The Adventures of Theodred, Son of Eomer

Chapter 6 (begins April, 44 IV)

Their return to Edoras was just in time to greet the arrival of another new babe. A welcome feast was postponed, with the ready consent of the Dale party, when Fele went into labor only hours after they reached Meduseld. Lothiriel quickly went to her side, to assist Frideswide as needed and help with Eledher.

Theomund had been twelve years old when his youngest brother was born and, though concerned for his mother, not terribly interested in the whole matter. Over the years, he had lingered on the fringes as his siblings had children, and while he welcomed each new babe and soon became a beloved uncle to them, he had never before truly known the anxiety that attended the birth of a child. This was his beloved Fele crying out in pain; this was his dear Eledher looking frightened by what was happening to his mother.

Lothiriel spent most of her time with the two of them, soothing their nerves and offering reassurances, while leaving Frideswide available to be with her daughter and aid her through the birthing process. Theomund was torn between a desire to hold his wife's hand and offer his strength to her, and the dread of what actually seeing her would do to his heart. His was such a gentle soul that he knew it would rip him apart that he had been instrumental in bringing such agony upon someone so beloved. Never mind that it was the natural course of things, that she happily bore the pain to give him a child. No, he could best deal with this from a distance, cruel though it seemed to him. Even his mother's assurances that Fele likely was too busy to notice his absence did not entirely quell his feelings of guilt over the matter. But Eledher needed him also. There was some solace in that.

The birthing went long into the night and not until nearly dawn did the babe come forth – a fine son, which they named Haldred. Once it was determined that mother and child were well, and out of any danger, the happy family sought rest. Lothiriel took Eledher back to the Golden Hall with her for Dariel to tend while she slept, leaving his parents to rest also without having to see to his needs. Frideswide remained on hand to help as needed.

When Theomund and Fele had married, Theomund had insisted he would not have Frideswide live anywhere other than with them, unless she desired it. She had rather expected he would wish to establish his own home and be free of parental interference, but his generous nature did not see things that way. They were his family – all three of them. He had insisted that she choose any room in the house that she liked, and though it was downstairs rather than up with most of the family bedchambers, she had selected an unused room on the ground floor with a sunny view of the garden. Because Fele continued to work, without objection from Theomund who knew she enjoyed it, Frideswide had insisted she be given the charge to keep the house for them. Even so, Theomund had finally relented and hired a household servant to assist her. He did not want her to feel she must work for her keep. Whatever she did in his house must be by choice rather than obligation.

Lothiriel was grateful to find, upon rising from her nap, that Dariel had already taken it upon herself to make arrangements for supper that evening. Privately, it pleased her that Dariel felt free to step into the role as head of the household, even with Lothiriel in residence. Far from feeling threatened, she knew the younger woman would be better served gaining such experience while she was around to support her, than learning while under pressure in the Queen's absence. She had often aided Lothiriel in the past, and there had likely been a few occasions when she'd had to act during the time Eomer and Lothiriel were off traveling, but Lothiriel wanted her to feel comfortable in the role that would someday be hers as queen of the Riddermark. Dariel would never seek to supplant her in any way, and she was quite certain the woman would yield if asked to do so. Accordingly, Lothiriel made a point of letting Dariel see her pleasure and acceptance of her actions, making no effort to countermand any of her instructions.

Supper was a joyous occasion as all celebrated the newest member of the king's extended household. Lothiriel discovered that in her absence, Elfwine and Gird had hit it off tremendously well, and had spent most of the day together, in the company of their fathers, discussing proposals for their future interaction. Likely they would have snared Arawine to join them, but he and Theodred had been up early and coerced Kata into going riding with them. They knew all too well what would happen if they remained near home when their fathers were in 'diplomatic mode'. While Arawine understood he had an obligation to be a part of that diplomacy also, he was still young enough to enjoy being largely free of responsibility in that area. He would accept his role as liaison, but he did not want to spend all his time indoors discussing trade relations for hours on end.

The trio had ridden to several of the "twins'" favorite spots, ending up at the old swimming hole. It was still too chill to consider a dip, but the area was beautiful and restful. Kata grinned when she saw it, claiming, "This reminds me of home! I did not expect Rohan to have such an oasis in all its rolling plains!"

Flopping down on his back, his arms behind his head, Theodred laughed up at her. "We are full of surprises!"

