::disclaimer:: if i owned eomer, i would have sold him for a billion trillion dollars on ebay...but i'd ship him off and never get the money back. good thing i don't own him (or the royal house of dol amroth...all of whom are gorgeous) after all.

Chapter XVIII

The next morning brought Amrothos to Éomer's room. "How could she have been so careless as to fall asleep at the pub? Adar was ready to throttle her!" he said, bursting into Éomer's chambers. It was the first time he had seen the young Amrothian angry, and it wasn't a pretty sight.

"What?" asked Éomer, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Amrothos turned to him, as if just noticing his presence. "Lothíriel," he stated. "She didn't come home last night."

"I know," said Éomer sleepily.

Amrothos stopped mid-rant. "You know!? How?"

"She fell asleep while we were sitting at the table," he explained, realizing that he should have awoken her after all. "Aela told me to take her upstairs to an empty room, so I did."

"Valar, Éomer, you couldn't have done anything worse. Adar was in a rage this morning when he realized she never came home. She showed up about an hour ago, and he's been yelling at her ever since. He's already declared her punishment."

Éomer's stomach dropped. "Another punishment? She'll still be at the festival, won't she?"

"Aye," Amrothos said, falling heavily into a chair, "but that's all she will be doing. Adar has decreed that she is not to go beyond the palace walls until the end of the festival. Even then, she can no longer go out unless she has a chaperone—and that means either Elphir or Erchirion or possibly Faramir because I failed in my attempts to make her behave."

"Is there anything I can—"

"No, there isn't," he snapped back. He sighed, running his hand through his curls. "Lothíriel's going to have to work this out herself. She knows better—it's not your fault."

"What do we do?"

Amrothos shrugged. "What can we do but wait?"

Evening could not come quickly enough. Éomer spent much of the afternoon preparing for the evening's festivities, though he had little to do. At last, the sun began to set, and he was able to make his way to the gardens. The royal household was already in attendance, greeting their guests as they came. Lothíriel wore a light green dress with a dark green shawl, accented with silver jewelry. She stood between Elphir and Erchirion, which made Éomer wary as he came toward them. "Good evening, milady," he said, taking her hand and kissing it. "You look lovely this evening."

"I thank you, milord," she replied stiffly. "You ever have flattered me." Erchirion glared at him, obviously suspicious.

"It would only be flattery if it were a lie," he answered. He greeted Imrahil and Saeriel in turn and then found a seat with Aela and Erulehton, who had come with many of the other residents of Dockside.

"It seems you just made your way through shark-infested waters," whispered Erulehton.

"I fear that had the daggers in their eyes been real, I would not be sitting with you," he replied.

Erulehton chuckled. "Indeed."

It was a raucous night. The people of Dockside seemed to enjoy getting drunk at someone else's expense even more than at their own. The music was loud, the singing bawdy, and the dancing lively. For once, Éomer was enjoying himself without the company of the nobility. He danced with many girls, including Aela. She was a wonderful dancer, and Éomer told her so. She laughed and said, "I had a wonderful teacher."

"And who was that?" he asked, smiling.

"Faramir, of course."

"Of course," he repeated brightly. "Might I ask you a question, then?"

"You already have, but you may ask another."

"If you and Faramir are so close, why do you not marry?"

She fingered the silver chain at her neck. "We go a long way back," she said after a moment. "Lothíriel introduced us. We flirt, of course, but we both know it could never really be."

"And why not?"

"Because of his father," she said. "Lord Denethor. He is a spiteful and arrogant man. He doesn't know I exist—and it is a good thing, too, because I know he would never let Faramir come to Dol Amroth again."

"Oh," he said quietly. "I have heard of Lord Denethor, but I did not know that he was so heartless to deprive his son of love."

"He would deprive his son of everything if he thought it were possible," she said, breaking away suddenly. Éomer watched her go, wondering what she meant.

