Author's Note: Sorry it took so long...I have absolutely no excuse since it's summer and I have no job. I'm just struggling a bit with where the story should go from here. Seems I always reach this point and take a sabbatical. Anyway, hope ya like it!
He watched them from behind his mask of innocence. They rode into the City side by side, the foreigner flirting shamelessly with the Princess. My Princess, he thought, she has always been mine. How could she not see through the foreigner's façade to his true intent? He would use her- ruin her and leave her. But he had expected better of his Princess. She had been suitably cold to the foreigner when they entered the City but as they approached the Palace her manner relaxed, and she even dared to smile.
How could she betray him so?
Lothiriel closed her door behind her and leaned against it. The ride through the City had been draining…not physically, and not quite emotionally, but in some way. Eomer had been his most charming, admiring the City until she was forced to forgive him. They had parted on good terms, and he had maintained a respectful manner rather than flirting with her again. Somehow this disappointed her. How, she wondered, could he still have such an effect on her, after a year's time? There had been days when she hadn't thought of him…all right, not very many, and never more than one at a time, but still. There had been days
And yet he had affixed himself so firmly in her imagination that it was not at all difficult for him to begin worming his way into her heart.
Suddenly Lothiriel raised her head and smiled. At least she had made an impression on Eomer! He had most definitely noticed the changes in her and, if she didn't miss her guess, he liked them. She wondered if she could go through with the rest of her plan- the part that involved ignoring Eomer- or if she would be a coward. After all, she only really had to get through tonight. Tomorrow her father would return and take over diplomatic concerns. She would not have to see the King if she did not wish to.
"Oh, but Valar, how I wish to!" She whispered.
Crossing to a window, Lothiriel gazed out across the ocean. That was the benefit of a tower room: there was a view to every direction. But the turquoise sea wasn't enough to placate the unease she felt when she recalled her conversation with Ulthasos upon their arrival at the Palace..
The guests had been shown to their rooms to rest after their journey, and she had made plans to meet Eowyn before dinner to reaquaint themselves with one another. Then she had confronted her wayward Guard.
"Ulthasos, I don't have to tell you how inappropriate your interference today was. You know I respect your judgement, but speaking out against a guest? And a King at that!"
Ulthasos' face was blank, but Lothiriel could see his jaw stiffen. "The Princess should not be spoken to in such a manner. I stand by that conviction, my lady," he said firmly, staring at the wall over her shoulder.
Internally, Lothiriel groaned. Why couldn't he have apologized? Then she could have let the matter drop. "Then I'm sorry, Ulthasos, but I am removing you from your duties for the next two weeks."
Ulthasos' gaze snapped to meet Lothiriel's. He looked shocked. "But Lady, who will see to your safety? Who will accompany you on your walks? You cannot go out alone!"
Lothiriel bristled. Her chin raised a perceptable amount. "I will see to my own safety. I will make arrangements as I see fit and maybe I will prove to you that I am not the helpless girl I was four years ago." She took a deep, calming breath. "You are dismissed."
She almost thought she heard Ulthasos mutter "Perhaps you would be better off if you had remained that girl," as he walked away. Surely not. Lothiriel pursed her lips and headed to her chamber. Her unfounded dislike for Ulthasos' protectiveness was the product of her imagination and nothing more.
Eowyn ambushed Lothiriel as soon as the Princess reached the gardens.
"I thought we were meeting before dinner?" Lothiriel said with a smile. She certainly didn't mind seeing Eowyn beforehand but she had been startled.
"I could not wait that long to barrage you with questions. You must tell me what you have been doing with yourself this past year, Lothiriel! You look splendid!" They sat down on a stone bench near a misting fountain in the shape of a swan.
"And you must tell me all about married life! You are not much of a correspondant, Eowyn," Lothiriel teased.
"Well, not all of us are as prolific as you with the written word." Eowyn paused to take in the flowering bushes, meandering paths and secluded groves surrounding them. "You have described the City to me so well in your letters I almost feel as if I have been here before." She jerked her eyes back to Lothiriel. "But do not try to change the subject. Tell me what you have been up to!"
So Lothiriel told her. She related her trials and triumphs as they wandered through the gardens, pausing to watch the sun beginning to set over the ocean. There were humorous anecdotes about her hair potions, and about the people she met on her walks through the City. There were reminiscences of learning to ride well and stand up for herself.
There was no mention of Lothiriel's primary motivation. Eowyn noticed and, being the forthright person that she was, asked about it.
"I simply…grew weary of being glanced at and disregarded. I want people to see me, Eowyn, to notice that I not only exist but that I have something to offer. But most of all I suppose I want excitement…adventure…and that sort of thing only seems to happen to beautiful women." Thought Lothiriel didn't say it out loud, Eowyn could hear it in her voice: it happened to you, Eowyn.
She sighed and looked away. No one except Faramir and Eomer had ever understood that her conduct during the War had not stemmed from a desire to see battle. It had been a cry for help, for love, for a way out of the llife that had begun to stifle her. Perhaps, she thought, this was Lothiriel's way of doing the same thing.
Or maybe Lothiriel still had feelings for Eomer and was trying to avoid mentioning any of this to his sister.
Either way, Eowyn felt a word of caution was necessary. "I am going to give you one piece of advice and then I vow I will let you go about your business. Do not go searching for adventure. It nearly always ends badly. If you are meant for it, it will come to you."
Dinner was a casual affair that night. Lothiriel had assumed that the travellers would prefer a quiet meal without the hassles of politics and introductions their first night in Dol Amroth- Faramir and Eowyn were family, after all, and the rest were friends. That fact had not stopped her from wearing a low-cut gown to dinner, however, a fact that Hysel noticed with glee when she dressed Lothiriel's hair.
"Oooh, my lady, I'm so glad you decided to wear this gown. 'Twill surely drive those handsome foreigners wild!"
Lothiriel winced as Hysel yanked on her curls. She had long since ceased protesting the painful hours spent submitting to the maid's treatment—her hair always looked stunningly manageable afterwards. "I don't know what you're talking about, Hysel. I merely felt like dressing up tonight, that's all."
"I hope you don't mind me saying so, my lady, but you are a terrible liar."
Wonderful, Lothiriel seethed, I can't even keep from blushing in front of my maid! Finally, her hair was swept up to Hysel's satisfaction and Lothiriel was free to don the silk gown lying ready across her bed.
Or she would be if she could find the courage.
It wasn't that the dress was particularly daring. Except for a low neckline the rest was actually quite modest. At least that's what the dressmaker had said when Lothiriel had let Anniel, a young, flirty courtier about her age, talk her into ordering some new to what was fashionalbe, Anniel assured her, Lothiriel's wardrobe bordered on dowdy. So, in keeping with her vow to change her image, the Princess had submitted. Within reason.
It was just that the dress was rather daring for her. Creamy white satin hugged her curves just past her hips and then flared gently into cascades of fabric that parted in front to reveal shimmering silver underskirts. Really, it was beautiful.
Hysel nudged her slightly towards the bed. "Go in, Lady. You don't want to be late."
Lothiriel let out a very un-princess-like groan. She had a bad feeling about this.