Lothiriel reached the main courtyard of the city with no interruptions, and was pleased to see that only a few people had trickled down to greet the returning Horselords. Just as she was about to give herself a congratulatory pat on the back, Gimli and Legolas, who had returned to Minas Tirith with Aragorn three months ago, appeared by her side.
"Good morning, my lady!" Gimli said cheerily.
Blast! Any other morning I would've been overjoyed to spend time with them…but not this morn! Ignoring her irrational anger at the well-meaning Dwarf, Lothiriel beamed down at him.
"Good morning, Gimli, Legolas." The Elven Prince said nothing, but gave her a meaningful look as she quickly returned her attention to the gates.
"Methinks our princess is quite anxious for the Rohirrim to arrive, Legolas." Gimli chuckled, waggling his eyebrows at Lothiriel, who flushed crimson and twisted a strand of hair between her fingers. Legolas gave a soft chuckle.
"Do not tease her so, Gimli. She deserves much happiness." Legolas said, smiling warmly. Lothiriel met his gaze and blushed deeper.
"Le hannon, Legolas." She said softly. Gimli scoffed.
"I do not deny that she deserves happiness, Elf! Blasted Elves, always twisting the words of Dwarves…" Gimli spluttered off, much to the amusement of Legolas and Lothiriel.
"Not to seem rude, but why are you two down here? Are you expecting news from the Rohirrim?" Lothiriel asked, looking back and forth between the friends. Legolas and Gimli exchanged a sly look.
"Not news, mellonamin." Legolas said, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"I'm afraid we're collecting on a bet," Gimli chortled, "involving a certain horse master." Lothiriel gawked at them, earning laughs from both.
"You can't be serious!" She cried, indignation filling her face.
"Slow down there, lass, we never said what the bet was." Gimli laughed, and Lothiriel got the distinct impression that both Dwarf and Elf were enjoying her current frustration. Gimli continued: "And we did not actually make the bet, my dear lady. You can thank your dear Hobbits for that. We merely picked a side." Lothiriel blinked. And blinked again.
Oh I am going to murder those Hobbits!
"Close your mouth, Lothiriel, we are not a codfish." Amrothos chuckled, appearing to Legolas' left. Lothiriel wanted to scream; this day could not possibly go any more wrong.
"Hysterical, Amrothos. What are you doing here?" Lothiriel shot a glare at her brother, who threw his hands up as a sign of innocence.
"Easy there, Thiri! I seemed to have forgotten a few shirts in Edoras, and Frea kindly offered to bring them to me…" Amrothos' tanned face flushed and Lothiriel rolled her eyes.
"And where exactly did you forget those shirts, dear Amrothos?" Lothiriel asked, shaking her head. Amrothos looked mortified
"It's of no consequence where I left them, Lothiriel!" Amrothos spluttered, turning an even brighter red. Gimli laughed aloud, Legolas smirked as much as an Elven Prince can, both earning a glare from Amrothos, but Lothiriel was halted in her teasing as the gates opened. She was vaguely aware of Legolas' hand giving hers a gentle pressure, of Gimli's deep chuckle, and of Amrothos' confused looks between his sister and the opening gates; Lothiriel only had eyes for the small company entering the city. She recognized Eofor's helmet and Eothain carrying the banner of Rohan, but did not see the figure she was searching for. A few men pushed past the group to get to the front, and Lothiriel no longer had a clear view of the arriving Rohirrim. She felt another pressure on her hand, and turned to look at Legolas. The Elf nearly winced for the confusion and pain in her eyes.
"Lord Amrothos! Your shirts, as promised, clean and intact." A young boy, no more than sixteen said, clomping proudly over to Amrothos. Amrothos thumped him on the back appreciatively and took his shirts.
"Many thanks, Frea! And, as earlier specified payment, allow me to introduce my lovely sister, Lothiriel." Amrothos said, grinning as he pulled the younger boy towards Lothiriel. Frea flushed and Lothiriel attempted to plaster a smile to her face.
"It is an honor, milady. Eofor speaks of you highly; I had to meet you myself to see if he was not exaggerating like always!" Lothiriel giggled despite herself and smiled truly when Eofor appeared, giving his cousin a cross look.
"Do not listen to Frea, my lady; I never exaggerate, especially not about the kindness and beauty of ladies." Eofor said, and bent down to press a kiss to Lothiriel's hand. She giggled again, patting his arm affectionately.
"I fear you have exaggerated and I shall never live up to such kind descriptions! How was your journey; I trust nothing ill occurred?" Lothiriel asked. The many other questions she truly wanted to ask lingered on her tongue.
Where is Eomer? Is he alright? Did I merely imagine the letters? Frea and Eofor smiled at her.
