Well here it is, I can't believe this is basically the end. I think this chapter was the hardest for me to write because it was, at least for now, the last chapter. If there seems to be enough interest I will attempt a sequel, but for now just enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think!
"Isn't it just beautiful?" Eowyn asked Lyrian who was following at a slightly slower pace.
Eowyn had taken Lyrian out of the library that morning and away from the healing rooms where Lyrian had been spending majority of her time. Eowyn couldn't really articulate the reason why, yet she was falling in love with the stark white city. The majestic halls brought a sense of awe in their ornate simplicity.
Lyrian smiled at the young woman, it was nice to finally see her so happy, "It is," she answered softly.
It had been almost five days since the army had left, since Eomer had left. Lyrian knew it was ridiculous that she was allowing herself to dwell on Eomer's absence as much as she was.
"My lady," a gentle voice startled Lyrian from her daydream.
Lyrian turned to see a rather handsome man walking towards them. His hair was red and fair, framing his face carefully, and his posture was tall and proud; that of a nobleman.
He stopped in front of Lyrian and graced her with a warm smile. His eyes held a sparkle that made Lyrian herself smile.
"Faramir!" Eowyn said, turning to see why Lyrian was no longer answering her.
Lyrian did not miss the look in Faramir's eyes as he regarded the young woman before him. Faramir had such adoration for the young woman in front of him, that Lyrian knew at once Eowyn had found her true love. Eowyn's eyes lit up when Faramir bowed slightly and gently kissed her hand.
"Lady Eowyn," he said greeting her.
"You ladies are two bright stars in this dark night," he said offering an arm to each of them as he began to lead them, "What brings you out today?"
Lyrian and Eowyn both took the arms offered to them.
"I was showing Lyrian what I had seen of the city, she hans't seen much of it," Eowyn explained to Faramir.
Faramir looked towards Lyrian in surprise.
Lyrian chuckled slightly, "I am afraid my thoughts have been somewhat distracted the past few days."
Eowyn's eyes shone with mischief, "I believe her thoughts revolve mainly around a tall, strong soldier. Her heart is with my brother."
Faramir glanced over at Lyrian whose cheeks had turned a slight shade of pink.
"Eowyn-" Lyrian started with a small smile.
"Ah!" interrupted Eowyn, "she does not deny it.
Faramir felt at ease with the two young women. Their love for each other was evident in the way they joked.
"Come My Ladies," he said leading them towards the middle layers of Minas Tirith, "Let me show you some of the city."
Faramir brought them to where some of the market stalls resided. Lyrian could not help but but take everything in with a certain sense of awe. The brightly colored market stalls, though not as pristine as she was sure they had once been, held what remained from the siege of Gondor. Intricately made toys from the Dwarves, precious clothes woven at the hands of the elves, jewels that the Dwarves had made as well. Those who had survived the siege and were carefully cleaning and repairing what was once a bustling marketplace brightened immediately at the appearance of the three individuals. The women giggled and whispered excitedly at the sight of Faramir leading Eowyn around. Faramir took a flower from a happy stall owner, and gently tucked it behind her ear. Lyrian smiled at her friends happiness.
Faramir snapped his head away from Eowyn, something had caught the attention of the men on the wall.
"Faramir?" Eowyn asked worriedly.
Faramir made his way over to the edge of the wall followed closely by Eowyn and Lyrian. He peered down onto the lower levels.
"My Lord!" one of the guards shouted pointing in the direction of the dark mountain.
Lyrian followed the direction the guard had pointed seeing Mt. Doom begin to spew lava and an increasing rate. Her brows furrowed at the sight. Suddenly, with no warning the very top of the mountain exploded, pushing billowing black smoke and red lava from the mountain. The citizens of Minas Tirith cheered, surely this meant the end of Sauron for good. Lyrian felt her heart swell with pride, the destruction at Mt. Doom meant that Eomer and the soldiers had succeeded. It was over.
"What is that?" Eowyn asked.
Lyrian looked towards the base of the mountains. A large black mass was moving quickly towards Minas Tirith.
Faramir tensed, while everyone was hopeful, it was possible the eruption of Mt. Doom did not signal the end of Sauron, but the end of man.
"Stay here," he ordered the women.
He may not be king, nor was he anything like his brother Boromir, yet he would rather die than allow anything else to harm his city.
"Man your stations!" he cried as he made his way down to the lower levels.
Lyrian gripped the railing of the wall so tightly that she was sure if it were not marble, her hands would be forever imprinted on the white stone. Eowyn gently grasped Lyrian's hand.
