A/N: FYI - I added an Explanatory Note to ch. 1 of this story regarding travel times/conditions. You may or may not be interested in going back to read that. It clarifies some things I didn't say much about at the time.
And, yep, Eomer and Lothiriel saddle up the old Whinney-bago and head off down the road again themselves...
Sorry this has taken so long to get written. I had a direction change in my thinking on where this was going and that kind of stalled things (you can thank/blame lady scribe of avandell for that!). I think I have the details worked out now, so hopefully it will be a simpler matter to sit down and write it going forward. Thanks go to Tracey for helping me sort it all through in my mind. Next up, I hope to get the next chapter of Leaves of Our Lives posted.
The Adventures of Theodred, Son of Eomer
Chapter 5 (begins October, 43 IV)
Freahelm eyed his friend in the firelight with vast amusement. "You truly are not very good at that!"
Theodred paused in his manipulation of the marionette he had purchased in Dale and retorted, "Kata said I was learning quickly! You cannot expect me to be an expert yet!"
"An expert, no, but Kata is wildly in love with you and her judgment is not to be credited! She worships the very ground your feet touch!"
"Fine!" Theodred replied, "I will put this away and not seek to give you entertainment tonight. Instead, I will write in my journal, leaving you to go out of your mind with boredom for the remainder of the evening until you decide to turn in for the night!"
Freahelm chuckled, and shrugged. "I was going to turn in now anyway, so it is of little matter. Put that toy away and come to bed. We have a long ride tomorrow."
Grinning, Theodred did as he was bid.
xx
They had been riding less than half an hour the next morning, and Theodred was finishing the last of his honeycake from breakfast.
Suddenly Freahelm glanced sideways at him and taunted, "You truly are a dreadful puppeteer, my friend. Why do you persist?"
Pretending to be affronted, Theodred sneered haughtily, "I am getting better and you will eat your words soon enough! Besides, those children at that village where we stopped thought my efforts were wonderful."
Freahelm laughed heartily, "Those children had never seen anything like it before. They did not realize how awful you are because they have never seen a good puppeteer!"
In response, Theodred threw his last bite of honeycake at his companion, but Freahelm merely caught it and popped it in his mouth with a grin, nodding his thanks.
Chuckling together, they rode in silence for most of the remainder of the morning.
xxxxx
The ride across the Wold and through the Eastemnet was quiet. The land was rather unchanging, and was largely easy going for the horses. They had found a Beorning to raft them down the Anduin to where it met the Limlight, and then they had struck overland. There were few fixed settlements in the Wold, and only slightly more as they entered the Eastemnet. Most of the inhabitants lived a nomadic existence and stopped wherever was appropriate to their herds' needs. In a few cases, small villages had sprung up and the nomads used them as touchpoints, or gathered there during the winter months.
The two travelers skirted alongside Fangorn Forest most of their way southwest, then followed the Entwash River south to the crossing at Entwade. From there, it was a day's journey home.
Both felt the excitement as Meduseld came into their view. It was good to be home. Much as they were enjoying the traveling, it would be wonderful to see their families again, sleep in a real bed and not have to chase down their next meal.
The gate guards detained them, inquiring after their travels and welcoming them back, so it took a while to make their way up the hill. Freahelm's home was farther down the hill, so the two men parted company as he split off there and Theodred continued on alone. Stablehands rushed forward and, for a change, he allowed them to tend his horse for him, eager to get inside and be reunited with loved ones.
The Golden Hall was virtually empty as he entered, delayed again at the door by welcome from those guards as well. Allowing his eyes to adjust to the lower light inside, he moved quickly down the length of the hall, but before he had reached the firepit mid way, Gamling entered from the side and smiled at him. "Theodred! Welcome home! I take it your parents do not yet know you are here?"
Theodred shook his head, "We are just arrived."
"Your father is in his study with Elfwine. I will have the queen join you there."
