Replies to reviewers at bottom. No one seems to have noticed that Garod hasn't been in the story. Guess who turns up at the wedding! Hope you enjoy this finale.
The Heart of the Beholder
Chapter 7
Eowyn was not mistaken in her assessment of her brother's reaction when he first got a good glimpse of his bride. He stood rooted to the spot, and Faramir, realizing he might stand and stare all day, stepped forward and gave him a sound thump on the back to break his reverie. Whispering too low for anyone but Eomer to hear, he commented, "You can look all you want after the ceremony. Your guests grow restless!"
Eomer flushed slightly and moved to his place at the throne, while Imrahil went to join his daughter and bring her forward. Imrahil had a feeling that Eomer was not going to remember much of this later on, but hopefully he would retain his senses sufficiently to function during the two ceremonies.
Gamling led them through the saying of pledges first, and signaled Eomer to begin.
"I, Eomer, son of Eomund and King of Rohan, do take thee, Lothiriel of Dol Amroth, daughter of Imrahil, as my wife and queen. I do vow to honor and defend...and love thee all the days of my life."
Gamling's mouth twitched in a slight grin at the tiny addition Eomer made by including the word 'love' in the vows. He nodded to Lothiriel for her part.
"I, Lothiriel, daughter of Imrahil of Dol Amroth, do give myself to thee, Eomer, son of Eomund and King of Rohan, to be thy companion all my days. I do vow to honor and serve...and love thee all the days of my life." Following Eomer's cue, she added the word 'love' as well, and saw the delight in his eyes.
Once they had been bound as husband and wife, Gamling stepped down to be replaced by Eomer. Facing the audience, he declared, "I, Eomer, King of Rohan, do offer to my people this woman, my wife, Lothiriel, daughter of Imrahil, to be hereafter known as Queen of Rohan. What say you to this?" The audience responded with a loud cheer. The question was repeated twice more, with the same cheering response, and then Eomer declared, "Then so it shall be."
Gamling stepped forward holding a gold circlet crown with a jewel in the center. Taking it, Eomer turned to Lothiriel who knelt before him, and he placed it on her head. Offering his hand, he helped her stand, then turned to the assembly and announced, "I present to you Lothiriel, Queen of Rohan."
"All hail the Queen," Gamling shouted, and the audience responded, "Hail!"
Normally the ceremony was ended at that point and the royal couple received well-wishers, but Eomer was not yet finished. To the glee of the crowd, he swept his bride into a lingering kiss that soon had the hall filled with catcalls and whistles. He broke apart from her, leaving his forehead resting against hers momentarily, then turned and shouted, "Let the celebration begin!"
Eomer was tiring, so they moved to the thrones and took their seats as guests came forward. The servants were busily pushing chairs and tables into position for the feast as the line worked its way past them. Once the noble visitors and members of the court had all had an opportunity to greet them, they made their way outside to the waiting crowd. Eomer again introduced the queen to them, and they were also allowed to accept her with their response.
At last, they returned to the Golden Hall where the tables were laid and the feast began in earnest. Eomer sat down heavily. All the standing required of him had taxed his strength. Lothiriel leaned close and murmured low, "I do hope you will be sufficiently rested after the meal to attempt a dangerous dance with your wife, my lord!"
He chuckled as he remembered the occasion when he had said something similar to her, when they had first met. "You may depend on it, my lady! I will not count the evening complete until I have danced with the Queen of Rohan!"
The feasting lasted well over an hour, but eventually the food was depleted and the room was made ready for the dancing, drinking and general revelry. Imrahil came to claim his daughter for the first dance, and midway through the dance Eomer broke in, symbolizing the father giving his daughter to her husband. Eomer pulled her close and the room seemed to disappear for a short time. They barely broke stride and glided into the next song, but by the end Eomer was flagging. As they returned so he could be seated, he commented, "I fear you will be much in demand as a partner this night, and I will not be able to rescue you from it all."
"For this night alone, I will make an exception and dance with every man in the room if I must. But I will reserve the final dance for one man alone." She gazed at him lovingly and he understood her meaning. He had just kissed her hand when, as predicted, the men began to approach, eager to dance with the new queen.
First in line stood Elfhelm, flanked by a man that Lothiriel recognized as Garod. Eomer had pointed him out to her, though they had never come face to face prior to this. She knew he was Elfhelm's second in command, and likely only accompanied him to meet the queen. She doubted he would willingly have come to her on his own.
After a moment of pleasantries, Elfhelm realized they had not met and introduced them. She smiled gently at him and said, "My husband has mentioned you, sir." Garod flushed pink and swallowed hard, but remained silent. Studying him appraisingly for an instant, she asked, "Would you dance with your new queen, Master Garod?"
He looked startled and shifted uncomfortably, but nodded. "Of course, my lady." He offered his hand and they moved to the dance floor while Eomer watched with narrowed eyes, unsure how he felt about it.
Hesitantly, Garod put a hand on her waist and took her hand, but kept his eyes averted. They went through several of the movements before finally she told him, "Sir, I am aware of certain conversations you have had with my husband."
He again swallowed hard and eyed her fearfully. "Forgive me, lady. I showed poor judgement in my comments."
"But you believed what you were saying was true, did you not?" she questioned.
He blanched, and looked down at his feet. "Yes, my lady, I did."