Catching her elbow, Arawine helped Kata be seated on a patch of grass nearby, adding, "Much of Rohan is open plains, but when you get near the mountains and rivers, it is much greener and more as I would expect Dale is."

She nodded. "Theodred said as much when he was there. Though I confess, I miss the bells."

"Me also!" Theodred assured her. "It was one of my favorite parts of the experience."

"I look forward to that, and to seeing Lake-town and all the other many things Theodred described to me. Will you be my guide?"

Kata smiled, giving a slight blush as well. "Of course! I should be happy to do so. If you are able to escape my father and brother, that is. You will not have Theodred there to help you sneak away and, as the visitor, you will have a greater responsibility to behave!"

Theodred chuckled and closed his eyes, enjoying the warming rays of the sun as he admonished, "Aye, nephew! The lady makes an excellent point. I warned you that you would one day regret being the heir!"

Arawine cocked an eyebrow at him, then ripped up a handful of dirt and grass, which he dropped in Theodred's face. The other man sat up spluttering as Kata struggled not to laugh, covering her shocked face and trying to hide her amusement.

"As heir, however, I may torment others without fear of repercussions. If they retaliate, I can have them thrown in the dungeon!" Arawine smirked.

Brushing the last of the grass from his face, Theodred suddenly lurched at his 'twin', pinning him to the ground. "I will risk it!"

The two tussled for several minutes as Kata scrambled to get out of their way, laughing so hard she got a stitch in her side. It took a while, but finally they seemed to silently call a truce and sat back from their wrestling match, grinning broadly.

Reseating herself alongside them, Kata told them coyly, "I would congratulate the victor, but I am not certain which that would be!"

The three of them broke up laughing again, as Theodred and Arawine simultaneously answered, "Neither are we!"

They whiled away the next few hours, laughing and talking there. At one point Theodred decided Kata's lap would make an excellent pillow, but Arawine would not be outdone and jockeyed for a spot as well. Eventually, when it looked as though it might deteriorate into another wrestling match, with her trapped in the middle, Kata threatened to smother them both and resolve the matter instantly.

At length, they realized they should be getting back to wash and dress for supper that evening. The day had served to strengthen the friendship among them, and Kata realized that she felt utterly comfortable with the both of them. Apparently all the time she had spent in company with Theodred, learning to be somewhat at ease with him, had transferred naturally over to Arawine. The two men were very much alike, though also different in many ways. Perhaps because he had grown up knowing he was the eventual heir to the throne, Arawine had accepted his lot in life. She could not imagine that Theodred would ever settle readily into such an existence.

Surprisingly enough, Kata had heard that when they were children, Theodred had been the quieter of the two, but in later years he had become the more boisterous and Arawine had tended to let him take the lead. Perhaps it had to do with the slight age advantage, or maybe it was connected to the expectations on them in the future. Whatever it was, it had reflected in their personalities. Many seemed to consider them virtual reflections of one another, but Kata could easily see many differences between them.

Freahelm joined them at supper, being acquainted with the visitors from Dale. He had not seemed overly surprised to learn of Fritha's reason for being absent, and it did not appear to concern him greatly, for which Kata was grateful. She had been afraid her sister had led him on and would hurt him, but clearly he was not in danger as she had thought.

Mealtime proved to be a more subdued affair than when Kata was alone with the two young men. It was evident they well understood that they needed to behave themselves here, but with the two sitting next to one another and Kata across from them, she didn't miss an occasional poke or nudge from one to the other. Freahelm was seated to her left and noticed her watching them with amusement. "You are enjoying the twins' antics, then?"

She grinned in response, then flashed him a puzzled look. "Twins? I thought Theodred was Arawine's uncle."

"He is, but they are only four months apart in age. The two were raised alongside one another and were virtually inseparable. Even today, whenever possible, they are always together. Somewhere along the line someone dubbed them 'the twins', and it has stuck. Uncle and nephew are their proper labels, but they have ever been brothers of the heart. Were Arawine not the heir to the throne, it would have been him accompanying Theodred on his travels rather than me."

Kata hesitated then asked gently, "Does that bother you?"

With a hearty laugh, Freahelm shook his head. "No, I have known the twins far too long to be jealous of their relationship. We are all good friends, just the same, even if they are closer. So much so, that it is not unlikely that even if Arawine could have gone with Theodred, he would still have invited me to join them."

