The bath was delightfully hot and with a soft moan, he settled back. He had observed the Gondorians said a lot of things about the Rohirrim, and perhaps some of those thing were even true and warranetd, but personally Éomer King of Rohan found bathing most agreeable pastime. So it wasn't like he always stank of chain-mail and horses, no matter what some foul tongues (or just Éothain) liked to say.
These first moments of bath he always liked to dedicate to just being. The hot water would soothe away his tension and he could forget about everything else for a while. It was a welcome thing altogether, because there were instances when he just needed to forget about his many concerns as a king. Sometimes, it lead into him losing himself, and when he became aware again the water would already be getting cold.
But for now he was enveloped in the delightful heat of a hot bath and other things could wait. In fact, the water had such effect on him that he more or less forgot about things that happened around him – a poor quality for the King of the Mark who also liked to leave his window open. But then, in his defence, he wasn't still completely used to this king business and sometimes he just forgot how very essential it was he was careful of harm coming to him. Éothain – and the bunch of his advisers back home – could be so ridiculous about it sometimes, as if he had just forgotten about how to defend himself!
Perhaps Éothain had the right of it, though, for he never heard her enter. Well, maybe that wasn't such a wonder, because she didn't enter through the door, after all. And her feet were very light indeed. So he did not hear her; instead, he kind of dozed off in his bath and only became aware of her when she lay a small hand on his shoulder.
Éomer startled in his bath and his eyes shot open. And there stood Princess Lothíriel beside his tub, looking insufferably smug as she stared down at him.
"My princess", he greeted her as though he might have been sitting on a throne instead of a bath; her behaviour on the breakfast had not suggested he should expect a visit from her today, "how can I be of help?"
"Well, you infiltrated my chambers the other day, so I decided to return the favour", she said cheerfully. He had to frown, though.
"May I ask how did you even get in?" Éomer inquired, but that earned him another smug smile.
"You're not the only one who can climb, you know. Is this a bad moment?" she asked and looked at him with such wide and ridiculously innocent eyes that he wanted to laugh.
"Do I look like I think it's a bad moment?" he inquired, lifting his eyebrows and settling back in the tub again. The bath water did not do much to conceal him, but that did not seem to be an issue to her. He decided he didn't mind either.
"Well, you are in a bath. I didn't expect that", she said and frowned.
"Oh, don't be foolish. It's not the first time you find me without my clothes", Éomer reminded her.
"Indeed it's not", Lothíriel agreed and grinned. "I wonder if it is a special skill of mine – to find kings when they are on various states of undress."
That made him frown.
"To be completely honest, I have nothing against you finding me on various states of undress, but if you decide to extend that to other kings-" he began, but she lifted a hand and fell on her knees by the tub.
"No, I don't plan on doing going in the search of them", she reassured him with a smile.
"That I am glad to hear", he told her and then took her hand. He gave a kiss to her knuckles and then looked intently at her. "Marry me?"
"You won't stop asking me, will you?" she grumbled. There was a most adorable pout on her face but he decided he shouldn't probably tell her of what he thought of it.
"Did you truly think I would?" he asked back and tilted his head.
"No", she said at last, "not really."
"Since the beginning, you have made it very hard not to ask you", Éomer said, lifting his hand to touch her cheek. She frowned but at least she didn't push his hand away.
"So it's all my fault?" Lothíriel moaned.
"It didn't help that you kissed me back on that night at the beach", he said smugly. The princess rolled her eyes.
"I should have known that it would just add water to your mill. Now you will never leave me alone", she muttered, fighting to sound displeased.
"No, I won't", said the King of Rohan softly. He let her hand linger on her neck and he looked at her more seriously this time.
"What?" she asked.
"Marry me. Become my Queen", he pleaded and tried to sound not too desperate... even if that was difficult. Truth was, he didn't think any other woman would compare after her.
"No", answered the Princess quietly, though she still remained by the side of his tub.
"Why not?" he asked. It was a good question, after all.
"Just... because", she finally answered and looked away, trying to mask her grimace. He decided it wouldn't do to keep asking now, though he certainly would later.
"You know, I am starting to believe your father when he said that you are descended from rocks", he said in a lighter voice. "You are at least as stubborn as stone."
Lothíriel made a face at him, but the glint of humour was already starting to return into her eyes.
