Suildad, fans of Trust to Hope! I could not think of a clever title for this piece of work, so bear with me on that.

Just a bit of a note about how this will work. The sequel will not be a cohesive, one plot story as TTH was. This will be a series of mini-stories, vignettes, and short stories that will range anywhere from a page to several chapters each. Each section will be individually rated for CONTENT, so PLEASE check the ratings!! The stories that go to an “R” rating wil be so marked, and if you prefer an “edited” version, it will be available on my site, www.bardstales.com.

I hope you continue to enjoy reading TTH. Now, on with the prologue.

Novedhelion
Bard of Rohan

Trust To Hope – BOOK TWO
Prologue
by : Novedhelion
Beta: Riyallyn
Rating: PG 13 (Adult situations)
Warnings: Frustratingly honorable man, Frustrated Princess…

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Dol Amroth
The Wedding Night

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“I beg your pardon?”

Anhuil stared at him in disbelief. “What do you mean we are not married? We spoke vows. Remember this?” she asked, holding up her hand and brandishing the ring.

Éomer chuckled. “Perhaps I did not make myself clear. In accordance with the laws of the realm of Gondor, yes, my love, we are well and truly married.”

“But?” she questioned, certain there was more.

He leaned forward, taking her hand in his, running his thumb gently over the mithril band surrounding her finger. “In the tradition of the Éothéod, we are not yet husband and wife.”

Pulling her hand from his, she shook her head. “I do not understand, Éomer. You said that your people did not have elaborate ceremonies.”

“I did not say we had no ceremony at all.”

She rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. “I am so confused. Am I married to you or am I not?”

“In Gondor, yes. In Rohan, no.”

“So what does this mean?”

“It means, love, I already have sent Éothain ahead to make the preparations so that when we arrive home we may have the ceremony as soon as possible, and you will officially be my bride and queen as far as the Mark is concerned.”

“So what you are saying to me is that although we are married here, we must wait until we arrive home to…to…”

“In a word, love…yes.” His dark eyes sparkled mischievously. “I would not have it said that the King of the Mark would dishonor his queen in that way.”

“But Éomer…” she stopped herself mid-sentence, the look in his eyes answering her question before it was asked. “You truly want it this way, do you not?”

“It would mean a great deal to our people if we shared this union with them as well.”

“Our people…” she murmured. “Oh, sweet Elbereth. I am going to be a queen…” she dropped her head into her hands.

Her husband chuckled softly, pulling her into his arms, lifting her chin with a finger. “And a lovely one you will be.” He kissed the tip of her nose, and released her. “Now, why do you not go change into something more comfortable? I will pour you some wine and we can discuss what needs to be done.”

Drawing away from him and standing beside the bed, she sighed in exasperation. “This is most assuredly NOT what I had planned for my wedding night,” she muttered under her breath as she stomped off to change.

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