Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I think we have already established that the honour and rights belong to Professor Tolkien.

Summary: See previous Chapters

A/N – Thanks to The Cap'n for suggesting the centre in Middle Earth.


Chapter Sixteen

The teasing finally stopped when Aragorn called a council of war to decide on what our next movement was to be. So the men left to talk in the throne room, leaving Eowyn and I to discuss what was happening with Faramir and Eomer.

It turned out that Denethor had left shortly after I had, in search of fresh air and less lovelorn company. This had left Faramir and Eowyn alone, for the most part, and while they could hardly get up to anything with the healers nearby, that didn't stop Faramir from waxing eloquent in an admittedly stirring speech that praised Eowyn above any and all other women. To hear Eowyn talk, one would think that Aragorn had never existed, and that she and Faramir where the only people living, if one were to judge by their awareness of their surroundings.

I smiled at my friend, genuinely happy for her. "So much for Aragorn, I would think, then? I think you and my new brother would make a lovely couple."

Eowyn raised an eyebrow. "Brother? When and how did this happen?"

I sighed in mock-exasperation. "Boromir decided that since I had no male relatives in this land, I should have someone to act as my guardian. He had already taken the role of 'Protective Older Brother', so he and Faramir decided to make it official." I gave her a cheeky grin. "Looks like we can truly be sisters now, don't you think?"

I laughed as Eowyn flushed crimson and started to protest. Then my own taunt backfired as Eowyn changed track and started on my blossoming relationship with Eomer, which still would have made her my sister by marriage. By the gleeful expression on my friend's face, I could tell that my own blush was quite spectacular. I'm not sure if things got better or worse when Boromir returned to ask us to join him and the others in council.


I don't know who came up with the idea, but they were either brave to the point of suicide, or just plain crazy. Anyway, the basic plan was to march up to the Gates of Mordor, challenge Sauron and in so doing, create a diversion to draw Sauron's eye away from Frodo and Sam in the hopes that they would make it to Mount Doom and destroy the ring.

The worst part of the whole plan was that if we played on Sauron's pride, this actually had a chance of working.

Eomer, Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli and Denethor, along with Gandalf and Pippin, would be leading the armies, while Eowyn, Faramir and I would stay here to mind the city and see what we could do about repairs and plans for what would need to be replaced.

The men left to prepare for battle, while Faramir, Eowyn and I started on plans of our own.

Eowyn and I decided to leave the details and plans up to Faramir. He was the best at such things. If we were to carry out repairs with most of the men away, that meant that many of the women and youth would have to help, which meant keeping the younger children occupied and out from underfoot, as usual. I would take care of that, if I could find an empty building and convince a few others and Eowyn to help me.

We were just finalizing our plans, with suggestions from Faramir, who knew the city and it's people, when a messenger came to tell us that the armies were about to march out.


We found the leaders in one of the smaller courtyards, preparing to mount up and waiting for us. I did not know what to say. How do you tell someone that everything will be fine when you have no idea of whether it will be or not? I chose not to say anything, and simply hugged those I had come to think of as family, holding them tight.

When I finally came to Eomer, I paused. I knew what happened in the books, but I also knew that my presence had thrown things slightly off course, so I did not know if I would see him again. I weighed my decisions, cursing my shyness and bit my lip.

I tilted my head to look Eomer in the eye. "I have no idea if I will ever see you again, so I am going to do something profoundly unorthodox. I hope you do not take offence." I raised myself up on my toes, and kissed Eomer. He stiffened for a moment, and then returned the action. I knew that this was going to be all over the city in a matter of hours, but I didn't care. A tingle ran down my spine as I felt a hand on the small of my back, and slid my arms around his neck, losing myself in the moment.

It took the sound of an intense scuffle from nearby and the sound of Aragorn and Boromir's whispered argument (Boromir, stop it!" "He kissed my sister!" "She didn't seem to have any objections. It's not like he's violating her." "You're not helping, Aragorn!") to break us out of it. We turned to see Aragorn and Faramir restraining a furiousBoromir.

