this is the next (and final!!) chapter!!! I am sooooo sorry that it took such an incredibly looooooong time, but between school, theater auditions, school, getting the flu, school, working at a fair (okay, i could go on and on, but I think u get the picture)
i want to thank the following people, who have been so terrific and helpful in writing this story:
Tanzina,
Linya,
sabercrazy,
Lady Arwen,
Tanyae Miguilis Greenleaf,
Celtic Angel,
Nariko,
Krissy,
Serenity02,
Lady of Legolas,
Lady Elf,
Amiella Rogue,
Pasta-Head,
Sarai-IceElf,
~tArA~,
Arnen,
Astroeal,
Salad the Deciever,
annoying person,
Dwendilwen,
sandelf120,
liz,
Shy,
Jody S.,
Cathleen,
White Angel,
Aranel,
star_cutie08,
Christi,
Greenfairie,
Elbereth94,
Lady of None,
Frogcatcher98,
MellonKid,
Levena Hearts,
Pereliniel,
Azira Aziz,
ChibiMelody,
Miss2Pouty,
hEiDi,
Aldawen of Rivendell,
Tiff,
and last but never least, Lani, T.H, and Quiet One, who have been wonderful reviewers (I mean, everyone has been wonderful, but , yeah.) and have helped me very much. (thanx guys!)
okay, sorry, that was a long list.
Disclaimer: okay, this is *sniffle* the last disclaimer for Lian. but, fear not! because the next Lian story will have its disclaimers pick up where I leave off! *quiet voice* dont tell tolkien that though! shh... here he comes! *tolkien walks over* "Finally, this torture is almost over!" Oh, im sorry, Mr. Genius Tolkien sir. I never intended to inconvenience you. *looks at hollie doubtfully* "alright, what do you want now?" nothing sir, if only your good will. "ha! after all the crap you put me and my stories through!? your lucky that i havent....." *stops at sad pouty face from hollie* "oh, alright already. cut it with the pouty face!" *reluctantly* what do you want, really?" nothing, sir. i just wanted to tell you that i will miss having you here in my disclaimers.... its so sad that this is all over. "sad! ha ha h---, er, sorry. continue" well, i just wanted to say goodbye. and here.. *hands tolkien a present* i got this for you at the mall *he opens present* "woah! Tolkien: A Literary Genius, volume one! sweet! me, a literary genius, well, I dont know if I'd go that far..." oh, I would sir! and past even! that title barely does you justice! "well, your too sweet." aw shucks. "well... i suppose that one good turn deserves another... here" *hands hollie a slip of paper* whats this...? *reads* this certifies that hollie officially owns one square inch of the land formerly known as........
tee hee hee! cliffhanger! this will be continued in the sequel to Lian
"what?!?!? theres gonna be a sequel?!?! you little...!!!!!!"
heh heh heh.
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Walking hand in hand in the gardens of Gondor, Lian and Galen were sure that it was impossible to be any happier that they were.
"So this is what pure bliss feels like," Lian whispered as she gently squeezed Galen's hand. He laughed softly and kissed her forehead.
"Not quite," he breathed, "there is still one thing missing." Lian looked curiously at Galen, who only smiled.
"Lian, I love you, you know that," she nodded happily, "and I stand here before you and ask you to be my bride." Lian's mouth dropped and a slight gasp escaped her lips, "I..."
King Eomer clapped his son on the back, "congratulations son, your mother would have been very proud." Laurë, who had only been half listening, looked up suddenly, "where is her ladyship, for I would much like to meet her." A pained look crossed over both father and son's faces. After a moment, Eomer spoke.
"My wife, the late Lady Keladry, died shortly after Eower was born."
"Oh my, I'm so sorry, I didn't know..."
"Of course you didn't! No fault of your own, Eower doesn't like to talk about it much. My sister, Lady Eowyn of Ithilen, raised him when I was working."
"And Lady Faith, for a short whiles," Eower added.
"Yes, Lady Faith," Eomer murmured, a strange look on his face. But as soon as it had come, it vanished, and was there hardly long enough for anyone to notice. Suddenly though, they heard footsteps.
"Did I hear my name?" Faith came swiftly over to them to join the conversation. Eower smiled fondly at her, saying,
"Yes, we were just speaking of how you and Eowyn raised me after my mother's death." Faith laughed though.
"Raised you? I could hardly take that credit, after all it was Eowyn and your father who did the raising, I was simply there at whiles and added a dash of fun," she smiled at Eower, but if one looked very closely, her clear eyes would flick ever so often onto the King of the Mark.
