A/N: I am not JRRTolkin. I do not own LOTR, or any of the characters.

"What is this?" asked Eowyn, holding up a handful of papers. Faramir had been working in his study, unobservant of time, and had missed the evening meal. Eowyn had, to no one's surprise, volunteered to bring it up to him. It had been a busy couple of days, and outside of the one beautiful afternoon they had spent in the garden, moments together had been few and isolated. Now, as Faramir ate, Eowyn cleaned up the mess of papers that had some how spread themselves all over the room.

Faramir looked up and squinted to see what was on the papers she held. "You broke my order, my lord," she teased. "My first order when teaching you our language was to do what?"

Faramir felt himself blush, but answered firmly "Not to try to write your language down, especially not in the Gondorian alphabet."

"And what do we have here?" Eowyn could barely keep the smirk out of her voice, and her eyes were laughing.

"It's only a few of the words, the ones that are impossible to remember. Am I even close to the spelling?" Faramir queried.

"Well, no." Eowyn said bluntly. "But since our language is almost never written down you technically cannot be wrong." Her voice turned smug. "There I was thinking you were perfect and could do no wrong. Now I find you do not follow simple instructions!"

Faramir looked down, embarrassed to have been found out. "Well at least this has dispelled your notion that I am perfect. I am many things, but certainly not that."

Eowyn chucked quietly. "My poor lord. In truth the no writing rule was more for your benefit. We have many different letters than you; the words become less impossible to write when you know those. And I thought it would be easier to speak first, since that is how our language is passed down."

"I knew about the different letters. There is a book under the pages I wrote that is in Rohirric." Faramir glanced up to see Eowyn open the book curiously. "I hope you are not too upset that I disobeyed." Faramir busied himself with his dinner again, but Eowyn didn't respond. When he looked up he was surprised to see a few tears running down her face. "Eowyn!" Faramir stood and moved towards her. "What is wrong?"

"Where did you get this book, Man of Gondor?" Eowyn asked, glancing at him before looking back down at the page.

"From Boromir's stack of books. He learned Rohirric early on, knowing it would be useful as a Steward. I learned the un-useful Elfish tongues. The book was made for him some time ago, perhaps about ten or twenty years past. I believe a bard from Rohan was delighted with his interest and wanted him to have a guide to court…" Faramir trailed off realizing he was babbling, Eowyn hadn't cried more than a few tears but that alone was enough to shock Faramir. Eowyn rarely cried. "Eowyn? What is it?"

"My mother."

"What?" He asked, and she turned the book towards him. On the top of the page was a subheading written in Common and Rohirric, which read 'Faces of the Rohan Court.' Below it on one side of the page was a woman's face with long flowing hair. The other side was a picture of a man. Focusing on the woman's face, Faramir could see the resemblance to Eowyn.

"You have a picture of my mother. I didn't remember her face. She died from illness and grief when I was seven, father had been killed by orcs." She said this in a matter of fact voice that was completely disjointed from her tears. "That is my father." She pointed to the man's picture on the other side of the page. "This book must have been made before they died, Theodred was portrayed, but not Eomer. My brother would have been a face at court, as the third in line to the throne after Mother's death."

"I lost my mother when I was five. I cannot remember her face, but there was a miniature of her in Father's desk, which I looked at for days when I found it. I must have been ten. Boromir was fifteen. Father hid it away some where more private when he found out we were sneaking away to look at it."

The both stood silent, lost in memories. Eowyn was staring at her parent's faces as if she were trying to memorize them. Reluctantly she turned the pages. The faces of her uncle's council members and advisors passed by and when she reached the end of the faces she turned to Faramir with tears in her eyes. "So few of these men are still alive," she commented.

Faramir nodded sadly. "I fear, in some ways, you were hit harder than we were. We only had one front to really worry about, you had two separate wars in two separate countries."

