Lotr Fanfic "In the Course of Time 07/07"
Jul. 10th, 2009 09:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nanuk_dainIn the Course of Time - PART 7
***
“You are here as well.”
Haldir looked up and found Rúmil walking towards him through the garden behind the Golden Hall and nodded to him. “I see you found my favourite place.”
“I was not looking for you, but for a nice place to enjoy the sun.” Rúmil explained while he joined his brother on the bench under the old tree. “And I remembered the Lady mentioning this garden, so I decided to look it up. She was right, it is beautiful.”
“So it is.” Haldir agreed and turned his face towards the morning sun, enjoying its beams on his skin.
“I saw King Éomer still wears your braids.” Rúmil said after some time of comfortable silence. “Does he know what they mean?”
Haldir turned his face towards his brother and steadily met his eyes. “Aye, he does.”
“He is mortal. That will not change, brother. You know you will loose him at some point.” Rumil gave him a worried gaze. “How can you deal with that? It seems cruel beyond measure to me.”
Haldir gave a small, sad smile. “It is. But I would not change my decision, for he is worth every moment of pain I know will come after his death.”
Rumil was silent for a moment, then he chuckle. “Who would have thought that my proud, arrogant brother would fall for a mortal Man.”
Haldir looked at him and felt his lips twitch as well. He could see the irony in it, a few months ago he would have laughed at everybody who would have told him he could love a Man. “Nobody, I guess.”
“Certainly not me.” Rumil grinned. Then he grasped his brother's arm and turned serious again. “But I know he is good for you. I am happy you found your other half, even if he is a Man. Not all of us are so lucky, some never find it.”
“Thank you, my brother.” Haldir said, his voice a little rough. “It means a lot to me.”
“I know.” Rumil nodded with a little smile. “You will stay with him here, will you not?”
Haldir was silent, then he nodded. “Aye. The Lady granted me permission to remain in Rohan as an ambassador for Lorien.”
“She knew it all the time, did she not?” Rúmil said, his voice bespeaking the admiration he held for Lady Galadriel.
“So it would seem.” Haldir agreed. The Lady was known for her visionary abilities, her gift of foresight and her excellent understanding of all people around her, be it Elves, Men or Dwarfs. If several other persons like Aragorn and Rúmil had seen the affection Haldir held for Éomer, she certainly had known of it long before anybody else.
“We will leave tomorrow morning to return to Lorien.” Rúmil said after a pause. “You will come to visit us, I hope.”
“I certainly will. I promised Éomer to show him the beauty of Lorien at some point and I intend to do so.” Haldir smiled. “He is quite talented with languages, it seems. He has already gained a fair grasp of Sindarin and I think he will manage our tongue well enough in some time to be able to talk with our people.”
“It is good to see you smile again.” Rúmil remarked with a smile of his own. “Your light glows brighter than I have ever seen it.”
“Your acceptance and the possibility to stay with him are a big part of my happiness.” Haldir admitted and turned his face towards the sun again.
Rúmil followed his example of enjoying the sunbath and they fell back into comfortable silence again.
Haldir spent the evening with his people. He knew he would be gone from the Woods for some time and he wanted to talk and laugh with his friends for some hours before they were to leave the next morning. When he stood in front of Meduseld with Éomer and several others to bid farewell in the morning, he bowed deeply in front of the Lady and the Lord and thanked them again for the permission to stay.
The Lady gave him a gently smile. “There would have been not point to deliberately make you unhappy, Haldir. And you are certainly the best person to establish a firm relation to Rohan, so the idea to stay as an ambassador was logical.”
“I owe you my deepest thanks, my Lady.” Haldir replied with another bow.
“Make the best of the chance you are given and we will be content.” She mounted her horse with the grace that was inherent in her and he was dismissed. With a few steps, Haldir walked over to his brothers and embraced Rúmil, then Orophin.
“I wish you all happiness, my brother.” Orophin said seriously when he released his brother. “I cannot say I understand you, but I can see that he is good for you.”
“Thank you, brother.” Haldir was surprised at Orophin's sudden acceptance. Over the whole time before, he had not really acknowledged Haldir's attraction to Éomer even though Haldir was certain he had noticed it.
“You are welcome.” Orophin nodded and mounted his horse. Within some minutes, the company was ready to leave and Haldir watched his people ride out of the gates of Edoras. It felt strange to stay behind, but at the same time it was a new beginning.
Haldir took a breath and turned towards Lady Éowyn who stood next to him. “Do we want to go back to our books, my Lady?”
She smiled and nodded. “Aye, we have a lot to work on.”
***
Winter was about to leave the country and let the spring set in. The afternoon sun stood low and let some warming beams shine onto Haldir who sat at his desk and went over some books when he heard Éomer approach the chamber. Shortly afterwards the Man entered the room and came over to where the Elf sat.
“How is your work going, lirimaer?” Éomer asked and gently let his hands settle on Haldir's shoulders in a soft massage.
Haldir sat up straight to grant his lover more access and leaned into the touch. “Quite well. Rohan developed greatly in the past months.”
Éomer applied some more strength to loosen a knot in his lover's shoulder. “It is to you that we owe that development. You put as much work into rebuilding Rohan as I did, even though it was not your duty.”
The Man bent over and kissed the Elf on the temple. “Thank you, my love.”
“I come to love Rohan and its people.” Haldir said quietly. “My first impression of their open friendliness has only been strengthened over the time I spent here. I want Rohan to recover from the times of war and I want it to prosper. That is what I work for.”
Éomer felt inexplicably happy about these words. He let go of Haldir's shoulders and wrapped his arms around the Elf from behind and rested his head on his shoulder. “You have no idea what that means to me.”
“I think I might have.” Haldir settled his hands over Éomer's. “It must be similar to the pleasure I take in hearing you learn and love my language.”
“Aye, I think that might compare.” Éomer turned his head to kiss the Elf's neck. Haldir let his hand tangle in the Man's hair and pulled him closer for a gentle kiss. With a nearly silent moan Éomer returned the touch, deepening the kiss and simply enjoying the contact.
He noticed the knock on the door only halfway before he heard the door open. Éomer let go of Haldir and looked up to find his doorward, Háma, looking at them with a somewhat surprised expression.
“Oh. I am sorry, my Lord.” Háma bowed and began to retreat.
“Come in, Háma.” Éomer knew his face must be red and he tried to ignore how uncomfortable he felt.
The older Man entered but remained at the door. Haldir let his gaze wander between Háma and Éomer for a moment, then he got up and walked to the door, about to leave. “I have to go to the library for some books. I will see you later at dinner.”
Éomer looked at his lover and saw the little, nearly completely suppressed smile at the corners of his lips and knew that Haldir retreated on purpose to give him the opportunity to deal with the situation as he felt appropriate. Éomer nodded and watched the Elf leave and close the door behind him.
“What was it you wanted, Háma?” Éomer turned to the older man.
“May I speak openly, my Lord?” Háma had already been his uncle's doorward and the captain of the King's guards and he did the same for Éomer. He had known the young King for most of his live and Éomer trusted Háma deeply, so he nodded to the request without further thought.
