Éowyn was able to go to see her friend in her new quarters the next morning. Lothíriel was looking very wan and uncharacteristically listless. It was clear she had shed many tears throughout the night and had hardly slept.
Lothíriel eventually spoke after a heartfelt hug of welcome. ‘Well, it is done. I have finally been cast away. Things were said last night that needed to be said and they now cannot be unsaid. I am so sorry that your brother heedlessly got involved at all in this, however remotely. He had only tried to be kind. Good intentions often go awry with my family. Please apologise to him. I had asked him to send one of his Riders to teach me the basics. Honestly, Éowyn, had I thought for a moment he would take on the task himself, I would not have shown up.’
Éowyn put her hand on her friend’s shoulder. ‘He would do so again if you asked him’, she said gently.
‘No Éowyn, he must not have anything more to do with me. You, I’m afraid, will have no choice because of Faramir, but your brother must not be tainted by my reputation. It is not fair on him. I know how I am regarded throughout Gondor. Denethor made damn sure of that,’ she said bitterly. ‘At least I now won’t get married off against my will to some lord in Harad or the East, which I must confess, I considered my most likely future once the boys came back from war,’ she said with a forced laugh.
Éowyn changed the conversation in a more positive direction. ‘Faramir told me that you alone have run Dol Amroth’s administration for the last six years since your father and brothers were called here by Lord Denethor and that is why Dol Amroth’s economy has thrived, even when everywhere else suffered. I had not realised the extent of your responsibility,’ she said with admiration.
‘Éowyn, Dol Amroth owes its good fortune to the sacrifices of Rohan and to a lesser extent the rest of Gondor and I will make sure that those in the pampered south never forget that they owe their lifestyle and freedom to their heroic brothers to the North. That aside, I am, if I may say so myself, a rather good administrator and hopefully King Aragorn will allow me to serve Arnor and Gondor in some capacity further north. It’s difficult being a woman but I am still the daughter of a Prince despite all. I didn’t get totally disinherited,’ she said with a laugh, looking decidedly less dejected as she spoke.
‘In truth I am so lucky to have had Faramir stand up for me, as he has always done, ever since I was little. I am so very, very happy that he has found you; someone equal to him in worth and valour and kindness, as he is the best of all our house. He will make you so happy, Éowyn, that I promise you.’ Lothíriel had gently brushed away a stray hair from Éowyn’s face while she spoke and Éowyn could see the sadness behind the smile. She could see that Lothíriel had no hope for herself to ever be so blessed as Éowyn was with Faramir.
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When Éowyn had first heard of Lothíriel’s presence in the House of Healing, she had initially avoided meeting her, as she had been told that Lothíriel was a bad person. No one would be more specific than that, but it had been obvious that few in Gondor were favourably disposed towards her. Only seeing how she was with the wounded and how Lothíriel had done her best to find excuses for Faramir to be with Éowyn, had she begun to see Lothíriel for who she was and not the monster others implied.
When Faramir had eventually told her the full story that morning, she was more than shocked. She was not innocent of the ways of men but the truth of what had befallen this child of eleven and the aftermath was almost incomprehensible to her. She could not have explained it to her brother. You could not hear the tale without looking differently at Lothíriel, everything she did would be judged through the legacy of her past. Éowyn could only hope that her brother would be able to see beyond her history and see Lothíriel as she saw her, a gentle, kind and witty person of immense and unusual talent.
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In the end, Éomer went in search of Faramir the next morning and found him in Lord Aragorn’s counsel chamber. Faramir came straight up to him. ‘I am sorry,’ he said immediately, ‘I have been kept busy since I saw you yesterday morning. Would you and Éowyn like to dine with me tonight? Lothíriel said she will go out to dine with a friend and not to expect her back until late’.
Éomer and Éowyn arrived early for supper at Faramir’s quarters in the Citadel, just in time to see Lothíriel leaving with a very gaudily made-up friend, who flirted outrageously with Éomer. Lothíriel smiled rather mischievously at him, he thought. She had clearly recovered from the events of the previous night and was determined to enjoy her new-found freedom from the confines of her father’s house. The siblings found Faramir pacing around the room where they would dine informally.
‘She wants to move north to Dale, on her own! Imrahil warned me if I take her on, she will drive me mad. Oh, I am sorry, where are my manners. My love,’ he came to kiss his future bride and then turned to give Éomer the traditional greeting of a slight bow, his right hand over his heart. ‘My brother. Please sit and let’s have some wine. Lothi tells me this is the best to go with the pork and then I should serve the one she left in the jug over there for the second course. Already she has my life organised so that I do not need my steward, which is just as well as he is pretty useless.’
