Hi everyone! Another quick update for this story! I've recently started a new job and haven't really gotten into the swing of things yet so I'm doing a lot of writing for this and my other two active stories. This one's a little shorter than the others, but it gets the job done. Enjoy!

Chapter Five (Mareke)

Two weeks into my marriage, I was sitting at the dining table reading a letter from my brother. While I was glad to hear from him and learn of what was happening at home and with his family, I hated to be away from them.

The novelty of being married to Eomer had worn off quickly as I did not often see him and nothing about our situation seemed to be changing between us. Homesickness took the place of the nerves I had felt leading up to and just after my wedding.

"Mareke!"

I looked up and smiled as Artanis came through the door from her reading lesson. She sat across from me at the table. "What are you doing?"

"I received a letter from my brother," I replied, setting it down.

"The King of Harad?"

I nodded.

"I would like to see your home someday," Artanis said.

"Perhaps you will." I tried to smile though it hurt to do so not knowing if I would ever get back there. "What are you going to do with the rest of your afternoon?" I asked, attempting to change the subject.

"Eothain is back and Papa said I could watch them in the training fields." Her eyes widened. "Do you want to come with me? I do not want to take stuffy Dernhild."

I tried not to laugh. "You really should be nicer to her. She cares for you and does her best."

"She is boring," Artanis replied. "So will you come with me?"

"I do not know. I was not invited."

"I am inviting you," Artanis said. "Please."

"Fine," I rose to find a pair of shoes, nerves taking over me once more. I knew that Eomer would not be happy to see me, but I hoped it was at least another of our frequent neutral encounters.

Artanis took my hand and led me from our rooms and then out of Meduseld. It was a beautiful spring day and I was still very much taken with the blue sky and green, rolling plains of my new home. My companion seemed not to notice the beauty around her as she led me to the training fields at the bottom of the hill.

We were not the only ones there to watch the King train with his childhood friend. Artanis and I were let through the crowd so we could see. There was the required obeisances to the Queen and Princess of the Mark, but it was followed by the buzzing that had accompanied my presence any time I had been seen in public since my arrival.

The practice field was deserted and I looked around to see if I could find Eomer and Eothain. I heard them before I saw them and Artanis clapped her hands excitedly.

The pounding of the horses' hooves as they thundered toward the training fields took my breath away. Firefoot was barely ahead of the other horse.

In unison both men reached for the spears that were sheathed in their saddles and aimed at a target as they approached. Eomer's landed just a little closer to the center than Eothain's.

At some unseen finish line, they both leapt from their saddles and discarded their helmets before drawing their blades.

"Father's blade is Guthwine," Artanis said to me, loud enough so I could hear over the clamoring of the men and the excitement of the crowd.

Fighting was nothing new to me. My father had been a warrior-king and my brother after him. While Harad had been preparing for the War, I had spent much of my time sitting on the edge of those training pits in the sand, watching the men muster. In my youth, I grew used to the deep reverberations through the desert as the mumakil were trained.

But Eomer moved differently. Anyone could see that he was one of the largest and strongest the Rohirrim had to offer, but he was also graceful, showing another facet of his prowess as a soldier.

Very soon both men were sweat soaked and pushing their long blonde hair out of their faces. I found my gaze drawn to Eomer and the way his muscles moved beneath his shirt as that too became plastered to his body.

Though it was a friendly competition, there was a fierceness in the King's eyes that I had not seen before. His passion and adeptness with the blade sent a heat through my body and I felt my cheeks color. He was ferociously handsome.

The pair were quite evenly matched, but eventually, with a deep, guttural noise, Eomer knocked the blade from his friend's hand and sent him sprawling in the dust.

Apparently there were no hard feelings. Both men were laughing as Eomer hauled Eothain back to his feet.

"You know I have to let you win, Eomer," Eothain said as the crowd dispersed.

Eomer roared his laughter. "Oh is that so? Your entire life you have had to let me win?"

"Royalty and all that."

Most of those around us had left, but Artanis stood eagerly waiting for her father. I stood a step or so behind her.

