The morning (or afternoon, as it was well past noon by the time most of the wedding guests had dragged themselves from their beds) after Faramir and Eowyn's wedding, Imrahil had insisted upon all whom were not needed in the city to come to Dol Amroth, so that "we too may have a chance to offer hospitality to such wonderful friends."
Aragorn and Arwen had to regretfully decline, and Faramir and Eowyn had been "unavailable" for a response, and Legolas begged off, fearful of being unable to resist the siren call of the Sea should he set eyes upon it. Much to Amrothos' and Lothiriel's disappointment, Gimli insisted upon remaining behind with the Elf, blaming a lack of sea legs for his choice to remain in Minas Tirith.
The group that ended up riding towards Dol Amroth two days later was much smaller than Imrahil had anticipated, though he expected there would be no lack of mirth and friendship. Pippin rode behind Lothiriel and the two chattered eagerly; Merry and Eomer together rode leading the Rohirrim; Gandalf rode between Erchirion and Amrothos attempting to mediate the brothers; Elphir was beside Imrahil himself, a half-smile playing on his lips. Imrahil gave his oldest son a curious look; Elphir had been very serious in past years, and was not as prone to smiling (especially not smirking) as his siblings.
"Something amusing, Elphir?" Imrahil asked. Elphir smiled fully and with a pang in his heart, Imrahil realized it had been years since last he had seen his son's smile.
"I'm merely wondering who you can expect to ask for Lothiriel's hand first." Elphir paused, eyes twinkling. "The young Hobbit or the new King of Rohan." Imrahil chuckled and watched Pippin, who was eagerly acting out a story for Lothiriel with his hands, and Eomer, whose eyes never left his daughter for more than a few moments. Lothiriel had not said anything, but one would have to be blind to the way she lit up around Eomer.
"Yes, I've been thinking about that too. And as much as I enjoy Master Took, I do not think he is the match for your sister." Elphir snorted.
"Indeed. Father, you know him better than I. Is he a good man? Does he deserve our Thiri? I would not freely pass her to any man, much less an undeserving one." Imrahil smiled.
"I do not think there could be a better man for Lothiriel in all of Middle Earth. Look at her, Elphir." Elphir subtly looked over his shoulder at Lothiriel, who at that moment was laughing as Merry and Pippin pelted Eomer with seeds left over from their "second breakfast" of apples. "Can you recall ever seeing her so happy?" Elphir stared at his sister, and shook his head as countless memories revisited him:
The first time she had been put in his arms and her tiny, perfect hand had reached out and batted at his nose.
"I'll always protect you." He had whispered.
Lothiriel, age 6, holding his hand at their mother's funeral.
"We're going to be okay, El. We're going to be okay."
Lothiriel, age 9, flinging sand at his face, laughing as Erchirion dumped a bucket of water on Amrothos.
Her crying as they rode through the gates of the city to another battle.
"You can't leave! You can't! We need you here!"
The first time he caught a boy staring at her and pounded the imp. Lothiriel had stopped him.
"Elphir, leave him be!"
"He was gawking at you!"
"He's a boy! You should be worried if he wasn't gawking at me!"
When he had told her he was marrying Artanis and she had not been happy.
"Elphir, you're miserable around her! You don't even love her!"
"You don't even know what love is, Thiri. You're just a silly little girl with her head in books and her heart in the clouds!"
The last conversation they had had, where she had hugged him after five years of barely acknowledging one another.
"You're my brother. I'll always love you. I always have."
"Are you alright, El?" Elphir blinked as he realized Lothiriel had ridden up next to him and was now peering anxiously into his face. Managing a small smile, he nodded.
"I'm fine."
"You look right sad, if you don't mind me saying so, Lord Elphir." Pippin said, watching the Prince cautiously. "I hope Dol Amroth's not too much further off; you look like you could some time off your horse." Elphir gave a small chuckle. Lothiriel took a deep breath as the unmistakable smell of salt and water hit her nose.