They enjoyed more banter as the food was served and finished, but once the servants had retired, Éomer brought the conversation back to the subject that he had the feeling Faramir had wanted to avoid after his initial outburst. Éowyn made the excuse of wanting to explore the beautiful gardens of the Citadel as she had no wish to hear the re-telling of a story which caused her too much distress. She asked only that they went to find her there when they had finished.
‘I owe you this explanation, Éomer, as your sister is about to join our family and if I have my way Lothíriel will come to live with us in Ithilien. It has Aragorn’s approval but Lothi is adamant that she does not want to bring shame on us while we are establishing ourselves there,’ Faramir started.
‘What happened to her was not her fault, I fail to see how she can bring shame on you,’ Éomer interrupted heatedly.
‘You have to understand the damage my father did in all of this,’ Faramir began to explain after a pensive pause. Éomer understood from Faramir’s change of tone that this would be a personally painful and most confidential account of family’s past. ‘It caused a complete breakdown of my relationship with him which had already been strained for some time before these events.’ Faramir stood up and began to pace the room while he recounted the history of his cousin.
‘Lothíriel is unlike any other woman you have ever met… or will likely ever meet. Her heritage is akin to Aragorn’s himself on her mother’s side and the blood of Númenor runs as deeply in her veins as in his. If the rumours of the Elven ancestry of the Princes of Dol Amroth are true, then she has Elven blood from both her parents. She is the brightest, funniest, kindest person I have ever met. Her memory is frankly astounding. Her understanding of numbers is truly astonishing. Dol Amroth’s economy has thrived through wartime because she has been in charge of it,’ he sighed in awe of her talents.
‘She showed these abilities from a very young age,’ he continued. ‘My father was in truth intimidated by her brilliance. He could not keep up with her. She outclassed him intellectually in everything and he resented it.’ He paced up and down the room, disturbed by the memory. ‘People loved her. She had a warmth about her that drew people to her, and she laughed all the time. Being with Lothi was always so joyous. And it still is, when she’s not near her family.’
He paused to collect himself. ‘I have not given your sister all these details, some are too… delicate,’ he confessed heavy-heartedly. ‘Where should I start?’ he drew a deep breath.
‘A man arrived in Dol Amroth, over nine years ago – a very attractive man, named Cirion. He said he was a lord from near the Grey Havens, he had money, a lot of it, and soon ingratiated himself at the court of Dol Amroth. He paid Imrahil’s young wife, Amahlia, a great deal of attention. Amahlia was Imrahil’s second wife and was only mother to Lothíriel, not her brothers.’ Éomer was surprised; it had not crossed his mind that Lothíriel was only her brothers’ half-sister. He had not been much interested in courtly politics even within Rohan, never mind who the great lords were of other realms. That he had left to his cousin, Théodred, who should have been King in his stead.
‘For over a year this evil snake drew a wedge between Imrahil and his wife. Lothi hated him from the start and towards the end she had begun to feel fearful. It was the way he began to look at her that made her so distrustful. She wrote to me begging me to come down to Dol Amroth. She told me that she felt in danger and no one was listening to her. To my shame, I delayed, I just thought, she’s eleven, she’s imagining it…’
Faramir turned sharply to face Éomer. ‘I will never forgive myself for not trusting her instincts more. In the end it took Galador, her best friend and son of the Steward of Dol Amroth, to ride all the way to Minas Tirith, through two nights, to persuade me to come down. They are inseparable…’ Éomer’s mind flitted back to Lothíriel’s gaudily made-up friend he had just met and his mind was filled with sudden comprehension and curiosity. He forced his agile mind back to Faramir
‘… but he was desperate, desperate enough to have left her to seek me out. She thought I must not have received her letter. I knew Galador well, he is scared of horses, and for him to ride on his own all that way gave me cause to doubt myself. I left with Galador by ship immediately, but we were still too late. It was her mother’s birthday at the end of the month of Hithui and Cirion had arranged a boat trip for her as a ‘treat’. They could only go respectably if she was accompanied by Lothíriel and a female attendant. Apparently Lothíriel refused point blank to go and rushed to find her father, but he had decided to visit his mistress that day rather than celebrate his wife’s birthday, such was the discord between Imrahil and his wife by that point. Lothíriel then frantically looked for her brothers – the three of them were about to leave the Palace together. She pleaded with them to allow her to go with them. They said they were going hunting. She asked to go with them, promising she wouldn’t be any trouble. Elphir forbade her to go with them as it would be ‘too dangerous’.’ Faramir paused, wondering how much he should tell of his cousins’ behaviour. He ploughed on.
