A/N: Oh, no, no, no, no, no! That wasn't the end! THIS is the end!
fandun – well, Danwen probably won't die, but she still has to face life in a royal court where the queen already has reason not to like her. Sure wouldn't want to be in her shoes!
wondereye – ending? What ending? Read on!
Jazzcat - yes, you are so smart! But did you get ALL of it?
By The Book
Chapter 9
When Eomer finally opened his eyes, it was to find me brushing my hair near where he slept. He looked at me closely and asked, "Is that my shirt you are wearing?"
"Yes." I continued brushing, a slight smile grazing my lips, knowing where this conversation was leading.
"And what do you suggest I wear, since you are wearing my clothes?"
I shrugged and gestured across the cave to where we had discarded our clothing the previous night. "If you are intent on being clad, there is a skirt over there!"
He rolled his eyes at me. "You do not give up, do you?"
"Of course not! I have wed you twice now, and still you have not honored your promise to let me see you so attired. I am beginning to think the King of Rohan is not a man of his word!"
With a groan, he rose in one catlike movement and stepped across the room. Laying aside my brush, I stretched out on our bed and admired the view. He glanced at me once, seeming to hope I would change my mind, but I just gave him a grin and waved my hand. "Go ahead! I am waiting!"
A moment later, he stood before me barechested, barefoot and wearing my skirt. I broke up in giggles at the sight and he flushed red. When finally I got my laughter under control, I told him, "No, that will never do! Come here, my love, and let me get you out of that skirt." I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively and his embarrassment quickly turned to passion, as he followed my instructions and joined me.
"I look forward to your help undressing..." he murmured as he began kissing me. And I giggled again as we became lost in one another.
xxxxx
Some time later, a voice called to us from the cave entrance. "My lord, we should consider getting back to Edoras soon," Elfhelm suggested.
Eomer sighed and called back, "Very well. We will be ready shortly."
Reluctantly we rose and dressed, gathering up a few necessary belongings. Eomer and his escort departed first so no one would see me. I had kept myself shrouded with my cloak the night before, but in daylight it would be more difficult to conceal me. Elfhelm had taken Kialmar and returned to Edoras for the night, then rejoined us in the morning. That way the guards at the gate would not be surprised to see someone ride back in with Elfhelm.
Once Eomer and his group were gone, taking the long way to arrive at the city, Elfhelm and I mounted up and made a hasty direct trip in order to arrive before the king returned.
When I walked into the Golden Hall, Amrothos looked up from his interrogation of Gamling as to my whereabouts.
Gamling gestured to me. "As I said, Lady Lothiriel went for a ride. Now she has returned." He quickly moved away before Amrothos could pursue the matter further.
Amrothos looked suspiciously at me and asked, "You went riding?"
"Yes. Elfhelm accompanied me. The strain of this wedding was getting to me and I wanted to clear my head so I would be in a better frame of mind today."
He still looked skeptical and said, "Then why did Miren say you were sleeping in?"
"Because that is what I told her to tell anyone who asked so that I would be left alone. Is there a problem, Amrothos? Why does this concern you so?"
He shrugged, but I knew he still had his doubts about my story. Nevertheless, he dropped the subject and I said, "Have you eaten? Miren brought me some food, but I am hungry and think I will find something to eat."
"I just ate, but I will join you while you dine."
We moved toward the small dining chamber that the royal family used, and we found Faramir and Eowyn still at the table there. They looked up, Eowyn a bit questioningly and Faramir with a benign expression that revealed nothing of his thoughts. "Did you sleep well, Thiri?" Faramir inquired.
"Very well, thank you. Better than I have in days. I think I may actually be able to face the festivities today without turning into a raving lunatic." Then, to disguise things further, asked, "Has Eomer returned yet, or have we heard anything from his party?"
Faramir shook his head. "No, not yet. Do not fret. I am sure he will be along soon."
I nodded. "I am sure you are right." I sat down and dished food onto my plate. A moment later the door opened and in came Eomer.
"Good! Food! I am ravenous this morning." He bent and kissed my cheek. "Good morning, my love. I do hope you forgive me for not making it back for the wedding yesterday. I promise to show up today!"
"I was not worried, though I think our guests are of the opinion you may have changed your mind about marrying me!"
"Never! I would marry you every day if I could!"
Faramir began coughing and when he could speak, he attributed it to swallowing wrong. Eowyn and Amrothos were looking from person to person, and I'm pretty sure they had an inkling that something was going unsaid amongst the three of us. Perhaps one day we would tell them the truth.
Once we had eaten, I gave a heavy sigh and said, "Ah well, back to the mob and their unending attention to me. I will see all of you later."
I rose and headed for my room, fortunately making it there without being spotted by any ladies of the court. Miren was waiting for me. I gave her a hug and said, "Thank you for all your help yesterday and today. I know the things I have asked you to do and say seem a bit odd, but there is a good reason for them, and you have helped save my sanity."
She gave me a nod, and glanced to my breakfast tray. "When you were not here this morning, I took the liberty of eating some of the breakfast I brought for you. I hope you do not mind."
