A/N – This is the second chapter, and there are seven more to go. I aim to have all of them posted before Christmas, so you will probably have two – or three – chapters a week. Thank to my reviewers; I am pleased and proud that you like my stories. Somebody remarked that I was going a bit fast --- and yes, perhaps I am, but didn't Lothíriel express that worry somewhere in Chapter One?
Chapter Two – Dark Eyes
A couple of days before Aragorn's coronation I was sitting on a window bench in one of the hallways facing the gardens, talking to my cousin as Éomer passed us in the company of Éothain, his marshal and best friend since childhood. As they passed us, Éomer sent me a lopsided smile, and I blushed profoundly.
Faramir chuckled as he noticed my reaction. That very morning he had spoken with Éomer, who had given his consent to the betrothal and subsequent marriage between his sister and the Steward of Gondor. Aragorn had been most pleased; he only wished happiness for the White Lady of Rohan. Éomer had told me that he had at one time suspected that his sister had been infatuated with Aragorn, but that he had also feared that she would be hurt because Aragorn loved somebody else --- during a quiet moment over a couple of tankards of beer when they waited for Gondor's reaction prior to their ride to Dunharrow, Aragorn had told him about Arwen, the Elf princess, with whom he had been in love for many years. Everybody had expected that Arwen Evenstar would now come to Aragorn, but so far nobody had heard anything.
That explained the bittersweet smile on Aragorn's lips as he had congratulated his steward and his bride-to-be. Only his eyes had given him away, but he had been very sincere in his congratulations.
Faramir was happy; he was sure that my influence on Éomer might have had to something to do with it. He had expected more of an ordeal. I did not think so – and said as much, but Faramir just smiled. "Oh, cousin, I believe that you have more influence on Éomer's moods than you may realise," he said.
The blush returned to my cheeks. At that moment Éowyn came up to us, smiling at Faramir – and Faramir fortunately forgot all about me. I left them smilingly, knowing that they would not notice at all. Anybody who saw them would not doubt that Éowyn truly had forgotten all about Aragorn, if indeed she had ever had such notions.
Later that day Éomer and I had a chance to slip away. Father and Aragorn were in the middle of a discussion with Gandalf, my brothers had challenged the dwarf and the elf to a game, and my cousin and his lovely betrothed had gone for a walk (or so they said), and with everybody else thus occupied, we had the chance to go for a undisturbed walk in the garden.
"I have missed our walks and our conversations these past few days. Tomorrow is Aragorn's coronation and the day after I must leave to go back to Rohan. I have been away for so long, I cannot tarry any longer; I need to tell my people how Théoden King died – and that they now have a new king. I also have to talk to those, who have lost a loved one. We are not coming back until we are taking Théoden King home to be buried alongside his queen and his son, and I need to have Éowyn with me, at least until that time. Afterwards she will be marrying Faramir and leaving me."
He paused and turned towards me, taking my hands in his.
"I know," I said, "Éowyn told me, but we will be going with you to Edoras for the funeral ceremony, and the betrothal. We are all the family that Faramir has." I looked up into his face.
"I am pleased that you are – coming with us, I mean," Éomer said and looked intensely at me.
Then he squeezed my hands, inhaling sharply before he continued. "Lothíriel --- I cannot go anywhere – or let you go - without saying this. I am in love with you, and it has come to this that I cannot imagine ever being without you. But I am not in a position to offer you marriage right now; my country is in ruins, our crops are destroyed, our herds reduced and my people wounded. I need to find solutions as to how to feed my people, otherwise they will starve through the winter. I have still too much to do, my uncle has not even been buried, my sister is getting married, and I need to help my people before I can think of myself. Please understand that there is nothing I want more than to run to your father and ask for your hand in marriage --- but please be patient; I cannot not say how long it will take until I am able to offer you anything definite."
He looked solemnly at me, and I understood his pain. "I do understand," I say, "you need to keep your focus; your country has been deeply hurt." But I could not hide my disappointment that he did not trust that I would be there for him no matter what. It would not be me who complained that he could not be by my side all the time. I suppose that my voice must have betrayed my thoughts.
He perceived it, I could tell as he let go of my hands and in stead clasped the stone railing. Then he turned towards me again.
"Lothíriel ….. please, it is just that I want to be there for you entirely and not just half because I have so much else on my mind. I need to be king before I can be a husband and a lover. You should play second fiddle to none!" His voice was almost pleading and I realised that I had been unjust letting my disappointment show.
"Éomer, I am sorry if I sounded disappointed; I do understand and I will be patiently waiting for you – well, perhaps not patiently – but I will await until such time as you feel that you are able to ask for my hand in marriage. Just allow me to be by your side when you bury your uncle and when you are crowned king that is all I ask." I reached up and caressed his cheek.
He took my hand and kissed the palm as in a silent acceptance of my wish and then he looked into my eyes again, still holding my hand in his. "I will tell your father of my intentions and ask his permission to write to you – and perhaps visit you, if time allows it."
"I would like that very much," I said.
He kissed my hand and, placing a finger under my chin, he lifted my face towards him, letting his lips graze mine slightly, softly. "There is nothing that I want more right now than to kiss you properly, but I will not do so without your father's permission. I respect you and him too much for that; I will not compromise you." He smiled, and then he walked me to my room. Outside the door he kissed my forehead, and caressing my cheek tenderly, he said, "Goodnight, Lothíriel." Then he left.
I do not know how I got into my room and into my bed. Did I sleep that night? I must have, because I dreamed the most wonderful dreams about Éomer, but I cannot remember that I slept. When I woke I certainly did not feel rested at all.
