Chapter Three
As promised Éowyn had a late breakfast served in our room. Afterwards we changed into our ceremonial dresses. Mélia stayed with us and, as she was helping me fastening a veil over my hair, she said, "Do not look so serious, my Lady. We mourn Théoden King, but it is also a joyous occasion, because we celebrate the coronation of our new king. Besides, Éomer will announce the betrothals as well, and if that is not cause for celebration I do not know what is."
She was right of course; was this not what I had just told Éomer?
A detachment of the Royal Guard was waiting to carry the king's bier to the burial ground of the Rohirrim kings. Éomer walked right behind them. Aragorn, Gandalf, the lords of Rohan, Faramir, my father, my brothers, Éowyn and I completed the procession. The people of Edoras stood silently along the route; only the sound of muffled drums was heard.
I only caught a quick glimpse of Éomer's face. It was drawn and solemn and his eyes were darker than ever as he looked straight ahead of him. His full lips were drawn into a thin, straight line.
At the newly opened mound where Théoden's long dead queen rested, the procession halted and the guard prepared to set in the king's bier. Éowyn's voice rose in a traditional Rohirric litany for the king and soon a much deeper voice followed – Éomer's. The crowd listened in deadly silence as the siblings honoured their dead uncle in song. The haunting rhythm of the song grasped my heart and tears welled in my eyes, although I did not understand the words.
When the song ended, Éomer addressed his people talking of the great deeds of his uncle on the battlefield before Minas Tirith. He praised his courage and assured the people that their king had died a honourable death, which would permit him to join his fathers in the halls at the golden shores far away. He held his head high as he spoke, but it was obvious that he was moved; the tremble in his voice gave that away.
The guard lifted up the bier, and Éomer and his sister went up to it. Éowyn placed a small bouquet of Symbelmÿne on her uncle's chest and they stood hand in hand with their heads bowed as the king was laid to rest. The guards closed the mound and we all bowed our heads in respect of the dead king.
Aragorn, my father and the other dignitaries paid their respects to the late king bowing before the grave and then turned to walk up the steep path to Meduseld. The crowd dispersed and walked in silence from the burial ground.
Faramir and I stayed at a respectful distance from Éomer and his sister, who remained at the grave for some time. Éomer held his arm around his sister, who was crying silently.
Finally Faramir moved up to the siblings and with a nod to Éomer, he freed Éowyn from her brother's grip. Éomer nodded too. Then he looked up and saw me standing in the background. He held my gaze for a while. Faramir put an arm around Éowyn's shoulders and started leading her up the path. She smiled at him through tears as they walked along. She turned and looked back at Éomer. "Do not linger too long, brother, the day must continue."
Éomer acknowledged this with a slight nod and held out his hand to me. "Walk with me, Lothy. I want to visit Théodred as well on this day." I went to him and took his hand and we walked to the last mound in the line – Théodred's grave, still not yet covered by grass and Symbelmÿne.
"He was like a brother to me, and it was he, who should have been standing here today waiting to be crowned king. I need a moment with him before I walk up the hill to be crowned. You do understand, do you not?" Éomer looked at me with dark, questioning eyes.
"I do understand, my love, and I will stay here with you and walk back up the hill with you." He gave my hand a squeeze and then got down on one knee beside the mound bowing his head and softly whispering in Rohirric, his voice shaking with emotion.
I stood behind him waiting and took in the sight of the man kneeling before his cousin's grave. Here was the man, I had come to love more than I had thought possible in such a short time. At this moment I also knew that I would love him to my dying day no matter what. Whether he was the strong, fierce, commanding warrior – or the man that I now saw in grief.
I smiled at him as he turned to stand before me in the golden sunlight. In the early morning when we had met on the terrace, he had only worn a pair of simple breeches and a loose, white shirt, but now he was dressed in the ceremonial red leather armour and the long tunic he had worn at Aragorn's coronation. From his shoulders hung the long cloak of the king – dark green with intricate embroideries in gold, horses' heads and the sunburst symbol. His blond hair shone like the gold on his collar and cloak.
"You are truly the king," I whispered softly. "Let us go and get you crowned as such; your people and your friends are waiting for you."
"My princess," he whispered back, his dark eyes blazing into mine. Then he took my hand and raised it to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of it and he continued to hold it as we walked slowly up the hill towards Meduseld.
