Tolkien Fan Fiction
| 10 |
| Chapter Ten |
| The news spread as swiftly as a Mearas throughout the city. A new hero of Gondor had been revealed: the pirate Corinir, Ka’moruk to give him his Haradrim name, had proved a steadfast and redoubtable enemy of Sauron and his Umbarian puppet, Prince Solachar, usurper of his cousin’s rightful claim as Prince of Umbar. The true heir, Prince Ottakar, had been imprisoned for his refusal to bend to Sauron’s will, favouring peace and trade with Gondor over the domination Sauron offered these naïve Umbarian followers. It was Corinir who had warned King Elessar through his Elven allies of the planned attack of the Umbarian Corsair fleet, first on Pelargir, Gondor’s main port city after Dol Amroth, and then on to Harlond and Minas Tirith. It was Corinir and his pirate crew who had come to the aid of the beleaguered garrison at Pelargir ensuring the city had not fallen before Aragorn’s Army of the Dead swept all before them. Without his actions, Minas Tirith would have certainly fallen. Sauron’s forces had failed due to the valour of the Heroes of the Pelennor who ridden to their aid from Rohan and this new hero of Gondor, their newly appointed Lord Commander of the Fleet and Lord of Pelargir. Fresh excitement flooded through the city at the prospect of the imminent arrival of both the great pirate himself and this unexpected allay from Umbar. The Prince was arriving that very afternoon for three days of festivities in his honour. Though defeated, Umbar was still strong and there were factions in his court which were not well-disposed to his rule. These negotiations would be a test of wills between their new King and this unknown Prince. There were those in Umbar and the South who would be watching as attentively as those in Minas Tirith... ------------------------------------------------------------------- The whole Delantine quarter of Minas Tirith around Lord Delantir’s mansion had been taken over by the Umbarian delegation for three days of talks and festivities. Rumours of what was going on there was the cause of intense speculation in the city as few were allowed admittance, and those who were did not talk. While Imrahil’s residence in Minas Tirith was above Lady Hannedriel’s on the waterfall side of the city, Éomer and Éowyn’s was on the opposite side overlooking the harbour in the distance and therefore just above the Delantine quarter. They could hear the music, singing and merrymaking all through the night and day. Éomer was in no mood to countenance his exclusion once he had heard that almost all the senior leaders of Middle-earth had been invited to the celebrations, in which he knew Lothíriel was most closely involved. His thoughts turned to those he knew had been in the quarter frequently and were the most unguarded. As his liege lord, Éomer promptly ordered Merry’s presence at lunch the next day, naturally with his cousin Pippin. Although Pippin, having pledged himself to the Tower Guard of Minas Tirith, was beholden only to Faramir and Aragorn, Pippin, unlike Merry, could always be relied upon to be indiscreet; honest, but indiscreet. ‘We are having the most fun I think we have ever had. You should come down and join us. There is plenty to eat and drink, and the entertainment! I have never seen so many women behave so outrageously and the dresses are quite mesmerising, although, I am not really sure that any of them are women… but that could just be that I’ve drunk too much…’ Pippin rambled on hungover, yet at the same time still a little drunk from the night before. ‘And how is Lothíriel?’ asked Éowyn. ‘I confess, I do not like to think of her down there with all those men without a proper escort, such as her father or Faramir.’ ‘Oh, she’s fine. It looks like she’s having as much fun as we are. Prince Ottakar obviously adores her and she’s the best of friends with Corinir, although she calls him something else…’ ‘Ka’moruk,’ suggested Éomer. ‘No, that’s not it, they seem very close anyway,’ he continued merrily, not noticing the look of tautness creeping into Éomer’s face. ‘And she has devised some new dances for us all, so King Thorin and Gimli were throwing her two best friends here around somewhat hilariously, what are their names again, Telari and Gelian.’ It was Éowyn’s turn to look crestfallen. ‘I thought all women, except Lothíriel… and the entertainers… had been excluded from the festivities,’ she stated feeling hurt. ‘Oh no, my Lady, not at all… Pippin had started to say when Merry, whose hangover was beginning to abate, interrupted his cousin. ‘Actually, I believe Lothíriel, Gelian and Telari are the only women in the quarter, the rest are men either dressed as women and ones who would not be so attracted by the beauty of those three ladies. I suspect this might be why the delegation is housed where it is, mostly away from the rest of the city...’ Éowyn knew better than to attempt light conversation with her brother after the two hobbits had left. She too had been galled by her exclusion from the excitement, but she realised that Éomer had not taken kindly to the new status of the pirate Corinir and his place in Lothíriel’s affections. He kept so much constrained within him, he was so very private about his emotions, she worried greatly for him. Lothíriel was present and yet elusive, open and yet closed, calm and rational, yet volatile and passionate and the more they learned of her, the more complex she became. ------------------------------------------------------------------- While Imrahil was more understandably barred from all these festivities, it seemed to Éomer that he was considered of no importance even in the great trading talks. When he discovered that Lord Delwine had been present at one of the great councils with Ottakar and his counsellors, it was the final insult. He erupted into a fury and stormed up to the Citadel to seek an explanation from Aragorn himself. He was not keeping waiting long; Aragorn went