Kindle My Heart
Lea of Mirkwood
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Merry slowly edged out of the door and stepped into the hall. He leaned up against the solid wood and let out a tiny laugh of wonder. He brought his fingers up to his lips in wonder. It felt like he had just been falling, falling, falling through fire and wind and was now floating. That's what it felt like. Éowyn. That had been the most foolish thing he'd ever done in his life. What if she had woken up?
What was this?
How does she do this?
He took a few steps away from her door before being struck motionless again at the thought of what he had just done. It seemed almost wrong to even think it so simply. Kissing Éowyn. Living his life for 34 years had taught him nothing. Nothing about life, or what it was like to feel something so deeply you could face down pure evil to preserve it. Walking with the Ents had given him a little touch of something he couldn't describe, other than height. Intangible, elusive it shifted about in his mind. Seeing something so ancient and wise moved him deeply and made him feel like he was finally a part of something that really mattered. Walking with the Fellowship had at first been tedious, but then it became apparent that he was in over his head, meddling in things he might never understand. This point driven home by Gandalf quite firmly. But Éowyn, who was younger than he, seemed to understand it effortlessly. He stepped forward again, this time heading resolutely towards the dining hall, and no more stopping for any more reveries. He was already being stared at.
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