CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The meal that night was a feast to mark the arrival of the Gondorian King to Rohan, even if it was for a personal visit rather than anything official. A foreign dignitary was visiting, therefore a feast was in order. When the Crown-Prince's of both Rohan and Gondor came in carrying the heir to Ithilien, the people found a definitive reason to celebrate, much to Elboron's embarrassment. Eldarion and Elfwine just laughed at his protestations as they set him in the seat at the table, before quickly claiming the seats on either side.
As was the custom when entertaining guests, the Rohirrim partook the standing grace of the Gondorians and then their guests joined them in their own thanksgiving. Tradition and Valar appeased, it was time for those present to pacify their own needs of food and drink. Unsurprisingly, with Eldarion, Elboron and Elfwine in the same room, at the same time and all three of them being awake, the meal was a lot rowdier than it had been for some time. Elfwine again tried to sneak drinks from Elboron's tankard but Elboron kept it on the other side of his plate and out of his cousin's reach. Eldarion steered clear of the ale, remembering the bitter taste from Elboron's sixteenth Birth Day. This didn't however stop him aiding Elfwine in his quest to gain the amber fluid.
"Elboron, why do you smell like you have rolled in the flower gardens?" asked Elfwine, a fork of carrots and peas headed for his mouth.
"Because Eldarion decided that he would give me a massage," replied Elboron with a tone that said; 'why are you asking such a stupid question?'
"Uh-hu. Why lavender? I thought Sandalwood was more masculine."
"I wanted him to relax!" exclaimed Eldarion. Elfwine snorted while Elboron choked on the piece of chicken that decided upon a detour down his windpipe. "Besides Sandalwood excites Súldál so it is not a good idea to use it when riding."
"Súldál's not the only one it excites," said Elfwine. Elboron whacked his cousin about the head while Eldarion choked on his drink.
"Young man," said a women from further down the table. The three swung their heads to look at the speaker, not entire sure which one of them was about to get a reprimand. "Such a conversation should not be held at the meal table. Nor should it be within the ear shot of the ladies," admonished the woman.
The three teenagers tried to plaster a serious look on their faces and nodded as solemnly as possible. That was until a similar strain of innuendo laden conversation could be heard coming from the other end of the table where Éomer's sat with Aragorn, Lothíriel and Éowyn. It appeared that Éowyn was joining in the conversation whilst Lothíriel was biting her lip and attempting to maintain the pretence that she was a Gondorian noblewoman, by birth at least. It was too much for the three youths and they burst out laughing, much to the disdainful glare of the woman who had chastised them seconds before.
"You are terrible Elfwine of Rohan," muttered Eldarion taking a sip of his water in an effort to calm down.
"Me!" exclaimed Elfwine.
"Elboron and me are guests. Of course it is your fault," replied Eldarion. Elfwine scowled at him for a couple of minutes before swiping the tankard which Elboron had mistakenly placed within his reach.
When it came time to retire, Elboron attempted to walk out of the hall but he managed little more than a few baby steps before his left leg died and refused point blank to support his weight. Eldarion and Elfwine were at his side once again and scooped him up in their arms. Elboron protested about looking like a pathetic toddler but as with healers, best friends have a habit of been selectively hard of hearing.
Once back in his room, Eldarion insisted on walking the five yards between his door and his bed. He hopped most of the way, his left leg still being largely uncooperative, but smiled smugly when he reached the bed. Eldarion shook his head while Elfwine rolled his eyes. The Rohirric heir turned to his friend and said;
"He can obviously manage himself, should we return to the Hall?"
"That is an appealing idea," replied Eldarion. "He can reach anything that is in his room by himself."
"If not, he can get it when someone arrives in the morning," continued Elfwine.
"Excuse me, he is sitting right here and can hear every word you are saying!" exclaimed Elboron.
"Yes mellon nîn and I can feel your amusement," replied Eldarion. Elfwine and Eldarion grinned as Elboron pretended to take the huff but was biting the inside of his cheek. my friend
"Where are you sleeping?" asked Elboron.
"I don't actually know. I came straight here once I had greeted Éomer," replied Eldarion. "And I was little impatient about that as well." Elfwine and Elboron laughed as Eldarion coloured slightly.