Theodred continued on his course, taking a deep breath before giving a quick knock and then stepping into the room. Both occupants looked up, startled, but then burst into wide grins. "Theodred!" they exclaimed simultaneously, rushing over to fervently embrace him.
"Look at you!" Eomer teased, ruffling his sun-bleached hair. "Finally, you look like a true Eorling! And you had to go to Gondor to accomplish it!"
Just then, Lothiriel burst through the door and flung herself into Theodred's arms, hugging him tightly. "Mother," he murmured warmly.
After several very long minutes, Lothiriel's hold on him eased, and she pulled back to look him up and down. Apparently satisfied that he was returning to her in essentially the same shape as when he left, her hand came up to caress his cheek. "Welcome home, dearest! You look well." She too noted his blond locks with a smile and ran her fingers through them. "This is different!"
He laughed. "Blame it on Uncle Amrothos and the sun of Dol Amroth. We spent so much time on the water and out in the sun that it lightened considerably." Lifting up a section of hair, he revealed the darker underpinnings, saying, "But it is still me at the roots!"
The family had not noticed that Gamling was lingering in the doorway, but now he stepped into the room, asking, "Shall I send word to the rest of your brood and invite them to supper this night?"
"A wonderful idea, Gamling! Thank you!" Lothiriel acknowledged.
As the Doorward departed, the three settled in to discuss their various travels and bring Theodred up to date on happenings in Edoras.
Supper proved to be an exciting affair that evening. Freahelm and his family had also been invited to join them, and despite Freahelm's relentless teasing, Theodred insisted on showing off his marionette skills to the nieces and nephews. Even the adults found it entertaining, and most everyone showed greater appreciation for his talent than Freahelm.
After the meal and the puppet show, Freahelm and Theodred distributed other toys and gifts they carried back, and then everyone relaxed, chatting in everchanging groups through the course of the night.
Theodred was not surprised to find Theomund examining the marionettes more closely. Taking a seat across from his brother, he silently watched his study then asked, "Could you make something like this?"
Theomund furrowed his brow as he more closely inspected the articulation points. "Possibly. It would be a challenge certainly, but I think I might enjoy the attempt."
"Kata says it is always difficult to come up with new puppets to work. Most of the makers tend to stick to certain tried and true forms and do not attempt much variation. I was hoping you might attempt to make some new ones for her – I had in mind to do one of Mother and Father for her to add to her collection."
Theomund grinned at the prospect, commenting, "Now that would be a challenge, indeed! I should very much like to try it. I must caution you, though, it could take a while."
"We have all winter!" Theodred replied, scooping Eledher up onto his lap. The boy had come over to join them in their perusal of the puppets.
"Will you show me how to do these?" Eledher asked.
"Of course! Though I warn you, some people claim I am not the best suited to be teaching such a skill!" Theodred tossed a look of feigned annoyance in Freahelm's direction, and both he and Theomund began laughing.
Eledher wasn't sure why they were laughing, but having secured the hoped-for promise, was willing not to question further on the matter. Hopping down from Theodred's lap, he scurried off to play with the other children. Theodred watched him a moment, then turned his eyes on Fele who was talking to Theodwyn farther down the table.
Quietly he commented, "So, brother, you are finally going to be a father – in the true sense of the word." Fele's swollen stomach had been readily noticed.
Theomund beamed with pride. "I am!" Watching his wife with adoring eyes, he murmured, "It is the greatest gift she could give me."
"What of Eledher?" Theodred asked curiously.
Turning back to level his gaze on his brother, Theomund firmly assured him, "Eledher is the same as my own. While I am delighted to actually father a child, I will never love it more than my 'first'."
Teasingly, Theodred told him, "Personally, I hope you have a dozen girls to torment you! Surely that would shake your annoying imperturbable attitude!" The two brothers broke into laughter at the comment.
"Perhaps! But I would welcome each and every one of them, all the same." Theodred couldn't argue that point. His brother had always adored children and was very good with them. In some ways, by marrying so late in life, he had remained youthful far longer than other men seemed to, and thus he related well to children.
