The next night Eomer had dinner with the rest of the court. He did not think Lirah would want to see him for at least a day after the words spoken between them. He pushed her from his mind, and flirted with every young woman in his court.
In turn, Lirah waited anxiously all day for supper. She told herself not to think about it, not to hope that he would call for her as he did every night. Yet, she still hoped that he would come, or have the maid bring her to his rooms.
He didn't come though. "He must still be angry about last night. Or maybe he has just lost interest in my company."
Lirah looked out the window. She looked past the plains, and to the mountains. What was past them?
Nothing. Like Eomer said, she had no one and no where to go to, she belonged nowhere.
Her life had never been good, but it had gotten close, and then shattered.
Over the past two weeks, she had felt as though perhaps her life might get better. She had felt as though finally someone understood her. She thought he had felt the same way as her. Apparently not though.
These thoughts only intensified when the next night, Eomer again did not have his meal with Lirah, but with the court. He sent no messages or commands either.
Lirah had nothing to do then. On the third morning, she did not expect Eomer to come that night, or even allow herself to hope.
She spent the day composing a song on the bitterness of death, loneliness, loss, and being unwanted.
She sang the song out the window. She sang other songs too, all day long. But when it came time for supper, and she knew Eomer was not coming, she opened the window and let the song in her heart be carried with the wind.
Looking down, she saw that a few people, mostly children, had gathered and were looking for the source of the singing.
"Lady, what is it that you sing of?"
Lirah finished her song before turning around to face her maid.
"I sang of loneliness, abandonment, and loss."
"It did sound sad, milady. Why is it that you feel such things?" Her maid's face showed nothing but concern.
Lirah answered slowly, "I am alone in this world. I have no one who cares for me, and I belong nowhere."
"But milady, are you not an elf?"
Lirah was confused. She nodded.
"Well then, if I may be so bold to say, do you not belong with your people? Will you take the ship from the Grey Haven, across the sea?"
Thoughts raced through her mind. Why had she not gone before then?
She had been trying to understand why her father had done what he had done, and when she understood she had set out for revenge. It had only taken her so long because of him, and the time they had spent together. She would have stayed in Middle Earth, and married him; giving up her immortality.
But that didn't matter anymore. It was over.
Someone had loved her once. Eomer was wrong in that sense. She had loved him back with all of her heart.
But Boromir was dead two years.
Maybe though, if a man had loved her once, she could find love again. Eomer was right, no one out there cared for her and she belonged nowhere. But she knew now that no one cared for her or loved her in Rohan either. She wasn't even a human, and she probably didn't really belong there.
She would go to the Grey Haven, and take the ship to Valinor. Even if she did not find love, she would be with her people. She would find a place where she belonged. Otherwise she would sit in her room and stare out at the snow covered mountains for all eternity.
"Perhaps," she said carefully. "I'll think about it."
After eating her supper, alone, she lied in bed and thought about how she would escape.
Eomer sat on his thrown. It was the third night in a row that he had not taken supper with Lirah. After not sending for her the first night, he feared she would be insulted and would not wish to see him the next night. The same for that night.
So, he ate with the rest of the court, and he put up with the twittering of those idiotic girls who tried to make pointless small talk, or flirt with him. He felt repulsed by them, and had to force laughter and keep the fake smile on his face all night.
All the while he was thinking of Lirah.
She would be sitting in her room, having supper alone for the third night in a row.
He had been rude not to send any word as to why he had not taken his meals with her. Perhaps she was angry with him. He would not want to further upset her.
He would call upon him after supper was over.
Looking up he suddenly realized that the members of the court had gone. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he had not noticed everyone leaving.
He stood up and left the hall. Walking quickly he headed for his rooms.
Once he had arrived, he changed into less formal clothing.
There was a knock at the door. Opening it, he saw that it was Lirah's maid.
"Send for the elvish princess, tell her I wish her company this evening."
The maid nodded and turned. Eomer closed the door behind her. He then sat down on a chair, and picked up a book and began to read.
He read for five minutes, and then looked to the door. No one had come yet. "Odd," he thought. He shrugged his shoulders and continued reading.
Ten minutes after that, he looked up again. Still, no one came. Frowning, he stood up and walked to the door. Throwing it open he called out for a servant.
He sent the servant to find Lirah's maid.
She was back within a minute.
"It has been fifteen minutes since I sent you to get her, why is the lady not here yet?" he asked, aggravated.
The maid stared down at her feet, shuffling them. "Sir…the thing is…we can't find her."
