:disclaimer: i really should sue ridley scott for stealing my plot. ok, so lothiriel's not married, and she's not exactly the heir to jerusalem, and eomer's not really a blacksmith-turned-knight, but does anyone else find it odd that the love story in koh revolved around a girl flirting and teasing her way into a noble knight's heart, a storyline i've been working on for, oh, eight or nine months now? (btw, you should see that movie, it's good…even if they did steal the plot)

Chapter XXV

By some ill chance of luck, Éomer was seated next to Elphir at the feast that night. The prince seemed content to glare at him, and Éomer did not press him for conversation. Saeriel, however, would not allow the men to sit in silence the entire night, and she finally engaged the two in conversation about weapons. As the two men formed an uneasy truce, they discovered that they both favored weapons that could be used in the saddle, which of course led to conversation about horses. Éomer was surprised to learn that Elphir loved horses as much as Amrothos hated them.

"That is why I had little respect for you," the prince explained. "There have been rumors that Rohan has sold horses to the shadow in the east. I could not respect anyone who was party to that."

Éomer shook his head. "Neither could I. My uncle, even in his current state, would never allow it."

"In his current state?"

"He is unwell," Éomer said quietly. Elphir nodded.

"Lothíriel said something about that," said Saeriel, who was very pleased with her plan to make the men talk. "She was telling me that your uncle was quite sick. I do hope his health improves."

Elphir turned back to Éomer. "Speaking of Lothíriel, have you seen her today?"

"Not since this morning. She came to the breakfast hall and left, saying something about Dancer's Square. We went looking for her, but none of us found her."

Elphir ran a hand through his hair, something that was obviously a family trait. "Where has that girl run off to, do you think?"

"Wherever she's been, she's here now," said Saeriel, giving her husband a nudge. "She just walked in the door."

There was a collective intake of breath as the men in the garden saw Lothíriel. She wore a dark green dress trimmed with silver swans. Her jewelry was all mother-of-pearl and silver. Her smile was radiant as she came to sit between her eldest brother and Éomer.

"Where have you been all day?" asked Elphir.

"About," she answered sweetly. She turned to Éomer. "Good evening. I hope your day has been well."

"As well as it could have been," he said. He was surprised at her audacity; she was blatantly wearing the colours of Rohan. He had to admit, though, that she wore the green and white of his homeland well.

"As well as it could have been?" Lothíriel said, interrupting Éomer's thoughts.

"Didn't you hear?" asked Saeriel. "Lord Aermaethor broke his arm in a race today."

"I had not heard that," said Lothíriel. "I assume it was a horse race?"

Éomer nodded. "It is a wonder the horse did not break its own limbs."

"Well. We should not dwell on such a dismal topic," Lothíriel said after a moment. "I'm starved. I hardly ate anything all day."

"Where have you been then?" interjected Elphir.

"I already told you," she said. "I was about." With that, she began to eat, and the discussion was closed.

Dinner was a flurry of good food and better conversation. Faramir, Erchirion, and Amrothos eventually joined the other four at their table, and the eight (Amrothos had a lady with him) enjoyed the delicious meal together. As the tables were cleared away, Lothíriel took Éomer's hand and led him to the dance floor. The musicians led off with a waltz ("To allow your stomachs to settle after such a marvelous meal," claimed the fiddler, though Éomer saw the man wink at Lothíriel).

"So you and Elphir have made amends," commented Lothíriel as they moved slowly across the floor.

"You should have told me of his love of horses," said Éomer.

"How was I to know you would fight?" she asked. "Besides, this is more fun." She grinned.

"Of course you would say that," Éomer said.

"Yes." They danced in silence for a while, and as the song ended, she leaned close to him and whispered, "Meet me under the balcony at midnight."

"Which one?"

"Mine." She smiled elusively and allowed another man to whisk her away.

Éomer felt quite self-conscious as he stood underneath Lothíriel's balcony, waiting for the princess. He hoped that she would arrive soon; it would be just his luck if Elphir were to see him after having just made amends with the eldest prince.

"Éomer!" came a strained whisper from above him. "Éomer!" He looked up, and there was Lothíriel, smiling down on him. "Come on!" she said.

Sighing, he made his way to the hidden ladder and climbed up. "You could have just had me meet you up here," he said.

"I needed time to finish the preparations," she answered, sweeping into the bedroom.

