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Chapter Text

PROLOGUE

Branwen trudged her tired feet through the snow, reminding herself that they had to get through the night. Surely, they would soon come to a town or inn at a crossroads. Somewhere warm, with food and real beds. Checking at the other end of the bit of rope they used to keep each other close in the snow, she made sure her little Aderyn was behind her.

Aderyn, for her part, did not seem as weary or cold as Branwen. She smiled for her little girl. Aderyn smiled back brightly. She swore nothing dampened the girl’s demeanor. Then again, they had left Dale when Aderyn was only three years old and had spent the next several years on the road. The child knew nothing but constant travel.

“We will be at an inn soon, Addie.”

She nodded, still smiling.

“Alright, Mama.”

The tired pair continued their trek in the snow and darkness until Branwen heard a sound that she knew to be horses and men gathered. Some of the men sounded angry, though one sounded quite worried. Years as a healer had attuned her ears to distinguish a great deal from the tones of men. Then she smelt it. Blood.

“Come.”, she ordered her daughter, wrapping the child in her cloak as they walked.

Branwen and Aderyn came over a small hill and peered down below. A small fire had been built that was being guarded by four men, their bodies moved to try to block the wind enough to protect the fire. Two others were closer to the small fire, seemingly attending wounds to their legs, while another man had his horse close by the fire, using its light to inspect the wounds on the one foreleg of his horse.

They wore heavy leather armor with the usual gleaming metal and chainmail, with images of horses adorning nearly all they had with them. Branwen had never seen a Rohirrim before, though she assumed these men must have come from the Kingdom of Rohan. The ridders of Rohan were legendary for their love and mastery of horses. It was no wonder the one man seemed so grieved at his horse’s injury.

Turning to look down at her daughter, Branwen made up her mind. She would offer aid to these men in return for being able to share their small fire for the night. No one would harm she or her daughter, encamped with a troupe of Rohirrim riders.

“Aderyn?”

The girl nodded, her dark eyes wide. She had also never seen Rohan soldiers before.

“I’m going to go talk to these men about tending their injuries and those of the one horse, in return for letting us share the fire. I’ll go down alone. If they are not what I think, if they move against me or to harm me, I want you to crawl back down this hill and go hide in the trees. Do you hear me?”

“Mama, I can.”, she interrupted her daughter, “Do you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now crouch. I’ll go talk to them.”

Branwen steadied herself with a single deep breath, then made her move. The men noticed her almost straight away, two taking aim with their bows before they realized she was a lone woman, and unarmed.

“Why is a woman traveling alone in the winter, so far from anywhere?”, one of the men bellowed against the wind.

“I am Branwen, a traveling healer.”

“From Dale?”, the man whose horse was injured, asked her.

She nodded.

“I am. I noticed your fire and wish to trade, my skill for space by the fire for the night.”

“You have no man traveling with you?”

She shook her head.

“I am a widow. I have some herbs with me and my needles. I can stitch and mend your wounds, and I can work on your horse, sir.”

He nodded to her, then waved his hand to order his men to lower their weapons completely. Both men complied.

“Anything you can do for us would be appreciated, Healer.”

Branwen pulled out her pack and began working. The horse’s injuries were worse than either of the two injured men and she suggested working on the horse first. The men all agreed. For sure, these Rohirrim loved their horses greatly.

The cuts were deep and already looked to be angry. Infection was beginning to rise in the poor beast’s leg. Branwen, thankfully, knew a thing or two of caring for beasts of burden and knew just what to use on the wounds. Pulling her pouch, she set to work.

Soon, she had finished the horse and men’s wounds, dressing all three with gauze the men had carried with them, and given them all instructions for further care. Branwen called for Aderyn. The men seemed confused, until Aderyn came down through the snow, a bit more steadily than Branwen could have claimed to have done, then moved to stand beside Branwen.

“Your daughter?”, the lead horsemaster inquired.

“Yes, sir.”

“She is welcome, and do not fear. We will not allow harm to come to either of you while you are sharing our fire. Come. The food should be ready and there is enough to share, you both look hungry.”

Branwen and Aderyn shared the offered meal, thanking the men as they handed over small plates and mugs from their own sacks. She felt more like a visitor to a family friend than a stranger, among these men. Soon, the men were taking turns telling jokes and old tales, to entertain Aderyn. For her part, the girl was lapping them up, her eyes bright and smile wide as she listened.

The leader, Ryne, moved to sit beside Branwen. He was a tall man. All these men were rather tall. Being almost two heads taller than many of the women in Dale, Branwen had always been an oddity in that she was also taller than many a man in the city by the Lonely Mountain. Among these men, she almost felt short.

“Your girl does love these old stories and terrible jokes.”

“She does, sir. She collects stories and such, everywhere we have gone.”

The man nodded.

“Where are you heading, if you do not mind my asking?”

“Somewhere with beds and a warm hearth, where there will hopefully be call for a Healer so I may find a place. As such, we’ve traveled around, leaving whenever there is no more work for a Healer.”

“I cannot promise much, though Rohan has lost many of our healers, of late. We had a rather large number who were aged and frail, and this winter has had more bite than the last ten combined. Two we lost to marriages, taking them far from our borders. At last count, I believe there were three Healers in all our city, including the one who attends solely to the royal family and their inner circle. And none of those left have much skill for mending of the wounds of horses.”

“That is a bad situation for your people to be in, sir.”

He nodded.

“If you would travel with us, I would introduce you to the King, and speak of your work here with our wounds. He may offer you a place, at least for the duration of the winter. In spring, you could go if you wished, or petition to stay.”

“You think we would be accepted in Rohan, for the winter?”

“My dear lady, if you were only able to heal horses, I am certain you would find a welcome embrace in Rohan. You and your girl.”

“That would be a most happy occurrence, Horse Master.”

“How old is your daughter?”

“This summer marked her 11^th year.”

The man nodded.

“Soon she will be old enough to be going to festivals and dancing with wee young lads. It would be well for you to have found a home by then. And if you would be intending to train her as a Healer like yourself, she would also have no issue finding a place in Rohan. Is she your apprentice?”

“She is.”

“Ah, then I can introduce you both to King Theoden, a Healer of Dale and her apprentice daughter, both of whom have skill in mending both men and horse flesh. He will be overjoyed, I think.”

“Then I am even more glad we happened upon your camp.”

“You and the little lady may wish to retire, once this latest story Emos is telling has concluded. We will ride out early in the morning and try to get the two of you back to Rohan as quickly as we can. Do you ride?”

“Some. My daughter has not learned, though.”

He nodded.

“Emos’s daughter is nearly the same age. She can ride with him. He will know how to handle a little girl without scaring her.”

“Thank you, sir.”

He nodded, then moved away to check on his horse once more. Branwen waited till the red-headed man, Emos, was concluding his tale before she beckoned Aderyn over to her side. The two slept curled together on the thin cot Branwen carried with them.

In the morning, they had woken to find Emos had covered them with a blanket of his own and used his cape to keep warm overnight. As Ryne promised, one of his men let Branwen ride behind him while Emos had Aderyn ride sideways in front of him, so she could rest against his chest if-needed. It took them two days, in the snow and wind, to reach the heart of Rohan.

Walls of wooden columns kept the outside world at bay before the village atop a rocky hilltop, the main hall taking a prominent place and built of stone and heavy timbers the likes of which Branwen had rarely seen outside of the Woodland realm. It was beautiful in a stark way. The snow blanketing everything it touched with dark timbers and gray stone sticking out here and there, the green, gold, and white flags danced in the winter wind, and the whole place smelled of smoke, horses, hay, damp wood, and wool.

Emos and Ryne went with Branwen and Aderyn up to the front of the main hall. Ryne had ordered Emos to stay with the ladies while Ryne went to talk to the King. Aside from Dale under King Bard, Branwen had never known a place where a common person, even a soldier, could so easily access someone of real power on such short notice.

They had not needed to wait long before Ryne returned, beckoning Emos to bring the two Dalish women into the hall. Ryne quickly whispered a few instructions for Branwen. Emos had already warned them that King Theoden ruled alone, his wife having passed years ago along with his sister and her husband, leaving Theoden in charge of his 15 year old son Theodred, 13 year old nephew Eomer, and 9 year old niece Eowyn. Branwen had only Aderyn and knew the trouble of keeping one child safe, educated, and behaved. She could not imagine running a kingdom alone while also being wholly responsible for three growing children.

King Theoden was much as she expected. Fair-haired as most of the Rohirrim had been in the company that lead them to Rohan, with a straight nose, in warm clothes, standing straight, and armed even as he stood in his hall, surrounded by his men. He was shorter than she expected, and not as severe as she might have thought a King would be in these days.

Branwen curtsied when Emos and Ryne stopped to show their respect to the King. She nudged her daughter and Aderyn executed a very awkward attempt to curtsy. Branwen made a note in her mind that she would need to educate Aderyn for such circumstances.

“Ryne has said you are a widowed healer of Dale, with your daughter and apprentice, in need of a home for the winter. That you are skilled with the tending of horse flesh as well as of men.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“He has spoken highly of the healing you did to his horse.”

Branwen nodded, not sure what else to do.

“What is your name, lady healer?”

“Branwen, my lord.”

“And your daughter?”

“Aderyn.”

“That is a lovely name, and I am told she will be 12 this next summer?”

“Yes.”

“By such age, a daughter of Rohan would have her own horse and be able to command it as well as her brother, while also handling a shield and sword, or bow and arrows.”, he said before pausing.

“Rohan is short on healers. We have lost four of our elder healers to this winter’s ailments, two have married outside of Rohan, and another left us in the night just this past week. We have only the two healers below, and another far out into the hills, if anyone within these walls was in need of aid.”

The King moved from his dais, coming closer to Branwen. She was just a bit taller than the King and was unsure if she ought to bow her head or not.

“My lady healer, it would please me to offer a skilled healer such as yourself, a place in Rohan for this bitter winter we have been brought. To know your daughter will be your apprentice, and to hear how well my men have spoken of you both, makes me all the more glad to be able to offer you a place in Rohan. I will have two rooms prepared for you and baths drawn. Tomorrow, you may begin your work and you will have full access to the Healer’s hall.”

She curtsied.

“Thank you, my lord.”

~^~^~^~^~

Aderyn walked the halls, still working to familiarize herself with her new home. Everything seemed so large and imposing, but it was warm and filled with people who greeted she and her mother warmly. That had not been the case for many of the places they had stayed or passed through, over the years.

As she passed into one hall, a smaller hall where it seemed only one person dwelled. A young girl with the shiniest blonde hair Aderyn had ever seen, in a pale dress and dark red over-dress, seemingly practicing her needlework. The girl looked up, surprised. Before Aderyn could speak, the girl rushed over to her side, her grey eyes wide as the smile below them.

“Are you Aderyn? The Healer’s daughter? Are you?”

“Yes.”

The girl’s smile grew impossibly wide.

“I’m Eowyn, the King’s niece.”

Aderyn did the curtsy her mother was working to teach her. The young girl reached, stopping Aderyn.

“Please don’t. I wish us to be friends, and friends don’t bow to each other in private.”

The younger girl leaned forward, almost whispering as if they were part of a conspiracy.

“I have no friends of my age, who are girls. I mostly spend my time with Theodred and Eomer.”

“Your cousin and brother, yes?”

The girl smiled with a nod.

“Indeed, yes. They are a bit older than I, though they often bring me along with them and some of my tutors pull them in to help. Especially when I have to dance or practice a courtly protocol. Theodred is usually amused, Eomer is usually bored.”

Aderyn nodded, having not met either of the young men Eowyn clearly loved as dearly as if they were both her brothers. Though, from what Aderyn understood of how long Eomer and Eowyn had lived with their uncle, she would imagine the two probably did feel the Prince was more an elder brother than a cousin.

“Will you come sit with me a while? I have to finish my needlework, then I am free till dinner. I shouldn’t be much longer. Unless,… I am sorry. I have not asked if you even wish to be friends and I am already bossing you about. Eomer tells me that I often boss people as if I were a queen.”

Aderyn smiled at the younger girl, genuinely amused by her, if a little taken aback by the whirlwind of energy she appeared to be.

“I’ll tell you a secret.”

Eowyn leaned in, intent.

“I’ve never had a friend my own age before. I usually befriend the people my mother works with, and most of them have been old enough to have been my grandparents.”

Eowyn’s hands shook as she smiled, biting her lower lip.

“Then we must be friends, Aderyn. We must!”

Aderyn held out her hand to shake. Eowyn took it, looking a bit confused.

“Deal, we’re friends now.”

“Thank you!”, Eowyn said before launching forward to quickly hug Aderyn, then take her hand to drag her over to the padded benches where the needlework sat.

“Do you know how to do needlework?”

“Yes. Though, your tutor’s work looks far better than mine. I had to learn, for bandages and putting wounds back together.”

Eowyn’s face wrinkled a bit.

“Eomer cut his hand a couple days ago. I watched Theodred sew it up for him with a fine thread. It was ghastly, though I suppose I will need to get used to it. We’ve so few healers, I’m sure Uncle will soon have me tutored to do it. That way I can attend Theodred and Eomer.”

“If his hand is bothering him, my mother or I would be happy to look at it.”

Eowyn nodded, then held her tongue between her teeth as she attempted to do a bit with her needlework. Instead of going where it was meant, the girl stabbed herself in the side of a pale finger.

“Ouch!”

“Here.”, Aderyn reached, taking the needlework.

Once Eowyn had moved to better look at Aderyn’s hand, Aderyn began to demonstrate.

“A trick my mother taught me for this stitch. Here, watch. It’s easy once you learn the trick.”

Eowyn watched, rapt as Aderyn made the complicated maneuver look as easy as eating pie. Unbeknownst to both young girls, the King of Rohan watched from a balcony alcove above in the hall. Theoden had been curious how his niece would react to having an educated girl nearly her own age, moving about the halls, and how this girl would handle the exuberance of his niece.

It seemed the two were not only already fast friends, but that this young Healer’s daughter was patient enough and skilled enough to be able to help Eowyn with her lessons. Theoden smiled. The girls laughed as Eowyn worked on her stitches and Aderyn gave her pointers and ways to make the work easier.

It would be good for his niece to have another girl to wonder the halls with, to share secrets and silly games with. He decided there and then he would do all he could to keep the Dalish Healer and her daughter at his court, and he would inform Eowyn’s tutors that they were to allow the young Aderyn in with Eowyn to learn beside her and thusly help Eowyn focus on her studies.

For now, he watched only a moment longer. It had been a hard few years and to hear even part of the hall filled with the laughter of children was a welcome treasure. He smiled to see traces of his late sister in Eowyn’s smile as she conversed with her new friend. Yes, he would do whatever he could to ensure Aderyn and her mother did not leave with the winter.

~^~^~^~^~

Aderyn sat perched on the stool that had been fetched for her, as she worked on the horse before her. He was a young horse, unnamed as far as she knew, but with a sore from another horse biting him days prior. Aderyn had asked permission to spend some time in the royal stables to attend the horses and King Theoden had informed her that she needed no permission to move about the royal grounds to attend the duties of a healer.

The horse’s pale fur the color of sawdust, glistened in the small bit of sunlight streaming in from the open door. A couple men were moving some things out of the stable and as such, had left the door to hang open while they moved. There was no wind and the sun brightened the dull interior of the stable.

Aderyn patted the horse’s hip, speaking gently to him as she waited for the poultice to firm up a bit. She needed it to do so before she wrapped him, or else it would merely soak into the bandage rather than the horse’s flesh.

“Ah boy, I promise this will feel much better tomorrow than it did today. I promise. This stuff may smell a little funny, though it works wonders with bites. That other horse was rather mean, biting you like this. Did you call him a name, or maybe accidentally step on his hoof?”

“They were left too long in too small a paddock.”

Aderyn whipped around to find herself observed by a tall boy with dirty blond hair and dark eyes. She recognized him from seeing him a couple times in the main hall. Eomer, nephew of the King. She stood from her stool, a bit clumsy from a combination of cold and sitting so long in the same position, and offered a curtsy.

“I’m sorry, I did not see you there, sir.”

“You needn’t address me so, young Healer. How is his bite?”

She smiled, moving a hand to run through the horse’s pale fur.

“It is not too deep, and with the poultice, it will not become infected- I’m sure. He will heal, though there may be a bit of a mark in his skin below the fur. I think the fur ought to come back in time.”

“That is well. War wounds may leave scars on a man as well as his steed, yet we aim to keep our horses as well as we can.”

“I have seen how the men will forgo the treatment of their wounds to tend to those of their horses. A noble thing.”

She swore he almost seemed confused by her statement.

“Do you know how to ride?”

She shook her head.

“By your age, most Rohirrim girls can ride while using a weapon.”

She looked down and away, more than a little embarrassed at her lack of knowledge on something seemingly so vital in the kingdom of horse masters. Eomer let out a breath.

“I am sorry. I did not mean to upset you.”

She could hear the change in his tone. He sounded more like when she had overheard him speaking to his horse the evening before.

“I fear I am a bit out of step here, though I aim to improve.”

“Eowyn’s tutors will help you. Our uncle has informed them that they are to treat you as they would a nobleman’s daughter, come to study with Eowyn. You are more advanced in some subjects than she is, as I have heard it, so it may take a while for them to catch her up to you.”

“I am older, I’ve had more time to learn.”

He smiled.

“Yes, they’ve told me you are between Eowyn and I in age. Eowyn can talk of little else than her new friend, from Dale.”

“I do not remember Dale. We left when I was very little.”

He nodded.

“I had not heard the details.”

“My father was a fisherman. He fell in a storm and drowned. My mother said the following winter was very hard on her and that stuck in a city of stone and snow, she felt we would not stay healthy if we remained, and so she set forth to find a new place for us to stay.”

“Uncle is glad the two of you have found your way here.”

“He told us about how many healers you’ve lost this year alone.”

Eomer nodded.

“Things have grown hard in the last few years. For everyone, not just the Rohirrim.”

Moving to open the gate for her, he gestured for her to come out and join him.

“Begging your pardon, I haven’t finished with the horse yet.”

“Ah, sorry. I had thought your task complete. It looks treated.”

“It needs wrapped.”

Eomer moved into the gap where the gate was open, watching as she wrapped the horse’s middle. Her touch was light yet firm enough to make sure the bandage was snug. He doubted, between what Eowyn had said and what he was currently witness to, that it would be hard for someone to teach the young healer’s apprentice to ride her own horse someday.

“Where are your gloves? Did you remove them to tend the horse?”, he asked as he looked around.

“No, I haven’t any gloves. I outgrew my last pair and have not had the time and material to make another.”

As he watched, she finished, tearing the bandaged in order to tie it off. Her fingers were red from the cold as was her nose, yet she did not complain or even seem aware of it. She was smiling softly to herself, her fingers gently ruffling the horse’s thick winter coat.

“He likes you.”

That appeared to make her quite happy.

“I’m glad. I like him a lot. Whose is he?”

“Emos, who came with you and your mother. He intends this one as a present for his eldest daughter. She will reach courting age next month and she will need a horse to ride with any suitor.”

“Well, I feel he’ll be a fine horse for her. A lucky girl and a lucky horse.”

“May I escort you back up, if you are finished? Eowyn had been looking for you and I worry you’ll lose a finger to the cold if you stay in here much longer.”

“I smelled the smoke of a fire, do they not light one in here?”

“They do, overnight. It has been a warmer day, with no wind, so they have not kept the fire up. The soldiers will start a fresh one soon, as I saw the chimney being cleaned.”

Aderyn nodded. She gathered her few supplies before stepping out, Eomer closing the gate behind her, with a quick reach to stroke the horse’s nose. His dark face and mane were greatly contrasted against his pale body, the feet and tail matching his mane. A beautiful horse, for sure. If Emos’s daughter did not catch attention with her beauty she certainly would with her horse.

Turning back to his young companion, Eomer walked with her, glancing over occasionally to take in the differences between her and most of the girls of her age. Most of the Rohirrim girls their age had fair hair, blue or gray eyes, slender and small, with names Eomer knew related to tales of horses, glory, and stories of romance. This young apprentice with her chestnut hair, darky mossy colored eyes, tall, muscled build, and strange name was very different from what he was used to seeing.

“You stare as if I were going to disappear.”

“My apologies. I’ve never met a woman from Dale before and you…look very different from most of the girls our age.”

She nodded.

“You all are so tall, the young men of your age.”

“So are you.”

“I know. I’m not used to looking up at boys nearly my own age. I’m used to looking down at most of them.”

He smiled. Before he could say anything else, the young Healer pointed towards his wrapped hand.

“How is your injury? Eowyn mentioned seeing Theodred sew it for you.”

“It hurts a bit. Theodred’s stitching is not as fine as my mother’s had been.”

“If you do not mind it, the next time you should be in need of such mending, please see my mother or I? We would be happy to attend it and I promise, our needlework with skin is good.”

He nodded.

“I will keep that in mind, lady healer.”

“Aderyn.”

Eomer glanced back at her. Her cheeks, nose, and chin were rosy from the cold and the wind that had started up, stealing bits of dark hair from her braid to shove them into her face.

“Please, call me Aderyn? My mother is the Lady Healer, I am merely her apprentice.”

He smiled.

“Aderyn then. And please, call me Eomer, and when we are not at court, you needn’t curtsy.”

“Thank you. I am rather bad at it.”

“You are.”

They both laughed. It would be good to have a fourth member of their company, as Eomer was sure Theodred would soon befriend the young apprentice healer. Theodred had such a warm manner about him that none were immune and all soon became his friend. Eowyn had already claimed Aderyn as her first female friend, and Eomer was sure he and Aderyn would soon consider each other to be a friend.

“Where is Eowyn’s lesson?”

“The main hall. It is a history lesson, then there will be a lesson on manners.”

Aderyn nodded as the doors were closed behind them. Eomer lead her over to the open fireplace, watching as she reached to warm her hands, her shoulders tight from having so long sat out in the cold. She needed a warmer cloak, gloves, and for the cloak to have a hood. Or a scarf. Something to keep her ears and neck warm, as well as the top of her head.

“She will be out soon. Stay. Warm yourself. I shall send to have something warm to drink brought up for the pair of you to enjoy with her lesson.”

“Thank you, Eomer.”

He nodded with a small smile, before turning to leave.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Aderyn sat on the bench to watch as Eowyn was attending her sword lesson. Eowyn had explained that young noblewomen of Rohan were expected to be shieldmaidens. Able to stand and fight beside their husbands and brothers, as well as to defend their homes and children when most of the menfolk were gone off to fight.

Aderyn knew little to nothing of weapons, only how to mend the damage they inflicted. As such, she was observing from her bench, several yards away so as to be safe and not provide much distraction for Eowyn. Aderyn wondered why anyone worried Eowyn would be distracted from her sword lessons. The only lessons she enjoyed were languages, horses, and swordplay.

“M’lady?”

Turning to the voice, Aderyn found the one maidservant, Rhiane, holding a bundle in her arms.

“Yes?”

“This was sent for you, from Eomer and Theodred.”

She got up, taking the offered bundle. Rhiane gave a half-curtsy and then left to return to her work. Aderyn took the bundle back to her seat and carefully unwrapped the thin bit of cloth that held it all together. A small note was laid atop in a hand she recognized as Theodred’s. He had written enough instructions and notes for Eowyn that his pen was very familiar to Aderyn.

‘Eomer had noticed you lacked proper attire for Rohirrim winters and took the liberty of gathering some items for you. He added my name, though the thought was entirely his own, my lady Healer. Please accept his gifts as a welcoming present to your new home, here in Rohan? Stay warm. – T’

Under the note was a folded warm cloak far heavier than the one she had been wearing down to the stables, with a hood and a pewter clasp to hold it closed. There was also a pair of woolen gray mittens and a beautiful scarf of deep brown with bits of what she thought looked amber and copper in the light of the hall. All were far nicer than she had ever had before and far warmer.

Eowyn called over for Aderyn to watch her. The younger girl executed a new move she had been working on all afternoon. Aderyn cheered her on from her seat until the tutor turned Eowyn back to face him for the next bit of the lesson. Aderyn, despite how warm the hall was, put the mittens and scarf on for a moment. They were so warm and the scarf was particularly soft.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, with Eowyn breezing through her lessons. Theoden left with Theodred and Eomer for two days, allowing Eowyn and Aderyn to have free reign to play in the main hall without fear of any real reprimand as there was no court to disturb.

Eowyn was once more attending a weapons lesson as Aderyn watched and also mended a dress of her mother’s. It had been a rather slow day and her mother was busy getting the Healer’s Hall put to order. Aderyn was soon disturbed by a voice she recognized as the younger Prince of Rohan.

“Spying?”

She turned, smiling at him. In the time between their meeting and his leaving with his uncle, he had begun to tease a bit with her. So had Theodred.

“Perhaps I am, or perhaps I am not.”

He smiled as he moved to stand next to her bench.

“Will you not tell me?”

“No.”

“What if I torture you? I could tickle you.”

“I’ve heard of your tickling torture sir, and I will not relent. My secrets are my own.”

He chuckled at her. Pointing to her bench, he inquired if he might join her.

“Please do.”

“What are you mending?”, he asked as he sat down.

“My mother’s every day dress. She had split the front of it a few days ago but had to wait till she could get another before leaving it with me to mend.”

“You have a fine hand for mending.”

Turning to him, she smiled, a blush coloring her pale cheeks.

“Thank you for the cloak, mittens, and scarf. They are so warm and so fine, I’m sorry if they set you back.”

“The cloak is one of mine I outgrew last year, though it is warm and I barely wore it before I outgrew it. Don’t worry about it, Aderyn. Theodred and I couldn’t have you freezing while taking care of our horses or riding with Eowyn, when we’re gone.”

“I haven’t gone riding with her.”

He nodded, turning to look at her little sister enjoying her weapons lesson.

“I’m sure she’ll soon drag you out with her. She loves having you around her.”

Aderyn reached, her hand warm on Eomer’s.

“Still, thank you for the gift. I will be kept quite warm now when I am out to care for your horses.”

He smiled, offering a single nod before turning back to watch Eowyn. Aderyn returned her attention back to her mending.

“You’re welcome.”

~*~*~*~*~

Years passed slowly in Rohan. Theoden soon found himself feeling as old as his hall, and watching as his beloved niece came ever nearer to an age where some nobleman might make an offer of marriage. She was just now 14, yet already the most beautiful girl in all of Rohan. A few had already taken some interest and sent their sons to try to befriend the niece of the King.

Theoden found that he worried more for his nephew than his niece. Eowyn was beautiful, intelligent, strong, stubborn, and fierce. No one would have her lest they win her, and he would see to it that she was left some duties when he was gone, to ensure her happiness and also the care of Rohan. Eomer was the quiet one of the three children, always loyal to a fault, watchful, and keeping his thoughts to himself for the most part. Theodred could still joke with the boy and Eowyn could always make him smile, though for the most part, Eomer seemed content to be Theodred’s lieutenant and to serve Theoden as his most loyal soldier.

The King in him was happy to see the three as they were, the father and uncle in him worried for them when he was gone someday. His new advisor, Grima, did not appear to share his concern much. Nor did some of his other advisors, only Grimling worried for Theodred, Eomer, and Eowyn in the years to come. Especially in light of how their borders were ever more encroached upon by the filthy orc-kind.

And so, Theoden found himself walking alone, in the last light of the day’s sun, among the tombs of his forefathers. He wished their guidance tonight and their protection for his son, nephew, and niece in the days to come. A noise drew Theoden’s attention and he reached for his sword out of habit.

Horse hooves and a male voice, a small clang of metal. Theoden followed the sounds and crested a hill to find a most unexpected sight. His nephew, a horse, and rider. His nephew appeared to be giving someone a lesson on basic horsemanship.

Narrowing his aged eyes, Theoden tried to decern who the rider was. They were smaller than Eomer though too bulky to be Eowyn, yet the hair was far too long for a nobleman’s son or one of the servants’ sons. When the horse turned, Theoden could finally see the pale face of the rider. Aderyn.

She had been old enough to be a fair rider if she had been a Rohirrim girl, when her mother first brought her to Theoden’s hall. Now, a girl of 16 in Rohan, who did not know how to ride, was more than an oddity. She was an impossible occurrence. For a girl to properly court in Rohan, she had need of a horse and the skill to make use of it.

Careful to remain unseen, Theoden watched a while. In the past year, he had worried his son may have taken some interest in the Healer’s daughter. While the girl was kind and whip-smart, she was a foreign-born daughter of a widow, with no title and no connection. As a match, it would not do.

However, upon closer inspection, Theoden saw that his son treated the young apprentice-Healer with no real difference to how he treated Eowyn. They both could easily be mistaken for his younger sisters, by his treatment of them. He teased them, did favors for them, played some pranks on them, and guarded them against anyone who would do them harm or insult. Now, Theoden wondered if he had the wrong boy and if his young nephew of barely 18 years, might have been the one who did not see the apprentice as a sister. Rather, that his nephew may have looked at the young apprentice with the eyes of a potential suitor.

The horse jerked a bit and Eomer gave Aderyn an instruction. Theoden could see that she followed it to the letter, remaining calm as she did so. He smiled as he saw Eomer’s shoulders relax. He supposed for now, it would do no harm to allow his nephew a harmless infatuation with a girl he could never marry. It kept him from any real trouble, and he trusted them both. His nephew would fear taking advantage and Aderyn would not wish to risk her friendship with Eowyn.

Theoden watched only a moment more as the young healer in a pair of likely borrowed breaches and tunic, rode in circles around a rock, all while under Eomer’s watchful gaze. Seeing that they were comfortable and relatively safe, so close to the walls of the city, Theoden moved quietly away.

It did him good to see his nephew happy, enjoying a quiet moment with a friend- even under such circumstances. It occurred to Theoden that, perhaps young Aderyn’s true gift was not as a mender of wounds, rather her ability to put everyone about her at ease. She could calm the storm his niece sometimes was the living embodiment of, she could ease his son’s sometimes wrathful temper, and she could make his serious, loyal nephew smile and forget his worries for a moment.

It was a good thing, in a healer, to be able to put others are ease. Theoden hoped the talent rubbed off on Eowyn and Theodred, as both would have need of it in years to come when Theodred was King of Rohan and Eowyn was Rohan’s Lady until Theodred married. Even then, there would be responsibilities that would fall to Eowyn and not on Theodred’s future bride.

Glancing back once, Theoden smiled. Eomer was a fine boy, at the cusp of manhood. Steady, reliable, and loyal to a fault. He would be Theodred’s perfect advisor and right hand.

~^~^~^~^~

Eomer rode beside his uncle as they went to meet Theodred and two of his uncle’s most trusted men. The three had been sent off a week ago to scout and were to meet Theoden today to report their findings and receive further instructions.

The whole way, Theoden had not mentioned Aderyn or of his catching them at their riding lesson the evening before. Eomer wondered why his uncle had not brought it up. He had fully expected a lecture about propriety or about being outside of the walls, so late of an evening, with an unarmed girl who could barely sit a horse.

“Uncle?”

Theoden smiled over at him. Mostly he referred to his uncle as ‘my lord’, the way most of the other soldiers did. It was rare he was alone with his uncle and wished to speak to him of private matters.

“Yes.”

“I saw you last night, walking among your forefathers. Is there something wrong?”

Theoden shook his head. The boy reminded him so much of his late sister at times. She always saw things that most missed. The wording and the face, however, were all his father.

“I needed the space and quiet to think.”

“Then I hope our riding practice did not disturb you.”

“How is it that I found my nephew teaching a Healer’s daughter how to ride?”

“She has no father, brother, uncle, or cousin to teach her to ride. Eowyn wished for them to ride together in a few weeks, when the weather has cleared, and Aderyn reminded her that Aderyn does not know how to ride. Eowyn asked if Theodred or I might teach Aderyn so that she may accompany Eowyn.”

Theoden nodded. In the rare case of a girl without a male relation to teach her to ride, as was sometimes the case for younger girls shortly after a war that had taken all her elder brothers, father, uncles, and elder male cousins, it was acceptable for the brother of her close friend or the father of a close friend, to teach her to ride. Many war orphans or fatherless girls, were taught by their father’s friends or by the elder brothers of their closest friend, rarely a grandfather or the husband of their elder sister, might also stand in.

“She is of courting age, nephew. I ask only that you be mindful how hard it will be for her to make a match in Rohan. The daughter of a foreign widow, with no title, fortune, or connections. If her reputation were to be ruined by her being caught out with you in a compromising position, she might die an old maid.”

“Yes, Uncle. I swear, I have been careful. We go out when it is late enough that she will not be easily spotted in her breaches and tunic, as I would fear teaching her while she wore a full dress with all the skirts, and also the appearance of being a young boy lends her some protection from prying eyes. We come in before dark, so she can be back at her mother’s side before there would be cause to whisper.”

Theoden smiled.

“My boy, there has already been cause to whisper. She is of courting age, yet she spends all her time with Eowyn, Theodred, and you. Many already whispered that she is trying to ensnare you or Theodred, some even suggest we keep her only because her mother is betrothed to someone important.”

“They stay because this is their home, Uncle. They stay because her mother is our best healer, for the men and for our horses, and they stay because they are happy here.”

“This I know, my boy. I have no suspicions of either Branwen or Aderyn. In fact, I think they are two of the most loyal subjects I have ever had. I would no sooner question their loyalty to me than I would questions yours.”

Eomer nodded once.

“I am only concerned for her reputation, and for yours.”

“Nothing has happened to besmirch hers or mine, I swear to you.”

“And I believe you. Ah, here, Theodred comes.”

Eomer nodded, falling in beside his uncle and a few steps behind. The proper place for the nephew of the King, leaving the right side for Theodred.

~^~^~^~^~

Eowyn was glad to hear of the riding lesson her brother had given Aderyn. Soon, the pair of them would be able to ride out, leaving the boys, tutors, and everyone behind from time to time. As they grew older, with Aderyn now old enough to go courting and Eowyn shortly to follow, it seemed they were forever under the watchful eye of one person or another. Eowyn hated it. She missed when her friend first came and no one thought anything of the two of them running about on their pretend adventures.

“My lady, you must focus. You need to have this dance perfect before the festival. We will have three nobles from Gondor and two from the countryside, all will bring sons whom you may yet find as suitors in the coming years.”, her tutor drilled on.

“Now, left arm up higher. Yes, like that.”, the woman coached, before turning her attention to Aderyn and the maidservant’s daughter, Hilda.

“Ladies, over here please? It is time to practice changing partners. It will happen 6 times during the course of the dance, so you must be ready and execute your turns in time, or else you will mess up the entire dance for all the couples involved.

The three of them stood, waiting for the tutor to arrange them. Once she did, the white-haired matron smiled.

“Good, now I just need three young men. Ladies, take a breath. I shall return shortly.”

Eowyn waited till Neese was gone before turning to Hilda and Aderyn.

“Who do you think she will force us on?”

Hilda shrugged.

“I know the stable boy, Taron, is about today. He is tall and light on his feet.”

Eowyn nodded. She knew Taron. He was a nice boy and he was very good with her horse when he brought the old girl up for Eowyn sometimes. Her uncle did not like her to go down to the stables alone and always had her ask for her horse to be brought up for her if Eomer or Theodred weren’t with her.

“You don’t think she’ll get one of the older men from the kitchen to help us dance?”, Hilda asked.

“They can barely stand. Uncle has them in the kitchens because it is one of the few places one can sit and work.”

The suspense was ended as Neese returned with Theodred, Eomer, and Taren. She placed Taren first in front of Eowyn because their heights matched well, then Theodred in front of Aderyn for the same reason, and Eomer with Hilda.

“Positions. The music has started, and now you must begin.”, Neese said as she began to hum a lively tune.

Eowyn, Hilda, and Aderyn held their left hands aloft, using their right hands to pull up the edges of their skirts. Their partners stepped forward, left hands behind their backs, right hands moving to the waist of their lady. They all stepped back towards Neese for three steps, then one side-step, then three backward, a side-step the opposite way.

Again and again, Neese had them practice the basic steps of the dance. Once they had mastered the timing to a small drum she had been beating for them, she added the part where the ladies would raise both arms and the men had to take them by the waist to lift them a few inches while turning, thus switching their positions on the floor before partners would be traded twice and the dance would start over.

“Ah yes, Eowyn, you are coming along excellently. And Hilda, you are a natural. Theodred, please work on your footing before your father’s guests arrive. You are a bit slow.”

Turning her attention to Eomer and Aderyn, Neese let out a sigh.

“The pair of you are hopeless. Aderyn tries to lead and Eomer, you move as if we did not hear half of the music. Come. I must attend to you Eomer, before the King’s guests see this.”

Neese pulled the pair of them to the center of the floor, shewing the other four away. She offered her little drum to Taren and had him match her beat she had played, while Neese moved, manipulated, prodded, and positioned Eomer and Aderyn. She had them dance the whole arrangement four times before she was satisfied that Eomer would not be an embarrassment to the King. Reassembling the six of them and taking back her little drum, Neese had them all do the dance one last time before she permitted them to leave.

Eowyn watched her tutor go, fuming a bit at how the woman had spoken to Eomer and Aderyn. Eowyn considered only herself permitted to boss Eomer around and make fun of his big feet. No one else.

“Why must she always be so rude?”

Eomer moved to Eowyn’s side, hugging her with one arm.

“It is fine, Eowyn, and she was not wrong about my dancing. I am not adept to it the way you and Hilda are. I was made for riding and fighting, you were made for more.”

He placed a gentle kiss on her temple as Theodred rolled his eyes.

“I cannot believe she fusses so. No one experts horse lords to be excellent dancers. Most figure us to be covered in mud, drunken and slovenly, and boasting of some great kill on a recent hunt or of a bit of horse breeding helped along.”

Taren and Hilda both seemed uncomfortable. Aderyn nudged Eowyn, then glanced towards Hilda and Taren. The younger girl took the hint.

“Hilda, Taren, thank you both for helping with the lesson.”

Hilda curtsied and Taren gave a short bow.

“May we be excused, m’lady?”, Hilda asked.

“You may, and thank you.”

Both left as Theodred headed over to get some tea from over the small fire. Aderyn had been setting to make it for them when Neese arrived with a drum and orders.

“What manner of tea is this? It tastes like tree bark.”

“Eat a lot of tree bark?”, Eomer teased as he reached for his own cup.

Theodred playfully backhanded his cousin, the two smiling as Eowyn chuckled and Aderyn moved to stoke the fire a bit.

“It is meant to ward off the ills of the coming spring. I like the taste of it, though I am more accustomed to my mother’s teas than the sweet wine of Rohan.”

“What she is trying to say, cousin, is that you are a drunk.”, Eowyn teased.

“My drinking does not concern you, child.”, he teased back.

The two playfully shoved at each other while Eomer shook his head at them.

“You act so old, brother, but you are barely older than Aderyn or I.”

“I am old enough to go to war and Aderyn is old enough to go about being courted. We aren’t children anymore. Well, the two of us aren’t. I’m not so sure about the pair of you.”

Aderyn smiled as she listened to the familiar teasing of her three best friends in all the world. Even as the orcs dared move closer and tensions grew among Theoden and his allies, Aderyn could not help but feel warmed by her friends. The four of them had enjoyed many adventures, lessons, and jokes over the past five years, and the three of them had a lifetime together before Aderyn had arrived in Rohan.

Eomer looked over at her, his expression curious while Theodred and Eowyn were still teasing each other. Aderyn gave a slight shake of her head, smiling a little wider. Nothing was amiss, she was just inside her own head too much sometimes. Eomer offered a vague nod before Eowyn called for all of their attention.

“Next week, I wish for the four of us to ride out and have a lunch, outside the walls. Aside from you two going out on missions for Uncle, and my occasional walk with Aderyn to get supplies for her mother, none of us have left these walls since the first snow.”

“We should bring a lot of food, then we could stay a while.”, Theodred added with a smile.

“We shalln’t go beyond sight of the wall. If trouble comes, we could beat it to the wall and get back inside the city gate before they had to lock us out for fear of letting the trouble in.”

Aderyn had to agree with Eomer’s thought. The orcs had not yet come close enough to be seen from Edoras. To venture too far from the walls of Edoras, and too far from sight of Meduseld, was far too dangerous. Especially when all three of King Theoden’s heirs were in the party.

Eowyn growled, though she agreed. Tugging on Theodred’s hand, she commanded he come with her to look at something from her history lesson earlier in the day that she disagreed with. Eomer shook his head at them as they walked off to the corner.

“Those two are going to end up ambushed by orcs one of these days.”

“No. Eowyn’s too smart for that, she’ll get them out before that happens.”, Aderyn offered.

Eomer let out a slow breath.

“My uncle saw our lesson the day before yesterday.”

Aderyn looked worried.

“Did he yell at you? We weren’t that far from the walls.”

“He had a few words to say about us being alone, when it was nearly dark outside. He reminded me of the consequences for you if I were to ruin your reputation.”

“Perhaps I ought not have let you take me out to ride then, and should have had Eowyn do it.”

“She is not yet ready to teach someone else to ride, and I helped teach her- it was natural for her to think I could teach you. And I still think I am a capable teacher.”

“You are more than capable, you’re an exceptional teacher.”

“Eowyn was right to ask me or Theodred. She is not big enough or strong enough to command a horse with a rider sitting it. Nor is she ready to handle two horses when the other is ridden by a rider it is not familiar with, who is yet unskilled as a horseman. For her to teach you would be to put you both, and your horses, in danger. Theodred does not have the patience for teaching someone else to ride, so she was right to ask me. And I do not mind to do it.”

“If it is upsetting the King, I would rather not cause any friction between you.”

“You haven’t. He reminded me of a war-time tradition, when men are either at war or were lost to it, that the husband of an elder sister, the elder brother or father of a beloved female friend, or even an able-bodied grandfather may be called upon to teach a fatherless girls without her own elder brothers, uncles, or cousins, to teach her. I am your cherished friend’s elder brother, it is not unheard of for me to teach you, bearing in mind that you’ve no father, brother, or uncle of your own to see to it that you know how to ride. There is also Eowyn’s safety to consider.”

