Name: BeccaBo
Email: Title: Understanding
Main Characters: Eowyn, Aragorn
Pairing: Aragorn/Eowyn
Category: General
Rating: G
Length: Short story
Brief Summary: Aragorn and Eowyn can not sleep and find understanding in each other during a late night conversation.
He could not sleep. Again. This was becoming too common an occurrence with him. Aragorn silently raised himself up from his bedroll and carefully climbed over the sleeping bodies of his comrades. He walked out into the silent Golden Hall, such a contrast to the scene that played out in this room only hours earlier. The people of Rohan did know how to celebrate a victory, despite their great losses. It was part of what made them strong, caused them to appreciate life and made them willing to fight for their way of life when they needed to.
He noticed that the chair where the Lady Eowyn had slept earlier was now empty, blankets thrown carelessly to the side. He looked to the open doors at the northern point of the room and saw the silhouette of her slight frame. The white gown that she wore caught the bright light of the moon as she gazed up at it's starry companions.
Aragorn placed the blanket over her slight shoulders before settling himself down next to her on the great steps. He did not mean to intrude on her thoughts, but knew that the gown she wore would not guard her against the chill of the night air. His reward for his thoughtfulness was the brilliant smile she gave him as he sat down.
"What time is it?" Eowyn asked him, wondering if his sudden appearance next to her on the steps meant that he could sense that her thoughts were of him.
"Not yet dawn." He said quietly, reaching over and pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders. "You should really be asleep. Tomorrow will come sooner than we expect it."
"Sleep has eluded me in recent days." She looked away, over the plains of her beloved Rohan. "My mind has been plagued of late with dreams that are beyond my understanding. Sleep brings me no peace."
"What sort of dreams, my lady?"
She studied him for a moment. Eowyn did not know what it was about this man that made her trust him so. But as they sat under the stars together this evening, she felt as if she were speaking to an old friend. And before she knew it, she was sharing with him her deepest dreams. "I dreamed I saw a great wave, climbing over green lands and above the hills. I stood upon the brink. It was utterly dark in the abyss before my feet. A light shone behind me but I could not turn. I could only stand there, waiting."
"Night changes many thoughts." He answered, regarding her with concern. He did not realize that the evil spreading through the land grieved her so that it interrupted her sleep.
"Do you believe it to be a look into the future, Aragorn? A promise of what will happen to these lands if the Ring is not destroyed?" The question in her voice masked a much deeper emotion. Fear.
"If it is a look into the future, Eowyn, then you must find comfort in the fact that there is a light and not total darkness. There is always a light."
"You are reading my thoughts, my lord."
"And they're as fuzzy as my own, Shieldmaiden." He wanted to offer her the comfort he knew would set her mind at ease. But he could not bring himself to lie to her. He did not know what would happen, how Frodo's quest would end. She would know of his falsehoods immediately. That well she seemed to know him after so short a time.
"It must be the ale. Or the wine. Or both." She lightened the moment for both of them and he was grateful. "You have seen into my dreams, Aragorn, and now it is only fair that I know what is in your thoughts. I believe that it is your turn to make a confession. And it had better be good." she warned, a bit of teasing in her voice. But Aragorn knew that she was completely serious. This White Lady of Rohan did not reveal her deepest fears without expecting the same honesty in return. The decision to oblige her came before he could think twice about saying the words.
"I have no desire to be king." He admitted quietly, not meeting her eyes.
His words hung between them in the night air. He finally looked up into her face, masked in disbelief. "But think of all the wonderful things you could do! For the race of men. For Middle Earth. Restoring this land to it's former glory."
"Yes, but my reserve has much more to with selfish reasons. I have always lived as a Ranger. By my own code, not to be judged by others. But to be King...to be so defined by your position, to never be seen as who you are but as what you are. You have no idea how insufferable that is." He shook his head, unable to express the words that will make her understand.
"You might be surprised." she replied, more to herself than to him. Realizing that she may have been out of line, she looked down at her hands in her lap.
He regarded her in earnest. Something in her voice made him think that maybe she really did understand. "Really?" he inquired.
Eowyn was silent for a few moments, then turned her face toward his. In the light of the moon, she looked more breathtaking than he had ever seen her and he had to catch his breath.
"A woman, for example," she began, "is rarely painted as anything else. We are defined by our ability to keep a house and raise babies. Both are noble endeavors, but not all that women are capable of. My skill with a sword is often overlooked or brushed aside because I wear a gown and have fair skin. My uncle would not allow me to help defend the people of Rohan when the wargs attacked, instead sending me to find them shelter at Helm's Deep." She looked him square in the eye, her confidence growing as she spoke. "You yourself sent me into the cave during the great battle, knowing full well that we were outnumbered. Instead of adding my blade to your numbers, you sent me away. Was that because you believed that I could not be an asset in battle?"
The challenge she set forth caught him off guard. Thinking upon the truth of her words, he had to shake his head.
"No. That is what I thought." She smiled a bit, smug with satisfaction. "You sent me away because I am a woman and some ancient belief told you that I would be more protected by the walls of a cave instead of the skill of my own blade. I have been defined by something I could not control. Just as you fear your status and your title will define you, yet it is not who you are." She took a deep breath, trying to collect the thoughts racing through her head. "You have been born to privilege and with that comes specific obligations. I understand that, as well. But few in this life have the opportunity to cause real change in this world. Many feel helpless, as if there is nothing left they can do. You are a good man, Aragorn. There is much good that will come of having you sit upon the throne." The look on his face told her that she had made her point, so she relented her assault on his choices. " I am sorry my mouth has run away with me again."
"Do not apologize, Eowyn. There are few in my life who speak freely and it is a refreshing change." He smiled at her then. "But do not be so bold as to think that you have changed my mind."
She was glad he could still tease with her, despite her fervent words. "I would never think my simple words could change such a strong willed mind as yours. At least not in just one night."
Aragorn laughed out loud then, pleased at the thought of many more evenings talking discussing this with her.