"I wasn't," she says quickly, not wanting him to think she had deceived him somehow. Not only was she only technically in line for the throne when they first met, but she had also been banished by Gríma Wormtongue, and therefore would not have been allowed to inherit even if she had wanted to.
"Théoden King is — was my uncle. His son died at the beginning of Spring, before the War. He had no other heirs. And so..."
And so here she is, trapped by duty to her family and to her lineage in a position that she's never wanted, one she's sure many people think they want but only because they don't know the realities of the station.
She sighs, closing her eyes, seeming to deflate a little. "Please don't... don't be so cautious with me, Eskel, I cannot bear it." Everyone else is afraid to look her in the eye, now. She can't take it from him, too.
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"Théoden King is — was my uncle. His son died at the beginning of Spring, before the War. He had no other heirs. And so..."
And so here she is, trapped by duty to her family and to her lineage in a position that she's never wanted, one she's sure many people think they want but only because they don't know the realities of the station.
She sighs, closing her eyes, seeming to deflate a little. "Please don't... don't be so cautious with me, Eskel, I cannot bear it." Everyone else is afraid to look her in the eye, now. She can't take it from him, too.