We parted at the bottom of the stairs. I went into the hall to stand with my family. The Royal Guard flanked Éomer's path into the Golden Hall. I could easily understand that it would feel strange to him to walk up to the throne which had been his uncle's, knowing that it would be his now. He had told me of his feelings when they had returned to Edoras and he had walked up to the throne for the first time. He had stood at the foot of the dais, just looking at the throne and then he had moved up to it, but had only reluctantly sat down.
The doors opened and Éomer entered the Golden Hall, flanked by his marshals Gamling and Éothain. I was proud of my betrothed as I watched the marshals lead him to the throne and he stood before it, facing the crowd. Éomer knelt before the oldest of the lords of Rohan, who set the crown of the King of the Mark on his head – a golden band with a single white stone. In a deep, firm voice Éomer swore the oath to his people and his land, both in Rohirric and in Westron, before he rose and sat on the throne and his people bowed to him. The words "Hail, Éomer, son of Éomund, King of the Mark!" roared through the Golden Hall.
I smiled to myself; I could see his unease as he rose to address his people for the first time as their crowned king, but his voice was firm as he spoke. I saw his pride as he called his sister and Faramir to him. "On this day of both mourning and rejoicing I am proud to officially announce the betrothal of my beloved sister Éowyn of Rohan to Faramir, Steward of Gondor and Prince of Ithilien," he said, smiling at them both. He took their hands and joined them.
Éothain brought a golden goblet and the betrothed couple drank a toast to each other and to Éomer. Faramir gave his betrothed a slight kiss on the lips.
The crowd cheered, and Éomer silenced them by raising a hand, and continued, "The wedding will take place in four months at Minas Tirith, the home of the groom. This is according to the traditions of Gondor, and therefore unfortunately many of you will not be able to attend it."
"But," he said, beckoning to my father and me to join him before the dais, "you will not be bereaved of a celebration." He walked down the steps of the dais to take my hand. I looked up at him. No, I could not be nervous anymore; this was the man I loved. I looked boldly into his eyes and smiled, and his hazel eyes smiled back at me as we walked up to stand on the dais, facing the crowd.
"I am proud to announce that I have asked Lothíriel, Princess of Dol Amroth to become my wife, she had given me her consent, and her father has readily approved our union." Ada walked up to us and joined our hands, holding them in both of his for a while.
"Readily and willingly I grant my friend and liege, the King of Rohan, my daughter's hand in marriage," he said smiling at us both.
Éothain carried forth a goblet to us and we drank a toast to each other. As I removed the goblet from my lips, Éomer grinned happily at me. He took my hand and pulled me a bit closer, kissing my lips lightly and softly to the cheering of his people. As he continued to hold my hand, he whispered. "And now they are expecting that I, like a true Rohirrim, will kiss you thoroughly and passionately and carry you off. Regrettably I cannot do that, not with your father and brothers here, it shall have to wait till our wedding." I smiled as he kissed my hand in stead, imagining how my family would react if Éomer had actually done as he described. Not that I would complain, had he followed tradition.
When the cheering died down, Éomer continued. "We will be married here at Edoras according to the traditions of the Éothéod at midsummer next year." A bit of rowdy cheering followed this, and I could not help blushing just a little.
That night was a night of celebration and reminiscence of the good times of Théoden's reign and life. Silently everybody seemed to have agreed that there had been enough dark times, and it would do nobody any good thinking of the last years of his reign, when Saruman's shadow had been all too present over Rohan.
Éowyn and Éomer talked about their childhood, and how Théoden had been as a father to them when they had lost their parents; Éomer and Éothain's talked about their common mischief, and how they usually got caught by Hama or a much younger Gamling and his uncle found ways of punishment for them, and Éomer also told us stories about his cousin, who in so many ways had been an older brother to Éowyn and him.
Aragorn told us the tale of the time when he rode to war with Éomer's grandfather, and Théoden was still a small child. Éowyn and Éomer already knew this, and my future sister-in-law grinned as she whispered to me. "Imagine how I felt when he told me how old he really is – older than uncle in fact." But then Aragorn was of Numénorian descent and thus had a longer lifespan than any of us, save his lovely Arwen and the other elves, of course.
Since Helm's Deep, Éomer and the King of Gondor had formed a steady and warm friendship; somehow Aragorn filled the void, which Théodred's death had left with Éomer, and even though Aragorn was that much older than Éomer, the two of them at times behaved as if they were mere boys. Arwen had told me that this was the way of men; they would always be boys at heart – she knew that from her brothers, who were several millennia old, and still at times acted as if they were only young boys. I, too, had come to regard the King and Queen of Gondor as good and true friends.
