A/N; Another chapter, and this one is still sad, but at least it's not AS sad as the last one. Reviews feed my fluff bunnies!
Thanks to all you awesome guys that always review. You really rock and you deserve a special round of drinks.
Disclaimer; Durr.
Éomer watched as the rest of the troops approached across the plain. He was pleased to see it was a hundred strong and yet surprised to see Faramir at the front. Narrowing his eyes, he watched as the man slid gracefully off his horse and approached him.
"Éomer, I will not let you search for my cousin without me." He spoke quickly, before the King was allowed to voice his displeasure. "And, I am an Ithilien Ranger. I can help track." This quelled Éomer's doubts quickly, for he knew that though his men were strong and good in open battle, the Rangers were stealthy and that could be used to his advantage. He nodded and both men mounted their horses again.
"I have tracked them thus far and I believe that they are some leagues from here. There is an old abandoned village not far, which is where I think they have taken over. Not many buildings are left standing, but it would serve as a post for them. They would not have gotten to Dunland in the time from her kidnapping to now. No doubt they are waiting for the cover of night to move. We must be swift." At this Faramir grimly nodded and they set off, hoping that it was not too late. Éomer eyed the setting sun warily, knowing that time was surely against them.
They rode in relative silence, Finally, Éomer dared to speak to this man who had married his sister. "Will you tell me about her? About Lothíriel.. I know that she is your cousin, and obviously from Gondor." He risked a glance at the dark haired man, who was smiling now.
"She is the daughter of my Uncle, Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth. That was where she was raised.. by the sea. She has three older brothers, all of whom were ready to kill you when they found that their darling little sister would be marrying and leaving for Rohan. She is incredibly stubborn, strong willed, pigheaded, however you would like to say. Very feisty, of course, as you have seen. Éowyn liked to say that you two fell in love because there is no one else in all of Middle Earth that can match your stubbornness. She was always like a sister to me.."
Éomer nodded quietly as he listened, absorbing every detail. When Faramir finished, Éomer seemed to be thinking all of this new information over. For a moment he paused, his eyes shut.
"I know what they say.. that I may never get my memories back. But, for some peculiar reason that I can not explain, I would very much like to remember her."
"Well! That is a very good thing," Faramir gave him a small grin, "for her brothers would certainly have your head if you wished out of the marriage now."
Before they could say anymore, a scout was spotted riding hard towards them. The sun had just set.
"My lord, they make ready to leave their camp. If we ride hard, we can no doubt surround them before they leave. They have not caught wind of our approach for they prepare slowly."
Éomer nodded. "How many? Did you see the Queen?"
"I would say there are fifty men, but some could have been in the remains of the houses. There was one house that was being well guarded; I suspect that is where the Queen is being held."
Eagerly, Éomer turned to his troops and cried "We ride hard!" before galloping off with Faramir close behind.
As the door was opened, Lothíriel quickly stole a glance outside. Her heart sank. It was growing dark, and she could tell by their movements that they would be leaving this place soon. Her stomach turned at the thought of going further away from Edoras. She looked up into Ernach's disgusting face, his teeth brown and twisted as he leaned close to her. "Enjoyed last time, eh? I am quite ready for another round myself."
She winced as he forced her back on to the bed, and as she let her head fall on to the pillow, she felt the knife. He was busy trying to get her dress undone, and as he began to tear at the material, she swiftly reached behind her and drew the blade. The hilt was thick, and before Ernach registered what was going on, she had dealt him a quick blow to the head. He fell hard against the floor, and she was quickly on top of him. He was unconscious, thankfully, and her blade quivered in her hand as she pressed it to his neck. Yes, he had done the worst thing possible to her, but she would rather like to see the justice done to him by her husband. With a soft cry, she drew the blade against his stomach, drawing blood. His blood was all over her hands suddenly, and she stumbled backwards. Turning quickly, she found the bag he had left in there and searched through it, finding the black cloak she needed. Tying it around her, she made sure the hood was up as she crept to the door. Glancing out, she saw the guards that had been posted there were busy with readying the few horses that they had.
She slipped out the door unnoticed and ran for the cover of the trees.
Éomer nodded to a few soldiers. "Scout ahead and the woods surrounding the village. We will await your word."
They took off quickly, Éomer and Faramir impatiently waiting. Hours seemed to stretch by before a scout returned, hastily riding up the slope.
"My lords, we have found something!"
Éomer watched as the soldier cautiously approached the figure huddled up under a large cloak. He had sent the rest of the soldiers to surround the village and await his command. The soldier drew his sword and quickly pulled the cloak away, revealing a woman.
"Lothíriel!" Faramir cried as he nearly fell from his horse in his hurry to get to his cousin. Her clothes were dirtied and torn, her hands soaked in blood, and she was barely conscious.
"Faramir?" She whispered, her lip split from where Ernach had hit her. Her beautiful face was pale and littered with fresh bruises.
"You're bleeding!" He cried as he looked at her hands.
"No.. It is not my blood.." Lothíriel gasped out, and he noticed the sight of her poor feet. They were covered in blisters, cuts, and blood. She had clearly run quite some ways from her captors. "Éomer?" Her eyes wildly searched as Faramir held her in his arms.
Éomer knelt by her, a cold fury rising in his stomach at the sight of his wife. Her dress was hanging off her shoulders and he had to clench his fist at the bruises that marred her soft skin. "Are they still there?" He whispered as he took her hand in his.