"You almost had him, Eothain. You missed that last jab on purpose," Artanis said by way of greeting.

"Let him think he earned it, little princess," Eothain laughed.

Eomer nudged him in the ribs and they seemed as though they were a pair of boys.

"Papa!" Artanis exclaimed when they continued in their horseplay. "Introduce Eothain to Mareke."

"Forgive me," Eomer said, a twinkle still in his eye. "Eothain, Her Majesty, Queen Mareke."

"It is a pleasure, Your Majesty," Eothain with a bow.

"All mine, I assure you," I said with a smile.

"And what did you think of our training?"

"It was the most rousing afternoon I have had in Edoras so far," I replied with a smile.

Eothain snorted. "You are getting old, man. This poor woman."

My face flamed in my embarrassment at the newcomer's insinuation.

Eomer merely shook his head. "Eothain will be joining us for dinner this evening, though I am beginning to regret my invitation."

"Oh good!" Artanis exclaimed. "I have much to tell you, Eothain! I fell off my horse last week!"

"I shall be waiting with bated breath to hear the tale," Eothain said solemnly. "I am quite glad you are alright though."

"Let us stable the horses," Eomer said, guiding his friend away from the Princess and I.

My cheeks were still flushed as Artanis and I climbed the hill back to Meduseld. When we returned to our rooms, I picked up the letter from my brother and stored it in a drawer in the bedroom before sending a servant to draw a bath for the King before he returned.

When I emerged once more into the sitting room, Dernhild was scolding Artanis for not telling her where she was going.

"It was my fault," I said quickly, before the little girl could begin arguing. "I did not even think to tell you that I was taking the Princess to the training fields."

"No harm, Your Majesty," Dernhild said. "Come, Your Highness. You need to get cleaned up for dinner."

Artanis smiled gratefully at me over her shoulder and I gave her a wink as she disappeared into the nursery.

A few moments later, the door opened once more and Eomer entered.

"Your Majesty," I bowed my head. "I have had a bath drawn for you after your exertions this afternoon."

"Where is Artanis?" he asked.

"Dernhild took her to prepare for dinner," I replied.

"Then join me in the bath," Eomer said. It was not a question.

I followed him as he held the door to our bedroom open and I led the way into the bathroom. Coming to a halt in the middle of the floor, I watched Eomer approach in the burnished mirror above the basin.

Without a word, his hands slipped around my hips, pulling me flush against his stomach and chest. I could feel his manhood already eager for my body.

He moved my hair to one side and kissed down the column of my throat, pushing my plain gray dress down.

Despite everything, my body reacted to him as his huge hands slid down, brushing my collarbone and then cupping my breasts.

With one hand, he turned my face so he could kiss my lips as the other hand slid down even lower, whispering between my legs. I sighed against his lips, tilting my hips into his hand.

"Let's not let the water get cold," he murmured against my neck. Eomer took me by the hand and helped me into the tub first and then he forced me onto my knees facing the door. I heard him undressing behind me, but did not dare look for fear of his reaction after seeing him while sick a week earlier.

When I had come across his retching form, I had known why he refused to take his undershirt off in my presence. The deep, crosshatched scars across his back had made my stomach drop when I had seen them. It was not pity I felt, but a deep well of empathy for the suffering he must have undergone to sustain such lasting marks.

The water moved as he dropped to his knees as well and once more one of his hands was grasping my hip, the other guiding his manhood until we both groaned with the joining of our bodies.

Eomer leaned over my back and had us both reaching for the edge of the tub. I held on tightly as he stroked in and out of me at a steady pace. His huge hand covered mine and I thought he might grind my fingers to dust under his tight grip.

I inhaled sharply when his other hand brushed that most sensitive spot between my legs; the one I had not known even existed before my marriage.

My chin fell to my chest as I panted from his ministrations. His teeth sank into my neck and I gasped; his strokes coming harder and faster.

The sensation that I had come to crave began low in my belly and I was surprised when the hand that was not beneath his on the edge of the tub, covered his other between my legs, urging him to apply a little more pressure. I whimpered and bit my lip when he did.