"Do you see that hill there, Pippin?" She pointed and Pippin nodded.
"The big one that looks a bit like a pint of ale?" Lothiriel nodded, laughing. "What about it?"
"When we go around it, you can see Dol Amroth." She took another breath, smiling. "And the Sea." Pippin's eyes lit up.
"Might we ride a bit faster, my lady? I'd quite like to see this Sea of yours." Lothiriel grinned and kissed the top of the Hobbit's head in excitement.
"A brilliant idea, Pip! Hold tight to Niniel now!" Lothiriel gave Niniel's sides a squeeze and the horse sped up, speeding past the Rohirrim, Gandalf, Erchirion, and Amrothos.
"Thiri, where are you going?" Amrothos called, looking panicked as she breezed past him.
"I Aear cân ven na mar." Gandalf said, smiling. Erchirion smirked. Eomer was staring after her stunned.
"Will she be alright, Imrahil?" He asked, earning a warm look from the Prince of Dol Amroth.
"She knows these hills quite well, Eomer. Though, if you would feel better going after her, I'm sure that would not bother her in the slightest." Eomer gave the older man a careful look and Imrahil smiled back innocently.
He's up to something…
In the end, Eomer's protective nature won out, and after brief council with Merry;
"Pippin can't beat me to Dol Amroth! He already reached Minas Tirith before I did, and he claims he crossed to borders back into Hobbiton first as well! Let's go!"
Eomer and Merry raced after the now small form of Lothiriel and Pippin atop Niniel.
oOo
"Hoof prints go that way, Eomer." Merry said. They had followed the very obvious trail to what Eomer assumed was the thing Lothiriel had called a beach, and he followed Merry's finger to the half-moon shapes in the sand. Frowning, he climbed off Firefoot and helped Merry down after him.
"Where can they have-" Eomer heard one quiet laugh before he was tackled from behind and landed head first in the sand.
"Oi!" Eomer surmised Merry had received the same treatment, and he sat up, scowling. Sand, he decided, was not something he liked. It itched and stuck to his hair and clothes. He began grumpily brushing it off and chose to ignore Lothiriel's giggles coming from behind him.
"Oh, don't be cross. It's only a bit of sand."
"A bit?" Eomer asked, turning to look at her. She was overcome with a new set of giggles as she took in his sand covered face and covered her mouth with her hands. He scowled at her and she continued laughing.
"Here, let me." She reached for his face and began smoothing the sand off gently; he still did not smile. Rolling her eyes, she shifted so she was kneeling in front of him. "Don't pout. A bit of sand does everyone good." He quirked an eyebrow.
"Oh really?" She nodded.
"Really."
"Then I guess you won't mind if I do this." Smirking, Eomer dumped a handful of sand on Lothiriel's head. Shrieking with laughter, she leapt to her feet and scooped sand in her hand and flung it at him. He ducked, grinning.
"You need to work on your aim, Princess!" Eomer called. Lothiriel shrugged and pointed behind him.
"You should learn the value of allies, my dear King!"
"What?"
"Now Merry!" Pippin yelled and Eomer was bombarded with sand.
"Blasted Hobbits!" Eomer yelled, shielding his face. Lothiriel dropped to the ground, laughing. Once the assault of sand had stopped, Eomer looked at Lothiriel incredulously. Lothiriel's eyes widened as she realized his intent and attempted to run; he caught up to her within a few minutes and threw her over his shoulder.
"Put me down you tyrant!" Lothiriel teased. Eomer chuckled.
"So you can throw more sand at me? Give me a good reason why I should." Lothiriel drummed her fingers on his back.
"I can give you two." Intrigued, Eomer lowered her off his shoulder. As soon as Lothiriel's feet touched the ground, her hands captured his face. Stretching up on her toes, she kissed his nose (despite the sand that still lingered there). "One." Then she moved to his lips and pressed a kiss there as well. "Two." Eomer chuckled against her mouth.