I snickered. Eomer smiled down at me. "I will return to you, Natasha. In this life or the next."

Boromir glared. I smiled, attempting to hide my fears. "This life, preferably. Stay safe, all of you."

They mounted and left. Eowyn, Faramir and I exchanged glances, then turned to start our plans in the city.


I had managed to gather a group of young woman to help me care for the children. I convinced them to help by pointing out that this would be good practice for later in life. So I had Yalewen, Eowyn and a group of girls around our age, sensible enough to not spend the whole time giggling, helping me with the thirty or so children whose parents needed them to be somewhere else for the day. I found it amusing that I had essentially created Middle-Earth's first Childcare Centre.

We had set up base in a small, abandoned warehouse, which would do for now but really needed some decorations and colour. Eowyn was the one who solved that problem. She had purchased a few bolts of cloth and enlisted a maiden by the name of Riana to make art smocks for us.

As I said, the warehouse was small, so we borrowed some paint and spent about half the day with a young woman called Myra creating paintballs, after I explained the concept to her, and the other half with some children throwing them at the walls, while others made a mural out of handprints or created posters to hang up, then switched positions.

When the day started to draw to a close, Yalewen and Myra kept the children entertained while Eowyn, Riana and I cleaned up. I have to admit that the centre looked very nice, if somewhat unusual. I think everyone went home happy, if tired, that day.

After that, we settled into a general routine. We had the children bring lunches, or at least the materials to make their lunch, when they came in the morning. While everyone arrived, we would have a short playtime, followed by a few stories. Then we would do some work. Then came lunch, a longer playtime and naps for those still young enough, followed by a bit more work, art time, music and a story and group games until the parents came.

Eowyn and I, along with another of my helpers, Riana, knew how to read and write. Myra's father was a businessman, so she knew about maths and keeping records. With the exception of High School, I had grown up around Montessori teaching, which focused more on individual work, with the teachers helping the children one-on-one, rather than sitting at desks and being taught by a single teacher. Montessori also puts more of an emphasis on skills that you will need later in life, such as spooning or pouring without spilling the contents all over the floor, learning to tie bows and lace or button things. All in all, I thought it was fairly effective. The children seemed to enjoy it and none of the parents complained, at least.


It was ten days after the armies rode out that we heard news of their victory.

I think everyone breathed a sigh of relief at that, but we had more immediate problems at hand, such as lunch and changing nappies before play- and sleep time.

Less than an hour after the news arrived, we heard faint cheering and about five minutes after that, a knock at the door.

Riana answered it, opening the door to admit the entire Fellowship, Frodo and Sam included, along with Eomer, Faramir and Denethor.


Eomer's Point Of View

We rode into the city amid the sound of cheering.

I looked around the crowds, searching for the faces of Faramir, Eowyn and Natasha. Well, more Eowyn and Natasha, but still. A group of boys came to take our horses as we dismounted. Seconds after that, Faramir emerged from the crowds to greet us. Watching as he greeted his Father and Brother, I noticed that Natasha and my sister were noticeably absent.

I inquired as to their whereabouts. "Lord Faramir, do you know where Eowyn and Natasha are? I would have thought that you and my sister would be joined at the hip." Fine, so I was being a little snide. I had been under a great deal of pressure these last few days.

Aragorn greeted Faramir. "Pay him no mind, Faramir. He has been like this the entire journey back."

Boromir decided to give a further explanation. "We think he is suffering from Natasha's absence. We can think of no other reason."

At least my time was spent doing something relatively productive. Did I mention that Boromir spent the journey making clever remarks about how Natasha and I had acted around each other? I felt tempted to voice these sentiments, but held my silence.

Faramir inclined his head. "They are at the abandoned warehouse on Cooper's Lane. The two of them had the idea of keeping children out of the way while the rest of us worked on restoring the city. Shall I take you there?"

