As time passed in Aldburg the relationship between Eomer and Lothiriel did little to improve. As the princess had calmed she accepted that she would have to get passed the incident in her own way, as it was clear that Eomer had. She recognised that his absence from the great house was his way of mending the bridge between them for what she saw that night. The young woman remembered her conversation with Aethelred and concluded that the Marshall was indeed putting her needs before his. She decided that it would have to be her to make the first move and invite him back into the house that was rightfully his not hers.

The princess found her chance one evening when Eomer chanced upon her room. She was already to turn in for the night but permitted him entry. It was his room after all. He explained he had left some belongings in the chest that lived next to his armour mannequin. As he searched inside the wooden box he felt her eyes bore into his back and he mistakenly took this for derision.

He stood from the floor and said, "What is it princess...say what you must and be done with it."

Lothiriel inhaled angrily. Her pride wounded at his unkind words. She had never known a person so contrary and coarse.

"How have I wronged you Eomer?" Lothiriel shot at the soldier.

"Please, tell me? I cannot begin to fathom what I have possibly done... to earn such contempt from you."

Eomer refused to turn and face her. He merely stood there staring down at the object in his hands as he tried to make his anger ebb away. This enraged the princess further, so she stalked over to the other side of him and glared to illicit a response.

"Eomer please," she softened, "I know there is no care in your heart for me. But I am your brothers wife. I do not wish to be a source of torment for you. Tell me what I can do to resolve this."

Eomer inhaled and stared at the princess. Lothiriel did not care for it, but at least it was a reaction. She had earned little else than infrequent grunts since the night she happened upon him. She was naive to believe that anything had changed in the last few days.

Eomer straightened to his full height and exhaled calmly and slowly. He had tried so hard to stop these feelings, ever since the day he saw her at the foothills of Meduseld. He knew then those feelings were wrong, that to love Lothiriel of Dol Amroth, of Rohan was unequivocally forbidden.

"I love and respect Theodred, this is true...but you cannot possibly begin to imagine what I hold in my heart. The dark thoughts that plague my mind." He moved around the low chest, edging closer to the young women, "How I would love nothing more than to take the one thing that he holds dear. Take her to my bed and refuse to give her back, until I have heard my name on her lips, over and over and,"

Slap! Lothiriel's hand was quick and hard and caught him completely by surprise. She knew exactly what Eomer was suggesting.

"How dare you." She spoke calmly, "I am his wife." Lothiriel was shocked at her response.

Eomer seemed to calm and let out a shaky breath he hadn't realised he had been holding, "Yes...and I love his wife more than I can bear."

The princess looked at Eomer a mixture of shock and could it be delight? He claimed her mouth with his, to stop her protestation and pleasantly felt her return the kiss with as much passion as he offered it. The hot blooded man dared to grasp this woman, this beauty by the hips and pull her heatedly towards him. Lothiriel did not fight, but willingly wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands grasping the mass of his thick and matted hair. The soldier could scarcely believe that she wanted him as much as he had her, but he wasn't foolish enough to stop what they were doing to find out. Eomer brusquely grabbed at the edges of Lothiriel's night shirt and began to tug it upwards, passed her toned and tanned thighs and removed it in one clean swoop. There she stood just as he had imagined it. Perfect. He grabbed her behind and pulled her easily into his arms, wrapping her lithe limbs around his waist.

Lothiriel murmured her acquiesce in the depths of her throat and planted her lips firmly back onto Eomer's. The lustful woman felt herself suddenly being pressed against the walls of his chamber, which allowed her to remove her hands from her lover's neck and down towards his own shirt. She tugged at it impatiently, which resulted in a slight giggle of mirth from the man that pinned her there enticingly. He helped her remove it and returned his own calloused hands to her face, tracing the curve of her smile before kissing her passionately once more. The eager woman allowed her own hands to fall by Eomers side and began to loosen the trousers that clung to his hips. As the soldier had already been in a state of undress when he arrived, it was easy work to inch down the woolen hose and undergarments. Eventually Lothiriel could feel the hardness of his cock at her opening and sensed the urgency Eomer had to enter her. The salacious woman reached above her and found a sturdy oaken beam with excited fingers. Grasping on for leverage she felt Eomer inside her for the first time.

