She heard captain Éothain's singing way before she entered the stables. As the song was in Rohirric, Lothíriel could not tell what was the subject of the song, but it sounded rather merry at least. The captain had a pleasant voice, a bit higher than that of his king's; based on her observations of Éomer and Éothain it did seem to be quite right when people said the Rohirrim were excellent singers.
She knew her royal suitor was already growing weary of all the remarks of what a beautiful singing voice he had. They were true though, and she had plans of making him sing for her many, many times in the future.
Éothain was looking after his horse – a large chestnut stallion with this look in his eyes he was about to bite off your nose. But to his master the horse showed every affection. The Rohirrim and their horses. Mad bunch.
"Ah, my lady!" called the captain as soon as he saw her. He bowed, "I am sorry I'm not entirely presentable at the moment, as I did not expect your company."
Indeed, the man was dressed in plain-looking coat and breeches, and his hair was something of a mess, but his round face was friendly and smiling. He seemed like someone who was easily befriended, but she had also heard her brothers complaining about the nasty bruises Éothain had given to them in the training ring. Well, one did not survive the great battles of the War of the Ring for nothing.
"It is no matter, captain", she said quickly, offering a smile to the man. "I'd just like to talk of something with you."
"That would be my pleasure, my lady. Let me just finish up here, and get changed into something that doesn't smell of horses. Would that suit you, Princess?" Éothain asked.
"Of course, captain", Lothíriel agreed, making a mental note of having to reproving anyone who ever told her that the Rohirrim were discourteous. "I will meet you in the garden in an hour, yes?"
"As you wish, my lady!"
And, just as agreed, Éothain was waiting for the princess in the gardens, dressed in green and brown and inspecting the flowerbeds like he had never seen anything quite as fascinating. He smiled and bowed at the sight of the princess, who nodded her head in greeting. She placed a hand on his arm, which felt sturdy as rock under her fingers. In fact, though Éothain was shorter than his King (well, most men were), he was of stouter build. One of her handmaidens closely followed, but kept the distance so that there was a sense of privacy at least.
"Now, my lady, what was it you wished to speak of with me?" asked the captain then, watching her from the corner of his eye.
"I was just wondering about... the customs of the Rohirrim when it comes to courtship and marriage", she said at last. If that surprised the Rohir, it didn't show. Rather, he grinned and she realised the man probably already knew about what was going on with his king. Come to think of it, Lothíriel was fairly sure it had been none other than Éothain who had assisted Éomer in serenading the other night. She'd have to remember that, as the captain was not a bad musician at all. One never knew when the need for a lutist arose.
"What precisely would you like to know, my lady?" he asked.
"Just... I'd like to know if there's something that might surprise me. And what I should expect", she said at length. Lothíriel knew she'd have felt more comfortable talking about this with another woman, but as no Rohirric lady was available at the moment, she'd have to confine with Éothain. Of course, she could always have sent for Éowyn or go visit the White Lady of Rohan, but she needed the advice now, and sending messengers and travelling from Emyn Arnen to Dol Amroth would require too much time.
"Hmm. I'm a man of Rohan, so what could be surprising to you would probably seem perfectly ordinary to me", Éothain mused. "But I don't think you should be worried. We respect our women and wish to make them feel secure with us. It's a matter of honour for a man to be able to protect and take care of his lady. And he would never make a move on a lady if he was not truly honest about his intentions towards her."
Well, it wasn't like she really doubted that. She was starting to understand that she really could trust Éomer. It was just... he was so foreign sometimes. So straightforward, so honest. She wasn't used to that.
"And what of the courtship?" she asked after mulling over Éothain's words for a moment.
"It's... well, there's not really fixed customs or rules that everyone must follow. Each couple pretty much make up their own rules. And the courtship is usually shorter than what I hear it is here in Gondor, but a man who has set his eyes on a woman and wants to wed her... well, I think he's willing to wait for her, even if she's still making up her mind about him."
It was not lost to Lothíriel what Éothain meant. She worried her lip absent-mindedly and cast a quick look at the captain. He was loyal to his king, but he was an honest man. That was what they always said about the Rohirrim... and she didn't think Éomer would expect anything less from his second in command.