Over the next few days, Arawine could not entirely escape being in meetings with the King, his father and the men from Dale. Kata and Theodred tried not to do anything he would miss out on during those times, sometimes just walking about Edoras and looking in windows, or letting Kata shop for a few things to take home with her.

Like many others before them, when the three were together, they tended to gravitate to Lothiriel's garden, particularly since a spell of very fine weather was upon them earlier than usual. It had become something of a constant entertainment that whenever they were sitting anywhere, the two men would vie to be the one laying their head in Kata's lap. Arawine found he had the advantage, since Theodred was often scribbling away in his journal even while they talked and laughed together. Kata wasn't entirely sure whether her lap made that wonderful a pillow to be so coveted, or whether the two just liked an excuse to best one another.

This particular day found them thus. Arawine had his eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the sun and feel of Kata absentmindedly carding her fingers through his hair. Theodred had undertaken a drawing of the two of them in that pose. For a time, not much was said, but then Kata ventured, "The two of you do look very similar – almost twins. Well, except for the hair."

Without looking up from his drawing Theodred laughed. "Even the hair, most of the time. Mine is slowly getting darker again now that I am not in the sun so much. But Elfwine and I always did look quite a bit alike, so it is not too surprising Arawine would resemble me also."

A sleepy voice mumbled from Kata's lap, "Just my luck!"

Theodred kicked his leg in retribution, saying, "Watch your mouth, nephew! I can always change your appearance in my drawings and you would not like the representation!"

With his eyes still closed, Arawine smirked, "It is little matter, uncle. No one can recognize anyone in your drawings anyway. They will not know that it is me you have butchered!"

Sensing this was about to deteriorate into another wrestling match, Kata quickly scooted away, just in time to miss Theodred tossing aside his journal and launching himself at Arawine. The two tumbled about for several minutes, battling for supremacy, while Kata hooted with laughter. At length, however, they were all distracted by Eledher running up to them.

Seeing the boy coming, the two broke off their mock fight to sit and catch their breath, and Eledher looked disappointed at not getting to join in. With a sigh, he told them, "Papa said I should come tell you, Theodred, to come to the shop and bring Kata with you."

"He did, did he? Did he say if it was urgent?" Theodred asked leadingly.

Eledher wrinkled his brow, not expecting such a question, "Ummm, no."

"Good! Then there is time to tickle you first!" With that Theodred flung himself on the boy, pinning him quickly to the ground, and Arawine rushed to join him.

After a minute or two, Kata took pity on the poor, outmatched lad and grabbed each man by a hank of hair, giving a sharp jerk. With a yowl, they each broke off the attack as they grabbed their heads, and Eledher quickly recovered enough to jump on Theodred and attempt to tickle him. Arawine tried to join in, but Kata had maintained her hold on their hair to give the boy a fighting chance, and Eledher got in a few good licks before they all collapsed laughing.

Laying on his back, breathing heavily through his laughter, Arawine glanced at Theodred. "She is tricky, that one! We had best keep a closer eye on her!"

Kata stood eyeing the three of them, with her arms crossed. "It served you right, ganging up on a small child. Shame on you both!" Smoothing her skirt, she gave them a prim look and said, "Now do you think you can manage to stop fooling around and escort me to see Theomund – as requested?"

Rising in a swift, easy motion, Theodred grinned apologetically. "As my lady wishes!" He gave a mocking, flourishing bow and she cuffed his shoulder.

Arawine had stood as well, and innocently offered his arm. "Would my lady care for a gentleman to escort her instead?"

Pretending to sniff huffily, she took Arawine's arm with a flip of her hair. Chuckling good-humoredly, Theodred scooped up Eledher and bolted down the garden path to the lower gate, leaving the pair to follow at a slower pace.

When they reached the shop, Theomund was grinning like a cat who'd caught a bird. Leading them to his office, and pulling chairs in from his and Fele's work areas so everyone could be seated, he nudged Eledher and gleefully the boy scooped up a basket hidden under Theomund's desk. It was almost too big for the boy to hold, so Theomund caught one end and they marched it ceremoniously over to Kata. A blanket was laid over the contents so she could not see what was there, and she eyed it curiously. Beside her, her companions were fairly twitching with excitement.

