A/N
Thank you all so much again for the reviews, right now they are really giving me the courage to continue with this.
I hope you enjoy ^-^
"""
The two women sat at the worn table, cloaked in the silence of the kitchens. A few lit candles flickered nearby, giving the room a dim but warm glow. Aedre's head was bowed, her hands clasped upon the table-top before her as Sunniva pushed a cup of sweet berry juice towards her.
Sunniva gestured for Aedre to drink and she obeyed, taking a sip of the liquid.
She found that she couldn't meet Sunniva's eyes in this moment, her mind burned with what had almost been, that she had in truth come close to hurting Sunniva, just as she had hurt Guene in a moment of instinct to protect what was her own, a fact the older woman seemed oblivious to. Her thoughts were confused, scattered and she felt unable to find any of the pieces that would make the situation bearable.
Sunniva let out a low sigh. The older woman had been silent for a very long time after their embrace, wiping at her tears with the hem of her own apron as if it were an annoying afterthought, but whenever Aedre caught sight of her face it was set in an expression of deep thought, her light blue eyes sharp with what her mind was currently dwelling upon.
Again she sighed. "We must destroy this." She put a hand gently upon the bloodied apron that lay between them on the table. Aedre's eyes flew to hers, her face questioning the words that had just been spoken. Slowly, and with what seemed like great effort, Sunniva rose from her seat and snatched up the material before walking towards the fire. She picked up a nearby metal poker and began determinedly rousing the fire back into small flames, feeding it small scraps of wood until it had grown, crackling, into a decent burning tool. She glanced back over her shoulder at Aedre and nodded certainly. "None shall know" she whispered, before allowing the cloth to fall into the hungry fire.
Aedre abruptly stood from her own seat, her fingers spasmed weakly at her sides as if they wished for her to run forward and pull the burning apron away from its fate, but she remained still. Sunniva prodded at the material, making sure that the fire consumed all there was before she turned once more to face the young girl. "It is done, for ill or good."
Aedre felt her eyes brimming with tears once again and found she had no desire to hold them back, they spilt hot and wet onto her cheeks. Her eyes were wide with awe as she tried to understand what Sunniva had just done and why.
Sunniva gave a slight nod, understanding her expression and came back to her seat at the table.
"Aedre" she said, bringing the young girl back to a sitting position. "We have been together many a year have we not?"
Aedre sniffed, wiping clumsily at her eyes and gave a slight nod.
"To me, you are like my own child; I have seen you grow with my teaching. I have scolded you for wrongs and praised you for that which you did right, we have laughed and cried together many times, stood fast beside each other when times were dark... I know you Aedre."
Aedre continued to wipe at her cheeks and hiccupped through her tears.
"What happened with Guene..." She paused, her mouth turning down slightly as if she had eaten something sour. "What happened that night... I know in my heart that you would not harm anyone without reason, I know that you did not mean to hurt her, I know..." She quickly took Aedre's hands in her own, squeezing them reassuringly. "That it was a dreadful accident."
Aedre's lips parted with surprise but she found she had no will to correct Sunniva's thoughts and it struck her that they were partly true... she had not wanted to harm Guene.
"I know not what happened, but I know you are good Aedre, many love you and I also know envy is a callous being that can drive people to actions of hatred..."
Aedre gave a nod, but it was more in agreement to the words Sunniva spoke than their content.
Sunniva gave a low sigh. "I have known for some time that Guene suspected you saw the king, I saw the way she looked at you with poison in her eyes, but never did I think you were in danger, perhaps that was foolish of me. Guene was never one to shy away from violence if the mood or man took her, and the king had been locked within her longings for many years." She shook her head sadly. "I should have seen it clearly... not left it lying... I should have warned her, given her stern words or perhaps had her moved to another position outside the Golden Hall... but I allowed it to escalate, too wrapped up in my own fretting for the king's current situation and it has led to this."
Aedre tried to keep up with the words that were spoken but found her skills lacking and instead offered a comforting smile. Sunniva smiled in return but it held a tinge of sorrow to it.
"Why did you not come to me? Was she threatening you?"
Aedre gave a certain nod, as this had indeed been the truth.
"It makes sense now" Sunniva breathed. "She cornered you in the stables, attacked you?"
Aedre again nodded, knowing that this was not all strictly true, but perhaps Sunniva did understand the reasons, the motives of why this had to be and Aedre felt a weight lift from her, to share this seemed to make the situation a little lighter.
"You should have come to me Aedre." Sunniva's tone was a little sterner. "Before this happened, perhaps we could have made things right..."
Aedre's eyes again filled with tears and Sunniva patted her hand comfortingly.
"A woman would not be dead and you would not be in danger, do you understand? You need not have borne all this on your own... but this does not distract from the truth, Guene is dead and nothing can be changed on the matter." She breathed in deeply and pinched the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes. "You fought back and it will be hard to explain any of this without revealing you as the king's chosen one to all the eyes of Edoras... if that happened..." She again sighed. "All would be lost of Éomer's cause, the people may turn against him... folk can have strange ideas when such things happen... and they may not see your innocence, or ignore it. If you were no more than a serving woman with no connections to the king, then all would be well, we would have time to explain and make them understand you did no more than fight back." She bit her lip in thought. "We have only one choice now as things stand, we must tell no one Aedre, do you understand?" She gave the girl a meaningful look. "None must know of this, not even the king, it was a regretful accident that cannot be undone and it will not bring down all we have worked for."