“How?”

“If you will often be with her, you will need to know how to ride. That way, should she be hurt or become ill, you could scoop her up and ride back to Meduseld with her.”

“Oh. I hadn’t thought of that, exactly.”

“If my uncle has any further objections, we shall make it a more social affair. Eowyn and perhaps Hilda may come along, ensuring there is no material to set tongues to wagging.”

“Idle tongues make for wild destruction.”

Eomer glanced over at her, arching an eyebrow.

“Sorry. A lady my mother and I worked for, a long while back, used to say that of gossiping and whispering.”

“She was a wise woman.”

“Come Eomer, we have a patrol to get to.”, Theodred called.

Aderyn smiled at him and Eomer offered a polite half-bow, more to tease than because it was called for, before following his cousin out. In the hall he heard Theodred’s quiet chuckle to himself. Eomer knew without asking what it was about.

“Father has no idea how close to the mark he is.”

“Theodred, please. Not now.”

“You would say that no matter where we were or what we were at. We are alone, I may tease you all I like without fear of eavesdropping.”

“Or of my punching you.”

“You would not. It would only prove I am right. You’re in love.”

“I am not. You are mad.”

“Am I now? You say that I imagine how you always seek to protect and aid the young Healer’s apprentice? That I imagine how you are always more at ease in her presence, of your eagerness to see her when we return from a several-day scouting ride, or that you always seek her out when you are injured rather than her mother or Eyran.”

“You do not imagine any of that, you merely read too much into what you see, cousin. We are friends, she is Eowyn’s most intimate friend, I have watched her grow up. I understand that she is foreign born and therefore needs reminders of customs and directions, and as for going to her, her mother can be a bit brisk while Aderyn enjoys talking to us when we come in for her to tend our wounds. After days of listening to your stale jokes and smelling our sweaty armor, it is nice to hear her speak of Eowyn’s studies and smell the herbs she uses for her teas.”

“While I cannot fault your logic, I also do not believe it.”

“Men of the Riddlemark do not lie.”

“No, though I think they can be unaware of the truth.”

Before Eomer could respond, Grimold found them with orders from Theoden. They would need to ready their horses for a long ride and hopefully have returned in time to greet Theoden’s guests.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eowyn watched as Aderyn pulled together a few last things for their picnic with Theodred and Eomer. Sitting on Aderyn’s bed, she had been trying to goad Aderyn into admitting her feelings for Eomer. Eowyn was sure she did not imagine the way her best friend and her favorite brother, looked at one another.

“There are two girls from the East, who will be attending the festival next week. The tutors have already warned Eomer to be ready to be impressive when he is dancing with them. I suppose they think his standing, his face, and his skill on a horse aren’t a guarantee of a good match.”

Aderyn hummed a response as she double-checked that she had brought the blanket to sit on and that she had her slingshot. She still was not so well trained at arms as Eowyn, though Eomer and Theodred had learned Aderyn was good at aiming from a distance. Eomer taughter her to use a spear and of archery, Theodred taught her to throw knives and make use of a slingshot.

“Why are you bringing your slingshot? Planning to fire away at Theodred when he makes a terrible joke? You may need to bring as many pebbles as your horse can carry.”

That earned only a small chuckle.

“If we do run afoul of something dangerous, I would prefer not to find myself the helpless healer in the midst of three heirs of Rohan. All three heirs, of Rohan.”

“You listen too much to our tutors.”

“You don’t listen enough.”

“Ha.”

Aderyn smiled at Eowyn’s rebuff.

“I am glad we are taking this picnic though. It has been something nice to look forward to all week. Especially after that disastrous dance.”

Eowyn groaned as she fell backwards onto the bed.

“Do not remind me. I think Neese nearly had a stroke.”

“It really wasn’t Eomer or Theodred’s fault. The music shifted and that other fellow had spilled his ale on the floor without either of them realizing it.”

“At least Uncle didn’t yell. I was afraid he might get upset with them.”

Aderyn leaned, her tone quiet as if speaking of a conspiracy.

“The King seemed to enjoy the scene for a moment before he remembered he was supposed to be the King and host, not just a guest.”

Eowyn nodded, her long blonde hair in a simple braid down her back today instead of loosely held in place by a few strands with the rest cascading down her back. Ever since her 14^th birthday, her maid had taken to dressing Eowyn’s hair more like that of the women of the court and less like a little girl’s.

“It is too bad things must change.”

Aderyn narrowed her eyes at her friend.

“Were you reading my thoughts?”

“No. Your face. You looked as if you were worried about something, and I remembered you telling me about Uncle catching Eomer’s giving you a riding lesson and of how Uncle went about making sure that Theodred had no special attachment to you last summer when you turned 16.”, Eowyn said as she slouched, her eyes on her shoes.

“Everything has changed so much since you first came. We played and no one thought a thing of it. We would tag along with the boys and no one wagged their tongues or their fingers.”

Aderyn moved to sit next to her best friend, leaning a shoulder against Eowyn’s.

“We grew up.”

“I know. And I am not upset to grow up, I’ve looked forward to it, dreamed of what I would do when I was grown. Of traveling, meeting new people, seeing new places. Yet… I miss when we were all too young for anyone to care much of propriety and our future matches. Theodred will need a good match, a wife of noble standing, possibly from Gondor or elsewhere rather than from Rohan. Uncle will likely pick out a man of similar circumstances for me, and Eomer, well, he will be expected to marry someone who will be a good wife to him.”

“I don’t doubt he’ll find someone. He is kind, intelligent, a good horse master, and as you have said before, there is his face to consider.”

Eowyn chuckled a little, despite her sudden attack of melancholy and anger at how their lives had been forced to change.

“Come. We’ve a picnic you planned out, and if we do not go soon, the boys will eat all the food before we have even left.”

“No doubt.”, Eowyn agreed as she got up from the bed to help Aderyn carry the blankets and other items to the stable.

They quickly joined the Princes, everything tying down their supplies before mounting their horses. Half an hour later, they were as far as Eomer and Theodred dared go, with Eowyn and Aderyn but no further guard than their two selves. Eowyn almost leapt from her horse in her haste to get the blanket laid out for them, citing her growling stomach.

“Careful, cousin, you’ll spook your horse with all your bouncing.”, Theodred teased as he pulled down one of the two bundles of food and drink.

“I will do no such thing.”

Eomer shook his head at the both of them, while leading Eowyn’s horse over beside his own, to tie off the reins. Theodred was still unpacking and teasing with Eowyn, as Aderyn gently ordered her horse over. Eomer stood close, in case she needed help as she climbed down from her borrowed steed.

The brown mare had been Eomer’s horse until two years ago, when she had grown too old to stand up to Eomer’s duties. Theoden had no issue with Eomer keeping her and riding her more for pleasure and when accompanying Eowyn out and about. Since they had started lessons, Eomer had permitted Aderyn to ride Venia. She was a quiet, steady horse and a good match for a new rider who was wary of being too harsh with such a large beast.

“Your riding is improving.”, he commented quietly once Aderyn’s feet were on the ground.

She smiled over her shoulder at him as she tied the reins.

“I had a good teacher.”

“It is not all about the teacher or the horse.”, he added, before moving to the other side of his steed to gather the rest of the items for their picnic.

Eowyn and Theodred had most of their lunch spread out over the blanket. Eomer shook his head as he realized Theodred had brought spiced wine. A small bottle, yes, though still a bottle of spirits none the less. Eowyn was yet too young to have that kind of thing, Aderyn had never partaken, and neither he or Theodred ought to when they had to be mindful of the safety of their whole party.

“Oh, there it is. The growly face.”, Theodred teased as Eowyn chuckled.

Before he could rebuke his elder cousin, Eomer felt Aderyn giving his hand a small squeeze. He held his tongue. Then, Aderyn grabbed the bottle away from Theodred and took it back to his horse, tucking it into his saddle bag.

“Spoil sports. Both of you.”

“If we bring you back absurd and out of your head, the King will never allow us to take another picnic or ride outside of the walls, without a full contingent of soldiers. You will need to keep your head if we are to continue with these outings.”

Theodred nodded, his teasing mood gone.

“You are right. I had not thought of that.”

Aderyn offered a small smile.

“We’ve plenty of water and I brought what I need to make tea. We will not be without a drink. Come on, dig in. We’ve brought some good treats.”

Eowyn watched her friend for a moment. She was so unlike most of the girls in Rohan, with so much more than her simple attire including the tunic, shirt, and breeches she wore when down with the horses or training with Eomer, or the fact that she was a new novice to riding. Her dark brown hair and her tall, more muscled frame, with an already ample chest despite being so young, and a dusting of light freckles across her cheeks, nose, forehead, and lower arms. She was a healer, not a warrior. She was headstrong and independent, yet she was also a good listener and deeply loyal.

Eowyn had known, from the first time she spoke with Aderyn, that they would be the best of friends. There had been no doubt. Then, when Aderyn got on so well with Eomer and Theodred, Eowyn had been even more glad. The four of them would all be friends, all their lives. Now, seeing how Aderyn and Eomer danced around their feelings rather than confronting or confessing them, Eowyn worried. If her uncle forced Eomer to marry anyone else or Branwen accepted a proposal on Aderyn’s behalf, Aderyn might never become family. Not in a way that allowed Eowyn to bring her along to everything, at Eowyn’s side instead of back with the servants or the wives of younger soldiers.

She watched at Eomer and Aderyn tag-teamed teasing Theodred about his lapse of manners at the feast last week, and how Uncle had been so upset over it. Aderyn laughed at Theodred’s comeback, her forehead resting on Eomer’s shoulder as he added another jibe. Eowyn was aware her best friend cared little for courting and wooing, not as Theodred who genuinely enjoyed the game of trying to ensnare the affections of beautiful young daughters of the nobles.

Soon, their meal was consumed and Eowyn felt a bit sleepy with the warm breeze doing little to help her state. Aderyn had gone over to the small stream to refill her skin and Theodred had pulled out a book.

“Eomer?”

Her brother moved over to her side as Eowyn reached into her bag, retrieving two apples to hand to him before she pulled out her wrap Aderyn insisted she bring, folding it to be a pillow.

“I’m tired. Why don’t you take Aderyn for a walk and I’ll nap.”

Eomer arched an eyebrow.

“Are you sure?”

“Theodred will be here, if anything happens. And the two of you won’t wander all the way to Fangorn or such. Go on. Shew.”

Eomer shook his head at his little sister’s antics, though he did take the two apples and walk off. Theodred waited till his cousin was out of earshot before speaking.

“You plot as if you were a matchmaker.”

“As if you do not also push and prod him.”

“Yes, though far less subtly than you.”

“She makes him happy, he makes her happy, and she’s our best friend. If they were to marry, the four of us could continue as we are, forever. She would be family and no one could exclude her, nor would she ever have to leave Rohan.”

Theodred turned his gray eyes to her own.

“I see it now. You wish her to truly be your sister, and so you make your poor brother marry her.”

“Poor brother? Theodred, you know as well as I that he would consider marriage to her, no burden at all. In fact, I think if he thought it would not disappoint Uncle so and if he thought for a moment that Aderyn would wish it, he would marry her before the year was out.”

“Perhaps. I do not understand my father’s recalcitrance on the matter is.”

“She is a foreign-born girl, with no title, no connections, and no father. In fact, he only has her mother’s word for being a widow rather than having born Aderyn out of wedlock and been forced to leave Dale because of the circumstances of Aderyn’s birth. She could be a bastard of a drunkard for all Uncle knows, and while she is educated and would be a good wife, I’ve no doubt, Uncle sees how she is of no political advantage for Eomer to marry.”

“I am the only one who needs to marry a noblewoman with any real connections. They are just a boon for you and for Eomer. His wife need only have a good reputation, not a title or connections of great value. I would think she would make a fine wife for Eomer. She is foreign, and as such would have a very different perspective on some matters, and as you said, she is educated. She would make a good partner for him to discuss with on issues before advising me about them. As a Healer and married to him, she would be able to attend my future wife and our children as well as you and your children, in the years to come, without any worry. She could serve as a witness to the births of our heirs.”

“Eomer is happier when he is with her. He smiles more easily.”

“It is true, he smiles less than he used to, as we’ve grown up. He… I understand how important it is that I do a good job at whatever task my father sets me to, as I am his representative. Eomer takes it far more seriously than I ever could hope to, as if he needs to prove to Father that it was not a mistake to take him in, and to care for Eomer, and put so much trust in Eomer’s judgement.”

“I know.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eomer handed the apple to Aderyn as they made their way down the hill towards the dropoff that, if they climbed down, would lead to a lake. In spring, the view of the hills from there was unmatched.

“Eowyn’s bribe?”

He nodded. Aderyn took the offered fruit, looking at it with a smile for a moment before sinking her teeth into it with a crunch.

“She knows they are your favorite, while she doesn’t much care for them.”

“I used to dream of getting apples when my mother and I were traveling. Then, when we came here, and that first spring when the first apples came into the market, and Eowyn said she hated apples… I thought she was going to cry when I confessed I had not had one in a couple years and I had missed them.”

Eomer nodded, recalling it with a smile.

“She convinced me to take her back to the market the next day and buy a whole armful for you. She was so upset that it had not occurred to her what different circumstances you had endured.”

Aderyn shrugged one shoulder as she chewed her current bite.

“I was accustomed to it, I did not view is as something I was enduring. My mother and I were on an adventure, traveling, meeting new people. Perhaps she did such a good job shielding me that I simply had no idea how we truly were living. We always had enough food, even if it was not always the best food. We always had somewhere to sleep, be it a little bed at an inn or a thick blanket under a tree.”

“That first winter, I thought you mad, running about in such thin clothing.”

“You were embarrassed when you realized that was all I had.”

“My sister is not the only one who had not stopped to consider what circumstances you came from, before opening their mouth.”

Aderyn bumped her shoulder against Eomer’s, smiling.

“When I got your gift, I was speechless. A cloak, mittens, and a scarf.”

“You still have the scarf and the pewter clasp.”

“They both still work, and the scarf is so soft.”

“A simple brown scarf and you act as though Theodred and I won you a kingdom.”

She smiled, thinking of when she had first opened the little package and read Theodred’s note.

“It was new. I had never had something new before, and so fine. I almost did not wear it out to work on the horses, because I was so afraid I would get it dirty.”

“If I had known that, I would… we could have gotten you two.”

“You needn’t pretend, Eomer. Theodred told me years ago that those were all from you and you asked him to write and claim half the effort and idea.”

Eomer’s mouth hung open yet the words did not come. He sputtered, then set his lips in a tight line as he glared back in the direction of his cousin.

“Traitor.”

He felt Aderyn’s warm hand at the crook of his elbow.

“Don’t be angry. I think he wanted me to know I didn’t owe him any thanks.”

Eomer huffed. He knew better. Even five years ago, Theodred had teased that Eomer had feelings for the Healer’s daughter from Dale. Back then, Eomer had thought his cousin ridiculous. Aderyn was new to Rohan, with no father, and she was Eowyn’s best friend and barely any older than his little sister.

If he were truthful, Eomer would admit he had no idea exactly when he stopped thinking of Aderyn as Eowyn’s most intimate friend, or even as his own friend, and had begun to look at her as a beautiful, thoughtful, caring young woman. One he grew jealous over when other young men paid her attention and who he sought out for her advice, or sometimes because he enjoyed her company.

“Eomer?”

He looked over at her worried expression.

“You disappeared into your thoughts, I think.”

“Sorry.”

She shook her head with a gentle smile.

“You needn’t apologize. I’m sure you’ve a lot on your mind these days. The borders, the orcs, and now… with your uncle seemingly having more and more instances where he needs to call for my mother’s aid… There is a lot for you to have on your mind.”

He nodded.

“Not this afternoon. Eowyn was right. We all needed a day like today.”

She nodded her agreement.

“Come on. We’ve got a beautiful view waiting for us.”

Eomer let her tug him along by his elbow, both of them still munching on the remains of their apples. The sun was getting low, yet not enough so for them to need to head back just yet. Everywhere he looked, he could see signs of the new spring. All the green and growing things, small buds forming where flowers would soon be plentiful, a few animals about in the high grass and back in the trees on the one hillside, and the warmth of the breeze coming down from Fangorn.

“You ever wish you could capture a moment and keep it? Pull it back out when you had a need of it and disappear into it?”

“Like a jar with a memory you could hop inside of, and relive, over and over?”

She nodded.

“Sometimes.”

“Me, too.”

“I’m sorry Theodred and I have been gone so much lately. It can’t be fun for you and Eowyn, always tucked up in the Hall, with her lessons and your trips to the stables to tend the horses, as your only distractions.”

“At least we’re not freezing our faces off on horseback, out in some far-flung part of Theoden’s kingdom, fighting orcs.”

“I’m pretty sure Eowyn would tell you she would prefer that to her lessons.”

“She might at that. I wouldn’t. I’ve patched enough wounds to know I’d rather not be the one inflicting them, or in a situation where I would have to inflict them.”

“I know I would prefer it that neither you or Eowyn ever had need of a weapon.”

“If I were to have it my way, none of the four of us would ever have need of a weapon and would never be in a situation where we needed more than a good joke to get out of a bad situation.”

Eomer nodded.

“What a world that would be.”

For a long moment, neither spoke. Eomer allowed himself a moment of peace from his constant worries and thinking, enjoying a stillness and peace beside his friend.

“Eomer?”

“Hmm?”

“What do you want?”

He turned to her, confused. She seemed to read his face and realize where she lost him.

“I mean, in the future? When the four of us are all grown and such.”

“Oh, well… I would like for Rohan to be safe of orcs and such, so that Theoden might enjoy a peaceful time in his old age. For Theodred to find a good queen to rule beside him and provide him healthy heirs that would be his pride and joy. For Eowyn to find someone who would see her and love her for all that she is, who will take care of her and not stifle her. She has seen so much loss and bitterness in Rohan, I would have her husband be someone gentle and caring, not a roughened warrior or brute.”, he said before grinning over at Aderyn, “And for my best friend to become the Head Healer of Rohan.”

“Head Healer?”

He nodded, smiling at his picture of the future.

“A foreign-born widow’s daughter? You must be mad. They would never have me as the Head Healer. What of yourself? What do you want, just for you?”

“Hadn’t thought much about it.”

“Liar.”, she teased as she bumped his shoulder with her own.

Looking over at her little grin that made her full cheeks so rosy, Eomer could not deny her. He did hedge a bit, not revealing the full extent of his dreams for the future.

“I would have a wife, one who is independent and perhaps even a little bossy. After spending so much time with you and Eowyn, I wouldn’t know what to do with a mousy wife who was my willing servant.”

Aderyn barked out a laugh.

“Somehow, I could not even imagine you with a wife who was anything but your equal. Someone you did not have to fear being yourself with, who could handle your long trips out to the borders, your frustration when you had to deal with the King’s advisors and Eowyn’s tutors, and your burden of worrying for everyone.”

“What of you? What do you wish for our futures?”

“A fine husband for Eowyn who makes her laugh and knows how to cool her temper, who, as you said, was a kind soul and only added to her happiness. Theodred to have a good wife who pranked him as badly as he does the three of us.”

Eomer chuckled a little at that. It would be fun to see.

“No doubt she’ll have his heirs and no doubt Eowyn will have her own with her husband, all of whom I wish to be healthy, wonderful children. And for you, I would have a wife for you who understood the burdens of your position, patient, who would not take any guff yet was caring enough to be able to make you smile when you were in need of a little light. Someone who would listen to you and hear you out when you needed to unburden yourself, but who challenged you to be the man you are capable of being, that she would not let you slack off.”

“And for yourself? Some strapping husband and a gaggle of children?”

“A place that was just mine, not borrowed or for ‘the healer’, someplace that was Aderyn’s place. To never be parted from my three best friends, and to know I had a position for as long as I could stand up to the work, here in Rohan.”

“Well, so long as Uncle or Theodred is king, I doubt you’ll ever need to worry if there is a place for you as a healer in Rohan.”

Aderyn looked out over the hills as the sun sunk a little lower in the sky. Eomer knew they would need to walk back soon, yet he was not ready to go. Instead, he stood quietly beside Aderyn and allowed himself a moment. One moment where he was not a member of the royal house and Third Marshal of the Riddlemark, and that Aderyn was not a widow’s daughter from Dale, taking a day away from the woes of Rohan. He permitted himself a chance to forget, to be just Eomer a soldier and horse master standing beside a beautiful young healer, watching the beginnings of a sunset.

He felt Aderyn’s hand slip into his own. Eomer smiled. Today was a day that, if he could, he would bottle and save for later as Aderyn spoke of doing.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Spying again?”, Eomer teased in a whisper near Aderyn’s ear as she watched Eowyn’s weapons lesson.

Aderyn leaned back a bit, whispering at the edge of the tapestry that hid Eomer from the tutor’s view.

“Perhaps I am.”

“Will you tell me who you spy for?”

“Never.”, she whispered, “Not even if you torture me.”

“I could tickle you.”

“I’ve heard of your tickling torture, sir, and I will not give away my secrets no matter what you unleash.”

As always, he smiled at their old joke.

“Miss Aderyn! You are needed in the Healer’s wing!”, came a shriek from a maid Eomer could not see.

“Sorry.”, Aderyn whispered before she disappeared.

Coming out around the tapestry, Eomer moved to Eowyn’s side just as another maid came into the room, looking especially wrung out and nervous.

“Tilly, what is wrong?”, Eowyn asked the young maid.

“The Prince has returned and he is injured. So are others.”

Eomer was off in a mad dash, Eowyn close on his heels. They ran to the Healer’s wing to find Branwen, Aderyn, and the older Healer, Bruine, working on Theodred and five others. Eomer moved to help get one soldier up onto the cot for his severely injured leg to be tended, along with the wound on his forehead that bled copiously over his face and into his hair.

“We were ambushed, sir.”, the man said in a tired voice.

“Was anyone lost?”

The man, Eiran, nodded.

“Two men when the orc pack first attacked, and one more in the fighting. How is the Prince?”

Eomer looked up at Branwen.

“He is well enough. Your leg, sir, we must attend now. Lay still. I need to see the wound.”

“Eomer!”

He heard Aderyn and moved to where she was trying to work on Theodred. Theodred thrashed about on the floor, his body wracked with shivers that left his teeth chattering. When Eomer went to help her, his hand nearly burned at making contact with Theodred.

“He is fevered.”, he said in disbelief of the sorry state his cousin was in.

“Yes. Come, we must get him on the bed and strip him to check for wounds. I cannot see where the blood has come from and his wound must be infected.”

Eomer helped her get Theodred up onto the cot and they began to remove his thick, leather and metal armor, his chainmail, and then his clothes till they found his wound. A cut along his lower back, off to his right side. No doubt the dirty blade of an orc had caused the infection that inflamed his six inch long wound.

“What do you need?”

“Here, hold him in place, and pull a blanket over his legs but leave his feet out. We need to draw the fever away from what is vital and down to his feet. When I’m back, I’ll need him to sit up. There’s a tea he needs to drink and then I will clean and dress the wound. I would not stitch it just yet, not until I am sure it is clean and will heal.”

Following Aderyn’s instructions, Eomer did his best to be of help to his cousin and the Healers. Eowyn helped with two other soldiers that Branwen and Bruince were working to save. For the next hour, Eomer and Eowyn worked beside the Healers to take care of the six men. When they were done, all six slept and at last, there was quiet again in the Healer’s wing.

Bruine came over, clearly ready to drop, yet still smiling as she wiped the last trace of her work from her skilled hands. Branwen reclined in a chair, making note of supplies. Aderyn, however, was taking a last check of each of the men to look after them. Eomer watched, seeing how she made the two still wakeful men smile as she spoke with them.

Eowyn’s head suddenly fell to Eomer’s shoulder. He jumped a bit, half-thinking she had passed out yet finding she looked a bit tired yet completely awake. Perhaps too awake for someone with those dark circles.

“How does she deal with this all the time?

“Practice, I imagine.”

“True. Come on, Uncle will probably wish a report on Theodred’s condition and he will most likely send you and your men out tomorrow to look into how this happened.”

“No doubt.”

Theoden had already been given a report on what happened and on Theodred’s condition. He thanked Eowyn and Eomer for assisting the Healers with the injure men, especially Theodred. For the first time, Eomer could see his uncle searching for his words and his blond hair looking white.

In all the eighteen years of his life, he could not ever recall looking at his uncle and thinking the man looked old. Not like tonight. The man standing before him appeared almost… fragile. His right hand shook a bit as he reached for his goblet that sat between him and Grima, her eyes were drooping a bit, the skin beneath them puffy, and his hair looking half-white. This was not the fierce, lively man Eomer remembered from his childhood.

Beside his uncle, the advisor, Grima, looked almost too gleeful. He looked like a man who had done something secret and was watching it reap benefits of his sewing. Then his look towards Eowyn… it turned Eomer’s stomach. Thankfully, his uncle would never permit someone like Grima to have a chance at Eowyn.

“Eomer, tomorrow we ride to where the attack occurred. We will see what there is to learn.”

“With the storm, I doubt it will be much, Uncle.”

“Storm? What storm?”

Eomer moved, pulling open the shutter at the window. Outside, the wind battered at the walls and rooves of the village, while rain came down straight, heavy, and cold. This was not a night to take horses out.

“Then we will not discover where the orc pack came from, that attacked my son and his men.”

“They must have been an advanced group, sire. Spies.”, Grima almost whispered.

Eomer had come to loathe the sound of the man’s voice nearly as much as he despised the sight of his uncle’s most trusted advisor. Eomer did not understand why his uncle valued the little man’s opinion. Eomer didn’t trust him as far as he could carry his horse.

Branwen came out, her dark hair in a braid similar to how Aderyn usually wore hers, braided to one side somewhat loosely. Aderyn’s had a habit of coming loose on her right-side, dropping down to obscure the view of the right-half of her face. Branwen’s hair was better-behaved and kept to her braid more securely.

“My lord.”, she addressed Theoden as she curtsied.

“Yes, Branwen?”

“Your son will recover. My daughter is finishing with his wrappings, as we speak. His wound has been cleaned and his fever addressed. He should be well enough to return to his own room on the morrow.”

“That is well. How are the others?”

“Two were lost in the initial attack, one during the fighting, the other five will recover. One has already gone back to his home, two more will be able to in the morning. The others, like your son, will need assistance in getting to their homes and will need to be more closely monitored once they are out of the Healer’s wing.”

Theoden nodded to her, sinking back into his chair as if he had aged ten years in the past hour. Eomer was concerned over his uncle’s health of late. Today was doing nothing to assuage those fears.

Branwen moved to Eomer’s side, smiling tiredly at him. He could see the resemblance between she and her daughter. Her hair was a bit darker, almost black, though otherwise identical to Aderyn’s, and her eyes were just as green though lighter. It was mostly her nose and mouth that were greatly different from Aderyn’s thicker, more rounded features. Branwen was a sharper, more petitely featured woman from the chin up, than her daughter could claim.

“Thank you for your assistance, as well as your sister’s.”

“When we heard the call, we had to come check on our cousin.”

“Yes, though I still would thank you for the assistance. Bruine is a good healer though she cannot lift and move people, nor drag their clothes from them. It was very helpful to my daughter and I to have you and Eowyn there to help.”

He nodded, smiling with slight embarrassment to be thanked this way. Branwen offered a slight curtsy, before leaving the hall. Eomer let out a breath as he thought of Theodred and Theoden. His cousin was in danger from the orc’s blade and his uncle seemed to grow more frail of body and feeble of mind by the day.

Chapter Text

Eomer returned to Edoras just after sunset, a contingent of men in his wake as he passed through the gates. He worked to ignore the look of the city as he passed. The people were stark and apathetic as his men passed, a thick dew already was settling for the night.

It was quite the contrast to the greetings of smiles and cheers he recalled his uncle returning to with his men, when Eomer had been a small boy. He could recall watching his father riding in with his uncle, Eowyn a babe in their mother’s arms and Eomer standing to the side, his cousin Theodred next to him, all of them happily cheering for Theoden and Eomund.

Once the horses had been taken care of for the evening, Eomer had an errand. Two of his men had been injured on the last patrol and were in with the Healers to be mended. He wished to see to them and the progress of their recovery, as well as check in on his best friend. Judging from the look on his lieutenant’s face, the older man knew where Eomer intended to go.

Slipping into the kitchens, Eomer swiped an apple before he continued to the Healer’s wing. In years past, the area for the Healers had been a jewel in Meduseld’s crown. Now it stood derelict and drafty, as much of Edoras had become of late. His two men, Hallan and Eoder, both greeted him as he entered the Healer’s wing.

“My lord.”, Hallan said as Eoder held up a hand in greeting.

Hallan’s wounds had been to his left shoulder and leg, while Eoder had been sliced across the face, chest, and thighs. As such, Eoder’s face was bandaged enough that Eomer doubted the man could speak.

“How are you fairing?”, Eomer asked Hallan as he moved to sit on the small stool between the cots the two soldiers were laying in.

“We are doing well enough, my lord. Eoder had his dressing changed this morning. Branwen said he ought to be able to return to his wife in another couple days, with instructions for his care. I can return tomorrow, when my wife and my boy come to collect me.”

“That is good to hear. Then you will both soon return to our ranks.”

“No plans to do otherwise.”, Hallan said with a smile.

Both men were a little older than Eomer and Theodred, with children and wives waiting for them. Eomer felt responsible for their current state. He had decided they ought to ride through the western edge of Theoden’s kingdom in order to see to the borders there. No matter how long he had been leading men or how Theoden had tried to train him, nothing had prepared him for dealing with the consequences his decisions had for those around him.

“Branwen and Aderyn will have you both mended and riding with us in no time at all, I’m sure.”

Hallan nodded.

“Speaking of the two, my lord, the third healer, Bruine… her granddaughter came to collect her. They have left Rohan. Branwen and Aderyn are now the only healers left in Edoras.”

Eomer felt some of the small hope he still had clung to, be snuffed out. The people were losing their hope and had been leaving in groups, here and there, for a couple years. The last several months, since the end of the winter, had been far worse.

“My lord, how was the patrol?”

“Uneventful.”

Hallan nodded, a tired smile on his face.

“That is good to hear. You do not need to lose any more men or horses.”

As Hallan yawned, Eomer could see how their short conversation had taxed the man’s energy.

“You two rest up and recover, then you can return to your places, riding with us over Rohan.”

Both men offered nods as Eomer rose from his stool. He worried for his men though he knew them to be in fine hands. Branwen and Aderyn were excellent healers. They would give his men the best care outside of Elvish medicine.

It only took only a moment for him to find Aderyn. As expected, she was tending a fire and making some sort of tea. She had a tea for everything.

“Aderyn?”

She turned quickly, smiling brightly at him. Her face had been the first bright thing Eomer had laid eyes on since the sunrise yesterday morning. He held out the apple for her with a smaller smile of his own.

“Come for a report on your men?”

She took the apple and Eomer moved to sit by her little cook fire.

“That is one of the reasons.”

Aderyn moved to sit to his right, toying with the apple, back and forth between her hands. Having known her as long as he had, Eomer knew she would keep her hands busy when she was nervous or worried. Whatever was going on in her mind, she would tell him when she was ready and there would be no point in rushing her.

“Hallan’s injuries were concerning, though I think he will be alright to return home with his wife and children tomorrow. His wife, Glynn, is a steady woman. She will make him do as I instruct and she’ll do well with tending him. I am more concerned for Eoder.”

“His cheek or chest?”

“His face. He may lose his ear and I am not entirely sure he won’t lose some sight in his left eye. Even if he heals well enough to ride, before winter, I am not sure I can promise he will be whole enough to return to the eored.”

This was not the news Eomer had hoped for, yet it was not a shock. Eomer had been surprised to find the man had not lost the eye entirely. In the hands of lesser healers, he likely would have. Branwen and Aderyn were very skilled and tenacious nearly to the point of obsession.

“If we could only have brought them here sooner.”, Eomer murmured.

Aderyn reached, her warm hand over Eomer’s wrist. He looked up to find her dark green eyes looking back in concern.

“You brought them with as much speed as the horses could muster. If you hadn’t, Eoder would be dead and Hallan would have lost more than blood.”

Eomer hung his head, thinking of all the riders they had lost in the last year alone. Their numbers were not what they had been when he and Theodred first rode as Marshals of the Riddlemark. They could not afford to keep having so many men taken by the orcs.

“I’m sorry that I could not offer better news.”

Nodding, Eomer reached to lay his hand over hers.

“I had hoped for better and expected worse.”

“Eowyn is well, at least, as was Theodred when I saw him last.”

“When was that?”

“Two weeks past. He is off to see Fords of Isen.”

Eomer knew the place his cousin would be. It was one of the more dangerous parts of Rohan. Many of Souran’s forces came through there and now the White Wizard’s men as well.

“Has Theoden been any better?”

Aderyn shook her head sadly.

“Not even with the added ingredient Mother and I have been putting into his wine, of late.”

“New ingredient?”

She seemed spooked, looking about. Eomer checked, making sure neither Grima nor his thugs were about. He leaned closer, allowing her to speak more quietly. Once they were both sure of the privacy the Healer’s wing usually afforded, she spoke up again.

“Macanta mushroom, clears the mind and makes people better able to see the truth of things, Mother uses a lot of it after revelries have made too many of the men insensible from mead.”

Eomer nodded. He had tasted macanta mushrooms once. It was not terribly pleasant, though in a strong drink or mixed with the right spices, it would have been palatable.

“Grima’s tricks must be far more potent than I had thought if your mushrooms and roots have not loosened his hold over my uncle.”

“Grima has been stalking after Eowyn more than ever. Theodred tried to warn him off, with little effect. I think all it did was to make Grima more bold once he was sure Theodred was gone.”

He was unable to hold back the growl in his throat at this.

“I’ve been making excuses to come up to Eowyn’s room, late in the evenings, to try to keep Grima from thinking there is a safe time to stalk her chamber door. I change up the time, sometimes I even come at the exact same time two nights in a row, just to make sure he cannot guess my timing.”

“Thank you, Aderyn, for helping… I would ask that you be careful. I would not turn my back to the Wormtongue, he might stick a knife in you.”

“I am careful and I keep a knife in my boot. I’m not without some defense.”

Eomer nodded, giving the hand over his arm a light squeeze as he looked into the small fire.

“I know, just the same, be careful.”

“Thank you for the apple.”

He returned her small smile.

“Do you need to report to the King just yet?”

“Shortly, or else someone will soon be out to fetch me. I know not why we all bother. Theoden hears nothing but Grima’s whispers.”

“I hold hope yet that he hears you and, when he is able, will act on what you have told him.”

“You will never give up, will you?”

“A healer who loses their faith because of a little darkness is a poor healer indeed.”

On that, he could not disagree.

“Eowyn has been in the library all morning. I am not sure what she is looking for, though I believe it is something to do with a map.”

Eomer nodded, then stood.

“I will see to her, after I have given my report.”

Aderyn also stood, offering Eomer an encouraging smile.

“She’ll be happy to see you back. I’ve been busy and with you and Theodred both away, I fear she has been rather lonesome for warm company.”

“If I thought, for a moment, it would be safer to take you both into the Mark with me or Theodred, rather than leaving you behind the walls of Edoras, I would do it. Somedays, I am not so sure it is not a coin toss on which is the more dangerous option.”

“Here we are less likely to be overrun by orc packs and wargs, out there we would have you and Theodred. I can see that quandary.”

“Let me know if there is anything I can bring you, or if there is any update to be given on my men?”

She nodded. Eomer turned, heading to the main hall for a pointless recounting of his time away from Edoras.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eowyn had been working on fixing one of Eomer’s shirts when she heard a commotion outside her chamber. No sooner had she stood from her stool by the fire than she heard her name being called by Helga, one of her former nursemaids who had not yet left Meduseld. Eowyn threw her door open and found Helga coming up the passage.

“My lady, your cousin has been returned! The King’s son! He is gravely injured. Come! Come quickly!”

Eowyn rushed off after Helga, following her to Theodred’s chamber. She worried for him, for his men, and for Eomer. Helga threw open the door and Eowyn moved inside to find her brother kneeling at Theodred’s side.

On the bed, Theodred was pale and damp, stripped down to his underclothes and the rough, dirty bandages Eomer and his men had placed on her cousin. She crouched beside him, calling his name. His eyes fluttered and he barely stirred.

Eowyn and Eomer shared a look. They had known enough war to know when injuries were death sentences. Theodred’s was one of the worst, with almost no chance of survival.

“Get Aderyn and Branwen, I’ll look after him till you return.”, Eowyn said as she reached for Theodred’s bandages.

She was not the Healer Aderyn was, though she knew enough to know Aderyn and her mother would need to have full access to the wound and would need hot water, fresh bandages, wine, pillows to prop Theodred, and light to work. Eomer rushed out on his mission while Eowyn prepared the room.

Helga stepped in, and Eowyn could see her old nurse knew what needed doing. Helga started a fire and was adding enough logs to ensure it would not only greatly warm the room but add a lot of light. Then she moved about to light many candles while Eowyn put a pot of water by the fire to boil and moved to grab some more blankets from the chest in the corner. Together, they had the room ready by the time Eomer returned with Edoras’s last healers.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eowyn had gone to their Uncle’s side to inform him of Theodred’s condition while Eomer stood outside Theodred’s room to await any news. He could hear Theodred’s occasional groan and whispered conversation between Branwen and Aderyn. Helga had offered to stay, helping bring hot water, stirring tea, moving candles, and anything else the Healers needed.

Eomer wanted to pace. He desperately wished to move, even growl at his cousin’s fate, yet he stood still. Stillness and quiet on his part allowed him to eavesdrop on his cousin’s care. He heard steps coming to the door and turned in time to see Aderyn’s face as she opened the door.

“Theodred lives.”

Eomer felt a slight easing in his shoulders, though it was very slight.

“Will he continue to…?”, he trailed off, unable to finish.

“If he survives the night, Mother and I have faith he will live. The shock of his injury, then laying in that cold water, it was a lot for his body to endure. Helga is helping, as we intend to keep him warm without the weight of many blankets. Mother had stitched his face, the scar will be faint. He has no fever, which bodes well.”

Eomer sank back against the wall, finally letting out the breath he had not realized he was holding while listening to Aderyn. He felt the weight of her hand against the heavy leather of his armored shoulder.

“You did a good job with his wound and keeping him tightly held to you on the road home. If not for your intervention, he would not have survived this long. He is a fighter, and we will all fight to help keep him here. It will be a long road back to being fit enough to stand up to his duties, yet I have faith he will have his strength return to him.”

Eomer moved, hugging Aderyn tightly. Her own arms encircled his middle, her cheek against his collar as he held her tightly.

“Thank you.”

“He is not out of the woods yet, Eomer.”

He tightened his hold just a bit. It felt good to know, if only for a brief moment in this darkened hall, that there was yet some small hope on Rohan.

“You had best go and tell Eowyn. She’ll be no less worried than you were.”

Eomer bobbed his head once.

“Yes.”

Stepping back from his friend, he found her offering a tired smile.

“You had best get some rest, Aderyn.”

“Mother will rest, once we’ve finished with the dressings. I will stay with Theodred, then we will switch. Unless there is a sudden, dire need of us, we will be able to spell each other and care for Theodred.”

“When I am done with my uncle, I will come sit with you a while.”

“That would be welcome company for Theodred and I both.”

Eomer needed no further encouragement. Turning, he headed off to update Eowyn and Theoden in the hall, though he did stop by where two of his men waited with one of the orc’s helmets bearing a white hand. Saruman’s mark.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eowyn shuddered as she stood. Helga, the strong and stubburn nursemaid, shook slightly as she finished recounting Eomer’s banishment. Eowyn tried to speak once. Twice. Helga moved, holding Eowyn to her shoulder as she had done in Eowyn’s childhood.

“He’s a strong lad, and his men are loyal to him. He will not be alone, my lady.”

Eowyn shook, unable to stop herself. Then, she felt another hand on her back and a familiar voice at her side. Aderyn.

“What goes on here? Eowyn, are you sick?”

“Theodred is at death’s door and Eomer is banished.”, she managed.

There was silence as she felt Helga shift slightly and nod, most likely to inform Aderyn that Eowyn’s words were true of Eomer’s fate.

“Who would banish Eomer?”

“Grima, by signed order of the King.”, Helga answered.

“Then who would enforce it? Theodred is in no condition and his men are dead, Eomer’s men will not move against their captain.”

It was clear Aderyn thought such a thing impossible. Eowyn wished she still held such faith.

“Grima’s thugs threw him out and Grima stood at the front of Meduseld with the degree in hand, reading out that Eomer had been banished by the King for treason. No one would stand with Eomer but his few men who had returned with him to guard Theodred on the road.”

Aderyn cursed in her mother’s Dalish tongue.

“Mark my words, Grima’s treachery will come back to haunt him and when it does, it will be painful.”

Eowyn heard Aderyn take a deep breath, likely to calm her fiery temper. Then, a warm hand on Eowyn’s back alerted her to how close Aderyn had come to her.

“Come, both of you. We will sit with Theodred a while. Eomer had said he would come sit with us, so the three of us shall sit and keep Theodred company. The more we talk to him and encourage him, even as he lays unconscious, the stronger his tie to this world will be.”

Eowyn stood straight, reminding herself that Theodred needed her and that she needed he and Eomer. She could not get Eomer back or save him, she could help Theodred and when Theodred was awake and recovered, he could save Eomer.

The three of them took up seats around Theodred’s bed. Eowyn moved to a stool by the bed, pushing some of Theodred’s hair away from his forehead. She could see the stitching on his cheek and recognized Branwen’s fine hand. Helga stoked the fire before she moved to sit beside Aderyn, who was checking the temperature of Theodred’s ankles, wrist, and neck.

“Theodred, I know Eomer was supposed to be here, however important affairs call him away. Eowyn and Helga have come to help me take care of you while we await Eomer’s return. Rest. We have you and will be here when you wake.”

Aderyn whispered to Eowyn, “Talk to him.”

