A/N: Here is the next one, thankfully it took only a week not years.
"Tonight, we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail the victorious dead!" Faramir raised his cup, and drank, but something was bothering him, something kept him from enjoying the feast, somewhere in the ride back to Edoras a fear had crept to his heart. He could not, not just yet, name the fear, it was not the shadow, that lured him, it was something else.
"Your brother would be proud of you." A voice came suddenly behind him. Faramir turned and there stood Eomer. "I heard stories of your bravery and swordsmanship."
"I thank you my Lord Eomer, your words warm my heart."
"No lord, Faramir, we are brothers-in-arms, if I remember correctly, you did not call me lord when we first met, and you called me out on my words." Eomer smiled at Faramir's sheepish look. Then he grew serious. "Your brother's words were right about you."
"What did he say about me? I ask, because last time I guessed what he said, I guessed wrong."
Eomer eyebrows rose, he looked at Faramir for a moment, "he said that you were one of the best swordsmen in Gondor and even better archer, he says that you pull the strongest bow in all Minas Tirith, that you mind is sharper than anyone he has ever met, even you own father. This of course comes after he has told everyone that you are a wet behind the ears; a young boy, who did not know one end of the sword from the other and has his head always in the clouds."
"That last part sounds like Boromir." Faramir smiled, that Boromir he knew and loved. "Have you seen, him since my departure on July the fourth?"
"I saw him two months ago, it was before Wormtongue and Saruman had their claws too deep in uncle's heart. We were both in a border patrol, he told me how he missed you and how he was afraid for you. He said he figure something out to end your banishment and save you from Lord Denethor's anger." Eomer saw sadness in Faramir's eyes and placed hand on the older man's shoulder. "He will achieve it. Even if he must scheme, cheat, or lie to your father, he will make it possible."
"Lying, that he will not do, but the other thing, I have no doubt." Faramir smiled but the sadness still lingered there. "Did he tell you of his plans, what was he going to do after the border patrol?"
"He said that in a week he will go back to Minas Tirith, stay there few days and then he would go a check up on you rangers in Ithilien."
Faramir's eyes grew larger, that's why Boromir had been in Ithilien and met Frodo and Sam.
"Ithiline? He loves that place, but he has been keeping away from it in the past three years when Orcs started driving our people out from there. He could not make himself step his foot into the forest not even for visiting me. Why did he not send one of his second in command, he is the Captain-General of Gondor, why did he go himself." What was going thru his brother's head and why had Faramir not asked those questions after his vision. Morguth be damned.
"Being an older brother myself, I can tell you, that I would do anything for my sister. Your rangers are important to you, he could not hand them to anyone else," Eomer took a jug from the table next to them and filled their cups, "If it was all I knew about you and that he would go against your father with every trick he knew I would know that you are a good man, and I would give my life to protect you."
"Thank you, Eomer, I would give my life for you also. Let us drink to Boromir, he is the reason we have accord."
"It would be my pleasure, to Boromir!" They raised their cups and drank.
"What will you do, when we get to Minas Tirith?"
Faramir could not answer Eomer, because at that moment Pippin and Merry started singing.
Oh, you can search far and wide,
You can drink the whole town dry,
But you'll never find a beer so brown,
As the one we drink in our hometown.
You can drink your fancy ales,
You can drink 'em by the flagon,
But the only brew for the brave and true,
But the only brew for the brave and true,
Comes from The Green Dragon!
When the Hobbits finished, he clapped. He looked around the room and saw Aragorn stepping next to Gandalf. He wanted to join them, but Merry blocked his way. "Faramir, give as a tune."
"The songs of Minas Tirith are sad, they do not fit to celebration like this."
"But about song from the place where the lullaby came from that you sang in the Mines of Moria?" Merry's exclamation got attention of others.
"Dol Amroth?" Merry was bright hobbit, Faramir had thought that the little ones were so tired in the mines, that they had forgotten the name of the place where the lullaby had come from.
"Yes, that is the place." Merry and Pippin said together.
Faramir saw in their eyes that he could not disappoint them. He thought a little and then he found the song, it was not as merry as the hobbits had sung but it would do.
"It is a song mixture of Gondor and Rohan.
Come my friends,
Come my brothers,
The battle has been won,
The victory has been brought.
Let us raise our tankards.
Let us drink our ale.
For those who have fallen
For those who have survived.
Come my friends,
Come my brothers,
The battle has been won,
The victory has been brought.
Let there be stories told,
Let there be songs sang!
Let there be grand feast
Let's remember those who have gone
We survived
We can feast
We can fight the next battle,
For those who have gone,
For those who survived,
For the victory,
For the red dawn!
The cheers ran thru the hall. Faramir bowed a little and raised his cup.
"It is a good song." Pippin praise was minimal.
"Not your kind of song?" Faramir smiled, knowing that Pippin did not mean anything bad.
"Well, we do not have any battle songs in the Shire." Merry smiled apologizingly.
"Hobbits do not usually take part in the battles, except Bilbo, Frodo, Sam and you two. You do not need battle songs or laments to commemorate dead in battles. But these songs have been part of Rohan and Gondor histories from their beginning." Faramir ruffed Pippin's hair. "I understand why that song was not your taste."
"I hope I did not offend you." Pippin asked with hesitation.
"Be at ease, Pippin, my dear friend, song, poetry, stories, we write, and sing will not always please everyone." Faramir smiled gently.
"Yes, it is so. I just do not like battles." Pippin admitted.
"Well, you could have fooled me in the battle of Isengard throwing rocks at orcs." Merry teased.
"That was different, I do not like those battles what are held by men, elves and dwarves." Pippin was again hesitant. Faramir understood him quite well, he led the two hobbits to a quiet corner.