The day dawned bright and sunny and Minas Tirith was decorated most gloriously in honour of the king. The ceremony was, according to the traditions of the kings of old, to take place on the stairs of the citadel. Gandalf was to perform the ceremony. All nobility, dignitaries, citizens of Minas Tirith were present. Soldiers of Rohan and Gondor formed the honour guard.
I stood at the bottom of the stairs together with my father. Éomer stood next to me together with Faramir and Éowyn. Gandalf placed the winged crown on Aragorn's head. He smiled at his friend and announced: "Now come the days of the king; may they be blessed!" Everybody cheered. Aragorn rose and turned towards us, addressing the crowd in the ancient words of his ancestor Elendil and as he did this, white flower petals rained down over us all from the White Tree, the symbol of the kings of Gondor.
Aragorn walked down the steps, greeting us all. A smile lurked in his eyes and his lips curled upwards as he watched us standing there together. Éomer inclined his head, as if acknowledging that his friend now wore a crown and he did not yet. They shared a look that I recognised; an exchange between good friends and brothers-in-arms. My father bowed, as did Faramir and Éowyn and I curtsied.
We fell in behind Aragorn to form the procession, but everybody stopped as we saw Legolas approaching. The ethereally handsome elf prince finally looked what he was; the Crown Prince of Mirkwood; he even wore a mithril circlet as a sign of his position. Behind him, a delegation of elves appeared.
A tall, dark haired woman, carrying a banner, stepped forth. Aragorn stopped in his stride and when we saw his stunned reaction, we knew why and who the woman was. His beloved Arwen had come to him after all. For a moment he just looked at her, as if he could not believe that she really was there. Then he took one step towards her relieving her of the banner – and kissed her, fiercely and passionately!
The crowd cheered, and smiles were seen on everybody's faces – including mine, I suppose. I felt Éomer's hand around mine. I looked up at him and read in his eyes, what he felt at this moment. I interpreted it as he would very much like to do the same.
"I hope that you do not think me too bold, my Lady?" he whispered in my ear as he kept my hand in his.
I smiled back at him. "In my opinion you are not, my Lord, but I cannot speak for all." I had seen Elphir's expression as he was watching us and I could tell that he certainly did not approve of the way that Éomer looked at me, nor the fact that he held my hand.
"I have seen the glances Elphir is casting my way," Éomer grinned. "Do not worry, Lothíriel, I will talk to your father today and tell him that I would like to woo you although I cannot promise you marriage right now."
And he did. Later that day just before the evening's celebrations were to begin he came to my door; he had spoken to my father and told him about our conversation. He had obtained his permission to write to me, to woo me and to escort me to the celebrations. He did not, however, proffer anything as to exactly what had been exchanged between the two. Neither did Ada when I asked him later that night.
So we joined the celebrations in the Great Hall. As we walked down the stairs, my hand on Éomer's arm, we could tell that we attracted many eyes and caused many a tongue to wag, but we did not care. We knew our own commitment and hopes as to what this would eventually lead to. And as for now, it was no one's business but ours.
We spent the next hours feasting, drinking and dancing. Éomer could dance, although he did it very reluctantly and he was not particularly fond of it. Éowyn laughed loudly when I commented on it. "You should have seen him – and heard all the bad excuses he was able to come up with when he was summoned to the dance lessons; he had to be dragged to them!" she snorted.
Éomer admitted that he had had this exercise forced upon him; the king had insisted that this was part of their upbringing and he had indeed hated it; much preferring riding and weapons training. "Although I have to admit that it has sometimes been convenient –--- now for instance," he grinned as he grabbed my waist and led me onto the dance floor. "Anything to keep me out of reach of your brothers."
He actually danced quite beautifully, steering me smoothly across the floor even in elaborate turns. But that he was indeed first and foremost a soldier, became obvious to me when a couple of dances later he steered us towards the open doors leading out onto the terrace.
"I should have known that soldiers always thinks strategically," I said as I leaned back in his arms and looked up into his laughing face.
"You should know, my Lady, being the daughter of one," he chuckled. "Indeed there is so little time left that I want to spend some of it in seclusion with you, without any interference from brothers or well meaning friends."
My father could not have missed seeing us leave, but as he did not react, he had obviously nothing against it. Not that I protested this cause of action; after all Éomer could not kiss me in front of everybody in the hall, now could he? And he did kiss me; he led me into the shadows under the boughs and leaves in the garden and kissed me very passionately.
"Did you ask my father's permission for this as well?" I breathed as he let go of my lips after the first, intense kiss.
"Well, yes …. and no," he grinned. "I did not exactly ask his permission to kiss you but I did perhaps give him a subtle hint that I might. I believe that he caught on, as he promised that he would see to it that especially Elphir did not come our way."
And then he kissed me again; kisses as I had never experienced before. It was exactly as wonderful as I had imagined, and feeling his body against mine certainly evoked the kind of feelings in me, which I am sure was entirely inappropriate for a Princess of the Realm of Gondor to have. And we were not even betrothed; our relationship was still based on an indefinite maybe. Well, I certainly did not care, and apparently neither did Éomer, because we pursued this for quite some time.
Needless to say we were both a bit flushed and ruffled, when Éomer led me back into the hall. I could tell from my father's face that it must be so and had the decency to feel slightly embarrassed whereas Éomer seemed unperturbed, although I presume nobody could be in doubt as to what we had been up to.
Éomer left me with my father and brothers, saying his farewells to everybody; the Rohirrim were leaving very early. Éowyn and Faramir also excused themselves; they would not be seeing each other either for a couple of months and obviously wanted to say goodbye in private.