"My eyes!" Pippin cried, falling back against Merry in a mock-faint. Merry laughed and Lothiriel blushed, hiding her face in Eomer's neck. The Hobbits drew level with the couple and looked out on the sparkling blue water in front of them.
"So this is your Sea, Lothiriel? I don't see what the big fuss was all about." Merry said. Lothiriel huffed.
"How can you not think it's beautiful?" Eomer grumbled quietly as she relinquished her hold on him to move closer to the water. Lothiriel spun around, arms in the air. "The color, the smell, how it flows over your skin…everything about the Sea is wonderful." Merry and Pippin still looked skeptical. Lothiriel frowned at them. "Well, come on then, you chickens." Merry and Pippin looked at each other and then Eomer; all were confused. Lothiriel motioned them forward. "Try the water!" Pippin and Eomer stared at her and inched backwards. Merry, who had grown up around and in water, took a step forward.
"Merry, what are you doing?" Pippin asked. Merry shrugged.
"If Lothiriel says it's fine to touch, it must be." Lothiriel beamed at him.
"I assure you, it's perfectly safe dear Meriadoc, though you may want to remove your shoes." Merry grinned and quickly pulled his shoes off and chucked them at Pippin.
"Oi!" Pippin yelled, glaring at Merry. Lothiriel kicked her shoes off as well, gathered her dress to one side, exposing most of her lower legs, (Eomer's eyes went wide at that), and offered her free hand to Merry. He walked over to her, and together they walked hand and hand into the surf. Merry let out a laugh as the water ran over his feet. "Merry, what's it feel like?"
"It's a tad cold, but nothing's trying to attack me Pip. Come have a go!" Pippin grinned, yanked off his shoes and ran to Lothiriel's other side. He let out a yelp as the water hit him and Lothiriel and Merry laughed.
"A tad cold? It's bloody freezing!" Pippin screeched, his voice jumping a few octaves. Merry rolled his eyes. Lothiriel turned around to look at Eomer and waved him over. He shook his head.
"After Pippin's reaction, I'm not setting one inch of skin in your Sea, Lothiriel." She frowned, but looked past him and waved. Eomer turned and recognized Imrahil down the beach. Lothiriel, Merry, and Pippin walked back to their shoes.
"We'd best go now. My father is going to want to give you all the grand tour of Dol Amroth."
oOo
The welcome in Dol Amroth had been warm and more relaxed than Minas Tirith. Though the people were undoubtedly Gondorian, there was a friendliness and love of life in Dol Amroth that was somehow missing in many of the citizens of Minas Tirith. When Eomer had expressed this opinion to Eofor and Eothain, they had both laughed.
"You're prejudiced now Eomer." Eothain chuckled.
"Not that either of us can say anything; I prefer your Lady to any of the ladies of Minas Tirith as well." Eofor said, giving Eomer a sly look. Eomer glared back at him, and neither of his friends said any more. After yet another night of feasting, Eomer had retired to his rooms (some of the nicest Dol Amroth could boast, despite his vigorous protests that he would sleep wherever his men did, which Imrahil had merely laughed kindly at and shown him this current room) and very quickly fell asleep.
He jerked awake as he felt a slight pressure on his arm. Whipping his dagger out from under his pillow and jerking it towards the person who was foolish enough to try to wake him, Eomer heard a quiet squeak and blinked. His hand went limp and the dagger clattered to the floor; Lothiriel was staring back at him, face pale.
"Lothiriel, are you trying to get yourself killed?" Eomer hissed. Lothiriel blushed, color flooding her face.
"How was I to know you sleep with a knife under your pillow?" She protested. Eomer shook his head and sat up. Lothiriel's blush deepened as the blankets fell away and Eomer's bare torso came into view. Eomer fixed his eyes on her with a dark look.