“The people love you, my Lord.” Háma said with a voice that left no doubt about the sincerity of his words. “They know you are a good king. And they realised you are an even better king if your heart is complete.”
Éomer's head jerked up and he looked into the captain's eyes. “What do you mean?”
Háma had a teasing smile on his face, but it was good-natured. “We are not blind, my Lord. We see that you are finally your old self again since the Master Haldir came to Edoras.”
Éomer felt the blood creep into his cheeks. It was embarrassing how obvious they must have been if the people of Rohan had realised how much Haldir meant to him. Háma just laughed good-naturedly.
“You are a warrior yourself, my Lord, and you spent as much time with the Riders as I did. You know shield-mates are quite commonly accepted within our warriors, and I am certain you know several who never married.”
Indeed, he did. He had never given it an thought, though. It had not been any of his business whom his Riders preferred in bed as long as it did not influence their performance on duty.
“Some may not like it, my Lord, but they will accept it. The people know and respect your sacrifices, they will not ask you to give up your happiness.” Háma said after a pause, voice and expression sincere.
“I never thought it was known.” Éomer said with a worried glance at his captain. “I expect people to disapprove, for I have to set an example, marry and continue the bloodline of my ancestors.”
“It is indeed your duty. But it does not have to be you who continues the line, my Lord.” Háma remarked. “Your sister is adored by her people, they see her as the defeater of the Witch King. Her children will be accepted on the throne of Rohan without any protest.”
“I could never ask that of her.” Éomer said with a serious expression. “And I will not.”
“She is not blind either, my Lord.” Háma replied. “She knows about your problem and she certainly plans to do something about it if she can somehow help.”
Éomer sighted. “You are probably right. What do you recommend, Háma?”
The older man looked at him, eyes sincere. “It may appear odd, but I recommend you to officially bind yourself to Master Haldir and to adopt Lady Éowyn's child if she offers to you.”
Éomer was silent for a while, thinking about what his captain had said. “Do you think people will accept a bond of their King with a male Elf?”
“Normally I would say they would not, but they know Master Haldir for over a year by now and they respect him, they even start to trust him. It is well known that it was thanks to him and his archers that we survived the battle of Helm's Deep, and everybody can see his sincere work for Rohan.” Háma made a short pause, as if he was hesitant to continue. “I do not intend to repeat gossip, my Lord, but the people have been talking about your relationship to him from the beginning. Most are aware that you are more than friends and they know you share quarters. They lived with the idea of their King in a relationship with a male Elf for quite a while by now.”
Éomer did not know what to say to that, he was at a complete loss of words. He had known that there were rumours, but he had never thought that his people took is as a fact that he and Haldir were lovers. The two of them had not been obvious, there were never any gestures or words in the company of others that betrayed their relationship. It was true, though, that they shared quarters and that they had never hidden that fact, for it would have been impossible to hide anyway.
“It would be a statement of strength to stand by Master Haldir and justify what everybody knows anyway. Make your unusual way to reign as legal as possible by taking Master Haldir as your mate and adopting your sister's child.” Háma said with all sincerity. “Your people will accept it, and they will follow you because they believe in you. Now you have to prove your belief in them by trusting them to support you in your decision.”
“It seems a big step to take.” Éomer said quietly.
“It is, my Lord.” the doorward replied. “But I think that you have gone through enough ordeal with your people to trust them.”
“Aye, we probably have.” Éomer looked at the older man. “I thank you for your honesty, Háma.”
The other man bowed with a little smile. “You are welcome, my Lord.”
“What did you want in the first place, by the way?” Éomer asked when he remembered that there must have been a reason why the doorward had looked for him.
“Oh, I wanted to inform you that Lord Faramir has arrived.” Háma reported. “He waits in the Golden Hall for you.”
Éomer nodded. “Good.”
He left with the older man to go to the hall and entered to find Faramir standing in the middle of the large room. With a few steps, Éomer reached the Steward of Gondor and greeted him with a smile. He liked the Gondorian and approved of Éowyn's choice to marry him.
“Be greeted, Faramir of Gondor. It is good to see you.” Éomer clasped his arm in a handshake.
“Be greeted as well, Éomer King.” Faramir returned the handshake and the smile. “I am glad to have arrived.”
“How was your journey?”
“Long, but uneventful.” the other man said with a shrug. “The kind of journey we all wished for when the Evil Lord ruled.”
“That is good to hear.” the Rohirrim replied. “I hope it will remain that way for a long time.”
“As do I.” Faramir agreed. “We cannot help to still be very alert during travel, but it is good when our attention is not requested to protect our company.”
“It means we are slowly getting rid of the remains of Sauron's evil armies.”
“We are. It will still take some work, though.” When the Gondorian's suddenly shifted and his face lit up, Éomer followed his gaze and saw his sister had entered the hall. She looked beautiful in her white dress, hair flowing openly over her shoulders and her eyes bright with joy. A content smile appeared on her face when she saw her fiancé and Éomer knew her well enough to notice that she restrained to keep her steps even and her pace appropriate.
But when she reached them, she actually embraced the Steward and kissed him gently on cheek. “It is so good to see you.”
Éomer watched how the Gondorian wrapped his arms in a possessive, but gentle embrace around Éowyn and how his eyes closed in bliss when she kissed him. Éomer could not help a certain wistful feeling to rise in his chest. He wished he could openly show his affection for his Elf as well, that he had not to control his every movement around Haldir to not betray how much the Elf meant to him. If Háma was right, this whole pretending was for naught anyway, for all of Rohan already knew.
After a moment, Éowyn let go of her fiancé and stood next to him, keeping his hand in hers. Éomer just needed to have one look at her face to know how happy she was and he found again that it made the prospect of her leaving Edoras a little bit easier.
“We will have a great dinner tonight to celebrate your arrival, Faramir.” Éomer declared after a moment. “I hope you will enjoy the time at Edoras. I am certain my sister will show you all that is to see about the city, but feel free to ask me for a tour if you wish to do so.”
Faramir smiled. “I thank you for the offer, my Lord. I will certainly come back to it.”
“We will see for dinner, then.” Éomer walked past the couple to return to his study. There was still some work to do, and he needed a moment to sort his thoughts. The words of Háma had not left him alone, he had to think about what the doorward had said. He knew Háma was trusted by the people and that the man was honest and loyal to him. What he had said was certainly true and well reflected. But his recommendation was indeed a big step, and one he could not decide alone to take. It concerned Haldir as much as him, and if they were to bind to one another, it had to be both of their wish.
After some time of staring off into the distance, Éomer decided he would speak to Haldir this night and ask him for his opinion on the matter. There was nothing more he could do about it a this point, so Éomer turned towards the letters he still had to write and concentrated on the work instead of his private problems. The afternoon passed in silent working until a firm knock made him look up.
“Come in.” Éomer looked up from the letter to his second marshal he had been writing.
“Brother, I need to talk to you.” Éowyn stood in the doorway, serious expression on her face.
“What can I do for you?” he asked and set the quill aside.
She came in, carefully closed the door behind her and walked over to her brother's desk and sat down. “It is about you and Haldir.”