"There should be gifts, I think – I believe you should expect to receive a horse some time soon. That is something the Rohirric men take much pride in. And I should warn you that our people are very fond of amorous encounters in secrecy. It's nothing to be worried about, though. He will know to keep his distance, if you signal him that you are not comfortable", Éothain explained. Then he let out a small chuckle, "It is told that in the days before Eorl the Young it was customary for the bridegroom to try and steal the lady of his heart. That was great amusement for every participant, especially the fathers who tried to prevent the enthusiastic youth from such antics. Many a marriage took place before the actual celebrations when the stealer and their sweetheart got too excited."
"I shouldn't expect an abduction, then?" Lothíriel asked, smiling to herself as she imagined the King of Rohan binding her with ropes, lifting her in his saddle, and speeding back north with her. Éothain laughed.
"Sadly, no. We might have thick skulls sometimes but no man of Rohan would be foolish enough to try and steal a Gondorian princess", said the captain, grinning widely, "not even some oafs of Rohirs I could name."
"How disappointing. I was already looking forward to a proper Rohirric abduction", she commented, which made the captain chuckle. From that, conversation moved back to the usual customs of courtship and marriage, giving interesting insights to the culture of horselods. That conversation kept them occupied until Éothain had to excuse himself and go to attend to his King. However, Lothíriel found herself thinking of one particularly matter they had talked about. A proper Rohirric abduction...
That instantly had her mind running with ideas. Good ideas, though Father would most likely kill her if he knew. But that didn't matter. There was a King to make up with and a proposal to be answered, and now she knew now exactly what was needed.
Lothíriel, already planning fast, joined her brother Amrothos, who was lounging in a belvedere which was located in the gardens. There were several scrolls on his chest and even more crumbled into balls on the floor, and he was thoughtfully sucking at the end of his quill. He had been composing bad poetry again – a dear hobby of his, though he was the first person to agree that he was no great bard.
"You should try and be careful with that ink. You know how much the washers hate the ink stains", she commented as she settled opposite him. She had lost the count of how many shirts and bedsheets her brother had ruined with ink.
"Of course, of course. But for my art, one has to make little sacrifices", he said loftily and scribbled down something.
Lothíriel rolled her eyes and refrained from pointing out his poetry was hardly worth all the ink stains.
"Where have you hidden that king of yours? I had thought you had grown attached to each other already", Amrothos said, not looking up from his notes.
"He had some business with couple of lords from south", she answered. Then she sighed. "He'll be leaving soon, though – he said his people might send an éored to fetch him back otherwise."
"Sounds like something they'd do", Amrothos sniggered, but looked at her with a more serious face then. "You'll miss him, won't you?"
"... yes. Yes, I will", she said quietly.
"Then stop hesitating already and say yes, so everyone can finally start teasing you in stupid ways and also to plan that wedding thing", he said, which made her pick up a ball of paper and throw it at him.
"That's none of your business, brother. I know all you're interested in is meeting Rohirric girls, and I don't have to marry anyone for you to be able to do that", she informed him, which made Amrothos laugh again.
"Oh, stop it already. You hide it well but I know you like the man", he said smugly, settling back on his seat. She snorted and fell momentarily silent.
"Brother, how much do you love me?" she asked her brother thoughtfully. He looked up from his scrolls and gave her a sweet smile.
"You know that we all adore you, sister", he told her, his voice light.
"Do you adore me enough to assist me in some mischief that could bring Father's wrath down on us all?" asked the Princess, and her question made his eyes lit up with excitement. One could always count on Amrothos in a matter like this.
"Of course, Lothíriel. I'm always up for some mischief, as you very well know", he answered and sat up straighter. "What do you have in mind?"
Her eyes sparkled as she spoke: "A proper Gondorian abduction. I am going to steal Éomer King."
A/N: *sniggers to self and backflips into the sun* This... was not how this was supposed to go. But now it goes like this anyway. The story took a bit different turn at this originally, but when I started to write it, it just didn't work. And so I leave you with this. Inspiration and credit for it goes to Lialathuveril's most amusing "The Abduction of Éomer, King of Rohan", which I heartily recommend to anyone in a need of a light and entertaining read.
Thanks for the comments, my good readers!
