Replies to reviewers: (And thanks to all who reviewed.)

Jazzcat – "Another fanfic author mentioned Eowyn cooking for Faramir and said…'She could have served him a bucket of oats…'" – ANOTHER fanfic author? Hmmm, who might that be…let me think…oh, right! It was me! I don't know if Eowyn's lack of cooking skills is canon or fanon, but it is fun to play with.

"I truly cannot imagine a noblewoman and a princess jesting with a common soldier in such a manner about meeting men without scruples." – we may have to chalk this one up to literary license. I suspect it would not happen much, if ever, and I doubt I would have her doing it all the time with all the soldiers. In this instance, she was doing it deliberately to break the ice and get him to relax a bit with her. She really doesn't want to meet such men, and she is trusting he won't think she does or is encouraging him to misbehave. (She's assuming it because of Eomer's trust in him.)

wondereye, et. al. – Eothain? Well, he will be important to the story, but perhaps not how you think.

utsuri – Don't know why you wrote that for a review either, but you can come cook and sew for me if you get bored! I'm not exactly the domestic type…

plzkthx101 – valid points you made. I'm not sure how much that will change, though you will see a bit of it. I don't tend to give people flaws just to add depth; usually it is important to the story I'm telling. Which is not to say they don't have flaws, but they may not be readily apparent if nothing in the story causes them to be mentioned.

shie1dmaidenofrohan – now that you mention it, I'm going to have to find out about those darn side-saddles… I don't know if they were in existence in this presumed time frame or not. I know they were used later in the 1700/1800s but perhaps not in the Middle Ages. Will let you know what I find out. And, yes, you will be seeing more of dear Faramir! Told you he almost always gets a nice bit in my stories!

Chapter 3

The next morning, Eothain put in appearance just as they were finishing the morning meal. Taking a seat, he refused the food offered and smiled at Lothiriel. "So, are you prepared to learn to ride today?"

She nodded. "Yes, and Eowyn found an old riding outfit of hers that we could adjust to fit me. She said it would be easier in that than in a dress."

"True." He glanced at her hair, then commented, "You may wish to tie your hair back out of the way. Or braid it."

"I will return as quickly as I can," she told him.

"Then I will wait here until you are ready," he smiled.

At his words, she rose and excused herself to change her clothes and fix her hair. She put in appearance a short time later, causing an upraised eyebrow by Eothain. "Are you always so quick when dressing?" he asked in astonishment. "My sister would have taken more than half an hour to return from such a simple task!"

She laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "I have three brothers and a widowed father. They were not very patient about waiting for ladies to leisurely array themselves. I learned to be quick about it, or suffer their disgruntled grumblings!"

He rose and offered his arm to her. "Then let us away. There is work to be done this day!"

Smiling, she slipped her hand through the crook of his arm and they wandered off talking, calling a goodbye to Eowyn and Gamling, who still remained at the table discussing some household details.

Eothain led the way to the royal stables, and then paused indecisively in the door. He rubbed his chin as he considered his choices.

"What is the matter?" Lothiriel inquired.

"Hmmm? Oh, well…I am uncertain how you wish to learn about horses."

When he paused, she prompted, "What do you mean? Speak plainly and I will give you your answer."

He hesitantly nodded. "The Eorlingas take great pride in their mounts and generally prefer to be the one who provides their care. Even the King cares for his horse, Firefoot, most of the time. He cannot always do so now, but he does whenever possible. I suppose since the horse you will be riding will not be yours, you will not need to learn to care for him. And many noble ladies choose to leave the horse care to the stablehands."

She gazed off down the stable aisle a moment, then asked, "What does Eowyn do?"

"Eowyn does as her brother does. She cares for her own horse, if she possibly can."

"Then teach me to do things as Eowyn would do them. Even if I do not own this horse, once I learn to ride, I may wish to get my own mount and then I will know what to do," she told him.

He gave her an approving grin. "Eomer said you wished to learn to ride properly! Apparently you mean to learn about horses properly also. Excellent!"