I was growing familiar with my new husband, at least in the bedroom. His hips slammed against my backside as he grunted and groaned. His breath in my ear and against my neck had me crying out in my release, unaware of the water sloshing out of the tub.

I would have slumped into the tub, had he not moved his muscular arm around my waist to keep me in place as he finished silently, burying his face in my hair.

When he released me, he sank back into the tub. I stood shakily and glanced over my shoulder at him, but his eyes were closed, head resting on the edge of the tub. Knowing my invitation to join him had run its course, I stepped out, splashing into the puddle on the floor, and reached for a towel.

"Are you alright?" Oyna asked when I emerged into my bedroom. "I did not know where you were all afternoon and then I heard you cry out in the bathroom."

I gave a small smile. "I am more than alright. Could you send a servant for a fresh pail of hot water for the King?"

Oyna looked at me for a long moment.

"Quickly. We do not have much time before dinner."

My companion headed for the sitting room where normally someone was always around. While she was gone, I dropped the towel and slipped into my red silk robe from home. The soft, luxurious fabric on my charged skin had me shivering and I was glad that, for a moment, I was alone. When I had gathered myself, I rummaged through Eomer's drawers to find him a fresh pair of breeches and a clean undershirt.

I laid his clothes on the foot of the bed and was sitting at my vanity when Oyna returned. She stood behind me and fluffed my wild curls, beginning to pull all of it back. Until she saw the bite mark on my neck.

"Mareke, did he hurt you?" she asked, concerned.

"Not this time."

She ran her fingers over the outline of Eomer's teeth.

"We will just have to leave part of it down."

The servant returned with a steaming bucket of water and headed for the bathroom door.

"I will take it!" I exclaimed, certain that Eomer would not be terribly pleased to be seen in his relaxed state.

"Your Majesty?"

I rose, picking up the clothes I had laid out and then taking the bucket by its hemp handle. As I slipped into the bathroom, Eomer did not open his eyes or speak as I set his clothes on a stool and carefully tilted the bucket of hot water into the tub at his feet. Before I left, I collected the clothes he had been wearing, still damp from his bout with Eothain. The servant was waiting to collect the bucket and so I handed her the clothes as well before sitting back in front of the vanity.

"What is it like?" Oyna asked and I could tell she had been desperately biting her tongue since my wedding, perhaps hoping that I would have brought it up to her. But I had not.

"It is hard to describe, but it is better than I could have imagined."

"It sounded like you were in pain. I was quite worried," Oyna replied, using a wide toothed comb to manage my curls before rubbing a fragrant oil into the length of my hair.

"Pain and pleasure can be intertwined it turns out," I said, closing my eyes as I relaxed under her touch.

"I find it odd he is a good lover," Oyna whispered. "He seems so detached otherwise."

I remained silent, not wanting to agree with her out loud.

"I wonder where we learned it. Certainly not from his Gondoran wife," she said.

I shrugged. "Who knows? But I shall not question it."

Just then the door to the bathroom opened and Eomer emerged looking relaxed and clean.

Oyna dropped into a deep curtsy as I stood. He waved my formality away.

"Lady Oyna," he said. It was the first time I had heard him address her at all. "Please join us for dinner tonight. A friend of mine is back in the capital and I think it would be nice to even the numbers between men and women."

"I would be honored, Your Majesty," she replied.

Without another word, Eomer went into the sitting room. I assumed he was checking on Artanis.

Once I had sat back down, Oyna glanced at me in the mirror before pinning half of my hair away from my face. "That is rather odd."

"Well you are noble-born," I replied. "I am unsure why it took this long for that to be recognized."

"This is a strange place," Oyna said and all I could do was nod.

ooooOoooo

Less than an hour later, she and I entered the royal family's private dining room where Eomer, Eothain, and Artanis were already seated. The men rose at my appearance and Eomer pulled the chair out to his right. He was, if nothing else, courteous when he had to be.

"Eothain, might I introduce you to Her Majesty's companion, Lady Oyna."

The man seemed much more struck by Oyna than he had by me earlier in the day, but that was no surprise.