“Theodred, we have a lot to do when you wake up. Your horse has been restless since you’ve returned. I think he wishes for a long ride, like the ones we used to take as children. Riding fast across the hills and valley, the wind whipping our hair and the horses’ manes.”

Eowyn looked up to see Helga and Aderyn smiling encouragingly at her, so she continued all morning, talking to Theodred.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Branwen looked at the bowl of broth that Helga had served to Theodred last night. A light sniff and a Healer’s knowledge of poisons told her what had transpired. Grima had killed the King’s son.

Helga had not known at all, Branwen was sure, that the broth she carried had been laced with a deadly ingredient. Branwen also knew that learning of her part would likely kill the older woman. She would not tell her. Or Eowyn. They would be allowed to believe the wound had been too much and Theodred had not been strong enough to survive the third night in a row.

“Mother?”

Looking over at her daughter, Branwen could see her apprentice had already guessed what the true cause of Theodred’s death was.

“He died in the night of his wounds.”, Branwen said with authority.

“He was getting better, stronger.”

Branwen shook her head as she subtly gestured with her free hand to the doorway. Grima stalked the shadows and was always just around a corner, listening and plotting.

“He died of his wounds, my dear girl. Eowyn has gone to inform the King and we must begin to prepare Theodred for his burial.”

Aderyn caught her meaning and nodded, an anger burning in her dark green eyes. Branwen would need to be watchful of her daughter, or else she might lose her too, by Grima’s dark intervention.

They cared for Theodred’s body, removing the bandages and cleaning his forehead of the dried sweat. Branwen cleaned the young Prince’s hair while Aderyn changed his attire. Neither of them wished for Eowyn to have to attend this task.

Shortly before they could collect his outer layers and his riding boots, Eowyn returned to the chamber. Both healers left in order to allow Eowyn a private fairwell. Soon, Eowyn would have to dress and line up by Theodred’s tomb and sing his funeral song. She would be expected to act her part as the niece of the King and lady of Rohan, not a grieving cousin without her brother or parents to comfort her.

Helga interrupted Branwen and Aderyn’s quiet discussion of preparations. The look on her tired face was a worried one. Branwen had a bad feeling.

“Helga?”

“Grima has called for you both to come report to the King.”

“He means to blame us.”, Branwen pronounced.

Helga’s face crumpled as she nodded.

“I fear so, mistress.”

Branwen gave a single dip of acknowledgement. Patting her daughter’s shoulder, she addressed her.

“We will go meet with Grima and then, if we are done here, we will collect our things and leave.”

“No! We can’t, Eowyn needs us, Mother.”

Branwen gestured for her daughter to quiet her tone.

“We will be banished, Addie. This won’t be a reprimand where our rations will be lessened or our chores increased. We will be thrown to the wolves of the wild. Come. We will face our accuser.”

“He’s a murdering, lying traitor.”

“That matters not, at present. Come.”

They made their way to the main hall, where the ghostly visage of the once brave King Theoden, sat hunched to the side with the slithering Grima at his right. Branwen wished she could have her say yet knew for her safety, and especially Aderyn’s, she must keep her tongue in check. They curtsied in respect to their King, then waited. Grima did not long keep them in suspense.

“You have let the King’s son and heir die.”

Branwen reached, grasping her daughter’s wrist before the girl could doom them both.

“His injuries were great and the road cold.”

“And yet, he had been delivered to you alive. You tended him for three days and three nights and now have a body to show for it. The body of what had been the future King of Rohan. Branwen of Dale, you and your apprentice-daughter are henceforth banished from Edoras and all of Rohan. Servants have been dispatched to collect your belongings and you will be escorted to the gates to await the delivery of your effects, then Edoras will be forever closed to you.”

Branwen felt Aderyn break free of her hold to stand tall, a step ahead of Branwen.

“You are a murderer and liar, Grima Wormtongue! I curse the day you ever came to Rohan and I curse the day King Theoden brought you to his side, you sniveling snake!”

Two of Grima’s bully-boys moved to seize Aderyn’s arms, gripping her hard enough to bruise and yet Aderyn did not relent. Two more held Branwen in her more prostrate posture.

“I hope you are eaten by a warg while squatting to defecate in a thorn bush, you evil, little creature!”

Grima only laughed. The sound chilled Branwen’s bones.

“Such a spirited creature, it is no wonder the Princes of Rohan had so favored you. Likely you thought one or the other of them would make you an offer of marriage, so that you would be princess or queen of the Riddlemark. Ha! Now you will be laid low, to bend and scrape to live. A fitting end to such a covetous, sneaky little witch. Be gone. Both of you.”

They were manhandled all the way to the gates, where Grima’s bullies tossed them down from the wall. Two more of his bullies threw two small bags after them. Branwen could tell it was their shifts and perhaps some gloves. Aderyn shouted curses at the bullies as the gates closed, forever shutting the two of them out of Edoras.

“Aderyn.”, she tried to calm her daughter, to little effect as the girl continued shouting up at the gates.

“ADERYN!”

Her daughter whipped around to face Branwen.

“You waste your energies. Come. We have a long way to walk.”

“Where are we walking to?”

“Helm’s Deep. Others will have fled there with the attacks on Theoden’s borders, and doubtless they will need whatever aid we can offer. It is three day’s walk if we keep a brisk pace.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eowyn was not sure of her uncle’s decision to removed everyone to the Deep. Aragorn, a man whom she had heard her Uncle tell stories of in her childhood, had advised Rohan take Saruman’s forces head-on with the people safely behind the walls of Edoras. Gandalf had said the same. Yet, she understood her Uncle feared Edoras was not as strong as the Deep nor was it made to fend off the numbers Eomer and Theodred had reported in the past months.

Gimli, the dwarf in Aragorn’s company, had been amusing. His tales of his homeland and people had given Eowyn the first laughter she could recall in quite some time. Even when he had fallen from his horse, the dwarf continued with his jokes as did Lord Aragorn.

Aragorn was a good man, she could tell even without her Uncle’s old tales. One of the last of the Dunedane and ready to protect Rohan with his life, he had to be a good man. The fact that he was handsome, and his humour with her on the road, had made him all the more attractive. Then, she had noticed the jewel at his neck. Elvish. He shared a love with an Elf maiden, one who had left to join her people in the undying lands, by Aragorn’s accounting.

So many thoughts swam through Eowyn’s head as they journeyed to Helm’s Deep. Eomer was still out in the Mark, believing himself banished, their Uncle still under Grima’s thumb, and Theodred alive. He did not even know Aderyn and her mother had been banished or that Grima was nolonger in Edoras. Theodred had passed to the halls of their forbearers, their Uncle was not himself even though he had been returned, Edoras was abandoned, Gandalf the Gray- now Gandalf the White- had gone off in search of Eomer and his eored, and their passage was partly guarded by Aragorn the Dunedain ranger, Gimli the dwarf and cousin of Lord Balin of Moria, and Legolas of the Woodland realm.

Suddenly, Aragorn appeared and shouted that wargs and orcs were coming, that they needed to ready themselves to fight. Eowyn begged her uncle to let her stay and fight by his side, yet he ordered her to lead the people to Helm’s Deep. She could almost hear Eomer’s voice reminding her that when he, Theodred, and Theoden were gone, she was the Lady of Rohan and must lead the people until the others had returned.

Eowyn did as she was bid, and rallied everyone to take up their belongings and make for the Deep. It was slow going, and all the while, Eowyn worried for her Uncle, Aragorn and his friends, the men who had stayed behind, and all their horses. They traveled through mud, streams, fields, and hills until, at last, they reached the Deep.

Two guardsmen opened the doors for Eowyn and everyone behind her, revealing a huddled group of ragged folk. Soldiers stepped aside with their heads bowed in respect of Eowyn’s position as she lead the group inside the walls of the Deep. Looking around, she could see this was not the beacon of hope her Uncle had made it sound.

The people here were cold, desperate. The soldiers wore tattered uniforms and little armor, mostly helmets, bits of chainmail, and thin leather. Their weapons were in need of attention from a smithy and the whole Deep smelled of stale sweat, old hay, and mold. Everywhere she looked, she could see where the people had turned to this fortress as their last hope of safety.

There were a few brighter moments, though. Eowyn heard a woman calling for her daughter and turned in time to see little Freda and her brother running into a taller woman’s arms. The happy reunion brought a smile to Eowyn’s face and a wetness to her tired eyes.

“My lady?”

She turned to find a woman in a somewhat tattered dress with her blonde hair tied back into a pile by a strip of cloth that might once have been part of her sleeve.

“Yes?”

“The Healers have asked if any of your group have injuries, and if so, to send them up.”

“Healers? Here. What are their names?”

“Branwen and Aderyn, my lady. They arrived yesterday just before the dawn. The guards almost didn’t let them in until the older Healer, Branwen, reminded the guard of an injury of his she had tended last winter and that he knew her to be a healer from the Edoras. Why they are not there, they have not said.”

“We have none in need at present, take me to Branwen and Aderyn.”

The woman nodded before turning and heading up the stairs and further into the Deep. Eowyn, despite her tired and aching feet, nearly ran after the blonde woman in order to see her best friend and friend’s mother with her own eyes. A couple minutes later, she came into the room to see Branwen wrapping a man’s thigh and Aderyn off to the side boiling some bandages over the cook fire.

“Aderyn?”

Her friend turned, their eyes meeting for a moment before they ran to each other, embracing in the middle.

“Eowyn! What are you doing here?”

“Uncle has been returned to us.”

“What?”

Eowyn pulled back to look at her friend.

“There is so much. After you left, four companions came to Edoras. Aragorn- whom my uncle has told stories of for years, and Gandalf the Gray- who is now the White, a dwarf and elf as well. Gandalf restored my Uncle to himself and Uncle banished Grima. We buried Theodred and Gandalf left to retrieve Eomer and his eored when Uncle ordered everyone to the Deep. Everyone fears Saruman’s forces will be at our doorstep any day now.”

“That is a lot.”

Aderyn hugged her tightly again.

“I am sorry I could not be there for you and Theodred for the funeral.”

Eowyn held her friend tightly.

“I have you back, my Uncle is himself again, and Gandalf will bring Eomer back. That is more than I thought I would have.”

She felt Aderyn’s slight nod on her shoulder. Branwen came over, wiping her hand on an apron as she smiled.

“It is good to see you, Eowyn.”

She opened her mouth to explain only to have Branwen hold up a hand to stop her.

“I heard enough. Come, warm yourself by the fire while you await the soldiers and your uncle.”

“No, I must attend to the supplies and such.”

“Aderyn will help you. We’ve mostly finished here and I can handle the few injuries that are left.”

“You’re sure?”, Aderyn asked her mother.

The elder Healer nodded. Eowyn thanked the Healer, then headed back down with Aderyn beside her. Together, they helped organize the items that had been carried back from Edoras to the Deep. Baskets of potatoes, some bread, a bit of cheese, dried meat, and some of the last apples.

“Where is the rest?”, Eowyn asked as she placed one basket up to be carried into the caves.

“That was all we could save, my lady.”, one of the older men said as he heaved a larger basket of potatoes.

Eowyn looked at all they had piled up. For the number they had traveled with, it would last a couple weeks. For the number of people in the Deep, who had already gone through much of the supplies there, it would last perhaps three days if they were careful.

Aderyn offered a sympathic look. Leaning, she spoke for Eowyn’s hears alone.

“Once the men are back, we can go out and scavenge a bit. Perhaps hunt or trap for a day or two before we have to worry about the orcs arriving. By then, it will be time for battle and there will be little worry of cooking until it is donewith.”

“Take it to the caves.”, Eowyn ordered the men who were helping.

Then, in the distance, she heard the gates. The men had returned. She rushed off, needing to see her Uncle, Aragorn, and the others. As she arrived to see them coming up, the echoing sound of hooves on stone greeted her before sight of the men did.

Eowyn saw her uncle and counted the steeds and men as they came into view. There were at least half missing by her count. Her uncle dismounted Snowmane.

“So few. So few of you have returned?”

Theoden looked back at her with an expression she could not read before he looked away, over her shoulder to the bleak faces of their people.

“Our people are safe.”, he pronounced before turning to the horse of his long-time general, Gamling, to help the man down.

“We have paid for it with many lives.”, he added

Eowyn’s attention was turned to the Dwarf as he slowly walked over to her, his helmet gone and his expression grieved. Whatever he had to say, Eowyn knew she would not like to hear it.

“My lady.”, he greeted, then stopped as if unable to find his words.

“Lord Aragorn, where is he?”

“He fell.”

Eowyn looked to her uncle and he barely looked back. Her knees went to wobbling as she sunk down to a grain sack, her eyes wet and breath stuck. Gimli reached, laying a meaty hand gently on her shoulder. He looked to have faired no better at enduring this news than Eowyn.

A moment later, Aderyn arrived and was at Eowyn’s side. Eowyn did not hear what passed between Gimli and Aderyn, she only was aware of Aderyn’s arm wrapped around her and the faint murmur of conversation over her head. If such a warrior as Aragorn could perish upon the blade of an orc, what hope did her aged uncle so recent from the hold of Grima, all of these weary souls in Helm’s Deep, or her brother with his eored of saddle-bound, banished riders, all have?

~*~*~*~*~*~

They readied all day before Theoden sent the women and children into the caves. Soldiers collected those not too aged to be able to stand and hold a sword and those just barely old enough to wrap a little hand around a sword, leaving many old wives and young mothers to weep. Eowyn tied her hair back, checked that her sword was at her hip, and moved about tending to the people. Branwen and Aderyn were at her sides, doing their best to help calm babies, comfort crying women, and keeping little children from getting into mischief.

Aderyn, at one point, had even tried to get the younger children to sit at the back of the cave and sing while she played a small pipe, to keep their minds off the horrors outside and the fears for their fathers, brothers, grandfathers, and cousins. It did little to help before the roaring of Saruman’s monsters shook the halls and sent the children running and screaming to their mothers.

When Eowyn heard the horns calling for the final retreat, she knew the meaning of them. All had fallen but the final few doors between the innermost part of the Deep, and the orc horde. Some of the women among them also knew this.

“Eowyn, what is happening?”

“The walls have fallen, the men are protecting the doors to the cave.”

Aderyn moved to grab a short bow and quiver, then slid her knife from her boot to the thin belt at her waist. Branwen grabbed a pitch fork and aimed it for the doors. For her part, Eowyn unsheathed her sword and tucked herself behind a stalagmite to shield her back as she awaited an enemy to behead.

“When they come, we will give them an account of ourselves.”, Branwen offered.

Several of the women behind them tucked their children further back, brandishing pitch forks, rusted swords, boning knives, sticks, and broken tools. It would be a hopeless fight yet not a one in Rohan would go down without taking some orcs with them.

Except, the rattling of the doors grew quiet and then a blast from the horn of Helm Hammerhand sounded in the air. When it stopped, Eowyn strained her ears and could faintly hear hooves against stone.

“They are riding out to meet the orcs!”, she called to the women.

Before they could say more, Eowyn spotted five of the larger orc-kind she had never seen before. Gandalf had called them Uruk-hai. She gestured for the women to run with their children, yet Aderyn and Branwen stayed at her sides.

One Uruk came around and Eowyn swung her sword, slicing his head clean off. Turning back, she called to the women and children.

“RUN!”

Aderyn fired two arrows, taking down one of the Uruk hai. Eowyn battled two with her sword and Branwen ran a smaller orc in the neck with her pitchfork. Most of the women ran with their children and wounded, while a few stayed to help hold a line between the Uruk and the fleeing children.

No sooner had Eowyn slain two Uruks, than two more appeared. Aderyn was to her left, firing off shots to slow the approach of the other Uruk, while Branwen covered Eowyn’s left. The three of them had to hold the line until the soldiers could finish their fight outside. The Uruk hai could not get past them or Rohan was ruined.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eomer followed Gandalf up the hill, cresting it and finding a sea of orcs below with Theoden and a few others on horseback, cutting a swath through the orc ranks. Gandalf had warned him it would be a number he could not fathom. The Wizard had not been wrong.

Shadowfax reared back giving a great call. It spurred the Rohirrim horses upwards towards Gandalf as Eomer brought Firefoot up to stand beside Gandalf and Shadowfax.

“Theoden King stands alone.”

“Not alone.”, Eomer answered before giving his call to his men.

“Rohirrim!”

Raising his blade as his men came to joint him atop the hill, facing down their enemies, they were ready.

“TO THE KING!”

Hooves thundered as brave steeds bore their riders down to the enemy below. The men called out their battle cry as their horses galloped down the slope. Below, the orcs pulled a wall of pikes to fend off the attack only for the bright light of the rising sun to blind them, causing them to fall back as the tide of Rohirrim crashed against them.

Eomer’s men cut and slashed, fighting their way to their King and the Deep. Swords clashed and clanged, singing their death song. The orcs cried out in fear and confusion as the Eored tore through their ranks. They made short work of the filthy orcs left standing.

Soon, they had the last of the orcs and Uruk hai on the run from Helm’s Deep.  The fell beasts were fleeing from the Rohirrim. Except, to Eomer’s confusion, there was now a stand of trees where there had not been. Eomer ordered his men to stay clear of the forest and it’s trees.

He sat with Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Theoden, and the Rohirrim as they watched. The Uruk hai and orcs ran into the woods, thinking to find cover in the trees. Once all of them were housed within the trees, however, it was a different story.

The trees swayed and creaked, leaves rustling and ground shaking as the trees attacked the orcs. Gandalf had warned Eomer yet it still was hard to swallow what he was seeing. The trees had come alive and were smiting down the orc horde.

Once the screaming of orcs and the groaning of trees had ceased, Gandalf suggested they return to the Deep and access their number. Eomer could not agree more. He barely spared his uncle a look before mustering his eored to return to the Deep. He needed to see Eowyn with his own eyes before he would believe she was safe. Then, he needed to see if he could afford to send someone out to find Aderyn and her mother, as they would need every healer they could find, he was sure.

Aragorn and his small company were right with Eomer as he rode for the Deep. As soon as he was inside, Eomer was off of his horse and moving to find Eowyn. Aragorn was at his side as they moved upward. A call of Eomer’s name drew him to the left as Aragorn went further upward.

Griff, an aged soldier who had left the eored after losing his right leg to a warg’s bite, stood on a crutch, waving for Eomer. Eomer moved to the man’s side, seeing that a long-handled war hammer rested in Griff’s free hand that was not holding a crutch.

“My lord, the large orcs, they made their way into the caves. Your sister and the Healers had to defend us. A few of us who could, mostly younger shield maidens and a couple of us old soldiers, we stood behind them to form a line. Lady Eowyn did her forebearers proud, my lord.”

“Healers? There are healers here?”

He could not believe their luck. He had thought his injured and those already at the Deep, would have to make do with he and Eowyn’s limited skill.

“Yes, two. Branwen and Aderyn, come down from the Edoras.”

“Where are they? Are they with Eowyn?”

“They were. This way.”

Eomer followed the older soldier back further into the glittering caves, where most of the children, old folk, injured, and women were waiting. He did not need any further guide as his eyes found Aderyn, bent over an injured man to finish tying the bandage on his leg.

“Aderyn!”

She rose, turning. Her dark hair was in the usual braid to the side, a large chunk falling to cover a part of her dirt-smudged face, the front of her dress a mess from treating the wounded, tears, and the black ichor he guessed to be uruk blood. Aderyn broke into a run, rushing for Eomer. He held his arms open in time for her to crash into his chest. Eomer prayed a quiet prayer of thanks.

“You are alive!”, Aderyn nearly shouted.

“Yes. Branwen?”

“Alive and tending, Eowyn is also about.”

Aderyn moved backward, looking Eomer up and down.

“You are uninjured?”

“Just some bruises at most. I heard the Uruk hai made it back into the caves, that you and your mother stood with Eowyn as the first line of defense.”

She nodded.

“I had collected a small hunting bow and quiver of arrows, Eowyn had her sword, mother a pitchfork. When I ran out of arrows, I used my knife on the last two I encountered. Eowyn sliced through a good number with her sword, you would have been proud to see her.”

He pulled her close to his chest again, holding her tightly. He could feel her soft hair against his cheek, her warmth seeping through his layers of armor and chainmail, and her one hand at the small of his skull. He ought to be worried of the wagging tongues this would set to gossiping. Eomer could not have cared less in that moment, he was too preoccupied with how glad he was that Aderyn was alive and unharmed.

“I’m sorry I was not there to protect the three of you from Grima.”

“He is gone and we are alive, and you’ve returned. Do not think any further of Grima or his bullies.”

Aderyn stepped back, smiling at him despite how tired she looked. Eomer chose not to comment on the clean tracks her few escaped tears made down her full cheeks.

“I must attend my duties and I am sure there are things Theoden will need your aid with.”

“I will find you later, I promise.”

Aderyn smiled wider.

“Go on. Eowyn is likely looking for you.”

Eomer did not doubt it and went off in search of his sister. He had need to see her before he could fully breathe again. It did not take long. Once more, he was opening his arms and had a woman crashing against his armored chest.

“EOMER! YOU’RE ALIVE!”

He held her as tightly as he dared.

“As are you. I worried when Gandalf said you made for the Deep.”

“Have you seen Aderyn and Branwen?”

He nodded. Eowyn stepped back to look up at him.

“One of my soldiers took me to Aderyn, after telling me that you three fought Uruk hai in the caves.”

Eowyn nodded. He could see how she warred with pride of her act, anger over the Uruk coming so close, her happiness of them coming back unharmed, and her worry over Eomer’s reaction to her battling. Eomer pulled her back into his chest, hugging her again.

“Uncle?”

“He too, survives. He with Aragorn and Gandalf, I believe.”

She nodded.

“I have seen Aragorn, I had not seen you or Uncle yet.”

“We are with you, Eowyn. I promise.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eowyn and Eomer were helping injured men from their horses when Theoden found them. Eowyn rushed to their uncle, wrapping her arms around him to hold him tightly. Eomer watched as Theoden slowly returned the gesture, a haunted look in his blue eyes. It was not the warm, tender greeting his uncle usually met his sister with. She had always been the apple of their uncle’s eye, his favorite.

“Uncle? Is something wrong?”, she asked.

“Gandalf needs to go into Isengard to look in on Saruman. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Gamling, and myself are going. Eomer, I wish you to ride with us, bring two of your most loyal men who will not be swayed by Grima or Saruman.”

With that, their uncle was off and Eowyn looked struck between her confusion at his manner and her reluctance to let either he or Eomer out of her sight. Eomer wrapped an arm around his sister’s waist as he watched their uncle walking away.

“We will be back shortly, then we will return to Edoras in the morning.”

“Be careful.”

“You as well.”

Eomer moved, following after his uncle. They rode off, the small group of them, and their horses bore them through the somewhat relocated Fangorn, to the outer walls of Isengard. Eomer had never been to Isengard. He had ridden past it enough times to recognize the area, the beautiful trees that had been protected inside the high walls and the central, glistening black tower at the heart of Isengard. Now, walls stood gap-toothed and mighty holes littered the grounds inside.

Oddly, Eomer could hear two younger men laughing and talking about something. He also smelled pipe smoke. Looking about, he was confused by this until they came around and found two halflings, smoking pipes, on a broken wall of Isengard. The one stood up.

“Welcome, my lords, to Isengard!”

“You young rascals!”, Gimli called to them from the back of Legolas’s steed.

Despite the grumpiness of the dwarf, Eomer could see it was a happy reunion. These two must have been the pair Aragorn and his friends had been searching for. Eomer had been glad to hear, from Gandalf, that he and his men had not inadvertently doomed the two halflings. Seeing Aragorn and Legolas smiling as Gimli groused, Eomer was painfully reminded of the shenanigans of Theodred, Eowyn, and himself in childhood, before and then after Aderyn joined their lot.

After a few more minutes of teasing, during which Gandalf rode ahead to speak with someone called Treebeard, Aragorn and Eomer both moved over to the wall. The halflings tossed down some of their ‘spoils’ to Gamling and Eteon, citing that they would share everything except their Long Bottom Leaf.

Eomer held out his arm to the one who had spoken to them first when they arrived. He learned the young Hobbit’s name was Merry. It felt as having a child at his back, the halfling was so small. The other, Pippin, moved to sit behind Aragorn on Brego’s back.

Gandalf returned, looking angry as he spoke.

“Saruman lives. Up in his tower. Treebeard will be waiting for us.”

They rode after the wizard, following him to the foot of the great tower.

There, a great tree-like being stood and spoke with them. Eomer just listened and watched. The White Wizard was trapped, and animals were at their most dangerous when cornered.

“I am glad you are here.”, came the deep voice of the Ent as he addressed Gandalf. “There is a wizard to manage here. Locked in his tower.”

“Show yourself.”, Aragorn quietly uttered.

“Be careful,” Gandalf warned them all without taking his eyes off the tower, “even in defeat, Saruman is dangerous.”

“Then lets just have his head and be done with it.”, the dwarf advised.

“No. We need him alive.”

Eomer glanced over to their wizard, thinking the man had gone mad. There was no chance that Saruman would tell them what they wished to know. Not when the mad tyrant thought he was still in league with their greatest foe and could bargain for the power to rule over Rohan.

“You have fought many wars and slain many men, Theoden King. And made peace afterwards”. came Saruman’s commanding voice from above. It was eerie to hear him so clearly and calmly speaking when he was a mile above, standing atop his great tower.

“May we not take council together as we once did, my old friend? Can we not have peace, you and I?”

Eomer watched, ready and waiting for his uncle to fall back under the spell of Saruman. He would knock him from his horse if he fell into it, rather than risk Saruman controlling Rohan again. And this time they would have their own white wizard, and his friends, on the side of the Riddlemark.

“We shall have peace. We shall have peace when you answer for the burning of the West Road, and the children who lie dead there! We shall have peace when the lives of the soldiers whose bodies were hewn even as they lay dead against the gates of the Hornburg are avenged! When you hang from a spit for the sport of your own crows, we shall have peace.”

Eomer was proud of his uncle’s strength in holding himself out of Saruman’s sway, still he worried. They were in the heart of Saruman’s keep. It was not a safe place for men against an evil wizard.

Saruman groused from above, mocking Theoden. Finally, he turned his attention to Gandalf to ask what the Wizard wanted.

“Your treachery has already cost many lives. Thousands more are now at risk, but you could save them Saruman. You were deep in the enemy’s council.”

“So you have come here for information.”, Saruman said with a smugness that rankled Eomer.

“I have some for you.”, he added before revealing a dark globe. Eomer did not recognize it, though it’s appearance unsettled Gandalf and some of the others.

“Something festers in the heart of Middle Earth. Something that you have failed to see. But the Great Eye has seen it. Even now, he presses his advantage. His attack will come soon.”, Saruman continued to needle Gandalf.

Gandalf rode quietly closer to the Tower.

“You are all going to die.”, Saruman threatened with gleeful malice.

The cruel wizard continued, taunting about the fate of the Halfling who had the One Ring, of Aragorn’s parentage and fate, and Gandalf’s willingness to send off his loved ones to their doom. Finally, Gimli could take no more and growled.

“I’ve heard enough. Shoot him. Stick an arrow in his gob.”

Legolas’s hand moved, readying a shot. Eomer could not disagree with the dwarf and felt an urge to cheer for the elf. Gandalf stayed Legolas’s hand, offering Saruman one last chance at helping them against Sauron. Saruman’s answer was to hurl a ball of fire down upon Gandalf. Eomer moved his horse backward, letting his body shield the little halfling behind him as Gandalf seemed to concentrate until the fire abated and cleared.

“Saruman, your staff is broken.”, Gandalf bellowed with a power Eomer could feel the air before the evil wizard’s staff seemed to explode in his hand.

Creeping in from the side, Grima appeared beside the wizard, atop the Tower. He looked even more pitiful for his time away from Edoras, spent in the dark tower. Theoden’s posture changed as he saw his former advisor aloft.

“Grima, you need not follow him. You were not always as you are now. You were once a man of Rohan. Come down.”

Eomer was not so forgiving, though Grima had not been his friend for any time before he became Theoden’s bane.

“A man of Rohan,” Saruman mocked, “what is the house of Rohan but a thatched barn where brigands drink and the rink and their brats roll on the floor with the dogs? Victory at Helm’s Deep does not belong to you, Theoden horse master! You are a lesser son of greater sires.”

The words of the evil wizard affected Theoden, Eomer could see it. Yet, his uncle threw off the words and their poison to direct his attention to his former advisor. Using a softer tone, he spoke with the little man.

“Grima, come down, be free of him.”

“FREE! He will never be free!”

“No.”

“Get down, cur!”, Saruman said as he backhanded Grima, knocking the smaller man down.

“Saruman! You were deep in the enemy’s council. Tell us what you know!”, bellowed Gandalf.

“You withdraw you guard and I will tell you where your doom will be decided.”, Saruman countered.

Grima sprang up and before anyone could shout a warning, he plunged his little dagger into Saruman’s back. Repeated blows ensured Grima’s intent met. Legolas let an arrow fly, hitting Grima straight in his little heart. Both figures fell, the black-clad Grima fell backwards with a cry and disappeared from view. The white-clad wizard turned, falling backward from the height of his Tower down into the broken gears below, landing as he was impaled upon a wheel.

“Send word to all our allies, and to every corner of Middle Earth that still stands free, the Enemy moves against us. We need to know where he will strike.”

The wheel that held Saruman’s body, groaned and turned, upending the wizard so that he was upside down. Their company went silent, everyone on guard for one last trick of Saruman. The dark globe he had held out before, slipped from his generous cuff and into the cloudy water.

“The filth of Saruman is washing away.”, the Ent pronounced as Saurman’s body sank head first into the muddy water.

Before anyone else could move or speak, the hobbit behind Aragorn hopped from Brego’s back and into the water to retrieve the orb. Aragorn called to stop the young hobbit, though the halfling seemed deaf to his own name as he reached to pluck out the dark orb.

“Bless my bark.”

“Perigrin Took,” Gandalf started grumpily before softening as he spoke, “I’ll take that, my lad. Quickly now.”

The halfling seemed a bit reluctant but none the less complied with Gandalf’s command. The wizard instantly wrapped his cloak around the globe, hiding it from all light. With that, Aragorn moved forward, offering his hand to help the little hobbit back onto the saddle.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eomer found Aderyn and Branwen finishing up back at the Deep. Gamling had managed to find a small wagon that was still serviceable, putting two of the worst-off soldiers within it. He and two others had put together litters that could be carefully dragged behind horses to allow the injured to lay down for the journey back to Edoras. Branwen was driving the wagon, but Eomer could not find Aderyn or Eowyn.

“Gamling!”, he called to his Uncle’s lieutenant.

The man came over quickly, offering a slight bow as he stopped in front of Eomer.

“Where are my sister and Aderyn? Have you seen either of them?”

“Yes, Lady Eowyn has taken up her horse and is riding with a few of the injured men who are still able to sit their horses. I think she means to keep an eye on them and help them stay atop their steeds.”

“And Aderyn?”

“I have not seen her yet. Perhaps she is still readying some of the men who are able to walk with the aid of a crutch? If she had fallen ill, I’m sure I would have heard of it. She is one of the only two healers we have, my lord.”

Eomer nodded, then moved back into the caves to see if he could find Aderyn. He would not risk her being left behind. It did not take long, as most people were heading out of the caves, however slowly. Aderyn was sitting in a corner, her hands raw from scrubbing them clean, her hair in a messy braid down one side of her neck, and from what Eomer could see of her dress, he would be willing to wager a large sum she had used most of her dress to make bandages. All that was left was most of her chemise and about half of her overdress so that it appeared more a strip down the front. Even her cloth belt was gone.

“Aderyn?”, he called softly as he approached where she was quietly gathering her things.

She looked up and Eomer was struck by how bad she looked. While Branwen and Eowyn had not been without a tired look, Aderyn seemed as exhausted as his Uncle’s men. The same tired bruises under her eyes, the same weariness in her shoulders, yet she smiled as bright as the dawn when she saw who had called her name.

“Getting ready to go home?”, he asked as he moved to her side.

“Yes, back to Edoras. Theoden has said mother and I are welcome to return and we are to forget of our banishment by Grima.”

“Do you need any help?”

She shook her head, then added one last small pot to the sack between her ankles. She tied it then looked up to Eomer.

“I am all done now.”

When she stepped, her foot seemed to slide a bit on the mossy rocks. Eomer reached quickly, catching her at the hips to stop her from sliding face-first into the embers of her fire pit. Her hands moved to rest atop his own and for a moment, neither moved or breathed.

“Thank you.”

Eomer nodded, though he did not release his grip.

“Have you a horse?”

“Pardon?”

“To ride home? Surely you don’t intend to walk back, after you walked here, worked for two days, then treated the injured and dying, fought to protect the women and children, and have been going without stopping ever since, to tend those in need, only to spend the next three days walking back to Edoras?”

“I did, indeed, intend to return as I left. On foot.”

Eomer shook his head.

“Your mother and Eowyn both ride, why not you?”

“Mother had a wagon of some sort she will drive and Eowyn came on her horse. I have no horse to ride, no wagon to drive, yet two perfectly suited feet.”

“That you nearly fell off of not one minute ago.”

Taking her bag in one hand and her free hand in his other, Eomer gently tugged her along. Aderyn fell into step with him easily enough after years of walking together back at Meduseld. Eomer did not stop or speak until they reached the rough stables where Firefoot awaited. He had already been saddled before Eomer went in search of Eowyn and Aderyn.

“Why did you bring me to the stable? Your horse is not injured is he?”

Aderyn moved swiftly to Firefoot’s side, inspecting his legs, neck, and everywhere she could look, for any sign of injuries. Eomer felt that he would never stop encountering new reasons to be amazed by his friend.

“He is well, Aderyn. I brought you here because I intend to have you ride back to Edoras.”.

Aderyn whipped around, her eyes wide.

“I am not rider enough for that, and there are no spare horses.”

Eomer lead Firefoot from his stall, tying the small bag of Aderyn’s supplies onto the back of the saddle. With one swift motion, Eomer was seated atop his steed. He reached a hand for Aderyn and moved his left foot from the stirrup to allow her access.

“Are you sure?”

Eomer continued to hold out his arm.

“Won’t your uncle grow upset with you over the talk this will likely incure?”

“My dearest friend and journeyman healer has spent days and nights without rest, tending to his people at their darkest hour. I do not think anyone would begrudge you the rest of riding rather than walking back to Edoras. Come?”

She gave the doorway one last look, as if expecting someone to catch them and yell over some royal protocol they had broken. Before Eomer could say anything else, Aderyn took his offered hand, put her foot in the stirrup, and moved to rest her rear in front of Eomer. He helped her settle into place with her left shoulder against his chest.

Gamling reappeared, his mouth half-opened as if he meant to recount orders for Eomer, when he stopped at seeing Eomer and Aderyn. Eomer awaited a rebuke. Instead, the older soldier’s face softened to a smile as he approached. Carefully, he removed a thin blanket from Eomer’s saddle and handed it up to him.

“Aderyn, you may wish for a cloak or the like before we reach Edoras.”

“Thank you, Gamling.”, she said as she settled the blanket around her shoulders.

Gamling offered a nod before stepping aside to let Eomer bring Firefoot away from the stalls.

“Your uncle wanted you to ride with your men. Several are injured and he worries they may fall during the ride back.”

Eomer nodded.

“I will keep an eye out.”

Riding out to meet his men, he found another soldier, Grig, with his wife riding in front of him, seated astride the horse. By the looks of her leg, she had hurt herself on the road to the Deep and would not be able to walk with any speed. His men awaited his moving to the lead. Not a comment was made of Grig’s wife or Aderyn’s riding with them.

Eomer gave his order and his men fell into place as they rode for Edoras. They would move around to ensure the people were protected as they made their way back to the city. Looking, Eomer noticed that Aderyn was sound asleep with her cheek resting against the leather of his armor, his right arm being the only thing keeping her in place. She looked so peaceful. He would not have disturbed her for all the gold in a dragon horde.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The next afternoon, they were heading back to Edoras. Aderyn had chosen to ride with Eowyn back to Edoras, while Eomer went with Theoden and Aragorn to check on Tree Beard and the Fangorn. They had taken the Halflings, at Gandalf’s insistence, as well as Legolass with Gimli behind him, and several of Theoden’s most trusted men.

Eomer could see Edoras standing tall in the falling sun’s glow. A white figure waited at the edge of the Meduseld. He knew it was Eowyn without being able to see her face.

The little hobbit at his back held tightly to Eomer’s armor as they rode. Snowmane, Firefoot, and Shadowfax could have easily outpaced the other horses, yet Theoden, Eomer, and Gandalf kept them back with the others. Their only safety in these lands was their number.

Upon reaching the city, the gates were closed behind them and they moved to settle their horses in the stable by the Meduseld. Gandalf spoke quietly with Theoden and Aragorn. Gimli was less quiet as he asked what would happen next.

“Tonight, we will have a remembrance, then a small feast with plenty of ale and music.”, Gamling informed the dwarf.

“Plenty of ale, you say? And food?”

“Aye. Plenty. We will toast our dead and enjoy some time with those still living. Tomorrow, there may well be more war to face, but tonight… we take our peace where we can find it, master dwarf.”

Eomer handed off the hobbit, Merry, to Aragorn. Aragorn’s halfling, Pippin, was already on the ground waiting for his friend. The two young hobbits rushed off as Eomer dismounted.

“They are so full of energy.”

Aragorn smiled with a small nod, watching the two.

“Hobbits are bright, happy creatures, my lord.”

Eomer found that he worried for them. Perhaps it was lingering guilt from when he believed he and his men might have killed them, or at least failed to rescue them from the Uruk Hai and Orcs that held them captive. Perhaps it was that they seemed so childlike.

“Will you join us tonight?”, he asked of Aragorn.

“Theoden has invited me and, I admit, the offer of ale, a warm meal, and some quiet is a welcome one.”

Eomer nodded.

“I am not sure how quiet it will be, with the music and the men after a few drinks.”

“Just the same.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Theoden stood at the center of the dais, the mug from Eowyn in hand. As the assembled crowd of soldiers, shieldmaidens, wives, and others all stood, Eomer felt a phantom pain at his side. Looking out the corner of his eye, he saw the source of his discomfort. The empty space at Theoden’s right.

Eomer, as nephew, ward, and Marshal, stood to the left with his own mug. Eowyn had often taken to standing just to Theodred’s right, with Theoden King at the center, his son and heir at his right elbow. Every assembly, every remembrance, and every festival. Eowyn, Theodred, Theoden, and Eomer stood in the same placement ever since Eomer and Eowyn had come to live with their uncle.

“Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country.”

Theoden raised his mug.

“Hail the victorious dead.”

A cheer rang out through the hall in response, “HAIL!”

Mugs and goblets were raised, then everyone took a somber, quiet drink from their ales and wines as a silence fell. Theoden said no more and moved back into his chair to speak with Gandalf and two others, while Eowyn moved off the dais. Eomer stepped aside, seeking out where he could drink and eat without eyes watching him as they did at his uncle’s side.

Before long, he was pulled by one of his men over to moderate a drinking game. Legolas and Gimli had come over to join. Being that they were honored guests, Eomer handed them each their first drinks as he cited the rules.

“No pauses, no spills.”

“And no regurgitations!”, the dwarf added with gusto as he took his ale.

Being that Eomer was not partaking of the competition and was meant to serve as a judge of it, he took only a half pint of the ale to toast with the others as they all began the contest. It was good to see his men relaxed and smiling, as well as the confused Elf and the delighted dwarf.

Meanwhile, across the room, Aderyn entered the hall a bit late. It had taken a while to get cleaned up after working all morning beside her mother to ready the Healer’s Wing of the hall, and checking on all the wounded. When she had finally gotten to her chamber, she had barely had wanted only a bath and something hot to eat or drink in order to take the chill from her bones. The Healer’s Wing was so drafty before the hasty repairs, Aderyn had been sure her fingers would freeze and break when she was tying new bandages in place.

Eowyn had stopped in her room, insisting that once Aderyn had cleaned up, that she dress and come down to the remembrance of the valiant dead. When Aderyn showed sign of coming up with a reason to decline, Eowyn had gone straight to Aderyn’s trunk in the corner and retrieved a dress.

“You’ll wear this.”

“I don’t even remember having that.”, Aderyn had said as she looked at the dark green dress with the copper stitching at the neckline and cuffs.

The dress was very much like a certain white one Eowyn had, simple with belled sleeves over slim, fitted sleeves, and a loose belt at the hips. If she recalled correctly, it had been a gift from Eowyn, when Aderyn had been officially become a Journeyman Healer instead of an apprentice.

“You’ll wear it. Go on, clean up and I will see you in a little while in the Hall.”

“Alright. A mug of sweet wine and something to eat would be a welcome find.”

Eowyn’s smile had been huge and bright.

“I’ll look for you.”

Now, standing in the dress she had only worn once before, to try it on when Eowyn first gave it to her three years ago, in a room full of revelries and feasting, Aderyn was glad she had done as Eowyn wanted. She looked for Eowyn and found her friend bringing a goblet to Aragorn. Aderyn shook her head before moving to get a bit of the wine.

A dance had begun at the center of the hall, a drinking game over to the far right corner was going on among some of the younger soldiers, a long table held several people eating freshly roasted meats and bowls of stew, and up near the dais, Theoden mingled with his people. Aderyn caught herself looking for Theodred before remembering that there would be no more feasting or dancing for the Prince of Rohan.

She checked, finding Eomer watching over a second drinking contest to the left. It was good to see him smiling and enjoying himself. If the loss of Theodred had hit her so hard, she could only imagine how it must have hit Eomer and Eowyn when they had to stand up front and toast with their uncle.

On the other side of the dancing, there was an unoccupied bench that would allow her to rest her back against the wall. Aderyn carefully picked her way across to it and settled in for the evening.

“Greetings, young Healer.”, came a deep voice.

Aderyn looked up to find Gandalf the White standing by her, smiling. She returned the gesture.

“Hello again, Gandalf. Would you care to sit?”, she gestured to the free space beside her.

The Wizard joined her with a nod before taking out his pipe.

“You do not mind, m’lady?”

She shook her head, still smiling.