There was also dancing, but, true to himself, Éomer did not dance much. He did humour me, though, and danced some of the slower dances with me. "If for nothing else then for the chance of holding you close," he murmured with a rakish grin.
Somehow we ended up on the terrace surrounding the Golden Hall. "Playing strategically again?" I quipped.
"How else to be alone with my future wife? Aragorn and Lord Celeborn are keeping your father busy, Elphir is drinking with Gamling, and Amrothos has found a Rohirrim beauty to occupy his evening. Should I not profit from such an occasion?" my king asked in an innocent tone of voice.
"And you had absolutely nothing to do with it?" I inquired.
"Of course not, what do you take me for?" Éomer grinned impishly and I knew that he had most certainly been the architect, although Aragorn and Gamling would probably also have been in on it. He grinned wickedly at me.
"You will be leaving in a few days and I will not see you, let alone hold you for several months; I mean to make the most of the time that we have," he said.
He pulled me into his arms and kissed me – at first softly and tenderly, but soon the kiss grew more ardent and we both had to struggle to keep our wits about us.
"Phew, it might be a good thing that you will be leaving in a few days, otherwise we shall surely have a scandal on our hands." Éomer let out a deep breath.
I giggled. "Oh, there are still a couple of days left before I have to go, we can still make it."
"And I who thought you a virtuous maiden," Éomer teased.
"I was virtuous, my Lord ---- until I met a certain young king of Rohan," I said as I released myself from his arms.
I went over to lean against one of the pillars holding the mighty roof of Meduseld; crossing my arms in front of my chest. I looked out over Edoras and saw the lights, which were evidence of the celebrations taking place, not only in the Golden Hall but everywhere in the city.
Éomer came up to me and slid his arms around me. I leaned back against him and he rested his chin on my head. "I believe that my people are looking as much forward to having you as their queen as I am," he said, kissing the top of my head. "Mélia told me earlier that the people she had talked to these past couple of days thought well of you, and that they rejoice in seeing us together. I am truly happy that it is so."
"And I will be happier still, when I make you truly mine on our wedding night," he whispered as he turned me towards me in his arms and kissed me again as if emphasising this fact.
But, as it had become a habit when we had a moment alone, we were interrupted by a very discreet cough, which this time turned out to come from Éothain, who stood in the doorway. "Sire," he said very formally, but I could tell that he relished in the fact that he had interrupted his friend in his endeavours – the cad! "Prince Imrahil and king Elessar would like a word with you." He could not hide a smirk.
"Oh, most certainly they do – and you volunteered to find me," Éomer grinned slightly embarrassedly at his friend. "Certainly they just wanted to interrupt whatever we were doing," he ascertained, but did not let go of me.
"Tell them that I shall be right there but that I have a bit of unfinished business that I need to conclude before joining them." Éothain grinned and went inside, and Éomer continued what he had been doing.
A little while later we went inside. Éomer went over to Aragorn and my father approached me. I blushed slightly when I saw him.
Ada just smiled, but his voice still held a clear reprimand. "I suspected that you were part of Éomer's 'unfinished business'. Lothy, you are betrothed now – and Rohan is certainly not the effigy of propriety, but nevertheless I want you to behave as befits a Princess of Dol Amroth, my daughter."
I smiled shyly back at him. "I know, Ada, but it is very difficult when you are in love and when you know that it will be several months before you see the man you love again."
"I know, my sweet, I know; I do remember how it was, I am not that old, and I do trust Éomer. But still ……," he said, shaking his head slightly.
The last few days at Edoras flew past. I got to see a bit more of my future country as I went for rides with Éowyn, and on one occasion with Éomer, but he was often too busy to spend more than a couple of hours with me during the day. In the evening we managed to meet, either on the terrace or in the Golden Hall when everybody else had retired, to talk and to spend some time together alone.
The afternoon before the day we were to leave we managed to slip away for a long ride togetheronly accompanied by a few guards, who held a respectful distance. Amrothos was a great ally and kept Ada and Elphir busy.
On the day of our betrothal, Éomer had gifted me with a golden necklace with a plate, which bore the sunburst symbol and which had belonged to his mother. Further he had bestowed a beautiful, light-grey mare on me as my betrothal gift. Móna, her name was and she was the half-sister of his own steed, Firefoot, and part Meara; a most wonderful horse and a gift that I highly treasured.
We halted our horses at a fair distance from Edoras; the Golden Hall could be seen clearly in the bright sunlight against the mountains, and as we dismounted and walked together hand in hand along a little stream, I could not help letting out a sigh.