"The journey was easy and quick, milady. We rode quickly because Eo-" Eofor cut Frea off with an elbow to the younger man's stomach and Frea glared in response. Lothiriel and Amrothos exchanged a confused look. Eofor cleared his throat, and Lothiriel looked back at him.
"We rode quickly because we all greatly love Lady Eowyn, and we are very eager to see if her bridegroom is worthy of our Princess." Lothiriel was not satisfied with that answer, but it made sense, at least partially, so she nodded in unison with Amrothos.
"Well, let me extend our hospitality to you, gentleman! It's the least I could do." Amrothos said, smiling widely. Frea brightened at that, and he and Amrothos walked away, chattering comfortably to one another. Legolas and Gimli had disappeared earlier, leaving Lothiriel and Eofor alone. Eofor watched his cousin and the youngest Prince of Dol Amroth and chuckled. Lothiriel quirked an eyebrow in questioning,
"What are you laughing at, Eofor?"
"They are fast friends, my lady." Eofor said, offering his arm to Lothiriel, "and even faster talkers." Lothiriel giggled, but stopped suddenly as the courtyard cleared and Eomer was nowhere to be seen. Eofor, noticing her distress, began walking, taking Lothiriel along with him. "I believe a few friends of yours are quite anxious to see you, Lady Lothiriel." Lothiriel looked at him, puzzled, until Merry and Pippin appeared, grinning from ear to ear. Her face lit up as the Hobbits ran towards her and she knelt down to receive their very welcome hugs.
"Merry! Pippin! Oh it is so wonderful to see you again!" Lothiriel cried, pulling back to look into their dear faces. They looked as joyful as always.
"No more wonderful than it is to see you, my lady." Merry said.
"It would've been a tad more wonderful if you had written us letters as well!" Pippin teased.
"I believe I did write you, Master Took!" Lothiriel laughed. Pippin shrugged nonchalantly, but was unable to keep the grin from his face.
"Only after we requested a letter! Tis not the same, milady!"
"Oh, do hush up Pip!" Merry said, giving Pippin a punch to the arm. With Pippin momentarily silenced, Merry turned back to Lothiriel. "Would you mind taking us to Eowyn, my lady? We have missed her as well." Lothiriel smiled and put an arm around each Hobbit.
"Of course Merry!" The three made their way along the path, unaware of amused eyes that watched them from a faraway window.
oOo
"Eowyn? You have visitors!" Lothiriel called after giving a few knocks to the door. Eowyn opened the door, giving Lothiriel a very confused look before looking down to Pippin and Merry and giving a happy cry.
"Pippin! Merry! It has been far too long!" Eowyn said, hugging Merry first and then Pippin; Lothiriel thought it best to vanish for the time being so the friends could reacquaint themselves.
"I'm going to the garden." Lothiriel said. Eowyn, Merry, and Pippin gave her brief acknowledging smiles before resuming their conversation, and Lothiriel slunk away, feeling quite lonely and unwanted.
Certainly not how I pictured this day turning out. Lothiriel groused inwardly. She rounded the corner, feeling positively wretched when a hand shot out, grabbed her arm, and pulled her backwards. Lothiriel opened her mouth to scream when another hand went over her mouth.
Could this day get any worse? She roared mentally, fighting with all of her might to break free of her unknown assaulter. She attempted to jerk one elbow back and was rewarded with a grunt; when she tried to move anything else, the arm not busy covering her mouth wound around her waist and arms, preventing her from flailing about. She opened her mouth to bite the man's hand when she heard it. A deep chuckle that reverberated in her chest and made her heart feel like it was a fish on the deck of a boat.
"Bema pity the man that ever tries to kidnap you, Lothiriel." Her eyes went wide. She would know that voice anywhere. Gods knew she'd been trying in vain to hear it in her head for the past 6 months.
"Eomer." She whispered, and she felt another laugh against her back. Her knees wobbled and she tried to turn to face him, but his arm held her tight. She felt a calloused hand push her hair away from the left side of her neck; and then a kiss was pressed to the sensitive part where her neck joined with her shoulder. Lothiriel was fairly certain she was going to faint, wake up from a wonderful dream at any moment, or even die, but she did not. Eomer chuckled to himself as he felt her give another shudder. "I don't see what's so amusing, horse master." Lothiriel said, her attempt to sound vexed ruined by the tremor in her voice. He loosened his hold on her then, and she turned as quickly as she could while still in his arms. She had forgotten the deep brown intensity of his eyes and overestimated his height; but it was undoubtedly him. Tears welled in her eyes and felt absolutely ridiculous; his thumbs wiped them away before they could roll down her face. Suddenly, she was pounding his chest with her fists and Eomer stiffened in surprise.
