Chapter 7

The solution came to Lothiriel the day before the coronation.

It wasn't perfect, but it seemed like the best thing to be done about the Rohirrim, under the circumstances.

In the month since the end of the war, many of the wounded soldiers had made a full recovery and returned to their usual routines. The injured had ranked higher among the Rohirrim than the Gondorian, but in the care of the Healers of Minas Tirith all but a few of the more gravely injured men had been released from the Houses.

Of the few men that still remained, the Rohirrim numbered about twenty or so. Most of them had injuries too grave that it had left them crippled and probably disabled for life.

Their external injuries and wounds were well on their way to healing properly, but the problem lay in their rehabilitation. It took time and care to adjust accordingly, but not necessarily with the aid of a trained Healer.

And that provided the solution Lothiriel had been seeking all alone.

The Rohirrim would not be willing to stay behind in Minas Tirith once their King was ready to return to Rohan. The journey would be difficult for them, and once in Rohan they would require delicate care and a rigorous routine to help in their rehabilitation.

Technically, that task would require only the knowledge of the specific movements that would help in physical mobility, and perhaps a supply of beneficial herbs and instructions on their use.

If the Healers taught these to the Rohirric soldiers, why then they would be able to subsist on their own, without too much need of trained help. And surely, there would be someone versed in the healing arts in Rohan, that could help supervise their recovery.

Short of sending Healers to Rohan, this seemed like the next best solution to Lothiriel.

Of course, if some of the Healers from the Houses could go to Rohan that would be ideal, but they were needed here in Gondor, and sending them would place another burden on King Eomer of housing them, providing them resources and whatnot. Maybe in the future, some arrangement could be made, but at this time it felt too early to put such a strain on the still struggling country.

There was one problem with her plan, however. Lothiriel would need to talk to Eomer about it.

The thought of approaching him twisted up her stomach in nervous knots, but it had to be done. It was for the good of her patients, and if she were to be a good Healer, she needed to put aside her personal issues.

The day was beautiful and bright when the new king of Gondor was crowned by Mithrandir under the shadow of the Tower of Ecthelion.

It was an emotional ceremony, with the voice of King Elessar strong and steady in song as the white tree blossomed for the first time in ages. The true heroes of the war, the little hobbits from the shire, were properly honoured, and to Lothiriel the sight was nothing short of amazing.

To think such little creatures could have such courage. It lifted her heart not a little.

The most beautiful moment, however, was when the King was presented with his affianced, the Lady Arwen, daughter of Lord Elrond of Rivendell.

Lothiriel was standing beside her father, under the banner of the House of Dol Amroth, in a place of honour near the citadel gate. At the sight of the King and future queen embracing, she couldn't help but dash a few happy tears.

Across from her, she caught Eomer standing under the banner of Rohan, looking so unbearably handsome in a regal tunic of green and a cloak of rich dark red. His face was, for the first time in days, free of worry and though he didn't smile openly, there was no mistaking the lightness in his expression.

It had already been several days since their argument, and Lothiriel still felt bitter over it. What was it about her that he always managed to find so disapproving?

Shaking her head, she pointedly looked away. Today was a day of celebration, and she was determined to enjoy herself.

After the coronation was over, the crowd thinned, the people going to their homes but only to prepare for the long night of feasting to be held at the Citadel.

Lothiriel quickly found Miwien and the two of them proceeded to Lothiriel's room, giggling and gushing about the ceremony as they went. Earlier Miwien had brought her things over, and the two of them were going to get ready together, so they could leave for the feast together since neither of them had an escort.

When they reached home, Lothiriel found Eowyn who had been escorted by Faramir, and she quickly invited the lady to her room to prepare with them. Eowyn accepted, and after introducing her to Miwien, they all grabbed Eowyn's dress and things from her room and brought everything to Lothiriel's room.

Over the next hour there was much giggling and primping as the ladies all decked themselves in their finest dresses. Miwien unearthed a bottle of wine from her pile of things, and soon they were all partaking of the sweet drink between dressing their hair and lacing their underthings.

