daw the minstrel · 2 June 2007 · Chapter 16: Chapter Sixteen
I have to say I side with Lothiriel on this one. Eomer is very irritating! Of course, he's also very gorgeous, but that doesn't change the fact that he insults her by his doubts.
Unexpected by Madeleine
Reviews (105)
Denise · 5 March 2007 · Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen
I have finally had the opportunity to catch up on this continuation of your Lothíriel and Éomer stories, after being highly entertained by your entries in the MEFA's. (And congrats on the Awards, btw!) Once again, you have marvelous and lovable characterizations, and your witty lines and turns of phrase are laugh-out-loud funny. I care very much about the developments for each one of your individual players. (Um, OK. Not so much about Éofor and Ærwin - they just need to be smacked around. A lot.) Your bedroom scenes with Éomer and Lothíriel are steamy without being lewd, romantic without being syrupy. Their struggles with learning to live with one another as husband and wife are apt, especially considering how little they still know of one another and Lothíriel's sheltered and single-minded view of the world. Absolutely love your many supporting characters - Aragorn, Imrahil and sons, Elfhelm and his family, etc. While I sympathize with Imrahil's children's exasperation at their father's manipulation of their lives, I suspect it grew from Imrahil long ago realizing that his offspring were all much too stubborn to know what was actually good for them. The additional revelation of his reasoning behind Lothíriel's match with Éomer really reconciled me to some of his actions in previous stories. I admit, Gimli can sometimes seem a bit too close to the Gimli of the movies (whom I really disliked, personally), but you write him very humorously nonetheless. I loved the incorporation of Anglo-Saxon terms, which I think you are handling very well - a nice blend with English, not confusing, but lending an authentic (and educational) touch. I really enjoyed the dance music links. Thank you for continuing your series, as this is yet another amusing, charming and engaging tale!
runnerbeast · 15 January 2007 · Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen
What a wonderful relationship you have written between Lothiriel and Eomer. I thoroughly enjoyed your story of these two, and all the other characters surrounding them. Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us. Fabulous!
ponypetter · 1 January 2007 · Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen
I just finished reading all the stories in this series. I'm glad I found it. Your characters are so very rich. I love the closeness between Eomer and Aragorn, and it's wonderful to see the way they tease each other. I also think your Eomer more closely matches the character we see in the books. Lothiriel is a great character - I think you managed to capture her quite well. She is still young, so shows some of her immaturity while at the same time her experiences as a healer and a princess make her more mature than others her age might be (such as Elfhelm's daughter). I love Amrothos as much as Lothiriel and can't stand him as much as Eomer. He's as grating and annoying as he is lovable and entertaining. I hope there's more to come!
Asha Dreamweaver · 28 November 2006 · Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen
I have just found this series and have spent the last three days pleasurably enthralled by the ongoing saga of Lothíriel and Éomer. This is, without doubt, THE best Éomer/Lothiriel fic in existence. I loved your writing style and your characters. Amrothos and Erchirion have grown on me quite a bit and the wittiness of your writing has had me in gales of laughter. Literally. I don't even want to think of what I looked like to the other people in the computer labs! I am IMPLORING you to update soon! I have come to the end of what is posted with a wail and as I am now addicted, rather desperately need another fix.
Isilwen · 16 November 2006 · Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen
I started reading your stories back in the summertime as a way to pass the hours whilst at work and now find myself hardly able to wait until your next chapter. I finally became a member and can now post reviews, so I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your stories and the talented writing. Please hurry with the next chapter!!!
Deiliah · 14 October 2006 · Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen
Ooooooh,Delicious! My gosh, when you said storms will come, you weren't kidding! I love the vivid passion of your Eomer and Lothiriel. Whether they're angry or amorous, there's not an ounce of dull in any of your characters! You have a descriptive quality to your stories that I just can't get enough of, thank you for sharing it! I would've loved to be a fly on the wall when Eomer interrogated his men, will we get a flash of that? While I understand his frustration, I also appreciate Lothiriel's refusal to be cowed and her insistance on being in control of matters directly concerning her. I can't wait to see how they weather the next storm! I am thoroughly enjoying this intense, passionate, and often hilarious saga.... so much that I may go back and re-read it all from the beggining again while I wait for your next update!
daw the minstrel · 14 October 2006 · Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen
Lovely language lesson for Lothiriel, but I think I enjoyed the preceding argument just as much. She's hard to initimidate and certain of herself. I admire that.