"That is rich, coming from you", she answered and rolled her eyes. "I've heard your people very much excel in being headstrong, and you at least are a prime example. So perhaps it is you who is descended from rocks!"
"Nonsense. Rocks can't ride like I do", he said smugly and offered her a charming smile.
"Hmm. You claim to be the king of horselords, and yet I still have to see you on horseback", she remarked and moved so that she was behind him. She rolled her sleeves and then he realised she had decided she'd wash his hair. Now there was something he could truly appreciate. "If Your most regal Majesty would be kind enough to water your utterly royal hair."
He cupped his hands and scooped water over his head. It took a moment to get his hair properly wet, as his mane was thick and coarse.
"Then obviously I need to ask you for a ride, dearest Princess. Would tomorrow suit you?" he asked and ran his fingers through his now wet hair.
"Yes, it would", she answered and picked up a bar of soap. Then she started to wash his hair, humming as she did so. Her nimble fingers massaged his scalp; a moan of pleasure escaped his lips and his eyes fluttered close. Who knew a hairwash could be so pleasant? He would have to see if she could be persuaded to do it for him again some time.
"You know, it would be really difficult to explain this if anyone was to walk in now", Lothíriel commented after a while.
"More difficult than it would have been to explain my visit to your chambers the other day?" Éomer asked, not opening his eyes.
"At least you had clothes on then", she snorted.
"Hmm. Mind scratching my back? Just below the left shoulder-blade. Yes, precisely there..." he softly grumbled and arched his back at the touch. The dear woman truly had magical hands.
"... did you just purr, Sire?" she asked, sounding vaguely amused.
"I did what?" he asked absent-mindedly.
"Of course. They're really not wrong at all to call you Lion, you big cat", she sniggered.
"Believe me, they did not give me that name because they thought me a purring little kitten", he told her.
"Now there's an idea I enjoy", the Princess said sweetly. The King of Rohan decided pass that with a snort as he began to rinse away the lather in his hair. Apparently he had not yet consumed all of her good will today, for she helped out with that ask, again humming to herself. It was a pleasant sound and he considered singing was another thing he'd have to persuade to do again.
"You know, you look kind of gorgeous when you think you're alone. I almost felt bad for disturbing you", she told him after a while.
"Kind of gorgeous? Me?" he laughed, but it made the princess snort.
"I was complimenting you, Sire, but of course we can't have that", she muttered and looked away.
"You complimenting me? It is hard to believe. I rather thought that was another of your little jokes", Éomer said, quickly arranging his face so that she wouldn't see his surprise. "Would you mind giving me the sponge?"
"What will you give me in exchange?" she asked.
"Well, I'll give you the courtesy of not rising up from the bath all in my naked glory", he said lightly.
"You would like that, wouldn't you?" the Princess chortled, half to herself, but she still offered him the sponge. He was about to make some comments one could have called crude, but managed to keep his mouth shut; instead, he gave her a shameless but still very charming grin.
"Just concentrate washing yourself. The water is already getting cold", she ordered curtly.
"As my Princess commands", he said and started to wash himself.
To be honest, the princess wasn't exactly subtle about the way she looked at him. Her eyes had become very intent as she followed him with her gaze, a soft blush on her cheeks. Not surprisingly, it made him feel rather smug. But it was reassuring as well, to see she was just as attracted to him as he was to her.
"Who's staring at who now?" he asked after a while. He didn't even try to hide self-satisfaction from his voice.
"Shut up, Your Royal Smugness. It's not like you didn't ogle at me when we first met. I'm just returning the favour", she answered nonchalantly and did not bother lifting her eyes to meet his.
"The views were rather compelling, yes", he agreed and smiled to himself. Speaking of that particular event, perhaps he should go out for a morning swim tomorrow... after all, so far it would seem the seaside provided one with very delightful encounters.
As soon as he was done, he put away the sponge and washed away last of foam on his skin. Then he looked at her and asked: "Could the Lady Princess be persuaded to turn around and give me my robe?"
He half expected her to argue and tell him that no, she wasn't going to turn around, but this time she complied without arguments. Lothíriel picked up the dark green robe he had left on the chair nearby and offered it to him over her shoulder; where this sudden modesty had come to her, he wasn't so sure. Nevertheless, Éomer stood up from the tub and took the robe, which he quickly wrapped about himself.