Éomer stiffened, but remained silent. Everybody seemed to want to talk about him and the Elf lately, he thought with a sigh. He had known Éowyn had been aware of his affection for Haldir for a long time, but they had never really openly talked about it.
“You are aware I know how you feel about him.” She stated and left no doubt she knew.
Éomer nodded but still did not say a word.
“Judging by the developments of the last year, I assume that you will not marry any woman but stay with Haldir.” Her expression was serious, but not condemning. “I spent a lot of time with him and I feel quite certain to say that his feelings for you run as deep as yours for him.”
Éomer did not feel comfortable in his skin. He nodded nevertheless, for he knew Éowyn would not do anything to harm him, even if she could be quite unpleasant at times. His instincts told him she was trying to make a point and therefore stated all the things that had been silently known all along.
“I will leave in a month for Gondor to marry Faramir.” Éowyn looked him straight in the eyes. “I have talked with him about this many times and we agreed on something. We want our second born child to live at Rohan and to be your heir.”
Éomer was silent. He was overwhelmed by the offer his sister made him and he knew what it must cost her to agree to give away her own child to cover her brother's miss. He was deeply touched and at the same time shocked. “Éowyn...”
He had to clear his throat before he could continue. “I can never accept that. I cannot ask you to give up your own child because I chose not to have one.”
“First of all, you never asked it of me, I offered it on my own accord.” Her voice was gentle, but firm. “And secondly, you did not choose not to have children. You chose to be with the one you love and not to break his heart by taking a wife. I do not think you did anything wrong.”
“I do not want to put that burden onto your shoulders.” Éomer said slowly, eyes serious. “It is not your duty to provide an heir for Rohan.”
Éowyn smiled gently and a little chiding. “You should know me better, dear brother. I may marry into Gondor, but Rohan will always come first for me. Faramir knew that from the first moment on. And I do not give up my child, I let it know the country I belong to and I hope it will love as much as I do.”
“But your child would have to live in Rohan, to grow up here to understand the people and the country. You would have to give it away and I dare not to ask that of you.” His voice was sincere, his eyes pained.
Éowyn took his hand and made him look at her. “Listen to me, Éomer. I know what I am offering and believe me that I do not wish to be parted from my child. But I also know that there are ways for my child to know both Ithilien and Rohan and that this is the only way to ever see you happy. For you as for me, Rohan's good is connected to our own happiness.”
She made a short pause and smiled. “And I trust you and Haldir to love and raise my child as if it was your own. It will have two families who love it instead of one.”
Éomer sat motionless for a moment. “I still feel like I cannot accept your offer.”
“I ask but one thing of you.” Éowyn looked at him firmly. “Announce Haldir as your mate.”
Éomer could not help to let out an only halfway amused snort. “It is interesting you are already the second person to say that to me today.”
“I am?” She looked genuinely surprised. “Who else dares to talk to you about such a thing?”
“Háma.” Éomer told her. “But it was rather forced, for he walked in on Haldir and me.”
“That explains it. He was aware of your relationship for quite a while, I guess.” Éowyn did not seem too shocked somebody else knew about them.
“That does not seem to surprise you.”
She laughed good-naturedly.“Of course not. It was an illusion to think you could keep your feelings for him a secret. They are written plain across your face whenever he is in the same room as you are. People had to be blind and stupid not to notice it.”
“You never bothered to tell me.” Éomer could not keep a certain disapproving note out of his voice.
“What good would it have done?” his sister just asked, not guilty in the least. “You were happy again and the only thing you could have done was to send Haldir away. And I never want to see you again in the state you were in after we returned from Minas Tirith.”
“Was it so bad?” Éomer had been aware that he had not been in the best condition at the time, but he had done his work as he was supposed to.
“Aye, it was. You seemed to have lost all your energy and motivation, you only worked and worked as if to keep your mind occupied.” She looked at him with caring eyes. “There was no life in you and I never want to see that happen again.”
Éomer understood that his sister as well as some others must have been quite worried at that time and he found that he would not let go of Haldir again, not even for Rohan. “I will talk to Haldir tonight. It is both of our decision.”
Éowyn smiled approvingly. “You will make the right decision.”
“I owe you and Faramir more than I can ever repay.” Éomer said seriously.
“You can repay us by taking care of our child as if it was your own.” she replied sincerely. “I want it to grow up with all the love we would have given it.”
“It will.” Éomer was certain of that.
***
It was dark when Éomer returned to the chambers. Haldir was in bed, back against the headbord and reading a book. When the Man opened the door, he looked up and greeted him with a smile.
“Have you finally managed to escape the celebrations?” he asked teasingly and closed the book.
“It was difficult, but I managed.” the Man replied with an amused smile. Haldir enjoyed watching his lover undress in front of the bed, the fire drawing patters of changing light on his skin. Sometimes the Elf thought that it was good that Éomer had no idea how attractive he actually was, for it meant he was there for Haldir alone.
“You are beautiful.” he said quietly.
Éomer turned, surprised, and let his tunic fall onto a chair. “Me? No, my love, you are the one of us who is beautiful.”
Haldir chuckled. “I prefer to see your beauty than mine.”
The Man came over to the bed, only clad in his trousers, and sat on the edge. “I want to ask you something, melamin.”
Haldir looked at him, concerned because of the serious tone and the tense posture of his lover. “You may ask me whatever you want.”
Curious as well as worried Haldir watched Éomer nervously lick his lips and avert his eyes. Then the Man took his hands in his and raised his gaze to firmly look at the Elf. “Haldir of Lorien, do you want to become my mate and openly share my life?”
Haldir went still for several moments. He was completely taken by surprise by Éomer's words. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
“Aye, I am.” He could see how the Man nervously bit his lip while waiting for the Elf to answer. After the first moment of surprise, Haldir had a massive amount of thoughts running through his mind. He was a rational person and could not keep from remarking the obvious difficulties that came with a King of Men binding himself to a male Elf.
“It would be nice if you could say something, Haldir.” the Man remarked and a worried expression had come onto his face.
“Do not misunderstand me, Éomer. If it was just us, I would bind myself to you immediately.” Haldir took a deep breath to make himself say what had to be said. “But there is a whole kingdom standing behind you and I do not wish to create a break between your people and you. I know that the people here accept me, but I am not certain that acceptance will go as far as to tolerate you binding yourself to me. I am an Elf, after all, and male on top of that. I am well aware these are not the best qualifications for the mate of the King of Rohan.”
To his surprise, Éomer chuckled. “I guess you knew as little about the rumours spreading in Rohan as I did, then.”
“What rumours? There are a lot of them.” Haldir was aware of more than the people thought because they did either not know or not consider his sharp hearing. He had gotten to know things he never had wanted to know, and many rumours were certainly part of that.
“Háma talked to me. As well as Éowyn.” Éomer began and chuckled again. “They both independently from one another let me know that we have been part of the rumour mill right from the beginning. For instance, I was not aware that the people have seen us as lovers for the whole time.”
“I heard some people talk about it.” Haldir remembered one conversation between two stable boys he had been privy to listen to when he had tended to Merod. They had freely discussed what they thought about Éomer and Haldir sharing quarters and Haldir had been amused to hear them guess about their love life and bed activities. “But a rumour circulating and a fact like a bond are two different things.”
