A/N: Well, at least a few of you are enjoying this, so I suppose I will keep posting it. But unless I get more positive reaction, I don't think it likely I will bother to do the same with By The Book (unless I get really, really bored). Thanks to my reviewers.
smor - dare we hope to see a new chapter of An Act of Desperation soon? (please, please, please!)
Chapter 2
Despite the late hour of my going to bed, I was up early the next morning. I had long ago become an early riser and I had matters to discuss with my marshals before breakfast, so I had soon saddled Firefoot and headed out onto the Pelennor to the Rohirrim encampment.
I had just concluded my business, and was planning on returning to the Citadel, when I glimpsed an odd sight. So far, all the women in Gondor that I had seen on horses had ridden in a ridiculous fashion that they called side-saddle. How they were able to be comfortable in such a position, or control their horse, for that matter, was beyond me. And yet, now, my gaze had fallen upon a woman rider who was astride her horse. She was skirting the Rohirrim encampment and seemed to be studying us curiously as she passed. As she drew nearer, I suddenly realized that it was the Lady Lothiriel, and after a moment's hesitation, I hailed her.
She approached and greeted me by saying, "My lord, I did not expect to see you here. I did not think anyone but myself so foolish as to arise this early after a late night of celebration."
I smiled at her words and pointed out that kings did not always have the luxury of choosing when they had to be up and about.
To my surprise, she glanced around and, seeing no one nearby, leaned down and whispered, "Tell everyone you are gone to court the Lady Lothiriel later, and you should be able to sneak in a good long nap. They will see you are not disturbed if they think that is what you are doing!"
I had to choke back a laugh so as not to draw attention to us, but assured her, "I will keep your suggestion in mind. I had no idea you would prove so useful to me, my lady!" Apparently, her wit and ease with me had survived the night, and I was delighted to have her jest to brighten my day.
She gave a sigh and indicated she needed to get back for the morning meal, especially since her father would not want 'Rohan's King' to see her attired in riding clothes, commenting on how appalled I would surely be at such a sight.
I tried to contain my merriment and solemnly told her, "I am sure you are correct. The man" (meaning myself) "is a real stickler for such things. I will see you at breakfast, my lady – properly attired."
She rode away and, after watching until she had disappeared from sight, I moved again to prepare Firefoot and make my own return. One thing was certain, Lady Lothiriel was going to make this whole journey home more bearable. If she maintained her good humor, I would better be able to tolerate Eowyn's matchmaking efforts. She had unwittingly unburdened me from worrying about romantic matters just yet.
I quickly made my way back to the Minas Tirith stables and settled Firefoot in his stall. I suspected I was running a bit late, so I hurried to my room to hastily make myself more presentable and shed my armor. I probably hadn't needed to ride out with it on this morning, but old habits died hard, and I was so used to wearing it that I did not even really think of it as being uncomfortable. It was almost like a second skin to me. As the morning was growing warmer, I changed into lighter-weight clothing and strode brusquely down to the breakfast area.
It was evident that I was the last to arrive and that the others had been waiting for me, though they assured me I had not long delayed them. We took seats and I noted that Lothiriel was sitting between two of her brothers, which I had little doubt she had worked to accomplish in order to avoid being seated next to me. Even so, the only empty chair ended up being the one across from her and I took it.
She had pulled her hair back into a long braid and wore a pale blue dress. At a glance, my guess was that she, like me, was gearing up for the heat of the day that was coming. Nonetheless, I suspected her appearance was probably far more casual than her father would have liked to see.
Just as I had a forkful of food halfway to my mouth, her brother, Amrothos, addressed us, "That is a beautiful dress you are wearing, Thiri. Wouldn't you agree, Eomer?"
I paused a moment, thinking quickly. While I could not dispute in the least that the dress was lovely and she looked lovely in it, I wanted to be certain my answer was diplomatic, but did not encourage anyone to think I had an interest in her. Finally, I laid down my fork, smiled politely and told her, "Yes. It is lovely. It is a good color on you."
Unexpectedly, she smiled sweetly at me, that alone making me suspicious, and then she responded, "It is one of my favorites as it has such a full skirt. A lady's skirts can hide many things, my lord."