"What!"
Eomer stood paralyzed with shock for a moment. Then he took off out the door and down the hall.
When he arrived at Lirah's room, he threw open the door.
No one was there. She had left.
He knew, because there was a bit of rope tied to the bed, which went out the window. She must have climbed out through the window.
Eomer's eyes were wide, his lips pursed.
"Aaarrgh!"
Footsteps could immediately be heard coming towards the room.
A servant came running. The man was about to bow, but Eomer stopped him.
"Do not bother with that now. Have fifteen or twenty of my best soldiers armed and ready to ride within the half hour! And when I say fifteen or twenty I mean twenty!"
He then took off himself, leaving the baffled man to follow his orders.
When he reached his bed chamber he opened the closet.
He took out his armor and put it on piece by piece. Every additional piece of armor made his already sturdy frame even more imposing.
Lastly he put on his helmet. It was not the helmet that he might have used, had he chosen to take Theoden's when he died. Instead, he kept his original helmet. It had a horse's head over his face, with the long blonde mane erupting from the top. Putting it on, he felt stronger, and less vulnerable.
The twenty men sat on their horses, and at their king's command took off. He had told them that they were to scour the land with him, in search of an escaped prisoner. He told them she was elven, and they had to find her.
They rode over every hill and looked behind every bush as they rode past. After three hours, someone spotted a lone figure a top a hill.
"To the hill! Create a perimeter around the person when we get there! On! On! Faster!" cried Eomer.
The thundering of the horses' hooves echoed across the plain. The person on the hill, upon hearing the horses took off at a run.
They caught up quickly; whoever it was could hardly run. They were clutching their side.
Lirah felt like fainting, she was running so hard. Her side was throbbing.
And then, just like that, she was surrounded.
Twenty spears pointed at her head.
A horse rode up in front of her, between the spears. The rider spoke in a deep voice. "You are a runaway prisoner. What gave you the idea that you could disobey the king?"
Lirah didn't answer.
"Speak quickly."
She dropped to her knees, unable to think from the pain in her side.
Looking up, Lirah whispered so that only he could hear her, "Have mercy on me, please. My life has been a living hell, take pity and let me go."
He slid down off his horse, and glared down at her. "I would cut off your head, elf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground." His men moved their spears in closer.
"Do you not understand?" Lirah cried. "You were right; no one cares for me any longer. A man loved me once, but he died two years ago. I have no real family, and no home left, now that the elves are all leaving. There is no one out there who loves me, but maybe I can find someone if I go to Valinor. Even if I do not, at least I shall then have a home with my own people. I do not belong here, it's not as though anyone here cares for me, and I am an elf not a human, and would never be a true person of the land of Mark.
"Just let me go! I beg you to let me go and take the ship to the undying lands, and you can be rid of my presence and we'll all be happy. Give me the chance to find someone who will love me. Please!"
Eomer's expression changed, it was something Lirah could not identify. "You do belong here," he said, taking his helmet off. "You have the love of Rohan's own king."
The men instantly withdrew their spears. Their tight circle around Lirah disintegrated, as they rode their horses away from the king and his elven princess.
She tried to stand, but only managed to get one leg up before almost falling over.
Eomer had caught her, and he lifted her up and set her on his horse gently. Putting his helmet back on, he climbed up behind her. He rode the horse to a spot under a nearby tree, and stopped.
"I swear if you've reopened that wound again I might strangle you."
Lirah laughed weakly. "I don't think it's reopened, but it does pain me a little."
"Do you understand now why I don't want you to leave?"
"Yes, I wanted to leave even more badly than before because I thought you were indifferent towards me. Being wrong isn't always terrible."
"No, it is not. I am sorry that the man you loved died two years ago, I did not mean to bring back painful memories."
"It's okay, I understand. I will always have a place in my heart for him, but I think I was finally able to move on a few months ago. I was not surprised when he died though, I always thought Boromir was too keen to take risks in battles, and fight when there was no reason to. But he was a warrior, and I have accepted it, and moved on."
Eomer's eyes widened. "Faramir's older brother?"
"Yes. He was slaughtered by orcs."
"I wonder why Faramir didn't tell me that when he brought you here."
"If I were him I wouldn't have thought it relevant to the situation."
"Yes, you're probably right. Still, I wish I would have known before this. Let's go back to Edoras now though."
"Allright. Am I still your prisoner?"
"No, I want you to be my queen instead."
Lirah could think of nothing to say, she was so shocked. Eomer filled in the silence by kissing her.