A/N: It's a lot harder posting things this way (the workaround I found to not being able to upload files to ffn), but at least it works.

lady scribe - "not a star wars-esque injury. wow." - actually, I didn't think about the similarity to SW until after the story was well underway. The main idea was that he was off fighting a "war" but instead of being hurt in the war, he was injured in a freak accident. That opened up all the possibilities of reactions and how each person would deal with it.

thayzel - "the readers don't know what exactly happened to Elfwine" - yeah, I didn't really want to go into a lot of gory details, so I just let it unfold in the story. You find out what happened, and slightly how it happened, but not really anything more. I thought that was sufficient. But at least I did make it a point to let you know in the first chapter what the injury was!

FYI: I mapped out in my genealogy computer program the various family groups to see exactly how people are related. I will post that in the Elfwine Chronicles Timeline, possibly later today, if you are interested in seeing it. Today it usually is a stricture that first cousins don't marry because they are too closely related, but that may not have been the case in medieval times, or in Middle-earth.

Chapter 2

Three days later, in mid afternoon, most of the royal family from Gondor arrived in Dol Amroth. Eldarion had chosen to accompany them, both as a comfort and support to his sister, but also as a friend to Elfwine. Queen Lothiriel had arrived the previous night and Dariel took consolation in that. Even beyond what she had observed, she knew from Elfwine and Lothiriel both how close the two of them were.

While they were shown to their rooms, the servant pointed out Elfwine's room and that of the Rohan royal couple. As they had not greeted their party, Aragorn inquired as to their whereabouts. The servant informed him they were resting, as apparently they had been up late the night the Queen arrived, and not gotten much sleep.

Once settled in her room, Dariel took a deep breath and set off for Elfwine's room. If his parents were asleep, likely he was alone and now might be a good time to let him know she was here. She hoped her presence would make things easier for him, and her heart wrenched painfully at all he must be suffering.

There was no response to her knock and she risked peeking inside. As she had suspected, he was sleeping, and she slipped in quietly and closed the door behind her. Noiselessly, she placed a chair by his bed and took a seat. She resisted the temptation to brush his hair back from his face and risk disturbing his sleep; instead, she just sat studying him. A strange sense of familiarity struck her and she realized how similar this experience was to another time when Elfwine was indisposed. She smiled, remembering how her sitting with him then had helped them become better acquainted and more relaxed with one another. It was not long after that when they had shared their first kiss.

Slowly her eyes drifted to where his right arm lay bandaged on top of the bedcovers, and her expression sobered. This was not like before. That was only a minor illness and within a few days he was recovered. Even with the bandage on, it was easy to see that something was missing at the end of his arm. He might recover from the physical injury fairly quickly, but it would not be so simple a matter to recover emotionally. Tears sprang to her eyes as she tried to hold her feelings in check.

At that moment, Elfwine shifted slightly and his eyes drifted open. It took him a moment to focus on her, and register that she was actually sitting beside him and not just a dream.

His body stiffened as he saw where her gaze was directed, and he quickly slipped his arm under the covers. The movement drew her eyes to his face and she tried to smile encouragingly, but was met with a stony countenance.

"What are you doing here?" he snapped at her with annoyance.

Startled by her reception, she stammered, "I...I came to see you, to be with you." The hurt she felt at his tone was evident, but he did not seem to notice.

"I do not want you here," he retorted, averting his eyes. "Go away!"

"But Elfwine–" she began.

"Get out! Get out, get out, get out! I do not want you here!" Elfwine bellowed at her, and Dariel fled before his anger. In the hall, she began to cry hysterically, and then took off running down the hall, seeking solitude in her pain and grief.

She passed her brother, Eldarion, and his jaw clenched at the sight of her, but he did not attempt to follow her. Instead, he headed for their parents' room and advised his mother of what he had observed. "Thank you, Eldarion. I will see to her."

Arwen had to search a while before locating her daughter in one of the gardens of Dol Amroth. Though no longer hysterical, her sobbing seemed as deep and uncontrolled as Eldarion had described it, and she simply pulled Dariel into her arms and held her.

At last her sobs dissolved into hiccuping breaths as Dariel was drained of her emotions, and she leaned into her mother's shoulder feeling numb both mentally and physically.

Arwen moved a hand up to stroke her head, and quietly told her, "We warned you it would not be easy. Try to understand what he is going through and do not let his turning you away break your resolve. If you truly care for him, you must be strong."

Dariel straightened in her arms and pulled back, wiping at her tear-stained face. "I will do whatever it takes to help him," she whispered determinedly. "I will not let him push me away!"

xxxxx

Lothiriel had awakened at the yelling from the next room, and reached the hall just in time to see Dariel running down it. She looked up at her husband who had followed her from their bed. She gave his hand a squeeze and headed for Elfwine's room.

His head jerked up when she entered, possibly expecting Dariel to have returned. At the sight of his mother, Elfwine knew she must have heard his tirade, and he clenched his jaw as he turned away and refused to meet her gaze.

"Look at me!" she demanded. When he hesitated, she said it louder and more insistently, "I said look at me!"

Elfwine resentfully turned toward her and raised his eyes. "How could you do that to her, Elfwine?" Lothiriel questioned. "She is your friend."

"I do not need 'friends' to come and gawk at me!" he spat. "She should have stayed in Minas Tirith. I do not want her here to stand around giving me pitying looks!"

Lothiriel sighed and rubbed her forehead wearily. "Dearest, she did not come to gawk or to pity you. She cares about you and wanted to see that you were all right. You cannot assume that all your friends now pity you," she told him quietly.

Tears began to fill his eyes and he fought to hold them in check. He had already cried far too much, even if his mother was the main one to see. When he had control of his voice somewhat, he answered, "Send her away, Mother. Please! I could not bear her pity!"