‘Not even Imrahil knows of this. Elphir confessed the true reason for their behaviour to my brother, Boromir, and he to me. The boys were indeed off ‘hunting’, Éomer, but not the kind that needed bows and arrows. Amrothos had recently turned fifteen and was still untouched by a woman. Lothi realised that they were unarmed and not dressed in hunting clothes but seemed to be going out more on a picnic. When she pointed this out, Erchirion got angry and practically dragged her screaming to the boat where her mother and Cirion were waiting. They did not want their younger sister interfering with their sport… If you wonder why the boys find it so difficult to look at Lothíriel now, it’s because they can still see her face as she was then, pleading with them when they pushed her onto that boat and into the arms of utter evil,’ Faramir’s voice had begun to rise, and he is pacing intensified.
Éomer appreciated why Éowyn had excused herself. Faramir would not have felt comfortable giving her all the details of the story and she had instinctively sensed that. He now understood fully what had happened down in the paddock the day before.
‘Cirion must have been planning for months to kidnap them and hold them for ransom. And we all stood by and let it happen. We were all guilty. Myself as much as her brothers. I arrived only hours after Cirion’s boat had left Dol Amroth’s harbour and, as I said, everyone was out. As soon as I discovered that Lothíriel and her mother had gone off with Cirion I sent the palace guard out to find my cousins and Imrahil and bring them back from their pleasures. When I showed them Lothíriel’s letter, the boys went into shock. They knew, they knew then what they had done. Imrahil ordered the whole fleet out to look for them. Imrahil and the three boys went out on separate ships.
It took them three days to find her. Three days! The first day, it seems they spent with Cirion and his small crew. They got far out to sea, but before handing them over to the pirate, Pallakir, as planned the next day… from what I can tell, and this is hard in the telling, Éomer...’ Faramir paused to collect himself, ‘… it seems Cirion was not interested in grown women. Lothíriel had been right to feel uncomfortable about the way he looked at her.’ Faramir’s face twisted in revulsion at what he knew had happened and he did not need to be more explicit for Éomer to understand.
‘My guess is that Cirion’s game was to pretend to be the go-between for the ransom payment, he would tell Imrahil that he had been spared only so he could take the ransom back to the pirates. He would, of course, ‘make sure they were alive before handing it over’…. Only I don’t believe he had any intention of handing over the ransom. He was counting on Pallakir killing them both when he didn’t turn up, which is why he took the risk of having his fun with Lothíriel first.
When he passed them both on to Pallakir, it was Amahlia’s turn. It seems that Lothíriel was held separately from her mother. Something happened, perhaps Amahlia snapped and tried to defend herself, we don’t know but whatever it was, it was Lothíriel who took the punishment for it…’ Faramir was struggling to speak the words. ‘They… she… she was flogged, a girl of eleven. They were two days with these beasts.’ Faramir stopped briefly and shuddered.
He continued, ‘I told you she is the cleverest person I know. Even then she knew all the herbs and compounds for medicines, what is poisonous, what is not. The crew got slack, perhaps they were enjoying her mother and the wine a bit too much and since Lothi had been so badly wounded they had left her in a cabin on her own thinking she wouldn’t be able to move, a cabin which contained some poisons. I don’t know how she did it, but she made her way to the ship’s water and ale supplies and poured in what poison she had found.
The crew must have started to become sick over the next day or night. One or two came into her cabin, probably to kill her, but as they were so weakened, she was able to snatch whatever weapon they had on them and she began to kill those who had been the last to drink the poison and were enfeebled but not already dead.
What happened to Amahlia, we do not know for sure, but at some point the ship caught fire, whether by accident or design we do not know, and this alerted Imrahil’s ships where to find her. Somehow, Lothíriel had found herself alone lying on some debris close to the ship which was burning out of control, but still recognisable as the Oka’arta, Pallakir’s infamous ship. They could not board it to find Amahlia, or at least her body, it was too dangerous. The crew had to physically restrain Imrahil from trying to board.
Her brothers, Elphir and Erchirion, got there in time to see the state they found her in. The ship’s healer knew what she’d been through quickly enough and told them all to leave her with him until they got her back to shore, but they all knew what had been done to her. Her brothers took it hard. Their guilt was the keenest. But Imrahil had also lost his wife, a wife he had already lost through neglect and jealousy. I admire and love my uncle dearly, watching him endure his grief and pain was unbearable.
