Disclaimer: No I do not own Lord of The Rings. Oh, and reviews are appreciated since this is my first LOTR fan fic.
"All hail Eomer King!" a loud voice called as the gigantic doors in the back of the throne room swung open. Eomer walked through proudly, holding his helmet under his arm. His face was serous, but there was a twinkle in his dark eyes when he caught sight of a small girl dressed all in white. The little girl, his niece Karalee, was trying her hardest to retain her regal bearing, standing next to the throne. But her excitement couldn't be contained. One second she was standing there quietly, the next she was flying down the carpet and into her beloved uncle's arms.
"Uncle Eomer!" the little girl cried as she raced towards her uncle as fast as her small legs could carry her.
Eomer knelt down and set his helmet on the ground, opening his arms to his niece. The little girl flung herself into his arms and he held her close. "And was my niece on her best behavior while I was away?" he asked with mock severity.
"Of course uncle," the little girl replied immediately, her dark eyes twinkling with laughter. "Nana will say the same."
"Will she?" he asked, standing up and taking her hand in his, leading her towards the throne.
"Yes sir," Karalee replied, continuing their game. "Did you have a successful trip to Minas Tirith?"
"Yes pet," he told her as they reached his throne. "King Elessar and I had a successful meeting. Your brother sent something for you."
"How is Elboron?" she asked excitedly.
"Your brother is well," Eomer assured her. "He sends you his love."
"You said he sent me something."
"Ah yes," Eomer smiled, pulling something wrapped in brown paper out of the bag that hung at his side.
"He sent me a book!" Karalee cried happily, tearing away the wrapping. "Oh, how good of him!"
"Go and enjoy your book," he instructed, setting her down off his lap. "I need to talk with some of my advisors."
"Yes sir," she said contentedly, slipping out the side door to the throne room.
Eomer smiled a little sadly as he watched her go. She reminded him so much of her mother, Eowyen. She had the same golden hair and lovely smile. She looked so much like Eowyen had as a child sometimes it startled him. She had her mother's temperament as well. She was passionate about everything and passive about nothing, except maybe her studies at times. She was a lovely creature, even at such a young age. All the people of Rohan loved her. She was the light of the nation. And one day she would be queen, not just of one nation, but of two.
"Eomer King," one if his advisors, Rasteek, began cautiously. "We think it might be for the best if you talk with the princess about her behavior at royal functions. Her behavior today would be completely unacceptable in any other royal court,"
"She's a child Rasteek," Eomer replied. "I would worry if her behavior was otherwise."
"She is not an ordinary child Eomer King," another advisor, Sheikh, tried to explain. "We are training her not to rule just Rohan, but Gondor as well. She will be queen and should act accordingly."
"She's only eight," Eomer said firmly.
"But Eomer King…" Sheikh began.
"She acts like her mother did at her age," Eomer said in a dangerously even tone.
"Yes Eomer King," both advisors sighed. Eomer listened to them in most situations, except when it came to his niece.
Ten Years Later:
"All hail Eomer King!" a voice cried out. Eomer walked into the throne room, holding his helmet under his arm. Karalee stood regally next to his throne, but her eyes were full of laughter and fun. She'd been such a spirited child, and none of her passion had dissipated over the years. Eomer half expected her to come flying down the carpet and into his arms like she'd done as a child. But, she knew that it would be unseemly for the future queen of Rohan to do so and remained in place. She was eighteen years old and considered by most to be a great beauty. She'd looked just like her mother when she was younger, but as she'd grown Eomer could see his brother-in-law shinning out through her stormy eyes.
Kara greeted her uncle with a curtsey and a kiss, and then as he sat on his throne, she took her usual seat at his feet. She pulled out the book she'd been reading, the one he'd brought back for her from his last trip. She'd read the book several times over and Eomer knew it was time for a new one. He reached into his pack and pulled out a medium sized package wrapped in brown paper. Slowly he lowered it in front of the book she was reading. "Elboron?" she asked happily, looking up at her beloved uncle.
