#dad-vibes théodred

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

The last few things I wrote were quite sad, and so I had a HC that little Éowyn was a real menace to the women who wanted to date Théodred and I had a few hours at a boring work conference so…here’s a thing, presumably less sad! Less than 1,500 words!

Théodred is 26ish and Éowyn is 9ish.

“What do we say, Éowyn?”

Théoden put a hand behind her shoulder and lightly propelled her toward Théodred, who sat quietly a few feet away. Her lips were pressed into a thin, straight line and her eyes still burned with a fiery gleam, but, lacking any other choice, she complied with her uncle’s direction.

“I am sorry, cousin, for calling your visitor a Donkey Face,” she muttered, the words hard and cold as she glared down at the stonework on the floor.

“And?” Théoden gave her another small prod.

She sighed heavily, as though he had burdened her with the weight of the world itself. “And for putting a spider in her hair. And for laughing while she screamed and danced around to get it out.” She shot a look up at Théoden, her eyes accusing. “Even though the spider was perfectly harmless, and you didn’t need to squish it.”

“No commentary, please. Just continue with what we talked about.”

She drew another breath to spit out the rest of the scripted apology, feeling the distastefulness of the words in her mouth already. But when she turned back to Théodred, looking him in the face this time, she stopped short. His eyes were soft and a small smile played across his lips, a look of fond affection that somehow felt more damning than any of her uncle’s stern reprimands. It was easy for her to meet anger with anger, but to sustain a sharp temper in opposition to Théodred’s quiet warmth was nearly impossible, feeling somewhere between absurd and callous. Her voice faltered, its prior edge dulled by the first stirring of true regret.

“Uncle says that I made myself look bad, but also him and also you.” She swallowed hard, her words sticking in her throat from contrition now rather than petulance, and she took another small step toward him. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I hope that you aren't angry with me, and I promise not to do it again. A real promise this time. Do you forgive me?”

Théodred’s small smile widened, blooming into a grin, and he waved a hand, a little brushing gesture to push the whole matter behind them. “Of course. Consider it forgotten.”

“Not forgotten,” warned Théoden. “Forgiven, yes. But let us remember in the future that we are not to treat guests this way, especially very important guests who are here at my personal invitation.” He nodded to Théodred and then turned for the door. “Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I have some ruffled feelings to smooth in the other room. I’m not sure Éowyn’s first apology went over as well as this one did.”

Théoden walked out and Éowyn was about to follow when Théodred’s hand caught her elbow.

“May I ask you something, little cousin?” He released her arm and pointed to the chair next to him.

She had hoped to escape the room, to run off to a branch of her favorite tree from which she could watch the king’s guards go through their daily combat drills and pretend the whole morning had never happened. But instead, she perched hesitantly on the edge of the proffered chair and waited for him to speak.

He sat for a long moment in silence, fingers tented in front of his chest, and studied her face. “I’ve always loved your mischievous spirit,” he said at last. “It reminds me of your mother, and it brings a sense of laughter and fun into what used to be a very somber place. But your mother never turned her mischief against unsuspecting strangers, and neither did you until recently. One incident is a fluke, two is notable, but four is a pattern. Is there something troubling you lately that would explain this change? Anything that you’d like to talk about?”

“No.” The answer came out quickly and defensively, an attempt to ward off further inquiry, but it seemed only to encourage him to keep talking instead.

“I can’t help but notice that the targets of your mischief have all had one thing in common. They’re all noble ladies, daughters of your uncle’s closest friends and allies, that he’s brought here to visit with me. Have these women done something to you that would perhaps warrant your dislike?”

The straight line reformed at her lips, and she shook her head.

“If you don’t know these women and they’ve never caused you offense or given you reason to view them unfavorably, then why are you so intent on tormenting them?”

A hot blush came to her cheeks, and, embarrassingly, some tears to her eyes. She looked down to hide them, staring intently at a small crack in the floor, and tried to think of what to say. But all her thoughts only brought the threat of more tears and so she shrugged her shoulders instead.

“How about if I tell you what I think, and you can tell me if I am wrong?” He paused just long enough to see her reluctant nod and then continued. “I think perhaps you dislike the fact that your uncle keeps bringing women here in the hopes that I’ll choose one as a bride. I think you know that things will change once I have a wife, and perhaps you worry about what those changes will mean for you. And I think you’ve been trying to run these women off, so that maybe you won’t have to find out.” He leaned forward and put a hand gently on her arm. “Does that sound right?”

She shrugged again, keeping her head down, but she couldn’t hide the big, round tear that dripped from her chin and landed heavily on the back of his hand. And once the first was seen, the will to hold back the others quickly crumbled. Whatever response she might have made was lost in an instant, and she began to sob.

“Oh, Éowyn, come here.” He gestured her toward him, and she stumbled forward into his open arms, her little frame swallowed up in the big, tight embrace he wrapped around her. “Getting married is something most of us will do some day. And if we’re lucky, we get many happy years together with a beloved husband or wife. Your uncle was cheated out of that chance, and he wants to see me enjoy what he was denied. But when I find a wife to love, that doesn’t mean that I’ll then love you any less. That’s not how love works. A heart always has room for more. And I’ll guard your share like it’s one of my most cherished treasures, because it is. I promise, cousin.”

He let her cry for another few minutes, releasing the fear and sadness that had been trapped deep within her for the last several weeks, until eventually the tears began to slow and her breathing to calm. A little sniffling noise emerged from somewhere inside the embrace, and he felt her dry a wet cheek on his shirt before pulling back to look up at him, all wide eyes and creased brow. “Your favorite cousin?” The tiniest shadow of a smirk appeared on her lips.

He laughed, and then she did, too. “I won’t be snared in your trap that easily just to see ��omer angry with me later. But you’re my one and only Éowyn, and that is a special thing indeed.”

She smiled, wiped her face again on a sleeve, and returned to her chair, dropping back into it more comfortably this time. “If you do have to pick a wife, I hope she’ll be much better than the ones Uncle has brought so far. All they do is sit there and smile and agree with everything you say. And they all laugh too hard at Uncle’s jokes. There hasn’t been a good one in the lot.”

He laughed again. “Would you like to know a secret?” He leaned forward and switched to an exaggerated whisper. “I don’t much like them either.”

“You don’t?” Her eyes widened but she worked hard to keep a note of gleeful triumph from her voice.

“That doesn’t mean that I condone calling them names or covering them with bugs, of course, but no, they’re not right for me. It’s not their fault, and I know that your uncle means well in bringing them here. But I intend to find my own wife, in my own time. And when I do find her someday, I am certain that she’ll meet with your approval. No insects or dirty looks or ‘accidentally’ spilled tea required. After all, you trust my judgment, don’t you?”

She nodded.

“Good.” He smiled and held out a hand. “Now let’s go out to the garden and see if we can find you a new spider friend.”

Dividers by the lovely @quillofspirit!