Bodkin · 14 October 2006 · Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen
Well - Winfrith had the right idea! All Lothiriel needs to do to distract Eomer from his tirade is fold her arms and take a deep breath. Fortunately she is not inclined towards using seduction to divert her husband from a good debate. She can't even stop her mind working when her body is diverted to - er - other matters. I rather relish the fact that she is going to have a Rohirric vocabulary more suited, perhaps, to Brichtwen's drenchus than the councils of Meduseld. At least for a while. And she has such strength of character! She doesn't see that she has done anything wrong and she's not going to give way just because society wouldn't necessarily agree with her. Then there's her curiosity! Eomer's response to being asked if he had ever visited .... was hilarious. But there's more to the way you tell their story than the words. They debate brilliantly and confuse each other and respond verbally according to their characters, but underlying it all are the most amazingly sensual undertones - followed by the most amazingly sensual overtones. Gorgeous chapter. And about to fire up into another row, I suspect! Can't wait.
Kitty · 12 October 2006 · Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen
Oh Mann. Würde es Dich sehr überraschen zu hören, daß ich langsam Mitleid mit Amrothos bekomme? Und das nicht so sehr wegen seiner jüngsten Verletzungen, sondern weil er mit *so* einer Schwester geschlagen ist? Vielleicht ist es doch keine schlechte Idee, den Guten in Edoras zu behalten. Langsam habe ich das Gefühl, Éomer wird in Kürze das Kriegsbeil mit seinem jüngsten Schwager begraben müssen, weil er ihn brauchen wird - einer allein kann Lothíriel offenbar nicht im Zaum halten ...
Author's reply
Zumindest kann niemand Imrahil einen Vorwurf machen, dass er irgedetwas daran gedreht haben könnte, dass Amrothos in Rohan zurückbleibt. Vermutlich sagt er sich gerade: einen geschenkten Gaul schaut man nicht ins Maul. Éomer und Amrothos werden noch div. Male Gelegenheit haben, sich zusammenzuraufen. - Im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes.
Bodkin · 7 October 2006 · Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen
Eofor - what an irritating twerp of a man! I itch to see him get his comeuppance. And Eomer could hardly take out his wrath on Amrothos - incapacitated as he is. But Lothiriel has a lot of work to do on the inhabitants of Edoras! Between beating some sense into that smug and portly healer - or polishing him off with apoplexy - winning the younger one round to her side, improving the lot of loose women (as opposed to high-class ladies of easy virtue) and discouraging loose men, beating a quantity of smugness out of the Captain of the Royal Guard, finding a suitable spouse for her sibling and calming down a rather wrathful Eomer - just as a start - Lothiriel has a lot to do. And Merewyn's not a lot of help. Of course she is not going to be in her mother's good books - although, myself, I'd blame her less for ending up in the House of Fun than for climbing up the wall and then falling off on top of Amrothos. Although I suppose brainless impulsiveness is less socially damning than breathing the same air as a loose woman. Excellent developments. And I can't wait for the - er - evening's meeting of minds between the king and queen.
Author's reply
Knowing Lothíriel she will probably force some treatment against hypertension on Master Ærwin, preferably some lifestyle modifications like weight loss and regular exercise. Yes, she is going to be very busy over the next year or so. But that’s the reason Imrahil married her off to Rohan. She needs a challenge, even a mission to be content. And then there is this business with the heir Rohan needs in the foreseeable future. Something else she probably won’t mind working on.
Lusha · 5 October 2006 · Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen
Oh, this is good. It's rich. It's hilarious in its understated way. REALLY looking forward to the repercussions just itching to make themselves known. This is fun.
Author's reply
Glad to hear that you were so well entertained by my very own twist of the tale. Basically that’s the only reason one does write fanfiction; to entertain oneself and – hopefully – the readers.
Linda Hoyland · 5 October 2006 · Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen
This would make the most wonderful film as I could just see it all happening in my mind's eye. I like the way you bring out the double standards. The two healers give me the creeps, so I look forward to further battles between them and Lothriel.O hope Lothriel will not be cowed by Eomer's mood.
Author's reply
There always have been and there always will be double standards in our society, but fortunately there always have been and hopefully there always will be women who refuse to be cowed by them.
daw the minstrel · 4 October 2006 · Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen
Lothiriel really does have a point. In a way, Eomer's anger is insulting to her. She is what she is, and he knows it. She was caring for someone, and he knows that. Everything else is just surface.