The sensation that filled the warrior's mind was both pure heaven and anguish. He had ached for this moment since had first seen the raven beauty, and enjoyed the tightness and wetness of Lothiriel as it wrapped around him now. His heart was beating so hard that he feared his chest would not contain it, but in the pit of his stomach he felt the queasy uneasiness of what he was doing to the woman that he had no right to claim. His heart overruled his better judgment and all Eomer cared about in that moment was how Lothiriel responded to him. For respond she did, in ways that the soldier had scarcely dreamt about.

She threw her head back as best she could against the wattle and mortar of his bedchamber. She moaned lustfully as if she cared not who heard her, and grasped his back firmly as her slender fingers dug into flesh. Eomer nestled his face into her neck, enjoying the smell of both their bodies as they mingled together. He thrust hard and determinedly, feeling his lover contract around him. They remained this way for some time before falling onto his bed, her bed as it had been since she arrived. It had provoked something deep within Eomer knowing that they had shared this bed separately but were now joined in it, in the most natural way a man and women could be.

Lothiriel too felt something stir in the depths of her heart. Her feelings for this man had come on so gradually that she had no idea of the validity of them. How Eomer made her feel right now, at this very moment was akin to no emotion she had ever felt before. To be replete with joy and unbound pleasure, made the princess' toes curl and her insides flutter with delight. When she and her husband made love it was not lacking in passion, but this was infinitely different and better than those unions had been. Was it love on her part? She wasn't completely sure. The young woman had little experience of the world and married so young, she wasn't clear about her true feelings. Lothiriel looked into her Eomer's eyes as he continued to make love to her and forgot all else save him.

As the night drew on, the princess and Eomer found themselves awake yet spent in one anothers arms. The soldier knew what had passed between them was wrong, but he was fighting these thoughts and remedying in his mind how he could keep her. Lothiriel's mind was just as plagued as his. She was married to a man that she knew she did not love. Yet he was a good and honest man, whom had showed her nothing less than respect befitting of a new wife. Moreover, he was Eomer's best friend and brother. What were they to do? The tired woman pushed the thought from her mind and lay quietly in the arms of her lover.

Lothiriel was the first to speak, "What must you think of me?" She said guilt ridden.

"Of you...what of me? I can scarce imagine the thoughts running through the corners of your mind."

"I am married." She replied flatly.

"I know." Eomer exhaled.

Lothiriel propped herself up on an elbow and looked at Eomer remorsefully, "I do not love him Eomer."

Her eyes were downcast as the reality of what they had just done hit her. Eomer grasped her face in his hands and drew her gaze towards him.

"It is not wrong to follow where your heart takes you."

Lothiriel attempted to smile but it did not come easily.

Suddenly there came a knock at the door. Both lovers sprang up in the bed, they had forgotten where they were in the midst of their passion.

"One moment please!" Lothiriel called out quickly.

The princess began scrambling around for her clothes and Eomer did the same.

"I must speak with my lord Eomer, your highness."

Lothiriel snapped her eyes on the man in question. She cringed inwardly that the guard outside her door knew that the Marshall was in there with her. Eomer pulled on his undergarments and walked swiftly to the door. He pulled back the latch and opened the door slightly to see who had disturbed them.

"A message my lord... from prince Theodred."

Eomer took the parchment that the Rider offered him and shut the door tightly behind him. With somewhat trembling fingers he opened the letter and read the missive in silence. His face turned ashen at the handwritten words on the creamy paper.

"What is it?" The princess asked frightened.

A/N - *Screams* I cannot explain how happy I am to finally submit this chapter. Please continue to R&R, thanks Mrs E x