AN - I'm away for this week (Disneyland Paris, yay! I'm wearing my Tigger ears as I type this AN) so I thought I would post the next two chapters together. Thanks to everyone for their continued support and please review, I'd love to know what you are thinking!
"I assure you, it is completely natural. Every woman has them," Ailith told the young girl. She nodded and scurried from Ailith's work room. Ailith sighed and started to scrub her hands in preparation for her next patient. This was what she had been petitioning the King for when Gandalf arrived. She had been given a small building where she could invite citizens in need of a healing hand to come for aid. Or, on occasion, just a bit of practical advice.
Someone rapped their knuckles on the door and she turned to see Théodred leaning against the door-frame.
"So this is where you hide," he smiled.
"If I had to stay penned in the Hall like Éowyn I would probably end up driving my sword into Gríma's stomach," she replied, scrubbing her nails.
He laughed softly. "You say that like it is a bad thing."
"The blatant murder of the King's only counsellor in front of the whole court," she said drily. "Yes, that is perfectly acceptable."
He stepped forward into the room, opening and closing various cupboards and peering at the contents. His fingers yanked at one cupboard, the handles secured by a chain and a padlock.
"Why is this one locked?" he asked.
"It's where I keep my poisons," she said. "I don't want anyone to have access to them; it's too dangerous."
"Poisons? Really?"
"In small doses, some can be a medicine. You just have to know how to use them."
She dried her hands, his eyes still on the back of her head. He had not made any advances to her since his return and she wondered whether his courtship attempt when they were younger was merely just youthful infatuation. Still, in the back of her mind, the memory of the violets in her bridle tormented her.
The door opened again and Ailith hurried forwards to help Gamling with a white-faced Éomer. Two little boys trailed after them, their eyes wide with shock.
"My idiot of a grandson and his friend here were attempting to saddle my warhorse. If it wasn't for the valiant intervention of Lord Éomer, they would both be lying on the stable floor with their heads kicked in!" Gamling thundered. His grandson's lip started to wobble.
Éomer slowly eased his shirt off, wincing at the pain. Once again, Ailith's face grew hot. Her mouth tightened.
"Don't be angry," he said to her. "We were young once."
She wasn't angry. At least, she wasn't angry with the little ones. She was angry with herself for reacting to the sight of Éomer's naked chest. Again. She was a physician and he was just another patient.
She probed his ribs with her fingers and he cringed again as she passed over the tender area.
"What happened exactly?" she asked.
"The horse was rearing; I got between the boys; the horse caught me with a foreleg," he explained.
"You were lucky," she said softly. The four adults had all seen the damage a horse could inflict with its hooves. "None of your ribs are broken but you are going to have an ugly bruise. I can give you something for the pain if it is too much for you to bear."
He shook his head.
She turned and knelt down so that she was the same height as the two boys.
"Gamel," she said, addressing Gamling's grandson. "Why did you try to saddle your grandfather's horse? You can't even reach his back without a stool. "
The young boy's feet shuffled guiltily. "We wanted to be like proper Riders. Our ponies are so small," he said mournfully.
"Until you are fully grown, you cannot be a proper Rider," she said. "You must be able to care for your horse better than you do yourselves; he is your weapon, your armour and your most loyal brother-in-arms. You will know each other better than you know yourselves. Do you really think that you are ready for so intense a relationship?"
The boys shook their heads.
"When shall we know that we have grown enough?" Gamel asked, peeking at her face through his eyelashes. She looked up at Théodred and Éomer for help but they just smirked at her.
"When you know your own horse so well that you can step from his back to that of another horse," she said, her eyes locked with Théodred's. Éomer sniggered as the Prince's face reddened.
Gamling herded the two boys out of the room, growling about punishments and speaking to their fathers, leaving the three friends alone.
"I feel for your children. You are going to be a terrifying mother," Théodred said.
"And I trust that you no longer fall off your horse," Ailith retorted, punching him playfully on the arm.
"I endeavour not to," he said. He threw Éomer's shirt at him. "Come, stop flashing your skin at us! Or maybe you want to walk through the City shirtless and see how many maidens swoon at the gallant sight of you!"
Éomer laughed with his cousin and pulled his shirt back on. The two of them left and Ailith sank onto a chair. She was used to their camaraderie and joking but she had never had to try to hide any feelings from them.
They were both her brothers; she did not want to be breathless at the sight of Éomer and she did not want anything more than brotherly affection from Théodred.