Eowyn had a beautiful white gown made for the occasion. It was in the Rohirric fashion, with a lower waist and a lower neckline, a fitted bodice, and long flowing sleeves. The gown was adorned with elaborate floral embroidery in silver thread.

Miwien and Lothiriel had, of course, matching gowns in the fashion preferred by Gondorian nobles. The overdress had a high waist, sitting just around their ribcage, with a fuller skirt, and fitted sleeves. It sat over an underdress, which had a modest neckline, and peaked under the slit of the overdress. Both dresses were made in silk, though Miwien's was deep red, and Lothiriel's was the classic Dol Amroth blue.

Lothiriel was just helping Eowyn with her hair, when there was a knock on the door. A glance at her window showed it was already approaching evening.

She was already dressed so she went to open the door, and found her father waiting outside.

"Lothiriel." Imrahil said, looking over her with warmth in his eyes. "You look beautiful, daughter. Your mother would have been proud."

Lothirel leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"Father, are you here to escort me to the feast?" she enquired, pleasantly surprised. "You should have said so I would be ready on time. I'll just be a minute."

"It would be my honour to have such a beautiful daughter to escort, but I am actually here for someone else." he replied, giving her an apologetic smile.

"Who-" Lothiriel began to ask but was interrupted by her friend.

"Can someone help lace me up?" Miwien called out as she emerged from Lothiriel's dressing room.

She froze as she noticed the door wide open, and the prince of Dol Amroth standing there. With a squeal, she ran back to the dressing room, her hands clutching her dress to her front.

"Ah." Lothirel cleared her throat, embarrassed for her friend, as she moved to close the door a little bit.

Behind her, she heard Eowyn chuckle as she went to help Miwien.

Imrahil cleared his throat also, looking pointedly at the door. "As a matter of fact, I came here to collect Lady Miwien. She had agreed to accompany me to the feast."

Lothiriel kept her jaw from hanging open, but just barely. Her father was taking Miwien to the feast? Her father? And Miwien?

She blinked rapidly, as she asked her father to wait for a while, before closing the door and going to her dressing room.

Eowyn was just finishing with Miwien's laces, the latter of whom stood with her face flaming and a glass of wine half drained in her hand.

"How is it possible he always manages to catch me at my worst?" Miwien muttered to herself.

Lothiriel cleared her throat. "Uh, yes my apologies for not letting you know the door was open." she said, still reeling at her latest discovery. "But, well, my father said he was here for you?"

Miwien turned even redder, and spluttered on her sip of wine. "Yes, um, he wanted to take me to the feast and I agreed."

Draining her glass, she straightened up, smoothed a hand over her gown, and pushed a lock of hair back behind her ear. She looked quite fetching, her red hair half pinned up and the rest woven with red ribbons. The dress accentuated her small waist.

"Well, I'd best be off. Let's hope I don't die from embarrassment tonight." With that, Miwien gave them a merry wave and went away.

Lothiriel turned to Eowyn who was looking far too amused.

"My father and my friend." she said simply, still far too shocked at the news. "How and when did that happen?"

"You'd best ask Miwien, if she manages to survive tonight." Eowyn answered, before taking Lothiriel's arm. "Come, we are both ready, and we had best take ourselves down too."

And so they went and descended the stairs together. At the bottom of the stairs stood Faramir, who soon had eyes for no one but the lovely Eowyn, and Amrothos.

Faramir and Eowyn soon left, and Lothiriel took Amrothos' offered arm as they too followed on their way to the citadel.

"Why, brother dear, you look quite dashing to be stuck escorting your sister tonight." Lothiriel said, only half teasing.

Amrothos really did cut quite a figure, tall and handsome in a rich tunic of black with the Dol Amroth symbol embroidered in silver thread on the back of it.

"I'm afraid, I couldn't choose to escort only one lady and risk making the others jealous. It's far safer for everyone involved, if I stick to my sister." he smirked.