“I will never marry a woman, Haldir. That is independent from us binding officially or not.” Éomer stopped and licked his lips again, but did not lower his gaze. “I want you by my side for the rest of my life. The people who really count know about us already, the rest of Rohan speculates about us anyway. I think we can take the step to make our relationship open – if you wish to do so.”
Haldir thought about it for a moment. Those who were important for him were the same ones who had wanted him to stay at Edoras to become happy. The Men he had come to like were mostly those who loved Éomer enough to only want his best. It was not him who could loose a lot, but Éomer who was so convinced that he wanted to take this step that Haldir felt the same desire. Just the idea of being able to touch his lover openly was enough to make him smile and say: “I wish to do so.”
A large, happy smile spread over Éomer's face and let Haldir know in certain terms he had done the right thing to agree. In the next moment, he felt the Man's arms around him and soft lips pressing against his.
“You make me complete, my love.” Éomer murmured gently against the Elf's neck when he buried his head in his hair, arms still tightly embracing Haldir. The Elf let his arms wrap around his Man's waist and pulled him close.
“And you are my other half, meleth.” Haldir enjoyed the feeling of the soft skin under is fingertips and caressed the broad back of his lover with slow strokes. “We still have a problem with your succession, though.”
Éomer pulled back enough to be able to look into Haldir's face. “Éowyn came to me today. She had an offer for us.”
Haldir remained silent even though he knew the Lady well enough by now to guess what her offer had been. He wanted to hear it from Éomer to be certain.
“She and Faramir want their second born to grow up in Rohan and to be my heir. She quite clearly pointed out to me that I would certainly not produce an heir of my own and that her loyalty to Rohan would always come first.”
“I am right to assume you did not accept her offer easily, am I not?” Haldir continued to caress his lover's back while listening attentively to his words.
“Aye. She was very insistent, though.” Éomer admitted.
“She is very strong-headed. I dare to say even more than you are.” Haldir said teasingly.
Éomer only chuckled. “Aye, you might be right with that.”
“We owe her very much.” the Elf admitted slowly. “How can we ever repay her?”
“That was her only condition.” Haldir heard his lover remark. “She said that we could repay her by loving her child as if it was our own.”
“I do not think that will pose any problems.” the Elf replied and kissed his lover's forehead. “This child will be a symbol of love, from your sister to you, for us, for Rohan and Gondor. We will love it as our own.”
Éomer leaned into the touch and closed his eyes. “That is what I said.”
***
Epilogue
The sun was standing high on the sky, shining through the leaves of the old tree. The garden behind the Golden Hall was filled with people from Rohan and Gondor, with Elves from Lothlorien and Rivendell. Éowyn could see Aragorn and Lady Arwen stand next to her and Faramir in the first row, a little bit further were Haldir's brothers, Legolas and Gimli. On the other side of her stood Lord Elrond of Rivendell and Lord Celeborn of Lorien.
The Lady of the Woods had taken her place next to Gandalf right under the tree at the end of the walkway. In front of them Éowyn saw her brother, clad in a beautiful green tunic and wearing a rich cloak facing Haldir who wore a simple but magnificent white tunic covered by a cloak as well. Éowyn had to smile when she noticed that the Elf's hair was braided in the same manner her brother's had already been for so long. She knew what the braids meant by now and Haldir had explained to her once that it was only allowed for one lover to braid the hair of the other. The thought of her brother learning to braid Haldir's hair was somewhat amusing and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.
Éomer and Haldir had announced a fortnight ago that they would bind themselves to one another and the news had been taken by the people with mixed reactions. Some agreed with their King's choice, some had issues with Haldir being an Elf, some with him being male. There had been no open protest, though, and Éowyn suspected it was much due to the respect everybody seemed to have for the Elf and the work he had already done for Rohan. They might not all like him, but they had realised he was good for their King and for their country; and Éowyn knew Haldir had some influential people on his side who thought highly of him, one of them being Melanwyn, Edoras's chief healer.
This day there would be two ceremonies. The first one was the traditional marriage ceremony of the Rohirrim people, the second one the bonding ritual of the Lorien Elves. Éowyn looked forward to them, especially the Elven ceremony that she knew only very few Non-Elves had witnessed up to now. It was strange to see her brother being engaged before she was, but at the same time she enjoyed seeing this happy expression in his eyes and the bright smile on his lips.
Gandalf had been chosen to carry out the Rohirrim ceremony and he began to recite the old words, letting first Éomer and then Haldir repeat their vows. Afterwards they were given the traditional goblet to share the marriage wine followed by a chaste kiss to seal their bond. Éowyn was relieved when the people of Rohan cheered enthusiastically once the ceremony ended, for it meant they accepted it. Her brother looked up after the kiss, a bright smile on his lips that was mirrored in Haldir's face.
Then the Lady of the Woods stepped forwards, her ethereal beauty and her serene charisma letting the people fall silent, attentively watching the Elven bonding ceremony. Haldir and Éomer knelt in front of the Lady and took each others hands. With a graceful motion, the Lady set her hands onto their temples. Éowyn watched all three of them close their eyes and heard the Lady speak a few words in her own tongue. After a moment of silence, she retreated and left Éomer and Haldir to remain in their position.
Two Elves approached who Éowyn recognised as Legolas and one of Haldir's brothers, each one holding a small but elaborately decorated silver box. They halted two steps behind the kneeling men and waited for them to opened their eyes. Haldir turned first to take a simple but magnificent silver pendant out of the box his brother held, then he turned and spoke words in his own tongue, fastening the chain with the pendant around Éomer's neck. Afterwards, Éowyn saw her brother take a different but equally beautiful pendant out of the box Legolas provided, and she was surprised to hear him say the same words Haldir had spoken before in fluent Elvish tongue while he put the chain around his mate's neck. Then the Lady of the Woods said some Elvish words again and Éomer and Haldir rose to their feet, bowing towards each other.
The present Elves started to clap their hands with content smiles on their faces and the Men joined them, understanding the end of the ceremony. Éowyn kept her gaze on her brother and noticed him slowly, almost caressingly stroke over the pendant. It had the shape of a tree that was entwined with decorative plantlike elements. Even though it was not overly elaborate, it looked like the most impressive jewellery Éowyn had ever seen. She looked at Haldir and recognised his pendant as a stylised horse with the same plantlike elements as on her brother's necklace.
She smiled, understanding the meaning of the necklaces. They signified the essence of the partners of the bond and were exchanged. Éomer carried a part of Haldir with him, and Haldir a part of Éomer. A sunbeam caught in her brother's pendant, making the tree reflect the light.
A beautiful idea, she thought with a smile.
***THE END***
A/N: The idea of the Elven love braids was taken with permission from Meri's “Bond of Honor”. I just love that story, go and read it at http://solo4.abac.com/CircuitArchive/Bond.html
A/N 2: I would really love to hear some comments. It took much work and time to write this story and a little feedback would make my day. So, please let me know what you think!
A/N 3:
Key to Elvish words:
- mellon = friend
- meleth = love
- melamin = my love
- Amin mela lle = I love you
- lirimaer = lovely one
***
BACK TO INDEX: http://nanuk-dain.livejournal.com/3357.html
***
***
“You are here as well.”
