Eomer smiles, about to answer Lothiriel when there is a knock on the door to the Library and a young man is lead in. He was a stable hand. "What brings you here at this hour?" He is informed of the mysterious happenings in the stables and he sighs, getting up. "Alright. I will come." He looks at Lothiriel and smiles. "You go to bed, Love. I will see you tomorrow." He leans down and kisses her softly before turning and leaving the room. He stops by his room to retrieve his sword, putting the belt on as he walks down the hall with his guards and the stable hand. "What types of noises did you hear?" When told he raises a brow, looking at the younger man then he shakes his head and looks at his guards. "Go around the sides. 2 men on each side, I do not want to intruders to get away."
When Faramir indicates Eowyn should be quiet she is instantly silent, listening hard, hoping she can hear something. She then hears it, her brother! Her eyes fly to Faramir's face, but he is already leaning over the edge. When he gets hit in the face she squeaks, her hand instantly going over her mouth to stop her from screaming. Then she hears Beregond's voice and feels a little better, but not much, especially since she was laying there, naked with hay in her hair and her clothes far too wet to be able to get back into fast.
She almost yelps again when the cloths fly up and her face falls the instant they do. It didn't solve her problem, but then he could leave and she could maybe just wrap herself in a blanket and if he wasn't there she could use the excuse... aw hell, nothing was going to work. She clears her throat a little and says softly, "Beregond, could I barrow your shirt please?" When he passes up a dress, luckily a simple one that would be easy to get into, she whispers a hasty thanks to him and is quickly slipping the dress on.
Moving to the edge of the loft once she is dressed, she looks over and sees just the guard so far. The voices had stopped outside and her eyes go to the doors. Nothing so far, but how did Beregond get in? Had he been in there the whole time? Her face goes a beat red, but then instantly she realizes he couldn't have been because of the clothes. She quickly leaves the loft, grabbing the blanket from Faramir's bedroom to take down with her. "Where is he?" she whispers ever so softly to Beregond as she quickly gets their wet clothes and wraps them in the blanket. She is about ready to hide the bundle when she hears it, a crash and pounding. Everything was happening at once it seemed and the only thing she can think to do is toss the bundle into her horses stall and pray that her brother wouldn't look in there.
Faramir smiles at Beregond and thanks him quietly before he pulls on the pants and does them up quickly. He then pulls on his shirt and is very glad that it had no buttons or strings. Those would take time he didn't have. It suddenly dawns on him. His boots! "Beregond. My boots!" He sighs deeply as they are thrown up to him. He looks over at Eowyn as she climbs down from the loft. He is just pulling on his right boot, having already pulled on the left, when the doors to the stable crash open and Eomer and the stable hand, along with two guards rush in. He quickly grabs the blankets and stows them under some hay in a corner of the loft, then tries to look like he was up there merely to get hay for his horse. Though his horse didn't need it.
Eomer counts silently, then gestures to the door. He watches as the gaurds quickly break through the door. He follows them in, the light from the stable hand's lantern shining some light into the stables. What he sees makes him instantly suspicious. "Explain yourselves. What is going on here? And why are you without shoes, Eowyn? And why is there hay in your hair?" He looks up to the loft where Faramir stood, holding a bail of hay, that HAD to be heavy. He tosses it down and then follows after it, saying she had hay in her hair because she got hay in his and he wanted to return the favor. Eomer, raises a brow at that statement, not quite believing it. He turns to his guards and informs them everything was fine and to tell the others, then to go back to their posts. He looks at the stable hand after he comes back from lighting the lanterns around the barn. "You may go as well. Thank you." He waits for them all to leave and then turns to Faramir's guard. "You may leave as well. I wish to speak with your Lord and my sister alone." He snorts as the guard looks to Faramir for the order to leave and when given it, finally leaves. He shakes his head and looks at Faramir. "YOU will fix that door before you leave tomorrow. Do not give me that look, Faramir. You are Steward of Gondor, and this is NOT Gondor. You will fix it. And you both will tell me what you are doing in this stable. Surely not taking care of your horses as you would make it look." He walks over to the two stalls, noting the blanket in a pile in the corner, but not acting like he saw it. Instead he looks at the two stalls. "Your horses look fine. So you are not in here tending to them."
