The next morning was filled with activity. Lothiriel woke up around 8 and was immediately besieged by handmaidens who were "under orders from Lady Artanis," to get Lothiriel "up and presentable for the coronation." Any lingering love of her eldest brother's wife disappeared in that moment.
The nerve! As if I was a little girl, and needed assistance picking out my clothes and getting ready! Lothiriel raged internally. When the servants showed her the dress Artanis had picked out, Lothiriel blanched.
"No. No. Never. I will choose what I am to wear today, and it is certainly not that." The handmaidens shared a look, and Lothiriel was allowed to choose her own gown. When she met with Amrothos and Erchirion in the courtyard outside their rooms, they too showed signs of being henpecked. Amrothos' hair was tied back (as opposed to his usual carelessly handsome style) and he looked as if his face had been scrubbed 20 times; Erchirion's sword was noticeably missing from his side and his three day scruff was gone. They fell into step beside each other.
"What did she try to force on you, Thiri?" Amrothos asked, pulling the twine out of his hair as they walked.
"A pink dress. Pink! Not only pink, but pink and large." Amrothos and Erchirion burst into laughter.
"Good thing you wore that one instead, Thiri." Lothiriel smiled at Erchirion, and looked over her pale blue dress again.
"Yes, I think my taste is much better. And it is so worth seeing the look on dear Elphir's face."
The three siblings exchanged a mischievous look; there was nothing better to keep a coronation interesting than messing with their "dear brother." By the time the three arrived, nearly the entire city had gathered in the Tower. Lothiriel caught a glimpse of Gandalf, waiting for Aragorn by the doors to the Hall; Legolas and Gimili, standing amongst the most beautiful people Lothiriel had ever seen ("Mirkwood Elves." Erchirion whispered as they passed by); Faramir and Eowyn, standing very close together and both looking as happy as Lothiriel had ever seen them (Eowyn shot her a wink, to which Lothiriel mouthed "We must talk later!"), Eomer, looking clean and kingly, giving Lothiriel a nod and a small smirk; and finally, her father, his arm in a sling but otherwise looking healthy and whole and wonderful.
"Ada!" Lothiriel cried happily, leaving her brothers' sides and hugging him tightly. Imrahil laughed and gave his daughter a tight one arm squeeze.
"Lothiriel that is hardly proper behavior for a princess!" Elphir hissed. Lothiriel suppressed a tart remark.
"Wonderful to see you too, brother dear! So glad to see you made it through the battles unscathed. I hope Dol Amroth is in as good condition as you are." Lothiriel said, putting on her most innocent face. Elphir grumbled as Lothiriel kissed his cheek. "And good morning to you too, Artanis." Lothiriel said, trying her best to be the picture of courteousness. Artanis looked scandalized.
"I don't believe that is the dress I suggested, dear Lothiriel." Artanis said, her voice a whisper as to avoid being overheard.
Being overheard by who? Is what Lothiriel and Amrothos had always wondered. Imrahil beamed at Lothiriel, obviously enjoying the day too much to be curious about the comment.
"None the less, you look beautiful darling. Blue is as much your color as it was your mother's." Lothiriel scarcely had a chance to thank her father before he was already speaking again; "Wouldn't you agree, Eomer?" Lothiriel pretended to adjust her crown to hide her rapidly rising blush. Much to her mortification, Eomer was grinning.
"I don't believe I've ever seen her in another color, Imrahil." Amrothos and Erchirion snorted; Artanis looked gleeful.
"It's just as I'm always telling her, Eomer-King, she wears entirely too much blue." Artanis said, giving Lothiriel a snooty look. Lothiriel rolled her eyes and was extremely grateful for Erchirion's interference:
"Artanis, you wear just as much silver as Lothiriel does blue. As long as the blues are not always the same, I doubt anyone would notice. She is not going to be picked as a bride for what color she chooses to wear." Amrothos jumped in, and the brothers bantered playfully, successfully distracting Artanis from Lothiriel (and by default, Eomer). Lothiriel felt a gentle brush on her elbow. Eomer was looking at her quite intently, giving her heart a jolt.
"I wouldn't change colors anytime soon. Blue suits you." Lothiriel brushed a hair that had escaped her crown back into place.
Am I imagining it or is she blushing? Eomer shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.
"Thank you, Eomer." Her lips quirked into a grin. "And green suits you, milord." Eomer frowned; green was not a favorite of his, though it did manage to appear in his wardrobe often because of the association with Rohan.
"We can't all wear our favorite color." Lothiriel stifled a giggle; Eowyn had told her all about Eomer's dislike of the color green.
