A/N – So I apologize from the depths of my deserting heart for the lack of updates. I have been campaigning my show horse this year with more success than I expected for such a young horse...so far, one reserve national championship and a national top ten in Canada. Awesome, just awesome, and I still have U.S. nationals to go in October. There might not be another update until after then. Stay with me though. We are getting to some good stuff! Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter from, like, a million months ago. Hope you like this one as well.

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The caravan to Edoras had traveled past Amon Din with its imposing beacon and then Eilnach before they stopped for the evening on the edge of the Druadan Forest. Legolas and Gimli, who had left Minas Tirith hours before the others to scout ahead for danger, met up with the group at the pre-determined campsite.

Lothiriel was standing beside her father when Gilmli reported to Elessar and Eomer that the area surrounding the camp and the road ahead showed no sign of threat, and that he and Legolas had requested safe passage through a portion of the forest from the Wild Men that Elessar had gifted the forest to at the end of the War. "They're a curious sort, those Wild Men," the gruff dwarf said, "but they pledged us safe passage and will allow us to gather firewood and water from the forest. I doubt we'll see head nor tail of them while we are here. The fellow that met us at the edge of the forest scurried off without a trace after we talked with him."

"It is their way," Elessar said with a nod to his two friends. "Thank you for your help."

Before Lothiriel had a chance to move next to Eomer, he excused himself from the group to talk with his men. He had barely acknowledged her presence.

Lothiriel excused herself as well and returned to her tent. Thankfully, it was separate from her family's lodging; normally she would have stayed in the large, sectional pavilion, heralded by the swan flag flying from its center pole, that was large enough to accommodate the entire royal family of Dol Amroth. But she had a smaller tent with her belongings from her trip to Minas Tirith earlier in the year, so she was able to escape the dreadful snoring and foul morning humor of her male relatives.

Eomer's recent mood had greatly bothered Lothiriel. During the day's ride he had kept his distance. She had caught him staring at her when he thought she wasn't watching, but whenever she tried to make direct eye contact all she received in return was a quick smile or nod, and then he had promptly turned his attention to one of his guards. It was starting to irritate the princess. Something was bothering him, but he obviously wasn't willing to share it with her. She decided she needed a new tactic to get him alone and talking with her.

She peeked out the opening of her lodging and searched for her betrothed. As luck would have it, he was sitting with her brothers, Faramir, Eowyn and Gimli around the large fire in the center of the royal encampment, facing her tent. They were waiting for dinner to be served.

She quickly ducked back into her quarters and dug through her travel bags for her hairbrush. She also grabbed a soft, loose fitting, white cotton dress. It was a casual dress, appropriate for dinner with nobles while on the rode, but it also extremely flattering to the princess's figure. She knew it was one of Eomer's favorites; he had never said so, but she knew nonetheless. Every time she had worn it after they were engaged, she had had to beat him off with a stick, figuratively, of course. She had every intention of taking the simple dress to a clothing maker in Edoras for duplication in an assortment of colors.

She quickly changed out of her riding garb and into the dress. Checking her reflection in her hand mirror, she pinched her cheeks till they were a rosy color and then set out on her mission, hairbrush in hand.

Lothiriel approached the fire and took a seat next to Eomer. He was trying his hardest not to notice her outfit and kept his attention on the roaring fire in front of him. She immediately went to work brushing her hair in long, slow strokes. She flipped her head so her hair lay over her right shoulder and continued to brush. Expertly wiggling so the sleeve of her dress slid off her left shoulder and exposed a small amount of bare skin, she closed her eyes and still continued to brush.

As if his pants were on fire, Eomer jumped from his seat and started to needlessly tend the fire. Sensing she had adequately captured his attention, Lothiriel wordlessly rose from her seat beside the fire and sauntered back toward her tent, focusing all her will on making her hips sway as overtly as she knew how. A quick glance over her shoulder informed her she had not only gotten Eomer's attention, but everyone else who was sitting by the fire. For a moment she felt foolish behaving in such a manner in front of her brothers, but what else could she do. She needed to talk with Eomer whether he wanted to or not...and the only way to accomplish that was to revert to devious, often foolish tactics.

Outside her quarters, she heard Eomer tell the others around the fire he needed to take care of something, and he set off in the direction of her tent. She grimaced and wished he'd been slightly less obvious about seeking her out after her display at the fire. But there was nothing for it now; she'd happily face the teasing of her brothers later if it meant she had a chance to talk privately with Eomer.

After she was convinced he actually was on his way to see her, she quickly ducked out of the back of her tent, leaving a fairly obvious trail for Eomer to follow.

The royal encampment was on a guarded, tree-covered hilltop that was surrounded by the wagons and tents set up for the accompanying caravan. The sun had set an hour before, and the Druadan Forest was awash with brilliant blue-white moonlight. The trees around the encampment were immensely tall and spaced evenly apart. The floor of the forest was covered with moss and some of the largest ferns Lothiriel had ever seen. They gave off a sweet, fresh scent that Lothiriel wished she could bottle and take with her to Rohan.

She maneuvered through the trees closest to the rear of her tent and started down the backside of the hill toward a denser part of the forest. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eomer lift the back flap of her tent, a look of concern clearly marked on his face. He had rightly expected to find her in her tent. The princess moved from her position behind the trunk of a huge tree, flashed a mischievous grin at the blond king, and then lifted her skirt and dashed off further into the forest.