Haldir looked up and found Rúmil walking towards him through the garden behind the Golden Hall and nodded to him. “I see you found my favourite place.”
“I was not looking for you, but for a nice place to enjoy the sun.” Rúmil explained while he joined his brother on the bench under the old tree. “And I remembered the Lady mentioning this garden, so I decided to look it up. She was right, it is beautiful.”
“So it is.” Haldir agreed and turned his face towards the morning sun, enjoying its beams on his skin.
“I saw King Éomer still wears your braids.” Rúmil said after some time of comfortable silence. “Does he know what they mean?”
Haldir turned his face towards his brother and steadily met his eyes. “Aye, he does.”
“He is mortal. That will not change, brother. You know you will loose him at some point.” Rumil gave him a worried gaze. “How can you deal with that? It seems cruel beyond measure to me.”
Haldir gave a small, sad smile. “It is. But I would not change my decision, for he is worth every moment of pain I know will come after his death.”
Rumil was silent for a moment, then he chuckle. “Who would have thought that my proud, arrogant brother would fall for a mortal Man.”
Haldir looked at him and felt his lips twitch as well. He could see the irony in it, a few months ago he would have laughed at everybody who would have told him he could love a Man. “Nobody, I guess.”
“Certainly not me.” Rumil grinned. Then he grasped his brother's arm and turned serious again. “But I know he is good for you. I am happy you found your other half, even if he is a Man. Not all of us are so lucky, some never find it.”
“Thank you, my brother.” Haldir said, his voice a little rough. “It means a lot to me.”
“I know.” Rumil nodded with a little smile. “You will stay with him here, will you not?”
Haldir was silent, then he nodded. “Aye. The Lady granted me permission to remain in Rohan as an ambassador for Lorien.”
“She knew it all the time, did she not?” Rúmil said, his voice bespeaking the admiration he held for Lady Galadriel.
“So it would seem.” Haldir agreed. The Lady was known for her visionary abilities, her gift of foresight and her excellent understanding of all people around her, be it Elves, Men or Dwarfs. If several other persons like Aragorn and Rúmil had seen the affection Haldir held for Éomer, she certainly had known of it long before anybody else.
“We will leave tomorrow morning to return to Lorien.” Rúmil said after a pause. “You will come to visit us, I hope.”
“I certainly will. I promised Éomer to show him the beauty of Lorien at some point and I intend to do so.” Haldir smiled. “He is quite talented with languages, it seems. He has already gained a fair grasp of Sindarin and I think he will manage our tongue well enough in some time to be able to talk with our people.”
“It is good to see you smile again.” Rúmil remarked with a smile of his own. “Your light glows brighter than I have ever seen it.”
“Your acceptance and the possibility to stay with him are a big part of my happiness.” Haldir admitted and turned his face towards the sun again.
Rúmil followed his example of enjoying the sunbath and they fell back into comfortable silence again.
Haldir spent the evening with his people. He knew he would be gone from the Woods for some time and he wanted to talk and laugh with his friends for some hours before they were to leave the next morning. When he stood in front of Meduseld with Éomer and several others to bid farewell in the morning, he bowed deeply in front of the Lady and the Lord and thanked them again for the permission to stay.
The Lady gave him a gently smile. “There would have been not point to deliberately make you unhappy, Haldir. And you are certainly the best person to establish a firm relation to Rohan, so the idea to stay as an ambassador was logical.”
“I owe you my deepest thanks, my Lady.” Haldir replied with another bow.
“Make the best of the chance you are given and we will be content.” She mounted her horse with the grace that was inherent in her and he was dismissed. With a few steps, Haldir walked over to his brothers and embraced Rúmil, then Orophin.
“I wish you all happiness, my brother.” Orophin said seriously when he released his brother. “I cannot say I understand you, but I can see that he is good for you.”
“Thank you, brother.” Haldir was surprised at Orophin's sudden acceptance. Over the whole time before, he had not really acknowledged Haldir's attraction to Éomer even though Haldir was certain he had noticed it.
“You are welcome.” Orophin nodded and mounted his horse. Within some minutes, the company was ready to leave and Haldir watched his people ride out of the gates of Edoras. It felt strange to stay behind, but at the same time it was a new beginning.
Haldir took a breath and turned towards Lady Éowyn who stood next to him. “Do we want to go back to our books, my Lady?”
She smiled and nodded. “Aye, we have a lot to work on.”
***
Winter was about to leave the country and let the spring set in. The afternoon sun stood low and let some warming beams shine onto Haldir who sat at his desk and went over some books when he heard Éomer approach the chamber. Shortly afterwards the Man entered the room and came over to where the Elf sat.
“How is your work going, lirimaer?” Éomer asked and gently let his hands settle on Haldir's shoulders in a soft massage.
Haldir sat up straight to grant his lover more access and leaned into the touch. “Quite well. Rohan developed greatly in the past months.”
Éomer applied some more strength to loosen a knot in his lover's shoulder. “It is to you that we owe that development. You put as much work into rebuilding Rohan as I did, even though it was not your duty.”
The Man bent over and kissed the Elf on the temple. “Thank you, my love.”
“I come to love Rohan and its people.” Haldir said quietly. “My first impression of their open friendliness has only been strengthened over the time I spent here. I want Rohan to recover from the times of war and I want it to prosper. That is what I work for.”
Éomer felt inexplicably happy about these words. He let go of Haldir's shoulders and wrapped his arms around the Elf from behind and rested his head on his shoulder. “You have no idea what that means to me.”
“I think I might have.” Haldir settled his hands over Éomer's. “It must be similar to the pleasure I take in hearing you learn and love my language.”
“Aye, I think that might compare.” Éomer turned his head to kiss the Elf's neck. Haldir let his hand tangle in the Man's hair and pulled him closer for a gentle kiss. With a nearly silent moan Éomer returned the touch, deepening the kiss and simply enjoying the contact.
He noticed the knock on the door only halfway before he heard the door open. Éomer let go of Haldir and looked up to find his doorward, Háma, looking at them with a somewhat surprised expression.
“Oh. I am sorry, my Lord.” Háma bowed and began to retreat.
“Come in, Háma.” Éomer knew his face must be red and he tried to ignore how uncomfortable he felt.
The older Man entered but remained at the door. Haldir let his gaze wander between Háma and Éomer for a moment, then he got up and walked to the door, about to leave. “I have to go to the library for some books. I will see you later at dinner.”
Éomer looked at his lover and saw the little, nearly completely suppressed smile at the corners of his lips and knew that Haldir retreated on purpose to give him the opportunity to deal with the situation as he felt appropriate. Éomer nodded and watched the Elf leave and close the door behind him.
“What was it you wanted, Háma?” Éomer turned to the older man.
“May I speak openly, my Lord?” Háma had already been his uncle's doorward and the captain of the King's guards and he did the same for Éomer. He had known the young King for most of his live and Éomer trusted Háma deeply, so he nodded to the request without further thought.
“The people love you, my Lord.” Háma said with a voice that left no doubt about the sincerity of his words. “They know you are a good king. And they realised you are an even better king if your heart is complete.”
