Several months later...
Sitting alone in her "new" home, a young woman from Bree sat before the large wooden loom- weaving as she sang to herself. "Frêdan onlic wægn wæge ofbrytenwongas singala. Swîgemæst mirce canne êow staðolian me?"
Her name was Kiana and she had moved to Edoras after her grandfather, Aldan, had passed away and left his home in the capital of Rohan to her in his will. Having no one else and nowhere else to go, Kiana took the opportunity to start a new life and arrived in Edoras the day after the news of Héodis' death had reached the Golden Hall. She settled in quickly, not having much to her name, and immediately began to offer her services to the people. She would mend clothes and armor, weave bandages, even make toys for the local children to bring them some bit of joy in such trying times.
When her skills were noticed by the royal family, Kiana received an invitation to Meduseld from the Lady Éowyn. Éowyn tasked her with tailoring some of the king's attire, wanting to make sure that even in his weakened state he had clothes and cloaks that would fit him well. Kiana was more than happy to take on the request of the young lady and when she had finished with her task, the prince asked if she could mend a tapestry that his father had kept after his mother's passing- a tapestry that his mother had loved a great deal. Kiana agreed, grateful for the opportunity, and began spending many days in Meduseld working on the tapestry.
The more time she spent in Meduseld, the closer she grew to Éowyn. They began to chat in their free time and Kiana would often help Éowyn with the king when she needed an extra set of hands. It was during this time that Kiana learned of Héodis' passing and what a tragedy it was for the royal family to lose both her and her brother. Kiana understood their pain, having lost everyone that she had ever cared about, and offered her condolences.
It was also during this time that Kiana learned just how creepy Grima Wormtongue, chief counselor to the king, was. Kiana noticed that he watched Éowyn a lot and often followed her around, almost stalking her like a predator would stalk its prey but more in a desperate manner. She pitied the man, seeing that his obsession over the young lady was driven by unrequited love and admiration. She saw that Éowyn was rather uncomfortable in his presence, so she did her best to keep her busy or distracted- and to keep Grima away from her as much as possible. And despite the air of disdain that surrounded Grima, Kiana found that she did enjoy spending time in Meduseld quite a bit. She had yet to meet Éowyn's brother, though, and when she finally did, she was embarrassed that she hadn't realized who he was sooner. She had seen Éomer a few times before, just in passing, and he would walk past her home every now and again- stopping for a brief moment as though he was contemplating whether or not to greet her.
On the first day that she had seen the young lord, Éomer had been wandering about Edoras- trying to clear his head after yet another nightmare fueled by his guilt. The nightmares had been plaguing him ever since news of Héodis' death reached him, almost always seeing her face in anguish and betrayal before vanishing into nothingness. He tried to block out the dreams with the herbal tea that Héodis had taught the other kitchen workers to make, and when that didn't work he turned to drinking the strongest alcohol he could find. Even that would only go so far, and the young lord found himself exhausted every morning.
As he wandered the town, he had heard a woman singing and the clacking of a wooden loom, so he went to investigate and found a small house that he had never really noticed before. The door was open and he took a peek inside, finding a young woman with dusty blonde hair dressed in a simple but faded blue dress. He didn't recall ever seeing her before and wondered who she was, but from what he could see of the interior of her home, he was able to at least discern that she was a seamstress and a weaver. The young woman pricked her finger as she worked and swore under her breath, making the young lord smirk and chuckle slightly. As he watched her for a moment longer, Éomer wondered if she was a new addition to the citizens of Edoras. It was very uncommon for someone to move into a town like Edoras unless they were marrying into a Rohirric family, so he had to wonder what her story was. But before he could sate his curiosity on the matter, someone called to him and he took his leave.
It wouldn't be until later that week when Kiana brought her most recent completed order to Meduseld that Éomer encountered her again. Éomer had been surprised to see her in the Golden Hall, but admired her work and noticed how well she and Éowyn got along. Curious, Éomer asked his sister how they knew each other and Éowyn explained that Kiana had been supplying bandages and mending clothes and armor. She found Kiana's temperament very refreshing amidst the usual doom and gloom that echoed through the town. This intrigued the young lord and he wondered what it was about her that caught his attention so much.
But with war looming over the horizon, his focus constantly shifted. The frequency in which the éoreds would be sent out on patrol or to battle began to increase and with it, Éomer's guilt-driven nightmares. Things seemed bleak, hopeless even, and Éomer was losing faith in ever seeing peace and happiness return to his life.