"Not to mentioned Saruman sent his orcs out to kill helpless women and children." Eowyn said bitterly, her eyes were now bright with anger.

"Did no one notice?" Faramir asked gently, and Eowyn glanced sharply at him. "Is that why the raids happened – because no one knew?"

"Everyone noticed. Everyone knew, Faramir." Eowyn snapped. "We just couldn't do anything because the Worm had the King's ear."

"Worm?"

"Grima Wormtongue. He was my uncle's advisor. Well actually, he was Saruman's puppet…" she trailed off, looked closely at Faramir, and took a deep breath. "This isn't the way I had planned to tell you. Do you have time for a long story?"

"For you, my lady, I have time for anything." Faramir half smiled and moved over to two more comfortable chairs that were by the balcony. He sat down in one, and Eowyn hesitated before moving to sit next to him in the same chair. Faramir was surprised, there was enough room certainly, but Eowyn was always shyer about sitting so close. "Are you sure?" He asked, not able to contain his wonder.

"If it's ok with you?" Eowyn froze at his question, and looked ready to go to the next chair.

Kicking himself mentally, Faramir quickly put his arm around her. "This is more than ok. This is wonderful. I was just surprised."

Eowyn gave a small smile and handed him the book. "I think, when telling ghost stories, it's best to have some one warm and solid at your back." She snuggled closer and when she was comfortable, he handed the book back. Together they looked at the end of the sunset. Faramir waited for her to speak, and at last she did.

"I was seven when we went to live in Meduseld. Eomer was eleven. Father was the Third Marshal of the Mark; Mother was Theoden King's favorite sister. When they died Theoden King promised to take care of us, and he adopted us and raised us with Theodred. Or at least as much together as a seven-year-old girl, an eleven-year-old boy and an almost thirty-year-old man can be raised together. Theodred was twenty-nine, or thirty, when we came to Meduseld." Eowyn explained to Faramir's raised eyebrow at their ages.

"Theodred," she sighed, and flipped to his picture. She traced the page gently with her finger. "My other brother. He looked after us; he was the Second Marshal, of course. But he spent a lot of time humoring my brother. Theodred convinced my uncle, and just about everyone actually, to allow me to learn to fight with the boys my age. He was one of the few people I could cry on. Life got better after those first couple of months after they died. Eomer became Third Marshal, like our father." She absently flipped through the pages of the book, pausing to look at a picture of the royal wing.

"And then?" Faramir prompted gently.

"And then Wormtongue came. I don't remember his arrival, but I think it was when I was twenty. He was one of the King's advisors, and I had other details to concern myself with, like learning to run the household. Theoden wanted me to learn domestic skills so that I could be married advantageously, if the need or opportunity arose. I'll admit I hated some of it, but I enjoyed organizing meals, and planning supplies. I even enjoyed basic sewing – I helped to patch my brother's and cousin's clothes all the time. It made me feel useful to them and it was a way to show my gratitude to my uncle. I still wanted to become a Rider, but I decided the best way to convince my family was to show them that I didn't lightly abandon what duties that were given to me.

"One day, I was practicing with one of my friends, when the King and his advisors came to observe."

"Is that normal?" asked Faramir.

"Oh, yes. The King always wants to see how the Eoreds are faring. What their strengths and weakness are. That way he can decide how to use them in a battle."

"And you were practicing?" Faramir promted.

Eowyn nodded. "We were in a… delicate position. You know how spars go." Faramir smiled, remembering some of the 'delicate positions' he had been in. "I was winning." Eowyn smiled briefly. "Then I heard Wormtongue screaming for everyone to stop. Everyone did, of course. When some one screamed stop on a field it meant that there has been a severe injury or there is an attack to fly to. We stopped, and my partner and I were looking around trying to find what happened, when Wormtongue appeared right before me. 'What are you doing?' he yelled, loud enough for everyone to hear. 'Practicing.' I replied, not sure what was wrong.