Éomer's head jerked up and he looked into the captain's eyes. “What do you mean?”
Háma had a teasing smile on his face, but it was good-natured. “We are not blind, my Lord. We see that you are finally your old self again since the Master Haldir came to Edoras.”
Éomer felt the blood creep into his cheeks. It was embarrassing how obvious they must have been if the people of Rohan had realised how much Haldir meant to him. Háma just laughed good-naturedly.
“You are a warrior yourself, my Lord, and you spent as much time with the Riders as I did. You know shield-mates are quite commonly accepted within our warriors, and I am certain you know several who never married.”
Indeed, he did. He had never given it an thought, though. It had not been any of his business whom his Riders preferred in bed as long as it did not influence their performance on duty.
“Some may not like it, my Lord, but they will accept it. The people know and respect your sacrifices, they will not ask you to give up your happiness.” Háma said after a pause, voice and expression sincere.
“I never thought it was known.” Éomer said with a worried glance at his captain. “I expect people to disapprove, for I have to set an example, marry and continue the bloodline of my ancestors.”
“It is indeed your duty. But it does not have to be you who continues the line, my Lord.” Háma remarked. “Your sister is adored by her people, they see her as the defeater of the Witch King. Her children will be accepted on the throne of Rohan without any protest.”
“I could never ask that of her.” Éomer said with a serious expression. “And I will not.”
“She is not blind either, my Lord.” Háma replied. “She knows about your problem and she certainly plans to do something about it if she can somehow help.”
Éomer sighted. “You are probably right. What do you recommend, Háma?”
The older man looked at him, eyes sincere. “It may appear odd, but I recommend you to officially bind yourself to Master Haldir and to adopt Lady Éowyn's child if she offers to you.”
Éomer was silent for a while, thinking about what his captain had said. “Do you think people will accept a bond of their King with a male Elf?”
“Normally I would say they would not, but they know Master Haldir for over a year by now and they respect him, they even start to trust him. It is well known that it was thanks to him and his archers that we survived the battle of Helm's Deep, and everybody can see his sincere work for Rohan.” Háma made a short pause, as if he was hesitant to continue. “I do not intend to repeat gossip, my Lord, but the people have been talking about your relationship to him from the beginning. Most are aware that you are more than friends and they know you share quarters. They lived with the idea of their King in a relationship with a male Elf for quite a while by now.”
Éomer did not know what to say to that, he was at a complete loss of words. He had known that there were rumours, but he had never thought that his people took is as a fact that he and Haldir were lovers. The two of them had not been obvious, there were never any gestures or words in the company of others that betrayed their relationship. It was true, though, that they shared quarters and that they had never hidden that fact, for it would have been impossible to hide anyway.
“It would be a statement of strength to stand by Master Haldir and justify what everybody knows anyway. Make your unusual way to reign as legal as possible by taking Master Haldir as your mate and adopting your sister's child.” Háma said with all sincerity. “Your people will accept it, and they will follow you because they believe in you. Now you have to prove your belief in them by trusting them to support you in your decision.”
“It seems a big step to take.” Éomer said quietly.
“It is, my Lord.” the doorward replied. “But I think that you have gone through enough ordeal with your people to trust them.”
“Aye, we probably have.” Éomer looked at the older man. “I thank you for your honesty, Háma.”
The other man bowed with a little smile. “You are welcome, my Lord.”
“What did you want in the first place, by the way?” Éomer asked when he remembered that there must have been a reason why the doorward had looked for him.
“Oh, I wanted to inform you that Lord Faramir has arrived.” Háma reported. “He waits in the Golden Hall for you.”
Éomer nodded. “Good.”
He left with the older man to go to the hall and entered to find Faramir standing in the middle of the large room. With a few steps, Éomer reached the Steward of Gondor and greeted him with a smile. He liked the Gondorian and approved of Éowyn's choice to marry him.
“Be greeted, Faramir of Gondor. It is good to see you.” Éomer clasped his arm in a handshake.
“Be greeted as well, Éomer King.” Faramir returned the handshake and the smile. “I am glad to have arrived.”
“How was your journey?”
“Long, but uneventful.” the other man said with a shrug. “The kind of journey we all wished for when the Evil Lord ruled.”
“That is good to hear.” the Rohirrim replied. “I hope it will remain that way for a long time.”
“As do I.” Faramir agreed. “We cannot help to still be very alert during travel, but it is good when our attention is not requested to protect our company.”
“It means we are slowly getting rid of the remains of Sauron's evil armies.”
“We are. It will still take some work, though.” When the Gondorian's suddenly shifted and his face lit up, Éomer followed his gaze and saw his sister had entered the hall. She looked beautiful in her white dress, hair flowing openly over her shoulders and her eyes bright with joy. A content smile appeared on her face when she saw her fiancé and Éomer knew her well enough to notice that she restrained to keep her steps even and her pace appropriate.
But when she reached them, she actually embraced the Steward and kissed him gently on cheek. “It is so good to see you.”
Éomer watched how the Gondorian wrapped his arms in a possessive, but gentle embrace around Éowyn and how his eyes closed in bliss when she kissed him. Éomer could not help a certain wistful feeling to rise in his chest. He wished he could openly show his affection for his Elf as well, that he had not to control his every movement around Haldir to not betray how much the Elf meant to him. If Háma was right, this whole pretending was for naught anyway, for all of Rohan already knew.
After a moment, Éowyn let go of her fiancé and stood next to him, keeping his hand in hers. Éomer just needed to have one look at her face to know how happy she was and he found again that it made the prospect of her leaving Edoras a little bit easier.
“We will have a great dinner tonight to celebrate your arrival, Faramir.” Éomer declared after a moment. “I hope you will enjoy the time at Edoras. I am certain my sister will show you all that is to see about the city, but feel free to ask me for a tour if you wish to do so.”
Faramir smiled. “I thank you for the offer, my Lord. I will certainly come back to it.”
“We will see for dinner, then.” Éomer walked past the couple to return to his study. There was still some work to do, and he needed a moment to sort his thoughts. The words of Háma had not left him alone, he had to think about what the doorward had said. He knew Háma was trusted by the people and that the man was honest and loyal to him. What he had said was certainly true and well reflected. But his recommendation was indeed a big step, and one he could not decide alone to take. It concerned Haldir as much as him, and if they were to bind to one another, it had to be both of their wish.
After some time of staring off into the distance, Éomer decided he would speak to Haldir this night and ask him for his opinion on the matter. There was nothing more he could do about it a this point, so Éomer turned towards the letters he still had to write and concentrated on the work instead of his private problems. The afternoon passed in silent working until a firm knock made him look up.
“Come in.” Éomer looked up from the letter to his second marshal he had been writing.
“Brother, I need to talk to you.” Éowyn stood in the doorway, serious expression on her face.
“What can I do for you?” he asked and set the quill aside.
She came in, carefully closed the door behind her and walked over to her brother's desk and sat down. “It is about you and Haldir.”
Éomer stiffened, but remained silent. Everybody seemed to want to talk about him and the Elf lately, he thought with a sigh. He had known Éowyn had been aware of his affection for Haldir for a long time, but they had never really openly talked about it.