I was not prepared for her to be so bold in our present company, and I had to quickly lower my face and tighten my jaw in an effort to not burst out laughing, understanding full well the reference she was making. Finally, I merely commented, "So I have heard."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Imrahil glaring at his daughter for her comments, and she made an attempt to look penitent while turning her attention back to her food. For the remainder of the meal, she behaved in a more traditional manner and made no further outrageous comments, which I found rather disappointing. More and more, I was enjoying her company.
After we were done eating, the other men and I adjourned to discuss the arrangements for the funeral processional. This was the part of the day that I dreaded most. I knew it needed to be done, and I naturally wanted the affair to be such as to appropriately honor my uncle, but every time I thought of him for very long, a deep pain pierced my heart, not to mention a fearful worry that I could never fill his boots in any acceptable manner.
I was relieved when the meeting finally ended and, as it was time for the midday meal, King Elessar had food brought to us there rather than rejoining the ladies. When at last we were released, I was free to do as I pleased until dinner. I headed back toward my room and encountered Eowyn along the way. She dragged me into her room to tell me all about her morning, which it turned out she had spent with Lady Lothiriel and discussing wedding plans. She was thrilled that Lothiriel had agreed to stand with her for the ceremony. Eowyn had no close, living, female relatives, and she had grown up in a man's world so she had virtually no female friends. She had tolerated the ladies of Rohan's court, but did not particularly consider them friends. Somewhere along the line, she seemed to have formed a bond with Lothiriel, which did not really surprise me all that much now that I had met the girl. I suspected the two of them had much in common, at least in perspective on life.
I finally was set free from the wedding talk when Faramir put in appearance and Eowyn hurried off to spend time with him. I returned to my room, thinking to take a nap, but it proved too unpleasantly warm, so I headed for a garden I had seen fairly close by. I wandered a bit and then found a shady spot of grass under a tree and stretched out on my back.
I had begun to doze off when I noticed footsteps approaching. Though soft, my soldierly training still kept me alert to such things and my eyes blinked open to find Lothiriel smiling at me in amusement. She commented, "And here I was feeling sorry for you, being trapped inside in meetings!"
I sat up and gave her a heart-felt grin, telling her, "Of course not! I took your advice and told them I was off to court Lady Lothiriel. You were right – until now my rest has been undisturbed."
To my dismay, she answered, "Then I shall not interrupt. By all means, sleep, my lord."
Quickly, I tried to think of a reason for her to stay and finally said, "But if you leave, you will make me out a liar. Now that you are here, I will not have to pretend having seen you."
She looked at me with some skepticism and asked, "You did NOT really tell them that, did you?"
I wanted to tease her, as she had been doing with me, so I put on a perplexed look at the question, but I was unable to maintain it long and started laughing. So I admitted, "No, but it makes a good story. And I haven't ruled it out for future use if the need truly arises. This time I was able to slip away without drawing that weapon."
To my surprise, and pleasure, she sat down beside me, seeming to have no objection to sitting on the ground. "Is the trip to Rohan all planned?" she asked.
I told her that it mostly was and that we would depart as scheduled. Recalling the sight of her that morning, I switched subjects rather suddenly and looked at her questioningly, saying, "Tell me something – why is it that you do not ride sidesaddle? That seems to be the fashion among the ladies of Gondor, at least those that I have seen."
Under the circumstances, considering what little I already knew about her, I should not have been the least bit surprised by her answer. She shrugged and responded, "Probably because I learned to ride bareback and so once they finally got me to use a saddle, it was impossible to get me to switch to that awkward style. I think it embarrasses my father sometimes, but at least in that he gives in to me."
As we discussed it further, she revealed learning to ride on the beach and the damage salt water did to saddle leather. Her answer made sense, and so we lapsed into silence. After a moment, however, she asked, "My lord…"
I interrupted her to suggest, "Please, do not be so formal. Just Eomer will do." Though it was out of the ordinary for a king to request such a thing, I found myself growing so comfortable with her that I almost believed we could be friends, and I could not endure my friends being so formal with me, regardless of my position.
"Just Eomer?" she responded. When I nodded, she added, "I do not know – that seems too long and unwieldy. May I shorten it to Eomer?"
I had to grin and looked down. "You like to play with words."
"Forgive me, I do. I did not mean to mock you. But if I am to call you Eomer, you must call me Lothiriel, or Thiri, as my family does. Unless of course our families are around – then I expect you to be stiffly formal so they will feel cheated!"
