Sorry for the wait again! I like this chapter, hope you do as well!

Chapter Twenty-Four (Lothiriel)

I sat by Eomer's side, continually pressing a cool rag to his forehead and chest, though it did not do much good. I brushed his hair away from his sweating brow and dipped the rag in the cold water over and over again.

Finally, the door opened and Hama came in, an old, bent woman trailing behind him.

"This is the woman who serves as a midwife in Harrowdale. She says she has some other healing expertise, Your Grace," he said quietly.

I observed the women and found myself feeling less than confident in her abilities to heal my husband.

"I hope you can help your King," I said evenly, stepping away from the bed so she might take a look at him. Hama stood a bit behind me and I could tell he was watching warily as well. To be responsible for the healing of a King was no small matter.

The old woman walked around to the other side of the bed, examining Eomer, pressing her hand to his still burning forehead. "I think it would be best to bleed him," she said solemnly.

I was horrified. Bleeding had not been practiced in Dol Amroth, or Gondor as far as I knew, in at least a century. "What?"

"It is to remove the toxins, Your Grace," she said, keeping her eyes averted.

"And it is foolish and no longer what is done," I said sharply. "It would do him more harm than good."

I turned to Hama. "You can escort her out. We no longer require her services."

"But what are you going to do?" He asked, bewildered.

"You can escort her out," I repeated.

Hama stood for a moment, before gesturing to the woman to follow him. I could hear her asking what was to be done with her, if she had displeased the Queen. I paid it no heed and went back to tending to Eomer as best as I could. Her skills might be sufficient for the sporadic births in Harrowdale, but she was not going to cut into my husband and drain him of what kept him alive.

I knew nothing of healing so it proved difficult, but I continued to put a cool rag to his forehead and rub his feet to move the fever away from his head. Hama never came back and I stayed up until the sun had gone down and was rising once more.

I was dozing, my head resting on the edge of the bed when someone knocked on the door. I sat up quickly, startled and went to the door. Hama was there once more.

"We have visitors it would seem," he said.

"Visitors?" A million things raced through my head. Was Dunharrow under attack? Were there more Uruk-hai then had been estimated originally.

He stepped aside and behind him stood Legolas and Gimli, whom I had met briefly when we had been in Minas Tirith for Eowyn and Faramir's wedding. I stood, baffled, staring at them.

"Your Grace," Legolas said, taking my hand, where it hung limp at my side, and kissing it. "Hama tells me the King was wounded. Would you mind if I took a look?"

"Please," was all I could get out in response.

Hama ushered me out and once I was in the corridor, the door closed behind me. I turned around to stare at the door, not having been outside the room in almost a whole day.

"Your Grace," a gruff voice said behind me. "Perhaps you should rest."

Gimli was smiling up at me softly.

"It is Lothiriel, remember?" I returned. "And I could not sleep if my life depended on it."

"Then perhaps a cup of tea?"

I nodded and led him into the small dining area and sent a maidservant after two mugs of tea.

"You do not need to stay with me, Gimli," I said, wrapping my fingers around the warm mug that was set in front of me. "Surely you are tired after a long journey. I will have a room arranged for you. It will not be what you were accustomed to in Minas Tirith, I am afraid."

"Nonsense, I have travelled longer distances at a much more grueling pace. I will keep you company if you will have me."

"Of course." I smiled gratefully for the company. "Tell me though, what are you and Legolas doing in Rohan?"

"Well, let me just tell you how bored we were getting in Minas Tirith. After the War and all of that it was hard to be so still."

I laughed. "I am sure it was."

Gimli nodded and took a sip of the hot tea. He drew a small, jewel encrusted metal container from his vest.

"You don't mind if I strengthen my tea a bit do you?" He asked, before unscrewing the cap.

I shook my head.

"You look as though you could use a bit of bracing yourself," he murmured as he poured a healthy amount of the amber liquid into his mug.