"You insufferable, horrid, beastly man! I thought you hadn't come at all, that something bad had happened to you, and the whole time, you were just waiting here for me to show up? Don't tell me, Eowyn was in on it! Eofor, Merry, and Pippin too! Is it too much to ask that—" She was effectively silenced by his kiss, and her anger evaporated. One of his hands was in her hair, the other on her waist and her arms were locked around his neck. Minas Tirith could've been burning to the ground, all three of Princes of Dol Amroth could've walked by, and neither would've noticed. Lothiriel pressed herself as close to Eomer as she could get, and he deepened the kiss. She reluctantly pulled away and smiled up at him.
"Was that a proper enough hello for you?" Eomer asked, smirking down at her. Giggling, she gave him a nudge. He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, and tilted her face up towards his. He leaned down and kissed her again, and she sighed blissfully.
"Merry, do you think she found him?"
"Hush Pippin, they'll hear us!" Lothiriel pressed her face to Eomer's chest to stifle her laugh as Eomer groaned.
"Bloody nosy Hobbits." Eomer grumbled. Lothiriel pressed a finger to his lips and made a silent shushing motion. She took a step back and tugged him along with her, until they were hidden from view by a column. Eomer raised an eyebrow at her and she hushed him again.
"Merry, if she didn't find him, Eomer is going to murder us!" Pippin hissed.
"Pippin, if they hear us coming now, they're both going to kill us!" Merry whispered back. Lothiriel covered her mouth with her free hand to hold in her laughter and Eomer couldn't stay angry. Dropping Eomer's hand, Lothiriel stepped out from behind to column, but neither Merry nor Pippin noticed her sudden appearance at their backs.
"Well perhaps not kill, but I wouldn't linger in the stables longer than necessary from now on if I were you." Lothiriel said, smiling widely. Merry and Pippin froze, and Lothiriel laughed. The Hobbits turned to face her, grinning shamefacedly.
"Can we expect the same response from you, Eomer?" Pippin asked, craning to look around Lothiriel to stare cautiously at Eomer. The King smirked and stepped forward to put his arm around Lothiriel, and the Hobbits grinned despite the near mortal peril they were in.
"That depends, Master Took." Eomer said. Merry and Pippin exchanged a frightened look.
"On what?" Merry asked and the two Hobbits drew closer together, trying to avoid his anger. Eomer felt a gentle pressure on his hand and looked down at Lothiriel, who was giving him a look that clearly said be nice.
"On whether you two decide to run your mouths or not." Eomer said, giving Pippin a pointed look. Merry buried his face in his hands.
"I'm as good as dead." Pippin looked insulted.
"I'm not going to blab, Merry! I'm not that much of a fool!" Pippin cried. Merry groaned and Lothiriel laughed.
"I'm doomed!" Merry cried and Eomer snorted.
"Oh, don't fret, dear Master Brandybuck," " Lothiriel said, smiling brightly at the distressed Hobbit, "I'm certain neither you nor Pippin will be saying anything." She gave both Hobbits a look. "Right?" Merry and Pippin both gulped and nodded.
"Whatever you say, my lady." Pippin said, earning a happy smile from Lothiriel.
"Good. I do believe Aragorn is expecting all three of you. Shall we go?" Lothiriel asked, giving them all a smile. Merry and Pippin, still looking frightened, resumed walking, and Lothiriel and Eomer followed behind. Lothiriel twined her fingers with Eomer's and beamed up at his amused face. He leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"Remind me never to cross you." She smirked and gave him a shove. The four walked in companionable silence, and they neared the Tower.
"Lothiriel?" Pippin asked and Lothiriel cocked her head to the side in response. Pippin gulped. "You wouldn't really murder us, would you milady?" Lothiriel stifled a giggle.
"Well, I wouldn't be the one doing it, but I do have quite a few good friends who have unsuspicious boats and the knowledge of certain places where the current never stops…" Pippin went a ghastly white but Merry chuckled.
"G-goodbye then milady." Pippin said, before quickly disappearing inside the doors to the Tower.
"Well, I doubt Pip will be saying anything." Merry chuckled and Lothiriel gave him a warm smile. "See you later then." Merry said, giving the couple a waggle of his eyebrows before following his friend.
"You would think that they would have learned that eavesdropping causes more harm than good." Eomer said and Lothiriel shrugged.
"Don't be too hard on them, they mean well." Lothiriel said.
"So did Isildur and look how well that turned out." Eomer snorted darkly. Lothiriel gave him a look.
"That is the past." She stepped closer and took his face between her hands. "Dwelling on things you cannot change is far worse than the interference of nosy Hobbits." Lothiriel stretched up on her tip toes to press a sweet kiss to his lips. Eomer's arms moved on their own accord to press her closer, but she danced away, laughing. "We cannot delay any longer! Eowyn would never forgive me if I were to keep you away for one minute more." Eomer scowled but Lothiriel opened the doors anyways, and with one last wink, disappeared into the Hall.
oOo
This woman is going to be the end of me.