"You're three doors down on the right," answered Elfwine. "Gamling left your stuff in there earlier."
"I will be right back," said Eldarion, ducking out the room. Five minutes later, he reappeared with a leather bound book in his hand.
"Little bit of light reading for you," said Eldarion as he deposited the book on Elboron's lap.
"Your journal," said Elboron as he turned the cover.
"Correct," said Eldarion with a nod. Elfwine raised an eyebrow.
"You keep a diary? Isn't that something your sisters would do?"
"It is a journal!" replied Eldarion, indignantly. "Elboron keeps one too."
"You do?" asked Elfwine.
"I do," confirmed Elboron and retrieved the book from under his pillow and brandished it at his cousin.
"Cissies," muttered Elfwine. Both journals were promptly chucked at Elfwine who yelped and ducked for cover.
" 'Cissies' said the one who yelped like a maiden!" laughed Eldarion. Elfwine snarled and lunged at Eldarion, toppling him to the floor where the pair wrestled, all the while the three Princes were laughing. After a few minutes, Eldarion and Elfwine sprang on to the bed, pulling Elboron down with them and nestled up together, each thanking the Valar that they should be gifted with this simple moment of fraternal joy.
In the morning, Aragorn and Éowyn discovered Elboron sitting in Eldarion's arms as Eldarion wove his fingers through his tawny hair. Elboron seemed peaceful and was hugging Eldarion's forearm across his chest.
"You and your son are miracle workers," smiled Éowyn. "He has recovered more in a day than he has in the past three weeks. I went to sleep last night without the worry of his injury."
"You are his mother and he is your only child. No one would ask anything other than what you have done," Aragorn replied with a gentle smile.
"And again I am indebted to your family for that," said Éowyn. Aragorn shook his head.
"My father had no wish or desire to do more than he did."
"I am still indebted. If not for then, but for now," Éowyn said. Aragorn shook his head again before knocking on the doorjamb. Eldarion glanced up and smiled at his father.
"I never thanked you for letting me come," he whispered.
"Your happiness is thanks enough," replied Aragorn. "Eldarion, you do understand that you have to return to the north once he is healed?"
Eldarion nodded. "I understood before we left that this would only be temporary but I will take what I can get and count the days till next we meet."
"You are far to sombre this early in the morning," smiled Aragorn. Eldarion shrugged.
"Daerada's fault," he said. grandfather
"Very likely," laughed Aragorn. "What have you done with Elfwine?" A muffled groan from somewhere in the vicinity of the window answered Aragorn's question.
"Apparently he is willing to share a room with other men but not the same bed," smiled Eldarion. "Get up you lummox! Dawn has arrived."
"No," muttered the pile of blankets. Eldarion grinned like an imp and gently resting Elboron back on the pillows crept off the bed and across the floor, mimicking the movements of the jungle cat from whence his pet name 'cub' originated, on the prowl. He blew across the nape of Elfwine's neck. Elfwine yelped and shot up from underneath his cocoon of blankets.
"What in Béma's name did you do that for, you little whelp?" demanded the Rohirric Prince. Eldarion sat back on his haunches and grinned.
"So elegant," he said. "So polite."
"You wouldn't be polite, or elegant, if you were woken by someone blowing on your neck!" retorted Elfwine.
"One thing I had before my tyke of a companion arrived was peace and quiet," grumbled Elboron from the bed as he rubbed the remaining sleep out of his eyes.
"Such lazy beings, the sons of Eorl," said Eldarion, depositing himself properly on the floor.
"And the sons of Gondor are up with the lark?" replied Elfwine.
"No, the sun. The lark does not live in Minas Tirith," replied Eldarion.
"Smartass," grumbled Elfwine. Eldarion stuck out his tongue before turning his attention to the three on Elboron's bed.
"Good morning, Lady Éowyn," greeted Eldarion with something resembling a bow.
"Good morning Eldarion," replied Éowyn with a smile. "Elboron has not been causing you any problems?"
"Mother!" protested Elboron as he pushed himself up on to one elbow only to wince as a fresh spasm of pain whipped up his back.
"I think you over worked your muscles yesterday," said Aragorn, hearing the hiss.
