had too much to drink, brother, or my words would sound more clear."
"The King has reason, Lady," Aragorn said. "You demand war, but against what? Against whom?"
Eowyn felt her tongue catch in her throat. "Those were orcs, King. There are still many of them left, no doubt holding resentment, who better to kill than the wife of their enemy?"
"What are you saying?" Lothiriel asked.
"That the threat now may be just as dire as it ever had been. There could be forces massing in Mordor. The land has been left unchecked, left to those monsters…" She paused. "I am saying there could be another Sauron."
"There is no chance of it. There is no ring," Eomer said.
"How can you not see the possibility?" Eowyn said, completely taken aback at the response to her suggestion. "There is no ring? Rings don't matter. Numbers do. There are as many orcs as there are men in Rohan and Gondor combined. That is a formidable foe! Ring or no ring, that could pose a serious threat."
"Orcs have no organization, Eowyn."
"If they are leaderless, there is no threat. But if there is such a leader…"
"And who would that be, Eowyn? Who in…"
"The possibility exists. If people sided with Sauron, they will do it again. And we are helpless. With the elves and wizards gone, it is man against orc now."
"You are jumping to conclusions, Eowyn…"
"Those orcs were in the middle of our land. There is no possible way this was a coincidence."
"It is not wise to assume things we do not know," Aragorn said finally.
There was a silence.
"This is a day I thought I would never see," Eowyn said. "The men sit and play chess like cowards while the woman thirsts for battle."
"We are not cowards, Lady. I would think that you had seen too much war in your lifetime to jump so easily at the opportunity for another. Do you want another battle, Eowyn?"
"I want justice," Eowyn replied. "Whatever it takes."
"Are you willing to pay for justice with your life?"
"Yes."
"And your daughter, and husband?"
She felt as if she had been stabbed somewhere in the gut, and suddenly felt her entire argument dissolve in front of her eyes. She longed to go home, and see Faramir, and her daughter. Theodwyn must have grown much by this time…was she willing to desert them?
"I will do what I must," Eowyn felt the words tumble from her mouth. She despised them, but they lay in the air like a curse she regretted having spoken.
"I am advising you against, haste, Lady. I watched, and I waited, until the last possible minute, to make my move. I fought in my mind before on land, and I won."
Eowyn crossed her arms. "Then I will go alone."
"Eowyn, you're mad," Eomer said in protest.
"I will go alone into Mordor.," she repeated.
Another long, long silence. Eomer opened and closed his mouth, trying to find words, and Eowyn waited quietly for someone—anyone—to challenge her. No one did.
Aragorn moved his knight on the chessboard and stood up. "Check mate, Eomer. I will see you all in the morning."