"What are you doing in my room anyways?" Lothiriel managed to tear her eyes away from his chest and nearly blinded him with a bright smile.
"Come on, I've got something to show you." Eomer was sure his heart stopped, as he finally took in that she was perched on the edge of his bed only in a white nightgown.
Show me what?
Lothiriel, unaware of the implications of her words, jumped up, rummaged around the room, and threw a shirt to him. Confused, Eomer pulled it over his head. Lothiriel came back over to him, took one of his hands, and pulled him. He allowed her to drag him out of his bed and paused behind her as Lothiriel stuck her head into the hallway to make sure it was clear. Stifling an excited giggle, she pulled him down the hall behind her. Finally, they reached a courtyard of all white with a few large flowers in the center. Eomer raised an eyebrow at her. Still holding his hand, she eagerly showed him to the wall, and pointed out at the view.
The moon, full and beautifully bright, was hanging in the sky over its reflection in the now black water. The moonlight leeched the color out of everything, even Lothiriel's grey-green eyes that now appeared as dark as his own. Lothiriel was staring out over the sea, a blissful smile on her face.
"Isn't it beautiful?" She asked, leaning her head against his shoulder. Eyes never leaving her, Eomer smiled.
"Aye." Lothiriel looked up at him curiously, and flushed. She nudged him.
"At least try to look at the view, a'melamin." Lothiriel whispered and Eomer grudgingly looked out. In all reality, it was beautiful. "My father had this courtyard built," Lothiriel explained, "for my mother, when they were first married. It was her favorite place." Her smile dimmed slightly. "When I was a child, she would set me on the wall and say 'Look my Thiri! The stars and moon are shining just for you!' and I would believe her. After she died, I would spend hours here, trying to hear her singing and telling me a story." She shook her head. "No wonder my brothers thought I would throw myself off the wall if they left me alone here." Eomer kissed her forehead and was rewarded with a small smile.
"Lothiriel?"
"Hmm?"
"What does a'melamin mean?" Lothiriel flushed and moved away to sit on one of the many benches in the courtyard. Eomer, muddled, watched her curiously. "Come on, then. What does it mean?"
"It means…" She sighed, looking as if she was about to pitch herself off the wall she had just been so comfortably sitting on. "It means my beloved." Eomer stared at her.
My love…? Oh. OH.
Lothiriel, meanwhile, was feeling every inch of her "mere" 21 years and felt more like a child than she ever had in her life.
You fool! Why would you call him that? Why would you tell him what it means? You could've lied and he never would've known the difference! Lothiriel shook her head at that thought. No, but I would've.
Quite suddenly, he was kneeling before her and kissing her again, and Lothiriel thought the top of her head might literally blow off from these kisses.
How can each kiss be better than the last one?
She barely suppressed a whimper as she felt his tongue glide across her lower lip; but the thought of what she had snapped brought her back to reality and she pushed against him. Eomer broke the kiss, bewildered.
"You can't just kiss me like that without telling me that what I said was acceptable!" Lothiriel cried. Eomer groaned.
"Woman, isn't it bloody obvious that it's perfectly fine with me?"
"No it's not!" She attempted to stand but his arms pinned her to where she was sitting. "I don't go around calling everybody a'melamin, so when I do call somebody that, I expect that they should feel the same!" His hands shot to her arms and held them still; he seemed to recognize the signs of an impending slap.
"How can you not know that I bloody love you, you empty-headed princess?"
Lothiriel froze. She blinked. She stared.
I'm dreaming. This isn't real. Nobody ever thought the "improper Princess" would ever find love.
"Y-you love me?"
Eomer was pale now, cursing his loose tongue. Unable to force more words out of his traitorous mouth, he simply nodded. And just as suddenly as she had stopped his kiss, she started it again, pulling him as close to herself as they could get. Eomer briefly pulled away.
"Don't you think you're being a bit hypocritical, Princess?" Lothiriel swatted him.
