I'd like to thank everyone that helped with getting Lothíriel added to the character list. Hell yeah for us. So be sure, if you have an E/L story and you haven't done so already, add yours to the category! Yay!

And don't forget to review!

When the company of Dol Amroth set off, it was a cold and dreary day.. Lothíriel was well clothed, a cloak lined with fur wrapped tightly about her as she sat a top her horse, Dior. Glancing over her shoulder, she watched as Edoras slowly disappeared over the horizon and her heart seemed to turn cold. At first she had rejected her father's idea completely. She would not leave her country, and her husband, when both needed her. But, Éomer and Imrahil had insisted she do what was best for her. She would be besieged with duties if she remained in Edoras, even giving her injuries. There was much to do, much to prepare for the fast approaching winter.

Closing her eyes, she felt a tear slip unbidden as she thought over her conversation with her husband.

"My lady," His eyes were strangely hollow as she looked up to him, Éomer's large hands grasping hers lightly. "I ask you to take leave to your country for your own health. The winter will be warmer, the duties less, and you may recover completely in peace. Éowyn has agreed to take over your role for the length of your absence, so there is naught to worry over."

Turning her head away, Lothíriel released a light sigh. Her father had given her the same argument and now, faced with it again, its appeal grew. She did miss the sea, though Rohan was her country now. She did want to heal in her old home, where she could spend time with her brothers and old friends.

"Will you miss me, my Lord?" Her voice was barely a whisper, and Éomer almost did not hear her. Placing a tender kiss to each delicate finger, he bowed his head to her.

"Though my malady keeps me from remembering everything about you, my Queen, I know that I love you. I will miss you terribly. Hopefully, by your return, I shall have regained all that was lost."

Lothíriel smiled at this and kissed him gently upon the cheek.

"If you wish to return, send word to me."

"I shall return, Éomer, and you will receive word." She gave him another smile, and he kissed her palm before walking away.

She had been gone for two weeks already, and the snows had begun to fall. Éowyn sighed helplessly as she crossed the room to feed the fire, her brother's prone figure stretched out on the bench next to it. He had been drinking more whiskey, sleeping less, and regaining his memory. Éowyn thought it due to the fact that he had been drinking an odd blue mixture as well, but every time she questioned him, she was ignored.

Éowyn had watched him carefully, for with each day and every new memory, he missed Lothíriel more. She, too, missed Faramir for while she had offered to stay to help, he had to return to his duties in Gondor for the King had need of him. So, once more, the siblings were left together.

Éomer was careful in his duties. Apparently, his lack of memory did not change that he was a natural born leader. He worked hard, only stopping when Éowyn absolutely forced him to.

"I miss her, Éowyn." She looked up from the book she had been glancing over to her brother, who sat up so suddenly she thought he might throw up. Éomer was clearly intoxicated.

She gave him an indulging smile and shook her head as he swayed. "She will return."

"Will she?"

With a frustrated sigh, Éowyn shut the book and rose to stand before her older brother. "Yes, she will!"

"But why would she? Return to a barbarian such as myself? I could not protect you from Wormtongue, and I could not protect Lothíriel from Ernach."

"Éomer! I shall not allow such talk. You did protect us, for if not, we both would be dead. Lothíriel loves you, you stubborn old mule, now go pass out in your bed."

Lothíriel stood on the beaches of Dol Amroth, the cold sand sinking between her toes. It felt heavenly to be back in the port city, and to see the endless sea. The scent, the sound, the feel of it absolutely mesmerized her and she felt as if a weight was lifted from her. Here, she was no Queen. She was a girl who could lie about and relax.

But at night, no peace would come. Often she dreamt of Ernach. Several times she could feel him touching her, or she would see him kill Éomer. Lothíriel would wake and with the smell of his breath still fresh in her memory, her cries would bring Amrothos nearly in hysterics to her room.

She rose each morning with the sun, and she would greet the morning by leaving her rooms and traveling down to the beach. It was cold, but the sun always warmed her as she watched it climb high in to the blue skies. The sound of sea gulls comforted her, and she wrapped her arms around herself.

Her wounds were healed, and none could now tell outwardly that the Queen of the Mark had ever been physically harmed. But those closer to her could tell a subtle distance in her character. She was no longer as carefree, like something had been ripped from her soul and could never be returned. Sometimes, she would grow nervous or agitated when she was around men she did not know.