I was enjoying our exchange and laughed. "I am getting rather good at 'stiffly formal'. It seems to be a requirement for kings. But I fear I am no match for you in wordplay."
She sat lost in thought a moment more and then continued with her previous query, "May I ask you something?"
"Certainly." I looked at her curiously, wondering what she might wish to know.
"What is it like being a king? Knowing that you rule all that you survey?"
This certainly was not anything I might have guessed her question to be. I sat pondering the query and then sobered, with a tinge of bitterness creeping in as I answered, "Lonely. It is very lonely." I stood and moved to lean against a nearby tree, my thoughts far removed from the garden we were in. Her question had focused my random thoughts most clearly and, in a way, this was a revelation to me as well as an answer to her. No one had ever before asked me how I felt about any of this.
"How so?" she asked softly, rising to stand next to me.
I turned to face her, searching for the words to explain what I did not fully understand myself, and answered, "When you are King…everything you say and do has greater importance. Your opinion has more weight, your decisions have more impact, and no one wants to risk offending you. Friends are harder to come by because no one feels like they can speak freely. And you discover there are a great many people who suddenly wish to be better acquainted with you so they may feel important by association." I paused and looked down with embarrassment. "I sound as though I am complaining."
Her response surprised me, yet again. "No. To someone else, perhaps, but not to me. In a very tiny way, I think I understand a little of what you mean. My father and brothers do not comprehend why I have not welcomed the suitors that applied for my hand, but the truth is that none of them see me. They are only interested in aligning themselves with the daughter of a prince, and becoming associated with the ruling family of Dol Amroth. They court and they woo, but they never seek to know me or understand me in any way. I do know what it is to be defined by your station in life. At least in that much, I can sympathize."
I was amazed by her admission, but understood full well what she meant. I had often seen Theodred admired by ladies who envisioned themselves becoming the queen one day. They fawned over him and eagerly sought his favor, but there was rarely any indication that they knew or cared what he thought, what he wanted, what he dreamed. And I knew it had weighed heavily on him. Perhaps that was the reason he never married.
Shaking myself from my reverie, I assured her, "It is not all bad, though. Other than my eored, no one much cared what Third Marshal Eomer thought about matters. Now, if something is important to me, I have the power to do something about it. For good or ill, to be sure, but at least there is the potential for doing good. A lot of the time, being king is a two-edged sword. You either get too much privacy, or not enough. People are either overly polite because of your position, or overly rude to show their disdain for it. Everything you say is given great import, whether it deserves it or not, but the worthwhile things you say are listened to, and more closely than they would be if you were a commoner." A sly grin came to my face and I glanced sideways at her, unable to refrain from teasing. "And the nobles all gladly throw their daughters at you as potential wives, though sometimes that is not such a good thing!"
She partly caught my meaning and tried to respond innocently, "Like when they recommend you wear skirts to cover your bare feet?"
Laughing easily, I answered, "Exactly. Noblewomen seem to say the strangest things to me, though perhaps your words have been the strangest I have yet encountered."
"Which words of mine did you find strange, my lord?" she queried, seeming to suspect my motive.
"Primarily the ones that went something like 'I do not want you to court me, my lord'," was my smirking response.
"Strange indeed, for I do not recall ever saying that," she remarked.
"Well, as I said, I may have been rephrasing your words, but the meaning was clear...and welcome, I assure you," I admitted. "I was afraid...well, afraid that if I did not court you as everyone expected, you would be offended, but I really did not want that extra burden of responsibility just now. I like things much better this way...as friends." The last word was said quietly, hopefully, questioningly. I knew what I was feeling, but I was not so sure that she would wish to be friends. Already our relationship was unusual enough; dare I hope it could be more. And I realized that I did want it to be more.
She looked at the ground a while, long enough for me to begin squirming with nervousness, and then she brought her eyes up to gaze into mine. "I do not think I would make a very good friend to a king, my lord." My face fell somewhat, in disappointment, but she continued, "I am too much in the habit of speaking freely with my friends and saying what I truly think. I doubt I could restrain myself simply because the person was a mere king. Besides, what have I to gain by associating with a king when I am already of noble birth?"
It took a moment, but the words finally registered, just about the time she began to laugh. I could not help it – my face filled with relief and I nodded. "I see. Yes, you would truly make a poor friend for a king, but as my friends are in short supply just now, I suppose I will have to make do with you until someone better comes along."