"Well? Is your 'naked glory' safely out of sight? You really should put away that thing before someone is hurt", Lothíriel said, her voice full of good humour. Really, sometimes it still amazed him how adorable she could be despite her occasional taste for quarrel.
He chose not to answer her question with words, though. Instead, he stepped behind her and gently placed his arms about her form. At first she tensed at the unexpected touch, but then he could feel her relaxing and falling against him. He rested his cheek against her head and the sweet scent of her hair filled his nose... a sense of peace descended on him and he sighed.
After a while, she turned around and he lowered his head to kiss her. Only, it was nothing like those passionate and slightly insane kisses of before. Rather, it was tender and sweet, a lingering little moment of golden light...
When the kiss ended, Éomer pulled back and looked at her gravely.
"Why must we do this?" he asked. He didn't particularly like how helpless he sounded, but somehow he could not fill his voice with the strength he had hoped for.
"Do what?" she asked back, though there was a look in her eyes that she understood better than her question would imply.
"I would be good to you", he told her softly. "I would take care of you. If you want, I'll be anything you wish me to be. Just say the word and I'll turn north to south. If you want, everything that is mine is yours too."
"I..." she began but words seemed to escape her, and she looked away.
"Lothíriel, look at me", he asked, and she turned her eyes again to him.
"Éomer..." she said quietly, and at the sound of his name on her lips his heart made a strange little back-flip.
"You have bewitched me, my mermaid. And there is no other woman in this world that I'd rather spend my life with. Please say yes", he whispered, brushing the back of his fingers across her cheek.
"You really mean that? This is not just some idea of yours of a practical joke while having some good time with the girl who can't contain herself?" she asked, her voice softer than he had ever heard it.
"Why do you think I keep asking you to marry me?" he inquired, amazed that she would show that kind of insecurity. He hadn't thought there would be such thing in her... but then, even the most confident had their moments of weakness. "If you believe that I am jesting, then you really have not listened when your brothers have spoken of the Rohirrim. While we love a good laugh, we are also honest... and when we say something, we mean it. For us the matters of the heart are not something we joke about."
"And you will not stop it, will you?" the princess said quietly, and it didn't really sound like a question to him.
"I... it's not often that one meets someone like you, even among my own folk. And truthfully speaking no woman has ever taken my breath away like you do every day", he said, resting his hand on her neck. "But if you truly wish me to stop asking and back off, then... I will do that. Please, tell me, do you wish me to let go?"
Lothíriel let out a small sigh and turned to look away for a moment. When she looked back at him, her eyes were serious.
"I will not say yes or no yet", she started slowly, "What I want is you to properly court me. And give me some time to think."
"'Properly' court you?" Éomer asked and could not hold back a grimace. "You mean flowers that are delivered through doors instead of windows and sitting in parlours while some formidable aunt of yours watches every move and comes after me with a knitting needle if I as much as touch your hand?"
The princess made a face at hearing those words.
"No", she said finally, "not really. I don't think either of us could stand that."
"Then what?" he demanded to know.
"I... to be honest, you've not done so badly so far. True, sometimes you drive me mad, but you also make me laugh... let us agree that we continue the same way, but you don't ask me to marry you ten times during one day, and you should make your intentions known to my father some time soon", she finally said.
"Four", he said quickly.
"Four what?" she asked, frowning slightly.
"You let me propose to you four times a day", Éomer said with his most appealing expression.
"No, that's too much. One time a day is quite enough", she told him.
"All right, three times then. Please?"
"You knew we were going to settle for two. And not any more than that, my good king", Lothíriel sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Do I at least get to kiss you? You're very kissable, you know, and you should be kissed well and often", he wanted to know.
"Fine, you get to kiss me, but only as long as you promise not to do it in the front of my family", she agreed, and now she was obviously trying to fight a smile.
"As you wish, fair lady", he said, feeling more than just a little pleased at how things had turned out. He pulled her into a kiss, where they lingered for a long moment. Then she pulled back and looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Now, please tell me more about how you're going to turn the north into south for me..."
Talia119 - I doubt there's something wrong with her - Lothíriel just knows that marrying Éomer would change a lot of things in her life... and even if she's self-confident, she's not sure if he's just toying with her or if he's actually serious. But perhaps in this chapter, she starts to believe that he indeed means what he says and does. And the fact that she doesn't just give in right away... well, it's no wonder Éomer is crazy for her. :)
