Henneth Annûn Story Archive

Hello Fairyfaye,

thank you! If you're interested in Eomer and Lothiriel, I have several other scenarios about how they met, which you might enjoy if you liked this one.

I can also recommend the stories by my beta, Lady Bluejay, who writes about this pair as well.

Thanks for reviewing and I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the tale.

Lia

Hello Curiouswombat,

thank you! It's good to hear that you're enjoying my tale.

Lia

Dear Lia:

I've read most of your E/L stories before and never reviewed, so I owe you. Last night I finally delved into this story, and I didn't stop reading until 3:00 AM in the morning when I reached the end of Chapter 23. How glad I was to see Chapter 24 today! I am especially pleased that Eomer and Lothiriel have made up.

Your love stories are always filled with such yearning that by the time you get to the big kiss, I almost feel like crying for joy. Because you write such wonderful, tension-filled build-up, your kissing scenes are some of the best in fanfiction.

I also found it interesting how you've successfully engineered this entire plot to take place during the Ring War. It's an interesting departure from the usual Princess-meets-King scenario, and one that, but for your good writing, would seem implausible. At any rate, I really enjoyed how you were able use Lothiriel's presence to show Grima's influence over the King and its effect on the court and Eowyn in particular. Eowyn is my favorite character, and I liked to see your portrayal of her as a strong, almost cold woman who, despite occasional signs of thawing, Lothiriel can't quite crack.

I don't think, however, that it was right for Lothiriel to lie to Eowyn, who would have understood the truth. Moreover, I think Lothiriel would have known this, and that therefore it was . . . not exactly self-centered, but naive perhaps for her to lie both to Eomer and Eowyn, on the assumption that they would react so badly as to be completely unable to control themselves. But I suppose that Lothiriel was just under Grima's bad influence and was somehow unable to think clearly. 

Even so, female friends confide in other female friends. I think Eowyn would be hurt that Lothiriel had not trusted in her confidence. So I am looking forward to seeing Eowyn's reaction to her brother's engagement.

Thanks for posting!

Hello Jen,
I'm pleased to hear I managed to keep you up half the night! And that you enjoyed Éomer and Lothíriel resolving their misunderstandings.

The fact that the story is set during the Ring War is what initially drew me to this scenario. My other stories are set after the war, so this allowed me to play with new characters like Gríma and Théoden. Also I wanted to see if I could plausibly fit Lothíriel into the hidden story and show some of the civilian side of the war. Choreographing her movements so she would not collide with Tolkien's story was a challenge I enjoyed.

You said that it wasn't right for Lothíriel to lie to Éowyn and I agree with you. Lothíriel realised it herself, even while doing it, but she saw no other way out of the awful situation she was in. I think she might have reacted out of shock to some degree and just felt that if she told Éowyn, Éomer would hear about it. She's only nineteen after all and must have felt very isolated, with no guard and several weeks' travel away from home. But I think it will take a while for Éowyn to forgive her!

Thank you very much for your kind comments! And I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story as well.

Lia