A/N: long time, no update. here it is at last, chapter 23, re-written from what i could remember and changed drastically (but for the better, i think).

:disclaimer: i don't own it. if i did, i wouldn't have had to worry about my stupid computer erasing everything.

Chapter XXIII

"There you are," said Lothíriel, coming out of the shadows of the balcony as Éomer arrived. "I was beginning to wonder if Faramir had given you the message."

"Aye, he did, just after Lord Aermaethor left our table," he answered, taking her hand.

The princess raised an eyebrow. "So you met him. And what did you think?"

"I believe Lord Aermaethor is one of the most pompous asses I have ever met."

Lothíriel grinned and kissed him. "I am glad we agree."

Éomer kissed her back and then pulled away. "May I ask you a question?"

"You just did," she said amusedly, "but you may ask another."

"Why did you not come tonight? Was it because of him? And tell me the truth, not some silly fabrication made of word games."

"Yes," she said, "it was because of him. And at the same time, it was not." She moved away from Éomer's embrace, coming to lean against a column. "I needed to sort some things out, and I do that best when I am alone. Tell me, Éomer, why do you love me? Or do you love me? Perhaps I am just a passing fancy that you will forget when you return to Rohan."

"Lothíriel, I could not forget you even if I wished to," he said honestly. "And I love you. I do not know why, but I do." He took a deep breath. "Which is why I want you to follow me." He grasped her hand and led her to a column near the wall.

Her eyes went wide. "Are—are you sure?"

Éomer laughed. "No. I have not been sure of anything since I met you."

"But—" She bit her lip, and for the first time, Éomer thought she actually looked frightened.

"What is it?"

"Oh, I cannot do this!" she cried. "It does not seem right, now that we are at the brink. I am sorry, Éomer. I-I cannot do this. Goodnight." She dashed off into the gardens, heedless of the now-steady rain. Éomer followed only to lose her, but he thought he knew where she would go.

She was slumped at the feet of the centaur. Éomer approached her cautiously. When he was certain she would not run off, he sat beside her, not caring that his clothes were wet and muddy. "Go away," she muttered.

"Lothíriel, I did not mean to upset you," he said, studiously ignoring her demand. "I only wished—I thought it was what you wanted."

She leaned her head back, sighing deeply. She turned her grey eyes toward him. "I have been a most awful flirt, haven't I?"

"Yes."

"And I led you to believe many things."

"Yes."

"And now you think we should make love."

"Lothíriel, I don't understa—" She put a finger to his lips.

"Let me finish. I have made a mess of things, flirting with you the way I have. And perhaps we would have made love last night, or even this morning, but I am fully sober tonight and you are not." A flicker of a smile swept across her face. "All this time, you have been the voice of reason while I tried to abandon all wisdom. But, Éomer, we truly are like that tale you told me. I am a princess, destined to marry a lord or prince or maybe even a king, and you are a knight, destined to serve your liege-lord. Our paths should never have crossed. I should have been distant but courteous. I should have left you to your own devices, let you wander the city on your own. Perhaps a few things would have remained the same, but this would not have happened." She looked helplessly at her hands.

"What is 'this'?" Éomer asked quietly.

"I would not love you," she whispered. "You should forget about me, Éomer. When you go back to Rohan, find yourself a pretty maid and marry her. You and I, we will never amount to anything. It would be best if we both moved on."

"Is that what you want, Lothíriel? Do you want me to return to Rohan and forget about you?"

"It does not matter what I want, only what must be."

"Lothíriel," he said softly, taking her face in one hand and forcing her to look at him, "no matter what, I could never forget you. I will go home to Rohan, but I will come back for you, if you will still have me. I do not know when, but someday, I will be back." He kissed her gently, stood, and walked slowly back to his rooms.

The morning dawned bright and clear after the previous night's rain. Éomer had not slept well, dwelling on the strange conversation with Lothíriel. She had seemed so sure of everything before, but now he realized that much of her confidence was pretense. His dreams had plagued him as well, and he told Faramir, Erchirion, and Amrothos about them at breakfast, hoping that they could shed some light on the visions. "I stood on the steps of Meduseld with Lothíriel. We were watching something—or someone—with joy. She laughed and said something and began to walk away when the dream faded to my sister. Éowyn was laughing and smiling at the unidentifiable dark-haired man from another dream. She was so happy and beautiful, when, suddenly, horror and fear filled her face. I called out to her, but she did not hear me. I ran to help her, but the scene changed again, and I stood upon the ramparts of Helm's Deep. Something drew its sword against me, and just before it felled me, I awoke."