Éowyn embraced me, promising me that she would write often and told me that she was looking forward to seeing me again – soon. "Although it will also be a sad occasion, I am pleased that you will be there for my formal betrothal – and the crowning of Éomer," she said as she gave me another sisterly hug. I would miss her almost as much as I would be missing her brother.
Éomer held my hand for a long while, squeezing it softly before he bowed over it and left. The last thing I saw of him was when he turned in the doorway and looked back at me, smiling softly. Then he nodded imperceptibly and left.
Next morning, at dawn, I stood on my balcony watching the Rohirrim leave. I saw Éomer ride to the head of the column and give the sign to set in motion, and I wondered – when would I see him again?
The next few weeks were busy with the preparations for the wedding of Aragorn and Arwen. And when the day arrived, it was a magnificent affair. I believe that everybody present rejoiced in seeing their faces as they spoke their vows to each other. They had waited so long for this. Witnessing this made me miss Éomer more than I had believed possible. I wished that he and his sister could have been there. I believe that my cousin felt the same.
A week after the wedding my family and I left to go back to Belfalas; we had also been away for a long time. Father had been away from his country for many months; he had matters that he needed to take care of. In future he would be spending a lot of time in Minas Tirith as one of King Elessar's chief advisors and he wanted matters settled so that Elphir could take over in his absence.
We had all missed Erchirion and Elphir, of course, his wife and son during our long absence. Erchirion had sent a ship of the Swan fleet to take us back and after a fairly uneventful journey; we arrived back in our country. The people of Belfalas had gathered on the piers to bid us welcome and they all rejoiced in seeing their royal family back. Indeed, we were happy to be back. And when I saw my big brother embrace his wife, I felt a small jolt to my heart. I wished that Éomer was here and I could feel his arms around me.
It was good to see my tall and gentle sailor brother again. He had ruled Dol Amroth well in the absence of my father, but it was clear to all that he had missed being able to set out to sea when he had had to carry the responsibility of ruling the country in Ada's and Elphir's absence.
That night we had a small, intimate family dinner and later, as I walked through the quiet corridors of the castle to get to my room, I of course rejoiced in being back home but could not help wondering how long it would be before I would leave it again. It was entirely up to Éomer. Not that I would regret it, only then it would be forever.
Life settled into its normal routines at the castle overlooking the sea and letters started arriving from Edoras; apparently Éomer was settling in as well to his routines and tasks. Not all of the letters were happy letters, though. I read much despair between the lines and through his words I also sensed that he missed me, although he did not actually say as much.
I was very disappointed when I received a letter from him saying that he would not be able to visit me before they were going to Minas Tirith to take Théoden King back to Edoras, but I understood that he had so much work to do that he could not set aside time to come to Dol Amroth.
Apparently his country was in a much worse shape than he had feared; there was so much to set right and I wrote to him suggesting that I come for a visit and perhaps be of assistance to him in his work; after all I had some administrative experience both from the Houses of Healing and from helping Ada over the years. I received a curt reply that it was impossible. He was sorry, but he could offer nothing at present except that I would have to spend a lot of time alone; Éowyn was very busy, too, and would not be able to be with me.
That letter left me almost fuming. The cad – I was really quite angry with him; why did he not think that I could be of help to him? If he really had meant what he said that he wanted me to be his queen, then this would also be my work, to set things right in our – his - country and help him doing it. Had he not understood that I wanted nothing better than to be by his side and help --- promises of marriage and vows notwithstanding? I did not care that he had not asked me formally; our exchanges of words – and kisses – counted as much with me. Who did he think I was? I had not suggested this because I wanted to be entertained and looked after.
That letter left me more than a bit angry and I told him quite harshly in my reply. I must say that he got the point. His next letter held his apologies and assurances to the effect that he knew who and what I was as well as the comforting promise that soon we would meet in Minas Tirith. Some comfort, indeed! I did understand that he had to put his country before me ---- he had warned me that it would be so. It was just so hard being without him and wanting so much to be by his side. That still seemed so far off.
But then one day, shortly before we were to travel to Minas Tirith to await the return of the Rohirrim and to join the funeral procession to Edoras, my father received a missive from Rohan. He summoned me and handed it to me without saying anything. I looked up at my father, who was not quite able to hide his mirth.
I could hardly believe what I read, "Ada, Éomer is coming – here, at this time? But ….? And it is today!"
My heart started pounding and I could hardly breathe, this could only mean one thing. That he had changed his mind; that he would be coming ---- to ask me to marry him. Much to Ada's astonishment I threw the letter on the table, ran out of the door and up to my room. I tore off my dress and found my riding outfit. Then I hurried to the stables, had my horse saddled and rode off. Not alone though. My father had acted quickly and had summoned a small guard detachment to accompany me, and they rode out of the gates together with me.
An hour's ride from the city I saw a party of horsemen approaching under the banner of the White Horse. When they closed in, I recognized Gamling …. and Éomer. We halted our horses and waited, and suddenly there they were. I met Éomer's smiling eyes and could not help sending him a most adoring smile of my own.
Then I remembered who I was - and my entourage. I pulled myself together and greeted them with dignity in my capacity as Princess of Dol Amroth, "Welcome to Dol Amroth, my Lords; it is good to see you here."
And then completely falling out of character, exclaiming, "Oh, Éomer I have missed you so." I noticed Gamling's grinning face and heard the chuckles from my guards as well as Éomer's slightly embarrassed grin as he steered Firefoot up alongside my mount and reached out to take my hand. I could almost feel the smirks of both my guards and Éomer's behind our backs as they followed us. Éomer remained at my side as we rode into the city.
