The Abduction of Éomer, King of Rohan

Chapter 9

The further we travelled down the river, the busier it got. I did not fancy spending all my time playing at being a pile of cabbages, so I jammed my hair under my hat and smudged my cheeks with a bit of dirt.

"This way, from afar everybody will take me for a lad," I told Léona.

He let his eyes trail over me. "I think you overestimate the efficiency of your disguise."

I blushed. "Nonsense."

It seemed to work, anyway, or maybe nobody cared to accost Léona, for we continued on our journey undisturbed. Whole families earned a living trading up and down the Anduin, and at one stage we even passed a large raft made of logs lashed together and then floated on the water. With the rebuilding of Osgiliath, wood and other building materials were in high demand there.

"How much further to Minas Tirith, do you think?" I asked.

Léona paused a moment. "We should reach it tomorrow."

Tomorrow – and then we would part company. I banished the thought. He had said he would make things right and I believed him. Why spoil such a nice day with worrying? I leant on the gunwale and watched the reflections of the sun ripple across the water. How far our brave little boat had carried us.

Struck by an idea, I turned to Léona. "We haven't named the boat yet!"

"Why? Should we have done so?" he asked.

"It's unlucky to travel in a nameless boat," I explained.

"Well, in that case, do you have any suggestions?"

I thought of my father's flagship, The Pride of Dol Amroth. And then there were Corsairs' Bane and Princess Míriel – called after my grandmother, but the sailors had soon nicknamed her Terror. Inspired by this, my brothers had always given grand names to all their skiffs.

"The Pride of Rohan?" I proposed with a grin.

He chuckled. "The pride of the Mark are its horses, not a tub like this."

"Something more mundane then? Lots of fishermen give their boats women's names."

Léona considered that for a while. Suddenly the corners of his eyes crinkled. "We'll call her Cawelcwén."

The name had a nice ring. Intrigued, I straightened up. "What does that mean?"

"Cabbage queen."

He dared! I picked up one of the cabbages and threw it at him. "No queens around here!"

He ducked and laughed. Then he turned serious again. "Lothíriel, listen..."

During our conversation, we had drifted along with the current and now we approached a bend in the river, where a stony beach extended out into the water. I happened to glance up, and what I saw through the sparse bushes made me blink in disbelief.

At the expression on my face, Léona slewed around. "What is it?"

Two tall masts with the sails furled, a hull displaying the sleek lines of a predator, and there, flying at the top of the mainmast, the silver and blue banner of Dol Amroth.

"It's Pride," I gasped, still not believing my eyes.

After one look at the galley, Léona turned the boat and started rowing back upstream. Soon the great warship disappeared out of sight again, while I was still trying to come to terms with her presence, for the last I had heard, my father's flagship had lain at the Harlond. He must have sent for her to assist in the search! I winced at the thought of the poor sailors having to row her up the Anduin. While she did have a shallow draught, she was a open water vessel, not made for river travel. What was Father thinking of!