"Sounds to me like you should lay off the wine," said Amrothos.

"That, or drink more," commented Erchirion.

They turned to Faramir, to see what he would suggest. The older man stroked his beard thoughtfully and then spoke quietly. "I would say that this was only a wishful-thinking dream, but I seriously doubt you wish fear and danger upon your sister. Perhaps it is a small glimpse of your future, Éomer; the Valar have been known to send truth in the form of dreams before. But then again, it could be a sign of too much wine and revelry." He grinned. "You should avoid any wine that Lothíriel offers you."

"By the gods, I hope it is only the wine. I would kill any man that dared to frighten my sister so."

"Éomer, it was a dream," Faramir said as he pried the man's white fingers from his tankard. "And if your sister is anything like yourself, I am certain she can take care of herself."

"I hope so," whispered Éomer.

Amrothos smiled reassuringly. "Come now, it is the last day of Ethuil Mereth, and we sit here worrying over dreams. We should be celebrating! I haven't been to the tournaments all week. What do you say we go? There's horse racing on the beach."

"Amrothos, you weren't supposed to tell him that!" cried Erchirion. "I had hopes of winning this year!"

The younger man ducked a punch from his brother. "Lothíriel would have beaten you again anyway," he pointed out.

"I am not entering the race." The four men turned startled gazes to Lothíriel, who stood in the doorway. She wore a simple blue gown and had her hair pulled partially back with flowers braided into it. "I will be in the Dancer's Square if you need to find me," she said. She walked into the hall, picked up a small loaf of bread, and left.

Amrothos raised an eyebrow. "Lothíriel's going to Dancer's Square instead of the races?"

"Who was that and what has she done with our sister?"

"She is of an age to do so," Faramir reminded them, though he, too, looked concerned.

Éomer merely shrugged uncomfortably, certain she was going to the Dancer's Square only to avoid him.

After a moment's awkward silence, Erchirion spoke again. "We should go, or we'll be late for the races." The men drained their cups and headed to the stables.

A/N (again): well, there you have it, folks. my first chapter since the great crash. up next is a day at the races and the final night of ethuil mereth. the week of trade agreements will not be nearly as long as the week of the festival, and next thing you know, there'll be an epilogue! also in the works (if you didn't know it already), is a fourth e/l fic from me. i'm very excited about it…i think it will be the best of my longer stories. also, i'd like to announce that if you want updates on how my chapters are coming along, check out my bio sporadically. or, you can save my xanga (link in my bio) to your favorites and check there.

Replies:
lotr-nutcase: i'm glad you like it.
lady ot rings: well, i re-revived it, and hopefully the computer won't die on me this time.
blue eyes at night: you wanted romeo and juliet, i give you romeo and juliet! kind of. sort of. not really.
screwed by life: glad you approve.
hotdogfish: i agree.
lariren-shadow: no, he can't die. not yet, anyways. and he isn't exactly like grima, just kind of similar. not as creepy. as for eomer and all that, i hope you enjoyed all of the irony i tossed into the story (i love sneaking things like that in!).
lometari: you're not supposed to like him! and you are supposed to like erchirion! sorry this took so long to update…evil computer.
amon aredhel: in all honesty, when i first wrote this, there was tom-foolery. but then the computer crashed and i lost everything. so i had to re-write it. this is what came out. i hope you like it anyway. but never fear! there may be some tom-foolery soon (not making promises, though)!
mrsblonde1503: this was not fast. but i hope you'll continue reading.
rana ninque: i had to look up his name again, but it means "sea-warrior" or "holy-warrior." either way, it's very stuck-up. i haven't decided how much trouble he'll cause (he may just grumble in the background). i'm glad erchirion's with us, too. eomer needs all the help he can get.
shorty51: glad you like it! hope you enjoyed this chappie!
mexicandevil-roadcrew: oh, yes, she's a minx, all right. but she's also got a very dramatic side (as seen in this chapter). i'm glad you liked the word games…i love playing with things like that!
capriceannhedican-kocur: glad you like the story! hope you continue reading!