"That's probably a good thing, or Artanis there would be dressed to the hilt in pink, Erchirion would blend in with the shadows in all black, and Amrothos would probably be missing a shirt, as to show off for the ladies." Eomer laughed, and Lothiriel ignored the questioning looks Erchirion was giving her, moving as far from her brothers as she could get.
"I do not think the Lady Artanis would approve of Amrothos' dress code of choice." Eomer said in an undertone. Lothiriel hid a burble of laughter.
"Lady Artanis rarely approves of anything, especially not that." Lothiriel sighed in mock-sadness. "Poor Amrothos may never get a wife." Eomer smirked; this girl was surprising him every time they spoke.
"Is that how one gets a wife in Gondor," Eomer whispered, leaning down so his mouth was next to her ear, "by running around shirtless?" Lothiriel clapped her hands over her mouth to keep from bursting into laughter; tears ran from her eyes from the effort of holding in the laugh. Eomer looked alarmed at the tears and Amrothos and Erchirion looked as if they were about to tackle the King, but Lothiriel's smile came into view, and all three men relaxed.
There was movement towards the front of the crowd; a clear sign that the King was ready to start. Eomer gave the back of Lothiriel's hand a kiss in good-bye; he had to get back to his place. Much to his surprise, she winked. "Until later then, Eomer-King."
oOo
After the Coronation (which had been surprisingly pleasant, much of with Lothiriel attributed to Aragorn himself, not to mention the arrival of his beautiful Elvish bride, Arwen Undomiel), nobles, war heroes, Elves, and the entire Fellowship was gathered in the main dining hall for dinner and dancing. The longest (and central table) appeared to be reserved for the Fellowship and only a few others. Lothiriel was extremely relieved when Merry and Pippin appeared at her elbows, grinning.
"You'll sit at our table, right Lothiriel? Of course, all of you are asked to sit with Aragorn." Pippin said, looking eagerly over the royals of Dol Amroth. Imrahil nodded, and gave the hobbit a firm pat on the back.
"Show us the way, Master Took and Master Brandybuck!" Pippin and Merry quickly fell into conversation with Erchirion and Amrothos as the group moved toward the table, and Lothiriel noted the other people seated at the table. Gandalf was to the left of Aragorn, and of course Arwen was to his right, and the rest of the seats seemed to be unclaimed, though Legolas and Gimli were clearly moving to two chairs diagonal from Aragorn. Aragorn smiled as they reached the table.
"My friends." He made a grand gesture. "Sit wherever you wish." Thankfully, Elphir and Artanis seemed to be intimidated by the table, so full of heroes, and quickly sat at the end, bordered by Legolas, Gimli, and Imrahil. Amrothos and Erchirion sat on the opposite side of their father, next to the four hobbits, who welcomed them eagerly. Eowyn appeared, with Faramir on one side and Eomer on the other. Aragorn stood, kissed both of Eowyn's cheeks and introduced her to the lovely Arwen, who was smiling at Eowyn with warmth radiating from her. Eowyn sat to Arwen's right and Eomer quickly dropped into the only seat left on that side of the table. Faramir and Lothiriel shared an amused look before Faramir moved to come sit next to Lothiriel (which was coincidentally across from Eowyn). Faramir smiled at Lothiriel.
"Merry and Pippin have been bragging all day about how they have already claimed the first dance with the 'beautiful and lovely' Lady Lothiriel." Lothiriel giggled, and looked down the table to where the hobbits were sitting. Faramir smiled. "And what of your favorite cousin, hm? Have I not earned a dance?" Lothiriel gave Faramir's closest arm a light swat.
"I would've thought all your dances would've been spoken for." Lothiriel said, smirking as she looked quickly at Eowyn and back to Faramir. Faramir chuckled.
"I will always have time to dance with you, Lothiriel."
"Then you won't mind waiting til the fourth dance?" Faramir quirked an eyebrow; obviously silently asking about the two unnamed dance partners. Lothiriel offered him a cheeky grin in response, and their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of dinner. The rest of the time spent at the dinner table, Lothiriel was listening to the conversation between her brothers and the hobbits (the subject being whether jokes or constant flattery was the quicker way to a woman's heart, and Lothiriel was highly amused with how wrong both sides of the argument were). Finally, the first chords of music were played, and Aragorn stood and offered his hand to Arwen. The couple moved gracefully to the area that had been designated as the dance floor, and began a beautiful dance Lothiriel could only assume was Elvish.
"They make a wonderful couple. In all my years, I have seldom seen any match as filled with love." Gandalf said, smiling benevolently at the dancing couple. Lothiriel had to agree; true love seemed to have taken form in Aragorn and Arwen.
"I could hardly blame him; she is the fairest creature I have ever seen." Amrothos said to the table. Gimil seemed to bluster at this.
