AUTHOR'S NOTE:
To my readers: I hope all of you have spent a joyous Christmas and I wish you a Happy New Year 2006.
This character (Fegel) has been annoying me for some weeks, and now she has a chapter for herself. With a little of Eomer in it, of course.
THE JEWEL OF DOL AMROTH
XI
THE NOBLEST LADY IN ALL THE MARK
"Would you help me, Fegel? I am tired, and my children need to be fed."
"Of course, mistress Hild. What do you want me to do?"
"I need you to keep an eye on those to boys who are cleaning the tapestries. Once they finish, be sure that they put them back without damaging them."
The Housekeeper of the Hall seemed tired, indeed. The king would arrive in a couple of days, and had ordered her to prepare a feast to celebrate the news of Eowyn's pregnancy. Many people of all over the Mark had arrived to this feast, including Fegel and Fromgast of Alburg, her father.
She had refused to come to Edoras since the very moment she learned of Eomer being the new king. She dreaded the possibilities. All these years spent within his father's household had taught her that power can make an instrument of a man. And she did not want that fate for her.
"Fegel Rochíriel" said a voice. It was mistress Annis, the second housekeeper in charge. "I have always wondered why you bear such a name."
"My mother took me to her land, Gondor, when I was a babe" Fegel answered "The people of her city called me Rochíriel, Daughter of a Horse Lord. Even she began to call me thus. But I am every bit the Rohirrim, mistress."
"And the noblest lady in all the Riddermark, it is said" Annis replied, in a low voice. "After lady Eowyn's departure, of course. You could be as well the next Queen of the Mark."
Fegel shook her head, and some of her golden curls fell out of place.
"I am still mourning, mistress Annis. The soil that covers my husband's grave is still fresh. But I appreciate your good wishes."
Her heart had been relieved when she found out that Eomer was visiting his sister in Ithilien. They had been always very close, Eomer and Eowyn. Fegel did not remember much of the sister of the king, except from her grey eyes and skill with the blade. And the furious look Eowyn had given her, the one time that Fegel won her in a competition. She laughed at the memory; to think that she, Fegel, used to be a shield maiden! Now, she was just "the noblest lady in all the Riddermark", as Annis had put it.
If she found out that every person in Edoras wished her to fill the empty throne of the Queen of the Mark, she would ran away in no time. Being daughter of a lord was annoying enough.
However, she thought, becoming Eomer's wife was not an unpleasant thought. They befriended shortly after he first came to Aldburg. He was a boy then, with sixteen years and bright grey eyes, very tall for his age. Fegel, a year older, treated him like a baby brother, and laughed at his naivety. A year and some months later, she had wanted to play with him, as always, and challenged to kiss her. She never imagined they would end up in the stables, surrounded by lots of straw, locking lips, until Fromgast arrived and threatened to kill him.
Her father had told her... Actually, he had ordered her to wait outside the meetings room. Fromgast was a little bossy these days.
The door opened, finally, and one of the councilors came to greet her.
"Well met, lady Fegel" he said "My lord Eomer will be here in three more days. You will have a unique opportunity to meet him and get acquainted, and if Béma favors us, in a week we could have a betrothal ceremony."
"I fear I don't understand, my lord" replied Feger. Her hands began to shake when she heard the answer.
"It is alright, my lady. Since the King has still not decided to find a wife and produce an heir, the nobles of the Mark have decided altogether to find her ourselves. And, despite your widow condition, there is no one better than you to be the next Queen of the Mark."
Fegel opened her mouth to protest, but her father silenced her.
"She is a well bred lady, distant relative of the King, with blood of the Eorlingas as well of the Gondorians. Fegel is strong and will give many sons and daughters to the King. What else Eomer can desire?"
It was highly offensive to be treated like a horse ready to be sold, and even more if the one who treated you thus was your own father. However, she had to keep her composure.
"A Gondorian lady, perhaps?" said Gamling, the chief adviser of the King, who had just came out of the meetings room.
"You mean the princess of Dol Amroth?" Fromgast said mockingly "She seems pretty, she may be smart, but she is not one of us. That girl, I think, is too fragile to bear children of the House of Eorl."
"Eomer seemed quite taken with her" Gamling answered.
"Still", replied Fromgast "he will prefer a lady of his people."
Fegel desired to leave the hall as soon as possible. The very air suffocated her. Besides, all those men seemed to have forgotten her. They should be ashamed of being discussing Eomer's marriage, as if he was a horse in need of a mare! Nevertheless, curiosity won her and she stayed.
If she was to stay in Edoras, Fegel thought, she would need an entertainment, at least until Eomer returned. Perhaps it would be interesting to find out who this princess of Dol Amroth was, and if Eomer was really taken with her.
After having lunch with Hild and Annis, Fegel retired to her rooms. They were located in the east side of the castle, and she felt that they were… how to put it… too "regal" for her taste. She preferred her humble house in Aldburg, where the only decorations were some ancient tapestries and wooden doors decorated with horse motives.