"Yes.." Tears gathered in her eyes and she blinked several times, trying to be strong enough not to cry.
"I will kill them all." He hissed, glancing back to his captains. Yes, every Dunlending in that village would die.
"Éomer!" She sobbed, her hand grasping to his as he rose. He looked in to her troubled eyes and something there made him mad with anger. It was familiar, this feeling of fierce protectiveness and the utter need to kill. He had felt it before, but he could not remember where. For a moment he saw something, his sister laying in a field, and the same feeling had washed over him then. Shaking his head, he cleared his thoughts. Now was not the time. He knelt back down hurriedly and gently held her face in his hands.
"Do not worry. I will return. Justice will be done." He whispered soothingly to her, one hand cautiously brushing through her hair. He felt tears burn behind his eyes, and before he could stop them, one slipped on to Lothíriel's cheek. With a shaking hand, she reached up to wipe away the others, and he gently leaned in to her touch.
He looked up to Faramir, who seemed torn between serving justice and caring for the woman in his arms.
"I entrust her to you.. She needs help, return to Edoras. I shall meet you back there with news." Éomer murmured. His gaze met hers again with such intensity that she pulled him down to her lips. He kissed her softly, his lips gently caressing hers in return before he hesitantly pulled back. Without another word, he turned and hurried back to his horse.
They watched him gallop off with the men at his side, and Lothíriel rest her face against Faramir's chest. He gently picked her up in his arms and cradled her against him as they rode back to Edoras.
Éowyn raced down the stairs to meet Faramir as he approached with Lothíriel in his arms. They immediately took her to her bed room, where the healers awaited her.
She and Faramir had been forced to wait outside of the room while they worked on Lothíriel, but once it was realized she sustained no major injuries, just a few sore ribs and a cracked cheek bone, Erfanaiel emerged to let them back in. Faramir eagerly hurried in, but Erfanaiel grabbed Éowyn's arm and pulled her aside.
"The Queen asked that I perform a pregnancy check on her but I did not find that she was. There was, however... bruises, cuts, marks." She furrowed her brows, shaking her head. It made her sick to think of the suffering of her Lady. "You may need to speak to her... I fear.."
Éowyn nodded eagerly, her hand resting on the older woman's arm. "Thank you for your concern, I shall speak to her about your concerns soon. Is she going to be alright?"
"Oh, yes my lady. She will be fine.. physically. I am going to fix an herbal tea for her and perhaps some soup." And with that she was gone.
Pressing her hand to her forehead, Éowyn sighed. She hoped that Éomer did his worst to those beasts. When she entered, Faramir sat by Lothíriel's bed, her small hand in his. She was already asleep, and it hurt for Éowyn to even look at her sister's bruised face. She appeared so pale and weak that it was hard to imagine that this was the same woman who was strong enough to run a country as well as she did. She rest her hand on Faramir's shoulder and he nodded to her.
Some time later, they exited the room together. Faramir looked at his wife with concern, she had been deadly silent. He could tell her anger boiled just below the surface. "What is it?" He whispered to her, stopping in the hall way to stand in front of her.
"Erfanaiel thinks that she was perhaps.. Violated." Éowyn grimaced and turned away from him. He nodded to her, but she did not miss the look of horror, grief, and furry that crossed his face."Will you speak to her about it, later?"
"Yes.. I fear I must. If she was, she cannot suffer alone."
Lothíriel's room was dark and Éowyn slowly walked in, surprised to find her awake.
"Well?" Lothíriel asked, her entire body covered by a blanket and furs. "They would not say anything to me earlier. They simply gave me something to make me sleep." She whispered, her eyes cast away suddenly.
Éowyn wanted to cry at the tone of her voice. She was always so strong, but now she sounded broken. "They said you shall be fine, you just need to recover your strength." She sat in the chair by her, her soft hand taking her smaller one. "Éomer is not back yet, but I am sure he will be soon. I do not think you shall ever have to worry about that group again."
"Ernach was the name of the leader.. I do not wish him dead." She whispered, her eyes closed as she trembled at the mere thought of him.
At first Éowyn was confused. Clearly this man had hurt her, done something wrong, and she did not wish him dead?
"What do you wish, then?"
The look in Lothíriel's eyes scared Éowyn. "Something worse, should there be such a thing. I wish every bad thing on that beast."
Éowyn sat back, a frown on her face. Lothíriel would hardly make eye contact with her.
"Do you think.. we can still be friends after Éomer gets rid of me?" She whispered, her voice shaking with emotion.
Éowyn almost laughed at the ludicrous of the situation. "Get rid of you? Dear girl, he adores you. He loves you! He would never get rid of you. Why would you say that?"
"I laid with another.." She choked out, tears finally falling to her bruised cheeks. When she saw Éowyn open her mouth, she quickly spit out the rest. "Though not willingly, never willingly! He.. Ernach.." She had to stop. She sobbed into her hands, her small frame shaking.
"Lothíriel.." Tears formed in Éowyn's eyes and she gently sat on the bed by her, and instantly the girl was in her arms and clinging to her.
A/N; Now, some of you may be wondering; So Lothíriel escaped on her own? Yes! The Lothíriel that I like to characterize is a woman who makes use of her resources and faculties and would kick some serious ass if given the situation. So she did rescue herself, but she still had to rely on Faramir and Éomer to return home. So it's a nice balance, I like to think. ;)
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