Smiling contentedly at his bride, Eower excused himself and Laurë, leaving Faith and Eomer on their own. An uncomfortably silence settled about them, and Faith played with a lock of golden hair as Eomer shuffled about.
"Well I..." They both started at the same time.
"No you..." they spoke again.
Eomer pressed a finger to Faith's lip and spoke to her, "it's been a long time, hasn't it Faith."
"Yes, very long. By the count of men. Although, now, that is my count as well."
Eomer looked at her curiously, "and why is that?"
In barely above a whisper, Faith told him. "Because I stayed behind in Middle Earth. I didn't go to the Havens."
"But at Edoras, you said..."
"Hush, I know what I said. I, I changed my mind, that's all."
"Might I ask why?"
"Because... because," Faith searched frantically for a good excuse, not wanting to share the real reason, "because I wished to stay with Arwen. I lost her once and I do not intend to do so again." (A/N: to know what the "losing Arwen" thing is about... read And the Road Holds No Answers, by faithfulbeyondfear.)
Eomer nodded, sensing that this was not the truth, or at least, not the whole truth, but also sensing that it was not a good idea to press her for the real reason.
They stood for a moment in awkward silence, Faith staring at her feet, Eomer staring intently at Faith. Suddenly, he laughed, a pure hearty laugh that made Faith start. Looking up at the mighty king, there was both confusion and something wholly different, something that mortal eyes could not place, shining in her eyes.
"I see no humor, do you care to explain to me the reason for you laughter?"
"I was just remembering," he said softly to her, "remembering the first time we met."
A slight flush rose in Faith's cheeks as she recalled her intense hatred for the man when she had seen him for the first time. He had unwittingly insulted the Lady Galadriel, her kin, and she had been swift in making him regret it.
"Yes... That was an interesting day..." she trailed of biting her lip. "But I am glad to learn that first impressions are not always the correct impressions." Eomer smiled.
"So I am no longer an 'infuriating man' like you once said?" laughter playing in his voice. The pale pink in her cheeks rose to an even deeper colour of light red as she replied, "You are still, at time, infuriating, but for a different reason now." Faith's eyes looked everywhere but in the direction of the southern Lord as he took a step closer to her.
"For what reasons now, my lady?"
In voice so low she could barely hear it herself, Faith asked, "would you have me speak it plain, my lord?"
"Yes."
"I... I..." she was unable to find the right words to say, but was saved her embarrassment by Aragorn and Arwen, who came up to their friends, unaware of what was between the two.
A broad smile was on the face of the King of Gondor as he spoke, "Come friends, there is a special banquet to be held to day. We must celebrate for the two couples!"
Following the King and Queen, Eomer and Faith spoke naught to one another, the thought of what might have been hanging heavily on each.
The four walked to the back of the castle, and into a great courtyard where hundreds upon hundreds of chairs and tables had been placed, each seat filled with the people of Gondor, or with Aragorn's special guests. In the centre of the court was a large, long table. It was almost filled, except for six seats. The great chairs for the King and Queen, one at each end of the table, were, of course vacant, and there were two on Aragorn's right hand side that were also empty. Slightly further down the table, closer to Arwen, were two more seats, one on the right, one on the left, that had been left open for Faith and Eomer. As Faith sat, she noticed a small, familiar figure rushing into the courtyard through a back entrance. Slightly behind her, a tall, slender elf followed, long strides trying to keep up respectfully to her short hurried ones.
Breathless, Lian plopped down next to her father, forgetting all manners and grace. A moment later, Galen was by her side, slowly seating himself.
Faith felt her brows rise as she looked upon the couple. Lian, for all appearances looked fine, perfectly normal and she had suddenly remembered her manners and was placing her napkin in her lap, sitting up straight in her chair. Everyone shrugged off the unusual arrival of the princess and her love, figuring that they had been so caught up in one another, that they had lost track of time.
But Faith knew her niece better than that. She could practically see the wall behind the grey eyes, a wall she had once taught Lian about.
"Whenever you are scared, or upset, and you don't want anyone to see your true feelings, you make a wall," she had explained to the 12 year old girl, as she sat in her aunt's lap, upset because she had done so poorly in her archery lessons that day that her instructor had quit, but even more upset because everyone could see the embarrassment in her eyes.
"A wall?" she had asked, "like with stones?"
"Not quite," had been Faith's reply. "What you do is you block all emotion. You focus on the task at hand and concentrate solely on getting that done. No feelings, no nothing." The young child had looked solemnly at her aunt, then had tried to make a 'wall'.
