Chapter 18
They reached Alburg by noon and were greeted by a plump woman, in her sixties, with a sweet face and hair the colour of salt and pepper. She was cleaning her hands on a white cloth and had a smile on her lips that could compete with a beacon from Gondor.
"Oh my sweet girl!" she said as soon as Éowyn came down her horse, gracefully, and came to hug her. "You look so beautiful, just like your mother, Béma keep her soul..." she gathered Éowyn's cheek in her chubby hands and kissed her temple. "But you should eat more, child, you're but skin and bone!"
"Gwenodyn, I've missed you so much!"
The woman gave her an even tighter hug.
"And I'm not worthy of such reception?" Éomer said as he came down Firefoot and walked towards them.
"My lord King..." she said as she gave him a bow.
"I'm still the same, Gwen." he said as he shook his head. "I want no formalities between us."
The old lady smiled as opened her arms.
"Well, then... Come and give this old woman a nice hug."
Éomer obliged and gave her a noisy kiss on the cheek.
"Is that my favorite pastries I smell on you? You are too good for us."
Gwenodyn blushed.
"Oh my, I forgot... Where are my manners... You have guests!" raising her voice, she added. "My Lords and Ladies, forgive me. I am Mistress Gwenodyn, the governess of this house. You must be tired, hungry... Please, come inside."
They dismounted and gathered their belongings as they headed for the house. It was nice and warm inside. It smelled of fresh flowers and scented candles.
"What a charming place!" Arwen said as she walked in the great lounge, hand in hand with Aragorn. "This is where you two grew up?"
"It is." Éowyn replied. "The grounds are quite extensive and when Éomer was made Marshall he used most of the place as a post for his éored but we agreed to leave this house untouched. It looks just like when we left..."
"You must have good memories here." Aragorn asked as he looked around.
"Yes, we do." Éowyn and Éomer looked at each other in a private moment, as if savoring a time they once had. Somehow, it touched Lothíriel's heart to be here, to once again be a apart of their lives.
"It think it's rather small..."
They all turned their heads towards Lilith.
Could she be more hateful? This is the perfect place to raise a family, you twit. Lothíriel thought.
But it was Arwen's laughter that broke the ice.
"Lady Lilith, I believe you will think Valinor itself small for your taste!"
That comment from the High Queen made Lilith blush and she was immediately silent.
"No... It's not small at all... Perfect, I say." Arwen then looked straight into Lothíriel's green eyes. "The perfect place to raise a family."
It was Lothíriel's turn to blush under the eyes of the Queen. Could she read her thoughts?
"Come, Aragorn." Éomer said. "Let me show you the stables. I still have some of the finest horses here."
"There's always room for horses, my friend."
Aragorn leaned over to Arwen and placed a soft kiss in her lips. He whispered something in Elven to her that was to low for Lothíriel to hear but she could very well see the smile on her Queen's face.
"Imrahil, will you join us?"
"I couldn't pass such an opportunity, could I?"
Lilith asked to be taken to her room. Apparently she was too tired to even think.
Do you ever? Lothíriel found herself thinking.
"Good riddance!" she heard Éowyn mutter.
She had to laugh. It wasn't very lady of her friend but, as her father always said, it can't be too harsh if it's true.
"Éowyn!" Gwen's voice interrupted her thoughts. "We should head back to the kitchen. There is still a lot of preparing to do. Will you give us a hand, love?"
Éowyn nodded and turned to Lothíriel.
"If you would like to fresh up too you can take my room. Upstairs, second room to the left. And if you need anything else, I'll be in the kitchen."
"Actually, if you don't mind I would like to help as well."
Éowyn smiled at her request.
"What...?" Lothíriel asked.
"I knew you would ask that."
Lothíriel sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Am I so predictable?"
"No, you are to good to be true! Come along."
The kitchen was wide and sunny. Much like the one she was used to in Dol Amroth. A large wooden table in the centre, a big stove in the corner and a big marble working bench. And big double doors to let all the warm of the summer in.
"Gwen, Lothíriel was kind to lend us a helping hand."
Gwen bowed to her.
"Éowyn, you shouldn't... My lady, really there is no need..."
"Gwen... Gwen." Éowyn said raising her hand. "Trust me, you won't change her mind. She's just like me!"
"You mean obnoxiously stubborn?"
"On the brink of the impossible to bear!"
Gwen smiled and admitted defeat.
"Well, then... We thank you, my lady, for your trouble. We are not used to having so many people in this house and specially not lords and ladies of every royal house known! We are too few so I need all the help I can get."
"Yes, well, Thíri is different. She's family... Almost..." Éowyn blushed.
"Oh, young Éowyn will be talking about that too, you and I."
"Later! Come on, Florean, leave that and let's see how we can accommodate everyone in our dinning hall!"
They left the kitchen and Gwen shouted out.
"Ask Théonee for help as well!"
"Will do!"
Lothíriel was smiling all the time. How she missed such a familiar place instead of all the pump and circumstance of formal dinners in cold dinning halls.
"My lady, I apologize... We are simple people... We are not used to noble women around the kitchen."