When they returned, I went straight on board to see her. She was sat up, just looking at them all - they couldn’t even look at her. I tell you, Éomer, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing… her own family. No one would touch her, no one would look at her. I picked her up in my arms and carried her out of there. She wasn’t crying, she was completely still. As soon as we were on land, she just turned to me and indicated she would prefer to walk. I hadn’t seen fully the injuries to her back. I must have hurt her so much by just holding her but that’s all she wanted. Reassurance that we all still loved her.
She held my hand so tightly as we walked to her rooms. By the Valar, it was weeks before she said anything at all. Weeks. But night after night, she would relive her trauma. It’s the only way we have any understanding of what happened. And what were her family doing? Feeling guilty about their own actions. Not once did they offer any sign of love and affection to her, they were all so wrapped up in their own guilt.’
Faramir had related the last words with a great effort. He was sweating and he was finding it difficult to master the emotions this had invoked in him. ‘My father called me to return to Minas Tirith immediately. I had left taking the ship without his permission, but I refused to go back. Boromir wanted to come down to support the family, only my father wouldn’t let him.
Oh, how my father revelled in the story. Boromir was horrified at his malice and wrote to me that he was allowing the details to be made public with great embellishment, all to Lothíriel’s detriment. My father had always envied Imrahil’s Elven blood. He only married my mother, Imrahil’s sister, because she was of this bloodline. I wrote to my father in fury at what he was doing, and I refused his command to return. I couldn’t abandon Lothi when she was being so abandoned by her own.
My relationship with my father never recovered and in revenge he allowed the story to be told and retold throughout Gondor in such a way that Lothíriel was abused a second time, this time by her own people,’ Faramir said disgustedly.
‘So as you see, I have taken her into my home and here she will stay, I hope. Éowyn has been kind enough to understand and support this. I felt as you will become part of my family you needed to know the truth, as believe me, in this city, you will be told many different versions and none of them kind,’ he ended finally.
Éomer had sat silently throughout feeling the weight of Faramir’s pain. Éowyn had been right, it was a distressing tale. Eventually Éomer spoke, ‘Dare I ask what happened to Cirion?’
‘He was executed. He rather naively came back to collect the ransom while Imrahil and the fleet were still out searching for her,’ Faramir replied fiercely. ‘I had him thrown into the dungeons at the Palace, ignoring his false words and protestations. He would have to answer to Imrahil, only that was not what happened. Galador’s father, the Steward, Belegond, interrogated him while I was on the docks waiting for Imrahil’s return. He had the right, in Imrahil’s absence. He had the man tortured, his hands crushed, but he gained his full confession in front of witnesses, at which point he had the man’s tongue cut out.’
‘What!’ Éomer exclaimed shocked.
‘I know. It was not a punishment I condoned in anyway, but Belegond claimed it was to spare Imrahil the pain of Cirion crowing about what he had done to her. On that I had my doubts, but Imrahil ratified the sentence of death, and he was beheaded as soon as Lothíriel had sufficiently recovered.’
‘Lothíriel was there?’ asked Éomer aghast.
‘I advised against it,’ Faramir told him, ‘but she insisted on facing him. She sat herself in front of him, so when the sword came down, the last thing he will have seen would be her feet.’
‘By Éorl,’ swore Éomer, ‘she was only eleven…’
Faramir looked at him steadily and said, ‘Yes, Éomer, but she had already killed at least twelve men by her own hand and been responsible for the deaths of around another thirty.’
Éomer reflected on the implications of the story he had heard. He could see that Lothíriel was a complex person, but he also sensed that she was vulnerable and insecure despite her brilliance and confidence in her unique abilities. ‘What can I do to help? For I will help, in any way I can,’ Éomer said sincerely.
‘She needs her friends to support her,’ Faramir answered. ‘The ill will in this city towards her is quite openly expressed. Aragorn has said he will help and that makes me feel that if I can persuade her to stay until Éowyn and I are married and settled in Ithilien, she will have a future here in Gondor with us. She may only be my cousin, but she has always been as a sister to me. What would you do to protect your own sister?’ he asked Éomer, already knowing the answer.
‘Aye, much,’ Éomer nodded. ‘I know that was difficult to go through again and I thank you for it. Lothíriel had told me to ask you if I wanted to know more, so I believe she gave her permission for me to know,’ he said.
‘Yes, Lothi had told me that,’ Faramir confirmed. ‘We had better go and find Éowyn. It’s not that warm an evening outside….’