It had taken quite a while, but finally, Lian had grasped the mastery of wall making.
"Very good," Faith had said, "but you must be very careful. Do not use walls too often or for too long, because then you will forget to feel. And when you forget to feel, you forget to live, and then you walk around empty inside, and that is no way to live your life. Lian had nodded solemnly again, promising to be very careful with her walls.
Faith could see the wall now though. "Oh no," she thought, "something terrible must have occurred. Poor girl. I must speak with her after about this."
She watched her niece intently for the remainder of the meal. She was so focused, that she barely noticed the King Eomer as he tossed her the occasional glance. Her concentration was finally broken as a long hand placed itself on her shoulder. With a start, she looked around.
"Legolas," she breathed a sigh of relief, "you startled me."
"I could tell," the wise king answered, "you seem to be quite focused. So focused in fact, that you didn't even notice that you just spilled your wine on your gown." Faith looked down to see the amber liquid seeping into the fabric of her slate blue gown. Grabbing a napkin, she began to dab at the spot, which grew and expanded before her eyes.
At that moment, Aragorn stood, spoke something that Faith was too busy to catch, and then left the table, along with the guests. Cursing the wine, Faith looked up just in time to see Lian sneak away, in the direction of the castle.
"Here," she said, tossing the now crimson napkin at a confused Legolas.
"Faith, where are you..."
"I'll return shortly, worry not!" Faith dashed after Lian, ignoring the strange looks she was getting running around in her stained dress. "Worry not?" she thought to herself, "I'm starting to sound like Legolas and Estel!" Laughing inwardly, she snapped her mind back to the task at hand. She was just quick enough to see the train of a flowing white gown twist around a corner. Following it, Faith stopped short as she turned the corner and found herself facing a dead end. Hands on her hips, the elf looked around, and then slowly, her gaze went upwards. She heard an "oomph!" and a "riiiiiiiip!" and saw a piece of white linen caught on an uneven rock at the top of the stonewall. Her sharp elven ears then perceived the patter of small, light feet.
"So, that's where she is," Faith thought grimly. Rubbing her hands together, Faith began the climb. It wasn't very difficult for her, and she scaled the wall quickly. Running along the top of the wall, Faith quickly caught up to her niece.
"Lian!" she cried, causing the young princess to stop and turn.
"Aunt Faith! What are you doing up here? I would have thought that you would be down at the feast."
"Well, I could say the same to you. What is going on, I saw that you had made a wall at dinner. What is wrong Lian?"
"Nothing! Nothing! Everything's... perfect."
"Oh! By the Valar child, just tell me!"
The wall shattered. It broke against the torrent of emotion that Lian had been trying so hard to suppress. Running to Faith, she practically collapsed into the elf's arms, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks, her lungs gasping for air.
"Come, sit down. Breath, shh... It's all right, calm down. Now tell me Lian, what is wrong? Not an hour ago you were all smiles and laughter. What happened... did he say something? Did he upset you?"
"He, he asked..." Lian gasped again, choking on her own breath.
"What was it, what did he ask?" Faith asked in a soft, soothing voice.
Lian took a deep, shuddering breath. "He asked me to marry him."
A smile burst on Faith's mouth, "that's wonderful news Lian! Congratulations! But I don't see what the problem is."
"I told him no."
el fin!
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ha ha ha ha!!!!!
that's it!! that's the end of "book" one!!!!!
stay tunned for "book" 2... coming out probably next summer!!!! i'm evil, I know... but I really want to spend some time working on my Eldarion story, The Prince of Gondor (please r/r! it only has 5 reviews so far... its very lonely!)
if i get lotsa positive stuff on this final chappie, then i might consider starting the second "book" earlier.... *hint hint!*
i know that that was a VERY evil place to end it... but i luv cliffhangers, and I figured that there haven't been enough in this story yet. And ya know how some book series do that... I figured that I would too!!!
well, i have had the best time in the world writing this, you guys are truly wonderful, amazing people. you have no idea how much all of your support has meant to me. (oh no! i feel a Kodak moment coming on! eep!)
thank u thank u, a million thanks to everyone... i couldnta done this without y'all!!!!!!!
hugs and kisses,
hollie
ps. read And the Road Holds No Answers, by Faithfulbyfear. it ties into my story (as i have mentioned before) and plus, its soooooooo good!!
ps. im gonna miss u all!!!! please come and review my other stories!! (i hate to beg... but Eldarion is mighty lonely!)
ppps. THAAAAAAAAANK YOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!