straight to the point with an apology. ‘Éomer friend. I can understand your frustration and I apologise that I have not made the time to come to you earlier to explain our strategy. We had so little forewarning of his arrival and were somewhat unprepared. But this was thoughtless of me and it was my oversight and mine alone. We are playing a very complicated game of Faradin and much hinges on keeping our best players protected. Lothíriel has deemed it best that you do not attend, as you, Éomer, are our very best player,’ he said hoping to pacify the irate King of Rohan, who remained sceptical. ‘Her reasons for keeping you away are rational and in all honesty, I agree with her. I know it must be infuriating for both you and Éowyn, especially as you are being kept up all night,’ he sympathised. ‘It seems that everyone but me and Éowyn have been deigned worthy to meet him, even my own Chief Counsellor has received that ‘privilege’’ Éomer persisted heatedly. ‘And what of this Corinir? You have made him Lord of Pelargir and Commander of the Fleet of Gondor. I am sure he is a superb sailor, but he was a notorious pirate. Are you sure this is a wise choice?’ ‘He is not at all that he seems, Éomer, and I trust him as much as I trust you… Completely,’ he added when he saw a sudden flare of anger on Éomer’s face. ‘I cannot reveal to you the truth about him, we are at the critical stage in the negotiations. By tomorrow night, we should have the final terms, and everything will be signed the morning you leave, if we can ask you to delay your departure until around noon? I would very much like you there as witness,’ Aragorn asked diplomatically. Éomer was in no mood to be mollified and made his dissatisfaction at his exclusion very clear. Aragorn took pity on him. ‘Lothíriel is merely trying to protect you, and it is Faramir who doesn’t want Éowyn exposed to the kind of activities going on down there, although Lothíriel did have quite a fight with him about that,’ Aragorn stifled a laugh. Éomer raised his eyebrows inquiringly. Aragorn shook his head and smiled at the memory, ‘She even slapped him! She has quite a temper when she feels people are being over-protective. But I have said too much. I agree with Lothíriel that there’s nothing going on that Éowyn isn’t more than capable of dealing with, but I think Lothíriel felt that it would be too hard on you not to be invited when your sister had been, and so eventually she was persuaded to Faramir’s position. But I don’t see why Éowyn couldn’t accompany Gelian and Telari into the quarter. Pelargir is their birthplace and their mother’s family descend from the Princes of Harondor. If I’m not much mistaken, Lady Gelian knew Corinir before his arrival in Minas Tirith, which is somewhat intriguing. If it is any comfort, Lady Telari’s husband has not been invited into the quarter. In fact, I think King Bard, Eradan, Faramir and myself are the only men of…. our kind… who have ventured into the quarter at all. Éomer had needed no further explanation, he had fathomed the nature of the Umbarian delegation as soon as he had learned of their arrival and place of lodging. Aragorn’s clarification had only served to heighten his sense of neglect. He sought out his sister. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Éowyn went straight to see Gelian, who affirmed what Aragorn had said. ‘Come with us this afternoon and stay until you want to go home. You’re up all night anyway I wager, so you might as well. I am pretty sure that Faramir will not be around for tonight anyway as he will be holed up in the counsel chamber with the rest of our side discussing the final details of the trade negotiations. Lothíriel will be delighted to introduce you to Prince Ottakar, who is a hoot. But be warned, he is not what he seems. He might make a play of being foppish and irreverent, but he’s the only man to have come close to beating Lothi at Faradin. She says his mind is the most like hers she has ever met. They are both immensely fond of each other on a personal level and have the greatest respect for each other in terms of business, but he will still drive a very hard bargain. He has to! His position in Umbar is not as secure as many make out and he cannot be seen to be weak in his dealings with Gondor. Aragorn is right when he says he could not do this without her. They all trust her, but not necessarily each other, well, except King Bard and King Thorin, who seem to have a very strong relationship. And your brother is well out of it, although for how much longer that can be the case, I am not sure,’ Gelian confided in her. ‘Why has Éomer been so rudely excluded? Prince Imrahil also. He has been quite confused,’ Éowyn asked her friend. Gelian gave her a long hard stare and came to a decision. ‘Oh well, since you are coming with us anyway, you will soon see for yourself,’ she said pragmatically. ‘You see, my dear, Prince Ottakar is very attracted to blond men, and they don’t come more blond and more handsome than your brother. Lothíriel only wants to protect him from what I am sure would be most unwelcome attention… On the other hand, I also suspect it is possible that she is dangling his appearance as a move in the game she and Ottakar are playing, not that I know that for sure. I would guess these are the reasons, mostly the first though. As for Imrahil, I’m not sure how he would feel seeing his daughter take a position that by rights should have been his. Not out of envy you understand, he is not that kind of man at all. But I can imagine it might make him feel lacking in some way and that would break Lothíriel’s heart. This was always the problem with her brothers. She simply outshone them. This is why Elphir lacks confidence in himself and why Erchirion, well… the less said about that the better. Let’s get you all dressed up – you will need to be more extravagant than normal. I suggest you dress here so you don’t upset your brother too much,’ she ended. |