"You have no idea." I leaned back in the uncomfortable chair and ran my fingers through my unruly hair.

Gimli held the container over my mug. "Do not tell anyone that the Queen of Rohan turns to liquor in difficult situations."

My companion laughed, a low rumbling sound, as he bolstered my tea. "You secret is safe with me."

"Please continue," I said after taking a long drink of the much stronger tea.

"So we were bored," Gimli carried on. "We decided we wanted to return to Helm's Deep and see the Glittering Caves, not having had time for such leisurely occupations when we were there the last time. We did not want to pass up the opportunity to see an old friend, but when we arrived in Edoras we were informed that we had just missed the King and Queen who were on their way to deal with a few Uruks. It was just what I needed to rid myself of the interminable boredom. I think Legolas just humored me."

Gimli looked at me sheepishly.

"Well as I understand it, there are several of the beasts left," I said.

Gimli's face lit up, but he tried to hide it. "We shall see what Eomer says about all of that," he replied, trying to be nonchalant.

I had nothing to say to that, my mind wandering back to my husband.

Gimli's rough hand covered mine on the table. "Do not fret. The Elves are great healers. Legolas will have Eomer back on his feet in no time," he assured me.

"I hope so," I replied.

Gimli did a wonderful job of keeping my mind from Eomer throughout the early afternoon and even managed to win a laugh on two from me.

Much later, while telling me another captivating tale, Gimli cleared his throat and looked over my shoulder. I followed his gaze and saw Legolas standing behind me.

"Your husband is asking for you," he said quietly with a gentle smile.

I practically flew out of my chair, wrapping my arms around the Elf's neck tightly. "Thank you," I said gratefully. He staggered backward under the unexpected assault. I could hear Gimli chuckle behind me. In my past life I never would have done something so unexpected and without propriety.

When I released the flustered Elf I began to move down the corridor quickly, calling over my shoulder, "I will send someone to take you to your rooms for a rest."

I burst through the door, causing Eomer, who was propped up in the bed, to at once jump and groan from the pain of the sudden movement. I was not conscious of the pain he was feeling as I sat on the bed roughly and laid my head on his bare chest.

He inhaled sharply, but soon I felt his large hands on my back and in my hair.

"You said it was no real wound," I muttered into his warm flesh.

He chuckled. "And I suppose you are going to tell me that you told me so."

"I ought to," I replied, sitting up to look into his brown eyes.

"I am alright," he said as he had the previous day.

"You are now. You might not have been if it were not for such a strange twist of fate."

"It is over, Lothiriel," he said, a hint of his kingly authority in his voice creeping in to cut me off from too much anger and emotion.

I nodded in acquiescence, for the moment at least. When I brushed his hair away from his forehead, the fever was gone. I kissed him there and then on his lips. I knew I could not ask him to not ride out again, but I desperately wanted to. It was senseless to have gone through everything we had for him to be taken from me.

"You look like you have not slept in a week," he said.

"How kind of you. I was actually up keeping a vigil for a solid day."

Eomer chuckled again and then gingerly pulled me so I was lying beside him. "Well take a rest with me and then we will consult Hama and our friends on what is to be done next."

Tucked under his arm with my head back on his chest was all it took for my eyes to drift close.

When I woke again, the sun had set and Eomer was awake. "You could have woken me," I said, rubbing my eyes and smoothing my hair.

"You looked much too peaceful for that," he murmured.

I kissed his cheek and then nuzzled into his neck.

"I am glad you came with me," he whispered into my hair.

"You mean you are glad I fought you to have my way," I smiled against his warm skin.

"However it came about, I am glad for it."

I stood from the bed. "Let me freshen up and I will send for Hama and our guests," I said.

"Must you?"

I laughed. "Yes, I must. We came here to resolve an issue and as of yet, it has not been resolved."

Eomer nodded. "Always the practical one."

