The next few nights were restless for Lothiriel. Despite the good news that had spread throughout Rohan, Eomer had not returned to her. The princess' rational side of her brian told her this was to be expected. Eomer was no longer Marshall, but leader of the Rohirrim and was undoubtedly busy. Giving the orders for once instead of receiving them. The dispatch Rider had told the people of Edoras that Gondor had almost been completely destroyed in the battle. Despite their victory the men of the West needed to repair the damage so as not to leave Minas Tirith defenseless. Eomer had become good friends with Aragorn during their time together in Edoras, and Lothiriel was sure he would have volunteered his help. However, these levelheaded thoughts were out measured by darker and more sinister ones. Eomer was King. A position that meant wonderful things for him, but potentially the end of what they shared.

As ruler of Rohan, the young and virile King would be duty bound to live the life expected of him. Including marrying well. Despite their love for one another Lothiriel was damaged goods, humiliated and humbled by what they had created together. If Theoden had lived, she and Eomer could have been able to marry in secret with the King's blessing. Knowing one day that their affair would become a distant memory, and the people would merely know her as Eomer's wife. As expected the change in Lothiriel's body came just as she had feared and her condition was no longer easy to conceal. The princess' sleep was easily disrupted by these fears and many days the young woman found herself walking aimlessly around the large castle in the early hours of the morning without guard.

One chilly morning Lothiriel dared to leave the confines of the wooden palace and venture outside. She visited the secluded nooks and spots within the royal gardens she had grown to know and like. Her favourite was beneath the magnolia trees. The delicate blossom strewn trees made her feel at ease, as they swayed in the morning breeze. Wrapping her morning coat around her more tightly the princess walked further into the gardens, that eventually led through a large wrought iron archway. She had been that way before, when she had first arrived at Edoras and was married to Theodred. The archway led to the burial mounds of the Kings.

Lothiriel pushed the gate underneath the archway gently and winced as the metalwork scraped along the stone pathway. She looked around nervously and when she felt she was quite alone she walked inside. The young woman meandered her way around each mound, all inscribed in the same Rohirric lettering. She did not understand them fully, but certain names she recognised from the books she had read in those early days. Lothiriel thoughts soon turned to Theodred and how thoughtful he had been back then, bringing her books to read at nighttime. Strangely sensing his presence the young woman turned slowly and was met by the solemn view of his own grave mound. The princess felt a lump in her throat and choked it back with a small cough. She tiptoed closer to the grave mound and knelt down before it.

The grave was still fresh but was beginning to be covered in small weeds and moss. Lothiriel began picking at the unwanted foliage and tossing is aside. She remained this way for several minutes, her fingernails and nightclothes becoming ingrained with dirt. She did not care. When the princess had removed all she could she sat on her haunches talking absentmindedly to Theodred.

"Hello Theodred… I'm sorry I have not been to see you. So much has happened since I last saw you… I have not found the time," Lothiriel found her voice cracking, "That's not true. Honestly I feared this place... knowing that you were here."

The young woman shifted her weight and leant on her side propped up by a shaky hand.

"Eomer will be back with you soon. He is King now...so I am told. I hope you will watch over him? Offer your guidance and counsel?"

The princess bit her lower lip before continuing, "I carry his child Theodred. It grows stronger inside me everyday. I feel Eomer so near me... knowing that I share a part of him."

Lothiriel reached out and gently stroke the wooden plaque that bore his name.

"I'm afraid Theodred...just when we have found one another again...I will be forced to give him up. I don't want to."

The princess sat a while longer as the sun slowly eked over the horizon. She was unable to speak now, so sat in revered silence. The sun bathed the small garden and graves with soft light, catching the edges of the flowers, grass and leaves around the place.

o0o

Eomer and his men travelled at speed back towards Edoras. As fast as they could considering the cargo they carried with them. The sun was hanging low in the sky before they broke for camp in a safe and secluded clearing. The soon to be King had half a dozen men stand guard around his uncle and ordered the watch changed every few hours. He was overdoing it, he admitted to himself but wanted to ensure nothing happened to Theoden's remains. The men camped in the open under the stars that night. The weather was warming and since the fall of the dark lord the evenings seemed much calmer and brighter.