"No one actually likes battles, if you look around this room," he moved a hand in front of them, "If you look close none of these me like battles or war, they like sword play and shooting arrows but none likes what comes with war, it is not riches and glory but death and blood, young men do not understand it until they are in the midst of it. Only ones who I know that like battles are Gimli and Legolas," he looked his two friends standing near the throne talking with Eomer, "I think they have thought it for themselves as something fun,so they would not see the horror." Merry and Pippin looked him in wonderment, "do not ask, I cannot explain it. Others who I know who enjoy it are Lord Elrond's sons Elladan and Elrohir, Elrohir more than Elladan, who is more a healer than a warrior, like Aragorn. They both have their reasons, and I can understand them."
"Why do Lord Elrond's sons like fighting?" Merry was curious.
"Because of their mother?"
"Their mother?" Pippin was confused, he did not understand why anyone would like to fight because of their mother.
"Yes, over five hundred years ago Celebrian, Lord Elrond's wife was on her way to Lothlorien to visit her parents Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel," he saw surprise on hobbits faces, "yes, rulers of Golden Woods are grandparents of Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen," he smiled and continued with his story, "Celebrian's company was attacked, all her guards were killed and she captured, they tortured her and gave her poisoned wound, her sons came and saved her, but it changes her, she never healed in mind and body and year later she sailed to the undying lands. Her sons never forgave nor forget, that is why they enjoy fighting with orcs." He looked around them and patted Merry's and Pippin's back, "but know we are in the middle of festivities, go and enjoy."
"Thank you, Faramir for the song and the story." Merry smiled.
"Always, my friends." He looked after them when they headed to find their next cup of ale.
He turned fill his own cup and came face to face with Eowyn.
"My Lord Faramir." She was smiling, even if the sadness in her eyes had not disappeared.
"My Lady Eowyn." He smiled and bowed.
"It was beautiful singing."
"Thank you, I had to comply Merry and Pippin. It was the only one which was not as sad as the rest of Gondor songs."
"I do not know much about Gondor songs, but it did not sound like one of your bards would create?" The shieldmaiden raised her eyebrow.
"It is not." Faramir felt how blush was creping on his cheeks.
"Then who created this wonderful song?"
Faramir swallowed the extra moisture that had formed in his mouth and answered: "Twenty years ago young foolish Minas Tirith boy, training to be a ranger, was sent to live in Dol Amroth, to his grandfather, for a year for extra training and to find his sea legs. There on a rainy spring afternoon he and his younger cousin wrote it for their own amusement."
"You wrote it?"
"I can accept only half of the honour. The other half belongs to my cousin Elphir."
Then for the first time he really looked into Eowyn's eyes and saw sadness, wish for greater things, to escape from the bounds she had been tied to, wisdom and wish for happiness and there was something else what Faramir could not yet name. He turned his eyes away, he could not look deeper, in the name of Eru, why was he cursed to know people's hearts.
"You and your cousin are talented." The praise did something to his heart, played with some strings he did not know that he had.
"Thank you, my lady, two boys in their teenage years could only think of combats and winning of them. Now I think, the song would be different."
"Really it does not praise battles, it commemorated those who have gone and those who survived. Maybe if you wrote it today, it would be much deeper, but you were just boys, who had not yet seen horrors of war." Faramir looked again into Eowyn's eyes, he saw so much there, so much understanding, so much pain. He knew who she was, even though there was so much more hidden behind the sadness and pain.
"You are right, Eowyn. Strange how to nights conversations turn all in the same way. I just talked about something similar with Merry and Pippin."
"Does songs bring out thought deeper than we could ever figure." Eowyn smiled a little. "Your two friends are wonderful; they can light up the room. I had a lengthy conversation with them about Rohan food, drinks and tradition of our feasts."
"Food that is always on their mind. Did they tell you about second breakfast?"
"Yes, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and a supper, if a man ate so much he would be big as a house." Eowyn declared, Faramir had to chuckle to that, he started to say something, but he looked again in Eowyn's eyes, and he caught himself. He opened his mouth again, but no words came out. His attempts of conversation were cut short when Eomer called for her sister.
"I hope you enjoy rest of your evening Faramir, maybe we will talk again." Eowyn bowed.
"I wish the same to you, until we talk again." He bowed and watched her walk away from him. Suddenly he felt for loss of air, found his way to the battlements he cursed his gifts why did he have both, why was he "blessed" like thus. Why had the Valar gifted him abilities from both sides of the families. They called the foresight the gift of House of Hurin, but Hurin's could only see fragments of the future, his mother had seen the future, had seen what was coming, he had got his sight from his forebears of Dol Amroth, they were the descended from the elves not Hurin's, but it was easier to blame the house of the Steward. But reading the hearts of men came down from the house of Hurin, his father had it and Boromir had it in a smaller scale. But why was he chosen to bear those talents, both of them, why he needed be so... he did not find the word, only thing he could think was cursed.
Yes, reading the hearts of men had come handy, from the early age he had learned how to manipulate people. Clever as he was, he had not known what he was doing, he learned it when he was fourteen and discussion of what company he should be trained for, his instructor had said, that he was a perfect spy, with his ability to manipulate people and way to disappear into the background. He had never thought that he manipulated with people, he had just known that most people who seemed nice were not and who seemed bad were nice, he had learned how to make friends, keep them and known how to ask things from them. After he had learned what he had actually doing, he had learned to use his power, but never for bad, never for his own gain, always for the good of Gondor. He looked back for the eight months he had been away from Minas Tirith and discovered to his own surprise he had not used his ability. He had not manipulated no one, he could be himself.
Faramir had stepped to the battlements for air, but it had not helped he tried to take a deep breath, but it did not help. Moment by moment his heart grew heavier, somethings was coming, something was calling, he took a next breath and closed his eyes.