“You are aware I know how you feel about him.” She stated and left no doubt she knew.
Éomer nodded but still did not say a word.
“Judging by the developments of the last year, I assume that you will not marry any woman but stay with Haldir.” Her expression was serious, but not condemning. “I spent a lot of time with him and I feel quite certain to say that his feelings for you run as deep as yours for him.”
Éomer did not feel comfortable in his skin. He nodded nevertheless, for he knew Éowyn would not do anything to harm him, even if she could be quite unpleasant at times. His instincts told him she was trying to make a point and therefore stated all the things that had been silently known all along.
“I will leave in a month for Gondor to marry Faramir.” Éowyn looked him straight in the eyes. “I have talked with him about this many times and we agreed on something. We want our second born child to live at Rohan and to be your heir.”
Éomer was silent. He was overwhelmed by the offer his sister made him and he knew what it must cost her to agree to give away her own child to cover her brother's miss. He was deeply touched and at the same time shocked. “Éowyn...”
He had to clear his throat before he could continue. “I can never accept that. I cannot ask you to give up your own child because I chose not to have one.”
“First of all, you never asked it of me, I offered it on my own accord.” Her voice was gentle, but firm. “And secondly, you did not choose not to have children. You chose to be with the one you love and not to break his heart by taking a wife. I do not think you did anything wrong.”
“I do not want to put that burden onto your shoulders.” Éomer said slowly, eyes serious. “It is not your duty to provide an heir for Rohan.”
Éowyn smiled gently and a little chiding. “You should know me better, dear brother. I may marry into Gondor, but Rohan will always come first for me. Faramir knew that from the first moment on. And I do not give up my child, I let it know the country I belong to and I hope it will love as much as I do.”
“But your child would have to live in Rohan, to grow up here to understand the people and the country. You would have to give it away and I dare not to ask that of you.” His voice was sincere, his eyes pained.
Éowyn took his hand and made him look at her. “Listen to me, Éomer. I know what I am offering and believe me that I do not wish to be parted from my child. But I also know that there are ways for my child to know both Ithilien and Rohan and that this is the only way to ever see you happy. For you as for me, Rohan's good is connected to our own happiness.”
She made a short pause and smiled. “And I trust you and Haldir to love and raise my child as if it was your own. It will have two families who love it instead of one.”
Éomer sat motionless for a moment. “I still feel like I cannot accept your offer.”
“I ask but one thing of you.” Éowyn looked at him firmly. “Announce Haldir as your mate.”
Éomer could not help to let out an only halfway amused snort. “It is interesting you are already the second person to say that to me today.”
“I am?” She looked genuinely surprised. “Who else dares to talk to you about such a thing?”
“Háma.” Éomer told her. “But it was rather forced, for he walked in on Haldir and me.”
“That explains it. He was aware of your relationship for quite a while, I guess.” Éowyn did not seem too shocked somebody else knew about them.
“That does not seem to surprise you.”
She laughed good-naturedly.“Of course not. It was an illusion to think you could keep your feelings for him a secret. They are written plain across your face whenever he is in the same room as you are. People had to be blind and stupid not to notice it.”
“You never bothered to tell me.” Éomer could not keep a certain disapproving note out of his voice.
“What good would it have done?” his sister just asked, not guilty in the least. “You were happy again and the only thing you could have done was to send Haldir away. And I never want to see you again in the state you were in after we returned from Minas Tirith.”
“Was it so bad?” Éomer had been aware that he had not been in the best condition at the time, but he had done his work as he was supposed to.
“Aye, it was. You seemed to have lost all your energy and motivation, you only worked and worked as if to keep your mind occupied.” She looked at him with caring eyes. “There was no life in you and I never want to see that happen again.”
Éomer understood that his sister as well as some others must have been quite worried at that time and he found that he would not let go of Haldir again, not even for Rohan. “I will talk to Haldir tonight. It is both of our decision.”
Éowyn smiled approvingly. “You will make the right decision.”
“I owe you and Faramir more than I can ever repay.” Éomer said seriously.
“You can repay us by taking care of our child as if it was your own.” she replied sincerely. “I want it to grow up with all the love we would have given it.”
“It will.” Éomer was certain of that.
***
It was dark when Éomer returned to the chambers. Haldir was in bed, back against the headbord and reading a book. When the Man opened the door, he looked up and greeted him with a smile.
“Have you finally managed to escape the celebrations?” he asked teasingly and closed the book.
“It was difficult, but I managed.” the Man replied with an amused smile. Haldir enjoyed watching his lover undress in front of the bed, the fire drawing patters of changing light on his skin. Sometimes the Elf thought that it was good that Éomer had no idea how attractive he actually was, for it meant he was there for Haldir alone.
“You are beautiful.” he said quietly.
Éomer turned, surprised, and let his tunic fall onto a chair. “Me? No, my love, you are the one of us who is beautiful.”
Haldir chuckled. “I prefer to see your beauty than mine.”
The Man came over to the bed, only clad in his trousers, and sat on the edge. “I want to ask you something, melamin.”
Haldir looked at him, concerned because of the serious tone and the tense posture of his lover. “You may ask me whatever you want.”
Curious as well as worried Haldir watched Éomer nervously lick his lips and avert his eyes. Then the Man took his hands in his and raised his gaze to firmly look at the Elf. “Haldir of Lorien, do you want to become my mate and openly share my life?”
Haldir went still for several moments. He was completely taken by surprise by Éomer's words. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
“Aye, I am.” He could see how the Man nervously bit his lip while waiting for the Elf to answer. After the first moment of surprise, Haldir had a massive amount of thoughts running through his mind. He was a rational person and could not keep from remarking the obvious difficulties that came with a King of Men binding himself to a male Elf.
“It would be nice if you could say something, Haldir.” the Man remarked and a worried expression had come onto his face.
“Do not misunderstand me, Éomer. If it was just us, I would bind myself to you immediately.” Haldir took a deep breath to make himself say what had to be said. “But there is a whole kingdom standing behind you and I do not wish to create a break between your people and you. I know that the people here accept me, but I am not certain that acceptance will go as far as to tolerate you binding yourself to me. I am an Elf, after all, and male on top of that. I am well aware these are not the best qualifications for the mate of the King of Rohan.”
To his surprise, Éomer chuckled. “I guess you knew as little about the rumours spreading in Rohan as I did, then.”
“What rumours? There are a lot of them.” Haldir was aware of more than the people thought because they did either not know or not consider his sharp hearing. He had gotten to know things he never had wanted to know, and many rumours were certainly part of that.
“Háma talked to me. As well as Éowyn.” Éomer began and chuckled again. “They both independently from one another let me know that we have been part of the rumour mill right from the beginning. For instance, I was not aware that the people have seen us as lovers for the whole time.”
“I heard some people talk about it.” Haldir remembered one conversation between two stable boys he had been privy to listen to when he had tended to Merod. They had freely discussed what they thought about Éomer and Haldir sharing quarters and Haldir had been amused to hear them guess about their love life and bed activities. “But a rumour circulating and a fact like a bond are two different things.”