“Hardly. The men here do not smoke what you and the halflings favor, and I do miss the smell of the long bottom leaf pipesmoke.”

Gandalf smiled cheerfull, igniting his pipe’s wad in order to enjoy the calm of some of the Old Toby. For a few puffs, he remained silent. The two of them watched the dancing, drinking, feasting, joking, and playing that filled the room.

“Why is it that a young, lovely women such as yourself, is seated at the edge of the revelry, alone?”

Aderyn let out a slow breath as she watched the dancers.

“I have not danced in years and I fear, should some kind soul come and ask me, I might break his ankle or crush his toes in my rusty attempts. And I do enjoy watching people, especially happy people when they are enjoying themselves.”

Gandalf smiled to himself, thinking of sitting on the bench at Bag End with Bilbo, and of sitting on the balconies in Rivendell with Elrond in years past.

“Would the lady be hoping for a particular kind soul, or would she be happy to dance no matter who did the asking?”, he ventured to the young healer.

The girl beside him laughed a little, her cheeks rosy from the warmth of the room as Gandalf noted she had not had more than two sips of her spiced wine.

“Gandalf, if I did not know better, I might think you were trying to get me to dance with you.”

Now it was Gandalf’s turn to laugh at her teasing.

“No, I am afraid that I am not adept as the Rohirrim swirls and twists they call dancing. I am much better at the kind of frivolity found in the Shire.”

“I’ve heard many pleasant things about this Shire from your two young companions. They are eager to speak of it. Particularly since finding that Longbottom leaf, I believe.”

Gandalf could not disagree.

“Speaking of which, it appears they are about to begin one of their favorite pasttimes.”

Aderyn chuckled, seeing the table Gandalf had been looking at, as the two halflings began dancing atop it, singing and cheering for themselves with their respective pints. Gandalf stood up from the bench, though he stopped and turned back to Aderyn with a knowing smile.

“My dear, shoulder a young man of Rohan come ask you to take a turn with him, you should take him up on it. After so long toiling alone in the darkness of despair, you deserve a little time in the light.”

Aderyn inclined her head in silent thanks before Gandalf turned and made his way over to his dancing friends. She continued to watch as the drinking contest was down to the Elf and the Dwarf, the dancing had shifted to a slightly livelier tune, and Gandalf had shifted over to Aragorn’s side to enjoy the song and dance of the two hobbits.

The sound of a loud fart erupted from the other end of the drinking table, drawing Eomer’s attention as the dwarf chuckled. It was clear who the originator of the smell and sound had been. Eomer handed the elf another drink as a maiden handed the dwarf his next round.

“Here’s to dwarves who go swimming with little, hairy women!”, Gimli toasted before releasing a mighty belch.

“I feel something. A slight tingle in my fingers.”, the elf said as he looked over the mountain of emptied ale goblets and mugs to look up at Eomer, “I think it’s affecting me.”

Eomer was surprised the two were still upright and talking. Most of his men who had been party to this game had gracefully bowed out several pints earlier.

“What did I say, he can’t hold his liquor.”, cried the dwarf as his dark eyes crossed and his body fell backward onto the floor.

“Game over.”, Legolas stated simply with only a small hint of humour at the dwarf’s loss.

Eomer would have paid a great sum to see the dwarf’s face when he awoke with a hangover worthy of song, to learn he had been beaten by the Elf Prince, who had continued to drink long after Gimli lost consciousness. Turning away from the ended drinking game, Eomer spotted his uncle quietly drinking up on the dais, while Eowyn was coming over to stand with Helga, her eyes tethered to Aragorn’s form.

Looking the other way, across the dancers, he spotted Aderyn. She held a cup of the sweet wine he was sure had long gone warm in her hands as she tended to drink it so slowly. Even if he did not know of her habit, he would know she had consumed very little as it had not yet touched her cheeks of her eyes. In fact, Eomer noticed that she looked much different tonight. Her hair was worn loose over her back with only a small braid from each temple holding the rest of her dark mane from her face. The dark green dress looked beautiful on her as she reclined back against the wall to enjoy the sights before her.

He carefully picked his way over, before slipping to her side and whispering in her ear.

“Spying again?”

She did not even look up at him, just smiling like someone with a secret. The familiarity of their old joke was as welcome as the hot meal had been when he arrived in the hall. Maybe more so. Aderyn raised her chin defiantly while her grin was teasing as she answered.

“I will not tell my secrets to you sir, not even if you tickled me.”

Eomer shook his head with a smile, moving to join her without any invitation.

“Are you enjoying the festivities?”

She held her drink up in answer. Eomer nodded at the nearly-full goblet.

“There is also food.”

“I already ate some of it. Quite delicious. Have you eaten?”

Eomer nodded.

“Two plates full.”

“Likely piled, as well.”, she teased.

Eomer grinned over the rim of his mug. She knew him so well. When he looked back over to Eowyn and his uncle, he found Eowyn still looking after Aragorn like a lovesick child.

“Have you seen how Eowyn watches this lord Aragorn?”

Aderyn looked between his sister and the Gondorian. Eomer was not sure how he felt about the attachment his sister was forming to the Ranger.

“I do not suppose she has realized his heart belongs to another.”, Aderyn said in a defeated, sad tone.

Eomer’s head almost slid off his neck when he snapped it to face the healer.

“How do you know this?”

Her green eyes were sad as she looked first at Eomer, then back to the scene in front of them.

“His eyes. I know the look of a man who wants that which he believes he cannot have, and I know the eyes of soldiers who long for their wives at home. His are the eyes of a man who believes he will never again see his beloved. What I cannot discern is if his beloved has perhaps passed or if he believes he will not return from this quest against Mordor’s forces. Either way, his heart is nolonger there for the taking, and belongs to someone who is not in this hall.”

Eomer let out a long sigh, feeling himself further deflate. They had already lost Theodred, there had been so many lost at the Deep, and soon they would likely face Mordor’s forces yet again, from what he had overheard of Gandalf and Aragorn’s conversations. And now it seemed the small glimmer of hope there was for Eowyn to have some happiness, was snuffed out like a candle in a storm. However, Aderyn gave a smile that confused Eomer. Perhaps she had been teasing.

“I am no Seer by any means, but yet I still believe that Eowyn has yet to meet the man I know she will someday love. This Aragorn is a good man, but he and Eowyn would be poorly suited to one another. He is far too quiet and set in his thinking, she would do better with a man who is a little softer, a little less wearied. There is already so much steel and rock around her, that it would do her good to have someone beside her in life who was gentle, and treasured her like a prize stallion.”

Despite the topic, Eomer smiled. If he were to pick someone for Eowyn, he would have picked someone who would stay at the Hall with her, to help her take care of whatever duties Theoden left for her while they were all gone, to ride with her in the evenings, make her smile in the long winters, and treat her like a Queen. He would not have her married to someone such as himself, who was used to barking orders, fighting, and spending more time away than at home. Their uncle might approve of a union between Eowyn and Aragorn, Eomer would not.

He decided then, no matter what his uncle said, Eomer would not abide it tonight. Tonight, he would forget that he was a Marshal of the Riddlemark and the lovely woman beside him the daughter of a Dalish widow. Leaning closer to Aderyn’s ear, Eomer whispered.

“I have not danced with you since Eowyn’s last lesson.”

Aderyn nearly snorted, a hand over her nose and mouth for a moment.

“I have not danced at all since her last lesson, when the rest of us were conscripted to help, along with two kitchen maids and a couple of the stable boys, as I recall.”

Eomer nodded, recalling it fondly. Of course, he mostly recalled being able to have his arms wrapped around her for part of the dance before he had to trade off and hold a kitchen maid while Theodred got to pull Aderyn close.

“Then we are long overdue to practice.”

He stood, putting his mug aside then offering his hand again to Aderyn. Her look was caught between being amused and confused.

“Now?”

He nodded.

“I might step on your feet.”, she worried.

Eomer’s smile grew.

“And I may trip over them. Everyone is too drunk to recall, on the morrow, what we have done tonight. For tonight, let us forget that anything stands between us but years of friendship?”

Aderyn’s smile returned. She found she was unable to deny him such a request on this night. She put her goblet aside, then rose and took Eomer’s offered hand, letting him lead her out to the makeshift dancefloor. He placed one hand on her hip and she places the opposite hand on his shoulder, her free one moving to hold up the hem of her skirts while Eomer’s hand moved to the have him hold it behind the small of his back. As the music played cheerfully, they danced about with several other couples on the floor, drawing a few cheers from others in the crowd and one, at least, from Eowyn when the dance required Eomer to put his hands on Aderyn’s waist.

Aderyn recalled the dance from Eowyn’s lessons as Eomer raised her up and traded their places before putting her back onto her feet. She laughed as he did it, having forgotten how fun it was to do this dance. She felt as if she had imbibed too much, almost floating with slight giddiness as they danced with the others on the floor.

After a short while, they were both stumbling a bit too much and had grown overwarm in the hall. Eomer inclined his head back towards her bench, in question. Aderyn gave a nod. She was surprised Eomer did not let go of her hand as he lead her back.

A servant came by with another pint for Eomer. Aderyn looked, seeing that someone had made off with the goblet of wine she had left behind. She shrugged a shoulder, content to watch revelries with Eomer. Everyone was having a good time in the warmth and light of the Hall. For a moment, Aderyn could nearly forget how dire things stood outside of this Hall.

Eomer had to go settle a bet and oversee another, shorter drinking contest, as well as speak with Theoden for a bit. He seemed to feel guilty for leaving. Aderyn waved him off and suggested she would enjoy quietly sitting after so long on her feet at her work this past week.

When at last most of those in the hall had begun to filter out, Eomer noticed Eowyn still sitting up with Theoden, talking and looking almost half asleep. He smiled as he watched her with their Uncle. It reminded him of feasts held in the first few years after they came to Edoras. When she was still a little girl who hung onto their Uncle’s every affection and word with a hero-worship only a young girl could conjure.

Aragorn and his company had disappeared earlier. The hobbits had been shown away by Gandalf to where they would all rest the night. Gimli had to be dragged away by Aragorn and Legolas. Most of the Rohirrim had retired as well, going to their homes or to other welcome places.

Moving back over to the bench he had shared with Aderyn earlier, he found the young Healer leaning against a beam beside the bench. Eomer moved over to her, laying a hand to her shoulder and he quietly called her name. She awoke with a start, her tired eyes flying wide.

“Where are the wounded?”

The look in her eyes told him she faired no better in her dreams than he did, of late.

“The celebrations are over and everyone is going off to sleep. May I escort you back to your room?”

She nodded, letting Eomer take her hand as she stood, then fitting it into the crook of his elbow. As royal healers, she and her mother had each a room not far from Eowyn’s chambers. Theodred and Eomer’s rooms were also not far from there, having allowed easy access for Aderyn to play cards late into the night with Eowyn, Theodred, and Eomer in happier times.

No one had gone into Theodred’s room, since returning to Meduseld. As the pair passed it, both seemed seized by the hands of their grief. Aderyn reached, running her fingers over the carvings that decorated the door. Eomer stood silently, as if he might hear Theodred snoring inside if he listened closely enough.

“It is not right for it to be so silent.”

Eomer turned to her.

“Theodred was never quiet. He snored, he spoke to his dreams in his sleep, he muttered to himself as he read or studied, he paced while reading reports. He was never still or silent.”

Eomer could not disagree. Of Theoden’s charges, Eomer had always been the quiet one. Eowyn was not as noisy as Theodred, though she spoke often and easily to those she cared for, and she was always in motion. Theodred was the charming, happy one of the three of them. He never met anyone who he did not make into his friend, it seemed.

“Come. We both need rest. The morning will come and we will have much to do.”

She nodded. Then, to Eomer’s surprise, Aderyn took his hand. The passage was quiet and still as they moved to her door. Eomer was about to speak when they heard her mother’s loud snore from her own chamber. Eomer’s eyes went wide while Aderyn bit her lower lip to hold back her mirth.

“She always snores when she’s had a bit of wine.”, Aderyn whispered.

She pushed open the door to her own chamber and Eomer was instantly angered at what he saw. Grima’s men had torn apart her bed and smashed a good deal of what they found inside. It looked as if she had tried to clean and straighten a bit. He wondered why Eowyn had not told him of the damage.

“Your chamber…”, he said as he looked at all the broken bits she had swept to one corner.

“Eowyn was so angry when she saw it, I thought she might hunt down Grima’s thugs and have them dragged behind horses.”

“A fair thought.”

“It is only things, Eomer. You are alive and mostly unharmed. Eowyn is alive and sitting up with your uncle. My mother snores away on the other side of this wall. Rohan is safe, for the moment. All else could be replaced in time.”

She gave his hand a squeeze as she looked up into his eyes.

“That which matters most to me, is safe.”

Eomer let out a breath and leaned his forehead against hers.

“I am sorry to return you to such a place. Perhaps we could find you another room?”

“No, Eomer. I will be well enough for tonight, I made a nest of blankets nearer to the fire. You had best get to your own bed. Theoden will have much need of you in the morning.”

She squeezed his hand. Hers were not so soft as a lady of Gondor’s might have been, as she spent too much time training with Eowyn and working at Branwen’s side. Her hands had set broken bones, ground her poultices, boiled many bandages, and sewn back together many a wound, despite how pale and young her hands looked.

Eomer felt Aderyn’s left hand move to cup his jaw, the warmth of her seeping right into his bones. He moved to say something and was met with her lips brushing across his own with a light kiss. His mind barely registered the movement before she had released his face and hand to stand in front of him.

Eomer reached, reclaiming her right hand. His mind raced with all the shared moments between he and Aderyn, as well as teasing from Theodred that someday someone else would win Aderyn’s heart before Eomer got up the courage to try, and of Eowyn’s repeated badgering that Eomer’s feelings for Aderyn were as plain as the nose on his face. His uncle had mentioned his disapproval in years past, and while Eomer hated to go against his uncle, he was sure that he loved Aderyn and now had reason to hope she returned his feelings.

“We will ride to war soon. No matter what my uncle says, Moria’s threat lingers at our borders and Gondor will call for aid, of that I am certain. There is little I can promise you, Aderyn.”

She smiled softly to him, moving closer, her free hand moving back up and resting against Eomer’s neck. He tilted his head, much like a horse, into the warmth of her palm, closing his eyes for a moment. What he would give to stay here, away from war and his grief, and instead have this for days.

“I ask no promises of you. When I first met you, in those stables, I knew you belonged to Rohan.”

He smiled, thinking of her joke that he would need a wife who understood she came after Rohan, and possibly his horse.

“If I return, from all that awaits the Rohirrim, I would like to court you properly. Would you accept?”

Aderyn moved closer, pressing herself to Eomer as she offered him another kiss. This one lingered.

“Yes.”, she whispered before stepping back to a more respectable distance.

Eomer did not care to be so far from her just yet and moved to hold her. She did not resist, instead holding him tightly. For a long moment, they stood there together, heedless of being seen by Theoden or Eowyn, taking the comfort to be had.

“Tonight, I think I will dream of riding with you in the peaceful countryside, in years to come.”

Eomer nodded against the side of her head, her soft hair tickling at his cheek.

“Perhaps you will meet me there in your own.”, she added before stepping back.

“Sleep well, Aderyn.”

She smiled up at him.

“You as well.”

Chapter Text

The morning had been a busy one. Eomer and his lieutenants had been taking stock of the men, horses, and weapons after the battle for Helm’s Deep, as well as taking in what they had for food rations, people they would need to care for, and any work that might need done before they left. Eomer did not doubt Gondor would call for Rohan in their darkest hour.

While Eomer was unsure of his uncle’s response to the call, Eomer was certain that most of the men would expect to go to Gondor’s aid. All of his life, he had been trained to keep an eye out towards the beacons. For now, he hoped only that he need not go against his uncle’s wishes in order to answer Gondor’s call to their neighbor and ally, Rohan.

Eomer heard running, drawing his attention away from the plans he was looking at with two of his men. It was Aragorn. The ranger was running at his top speed up the stairs to the Meduseld.

“Why do you think the Ranger runs like that?”, Ryne asked.

Looking around, Eomer spotted a flame in the distance. In all his life, he had not seen the beacons burning yet he recognized them now.

“The beacons are lit.”

Ryne stood straighter, coming to attention.

“Gondor calls for aid, King Theoden will call us to war.”

Eomer nodded.

“Ready our horses.”, he said, before moving to follow Aragorn.

He took the shortcut, coming in a side doorway and arriving just in time to see Aragorn burst forth from the doors, calling as he went, that Gondor called for aid. The whole room grew tense, all eyes drawn to Theoden. Even Eowyn, as she came to stand at Eomer’s side, held her breath in anticipation of their uncle’s answer.

The air was still, the hall silent. Theoden looked to Eowyn and Eomer before returning his gaze to Aragorn. Eomer knew his uncle’s decision.

“And Rohan will answer. Muster the Rohirrim!”

Eomer and the other soldiers bowed their heads at the order. He felt Eowyn at his side, as she let out the breath she had been holding. Eomer looked at her, offering the small comfort of a hand to her shoulder. There was much to do before Dunharrow.

The eored were busy preparing. Eomer spotted Eowyn and the other women of the court readying for the journey. They needed to be moving soon, if they were to get to Gondor in time to be useful.

Eomer left to walk back to meet Ryne, the older soldier holding his own and Eomer’s horses at the ready. It would be good to have Ryne there. The man was steady as a mountain and as loyal as a horse.

“We are away to Gondor, then?”, he asked as the bells were rung to muster the men.

“First to Dunharrow, then to Minis Tirith. We will have to gather as many as we can, from all the corners of Rohan, before we move to aid Gondor.”

“Has the King ordered it?”

Eomer shook his head as he checked his gear on his horse.

“Only that we muster the men here and eventually make for Gondor.”

Ryne nodded.

“What odds do you give us?”

“For what?”

Ryne smiled sadly.

“For seeing another celebration in Meduseld.”

Eomer paused for a long moment. He was not sure how to answer that. He was not given to optimism. That had been Theodred’s perspective on the world. Aderyn’s as well. Eomer considered before answering.

“I think there will be many tales of the Rohirrim’s stand at Minis Tirith against the horde of Mordor.”

Ryne nodded.

“I have lived to see my grandchildren grow strong, and I am yet still standing tall enough to stand beside my lord Marshal. If this be our end, I have lived a life I will be proud to recount to my forbearers.”

It was a sentiment Eomer could understand and admire. Ryne had always been a man, and soldier, whom Eomer had looked up to.

“Can you take my horse forward? I’ll need to go receive our orders.”

“Of course.”

Eomer nodded his thanks before returning up to the Meduseld. He found Aderyn and Eowyn at the other end of the hall, leaving with arms leaden, heading for the stables. It was tradition for the ladies of the court to see the men off before battles. He had been sure Eowyn would come, and Aderyn would never stay behind any more easily than Eowyn.

“Eomer!”

His uncle’s voice beckoned him to the center of the Hall. Theoden was dressed in his full suit of armor, save for his helmet, as Gamling brought Theoden’s sword to strap at Theoden’s hip. Eomer fell into step at Theoden’s right, while Gamling mirrored him to the left.

“Assemble the army at Dunharrow. As many men as can be found. You have two days.”

Eomer nodded. As he moved to step away and find Ryne, Theoden seized Eomer’s elbow. Looking directly into Eomer’s eyes, his uncle gave a final command.

“On the third, we ride for Gondor. And War.”

Eomer knew it then, King Theoden of Rohan believed the men in their company rode to their deaths. He held no hope of returning to the Ederas, of once more feasting in the Meduseld. Eomer steeled his heart against the fear that this day was the last he would spend behind these walls, under the green and golden flags of Meduseld.

Picking his way through, Eomer left the front of Meduseld and made his way down to his horse. Ryne passed him the reins as Eomer mounted. Eomer looked around and could see many of the men were dragging. Those who had ridden with him had only rested for two nights since arriving at Helm’s Deep, those who had been with his uncle faired no better, and there were a few who had been holding onto the Deep for weeks before the battle.

Ryne met Eomer’s look and nodded. He could see it as well. These men were not ready to face the full might of Mordor, at Mordor’s very gate.

“Now is the hour!”, Eomer began as he levelled his gaze across the men, “Riders of Rohan! Oaths you have taken, now fulfill them all! To lord and land!”

With that, he was off, Ryne and the others close behind. They had two days to muster an army to stand against Mordor.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Eowyn looked over at Aderyn, on her borrowed horse. She had belonged to Theoden, and he had always allowed Eowyn to ride her when she had still been learning to handle a horse and a weapon. Now, Shadow was an old horse, yet she still had spirit enough to bear an unfamiliar rider behind the army to Dunharrow.

“Will you be alright to ride so far?”, she asked her friend.

Aderyn, whose eyes were a bit wide and her shoulders a little tense, gave a quick nod.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“You look as though someone asked you to ride an olyphont.”

“I shall be able to make Dunharrow, Eowyn.”

“You could have ridden behind me.”

Aderyn turned her head slightly, her tone quiet.

“We both know your horse is burdened down enough with your change of clothes.”

“Change of…”, she stopped, understanding.

Aderyn had spotted more than the sword Aragorn noticed. Eowyn had packed all but a helmet. There would be plenty of those, among other items, with the smithy. If Aderyn hadn’t spoken up to Aragorn, Theoden, Gamling, or Eomer, she must have intended to either talk Eowyn out of her plan or to go along with it.

“You have nothing to say on the matter?”

Aderyn shook her head, her attention back to the horse she sat.

“Why?”

“Because I understand it. And I also think you will be a better ruler for it. With Theodred gone, you and Eomer are the only heirs left, and Eomer is gone so much, I believe most of the daily duties of Kingship will fall to you.”

Though Eowyn had been loathed to ponder it, Aderyn was right. Eomer was the next in line. When they had been very young, Theoden and their father had been gone often, for days or weeks at a time. Even in peacetime, a King of Rohan would often travel away from Edoras for long stretches. That would mean Eowyn would have to stay behind and govern until Eomer returned. Even after she married, Eowyn would still have a large role in running Rohan.

She felt Aderyn’s hand reach out and catch her own, giving it a small squeeze. Eowyn knew what her friend meant by the gesture. She was here and would always be there.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Aderyn found herself quite busy at Dunharrow. Theoden had left with others to help gather men, while Eowyn had been dispatched to set up the camp and get cook fires started in preparation for the arriving armies. As men came in, there were some minor injuries to tend and sore hooves to be cared for. Aderyn also brewed several tinctures to help stave off illness from the bitter wind and the damp of the night.

Eowyn had likewise remained busy as they awaited Theoden, Eomer, and Aragorn’s arrival with the remaining men to join the army that would fight the forces of Mordor. She also had found herself becoming fast friends with the hobbit, Merry. The young hobbit had been working hard beside Eowyn and Aderyn, helping anywhere he could.

Aderyn smiled, seeing Merry and Eowyn going about the camp, checking on the men and horses, seeing to the supplies, and sometimes teasing a bit with each other. It was good to see Eowyn’s spirits up as well as to see the hobbit’s mind somewhat removed from worrying over his friends. If all those she loved were far from her sight, fighting, Aderyn did not know that she could be as upbeat as the hobbit.

As the sun began to sink low on the second day, Aderyn heard the approaching riders. She ran to the tent’s opening to see them coming into camp. There were still orcs and wargs about, even if the main mass of Mordor’s armies were in Mordor and at the edge of Gondor. She wanted to see for herself if anyone needed her attention.

Theoden rode ahead, joined by Eomer and Gamling with their respective groups they had mustered. Aragorn and his two companions also rode with the King. Men called out greetings and Theoden was given a headcount as he passed, to know the numbers in his army.

Theoden and his company moved up the hill, to the plateau below the mountain pass. Aderyn did not understand why the horses were so spooky and the men more so, in the shadow of this mountain. Aside from the vague whisper of the wind coming from the pass, it was no different than any other mountain.

“Eowyn?”, she asked as they readied plates and bowls to take to Theoden and his men in the large tent where they would make their battle plans.

“Hmm?”

“Why are the men and horses so frightened of that pass in the mountains?”

“It is evil.”

She arched an eyebrow in question, at her friend. Eowyn looked about them before leaning in to speak.

“Our uncle told us that none who have ever entered that mountain pass have been seen again. It is cursed, evil.”

Aderyn nodded, though she did not entirely believe it. As much as she loved her adopted home of Rohan, the people were a bit more superstitious than her mother made the people of Dale sound. Granted, her mother’s memories of Dale were time-softened and distant, so perhaps her mother had forgotten how the laketown people at the foot of a mountain horde, might have felt about curses and hidden passages through old mountains.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Eomer sat with Gamling, able to hear his sister’s encouraging of the halfling. He did not have the stomach for it, especially watching the young fellow play-acting with his dull blade as Eowyn ushered him off to the smithy.

“You should not encourage him.”

“You should not doubt him.”

He turned to better speak over his shoulder to his sister.

“I do not doubt his heart, only the reach of his arm.”

At his side, Gamling laughed as if Eomer had made some joke.

“Why should Merry be left behind? He has as much call to go to War as you. Why can he not fight for those he loves?”

Eomer could hear the truth behind his sister’s words. She did not only mean Merry, the halfling of the Shire. She meant herself, and other shield maidens of Rohan. She still daydreamed of glory in battle, even after her small taste of it in the glittering caves.

Before she could retreat to her tent, Eomer rose and faced her. She had to be made to understand why Eomer would take a thousand beatings from Grima’s thugs and be banished from Rohan for all of his days, before he would have Eowyn in the thick of a battle.

“You know as little of War, as that hobbit. When the fear takes him, and the blood, and the screams, and the horror of battle take hold, do you think he would stand and fight?”

He watched her eyes. There was still that defiance, the belief that Eomer was only being a pig-headed brother and stupid boy, that had persisted since the first time he stopped her from doing something dangerous that she had thought looked fun.

“He would flee, and he would be right to do so.”

Despite her anger, Eomer had to make her see why he sought to keep her as far from the battlefield as possible.

“War is the province of men, Eowyn.”, he said as he laid a hand on her shoulder, praying for her to understand his meaning.

Eowyn turned on her heel and disappeared into her tent, closing the flap behind her and synching it up. Gamling groused as Eomer sat and returned his attention to his bit of bread and remains of his stew.

“Girl doesn’t understand. War is a bloody, dirty, filthy place. We go to war to protect our women and children from it. To protect the likes of her and the halfling.”

Eomer sighed.

“A new topic, Gamling, or find another fire to rest yourself at.”

Before either could say another word, Aderyn arrived with two small pouches in her one hand and a pitcher in the other. Eomer stood as Gamling tried to wipe the bits of chicken from his beard.

“I have a small ration of ale and some salve for your horses, in case you’ve need of it after the battle. I thought the ale might make the meager stew a bit tastier.”

Gamling nodded with a gleeful smile, holding out his mug. Eomer pulled his own from the ground and finished off the water in one gulp to make room for a serving of ale. Aderyn poured and was putting the nearly-empty pitcher aside as Gamling looked over at Eomer. Eomer inclined his head in silent order that Gamling followed.

“I’ve some affairs to attend before I’m to bed, m’lady. Here, take my seat.”

She pressed a pouch into his hand.

“Take this. Silvermane will not be weighed down for it, though you may have need of it on the morrow.”

“I will be sure to tend her wounds directly after the fighting.”

“The salve is serviceable to the flesh of men as well, if there is no other healing to be had, Gamling.”

He nodded with a warm smile.

“Thank you.”

Once Gamling had departed, Eomer gestured for Aderyn to join him. She did. In the firelight, Eomer could see the gooseflesh rising across the skin at the backs of her hands and on her neck. He reached, pulling up his cloak and laying it about her shoulders.

“Thank you.”

“Have you eaten? There is more stew in the pot?”

She waved him off.

“I had just eaten before you arrived, and am not yet hungry for more.”

From the way she kept looking back at the tent flap, Eomer could guess the reason for her nervously picking at her sleeve’s hem. Whenever she was churned up over something, she would pick the stitching of her sleeves, sometimes to the point of needing to sew them back up.

“How much did you overhear?”

“Enough. I have only one thing to say on the matter, and then I promise to keep silent on it for the rest of the night.”

He nodded, his eyes on a rock by the fire.

“Neither of you are wrong.”

Eomer whipped his head up to look at her.

“She will be a better ruler, someday, for her experiences. And, she is right that she has every bit as much call as you to fight, to defend her home and her people. You are also right to worry, and to wish to protect your beloved sister from a thing you know will haunt her nightmares for all her days. Just as your own father knew someday you would fight and see the horrors of war, and that he could not protect you from it, you now stand here knowing the cost of war, the scars it leaves on your very soul. Eowyn, she has seen hints of these scars in others, she is not as sheltered as you have hoped.”

“You think I should let her fight so that, if she isn’t killed, she will make a great Queen of Rohan?”

“I think she ought to be allowed to make her own choice, and that, should she go to war beside her uncle and brother, the experience would change her, but it would also make her a wiser ruler. Yes.”

He let out a long breath.

“I would have her naïve to the madness of battle.”

“As you should. An elder brother should never wish any heartache on his younger sister, no matter how small. As a Prince or Rohan, you may wish to reconsider so tightly holding her reins, since she will be your co-ruler.”

“You’ve heard plans?”

“My mother did. She was tending Gamling’s hand when Theoden was dictating the order. She will rule Rohan, in his stead, whilst you are both at war. Should he fall, the two of you will rule together as King and Queen of Rohan.”

“My uncle fears I will never wed and produce heirs. Eowyn is fair and impossible to dislike. She will never lack for suitors.”

“It would also make her future children equal to any of yours, so whichever you of you produced an heir first, their child would rule.”

“And if I die beside Theoden on the morrow, she will be Queen alone, to rule Rohan.”

Aderyn’s hand flew forward to hold Eomer’s forearm. He looked to see her eyes alight with fury.

“Do not say that, Eomer. Do not court death’s interest.”

“There is always a chance, in every battle, that.”, she stopped him with two fingers to his lips.

Aderyn shook her head slightly. Eomer nodded. They both knew the risks of any war, let alone the one he and the Rohirrim would ride into on the following day. Eomer moved his hand to hold the one Aderyn had on his forearm.

“Are you needed elsewhere?”, he asked.

She shook her head.

“I’ve done all my chores before your arrival, so I might be able to steal some time with you this evening, if that is not to bold to assume?”

Leaning, Eomer smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek.

“You are never too bold, in assuming I would wish to spend some time with you. I would spend all that I could with you.”

She squeezed his hand as she smiled.

“Good.”

He slid over a bit and wrapped his arm around the small of her back, encouraging her to lean against his side. They sat much as they had in the Hall of Meduseld just three nights ago. Eomer took it in, trying to engrave it all into his mind. The warmth of Aderyn against his arm and side, the smell of her hair as her head rested on his shoulder, the sound of her occasional comment on the fire or the stew, and the ease of sitting with her, talking or silent, content to be together.

“Before you leave in the morning, may I see you off?”

“If you wish it.”

“Then I will be there to see you off.”

“Good.”

She moved, her forehead softly pressed to his cheek and her nose into his neck.

“What’s wrong?”

“Part of me wants you to promise you’ll return, part of me wants to be strong and send you off with a determined look so you do not worry. I will not ask you to promise you will return to me, whole and unharmed, from this battle. That is an impossible promise I would not seek to elicit from you.”

Her dark eyes looked up into his own, a sad sort of smile teasing at her lips.

“Instead, I offer you a promise. I will meet you in Gondor, when the battle is won, to tend your wounds and any your horse incur.”

He smiled to her, moving to touch his forehead to hers.

“I’ll hold you to it, Addie.”

The nickname brought forth a bright smile from her.

“Are you cold?”, he asked as she moved a bit more tightly to his side and tugged his cloak more securely around her arms.

“Not cold enough to abandon my spot here.”

“What if I were to invite you to my tent, to sit and talk a while longer?”

“Won’t your uncle be upset if he learns of it?”

“He can yell at me for it after the fighting is over. And by then, I will be courting you properly and his objections will be tardy.”

“He is the King, and your only kin, beyond Eowyn.”

“I’m aware.”

“I would not allow you to be at odds with him, Eomer Eadig.”

“His objections, in years past, do not sway my heart. What Theodred used to say to me, was right. You are a Healer of Rohan, lady of the court, friend to Eowyn and myself, and now have fought to protect Rohan’s people and princess from Uruk hai. You are a foreigner no more.”

Pressing a small kiss to her lips, Eomer fell silent. Aderyn moved closer until Gamling’s clearing his throat interrupted their attempts to share Eomer’s cloak by the fire. Eomer lead Aderyn to his tent as a lone rider moved, nearly unseen, to Theoden’s tent.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Eowyn stepped out of the tent she and Aderyn were sharing, to find Aragorn saddling up Brego. He had a sword sheathed and tucked under his arm. It looked Elvish. Eowyn thought to ask him if it was a gift from the strange, cloaked rider who had asked to speak with Aragorn in her Uncle’s tent, when it occurred to her that Aragorn had no reason to be saddling his horse.

Unless…he intended to abandon them. To leave the men on the eve of battle. She could not believe that. There had to be another explanation.

“Why are you doing this?”, she asked, still praying that she had missed something and he was riding off to gather more men.

Perhaps there were some rangers off in the woods or hills nearby. Men he knew he could call upon in his hour of need.

“The war lies to the East, you cannot leave on the eve of battle!”

Hs look nearly undid her. Those eyes. She swore he had some Elvish magic.

“You cannot abandon the men.”

“Eowyn.”, he half-whispered as he moved away from her.

“We need you here.”

It was true, the men needed him. She needed him to be there. He was an inspiration to them, to all of Rohan. And, from the tales her uncle had told her and what she heard of his actions at the Deep, Rohan would need him when they reached Gondor and the might of Moria.

“Why are you here?”, he asked her as he synched up the front of Brego’s saddle.

“Do you not know?”

Eowyn could not believe someone such as Aragorn could have missed the meaning behind her attentions paid to him. He was too wise and worldly to be in the dark about her feelings. Yet, as she saw the full dawning in his eyes, he did not seem happy.

Her eyes fell to the pendent at his collar. Elvish. From a woman he admitted to loving but who had sailed to the undying lands.

“It is but a shadow and a thought that you love. I cannot give you what you seek.”

The honesty of his words was a punch to the gut and yet… Eowyn was not surprised by it. He had never lied to her or mislead her, and his attentions had never been anything but the same sort of kindness she would expect from one of Theoden’s older generals. The ones who had known Eowyn practically from birth and treated her almost like a niece or granddaughter.

She stepped back, wanting to be away from him yet not ready to look away from him. She did not want him to leave. It would dishearten the men at an hour when they could least afford it.

Aragorn followed her, the reins of Brego’s harness in his hand. Those eyes. So bright and pale. Even in the darkness they seemed to glow like starlight.

“I have wished you joy, since first I saw you.”, came his gentle voice as he reached, cupping her cheek in his rough hand.

Eowyn felt the tears threaten at the corners of her eyes. Of all the ways she had envisioned being under the moonlight, alone with Aragorn, this was not at all like what she had hoped for. Aderyn had cautioned Eowyn over her daydreams of the Gondorian, yet Eowyn had paid her friend’s warning no heed.

Aragorn was so gentle and his eyes full of emotion as he stepped back, his hand dropping from her cheek. He quietly led Brego away, off to wherever he meant to go rather than facing Souron’s forces beside Theoden’s army.

Eowyn rushed off to her tent, dropping to sit at the center of her travel bed. Her eyes fell to the lump under the blankets near the chairs. Her armor and sword. Aragorn and his companions might not stand with Theoden on the field of battle, but there would be a shieldmaiden of Rohan ready to stand with her brother and her King.

Now was not the time for her tears. When the battle was done and the wounded had been attended, she would have time to let go with her tears. For now, she need to take what rest she could before the battle and the blood that awaited on the field three days hence.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Aderyn stepped back, looking at her best friend as she stood in her full armor with a borrowed helmet and her sword sheathed at her hip, a small shield in her hand. From seven feet back, Aderyn could not easily pick out anything to mark Eowyn clearly as a woman. They had carefully done up Eowyn’s attire to ensure her softer shape was hidden by the layers of her clothing and armor and the helmet hid enough of her face to make her seem a very young man going to war.

“Will it do?”

“No one will pick you out, so long as you don’t speak and you don’t get this close to Eomer or your uncle. I’m sure either of them would recognize your face, even with the helmet.”

“We could dirty my face?”

Aderyn smiled ruefully.

“I doubt that after half a day’s ride, there will be any need.”

Stepping back up to Eowyn, Aderyn adjusted the cape at Eowyn’s shoulder and tightened a strap of the armor, beneath Eowyn’s left arm. She was trying desperately not to think how this could easily be the last time she saw or spoke to her best friend.

“Aderyn?”

“Hm?”

Eowyn looked concerned under her helmet.

“What is wrong?”

“The last time I helped a friend prepare their armor for war, my friend came back bloody, in Eomer’s arms, and died soon after.”

“I’m coming back. I promise.”

Aderyn looked up at her friend, smiling despite how much she wanted to cry or scream.

“You cannot promise that.”

She pulled Eowyn close, hugging her friend tightly. Eowyn hugged her back with equal fervor.

“Just promise to fight with all you’ve got and to not allow yourself to be caught unawares?”

“I promise.”

Aderyn nodded against her friend’s shoulder.

“I better get going. I still have to find a spot to fall into, away from Eomer and Uncle.”

They both stepped back, Aderyn smiling up at her best friend.

“I have great faith in your sword arm. I’ve been watching you practice for over half my life.”

That earned a watery chuckle from Eowyn. Aderyn smiled to Eowyn once more before turning and exiting the tent. She still needed to say her own goodbye to Eomer and help ensure he did not spot Eowyn getting mounted and ready for the ride to Gondor.

It took very little time to find Eomer. He stood tall among his eored, speaking with his top two men to explain the exact plan to them. Armored except for his helmet, his horse just behind him, and speaking with his men, he looked every inch a horse master of Rohan’s army.

He handed off a parchment to one of his men and looked up, his hazel eyes meeting hers. His lips moved, saying something to his men, before he crossed over to meet Aderyn between two tents. The ladies and servants still had a good deal of work left before they could return to Rohan.

Eomer’s hand caught hers, his gloves thumb running across the back of her palm. Aderyn smiled up at him.

“I feel I owe you something.”

She shook her head. Reaching up, she cupped his cheek and smiled as best she could manage.

“There is no need. All I need is for those I care about to come home when this is done. I could not bear to lose another person to Souron.”

Eomer’s forehead came down to rest against hers, their breath comingling as their hands held tightly to each other.

“I want to promise I will return.”

“Don’t promise that. Promise you will fight your hardest and that you will keep your wits about you, anything but the promise to return. My father used to promise my mother he would return from fishing, and he did every night, until he didn’t.”

Eomer kissed her lips softly as men began mounting up all around the camp.

“I will see you again, Addie. You have my word.”

“Then I will hold you to it, Eomer son of Eomund.”

She moved, kissing him soundly for a moment before retreating back and taking her hands away from him. He seemed to understand. He nodded, then reached to shove a chunk of her braided hair away from her eye.

“Take care of Eowyn.”

“Take care of Firefoot.”, she said with a small smile.

Eomer nodded. He wanted to say more. There was so much more he wanted to say.

Gamling came over, holding Eomer’s helmet out to him. The men were ready and it was time to ride for Gondor and Moria. Eomer took the helmet and walked off with Gamling, towards Theoden’s tent.

Eowyn watched as her brother disappeared into their uncle’s field headquarters. She made sure to keep her horse far enough away to ensure neither her uncle or brother would spot her. She had watched Eomer and Aderyn bid fairwell to each other before Gamling interrupted them.

A moment later, Theoden and Eomer came striding out with Theoden clearly handing out orders. Eowyn could guess. They were setting a pace and discussing that the men would ride light on rations and gear, to ensure the horses were not dead on their feet when they arrived and the men were not too worn to stand up to the battle. As the men mounted, her uncle seemed to take notice of Merry’s attempts to wrangle his pony.

Her uncle spoke quietly to Merry, and Eowyn could see his expression well enough to know the speech he was giving Merry. She had heard much the same last night when her uncle had spoken to her of ruling well when he was gone. As with her, he wished to protect the little hobbit from the horrors of war.

Her uncle dismissed the hobbit squire and turned to ride off at the front of his army. Merry looked on as his pony strayed off. Eowyn steered her steed over towards the young hobbit.

Many others rode or walked around the hobbit as if he were a rock or cook fire. Eowyn came around, carefully leaning over to line up with the hobbit. In a quick movement, she yanked the small squire up to sit before her on her horse.

“Ride with me.”, she said quietly into his ear.

“My lady!”, he answered back, now fully seated and looking ahead.

They would have a long, difficult ride ahead of them but Eowyn was sure they were up to the task. Three days hence, they would fight beside their friends and brothers, for the fate of Middle Earth.

Chapter Text

Eomer listened to the report from the scouts. Minis Tirith was surrounded, there was no way to reach the city to join their forces. Their best course would be to ride down into Gondor, trapping the forces of Mordor between the wall of Gondor’s army and the wave of Rohan’s Rohirrim.

Riding down to where the men rested, Eomer hoped his uncle would see reason with the battle plans. So far, Theoden had been sound in his planning for gathering the men and bringing them to Gondor’s aid, yet Eomer still worried. Theoden had seemed so… desolate. It was as if his uncle held no hope at all for Rohan.

Eomer rode down to his uncle and the generals surrounding their king. The men were taking a short rest to allow their horses a breather and the men a chance to drink, relieve themselves, and adjust any issues with their armor and saddlebags. Upon reaching his uncle, he called out the reports from the scouts.

“Minis Tirith is surrounded. The lower levels are in flames.”

Meanwhile, several yards away, Eowyn looked on to see her brother giving a report to their uncle and the generals. From their looks, it was not a good report. The scouts must have brought ill tidings.

She looked to see Merry eating his ration. The little hobbit seemed far less upset than any of the other men, and a good deal less weary. He did seem, to Eowyn’s eyes, more nervous than most of the others as the marching orders were called.