"What is it, Lothy?" Éomer inquired as he stopped and turned me towards him.
"Oh, a couple of things; first of all I am leaving tomorrow, and I do not know how I will be able to live through the next months until Éowyn's wedding. Secondly I have just realised that I do not know a word of your language. Looking back at Edoras now, I realised that in a year I will be the Queen of Rohan and the mistress of your household, and I know little, if anything at all of the traditions of my future country, except for a betrothal custom which I did not get to observe."
Éomer barked with laughter. "Is that what worries you? I have said it before and I do not mind repeating it. Lothy, you will make an excellent queen – you are born a princess and of royalty; you will have no trouble at all fitting in, or being a queen. We are very down-to-earth people in Rohan, you know that. We do not insist on ceremonial, and besides I will be there for you. I'll help you."
"I do know that – and Mélia, Cerwyn and Fréalin will also be there for me, and perhaps I am just being foolish about, but I do want to be a good queen to your people; a queen who speaks their language and knows their customs from the start. I do not want to be another Morwen of Lossarnach. I want to be loved by the people – for your sake."
"Oh, so you have heard about my grandmother?" Éomer smiled wryly. "Trust me, Lothy. You are nothing like her and never will be." He squeezed my hand. "Where did your courage go, my love? In the, I admit short, time that I have known you, you were never this insecure."
I sighed. "No, you are right, I usually am not. And it is true, perhaps it is not lacking confidence in my ability to become a good queen. Possibly the real reason is that I will miss you terribly, and that I feel miserable about it."
"Lothy, darling. You will be seeing me at Éowyn's wedding; your father has invited me to spend winter solstice at Belfalas – and then it will only be a few months before I come to take you back to Edoras for our wedding! Don't give in to despair now, my love." Then he pulled me into his arms and whispered in my ear, "Time will pass quickly, you'll see and I promise to write you a thousand indecent letters until we see each other again."
Unfortunately the guards could see us and therefore the kiss he gave me was much too chaste to my liking. Damn propriety! I thought.
We rode slowly back to Edoras. Éomer told me that he had actually been thinking of how I could be prepared for my task as Queen of the Mark. He had decided that he would send somebody with me to Dol Amroth to teach me the language and the ways of the Éothéod. Éothain had suggested his sister-in-law, Mélia's younger sister Leia. I had met her; she was a bright and sweet young woman of my own age with adventure in her blood. If I consented, she would love to go with me as my handmaid and teacher.
I was pleased to learn of this; Leia had visited me together with Mélia and we got along very well. She was so much more than a handmaid, actually more like a companion; she was very intelligent and outspoken – and with her red hair and blue eyes, so much like her sister's, it would probably be sheer bad luck if not one of the sailors or knights of Dol Amroth captured her heart and made her stay there.
I remarked as much to Éomer. He grinned. "Probably, but then the more alliances between Rohan and Gondor we create, the better."
The last night at Edoras we had a farewell dinner. Éowyn and I admitted to each other that we felt a bit subdued; after all Faramir would be leaving with the rest of us and they would not see each other until their wedding nearly four months hence – and I would not see Éomer for the same period of time.
When we got to bed, Éowyn seemed to fall asleep fast enough, but I could not and thus, after having tossed and turned for an hour or so, I put on my robe and went barefoot through the quiet corridors to the Great Hall. I walked up to the dais where Éomer's throne stood. Next year the queen's throne would be set next to it, Éomer had told me.
These few past days I had learnt much about Rohan and her people. I felt good about having Leia going with me to Belfalas and I did not worry anymore about becoming a queen either. Éomer would be beside me and together we would rule Rohan in the best possible way. As I stood in the great hall of the king, I realised that it did not intimidate me; on the contrary it brought me peace. It was as if its inhabitants of old reassured me that this would be all right; that we would do all right, Éomer and I. I smiled to myself as I caressed the worn armrest of the king's throne – Éomer's throne.
Suddenly I felt a pair of familiar arms go around me and a soft, deep voice murmured into my ear. "And why is the lady walking the halls at night when she should be sleeping?" My heart almost stopped. Éomer! I had not heard him coming so occupied had I been in my thoughts.
"I could not sleep," I whispered, "and I went in here – and I realise that I am not afraid anymore; we can do this together. This place brings me so much peace."
Éomer chuckled softly. "Of course we can do this. Did I not tell you so?" He turned me in his arms and held me close. He drew in a sharp breath. "I will miss having you in my arms," he said, as he crushed my body against his.