“I will never marry a woman, Haldir. That is independent from us binding officially or not.” Éomer stopped and licked his lips again, but did not lower his gaze. “I want you by my side for the rest of my life. The people who really count know about us already, the rest of Rohan speculates about us anyway. I think we can take the step to make our relationship open – if you wish to do so.”
Haldir thought about it for a moment. Those who were important for him were the same ones who had wanted him to stay at Edoras to become happy. The Men he had come to like were mostly those who loved Éomer enough to only want his best. It was not him who could loose a lot, but Éomer who was so convinced that he wanted to take this step that Haldir felt the same desire. Just the idea of being able to touch his lover openly was enough to make him smile and say: “I wish to do so.”
A large, happy smile spread over Éomer's face and let Haldir know in certain terms he had done the right thing to agree. In the next moment, he felt the Man's arms around him and soft lips pressing against his.
“You make me complete, my love.” Éomer murmured gently against the Elf's neck when he buried his head in his hair, arms still tightly embracing Haldir. The Elf let his arms wrap around his Man's waist and pulled him close.
“And you are my other half, meleth.” Haldir enjoyed the feeling of the soft skin under is fingertips and caressed the broad back of his lover with slow strokes. “We still have a problem with your succession, though.”
Éomer pulled back enough to be able to look into Haldir's face. “Éowyn came to me today. She had an offer for us.”
Haldir remained silent even though he knew the Lady well enough by now to guess what her offer had been. He wanted to hear it from Éomer to be certain.
“She and Faramir want their second born to grow up in Rohan and to be my heir. She quite clearly pointed out to me that I would certainly not produce an heir of my own and that her loyalty to Rohan would always come first.”
“I am right to assume you did not accept her offer easily, am I not?” Haldir continued to caress his lover's back while listening attentively to his words.
“Aye. She was very insistent, though.” Éomer admitted.
“She is very strong-headed. I dare to say even more than you are.” Haldir said teasingly.
Éomer only chuckled. “Aye, you might be right with that.”
“We owe her very much.” the Elf admitted slowly. “How can we ever repay her?”
“That was her only condition.” Haldir heard his lover remark. “She said that we could repay her by loving her child as if it was our own.”
“I do not think that will pose any problems.” the Elf replied and kissed his lover's forehead. “This child will be a symbol of love, from your sister to you, for us, for Rohan and Gondor. We will love it as our own.”
Éomer leaned into the touch and closed his eyes. “That is what I said.”
***
Epilogue
The sun was standing high on the sky, shining through the leaves of the old tree. The garden behind the Golden Hall was filled with people from Rohan and Gondor, with Elves from Lothlorien and Rivendell. Éowyn could see Aragorn and Lady Arwen stand next to her and Faramir in the first row, a little bit further were Haldir's brothers, Legolas and Gimli. On the other side of her stood Lord Elrond of Rivendell and Lord Celeborn of Lorien.
The Lady of the Woods had taken her place next to Gandalf right under the tree at the end of the walkway. In front of them Éowyn saw her brother, clad in a beautiful green tunic and wearing a rich cloak facing Haldir who wore a simple but magnificent white tunic covered by a cloak as well. Éowyn had to smile when she noticed that the Elf's hair was braided in the same manner her brother's had already been for so long. She knew what the braids meant by now and Haldir had explained to her once that it was only allowed for one lover to braid the hair of the other. The thought of her brother learning to braid Haldir's hair was somewhat amusing and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.
Éomer and Haldir had announced a fortnight ago that they would bind themselves to one another and the news had been taken by the people with mixed reactions. Some agreed with their King's choice, some had issues with Haldir being an Elf, some with him being male. There had been no open protest, though, and Éowyn suspected it was much due to the respect everybody seemed to have for the Elf and the work he had already done for Rohan. They might not all like him, but they had realised he was good for their King and for their country; and Éowyn knew Haldir had some influential people on his side who thought highly of him, one of them being Melanwyn, Edoras's chief healer.
This day there would be two ceremonies. The first one was the traditional marriage ceremony of the Rohirrim people, the second one the bonding ritual of the Lorien Elves. Éowyn looked forward to them, especially the Elven ceremony that she knew only very few Non-Elves had witnessed up to now. It was strange to see her brother being engaged before she was, but at the same time she enjoyed seeing this happy expression in his eyes and the bright smile on his lips.
Gandalf had been chosen to carry out the Rohirrim ceremony and he began to recite the old words, letting first Éomer and then Haldir repeat their vows. Afterwards they were given the traditional goblet to share the marriage wine followed by a chaste kiss to seal their bond. Éowyn was relieved when the people of Rohan cheered enthusiastically once the ceremony ended, for it meant they accepted it. Her brother looked up after the kiss, a bright smile on his lips that was mirrored in Haldir's face.
Then the Lady of the Woods stepped forwards, her ethereal beauty and her serene charisma letting the people fall silent, attentively watching the Elven bonding ceremony. Haldir and Éomer knelt in front of the Lady and took each others hands. With a graceful motion, the Lady set her hands onto their temples. Éowyn watched all three of them close their eyes and heard the Lady speak a few words in her own tongue. After a moment of silence, she retreated and left Éomer and Haldir to remain in their position.
Two Elves approached who Éowyn recognised as Legolas and one of Haldir's brothers, each one holding a small but elaborately decorated silver box. They halted two steps behind the kneeling men and waited for them to opened their eyes. Haldir turned first to take a simple but magnificent silver pendant out of the box his brother held, then he turned and spoke words in his own tongue, fastening the chain with the pendant around Éomer's neck. Afterwards, Éowyn saw her brother take a different but equally beautiful pendant out of the box Legolas provided, and she was surprised to hear him say the same words Haldir had spoken before in fluent Elvish tongue while he put the chain around his mate's neck. Then the Lady of the Woods said some Elvish words again and Éomer and Haldir rose to their feet, bowing towards each other.
The present Elves started to clap their hands with content smiles on their faces and the Men joined them, understanding the end of the ceremony. Éowyn kept her gaze on her brother and noticed him slowly, almost caressingly stroke over the pendant. It had the shape of a tree that was entwined with decorative plantlike elements. Even though it was not overly elaborate, it looked like the most impressive jewellery Éowyn had ever seen. She looked at Haldir and recognised his pendant as a stylised horse with the same plantlike elements as on her brother's necklace.
She smiled, understanding the meaning of the necklaces. They signified the essence of the partners of the bond and were exchanged. Éomer carried a part of Haldir with him, and Haldir a part of Éomer. A sunbeam caught in her brother's pendant, making the tree reflect the light.
A beautiful idea, she thought with a smile.
***THE END***
A/N: The idea of the Elven love braids was taken with permission from Meri's “Bond of Honor”. I just love that story, go and read it at http://solo4.abac.com/CircuitArchive/Bond.html
A/N 2: I would really love to hear some comments. It took much work and time to write this story and a little feedback would make my day. So, please let me know what you think!
A/N 3:
Key to Elvish words:
- mellon = friend
- meleth = love
- melamin = my love
- Amin mela lle = I love you
- lirimaer = lovely one
***
BACK TO INDEX: http://nanuk-dain.livejournal.com/3357.html
***
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-07-16 08:30 pm (UTC)