We moved off in that direction, coming to a small building on a street corner. The sound of children laughing, soft older voices and a familiar voice singing merged from inside. Faramir knocked on the door, waiting. A few seconds later, it was opened by a young woman, who beckoned us inside, then left to deal with a group of squabbling children.

I looked around; this building certainly didn't give the impression of a warehouse. The walls were a riot of colour, painted with bright handprints, or areas where different coloured paints appeared to have run together, or hung with artwork. There were some simple toys and blocks set out on the floor, with groups of children around them.

Finally, I found who I was looking for.

At the opposite end of the building, someone had piled mats and blankets to create makeshift beds. Eowyn knelt by one, soothing the two year old on it. Nearby, Natasha was swaying on her feet, softly singing to the crying infant she held, who was already beginning to calm down. She wore an embroidered knee-length tunic in a shade of forest green over a long white dress, protected by a paint-spotted apron. Her hair was starting to escape from its pins and was now falling into her face.

The mere sight of her; sunlight caught in her auburn hair as it tumbled around her, gentle green eyes shining and her soft, hypnotic movements, seemed to make all that we had lately endured more than worth it.

Natasha looked up and saw us, her face breaking into a smile. She gently placed the infant onto one of the beds and motioned to Eowyn, who also looked up. Then she took off the paint-stainedapron she wore, lifted the hem of her dress to avoid tripping over it and ran toward us. I caught her and lifted her into the air, embracing her tightly. Of course, we were interrupted, this time by one of the other young women, who offered to take care of things for the rest of the day so that Eowyn and Natasha could leave with us.

The two of them collected Bella and a small bag, and then followed us out, returning to the palace.


I would swear that Natasha and I did not get a minute to ourselves for the rest of the day.

Wherever we went, it was always this person wanting to congratulate me for the battle or Natasha for her work in the city. Then it was that person trying to curry favour through flattery. I don't know how Natasha managed to exchange a few words then send them away with a smile and thanks. They would certainly gain a lot more of my favour by leaving us in peace.

The sun was setting when I made my way to the rooms that she shared with Bella. I knocked and entered, seeing Natasha at the window that looked down into one of the gardens. She turned toward me, her face breaking into a wide smile as she placed a finger on her lips and beckoned me over. I looked into the garden to see something that I should have expected, but hadn't.

Lord Faramir was kissing my baby sister.

Some of my outrage must have shown on my face, because Natasha whispered to me, "The sons of the Steward think of me as a little sister. Think of how they must have felt just before you rode to Mordor."

She had a point. One that I was going to bring up if Boromir and Faramir had objections to my courtship of Natasha. To marry my little sister, Faramir needed the consent of her family. Technically, so did Natasha. I would ask her first, of course, but those two could make it difficult if they chose. Not that I thought she would listen if they chose to be disobliging or not accept whatever her choice would be.

I turned away from the window and offered Natasha my arm. "Might I interest you in a walk in the gardens? I would like to hear what you have been doing lately."

She smiled. "As long as it is not the garden we were just looking at, I would be delighted." She accepted my arm, and we walked down to the rose garden.


We talked about what had been going on in each other's absence while I tried to think of how best to phrase what I wanted to say to her. I watched as she picked up a white rose, fallen to the ground, and tucked it into her hair, just above one ear.

Finally I decided to just say it outright. "Natasha?"

She looked up at me, a light in her eyes. "Yes, Eomer?"

Why was I suddenly so shy around her? Don't bother answering that, I knew why. "When we spoke, just after the Siege of Minas Tirith, do you remember how I said that I did not know the extent of my feelings for you? That I desired you not for your beauty, but for something else?"

She nodded her head. "And I replied much the same, although I think that I now know my feelings."

As nervous as I was, I have no idea how I managed to smile. "As do I. Natasha, I have yet to speak to your foster family, but I wished to ask you first: would you consent to my offer of courtship?"

Her smile was like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. "I would consent to your courtship. With great pleasure."

I could find no words, so I leaned down a few inches and kissed her instead, wrapping my arms around her waist and feeling hers around my neck.

