As was usual for him, Eomer came awake suddenly – one moment wholly asleep, the next utterly awake – and listened. The camp was quiet, though he could hear the soft conversation of the men standing guard, telling tales to keep themselves awake, no doubt. With the time sense that had never failed him, he knew morning wasn't far off, but he cuddled closer to Lisswyn instead of rising. He'd get up in a bit and stir the fire in the brazier, get the tent as warm as possible before she awoke. But for the moment, he was content to continue lying next to her. There was no hurry this morning, no rush to break camp.

He grinned, remembering their laughter and loving from the night before. She'd surprised him. He'd expected her to be embarrassed at the realization that the other adults in the camp, at least, would have guessed what their laughter was probably a prelude to.

But as always, her focus had been on him. It had only gradually dawned on him after their wedding that while she took her duties as queen seriously – nearly too much so – her first concern was always him. Loving him, encouraging him, supporting him.

The grin faded, was replaced by a frown of confusion as he recalled her words. What the Mark needs now is Eomer being Eomer king, not Eomer trying to be Theodred King.

Was she right? Had he been trying to be his cousin?

Perhaps. He'd admired Theodred, had seen in him the wisdom and strength to rule, a wisdom he'd never felt he had. Could ruling the Mark be as simple as leading his eored had been? No, of course not. But maybe it wasn't as different as he'd tried to make it.

Although he'd been joking when he'd threatened to banish his council to Harad, perhaps he should rethink whom his advisors were. Some of them he'd chosen, but others had been on his uncle's council before Wormtongue came to power. They'd suffered for their loyalty after trying to warn Theoden of Grima's duplicity, and Eomer had wanted to acknowledge that by reinstating them to their positions of trust and leadership.

But their views were very different from his own, shaped in part by what had happened to his uncle. Was there a way to honor them for their allegiance, while still having a council that matched his vision? Possibly. It was worth considering, anyway.

And that left only Eothain. He scowled, the words from the day before still stinging. Irresponsible, indeed.

There had to be a way to communicate to Eothain that he needed more of him than just nursemaid. He would just have to find it.

Lisswyn shifted in his arms, and Eomer leaned down, brushed her temple with a kiss. She might well have some ideas in that respect. She'd been right about so many other things.

The morning was nearly gone when they caught their first glimpse of Helm's Deep, and Lisswyn wasn't the only one to be relieved. Eomer had ridden next to her, exhibiting a cheerfulness that would have been more believable if he hadn't been so pointedly ignoring Eothain. Eowyn had alternated between riding with them and riding near the captain of the guard, her expression troubled no matter where she was.

Apparently in an effort to prove it was only Eothain he was out of sorts with, Eomer had given Jocosa a ride on Firefoot, then taken pity on her younger brother, apparently unable to hold out against the sorrowful look Hengest had been giving him.

Eomer's patience in responding to the toddler's garbled comments – most of which made no sense whatsoever – eased Lisswyn's worry some. Given Eomer and Eothain's long history together, it was unthinkable that the current tension would cause a permanent rift between them.

Realizing the childish voice had gone quiet, she looked over to see Hengest had dozed off to sleep in Eomer's arms. The sight tugged at her. How long would it be before she saw Eomer holding their own child that way? Was it possible that even now a babe was starting to grow in her womb?

"What is it? What are you thinking?" His voice interrupted her thoughts.

Not wanting to admit where her mind had been, Lisswyn nodded at Hengest. "I was just thinking about how quickly he fell asleep. Ceolwyn tells me that he fussed a lot when he was yet an infant, and the surest way to get him to sleep was on horseback. Something about the movement, apparently." Before Eomer could respond, she changed the subject, nodded in the direction of Helm's Deep. "Tell me about Hereward."

She knew Hereward and his extended family lived in the keep and were responsible for keeping it in readiness to provide for the people of the Mark in an emergency. He was also acting as a liason between the Eorlingas and the dwarves who had taken up residence in the caves. But she knew little else of the man who would be hosting them.

Eomer nodded, understanding her request. "He served in my father's eored, was injured in the attack that took my father's life. Afterward, he found it difficult to sit a horse for long periods of time, so he left the eored and took up farming – and raising children." Amusement came into his eyes, quickly faded. "He lost the farm and two of his sons to Uruks a year ago. He and his three youngest sons, along with his brother – who farmed with him – were away at Aldburg, trading their crops when they were attacked, else more of them would have died. The women were spared because they hid in a cellar Hereward had designed for just that purpose." His voice was flat with controlled anger. "His daughters-in-law first heard their husbands convince the Uruks that no one else was on the farm. Then they heard them die."