Amrothos was constantly at her side. The Prince became her protector and her best friend. He desperately tried to pull her out what was fast becoming a shell, and would drag her around the palace trying to rekindle their childhood by placing pranks of their brothers.

It would delight him to no end when she would laugh.

They would take long walks together, down the beach towards where it was uninhabited. There were several places there, coves of rock and lagoons, which had been their favored spots since they were both children.

Three months had passed when the sun shone warmer, and the winds were less biting. They lay stretched out on the beach of a lagoon, Lothíriel enjoying the sun while Amrothos read a book. He turned to her suddenly, the book resting against his legs as he studied her.

"What?" She opened one eye to study him, sand mixing with her freed curls.

"What is it that is missing, Lothíriel? Why are you still not happy?" Amrothos stretched out beside her, his arm propping up his head.

She stirred uneasily and sat up, reaching in to the sac they had brought. Removing a bottle of brandy, she took a rather unladylike swig and passed it to him.

"Éomer.. I miss him. I shall never be fully happy without him at my side. Though I will never be the same, I cannot grow beyond it entirely until I am with my King again."

Amrothos nodded thoughtfully and took a drink. "In a few weeks the snows will have melted completely, and it will be safe and warm enough to journey again. Will you return to Edoras?"

"Yes," Her voice was a whisper and she rose so quickly that sand fell on to Amrothos's face.

Taking it as an opportunity to relieve the tension of the moment, he rose quickly too and tackled her to the sand. They wrestled for a bit, Lothíriel biting her older brother as he tugged at her hair, until something distracted her.

It was a distant sound, and she frowned as she rose. It was pitiful, and her heart wrenched at it. She followed it out of the beach area and into the tall dunes, to the grass that covered the plains.

"What is it?" Amrothos called as he jumped up, following her at his leisure.

She bent over suddenly, falling to her knees as she found the source. It was a small, almost rat looking creature. It was covered in water and sand, and as she scooped it up in the palm of her hand, it meowed.

"You would be the one to find a stray cat, Lothí."

"Oh shut up," She cursed at him as she began to gently wipe the sand away. It was a beautiful black color, and small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. "She is so cute.. I am keeping her." She announced suddenly, tucking the cat gently against her chest to shield her from the cold.

"How do you know it is a she?"

Lothíriel stuck her tongue out at Amrothos as she pushed him over and began to run back up towards Dol Amroth.

Éomer looked up as the door to his study burst open and his sister stormed in.

"When, exactly, was the last time you went riding?" She shouted, her hands thrown up dramatically. He could only stare at her blankly for the moment, before realizing that she actually wanted an answer.

"I.."

"Exactly. Come, the snows have melted enough, we shall go riding together." He saw the look in Éowyn's eyes, and recognized that there was no arguing at this moment.

And so, an hour later found him riding behind his sister as she tore across the plains, which still held patches of snow, Éomer found himself thinking of Lothíriel. He missed her terribly. With each warmer day, he came to expect a letter more and more. They had written each other a few times, though his time was so filled with matters of state that rarely could he sit down to eat, let alone write her a letter that was worth sending.

He was contemplating her smile, how it absolutely stole his heart, when Firefoot suddenly spooked and reared up. He had accidentally trailed off into a patch of snow and a white rabbit suddenly shot out of the ground and ran, causing his horse's reaction. Because he was so caught off guard, he fell from the saddle and landed roughly on the ground.

"Éomer, Éomer!" Éowyn was beside him when he finally came to, and he felt sickeningly dizzy. As he looked up in to her gaze, something in him triggered, and he could remember staring down on to her face as she lay lifeless on the Pelennor.

He could remember the first time he saw Lothíriel, and the first time he saw her as his wife.

And that memory was so beautiful, that as he shut his eyes and his head swam, he passed out again.

I would've had this out sooner, but I've been working on a fluffy Éomer/Lothíriel story that I should have up tomorrow.

Though this story is far from over, I would love some input on idea's on what I should do next. If you have one, don't be afraid to email me ( )!

I hope to have another chapter up soon!! Reviews feed my fluff bunnies!