I grinned. "Not at all! All the better as it makes my story look more real. I should have thought to ask you to do so."
"Would you like me to arrange for a bath?" she asked, and I nodded gratefully.
"That would be lovely. Thank you."
A short time later, I was soaking in the tub and lazily recalling my night with Eomer, a contented smile on my face. After almost an hour, the water was cold, so I reluctantly finished and got out.
By late morning, the hordes had descended once again and were swarming about me, chattering madly about anything and everything. The midday meal was a welcome respite, but they were soon gathered around me once more, and the wedding was still much too far off.
Five hours and twenty-three minutes...I'll never make it, I thought. Once again, I allowed my mind to drift back to the previous night and I stiffened my back with resolve. I could do this. From here on was just a formality. All I had to do was sit quietly and let everyone else fuss; then I would put in appearance, say my vows and it would all be over – and I would be wed to Eomer for the third time.
At last, the time drew near and I was dressed and coifed and primped to within an inch of my life. Then my father was there to accompany me to the Golden Hall where Eomer awaited. As Doorward, it was Gamling's job to perform the actual ceremony when the king himself was marrying, and we made our way through the formalities. Finally we were done, and I stood with a simple crown on my head, beside the King of Rohan as his queen. We turned to the assembled crowd who saluted us and then we led the way outside onto the terrace to greet the townspeople who had not been at the actual ceremony.
I noted that Hamal and Breewyn had brought the orphans to see their new Queen, and the children all waved excitedly at me when they saw me look in their direction. Lissa was edging shyly forward, and when Eowyn spotted her, she went and accompanied her to where we stood. She had gathered a bouquet of simbelmyne for me and I took it after giving her a hug. She beamed as she turned and ran back to join the other children.
We walked to the bottom of the terrace around Meduseld so that the people could greet us personally if they wished, and in the meantime Gamling was getting the hall ready for the feast.
At last the crowd released us and we made our way back inside. And so the evening droned on. There were toasts and good-nature ribbing, dancing, joking, laughing, much drinking and a great deal of monotonous chatter from puffed up nobles. I was beginning to think my smile was so firmly affixed to my face that I'd never be able to frown again. My feet hurt and my head was pounding from all the noise, but I kept reminding myself this was the end. We had fulfilled the requirements of marriage to a king and soon we could begin our life together.
I had not seen Eomer for well over an hour, except for glimpses across the room, but suddenly he appeared at my side and asked, "Would you dance with your king, my lady?"
I gave him my first genuine smile of the evening and nodded coyly. With a curtsy, I told him, "It would be my pleasure, Eomer King."
We were silent at first, but then he whispered, "I recognize that look in your eyes. Are you regretting marrying me?"
I pulled back slightly to look at his face. "My lord, I have married you three times in two different countries and under three authorities. I hardly see how you can question my love and devotion! Has not my determination to be married to you been made perfectly clear?"
He chuckled and pulled me close again. Finally, he whispered, "Your love and devotion – and determination – I do not question, only your tolerance level for what must be endured. But I suppose I should not even doubt that. When you know you have the upper hand, even if others are blissfully unaware, your tolerance level seems to increase! I have found myself a most resourceful companion."
I stopped dancing, and smiled up at him. "For you, my love, I would endure all things if I had to – upper hand or not. The best thing I ever decided to do was not let you court me!"
He pulled me into a kiss and the crowd disappeared momentarily, though they noisily returned, as we came up for air, by applauding our display.
At length, the last of the guests either left or passed out, and we were finally free to be alone together. Despite our coming together for the first time the previous night, we felt no less excitement this time. And as I drifted off to sleep, safe in his arms, I acknowledged to myself once again, there had been no mistake in my marrying Eomer.
THE END
I put these two notes in as "new chapters" to alert those who had already finished reading the story, in case they were interested. I think most everyone has done that now, so I am moving them to the bottom of the final chapter as FYI info for any new readers who may not understand something.
Pouting
(Pouting in disappointment) Didn't ANYONE enjoy Eomer finally in a skirt? You hounded me for it and then said nothing. I'm broken-hearted. (But at least I have the mental imagine of it to ease my pain…) (Just kidding!)
Ramblings
This is just mostly me rambling on about stuff and responding to some reviewers, so you don't have to read it if you aren't interested in that. IT DOES NOT continue the story in any way (though there is a brief bit that explains something in the story, but you may already understand it without the explanation).
Okay, I've stopped pouting! I just thought it strange that so many people commented that they hoped it would happen (Eomer in a skirt) since I was "teasing" you so much with it, but then no one mentioned it when they read the final chapter.