When we broke apart, I found that I didn't need to say anything at all.


That was not the case, however, when I approached her brothers the next day at a ball that was being held to celebrate the return of the King.

Faramir agreed when I pointed out that I was Eowyn's only living relative, and his courtship would go easier if they had my consent. Boromir, on the other hand… well, let us say that he was not so eager, and seemed bent on making things difficult.

Eowyn's Point Of View

Natasha and I stood with the hobbits, talking quietly. Mostly about who we thought would win the battle of wills that was going on between our respective brothers. It seemed that Eomer and Faramir had exchanged consent, but Boromir was making things difficult.

Looking around the room, I saw a dark-haired girl glaring daggers, alternating between Eomer and Natasha. Faramir had obviously given up on the staring match going on between his brother and mine, and came over to talk as they tried to glare each other down.

I pointed the girl out. "Faramir, that girl in the corner, the one with the dark hair and the red gown, who is she?"

Faramir looked over in time to see the equivalent of a nuclear missile (Whatever that was. Natasha had tried to explain it.) drop out of the girl's eyes, and grimaced. "Oh, that would be my cousin, Lothiriel of Dol Amroth. My mother was her father's sister. As to why she is glaring at you; Lothiriel has had her eye on Eomer since she was a little girl. Daydreams of a shadow and a thought, but she can be stubborn when she gets an idea in her head."

Natasha responded to Lothiriel's glare with a poisonous one of her own. "Tough luck for her, then. I love Eomer and I do not plan on letting him go just because some high-born brat thinks she does as well!"

I raised an eyebrow in her direction, surprised at the anger and passion and determination from a girl who was usually so mild and passive. "Your older brother still needs to agree, you know."

Natasha tossed her long hair over one shoulder. "Boromir doesn't have to like my relationship with Eomer. He just has to accept it. If he doesn't, I am sure I can come up with ways to make his life a living hell until he is more inclined to agree with me."

Boromir's voice came from behind us. "Out of curiosity, how would you plan to make my life a living hell? I still am not sure if Eomer is worthy of you"

Natasha turned quickly, glaring at Boromir. Then she smiled sweetly "Whether you think him worthy or not has nothing to do with it. How do you know if Rohan will find me worthy of their king? As to your question about making your life hell: Rumour spreads like wildfire. I'm sure you get my drift"

Boromir looked nervous. I did not blame him, that smile on Natasha's face always foretold danger. "What rumours? Most of the city knows me too well to believe most rumours."

Natasha didn't bat an eyelid. "Maybe so. But just think of what would happen if the unmarried maidens heard that you were looking for a bride. That should be incentive enough for you to agree. If not, I can always continue"

Speaking of cruel and unusual punishment……

Boromir gave my brother an incredulous look. "You actually want to marry this woman?" he turned back to Natasha, "Well, if that is the way you plan to be, I will give my consent. Good luck to you both."

Natasha turned around to look at my brother. Eomer wrapped an arm around her waist, completely ignoring the murderous look that Princess Lothiriel sent in our direction, and spoke formally. "Will you give me the hand of your sister, Lady Natasha?"

Boromir grinned. "You can have the rest of her as well, Eomer."

Natasha narrowed her eyes. Boromir shut up.

Nearby, the musicians struck up a dance. Boromir moved over to chat up a group of tittering maidens as Eomer lead Natasha onto the dance floor and Faramir held out his hand to me. I accepted, and the four of us carefully spun through the dance.

Somehow, the complexity of the steps, the way that the dancers moved together, in perfect harmony, seemed very symbolic at the time.

Oh, there would be troubles in the future. Sauron's forces were not completely gone, after all, and every couple is bound to argue once in a while.

But for now, all was right with the world.

The End.

No, just kidding, still more to come.

To Be Continued.


A/N#2 – Chapter Sixteen is up! Sorry to everyone who likes Lothiriel/Eomer romances, this is just the way it turned out.

Review and tell me what you think.

Nathalia.