Part 55 of the Elfwine Chronicles. The Elfwine Chronicles are a series of one-shots built around the family group of Eomer, Lothiriel and Elfwine. The total number will depend on how many ideas I get for new vignettes.

A/N: I swear I don't know where the ideas for these things come from, but I guess it's okay since you all seem to enjoy them. But I'm glad that I seem to be finding so many that haven't been touched on before. It's hard to write E/L love stories with elements you haven't already seen, but the Elfwine Chronicles open themselves up to a whole new world of possibilities. As always, if you get ideas you want me to consider, don't hesitate to email me. More than one of the Chronicles has come from reviewer suggestions. Sometimes I can't think of a way to make your idea work, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate your sending it along.

Horse Lords

(Dec, 25 IV)

Dariel followed her mother-in-law into her bedchamber, the two still chatting about their visit to the marketplace. As they set their parcels on the bed and began sorting out what belonged to each of them, they were startled at what sounded like a whinny coming from the nursery. Or more specifically, the sound of a human attempting to whinny like a horse. There was much childish giggling accompanying this, in addition to a lot of scuffling sounds, and the two looked at each other in puzzlement.

From long experience, Lothiriel knew she would want to investigate what was taking place in the nursery, so she signaled for Dariel to follow her to the door of the adjoining room. Softly she cracked it open and peeked inside, then had to hold back a snort of laughter. Regaining control of herself, she waved the younger woman forward to get a look, and Dariel was also forced to clap her hand over her mouth to smother her amused response.

Adjusting their position so they could both watch, they gazed in at the sight of their husbands, down on all fours, and playing 'horse' to their respective toddlers. But these were not just fathers playing with their children, these were horse lords – king and future king of the land of the horse masters.

Their version of horse included rearing up – gently, of course, so the child did not slip off – pawing the ground, and thundering about the room in true war horse fashion. Although the boys, Theodred and Arawine, were still too young to appreciate such things, the two manly horses were even charging at one another as if their riders were in battle on horseback. Each had placed a length of rope through their mouths to act as a bit, and they chomped furiously at it and tugged in eagerness for action. In short, the two were giving a very good imitation of their own mounts they rode almost daily.

Likely much of the nuance of their performance as horses was lost on their not-quite three-year-old sons, but it was clear that each father was trying to outdo the other in being the better horse. Lothiriel and Dariel watched only a few minutes more before they could no longer contain themselves and collapsed against each other, laughing til the tears flowed.

Eventually, the two men heard the sound of laughter above their own ferocious snorting and whinnying, and looked up sheepishly at their wives. The boys, upon seeing their mothers, quickly lost interest in riding their horsies and slid off to run for some maternal attention, and the two men dropped over on their fannies, to gaze abashedly at their wives.

Hugging her son close, Lothiriel commented to Dariel, "Do you suppose I should send down to the stables and have a hand come deal with these horses?"

Dariel nodded solemnly. "I should think so. Look how hot and sweaty they are. They will need to be bathed and brushed before they are fed and stabled for the night."

Unable to restrain their laughter, the two broke up again and both men flushed red. Then, with a devilish glint in his eye, Eomer swiftly rose and moved to nuzzle his wife's neck, snuffling and nudging as Firefoot would. Loud enough for both women to hear, he suggested, "This stallion has just gotten warmed up. Are you sure you would not like to make use of him?"

It was Lothiriel's turn to flush red, but Elfwine, who was actually rather embarrassed about witnessing such intimacy by his parents, rose and followed suit, giving Dariel similar treatment and making the same offer. The result was identical to Lothiriel's reaction, and the men found they had effectively turned the tables on their teasing wives.

Just then Dariel sniffed and leaned closer to her son. At the same time, Lothiriel was also noticing that special telltale fragrance. With a wicked grin, she plunked her son into her husband's arms and replied, "We will consider your offers while the two of you change your sons' diapers!"

Dariel immediately copied her actions and the two scurried back into the bedchamber and closed the door. For just a moment, they stood quietly before they finally caught one another's eye. That was all it took to overwhelm them with laughter once more. Truly life in the house of Eomer was never boring!

THE END

1-8-06

End note: It is best that you read the Elfwine Chronicles in the order they were written. The more of them that I wrote, the more likely I was to make reference to one of the previous ones and something that happened there. If you want to read them in order, go to the top of this page and click on my name (Deandra). That will take you to my profile page. Scroll down and you will find all the stories I have written. The Elfwine Chronicles are in order from bottom to top since ffn shows them in the order they were posted. A few were posted out of number order, but you can read them in posting order or number order since those few won't be affected in the story content.