Theodred's one disappointment in his homecoming was that Arawine was not present. He had ridden to Aldburg and was not due back for a couple of days. So eager was he to see his "twin", Theodred was half tempted to ride out and meet his nephew, but decided it would not be fair to his family, his horse or his tailbone to do so, and thus he reluctantly was forced to wait impatiently for Arawine's return.
Heavy rain the next two days slowed things even further, but finally by week's end, the pair were joyfully reunited. Over the course of the next month, you could barely find one without the other being there also. The family couldn't imagine that they had that much left to talk about, but the two never seemed to tire of one another's company. Theodred delighted in regaling him with all the details of his travels, even admitting the boar incident, though swearing him to secrecy, and particularly in telling him about Kata and his time in Dale.
Theodred had done as Elfwine had instructed, gathering information on increasing commerce and communication with that land. The Beornings were willing to maintain both a rafting service and a trail alongside the Anduin, in exchange for tolls. After the War they and the Woodmen had been given the central portion of Eryn Lasgalen as their domain. They were easily in a position to add waystations along the Anduin's eastern shore, as well as set up a ferry service at the confluence of the Anduin and the Limlight. This could be used for both travelers and communication or trade. They already had the waystations in place through Eryn Lasgalen, along the Old Forest Road, and they maintained the crossing at the Old Ford. There had been talk of rebuilding the bridge there and that was also a possibility.
In Wilderland, the River Running served well as a travel route, and already had some boating services in active play. The only hitch was the waterfall at the southern end of Long Lake where the river exited from the Lake, but there was easy portage around the falls and it created little delay.
King Darf had welcomed increased interaction with the outside world and looked forward to making it so, but as the bulk of the route there lay through the lands of Rohan, much of the decision on matters rested with King Eomer. After several discussions between him, Elfwine and Theodred, the plan was hatched for Arawine to be made Rohan's liaison with Dale. Come spring, he could begin to arrange for roads, waystations, trade agreements, etc. to set the entire thing in motion.
Arawine had readily agreed to the role he was being asked to play. As the eventual heir to the throne, he knew he had a responsibility to 'learn the trade', as it were, and what better way than getting to travel, see new places and particularly to visit a spot much spoken of by his beloved uncle.
The other thing Theodred had tentatively initiated was having the royal family of Dale visit Rohan when the winter weather had passed. He had discussed it with King Darf before he departed Dale, and it had been agreed that they would come for a visit in late March or early April – as soon as the weather permitted travel. That would not delay Theodred and Freahelm much from further adventures, and he had known his parents would not object to the invitation or visit.
xxxxx
The rainy weather of autumn soon faded into the snowy days of winter. Remembering many cold, rainy nights in a tent, Theodred relished the comforts of home. Adventuring was fine, on a limited basis, but all in all, he thought he much preferred the warmth of a hearth.
Word had been received from Linhir that Morwen had delivered a fine son, with his father's distinctive hair, whom they had named Randir. His father had chosen the name, which meant wanderer in Sindarin, and Morwen was a little concerned it might prove as prophetic for the son as the father, but she could refuse Caranhir nothing, and so the name stuck.
Already Lothiriel was planning a trip at the first sign of spring, and after his brief taste of freedom, Eomer relished the thought of another outing. Elfwine had managed impeccably in his absence, which had been reassuring to those who had been naysayers prior to the royal couples' excursion to the Shire. Eomer suspected it would not be nearly so difficult to escape this time.
Theomund had made considerable progress in his efforts at creating the two requested marionettes. He gave Theodred regular updates, and Theodred had stopped by his workshop a time or two to see them in person. Most of the bodies were complete, but now Theomund was facing his greater challenge – the faces. He was trying to decide whether to attempt carving the faces, which could be disastrous to the whole project if it didn't go well, or to just paint them. Artist that he was, he was insistent that the faces look very much like his parents and be readily recognizable. He practiced on numerous heads, trying to get just the right features and expressions on them. Even so, he finally decided to mix carving and painting to get the best effect.