Dotted around the small camp were fires meant for light cooking rather than heat. The evening meal was a simple one of beans and lentils, though someone found a packet of blood sausage stashed amongst the food supplies. Most likely a parting gift from a friendly dwarf or hobbit. Eomer and his sister sat privately by their own fire swapping stories of their uncle from their youth. Eomer wanted to remember his uncle as the stalwart soldier he knew as a lad, and who had returned gloriously in those last few days. He would keep these memories to himself shared only with Eowyn, as she was the only other person that knew him as he did. Eowyn wanted to speak of the King in private, as the young woman knew she could not stop her tears for Theoden from flowing. She had loved that man as closely as her own father. During his formal resting ceremony many people would want to regale her with their own stories and tidbits of the departed King, Eowyn wanted to be ready to listen to them without sentiment.

"Do you remember when Uncle caught you in the kitchens?" Eowyn chuckled.

"Which time?" Eomer quipped.

"That time you and Theodred were setting rat traps underneath the cooks feet."

"Yes! But if I remember rightly...we weren't the only ones guilty that day?"

"I don't know what you mean." She replied sing songy.

"The pansy cakes? I remember several of them going missing whilst Uncle was giving us a telling off."

"I honestly don't remember." Eowyn lied.

The siblings laughed quietly together at the memory and fell into comfortable silence for a time.

"It will be yours and Lothiriel's children making mischief in that house before long...and you scolding them for doing so." Eowyn mused whimsically.

Eomer looked up thoughtfully from the cup of tea in his hand at his sister. He believed she knew more about his and Lothiriel's affair than she had let on. He even wagered, Eowyn had probably realised before he had, how fast and profoundly he fell for her. What his sister spoke of was the life that he had wanted with Lothiriel from the first time he met her. Now as King he could make that happen.

"Though I hope they take after their mother rather than you...particularly in their looks."

Eomer threw and handful of grass towards his sister in retaliation for her teasing.

"Careful! I was in the infirmary not two days ago."

"Yes...and that's where I should have left you." He replied playfully.

"But I'm glad I didn't."

Eomer meant it wholly but was not prepared to allow his sister her joking.

"Although I'm sure Lord Faramir wouldn't have minded."

o0o

Lothiriel found herself visiting Theodred more and more often over the next few days. Her trips became a little ritual every morning when she woke. She found it so easy to talk to him, revealing everything on her mind and kept secret in her heart. Perhaps it was because she got no response or the fact that no one could hear her, made it so simple. Either way the princess stayed longer each time she visited. The short walk back to her room took Lothiriel through the great hall. The room she once shared with Theodred was on the east side of the large palace, as the crown prince had been an early riser and the warmth of the sun signalled dawn. This short walk was also a welcomed part of her day. Being able to come and go freely was a luxury Lothiriel had never been afforded before. Even in her life at Dol Amroth she was always chaperoned and now Beorthred ever true to his vow watched her like a hawk.

As the young woman got closer to the great hall one morning she could hear the unmistakable sounds of voices. Lothiriel had grown so accustomed to the deafening quietness of Meduseld in recent weeks the sound excited her. She quickened her pace towards the long room and threw open the door that entered the hall from the side. Inside the vaulted room ever space was filled with man, boy, women and children all ecstatic and swapping kind words and well wishes. The room was alive with joyful noises, Lothiriel could scarce believe she hadn't heard them from the gardens behind the palace. The princess scanned the room looking for one face in particular. She squeezed past the thick of loving couples and happy families closer into the middle of the hall near the fire grate. The worried woman looked from left to right but could not find the man she wanted, till she heard her name spoken softly from behind her.

Lothiriel turned slowly and was met with the grubby and tired looking Eomer. She felt tears well in the corner of her eyes as she took in every part of him. He bore the signs of a healing wound across his lower jaw but fortunately he appeared unscathed. Eomer looked at his love with adoration before pulling her into a bear like hug. They stood there for a moment, no words passing between them. They weren't needed. The tired soldier King kissed Lothiriel chastely on top of her head, content enough to just hold her and feel her body pressed to his. Lothiriel was more than happy to remain in his arms for all eternity at that moment. However, she wanted to see him more closely. The princess looked up at her lover and allowed the salty tears to fall down her cheeks as she used shaky hands to explore his face. Stroking his short cut beard, thumbing his soft lips and simply staring into his honeyed eyes.

Eomer looked down cautiously at Lothiriel's stomach and was pleasantly surprised to see her much altered. The imagined swell he had seen when they last met was anything but that. Her stomach now showed the clear signs of roundness and it made him beam happily. Eomer laid his hand over the precious child that lay beneath and felt Lothiriel cover it with both of her own. With his other hand the soldier King cradled his loves face as he rest his forehead on hers.

A/N - Hello everyone, sorry for the delay. I've struggled with this chapter as I felt it was getting a little depressing. However things are about to pick up again. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Please R&R! Thanks as always. Mrs-E x