Sacrifices

Note: Appendex to the story helping close one chapter of Lothiriel's life and giving Eomer a little more deepth after his nasty fight with his wife. I'm thinking about adding "lost" letters and the like also...to bolster some of the plots to come in Sacrifices Book II. Hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave feedback.

The King of Rohan knew that his newly wedded wife had been the wife of another; one who had died in battle protecting him. He saw the many conflicted emotions that went through her expressed on her beautiful face. Sometimes she would be smiling, the next minute in deep thought as tears formed in her eyes. But no matter what her mood or expression she was being the perfect wife for a king. Perhaps she was using him to block out the painful memories; perhaps she was trying to get on with her life and that was why she had agreed to marry him. Lothiriel was in no way cold to him, she lay beside him, had accepted him into her, but sometimes it seemed she was just not in the moment. And it pained Eomer to know that as of now he did not have her whole attention. He kept wondering how he could show his support to her, his love for her. Somehow there had to be a way that he could help her say goodbye to her first love.

On the way to the ships that would take them to Minas Tirith they past a vast cemetery. The people of Dol Amroth buried their dead simply in the ground and constructed monuments of stone over them. Various animal and ship shapes dotted the landscape but he noticed one newly dug grave had nothing over it. It was a huge pit and he assumed it contained the remains of those that had died in battle but not claimed by family; or so decayed that identification was impossible. He looked to Lothiriel to see her reaction at the sights and saw she wept silently, holding a hand over her mouth so no one could see the contortions that her crying made to her countenance. Now was his time, now was his chance to be the friend she needed, coming up closer to her he spoke.

“Lothiriel Queen I know why you cry and I do not want to be part of it. I do not want you to despise me while your first husband lies in the ground. Would you like to stop here, take some time to say goodbye?” He was terrified of what response his words would get; he was so new to everything. But she took his hand and squeezed gently, looking at him she smiled.

“Yes, that would be nice.”

Her eyes focused past his to the large mass grave in the cemetery. He helped her dismount and bade Finduilas to follow her mistress into the cemetery. Eomer stayed outside the cemetery but watched his wife with sorrow and admiration. He saw her walk to the graves of many and kneel before them, making a symbol on the surface of each. When she finally approached the mass grave he saw Finduilas help Lothiriel steady herself. Memories of his loses came to him as he watched her perform the same rite she had on the other graves.

He had laid his uncle and cousin to rest in the mighty mounds of his ancestors. As a boy he had played among the mounds, never did he realize that one day his beloved parents would be interred inside one. After their deaths he became more familiar with the purpose of the mounds and his once happy play place became one he refused to visit. Then his uncle and cousin had been hewn down in battle and once they were interred, and the realization that he was king was fully upon him, he found the mounds comforting. There, wandering around them he was close to his uncle, he could meditate on his uncle’s rule and gain wisdom and understanding from those inside the mounds. He knew how important it was to say goodbye; now he hoped that Lothiriel would be able to say goodbye and draw wisdom from him buried inside the earth in her own way.

To say he was not jealous of Rufio, her first husband would be false. He was still very jealous that another had been so involved in his queen’s life but everyone had lost so much he would not be selfish and keep her to himself. She was now coming out of the cemetery and toward him.

Eomer saw that she was fatigued, and her cheeks streaked with tears but his heart and his pride swelled. She was still content to go with him to a new place, a completely strange world to her; leaving everything behind her to start a new life with him.

And he knew that he would try his best to make sure that she was always happy with him, that she was always happy to be queen to his people. Then something began to eat at him, what if his people do not like her? That was not possible he thought, no one could not love Lothiriel. His daydream was interrupted by Aragorn and Lothiriel’s return to her horse at the same time.

Aragorn smiled at him sympathetically and said, “Give her time.”

Lothiriel took her husband’s hand and whispered, “thank you Eomer love.”

All he could do was kiss her hand and get as close to her as he could. This woman was going to be a new start for both Rohan and himself and he would fight to keep her.