"Lucky man," I responded as I went to the basin and washed my face and hands, rearranging my hair and adjusting my dress. I sent for a tunic of Eomer's so that he would not meet to discuss such a serious matter bare-chested.

It was a painful matter of getting the thing on him, but once he was settled back against the pillows I sent for Hama, Legolas, and Gimli.

"Gimli is quite excited about the prospect of fighting again," I informed my husband before they arrived.

"I would imagine so," he gave a smile. "I will have to ask that he partake then."

The door opened and the men came in. I had arranged chairs around the bed for the men. I sat on the far side and let the three of them sit on the other.

"How are you feeling?" Legolas asked, as he took his seat.

"Much better thanks to you," Eomer said, bowing his head in a show of gratitude.

"We are very lucky that you showed up just when you did," I added, smiling at the Elf.

"And it appears we might have to ask even more of you," Eomer continued on.

I watched Gimli perk up at that.

"I will not be able to go out with my men for some time," Eomer said. "And so I need those who I can trust to lead them in my stead."

"I would be honored, Eomer, though I am sure you did not leave many for us," Gimli said, nearly bursting from the excitement.

"Let us not inflate the King's ego too much," I said. "He forgets his station has changed since the days he was a mere Marshall."

There was an awkward silence and when I looked up from my hands everyone except Eomer, who was glaring at me, was looking anywhere but at me.

"Your husband is still a great warrior," Gimli said tentatively.

"Perhaps you did not realize it, Master Dwarf, but we are sitting around his sickbed."

"Lothiriel!" Eomer exclaimed. "That is quite enough."

"Perhaps it is, but let us not ignore the severity of the situation." I stood abruptly and made my way for the door. "You men know better than I and so I will leave you to it." As I went, tears blurred my vision.

"I apologize for her outspokenness," I heard Eomer say, as I shut the door, harder than I had intended to.

Before I could reach the room that we would have stayed in together, tears were steaming down my face. I was not sad, though. I was angry, infuriated with their casual male recklessness. How could my husband not understand that men, presumably some better warriors than he, had died in battles, skirmishes, and wars for as long as time had existed. He had been to war. In my mind, there was not much more than luck to it. You could be an extremely skilled fighter and soldier and still you could not dodge a volley of arrows. It was impossible to be that good, but he did not see that.

I sat on the edge of the bed and put my head in my hands. The anger came from him not valuing me or his people or any future child he might have. Was I not enough to make him want to guarantee his life to go on? To me it seemed that way.

I slipped my dress off and slid under the covers of the bed. I fell back asleep when the anger quit coursing, like flames, through my body and was only a dull throbbing.

What seemed like hours later, I woke to the sound of the door opening and a shuffling pace coming into the room. I turned to see who it was, though I knew there was only one person who could enter my rooms without requesting permission. The candle on the bedside table was still lit and so I reached to light the torch in the wall sconce and saw Eomer, standing at the foot of the bed. His knuckles were white where he gripped the wooden footboard and I imagined it had taken some effort to get all the way to where I was sleeping.

"You should not be out of bed," I whispered, though I was unsure why. It was only he and I in the room.

"Perhaps you are not the one to tell others what they should and should not do," he said evenly.

I sighed. "A matter of differing perspectives, I suppose."

"I am not jesting, Lothiriel."

"Neither am I." I sat up in the bed. "If you are going to argue with me you should at least have a seat. As you know it will take some time."

Eomer did sit, but he did not smile. I did not either. I was not making light of the situation and if he truly wanted to get his voice heard in the matter then he would have to listen to mine as well.

"You were out of line, Lothiriel. You cannot undermine me like that in front of others. I would prefer it were to never occur, in fact."

"Because you are a King? Because you are a man and I am not?" I returned quickly.

Eomer was not quick enough to respond before I began again.

"You are both of those things, but you are my husband as well. It would be a foolish way to lose you when there are men who will fight for you."

It was Eomer's turn to sigh. "That is not how it works. Morale comes from their King putting himself through exactly what they are going through."