There was one thing, though, that caught her attention. It seemed that the last occupant of the room had forgotten the most peculiar piece of jewelry she had ever seen. It was a silver brooch decorated with some tiny crystals, shaped like a goose. Who would want a goose shaped brooch? Gooses were for eating, she thought, not for decorating…
In that moment, the door opened and a maid came, carrying some bed clothes.
"Ósle" Feger addressed the woman, smiling sweetly "Take a look to this brooch. Do you have any idea to whom it could belong to? To one of lord Eomer's girlfriends, maybe?"
The maid seemed to recognize it, and gave a little jump before answering:
"I'm sure it belongs to the princess Lothíriel, my lady. She might have forgotten it when she left, some months ago."
One of the things that Fegel had learned in Aldburg was to be a good listener. To not just listen to the words, but the intonation and the stress in the speaker's voice. These things were highly revealing. In this case, he maid's voice revealed that she was very fond of this princess Lothíriel.
"I think, dear Ósle, that it would please the princess if we delivered her the brooch to her home. Do you agree?"
The girl hesitated a little, and then nodded.
"She was a very kind lady, my lady, and I'm sure that she would be more than pleased."
"Well" Fegel answered "I will write to her and send her the brooch, but first I need you to tell me as much as you can about her. Otherwise I will not be able to write her. Do you have time?"
Ósle smiled, and began telling her about the princess.
Two days later, Fegel still could not bring herself to write that letter. Perhaps it would be better to wait until Eomer came back from Gondor. She was sitting in some stairs that led to one of the indoor gardens, attempting to braid some strands of her hair.
"My lady Fegel..." a voice said. It was Elfhelm. Of course she knew him, her father held this man in high esteem. She rose quickly and greeted him.
"Good day to you, Marshall Elfhelm. How can I help you?"
"Mistress Annis has sent for you, my lady, and begs you to go to your rooms. Eomer King and the Royal Guard have been seen near the outskirts of Edoras and will be here in no time."
Fegel froze. This is it, she thought. We will face each other and see if there is something stored in the future for us.
"Thank you, my lord. I will be there shortly." she said simply.
Ósle and Annis were waiting for her. Without listening to Fegel's words of protest, the women bathed her, washed and combed her wavy golden her. When they chose a light green dress, however, Fegel's temper rose.
"I'm a widow of war, not a blushing maiden, and will be presented to the King thus. Therefore I will dress in black!" she stated.
"Lady Fegel, if you please, be reasonable" mistress Annis said. "You do not want to disappoint the court by dressing such, when we are supposed to celebrate the end of the War and the joy of the news of lady Eowyn's pregnancy."
"Mistress Annis is right, my lady..." the maid added.
Finally, Fegel gave up, and allowed the women to dress her as they wanted. Meanwhile, her thoughts flew to another time, another place...
"I can have any woman in the Mark, if I want to. Any!"
"Do you think so, Eomer son of Eomund? Women are not an easy prey for men. Alright, I dare you to kiss me!"
"What? That is not fair! You are almost like a sister! I cannot kiss my own sister!"
"You coward! Are you afraid of me?"
She looked herself into the mirror for the last time. Her golden head was surrounded by a thin circlet, her only piece of jewelry. The infamous green dress was beautiful, she hated to admit it, and brought out her blue eyes. She had wore it only once, in a feast in Aldburg. That day, she had met Grimbold, her late husband.
She may have not loved him, but Grimbold was a good man. Her father had always wanted to arrange a marriage for her. At first, he thought of Elfhelm, but at the end he decided on Grimbold. They married a a year before the War of the Ring. She had bore him twin children, but they died shortly after their birth. Soon after their death, she was told that her husband had fell in Mundburg.
After having lost her husband and her children, Fegel thought, any woman would be overjoyed to know that there was a chance for her to be none other than the wife of a king. She thought that doing that was insulting to their memories. Truly, she had not loved Grimbold as she had loved their children, but, after all, he had always been a good man to her.
"Are you well, my daughter? You seem unwell..." Fromgast said to her.
"I am fine, father" she replied, accepting his arm. They were standing at the top of the stairs leading to the Golden Hall of Meduseld, along with other councilors and the Marshalls of the Mark.
Moments later, a group of Riders came into view, and crossed the walls of Edoras.
"Hail, Eomer King!" exclaimed a guard, as a broad shouldered man went off his horse. Immediately, two stable boys came to help him and took the horse to the stables.
Fegel's stomach ached with expectation.
After some of the men greeted him, Eomer noticed Fromgast.
"Well met, my King. Here I present you my daughter, Fegel, who has rode with me all the way from Aldburg to meet you." the man said.
Eomer's eyes flickered with recognition, and he smiled as Fegel bowed to him.
"My lord Eomer" she said.
"You are not Fegel Rochíriel" he said, with mirth in his eyes "Fegel Rochíriel would have never bowed to a soldier."
"I never bow to a soldier, indeed. But I have no choice, if the soldier is a king" she replied, smiling.
He seemed to ponder her answer, and bowed to her as well.
"It is an honor to welcome you to Edoras, lady Fegel of Aldburg."
She sighed with relief. His eyes showed nothing more than the memories of friendship. At least, for now, she was safe.