Chapter 4
Aragorn looked across the crowd. There were many more people than he had expected. Arwen had been closer in her guess as to how many would show up and had tried to warn her husband.
"They will come by the hundreds." She had said. "It is only a few years since the end of war. People are just beginning to get back on their feet. They need a reason to celebrate, and you are giving it to them." She had considered thoughtfully for a moment. "This is the first royal event open to the entire population since your coronation. Some of them will come just to get a closer look at you."
"They are far more interested in their Elven Queen," Aragorn had returned teasingly. "Her famed beauty will draw them." Arwen had dismissed him with an exaggerated groan.
Now looking across the ocean of faces bright with anticipation, Aragorn decided he did not care what their reasons were for coming, he was thrilled to see them all there. He saw old men gathered together, knots of matrons surveying each other judiciously, young couples whispering to each other, little ones perched on their father's shoulders. Packs of children wormed their way among the crowd. The laughing and talking had ceased, and everyone was waiting for him to begin.
He stole a quick glance at Faramir and was happy to see his face relaxed and a slight smile on his lips. The King was pleased, and a little nervous. His plan to keep his Steward occupied today, away from bitter memories, had been successful, so far, but he was not so sure about the rest of the day. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to the throng before him.
"You all know, long has this city been deserted, a ruin, the only men here those who strove to keep our borders safe." He raised his arms as though to encompass all those gathered before him. "Today that is no longer true. Today is a new beginning for Osgiliath." The people before him cheered lustily and he paused until the noise died down.
"There are some among us today who never dared hope we would come to this time." His voice was quieter now, but still carried across the plaza. "Those of us who fought long and hard, but without any assurance that there could be a victory." He could see some in the crowd nodding in agreement. "Yet," he swept his hand before him, "here we are." More cheering followed his simple statement.
"Today," he continued, "we take back this city, with a pledge to return it to the glory of it's past." He extended his hand to Arwen, who came and stood beside him. As he turned to his right, Faramir and Eowyn also joined him. With a nod to a workman chosen in advance, Aragorn's voice rang out "Today, we dedicate this square to the future prosperity of Gondor and her people."
Instantly the silken cloth on his right dropped, revealing an ornate fountain. The triangular basin was close to 30 feet at its widest point and three feet deep. In the center stood a huge stone fountainhead twelve feet high, every side covered with carvings of animals, fish, birds and flowers. Smaller carved stone flowers were scattered throughout the water, rising up a foot or less, looking as though they floated on the surface. Eowyn couldn't help but notice that no water was spraying from any of them. She suppressed a smile.
Behind the fountain, the side wall of the Money Exchange rose up, and it was also decorated. A huge tree, an exact copy of that which snapped above them on the King's banner, had been deeply carved into the stone wall. The stars and the crown above it flashed in the sunlight, Eowyn guessed that Gimli's hand had been at work here, supplying mithril. Large lettering across the top read "Reclamation Square." Along the bottom were the date and the King's name. The crowd once more broke into applause and cheering. Eowyn leaned over to Faramir. "Isn't it beautiful?" she whispered. He nodded, but bent closer to her ear and said "Imagine how nice it would be with water actually coming out of the fountainhead." She frowned at him and shook her head slightly. "Be good."
Turning to his left, the King waited for several minutes until the sound of the crowd had dropped. He seemed to gather his thoughts.
"Just as there were those of us who feared this day would never come, there were those who were convinced it would," he said to the people before him. "Those who had hope that one day the forces of evil would not be just held at bay, but defeated. Many of them are here today, rejoicing with us." He paused. "And many are not, but we remember them, and their sacrifice." Aragorn saw Faramir put his hands behind him and drop his head slightly to stare at his feet. He gave the signal to the workman on his left as he continued speaking.
"This city was once the jewel of our kingdom; a place of light and beauty and music, and so it shall be once more."
