More angst. Deal.

[duskdancer]

The large desk in the royal chambers was littered with papers, most of them blank. The ones under Lúthien's hand were covered with delicately written tengwar and musical notes. Candles illuminated the room, while outside it was dark, inky blackness courtesy of Ungoliant

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[eomer_of_rohan]

Eomer: The halls were dark, no torches lit, but he remembered the way to the royal chambers anyway. He'd known it blind, after all. And he could feel her, clearer with every step, until he stood in the doorway and blinked into the candlelight, letting his eyes adjust...

Luthien: The quill in her hand slipped slightly, causing a rather unsightly blotch of ink to smear all over her paper. Lúthien hissed and would have thrown the papers and the quills and the inkwell across the room, but it would have been pointless. Instead she sighed and rubbed her eyes, putting the papers away for now and covering the well. She stood to blow out some of the candles but froze when a movement in the doorway caught her eye. It can't be...

Eomer: Eomer saw her clearly when she stood, dark-haired and pale, more pale than he remembered. Two months, Jade said... With a deep breath he stepped forward, the soft warm light gleaming in his chainmail and in his hair. "Deorbridd min?"

Luthien: "Maltiro nin?" she whispered, breath caught in her throat. Was he a figment of her imagination? A ghost sent to haunt her? She stepped forward and extended her hand tentatively, pulling back, but reaching out again, touching his warm face.

Eomer: One touch and then his arms were around her, pulling her almost bruisingly close, lifting her feet right off of the ground, her cheeks and nose and forehead rained with desperate kisses. "Luthien. I'm sorry...she was too fast, and there was poison, I don't know how, but I couldn't move fast enough, and she, and...Eru, I'm so sorry..."

Luthien: Her arms were around his neck, disbelief and overwhelming joy mingling on her face. All she could say was, "You're back, you're back, you're really back..." She knew she was crying, but his lips brushed away the tears that poured down her face.

Eomer: "I'm back, I'm staying, I'm yours," he murmured into her hair. One of his hands wandered up and down her back, firmly, possessively. "Are you well? Are the children?" Jade didn't say any of the children had been harmed, but his heart goes cold at the possibility.

[duskdancer]

Lúthien was silent for a moment while trying to collect herself. She nuzzled his hair gently, burying her face against his throat and absorbing his warmth. "I'm fine. The children are fine. We're better now that you're here. Everything is better."

[eomer_of_rohan]

"Good." Eomer breathed a sign of relief, believing her without need of proof although he itched to hold his daughters and son again. Still half-lost in the scent of her hair, he glanced over her head to the window, the sill thick with defiant candles lit to hold back an almost palpable darkness. "It's dark. But it feels like daytime. Jade mentioned Ungoliant..."

[duskdancer]

"Yes. Ungoliant decided to compliment the mood of the city by making everything dark. It's disgusting." She kissed his cheek and nodded to the desk and the papers. "I'm writing a song. It's an enchantment to counteract the dark. I'm trying to get the wording right. ... Do you want to see the children?"

[eomer_of_rohan]

"YES. Yes yes yes yes yes." Each yes was punctuated by a kiss. "Although that means I'll have to let go of you, and you'll have to put your spell on hold...oh, I suppose a few minutes won't hurt..." He unwound his arms from her waist with one last gentle lingering kiss at the corner of her mouth. "I love you. I have a lot to tell you, and I think you have a lot to tell me. Do you want to wait until tomorrow, or talk tonight?"

[duskdancer]

She smiled and kissed his chin. "I love you. You don't know how much I missed you. We can talk tonight, after you've visited the little ones." Taking his hand, she lead him over to the area of the suit that had been turned into a nursery. Drefan slept soundly in his own crib, Alcawyn and Niphredil shared a small bed. "I didn't tell them that you'd died. They wouldn't have understood. And now they don't really have to know..."

[eomer_of_rohan]

"Thank you. That does make it easier." He reached down to touch Drefan's cheek with one knuckle, not wanting to wake any of them, just content to be in that room with his family. In his city. Breathing.

He wrapped one arm around Luthien's waist, pulling her close to his side, leaning to press his cheek against the crown of her head. "I missed you. I still miss you, in a way, but I would understand if you do not want the soulbond again. If you don't feel it's safe. Just...tell me, and I'll do my best."

[duskdancer]

"How could you think I wouldn't want that?" She would shake her head except for the fact that she didn't want to move away from him. "If you need time to ease back into things, I'd understand. We both need time to heal. But now that you're here, it will be all right."