She had a good lead on him, but she could still hear his heavy footsteps on the soft, wet forest floor, and they were gaining on her. She bolted into the dense grove she had aimed for and slid behind the trunk of one of the larger trees on her right. Trying to slow her breathing to hide her position, she waited for Eomer to enter her trap.

She didn't have to wait long, for her prey ran into the grove and stopped to catch his breath moments after her. Lothiriel giggled openly and quietly shifted positions two trees to her left. She watched as Eomer, smiling broadly, spun around to face the direction of her laughter. Lothiriel silently moved from tree to tree to locate herself directly behind him, and then she revealed herself. She waited in the open, next to her last hiding place, until he sensed her presence and turned to face her.

Standing in the center of the grove, the moonlight shone on his handsome features, and Lothiriel was struck by his masculine attractiveness. His long, lanky frame, his broad, powerful shoulders, and his commanding gaze that seemed to penetrate straight to her soul; she felt an instant urge to be close to him.

He strode purposely toward her and swept her up in a passionate kiss. It was like nothing else she had ever experienced. He kissed her as if it was their first and last kiss all wrapped into one; he kissed her like he was a drowning man and she was the air he so desperately needed to breathe. And then just as suddenly as he had started to kiss her, he stopped. It took Lothiriel a few seconds to gather her wits before she realized he was pushing her away from their heated embrace.

"I'm sorry," Eomer said and took a step back from her. "I shouldn't have done that." He bore a conflicted look on his face.

"What?" Lothiriel asked, still a little flustered from his incredible kiss and then drastic change in mood.

"I shouldn't have followed you," Eomer said quietly and shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"What are you talking about?" Lothiriel demanded. "I thought I made it fairly obvious I wanted you to follow me. What's this all about? Why did you ignore me all day today?"

"I thought, maybe, you needed some space...from me," he said quietly looking past her and into the trees.

Stunned for a moment by his response, she took a few steps back from him. "Why would I need space from you?" she asked quietly. Her stomach was suddenly in knots.

Eomer sighed deeply and then regarded the princess in front of him seriously. "Well, you were obviously upset this morning before breakfast, and I thought maybe you were reconsidering going to Rohan." His words spilled out quickly, and he held up a hand to stop Lothiriel from speaking as she took a quick step toward him and opened her mouth to speak. "Listen, I know you've been upset lately...upset about leaving your family and friends...upset about marrying me."

He refused to maintain eye contact with her and started to pace around the clearing they stood in, his hands tightly clamped behind his back. "I can tell when you've been crying, you know...your eyes turn silver. And you've been crying a lot lately. Faramir told me you were unhinged this morning—Look, do you still want to marry me, or not?" He blurted out his question and abruptly spun around to face her.

She had a look of complete shock on her face, which slowly faded into a small smile. As if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders, the princess burst into deep ringing laughter.

"She's laughing," Eomer stated darkly and turned away from his bride-to-be.

Holding out a hand to Eomer, Lothiriel doubled over in more gales of laughter, her other hand clutching her side in pain.

"I'm glad you find this so amusing," he said, his voice breaking slightly with laughter as well at the sight of the princess almost on her knees in front of him. "Although, this is not the reaction I thought I'd get upon breaching this subject...I guess it is better than a flat out 'no' though."

"Of course I still want to marry you, you great fool!" she gasped between peals of laughter, "Probably more now than I ever have before, in fact." She sighed and tried to right herself again.

"You sure?" he asked carefully.

She stifled the remainder of her lingering giggles and cocked her head sideways to look at him appreciatively. "Oh, my poor dear Eomer...let me tell you something," she said and beckoned for him to join her in sitting on a fallen tree trunk. "First of all, if I didn't want to marry you, you would know it, and I certainly wouldn't be trying to lure you into secluded forest groves." At that, Eomer cracked a small smile.

"And secondly, if we are going to enter into wedded bliss you are going to have to learn a few things about me rather quickly. One, I hate change, and by hate, I mean h-a-t-e. I can be very set in my ways, so give me a chance to adjust before you go thinking I don't love you anymore. Two, I tend to keep emotions bottled up until the only way to deal with them is to cry hysterically. I'm not proud of it, but it sure does make me feel better. And three, I know without a shadow of a doubt that there is nothing I love more in this world than you, my King. And if you can forgive me for my behavior this morning, I would still like to marry you. I would like it very much, my Love."

She bore a completely earnest face, and Eomer regarded her silently for a moment. He felt a little ridiculous about his earlier antics and made a mental note to inquire about Lothiriel's feelings much sooner in the future instead of letting things fester in his own head as they had this time.

"Cry hysterically?" he asked carefully trying to break the serious mood between them.

"Ask Faramir," she said theatrically, "he's experienced it first hand on several occasions."

With a broad grin, Eomer grabbed her in a tight embrace and showered her with kisses.

From the encampment above, two pairs of curious eyes quietly observed the couple. "Well, I think they are going to be just fine," Faramir said and sided up closer to his wife.

"Of course they will," Eowyn said matter-of-factly. "They have to be. I have an absolutely enchanting wedding planned for them." She turned quickly and headed back toward the steward's tent.

Glancing back to his cousin and brother-in-law, who were now well into their new and improved understanding of one another, he quietly murmured, "Yes, dear," and then followed the retreating form of his wife.

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A/N – Well, that was a nice breezy chapter to ease myself back into things again. I do promise more...wish me luck at U.S. nationals!!!