Lothíriel grabbed the knife Florean left as she was cutting apples into a great bowl and resumed the task. She peeled the green and red apples with precision and cut them into perfect slices.
"Please do not trouble yourself, Mistress Gwenodyn. Perhaps it is true you don't see many noble women in the kitchen but I'm was the only woman in a house of men, my father and three older brothers, for a long time. I had to adjust."
Gwen smiled as she turned the roast on the oven.
"Well, my lady I have to say, you did well!"
"Thank you, you're too kind. And please, call me Lothíriel. I'm not very fond of titles..."
Gwen nodded. She liked this girl.
"Lothíriel, then. Will you be alright by yourself in here for a while?"
Lothíriel nodded and Gwen continued, heading for the kitchen door. "I need to see what those two girls are up to in the hall!"
Lothíriel smiled and continued peeling the apples. She didn't mind the work, she enjoyed it actually. She was used to be busy back home and she missed being helpful.
She felt a pair of strong arms embracing her waist from behind.
"You smell of apple and cinnamon pie..." he uttered in her right ear as he edged her hair away and kissed her neck.
"Éomer, stop..." she was able to say. But her body was betraying her for she leaned closer to him. "Someone might come in..."
"I care not."
He turned her face to him and kissed the air out of her. Lothíriel turned in his arms and wrapped his neck, letting her hands slide deep into his fair hair.
Éomer pulled her closer even and deepened their kiss.
He could feel her scent of sweet lavender on her hair. The soft curves of her bodies close to his. How easy she had infiltrated in his heart and created this addiction... How he came to crave her touch... She was every thing he had ever dream of. Intelligent, caring, loving... But with a little sass of her own. With her, he felt he could share everything. She had been able to fill a void in his life. A life he couldn't now imagine without her. How could he show her? How could he tell her how much she meant to him? Would words ever be enough?
"Marry me..." he whispered in her lips.
"W-What?"
Had she heard it right? Could she believe her ears or was it her treacherous heart playing a trick on her mind?
Suddenly they heard Gwen's voice, nearing the kitchen. They pulled away quickly.
Lothíriel turned to the marble working bench, breathless, and picked her knife and another apple. Éomer sat at the small table, fingering his lips. Could they have more interruptions? First, Elphir, then Imrahil and now Gwen...
"And don't buy them too ripe, Daev. Take the coins from the pot by the mantle."
"Yes, ma'am."
Footsteps were heard hasting away.
"And stay out of them town girls, you hear?" she yelled back as she came into the kitchen. "Well, well! The new and mighty King of Rohan in my kitchen! It's not something one finds every day... Is there something you want?" she asked with a knowing smile.
Lothíriel felt her cheeks burn. She was sure she was red as a strawberry.
Éomer's voice was calm and smooth. He got up and came near her.
"There are a lot of things I want, Mama Gwen, but right now I just missed being around your kitchen." he kissed her cheek. "Do you need me to get you anything?"
"No, my boy, we're all right. Lady Lothíriel was kind enough to offer her help and the supper is nearly done." she turned around and spotted a big bread knife. "But it would be a great help if you would cut the bread... My hands aren't steady as they were before."
"Gladly." he answered taking the knife from its support.
"In the meantime, if you don't mind, Lothíriel, I will ask you take the fruit and the cheese to the tables. Éowyn and Florean have re-arranged them to sit everyone. They are in a house hunt for chairs. And Théonee is busy with the silverware. We're a small staff here at Alburg."
Lothíriel set her knife and gathered the apple bowl.
"Of course I don't mind."
She left the kitchen on her way to the hall leaving Gwen and Éomer alone.
The sound of Éomer's knife cutting the bread was all that was heard as Gwen regarded him. How had it come to this? Her little boy now a king... And what a king he would be. She was sure he had the heart and head on the right place for it. What pride and joy they were... He and Éowyn. However, Éowyn was to be married to the Ithilien Prince, she had learn. She would leave Edoras soon. And shouldn't a King have a Queen by his side?
"What?" Éomer finally said, feeling her eyes on him.
"She is very pretty..." Gwen said. "The Lady Lothíriel. Nice and polite. No falseness in her manner. Not what I expected from a Gondorian Lady."
Éomer smiled at her words. Gwen had always been able to read his mind and see into his heart.
"And so kind of her to offer her help." Gwen picked some grapes from a basket and place them on a silver bowl. "I didn't ask, you see. She came into my kitchen, with your sister, and offered. A true Lady, if you ask me."
"That she is."
The elder woman sighed. "If only..."
Éomer stopped cutting the hard bread.
"If only what?"
"If only she was a Rohir..."
Lothíriel stopped dead in her tracks just outside the kitchen's door as she listened to Gwen's words.
"Meaning...?"
"What a fine Queen she would make..."
Lothíriel felt her cheeks turning red. Was she so easy to read? Was it that transparent that she was head over heels for him? Gwen had not known her but for a few hours and she could tell... She felt a cold hand gripping her heart as she took her meaning fully. She knew it to be true but it pained all the same. If only she was a rohir... She would always be an outsider. A stranger to his people. She would never be accepted. And worse, she could make the people lose their faith in their king. History was full of fallen kingdoms due to wrong unions.