"Only because you have not seen Lady Galadriel, boy. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. Golden hair, grey eyes, alabaster skin. You and Eomer here seem to prefer the darker looks. We have already quarreled over who was more beautiful; the Morning or the Evening." Gimil said, winking at Eomer. Lothiriel huffed inwardly; how on Middle Earth was she supposed to compete with Elves? Especially Elvish princesses?
Snap out of it, Lothiriel. It's not as if the man owes you undying devotion anyways. Lothiriel noticed that Faramir refrained from saying anything, and merely reached across the table to hold Eowyn's hand. Just as Lothiriel was about to go into another internal rant about when was it her turn to find love, the King and Queen's dance came to a graceful finish.
"And now, we invite you to join us!" Arwen said, delight evident in her musical voice. Merry and Pippin hardly waited two seconds before appearing at Lothiriel's side.
"May we have this dance, my lady?" They asked in unison. Lothiriel put a hand to her chin in mock thinking.
"I do recall some sort of promise…" She laughed. "Of course." She stood and allowed each hobbit to take a hand. Frodo and Sam had already been called over by Arwen, and the three were laughing as they danced together. Erchirion had bowed towards Eowyn, who was taking his hand with a smile. Well aware that the court ladies were whispering their disproval to one another about Lothiriel's dancing partners, Lothiriel allowed herself to be spun about, once by Merry, and then again by Pippin. For ones so small, they were surprisingly agile dancers, and Lothiriel was enjoying herself immensely. It was a buoyant song, and Lothiriel laughed as the two hobbits danced with each other. Eomer was watching her, chuckling to himself as Pippin and Merry took turns twirling her. Her face was flushed with enjoyment, a few strands of hair had fallen out of place, and even from 10 feet away he could see her eyes shining.
She's full of life. That's why she has my attention so often; she is real. Aragorn was watching Eomer, a grin on his face.
"I'm glad to see a woman of Gondor has proved you wrong, Eomer. What did you say they were all like? Oh yes, 'empty-headed, spoiled, girls who have no idea about the suffering of war or the love of something other than one's self.'" Eomer shot him a glare, resulting in Aragorn's grin widening. Gandalf joined the conversation.
"If there was ever a girl less like her peers, it's Lothiriel. I've known her since she was a small child; she's never been one for protocol or manipulation. She's been following Faramir around since she was old enough to crawl, and being raised in a house of men has only strengthened her sense of right and wrong, not weakened it like the old women obsessed with tradition try to make it out to be. She's stubborn, which I would suppose is a family trait, but kind to a fault, and is never afraid to speak her mind. Imrahil, she couldn't have turned out better if the Elves raised her. Though perhaps she would've been a little less outspoken." Gandalf chuckled, and the four men suppressed a laugh as Lothiriel danced right in front of one of the oldest noble ladies; who proceeded to look scandalized at the hobbits and the Princess. Imrahil smiled, his eyes on his daughter.
"I thank the Gods for her every day. Though she's given me more than enough trouble over the years, I can't imagine life if she was one bit different." He frowned then. "My only worry is that she will never marry. I couldn't stand for my Thiri to be alone her whole life, especially with a heart as big as hers is, but she's frightened off or rejected every suitor that has asked for her hand thus far." Aragorn quirked an eyebrow at this.
"Frightened off? Correct me if I'm mistaken, Imrahil, but every time I've spoken to her she has been charming and entertaining. I have seen many frightening things, but your daughter is not one of them." Eomer nodded in silent agreement; were men of Gondor truly turned away by the thought of a strong wife? Even one as beautiful and funny as Lothiriel?
Stop that, Eomer. You've met prettier and funnier women in your life; there's no reason to be thinking like a lovestruck youth!
The next dance began, and Frodo and Sam appeared to take Merry and Pippin's place. Merry and Pippin seemed to not want to go, so Lothiriel shrugged, and said, "If I can dance with two heroes of the Ring War, I can certainly dance with four." So they did. Eowyn joined them, dancing between Merry and Sam. Imrahil nodded towards the group.
"This is the sort of thing I mean. Men of Gondor want…a proper wife. Someone with a reputation for manners and high-breeding. Not someone who's first two dances at a Coronation ball go to hobbits." There was no trace of anger in his voice, only affection. Imrahil clearly had no issue with his daughter's behavior, though Eomer saw Artanis and Elphir looking horrified at the end of the table.
"In Rohan, any father would be proud of their daughter for dancing with heroes." Eomer said loudly, making sure the outraged couple could hear him. "Be they men, Elves, Dwarves, or even half-lings." The next song began, and Eomer, Faramir, and Aragorn all rose to their feet. Eomer glared at Faramir; he knew as well as the whole table whom the Steward was going to be dancing with. Faramir seemed to ignore his look, and even Eomer could not deny the look of pure happiness Eowyn gave him when he reached her.