"He turned to face the King. 'My Lord-leige,' he said with a bow. 'Surely you must see this abomination must stop. How can you hope to marry off this woman playing to be a man while shirking her duties.'

"No one said anything. I felt everyone's eye on me, looking at me with dirt on my face, blood on my clothes, apprising me as a woman for the first time. 'Maybe you are right, Grima,' my King said. 'Sister-daughter, maybe it is time for you to grow up.'

"The King and his advisors walked on, I ran to catch up and knelt before my King. 'My Lord, my King, Uncle,' I pleaded. 'Please do not take this away from me. I swear, I shirk no duty you have given. I wish only to be able to defend myself, and those I love.'

"'From what?' smirked Wormtongue, who had also caught up. 'My Lord, this kind of begging behavior is unseemly for a daughter of the House of Eorl. She needs to be forced to stop these habits now before she becomes unfeminine.' The King looked down at me with blank eyes. 'Sister-daughter,' he said 'put up your sword.' And then left.

"The next day I went down to the fields to train, thinking my uncle would forget all too soon this rash decision. I charmed my way past the Captain on duty, who knew my brother and me well. He let me pass, and I was in the middle of another spar when Wormtongue appeared. Once again he called a stop, and he walked up to me. 'How will the King take knowing you have disobeyed his orders?' he asked.

"'The King knows why I train, do you?' I challenged him.

"'You think yourself clever, brave like your brother? I warn you, do not push me. I have the best interests at heart for this crumbling House of Eorl, but you will have to trust my plans for them to take place.'

"'What if I do not trust you or your plans? What if I do not trust you?'

"He stepped right up next to me, I could see my words had made him angry. 'If you do not leave now, I will tell your uncle you have forgotten what you owe to your people again, much like your father did when he got himself killed.'

"I could find no answer to that, as it was in a way true. My father took too few men to hunt a party of orcs, only one rider returned. It was a black spot on my family, one that Eomer had to work hard to overcome, especially as he became the Third Marshal. Surely Wormtongue wouldn't raise that issue again, I thought. But I wasn't sure. Eomer didn't need that kind of story resurfacing. I decided I would leave now and return to the training fields next week, when all of this had blown over.

"That night a maid brought a package and a note to my room. The note was from the Captain who had let me in, explaining that several of the men from this afternoon had been thrown into prison, and that he had been discharged, with out honor. They had challenged Wormtongue for making me leave, and this was the result. The Captain had seen many wars, and his warriors were the fiercest, that he was told to go with out respect for his years, or service was unthinkable. I reread the first part many times before I could believe that he was gone. The second part was what convinced me it was true. He wrote that instead of turning in his sword and weapons, which was usual if one left in dishonor, he had bribed the guards to send them to me, hence the package. He wrote that it might be best if I did not go down to the fields any time soon, but he hoped I would be able practice in my rooms a little. He advised me to hide the swords well, and told me if I ever needed an escape to come find him.

"I laughed at that last part. Why would I need to hide anything? Why would I want to leave? Wormtongue obviously was out of his mind, and surely my uncle would see that and throw him out soon. The next day at breakfast Wormtongue approached me. 'I hear there was a package delivered to you last night containing weapons, I am sure that is just a rumor.' He smirked in a voice that carried to where Theoden sat. The King looked over.

"'I don't know where you heard that from, but it is a lie.' I said firmly. 'I did receive a package, but it only contained a new dress.' It was the first thing that came to mind, and some how I thought the truth might be a bad idea here. I was not supposed to have the Captian's weapons, but I certainly did not want to see such beautifully made swords left to rust in the armory.

"'I think it might be time for us to start searching all deliveries, just in case. Wouldn't it be horrible, my king, if weapons were shipped to the wrong people?' Wormtongue turned to address the King.

"'That would be horrible,' Theoden said, as if he had never considered it before.

"'Uncle,' I said, standing up and facing him. 'Why would some one want to ship weapons when everyone here is already armed?'