"Garod, all of us have done things in our past that were perhaps not wise, and hopefully we learned from our mistakes. But I would not wish to suffer forever for my poor judgement, nor would I wish to make anyone else do so." His eyes came up to meet hers in surprise. "I should like very much if we could put the past behind us, and start afresh from this moment. What say you to this?"
Garod swallowed with difficulty and barely managed to speak, so great was his shock. "I should be very pleased to do so, my queen. Thank you."
She gave him a smile. "Then it is decided. We shall speak no more of the past." As the dance came to an end, she added, "However, I would impose upon you to find me some wine, for the dancing has left me quite thirsty."
"With pleasure, my lady!" he said, and eagerly turned to his task. She began making her way back toward Eomer, who was watching her with a questioning look. Garod returned to her side just as she reached the king, and he bowed. "Best wishes, my lord." Then he excused himself and moved away.
Eomer's eyebrow quirked up at her, waiting for her to tell him what had taken place. Before she could comment, Elfhelm reappeared. "I thought I rated more highly with my queen, after all we had been through together, and yet she chooses another man over me to dance with first!" His eyes creased teasingly as he gave her a hurt expression.
She let out a laugh. "Business before pleasure, Marshal! Master Garod and I had matters to attend to that I thought best not postponed." Elfhelm gave her a puzzled look and glanced at Eomer, who apparently didn't fully understand her comment either. "However, I have caught my breath and quenched my thirst a bit, and I would be delighted to dance the next with you, if you are so inclined."
Elfhelm offered his hand. "Where my lady is concerned, I am always inclined!" They moved to the dance area, laughing comfortably together, and Eomer was pleased to see it. He could not imagine another woman in all of Gondor who could have walked into Rohan and settled in so easily. It was almost as if Lothiriel had been born to be Queen of the Mark.
A steady stream of partners kept Lothiriel busy for the next hour, and Eomer had no chance to speak at any length with her. Tiring of this, when next she paused near him, he rose and claimed her as his partner. "Apparently, if I want any time with my wife, I must wait in line to dance with her!" he whispered, giving her a pout.
She smiled warmly at him. "On the contrary, my lord. All you need do is make your wishes known. You will move to the head of any line waiting on me!"
He pulled her closer and enjoyed the feel of her in his arms. For a time, he merely danced without speaking, but finally curiosity got the better of him. Pulling back to look down at her, he asked, "So, tell me, what happened with Garod? I was amazed when you asked him to dance with you."
She shrugged. "Not much. I told him that I knew of his conversations with you, but that I did not wish to dwell on the past. I suggested we begin anew from this point on."
He stared at her in astonishment. "But he–"
"But nothing, my love. He is entitled to his opinion; an opinion you once shared. Perhaps one day he, too, will learn to see with more than his eyes."
He shook his head incredulously at her. "You astound me!" He paused, then added, "And you humble me. Learning to behold with my heart instead of my eyes was the best lesson I ever learned, beloved. Oh, what I would have missed if I had not been an apt pupil!"
He pulled her into a tight embrace and just held her close. When the dance ended, he took her hand and drew her after him, outside to the garden. They settled on a bench, with her in his lap. "I suppose we should not have left our own wedding celebration," he commented, "but I cannot bear to give you up to others just yet."
"You are the king, dearest. You may do whatever you like and who is to argue? Besides, by now most of them are so full of strong drink they likely will never notice we are missing."
He let out a chuckle and agreed. "True! If we stay out here a while, perhaps we can slip back to our bedchamber and never have to return!"
His lips began nuzzling at her neck, and she let out a laugh. "I see what game you are about, my lord! For shame!"
He nibbled on her ear and whispered, "You will find I know no shame when it comes to you, beloved."
How could she resist such inducement to yield, and so she joined him readily, returning his kisses. As their passion became more heated, he finally rose and set her on her feet. "It is time, my love. We have been parted long enough."
He watched her for any reticence, but found none. "Aye, my lord. It is time."
Arm in arm, they made their way home.
THE END
Replies to reviewers:
Blue Eyes at Night - "...can we pwez revive just one man when he sees Lothy? just one?" Well, sort of. Faramir did have to nudge Eomer to "wake him up" from staring - does that count as one man being revived?
Jazzcat - "Why is it that you have to be enamoured with a character in order to write about them? ;-) I wrote a story about Boromir, for cryin' out loud! ... Just thought I'd give you some excuse to finish that little yarn anyway:-)" - Good point, and maybe for better writers than me, they can do it. But I have trouble writing a romance for someone if I'm "not interested" in it. Even though I include Aragorn, Arwen, Eowyn and Faramir, I don't do much about their "romance" since my focus is on E/L. I can write snippets for them, but not whole stories. Besides, I have to get inside one of the characters and sort of "live it" when I write so that I understand what they would be feeling based on what is happening. At the moment, I can't get inside Legolas or the OC to get that emotional connection to them for the duration. Hope that makes some sense, even if it doesn't give the answer you want to hear! But I did just reread the story today. It was my first ever LOTR story and it is a bit weak, but who knows - I may yet go back to it. And what you really don't want to hear is that I want to set LOTR aside for the time being and refocus on Harry Potter before the next book comes out in July! I want to reread the first five and have them fresh in memory for when I get Book 6. Unfortunately, if I shift my focus heavily to HP, it will make it difficult to write LOTR. Though, for the moment, I'm having trouble shifting focus - it's a little like my trying to stand and push a locomotive off its tracks with just my own bodily strength!