A couple of points that were raised:
From what I have been told, newlyweds (and people in love in general) often do totally silly/ridiculous things like the guy putting on her clothes. It is meant to be a private moment, though some do seem to take pictures and then stupidly leave them laying around where they are found by someone and general mortification occurs! (Don't ask me why – I don't understand it either.) I don't see Eomer making it a habit of wearing a skirt, but he did promise (probably not ever thinking she would hold him to it) and then had to make good on it when she questioned him being a man of his word. But I doubt he would have done it if he thought for even one nanosecond that she would ever tell anyone else what he had done. And she really only made him go through with it to tease him – she doesn't expect him to do it on a regular basis either. So, darkwateryoukai, don't be disturbed by it. Just laugh and don't worry too much about it.
fandun – I know many fics have the "checking of the sheets" from the wedding night written into it and I considered that, but in most of those stories, it is only a Rohan custom. I haven't seen many, if any, that make it a Gondor custom and that tends to make me question if we have any hard "evidence" that it is a custom in Rohan or whether someone wrote it in a story and everyone has used it as "canon" since then. I chose to omit it, both because it may not even be a custom and because it didn't fit with the story.
Jazzcat – sorry to make you blush! Everyone knows that married couples have sex, so I "reference" it mildly but never intend to describe all the details. It's sort of like Rhett Butler taking Scarlet O'Hara in his arms and carrying her upstairs to their bedroom that she's had him locked out of for awhile. Everyone knows what he has on his mind, and it isn't a pleasant little chat over a cup of tea. But we don't need to see/read it. Some will fill in the details on their own, and that is up to them, but I don't ever plan to write it. As for the skirt being pink – hmmm, since pink isn't one of my favorite colors, I don't tend to think of it right off the bat, so my mental image has it more likely in blue (and knowing Lothiriel, it may even be that pale blue dress that put in appearance twice in No Mistake).
Blue Eyes At Night – I'm no artist, but maybe someone else is and wants to take a crack at drawing this and posting it somewhere!
MadAniviel – I agree. I liked No Mistake better, too, though this one has some good moments in it. That's the trouble with sequels that were never really intended. It's hard to keep them "as good" as the original.
In case anyone wasn't totally clear about it, Faramir did what he did with the "marriage" in Gondor and the "married by the King himself" because he suspected that the wedding was going to be difficult for Lothiriel, with all the rigid "state" formality that marrying a king requires. He didn't tell her, since the goal wasn't to have them circumvent her father's edict to wait 6 months, but rather to make her "legally" married in both Gondor and Rohan so that if anyone found out about their "wedding night", a day before the official state wedding, they would have that to fall back on so that it wasn't inappropriate. And both of those "weddings" allowed her and Eomer to have more the wedding they wanted, even though they still had to endure the official wedding for state reasons.
As to future stories, for the moment, I am not feeling very inspired by anything, and as you may have noticed, I don't really like doing the same old idea over and over unless I think I can bring something new to it. The only thing presently on paper is an unfinished Legomance, but that is from when I first saw the movies and was drooling over him. Since I became enamored of Eomer, it is hard to write a romance with someone else (I tend to become one of the characters while I am writing and that helps me focus on what is happening and their reactions to it and all – which was really strange in Eye of the Beholder, since I was in essence writing it as Eomer).
So, it may be awhile before something strikes me to get writing again (or it may be 5 minutes from now, who knows). I thought about a Boromir story when I rewatched Fellowship and read In The Way (by Emily716), but don't have any real ideas to work with that have pushed me onward. As much as I like Faramir, I don't really see doing a solo story on him, since the Eowyn/Faramir thing has been so well covered (it seems to be one of the most popular pairings in LOTR).
There is still the possibility of sequels to Eye of the Beholder and/or The Truest Friends, but nothing is firm yet. At least on the latter, I have a couple of possible ideas to go from, but I'm not feeling very compelled to write them. Someone also mentioned doing a vignette with Elfwine, and I'm playing with that idea to see if anything inspires me. So all I can really tell you is, stay tuned! Moryan brought up the idea of writing something with my OCs (ie Danwen, Kialmar, Miren or Amrothos–well, he doesn't really count as OC, does he?). That might be something to consider, as I adored Amrothos in this and really had fun with him. And I could have other LOTR characters interacting with him – we'll see.
If you have any other ideas for stories that you want to send along in hopes of inspiring me, send them to my e-mail: dalleyan at yahoo dot com (only type it in the usual way – I don't think it will show up if I write it normally). That way they won't clutter up the review section, and I can respond directly to you instead of putting in these bogus chapters that ffn doesn't want me putting in anyway!
Thanks again for all the kind words and support. And, yes, your criticism is welcome as it sometimes brings up things I hadn't thought of, or that I had thought of but maybe need to explain why I didn't do something. Don't feel bad if I don't change something based on your criticism. Keep in mind, my stories are completely written before they are posted. Major changes would really hack them up and make it difficult for anyone who had already read a chapter to understand why something was different later on. One person did point out that Elrothiel would be a feminine name (I gave it to a male horse). It was fairly simple to change that as it only came up once or twice and wasn't a big change to the story. Some others made comments, that while valid, would have required a complete rewrite of the story to change/eliminate and so I didn't do those. But I DO keep their comments in mind when writing the next story and hopefully won't make the same mistake twice.
Hope life treats you well!
Deandra
