Elfwine Chronicles (new LoTR stories, Acceptance, ch. 1, posted 10-12-22)
In Theodwyn’s 17th year, she finds nothing is the same as it used to be. This is a 3 chapter story. (Fluff, Angst, Budding Romance)
Acceptance - (July, 25 IV)
Chapter 1
By the Valar, WHY must we have so many feasts! It seems Edoras is constantly celebrating – which entails food, drink and dancing. Though, in truth, I suspect the drink and the dancing are the real purpose behind most of it. It is not that I do not like dancing, but it is always so awkward. Before Elfwine married, he would dance with me often enough to make the evening amusing, as would his friend Freawine. But Elfwine many times did not stay the entire night now that he had a wife and child, and Freawine was frequently away with his eored, as he would be tonight.
Freawine. He had become my closest friend since Elfwine married. It was not that I did not see Elfwine still, but his concerns were naturally more with his new family now. I had come to love Dariel when she stood by my brother through the loss of his hand, despite his disagreeable attitude, but it did not make it any easier not having Elfwine to talk to as much as I had before. Surely Freawine considered me a mere child, but he was always willing to talk with me and listen to my woes, no matter how silly they must seem to him. But it was hard having him away so much. It really wasn’t even such that we could write, since the eored was often on the move and not in one place to receive letters.
I flung myself backwards onto my bed. Why did life have to be so difficult? Why could I not join an eored and ride with Freawine?
My thoughts were interrupted by the entrance of my maidservant, and her chatter disturbed my musings. With a sigh, I rose to wash and begin to get ready for the feast. Mother and Father would not be happy with me if I came late.
Once I was dressed and it was time to go to the Golden Hall, I plastered the royal smile upon my face and headed out the door of my bedchamber. I supposed, if nothing else, I could attempt to persuade Theomund to dance a few with me. But I usually avoided that, since he was generally surrounded by a group of silly, giggling girls at these affairs. I did not understand how he could tolerate them, but that was just his way. I suspected that half the time they asked him to dance, and he would willingly dance with anyone who desired it. Though, that was not always a good thing – he had a bad habit of trodding on feet, part of the reason I did not like dancing with him. But his female admirers did not seem to object.
To my surprise, I was among the first to arrive, but there was no point in waiting elsewhere, so I took a seat near the fireplace and petted the dogs while I waited. I grinned to myself as I sat there. Everyone told me how I used to ride the dogs when I was two and not allowed to rides horses as much as I wanted. The dogs had eventually taken to hiding from me until I ceased that activity, and it took several years before they would let me come near them. But now those victims of my youth had long ago passed away, and their offspring had no such apprehensions about me.
My family and some nobles were beginning to trickle into the room, and I moved to take my seat at the head table. Thus, the evening began. Dinner was tolerable, chatting with my family, but my annoyance returned as the plates were cleared and the tables moved back for dancing.
In my younger years, boys had shown little interest in me, considering me too boyish and wild to think of as a girl. To some extent, that changed when Freawine had spent an entire evening dancing with me when I was ten. He was helping to cheer me up from some hurtful words I had overheard spoken about me by Haman and his friends, and it had indeed helped me overcome my distress.
As I grew older, though Mother respected my desire to be a true shieldmaiden of Rohan, she still insisted that I needed to learn the part of a lady. It was difficult to dispute her on this since even my Aunt Eowyn, who I sought to emulate, had been well versed in court etiquette and manners. So, over the last few years, my manners had become more acceptable for a lady, and the boys had grown several inches so that I no longer towered above them. In addition to that, some people had told me that I was a pretty girl, though I took little notice of the compliment. Boys, however, seemed to attach more importance to that, and were more inclined now to approach me to dance.
And so I found myself at a dance yet again, but with little desire to participate. I had moved off to the side, trying to be inobtrusive, but it did not work. I could see Haman and Deor sizing up the girls in the room, and more than once they glanced in my direction.
Lately, Haman had been showing more interest in me. He was the son of one of the nobles in Edoras, and very impressed with himself. No matter how earnest he tried to appear, however, I doubted very much that he had any real feelings for me. All he saw was the daughter of the king, who happened to be quite pretty. Those things alone drew his attention. He did not even know who Theodwyn truly was. At best, he merely tolerated my swordplay and shieldmaiden-type activities. For the life of me, I could not imagine why I had ever thought well of him. Perhaps he was not so insipid when he was younger.
continue reading on AO3:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/42334581/chapters/106307172