As I felt his warm body against me, I realised that my betrothed certainly was not dressed for the occasion. He only wore a pair of tight fitting sleeping breeches and a loose hanging robe. I shivered as I put my hands on his bare, muscular chest.
He chuckled softly as he let his hands slide down my body, loosening the belt of my robe and letting his hands glide between the robe and my thin nightgown. I let out a protesting whimper. He held me close with his warm hands on my back inside the robe.
"Lothy, love – I had such disturbing dreams about you – and the thought that I cannot hold you, or kiss you, for several months is hard to bear." He bent his head and kissed me – hard and passionately. And I did not resist as I felt his warm lips slide down my neck. In stead I enjoyed the feeling that spread in my body.
I let out a soft, mewling sound and before I knew what was happening, he had lifted me into his arms and was carrying me towards his chambers. As he went along, his lips sought mine and he kissed me fervently. He kicked open the door and closed it behind us. Then he put me down to stand in front of him, and, pulling me against him, he kissed me again as he removed both my robe and his own.
I could feel his body reacting to mine and I shivered as I felt his arousal against me. His hands moved up to my breasts and he caressed them slowly. Oh, Béma. I felt the warmth of his hands through the thin fabric. I bent back my head, whimpering from desire and I heard a low growl from him as he moved his lips to my throat.
Then suddenly as if hit by a bucket of cold water we stopped and gazed at each other, breathless and confused. "Béma, I was not going to do this, but the mere thought of you tempts me beyond reason – and when I found you in there ….." Éomer whispered as he caressed my back. "I want you so much, Lothy."
"I want you, too – you know that, but we cannot, not yet anyway. What if you …… got me with child? It would not be wise, would it? Can you imagine the scandal, at least in Gondor?" I said.
"No, not wise, that it is certain. But it would not be a great disaster, at least not in Rohan. After all we are betrothed – and if I had had it my way, or the way of my people, we would already be as good as married ---- but of course you are right." Éomer sighed audibly.
He sat down on his bed and pulled me into his lap. I could feel the heat from his body through my nightgown. We just sat for a while as he held me close, his lips nuzzling my neck. Finally I turned in his lap so that I faced him, looking him in the eyes. They were dark and solemn in the light from the candles. I realised that I could not just get up and leave him, not like this. Suddenly a thought struck me. "Éomer, love, could I not sleep in your bed for what remains of the night, sleep in your arms?" I asked.
"Certainly ---- of course you can. I would love to have you in my arms – and in my bed, but Lothy, do you think that it is proper?" Éomer's eyes lit up.
"Probably not, but if this is going to be the last hours that we shall have together for Béma knows how long, I want to be with you. And if we are both fully clothed and lie on top of the covers nothing much can happen, now can it?" I argued. "In fact, I know that in some parts of Middle Earth, this is perfectly acceptable between a betrothed couple."
"And where have you heard that?" Éomer inquired.
"I cannot remember, but I believe that I read it somewhere. It might have been in some book of Elven lore," I said.
"Oh, darling, elves have different customs – oh, to hell with it; that is what we will do this night; and then we can make it a tradition of the Éothéod," Éomer murmured as he picked up my robe and helped me put it on. He went to his closet and found a shirt which he put on. Then he lay down on top of the covers, pulling me with him. I snuggled against him and he dipped his head kissing me softly, sweetly. "I long to do this every night. Sleep now, my love. I shall try to have you back in your bed before first light."
I felt so safe, lying in his bed with his arms around me and I fell asleep and slept soundly until I felt his hand on my cheek and a soft kiss on my lips. "It is almost dawn; we had better get you back to Éowyn's chamber before anyone notices that you have been gone – and especially where you have been," Éomer said.
We rose from the bed, and adjusted our clothing. Éomer opened the door and peered out into the corridor. Nothing seemed to stir and we managed to get to Éowyn's door without being seen. Éowyn's room was fairly close to her brother's. Outside the door, Éomer kissed me and he whispered, "I shall give you a proper farewell later, now go before Éowyn wakes up and starts asking questions." He kissed me one last time and I slipped into the room and into the bed, I shared with Éowyn, without waking her.
For a while I just lay looking up at the ceiling, contemplating the events of the night. I would gladly have shared Éomer's bed – and not just for sleeping. But, of course, we could not. It would not be right; we were not commoners - regrettably.
