Oops, forgot the disclaimer last time. I own nothing but Ailith and any OC characters from the Wold. Everything else belongs to the Tolkien estate etc.
Also, I'm using the movie storyline so when I get to Helm's Deep then the women will be going too. Thanks!
Prince Théodred tumbled to the ground in a mess of clothes and weapons. A high laugh reverberated through the dell.
"Call yourself a Prince of the Riddermark?" Ailith laughed, reining her mare in tightly.
"Ailith!" Éomer chastised. She looked at him wide-eyed.
"A wonderful mess we will be in if our future King falls off his horse at every opportunity!" she said brightly. Théodred struggled to his feet.
"You try riding in a mail shirt. And on a stallion too!" he said bitterly. Ailith raised her eyebrows. She exchanged a look with Éowyn, sitting docile on her grey charger. She removed her feet from the stirrups and brought them up on to her saddle. With a quick breath, she stood up. One hand out-flung to keep her balance, she brought her own horse alongside Théodred's waiting stallion and nimbly stepped across. There, she let her feet slip and she dropped down onto the saddle with a massive grin.
"Who is the better horseman?" she said imperiously. Théodred's face twisted.
"One day, Ailith, you will be doing one of your tricks and you will break your neck!" Éomer said quickly. She laughed uncaringly and threw the reins of her mare at Théodred.
"Here my lord," she said sweetly. "I would hate for you to fall again!"
And then she spurred the flanks of his great stallion and rode away, her laughter carrying on the breeze.
Éowyn looked at her brother and cousin and then rode after her friend. Éomer looked at Théodred. As the oldest at fifteen, he often felt like he had to mediate between his friends.
"You shouldn't let her boss you around like that," he said as Théodred climbed grumpily onto Ailith's abandoned horse. "Of course, she is completely right. A Prince of the Riddermark should be a more competent horsemen by fourteen," he added.
"Just because her and Éowyn spend every waking moment on their horses! I could ride just as well as them if I did not have to spend half my day doing sword practice and sitting with the Council!" the Prince spat.
Éowyn caught up with her friend halfway back to Edoras.
"You better hope he doesn't say anything to his father," she said as their horses drew level. Ailith shrugged.
"Théoden would agree with me," she said boldly. "We can outride him easily and we can match him with swords, probably, and we are two years younger than him!"
Éowyn pulled her horse across the front of Ailith's.
"And what can we do about it? These are times of peace and even if they weren't, we wouldn't be allowed to ride out with the men!"
"Have some ambition!" Ailith said churlishly. Her friend shook her head sadly.
"Ambition? This has nothing to do with ambition! Ailith, I don't want you to be sent back to your father but that is what will happen if you keep on being so vocal!"
Ailith stared at Éowyn.
"What am I supposed to do? Be more like the White Lady? The Palest Flower of the Mark?" she said mockingly. Éowyn blushed, the colour flooding across her white cheeks. "Sorry," Ailith said. She steered the great stallion around Éowyn's charger. "I'm not like you. You are fair and sweet and I'm brash and loud. It's the way we've always been," she said sadly. Her friend gripped her hand and smiled encouragingly.
"And it's the way we always will be," she said.