The two women watched as the black mass moved swiftly across the plains.
"Its moving faster than I've ever seen an army of orcs," Eowyn whispered studying the mass carefully.
"...too fast..." Lyrian mused her eyes never leaving the front of the mass.
As time wore on, Lyrian's stomach plummeted. The black mass making its way towards Minis Tirith was not an army of orcs. As the mass moved closer, Lyrian could make out the presence of a familiar dapple grey shape.
"No!" she whispered, causing Eowyn to look towards the front of the mass herself.
Eowyn's face paled instantly, "Lyrian, I'm sure there is a reason... It can't me-"
Lyrian shook her head and began to rush towards the first level of the city. She was only three levels up, and yet it seemed to take her days to reach the bottom. Lyrian did not particularly notice as she was making her way through the rubble and the people coming into the streets to see what was moving towards the gate to notice the faces of the people she passed, but Eowyn did. Those who had just moments before been celebrating the potential downfall of their enemy now stood stoic and pale as the mass advanced against the castle.
"Gods above," Faramir muttered seeing the mass for what it truly was, "open the gates!"
"OPEN THE GATES!"
Lyrian reached the first level just as the large temporary gates were being wrenched open.
The courtyard was silent as frothing and sweating horses galloped onto the hard stone of the city. Their eyes were wide with fear as they tossed their heads, spraying froth as they did so. The bridles and saddles of many of them had not been taken off and Lyrian could see the wet and matted hair under the saddles. As the horses continued to pour into the city, they continually moved, as if unable to stop. Some of the men who were standing by tried to move into the swirling mass of frightened chargers to calm them and remove their soaked tack.
A loud and familiar whinny brought Lyrian's attention to the center of the calming horses. A large dapple grey stallion reared itsself above the other horses. Lyrian quickly pushed herself forward.
"My lady!" Faramir called reaching out an hand to stop her from charging into the skittish horses.
He had been standing close to Eowyn trying to ensure that she didn't do anything rash. He did not know Lyrian well enough to know that she was the one he should have been worried about.
Lyrian shoved his hand away pushing herself towards the rearing charge. Towards Firefoot.
"Stop!" she yelled at the soldiers who were trying to pull him down and calm him.
The soldiers looked at her in surprise, this was not the job a woman should be doing. They watched as the woman slowly approached the horse, her arms held wide while she spoke softly to the horse. The men were too far away and the horses to loud to hear what she said, yet they watched in amazement as the horse started to calm. As soon as Lyrian got close enough to touch the horse she gently reached a hand to the his nose.
The horse stilled, now looking at the woman before him, his eyes slightly less crazed, this woman was familiar, he knew her touch.
"Man le trasta, Firefoot," she asked gently stroking his face, "Man cenich?"
She began deftly removing the bridle, trying to rid him of at least one burden. She struggled to keep her voice calm as she spoke softly to him, so softly it was unclear as to whether or not the words were meant for the horse or for her.
Lyrian placed her forehead against Firefoot's nose, the great charger standing perfectly still as if he knew Lyrian would crumbled if he moved. It was this sight that met the eyes of Eowyn and Faramir as they finally reached the two. Eowyn held a hand to her mouth trying to stifle a sob seeing her brother's horse had returned without a rider. Faramir wrapped his arm around Eowyn's shoulder who then buried her face against his neck and cried.
Lyrian closed her eyes against everything else around her, still gently stroking his cheek. Firefoot whinnied quietly, a gentle rumbling that caused Lyrian to let the tears fall.
For once, the land was quiet. A peaceful quiet though where one wasn't constantly checking over his back to see if there was something lurking in the shadows. Still one couldn't be too careful. Something Aragorn realized as he turned around to see the two guards standing behind him. He was not used to such concern over his safety. He had become accustomed to traveling the world alone, facing many dangers that the stately kingsguard of Minis Tirith had surely never seen.
He chuckled pulling out his pipe and stuffing it full of weed. It was strange that throughout the entire battle, all the loss that they had suffered, his pipe had managed to survive unscathed.
"Over one thousand dead," a surely voice said as he drew up to Aragorn, "the wounded are many, but none serious."
Aragorn turned from the Black Gates to study Eomer. The young man looked tired, but relieved. His face was holding his infamous scowl as he stared at the now open Black Gates. Gandalf had decided to leave it open, the evil now finally having left the lands, most likely for good.
"There can be no victory without sacrifice," Aragorn said softly turning back to the gates.