Grumbling, Eomer opened the doors and was greeted by an excited shout from Amrothos and murmurs of welcome from everyone else. He scarcely had a second to respond before a blur of green and blonde hurdles across the room and throws herself into his arms.
"What took you so long? I was beginning to fear you'd gotten lost!" Eowyn cried, giving Eomer a meaningful look. She stretched up to kiss his cheek and whispered in his ear: "I take it everything went as planned?"
"All in good time, sister." Eomer whispered back before planting a kiss on her forehead. Eowyn frowned, but said nothing as Aragorn approached and shook Eomer's hand.
"My friend, I trust your journey was enjoyable?" Aragorn asked, eyes darting over to Lothiriel, who was talking to Faramir across the room, and then back to Eomer. Eomer shook his head, chuckling.
"My journey was fine, Aragorn." Eowyn and Aragorn exchanged a smirk. Amrothos appeared behind Aragorn, grinning widely at Eomer.
"Why hello there Eomer-King! I didn't see you ride in; I thought perhaps the journey had been too much for you!" Eowyn stifled a laugh and the corners of Aragorn's eyes crinkled in amusement; the irony of Amrothos' choice of words was not lost on Eomer.
"I wouldn't joke about the journey; your shirts almost disappeared a few times along the way." Amrothos turned red and the three laughed.
"Don't mention the shirts! Elphir and Lothiriel will never let me live it down!" Amrothos hissed.
"It's not like you have much of a reputation to ruin, Am." Erchirion said, approaching with a smirk. Amrothos turned an even deeper red and glared at his brother.
"You're just jealous that the ladies have always liked me better, Erchirion." Amrothos grumbled and Erchirion's face grew stony.
"I would not touch any of your ladies, brother, with a forty foot pole." The two brothers glared at each other, and Eowyn and Eomer were quite willing to bet it was about to turn to blows, when Lothiriel appeared, pushing between her brothers.
"Must I remind you that we are in public?" Lothiriel hissed, giving both her brothers an angry look. "Save the petty squabbling for later. My apologies, Aragorn." Amrothos and Erchirion gave each other one last hateful look before stalking off to opposite directions of the hall. Lothiriel sighed sadly. "They've been like that ever since Amrothos came home from Edoras. I've no idea what the trouble is."
"I wouldn't worry, Lothiriel." Arwen said, appearing gracefully at Aragorn's side. "All brothers quarrel at some point." Lothiriel nodded and a grin appeared on her face as Faramir appeared.
"Some worse than others, right Fara?" Lothiriel asked, her most innocent look on her face. Faramir chuckled.
"I wouldn't know; my brother and I never fought." Most of the group laughed at that; all were grateful for the dissolved tension. Servants appeared and ushered the group into the dining hall. Lothiriel managed to be seated between Eomer and Legolas, and judging by the mirth in Aragorn and Arwen's eyes, it was no random seating placement. Amrothos and Erchirion were next to each other but studiously acting as if the other didn't exist; Gimli was deep in laughing conversation with Merry and Pippin; Eowyn and Arwen were intently discussing something as Faramir looked on; Legolas and Eomer, who had realized their seating positions as well, were now staring daggers at the High King of Gondor.
Bugger. Somebody's going to be throwing food before the night is over. Lothiriel cursed mentally. Aware of the glares being exchanged over her head between the Elvish Prince and the Rohirric King, Lothiriel slipped her hand over to Eomer's under the table. She was extremely amused when he jumped and his glare shifted from Legolas to her.
"Gimli?" The Dwarf turned to Lothiriel and she continued, "Won't you tell us a story? Amrothos has told me that none can match a Dwarf when it comes to storytelling." Gimli puffed up in delight and Aragorn snickered and winked at Lothiriel. The rest of the dinner was dominated by Gimli's long-winded story, occasionally punctuated by questions.
"Little imp." Eomer whispered to her when everyone else was distracted. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing." Lothiriel fluttered her eyelashes at him in mock innocence.
"I've no idea what you're talking about."
The next four days flew by, and quite suddenly it was the morning of Faramir and Eowyn's wedding.
oOo
Author's Note: Sorry for the abrupt ending! I didn't want to squeeze the wedding into this chapter, it would've been too much. So yes! They're together again and the teams of Merry and Pippin and Legolas and Gimli are causing mischief once again. The tension between Erchirion and Amrothos has a purpose, I swear. The next chapter will be mostly wedding fluff, and I hope y'all are still enjoying it! Reviews, critiques, and suggestions are always welcome! Thanks for reading and your reviews really do give me the warm fuzzies.