“Take heart, Merry. It will soon be over.”

“My lady,” he began, “you are fair, and brave, and have much to live for.”

Eowyn turned, surprised at the hobbit’s words. They were at both wise beyond his years and simple as a child’s logic.

“And many who love you.”, he added, looking down, away from her face. “I know it is too late to turn aside, I know there is not much point now in hopin’. If I were a knight of Rohan, capable of great deeds…”, he trailed off before smiling up at her.

These hobbits were brave souls. Eowyn wished she could have spent more time with them before, perhaps to have seen their beloved Shire.

“I’m not. I’m a hobbit. And I know I can’t save Middle Earth. I just want to help my friends.”

Merry looked off, thinking of his friends.

“Frodo. Sam. Pippin. More than anything I wish I could see them again.”

He offered up a smile to Eowyn. She had been taking care of him, first scooping him up in order to bring him along to the battle, then making sure he stayed far enough away from her kin to keep them from discovering him. She wanted to keep them from finding her as well, yet she had brought Merry, knowing his being there might draw attention her way.

“MOVE OUT!”, they heard Eomer call to the men.

“Make haste!”, Theoden commanded, “We ride through the night.”

Eowyn and Merry put their helmets back on and moved to her horse. Eowyn swung herself up into the saddle and reached for Merry.

“We ride for Minis Tirith.”, she whispered.

“I’m with you, my lady.”

`*`*`*`*`*`

Aderyn rode through the city gates beside the few women of the court, a few men who had been deemed too old or otherwise infirm for battle, and mules carrying tents and gear. The Edoras was as dreary and colorless as it had been when she left it not a week prior. Everyone whose gaze she met, looked hopeless and bleak.

She had been told of a few soldier who stopped over for the night within the walls, after an orc pack struck them on their way from the hills to meet up with Theoden and the army heading for Minis Tirith. Aderyn saw no sign of them. It would be good for a few more men to meet up with the rest of Rohan’s army- they would need every sword, spear, and arrow they could muster.

Hollis, an older soldier who had been a guard at the royal household for some three decades, offered Aderyn a small smile. He had watched over she and Eowyn in childhood when they went outside of the gates to play or for lessons. Now, with his scarred and weathered face combined with his snow-white hair, Aderyn could see a hope in his eyes that was missing from most of those in the Edoras.

“You needn’t fear, M’lady. I’m sure the Prince will return to us. I do not think we will lose all of Eowyn’s relations.”

“Thank you, Hollis.”

He nodded.

“I watched over you both for many a year, M’lady, and I have great faith that you will not see days ahead sadder than those you leave behind. I would wager a good deal of coin on it.”

She returned his smile, before watching him ride on to check the status of his brother in the healing wing. Aderyn knew she needed to tend her borrowed horse before she saw to her duties beside her mother. To keep busy would be a good plan, she supposed.

Thanks to her training from Eomer, she soon had Shadow taken care of from the removal of the saddle to the checking of his hooves. Aderyn caught herself thinking of the first time she ever spoke to Eomer, right in these very stalls. She also thought of the first time Eowyn and she had saddled up to go riding together, a few years later. So many memories awaited her in every corner of the below the Meduseld.

Aderyn headed up to the great hall. Her meager pack was tucked under one arm, her other hand holding her cloak tightly to her against the wind. Just as she reached the steps up into the Meduseld, she heard her name being called.

“Aderyn!”

Looking to the origin of the call, she found one of the ladies of the court, a young bride whose name Aderyn could not recall. She had come to the Edoras only a few weeks before Theodred’s death and had not yet had call to spend any time with the Healers.

“Aderyn! Come quickly, Branwen calls for your aid!”

She ran with the swiftness of a war horse up the stairs and down to the Healer’s wing. There, she found her mother working with a pair of men who had been coming with a group meant to meet up with those going to the battle at Minis Tirith. Hollis had spoken of a few smaller groups from up in the hills who had come down to join with the main army at Dunharrow.

One man’s leg was torn to bits and warg claw marks ruined his chest. The other man appeared to have a wound on his neck and others along his back and hip. Both were in terrible shape, each with enough blood loss to worry even the most capable healer.

“I’m here.”, she said to her mother as Aderyn moved to the man with the neck and back wounds, leaving her mother to devote her sole attention to the man with the ruined leg.

`*`*`*`*`*`

Hours later, Aderyn headed to her room. They had lost both of them men from the hills. Just as the first had passed, Branwen had been called upon for her skill as a midwife, leaving Aderyn alone with a man they knew could not be saved. Aderyn stayed with him. She held his hand and kept him calm and as comfortable as she could, until the last.

Looking at her hands, it was the same as the night Eomer had brought Theodred home. Her hands and dress both bore the red stain of her profession, with no healing soldier to show for her efforts. Aderyn took a deep breath, steeling her nerves as she passed through the halls towards her bed.

As she passed Theodred’s door, she turned out of habit to see if he was in his room as the door sat ajar. Of course, the room was empty and cold, with no fire. Across from it was Eomer’s room, just as still and cold, and Eowyn’s next to it. Aderyn felt her hands begin to shake as she dashed to her own room.

Images assaulted her, of Theodred in Eomer’s arms, bleeding and chilled to the bone. Of Eomer, a year ago, with his hand and chest wrapped in crude bandaging as he leaned on Theodred. Of Theodred, still as stone with no light left in his form, Eowyn weeping silently at his bedside.

She felt as if her heart might fall in on itself and be ground to dust. Aderyn tended to many, though there were few she truly cared a great deal for. One was laid among his forefathers in the field below, one rode with his fellow soldiers, a third rode hidden from her uncle and brother, the fourth at his uncle’s side, and also her mother, now helping bring a new babe into the world. Aderyn rocked with the effort to keep her tears at bay. Rohan needed its healers clear headed and calm, not hysterical in their own chambers. Yet, for all her efforts, Aderyn could not hold back the tide as it broke. She had been brave for Eomer and Eowyn, she had thrown herself into her work beside her mother, but alone, in her room, with only the silence of night and the empty rooms encircling her own, she had no one left to be brave for and no task to distract her mind.

Her tears fell hot against her cool cheeks as Aderyn let herself fall back into her bed. She wanted to be brave like Eowyn, yet she could not force it from herself as she thought of the very real possibility that neither Eowyn or Eomer might return. Theoden could lose them both, even be killed beside them. Without Eomer and Eowyn, Rohan would be as empty a body without a heart or blood, a hollow husk over cold bones.

A knocking at her chamber door roused Aderyn. She got up, wiping at her face with the back of her soiled sleeve as she moved for the door. Opening it, she found a young girl with a tired face and frightened eyes.

“M’lady, I was bid to come get you. Hollis says there is an issue with one of the horses! He needs you to come help him, m’lady!”

“I’ll be right there, I just need my bag.”

`*`*`*`*`*`

The Rohirrim crested the hill overlooking the field of battle. Eowyn could not believe her eyes. As bad as the aftermath at Helm’s Deep had been, it had not fully prepared her for seeing the legions of Mordor assaulting the White City. From the looks on the faces to her left and right, it seemed none of the Rohirrim were prepared for this terrible sight.

The armies of Mordor were thicker than ants on discarded fruit. They looked as a plague of locust. A swarm moving over the White City. Ruined walls and fires were spread out over the city, with no Gondorian army in sight.

Eowyn moved her arm to wrap it around Merry’s shoulders. She could feel him shake slightly in front of her as he looked down at the same dreaded sight as she. It was a sight that would take the heart out of even the bravest.

“Courage, Merry. Courage for our friends.”

She felt the hobbit’s slight nod and knew he had heard her. Eowyn tried to think of the faces of those she loved. Eomer had been right, there was the urge to flee, but she held her place. Eowyn meant to fight beside her kin.

Some of the orcs moved, getting into form ranks. Theoden rode, calling out the order for Eomer to take his Eored down the left flank, then to Gamling down the center, Grimhold was to take his company to the right. Eowyn listened eagerly as her uncle showed himself as a battlefield king.

A moment later, Theoden was moving to ready his men for the charge. Eowyn had never seen her uncle like this before as he prepared his men, yet she had to keep her head down to avoid his gaze. Even here, he would send her back if he recognized her.

“Arise! Arise, Riders of Theoden!”, called out the King as he rode past Eowyn and Merry.

“Spears shall be shaken! Shields shall be splintered! A sword day. A red day, ere the sun rises!”

All the men to the front brought up their spears. Their pikes and spears were dropped down in practiced form, just above the tops of their horses’ heads. Eowyn had never seen this done but had heard Theodred speak of the tradition of having the King ride through, striking the flat of his sword against necks of the spears.

The orcs met this with their own spears and pikes turned and waiting for the Rohirrim. It was a sickening sound as their blackened, warped weapons clattered into place.

“Whatever happens, stay with me. I’ll look after you.”, she whispered to Merry.

Eowyn felt her friend straighten in the saddle as Theoden began to clank his sword against the spears of the Rohirrim.

“Ride now. Ride now! Ride, Ride For Ruin and the World Ending!”, bellowed King Theoden.

Moving before his army, facing down the enemy, he chanted out as he brandished his sword aloft, “DEATH! DEATH!”

Eowyn, Merry, and all the men about them joined the King’s chant.

“DEATH! DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!”

A roar went through the men ahead of the horns of war. They spurred their horses and as one, moved on the forces of Mordor. Men and horses flew across the field, determined and battle ready. As arrows flew and felling both soldiers and horses alike, the forces of Rohan brought to bear on the front line of the orcs, crashing as a wave against the rocks.

Merry fought to one side, Eowyn to the other. Together, they cut a swath through the enemy. Eowyn could see that they were doing well. The whole of the Rohirrim were cutting down the orcs as they rode.

Eowyn heard her brother call out the order. They were to drive the orcs to the river. Turning her horse, she prepared to carry out Eomer’s orders when she saw something that brought her heart to a stuttering stop. Olyphants and Haradrim.

“Reform the line! Reform the line!”, the King called to the Rohirrim.

“Sound the charge, take them head on. CHARGE!”, he cried.

Eowyn turned her horse and ran beside the army. The Haradrim knew how to combat men on horseback. They tugged the reins of their olyphants, commanding the beasts to turn their great heads, their enormous tusks swiping back and forth, scattering droves of men with each sweep. Others, they stomped on. Suddenly, one olyphant moved at an angle, driving into its neighbor.

Eowyn had an idea. She gave the reins to Merry and nicked a sword from an orc as she passed. Merry drove, taking her directions as they passed beneath an olyphant. Eowyn sliced along the backs of the olyphant’s legs as they drove beneath the mighty creature. She recalled Aderyn explaining the anatomy of a horse’s leg to her. An olyphant could not have been too terribly different from a horse’s.

The archers began firing to the heads of the beasts. Each beast would rear as the shots grew close to their eyes and handlers, until Eowyn and Merry got too close to one, the beast’s movements frightening her horse. Merry could not stop it from rearing, sending both of them flying.

“MERRY!”, she called as she stood.

She had to find him. She had promised to look after him if he stayed close. She had brought him here.

An orc came at her and Eowyn matched him blow for blow with her sword. Then a second came, and a third. The last was a great, ugly beast with a sloping, pale face and a mangled arm.

Theoden called out orders. Eowyn looked to find her uncle just as the Witch King on his fell beast, swooped low. The beast took Theoden with his horse, shaking both through the air before throwing them hard into the ground. The Witch King and his beast drew closer, looming over Theoden’s fallen form.

“Feast on his flesh.”, came the hiss of the Witch King.

The beast almost appeared to gloat over her uncle, poisonous drool falling from its lips as it bared its teeth. Eowyn ran to Theoden, stepping between the creatures and her uncle.

“I will kill you if you touch him.”, she warned with her sword at the ready.

“Do not come between the Nazgul and his prey.”, hissed the Witch King.

The fell beast reared back with a growl. Eowyn lifted her sword and watched the beast’s eyes. Eomer and Theodred had always said to watch the eyes of an animal. It dove for her, snapping its jagged teeth as she side stepped.

Bringing her sword to bare, Eowyn let out a cry as she cut into the beast’s neck. Hacking away until the beast’s head fell clear from its neck, she turned back to see the Witch King falling as his mount gave a death spasm.

She stayed between her uncle and the beast, leaning onto to grab a fallen shield from the ground. The Witch King rose from his dead beast, a massive mace in his left hand as he faced her. A mace of such heft would make splinters of her shield with one direct blow if Eowyn did not avoid a direct blow.

He swung wildly. Eowyn dove to avoid him. A second swing that he wound fully, spinning towards her. Eowyn ducked and moved to the side, still between the Nazgul and her uncle.

She ducked a third and fourth swing. The Nazgul screeched, the sound almost burned in her ears. She would not yield, she would remain between this foul being and her uncle. Eowyn avoided two more swings before the third landed directly to the center of her wooden shield, knocking her off her feet as it destroyed her shield.

Eowyn fell against her Uncle’s horse, her sword dropping from her hand. Her whole arm ached where the shield had smashed against it. The Nazgul gloated above her, his hiss sending a shiver down her spine.

He drew closer, looming over Eowyn as he reached to grasp her at the neck. His cold, armored hand closed around her throat as he lifted her up to stare into his faceless form.

“You fool. No man can kill a me. Die now.”

A noise drew Eowyn’s attention before the Witch King flinched, dropping Eowyn as he reared back with a scream. She saw Merry, twisting in agony on the ground as he held his right arm cradled against him.

Now the Witch King rested on his knees before Eowyn, looking her in the eyes as she stood. Eowyn pulled off her helmet, letting her long hair fall free as she looked back to the Witch King.

“I am no man.”

With that she drove her blade into the face of the Nazgul, twisting it as the blow sunk deep. The blade exploded to nothing, a wave going through Eowyn’s hand and arm almost like the one that had busted her arm behind her shield. She watched in horror and satisfaction as the Witch King’s helmet sunk in on itself and his body spasmed as if crushed by invisible hands.

Merry was passed out yet still breathing, as he lay near the Witch King’s dead beast. Eowyn looked, needing to tend to her uncle. If he still breathed, he would need care and protection until the battle was won.

Crawling, Eowyn made her way over to him. She could see that he was unmoving, though a slight rise and fall of his chest proved he was still alive. Internally, she rejoiced to know her uncle had survived, even as she tried not to think of lasting effects such injuries likely would have, or the immense pain in her arms as she dragged herself over to Theoden’s side. She had seen men spend their lives bedridden after falling from a horse in battle. Any injury to the back or head could leave a rider unable to take up sword or rein for the rest of his days.

Once she got to him, she reached out, stroking his hair much the way he had done for her in her childhood when she had been ill or suffering a nightmare. It roused him, his pale eyes finding hers. She felt his weathered gloves against her chin as he reached for her.

“I know your face.”, came the rumbling tone she knew as well as the sound of hoof beats.

“Eowyn. My eyes darken.”

“No”, she whispered, “no. I’m going to save you.”

“You already did.”, he smiled at her, blood coloring his teeth and lower lip.

Eowyn tried to remember everything and anything Aderyn and Branwen had said about caring for someone with blood in their teeth, with their lower half injured or trapped. Anything that she could think of, to help her uncle.

“My body is broken. You have to let me go.”

Eowyn shook her head as she looked to her uncle. It was true, she could see it. He was dying with every breath.

“I go to my fathers in whose mighty company I shall not know fear or shame.”

Once more, those pale eyes moved to meet hers. As a child, she had always looked for those eyes. For approval, for attention, for love, for guidance. Now, she looked, seeing the light in them fading.

“Eowyn.”, he said before going still as stone, all light gone from his pale eyes.

Eowyn fell into his chest, weeping. She wept as she had not wept since she had been a little girl crying into her uncle’s arms of a night, still believing Theoden could keep all the world’s dangers at bay as he held her against his chest. Now, he lay still below her and Eowyn could not move her arms to hold him, as tears wracked her weary body.

`*`*`*`*`*`

Eomer walked with Gamling and others, looking for the King. Any injured were scooped up and cared for as they were found, including the horses. They moved in practiced lines going back and forth across the field of battle to ensure they skipped no one.

Aragorn, Gandalf the White, the dwarf Gimli, the elf Legolas, and their hobbit friend Pippin, had joined with the remaining Rohirrim and a few Gondorians, to search the battlefield. Eomer noticed some of the healers pulling men away to be cared for as soldiers draped the cloaks of the fallen over their faces so that others would know they had already been attended and accounted for. As terrible as battle was, Eomer found this to be worse.

Nearly countless men lay dead, almost as many lay with very bad injuries. Eomer knew a great number of those injured would not live to see the dawn. There would be many songs of lamentation in Rohan upon their return.

As he passed along a line, Eomer saw something not right. Blonde hair too long to belong to any of his men, from a fallen form in Rohirrim armor. The wind blew, lifting the hair from the fair face of… Eowyn.

Eomer screamed as he ran for her. He had thought her safe in Rohan, ruling their people, awaiting he and Theoden’s return. She was not supposed to be on the field of battle.

Falling to his knees, Eomer dragged her body into his lap, holding her to him as he screamed. She was limp and cold, her arms bloodied. It was not until Gamling shook him, that Eomer stopped.

“She still breathes, sire.”

Eomer looked between his sister and the general. The man’s grip tightened on Eomer’s elbows as he looked at Eomer straight in the eyes.

“She still breathes. She’s alive! She needs a healer.”

Looking, Eomer could see the faint movement of her chest. Her breath was shallow but there. He quickly scooped her up and ran for the healer’s tent that had been set up near the gate to the city. Eomer could not lose her.

Hours later, Eomer sat with Eowyn. One of the healers had cleaned her a little and wrapped her arms, before moving off to someone they claimed to be in worse shape. Eomer could make no sense of it. She had no injuries to her chest, abdomen, back, or head, yet she did not wake. The injuries to her left arm looked as if she had been beaten with something, yet her right arm looked almost… scalded. Like an old injury rather than fresh.

There was no reason he could see for Eowyn’s slumber. None of her injuries seemed as if they should have left her this way. No signs of great bloodloss or other shock to have rendered her as such. It was almost like some form of magic, such as a curse.

Eomer sat vigil by her side, watching her carefully despite the tears he did not bother to hide or hold back. When she had been only a babe, Eowyn had been very ill for several nights and Eomer had sat up all every night watching her since his mother fought the same fever in the next room. The Healers had almost nothing they said they could do for Eowyn and little they could do for their shared mother.

All through those nights, Eomer had sat toweling the sweat from his sister’s neck, arms, legs, and face. He talked to her, promising to teach her to ride and to use a bow and arrows. He promised to let her ride on his back as he walked around their uncle’s kingdom, and any other promise he could imagine. Anything he could think of to help her, he did it. Now, over twenty years later, he was back at her bedside unable to help her.

“Eomer?”

He looked up to see an older healer woman, Aragorn just behind her. The ranger quickly moved to Eowyn’s other side. He had a bowl of liquid in his one hand and a cloth in the other. The ranger quickly began washing down Eowyn’s arms as he quietly sung a song in what Eomer was sure was Elvish.

If what this ranger knew of Elvish medicine would save Eowyn, Eomer would be forever indebted to the man. Eomer needed her back. As hard as it had been to lose Theodred, Eomer had always been prepared for the day when his uncle or cousin did not return from a ride or a battle. They were soldiers and soldiers died in every battle. Eowyn was his baby sister, the one left in the safety of home, beside her healer best friend, far away from the dangers of the battlefield. There was no reason to expect to lose her so young.

As Aragorn wiped Eowyn’s face, she breathed more deeply. Eomer’s breath caught. Her eyes opened and she looked up, then to Aragorn, and then to Eomer, smiling as she saw him. It was the same relieved smile she had every time Eomer returned from a skirmish or patrol.

“Eowyn?”

Her smile faltered.

“Uncle… is…”

Eomer nodded as he reached to catch her less-injured hand.

“I know. We found him.”

Fresh tears wiped clean tracks through the dirt on her face. Aragorn handed the bowl and cloth to Eomer.

“Keep wiping her wounds until I come back or the bowl runs dry. Keep her down, do not let her walk about.”, whispered the Ranger, before he walked away to help one of the healers.

“He’s gone, Eomer. Uncle, he’s gone.”

Eomer nodded, his throat too constricted for speech. Eowyn’s tears broke him anew.

“I was with him when… He said he would go to join his fathers.”

Over the years, Eomer had heard several of the soldiers whom he had fought beside, when they uttered that final prayer. As with all the Rohirrim, he knew it by heart.

`*`*`*`*`*`

Eowyn walked a while, her arms bandaged from her knuckles to her elbows. Aragorn had said her right arm would need the day to heal before she tried to lift anything heavy. Her left would likely take longer to be of full use again.

As she headed down to where she hoped to find her brother, she found a Gondorian soldier attempting to hop on his good leg to where a kettle sat with warm soup inside. Eowyn rushed to the man’s side, catching one of his elbows. She looked up in time to see another man come to the soldier’s aid, grasping his opposite arm.

“Sir, I am alright.”, the soldier said to the other man.

Turning to face Eowyn, he offered a tired smile from beneath the bandages over his right eye and cheek, “Thank you, miss.”

She nodded, still holding onto him as did the other man. They helped the man over to a bench. As Eowyn pulled a spoon and goblet of water to him, the other man moved to fetch a bowl of soup.

The injured man thanked them, assuring them he could eat unaided. The other man, Eowyn noticed, bore his own bandaged injuries. It appeared his shoulder and chest had taken the worst of whatever had happened. He winced a bit as he straightened.

“Sir, are you alright?”

The Gondorian nodded.

“I will be, soon enough, I’m told. And your injuries?”

“An orc and a Nazgul.”

His eyes widened, then he gave a bow. Eowyn was confused at his reaction. The Gondorian swayed on his feet as he went to stand straight. Eowyn reached, steadying him as she directed him to a nearby bench.

“You are the one who slew the Witch King of Ang Mar?”

“He was coming for my uncle.”

“Yes, King Theoden. I had heard.”

Recalling a few things of the years she spent at Aderyn and Branwen’s sides, Eowyn reached to check the Gondorian’s bandage. It was snug enough and the exposed skin did not look inflamed. He was also not sweating or shivering.

“Are you a healer, as well?”, the man teased with a kind smile.

Eowyn had seen him before, earlier in the morning when she first woke in an unfamiliar room. He had a kind face, one a person would remember. What truly struck her was his eyes. They were as blue as spring flowers.

“No,” she told him, “I’m no healer. My dearest friend is, and I’ve stood beside her enough to know a thing or two.”

“It is a good thing to have a healer for a friend.”

Eowyn smiled, thinking of Aderyn. Her friend was probably toiling away, preparing her herbs, creams, teas, and other assorted cures, waiting for news of Eowyn, Eomer, and the battle.

“I’m sorry, I did not mean to bring up an uphappy memory.”

Eowyn looked up to the kind man’s face. He appeared genuinely remorseful.

“You did not. I left her behind when I came to join my brother and my uncle. She will have kept herself busy preparing for all the wounded who will return and be in need of her.”

Straightening, Eowyn offered a smile to the man.

“What is your name?”

“Faramir.”

“Son of the Steward?”

He nodded as he looked away, his eyes sad. Eowyn had heard a little last night. The Steward was dead, having flung himself from a high wall during the thick of battle. From whispers Eowyn heard, it sounded as if the Steward might have tried to kill Faramir somehow, just before dying himself.

“I have heard Lord Aragorn and his companions speak of your brother. He sounds like he was a good man.”

“The best I knew.”

Eowyn did not know what to say. Had she lost Eomer, she would not have been consolable. She would have lost her mind with grief.

“Would you care to walk with me a while, My Lady?”

Faramir now stood before her, that kind look back on his face as it had been when he had been helping the wounded soldier. Eowyn nodded.

“Our fair city is not as fair as in years past, yet she still shines.”

“I have never been to the White City before. My uncle… he used to speak of it.”

Faramir nodded, asking no questons. She supposed he was as unsure of what to say as she felt. The son of the Steward walked with her to an overlook that allowed them to see a section of the city below.

People worked, attempting to patch up the holes in the inner walls. Others were still cleaning up bodies of orcs, a few carted bodies of men away on crude litters, while some women moved about collecting weapons that had fallen. Every able bodied man and woman appeared to be keeping busy trying to clear and care for the shining city.

“When I was a boy, I used to go up there, and watch the moon.”

Faramir pointed to an overlook high above. White columns stood, some greenery behind them.

“It is a little courtyard with green and statues. A child had plenty of places to hide there, away from tutors and Stewards.”

Eowyn thought of the stables she used to hide in, as a little girl.

“I used to have a similar kind of place. The stables. There were lots of places to hide there, and if I kept quiet enough, the horses wouldn’t give me away.”

Faramir smiled. She decided that she very much liked his smile. Turning back, she looked over the city. It was a beautiful city.

`*`*`*`*`*`

Aragorn walked up the stairs and into a small hall nestled between two lines of bed chambers. It was meant to be a wing for visiting dignitaries and their families, with the small hall intended to host meals for them away from the larger hall for the main court. In ages past, Kings of Gondor might have held more private celebrations with a cousin and their family, greeted a small group of elves, or met with perspective suitors for their children.

Today, it held the generals of Rohan that had survived the Battle for Minis Tirith and Helm’s Deep. At the long center table, Eomer sat, seemingly staring at a blank parchment before him. Aragorn knew the look of the younger man’s expression.

Aragorn moved over to the seat next to Eomer. The Third Marshal did not appear to notice Aragorn at first. Not until Aragorn reached for the back of the chair, did Eomer realize he was nolonger alone.

“Oh, my apologies.”

Aragorn waved them off, before indicating the chair. Eomer nodded for Aragorn to join him.

“I heard about Theoden just now.”

Eomer hung his head low. Not for the first time, Aragorn felt grieved that someone so young carried such burdens. Both Eomer and his sister had seen too much war and desolation.

“Later, we are to discuss the next step? Against Sauron and his forces?”

Aragorn nodded, before taking out his pipe. It seemed the young warrior preferred to speak of the future and not the past.

“Legolas is out scouting. Gimli and Gandalf are helping where they can.”

“What of the hobbits?”

It had not escaped Aragorn’s attention how Eomer seemed particularly worried over the hobbits. He owed it partly to how Eomer had once believed he and his eored had slain the little hobbits right beside the orc pack who held them captive, and partly to the same reasons Boromir had been so attentive to them. An elder brother accustomed to caring for younger siblings and looking after them.

“They are well. Pippin is looking after Merry, and Gandalf thinks Merry should be up and around by tomorrow.”

“Eowyn was resting when I looked in on her an hour or so ago. Her arms won’t be in any shape for any further fighting for a while, if we are to go against Mordor again.”

Eomer looked up at Aragorn, his face troubled.

“We are to battle them again, aren’t we?”

Aragorn nodded. The details were not yet certain though it was for certain that they would clash against Mordor again. Looking over, he found Eomer again staring at the blank parchment before him.

“I am meant to write a report to send back. The words do not come.”

“Perhaps, rather than writing an official decree to the people, you might wait until you are returned to them yourself of their King and the battle. For now, write to your healer. Ask her to join you in Gondor.”

Eomer’s head jerked in Aragorn’s direction.

“Ask her to come, when we may yet battle back Mordor at the gate?”

Aragorn nodded.

“We will not fight them again in the White City. The next battle will be elsewhere. She should be safe in the city. If she arrived after we were off, at least she and Eowyn would have each other until your return.”

Eomer considered Aragorn’s words. He was sure that Eowyn would soon be like a caged beast, with her injuries, in a strange city. To have Aderyn would keep her better occupied and give her the comfort of her dearest friend as she mourned their uncle.

“It would be good for her to have Aderyn here, especially while I’m gone.”

Aragorn reached, sliding the parchment a bit closer to Eomer. Without a word, the Ranger and long-lost heir of Isildur, left the hall. Eomer took the parchment and put ink to it. Specifically, he wrote to Aderyn.

Eomer would send a messenger as soon as he finished writing. They would travel on the fastest horse available, off to Rohan, to Aderyn. Soon, she would know the outcome of the battle, the loss of Thorin, and Eomer’s desire to have her here, with he and with Eowyn.

`*`*`*`*`*`

Aderyn moved out of the hall with two heavy buckets in her hands. They were full of soiled water from cleaning the Healer’s hall. It had been in much need after tending those who came back from the Deep, and the bitter winter months with a leaking roof and not enough people to give it proper attention. Since returning, she and her mother had taken turns cleaning up around the Healer’s Hall to get it back to its former glory as well as to keep busy.

No matter how busy she kept, Aderyn’s mind would not keep to the task at hand. Instead, it wandered off to her friends and their uncle, to the outcome of the battle, to how the Lord Aragorn and his two companions faired, of Gandalf and the little hobbit, and the other hobbit that she suspected was with Eowyn. She wished she could know how they all faired, most especially Eowyn and Eomer.

As Aderyn put the buckets down and went to open the small gate that led out into the Edoras, she noticed a rider in the distance. A messenger, by the looks of him. A smaller man upon a swift steed.

Her task forgotten, Aderyn ran for the Meduseld’s main hall. Surely, any message regarding the King, his nephew, and the battle, would be brought there. Her mother spotted her running.

“Aderyn!”

“A messenger, mother! A messenger comes!”

Branwen was then right behind Aderyn, both hastening to the main hall. They arrived just as the doors were being pulled open at the gates, a call from the guard alerting everyone to the messenger’s arrival. They had only a few moments to wait before the messenger, a threadbare and weary looking young man, came into the main hall.

“I bear two messages, one for Commander Hollis and a second for the healer Aderyn.”

Hollis moved forward, leaning heavily on the crutch he used to walk. Aderyn stepped up beside him, knowing that he swayed more than he could correct for, at times. The young messenger retrieved two parchments rolled and covered in oiled cloth, handing the first to Hollis and the second to Aderyn.

Hollis unfurled his, quickly scanning the contents. Aderyn found her hands shook slightly, delaying her opening of the parchment she held. As soon as she opened it, she felt some relief wash over her at the familiar handwriting she knew to be Eomer’s.

“The battle is won,”, Hollis began before his whole form shook slightly, “and King Theoden is slain.”

A hush came over the hall and Aderyn found herself reading her own parchment in a fury of speed to know Eomer’s condition, if Eowyn had yet been discovered, and if she had survived. Beside her, Hollis continued to explain the contents of his parchment to those assembled.

“The King was struck down by the Witch King on his fell beast. The Lady Eowyn stood to defend him in his final moments, striking down the Witch King and his beast, with the aid of the hobbit, Meriadoc Brandybuck, Esquire of Rohan. Both survived the battle and are being cared for in Gondor by the few healers remaining in the city. The foes in Mordor are not yet defeated. Lord Eomer believes there is another battle yet to come before the fate of Middle Earth is decided.”

Beside Hollis, Aderyn read through the parchment Eomer had sent for her eyes alone. It confirmed much the same as Hollis’s, adding a few details here and there. Eowyn had been injured by both the Witch King’s weapons and magic, yet was recovering due to Lord Aragorn’s intervention. Many had been slain beside their King, the wounded were almost beyond counting with a good number of them not expected to survive for long, Merry had been found by Pippin and was recovering quickly, both of Aragorn’s companions as well as Gandalf had also survived the battle.

Near the end, there was a separate, shorter message that had nothing to do with battles or injuries. Eomer worried for leaving Eowyn alone as he planned beside Aragorn and Gandalf, and of leaving her behind should he be needed in battle again before he could have Eowyn returned home. At the very end, Eomer added a final note.

          “Aderyn, please come to Gondor? I wish to see you again, before we are again to war.”

He signed it, “Your Eomer.”

Looking about the hall, at those mourning their King and the yet unnamed valiant dead, Aderyn felt both guilt and elation. Eomer and Eowyn were alive, as were Gandalf and his companions, yet Rohan had lost her King and numerous brave warriors. She was determined, she would venture to Gondor.

Aderyn moved to her mother’s side as she tucked the parchment into a pocket of her tabard. Her mother looked worried.

“What news from Eomer and Eowyn?”

“They are both alive, Eowyn was injured but is recovering. Eomer asks that I join them in Gondor.”

Her mother smiled warmly at her, though Aderyn did not miss the flash of fear and worry in her mother’s pale green eyes. Branwen’s warm, work-roughened hand reached to catch Aderyn’s.

“Eowyn will need the best healer in Rohan to tend her, and perhaps lend a hand to those healers still in Gondor, and I believe Rohan’s Prince and Healer need each other. Let us gather your pack and send you off. I am sure Hollis will find a couple men to ride with you as escort.”

Aderyn nodded, walking off with her mother. Soon, she would be in Gondor, reunited with her dearest friends.

Chapter Text

Eomer had been unable to sleep for most of the night. Between his concern for Eowyn’s recovery and his fears for the morrow, slumber eluded him as his mind raced. He also worried for those left at the Edoras, especially for Aderyn and a few of Eomer’s old soldiers he had been forced to leave behind after their service at the Deep.

Early, he rose and readied for the day. All over, his body ached. He had been going non-stop since the beacons had been lit.

Eomer had been walking out to check on his horse when a young servant boy called out to him. Gandalf wished Eomer to join a council in the main hall. As quickly as he could manage, Eomer headed off to meet the Wizard.

Legolas the elf, stood a few feet to the side of what had been the Steward’s seat, where the dwarf, Gimli, currently sat with his pipe. Off to the other side of the throne chairs, Gandalf paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind him. Aragorn stood aways off, his look one of serious thought.

“You wished me to join you?”, Eomer said as he came to stand beside the elf.

“Yes, Lord Eomer.”, Gandalf said as he turned to face Eomer with a small smile, “You are the leader of the Rohirrim here in Gondor and as such, ought to be here.”

Aragorn nodded beside him.

“How is your sister?”

“She is healing. I had intended to see her once she woke.”

Gimli, nodded behind his pipe.

“She’s a strong lass. She will pull through and no doubt be standing tall for many years to come.”

Eomer smiled with a nod, agreeing completely. It did not stop his worrying, though. For a long moment, no one spoke. Eomer felt that he may have interrupted some discussion when he arrived, if the tension in the room was anything to measure by.

“Frodo has passed beyond my sight. The darkness is deepening.”

“If Sauron had the Ring, we would know it.”, Aragorn returned, his back turned to the lot of them.

“It’s only a matter of time.”, countered the wizard.

Eomer had heard enough from the four of them, as well as the two little hobbits Merry and Pippin, to know that this Frodo and another companion from the Shire, had the Ring of power and were meant to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom. Quite a feat for two such small beings.

“He has suffered a defeat, yes. But behind the walls of Mordor, our enemy is regrouping.”

The dwarf appeared to take this as a good thing, “Let him stay there. Let him rot! Why should we care?”

Gandalf turned, his tone angry and worried at once.

“Because ten thousand orcs now stand between Frodo and Mount Doom.”

His words silenced the dwarf and made the elf at Eomer’s side go stiff, as if he had forgotten to breathe. The whole group were clearly concerned for their friends atop the fear of losing Middle Earth’s free peoples to Sauron. Eomer watched as Gandalf walked away from them, his movements slow and weary.

“I’ve sent him to his death.”

Lord Aragorn turned and Eomer knew the man had come to a conclusion at last. In all likelihood, it would be another dangerous step to avoid the annihilation of Middle Earth at great cost to those fighters left standing after the battle for Minis Tirith.

“No. There’s still hope for Frodo. He needs time and safe passage across the Plains of Gor Goroth. We can give him that.”

“How?”, inquired Gimli.

“Draw out Sauron’s army. Empty his lands. Then we gather our full strength and we march on the Black Gate.”

Gandalf’s eyes went a bit wide as Gimli choked on his pipe smoke. Eomer stepped closer to Lord Aragorn, making sure the man understood where their chances lay.

“We cannot achieve victory through strength of arms.”

The massive losses at the Deep and again at Minis Tirith’s gate, had wiped out the majority of Rohan’s remaining forces. Gondor faired no better in numbers, after so long defending Osgilioth. Only a few elves remained after the battle in Helm’s Deep, and had arrived during the night with an offer to follow Aragorn.

“Not for ourselves. But we can give Frodo a chance if keep Sauron’s eye fixed upon us. Keep him blind to all else that moves.”

“A diversion.”, concluded the Elf.

“Certainty of death! Small chance of success! What are we waiting for?”

Eomer turned from Gimli’s outburst to where Gandalf leaned to speak quietly with Aragorn.

“Sauron will suspect a trap. He will not take the bait.”

Lord Aragorn smiled.

“No. I think he will.”

Eomer did not know what the Gondorian had in mind, however he was inclined to wager it was something Sauron would never see coming.

<^><^><^><^><^>

Hours later, just before the dawn, Eomer found himself wandering down to Eowyn’s room. Careful and quiet, he cracked her door open to look in on her just as he had done many times in the first months they spent in the Meduseld after coming to live with their uncle. As he hoped to find, Eowyn slept soundly in her borrowed bed with a fire going and the windows shut.

He could recall, as a young boy, spending several minutes every night just watching her sleep. The fever that took their mother had left Eowyn pale and weak that whole winter that followed. Eomer worried constantly for her. Theodred sometimes woke and would come stand with Eomer for a while, and at times they caught Theoden already in Eowyn’s room at her side, pulling another blanket over her or adding logs to the fire to warm the room.

With Theoden slain only two days ago and Theodred before him, Eomer knew he was the only family Eowyn had left and he would ride out to what was certainly his own death in the morning. This time tomorrow, she could be all that remained of the royal family of Rohan, left to rule like Frealef before her. Eomer allowed himself one last moment to see his sister sleeping, blissfully yet-unaware of Eomer’s imminent departure.

Careful to make no sound, Eomer made his way back up to the rooms Faramir’s assistant had assigned to him. He slid out of his shirt and shoes, then laid out in the soft, large bed. His window was open to allow the moonlight to illuminate the room and to keep it cool. This had been his first quiet night since the return to Edoras after the Deep, and before the celebration of their valiant dead.

That night, after helping with the wounded and scouring the Hall to make sure none of Grima’s bullies remained, Eomer had nearly passed out in his chamber. His body had felt so wrung out, even after a quick bath and changing to a clean pair of old pants to sleep in. A short while later, Eomer had woken, panting for breath, his nightshirt soaked through with his own sweat. Images of Theodred, and all those men he had lost in the months prior as well as those lost at Helm’s Deep, swam through his mind as he fought his way from the clutches of his nightmare.

He was roused further by the sound of a light knocking at his door. Taking a deep breath, Eomer had risen and gone to the door, half-expecting it to be a messenger from Theoden. The King may have had need of Eomer, even at such an hour.

His still sleep-addled mind had thought it to be Theodred as his cousin often woke from the noise of Eomer’s nightmares or a restless sleep. But he remembered, a step shy of the door, that there would be no more visits from his late cousin. Eomer had been shocked to see Aderyn standing there in her nightdress and a thin wrap about her shoulders.

“Eomer?”

Now he truly wished he could physically beat himself. Aderyn had been tending and mending at Helm’s Deep for five days and nights during the battle, for a full day following, and then ever since returning to the Meduseld she had gotten no rest till almost midnight. She had deserved her rest yet Eomer’s thrashing had woken her.

“Aderyn, I am sorry. I did not mean to wake you.”

She needed no invitation, moving into his room and closing his door. In only her shift and wrap, he was sure she had to have been cold. For a moment, Eomer had been reminded of a much-younger Eowyn having nightmares that sent her running to Eomer’s room in the middle of the night. She hated to wake him and would instead steal one of the blankets he had kicked off in the night, so Eomer would wake in the morning to find her asleep in a chair by the fire, curled under his blanket.

The woman before him was hardly a child anymore. At 25 years of age, she was considered by some to be a bit of an old maid in the making, even with a figure that drew no small amount of attention from the younger men about the Edoras. Many of those wandering eyes fell when caught by Eomer.

He could tell she had cleaned herself up, as her hair now hung in a loose, damp braid over one shoulder and her face was as moonpale while her hands were reddened. He did not wish to know how much scrubbing she has required to return her bloodstained hands to such a clean state, though he the soreness of her fingertips gave some hint. She was not the raw boned and gangly creature she had been in their younger years when Theoden caught them in a riding lesson, now filling out her shift nicely with a fuller look to her cheeks.

“I was wakeful and heard your thrashing about, then panting for breath. I had thought you might have some fever or that someone else was in here to disturb your sleep.”, she said before her voice went a bit quiet, “I fear I may have even considered that Grima had found a way to slither back and that he had done something to you as what he did to Theoden and Theodred.”

Eomer did not blame her for that. He figured he would have likely jumped to a similar conclusion if he had heard her thrashing and panting, on their first night back in the Great Hall.

“No. Nothing so dire, only nightmares.”

Aderyn nodded. The tiredness of her limbs as she relaxed into the corner seat made him think she may have fallen more than consciously decided to sit in the chair at the corner of his room. Eomer moved to crouch in front of her, holding one of her pale hands in his tanned, rough one.

“I am sorry your dreams are such. After so long on the road and so much time spent battling, you deserve at least a few hours of blissful, dreamless respite.”

He smiled up at her, loving how even with her being so tired and wrung out, she worried over him and yet could conjure up such a sentence. He was having trouble thinking straight and Aderyn was speaking with an eloquence many in Rohan envied.

“I will rest enough for now. You ought to be in bed, asleep, as well. Not waking in the middle of the night to bathe and check on old friends.”

Aderyn smiled, leaning back so only the chair kept her upright.

“I woke and then could not go back to sleep. There was plenty of water and some soap, so I decided if I could not sleep, I could at least wash the evidence of this past week from my skin and hair. I confess, I felt better than if I had gotten a full night’s sleep, simply by being clean again and not reeking of death and blood.”

Eomer could understand that. Once he had made sure everyone was cared and accounted for, he had taken his own cold bath to get the worst of the blood and grime from his skin and hair. His plan was to do a better job in the morning, at least figuring he would be clean enough not to soil his bed linens with the filth of war.

Now, seeing that Aderyn was barely staying upright in the seat, he moved to stand and tuggedher along. Quietly, he walked Aderyn back to her own room with the intent to tuck her in for the night and leave without anyone being the wiser. However, as they passed Theodred’s room, he saw a shudder go through Aderyn that he knew very well.