"Your brother sends his love," he replied grinning as well when he saw his niece's joy. "He'll be coming for a visit in a week."
"He's coming here?" Kara exclaimed excitedly.
"Yes," Eomer responded. "He and Prince Eldarion are both going to attend the festival this year." Every year Rohan had a festival to celebrate the end of the war with Sauron. This was going to be a very special festival. It was exactly twenty-five years to the day since the end of the battle. There had been twenty-five years of peace in Rohan. But this year there was another reason to celebrate; the festival might be ended with the celebration of the engagement of Prince Eldarion of Gondor and Princess Karalee of Rohan.
The prince and princess had been betrothed at the princess's birth, but it was a conditional betrothal. The prince and princess, once she came of age, would spend a week together, and if in that time they did not fall in love, then the betrothal would be forgotten. But if they did and were wed, then upon the passing of both kings, Gondor and Rohan would become one. Neither child knew of the plan. They were to grow and be given the same opportunity of love their parents' had.
"The last time I saw Eldarion before Mama and Papa diedhe got me into quite a bit of trouble," Kara reflected with a frown. "He tricked me into going into the library where Papa and Lord Elessar were having a meeting. Papa was quite angry with me, but Lord Elessar was just amused. Papa eventually laughed over the incident as well, but I was quite embarrassed."
"There will be no talk of vengeance for long cold grievances," Eomer warned with a mock frown. "You will be a courteous hostess."
"Of course Uncle," Kara assured him.
"Go and enjoy your book," Eomer instructed.
Kara rose to her feet and kissed her uncle's somewhat leathery cheek. Eomer sighed as he watched her walk away. She had been the light of his life for thirteen years. When she'd come into his life, she'd been a shy five-year-old who never smiled. But after only a year in the royal court of Rohan she'd become everything that her title of shield maiden implied. Her once cold gray eyes were filled with joy and laughter and within a month she would come flying into the throne room and into his arms. She'd been painfully shy when she was younger, and her parents' sudden deaths hadn't helped that improve in the least. Both she and her brother were to go and join King Elessar and Queen Arwen in Minas Tirith. Elboron was to be trained to fulfill his father's position and Kara would have been brought up as a princess of Gondor along with the king and queen's daughters.
But Eomer had not been able to let that happen. Kara had hardly been able to speak with the king and queen without bursting into tears. Aragorn and Arwen had been nothing but kind to the young girl, but for some reason she had been terrified of them. She had stayed in Gondor for a month after Eowyen and Faramir's deaths. When Eomer had gone to take her back with him to Rohan she'd been terribly thin and there seemed to be traces of tears permanently on her cheeks. He'd had to sit with her every night, as her brother had done, or she would cry herself into a sickness. But it had been more than just him saving her life. She'd saved his as well. She was the reason he hadn't built walls around his heart after Eowyen's death. She'd been his sunshine.
The days until Eldarion and Elboron passed quickly for Kara. She was busy all day overseeing the preparations for the festival and hardly ever thought about their arrival. But the day arrived much to quickly for Kara's liking. The morning dawned bright and clear with the sun streaming through the thin curtains that covered her window. "Lady Karalee your brother arrives any moment!" the maid exclaimed as she burst through the doors. "And here you are still in bed! Well it is time for you to get up! Your uncle sent something for you."
"Oh it's lovely!" Kara exclaimed happily as she pulled a dove white dress from a box on a table along the far wall of her room. "I take it I am supposed to wear it today?"
"Oh yes m'lady," her made confirmed. "Now step behind the screen so I can help you into it. Kara slipped out of her nightgown and threw it over the screen. The maid pulled something around her waist and Kara gasped as se began tightening it. "This is the latest fashion in Gondor my lady," the maid explained with a laugh.
