It took awhile for me to write this chapter. I will be working on the next chapter, we may finally get to part of the battle.

A whirlwind of activity filled the Great Hall. There were men gathering maps and scrolls and stuffing them in saddle bags. The knights were busy gathering and checking their weapons. Lothíriel stood in the midst of all this with her arms crossed and her eyes closed. She barely opened her eyes to give out orders as the men scurried around the room.

A door opened and a small boy ran into the room. No matter what worries or cares she had, Lothíriel could not help but smile at the sight of her nephew. Alphros had dark hair like his father, but he had his mother's hazel eyes, which and at times they were a light green. He ran to his aunt with more enthusiasm than care as he nearly got trampled on by a guard. His mother was desperately trying to keep up with him, along with several guards.

Glìneth grabbed his hand and said, "Careful Alphy, you're likely to be stepped on."

Lothíriel shook her head and laughed, she remembered doing the same thing herself. She bent down on one knee and held her arms open wide. Alphros squirmed out of his mother's grasp and ran towards his aunt's outstretched arms.

With a huge smile on his face he said, "Aunt Lottie, Aunt Lottie, Aunt Lottie!"

Lothíriel caught her nephew up in an embrace and spun him around several times. She stopped and held him close, kissing him gently on his forehead. Alphros looked up and saw Éomer. He stared at him intently until he heard Lothíriel call his name.

"Alphy, it's not polite to stare at people", she said.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lothíriel could see Éomer trying very hard not to laugh. Alphros leaned into Lothíriel and whispered into her ear. She whispered back and set him down on his feet. With her son holding onto her dress, Glìneth walked over and held Lothíriel's hands in a firm grasp. The two women had worry and concern written all over their faces. The gleam in Glìneth's eyes had gone out and she did not smile as she once did. Letting go of Lothíriel, she turned and curtsied to Éomer. In return, he bowed his head to her.

Holding her son's hand she said, "My lord, thank you for all you have done for us, and I pray that you will be victorious in the coming battle."

Just as Éomer was about to speak, Alphros let go of his mother's hand and ran over to him. Glìneth started to walk over when Éomer smiled at the small boy now at his feet. For that was just about all Alphros could see as he barely came up to Éomer's knee. He had to strain his neck to be able to look him in the eye. The young boy just stood there and stared at this great warrior before finally, a smile spread across his face. Éomer bent down on one knee coming face to face with Alphros.

Alphros asked, "You're the King of Rohan?"

"Yes, but you can call me Éomer."

With a huge smile he said, "I'm Alphy."

His mother called to him saying, "Alphy, it's well past your bedtime. Say goodnight to your aunt."

Alphros gave Éomer one last smile and bounded back to his aunt. By the time Éomer had stood up, Lothíriel was holding her nephew in another embrace. She hugged him close to her, lightly stroking his hair.

Alphros whispered into her ear, "You fight the bad men?"

Fighting back the tears she said, "Yes, Alphy. I'll make them go away."

Glìneth could no longer keep her composure as tears ran down her face. She quickly wiped them away with her handkerchief.

Alphros asked, "You fight like papa?"

"Yes, like your papa."

His voice quivering he said, "Will you come back?"

Lothíriel froze and her whole body became rigid. It was a simple question really, but difficult to answer. Would she come back alive? And if she did, would everything have changed for the better? No, she could not allow these thoughts to enter her mind. If she gave up hope now, the battle would already be lost. She gently squeezed her nephew and pulled away from him to look into his eyes.

"Yes, I will come back", she said confidently.

Lothíriel kissed Alphros's forehead and handed him to his mother. Glìneth shifted Alphros to one hip and reached up to stroke Lothíriel's cheek. They looked at each other and smiled grimly. They knew the next few days would be hard on everyone. Glìneth removed her hand from Lothíriel's cheek and gently squeezed her arm.

Holding her son tight, Glìneth fell into the two lines of guards waiting to escort them. Lothíriel watched as they walked out the door and into the hall. She listened closely until she could no longer hear the retreating sounds of their footsteps and the clanging of the knight's spears upon the stone floor.