Lothiriel lightly smacked his arm at the arrogant quip. But she was indeed grateful that Amrothos was here to accompany her. Miwien had gone with her father, and Eowyn had Faramir.

She wondered if Eomer had taken a lady to the feast. Earlier, at the coronation all the nobles had been gathered and it hadn't escaped her notice how they had scrambled to make the King of Rohan's acquaintance, with hopeful parents thrusting their single daughters practically under his nose. Perhaps, he had asked one of them to the feast.

The thought made her annoyed, so she tried to put Eomer from her mind.

Soon they were in the thick of the festivities and Lothiriel was immediately asked to dance by a young lord and Amrothos made a beeline for the buffet tables.

As she took her position opposite her dance partner, Lothiriel darted a surreptitious glance around the citadel hall.

The entire space had been cleared of everything except the throne at the end of the hall, to make room for all the people gathered tonight. Two large chandeliers hung from the ceiling on both ends of the hall, providing a dazzling light to illuminate couples whirling in a stately dance below. One side of the hall was lined with tables piled with meats, pastries, cheeses and an assortment of other finger foods, and near the front of the hall, next to the throne, were several large barrels of ale.

Lothiriel took this in as her gaze swept over the gathered crowd. She stood on her tiptoes to try and get a closer look at the throne where she supposed she would find King Elessar and Eo-

Catching herself with an annoyed huff, she quickly lowered herself and pointedly gave her attention to her dance partner. The musicians struck a lively tune and soon she found herself caught up in the delight of a fast reel.

The rest of the night passed in a whirlwind. She managed to snatch a dance with Erchirion, and even one with King Elessar, among other partners. She even joined Faramir and Eowyn in a jig.

To her amazement, she caught sight of her father and Miwien multiple times. Both were hardly seen in anyone else's company and they only joined a few dances and only with each other. Lothiriel even saw her father waving off a councillor when one tried to catch his attention, too focused was he on Miwien who had a happy flush throughout the night.

It had been many years since her mother's death, and though her father had loved her fiercely Lothiriel couldn't begrudge him this chance of happiness he seemed to have stumbled upon. Lothiriel had never seen her father involve himself in anything but work and duty over the last several years, and she was glad to see that for once he was taking the time to enjoy something else. Even if it was with her friend, who Lothiriel considered closer than a sister.

Well, though he was advanced in years, her father was still in the prime of his life and still healthy and hale. He deserved this. And so did Miwien.

As the night wore on Lothiriel found herself getting weary, but in a good way. She had partaken of the amazing buffet, maybe had a few too many cups of ale. And she had danced quite a bit.

Except with Amrothos, the rogue. He had escorted her to the feast but had yet to partner her for a dance.

She found him soon enough at the edge of the dance floor.

As she made her way towards him, she passed by a group of ladies gossiping, when she heard Eomer's name called out followed by uncontrollable giggling. Unable to help herself, she slowed and surreptitiously moved towards the periphery of the room to see what all the ladies were fussing about.

"It's true, I heard him myself." one of them was saying, tittering loudly. "King Eomer confessed to the dwarf that he preferred women with dark hair. Could it be? Is he really going to select his queen from our court?"

The ladies all giggled again and Lothiriel saw them all fluffing and preening their hair which were in various shades of dark brown and black.

"That is not what was said sister," one of the ladies offered, sounding unamused and bored. "He merely said he found Lady Arwen to be more beautiful than the Lady Galadriel."

"Anyone with half a wit can tell what he implied," the sister said, "clearly he has a preference for dark hair, and I have to say mine is quite similar in shade to Lady Arwen's."

As the group of ladies started arguing about who's hair was the darkest, Lothiriel moved away, shaking her head at their antics. It was just meaningless gossip and speculation, yet for some reason her heart pounded in her chest. Unwittingly, the shade of her own hair passed through her mind, which she knew was darker than midnight.