It wasn't an unfamiliar tale, but tears came to Lisswyn's eyes anyway at the thought of the horror and grief the women had experienced. She cleared her throat. "How many dwell with him in the Deep, then?"

"His wife, his youngest son, three daughters-in-law, two daughters, and assorted grandchildren. His sister and the brother and his family also live there."

"What of Hereward's other sons? You said three were with him at Aldburg when the farm was attacked."

"One died on the Pelennor. The other had just joined my guard when we were attacked by Hunlaf's orcs. He died defending me."

She looked up over at him, wished there was some way of easing the guilt she knew he still carried. "Eomer—"

He gave a sharp shake of his head. "I know. There was nothing I could have done. And Hereward told me last fall that his son knew the risk when he joined my guard, and I shouldn't second guess him." His lips curved in a lopsided grin. "Hereward is like Redwald in that he feels he can respect me as king while bossing me around. It comes from having ridden with my father."

Lisswyn smiled, glad to see the unhappiness easing from his eyes. "He sounds like a wise man."

"I'm sorry you didn't meet him last fall. He came to Edoras shortly before the wedding to get supplies, but didn't stay – there was too much that needed done to make the Deep habitable before winter."

They crested a rise in the land and saw the mountain in front of them, the keep at its feet. Eomer gently tumbled Hengest back into the cart before looking over at her. "Hereward has no doubt set a watch and will be coming to welcome us. Will you join me in riding to meet him?"

At her nod, he turned, began weaving his way through the other riders, not breaking into a canter until he was safely clear of the group. He still didn't look at Eothain.

Lisswyn sighed silently and followed him. The two men obviously needed to talk, but whether there would be the time – and privacy – for them to do so at the Deep remained to be seen.

That Hereward's life had not been easy was apparent in his limp and in the scar that ran up the side of his weathered face. But there was pride in his eyes as he moved forward, and honest affection in his gaze as he came to meet them, affection obviously returned by Eomer as he dismounted, went to grasp the other man's arm. "Hereward."

"My lord."

Eomer held out his hand to her, and Lisswyn dismounted, moved to take it. "This is my lady, Lisswyn."

Hereward gave her a keen look, then ducked his head in acknowledgement. "My lady, it's an honor to meet you."

"The honor is mine, Hereward." Standing near him was his extended family, and there were a lot of smiles – some quite shy – as she looked over and smiled at them in return.

Then a boy in his young teens came forward to take their horses – only to be denied by Eoden, who'd followed them on his own mount, Fleetfoot. That he had done so didn't surprise her – whenever possible, the boy was never far from Firefoot, or Firefoot's master. But the crestfallen look on the other boy's face touched her.

Before she could figure out a way to alleviate his disappointment, Eomer crossed over to him, rested his hand on his shoulder. Nodding toward Eoden, who'd obviously just figured out that he was going to have his hands full with Firefoot and Fleetfloot, and couldn't possibly handle Dancer as well, he said, "Until Firefoot gets to know you, it will probably be better for Eoden to handle him. But his hands are rather full at the moment – would you help him by stabling the queen's horse?"

The boy nodded, pleasure in his eyes, though it was hard to tell whether it was due to the king's hand upon his shoulder or the suggestion that he'd eventually be able to care for Firefoot. With a smile, Lisswyn led the mare to him. "She would no doubt really enjoy a good brushing."

"I'll see to it, my lady."

"What is your name?"

"Herefeld."

"Thank you for caring for Dancer, Herefeld."

He grinned in response, and took the reins, "'Dancer' is it?"

Hearing her name, the mare pricked up her ears and moved sideways, then back to the boy. Lisswyn reached out, stroked her neck and let her own amusement show. "She likes to dance," she whispered to him conspiratorially.

His grin broadened, and he ducked his head in a bow. "I'll take good care of her, my lady."

He led the horse away, and Lisswyn's own smile increased as she watched it dawn on him that he might not be holding Firefoot's reins, but he was still leading the king's horse, as Eoden hadn't known where the stables were. She knew Eoden well enough to know the boys would be fast friends by the time they'd finished settling the horses.