Stepping into his businessman mode, Theomund formally told her, "My lady Kata, the Lord Theodred of Rohan has commissioned a work on your behalf. I can only hope my humble attempts will meet with her ladyship's approval."

Nodding to Eledher, the boy whisked the blanket off to reveal the two marionettes, calling out, "Surprise!" His admonition applied not only to Kata, who was overwhelmed at the wonderful puppets laying there, but also Theodred.

Reaching toward the basket in amazement, he picked up the two extra heads that were nestled next to the figures. "What is this?" And then as he turned the faces to examine them more closely, he broke into a wide grin. "Excellent, brother! You did Elfwine and Dariel also!"

Theomund was clearly pleased, both at Theodred's appreciation and that he had easily recognized the two figures. "They are interchangeable to the bodies, so that will give Kata four new puppets instead of two. Now she has the entire ruling house of Rohan."

Pointedly, Arawine cleared his throat, commenting, "And what am I? Mother and Father always claimed I was related and next in line..."

Theomund shrugged, telling him, "When you get married, I will consider doing you. They come in pairs and you are a solo."

"These are wonderful!" Kata enthused, interrupting the friendly teasing. "Thank you so very much!"

"Now you must put on a show for us. We do so long for a good puppet show at Meduseld, and if we restrain Theodred so he cannot help you, we may finally get one!" Arawine smirked.

Knowing full well what was coming, Kata dropped the puppets quickly in the basket, snatched the two heads away from Theodred and bolted with the lot behind the shelter of Theomund's desk. Apparently she was not the only one to recognize the danger, for Theomund scooped Eledher up under one arm and followed her lead. "You obviously learn quickly," Theomund commented to the girl as they watched the mock battle raging on the floor of his office.

"I have been here less than a week and this is at least the sixth time they have done this. Already I recognize the earliest signs!"

They watched the two grappling for several moments until Theomund observed, "I do believe it is dinnertime. Shall I help you carry the puppets up to Meduseld?"

Kata shrugged agreeably, they each seized a basket handle and the three of them carefully edged around the two scrappers and strode out the door, leaving them to follow eventually.

Several minutes later, when the two finally called a truce, they looked around in surprise. "They left us!" Theodred exclaimed indignantly.

Snickering derisively, Arawine replied, "And this astonishes you? Come on. Likely they have gone to eat and I am starved." He rose and pulled his uncle to his feet beside him, then they exited the shop with an arm around each other.

For the remainder of the day, Theodred and Arawine managed to refrain from any further tussles, and instead turned their attention to creating a stage for Kata to use that evening. Once more Eomer and Lothiriel's extended family was invited to come to supper and enjoy the show, though Kata felt a bit self-conscious with such a large audience. Despite Arawine's remark, Theodred was allowed to assist her and she was pleased that he had clearly been practicing since he left Dale, and was much improved.

By the following day, Theodred had produced a short script for a play, and they had invited the people of Edoras to bring their children to a show. So many wished to attend, that they had to do several shows, particularly since the parents were just as eager as the children, and even unmarried men, women, boys and girls snuck in around the perimeter for a peek at this novelty.

Not wanting to feel left out of things, Arawine busied himself behind the scenes helping with the puppets and getting them ready for their next appearance. The trio soon got sufficiently in sync with each other's movements that they deftly weaved and twined around one another without getting entangled.

For the duration of their visit, Kata willingly put on shows, and Theodred enjoyed the challenge of writing new scripts for them to keep it more interesting. It was clear that all were going to miss Kata and her talent when she left.

At length, the time came for the Dale contingent to depart. Eomer and Lothiriel had decided to take the opportunity to travel with them, and make a visit to this distant land neither had ever seen before. Arawine was scheduled to set out with a party across the Eastemnet and Wold, plotting a roadway based on the notes Theodred had provided. He would meet up with his grandparents in Dale and then return home with them.

Concurrently with those two exoduses, Theodred and Freahelm were preparing to set out once more on their own travels. Kata had secured a promise that they would return to her country for another visit. Their current plans called for them to head northwest toward the Shire and visit with Merry and Pippin while staying at Annuminas, then swing through Bree and on to Rivendell. From there they could take the High Pass over the Misty Mountains to visit Dale once again.

And so the various groups made their preparations and departed all on the same day. Meduseld would seem very quiet indeed, with so many of her own away for the next few months.

TBC

5-27-06

Eledher is now 6; Haldred – "healing wisdom"