Inside Aderyn’s chamber, Eomer was struck with an idea. He threw several blankets overtop the wool rug between her bed and her fireplace to form a nest of sorts. He added a couple of the pillows from her bed and the nearby chair. Eomer then reached for his favourite healer and lead her into the pile of blankets and pillows.

He guided her to sit across from him, then moved to throw a thinner blanket over her legs. She laid back against one of the pillows, smiling sleepily. Eomer figured a combination of the warm fire, the comfortable place to lay, and knowing she was not entirely alone, would be too much for her wakefulness to fight against. He had been right. Within minutes, she was sleeping soundly.

Despite the years of friendship, her trust in him to allow him to see her in her shift, to follow him in a dark hall, and to sleep right across from him, astounded Eomer. Outside of those men who had chosen banishment with Eomer, no one trusted him half so much except for Eowyn. And even Eowyn questioned him more.

Eomer supposed that part of why Aderyn did not question him much was her uncanny ability for catching on quickly to what went on about her. She could easily grasp why he, Theodred, or Theoden gave some command and why it needed to be obeyed. It was much the way the other healers followed Branwyn’s commands in the Healer’s Hall.

Even Eomer and Eowyn complied without question, when Aderyn gave an order in her official capacity, and Eowyn was not generally one for holding back with her questions. Both had absolute faith that she was doing everything she knew to ensure the recovery of whomever was under her care. It seemed that Aderyn returned that trust in Eomer, outside of the Healer’s Hall.

Once he was sure she would not wake from his moving around, Eomer tucked a smaller blanket over Aderyn’s upper half, then a thin sheet overtop of her from her toes to her shoulders. He looked out where her one window remained cracked, to check the sky. It would be a little over two hours before the sun would throw its first light across the sky, allowing Eomer an hour before anyone might begin to roam the halls to take care of chores around the Meduseld.

That meant Eomer had about an hour before he had to return to his chamber, lest he risk wagging tongues. He smiled. An hour to sit in the peace and quiet of Aderyn’s chamber while his favourite healer slept across from him. It made him think of a possible future, where he had confessed his feelings to his dear friend, to find she returned them, followed by some time properly courting her, then a wedding, and years spent at their daily tasks then falling asleep together in front of the fireplace in their shared room. He thought of picking her up and carrying her to bed, without fear of wagging tongues or her being upset upon waking to find him laying beside her in bed.

After the hour was up, Eomer had risen and quietly made his way to his own chamber. Now, alone in his bed within Gondor’s halls, he found himself dreaming of that night and of a possible lifetime he and Aderyn might have shared. He would have given a great deal to have shared that with her.

Eomer moved to take up the small, portable writing desk and a parchment, putting quill to paper. He wrote a first letter to Eowyn. He shared his fond memories of taking care of her, watching her grow up to be a fine lady of Rohan and great leader.

He encouraged her to rule well, to not cry too much for his loss as he would go to join Theodred, Theoden, and Eomund in the halls of their forefathers, and he would wait there for Eowyn to join him many, many years from now, to tell her own tales of leading Rohan in a golden age of peace and plenty, marrying someone who made her happy, having healthy children who were the apple of her eye, and grandchildren she spoiled. At the end, he asked her to look after Aderyn and Branwyn, as well as herself, and his horses.

Next, he wrote a second such letter to Aderyn. He admitted that he had intended to properly court her and wed her once he had her mother’s blessing to ask for Aderyn’s hand. He recalled their strolls during picnics with Eowyn and Theodred, of teaching her to ride, and their conversations over the fire in the Healer’s Hall when he would bring her apples and she would tell him how his injured men were fairing. Eomer intended to leave her with no doubts about how much he had loved her, should he not return. At the end of the letter, he wished her a good, long, happy life that she would live fully, even without him there to share it.

Eomer closed the letter, then folded each one and left them by the bedside table. If he did not return this afternoon from the oncoming battle, the servants would find the two letters with the names of each woman on them. Hopefully, they would be delivered to Eowyn and Aderyn, allowing him a final farewell to the two people whom he loved most.

~*~*~*~

Their number left the city of Minis Tirith behind and rode solemnly towards the Black Gates. Lord Aragorn rode Brego out in front to lead the assembled armies, Legolas and Gimli again sharing their horse, the hobbit Pippin riding before Gandalf, while Merry rode behind Eomer. It occurred to Eomer that it was almost funny that he should take Eowyn’s friend into battle after having been the one to tell Eowyn not to encourage the hobbit to dream of war.

Before they left the city, Eowyn had come to see him off. She helped him into his armor and pulled his hair back for him to keep it out of his face as he rode and later fought. Eomer had moved, embracing his sister for a long moment. If it was to be their final farewell, he did not mean for it to be a cold one.

Now he was with the lead group heading to the Black Gates of Mordor. He was sure that death awaited them, yet no one tarried or attempted to flee. They knew that this was a mission to distract the forces of Mordor away from two brave hobbits, so that those hobbits might win the war of the Ring.

In a span of time that felt both shocking brief and terribly prolonged, their company arrived at the dreaded Gates. They reminded Eomer of Isengard, with the sharp spires and spikes, etched straight lines, and dark, foreboding presence. Even as a child, he had disliked the sight of Isengard. The Black Gates of Mordor were no less impressive or intimidating.

Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, and Eomer moved their horses up with Lord Aragorn taking point with a Gondorian Standard Bearer at his right, their army lingering behind some several yards. Eomer kept a hand close to his sword hilt, the other ready to keep the little hobbit in place if Eomer needed to turn quickly. These Shirelings were not the horse masters that Eomer and his men were, and would not be prepared for the swift changes in direction from a well-trained steed.

“Let the lord of the black land come forth! Let justice be done upon him!”, Aragorn called out to the gates.

A whistling wind blew, the only noise aside from that of their own breath and the small noises of their horses. Eomer could feel Merry behind him, tilting a bit to look around much the way Gimli did behind Legolas. The silence creeped up their spines and raised the hairs at their napes.

Then, a metallic creaking. They could hear the tall gates beginning to groan as they moved, their large hinges whining at the weight. Eomer had expected some number to be waiting, a first wave of Sauron’s forces. Instead, a lone rider with a ridiculous helmet or headdress appeared in the opening.

The rider came forth, his horse moving as though near-death. It hung its head low and his feet moved as if it took all the beast’s strength to continue on. Eomer cursed the magic of Sauron.

The Rider, with what looked like putrefied blood coming from his impossibly tall teeth and cracked, disgusting mouth, smiled. His eyes were hidden under the headdress and his horse looked caked in mud, muck, blood, and gore. Eomer could smell him from where he saw with Merry, and wanted to vomit at the stench.

“My master, Sauron the Great, bids thee welcome.”

Another large, grotesque smile. For a moment, no one spoke. Eomer wondered if the others felt as ill as he did, or if there were some strategy at work.

“Is there any in this troupe with authority to treat with me?”, asked the grotesque Rider.

“We do not come to treat with Sauron, faceless and accursed.”, Gandalf stated, drawing the Rider’s attention to him in a way that reminded Eomer of a snake.

“Tell you master this,”, Gandalf continued, “the armies of Mordor must disband. He is to depart these lands, never to return.”

“Aha.”, the Rider answered, “Old Gray Beard. I have a token I was bidden to show thee.”

The glee of the Rider did nothing to settle Eomer’s nerves, nor those of his horse. The Rider reached, pulling out a shirt of the finest chain mail Eomer had ever laid eyes on. It looked nearly white with an intricate pattern of gold and silver at the neck. He would have wagered it was Mithril.

“Frodo.”, he heard Pippin whisper.

The Rider tossed the shirt to Gandalf with a growl that might have been the foul creature’s breath or a laugh. Eomer had a great desire to cut the grotesque head from the shoulders of this tall Rider. To be done with it.

Pippin exclaimed his friend’s name again, prompting the Rider to gloat. Gandalf tried to silence the Shireling only for Merry to cry out. Eomer reached, steadying the young hobbit as he would any young soldier at their first battle.

“Silence!”, Gandalf commanded of the hobbits, drawing the eyeless attention of the Rider.

“The halfling was dear to thee, I see. Know that he suffered greatly at the hands of his host.”

Without knowing either of the little hobbits who carried the Ring, Eomer wanted to give this vile creature an agonizing death to match whatever had been done to the hobbit. He couldn’t imagine how much those of the Fellowship, might have wanted to inflict cruel punishment on the beast before them as it turned back and forth, grinning with those putrid teeth.

“Who would have thought one so small could endure so much pain. And he did, Gandalf. He did.”

The White Wizard and the two hobbits did not hide well their sorrow, while Gimli growled behind Legolas, who appeared to be considering his bow. Only Aragorn looked calm and collected. A King before his army. Lord Aragorn urged Brego forward, closer to the hideous creature.

“And who is this? Isildor’s heir? It takes more to make a king than a broken Elvish blade.”

In a swift motion, Aragorn pulled his great sword and struck the foul Rider’s head clean off with a war cry. The company appeared shocked at this. Eomer wanted to cheer.

“Guess that concludes negotiations.”, came Gimli’s conclusion.

Aragorn looked back at them, his tone defiant.

“I do not believe it. I will not.”

Any further speech was interrupted as the Black Gates once more groaned in announcement of their opening. This time, the first line of Mordor’s armies was visible as they came through the gates. Eomer could guess what would happen next. Their group would be closed in, encircled by the combined might of Mordor. This was where they would make their last stand.

“Fall back! Fall back!”

Their small group moved back to the main army as Mordor’s forced emerged, marching to surround Middle Earth’s Army. Theoden’s final speech before Minis Tirith, rang in Eomer’s ears. A red day, to ride for ruin and world’s end.

Looking to Aragorn, Eomer doubted the lost King of Gondor would give such a speech. He was so different from Theoden, with a more personal connection to the little hobbits this distraction was meant to save.

“Hold your ground! Hold your ground!”, he bellowed to order the men to their courage as he rode back and forth across them.

“Sons of Gondor! Of Rohan! My brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails. When we forsake our friends and forget all bonds of Fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of wolves, and shattered shields when the age of men comes crashing down. But it is not this day. This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand! Men of the West!”

Eomer drew his sword, Merry drawing his dagger behind Eomer as all the Men of the West stood ready. Aragorn turned to face the Black Gates, Brego rearing back as if taunting the monsters of Mordor to come and face him. Silently, Eomer prayed to Theodred, Theoden, and Eomund to be with them today, and all the forefathers of Rohan to send their might to those gathered behind King Aragorn as they faced down Sauron in Mordor.

“For Frodo!”

-~-~-~-~-~-

Eowyn waited at the entrance, desperate for any sign of her friends and her brother. Faramir had tried to offer all the comfort he could yet as they heard the silence of the battle’s end and the roar of the Great Eye falling, a cheer had erupted throughout Minis Tirith. A cheer that had sent Eowyn to her knees as she fought to hear anything of the battle.

Two women had retrieved spyglasses from their libraries and brought them out so they could look over the tops of the walls. They described what they could see. The ground below the armies of Mordor, fell under their feet while leaving the forces of Rohan and Gondor untouched with a road back to Minis Tirith. They could not see well enough to say for sure who had survived, only that it seemed perhaps half the number who had left, would return.

Beside her, Faramir held her hand and watched. A few of his men had survived Osgilioth and the assault on Minis Tirith, and had gone to fight beside Lord Aragorn and Eomer. She knew Faramir was looking for their faces as she watched for Eomer, Merry, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas. Eowyn had wished to go, to fight beside her brother. He had reminded her that should he fall, Rohan would need her, and he could not allow her to come out with him.

At last, the army grew close enough to begin making out faces, banners, and horses. Eowyn sought out those familiar to her, praying her forefathers would deliver them safely back to her. Faramir pointed out a few whom he knew, then he pointed to where a white figure stood out with familiar men about him.

“They are back!”

Eowyn took off in a run, weaving among the returning soldiers and their loved ones as she made her way to her brother and her friends. She saw Eomer dismount and rush forward. Launching up, her brother caught her, pulling her close enough to bruise as she latched on just as tightly.

“Eomer! Eomer!”

She felt him exhale deeply.

“I’m alive. I’m alive. So are your friends.”

He let her down on her feet and stepped back enough to let her see Brego carrying a battered Aragorn, Gandalf on Shadowfax with Pippin in front of him, Merry still sat on her brother’s saddle, and Legolas moved up with Gimli behind him. Eowyn did not bother to hide or deny her tears as she looked upon her friends.

“It is good to see you all returned.”

“Are the healers readied?”

Beside her, Faramir nodded.

“They’ve been waiting for your return, my lords. There are few left but they will get straight to work.”

Eomer knew it would take a rider a little less than two days to reach the Meduseld, an hour for Aderyn to ready her supplies she would bring even if told not to, and two days for her to ride to Minis Tirith. He had sent the rider off with the message and guessed they would have arrived at the same time Eomer had been listening to Aragorn’s plan. It would be another day and a half, at least, before he could expect to see Aderyn’s arrival. Most of the wounded would have been treated by then.

Eomer helped Merry from the saddle and onto his furry feet, Gandalf doing the same with Pippin. The little hobbits moved off, ready to go assist the healers in any way they could. Eowyn went with them, knowing a few things from Aderyn that she felt might make her useful. As Aragorn moved to dismount, his injuries seemed to become clearer, Faramir and Eomer moving to assist and ensure he did not fall from Brego’s saddle. The man nodded his thanks to them as Legolas suddenly appeared and moved to put a hand around Aragorn’s back, pulling one of Aragorn’s arms over Legolas’s shoulders.

“If you are not too badly injured, we could return to your rooms. I know enough to be of some help, and you could rest or wash.”

Legolas nodded.

“I’ll tend him.”

No one argued. Between the obvious old friendship and the fact that they all figured they could not touch Elvish medicine, they all knew Lord Aragorn to be in capable hands.

*^*^*^*^*^*

Aderyn rode Shadow towards Minis Tirith, her eyes on the pale city as the moon lit her path. The messenger had said he was able to cut his time by taking a pass the army would have been too massive to use and he had traded horses halfway to the Edoras in order to bring the news of their lords to the people left behind, as swiftly as possible. Using the same path and stopping only when Shadow required it, walking at times to ease the horse’s burden, Aderyn had been able to cut several hours from the journey. She would arrive in the middle of the night and likely still find plenty of work for a healer.

Beside her, Ryne smiled at the sight before them. He had lost part of his leg four years ago and had been unable to stand up to the ride with the army after Helm’s Deep. When Aderyn began to saddle Shadow up, Ryne had insisted on coming with her saying that he was equal to riding with someone as ill-accustomed to riding as she was, through a tight path in the mountain to Gondor. Aderyn had been glad of his company.

“When I brought you and your mother to Rohan, I did not think to see this sight. Mordor defeated and Gondor shining in the night.”

“I did not think we would ever come to Gondor’s great city, under such circumstances. I had figured mother and I would end up here when we outstayed our welcome in the Edoras.”

“King Theoden would never have sent the two of you away, my lady healer. You were both too skilled, and in particular you were a favourite of his niece, nephew, and son. I think he knew well the affects you had on the three of them, and he desired to keep you around if only for that.”

Aderyn nodded as she guided Shadow around a rough spot in the road.

“What will happen, now that he is gone?”

“If his body was saved, he will be returned and buried as Theodred was. Then, there will be a period of mourning before Eomer and Eowyn are crowned. Theoden left instructions that they were to rule equally if he did not return. I suppose after that, it will be a matter of each of them courting and wedding suitable matches and ruling the kingdom of Rohan.”

Aderyn thought of that. All the responsibilities for Eomer and Eowyn, in the months and years to come, after what the past few days had taken from them. Ryne looked over at Aderyn, a knowing, fatherly smile on his weathered face.

“Aderyn?”

She looked over to the man who had brought she and her mother to Rohan, who had let her borrow a cloak of his to keep warm on the road, and had kept an eye on them since they came to be healers in Rohan.

“There have been whispers for some time that the Prince Eomer and you have some special attachment. It is not my place to speak of it, as I’m not kin to either of you, however I feel you should know something an old soldier has seen. Lord Eomer looks at you as I’ve looked at my wife for many years, as my sons look upon their brides. This battle, the loss of our King, and all that stands still to be done, will not change that.”

She smiled over at him, giving a nod.

“Thank you, Ryne.”

He waved her off before urging his horse ahead of hers, leading the way down the final hill before they would have a straight, flat road into the city. It took them less than half an hour to get to the gates where Ryne had to call out that he had brought a healer from Rohan at the invitation of Lord Eomer, Third Marshal of the Riddlemark. The battered gates allowed only one door to open with enough room for them to come in single file to enter Minis Tirith.

“Are you her guard?”, a Gondorian soldier asked as he approached them.

“I am. Pray, where are the Lords Eomer and Lady Eowyn?”

“They are up at a council with Lord Aragorn, the White Wizard, and some others, including the Son of the Steward. Would the Lady Healer be led to her duties or must she be taken to Lord Eomer first?”

Ryne turned to Aderyn. As much as she desired to see Eomer and Eowyn, knowing they were both alive would have to be enough for now.

“Are the healers still at work on your wounded?”, she asked the soldier.

“Indeed, they are, lady healer. They have not stopped since the assault began.”

“Then please, take me where I am needed?”, she said as she carefully dismounted and gathered as much of her salves and teas as she could carry.

Ryne gave her a nod. He would take care of Shadow and have any supplies she had been unable to carry, brought to her. The soldier lead Aderyn away, deeper into the city. All around her she could see signs of the battle. Broken walls, stains from the injuries and dying that had taken place, rubble strewn about, and a few weapons and bits from the orcs that had yet to be picked up.

The soldier opened a final door to show a wide hall the smelled of cookpots, soiled bandages, fear, and other unpleasant odors of the dying. Aderyn gave the soldier a nod, not asking the man to venture further with her. An older woman with a dirty, haggard face saw Aderyn and rushed over to her.

“Are you of any skill?”

Aderyn nodded, “I am a journeyman healer from Rohan. I’ve come to help. Where do you need me?”

“What did you bring with you? Do you know anything of orc blades?”

“I’ve brought teas to help with pain, to ward off infection, and some to sleep. I’ve also some salves for treating the filth of orc blades.”

“Come! Come!”

For hours, Aderyn toiled with the healers. There were still plenty of men who had needed a healer and yet not been attended to. Some of the injured had been waiting since before the Rohirrim had arrived, and a few were Rohirrim with lesser injuries who had been superseded by the worst injuries of those just returned from the Black Gates. Aderyn recognized several faces as she moved about mending, stitching, wrapping, and attending the injured.

At last, just before the dawn, they had finished with the men in need of mending. Aderyn had gotten someone to fetch her saddlebags for her and retrieved the salve she used primarily on horses. A young messenger boy eagerly led her down the stables where she could begin to work on the horses.

Meanwhile, Eomer came out of the meeting with Aragorn, Faramir, and the others, tired and ready for nothing more than a quick bath in whatever water he could get into, then hours of dreamless sleep. Their meeting had been broken up due to the news that the Ring Bearer, Frodo, was beginning to stir after he had been unconscious whilst being treated by Gondor’s healers and Gandalf. Understandably, the Fellowship had all wanted to look in on their friend, and the other hobbit, Sam.

Before he could take his rest, Eomer wished to visit his horse. He needed a moment of quiet, away from the Rohirrim who looked to him as their next king, the Gondorians who were beginning to realize who he was, and the few others not of Rohan or Gondor that had thrown in with them in this battle. It felt a little easier to move, despite the soreness of his back and shoulders, without the weight of his armor. Yet, there was a certain comfort in his armor, heaving on his shoulders and fitting him perfectly from years of wear. Within his armor, he was Eomer, Third Marshal of the Riddlemark, a member of the Rohirrim. Outside of it, walking around Gondor, he was the soon-to-be King of Rohan.

Eomer sighed. It would do him no good to dwell on thoughts of tomorrow or what others expected of him. He wished now only to sit with his horse a while and be simply Eomer. As he approached the stables, he heard a familiar sound. A voice. Humming a tune he knew to be a song sung in Dale, of a lover lost in the fog.

“Aderyn?”

A head with dark hair appeared over the back of a pale horse.

“Eomer?”

He moved further into the stable as the figure came around the line of horses. For a moment, Eomer thought he had strayed into a dream rather than the stalls. Pale pre-dawn light gave a dim glow to the stables and allowing Eomer the sight of Aderyn with her green outer skirt pulled up to be tucked into her belt, her sleeves rolled to her elbows, hair in a fuzzy braid over one shoulder, a smudge of her salve on her pale cheek, and her dark eyes watering.

Without another word, Eomer rushed to her, pulling her to his chest and holding her tightly. She had come. Somehow, she had come over a day before he thought to expect her.

“When did you arrive?”, he asked without removing his arms from about her person.

“Midnight. They said you were at a meeting of great importance and I heard the Healers were still drowning in wounded.”

He chuckled despite the tangle of emotions in his chest.

“I would have known to find you in the Healer’s Wing, rather than quietly waiting in a clean chamber.”

Aderyn moved back, looking up at him with concern in her eyes.

“You’re not angry?”

Eomer held her cheek in his hand, looking down into those dark eyes that had haunted his dreams throughout his banishment.

“How could I be angry at your attending your oath as a healer? It is who are, Aderyn.”

Eomer reached, brushing a stray strand from her cheek, his rough finger tracing the shell of her ear. He would never fathom how she made her hair so soft, the feel of it like silk between his fingers.

“How is Eowyn? How are you? Young Merry, and his kin?”

“We are all well. Eowyn was injured. First, slaying the Witch King and his fell beast, then again when she faced a large orc. She is on the mend, thanks to Lord Aragorn and his Elvish magic. Merry was injured though between the healers and Pippin, there has been little for Aragorn, Legolas, or Gandalf to do for him. Are you finished with the horses?”

“Nearly, and you did not say how you are. What injuries are you hiding?”, she asked as she began to inspect him.

Eomer reached, catching her hand.

“Scrapes and bruises. Nothing to worry you. Go, finish with the horses. Then I will escort you up to a room Eowyn picked out for you.”

“Alright. But sit. You needn’t stand on ceremony for the treating of horses’ wounds.”

He did as he was told, finding a place where he could keep an eye on Aderyn while she worked, and allowed him to sit with his back to a tall post. He found that the weight of his time in the saddle and battling, had left him feeling four times his age. His body ached from between his eyes down to his toes, every muscle felt as though it weighed half a horse, and his eyelids sometimes refused to stay open long enough to watch Aderyn’s movements.

“Eomer? Eomer?”

He started, ready to fight! Then, he saw Aderyn with her hands up in a gesture of peace, while her eyes were wide with worry.

“Eomer?”

He breathed out, leaning his shoulder against the post he had slept propped up by.

“I am sorry.”

Aderyn moved closer, her pale hand gently laying across Eomer’s hip as her dark eyes sought out his own.

“You needn’t ever apologize to me for what haunts your sleep. Come. We both could use our rest in someplace more comfortable and more private than these stables.”

Eomer rose, Aderyn stepping back to give him space. He offered her a tired smile, which she returned in kind. Her hand was warm in the crook of his elbow as he guided her up the stairs and through the halls, till they reached the long hall where Eowyn, Eomer, and members of the Fellowship of the Ring, all rested. Eowyn’s room was the last one on the right-hand side and the last room on the left was empty. Eowyn had claimed it for Aderyn, once she learned Eomer had written to Aderyn.

“Eowyn will be right across from you.”

“And you?”

“Mine is the last room, at the very end of the hall. Gimli will be on the other side of your room, Legolas across from him. Aragorn had taken the room across from Merry and Pippin, though he never seems to be there. Not even in the wee small hours.”

“He has a lot on his mind, I would imagine.”, she said before looking up at Eomer’s profile, “Something the pair of you have in common.”

He let out a long breath.

“Is that why you had come down to the stables? Somewhere to think, where you would not be interrupted and Firefoot will not interrupt you with questions.”

Eomer looked over to her, seeing how those dark eyes of hers read him so well. Sometimes he wondered if she might truly be able to read minds and did it so well that even she was unaware that she did it.

“I had hoped for some quiet and to sit with someone who still saw me as simply Eomer.”

Aderyn gave his elbow a squeeze as she paused her step. Eomer turned to face her, waiting. It took only a moment for her to find her words.

“You will return to Rohan and you will be the ruler Theoden, and Theodred, knew you could be. I’ve faith.”

He looked away, seemingly still in his own thoughts. Aderyn waited.

“I know how to lead a group of men to battle. I do not know how to rule a kingdom, especially not at a time of peace.”

“You’ll learn.”

“You know I was never a good student.”

“Things you desire to know, and desire to do well, you will master.”

Eomer offered her a tired smile. Something deep swam in his eyes, yet Aderyn could not put a name to just what she was seeing.

“Come. Let us get to you to bed, else Eowyn may rise to find us both asleep, standing in the hall.”

Aderyn held a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter. Eomer, likewise, was visibly biting at his lip to hold back his mirth. Both of them took a moment before they could trust to remain quiet. It was clear to Aderyn that both of them were too tired and it was making them a little giddy.

Eomer once more took her hand to the crook of his elbow and lead her the remaining twenty feet to the door of her borrowed room. Aderyn looked to find the room was huge compared to her room in the Meduseld. The bed had a canopy of beautiful blue with pewter and white, the posters were carved wood with scenes of the White Tree of Gondor. Even the wool rug was in beautiful shades of blue that reminded her of her vague memories of the Anduin.

“This is beautiful.”, she whispered, suddenly feeling as if she were in a great hall.

“Should I be concerned you will desert us, for Gondor?”

Though she knew he was teasing her, Aderyn did not imagine the hint of concern in Eomer’s voice. Turning, she reached to lay a hand on Eomer’s forearm. It was almost odd to find it without leather or chainmail. Lately, he was nearly always adorned in armor.

“I will never desert you.”

His smile was relieved and it made her happy.

“Is there anything you need, before I retire?”

“No. I see someone already brought my bag up.”

“Eowyn or Ryne doing, I would assume.”

“Ryne likely sought out his lady to have her command him and she had someone bring my effects up. You did say she laid claim to this room, in case I came to Gondor.”

“She had faith.”

Eomer smiled at her again and she could see the weight of the past days on him. It made her wish to wrap him in warm blankets, sit him in the kitchens of the Meduseld, give him some rejuvenative tea, and keep everyone away from him for a month. Maybe two.

“Sleep well, Aderyn.”

He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. Aderyn smiled into it, then reached, letting her fingers tangle into Eomer’s long locks. She felt him smile before he drew back enough for her to look into his eyes.

“Sleep well, Eomer.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Aderyn woke several hours later to the sound of a door creaking. Looking, she found Eowyn frozen in the doorway. She must have meant to check on Aderyn and not accounted for how noisy an old door might be.

“What time is it?”

“Nearly noon.”

Eowyn crossed over, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. She wore a simple pale green gown of Gondorian cut, a light shawl of bright yellow over her shoulders. Aderyn could see the bandages on Eowyn’s wrists and along one arm.

“It is good to see you.”, Eowyn said with damp eyes shining.

“It is good to see you, too.”, Aderyn said as she sat up and embraced her dear friend.

“I had worried after Eomer’s notes.”

“Notes?”

“He sent one to Hollis, informing him of the events here. Of Theoden’s death and your slaying of the Witch King. Another was just for me, asking me to come to you two, as swiftly as I could.”

“How?”

“There is a passage in the mountains, a narrow path. It would have slowed the army too much to take it, but a single rider or a pair, can traverse it easily enough. Even one such as me.”

Eowyn held Aderyn tighter, laughing a little against her shoulder.

“I have missed you.”

“How is Merry? I heard he was injured?”

Eowyn sat back, letting out a long breath.

“He was. He and I were thrown from my horse and he crawled over to stab the Witch King in the leg, to protect me. He recovered enough to go with Eomer into battle at the Black Gates.”

“Good. I worried about he and his friend, at the battle.”

“Gandalf sent the eagles and they were able to retrieve the two who had taken the Ring to Mount Doom. Both are down the hall.”

“I had heard. And what of Aragorn and his companions?”

“He was injured but only slightly, he says. Legolas and Gandalf attended him, before going to offer what aid they could elsewhere. They and Gimli are fine, no sign of any injuries at all.”

Eowyn let out a sigh, looking out the window for a long moment.

“He still loves his Elvin maid, and I do not think his love for her will ever be dislodged from his heart.”

Aderyn reached, giving her friend’s hand a squeeze.

“I’m sorry, Eowyn. I know you had your heart set on him and your uncle had given his blessing.”

Eowyn nodded.

“Lord Faramir has stayed with me since we bumped into each other in the halls, when a soldier fell and we both went to aid him. You will like him, I think.”

“Faramir, the Steward’s son?”

“The same.”

“Well, if he was about, helping his men, I already like him. And staying with you, I like him all the more.”

Standing, Eowyn forced a smile.

“Are you hungry? There is food to be served in the shared hall.”

“I could stand a meal, if you’ll wait a moment to let me dress.”

Eowyn nodded before walking out to wait in the hall. Once Aderyn was dressed in the first clean thing at the top of her small bag, she let Eowyn lead her down to a shared hall for all these guest chambers, where several long tables stood waiting. Food was already at one table, along with Lord Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas, and a lighter-haired man with his arm bandaged. From the look that passed between he and Eowyn, Aderyn could guess who the man was.

“Lady Aderyn? You’re awake.”, Aragorn asked.

“Yes. The grumbling of my stomach roused me. How are your wounds?”

“Healing nicely. Come. Sit with us. Lord Eomer should be out soon.”

“The hobbits are eating with Sam and Frodo, as Frodo is not yet ready to walk out and sit up to eat.”, Faramir added.

Eowyn gestured for Aderyn to sit across from her, with Faramir next to Eowyn. No sooner did Aderyn have a plate handed to her by Legolas, than she heard booted steps entering the room. She turned to see Eomer in his pumpkin-coloured shirt, red tabard, breeches, and boots, his long hair wild about his shoulders. His face and hair looked clean enough to suggest he took a real bath. She smiled up at him, and he returned the smile before slipping into the seat beside her. Legolas passed down another plate with his own small smirk.

“I’ve been terribly rude,” Eowyn started, “I didn’t make introductions.”

Aderyn looked up at the man beside her dear friend.

“Faramir?”

He nodded, “Aderyn?”

She smiled with a nod, “That is I.”

For a while, they all ate in companionable silence. No one appeared to have the energy for any lively discussion and Aderyn figured those who had fought yesterday were still digesting the events. It would be a while before everyone was able to go back to being as they had been before, or as close to it as they could come.

Just as the eating had slowed and Gimli began to make conversation with the others at the table, a young man came into the room. Aragorn and Faramir both gestured for the man to come on in and say his piece. To Aderyn’s eyes he looked impossibly young.

“The lords are asking if you would take a meeting with them to discuss the issues of the Coronation, Lord Aragorn. The Lord Faramir is also asked to attend.”

Aragorn seemed to sigh as if wearied down to his toes.

“Not today. There is much need of repair work to be done at the walls, injured to see to, and other tasks of more importance than planning a coronation.”

The messenger nodded.

“What should I tell them, sire?”

“Tell them to ask me in three days.”

The boy turned to Faramir. He nodded to the boy, agreeing with Aragorn’s command. The boy bowed, then turned and left.

“Gondor needs her king.”

Aragorn looked to the White Wizard.

“And she will have one, soon enough.”

Eowyn looked over to Faramir who appeared to have shrunken in on himself a bit. He spoke quietly to her, his eyes never straying from the table.

“My father claimed Gondor had no king and Gondor needed no king. I disagreed. My tutors had taught me of the line of Gondor and I believed that there was still an heir, a true heir of Isildor, to be found and that he would return someday. I think my father had hoped for any heir to be a lady, so he might marry her off to Boromir, turning the line of the Stewards into the line of Kings.”

After a long moment of silence, Gimli started up conversation again, Eowyn easily joining in. As they began to discuss the eventual trip back to Rohan, Aderyn felt Eomer’s hand reach to catch hers, giving her fingers a light squeeze. She smiled over at him from behind her cup. She could tell he wished to speak to her in private.

Aderyn sipped at her tea, speaking with Eowyn and Faramir, Legolas occasionally joining in. Eomer finished off his meal, eating rather slowly compared to the usual gusto he tucke into his food with. When he was finished, he turned to Aderyn.

“Are you needed today?”

“I’ve work to do in the Healer’s wing. You may want to check on your men.”

“Allow me to escort you.”

He and Aderyn rose, saying their farewells before making for the Healer’s wing. Once they were out of the shared hall, Eomer reached and Aderyn gave him her hand. It felt easy to walk with her hand in his. Aderyn liked it.

“Will you stay for the coronation?”

“Aragorn’s?”

He nodded, never quite meeting her gaze.

“If I’m not needed back in Rohan before then, I would like to stay. I’ve never seen a coronation before, and I imagine there will be a good deal of music. Perhaps even a feast.”

He nodded with a smile.

“Surely there will be both.”

Aderyn slowed, looking over at Eomer. There was something weighing on him. She could feel it.

“Something troubles you.”

Eomer tried to shrug it off. She would not have it.

“Still thinking about what will happen, when you return home?”

He stopped, looking at Aderyn. She was sure she had hit the nail on the head. Eomer drifted back, leaning on the wall and looking away. Aderyn waited.

“It is not the coronation. That is just a ceremony. It is the next day, and the day after. Eowyn and I will be Queen and King of Rohan.”

Eomer looked up at her and Aderyn’s heart broke. Neither he or Eowyn had been given a moment to mourn their uncle, or even truly mourn their cousin. And then all the losses at Helm’s Deep and Minis Tirith from Eomer’s eored and the rest of the Rohirrim. There were so many to sing off to their forefathers, yet Eomer and Eowyn had marched on, never faltering and never stopping.

Aderyn moved forward, embracing Eomer tightly. His longer, heavy arms moved around her, holding her so closely that she could almost have disappeared into his tabard. He was so warm and solid. Aderyn would happily have stayed this way all the day long.

“Theoden prepared all three of you well. You and Eowyn will take on all that comes, and you will see Rohan through every storm, and all the boring days in between.”

She felt his smile against the side of her head.

“I had better get you to the Healer’s wing before someone comes looking for you.”

Aderyn stepped back though she held Eomer’s hands, remaining until he looked up at her. Those hazel eyes she had memorized over the years, were one of her favourite things about the man before her.

“I meant what I said. And, no matter what else happens, you will always have Eowyn and you will always have me. You’re not alone.”

Eomer offered her a small smile, the tension in his neck and shoulders easing ever so slightly. Still holding her hand, Eomer walked with her to the Healer’s hall before heading off to look in on his men. Once he finished with the men of Rohan, he intended to look in on the horses, particularly he and Eowyn’s horses. Both had slight injuries they were healing from and he wanted to make sure those injuries were coming along nicely.

_V_V_V_V_V_

The next several days were a blur to Eomer. He checked on his men and horses, he shared meals with the Fellowship members, as well as Eowyn, Faramir, and Aderyn, and he helped everywhere he could with rebuilding the walls and other tasks to keep him too busy to think. They had recovered his uncle’s body the same evening Eomer had found his sister among the wounded, and had stowed Theoden’s body away with the other Rohirrim. When Eomer and Eowyn together returned to Rohan, they would take the uncle’s body with them, carefully wrapped with his armor.

As Faramir regained his strength, he and Eowyn would come down to help hand out food and water to those repairing the walls and rebuilding the various doors, roofs, and such around the city. Aderyn remained busy in the Healer’s wing, tending those who were yet unable to leave and working on those injured during the rebuilding. It felt good to have work to do, even if it was hardly the work a horse master was accustomed to doing.

On the fifth day of their time in Minis Tirith, Aragorn and Faramir finally sat with the noble lords of Gondor to discuss the coronation. Aragorn asked Eowyn and Eomer to join he and Faramir at the discussions. It was decided that the crown long held in a treasury, would be brought out for Gandalf to place on Aragorn’s head while giving a blessing to Aragorn and Gondor, then Aragorn would address those assembled, followed by a banquet, with music and dancing. Faramir had been quite helpful, knowing seemingly every small detail of Gondor and able to keep most of the late Steward’s circle from pestering heir new lord, too much.

Aragorn had been ill at ease over it. Being the center of attention and throwing such a celebration with so many dead laying not but a few levels below. Eowyn and Faramir had both pointed out that it would give the people a sign of hope, the return of the King of Gondor, hero of the people, defender of Middle Earth, member of the Fellowship of the Ring. And, Eomer had to agree, everyone could use a day where they drank, ate, danced, and had a chance to focus on something joyful rather than the mourning and sorrow they had all faced in recent months.

Faramir had helped to smooth the way of this plan with the nobles of Gondor, when Aragorn insisted they wait a full moon before holding the coronation. Eomer had overheard the Son of the Steward, as he explained that with so many injured or off burying those who had not survived, it would be improper and a sad showing. He had also added that while the White Tree had sprouted new bloom, it would be weeks before the tree was in full bloom, and that they ought to wait until tree was truly full to show to all who came that the true king had returned to his people.

Eowyn had added that waiting till most had healed enough to stand for the ceremony and those who had fallen would have been buried, would allow Gondor a chance to breathe before celebrating. This had meant time for Eomer and a few of his Eored riding back to the Edoras with Rohan’s fallen, in order to have them buried, their loved ones singing them off to the halls of their fathers. Eomer and Eowyn did not wish to make their people wait any longer than they had to, for their fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons to be sent to their forebearers.

When Eomer returned, there was still much to do in Gondor, a good deal of it regarding the coronation. More repairs, running off a small orc pack here and there that had come to Osgilioth, and attending meetings with Eowyn, Faramir, and Aragorn. Even the elf Legolas, attended some of the meetings. Eomer wondered if half the reason for attending was simply to be there for his friend, Lord Aragorn.

Now, on the eve of the coronation, Eomer sat with Aragorn and Eowyn in a room aways from the shared hall where they had all been taking their meals together when they could. Aragorn had summoned them both and now sat in a chair by the fire, Eowyn and Eomer across from him in their own seats.

“My lord Aragorn, does something trouble you?”, Eowyn asked.

He shook his head.

“Tomorrow, I will be crowned and soon after, Rohan will crown it’s new King and Queen. We three will be the ruling monarchs of these lands and… I wish us to be friends. I wish Gondor and Rohan to be as brothers.”

“If you call for our aid, my lord, Rohan will answer.”, Eomer offered honestly.

Aragorn gave a nod.

“And the same for Gondor, should Rohan call.”

For a long moment, no one spoke. Then, a light knock sounded at the door.

“Come in.”, Aragorn bid.

The door opened to reveal Faramir, already dressed for bed but with a jacket pulled over his nightclothes. Eomer was aware the Steward’s son had spent the majority of the day with Eowyn and Aderyn, helping with the wounded who needed someone to feed them, change their bandages, help them up and out to tend the calls of nature, and help them drink Aderyn’s teas. Eowyn said he had already been helping Aderyn and the other healers when Eowyn came down that morning, which likely accounted for the man having been ready for his pillow.

“You called for me, my lord?”

“I wish to discuss the future of Rohan and Gondor. You have lived in Gondor all your life, and have been a defender of the city. You would know her disposition and her situation better than I.”

“If I may, she is a grande old place and she stands tall, though there are plenty of things that could be done to make her better. To return her to her former glory. We still have plenty of stores hidden away. Enough for the city to withstand a two-month siege. The treasury is full. We still have enough blacksmiths, silversmiths, and other craftsmen that we will have plenty of trade until winter. As for the disposition, my lord, Rohan came when Gondor called. I dare say you will find no enemy of Rohan within these walls.”

Aragorn gave a nod.

“Good. What will we need to make the alliance official?”

Eowyn gestured to the seat left at Aragorn’s side. Faramir moved to take it, his movements ginger as if both unsure of his place among the royalty and still requiring to be mindful of his wounds.

“There may be some thought to a contract. A signed paper does make things feel more official. Rohan lost many soldiers and horses in the defense of our city, we could offer to send them home with goods to ease the hardships of this winter, as a small token of our… of Gondor’s thanks. If I may, might I suggest a shared meal in the near future, before winter comes, with key nobles from both Rohan and Gondor, along with the three monarchs, where you all might discuss opening trade between the two kingdoms. Since the expansion of Mordor, beyond the borders of Gondor and Rohan, trade has all but ceased between our nations. It could be reignited.”

Eowyn smiled over at the son of the Steward. Eomer felt the two would be well-matched. Far better than Aragorn and Eowyn would have been, at least. Faramir was a thinker, an observer who cared quietly but loyally. A gentler soul than any other Eomer had seen turn his sister’s head. He would serve Eowyn well as a Prince Consort. From the quick look Aragorn sent Eomer’s way, it appeared Eomer was not the only one to think this.

“After the coronation, do you think you could help facilitate such a gathering?”

Faramir nodded to his future king.

“At least for Gondor’s side, yes. I know the noblemen you would wish to invite and could speak to them. If the lady Eowyn and lord Eomer would speak to the nobles in Rohan, whom they wished to have present, I could correspond with everyone to make sure of a date and location, and help set up whatever was needed in the way of rooms, guards, food, drink, and a scribe.”

They all nodded, Eowyn in particular, smiling brightly at the Steward’s Son. Eomer recalled Aderyn’s words in the hall, weeks ago. Of Eowyn would find love, just not with a man in attendance in the Meduseld that night. He could not disapprove of Eowyn’s choice.

Faramir rose and gave a slight bow. Eomer could see the man’s wounds still troubled him. He made a note to himself to ask Aderyn to check on Faramir, and ensure he was healing well.

“If there’s nothing else, I will retire for the evening.”

“Thank you, Faramir.”

As the Steward’s son moved off, Aragorn added, “You do Gondor proud, Faramir.”

Faramir turned, giving a quick nod. He then left the three of them to conclude their discussion.

“If neither of you have any issues or questions, I suggest we all retire. It will be a long day tomorrow.”

Eowyn smiled.