He had spent long evenings by the fire practicing his carving on the heads, and Eledher had become fascinated with what he was doing. Consequently, he had given the boy a knife and some wood, then had Freawine provide basic instruction in wood carving. Eledher was quite content to whittle away, sitting at Theomund's feet.
Much as he was enjoying being home, Theodred was beginning to eagerly look forward to spring and their return to traveling. His parents' tales about their trip to the Shire had fired his imagination in that regard. While in Minas Tirith, before they had left for Dale, King Elessar had given him a letter directing the staff of his palace at Annuminas to extend the young men every courtesy upon their arrival. He had also supplied them with detailed directions for finding Rivendell, so they might visit there and meet his brothers, Elladan and Elrohir.
With the advent of mid-February, despite the weather still being chill, Eomer and Lothiriel were off to visit with Morwen and greet their newest grandchild. Theodred decided to accompany them, using the stopover in Minas Tirith to send word to Dale and inquire about their plans. If they were coming soon enough, he would await them in the White City and journey with them back to Edoras.
It gave him a strange sensation to be traveling without Freahelm, he had gotten so used to having the other man at his side. Still, it was rather enjoyable being with his parents and getting an idea of what their travels had been like. Just as his mother had indicated, his father seemed to revert to Third Marshal Eomer and run around like a man less than half his age. And, even more amusing was the fact that his mother seemed to encourage it. The more he watched, the more it was evident to him that she knew how to help his father relax and enjoy himself. Over the years, she seemed to have refined her technique, and he knew that few of the men who were his father's age appeared as youthful and energetic. In some ways, he felt like he was seeing his parents anew, learning things about them he had never before noticed. And it only served to increase his admiration for them both.
They enjoyed a brief visit with their friends in Minas Tirith, Theodred sent his message north, and then they boarded a boat to sail down the Anduin to Pelargir and would travel overland from there to Linhir. Faramir and Eowyn joined them for the boat trip, but continued on south to Dol Amroth to visit the relations there.
Morwen was doing well when they arrived, but the house was in total dissarray. Caring for the new baby, as well as a toddler, was keeping her busy and tired, too tired to hold the line against Caranhir's casual habits. The servants made an effort to keep on top of things, but it was clear that Morwen was finally giving in to the inevitability of the matter. This was probably in large part due to having had a colicky baby for several months. She had discovered that the only thing that really worked well in soothing Randir was to keep him in quiet, darkened rooms and humming to him. To his credit, Caranhir had been very good about keeping Mirlas occupied much of the time, taking her along with him whenever he could, to allow Morwen some slight reprieve.
The baby was gradually showing improvement and, after they had been there over a week, he seemed to have mostly stopped his excessive crying, for which Eomer was grateful. None of his own children had been like this, and he was finding the loss of sleep difficult to deal with for an extended period of time.
Mirlas quickly had her grandfather wrapped around her little finger, and he spoiled her terribly for the duration of their stay. Lothiriel pitied her parents having to cope with her once they were gone, and she could no longer get anything she wanted with a cherubic smile and wet kiss on the cheek.
While they were there, Amrothos and Danwen came north to spend a sennight with them, bringing a pile of gifts for the baby. Having only had one child, who in turn only had one child, Danwen was feeling bereft of babies to shower her affections upon, so she took every opportunity to spend time with the grandchildren of others.
As mid-March approached, word came from King Elessar that the party from Dale would be arriving at the end of the month, so they began to pack up and prepare for their return home. Caranhir promised to bring the family to Edoras for an extended visit, when the baby was older.
Theodred found he was looking forward to seeing Kata and her family again. They had sent word back to Elfwine of their expected arrival date, so Meduseld could be prepared. King Darf's missive had given them a better idea of how many guests to expect.