Feeling a tear threatening to fall, she turned hastily around and headed back to the hall.
Inside the kitchen, Éomer was silent for a moment. He slowly resumed his task.
"Would that make such difference?" he asked Gwen. "Do you think the people will never accept a Queen out of Rohan?"
Gwen paused as if refleting on his words.
"There was once a queen from out of Rohan. But... Well, we all know Morwen of Lorsanach wasn´t exactly accept at first. Nor loved for that matter... It was more like feared, actually."
"Gwen... Not helping."
"Sorry..."
Gwen paused once more. With a heavy sigh, she resumed.
"The way I see it, these are troubled times and we need all the happiness we can get. And I know the people love you, Éomer. And I believe the people will always want to see their king happy..."
"Do you really believe that?"
"Of course! Besides, we warmed up to Morwen eventually. So if we did it once, we can do it again. It wasn't easy, I'll grant you that for I always heard she was hard as the very rock of Helm's Deep!"
Those words warmed his heart. He felt Gwen hand on his arm and turned to face her.
"So, there is only one thing that is important... Do you love her, my son...?"
"With all my heart, my strength, my blood." he said without hesitation or shame.
Gwen patted his arm and gathered the bread he had just sliced.
"Then, there's no reason for a troubled mind."
She placed the bread of a tray and handed it to him.
"Will you take this to the hall, my dear child?"
It was back to lighter matters. Gwen had that ability ever since he could remember. She could have the deepest of conversations or hardest of reprimands and then shift to simple comments on the weather.
"Of course."
The rest of the day was uneventful. They enjoyed their lunch and spend the afternoon exploring the surroundings of Aldburg.
Éowyn tried to escaped her brother's ever watchful gaze for a private moment with Faramir. Many times Arwen and Aragorn lingered behind in the garden.
But there were no more moments for Éomer and Lothíriel. More than once, she caught his gaze in her direction. His question was still ringing in her ears.
Marry me.
How much had she dream of this? Too much... A prince, a king, a knight... A private moment alone in the garden, under the glowing moon... A family dinner with an unexpected anouncement... Different people, different settings...
But nothing would ever be as perfect as two people in a simple kitchen and words whispered between loving kisses...
The sun made his journey in the sky and soon it was time to return to reality.
They said their farewells to the people of Aldburg, with a tear-eyed Gwen praying for a quick return, and began their journey back to Edoras. The return was at fast pace but the sun had already set as they arrived to the Golden City. A light meal was waiting for them in the warmth of the Great Hall.
A wonderful day at an end...
Lothíriel sat at the table, after the meal, by her younger brother's side. Frequently, she was covering her mouth with her hand trying to conceal a yawn.
"Are you tired, Ninniach nîn?" he asked, surprised.
"I'm sorry, Amrothos. It was a long day." she said to him. "I'm afraid it has taken a toll on me." she continued, feeling another yawn coming.
"You never were one to turn in so early." he asked with concern.
"But we did wake up at the break of day..."
"Yes... Still, are you sure you're well?"
"Yes, dear brother of mine. Stop fussing." she said, placing her hand on his. "I just need some sleep."
Éomer heard their conversation.
"Amrothos, perhaps I can escort Lady Lothíriel back to her room. I have to get some papers to Aragorn from my study and it is on the way."
Amrothos looked at his father and found Imrahil looking surprised. It was highly improper for a man to escort a woman to her bedroom. If he was not from the immediate family. But it was Éomer... He was a respectful man... A friend. And this was his house.
Sensing Imrahil's indecision, Éomer added. "Of course, only if you consider it proper..."
"Not at all. Of course not." The Dol Amroth Prince paused but said "Well, if it is Thíri's wish to retire..."
She nodded towards him and got up from her seat to placed a kiss in her father's cheek.
"Good night, Ada."
"Quel kaima, Lirimaer." he answered back in elvish, wishing her good rest for the night.
Éomer offered her his arm and they left the Grand Hall in the direction of the living quarters. It wasn't a long walk to her room and they soon reached it.
"I hope you had a pleasant day, my lady."
She gave him a bright smile, one that made her eyes sparkle.
"I have a most wonderful time, my lord." she replied. "You have so much beauty in your land and when all is rebuilt, I know your people will prosper under your care." she said in honesty. "And although the voyage was sometimes tainted by some unwelcome..." she paused before adding "People... in the end, they are of no consequence at all if we can just look on the bright side."
The King of Rohan laughed heartly at her words. He took her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles.
"I bid you good night."
Lothíriel took a quick glance around and at the time the corridor was empty. Then daringly she kissed him.
"Good night." She said as she rapidly entered her room and closed the door.
She leaned on it, trying her best not to lose herself and drag him in the room. And outside, Éomer stood by her door, trying not to break the damn thing and cause a scandal.
A|N Here it is, another chapter... I'm gonna tryto update soon but the holidays are over so I'm back to work... And thanks to everyone for the reviews!