Scoffing at her foolishness, Lothiriel drew up near Amrothos, hoping to snag a dance finally. It was clear however, that her brother was foxed, and though his speech was clear, he swayed on his feet. On his arm was a woman, giggling and cooing.

"Dear sister, surely you can see I'm in no state to dance." Amrothos said, "Besides, I was just about to escort this lovely lady to the gardens. It's much too hot inside."

Lothiriel scowled, "By the state of you, I'll be surprised if you even make it there."

She snatched the cup of ale from Amrothos' other hand and pointed at the buffet table, "Go and eat something. And no more drinking."

"Uh, I hate when you act like a healer, sister." Amrothos groaned, looking forlornly at his stolen cup.

"I am a healer." Lothiriel grinned, taking a sip of his ale. "You need something in your stomach other than ale. And you know I'm right."

"Alright alright," Amrothos shrugged, then swayed into the lady at his side. "I'll go sober up a little then I'll partner you for that dance. In the meantime, you can dance with him."

Suddenly, with a surprising show of coordination and strength, Amrothos grabbed the arm of a passerby and shoved him in front of Lothiriel. Then with a jaunty wave of his hand he turned on his heel and disappeared with his lady, not knowing he had just left his sister in a very undesirable situation.

For the passerby was none other than Eomer. Of course.

Lothiriel inhaled as she took in the King of Rohan. He was dressed in a tunic of Rohirric green, with a wide belt of finely crafted leather around his waist. His sword, ever present, hung at his side, dragging the belt a little lower on that side. He was standing close enough that her senses were inundated with the warmth coming from him, his scent familiar and comforting.

All night she had caught herself before she could think of him or look for him, but now here he was. And she was suddenly recalling the bit of gossip she had heard and it lit up some hope in her chest despite herself, and it was suddenly entirely too hot in the room.

Lothiriel took a step back and stumbled into a pillar. Then Eomer was there, his hand sliding over her elbow to steady her. She looked up at him and her breath caught.

Lothirel knew she could not deny his invitation to dance, even if it was given against his will and which propriety demanded he could not retract, without appearing unbearably rude so she grudgingly accepted his hand and soon the both of them joined the other dancers.

She had caught glimpses of Eomer throughout the night of course. He was too tall and too handsome, standing out even amongst the nobles around him.

He had spent most of the night with the King's companions, the elf and the dwarf and the hobbits, appearing at ease with them. Occasionally he had danced with some daughters or sisters of the nobles he had been introduced to.

His face was stony, and Lothiriel felt the good cheer of the evening leaving her. She went through the steps of the dance, not allowing herself to become excited when his hand brushed over her waist for a turn.

"You know the Gondorian dances well."

"I had lessons."

"I'm sorry Amrothos foisted me on you. It was kind of you to offer to dance."

"I- forgive me but I do not mind." he said, sounding uncomfortable.

Ah, always so proper in his replies, yet managing to offend anyways.

"You could have fooled me. Always you seem to dislike my company, though I don't know what I could have done to merit it." Lothiriel said, arching her brow at him.

Eomer's hand tightened around her arm as he led her in a circle, "I don't dislike your company. I just don't find this easy, having the ladies of court paraded before me expecting something I cannot give."

"I think I made it clear I don't expect anything from you. You clearly have something against me. I remember when I first met you. You barely said a word to me, but had no problem spending the whole dinner with my sister-in-law in conversation."

"She talked with me about my horse! I have an easier time conversing about things I like."

"Well, do I need to ask you about your horse too? For you to be nice to me?"

"No, forgive me, I never intended to offend you." he said, his voice tight and strained.

"I just don't understand you."

The dance ended and Lothiriel curtsied and left without a backwards glance.

A/N: hello everyone! Thanks for waiting patiently for me to update! I said I will see this story through and I will, but updates might be slow so please bear with me.

I have been absent for a while, but I do read all the lovely reviews I get. Thank you so much for reading and taking the time to review!