My father, my brothers and my brother's wife stood on the stairs, bidding Éomer and his entourage a hearty welcome, my father expressing his surprise – and joy - of Éomer's sudden visit. Éomer looked impatient as if he could do without this welcoming ceremony and shot me a meaningful glance. Then he said. "Imrahil, I, too, am pleased to be here, but I do need to speak to you in private at once; will that be possible?"
"Certainly," my father said, "but do you not want to change out of your armour and get the road dust washed off, before …"
Éomer interrupted him, "No, thank you, my friend, later. I really need to speak to you; it cannot wait, I must do this now!"
I knew exactly what his purpose would be, and I could tell that so did my brothers. Amrothos chuckled loudly, and I lashed out at him, hitting him in the chest. Elphir snorted disdainfully and Amelica smacked him on the arm. Erchirion looked a little perplexed but soon caught on and shared a grin with Amrothos.
Amrothos took my arm, "A mightily impatient man that you have chosen, I must say! I believe that you should go there, they might need you soon, little sister – and you should not be too far away."
Sometimes I really hate him. And sometimes he is just a good, big brother! This time I was quite unsure as to which sentiment was the foremost.
We stood outside the door to Ada's study, trying to hear what was being said on the other side of the door – when suddenly the door opened. "Oh, there you are, Lothy," Ada said, "come in, Éomer has something to say to you ….. and you stay here," he added, raising his hand as Amrothos made a move as if intending to follow me into the room.
I must have looked a fright; my hair was still in a braid from where strands of hair had escaped, my cheeks were flushed, and I realised with a pang that I still wore my riding outfit. Still, from the look in Éomer's eyes I might have worn a flour sack and he would still think me beautiful. I could sense the heat rise in my cheeks.
Ada looked at me, a smile moving up into his eyes. "Daughter, Éomer King has approached me with a request. He proposes marriage to you …."
He did not get any further, before I interrupted him. "Oh, Ada, you need not be so formal. You know what my answer will be. Yes, I will gladly marry Éomer…" and then I flung my arms around Éomer's neck. And what could he do besides kissing me?
Ada coughed discreetly, but as he discovered that it had little effect, he left us. That is what he must have done, but I did not discover this until much later when I freed myself from Éomer's arms with a giggle. "Éomer – I think we need to …. You must be tired …. And, and you should have to wash and change. What am I thinking of?"
"Love, you are rambling," he said, still with his arms around me. "And yes, I do need to change – but tired, never. I am so happy that you want to be my wife, that you want to be with me, even though I left you with such a vague promise," he said.
"Yes, how come you changed your mind? In one of your last letters you were still talking about so much work that you did not have the time to come and see me?" I inquired with my arms around his neck. "And when you did not want me to come for a visit either, I was really quite angry with you as you may recall?"
"Actually, Gamling and Éothain teamed up on me and decided that it was time that I gave my dispatch riders a pause and went to see you in stead. Gamling told me that it would be better for me to have you with me instead of your letters – and he also convinced me that you were just what I needed by my side. Frankly he told me that I was being plain stupid that I had not asked you to marry me and whisked you off to Edoras at once."
"Hm, I fully agree with Gamling – and I am happy that you changed your mind, my love. I thought I would have died, if you had not come to your senses," I laughed and kissed him again, but soon I released him and sent for the servants to have a bath made ready for him and went to my own room to get washed and changed for supper.
I felt like as I was walking on clouds, and I am afraid that we spent most of the evening in our own, little world looking into each others' eyes and holding hands – much to Amrothos' regret. He left us murmuring 'that he would never have thought that Éomer would stoop to acting as silly and love-struck as that.'
The next day, Ada summoned me to his study. He had discussed matters with Éomer in the morning and they had agreed that our wedding would take place at midsummer next year. I protested, but Ada was very firm on this. And Éomer agreed, he needed the time to make preparations for my coming and to and make some changes at Meduseld, the king's hall.
"After all, there has not been a queen at Meduseld for forty years. You can tell the male dominance, and not even Éowyn has been able to change this. The royal apartments are gloomy at best, I need to do some redecoration – and then you can do the rest when you move in. You can see for yourself when we get to Edoras, and I believe that you will agree with me."
I would have lived with Éomer in a cave and been happy as long as he was there. However, I could see the point in this argument, so my protests quickly ceased, but midsummer next year seemed so very far away.
The next couple of days went by in a hurry; we were happy to be together but I was also very busy because the entire family – except for Erchirion - were to leave together with Éomer and his men to go to Minas Tirith. Although Éomer was very reluctant, he agreed on going by sea together with the rest of us.
The poor man, he had never set foot on a ship before, but as the sea was rather calm, he soon came to enjoy it and admitted that it was easier going to Minas Tirith by the river than over land. Although, he did have some trouble getting Firefoot settled down enough to get him onboard. Only a very sharp command in Rohirric made the fierce stallion succumb and follow his master. I had always thought that horse of his to be just as stubborn as his master.
At Minas Tirith, Faramir welcomed us. He had, of course, hoped that Éowyn would be with Éomer, but took the disappointment with dignity. He understood that she had to stay at Edoras to make everything ready, after all Edoras would be housing a large number of guests for the funeral and the crowning of Éomer. He also informed Éomer that Éothain and the guard of honour had already arrived at Minas Tirith the day before yesterday and were ready to bring the late king home.
He lifted an eyebrow when he saw Éomer and his family from Dol Amroth arriving together, but his grin showed that he had guessed why. As he kissed my cheek, he whispered, "I believe that congratulations are in order, my dear cousin?"
Éomer heard this, "Yes, dear brother, indeed they are," he said, "and perhaps you should congratulate me even more than Lothíriel; who knows who is getting the better bargain." The two men laughed. "And I presume that my dear friend and marshal has not been able to hold his tongue? I suppose that he and Gamling must have conspired against me to have this scheme work."