“It will be a good day, my lord.”

Aragorn waved her off.

“Firstly, as my friends, you need never address me so formally. I am Aragorn.”

“As you wish, Aragorn.”

Eomer could hear the teasing in his sister’s voice as she joked the future king. Aragorn’s slight smile was the only indication he had also caught the joke, before Eowyn got up, bidding him goodnight, and tugging Eomer out with her. In the hallway, Eowyn looked almost giddy.

“What has you so happy?”

“We are at peace, Lord Aragorn will be King of Gondor and our neighbor, ally, and friend. Aderyn is here, and I have procured a dress for her to wear tomorrow where she will be the envy of every woman at the ceremony, and there will be a day filled with nothing but good things. People smiling, dancing, good food, wine, singing. A day where everyone may be permitted to forget their troubles that will be waiting for us the next day.”

Turning to Eomer, Eowyn’s eyes shone with unshed tears, despite her smile.

“Uncle told me… that last night at Dunharrow, that he would have me smile again. I miss him, bitterly, though I think he would have been glad to see this day and he… he would have wanted us to enjoy it. Wouldn’t he?”

Eomer nodded, a lump choking his throat.

“I think so.”

“Then, for him and for Aragorn, I think we should do our best to let the happiness of the day win out over the sorrow we have been drowning in for days and that will be waiting for us in the wake of the coronation.”

“Agreed.”

Eomer reached, pulling his sister to his chest, letting her cry a little. Gently as when they were children, he rubbed a hand up and down her bath rhythmically. It used to soothe her crying and the hiccups that followed, when she woke from nightmares or when she got scared of the darkened hall in the nights.

“Eomer?”

He hummed a response.

“How long before you will ask Branwen for her consent to court Aderyn?”

He stepped back to look down upon the face of his sister.

“Why the sudden concern of my timing?”

“Because I am all too aware of how quickly all that you hold dear, can be ripped away. If I had my way, I would have you both married tomorrow so we could return to Rohan, all a family.”

He smiled a little, unable to help a spark of mischief.

“What of you and Faramir?”

“What of us?”

“When will he come to ask my consent to court you?”

She backed away, blushing so deeply that even her neck turned pink and her ears burned. Eomer smiled. It was good to tease her again.

“I know not what you talk about. You are a silly brother.”

“Indeed. Well, should he ask, I would gladly give it.”

Eowyn arched an eyebrow at him.

“He is the son of the late Steward, a thinker and scholar, a quiet sort. Yet you would welcome his persuit of me?”

“If he made you happy, Eowyn, he could be a beggar’s son and a complete simpleton, and I would welcome him as the one who completed your happiness.”

She smiled, the watery look returning to her eyes as her blush faded.

“Talk to Aderyn, brother.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eowyn readied herself with the help of a single maid, Gleida, who had helped Eowyn with her hair especially. With her left arm still tender and weak, dressing in a fine gown and putting up her hair had been nearly impossible. Gleida had arrived early in the morning with a small item wrapped in cloth, and offering to help Eowyn prepare for the ceremony.

Checking her reflection in the mirror, Eowyn was surprised. Usually, when she had been told her favoured her mother, she had disagreed. The woman in the mirror looked nearly identical to her mother. The only difference was the shape of her chin, which was all her father.

“My lady?”

Eowyn turned to Gleida. The woman was almost old enough to be Eowyn’s mother, with a touch of grey at her temples, yet her smile made her seem younger to Eowyn.

“Yes?”

“Would you like to see the surprise Lord Eomer sent for you?”

She had not seen her brother yet, as she had not left her room since waking. Gleida had said Eomer’s surprise was meant for just before Eowyn was set to join everyone up in the courtyard for Aragorn’s coronation.

“Please?”

Gleida moved to take out the small bundle she had brought and retrieved it for Eowyn. As Eowyn opened the bundle, she could see a small glimmer. Pulling free the small cloth inside, she found her circlet sitting atop it, shining in the morning light.

“He said that you would need your crown for the ceremony. He brought it with him when he returned from his short trip to Rohan, and polished it for today.”

Eowyn felt tears pricking at her eyes. Eomer had remembered this for her. Their Uncle had a crown, as did Theodred. Eomer had never had a crown, yet when Eowyn turned 16, Theoden had gifted her with the gold circlet to wear on formal occasions. Theodred always referred to it as her ‘princess crown’ and Eomer had told her it was a sign their uncle saw her as someone he could count on to help him with matters of state.

“May I, my lady?”

She nodded, ducking her head down to make it easier for Gleida to place the circlet on Eowyn’s head. Gleida barely had to adjust it before gesturing for Eowyn to turn to the mirror and check to make sure it was right.

“Thank you, Gleida, for all your help.”

“It was my pleasure, my lady. Years ago, when I was a very young girl, my mother attended the Steward’s wife. I had never thought to see a lady like yourself here again, in Gondor. Now we’ve our King returned, the White Tree blooms, and the White Lady of Rohan is ready to attend the coronation.”

Eowyn smiled at Gleida.

“Will you be attending?”

“Yes. My husband is a guard to the King, and will be very close. I shall be over nearer to the four Hobbits. My husband assures me I will have one of the best views.”

“Good.”

A knock interrupted their discussion. Gleida moved to get the door as Eowyn fussed with her cape, at her shoulders. Looking up at the mirror, Eowyn caught Aderyn’s reflection as her best friend smiled.

“You look beautiful.”, Aderyn said.

Gleida gave a courtesy before exiting the room and Eowyn moved over to hug Aderyn. Backing away, she took a moment to admire her friend’s dress and hair. With Aderyn’s height, it had been no small feat to find a gown for her. Faramir had helped, knowing more about where to find things in Gondor than Eowyn could claim.

Dressed in a Gondorian gown of deep amber, the belt and hems in matching pewter and black, and a black cape that had amber, gold, and pewter detailing at the hem, she looked very much like a blend of her Dalish heritage and her Gondorian peers from the Healer’s Hall. Eowyn also noted that it brought out a warmth to her friend’s dark brown hair and made the green of her eyes a bit more noticeable. Her long, dark hair was also done with the temples braided and pinned behind her head, the rest left to fall freely in light waves over her back.

“You look beautiful, too.”, Eowyn said as she smiled at her friend.

“Eomer will be unable to take his eyes away from you.”

“I feel Faramir will also need help from some very strong men, to not look at you.”

Eowyn felt herself blush.

“I see Eomer remembered your circlet.”

“He did. Oh!”

Eowyn held a hand over her mouth as she looked to Aderyn.

“You’ve no jewelry. I did not think.”

Aderyn reached, catching Eowyn’s other hand, still careful of the injuries that were not entirely healed yet.

“It is no worry. No one expects a healer to drip in jewels. Not like the future Queen of Rohan, who must look the part.”

Eowyn had no further chance to argue before another knock sounded at her door. She half expected either Gleida’s return or a page sent to inform her that the celebration had started without them. Instead, Faramir came in with his hand over his eyes. Eowyn heard Aderyn stifling an amused snort.

“Lord Faramir?”

“I’ve come to retrieve the Lady of Rohan for the ceremony, yet I could not find a maid to come ahead of me to make sure you were ready to be seen.”

“You may drop your hand, we are both decent.”

“Both?”, he said before looking up over his hand.

He smiled at them both, though his eyes lingered on Eowyn. She felt herself blush all over again.

“Gondor has never seen such jewels as the two who stand before me.”

Aderyn gave a small curtesy, barely any smoother than those she managed in her first weeks in the Edoras. Eowyn felt her own blush deepen at the compliment.

“May I escort you to the courtyard?”

“You may.”, Eowyn answered as she moved forward, holding up her dress to ensure she did not trip over her hem.

Beside her, Aderyn delayed to let Eowyn go ahead. She supposed that she would have to get used to that, at least for a while, as she would be Queen before her brother would make Aderyn the Princess of Rohan. It still rankled that her friend felt the need to let Eowyn walk ahead of her.

“You look quite nice yourself, Lord Faramir.”, Eowyn said she took the elbow offered to her.

She was proud to see a small blush touch the apples of Faramir’s cheeks and the tips of his ears as he ducked his head. When he looked up, he turned to Aderyn, who was standing several feet away.

“My lady healer, will you come as well?”

“I will be right behind your lordship and Lady Eowyn.”

Faramir shook his head.

“You are one of Rohan’s chief healers, and have worked as tirelessly here in Gondor as any of our healers. Today, you receive an escort as well.”

He offered his right elbow to her along with a smile. Eowyn sent her friend a pleading look, willing her to take the offer so they could all stand together at the ceremony. Aderyn nodded, then moved to take the offered elbow. Faramir smiled at each of them before moving to escort them aloft.

<^><^><^><^><^>

Aderyn looked about her, seeing everyone in their best, from the nobles in their shining finery to the servants of the Steward’s household who had come in the nicest things they owned. Every guardsman’s armor shone from fresh polish, the four hobbits stood opposite Gandalf, the White Wizard standing atop the stairs at the head of the courtyard with Gimli at his side and the King’s Crown in his hands. The White Tree stood proudly in full bloom as the centerpiece of the courtyard. The sky above them almost shocking blue with hardly a cloud in sight and a light breeze that made every cloak and flag dance slowly in the air.

“This is beautiful.”, Aderyn half-whispered as she, Eowyn, and Faramir came to the top of the stairs and got their first look at the courtyard in all the glory of the days of old.

“I’ve never seen it look like this before.”, Faramir said in awe.

“I think it will look much this way, for many years to come.”, pronounced Eowyn.

“Yes.”, Faramir agreed, “I think it will. The White City gleams.”

Farmir led them along to where two lines had formed. From what Aderyn had heard, Aragorn would pass through all of those assembled to stand at the end of the courtyard so all the people below could see him. The raised dais in the middle would host the four Hobbits who had been members of the Fellowship and helped save all of Middle Earth, and Aragorn’s procession would take him to them and then around them, until he could get to the end for the final piece of his official crowning ceremony.

“My lady?”, Faramir said as he turned to Aderyn, “Would you mind standing across from Lady Eowyn?”

She nodded, though she could not recall there being much about particular people needing to be in particular spots. Eowyn too, looked a bit confused. Faramir’s look calmed Aderyn’s nerves. She was not being excluded, only shuffled. She supposed it made sense. The royals of Rohan and the late Steward’s son, would stand to the right of Gondor’s King, while lower nobles, some healers, and others would be to his left.

Two servants came, addressing the crowd, informing them that Aragorn would arrive momentarily. Aderyn looked around. There appeared to be some people missing, chiefly Eomer. Before she got a chance to ask Eowyn, the music began and they all turned to look to where Aragorn would appear.

Thanks to her height, Aderyn could easily see the top of Aragorn’s head as he rose from the stone steps and came to stand on the courtyard to Gandalf’s right. He waited a moment, his small contingent catching up with him before he turned and made his way to the bottom of the stairs Gandalf stood atop of. He wore a full cape of deep sapphire, the full armor of the King of Gondor shining like silver on his chest and pauldrons, a deep red tunic beneath the armor, his famed sword at his hip, and bearing the Gondorian standard with the White Tree, in his right hand.

Looking a little to Aragorn’s side, Aderyn saw several men bearing standards of her native Dale, a few from other smaller kingdoms throughout Middle Earth, and Rohirrim flag held by the Third Marshal of the Riddlemark. Eomer stood, with no crown, his emerald cape billowing a bit behind him in the breeze, his armor cleaned and polished, and blond hair obscuring his face as the wind tousled it. She smiled. Eomer had been called upon to flank Aragorn on his way to be crowned.

Gandalf began speaking and Aderyn turned her attention to the crowning of the King. Gimli looked as if he might cry and Aderyn wondered where the other member of their company had gone to. It seemed odd to see Aragorn with Gimli and Gandalf, yet no sign of their elven friend.

Gandalf held the crown aloft, the sunlight reflecting off of it as if it were the famed King’s Jewel of Erebore. Aderyn listened as the White Wizard crowned he new King of Gondor. He carefully laid the crown on Aragorn’s head before he spoke again.

“Now come the days of the King.”, he said with a smile that looked both proud and hopeful, “May they be blessed.”

He stepped back as Aragorn rose to his full height. The new King of Gondor turned to those assembled. All around, the people cheered and applauded. The King was returned and the White Tree bloomed. Mordor was smoted and the Ring destroyed. They now had every reason to be hopeful of a new, brighter dawn.

“This day does not belong to one man, but to all. Let us together rebuild this world, that we may share in the days of peace.”

Again, the crowd erupted in applause and cheers. It was an indescribable feeling. The best word Aderyn knew in the common tongue was peace.

As if given a command to do so, the White Tree rained petals over the crowd. It was as if the Tree gave it’s own blessing to the new King and the new day. Aderyn smiled, reaching to catch a petal in her hand.

Then, the new King began to sing soothingly in a foreign tongue. It sounded Elvish and old to Aderyn’s ears. It seemed appropriate that a Gondorian King, raised by the Elves in Rivendell, would sing an Elvish song at his coronation.

When his song concluded, he stepped down from the platform at the top of the stairs, and down into the valley in the middle of the crowd. He nodded and smiled a little at the people he passed. When he came to Eowyn and Faramir, she curtsied and he bowed in respect to their new King and Argorn bowed his head in turn. Aderyn was about to drop into a low courtesy herself when she felt someone move to the small bit of space to her right. Eomer. He offered her a small nod before stepping beside her, bowing before the new King of Gondor. Aderyn curtsied beside him until Aragorn had passed them.

King Aragorn walked, Gimli directly behind him and then a line of Gondorian Guard, as they moved to meet an Elvish party headed by Legolas. Legolas and Aragorn greeted each other silently before the Elf appeared to smirk in a secret message for his friend. Aderyn could see Aragorn move to look over his friend’s shoulder as an Elvish woman with the Gondorian standard in her grasp, let the flagstaff tip to reveal her face to the King. Aderyn was no mind-reader, yet she knew what it was she was seeing. King Aragorn was looking at the woman who owned his heart. Aderyn felt tears prick as she watched the lovers reunite, the King holding his lover’s face gently for a moment before pouncing to kiss her, the Elven woman’s arms encircling the new King. Their joy was contagious as the crowd cheered for their King.

The pair walked, continuing Aragorn’s procession through the crowd until they came upon the dais with the four Hobbits. Aderyn could just make out the four little hobbits as they moved to bow before the King. Aragorn stopped them, a hush coming over the crowd.

“My friends,” he started, “you bow to no one.”

King Aragorn bent a knee to the four hobbits, his Elven love following suit within the same breath, then the crowd all turning and bowing before the four hobbits. Aderyn saw Eowyn beaming proudly as she bowed, likely thinking of Merry and his cousin Pippin. Faramir, too, appeared quite proud of the hobbits as he bowed. Beside her, Eomer looked more serious as he knelt next to Aderyn.

A moment passed, and everyone rose. Aragorn, with his lady beside him, finished his route and showed himself to the people in the city below. Cheers could be heard echoing up to the courtyard. The City was gleaming and, more importantly, healing. The wounds of Middle Earth were closing. A new day had come. A day of peace.

Aragorn and his lady left, going down to the great hall for the banquet and music. The party of Elves and the other members of the Fellowship, followed first behind Aragorn, many nobles of Gondor after that. Aderyn saw as Eowyn shot Eomer a look, then took Faramir’s arm and permitted him to lead her away. All about them, the crowd moved towards the two sets of stairs to head down for either the great banquet in the hall, or down into the city for what seemed to be a city-wide celebration of Aragorn’s crowning.

“Addie?”

She turned to Eomer. He looked so handsome in his armor and cloak, hair washed, and face clean. It made him look younger as well. Though, his smile may have also played a part in how much better he looked today.

“Yes?”

“Would you allow me the honour of escorting you to the Great Hall?”

“I’d have no other.”

She slid her hand into the crook of his offered arm. Eomer followed behind most of the group, allowing he and Aderyn a little elbow room. When they came to the top of the stairs, Eomer paused. Aderyn looked around, taking stock of the scene. It was peaceful.

“Aderyn, there is something I wish to ask you.”

“You need not delay, Eomer. Ask me anything.”

She meant every word. He and Eowyn, before anything else, were her oldest and dearest friends. She had no secrets from them and would not hesitate to do anything she could to help either of them. They need only ask and she would give them anything in her power to give.

“Upon our return to Rohan, I wish to formally court you. I will need to ask your mother’s permission, as if the custom in Rohan, yet I would know first if my suite is welcome.”

Aderyn almost couldn’t believe he was asking. After their shared kisses, their moment in Dunharrow before he left to fight in Gondor, and his letter to her, that he would know how she felt about him. The other part of her remembered that this was loyal, dutiful Eomer, who always wished to do not only what was right, but to also do it properly.

“Eomer, I can hardly wait for you to have my mother’s permission so you might court me without fear of overstepping.”

“Truly?”

She nodded, moving to take hold of his hand.

“Aderyn… I… You know I am no wordsmith, with poems and pretty words.”

She nodded, smiling. Eomer was a plain spoken, honest man. It was one of the things Aderyn most appreciated about him.

“When we were to go to the Black Gates, I wrote you and Eowyn each a letter. In case I did not return.”

Aderyn could not help the fear that seized her heart up, her hand clutching Eomer’s more tightly, fiercely. Her nightmares, when not dragging her back through the wounded of Helm’s Deep and Gondor, were plagued by images of Eomer’s lifeless body on a table among the wounded. Of seeing him laid out and being carried to the mounds in Rohan, where the royal line were buried among their forefathers. Sometimes, she even heard Eowyn’s wails as she stood before the bodies of Theodred, Theoden, and Eomer, Aderyn unable to move from her own shock and grief.

“I will not burden you with the letter, nor a full recounting of it, only the part most relevant now that I am alive to tell you myself.”

She looked up into those hazel eyes she knew so well. The light in them reminded her that Eomer was alive, whole and hardy before her, his hand in hers, his hair being toyed with by the wind. He was alive and well. And here.

“I love you, more than I can say, I love you. I’ve not the words to make myself clearer.”

Aderyn smiled, feeling her breath become shaky. Eomer brought her hand up, pressing a gentle kiss to the inside of her wrist.

“Once a proper amount of time has passed, I would like to ask Branwen’s permission, then ask your hand in marriage. I said in my letter to you, that my intentions had been such, that I wanted to spend all the rest of my days with you, never again to be parted from you. That still stands.”

“Eomer, I’ve loved you for years. I’m not sure when you stopped being my friend, and Eowyn’s brother, and became the man whom I wished to spend all of my life long with, only that I did, and I do.”

He smiled, leaning again to kiss her hand, then down to press a gentle kiss to her lips. He lingered, his forehead touching hers, their breath comingling as he held her hand, her free hand moving to rest on his shoulder, his right hand at the small of her back.

“You will be my Princess, then?”

“I would be your wife, if it means I will have you for my husband.”

His smile brightened.

“I love you, Aderyn of Dale and Rohan, journeyman healer.”

She leaned up, kissing him again.

“May I ask one favour, my lord Eomer?”

“Anything.”

“Dance with me?”

“For as long as pleases you.”

With that, he moved away, still holding her hand as they made their way down the stairs. Aderyn looked through the large hall as everyone danced, ate, smiled, drank, and took turns looking at the new King. With some effort, Aderyn spotted Eowyn and Faramir at the edge of the crowd. It appeared they were speaking quietly and leaning against a wall. Faramir’s wounds were healing nicely, though he had nearly died, had been thrown from a would-be funeral pyre, and had been going non-stop for over a month since. And he had been up since before he dawn, handling the coronation.

“I believe Lord Faramir will soon be my brother.”, Eomer whispered to Aderyn.

“I hope so. It is clear their affection.”

“Perhaps we should have a double-wedding?”, he teased in her ear.

“Give them time. We’ve had years to win each other over, he has had weeks. Busy weeks.”

“If my lady commands.”, Eomer teased.

“I could get used to that.”

Eomer arched an eyebrow in question.

“You calling me your lady.”

“Oh, and here I thought you could get used to giving me commands.”

“I grew accustomed to bossing you around a long time ago, I just do not take advantage as often as Eowyn does.”

“Will that change when you are my bride?”

Aderyn considered for a moment.

“No, I do not think so. I believe, as a wife, I shall try more to bribe you and less to command you.”

“Ah, a sweet wife.”

Aderyn dared to press a soft kiss to Eomer’s cheek. He smiled down at her, looking happier than she had seen him in ages.

“Come. I owe you a dance, then another, and perhaps another after that.”

Chapter Text

Branwen waited, watching as those from Rohan who had been to the coronation of King Aragorn, returned to the Edoras. She had been there as the letters for the people of Rohan, and for her daughter, had come from Lord Eomer. She did not need to be a healer with years of experience with soldiers nor did she need to have once been a young woman in love, to recognize what was going on between her dear daughter and the Prince of Rohan.

No. She needed only eyes and a half-functioning mind. It was plain as day.

In the days since Dunharrow, Aderyn had been a mad woman, waiting for word. She worked, she did her best to keep everyone’s spirits up, she brewed her teas, and she attended to her needs as little as possible, barely eating or sleeping. At every sound that might have been a rider approaching the Edoras, every knocking at a door, Aderyn looked. Then, every time when no word of Eomer, Eowyn, Theoden, or the Rohirrim came, she could see her daughter’s heart crush a little before she would regroup and get back to her work.

Branwen thought, perhaps, she had pushed her daughter too hard as her apprentice. When word came that Eomer wished Aderyn to come to Gondor, Aderyn had hesitated in the stable, as she stood next to old Shadow. Branwen had inquired what stayed her daughter’s feet from running to Gondor.

“You need me here. Rohan needs every healer they can get.”

“Your King has called for you, and you must attend that.”

“But what of the needs here?”

“I’ll tend them. Lord Eomer did not call for me, he called for you. He sent a rider to fetch you.”

Branwen had leaned close, hugging her daughter. She was so tall, just as Branwen was and her late husband had been. Aderyn, so unlike her late father who was a dreamer or Branwen who was entirely too practical and more than a little gruff, Aderyn was hopeful, dutiful, and always worried she would overstep, that she would fail those who counted on her. It was likely the time they spent always being guests, before they had come to Rohan, had left such a mark on her daughter. Even after, when Aderyn had yet to accept that Theoden would have kept her around just for the sake of her friendship with his niece, rather than only as long as she was useful to him, as an apprenticed healer.

“Whether he calls for you as a healer of Rohan, as his friend, or even for Eowyn’s sake, you must go, as I know you desire to.”

“How will you fair without me? You’ll be all alone, with no help. There is too much for both of us here, let alone just one healer.”

Stepping back, Branwen looked into her daughter’s dark eyes that were so much like her late grandfather’s. Aderyn had always been like Branwen’s late father-in-law. He had been a very good, kind man, whom Branwen was glad to see her daughter taking after.

“People are returning now, in the wake of the victory at Helm’s Deep. I am sure I will not lack for aid in the coming days ahead. I’ve handled worse with less.”

Her daughter nodded, still looking guilty. Branwen pushed some of the unruly locks of dark hair behind her daughter’s ear, letting her see her daughter’s full face.

“You love him.”

That widened her daughter’s eyes.

“Do not argue with me, or deny it, my dear daughter. You love him. And I dare say the feeling is returned in equal measure. Go to him. See for yourself that he and Eowyn are safe, tend the wounded Rohirrim and Gondorians you will find in the White City, look after the horses. When it is time to return, the three of you will return.”

“You’re sure that you will be alright until I come back?”

“Yes.”

That had been enough convincing to get her daughter on old Shadow, and ride with Ryne riding beside her. He had promised Branwen, before they departed, that he would protect Aderyn with his life. Branwen believed him and rested a little easier knowing her daughter had such loyal company.

Now, she watched as everyone returned. Many had come when Lord Eomer brought the bodies of the slain, home to their loved ones. Those who were injured yet able, rode with him, and several men uninjured as well. About half of the injured remained in Rohan. Some returned to their home, others had required time in the Healer’s wing to be looked after, before they could return home.

Lord Eomer had come to Branwen, their discussion almost entirely about the injured and sick left in Rohan, of how to care for those he had brought with him from Gondor, and of supplies needed. It had been good to see him, even if he did look far too tired and too worn, for someone so young. She could see the weight of all of Rohan, as well as the losses at Minis Tirith and the Black Gates, weighed heavily on the man who only ever wanted to be a good soldier.

Branwen had waited till they were done talking in their official capacities as Healer and Marshall, before inquiring of Eomer’s health, Eowyn’s recovery, and of Aderyn. He had assured Branwen that Aderyn was well, staying in a room across from Eowyn, and that she had sent a small letter with him for Branwen. He promised to return her safely when he next came back to Rohan. Branwen believed him.

She still had the note tucked away in her room. Aderyn had written of the injuries and the work of a healer, filling Branwen with pride at how skillful and dedicated her daughter and apprentice was. The second half of the short letter had explained about Eowyn’s injuries and her attachment to the Steward’s son, she wrote of the Fellowship and their joy at having the two who had taken the Ring to Mordor now safely returned to them, and she wrote of how happy she was to have Eomer and Eowyn in arm’s reach again, feeling a bit guilty about being so happy, when they had lost their uncle and so many around them had lost someone. She promised to return soon.

Now, Branwen looked from the front stairs up to the Meduseld, watching. The standards of Rohan, banners and flags, were held proudly as an army of men, horses, and others approached the old capitol city. In the lead, Branwen could make out what appeared to be Eomer’s eored, though at such a distance she could not dare to try to pick out the Third Marshall or any particular men nor their horses.

She waited, trying to remember to breathe, as she watched. Finally, as they rounded the last bend in the road, she could see the horses well enough to know who was who. Lord Eomer on Firefoot, with his eored, and some behind them, the lady Eowyn astride her brown steed, and beside her on old Shadow, Aderyn. Branwen thought she could even see Ryne and his aged black steed, riding just behind Eowyn and Aderyn. Likely, he had insisted he be where he could protect his lady and his healer.

The group came up, with those in the city cheering to them, eager to welcome them home again. As happy as those within the city had been to see their Lord and men return, it had been a somber occasion. He was returning fallen loved ones to be prepared, buried, and sung off to their ancestors. This was different. Today was the happy return of the future King and Queen of Rohan, the second healer of Rohan, and all the remaining soldiers of the Rohirrim.

Cheering and the call of names echoed through the city like a warm spring breeze carrying the scent of fresh blooms. It brought a smile to Branwen’s face as she watched children scurrying up to look for fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and brothers. Young brides moved to look for husbands, women Branwen’s age came close to look for their husbands, brothers, and sons. She looked for her daughter, needing to see with her own eyes that Aderyn was well.

She needn’t have worried. As they entered the Edoras, she could see Aderyn’s face was beaming, as were Eowyn and Ryne. Aderyn bore no injury or bandage, while Eowyn’s one arm was still wrapped carefully. Two guardsman, one Branwen recognized as Selmin the former tower guardsman of Rohan, helped Eowyn and Aderyn from their horses. Selmin then moved to help Ryne while the other guard walked just behind Eowyn and Aderyn for the few steps before Aderyn rushed ahead, running up to Branwen.

“Mother!”

Branwen held her arms open, uttering no complaint as Aderyn gently slammed into Branwen’s chest. She held her daughter closely, saying a prayer of thanks for Aderyn’s safe return.

“You are well?”

“I am fine, daughter. And you?”, she asked as she pulled back, holding her daughter at arm’s length while she looked her up and down for any sign of injury or illness.

“I’m perfectly fine, I promise.”

“Good. Then I can put you to work.”, Branwen teased before hugging her daughter again.

Eowyn walked up, still smiling. Before Branwen could say anything, she found herself being hugged by the future Queen, the White Lady of Rohan.

“It is good to be home and to see you well, Branwen.”

She hugged the girl back, patting at her shoulder a little.

“It is good to have you all home, safe and sound.”

Leaning back, Branwen looked both girls over.

“Come. I’ve food prepared. A lookout had spotted your company a while back and rode up to let us know. You both look cold and the stew will be hot.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Aderyn sat with Eowyn in Eowyn’s room, as Eowyn re-read the letter. It had come that morning from Gondor. Specifically, it had been from Faramir.

“What does he say?”

“It is about the dinner to formally restart trade between Gondor and Rohan, and to cement the bond between nations. He is asking for any details he needs to be mindful of, which nobles Eomer and I would like to have in attendance from Rohan, and other little details. He also asks if I will have an escort.”

Aderyn nodded.

“All fair inquiries.”

“Yes.”

“From what you and Eomer have said, the nobles all want it to happen after the coronation. Almost immediately after, in fact.”

Nodding, Eowyn dropped into her chair by the fireplace. In the near month they had been back in the Edoras, there had been much to do. Today was one of the first mornings that neither Eowyn or Aderyn had been called away to handle anything. It had been a welcome respite after the busy month, and the nightmare of Grima, Helm’s Deep, the Battle for Minis Tirith, and the Black Gates. The Kingdom was healing, as were its people, including Eowyn and Eomer. Aderyn looked up from her sewing to mend a shirt of hers, to see Eowyn’s troubled face.

“What is the matter?”

“I’m not sure I’m ready.”

“For becoming Queen?”

“For any of it.”, Eowyn said as she threw her hands up, then let them fall loosely at her sides, her eyes set on the flames in the fireplace.

“I never thought to rule, until Uncle said what his instructions were, that night in Dunharrow. Never, not even in my worst nightmares, had I thought we would lose Theodred and that Eomer or I would have to step up to take… his place.”

Aderyn sat her sewing aside and waited. Eowyn would speak when she had sorted her thoughts enough. For several minutes, Eowyn stared at the flames and Aderyn waited.

“One week from tomorrow, Eomer and I will be crowned and then what? What comes after? What if I am not smart enough, not patient enough? I cannot let Uncle down, but I am not Theodred. This was meant to be his role, not mine or Eomer’s. We were not prepared for these roles. I was supposed to help Theodred when his temper got the best of him and Eomer was supposed to make sure he knew his men were ready, and this his most loyal general was at his side for any battle.”

Eowyn let out a long breath, her eyes downcast.

“What if Uncle’s faith was misplaced?”

Moving to kneel in front of her friend, Aderyn took on a tone more like the one she would use to firmly tell someone in the Healer’s wing, that they absolutely must sit still and let her stitch their wound.

“You are the daughter of Kings, Shieldmaiden of Rohan, Slayer of the Witchking. There is no enemy you and Eomer cannot conquer together, with the might of Rohan at your back. You will be a good queen.”, she smiled a little and continued in a quieter tone, “You will be a good queen because it is not in you to be any less. Look at what you have already done. Eomer told me and I saw for myself in Gondor, how you and Faramir helped in the rebuilding, how you worked with Aragorn and Faramir to handle Aragorn’s coronation and began work on this treaty between Gondor and Rohan. I have watched you help the Edoras be restored, checking on those in the Healer’s wing, checking in with the soldiers guarding the walls, the widows raising their children alone, looking into the stores for yourself to see what stock we have and what we need. You are a hands-on leader, Eowyn. It is in your blood. You cannot deny it nor can you hide from it. Rohan calls and you, and your brother, will answer.”

Eowyn leaned forward, hugging Aderyn.

“Thank you.”

“Any time.”

As Aderyn returned to her former seat on the trunk at the foot of Eowyn’s bed and took up her sewing, Eowyn let out a long sigh. Aderyn knew where her friend’s mind went, though she kept her eyes on her stitches.

“Has my brother asked Branwen’s blessings yet?”

“He told you that he did.”

“Yes, for courting you. I mean, has he asked if he may request your hand?”

“Not that either of them has informed me, or you, it seems.”

Eowyn let out a grunt.

“Eomer says Aragorn and Arwen will marry in the summer, once the city is up to a point where he does not need to be called away several times a day, every day, about one issue or another. That way when they wed, he can have a little time with his new bride, before the duties of Kingship pull him away again. And there will need to be a coronation for the new Queen of Gondor.”

“Perhaps you will have news of your own by then, my lady.”, Aderyn teased.

Eowyn threw a small piece of kindling at Aderyn, not even coming close to hitting her. Both women smiled.

“It is good, to be able to joke and laugh again.”

Aderyn agreed.

“Helga asked me something I did not expect, yesterday, after dinner.”

That perked Aderyn’s ears up.

“About what?”

“She asked if she would still be welcome to stay, and be in the Meduseld. She feared since she had not been able to save Theodred, that she had been unable to keep you and Branwen safe here, and that since there were no children for her be a nursemaid to anymore, that I might send her away. Her request was that, if I did mean to send her away, to at least let her have a position to stay in the Edoras because she had seen me grow up and the same for Eomer, and she wished to stay closer rather than be sent far, far away.”

“She loves you and Eomer, it does not surprise me she would want to stay close.”

“It had never occurred to me to send her away. To think that she believed I would, and worried enough to ask if she might stay in the Edoras at least… Aderyn, it made me sick to think of her away from the Meduseld. She’s been here as long as I can remember.”

“And always been kind to you, to everyone really.”

Eowyn nodded.

“I think I shall discuss with Eomer, having her get a place of honour during the coronation. Afterall, she has served almost as a healer- helping your mother and you, she helped raise Eomer, Theodred, and I when we lost our mothers, and she’s been unwavering in her loyalty. I think she deserves to have a place of honour.”

Holding up a hand, Aderyn smiled, “I agree.”

“Good. Two ayes, a third and we’ve got it synched.”

Both women chuckled a little, glad for a moment of warmth and simplicity after the years of darkness, and the recent months of hardship and war. It was good to have this, to again be able to sit and joke with her best friend. For a moment, it almost felt like they were children again, teasing between Eowyn’s lessons.

Aderyn grew thoughtful as she stitched the last bit of the sleeve, repairing the final hole. She had no doubt that Faramir would court and eventually wed Eowyn, that King Aragorn would marry his Elf and make her Queen of Gondor, and she knew Eomer intended to ask for her own hand in due time. In their teenaged years, she could recall overhearing Eowyn telling Theodred, and on a few occasions, Helga, that she wanted to make Eomer marry Aderyn so that way Eowyn, Eomer, Theodred, and Aderyn could always be together, forever. She could almost picture Theodred, in the Hall, smiling at the three of them.

“What are you over there thinking about, so intently?”

Aderyn shrugged, then put her finished shirt and needles aside.

“The future. From where I sit, it looks bright.”

Eowyn smiled.

“It does.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eomer looked over the horse again. He had considered this very carefully and had put off his proposal till he found just the right horse. Years ago, when he was first approached by Eowyn about teaching Aderyn to ride, he had explained to Aderyn why it was so vital for a young girl in Rohan to be able to ride as part of the courting process. Not only was riding a preferred activity during the courtship itself, the young lady needed to show how she handled a horse and her way with a horse was a good indication of how she would handle many things in life.

Eomer had asked Branwen’s blessing, first to court Aderyn, then later he returned to ask her blessings on his asking for Aderyn’s hand in marriage. Branwen had given her blessing both times. That had left Eomer with the task of finding the right horse.

In Rohan, when a suitor wished to propose marriage, he sought out a horse. When it came time to ask your beloved to marry you, you asked her to accept a token of your love and devotion to her. A horse. The horse needed to suit the bride-to-be. A skittish woman needed a steady horse that was not easily rattled, while a shieldmaiden needed a horse bred for battle.

Aderyn was steady, curious, kind, funny, not afraid to speak her mind when she felt people were in danger or not being properly treated, loyal to a fault, and one of the smartest people Eomer knew. She was also still a bit uneasy atop a horse, though mostly from lack of practice. Once the orc packs drew so closely that they could sometimes be seen from the Edoras, Eomer and Theodred had forbade Aderyn and Eowyn from riding out unless they were with a full company of soldiers.

If she was to be the Princess of Rohan, wife of the King and to remain as a healer of Rohan, she would need to gain more skill on a horse. She needed a horse young enough to stand up to whatever challenges might come, smart enough to need little direction, steady enough not to bolt when Aderyn was ill at ease, and fast enough to get her out of harm’s way if the need arose. Eomer believed he had found that in the young horse before him.

As a sort of extra piece of good fortune, it was a black horse. For as long as he could remember hearing her talk of horses, Aderyn had always had a soft spot for solid black horses, as many on Rohan preferred brown and white horses, gray being less desirable, and some even whispered black horses were an ill omen and soldiers who held to that would refuse to ride on or beside a black horse. Ryne and Amos had each had black horses over the years, and Amos’s brown mare Swiftsong, had birthed this black mare four summers ago.

Amos had always had a very good eye for horses and had bred a few over the years to ensure good horses for his fellow Rohirrim. This young mare, however, had been a little too stubborn for a soldier’s horse and too fast to be a farmer’s horse pulling a cart to market. Yet, she was steady on her feet, beautiful in her proportions, and Amos said she handled better for his wife and his daughters, than she did for him or his sons. When Eomer asked for Ryne’s help in finding a suitable horse for Aderyn, he had shared Amos’s belief about the young mare and suggested Eomer speak with Amos about it. Amos had agreed the black mare would make an excellent horse for Aderyn, though the old soldier admitted it was good that he was not in the Edoras much anymore, or else he might let slip Eomer’s plans and ruin any surprises for Aderyn.

It was good to know that Ryne and Amos both supported Eomer’s suite. Even as their King, they both would have let him know in their own ways, if they had thought he should leave Aderyn alone. Both cared deeply for the young healer as if she were the daughter of a beloved brother, a niece to be protected from unwelcome suitors. With theirs, Branwen, and Eowyn’s blessings- as well as their encouragement- Eomer felt certain that it was the right time to ask. Looking up at the black mare, he smiled and offered her an apple.

“Next time I see you, I’ll need you to do your ancestors proud. You will be the horse of the Princess, and you’ll need to act the part.”

The mare almost appeared to nod.

“Good. We understand each other.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eowyn smiled, despite her nervousness. Today was the coronation for she and her brother, though that was not what had prompted her smile. As she had looked out the window, meaning more to get some fresh air while she awaited the time that she and Eomer would be called to join everyone in the main hall, she had spotted Faramir dismounting his horse in the yard below.

He had arrived a little late, as King Aragorn and Lady Arwen had arrived the night before, with their few guards and nobles, including Prince Legolas son of King Thranduil, Lord Gimli, and Gandalf the White. Merry and Pippin had arrived almost a week ago, staying in the Meduseld, with notes of congratulations from Frodo and Sam. Frodo had been feeling unwell and Sam did not wish to leave him, or his own new bride-to-be, Rosie.

A knock drew Eowyn’s attention. Helga and Aderyn walked in, both dressed for the occasion. Eomer had agreed Helga ought to have a place of honour at the ceremony and had made sure a good seat was held for her with Branwen and Aderyn, who would be just to the left of the dais while the highest nobles and generals would sit to the right.

Helga smiled, looking beautiful in her goldenrod-coloured gown with a golden ribbon braided into her white hair. Beside her, Aderyn stood in the same fine amber coloured gown she had worn to Aragorn’s coronation weeks ago, looking just as beautiful as she had at that coronation.

“You look so much like your mother, m’lady.”, Helga told her as she smiled, “Same bright eyes, same golden hair, same beautiful smile. I’m so glad that you asked me to attend you today, m’lady.”

Smiling, Aderyn added, “Same goes for me.”

“Is it time yet?”

Aderyn shook her head.

“A few of your guests had a late arrival. The rain yesterday washed out part of a road, forcing them to take another route. Eomer said to give them time to take their seats and then a servant would come let us know when everyone was ready.”

She nodded. Then smiled again as another happy thought came. There would be celebration again in more than the Meduseld, there would be celebrating all through Rohan.

“Such happiness, in Rohan, after such a long winter. It is good to be having such happiness again, m’lady.”, Helga said with a wide smile and damp eyes.

Eowyn moved to hug the nursemaid.

“I expect Rohan will see weddings soon, my dears, and I expect them to be happy beginnings to long, happy marriages.”

She tugged Aderyn over, Helga now hugging them both. That was how the servant, Neella, found them.

“Lady Eowyn, they are ready in the Great Hall.”

Looking between Helga and Aderyn, Eowyn smiled.

“This is it, I suppose.”

“You look beautiful. Come, I’ll get the left side of your cape. Aderyn, my girl, you get the right. Remember to lay it, then cross behind her when we get in.”

“Yes ma’am.”, Aderyn teased as she moved to get the other side of the cape.

It had been the cape that had belonged to Theodred’s mother, while Eomer wore the one that had been Theoden’s when he was crowned King. His was long enough to just touch the ground, much like the one he wore to Aragorn’s coronation, while Eowyn’s was long enough to have a train requiring someone to help maneuver it when she went onto the dais.

She wore the gown she had worn for Aragorn’s coronation, with a new belt of gold and green that Branwen and Helga had made for her, her golden circlet on her head from Theoden that he had given her on the event of her 16^th birthday, with the bright red cape trimmed in pale fur, a gold necklace adorned her neck, and a woven bracelet of ribbons on her wrist from Aderyn. She felt like a Princess in some fairystory Helga might have told her to get her to sleep at night when she was little. Now, standing at the doorway, awaiting Eomer, she felt more like a child about to be asked to play the role of an adult.

“Breathe.”, she heard Helga and Aderyn whisper in unison.

“I thought I was.”

She turned to see Aderyn shaking her head. Before Eowyn could speak up again, she spotted her brother coming around the corner. He wore his full military regalia of his leather and metal chestplate, pauldrons, vambraces, the suit of chainmail below his armor, and his best red tabard over a dark green tunic. Even his boots almost gleamed and he had tamed his hair. He looked like a king.

“Are you ready, sister?”

She smiled as best she could manage.

“I hope so. You?”

He offered her a small smile.

“I think we are.”

He offered her his elbow. If a married pair were being crowned, there were certain protocols for their entrance and exit, as well as how the royal-by-blood was fully crowned and sworn to protect the kingdom then the royal-by-marriage was crowned but not sworn. Because they were brother and sister, equally royal by blood, it had been decided that Eomer would be crowned first and Eowyn sworn first, they would enter and exit as equal rather than how the royal-by-blood went first and their spouse a step behind. The doors were pulled open and the occupants of the Great Hall all stood.