"It's a good thing Andric stayed behind with the cart." Eomer's voice was low and amused in her ear. "That wouldn't have been quite so easy if he'd been here, determined to take Dancer."

She grinned at him, sharing his amusement, the looked up as Hereward cleared his throat.

"Thank you for that, Sire. My grandson has talked of nothing else but caring for your mounts since word came that you'd be visiting us, and I didn't know how to warn him that you'd probably have someone with you whose duty it already was."

"He seems a fine lad, Hereward," Eomer said.

The man nodded, but looked pleased. "He'll do. He's much like his father was at that age." Sadness shadowed his eyes for a moment, but he quickly pushed it away, cleared his throat again. "We thought you might wish to rest for a while before seeing the changes we're making. My wife has the guest chambers prepared."

"We'd appreciate—" Eomer's next words were cut off by a roar.

Startled, Lisswyn looked up, saw what could only be the dwarf Gimli coming toward them – at a much faster clip than what she would have expected from someone so short.

"Where is he? Why didn't someone send for me?" Gimli shouted as he plowed through Hereward's family – who were quick to move out of the way, amusement in their eyes.

Eomer, a grin on his face as well, went to meet him. As they embraced, Eomer said, "They shouldn't have had to send for you. You should have been out here waiting to greet us!"

"I was busy with your caves!"

Eomer laughed. "In which case, I'm fortunate you came out to meet us at all."

Gimli turned to Lisswyn. "I did not come out to meet you, Horselord, but rather the woman who took on the task of being your queen."

When Eomer looked at her, his expression was one of pride and love, a look that never failed to humble her. "And some task that is," he said, walking back to her, his hand outstretched. "But she is up to it."

Lisswyn accepted his hand, allowed him to tug her to him. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head as she turned to face the dwarf.

The look he was giving her was so focused, so intent, it would have been rude from anyone else. It certainly left no doubt that she was being thoroughly inspected. Then he nodded. "You'll do."

Nonplussed, and not a little offended, Lisswyn tried to figure out how to respond even as Eomer growled behind her, apparently annoyed with his friend on her behalf.

Then Gimli grinned, and bowed. "My apologies, your majesty. Rohan matters to me, as does her king."

That the statement was heart-felt was obvious, and all insult faded. Here was another whose love for, and allegiance to, her husband was unshakeable. "I understand." And she did. "We're honored by such loyalty," she added softly.

"And he is treating you well?"

Noise erupted from behind her. "Gimli!"

Lisswyn grinned at the dwarf, then turned to look up at her affronted husband. "He treats me very well indeed."

Mollified, but with an expression indicating Gimli wasn't completely off the hook, Eomer subsided, still glowering at the dwarf.

Gimli simply grinned, then his eyes lit as he looked behind her. Turning, Lisswyn saw Eowyn riding up to join them, Brynwyn in front of her, which probably explained why she'd been delayed. Behind them, she could see the rest of the party drawing closer.

Gimli started forward. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd stayed at Edoras!"

Eowyn laughed, and dismounted, then reached up to help Brynwyn down. "My apologies. I was distracted, and didn't realize you'd come out."

"A likely excuse."

Eomer and Lisswyn walked over to join them as Brynwyn, her eyes never leaving the dwarf, started edging toward them, an uncertain look on her face.

Gimli stopped her, pinned her with a glance not unlike the one he'd given Lisswyn. "And who might you be?"

Brynwyn froze, and Eomer stepped up behind her, put his hands on her shoulders. "This is Brynwyn, Gimli. She is Lisswyn's sister."

"Ah. The brave one. Very good." Puzzled, Lisswyn looked over at Eomer to see him shake his head as if he didn't understand the reference either. Gimli kept his eyes on Brynwyn. "I was told you saved Eomer-king's life. Is that not true?"

"Yes," Eomer said firmly when Brynwyn looked up, plainly uncertain as to how she should respond. "She found me when I'd been struck by the arrow, then went for help, in spite of the danger."

Gimli nodded in satisfaction. "Very good." Then he grinned again, and held out his arm to her. "Would you like to see the caves, my lady?"

Still obviously flustered, Brynwyn looked over at Lisswyn before nodding and moving forward to put her hand on his arm. Then they turned and all started toward the ramp up to the keep.