"Oh, hush up, I love you too, you stubborn horse master." And with that, she kissed him again.
oOo
The next morning, Lothiriel appeared in her father's study bright and cheery.
"Morning Ada!" She said, dropping a kiss to her father's cheek. Elphir, Erchirion, and Amrothos, who were seated around the round table in the middle of the room, exchanged confused looks as their sister approached them. "Elphir, 'Chirion, Am, good morning to you as well!" Lothiriel cried, kissing each of their cheeks in turn.
"Alright, what's happened?" Amrothos asked. Lothiriel's brow knitted in confusion.
"Whatever do you mean, Amrothos?"
"You're never this happy in the morning." Erchirion stated, watching her intently. Lothiriel rolled her eyes.
"And when I am my usual less-than-happy self, you three complain. Now that I'm in a good mood, you still complain. Is there no pleasing you, brothers?" She teased. Elphir smiled.
"I find your new mood rather pleasant, Thiri." Elphir said, earning a kiss on the forehead from a very happy Lothiriel.
"Why thank you, Elphir." Amrothos and Erchirion glared at their siblings, not enjoying their renewed closeness.
"Boys, you're needed elsewhere, quit badgering your sister about her cheerful mood this morning." Imrahil chuckled, wrapping an arm about Lothiriel. "I certainly have no qualms about my daughter smiling."
"Thank you, Ada." Lothiriel beamed. Amrothos, Erchirion, and Elphir disappeared out the door. Lothiriel turned to go, but her father's arm held her fast.
"Not so quick, selde." Lothiriel stopped.
"What is it, Father?" Something in his tone made her pulse race. Imrahil sat down in the closest chair and motioned for her to do the same. Gulping she sat, watching Imrahil closely. "Relax, dear one, I am not about to punish you for anything!" Lothiriel nodded and relaxed slightly and Imrahil smiled at her. "I believe you know of what I wish to speak of."
"I'm afraid I don't, Ada." Imrahil let out a laugh.
"Lothiriel. A man would have to lack eyes not to see how you have been acting in the past months." Lothiriel's eyes widened and she turned her head away from her father, hiding her face behind the dark curtain of her hair.
"And how have I been acting?" She asked. Imrahil reached out and took one of her hands.
"Like a woman in love, Lothiriel." Lothiriel flushed and Imrahil gave her hand a squeeze. "I am not so old that I do not know the signs. You smile more, you are constantly blushing, and nothing seems to be able to put you in a bad mood. Am I correct in my assumptions?" Lothiriel nodded, quite unable to look him in the face. Imrahil reached over and tilted her chin up with his forefinger. "Never be ashamed of your love, Lothiriel. Not all are lucky enough to experience it. Are you going to tell me who it is, or shall I have to find out myself?" Lothiriel let out a soft laugh.
"Father, you must know."
"Of course I do dearest. But I should prefer to hear it from your own lips, so that when he asks me for your hand, I shall say yes with a clean conscious and happy heart." Imrahil said, brushing his thumb over her cheek.
"I am in love," she paused, smiling brightly, "with Eomer, son of Eomund, King of Rohan." Imrahil feigned surprise.
"Dear me that was not who I was expecting at all! Poor Master Took will be most disappointed." Both laughed and Imrahil stood and pulled her into a hug. "Gone are the days where you were mine and mine alone, Lothiriel. I could think of no better man that I could let keep you." She hugged him back.
"Thank you, Ada."
oOo
Imrahil chuckled to himself when the servant announced:
"Lord Eomer wishes to speak with you, my lord. He says privately and as soon as possible, if it pleases you." Imrahil nodded.
"Send him in, Arod."
oOo
Author's Note: Oh wow, I absolutely LOVED writing this chapter. So much fluff! I hope everyone likes the Merry and Pippin mischievous goodness as much as I enjoyed writing it. And hoo-boy, exciting stuff next chapter people. Get excited. . What? Spoiler you say? BLASPHEMY!
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