AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Awwww I'm so happy that you guys liked the last chapter… I hope I don't disappoint you with the next one…

THE JEWEL OF DOL AMROTH

VI

A NEW COMPANION

"Do not disturb me until that day. I will stay in my chambers".

She could not keep her promise. After some days of thinking, Lothíriel decided that being locked in her chambers was not an intelligent way of solving a problem. A good strategy and a smart management of circumstances would have better results. Fortunately for her, luck was on her side, as it was demonstrated by some happenings.

One of them was the coming of Ceolwyn to Dol Amroth. Rodwen, the elderly handmaid whom had raised Lothíriel and was loved by the Princess as a second mother, was very ill and prince Imrahil had released her from her duties. Therefore, Lothíriel wrote to mistress Hild, with whom she was in good terms now, to ask her to send Ceolwyn to Gondor, in order to become the Princess's new handmaid. The Rohirric girl was more than happy to reunite with her former lady, and soon became accustomed to her new home.

Lothíriel knew that the girl had lived in Meduseld since her childhood. First, helping her mother, one of the handmaids of Queen Elfhild; then, after the mother's death, serving in the Golden Hall. It was a strange coincidence, the princess thought, because her former maid was daughter to a queen's handmaiden, too. Good old Rodwen had been born in Edoras, where her mother was a handmaid of Morwen of Lossarnach, and her father, a Gondorian captain who followed King Thengel to Rohan after he inherited the throne. Her tales of the Riddermark had caused in Lothíriel a profound desire to know the golden plains of Rohan and the famous Riders, those who sang as they rode to battle in the vast fields of their land.

In a way, Lothíriel was happy, because she felt as if a part of her beloved Rohan was with her now, in the figure of her maid. That only thing made her smile, but when she remembered the moment when Elphir, Gwenel and little Alphros left the palace in order to travel to Lossarnach, tears came to her emerald eyes.

"Promise me you will be brave, Lothíriel", Elphir had told her. "You must do it, for me. I have no doubt you will make an excellent ruler".

"And I have no doubt you will return to take back what is yours" she said, looking him straight in the eye. "For some reason I feel this is not meant to be".

Elphir had caressed her cheek and kissed her hand.

"You were meant to rule a country, make no mistake about that".

And he left. He had been asked by the Prince of Lossarnach to train their new army. Gwenel had promised to write as much as she could.

A faint smell of baked bread filled the air. Having a window close to the kitchen has its advantages, she thought. Dinner was about to be ready! What dress would she wear for dining tonight?

"Ceolwyn, come quickly! The counselors have probably arrived by now!"

As a part of her plan, Lothíriel had convinced her father to abandon his idea of an official announcement or ceremony.

"You can be sure there will be plenty of people opposed to the idea of a woman being heiress of the throne" she told prince Imrahil. "It will be better if we keep it as private as possible, at least for some time."

Her father had no doubts about her diplomatic skills, so he accepted.

There was another reason for canceling the announcement, though. A Haradrim diplomat requested an audience with him concerning the hand of his daughter. Prince Imrahil refused, alleging Lothíriel was not of age, but he realized that Lothíriel would be later sought out more insistently because of her heiress status. He did not want that kind of pressure for her daughter.

To prove her theory of the people's opinion, Lothíriel invited the prince's counselors to dinner. When the prince, on purpose, "wondered" if his daughter could make a fine ruler, many of them were scandalized by the mere idea. Anyway, they had been always bothered by the figure of the young lady in the meetings and councils concerning matters of state. Therefore, the announcement was discarded.

As every afternoon, Lothíriel was heading to the library, where there was a pile of books awaiting her presence. Suddenly Ceolwyn appeared out of nowhere, with a letter in her hands.

"My lady, this letter from your cousin has just arrived".

Faramir! Her dear cousin had news for her! It seemed that life was not as sad as she thought it to be these days.

"Finally, someone to write to… Remember I promised Elphir not to write to him until he wrote to me?"

The maid nodded.

"I will read it tonight. Thank you."

She headed to the library again when she heard a discrete cough.

"Yes, Ceolwyn?"

"Lady Lothíriel" and for some reason the girl dropped her voice "There is also King Eomer… I mean, you can write to him too."

Despite whatever intention the maid had with her suggestion, Lothíriel smiled. In fact, she smiled as she had not smiled in weeks.

This time, she headed to her chambers.