Faramir's head jerked up at the familiar words, the words he had even then been hearing in his memory. He stared at the King while Aragorn finished.
"Let the armies of Mordor know this – Never again will the land of my people fall into enemy hands. The city of Osgiliath has been reclaimed, for Gondor!" The silken covering on the left side of the dais slid to the ground to reveal a fountain identical to that on the right, save that the carved wall behind this one showed a man. In his left hand was the Steward's banner, unfurled in a stiff breeze, while in his right he raised his sword. He stood upon a pile of stone, the ruins of Osgiliath. Carved into the wall beside his likeness were the words Aragorn had just quoted. Beneath them was written "Boromir of Gondor, 3018 Third Age."
Eowyn gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Faramir looked at her and knew instantly she was a surprised as he. He stood frozen for a moment feeling disconnected from all around him when he suddenly realized the sound of cheering and clapping was rising up from the crowd again. They shouted their approval of this honor to their departed captain. Aragorn swiftly turned to Faramir and grasped him by the arm.
"Forgive me for keeping this from you. I thought it would be better if you did not know…I thought you might not be at ease." His gray eyes held Faramir's blue ones. "I hope you approve." He saw his Steward swallow hard, and caught the bright glimmer of unshed tears in his eyes. Faramir nodded, not trusting himself to speak for a moment. After a few seconds he cleared his throat.
"It's perfect." His eyes rested on the wall, taking in the scene. "That is exactly how it was. How did you know?"
The King smiled with relief. "It is no hardship to find old soldiers willing to speak of their service under your brother. They all have a story to tell, and they all tell this one sooner or later."
Below them the crowd began to quiet. Aragorn turned back to them, his hand still on Faramir's arm. "My people, let this be a day of rejoicing and remembering, and of new beginnings." He raised his hands, pulling Faramir's up with his. "For Gondor!" As he spoke, a trusted workman turned the proper lever, and the "unfinished" fountains shot water high into the sunny air. Drops sparkled like diamonds.
"FOR GONDOR!" the shout echoed back from thousands of throats. "FOR GONDOR!"
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After Aragorn had formally tied up the proceedings and dismissed the crowd, Eowyn remained in her seat, watching the people drift away towards the docks and the shops that were open. Some wandered through the square and examined the fountains more closely. Most were headed toward the edge of the city, where the King was providing enough roast oxen to feed everyone. Or so he hoped, Eowyn thought dryly to herself. Arwen had told her earlier of their discrepancy on how many would attend.
She watched as Faramir left his seat and went down the steps to draw closer to the left fountain. The people seemed to know he wanted to be alone, and most of them merely nodded in greeting. He stood beside the great basin, gazing up at the carved wall as the water splashed before him. He stayed for a long time, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.
Arwen took his empty seat beside Eowyn. "Is he pleased?" She searched Eowyn's face anxiously. "I told Aragorn I was not sure this was the right time or place, but he was determined."
"I think he is," said Eowyn before crossing her arms and glaring at the Queen. "You KNEW about this? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I tried to talk him out of it up until a few months ago," said Arwen guiltily, "but he was so adamant, I – I didn't know what to do. Faramir is best at getting him to change his mind, but I certainly could not tell him and you were in Ithilien. After a while he stopped talking about it, so I rather hoped he had decided not to…" she trailed off.
Eowyn tried to keep the irritated look on her face, but failed. As soon as Arwen saw her lips twitch she sighed with relief. "You are not angry?"
"How can I be angry when it is a gift given with such love?" Eowyn asked. Her eyes strayed to her husband as he stood alone before the wall. "I think Faramir is very touched. The King is exceedingly generous."
"He wanted to do something special for both of them, for Faramir, and for Boromir," said Arwen. "He always speaks of Boromir with love, and sadness. And you know how he loves Faramir." She rested her gaze on Aragorn, standing below the platform and greeting his people. Smoothly she rose to her feet, leaning down to pat Eowyn's hand. "We love you both. I just hope it was the right thing, and the right time."
