A/N; I want to thank everyone who responded to my plea.. The support was amazing! I did find a beta reader, the very wonderful melian the queen. With her help, this chapter is fifty billion times better than what it started out as.
As for the people who wanted to see Éomer cheat.. I didn't do it in this story, because that would have pushed poor Lothi over the edge! But it is going to be in another story that I'm currently working on. Oh the drama :)
Once again, thanks to everyone, especially melian because she rocks my socks. Enjoy the next chapter!
Disclaimer; The ususal.. If I owned, I would be laying out in Key West drinking margarita's.
Lothíriel watched as the small amount of belongings that she had brought with her were loaded up again. It was delightfully warm for an early spring morning, and the sun had made a full appearance by the time that the group that would travel to Edoras was prepared. Amrothos had insisted on traveling with his sister and staying with her in Edoras for a month or two -- just to be sure that everything was going to be well after all.
She had sent a letter a day ahead, informing Éomer of her intent to return. But now that the preparations for leaving were finished and all that was left were her goodbyes, she found herself wishing for more time. Lothíriel had spent many hours on the shore, watching the waves roll in and contemplating her predicament. She had been with another man...
When she returned, would things be different? Would he look at her as a whore, a woman no better than the prostitutes of Minas Tirith? Her stomach twisted painfully into a knot. Would he turn from her and in to the arms of another?
These thoughts and more had plagued her for hours, and Amrothos had desperately pleaded with her.
"You are torturing yourself. Éomer is loyal, an honorable man. He would never do such a thing!"
But his words brought no comfort to her.
At length she grew tired of lingering, and she desired Edoras. Lothíriel could no longer put off the inevitable return.
Éomer stirred. The pain in the back of his head made him groan, and he could hear Éowyn's light laughter at his side.
"Not funny," He mumbled, his hands pressed to cover his eyes. It felt like a bad hangover.
"Rather, it is. That Firefoot would throw you because of a bunny..." He could hear her chuckle, and there was a deeper voice there too. Squinting open one eye, he saw that it was Éothain.
"You laugh as well, Captain?"
"Of course not, my king. I had something in my throat." Éomer rolled his eyes and shut them again.
"How long--"
"Three days, actually. Which I am pleased with. Do not even try to deny to me the number of nights you have avoided sleep since Lothíriel's departure."
Lothíriel.. The name triggered it all, and he shut his eyes again as memories flooded him. In the three days he had slept, he had dreamt of nothing save her. Éomer could clearly remember the first time he had laid eyes upon her when she was busy in the Houses of Healing.
"Lothíriel.."
"Oh please tell me you have not lost your memory again!" Éothain laughed as he looked to the blonde woman beside him, who was now nearly in hysterics.
"No, I remember it all now.." Éomer trailed off, his gaze twisting away from the two at the foot of his bed. He could still feel the first time they kissed...
(Flashback.)
"My lord?"
Éomer's gaze was drawn away from the breathtaking view of the Pelennor to one that was closer to his heart. Lothíriel stood comfortably a foot away from him, and her sea gray eyes enraptured him. She was beautiful, but the moonlight spilling over her made her ethereal in his eyes. The Princess of Dol Amroth glowed with her hair pinned back and a royal blue dress, the color of her home. Éomer suddenly found himself envisioning her as his wife, in a dress of Rohan's green, instead.
"My lady, if you would permit it, I would wish for you to call me Éomer." He wanted to reach out and touch her.
"If you so desire, then I shall, only if you call me Lothíriel." And this agreement brought him happiness, for long had he desired to let her beautiful name roll from his lips.
"Lothíriel.." His voice was a half whisper, and he was drawn to her gaze again. Éomer saw in the light her cheeks flush, and he idly wondered what had happened to the sharp tongued, witty woman who could easily draw a quarrel out of him. He cared not. All he knew was that if he did not kiss her in that moment, he would die. And perhaps if he kissed her, he would die anyway.
To his surprise, she stepped closer, so close that the soft strands of her hair tickled his cheek and he could inhale the scent of lavender. Their lips met halfway, in just the briefest of touches. It set him aflame, and his hands shook with his repressed passion.
Éomer forced himself to lean slightly back, away from her tempting lips. But she moved closer to his warmth, her small frame pressed lightly to his chest as she stood on her toes. Wrapping her slender arms around his shoulders, she let her hand drift through his blonde hair. He leaned forward and took her lips again. He lightly grasped her waist, and Lothíriel's lips were soft and innocent as he deepened the kiss.