I looked exactly like my brother with high cheekbones, a straight nose, and a square jaw. Where he was muscular, I was whip thin and nearly as tall.

On the other hand, Oyna was lovely with a rounded face, large dark eyes and a full mouth. Her curves were obvious even in the Rohirric dresses we wore; her hips and breasts enviable. She had to look up into the faces of most men which made her quite endearing to them.

"It is very nice to meet you, Lady Oyna," Eothain said, not taking his eyes from her as we all sat down.

I glanced at my husband to see that he had a bemused smile on his face.

"I was very sorry to miss the wedding," Eothain said as the first course was served. "I was in the Westfold, assisting Erkenbrand with a few stray bands of Uruks who have lingered near Isengard."

"And did you handle it?" Eomer asked.

"For now, but I fear there are more lingering in the White Mountains, perhaps making their way South."

The King nodded. "I am sure you are correct." He sighed. "We have our orders from Elessar. Hunt them to extinction. He is having a fair amount of trouble with orcs from the East."

"It will be easier when we send more scouts out to locate what remains of them," Eothain replied. Once more he glanced at Oyna. "But we need not discuss all of that in front of the ladies." He looked to his side at Artanis. "Right Princess? I thought you were going to tell me of your recent fall?"

Artanis animatedly launched into her story as the second course was served; heaping platters of pork and beef along with potatoes and other root vegetables. I longed for something fresh that had grown in the sun.

"Mareke is a very good Healer," she finished, mouth full of potatoes.

Eomer arched an eyebrow in her direction and she closed her mouth quickly.

"Well that is good to know. Eomer will certainly need your services after our next round of training."

"I highly doubt that," my husband replied with a good natured laugh.

"Eothain, are you going to teach my lessons again now that you are home?" Artanis asked eagerly.

"If you like," he replied.

"Papa, do you not think Mareke should join me? She is the Queen of the shieldmaidens now," Artanis said.

"What sort of lessons?" I asked.

"Sword fighting mostly. A little archery and work with a shield and spear," Eothain replied.

"I think you are right, Artanis. Mareke should join you and Eothain. And Oyna if she would like."

"Well," Oyna replied, looking at Eothain. "I could be persuaded."

"Wonderful. We shall start tomorrow."

ooooOoooo

The next afternoon, Oyna and I dragged ourselves back to our chambers after our first lesson with Eothain. While they had quite obviously been flirting the night before, we learned quickly that Eothain was a very serious man when it came to weaponry and training the young Princess of Rohan.

"Parts of my body hurt that I did not know I had," Oyna said.

She was right. Everything hurt. I fell into my bed and could not move from there.

"Artanis is a menace," Oyna said, flopping next to me.

I laughed, but stopped abruptly as that made the aching in my body worse. The little shieldmaiden had whacked Oyna rather hard with her wooden sword when they were sparring under Eothain's direction.

"I do not want to get ready for dinner," I muttered. In addition to the group from the night before, Faramir and Eowyn would be joining us with Elboron.

"I am quite eager for dinner," Oyna replied.

"I am sure you are so you can get back to your flirting."

"He is rather handsome, is he not?" she asked.

"A fine Rohirric specimen," I agreed.

ooooOoooo

A month later, I was in the sitting room with Oyna and Artanis, sorting through some new herbs I had collected near the river when a servant rushed in.

"Your Majesty," she said with a hasty curtsy. "You are requested in the Lady of Ithilien's chambers. Her child is nearly here."

I looked at Oyna in confusion.

"Surely she has a Healer or a midwife," I replied. "I am not sure for what I am needed."

"She has both Your Majesty, but it is customary that you should attend as her kin. Leofwyn sent me to fetch you."

Kin. Eowyn and I hardly showed each other any kinship, but if Leofwyn said I should be there, I knew I must.

"Very well," I said with a sigh, rising to my feet. I rested my hand briefly on Artanis' chestnut curls before I followed the servant down the hallway.

I could hear Eowyn before I saw her, practically screaming. My stomach lurched. While I had healed many injuries, I had never attended a birth. I passed through Faramir and Eowyn's sitting rooms and nodded at the Prince of Ithilien, the gesture being returned quickly as the man paused in his pacing.