"Indeed, Éothain told me that you had – well – taken the road over Belfalas to come here," Faramir said, "and I rather guessed your purpose. Remember, I have corresponded with your sister regularly these past weeks, and I am well informed of the moods of the king." Chuckling, he led us to our quarters, making sure that the servants had everything ready for us.
Aragorn and Arwen hosted a dinner that evening in Éomer's honour. They were accompanying us to Edoras along with Lord Elrond, Queen Arwen's father, her brothers and her grandparents, Gandalf, and the hobbits.
As it were, we did not need to make an announcement. Arwen and Aragorn knew instantly that Éomer had taken the final step and asked me to marry him and they congratulated us, promising that they would come to our wedding.
The dwarf, Gimli and the elf, Legolas were also present and would be joining us. After the funeral Legolas had promised Gimli that he would visit the glittering caves below the Hornburg with him.
Now, Gimli was coming towards us. I knew that he and Éomer had had a mock argument since they met, but I had only learned recently that it involved the Lady Galadriel. The dwarf bowed to me and then turned towards Éomer.
"Éomer King," he said, "I must say from the depths of my heart that you are a lucky man; although I cannot for my life understand why a princess of such beauty would choose a rough-edged horse master like you!" His brown eyes twinkled at me.
"No, I must say that I am lucky that I secured her consent before she met you again, Gimli," Éomer grinned. It was obvious that he enjoyed very much this friendly banter with the grumpy dwarf.
"But," he continued, "I believe that this may be the time for you to bring out your axe, Master Dwarf, because I cannot honestly say that Lady Galadriel is the most beautiful creature in Middle Earth – and perhaps Aragorn will have to bring out Andúril as well, because of what I must say now."
The rest of the company had fallen silent and were now looking at the two adversaries, Aragorn with an amused look on his face. "Why is that, dear friend?" he asked.
"Because I cannot say either that Queen Arwen is more beautiful; true my choice is still the night – but I cannot lie; I must say that Lothíriel, the future queen of Rohan, is my choice of beauty."
Aragorn laughed heartily. "Well, friend, if you did not think so, you were not worthy of her – and I trust that Arwen will survive your judgement, as long as she is my choice over all else."
Arwen smiled and nodded. "True, my love. And I too commend your choice, Éomer King."
Gimli grunted. "I can hardly say anything to that, now can I? And I would be a poor friend to Rohan and to princess Lothíriel, if I start off by beheading the King of Rohan. Let us lay this argument to rest; you have chosen the night and I the day – and let it stay at that."
I caught Éomer's eyes and I blushed from the way that he looked at me. Lady Galadriel came up to me; her blue eyes twinkled at the exchange. I had seen her before – at Arwen's and Aragorn's wedding, but as always her ageless beauty struck me as well as the way, her gaze seemed to penetrate your very thoughts.
"Long have I known that your thoughts were with the young king of Rohan; he is a good choice – you will live long and happily with him and your country will prosper under your reign. Treasure always what you have, my Lady."
I nodded silently; she sent me one of her enigmatic smiles and left me. In my head I heard her voice: "Be happy, Lothíriel. Days of sorrow may follow you as well, but the days of happiness will be abundant."
Two days later, we all set out for Edoras in the funeral procession taking Théoden King back to Rohan. I only saw my dear king periodically during the days of travel. He, of course, headed the procession and the solemn purpose did not leave us much time to spend together. Only when we camped for the night, we had the opportunity to take a short walk, to catch up and to talk.
During these nightly talks, Éomer told me a bit more about his childhood, how Éowyn and he had lost their parents at an early age and Théoden King had fetched them to Edoras to raise them as he was their only living relative. Obviously he had loved his uncle like a father, and it had hurt him tremendously when he had seen his uncle succumb to the evil ministrations of Saruman.
He also spoke of his cousin, and how he had found him dead as a consequence of a skirmish at the Ford of the Isen, where the riders had been ambushed by orcs and killed to the last man. He told me of his subsequent banishment from Rohan, and the shock of seeing the banishment order signed by his uncle, even though he knew that no way Théoden King would have signed it, had he been in his right mind.
He did not withhold much about his past; he told me – although a bit reluctantly – about the young girl he had once loved and lost to a fever. He had been very young, but he had loved her very much and had been determined to marry her, although her father had been against it.
We talked about the present, too, and of our future together. There was no doubt that he loved me. If I had learned nothing else about Éomer, I had learned that he was honest – to a fault. He could not hide his feelings, even if he had wanted to. Some called this his biggest weakness, but I could not see it as that – on the contrary. I had seen too many slick courtiers in my short life, and much preferred the honesty and sincerity that characterised my future husband.
We laughed a lot; in fact Éothain told me that they had not seen Éomer laugh so much for several years.
A couple of days' ride from Edoras, we saw riders approaching from the direction of the city. Éomer halted the train and we awaited the arrival of the riders. When they approached, we could tell that Éowyn was one of them.
Éomer called out to his sister. "Has anything happened, dear sister, or are you just anxious to see your brother?"
His sister called back. "Nothing has happened, do not worry, oh great king – and it is certainly not you alone that I am anxious to see! I just thought that I, well, wanted to ride out and welcome you all."
From the way her eyes shone as they caught the young Steward of Gondor, it was quite obvious to us all who she had really come to see.
That night, during one of our nightly walks, Éomer and I spoke of our forthcoming marriage and our future life as king and queen of the Mark. Éomer was quite sure that I knew more about being royalty than he did. "I am pleased that I shall have a woman like you by my side, I am a warrior, not a diplomat," he said.