I couldn't even begin to express the pleasure I felt at her words, or how grateful I was for her friendship. And, somehow, I didn't think I needed to try – not with her, anyway. I sat down at the tree's base and leaned back, my eyes closed, feeling a heavy weight had lifted from me. I could get through all this if I had a friend at my side, one determined to make me laugh.
She had seated herself as well, and we remained silent for several moments, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Abruptly, she jumped up and told me, "Eomer, it must almost be suppertime! We need to get back before they come looking for us."
I scrambled to my feet with a sigh. "And I was just getting comfortable in this dream." And it truly did feel like it must be a dream.
She smiled reassuringly at me. "Ah, but that is the beauty of it. As long as our families are in the dark about our friendship, the dream can continue a little longer. If they catch wind of this, we are sunk. They will never give us a moment's peace in trying to turn it into something more. We must not be caught out so they will suspect nothing."
Nodding agreement, I answered, "I see my accomplice has great wisdom. I defer to your superior judgement in these matters. You have not yet led me astray!"
She asked if I knew how to get back inside on my own and motioned for me to proceed, warning me to feign ignorance of her presence in the garden and directing me to go along with whatever she said if the subject came up. I nodded in understanding, flashed her a gleeful grin and hurried away.
I had just reached my door when Amrothos put in appearance. Apparently he had come seeking me and his sister to bring us to supper, and I turned to accompany him down the hall. We had not gone far before we encountered Lothiriel, and she curtsied politely to me, falling readily into the stiff court manners that were expected of her. I had to fight back a grin as I greeted her. "Lady Lothiriel, how nice to see you."
Amrothos began to chide her, saying he had been looking for her and that she needed to hurry or she'd be late to supper. I listened with interest to her response, so I could act accordingly and not give us away.
"I went to read in the garden since it was too warm indoors," she said.
"Indeed? King Eomer was just in the garden as well," Amrothos commented.
"The garden is quite large, so I am not surprised you did not find me, my lord. I hope your time spent there was as enjoyable as mine."
I was astonished by how easily she did this. Had I not known better, I would believe her words myself!
A response was required, and I pulled my attention back to the conversation, saying, "It was, thank you. I fell asleep under a tree."
"If you will excuse me, my lord, I must go change for supper before my father comes looking for me." I nodded and bowed, and she hurried off down the hall. I was certain she must be silently laughing at our escape. I definitely was!
xxxxx
Lothiriel and I stayed separated most of the remainder of the evening. Various members of our family made attempts to get us together, but each time we deftly dodged and managed to pervert their intentions. We almost avoided each other the entire time, but as I went over to say my goodnights to her family and excuse myself, I discovered she had just declared her intent to head off to bed. Imrahil wasted no time in seizing the opportunity, "Eomer, if you are headed to your room, perhaps you would be so kind as to see Lothiriel to her door. She is ready to call it an evening as well."
I hesitated, but then nodded and gave them a stiff smile, trying not to appear eager for the task though I actually was, and said, "Of course, my friend. I would be happy to see your daughter safely home." I politely offered her my arm, and she made it clear with her body's posture that she did not wish to do this, before placing her own hand on my arm and rigidly moving with me out of the room. We left plenty of distance between us, despite our touching arms, until we were lost to the sight of our family members. Once we reached the darker hallway, she quickly relaxed and moved closer, taking a firmer grip on my arm. I softly said, "You lied."
"I did not!" she argued.
"Yes, you did. You told Amrothos we did not see each other in the garden."
"I beg your pardon, my lord, but I said no such thing. I said that you did not find me in the garden - and you did not. I found you. What I said was perfectly truthful, though admittedly incomplete."
I chuckled. "Oh yes, I forgot your gift for using words! I concede defeat - my lady is NOT a liar."
At her door, she dropped her hand from my arm and reached for the latch, but I stayed her with a hand on her elbow. "Lothiriel...thank you. Today has been a good day for me, and I did not expect it to be so when I arose this morning." My words didn't even begin to convey all that I was feeling about our time spent together this day, but it was the best I could come up with at that moment.
She smiled gently at me and said quietly, "That is what friends are for, Eomer." Then she turned and went into her room, closing the door behind her.
I walked slowly to my own room and entered, moving to the balcony and gazing up at the stars. Yes, it had been a very fine day indeed.