Eowyn returned the pat. "I will know soon enough."
As the Queen joined her husband, the Prince of Ithilien's wife descended the steps and crossed the dark red stone pavement to stand beside him. She said nothing, merely stood closely enough so that he could speak if he wanted. Long minutes passed. Finally he looked at her.
"You-" his voice was rough and he stopped and cleared his throat. "You knew nothing about this, did you?"
She shook her head and waited. As she did, she studied the carved features before her closely. It was a good likeness, there was no doubt about that, judging from the similarity of the stone face to that of her husband's. In the determined look on Boromir's face she could also see hints of the courage and honor that Faramir had told her of so often. The thought came to her that here was the perfect soldier of the Third Age, the model of so many brave men who had not lived to see times of peace.
She drew as close to Faramir as she could and gave a rueful laugh. "Well, so much for my plan to keep you from thinking of your brother, today. I shall have to have a talk with the King."
"No," said Faramir softly. "It is all right." His blue eyes shone down at her. "Did you hear how the people loved him? How they cheered for him?"
"I heard it." Eowyn barely restrained herself from standing on tiptoe to kiss him right there, he looked so pleased for his brother's fame among the people. She had never once heard him utter a jealous word toward Boromir.
"The King has done a good thing," Faramir said, "having this here will remind everyone of how many brave men we sacrificed." She was delighted that he felt the same way she did.
He nodded his head toward the words etched into the stone before them. "I can see him in my mind, standing there on top of that building. I can hear his voice in my head." He grinned. "He loved to make a scene." He eyes grew distant as he returned to that day in his memory.
"He planted the flag on the rampart, and pulled out his sword; the streets were full of cheering men." Faramir looked around them. "It was right here, that building was one of the first torn down." Eowyn knew Aragorn had done his research well. Faramir went on, speaking quietly, telling little details he had never told her before.. "It was cloudy, and the wind was blowing, the flag kept snapping, you could hear it. He had barrels of ale brought in for the men." He laughed and cocked an eyebrow at her. "That was well received, you can be sure." He fell silent for a moment and she watched his face as his emotions played over it. "He hugged me when I finally reached him, so tight, you cannot imagine how strong he was."
Eowyn leaned her head back against Faramir's chest as he talked. Somehow she knew that his recollections today were not the sadness of the past years, but of healing, a laying to rest of past sorrows. She stayed quiet as he continued. "He handed me a drink and said 'Today, life is good,'" his voice shook slightly. "and it was." He put both arms around her and rested his cheek in her hair. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts when they suddenly realized the King was standing beside them.
He looked at Eowyn first. "My wife tells me I may not be in your good graces," he said soberly. "I hope you will forgive my deception." His eyes met hers for a second before he looked down.
"Not deception, my Lord." She searched for a better word. "More of a failure to provide complete information." She glanced up at Faramir. "However, as it seems no harm has been done, I will forgive you." The King seemed to relax then, his relief only slightly pretended. His eyes searched Faramir's face.
"Is there truly no harm, Faramir? I meant none, I assure you. I wanted it to be a special day." He laid a hand on his Steward's shoulder.
"It is special." Faramir released Eowyn to return his gesture. "Thank you, for your love for me and for my brother."
Aragorn pulled him close and hugged him. "You do have my love, as did Boromir, and as does his memory." Faramir said nothing, only hugged him back. They broke apart in the abrupt way of men and both looked up at the carved wall once more.
Finally, Faramir reached for Eowyn's hand again. "Well, if he were here, Boromir would not be wasting time looking at fountains when there was feasting on the greens. Let us go find something to eat." He turned to the King. "Will you join us?"
Aragorn looked slightly worried. "Only if there is enough for everyone. If it starts looking like we might run short, I have to hide from Arwen. She tried to warn me!"
They all laughed and turned to make their way from the city.