One Shots » LotR

Of the Siblings

"Right foot, left foot, duck!"

Éowyn spun on her heel, blonde hair sticking to her forehead as sweat beaded across her skin.

A flash of silver caught the sunlight and she yanked her blade up-- a metallic clang struck the air as she met her brother's sword midair.

Brown eyes danced and Éomer yanked away with a huff of laughter, nodding. "Very good! Now you're getting the hang of it!"

"You do realize," Éowyn readjusted her stance, narrowing her eyes at the grinning teenage boy. "Théoden will have your head if he realized you're training me again."

"My head?" Éomer snorted, circling where she stood. "Surely you mean our heads?"

"Not so," Éowyn took that moment to leap forward, ducking under her brother's parry and coming up behind him with a grunt.

Éomer barely managed to fend off her attack, stumbling away and shooting her a glare.

"See, I could talk my way out of it," Éowyn smiled sweetly, drawing herself up and gripping her sword tighter. "I'm just the innocent sister, remember?"

"Remind me to never again bring you out here," Éomer grumbled, shaking himself off and wiping sweat from his eyes.

For a moment, they stood in silence, watching each other warily. Then a small smirk flickered across Éomer's face and he lunged sideways, rolling around her swing.

Éowyn tried to turn-- too slow. She felt her legs kicked out from under her, then her breath whooshed from her lungs as she hit the dirt hard.

Stars danced before her eyes.

"Ouch," Éowyn started to shove herself up, only to freeze as the dulled tip of Éomer's sword wavered in front of her nose.

She scowled.

"Yield." Despite his firm tone, Éomer's eyes danced with victory.

Éowyn propped herself on her elbows, glaring at the boy. The wind picked up through the trees, blowing her damp blonde hair across her face. "And if I don't?"

His eyes crossed for a moment, then he huffed. "Then you are a sore loser, sis."

Éowyn wrinkled her nose but sighed, dropping her head back into the dirt. Darkening clouds drifted across the sky, blotting out the sunlight. "Fine. I yield."

She heard Éomer chuckle, then metal scrape as he sheathed his blade.

A foot padded next to her face, then a groan as Éomer slumped down into the dirt by her side. His tangled hair fell across her face as he plopped his head beside hers.

"Ai," Éowyn snorted a laugh, shoving his face away. She turned her eyes back to the sky and felt Éomer lie still, following her gaze.

"I enjoy coming out here," Éomer murmured in a soft voice. "It reminds me of the years before. When father used to take me hunting."

Éowyn furrowed her brow at that, chewing on her lower lip. It wasn't often Éomer talked of their father-- it was a sensitive subject to him.

"I don't remember him very well," she sighed after a moment. "Just bits and pieces."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Éomer smile, although there was a sadness in his gaze. A sadness she rarely saw.

"He wasn't around often, but when he was... we would come out to the hills. Horse riding, archery practice--"

"Like us," Éowyn turned her head to face her brother's gaze.

He nodded thoughtfully. "He would have been proud of you, I am sure. Whether Théoden likes you holding a sword or not, father would have been proud."

Éowyn closed her eyes at that, rolling again to her back. Faintly, she felt Éomer's hand clasp over her own, his palm hot and sweaty.

She smiled softly. "Thank you, Éomer. For everything."

He snorted, squeezing tighter. "Where would you be without me?"

"Likely in a dress," Éowyn chuckled. "Learning how to be a lady or something equally as outrageous."

Éomer laughed and they laid in peace for a moment, thunder rumbling quietly in the distance. Then he sighed, pushing himself up.

"We should head back. Théoden will be furious if he realizes we've gone missing again."

Groaning, Éowyn rolled her head back, her muscles aching with every movement. Éomer offered a hand and she grunted, taking it after a quick second.

Looking around the clearing, she padded over to her abandoned sword, slipping the blunted blade into the sheath by her side.

Éomer brought over their two horses and she arched an eyebrow. "Shall we race back?"

He stared at her for a second, then snorted, swinging atop his black mare. Tossing blonde hair out of his face, brown eyes gleamed. "If you wish to lose again."

Éowyn quick mounted her own brown steed, grasping the reins tightly. "We shall see."

Snorting, Éomer let loose a shout, starting forward his horse. With a yell of indignation, Éowyn quickly nudged her horse behind his, their laughter ringing in the air.

In the skies overhead, the thunder rumbled quietly again.

A/N: This one-shot is dedicated to Abauzon for the suggestion, a one-shot focusing on Éowyn and Éomer!

This one was quite fun, I absolutely adore the sibling relationship of the Middle Earth characters. I also have an Elladan/Elrohir one-shot coming out soon... yay!

Requests and/or suggestions are still open! I love getting the inspiration and ideas so feel free to shout an idea out. Thank you mellyn, I hope you all have a wonderful day!