I have never seen her smile like that. For anyone or anything.
Any remaining fears about Eowyn still being in love with Aragorn vanished with that look. A small cough brought him to the present, where a woman he had never seen before was standing in front of him, batting her eyelashes in a way he knew she thought was attractive.
"Lord Eomer, may I have this dance?" Her voice was a purr, and one of her hands rested on her hips, as if to show dancing was not the only thing on her mind. Out of the corner of his eye, Eomer saw Lothiriel looking absolutely furious; he would guess that she and this woman did not get along.
"I'm afraid not, Lady…?"
"Teleri, my lord." The purr again.
Did she always sound like that, or only when she wanted attention from men?
"And may I ask why not, Lord Eomer?" A few more eye bats. Eomer fought the urge to just walk away; he knew the Gondorian court was watching to see how the "barbarian king" would handle himself.
"I already have a partner." And with that, he moved past the lady and to Lothiriel, and without further ado pulled her into the dance that everyone else seemed to be doing. Lothiriel let out an angry puff of air.
"I suppose you would rather be dancing with Lady Teleri?" Eomer blinked and looked down at her.
"If I would rather dance with her, I would be dancing with her." Lothiriel rolled her eyes.
"Even though you had already asked to dance with me?" Eomer scowled; was Lothiriel accustomed to losing dances to other ladies?
"I'm not sure how Gondorian men go about with dances, but when I ask a lady to dance, I dance." Lothiriel still did not looked convinced. "Especially when the other options are as unappealing as they are now." Her eyes widened at this, and she gave a snort of laughter.
"You are the first man I have ever heard call Lady Teleri 'unappealing'." Eomer eyed the other woman over Lothiriel's shoulder; she was striking, but in a boring way; he had seen her features hundreds of times over in other women.
"She's nothing different. I prefer to dance with women who are not entirely boring, and who are not only dancing with me because I am King. Isn't that is why she wanted to dance with me?" Lothiriel shrugged, not meeting his eyes.
"I would say that is most certainly part of it, but not all. The ladies are all in a tizzy; they've never seen anything like you and your men." Eomer smirked, earning a nudge and eye-roll from Lothiriel. "Don't let it go to your head, most women here have never even met a man who didn't have dark hair and dark eyes. Faramir is an oddity here, and my brothers are considered quite exotic with fair eyes." Eomer grinned.
"And what do you think, Lothiriel?"
"I think you care far too much what I think, Lord Eomer." A teasing grin lit her face.
"And I think you care far too much about Lady Teleri." Lothiriel frowned, but Eomer continued. "Any man who chose her over you is a fool." Lothiriel pinked.
"You're too kind; Teleri gets far more men then I could ever want." Eomer shrugged.
"Then they were not the right men." Their eyes met, and Lothiriel wished desperately for the ability to read minds. Eowyn appeared and tugged Eomer away.
"You owe me a dance brother!" Faramir stepped in to take Eomer's place. Lothiriel's eyes followed Eomer until Faramir repeated his statement.
"Lothiriel. Can I tell you something important?"
"Of course Fara! You can always tell me anything." Faramir smiled.
"I'm going to ask Eomer for permission to marry Eowyn. After her uncle's funeral, of course." Lothiriel smiled, and paused in the dance to give Faramir a hug.
"That's wonderful! I know you will be so happy; I cannot wait for Eowyn to be my cousin." Lothiriel noticed a bit of fear come into Faramir's eyes. "What's wrong?"
"I don't think Eomer is very keen on the idea of giving up his sister." Lothiriel nodded; if he was anything like her brothers, he would fight tooth and nail to never have to give her up. "You two seem to get along well," Faramir winked, making Lothiriel momentarily hate how close she and her cousin were, "and Eowyn and I were hoping you could perhaps talk to him in our behalf?" Lothiriel opened her mouth to protest, seeing a huge flaw in the plan, but Faramir continued, "After I ask him, of course." Lothiriel looked around Faramir at the siblings; they looked very happy, and seemed to be having an enthusiastic conversation.
He loves her. She loves him. I've seen them together many times; they're happier together and well matched. Surely Eomer will see that and support it? But then Lothiriel thought of Elphir and Artanis, and how much her brother changed since he had been married. She shook her head, banishing the thought.
Eowyn is no Artanis. She is one thousand times better than "sister dear" could ever hope to be. And Faramir deserves happiness! Her mind made up, she turned back to Faramir.
"I'll do whatever I can to help."