I was ushered inside and the door was shut quickly behind me. The room was stifling and I wondered what the Rohirrim had against fresh air. I had come across Eomer retching right after our marriage in a sealed room.

Everyone in the room curtsied to me and murmured "Your Majesty." Leofwyn was at Eowyn's side where she sat on a birthing stool, straining mightily against her own body, her slip hiked around her waist.

What I was seeing made me lightheaded and I stepped back toward the bed, hanging onto the footboard.

A slew of curses in Rohirric flew out of Eowyn, though I could not understand them. With a deep, guttural groan the head of her child was expelled from her body and my vision wavered. She took one more pause and pushed again. In a gush of fluids the baby slipped from its mother into the waiting hands of the midwife.

I did not hear the sex as I crashed to the floor, unconscious.

Blinking awake to the cool sensation of someone pressing a rag to my neck, I realized that I was still on the floor in Eowyn's bedchamber. The room had cleared of most of the women who had occupied it earlier and Eowyn was nowhere to be found.

Leofwyn was hovering over me and I felt a pillow that she had likely placed under my head.

"When were your last courses?" she asked quietly without preamble.

"What?"

"When did you bleed last?"

I had understood the question, but had not been able to figure out its relevance to the situation.

My face drained of color when I thought back. "When we were traveling from Minas Tirith to Edoras," I replied so quietly I was not sure the older woman would be able to hear me. Our wedding had been just over six weeks earlier.

"That is what I thought," she said with a warm smile. "It is probably safe to say that you are with child, Your Majesty."

Without thinking or willing it so, one of my hands strayed to the flat plane between my hips.

"Congratulations," Leofwyn said, still smiling down at me. "I am sure the King will be pleased."

I could not speak. I could only lie there, trying fruitlessly to wrap my mind around the fact that I carried life within me.

Gently, Leofwyn took my arm and pulled me until I was sitting up. "Are you alright?" she asked. I nodded and she helped me to my feet.

For the first time since waking, I realized that Faramir was sitting in the corner of the room, holding the bundle of his child to his chest.

"I am sorry I have ruined such a moment for you, Your Highness," I said, cheeks coloring.

"Not at all," he replied. "Eowyn is taking a bath and Finduilas and I were just enjoying the quiet."

I walked over to him and peered into the bundle, seeing the pink, sleeping face of the baby girl. "She is beautiful."

"I think she already looks quite like her mother."

I smiled. Though Eowyn and I had not bonded, I enjoyed her husband who clearly loved his wife very deeply.

Heading for the door to leave the new family alone, I paused when Faramir spoke. "I shall keep your secret, Your Majesty, but I do believe congratulations are in order."

Once more I smiled at him. "Thank you."

ooooOoooo

I waited another two weeks to tell Eomer. The midwife I had seen suggested waiting until I was two months along to share the news just to be sure that the baby was viable.

As we finished our dinner on the night I had decided to tell him, he sent Artanis to prepare for bed.

"I will tuck you in before I return to my study," he said.

"Goodnight, Princess," I said, as she slipped from her chair and headed for the nursery. For a moment, Eomer sat in silence until he had deemed that he had waited long enough for his daughter to change into her nightgown. He got to his feet and disappeared into the nursery.

My heart started to pound, unsure of what I was going to say. I could count the times we had spoken privately, outside of the bedroom, on one hand.

After a quarter of an hour with Artanis, Eomer returned to the dining room.

"There are matters that yet need my attention in my study, I am afraid," he said, taking one last drink of ale from the mug at his seat. He said something along those same lines nearly every night, either right after dinner or after he had taken me to bed.

"I am with child," I said abruptly, surprising both of us from the way he quickly glanced at me. "I meant to say that more eloquently." I tried to fill the silence when Eomer did not say anything.

"That is good news," he said with a small smile. He headed for the door to return to his study and as he passed, squeezed my shoulder. "Well done."

Lots happening for these two! I hope you loved the update. I can't wait to hear what you think!

Happy reading,

Avonmora