"'The weapons are not the point,' Wormtongue hissed fiercely. I was surprised by his menace. 'The point is some one could ship anything to anyone and we wouldn't know.'

"'Why would we need to know? Why do you not trust the Rohirum?' I challenged.

"'Your naivety does you credit. What more reason does anyone need to prove you are inferior to men? Such a simple behavior and thought is only found in women, which is why you kind is able to die mourning for men.' I couldn't breathe at this obvious slur against my Mother. I turned to Theoden, who looked on dispassionately and turned back to his food. 'Don't worry my sweet.' Wormtongue tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and follow the strand down to the top of my dress, where he hand rested for a moment. 'We men will take care of you.'

"I slapped him. Theoden stood, roused. 'Eowyn. I thought I raised you better than to slap one of my advisors. You are a lady, or you should be. Go to your room for the rest of the day.' His orders surprised many of the men who saw what happened, and they stood in shock.

"'My lord!' exclaimed Welund, one of the King's advisors. 'She was provoked, that man-'

"'I saw nothing that would provoke such behavior. Eowyn, your room.' Theoden was adamant.

"Many hands were going to their swords as I left. I went back to my room and spend the day hid the weapons in various places through out my room. That night I was allowed to come to supper, and I was told that five more men were in prison and two were dishonorably discharged, Welund was one of them.

"Wormtongue was absent, his injuries had been too extensive for him to come to dinner. Theoden was also absent from dinner for the first time. When I went to see how my King faired, Wormtongue would not let me see him, saying that the King needed much rest as he was weary from all the trouble I caused. Though I didn't see too many extensive injuries, I did notice that I had managed to give him a bruise on the cheek I slapped, and some one had given him a black eye.

"He looked at me, his eyes resting on my neckline. 'You cause too much trouble for a woman. It is time you learn your place in society.' He said.

"'And where would that be? Under a man such as you?' I laughed at him, too stupid to catch the double meaning of my words until they were out.

"He caught me by the wrists, and threw me down against the wall. He was surprisingly strong for how thin and sickly he looked. – Are you sure you want me to talk about this Faramir?" Eowyn broke the story. As Eowyn had been talking, Faramir's hand had started to clench the armrest of the chair they were sitting on. Eowyn hadn't noticed at first, locked in getting her story out, but she had started to notice how tense his body was getting, and at the last part his hand had made a sudden angry movement.

"My love, I am honored by your confidence. If you wish to continue, I wish to hear." Faramir said simply, lying in part. While he wanted her to be free to talk about this to him, he had not thought through how angry he would become.

"Nothing really happened that night. The noise I made as I fell to the floor caused Theoden to call out to Wormtongue, asking what was happening. Wormtongue's notice was elsewhere; so I got up, ready to go down with a fight.

"'You will be enjoyable to tame, I look forward to it. And when I am rewarded, you shall be my prize.' Wormtongue said, and then turned back into the King's Chamber."

Eowyn paused and cleared her throat. The first stars were coming out. "Would you like something to drink?" Faramir asked, realizing how long she had been talking.

"Please," said Eowyn, "Wine, or something stronger. I think it will help with telling the next part. And get something for yourself."

Faramir lightly kissed her on the head and slid around her off the chair. It took him a couple of minutes to do this, not because the wine was far away, but because it took him some time for his hands to stop shaking long enough to pour. Eowyn must have noticed this, because as he handed her the glasses and sat back down, she said "Are you sure you want me to keep going?"

"Is this helping you? Or is it making this worse?" Faramir asked bluntly.

"I think it's helping. I will probably have nightmares tonight, but that is nothing new. I probably should tell some one and you deserve to know the truth at least."

"Does it get much worse?"

Eowyn laughed bitterly. "My love, that was just the beginning."

A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone who was reading, reviewing and adding my story to thier favorites page. I am truly honored. Thank you.