Author's reply
Of course he should have had a certain idea of what he was going to get, but now he has to figure out how to live with it. That should be the most interesting part of the entire business of marriage. “Like everything which is not the involuntary result of fleeting emotion but the creation of time and will, any marriage, happy or unhappy, is infinitely more interesting than any romance, however passionate.” (W. H. Auden)
Bodkin · 25 September 2006 · Chapter 13: Chapter Thirteen
It is terribly, terribly annoying - but Amrothos has a point. It would be one thing for a well-established, well-loved Queen of Rohan to push the boundaries, but for Lothiriel, on her first full day in the job, it is probably rather silly to a) visit Eofer, b) end up in the rough end of town and c) spend time in a brothel. I hope Eomer does manage to get his tongue under control before he charges to the rescue. Or Edoras might be treated to its first all-guns-blazing royal row. And I could say 'poor Amrothos' ... except I can't help but feel that he was close to deserving that broken leg. (Loved Imrahil's response to the cry for help. What a guy!) And if he keeps annoying Merewyn by being less than gallant about acting as her mattress, he might find himself enduring further damage, too! But Eofer. Thick doesn't begin to describe him. Not only the bet - but turning up to gloat!! He certainly does deserve to take the brunt of his king's irritation. While Brictwen looks as if she could do with a break of a different kind. Which, if she raises Lothiriel's sympathies, she might well get.
Author's reply
Oh yes, Amrothos had a point (how annoying!). Her actions are not necessarily guided by what ordinary people would call common sense. On the other hand, she might have never met a certain King of Rohan, had she complied with commonly accepted conduct and decorum and refused to treat that rough warrior all on her own. Imrahil is unshakebale and unshockable. That's was a father is after having brought up four children (says my father). And I suppose there isn't much left that would surprise him if it pertains to one of his offspring. And now he doesn't have to persuade Éomer to keep Amrothos in Rohan. With a broken fibula he has to stay for at least another two month. Mission accomplished.
TJ · 24 September 2006 · Chapter 13: Chapter Thirteen
Absolutely brilliant! Thank You.
Author's reply
Thanks for the praise. I hope you are going to enjoy the next chapter as well.
daw the minstrel · 23 September 2006 · Chapter 13: Chapter Thirteen
It occurs to me that Lothiriel is well prepared to live with Eomer because she's spent all her life dealing with three brothers. She's used to masculine peculiarities. But I can see Amrothos's point that her new people will be watching her pretty closely and scandal can spread even if it's undeserved.
Author's reply
Lothíriel is not the perfect wife or the perfect queen - yet. But as she once said herself (in her wedding night), she is the last one who would dispute that she had a lot to learn. Éomer might not know it - yet. But she is the ideal wife for him. Any other would probably bore him to tears sooner or later.
Lusha · 12 September 2006 · Chapter 12: Chapter Twelve
THANK YOU!! It's been a while coming - but worth the wait. Lothiriel does seem a little too modern in her anger against the men. I'd think she'd have a clue, living in the time she does, that the men have a ridiculous sense of male honor that they feel they must uphold. Other than that, thanks for bringing in Amrothos. He's the sunshine of the story - just LOVE him.
Author's reply
True, Lothíriel appears to have rather modern ideas when it comes to the relationship between woman and man. But then, where would we been, if women had always only adapted themselves to the common beliefs? All through history it has been the non-conformists who have caused change. Or as Mark Twain put it: “It is not best that we should all think alike; it is a difference of opinion that makes horses race.”
Bodkin · 10 September 2006 · Chapter 12: Chapter Twelve
Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that Eofer prefers his women empty-headed and compliant. He's rather too smug to have encountered many strong-minded girls - and certainly none - other than his mother - who can tell him to shut up and do as he is told. I suspect Amrothos doesn't need to learn that he is responsible for ensuring that his sister is treated properly ... he'd be there anyway. Although it might be better if he and Eofer realise that Lothiriel is not going to stand for a feud. And I'm not quite sure who is going to be most vocal in the up and coming royal confrontation. Or who is going to come off best. But I'm looking forward to finding out! Poor Ceorl, though. Being found in his underwear is a bit much for him - although Merry and Pippin seemed to find it pretty amusing. And I'm glad Eofer got to pay for the eggs. Petty as it might seem! He deserves some comeuppance ... improving Lothiriel's riding skills might be enough penance, too, because he is going to have to be very, very careful.