As it turned out, Fritha had not accompanied them. During the winter, she had become quite involved with a young nobleman in Lake-town, and decided she would rather stay home on this trip.
It was clear that Kata was thrilled to see Theodred again, and her eyes followed him from the instant they were reunited. Gird also seemed pleased to see him again. He had gained a grudging admiration for the young man, once he had come to trust his motives a bit more than he had initially. Kata's response to the man still worried him somewhat, but it was not Theodred's fault she was infatuated, and it was evident he had no desire to hurt or misuse her.
Though the royal family of Dale had met the royals of Rohan several years past, it was long enough ago that Theodred made introductions once more. All stayed at Minas Tirith for a few days, to allow the people of Dale to rest before the next leg of their very long trip.
Lothiriel invited Kata to join her on her shopping trips, and a bit reluctantly the girl did so. She would much rather have been with Theodred, but he was often off with Gird, and so it seemed a pleasant enough way to while away some time. The queen soon had Kata at ease with her relaxed manner, and through some careful questions Lothiriel was quickly able to get a sense of Kata's feelings for her son.
Without realizing how open she was being, Kata told how her mother had died some six years ago of a noxious tumor, her enthusiasm for puppetry and how very special she thought Theodred was. She had even confided the agreement that the two had made when they last had seen one another. Lothiriel was concerned by that, since the advantage of it all seemed on Theodred's side, but for the time being she thought it best to stay out of the matter. Much could change over time.
Soon enough, the group was on the road to Edoras. Fortunately, a warm spell put in appearance, making for a pleasant and dry journey. Theodred eagerly relayed tale after tale to the visitors, about Rohan and the history of the places they were passing along the way. A week later, Meduseld came into view, in all its magificence. They had gotten this first glimpse as they were beginning to set up camp for the night. To their surprise, just as they were sitting down to eat supper, a party of riders approached under the king's banner, led by Arawine. He had known they would be arriving soon and had begged permission to ride out and meet them.
Taking the opportunity, Eomer introduced his grandson to the Dale contingent, indicating he was to be their liaison in getting trade and communication going between their lands. Readily King Darf and Gird greeted the newcomer and spent the entirety of supper discussing ideas on the matter.
Likely neither of the visitors noticed Arawine's frequent glances toward Theodred and Kata, and Theodred knew his nephew was anxious to speak with him and become better acquainted with the young lady of whom he had heard so much. Not until supper was concluding, however, was Theodred able to sneak Arawine from their clutches, with the help of his father who had guessed the two would want to talk and intervened to keep Darf and Gird occupied the rest of the evening.
Theodred was delighted when Arawine and Kata hit it off immediately. Theodred had told each so much of the other, that they seemed comfortable almost instantly, feeling as though they were already friends. He would have been sorely disappointed if either had not been able to like the other. The three of them stayed up far later than they should have laughing and talking, each young man trying to outdo the other with embarrassing tales.
When at length they settled in for the night, Arawine sharing Theodred's tent, Theodred queried, "So, what do you think of her? She is delightful, is she not?"
Arawine promptly replied, "She is all you said and more, uncle. I look forward to getting to know her better, in Edoras and while I am in Dale."
With a grin in the dark, the two settled into their bedrolls, and Theodred drifted to sleep awash in satisfaction.
TBC
FYI: Colic is the generic term given to uncontrollable excessive crying which lasts for an extended amount of time and occurs three or four times a week by an infant between the ages of 10 days to 4 months. It is estimated that about 25 of newborn babies will exhibit signs of colic as they grow.
Over 90 of babies with colic would fall under this category either partially or fully. Babies can have a difficult time getting used to the huge amount of stimuli present in life outside of Mom's body. Their reaction to this stimuli overload is to cry and scream. This would explain why the colic tends to disappear at three to four months of age. At this age, your baby's nervous system has had time to mature and learn how to deal effectively with the stimuli which previously caused such an overload.