Eowyn let out a slow breath before she felt her foot move forward. She and Eomer stepped into the Great Hall, Helga and Aderyn following seven steps behind Eowyn, while Amos and General Hildgr followed Eomer. She looked up to see Aragorn and Arwen smiling at she and Eomer, to the other side, Branwen stood in a beautiful dark red gown, smiling wide and bright. Merry and Pippin stood on their respective seats for a better view, both grinning and dressed in their best, with Merry doing a not-too-subtle cheer with his fist.

They were nearly to the front before Eowyn spotted Faramir. He was not sitting up with Aragorn and Pippin, but down along the first row with Legolas and Gimli, which would put him right in front of Eomer for most of the ceremony. He smiled almost shyly when Eowyn’s eyes met his, though his smile widened when she held his gaze for a second. Eomer and she approached the dais, with Helga and Aderyn having to help put the train of her cape off to the side so Eowyn did not trip over it as she went through the ceremony.

Again, Gandalf stood at the center. The man who normally would have presided over the coronation, had passed the winter before with no heir. Gandalf had been asked by one of the older nobles and General Hildgr, if he would consider taking on the role for this coronation. Faramir had mentioned that it would be a sign of unison between Gondor and Rohan, for Gandalf the White of the Fellowship, to officiate the coronations of the Kings and Queens of Rohan and Gondor. The wizard had graciously accepted the invitation.

Yet now, standing before the people of Rohan, the Fellowship, and more, Eowyn felt still like a child playing dress-up. It did not feel entirely real. Casting a look through the crowd, she saw Helga and Aderyn off to the side, smiling brightly, along with Branwen, Merry, Pippin, Ryne, and Emos. A small part of her still expected to see Theoden and Theodred, whenever people gathered in the Great Hall.

Gandalf placed the newly fashioned crown of the king on Eomer’s bowed head, offering a blessing in a tongue Eowyn did not understand. As Eomer looked up, she thought the crown suited him. It looked much like Theoden’s had, though the design of the front included two horses holding up a long triangle overtop a smaller one, so it almost looked like a sword between the horses. The craftsmen who fashioned it, had shown it to Eomer before. This was the first Eowyn had seen it.

Next, Gandalf came over to her. The same circlet she had worn since she was 16, currently sat on her head. Gandalf gently removed it, placing it on a pillow being held out by Pippin. Pippin stepped away, Merry moving to take his place, holding out a new pillow with a different crown. It was gold, similar in shape to Eomer’s, though smaller, almost delicate by comparison. Carefully, Gandalf placed it on her bowed head.

“Do you, Eowyn, slayer of the Witchking and Defender of Rohan, swear that you will do all in your power to serve and protect the people of the Kingdom of Rohan?”

“I swear it.”

“And do you swear to uphold Rohan’s laws and honour, all the days of your life, as Queen of Rohan?”

“I swear it.”

Turning to Eomer, Gandalf asked the same of him. Eomer swore just as Eowyn did, looking so solemn. With their oaths given, Gandalf moved aside to allow the people a clear view of the new King and Queen.

“King Eomer and Queen Eowyn of Rohan, may their reign be long, prosperous, and peaceful.”

Eowyn did not imagine the teary glint of the wizard’s eyes at the last of his introduction. The crowd erupted with cheers, shouts of joy, whistles, and clapping. Eowyn looked out over the assembled crowd, then turned to look at her brother. He offered her a small, happy smile.

Once the cheering calmed a little, Eomer offered her his arm. She took it, permitting him to guide her out of the room and back through the doors they had entered from. Behind them, Aderyn, Helga, Merry, Pippin, and Gandalf came, the doors closing behind Gandalf.

“Rohan will blossom under this new reign.”, said the wizard.

“I can only hope that will be true.”, Eomer offered, hedging his hope, as usual.

Aderyn moved to stand a little closer to the door, seeming shy all of a sudden. Eowyn watched, Eomer seemingly wanting to do something he believed he could not and Aderyn looking as if she thought she might be shooed away at any moment. Judging by the look on Gandalf’s face, Eowyn was certain she was not the only one to see what was going on with her brother and her best friend.

“My dear,” started the wizard, “I need to get these two hobbits to the lower hall for the feast. Do you suppose Miss Helga or yourself could escort us?”

Helga jumped right in, smiling.

“I would be more than happy to escort the three of you, sirs. Come!”

He shot Eowyn a wink before walking off with the hobbits of Helga. Eowyn gathered her cape before addressing her brother and Aderyn.

“I’m going to hang this cape up, then go down. Otherwise, I’ll be tripping over it and so will anyone else who gets within ten feet of me.”

“I’ll help.”

Eowyn waved her friend off, “I’m alright, go on ahead. Eomer, take her down to the feast.”

“You’re sure you’re alright?”, Eomer inquired.

Eowyn nodded, smiling brightly. He knew that look. She was plotting.

Before he had a chance to call her on it, she moved around the corner, leaving he and Aderyn alone. When she had stepped out, helping Helga with Eowyn’s cape, he had been struck. The dress from Gondor suited her, though he would have found her stunning if she had worn a too-large dress made from saddle blankets and burlap. Her long, dark hair was barely restrained, only a few small braids from her temples drawn back to keep her hair out of her face, the colour of the gown suiting her pale skin and dark eyes, a simple cape that he belatedly realized was the same one he had given her three years ago, clasped with the pewter pin he had given her in the weeks after her arrival in Rohan.

“You look beautiful.”, he told her simply, as he was no wordsmith.

She blushed.

“You look very handsome, my lord.”

Stepping forward, Eomer reached for her hands, holding them close as he bent his head down to her. She was so tall, he needn’t bow far.

“I am never ‘my lord’ to you. There are to be no titles between us, no convention to separate us, Aderyn.”

Aderyn’s eyes squinted from her smile.

“Alright.”

“Would you care to accompany me to the feast below?”

“I thought you were supposed to walk with Eowyn?”

Eomer smiled.

“Someone else asked, upon his arrival, if the Lady Eowyn had an escort. She did not, so I asked if he might serve again as her escort so that I may escort my own lady to the Meduseld for the feast.”

He did not think it possible for her smile to widen any further.

“Such a good brother.”

“I do try, sometimes.”

That earned him a small chuckle, as if she were laughing at a secret and did not wish to be overheard.

“Please, my lady?”

He again offered his arm. This time, she took it.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Just outside of the feast, Eomer looked up to see his sister and her escort. Eowyn’s smile could have rivaled the sun with its brightness. He could not recall seeing her look so light and happy.

Beside her, Faramir looked as if he were in a dream, and equally happy to Eowyn. Eomer was certain, when Faramir officially asked Eowyn to begin a courtship, that her answer would be an enthusiastic agreement. The man had already asked Eomer’s blessing and it had been easily given. More easily than Eomer ever assumed he would find it to allow a man- especially one not of Rohan, to come courting his beloved sister.

“Ready?”, Eowyn asked as she looked up at Eomer.

For a moment, his mind went to a night some years ago. There had been a festival that most years fell on or up against Eowyn’s birthday. That one year, it fell on the same night as her sixteenth birthday and their Uncle had given her the gold circlet before all the assembled of Rohan, to ensure it was known that she was essentially the Princess of Rohan. That she had his trust to make decisions about the people and the lands of Rohan.

Before they had entered, she had asked he and Theodred if they were ready, as it was the first event where all three of them would be on the dais with Theoden. Theodred had chuckled at her nerves and Eomer had reached, taking her hand, and assuring her that they were all ready. Today, she reminded him so much of that evening.

The doors were drawn back, allowing them a view into the very full hall, the music having stopped just before the doors opened. There was a great table at the far end, raised slightly to allow all in the room a view of the newly crowned King and Queen. Sitting with them would be Gandalf, Aragorn, Arwen, Merry, Pippin, and of course, Aderyn and Faramir.

At the table to what would be Eomer’s right, would be Helga, Branwen, Ryne, his wife- Delia, Amos, his wife- Reese, Legolas, Gimli, and some of Eomer’s top commanders. The table opposite it, would have some of the ranking lords and ladies from Rohan, a few from Gondor, and other surrounding kingdoms. The rest of the room was filled to the brim with all manner of folk. All come to see the new royal heads of Rohan.

With Aderyn’s hand warm at the crook of his elbow and Eowyn at his right side with Faramir having her hand, Eomer took the first step into the hall, a great swell of music announcing he and Eowyn’s arrival to all those assembled. Many cheered, some called out happy chants, and a few clapped. Eomer tried to remember to breath and to smile, turning his head to try to look around at most everyone he could in the room.

He and Eowyn went opposite ways to round the high table, coming back together in the middle to again face the room. Faramir moved to get Eowyn’s chair as Eomer moved to pull Aderyn’s out for her, the ladies both sitting first then Faramir waiting a beat for Eomer to sit first as King, before joining them at the table. Aragorn and Arwen, to Faramir’s left, were the next to sit, seemingly giving everyone else in the hall their cue to be seated.

The music changed to something a bit less robust and the eating began. Eomer felt as if he were an exotic animal on display. So many looked up, even outright stared, at both he and Eowyn.

He noticed that Eowyn seemed less affected than himself, though he supposed the smiles of her escort may have aided in that. It had been a long few weeks since the pair had last seen each other. Eomer knew how much his little sister had longed to see Faramir again. Anyone who saw how she practically danced at receiving a letter from him, would be able to guess her feelings for him.

Turning his attention to his right, Eomer cast his eyes on Aderyn. He wished to make sure she was comfortable. She seemed a little self-conscious, though she was smiling, greeting the few who waved and the servants who brought out more food and drink. If he did not know her so well, he might have missed how she tugged at her sleeves and how she kept checking her own manners against those of Eowyn and Helga, as if to make sure she was doing everything right.

Eomer carefully reached, using the table as a shield, to hold Aderyn’s free hand in his own, giving it a light squeeze. She turned, looking at him.

In a voice that was meant for her ear alone, Eomer spoke, “Are you happy?”

Her dark eyes searched his face for a breath, before she answered.

“Part of me cannot believe this is real. I keep expecting someone to call for the healers, and to realize I’ve nodded off against a wall, and that there are hordes in need of aid.”

Moving to lift her hand to his lips, Eomer pressed a light kiss to it, headless of anyone seeing it. He dared anyone to take issue with his love for his lady. He could tell she still believed someone would come chastise her for acting above her station.

“Aderyn, you are a skilled, respected healer of Rohan, who served her own and the people of Gondor, well in the wake of battles from here to Moria, who stood to defend Rohan’s people beside the Queen and your mother, and who traveled all the way to Gondor with only one guard to answer my call. You’ve every right to be at this table, and should any one- of Rohan, Gondor, or even a great Elvish kingdom, have any issue with it – I will swiftly put them in their place. You belong here, Aderyn.”

Her smile widened, some of the doubt leaving her green eyes. She turned their joined hands, pressing a kiss across Eomer’s rough, scarred knuckles. No more words were needed.

The meal passed quickly enough and soon, it was time to dance. Much as would happen at a wedding, the newly crowned Kings and Queens were expected to open the dancing portion of the evening by dancing with their spouse and co-regent. Being that they were siblings rather than spouses, it had been suggested that they step out first but then open with one of the oldest dances in Rohan, which required a minimum of four couples to properly dance. Eowyn had originally thought to be dancing with Gandalf, Eomer with Aderyn, Aragorn and Arwen, and Gamling with his wife, Elle. Gandalf and Faramir exchanged a look, and Eomer was not surprised to see Faramir rise to take Eowyn’s hand to lead her out for the dance while Gandalf remained seated.

Eomer and Eowyn stepped into the center to start, with Faramir and Aderyn stepping to be their partners, the other two couples moving into place. As the music began, Eomer had to think hard for the first steps of the dance. It had been far too long since he had last done this and he only had a quick practice with Eowyn, in her room, two nights ago when she suggested making sure he had not forgotten the steps.

He began to step a little to the left, holding both of his hands at Aderyn’s waist, leading her one step backward and another to her right. Her warm hands rested atop his shoulders, a smile warming the colour of her cheeks. Eomer could not tear his eyes from her. Holding her gaze was the easiest, best way to forget how many sets of eyes were on them.

Beside them, Eowyn and Faramir seemed to be in their own little world. Aragorn and Arwen appeared much the same, Gamling and Elle chuckling a bit to themselves as Elle looked over at the other three pairs. It came time for the first switch, Eowyn moving to Gamling’s side, Elle to Faramir’s, while Arwen and Aderyn swapped places, then they repeated the previous steps. They would swap again, and again, until each dancer came back to their original partner.

Eomer was glad Arwen, Eowyn, and Elle each knew the steps, since he was not the greatest dancer in the Edoras, though he was happiest when his beloved was returned to his side to finish out the dance. At the conclusion, the men each bowed low for their partners. The crowd clapped for them, and they all returned to their seats.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Aderyn moved, sitting down with her mother and Helga, who were each working on a sweet pastry with some wine. It was good to have such a moment to enjoy. Aderyn slipped to sit between the two women she looked up to most in the world.

“My girl, what are you doing down here?”, Helga asked with a touch of concern in her tone.

Branwen’s hand moved, catching Aderyn’s to give it a light squeeze.

“Eomer and Eowyn are up, with Aragorn and Faramir, discussing the treaty and a few other things. I thought I would come down to sit with you for a while.”

Branwen leaned, hugging her daughter with one arm, “You’re always welcome.”

Helga smiled, her cheeks bright from the wine and her mirth.

“Oh, my girl, you look so happy tonight. All three of you do, as well as Lady Eowyn’s friend, Lord Faramir.”

Leaning, Helga whispered almost as if sharing a conspiracy, “I meant what I said earlier. I expect weddings soon, and I expect them to be just the beginning of two long, happy marriages for my girls.”

Aderyn tugged her over, joining the hug she and her mother were sharing.

Meanwhile, across the hall, Eowyn was feeling a tad warm between the fires all around the overstuffed hall, and the press of so many people quite close to speak with she, Eomer, Aragorn, and Faramir. There was so much to plan and to prepare for. She felt Faramir’s hand, gently taking her own. When she looked over at him, he had a questioning look about him.

“May I speak to you for a moment, My Lady? Regarding an issue with the treaty?”

She nodded, “Of course.”

He led her off aways, to a quieter corner near a cask of light ale. It was one of Theoden’s preferred ales. Eowyn could recall him sipping the wheat-coloured drink, while Theodred and Eomer preferred the darker, almost bark-coloured ales. Faramir indicated that he would pour her one if she pleased and Eowyn shook her head.

“What is wrong, Faramir?”

“Forgive me if I have overstepped, it looked as though you were a bit hot and in need of some air. I had thought, if I gave you an excuse to step away, you could get a breath of air in a space larger than a pig’s troth.”

Eowyn chuckled lightly.

“Thank you, and you do not overstep. I appreciate the fresher air.”

His smile widened, before Faramir cast a quick look back up to Eomer, Aragorn, and the others.

“It looks as though your brother could use a moment away from the press of these lords.”

“Indeed. Come, I’ll grab an ale and you grab one, we can offer them and perhaps give Eomer the excuse to walk off to get one for himself, since he prefers the darker ales over there.”

Faramir agreed, filling two tankards and walking with Eowyn back to the group. She gave her brother a subtle nudge with her elbow as Faramir offered the ales to a couple of the lords Eowyn knew shared a preference with her late Uncle. Her brother did not seem to take the invitation. However, a moment later, Eowyn caught Eomer’s eye just as the music changed. He leaned closer, and Eowyn shared an idea with him.

“Perhaps you ought to dance with Aderyn at least once more, before the musicians grow tired.”

His smile was more than enough answer. Her brother excused himself before leaving the group and heading to where Aderyn sat with Branwen and Helga, the three laughing a bit as they sat close together. Aragorn expertly kept two lords from following Eomer, suggesting that they hold off further questions for when everyone could sit down, in a quiet room, and go over all the finer details of the plans.

Faramir turned to Eowyn, smiling at her.

“Your Majesty, may I have the next dance?”

“Certainly, my lord.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Once again, the revels in the Meduseld had concluded and Eomer found Aderyn nearly asleep on a bench in the back of the room. This time, however, Eowyn was sound asleep, leaned against the wall beside Aderyn. Most everyone had retired for the evening or been carted off, in the case of a very inebriated Gimli, with only Eomer, Faramir, Eowyn, Aderyn, and a couple servants still about in the Meduseld. He caught Faramir as the man stood nearer to the main doors, smiling at Eowyn’s sleeping form, the expression reminding Eomer of some of the men he had trained and fought beside when they looked at deeply loved wives.

Moving, he waved for Faramir to join him and the pair moved to Aderyn and Eowyn’s sides. Aderyn roused when Eomer drew near, offering a sleepy smile as she moved to wake Eowyn.

“Eowyn?”

“Hm?”

“We’re being collected.”

Eowyn’s pale eyes opened, just barely, to look up at Eomer and a smile coming to her lips. One that widened at seeing Faramir.

“Faramir? You are still here?”

“I had thought to help the King return you both to your rooms. May I?”, he asked as he held a hand for her to take.

Eowyn needed no further invitation, taking Faramir’s larger hand and letting him help tug her up onto her feet. She almost felt drunk, she was so tired and yet happy. Beside her, Faramir wove her arm into his own, her other hand moving to lay overtop her hand. She leaned a little into him, just enough to feel his warmth as she now felt chilled with the fires out, the guests gone, and her cape hung up in her room. Before Eowyn could say anything, she felt Faramir step away from her. She was about to ask if everything was alright, when he removed his outermost jacket and settled it around her shoulders, before once more settling her hand in the crook of his elbow.

“You were shivering a bit.”

“Oh.”, she said she tugged at the hem with her free hand, “Thank you.”

Faramir offered her a soft look that made her feel even more that she might be drunk, or dreaming. She often dreamed of him these days.

“I was so happy to look out and see you stepping down from your horse. I’d begun to worry you might not make it in time.”

She did not think she imagined the way his smile broadened, or the teasing in his tone.

“Would you truly miss me, had I not made it?”

“Very much.”

“Then I am even more glad that I made it, and that I arrived in time for you to catch a glimpse of my arrival, so you would know I had come.”

“When Aragorn told us of the situation with the road, I had been concerned for your safety in traveling here. Aragorn said you were coming almost alone, only one or two men with you.”

“It would take more than a little mud and rain to keep me from you… From your coronation, I mean.”

Eowyn was certain he had meant what he first said before remembering himself. All too soon, they were at her door. She truly had once thought it seemed like miles between the Great Hall and the bedrooms she, her brother, cousin, and uncle held. It had always felt that way when dragging herself back after a celebration. Tonight, it seemed there was barely more than a few yards between the two.

“Goodnight, Queen Eowyn.”

She shook her head at him, wrinkling up her nose.

“Please, when there is no one about to perform the etiquette for, may we leave the titles behind?”

“Happily.”

For a moment, he grew nervous. Eowyn waited. It was not her strong suit, yet she intended to give Faramir the time for whatever he needed to say. He reached, taking her hand.

“It is perhaps the wrong time, and we have indeed not known each other any great length of time, yet…”, he took her second hand, pressing a gentle kiss across the back of it, just where her bandages had been until recently, “I cannot contain it any longer. Eowyn, I am in love with you. I believe I have been almost from the moment I first saw you, and certainly by the time we spoke up in the gardens high in the city, I was entirely yours.”

Eowyn felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill out from her like the happiness of her heart.

“Have I upset you?”

“Not at all.”, she tugged his hand, kissing the knuckles, unsure of her voice to speak any further.

“I have asked your brother for his permission to court you. I was not entirely sure of the customs of the Rohirrim yet in Gondor it is proper to ask a lady’s father or brother, before formally asking her. This needed to be done correctly, you deserve nothing less.”

Eowyn could hardly contain the happiness overwhelming her, her heart feeling as if it might burst from her chest and dance.

“In Rohan, a suitor ought to ask her relations for their blessings, then go to the lady to ask her, in private.”

Faramir fell quickly yet gracefully to one knee, still holding Eowyn’s hands.

“My lady, if I might ask you, would you accept my suite?”

“I would have no other.”

Tugging him, Eowyn cared not for the proper protocol. As soon as she had him on his feet, she tugged Faramir by the middle vest of his formal attire, crashing her lips against his own. Pouring all that she felt yet could not put properly to words, she wanted to dance at feeling him returning her kiss, his arms gently encircling her to pull her flush to his chest.

A moment later, Eowyn stepped back, panting for breath. She was elated yet nervous. She might have overstepped with Faramir. Gondor was a very different place from Rohan.

Faramir’s eyes were still closed, almost as though he were frozen in place. Eowyn wanted to panic. Certainly, this was a sign she had upset his Gondorian sensibilities.

“Faramir?”

His lips widened, his whole face looking nearly blissful.

“Part of me fears this is a dream and should I open my eyes, I will find I am alone in my room, asleep at my desk.”

Eowyn leaned, pressing a light kiss to Faramir’s cheek.

“You are awake, I am real.”

First one eye, then the second, opened to look at her.

“Indeed, you are.”

“Will we begin this courting in the morning?”

“If you welcome it, yes.”

“I welcome it.”

Faramir leaned, his warm lips on her own again. Eowyn smiled into the kiss. The reality of this moment far surpassing any of her dreams.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eomer checked again. He had the small basket with a simple meal and some sweet wine, and a thin blanket to lay out. It had been almost a month since the coronation and while it had been a busy time, Eomer had done everything he could to prepare quietly for today. He had even been forced to enlist Eowyn’s help on a couple occasions.

Amos had agreed to leave the young mare in a lower paddock. That way Eomer could ride out with Aderyn for what was supposed to be a nice meal, outdoors, away from the Meduseld, and he could propose in private and introduce her to the horse to see if they were as good a fit as Eomer believed they would be. He had not wanted to do this in the stables at the Edoras, nor did he wish to leave the mare tied out someplace without any protection. Orcs were not a large threat any longer, however there were still horse thieves or wild animals to be considered.

Tying the basket onto his saddle, he smiled upon hearing a familiar voice humming a tune he did not recognize right off. With all the traveling she had done as a child, Aderyn seemed to have an endless supply of songs she knew that none in Rohan were familiar with.

Turning, he smiled at her. She wore a simple spring-green dress with her cloak, that same pewter pin he had given her so many years ago, now holding the cloak in place. Her long hair was loose except for a braid at each temple to hold the bulk of hair back from her face.

“I was told you wish to ride out for a meal?”

“We have not been able to do that in quite some time. I thought this was a good chance, since the weather is turning a bit cool yet the sun is still warm. We can enjoy one of the last warm days before we will need to hunker down for the winter months.”

Aderyn handed him two apples, “Helga said since we were going, we should take these.”

Eomer took them, placing them in the small basket, “They are your favourite.”

As easily as breathing, Eomer swung himself up into the saddle. Once seated, he offered his hand and one of the stirrups to Aderyn. She took his hand and moved her foot up into the stirrup, Eomer tugging to help her move to sit behind him, her arms wrapping around his middle and resting her chin gently over his shoulder.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

Aderyn smiled, trusting Eomer completely. Though she believed that most folk were generally good, she was not so naïve as to trust everyone. There were precious few people she could say she trusted with her life, Eomer was one of them.

He led the horse from the stables out into the bright, mid-autumn sunshine. All around them, she could see the signs of the shifting season. Many trees were half-bare, the other half retaining some fraction of their colourful leaves, with most of the grass below having yellowed in the nighttime chill.

It was not a cooler day, yet Aderyn found herself settling up close to Eomer on the horse, resting her cheek against the back of his left shoulder as she watched the countryside they passed. A light breeze picked up her own hair, as well as Eomer’s blond waves, bringing in the scent of the more distant forest trees. Ever since she had been a child, Aderyn had enjoyed autumn.

Every now and again, Eomer would move his hand, letting it cover where Aderyn’s were joined at his middle, his thumb tracing idyl patterns on the back of her wrist. If she were able to bottle a moment like wine, and take it out to revisit it from time to time, she would take this moment. Eowyn was back at the Meduseld planning a trip to Gondor to see Faramir, Merry and Pippin had come up for a visit on their way back from being in Gondor, Lord Aragorn was soon to wed his beloved, Middle Earth seemed completely at peace, and Aderyn was riding on a quiet midday with Eomer to have a picnic. In her opinion, life did not get much better than this.

Eomer took a moment here and there, as they rode, to point out areas that were relevant to the new treaties with Gondor and some other smaller kingdoms out from Rohan. Sometimes, Aderyn forgot that anything outside of Rohan existed. This was home.

“Over there is the main route to Bree, Merry and Pippin like to remind me, when they see me, that it needs more patrolling.”

She laughed behind his shoulder, able to picture it perfectly.

“I’m sure they do the same to Lord Aragorn, if it is of any consolation.”

“Oh, they do. Eowyn has filled me in on some of the things they have pestered him over. A few are valid concerns and I am sure he was glad to have them brought to his attention.”

“And the rest?”

She could see the edge of Eomer’s slight smile, a dimple forming in his cheek.

“He easily humours the little ones.”

The ride was easy and soon enough, they came to a little hill that had a lovely view of the valley and a small stream that cut among a spare patch of trees. Eomer helped her from the horse and she took the blanket to lay out while he got their basket. Aderyn noticed that Eomer seemed a little unlike himself, his posture a bit rigid and his eyes danced about rather than maintaining her gaze as he usually did when they ate together. His smiles were not as soft as she expected as he munched on some of the dried fruit and bread.

“Eomer?”

He jumped a bit as if he had been caught in the middle of doing something naughty. Now Aderyn was worried.

“Does something trouble you? There is not ill news from Gondor?”

Eomer waved her off, then reached, taking her hand.

“I’ve some things on my mind, though I assure you, it is nothing for either of us to be worried for.”

Aderyn narrowed her eyes at him and Eomer smiled, genuinely.

“I mean it, Addie.”

Leaning forward, she placed a light kiss on the hand he had reached for hers with.

“A problem shared is a problem half-solved, or so they say?”

“It’s not a problem, just… I am still getting accustomed to not needing to be ready to go to a battle or the like.”

That Aderyn could understand.

“Times were hard for too long, the sun is an adjustment after so long in the dark.”

Aderyn had an idea, so she stood, tugging Eomer to his feet.

“What are we doing?”

“Race you to the stream?”

“Why?”

“Because it’s there, and I feel like I might just beat you this time.”

He got into position beside her, smiling at her challenging look.

“You may give the word to start, my lady.”

Moving to start, Aderyn took a deep breath, “GO!”

She ran at her top speed, as best she could, Eomer quickly gaining on her, then overtaking her. Just to be silly, she was sure, he turned to nearly trot in reverse so he could shoot her a grin as she fought to even catch up. Soon, Eomer was laughing.

He waited for her by the tree closest to the stream, grinning with his arms crossed, confident in his superior speed as Aderyn began to skip towards him, swaying her arms out almost as if dancing. Seeing Eomer’s face brighten as he began chuckling at her antics, Aderyn considered it a win. A happy Eomer was a good Eomer.

He reached, catching her hand.

“Ready to ride a little more?”

“Well, I would say our legs are well stretched out.”

Leaning, Eomer kissed her softly, his hand still holding hers. When he broke the kiss, he left his forehead pressed to hers. With others, Aderyn would have felt the need to fill the silence. With Eomer, she enjoyed quiet moments.

He kept her hand as they headed back up to their picnic. It did not take long to pack it up and be back on the horse, where again, he helped her to climb up behind him on the saddle. She had expected Eomer to ride more in the general direction of Fangorn or perhaps Helm’s Deep, yet instead he headed somewhat towards Amos’s home. Aderyn wondered why, though she did recall Amos saying his wife had been baking, and her cakes with the dried fruit were a favourite of Eowyn’s. Perhaps Eomer meant to pick up one for his sister while they were out.

They rode a good while. The sun was only beginning to sink, meaning they still had some time before it would be dark. Winter was coming soon enough.

Aderyn was so relaxed, that Eomer began to worry if she were still awake. She had not spoken since they started riding nor had she seemed aware of which direction they were going. He wondered if, perhaps, she simply was enjoying the fresh air and time away from the demands of the Healer’s hall. It had been over a month since the coronation and they had been offered precious little time where they could relax and be simply Eomer and Aderyn, rather than King and Second Healer of Rohan.

Soon, the outer paddock was in sight. Eomer decided not to speak or rouse Aderyn until they got closer. Once they were close enough to the paddock for him to tie off his own steed, Eomer turned to reach and put his arm back around Aderyn’s side.

“You awake back there?”

“Sorry, it has been so long since we just got to ride somewhere, I think I left my mind back by the stream.”

Eomer held Aderyn’s arm as she dismounted, letting her use the stirrup to lower herself. Following her down, he reached, catching her hand. He could see she was looking around, trying to figure out what was going on. For once, Eomer found himself somewhat happy that Aderyn had missed out on learning a few details of customs in Rohan.

“We were riding towards Amos’s place, yet I don’t recognize these paddocks or the horses over there. Of course, I haven’t been out here since his sister was ill and her children brought her here to recover.”

“These are his lower paddocks, a bit away from the house and stables. He sends some of the younger mares out here to give them space to run around without worrying about a stallion.”

“Sounds like the good life, if you’re a young mare.”

Eomer turned, giving her a raised eyebrow.

“Do you prefer to steer clear of studs and stallions?”

“I meant if I were a young horse, to be able to run free out in these fields or this giant paddock. That would be an ideal life. Not to mention, you know Amos’s daughters were always sneaking treats to these girls.”

“Very true.”, he conceded.

Leading Aderyn around, her waited till he had her in just the right spot. Her back was turned to the bulk of the paddock, her eyes on the wide field Amos exercised his horses on. Holding her shoulders, Eomer caught Aderyn’s gaze.

“Can you do something for me?”

“Yes.”

“Without question?”

That earned him a snort of laughter, “I trust you, Eomer.”

He let his hands move till he was holding both of hers. He hoped she could not tell how nervous he was.

“Alright.”, he said as he felt his own nerves committing treason against him, “Close your eyes.”

Aderyn quirked an eyebrow quickly, but closed her eyes as she let out a slow breath.

“If you tickle me, I will make you walk home.”

Eomer could not help the slight grin, knowing she absolutely meant what she said. He also knew that she would only make him walk a few yards before she relented, and would likely tell him it was because she could not have a horse lord seen walking in Rohan’s wide spaces.

“I give you my word as a Rohirrim, no tickling.”

He let go of her hands, quickly moving to get to young mare he had selected, with Ryne and Amos’s aid. The mare, familiar with Eomer after many visits, easily let him lead her over to be just on the other side of the fence from Aderyn. When the mare made a noise, Aderyn reached, her hand finding the mare’s chest and she began to hum a little. It was a trick he had seen her use with horses while working on their wounds.

Eomer moved around the fence, careful to keep the gate from making enough noise to spook the mare or to upset the other horses. Once he was back in front of Aderyn, Eomer took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and spoke.

“Open your eyes.”

She did, those dark green eyes finding his gaze with ease.

“Do you recall me explaining why a lady of Rohan needed to know how to ride?”

“Besides that it’s tradition?”, she teased, “It was part of the courting ritual so ladies needed to be able to ride alongside the young men they are being courted by.”

“And, so they may ride the suitor’s gift.”

Gently, he reached for Aderyn’s hand and moved it so she could rub the mare’s neck and face.

“She’s from Amos’s best stock.”

Aderyn’s face brightened, her second hand moving up to stroke the horse’s cheek.

“She’s beautiful!”

“I recall, on a few occasions, you mentioning that black horses were your favourite and that you felt bad they were disliked by many of the Rohirrim.”

“I don’t believe you could be bad luck, a beautiful lady like you.”, Aderyn cooed to the horse.

“She’s yours.”

Aderyn’s head whipped around, her eyes wide.

“What? Mine?”

Eomer was now even more nervous. Now was the moment from which there was no going back.

“Rohan’s princess will need a steady horse to take her about in her travels, and as a healer, you will need a horse that is swift enough to carry you to where you are needed and return you just as swiftly. You also need a horse that is smart enough to not need a lot of guidance, and steady enough not to spook easily.”

He could almost see her mind making sense of his words and this gift, her hands never pausing as she offered affection to this young mare.

“I once told you that I wished to spend all the rest of my days with you, never being parted from you again.”

He saw the tears welling in her eyes, worrying her lower lip between her teeth and a hint of a smile on her face. Taking a knee, Eomer reached for Aderyn’s hand and she gave it willingly.

“If you would consent to be my wife, Aderyn, I would give you all that I am. I am no great poet, and I have no flowery words to express myself to you. All that I can say is that I have loved you for years, and I will love you for all of my days, and I will love you even when I nolonger draw breath. Will you have me?”

She nodded at first, then moved, drawing Eomer to his feet and tugging him by his tabard to kiss him, passionately. Eomer’s arms wrapped around her, pulling her flush to him. When she broke away, her eyes were bright and her smile wide.

“I would have no other, Eomer.”, she pressed a lighter kiss to his lips and Eomer thought he might fly he was so overflowing with happiness, “I’ve loved you for so long, I don’t think my heart would know how to stop, nor would I wish it to.”

Cradling her cheek in his hand, Eomer looked into the face he loved so much. The face of the woman who would be Princess of Rohan, Journeyman Healer, and his beloved wife. Unable to stop himself, he moved to kiss her again, her arms moving to tug him closer.

“Do you like the mare?”, he asked quietly as he moved to kiss her cheek and nearer to her ear.

She turned, looking happily at the mare.

“She’s beautiful. How did you find her?”

“Amos, she’s Swiftsong’s fowl. Four years old, of sturdy built, runs like a summer storm.”

Aderyn moved to press a quick kiss to the mare’s nose.

“You are a beauty.”

“You’ll have to think of a name for her. Amos said they’ve mostly called her ‘girl’ and ‘little one’, she’s about half the size of Swiftsong’s other offspring, Thunderfall.”

Aderyn’s eyes went wide as she looked back to Eomer.

“I’ve treated a few scrapes on his hind quarters from when he ran off during that storm last spring. He’s massive!”

“Indeed.”, Eomer agreed as he reached, rubbing the mare behind her ear.

Aderyn considered for a moment. She had never thought to have her own horse, and as such, had not taken any real time to consider what she might name a horse were she to have one. As she looked how the mare’s mane gleamed in the sun, it made her think of the pearls she used to see in seaside markets when she was still traveling with her mother. A name sprung up.

“Mererid.”

She scratched the mare’s chin, “Do you like that name? Mererid?”

“It is a lovely sounding name. What does it mean?”

“Pearl. Her mane looks like a polished black pearl, in the sunlight.”

Eomer gave a nod, rubbing the side of the mare’s neck, “It is a good name for a fine horse.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Eowyn excitedly waited. She had known the plan. Her brother meant to propose today and in three days, she was headed to Gondor, where she could see Faramir. Between her happiness for Eomer and Aderyn, and her excitement for the upcoming trip, Eowyn thought she might actually faint. Or bounce through the floor.

Beside her, Helga sighed. Eowyn looked over, apologizing.

“Sorry, I’m just so excited! I’ve been waiting all day! I had to stay away from Aderyn this morning, lest I give away Eomer’s plan, and I promised I wouldn’t.”

Helga just smiled, still working on her sewing.

“Branwen said that she skipped sharing dinner with Aderyn last night, since she knew what the plan for today was, and did not want to tip Aderyn to Eomer’s plan. It seems we are all excited for our girl, and Eomer.”

“Theodred used to tease that I only wanted her to marry Eomer, so we could be family. And part of me did want it for that reason, but truly, I don’t know anyone who would make her happier than my brother nor can I think of anyone better suited to him than Aderyn.”

“Nor can I.”, Helga agreed.

“Sit, before you wear a hole in either the floor or your feet.”

With a huff, Eowyn sat beside Helga on the little bench at the foot of Eowyn’s bed. She hated waiting. Helga began to hum a tune, likely to attempt keeping Eowyn’s mood from growing stormy.

“When do you think they will wed?”

Helga sighed.

“Spring?”

“But that is so long from now.”

“It is the beginning of autumn, and with all the is going on, it would be nearly impossible to gather all those who would be expected to be invited to a royal wedding in Rohan. Perhaps your Faramir will propose over the winter, and we can host a double-royal wedding?”

Eowyn felt her blush as she smiled all over herself.

“I would not be opposed to that.”

“Good.”

The sound of footsteps coming down the hall drew Eowyn back to her feet, moving to fling the door open so she could look. Aderyn was coming down the hall, a wide smile on her happy face.

“Eowyn!”

Aderyn all but ran to her, nearly crashing into Eowyn as she barely stopped in time.

“Eomer has proposed!”

Eowyn dove forward, practically choking her dearest friend as she hugged her tightly, Aderyn no gentler in her returning hug. Inside, Helga let out a whoop of happiness.

“And you said yes?”, Eowyn asked as she moved back to look at her friend’s face.

Aderyn let out a sound between a cough and laugh, “I could hardly say ‘no’, but I was so caught off guard. I thought he just wanted a day away from the Meduseld, I had not expected to have him proposing marriage while we stood next to Mererid.”

“Mererid?”

“Oh, she’s beautiful. Eomer picked her out to be my horse.”

“I can’t wait to see her.”

“You haven’t?”

“No.”, Eowyn chuckled, “He kept all the details to himself, as much as possible. He feared I might accidentally let part of his plan slip. He knows how excited I’ve been for this.”

Helga stepped out from Eowyn’s room, “We all have been, my girl.”

Aderyn leapt forward, hugging both Eowyn and Helga.

“I told my mother at the stables when we came back, she was tending one of the stable hands’ arthritis. I knew I had to find you both to share the news. Eomer wants to make an announcement at the feast tonight with Merry and Pippin, saying you can have the honour of telling Aragorn, Arwen, Gimli, Legolas, and Faramir.”

Helga nudged Eowyn’s side, “Might give your own suitor an idea or two.”

“They do not propose the same way in Gondor.”

“Aye, yes, though you are now a Queen of Gondor, my girl.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

The feast had gone well and Eomer had even managed to dance with his bride-to-be a few times before duty called him away. A slight injury to one of the kitchen maids had prompted Aderyn to leave early to attend the young woman. As the festivities were over and everyone was filtering out, Eomer went over to his sister’s side. She had ushered Merry and Pippin off to bed, and was now standing at one of the windows to look out towards Gondor. He could guess what was on her mind.

“Thinking of your journey?”

“Yes.”, she said before turning to face him.

“I am also thinking of how happy I was when he showed up for the coronation. I am even happier today than I was then.”

“When he asks you to marry him, I wager you will be even happier still.”

“Should I feel guilty for feeling so much happiness?”

“Why?”, he asked, concerned.

Eowyn’s eyes moved back to the window, turning a bit to the left, where Theodred and Theoden lay beneath the fading white flowers the covered all the royal tombs.

“I miss them, truly, more than I thought it possible to miss anyone. Then, I saw Aderyn’s face when she returned, and your face tonight when you entered the Hall. It seems like I should not even be capable of such happiness, when my heart is still broken.”

Reaching, Eomer took his sister’s hand in his own, giving it a squeeze.

“Theodred would have been the very first to tell you that you deserve every happiness that comes your way, Eowyn. Every single one. He would have been practically shoving you down to the horses, to ride to Gondor and see Faramir. He would have been pestering me from dawn till dusk, to get on and marry Aderyn already. Likely making fun of our love-struck expressions.”

Catching her eyes, he reminded her, “And Theoden outright said that all he wanted for you was to see you smile again. To see you happy, to remove the sadness from your heart. Neither of them would wish you to lose even one moment of your happiness to grieve for them. We will always miss them, however, we owe it to them to let ourselves be happy.”

“Thank you.”

Moving to her tiptoes, she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

“You really are the best brother.”

He smiled, offering his elbow.

“Allow me to escort you to your rooms?”

With a nod, she took his offered arm and let him lead her off. Half an hour later, he had returned to the hall just in time to see Aderyn coming in from the kitchens. She smiled up at him, looking tired yet happy.

“Where is Eowyn?”

“Already in bed.”

“Ah, well I won’t be long behind her. It has been a long day.”

Eomer leaned, letting his forehead rest against Aderyn’s. She hummed as her eyes slid closed.

“No second thoughts?”

“Not about you, Eomer. Not ever.”

“Just checking.”

He felt her hands move, catching both of his own. Dark green eyes looked up to meet his gaze.

“I meant what I said, I’ll have none except you.”

“Good.”

“May I ask a favour?”

“Of course.”

“I had to leave our last dance before we even made it to the floor.”, she adjusted her position to hold out her hands like they were about to dance.

Eomer smiled, moving to match her position. He took her hands in his and let her lead as they moved slowly, with more gentility than skill. Aderyn hummed a tune, giving Eomer something to work with.

He could have danced all night with her, if she had asked it of him. Eomer knew he had no real skill for it and that Aderyn was considered to be passable as a dancer. Yet, having her so close, with an excuse to have her attention entirely to himself and to be able to give his attention completely to her alone, was enough reason for him to take every dance with her that he could.

Once they finished their last dance, Eomer took her hand in his elbow, leading her for her room. Aderyn leaned her head against his shoulder, still smiling.

“Thank you.”

“Anything for the future Princess of Rohan.”

They arrived all too soon at her room. Eomer had to relinquish his hold on her hand and let her go.

“Goodnight, and thank you for the dance.”

“I am always happy to dance, with you.”

“Oh, not with any young lady who asks?”

“No. Just you.”

Leaning, Eomer kissed her cheek, “My Princess.”

He then kissed her lips, “I can hardly wait to be able to call you ‘wife’, my Aderyn.”

Her smile was wide enough to make her dimple appear as her cheeks reddened.

“I can hardly wait to hear you address me as such, and to be able to call you ‘husband’ whenever I wish.”

She moved quickly, tugging Eomer’s tabard and pressing a passionate kiss to his lips again. Eomer’s arms found their way around her, curling snugly into place. When they broke apart, panting for breath, Eomer pressed a soft kiss to Aderyn’s forehead.

“Goodnight.”

“Pleasant dreams, my love.”

Reluctantly, he let her go, waiting till she had gone into her room and closed the door, before he walked away.