No one would have raised an eyebrow if Éomer had been a rider of Rohan and I a merchant's or a herdsman's daughter. Oh, these next months would be trying to both of us. Certainly we would see each other at the wedding in Minas Tirith and at solstice, but I feared that being together would only make the waiting harder. I swore to myself, using one of Éomer's more colourful expressions.
I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep again, but I could not. Thoughts of Éomer's hands, lips and body on mine kept crawling back into my mind, and I opened my eyes to find Éowyn looking at me.
"Slept well?" she asked with a wink.
"Some of the night, yes," I replied. I could tell from her face that she knew that I had not slept in my bed all night.
"I gather that my brother had a hard time sleeping as well?" she inquired.
"I would not know," I said in what I hoped was an innocent voice, trying to keep my face neutral.
"Oh, stop it," my betrothed's sister grinned. "I heard you sneak out – and I heard Éomer bring you back here. I do hope that he behaved himself."
"Unfortunately he did – but how would you know that I sneaked out?" I asked.
"Because I lay awake waiting for you to fall asleep," she chuckled, "because I was going to sneak out to see Faramir. Do not worry, I will not be telling anyone of your nightly adventures – after all I know what it is like, having to behave."
"Indeed, and all for the sake of propriety," I said.
Éowyn smiled. "You know, it would not have mattered much here in Rohan, if either of us had – well – not been able to wait and if we were with child when we married, but in Gondor!" We looked at each other in mock terror – and then we rolled over in the bed that we shared, giggling like little girls.
"Do not worry, Lothy, the waiting will be over before you know it," Éowyn said when she got her breath back.
"Aye, for you anyway. But I shall have to wait almost an entire year!" I moaned.
"Trust me, it will be as hard on Éomer as it is on you. Now – I think that we had better get up, you will be leaving in a couple of hours."
We got up and I dressed in my travelling clothes. I was to ride Móna back to Belfalas. Éomer had whispered to me the other day, "I cannot be with you all the time, but Móna can – and hopefully she will keep you company when I cannot." That had earned him a passionate kiss, to which my brothers unfortunately had been witnesses, and it had earned me a stern look and a furrowed brow from Ada, but somehow I could not care less.
We all gathered for breakfast. The talk flowed easily.I sat next to Éomer and felt his hand reach for mine under the table. He squeezed it. I looked up at him and smiled; I knew exactly what he was thinking of. Soon the time came for goodbyes. Ada and my brothers went to the stables to get the horses and issue the final orders to the guards accompanying us and the servants about the luggage – presumably letting us say our goodbyes in private.
Faramir and Éowyn had made themselves scarce, presumably with the same purpose. Éomer pulled me around the building to get us away from prying eyes.
"We shall see each other again soon, and I will be counting the hours until we do." He kissed me and held me close and I clung miserably to him.
"You may say that it is only a short time, but I will feel it as a hundred years," I sniffled against his chest. "Promise that you will write me often."
"I shall – did I not already promise to write you a thousand indecent letters? And a couple of innocent ones as well! Promise me that you will not show your father and brothers all the letters that I write." He chuckled.
"And then I will start looking forward to my sister's wedding – and to solstice at Dol Amroth." He sent me a devilish look from his hazel eyes. "And I will spend my time – or at least some of it – thinking of ways to have you to myself when we meet." I heard my father calling my name and I embraced Éomer firmly, flinging my arms around his neck. He kissed me fiercely. "This will have to do for a while," he said as he let me go.
We appeared around the corner to find everybody waiting for us. Éomer had presumably also had Firefoot saddled. "I will follow you on your way and so will Éowyn."
Éowyn and Faramir chose this moment to appear; they both looked every bit as flushed as I believe we did. We grinned at each other and I embraced Éowyn warmly. "Take care of him for me, will you?" I whispered to her and she nodded. "And you." I nodded.
My father smiled at me as he handed me Móna's reigns. Éomer came up to us. "Please, Imrahil," he said. My father nodded and it was Éomer, who gave me a hand up into the saddle. Our eyes met and he went to Firefoot and mounted. This was it, then. We were to leave. We set slowly in motion and rode towards the gates.
Éomer, his sister and some of the guards accompanied us as far as the start of the road to the Mundburg. Éomer rode beside me; we did not speak much just looked at each other from time to time. As we halted preparing to part ways, he moved Firefoot closer and took my hand. He kissed the palm and whispered, "Namarië, my love." I smiled through sudden tears – and then he and Éowyn left us to go back to Edoras and we took the road towards Minas Tirith. I looked back to catch a last glimpse of Edoras; when next I saw the city and the land, I would on my way to be its queen.