"Women in Gondor must have found a new way to breathe," Kara gasped painfully as the maid finished tightening the offensive garment. The maid helped her slip into the dress and slipped her ceremonial gold belt around her slim hips. The maid carefully brushed her golden curls until they hung smoothly down her back. Her tiara was placed carefully on her head and a necklace was slipped around her pale throat. She looked like the princess she was. The maid just hoped that it would be a day where the princess acted according to her station.
Kara ran through the kitchen and grabbed two slices of bread and a wedge of cheese, then hastily made her way outside to where her uncle and the others were standing, waiting for the party to arrive from Gondor. As she took her place beside her uncle, Eomer leaned over and whispered, "You still have crumbs on your dress." Kara blushed slightly and brushed the crumbs away just as a cloud of dust was spotted in the distance.
As the riders approached, Kara's eyes searched among the men for her brother. Elboron was there, looking as wonderful as ever. As the riders came to a halt and dismounted, Kara nearly flew from her place at her uncle's side and into her brother's waiting arms. Elboron lifted her off the ground and kissed her cheek, spinning her around. "Oh Elboron, how wonderful you look!" Kara exclaimed as he gently set her back on her feet.
"I could say the same about you Mini," Elboron replied, smiling down at her affectionately, using the pet name he had called her since Eomer had remarked when Kara was a baby how she was like a miniature of her mother.
"I'm much too old for you to be calling me Mini anymore," Kara reprimanded him playfully. "I cannot believe you are truly here!"
Eldarion dismounted his horse and quietly watched Elboron and Kara's reunion. He remembered the young princess very well from the short months she'd lived in Minas Tirith. She'd stuck to Elboron's side like glue and hardly let him out of her sight. She'd been sickly and peevish and he'd grown to dislike her. Now he was supposed to fall in love with her? He honestly didn't think it would happen.
Kara stepped away from her brother and turned towards Eldarion. "Welcome to Rohan my lord," Kara said in her most regal voice, sweeping him one of her finest curtsies. "We hope your stay here in Edoras will be pleasant."
"You have my gratitude my lady," he replied, just as regally. "I know well of your hospitality and am sure I will be most comfortable."
Kara escorted her brother and Eldarion to their rooms and then left the two settle in on their own. Several hours later, after a good meal and a hot bath, Eldarion decided to seek Elboron out and have a talk with his friend about the princess. But it seemed she had beaten him to Elboron. The door was opened just a crack and Eldarion leaned against the wall and listened in on their conversation.
"Oh Elboron," Kara began with a sigh. She was lying across his bed with her head on a pillow next to his right leg. He sat up on the bed with his legs stretched out leaning against the ornately carved headboard. "He seems terribly dull. I don't think I shall enjoy his company at all."
"You have only just met him, or at least renewed your acquaintance with him Mini," Elboron assured her. "You both seemed a little dull. I think after a few days you will grow to enjoy his company."
"I hope you are right," Kara sighed. "But I also hope you are wrong."
"Why is that?" Eomer questioned with a slight frown.
"Because if you are wrong, I won't have to leave my home and go back to Gondor," Kara explained with a sad smile. "I don't know if I could bear leaving uncle."
"I know Mini," Elboron replied, stroking her hair. "I know."
Suddenly Eldarion felt a tickling inside his nose. He knew he was going to sneeze, and then Elboron and the princess would catch him eavesdropping. That would be a horrible way to begin a relationship with the princess. He tried to contain the sneeze unsuccessfully and finally had to let it out. The princess and Elboron immediately came out of the room. Princess Karalee looked at her brother with a raised eyebrow and then towards the embarrassed prince. Her eyes were dancing with laughter, although she didn't make a sound. "I'm glad we were able to talk Eomer," Kara almost giggled, but not quite. "If you'll excuse me I have several matters to attend to, milord." Kara curtsied again and then rushed down the hallway, after she turned the corner her musical laughter could be heard by Elboron and a very embarrassed Eldarion.