"Rohan has sacrificed much," Eomer admitted, "their prince, their king..."
Aragorn raised an eyebrow as he turned back to Eomer, "The Rohirrim already have a king," he pointed out.
Eomer snorted, "I am no king, that was always supposed to be Theodred. I never spent time in Edoras, I was always away with my eored, and when I was in Edoras I was with-"
Eomer paused for a moment as his thoughts drifted back to happier days at the golden hall.
A small smile worked its way through the scowl, "Lyrian," he finished, just barely loud enough for Aragorn to hear.
The older man smiled, "The people of Rohan already view her as their queen," he said raising his eyebrows mischievously.
Aragorn chuckled as a blush slowly appeared on the young mans cheek, Aragorn had no doubt it was the first time the young man had ever blushed in his life.
"I never thought I would see days of peace where I could have the liberty of pursuing my heart."
Aragorn nodded in understanding. He sighed as his thoughts drifted towards Arwen, whom we was more than certain was safely delivered to the Undying Lands, never to set foot on this mortal world again.
"You do love her though," Aragorn said not really as a question.
Eomer shifted uneasily, he had never spoken of his feelings for Lyrian and in fact he had not quite articulated what they were to himself. Yet there was a gentle ease in the way Aragorn spoke that led Eomer to explore the thoughts he had not allowed himself to entertain before.
It was true, that when he saw Lyrian, he instantly felt lighter, happier, just by seeing her gentle smile. When he closed his eyes all he could see was her, riding, training a new yearling, or laughing with Eowyn. And the incredible urge he had to protect her from everything evil in the world. How he wished that she would never again experience pain, fear, sadness. And that he wished he could spend the rest of his life proving his love for her. Love, he had never thought that word before, yet there it was, clear as day in his mind that he would never love anyone as he did Lyrian.
Aragorn smiled at the contented look that overcame Eomer.
"Yes," Eomer said simply, looking back over at the gates as he realized that every fiber of his being had fought for Lyrian that day, "Yes I do."
Aragorn took another deep drag of his pipe before turning and slapping Eomer on the back.
"I think we have kept her waiting long enough then," he said with a sparkle in his eye.
One that had been missing since he had last said goodbye to Arwen.
A soft knock on the door drew Lyrian from her thoughts. She had taken to walking the top level of Minis Tirith, her eyes strained looking over the plains trying to catch a glimpse of any hope the soldiers had survived. It had been a somber few days at the white city. The people wanted to believe that Sauron had been defeated, but they had lived in fear for so long, that few even remembered a time when there had been no threat, that they were able to breath the free air. Certainly the lack of news regarding Aragorn and his army did little to ease their nerves.
Lyrian pushed aside the curtains in her bedroom, or rather, Eomer's. She couldn't bring herself to leave. The pillow he had used the night before he left still held his scent. She couldn't leave. Not until she knew he was safe.
She sighed when she looked out her window. It was facing the wrong direction, she couldn't see the plains. All she could see was more mountain. She stood looking out the door anyway for some time, before her stomach started to growl.
A loud and frantic knocking on the door drew Lyrian's thoughts away from her intense hunger. She slammed the curtains closed. She wasn't seeing anything out of it anyway.
"Come in!" she yelled hoping it wasn't Eowyn.
If she had to endure her sympathetic looks one more minute she would explode. She heard the door open and someone enter, but her stomach rumbling muffled any other sound in the room.
"Milady, Milady!" Rosa called rushing towards Lyrian.
"What time is it?" Lyrian asked absentmindedly, still looking out the window.
Rosa looked at the woman in confusion, "Its almost midday Milady," she answered "But -"
Lyrian pulled the curtains apart, "You can't see the plains from here, but I didn't want to risk coming across Eowyn again."
"Milady," Rosa said firmly, yet with a smile, "That is what I was coming to tell you."
Lyrian turned away from the window for the first time and looked at Rosa. She was rather happy and chipper this morning, more so than she had been before.
"The soldiers are coming back Milady," Rosa said excitedly, "They were spotted early this morning, they're only about an hour away."
Lyrian's eyes widened as a genuine smile slowly grew, "Today?" exclaimed.
She turned to rush out of the room but only made it to the door before Rosa stopped her.
"Milady!" she called out, looking at Lyrian in shock, "You cannot go out like that!" she said gesturing to Lyrian's wardrobe that morning.
Lyrian looked down at what she was wearing. A very fine white nightgown and a delicate blue dressing robe.
Lyrian blushed, "Perhaps I am slightly underdressed."