An hour later, Lothiriel almost regretted her decision. She had curried the horse and cleaned smelly messes out of the stall, carried water, some of which actually stayed in the bucket long enough to get to the horse, and learned about bedding, feed and grooming utensils. And still she seemed no closer to riding a horse than she had been when she left Dol Amroth. She'd had no idea there was so very much involved in horse care.

Eothain had gone to speak with the stable master, so Lothiriel plunked down on a small bench and poked at a blister that was forming on the palm of her hand. She wished she had thought to wear gloves for this endeavor, particularly considering how dirty her hands now were. It would take considerable scrubbing to get the dirt out from under the nails.

Eothain reappeared, a saddle over his arm, but came to a stop as he noticed the blister she was examining. Setting the saddle down, he took her hand to get a closer look and gave her an apologetic smile. "Forgive me. I did not think about your hands being unused to such work. I should have thought to make certain you wore gloves. Perhaps we should stop for today so you can have this treated."

She shook her head and stiffly rose. "No. It is not that serious. What is next?"

Eothain considered her a moment. While he was impressed by her willingness to work hard, there was no reason to overdo it on her first day. He had given her more physical work than she was likely used to doing, and he could see the tiredness in her face, and recognize the stiffness of her movement that indicated sore muscles.

He reached for her hand. "That is all the work we will do today. For now, let us just get you acquainted with your horse and we will actually start you riding another day. I do not want you in such pain tomorrow that you will give up on this quest, or even refuse to leave your bed!"

Despite her disappointment, she could not restrain a rueful, grateful smile. "Very well. As you think best."

They spent the next half hour petting, talking to and feeding Eothain's ready stash of apples to the horse he had selected. The gelding was older and far more docile than most of the Rohirric horses. He had been named Bugan, which Eothain told her meant 'yielding', and seemed to be his nature. His main purpose in the royal stables was for visitors to ride if they were not accomplished riders and had no mount of their own.

xxxxx

Even before she went to bed that night, Lothiriel began to understand Eothain's remark about her refusing to leave her bed the next day. She was already so stiff and sore she could barely move. A knock came at her door as she was preparing to get into her nightclothes, and before she could respond, Eowyn's head poked in, grinning knowingly at her. "May I come in?"

"Of course. Particularly since you are practically in already!" Lothiriel laughed.

Eowyn entered and closed the door, holding up a small pot with a lid. "Help has arrived," she announced, while Lothiriel gave her a puzzled look. "Uncover your back and shoulders," Eowyn directed, and Lothiriel did, with a hint of embarrassment.

Seating her on a bench, Eowyn began massaging a fragrant salve into her sore muscles. At first, the pressure of her hands, kneading the muscles wasn't exactly pleasant, but then the salve began to have a soothing effect and she was more appreciative of the treatment.

"When Eothain told us at supper what all he had put you through today, I knew you would be suffering by now," Eowyn explained. "I had the healers make this up for you, and they just brought it."

"I am most grateful. I fear Dol Amroth nobility are not used to such labors! But it is my own fault. I should have made Eothain aware of how 'delicate' I am before he got very far. Likely he expected my life to be similar to yours."

"You can get into your nightclothes now," Eowyn told her, covering the salve and setting it on the dresser. "I will be right back."

Lothiriel watched her leave, curious as to her further purpose, but did as directed and dressed for bed. Eowyn returned with water, bandages and a seemingly different salve. This she used on the blisters on Lothiriel's hands, and then bound them up. "This works very well. They should be almost healed by morning, but do be sure to wear gloves whenever you work in the stable, and probably while riding also. I think I have an old pair that will fit you comfortably. I will bring them in the morning."

"Thank you," Lothiriel told her, rather sheepishly. "I feel rather silly not knowing such things, but..."

Eowyn grinned at her. "I am sure there is much about the sea that I do not know, and I would make mistakes there. Do not fear, we will teach you to be a proper Eorling!"

They chuckled together and then said their goodnights, and Lothiriel laid down feeling much better than she had an hour earlier.

Even so, she was stiff and sore again the next day, though it did not seem as bad as it had the previous night. Eowyn put in appearance as she was washing, and massaged more salve into her muscles, which made movement much easier. She had also brought the promised gloves, which proved a little big on Lothiriel, but quite workable. They chatted while Lothiriel dressed and then made their way to eat.