"It is true, I do know some things about ruling a country – my father has seen to that and he has always said that I was about as good as Elphir when it came to politics and diplomacy – and I also know some things about a royal household," I said, "but I know absolutely nothing about running a royal household in Rohan, nor about the customs of your country."
"Do not worry about that, the king's housekeeper Fréalin will help you with everything. She is an old warhorse; she barks but she does not bite – and she is a very good teacher. Ask Éowyn – in spite of the fact that she never was able to teach Éowyn how to cook." Éomer grinned. "You might want to ask Aragorn about that."
He continued, "and Mélia, Éothain's wife will also be a great help to you – and Cerwyn, Gamling's wife. You need not fret, my love."
"I am not afraid – well, I suppose that any young woman about to leave her family to settle in a new country will be apprehensive, but as long as I am with you, nothing can scare me."
Éomer embraced me. "I love you, you know – and I can hardly wait to make you my wife. But first there is the funeral and my coronation and then Éowyn's wedding ….."
"Aye, and then – a long, long time afterwards our wedding," I sighed.
"The months will pass quickly, you will see," Éomer tried to reassure me.
He kissed me warmly and we moulded against each other; his warm hands started roaming all over my body. They burned through the fabric of my clothes – and we were completely lost in each other, forgetting the surroundings; that is until we heard somebody cough discreetly. Éowyn and my cousin had found us.
"Your father thought that you had been away for an awfully long time, so Faramir and I volunteered – ahem – to find you and we seem to have gotten here right in time," she smirked.
Faramir chuckled, as he winked at me.
"Thank you so much, sister. Is this how you repay my lenience towards you?" Éomer groaned into my hair.
"Oh, but then Faramir can be trusted – contrary to you." Éowyn said as she smiled affectionately at her brother, who murmured that he trusted Faramir perfectly.
"Well, we had better get back to camp and get some sleep. Tomorrow we shall be in Edoras," Éomer said as he took my hand and led me towards the tent, I now shared with Éowyn. Éowyn and Faramir disappeared into the tent – to say goodnight, presumably – leaving Éomer and me standing outside. "Charming," I mumbled, "they get the privacy of the tent and we get to stay out here."
Éomer chuckled. "I suppose that we shall have to live with it, besides nobody will see us anyway – not in this darkness. Not that I care. We are several leagues from everything." He bent down and kissed me softly. "Goodnight, my sweet love; sleep well and dream pleasantly about me."
He then ducked into the tent to drag Faramir away from his sister, grinning at me as he hauled my cousin towards his own tent, offering him some goodnight ale. I chuckled and went into the tent where I found a blushing and grinning Éowyn.
"Oh, he so enjoyed that; playing the big brother protecting the virtue of his little sister," she said.
"You are lucky only to have one," I said, "I have three. Speaking of brothers; strangely enough the two who are here have not been bothering us much these past few days." I pondered.
"No wonder," said Éowyn, "Faramir told me that they are under strict orders from your father to leave you alone."
Oh, Ada – I love you so, I thought. "Well," I said, "I think that I had better do as my betrothed asked of me – go to bed and dream of him."
Éowyn giggled. "Do that, I will do the same – not dream of Éomer, though."
We blew out the lamps and changed into our nightclothes. We lay down on our simple cots. "Goodnight," Éowyn murmured, "and sweet dreams, princess."
"Goodnight – and the same to you, sweet lady," I said.
But sleep had a hard time coming. I found that dreaming about the man that you love – and with whom you have just shared intimate caresses perhaps was not such a good idea after all. Every time I closed my eyes, I could feel his lips against mine, his hands on my body, and then my eyes were wide open again.
By the Valar, I had a feeling that I would be very frustrated, indeed, before we even got married. Although I was still a maiden, I did know what went on between a man and a woman – in theory. I had a distinct feeling that this was not the case as far as my husband-to-be was concerned. After all, none of my brothers were innocents. And soldiers and sailors are much alike.
For all the Gondorian stringent approach to propriety, reality said something else – it was very much a question of keeping up appearances. I had not lived a sheltered life; various maids in my father's household had made sure that I was well informed on the subject ever since they deemed me of an appropriate age to learn about such matters. As I had no mother, they obviously had felt an obligation to educate me on the subject. Although, I hardly think that a mother would have told me the things that they did! And I knew from an early age where my brothers sneaked off to – and what they did. I had learned that it was that universal; men were supposed to gain experience, women were supposed to stay virtuous – and ignorant.
Although the feelings that Éomer evoke in me were new to me, I was, indeed, very well aware of what it was he made me feel when he kissed me and touched me the way he did last night. It led me to believe that that side of our marriage would …… no, I had to think of something else, otherwise I would never fall asleep and would look a fright when we arrived at Edoras tomorrow.
I closed my eyes and tried to relax and finally sleep must have come to me, because when I next opened my eyes, it was morning and Éowyn sat up in her cot, yawning and stretching. "Good morning," she said, "I gather from your sighs and moans this night that you really did dream of my rogue of a brother?"
I blushed. I really did not recall anything – and then she had the audacity to laugh at me. "Relax, I did not hear a thing," she grinned.
"Éowyn, at some point I am going to get revenge," I groaned and then grinned. "I shall just have to tell Éomer to keep you and Faramir apart while we are in Edoras – and then we shall see who laughs." She threw a pillow at me.
We washed, dressed, got some breakfast and then went to get our horses. Most of the men were already mounted and ready to go. As usual, Éomer had been up before first light, and he was at the head of the procession along with Gamling and Éothain as usual. Éomer looked around him and spotted me; he smiled. I smiled back and then took my place in the procession between Ada and Elphir, who by the way was more relaxed around Éomer and I than usual, probably because Amelica and Alphros were with him.