His pain pierced Lothiriel's heart and, for the moment, she laid aside the argument and went to embrace him. When finally she left him, he was sleeping once more and Lothiriel went in search of Dariel to apologize.

She found her just as Dariel and Arwen were coming inside from the garden. Arwen's eyes met Lothiriel's and tacit understanding passed between them. Softly, Lothiriel invited, "Dariel, will you walk with me?"

Arwen gave her daughter's shoulders an encouraging squeeze, and Dariel nodded. Together, she and Lothiriel made their way back into the garden and Arwen returned to her room to let her husband know what had happened.

They walked for several minutes before Lothiriel finally spoke. "I apologize for my son's behavior. He should not have spoken to you in that manner."

Dariel came to a halt and caught her arm. "I want to help. How can I help him?"

Lothiriel raised her hand to cup the girl's face. "By ignoring him, and what he says he wants. He is not thinking clearly just now, and...he cares for you a great deal. That is why it would hurt him much more to have your pity than someone else's."

"I do not pity him! I lo–," Dariel stumbled in her response. "I am greatly concerned for him. We have been good friends for a long time. I want to help." She gave the other woman a pleading look, and Lothiriel nodded.

"It will not be easy, and I cannot promise he will not be rude to you again. But if you are determined to help, I would welcome it. He will need all the love and support he can get from both family and friends."

Dariel bit her lip, but nodded her understanding. As much as Elfwine's words and actions had cut her to the quick, if she must endure that to aid him then she would do so. She would not abandon him to this.

Sensing her resolve, Lothiriel advised, "I think it might be best that you not try to see him on your own. My presence will force him to better behavior, whether he likes it or not." She paused then added, "You ought to know, we will likely be returning to Rohan within the week. We are needed at home and he is well enough to travel."

Dariel momentarily turned away, thinking, then looked back and said hesitantly, "I know it is inappropriate for me to invite myself along..."

With a smile, Lothiriel picked up her hint. "Then do not do so. Allow me to invite you to come to Rohan as our guest, for an unspecified duration. We welcome you." She thought a moment, then continued, "But you ought to make certain your parents do not object."

Dariel nodded in understanding and gave her a wan smile.

xxxxx

Supper was the same as the two previous meals Lothiriel had brought to her son. He had little interest and merely picked at his food. She had spoken to Elessar earlier and he told her there was no reason Elfwine should not be up and about, that in fact it would be better if he did begin some activity as he was able.

Before she left him for the night, Lothiriel informed her son he was expected to join the rest of the family for the morning meal. When he balked, she raised a hand to stay his arguments. "You cannot remain in bed forever, and Elessar says there is no reason for you not to rise. I will come and assist you in dressing, but you will join us for the meal. It is time to get on with your life."

Knowing argument was futile, Elfwine slouched deeper under the covers and bid her goodnight, but sleep did not come readily after she left.

At breakfast, Elfwine still showed little sign of an appetite, but at least he was out of bed. When his parents were almost done eating, his father announced, "We will return home in three days. We need to get back so I can attend to my duties and Eowyn can return to her own family."

With a sigh, Elfwine said defeatedly, "I am sure grandfather will lend us a carriage for me to ride in."

"Why would we need a carriage? Your horse is uninjured; you can ride him home," Lothiriel declared.

"Mother..." Elfwine said, puzzled as to why she didn't already understand this, "I only have one hand. I cannot ride this way."

"Nonsense!" his mother replied, rather to his astonishment. "You have been trained to use weapons on horseback, and when you are carrying a spear or wielding a sword you ride with only one hand. This is no different."

Eomer concealed the grin twitching at his mouth. He had feared his wife would coddle their son, and he would be the one to have to push him in learning to function, but he should have known better. Lothiriel was one of the most loving and compassionate women he had ever known, but she was far from weak, and she would not allow her son to become so either.

Following her words, Elfwine glared at his mother, but her point was well made and difficult to refute.

Finally, he excused himself and returned to his room. Eomer glanced at his wife and met her eyes. "It will still be hard for him to mount. Dismounting is fairly easy."

She nodded pensively, and said, "Then perhaps our Riders should follow suit. No one will laugh at a Rider determined to ride, especially if he is doing something they find equally difficult."

A smile spread over her husband's face and Eomer shook his head in wonder. "Trust you to think of something like that, but the men will not object. They will be happy to do whatever will help Elfwine. I will warn them, though."

"No fair practicing! Their first time will be his first time," she admonished.

"Indeed. And I will join them. I cannot allow my son to prove more skilled on horseback than me!"

Lothiriel's expression sobered, and she moved around the table to sit in Eomer's lap. Wrapped in his arms, she sat silently a few moments then told him, "I will do what I can to heal his spirit and help him regain his will to live, but you will need to teach him how a man deals with such adversity and prospers. You will need to be the one to help him figure out how to do everyday tasks one-handed so that he can be as self-sufficient as possible, my love."

Eomer sighed. "I know, and I would wish I was more like you so I would be better able to do my part. But if I must do everything one-handed to help find a way, then I will do it. Our son will not go through this alone."

Eomer's arms tightened around her and she pressed a kiss to his temple; then once again they sat silently. At length, Eomer ventured, "What about Dariel?"

"We will do what we can to help them resolve this satisfactorily for the both of them, but in that there is only so much we can do. It is largely dependent on Dariel and how much she cares for him. It is easy to love someone when they are fit and whole, and times are good, but it is much more difficult to stay true during the tragedies and difficulties of life. For your part, all you can do is try to understand what he is feeling, what his fears are, the source of his anger, but in the end you cannot completely understand it. I am not the same person as Dariel, and though you may be certain I would never abandon you, they have never made that firm a commitment to one another. He cannot be certain she will not turn away from him, even if initially she shows great compassion."