The sound of laughter from the patio of the feast hall broke the spell of the night, and they parted. The smile on Lothíriel's face as she bowed her head slightly made Éomer's heart stop. Her cheeks were flushed again, and with one last look to him, she hurried down the path towards the feast.
(/Flashback)
"... I swear brother, from now on; if there is something wrong with you I shall merely hit you upside your head. That seems to just fix everything." Éomer tried to smile for Éowyn, but it would not come. He finally took note of his surroundings, and was happy to find he was in his bed. Their bed. The memory of why she was not with him, however, made his heart run cold. He had failed her horribly.
"Éomer?" He looked up at Éothain before he moved out of the bed.
"I am feeling better now, and I have been neglecting my people. I think I shall go to a tavern tonight."
Éowyn and Éothain exchanged looks before trying to talk.
"Do not be foolish, Éomer! You are still unwell, you need to be resting."
He glared, and Éowyn realized that this was a battle lost. "I feel fine, and three days abed is plenty of rest. Please, leave. Éothain, if you wish to go with me, give me an hour to prepare." Éothain gave a short bow and glanced to Éowyn again before he departed. She hesitated, but a frown came to her features and she chose to storm out instead.
Éowyn slammed the door behind her, and nearly ran to her study. He was such a stubborn ass! Sinking in to the chair behind her desk, she began to sort through the mail that had been delivered. There were several letters from noblemen who were friends of Éomer's, a letter from the King and Queen of Gondor, and before she could get to the last one, she saw a familiar handwriting that made her heart skip a beat. Éowyn missed her husband, and because of the skirmishes between Gondor and Harad, he had been unable to visit her. She eagerly wanted Lothíriel to return, not only for the sake of her brother and Rohan, but because her return meant Éowyn would be able to be with her husband once more. Leaving the others on her desk, she took Faramir's letter with her as she retired to her chambers.
When Éomer stepped out of his chambers, Éothain and Gamling were awaiting him. They gave him a brave smile, for the look in his eyes told them that they would most likely have to carry their liege back to his chambers before the night was over. He had a bad habit of drinking hard when something troubled him, and his marital problems were no secret amongst his captains.
"Come, I look forward to being amongst my people again."
Lothíriel watched as the sun sank. She and Amrothos had stayed closely with the five guards who came to escort them, and they would not be stopping this night. They were only a few hours from sight of Edoras, and she was too eager to be back in the Golden Hall. The guards simply looked forward to a soft bed and warm meal. She had found it odd that they had not been greeted by Rohirrim guards, who normally would have come to escort them. 'Have they not gotten my letter?' She frowned at the thought. Or had Éomer ignored it, hoping that she would never return?
Amrothos reached across from his horse to grasp her hand. "Do not look so worried, darling, I promise all will be fine." Lothíriel tried to smile, but found that the worry that weighed her heart down would not allow her. As they moved across the plains, she felt her heart would not beat again until she laid eyes upon Edoras and her husband.
"Éomer, how much have you had to drink now..?" Gamling helped his friend, who was laughing at some tavern wench's crude joke, stand. When Éomer mumbled an incoherent response, Éothain stood and put an arm around the king's side to help Gamling escort him from the tavern. They stumbled through the streets, Éomer loudly singing a rather crude song in Rohirric, which made several of the guards nearly choke on their laughter.
And then he stopped, and a panicked look crossed over his face as he pulled away from Gamling and Éothain.
"Do not let Éowyn in to my chambers!" Éomer swayed as he spoke, and Éothain grabbed his shoulder to keep him from toppling over. "She will kill me, Éothain, I swear it. Or she will force me to drink tea and tell her how I feel."
Gamling laughed loudly at that. With Éowyn's prolonged stay, the Captains had come to fear her. If they were caught in the hall late, drinking anything, then she would confront them thinking that something ailed them. Tea drinking ensued.
"Not to worry, my lord, we shall see that you are safely put to bed." Éothain chuckled as they resumed the slow walk towards the Hall.
Faramir allowed his horse to trot as he caught up with Lothíriel. As he regarded her, it always amazed him how much she resembled her mother. While Lothíriel had never known her mother, who had died in childbirth, Faramir had always been close with his Aunt Larauth.
Lothíriel gave him a small smile before they both turned to look before them, to the looming sight of Edoras. Elessar and Arwen had nearly thrown Faramir out of the Citadel with the command to ride to Edoras and retrieve his wife. He could return with the party from Dol Amroth, as well as enjoy a rest from his busy winter. Spring was slowly approaching.