Author's reply
I think the following quote from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe does fit Lothíriel perfectly (I just hope I translated it correctly): "To a woman with a firm purpose all men are servants.” And when Lothíriel has a purpose she turns into a bulldozer and then all those men – including Éomer - better get out of her way – or even better: get in line behind her.
Linda Hoyland · 10 September 2006 · Chapter 12: Chapter Twelve
MOst enjoyable.It seems Lothiriel is much tougher that Eomer or even her brothers suspect !
Author's reply
To quote Imrahil of Dol Amroth (well, my version of him at least) “In any quarrel between my children that I can remember, she was always the last one standing.”
daw the minstrel · 9 September 2006 · Chapter 12: Chapter Twelve
You go, Lothiriel girl! She's hard to intimidate and more power to her. The men are being infantile. The hobbits were entertaining here. You capture them well.
Author's reply
Éomer should have been warned. His father-in-law once told him about his daughter that she is “a woman of strength, who has a mind of her own.” I'm glad you liked 'my' Hobbits. Because they are not my regular characters I wasn't sure if they would come over well.
Linda Hoyland · 16 August 2006 · Chapter 11: Chapter Eleven
What a joy to find this chapter in my mail !As always delightful and I laughed out loud at the exchange about noses ! I loved Lothiriel's cleverness too and wonder what Eomer will think about her taking an apprentice !
Author's reply
By the time Lothíriel has finished her walkabout through Edoras the fact that she has taken an apprentice will be Éomer's least worry.
Bodkin · 16 August 2006 · Chapter 11: Chapter Eleven
Well - the day had to come, didn't it! Eomer has to go back to kinging, leaving Lothiriel to begin to carve her own life. And she has very decided ideas about what that life should involve. It's hardly her fault that she can't get Eomer to talk to her about the future ... he hasn't even got round to showing her the rooms where she can spend her private time! So it's only natural that she should head off on her single-track-minded way. Amrothos is Asking For Trouble. I suppose I should hope he has a lady of the night visiting him - because although he has infuriated his sister, he will not have infuriated a large, short-tempered, understandably offended Rohirric father who possesses the Middle-earth equivalent of a shotgun. And, short of asking her not to - and explaining the reasons - Eomer should have known that Lothiriel would want to visit Eofer. She doesn't forget just because he has done his best work in wife-distraction. Gleowine will make an excellent tutor - and I think he might have had his interest in the Queen stimulated by her unusual determination. Being a spectator of her and Eomer's relationship could be highly entertaining. And the obstinate healer would be wise to note her nature and position and the king's devotion to her and give in straight away. Not that he will! The next few months could be very interesting in Edoras. Well - actually so could the next few hours! I wonder what Imrahil will think about it all as he packs up to return home. I expect he will be glad to leave at least one of his sons behind as an observer.
Author's reply
One should think that Éomer is a bit careless, leaving his wife entirely on her own. It's like leaving your puppy at home without proper supervision. You can count yourself happy when the upholstery survives unscarred. Our couple certainly has a "lot of getting used to each other" to do. Éomer has to learn that there is a big difference between handling a headstrong sister and handling an opinionated wife with the single-minded memory of an elephant Trouble might be Amrothos's second name, but he is not so stupid to provoke a short-tempered Rohirric father with a sharp Rohirric sword. Imrahil probably will leave his two youngest behind with mixed feelings. He will miss them but now he can begin to enjoy some peace and quiet. He has done his part and from now on they will tax Éomer's patience.
finafyr · 15 August 2006 · Chapter 11: Chapter Eleven
Does lçasbrçda mean something like little trickster? (grin) I truly like your writing. It is a delight. I am always eager to read the next installment of your stories. Keep up the good work. I think that Tolkien would be proud that someone is in total harmony with Middle Earth.
Author's reply
Ah, I see. Somebody knows her Old English. Beautiful language, isn't it? I'm flattered that you think that I'm in line with Tolkien's vison. At leat he managed to make me very curious about the Anglo-Saxons and his culture. I love learning about them and adapting their way of life for "my" vision of the Rohirrim.
daw the minstrel · 15 August 2006 · Chapter 11: Chapter Eleven
LOL. Edoras is a small enough place that I'll bet everyone knows every move Lothiriel makes. How amusing! Although, I suspect Amrothos will not be amused in the long run. I shudder to think of who his "guest" might have been.
Author's reply
I assure you, Amrothos's "guest" was certainly not, whom you think of. After all, he has his standards. And he values his life.