Eothain was waiting, talking to Eomer and he cast an anxious eye at Lothiriel when they put in appearance. He seemed relieved that she was up, and apparently not too crippled by his thoughtlessness.

After greeting the both of them, he apologetically asked, "How do you fare this morning, Lothiriel?"

She smiled reassuringly at him. "Do not be concerned, Eothain. I am well. Eowyn put a salve on my sore muscles and bound my blisters, so I am ready to get back to it!"

Still looking a bit dismayed, despite her assurances, he told her admiringly, "Well, I certainly must credit Gondor with courage, my lady!"

She laughed and slapped his arm. "Do not mock me, soldier! I could never face my father if I let Rohan break me!"

Eomer watched the exchange with a surprised expression. Apparently they were getting along far better than he had anticipated, though he was not completely caught off guard by it considering his own dealings with Lothiriel. She could be totally disarming. But Eothain was not usually one to be drawn in by noblewomen, and Eomer had never known him to be so easy with any of them.

By the time she had eaten and they made their way to the stable, the sky was clouding over with ominous grey clouds. Before Bugan had been curried and his stall cleaned, the clouds opened up with a steady rain that cancelled their riding plans. The rain continued for the next three days, so Lothiriel and Eowyn took that opportunity to begin the cooking lessons. As it turned out, Eowyn could be quite efficient in the kitchen, now that she had an interest. The biggest part of her difficulties before this seemed to tie more to her lack of inclination for doing something she considered so dull. With the idea of pleasing Faramir firmly fixed in her mind, she attacked the challenge with enthusiasm and dedication that soon gave the desired results.

Without telling Eomer, Eowyn prepared the entire midday meal, to which she invited Gamling and Eothain to join them. The servants brought in the prepared food as usual, so there was nothing to suggest anything out of the ordinary. By the end of the meal, the men were commenting on the tasty stew, and how cook must have gotten a new recipe. The bread was completely devoured, evidence in itself of how it was received, and Eowyn sat grinning with pleasure at the lot of them polishing off even the last dregs of gravy from their bowls.

Eomer looked up in time to notice a look passing between Eowyn and Lothiriel. Suspiciously, he asked, "What are the two of you up to this day? I saw that look."

Lothiriel laughed with amusement and, at an imperceptible nod from Eowyn, told him, "I am afraid, gentlemen, you had best not get used to such fare for your meals. It was not your cook who prepared it, and the one who did will not be with you much longer."

The three men cast puzzled looks at one another, but then Eothain looked more closely at Lothiriel. He had come to know her rather well these past weeks and suddenly he gleaned an understanding of their riddle. Turning his eyes to the White Lady, "You did this, Eowyn?"

The other two men looked at him, rather dumbfounded at such a ridiculous notion, but then turned to observe Eowyn. She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. "Yes, I did this. Sadly, none of you were ever able to inspire such effort in me, so Faramir will have to be the recipient of my new talents!"

Eomer stared at her for an instant and then teasingly glared at Lothiriel. "What have you done to my sister!"

With a laugh, she told him, "Nothing that she did not want done, my lord! And, in truth, it is not truly my fault. Faramir is to blame for this. I only helped bring it about."

The five of them chuckled at the bantering, but Eomer fixed Eowyn with a solemn gaze. "It pleases me to see you so content, Eowyn, and this was excellent. I hope Faramir knows how lucky he is to have you."

Surprisingly, Eowyn blushed faintly and nodded, too choked up by his sentiment to answer. Sensing her discomfort, Gamling rose, saying, "As difficult as it will be, after this fine meal, my lord, I fear we must return to work."

Eothain stood also, and grinned at Lothiriel. "Well, if you cannot be riding, at least you appear to be employing your time well while you wait for the skies to clear!" To Eowyn he added, "Thank you, my lady, for including me in this wonderful treat!"

As the men exited the room, Lothiriel looked at Eowyn triumphantly and asked, "Satisfied? Faramir cannot help but be delighted."

"I am very satisfied, and I do thank you again for your time and patience with me. Now, I suppose we ought to get back to our sewing if we want to have everything finished in time."