As Lothíriel had said two nights before, Imrahil left the festivities not long after the feast ended. Surprisingly, she went with him, claiming a headache from the noise. "I would rest tonight," she said, "so that I may enjoy the festivities tomorrow eve." Smiling slightly, she linked arms with her father and walked out of the garden.

Éomer and Erulehton watched Lothíriel leave. "The way you look at her, you'd think neither of you will ever see her again!" laughed Aela as she and Faramir sat down next to them.

"I wasn't—were you?" they asked each other.

"Ha! You've just proven your guilt the both of you!" Faramir exclaimed. "Now listen to me, I know a way to return Lothíriel to Imrahil's graces."

"What way is that?" asked Éomer, intrigued.

"It's really very simple—a wonder no one else has thought of it." He leaned closer. "You go back to Rohan!" he said brightly, as if it solved all the problems of the world. "You see, once you go home, Imrahil will let his punishment slack, and she will be free to go wherever she wishes again." Aela rolled her eyes and punched Faramir lightly. "What?" he said, "it's true!"

"That may be," she replied, "but I don't think it helps our lovelorn friend."

"Yes, but it helps your lovelorn brother," Faramir explained, "and that keeps me in his good graces."

"Ha! I knew it!" cried Erulehton. "This was all a ruse to get Aela in your bed!" He turned to Éomer. "Every time he comes to Dol Amroth, he tries to convince me to let him take off with my sister. He hasn't won her yet."

"That's what you think," Faramir said evenly. He turned to Aela, taking her hand and kissing it. "We have been lovers for years, your sister and I," he said, turning back to Erulehton. "It has been quite entertaining, courting behind your back."

Erulehton laughed. "I do not doubt it."

So the night went, with the companions bantering back and forth. Éomer joined in half-heartedly, but his thoughts were mostly with Lothíriel. As the noisy celebrations began to die down, Amrothos and one of the girls Éomer recognized from the Wine-maker's night joined them.

"Good evening, my friends," Amrothos said, seating himself. "May I introduce you to the lovely Faerlaneth."

The girl blushed sweetly. "Please, Amrothos, you embarrass me when you say that," she whispered.

"I am sorry, my sweet, it shan't happen again," he promised, kissing her cheek and making her blush even more.

"Amrothos, I do declare, you'll kill the poor dear with your teasing," scolded Aela. "Now, tell us the real reason you have joined us. Surely it is not just to show off your new-found companion." She grinned at the timid wine-maker's daughter, who smiled nervously in return.

"You are right, as usual, Aela," he conceded. "In truth, I am delivering a message from my dear sister to one Éomer of Rohan." Éomer perked up at the mention of his name. Amrothos grinned. "She says to meet her at the centaur in twenty minutes. Be careful that you are not followed."

A/N: swoosh! bet you can't guess what's coming up next! what? the midnight rendezvous? drat. i was hoping it would be a surprise..lol. oh! and i forgot to mention in the last chapter, that "buion na 'ell" is sindarin for "i serve you with joy." amrothos says that at some point. now, on to the replies!

Replies:
lotr-nutcase: i updated, now it's your turn!
lady hades: your reviews always make me smile...and never fear! elphir won't be in the way of this rendezvous!
hotdogfish: yeah, i'm really sorry about it, too. thanks for the review!
lometari: moi aussi on all accounts with dropping out of school. one and a half more years and i'm free to go to whatever college i want! yay! and never fear! imrahil won't get in the way of this rendezvous!
soccer-bitch: thanks for the review!
lariren-shadow: i don't know if i'll tackle amrothos' fear of horses...maybe in a short companion piece or something, but this story's long enough as it is (i'm considering making it a two-parter). yeah, there was hint in the last chapter, as well as one in this chapter. it's all got to do with THE SONG. the one that haunts me...
gypsyswordgoddess: yeah, if i'd been able to vote, i would have. not that it would have mattered...i'm in tennessee—red(neck) as can be. and don't worry...i don't update because of schoolwork, not politics.

::a quick note:: does anyone else find it odd that 58 people have me on their author alert lists, but only 5-10 people actually review?