"You look well rested, Lothy. Did you sleep well last night?" My father asked. "Yes, Ada, I did – and thank you for letting me have some time alone with Éomer," I said.
"I trust that I shall not regret my lenience these past few days?" he asked.
"No, Ada, nothing improper has happened." Although it might easily have, I mused, hiding a smile. Elphir snorted disdainfully. Well, not entirely relaxed then.
We rode on for a couple of hours and then we saw it! Edoras. The roof of the Golden Hall shone in the sunlight and the city was beautifully posed against the surrounding mountains. I held my breath. Éomer had nothing to fear, his country was as beautiful as the place where I was born – in its own way. Although it was nothing as grand as Minas Tirith, Edoras held its own against it. Éowyn had told me that it was one of Éomer's major concerns that I might not find Rohan as beautiful as Dol Amroth.
We rested and walked our horses for a while. I was walking beside Amrothos as Éomer came up to us. He patted my youngest brother on the back. "May I borrow your enchanting sister for a little while?" he asked. Amrothos grinned. "You may, my Lord. Provided you behave yourself."
Éomer raised an eyebrow. "I shall behave just as well as you usually do."
"I would not call that a solid guarantee," my brother murmured.
The two men shared a grin, and I could not help thinking that I would give a lot to know what they were referring to – although I might have an idea already.
Éomer took me by the hand and led me a little distance from the others. We stood looking towards Edoras. He kept my hand in his. He nodded towards Edoras. "What think you? Can you live here without missing the sea too much?" he asked. I noticed a slight tremor in his voice.
"Yes," I assured him, "yes, Éomer. I am certain that I can live anywhere with you and be happy."
"Are you nervous?" he asked. "I am, you know. And that is not a feeling that I am used to."
I smiled. "No, not particularly. Perhaps slightly excited on your behalf. It is an important day tomorrow."
"Aye," he said quietly, "tomorrow I shall truly be the king of the Mark." He walked me back to my horse and kissed my hand before he gave me a hand up. He reached up and squeezed my hand. "I will see you at Edoras. I must ride ahead with Éowyn and Gamling to welcome the procession before the Golden Hall." He gave my hand another reassuring squeeze and went to his horse, mounted and rode away.
We arrived at Edoras about two hours after Éomer and his party. As we rode up the steep path towards Meduseld, we saw Éomer and his sister step out on the porch outside the great doors. Éomer was still in his armour, but Éowyn had changed into a dark-green dress.
They greeted us all, and Éomer gave a solemn address welcoming us all officially to Edoras. The bier with the body of the late king was placed in the Great Hall until the funeral the following day. We were all shown to our chambers; it must have been a difficult task to find room for all of us; I was to share Éowyn's room with her, the king's bedroom was given to Arwen and Aragorn, and Faramir and Amrothos were to share Théodred's old room; Elphir and his family had been given quarters in one of the advisor's chambers. Éomer resided in his old room; he had told me that he did not want to use his uncle's bedroom until after the funeral and all the guests had left Edoras.
The elves had put up their tents outside the city and the large number of dignitaries and nobles from Gondor and Rohan had to reside either in tents or with friends and relatives at Edoras. Éowyn murmured to me that Edoras looked as if it would virtually burst at its seams at any moment.
As Éowyn was showing us to our rooms, I took the opportunity to study my surroundings. On our way up the steep hill towards Meduseld, I had seen that the buildings in Edoras were all intricately decorated with carvings of horses. The walls of the Golden Hall were hung with tapestries both with the white horse on the green background and the sunburst symbol. Meduseld, however, was the only place with decorations in gold. The Golden Hall was, indeed, an appropriate name.
Éowyn's room was simply, but functionally furnished and decorated. I liked it very much, although it was quite different from the elaborate rooms, which I was used to from the palace at Belfalas. I told Éowyn as much as we were getting ready for supper. She shrugged. "In Rohan we are more practical than anything else – or at least I am," she said.
The door opened and a tall woman with reddish-tinged hair and blue eyes entered. "Mélia!" Éowyn exclaimed and embraced her. "It is so good to see you. I trust Éothain was pleased to be home as well?"
"Not as pleased and relieved as I was to see him," the woman replied and sent us a smile. She was visibly pregnant.
"Lothíriel," Éowyn said, "this is Mélia, Éothain's wife. I believe that Éomer means for her to be your companion after the two of you wed."
We greeted each other and Mélia smiled at me. "I can see why Éomer has fallen for you, my Lady," she said, "and Éothain and I are so happy for you." Her blue eyes twinkled and I knew instantly that I would come to like this straightforward woman very much.
"When are you due?" Éowyn asked.
Mélia smiled. "In four months, I should think, so I will probably not be able to attend your wedding, I am afraid," she replied and added for my benefit. "It is my second child," she said and added with a smirk. "I should warn you, my Lady. The men of the Mark do not waste much time once they are home." Éowyn and she roared with laughter and I joined in, even though I blushed slightly at the suggestion.
Once we got our breath back, I said, "I think that you will find that Gondorian men are no better. My sister-in-law will tell you as much." No sooner had Elphir been reunited with his family, before his wife was with their second child.
I looked at Mélia, whose laughing blue eyes were watching both Éowyn and me. It was good to know that I would have somebody like her for a close companion and friend as Éowyn would be living in Ithilien.
There was a knock on the door. "Enter," Éowyn called.
Éomer looked in. "You are having a good time I can tell; I could hear you far down the corridor. Lothy, there is somebody I would like you to meet. Will you come with me?"
He saw Mélia. "I see that you two have already met. Good." He smiled at his friend's wife. "You look well, Mélia, and I can tell that my marshal does not waste his time, when he is home." Mélia smiled at him, it was obvious that she liked the young king.