"I didn't do that much. I walked twenty feet at most and a majority of the time I was leaning on Eldarion," replied Elboron, as Éowyn helped him sit up properly.
"But you hadn't used your muscles for three weeks. They will be weak for a few days."
"No," protested Elboron. "I have been abed for three weeks. I wish to be up and about, not laying here like an invalid!"
"I did not say that you were to stay abed, just that you should expect your muscles to protest a little," said Aragorn.
"Good. Now can we go to breakfast?"
"If you can persuade your cousin to get up," smiled Éowyn. After his rude awakening from Eldarion and following exclamation, Elfwine had wrapped himself back in his blankets and fallen asleep again.
"Not even his father and Gamling's can do that," smiled Lothíriel's as she appeared in the doorway. Elfwine grumbled but emerged from his cocoon.
"I'm up, I'm up," he muttered. Eldarion and Elboron simply grinned at their friend, who shot them back a glare, whilst trying to extract himself from the tangle of blankets.
The next few days Elboron made progress and on the fifth day, Elboron was able to walk down the hallway leading to the main hall with only a couple of pauses. Aragorn kept a close eye on his progress, much to the disdain of Fætthyge who was still convinced Aragorn's approach was going to lead to Elboron having problems later. As Éowyn had said, having Eldarion at his side cheered Elboron up and sped his recovery.
The eighth afternoon found Eldarion and Elboron out on the plains, Eldarion having begged Aragorn to allow them out of the city. Éowyn and Aragorn had accompanied them, but remained a subtle distance away. Súldál was more than understanding that Elboron was still healing so rather than galloping away with Windfola and Brego, he walked calmly to their destination. That was until Eldarion and Elboron had dismounted. Then he was off, enjoying the freedom of the Rohan plains with the others.
"Something has been bothering you since you arrived in Rohan," said Elboron as the pair settled on a hillock, watching the horses prance around.
"When your fell I felt it," said Eldarion.
"We've lost control before and it's never bothered you," replied Elboron.
"When I acted out your temper, it was put down to frustration that was needing released. But when you fell, I was in archery lessons. I collapsed, crying out your name so when I came round there were obviously going to be questions," replied Eldarion. "Elboron, our secret is out!"
"Calm down. How many people did you tell?" asked Elboron.
"Five. Well, actually I told four - three my age and the instructor. When we opened the link Dior took it upon himself to reveal my secret to Culas. Arahael and Túnír seem to have accepted it, but…."
"The others two haven't?"
"Dior rejected it and me immediately. Balrant seemed to accept it, but on the day I left Annúminas he appeared with Dior and dismissed what we share as unnatural. I don't know what Culas thinks," said Eldarion, his head dipped, concentrating on his hands.
"Eldarion I am so sorry," whispered Elboron, wrapping his arms around Eldarion's chest and using his regained strength pulled Eldarion the four foot between them and rested his chin on Eldarion's shoulder.
"There is nothing for you to be sorry about," whispered Eldarion, resting a hand on Elboron's forearm. "I should have been able to control what I felt."
"No! Eldarion, we are still learning how to control this. We were living in a dream world to believe that it would remain a secret for ever. It is a miracle that it has survived this long without detection," argued Elboron.
"You don't know Dior. He is worse than any maiden for gossip. It began with just four people but who knows how many people he will have told by the time I return to Annúminas," sighed Eldarion.
"Which Eldarion did you let them see?" asked Elboron. Eldarion turned to face him.
"Excuse me?"
"Did you let them see you as the heir to their land and their future lord?" asked Elboron. "Or did you let them see the Eldarion Elfwine and I know? The tenacious youth who can charm an Orc with a simple smile. The youth who is quite happy to get his hands dirty if that is what his people are doing."
"I let them see me," replied Eldarion, slightly confused by the question.
"Then you have nothing to worry about. Your people in Annúminas will know that you are more than capable of love and will accept that this bond is simply an extension of that capability. If you had shown them nothing but a cold-hearted and spoilt whelp from Gondor then they would ridicule you. As it is, you have let them see the real Eldarion and their opinion of you will have changed very little," smiled Elboron.
"Thank you," whispered Eldarion, resting back against Elboron's chest.
"You are welcome," Elboron replied, tightening his arms around his younger companion.