Éomer let out a surprised gasp as he walked into the room. It was lit by several candles positioned about the room, giving it a flickering, ethereal glow. A small table with two chairs was placed near the fireplace; it was set with bread and cheese and two glass goblets and a bottle of wine. Éomer moved to inspect the wine. It was dark, almost black in the dim light.

"Melmësuhto," Lothíriel said, coming up behind him. "Erulehton gave me the bottle. He and Faramir both say it is the best you can find outside of the Elvish wines."

"That's what they were saying when Faramir gave it to Erulehton," Éomer said. "I was there when he brought it."

"They practically swear by it." She moved to the table. "Tolo, panno i hûl nín." She laughed at Éomer's confused expression and quickly translated, "Come, fill my cup!"

"Is there something that I should say?" asked Éomer as he opened the bottle of wine.

"There is 'buion na 'ell'," she said. "It means 'I serve with joy'."

"Well then, buion na 'ell!"

Lothíriel smiled. "We shall make a Sindarin-speaker out of you yet." She raised her glass, letting the facets catch the candlelight. "Na cuil, na meleth!" she said, and motioned for Éomer to do the same.

"Na cuil, na meleth!" repeated Éomer, raising his own glass. They each drained their glasses. Éomer leaned forward. "Is that what you spoke with Erulehton about last night? The wine?"

"Partially," Lothíriel admitted.

"And where were you today? We came looking for you."

She sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you? I was about."

"About where?"

She rolled her eyes. "Since you are so nosy, I'll tell you. I was in the Quarter. I had to pick up my dress. Which, by the way, I had made especially for tonight."

"It is lovely."

"Thank you."

"I am guessing that the horse among the swans along the collar was intentional?"

Lothíriel smiled widely. "I'm glad that you saw it. I was afraid the tailor had hidden it too well."

Éomer shook his head. "I noticed it when we were dancing, but it did not seem the best time to mention it."

"And what were you doing looking at my collar, Lord Éomer?" she laughed. "I thought you were an upstanding gentleman, but I suppose I was mistaken. You are a good-for-nothing rogue."

"You cut me to the quick, my lady," he returned, putting a hand to his chest.

Lothíriel leaned forward. "But I like good-for-nothing rogues." She gave him a lingering kiss. "They are far better than upstanding gentlemen," she whispered.

Éomer took a deep breath. "We shouldn't do this, Lothíriel. I should go."

"Life would be needlessly dull if we truly did everything we should have done," she answered, tangling her hands in his hair.

translations:
melmësuhto: love-draft
tolo, panno i hûl nín: come, fill my cup
buion na 'ell: i serve with joy
na cuil, na meleth: to life, to love

A/N: mwa-hahaha! i'm leaving it at that. :grins: and i know, i know, i'm cruel, and this took a while. and it's not as long as i would have liked it to be. but it's all good. i get out of school in roughly a week-and-a-half (counting the five-day weekend i get because of semesters). i really want to finish this before july 31 (exactly one year after i first began posting it).

reviews:
blue eyes at night: i doubt this was quite what you expected with finding lothiriel, but i hope you liked it anyways.
lariren-shadow: thanks! and he is a most wonderful third marshal (and an even better king!). and i (sort of) answered your question about the whereabouts of lothiriel. i'm thinking about writing a one-shot (similar to that of the day rises) about her conversation with erulehton that night.
faer little meg: lol..i can definitely think of some people i'd like to have fall off a horse. glad you liked it!
starnat: neither would i, neither would i.
fandun: i assure you, there are no connections to the haradrim in this story. he's just a total, um, arse. i'm glad you liked the incorporation of tristan & isolde. it's always been one of my favorite stories (and i love the waterhouse painting based upon it).
mad-aniviel: yeah, i could have made his comeuppance more extreme. but then again, falling off your horse in front of someone from a country renowned for its horsemanship (not to mention half the children of the royal houses of gondor) would be quite embarrassing.
capriceann hedican-kocur: of course they'll get together! it's eomer and lothiriel!
quizzabella: ah, if only you'd given me that idea sooner! i could have made aermaethor's horse be firefoot and have eomer receive him after the race! dangit. a lost opportunity.
ladyarian: how could anyone :not: like amrothos? he's a doll. and he knows his sailor's jargon (snicker).
name1: thank you!
lometari: lothiriel's up to her minxing ways, of course. and i don't think this is nearly as long a wait as my last update. glad you liked it!