"Are you worried?" He glanced back to his cousin, who had been unusually quiet. He had seen a change in her since her rape. Amrothos had told him that at first, she had spent many hours in Dol Amroth crying, and she slept and ate very little. Lothíriel had always seemed to have an eternal youth about her, which could probably be attributed to the legendary line of elves that the Royal House of Dol Amroth had supposedly descended from. Now, though, she had hardened herself, and no longer was she the laughing girl who would nearly knock her brothers or cousins over with hugs. She was quiet, as if she had retreated into herself. Faramir and Amrothos could only hope that when she was reunited with Éomer, she would regain some of what she once was.
"A little.." She glanced at him before looking back to Edoras, where they could see the bright lights of homes and the glow of the Golden Hall.
Faramir frowned, "He loves you deeply, cousin. You should not doubt that." But she would not respond. Lothíriel simply bowed her head.
Amrothos rode up beside them. "I am going to ride ahead." With a small grin, he spurred his horse on so that he took off across the plains.
The guards at the entrance to the Golden Hall watched with silent amusement as their two captains helped usher the incredibly drunk King up the steps. Opening the doors for them, Éothain gave each a nod and a warning look.
Gamling stopped when he heard the sound of a lone rider approaching Meduseld, and he turned to walk back outside as Éothain continued to drag the King.
The figure drew his horse to a halt by the steps, and a guard stepped forward but instantly was handed the reins and sent to the stables. Gamling recognized the figure of Amrothos easily.
"My Lord Prince, what--?"
"Where is my brother in law, and Lady Éowyn?" He frowned as he mounted the steps and came face to face with the captain.
"We had no news of your coming," Gamling frowned and turned to one of the guards, ordering him to find a servant to wake Éowyn.
"My sister and cousin are perhaps two hours behind me, with a small escort from Dol Amroth."
"The queen returns?" Gamling brightened while Amrothos' frown increased.
"Of course she returns! Why would she not? Are there doubters?"
"The King was disheartened when he received no letters from her.." Gamling nearly groaned. The king! He was more than likely passed out cold in his drunken state, and the queen would be here in a matter of time.
"And where is the king now?" Amrothos brushed past Gamling, who was in a near panic.
"He has consumed too much drink this eve and no doubt is passed out by now."
Amrothos chuckled lightly as he strode down the hallway towards the royal chambers. He had no doubts as to how much the king had consumed, for he had lost to Éomer in drinking matches several times.
"There is something else that you should know, my lord." Gamling's words halted him.
"And that is?"
"He has regained his memories."
Éowyn stood on the steps of Meduseld, where she could watch her husbands approaching form. She had to restrain herself from flying down the steps and into his arms as he dismounted from his horse. Lothíriel was at his side, and it warmed her heart to see her sister in law. After all, her brother had been stubborn enough to think that she would not return!
As he walked up the steps, Éowyn could no longer contain it. She flew down them and met him half way, his arms opening wide to catch her as she nearly leapt into his arms.
Lothíriel shied away from their happy reunion and continued up the steps, her body aching with the fatigue of a long journey. The guards bowed, and her brother met her in the doorway.
"Come," he whispered, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She was confused, and incredibly disappointed that her husband had not been there waiting to welcome her with open arms. But what more could she expect?
Amrothos lead her to the royal chambers, and she hesitated when she came to the door. Surely Éomer was in there, in bed and asleep. Why should she, his unfaithful wife, disturb him?
"Darling, your husband has regained his memories.. How can you think he would turn from you?" Amrothos held her by the shoulders, forcing her to look into his eyes. "At the moment, he is passed out. Éothain explained to me that the king has been drinking quite a bit since you left, and tonight he over did it. So, you are going to go in there and crawl under the covers with your husband and deal with him -- and his hangover -- in the morning." She opened her mouth to argue, to plead to have another room, but the door was opened and she was thrust in before a breath could even escape.
The room was bathed in the soft glow of one candle, and she cautiously crossed the room to where the bed sat upon a dais. Her husband lay in the middle, curled up on his side with his hair splayed on the pillow. She wanted to reach out and run her fingers through the spun gold, but she was terrified of what the reaction to her touch would be. Would he be repulsed by her or simply indifferent? With a resigned sigh, she turned to the tall dresser which held her clothing and removed a night shift. Changing quickly, she slipped in to the bed, as far away from Éomer as she could possibly be.
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