Aedre allowed tears to flow again and whimpered softly to herself, the atmosphere around them lying heavily upon her heart.
"Cease your tears now" Sunniva said softly, standing from her seat to come to her and wrap a protective arm about Aedre's shoulders. "Come now, tears shall not undo what has been done, I see you lament it my girl and the Valar will see that too, you have nothing to fear." She stroked Aedre's hair with a gentle hand. "But we must be strong now, we must put this behind us and act as if it never happened, as if it were no more than a bad dream, understand?"
Aedre looked up into the kindly face of the woman she trusted and nodded.
"""
Spring weaved its fresh scent across the lands of Rohan. Winter's harsh grasp began to fade and the colours of life began to seep into the landscape.
Aedre stood by the great stone steps that led to the Golden Hall, deeply breathing in the fresh aromas and clearing her head of a day spent hard at work. It seemed more and more she felt the will to escape the confines of the hall, they were stuffy, close and dark. Out here the sun seemed to warm everything, and not for the first time Aedre felt the need to flee this place, to walk that land beyond and leave all cares behind, to men and their ways. It was true her burdens had been lessened, Sunniva too carried a fair share and yet Aedre's heart did not feel glad. She knew it was not guilt for bringing Guene's life to an untimely end, it was not about Guene at all, it was about herself, of the people she cared for and the life she wished to lead. This life was not what she had wanted... but what had she wanted? She lingered upon the strange question for a moment and finally her subconscious brought up one word, stillness. Yes, that seemed fitting, she had wanted stillness, a life that had demanded little of her, quiet, peaceful with small joys scattered here and there. The path she currently walked upon had given her more; it had brought her love, friendship, heartbreak and death. She found she longed for the days when each sunrise brought no more than the promise of chores and good food.
She sighed, allowing her eyes to graze across the many homes laid out before her. Did the people who dwelled within have similar lives? Did they too find their own burdens a struggle? Then her gaze once again went to the sprawling plains beyond, the wind whipping at the long grasses, beckoning a world of carelessness. Finally she dragged herself, tired and unwilling, back up the stairs, back to the Golden Hall and whatever awaited her within.
"""
Éomer sat within his chambers, his hand stroking his beard as his thoughts wandered. His mood was not fair, this he knew only too well to be true, it had not been fair for the best part of winter and even the spring's warm glow could do nothing to alleviate it. Baal sat nearby, hurriedly working on a parchment he had brought with him to the king's rooms, the constant scratching of his feathered quill pen seemed to burrow into Éomer's temples, causing his brow to furrow and his mood to darken, but he remained quiet, not allowing his own temper to take over his actions just yet. Today the council had finally summoned him, a call that he had been waiting upon for many days. The old men had taken their time as he had suspected they would, but the knowledge did not aid his patience. They had left him little time to prepare, which he knew to be their plan, they wished to catch him off guard and make sure that he would be ambushed by the terms or arguments they would bombard him with.
"Their answer will not be to our liking" Éomer growled, making the young boy start with surprise at the sound.
It took Baal a moment to gather his thoughts back from the work he had been concentrating on.
"It is likely not to be, that is true Éomer King, but we shall not be beaten so easily."
Éomer let out a small gruff laugh. "You have more stomach for listening to them than I. I feel like I have waited an age for them to decide and yet when they do call upon me I find no matter how much I have prepared, nor how much I have thought over words I would say, I feel like a babe left out in the snow of winter, naked and with no aid."Éomer's lip curled in disgust at the thought.
Baal gave an understanding nod. "I know not what to say to ease your mind, but I will do all I can, of that I promise you." The young man's face was stern and full of meaning.
Éomer found himself smiling. "I believe you will." He sighed, his eyes lingering over Baal's face a moment. "You are akin to your father in many ways."
"So my mother is still wont to tell me" Baal said, his eyes dulling. "I was young then, at the time of the War of the One Ring, just beginning my studies, but I remember it all... remember him not coming back to us after the great battle at Helm's Deep." He paused, his eyes glazing over with memory. "We all huddled in those dank caves, young children and women, waiting, hearing the cries of death far above us, fearing the looming shapes and shadows of the enemy at any moment, dark tidings that would tell us all was lost." He glanced at his king, his eyes once again focused. "But many men did not return that day, mine was not the only loss." He gave a wry smile. "It is hard to even think that the war was real at all, that it wasn't a bad dream."
Éomer rose from his seat and went to Baal, patting him warmly upon the shoulder. "Your father fought bravely, never did a man of Rohan fight for more than your father, Baal. He would be proud to see your studies lead you to your position, great men seek your wisdom and your knowledge from all across Rohan."
Baal's look soured a little. "My father would have liked me to have become a warrior, my standing would have been better; the looks some still give me are full of chiding for choosing words over the sword."
Éomer nodded in understanding, he himself could not fully loose himself from the bonds of tradition. A warrior's worth was all in Rohan, a real man of Rohan carried a sword by his side and death in his heart. But Baal had been a sickly child, too weak to stand the weight of a weapon within his grasp for long, books had been his salvation, but only time would tell if his worth would be acknowledged by the society they lived in.
"Yet they still come to you, I still come to you. Your choice of words was indeed wise and your only path." Again Éomer offered him a comforting pat.
"That is true" Baal said, turning his eyes back to scanning his work.
"We have yet an hour before we meet with the council" Éomer said, dispelling the conversation. "We should eat and make ready, I fear we may need our strength for the battle of words ahead."