Rosa could not help but laugh at Lyrian's discomfort, "Don't you worry, I have something very special for you."
She held up a light blue dress for Lyrian to see.
"I...I can't wear that," she said softly.
The dress was ornately decorated in thin spindly silver details and it sparkled with what Lyrian had no doubt were small diamonds.
Rosa looked at the dress and then looked at Lyrian, her eyebrows raised in disbelief.
"You can and you will!" she said draping it over the bed, "Besides, trust me when I say the other noblewomen will be dressed in much finer."
Lyrian pulled herself away from the door. In the past few days she had come to know Rosa well and knew that much like Eowyn, it was best to just do what she asked. Rosa chatted enthusiastically as she carefully prepared Lyrian for the return of the soldiers.
Lyrian watched the mirror before her as she slowly transformed from a simple women into someone who looked fit to be queen. Her hair was carefully braided, and fell in graceful waves to her mid back. The soft blue dress fit her figure perfectly, making her look more womanly than she had ever looked before.
"There you are," Rosa said looking at her with pride, "Lord Eomer will not be able to keep his eyes off of you."
Lyrian's eyes widened in surprise, "Rosa!" she said in a mocking reprimand.
Rosa giggled.
Shouts rose up from the lower levels drawing Lyrian back to the window.
"They're opening the gates!" Rosa said practically jumping as she leaned out the window, "We need to go otherwise we will never get close!"
She grabbed Lyrian's hand and in a rather undignified manner dragged her out of the room and down to the first level of the city.
Eomer could not help but allow a small smile as they walked through the city gates. The overwhelming reception from the people who had finally been freed from Sauron's evil hold. Women were throwing flowers onto the streets and shouting their welcome to the tired soldiers as they tiredly entered the city. Eomer watched in amazement as the world-weary soldiers felt the weight of the past few days lift from their shoulders.
Aragorn walked into the city to thunderous roars as the people shouted his name calling him blessed. Eomer searched the crowd, looking for a familiar face. His soldiers were enjoying the celebrations, yet Eomer could not be distracted from his search.
Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped tightly around him and he looked down to see a smiling Eowyn clinging to him as if he would disappear.
"We thought you were never coming back," she said looking at him from an arms distance, "Lyrian was worried sick.
Eomer's eyes searched the crowd again at the mention of Lyrian, "Where is she?"
Eowyn shook her head smiling, "She should be around here somewhere...You look awful."
Eomer opened his mouth to respond when he saw her. A small gap in the crowd allowed her to turn towards him. Eomer felt all the breath leave his body, all the world seemed to still. He slowly made his way towards her.
"Lyrian," he whispered, hardly able to believe that he was standing in front of her.
She looked in his eyes, she seemed so vulnerable at that moment, "I was afraid I would never see you again."
Eomer gently cupped her face, his calloused thumbs rubbing gentle circles on her cheeks.
"Nothing," he said with such passion, Lyrian could almost feel it, "Nothing could ever keep me from coming back to you."
Lyrian studied his face, taking in every detail before she launched herself into his arms, Eomer bent his head for a kiss. It was a kiss so full of passion and love there was no doubt the two were meant for each other.
Eomer broke the kiss first smiling down at Lyrian, her eyes gleaming with happiness.
"Marry me," he said breathlessly, "Be my queen."
Lyrian looked at him in shock, "But Eomer-I can't- I don't know how."
He laughed, "I don't know how to be king, but I don't want to spend another day of my life without you by my side."
Eomer looked deep in her eyes, "I am hopelessly in love with you. You are my moon and my stars and I will spend the rest of my life, until my dying breath showing you just how much I love you. Marry me Lyrian, please," he whispered.
Lyrian was left breathless for a moment, staring at the man that she had come to love more than life itsself proclaim his affections for her.
"Yes," she said softly with a small smile.
Eomer looked almost surprised at her answer as if he had not believed himself worthy enough for such a response.
Lyrian laughed, "Yes, yes, yes, one thousand times yes."
Eomer let out a laugh as well as he lifted her up above his shoulders and spun her around. Those who were near the pair cheered as he spun her around happy to be part of the historical moment. Aragorn watched from a distance and smiled. Through all the pain and suffering the two had endured, they were at last happy.
Thank you to all who stuck with me to the end. There is one last chapter coming sometime in the morning whenever I wake up, because I am absolutely exhausted. Please Please Please drop a review, let me know what you thought of this story overall, whether or not you want to see a sequel and all that jazz. Thank you and goodnight!