Then he turned towards me. "Come," he said.
I nodded and excused myself to the others. We went down the corridor towards the kitchen.
"I would like you to meet Fréalin, she was Théoden's housekeeper and she was almost a mother to Théodred – and to Éowyn and me ever since we arrived at Edoras. She is very important to me."
We entered the kitchen region of Meduseld. A tall, grey-haired woman around Théoden King's age stood at the large stove. Everybody was busy, presumably preparing the supper for all the guests, but everybody looked up as Éomer and I entered. They acknowledged us, but I had already learned that the Éorlingas do not waste their time curtsying every time they come upon a member of their royal family. Good - I liked that.
When the housekeeper saw the reaction of the others, she turned towards us. Her grey eyes looked directly and inquisitively at me. I looked back with hesitation. She smiled, as she walked up to Éomer, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly before she let it go.
"Éomer, my lad. It is well that the king is now back at Edoras for his final rest."
"Of course, Fréalin. I did not dare do anything else, I promised, did I not?" Éomer smiled.
He took me by the hand and pulled me closer. "Fréalin, and I kept another promise. I would like you to meet the future queen of Rohan; the woman I love and whom I spoke to you about. Lothíriel of Dol Amroth."
Fréalin's wise eyes examined me; I held her gaze and she nodded to me. Then she turned towards Éomer. "You have chosen well, my lad – and that you are in love, I can tell a mile off. Welcome to Edoras, my Lady!" And then she curtsied to me.
Éomer raised an eyebrow, obviously in surprise. I smiled and thanked Fréalin for her kind words and told her that I was pleased that she was there to help me; surely there were any number of things that I did not know about running a royal household. She smiled back at me and I knew that the older woman would be a great support to me.
As we were leaving the kitchen, Éomer told me that Fréalin had never done this before to anyone except Théoden King. "Hell, she does not even address me formally – I am still her "lad" and so was Théodred. You must have made quite an impression on her." He said as he put his arms around me in the privacy of the corridor.
"I am honoured, especially since I do not believe that she is easily impressed," I said leaning my head against his shoulder.
"Did I not tell you that you would make a wonderful queen?" Éomer inquired, as he let his lips glide over my cheek.
"Actually, you did not, but now I am beginning to believe that I might," I said. "Now, shoo – you have obligations to fulfil, your Majesty."
"Aye, unfortunately I do. I have a most heavy duty to perform today, as I have to talk to several parents who are bereaved of a son and numerous women bereaved of a husband. They come from some of the villages furthest from Edoras, but have come in for the funeral; they want to honour our late king." His brow furrowed at the thought.
"I am grateful that you are here with me," he added and left me with a slight kiss on my lips.
I went back to Éowyn's room to dress for dinner. I had tried to pack things that were suitable for the occasion, and now roamed through the closet to find something suitable for this evening's supper. I found that a dark blue dress would be appropriate, braiding my hair and setting it with silver clips. For the funeral next day, I had chosen one of my more formal gowns, dark-green with golden threads and a cloak and veil in the same colours. I had had it made at home a long time before the siege of Gondor – at the time not even remotely realising that it was in the colours of Rohan.
Éowyn, of course, pointed out this fact immediately. "You will match Éomer perfectly and you will please our people tremendously with this gesture, knowingly or not," she said as she was adjusting her own dark-blue dress with the golden embroideries.
Supper that night was a rather quiet affair and the evening ended rather early. Only Éomer, my father, Aragorn, Faramir and some of the marshals of the Mark stayed behind. "Probably to talk memories of Théoden – the male way, which probably includes a keg of ale," Éowyn said as she and I went to our room to get a good night's sleep.
Next morning dawned bright and sunny. It was still very early when I woke, but it looked like it would be a beautiful day. Éowyn was still sleeping, but I found it impossible to sleep anymore. I got up and put on a simple dress; there would be amble time to dress up later. I walked out onto the terrace surrounding the Golden Hall and saw Éomer leaning against one of the pillars looking out over his city, seemingly deep in thoughts.
I went up to stand beside him and put an arm around his waist. He did not react, only smiled. "Good morning, my love, did you sleep well?" he asked as he turned towards me.
"I did," I affirmed, "what about you?"
"Not particularly well; first I dreamed of you – which left me no rest at all, and then I got to think about today."
"Are you nervous?" I asked as I leaned my head against his chest and put both my arms around his waist.
"No, not exactly nervous. A little sad, I suppose, and perhaps a bit apprehensive, just as before a big battle. The thought of finally saying goodbye to uncle makes me very sad – and being crowned king makes me a little jittery, I must admit."
"You will do fine at both, I am sure. Remember this is also a joyous occasion; you are to tell your people formally of your sister's betrothal to Faramir."
"Aye – and that they will soon have a new queen. You are right, Lothy. There is nothing to worry about – except for the fact that it will be the first time that I really address all of my people as their king, not just barking out orders as the Third Marshal." Éomer's face still held a trace of uncertainty, but his eyes lit up.
He kissed me lightly. "Will you be joining me for breakfast? There will be no formal breakfast today. Later we shall have a grand feast – the Rohirric way." He laughed. "I am afraid that the way of the Éorlingas, even when it is a funeral, is far more boisterous than if we were in Gondor but you will like it, I am sure."
"I am sure that I will, but as for breakfast, I believe that Éowyn meant to have it served in our room today. Besides I believe that it is time for both of us to change into our official roles; there will be plenty to time to be private afterwards," I insisted.
"Aye, love of my life, there will – but as you will soon find out, never enough," Éomer sighed, then he kissed my cheek and we went our separate ways.