I looked at him. "But what about me? What if Legolas had not turned up and you had not survived? Then what would I do?"

"Lothiriel, these are the sacrifices that are made sometimes." He reached out to take my hand.

I retracted my own and tucked it under the blankets, not wanting to be touched. "Have I not sacrificed enough? Have I not been strong enough already? When does it end?"

"Do not be like this," he said.

"Do not be like what, Eomer? A woman who does not understand or a caring wife who does not want to lose her husband?"

I could see that his anger was rising. "What do you want me to do? Fighting is part of my life, both before and now."

"I want you to want to live a long full life with me. Why do you not want that?"

"Oh Lothiriel, I do," he said, this time touching my cheek. "I want that more than anything. I love you, but-"

"Why is there a but?" I asked. "Why must there be a but?"

"Because, I cannot hide away from my obligations and the duty to my people. Going from a Marshall to a king has only amplified those duties."

I threw my hands in the air. "You have a duty to me! You have a duty to the son we will have!" I had not intended to talk about future children, though it had been floating through my head. Eomer looked bewildered. "If something happens to you who will teach your son how to be a King?"

"I would not to raise a son that would shirk his duties and hide behind your skirts. And if something were to happen to me he would know that his father died how a man of Rohan should. That is a long way in the future besides."

"And it will not happen if you have another accident in battle." I was staring at the blankets covering my legs.

"Lothiriel, I do not know what to say to you," he said quietly. "I cannot change anything about this."

"That is not true. You could. You will not."

Eomer sighed. "Perhaps. And in that case you will need to learn to accept the role in which we have been cast. This is part of my life, it always has been. As the King, I am the First Marshall of Rohan and as my Queen you will support that." His tone turned authoritative once more, but I looked into his eyes, not cowed.

My spine stiffened. "As you wish."

Eomer stood from the bed, gripping the bed post as he did so, a groan escaping his lips. I did not say anything for a moment as he moved slowly towards the door. I hated to see him in pain. His words were agonizing to hear, but I knew I could not change him. I could only hope that we might live in peace more than not.

"Eomer," I called out gently. "Stay here with me."

He turned back towards the bed.

"Please," I said.

He settled himself down next to me and gingerly pulled me into his side, where I rested my head on his chest.

"Lothiriel, I do love you. What I have to do as a King has nothing to do with that and it will never change the love I have for you." He pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

"I know."

ooooOoooo

The next day Eomer and I sat waiting anxiously for Hama, Legolas, and Gimli to return with the men who had gone to finish the business with the Uruks. Eomer paced as best he could, back and forth before the window looking out toward the Dunharrow. I would touch his arm gently whenever he passed me by, but he did not seem to notice that I was there. He would not eat anything, no matter how I tried and I could not get him to rest either.

Finally, as the sun was setting the three men came back into the building, the other men returning to their tents. Gimli was grinning and had splatters of the dark, sticky Uruk blood all over him.

"It has been taken care of, Your Graces," he said, beaming.

"I will have baths drawn and a meal prepared," I said, leaving the men to discuss what had happened.

ooooOoooo

We stayed a little more than a week longer while Eomer recovered. Legolas and Gimli stayed with us before they were going on to Helm's Deep. We were seeing them off before we headed back to Edoras.

"Eomer and I have discussed it," I began as I handed the men packs of food that had been prepared to take on their journey. "And if you would like, when you are through with the Glittering Caves we would be honored if you would join us in Edoras and then go to the Aldburg for Yule."

"It is we who would have the honor, Lothiriel," Gimli said.

Eomer put an arm around my shoulders. "Then we shall see you very soon, friends."

We stood and watched them for a while as they climbed out of Harrowdale.

"And now it is time for us to return home," Eomer said, pressing a kiss to my lips.

I hope you enjoyed it! I would love to hear from you, if I have any readers left. I know I'm horrible and should update more than I do! I will try harder!

Happy reading,

Avonmora