Eowyn quickly runs her fingers through her hair, pulling out as much of the hay as she can, glad that Faramir had thought of a good reason that they had it in their hair. "Eomer, what Faramir says is true about the hay. We had a little fight of sorts, we were throwing hair and water even." She motions to the trough, half the water on the floor. Then she moves over to Eomer and takes his hands. "There is a lot that you do not know that you should know. Please come." She pulls him towards the bail of hay Faramir had tossed down and sits down, pulling her brother to sit next to her. Then she speaks again. "Eomer, Faramir and I have decided that we wish you to marry us in the morning. Wait, let me finish," she saw his objection coming. "It will not be for the friends or even family, it will be for Faramir and me only. You could do it now, tonight if you wish, because it needs to be done." She sees the wheels working and quickly she covers his mouth with her hand. "Faramir is dying, Eomer. He will die if he does not try this last treatment that Lord Elrond can give him. We must travel to Lorien and meet him there, as Faramir has agreed against his will to do it. He has agreed for me. The trip will be long and in the end he may still die. I have had to fight him tonight about this because he did not want it, but I want it. I want the chance to live my life with him." She takes a deep breath. "I will not go into details now, I will later, but the end result may be death. If that is to be, it will be at my hand, and it will be by his wife. I want.. no I NEED these next two months as his wife should he die. I need to have the memories. And if it is to happen and he is taken from me, then maybe I will not be alone. Maybe I will be with child, his. So you need to marry us, can you see now?" She drops her hand from his lips, her eyes going to Faramir, love shining there that even Eomer could see. "When he is finally well," she looks back to Eomer, "as I believe he will be, we will travel home and have a wedding for everyone. Then those of Gondor and Rohan that wish to be there will and for all they will know it will be our first. But for us, we will know, and if the kingdoms have to know later because of certain circumstances, then so be it. But for now... Eomer, we were not doing anything in here that was bad. We were only playing around, that is all." She gives his hands a squeeze, hoping he would take it at face value. Also wondering if he was going to now explode now that he knew she was leaving too.
Eomer looks at Faramir, frowning at him. He was upset, but he was upset at Faramir. Getting up he walks over to the man and does just what Boromir had done earlier. He hits him, glaring at him. "You are dying and you would refuse something that could save you? How can you hurt my sister in such a way?! She loves you! She is willing to give up anything and everything for you! You truly ARE a fool, Faramir of Gondor, son of Denethor. You....what? No there is something you both are not telling me and if you wish me to marry you now, tonight, you will tell me." He looks at his sister, then at Faramir. "Why would my sister have to kill you if this last thing did not work? Would you not die anyways?"
Faramir had expected the punch from Eomer, but not the words. He expected Eomer to be mad that Eowyn was leaving. So while rubbing his jaw, he looks at Eowyn and then at Eomer. When asked what he wasn't telling Eomer he sighs. "She killed the Nazgul King. She is the only one who would be able to kill me if this goes wrong." He sees confusion on his future brother-in-law's face and sighs. "Sit Eomer." Once the man does he explains the last and final treatment, his last chance at life. He explains how he would have to be stabbed with a blade from Mordor, much like Frodo had. But this would not be taken out so quickly. He would have to hold the blade in until it disappeared. The blade would then somehow destroy the poison that was killing him, as it would be destroying him in the process. The tricky part was what Lord Elrond or Lady Galadriel would have to do. They would have to pull him from the brink of letting the darkness take over, at the precise moment. If not, then he could very well become the next Lord of all Evil. If they managed to pull him back in time, if he managed to keep the evil at bay long enough to kill the poison and allow the elves to pull him back, then he would be cured and go on to live many many years with the only indication of his ever being touched by the dark blade being a scar. And possibly the headaches he had been having. But those would be rare unless something evil was close enough to effect him.
When he is finished he sighs and looks over at where Eomer sat. "It would fall to your sister to kill me. THAT is why I wished not to have this done. That and I do not wish to be the next bringer of death and destruction on Middle Earth. Gandalf and your sister seem to think I can fight it merely because I did not give into the power of the one ring." He sighs and looks down, then up at the two of them. "I do not know what will happen but I can not run away from this. Nor would I. It is what my Lady wants and I myself would rather like to have a life with your sister." He smiles at Eowyn, then looks at Eomer. "So....since you are the King, I will ask, will you bless our marriage and make it official, even if it is just the three of us.....and Gandalf and Boromir, and Lothiriel who knows of it?" He smiles and looks at Eowyn with a shrug. "We can not keep it from my brother, Love. I can not at least. And Gandalf will figure it out on the journey. And I doubt Eomer can keep ANYTHING from my dear cousin."
Eowyn rushes to stop him but is too late and winces when Eomer hits Faramir. She had hoped that the way in which she told it all, how she was so nonchalant about the whole thing that he would have missed the part about killing Faramir as well as just how dangerous the whole trip was going to be to begin with. But she should have known, her brother had caught on right away to what Faramir had done. And though she didn't agree with him hitting Faramir, it honestly warmed her heart when he had voiced to Faramir just how self centered he had been when they all knew just how much she loved Faramir and would do anything for him, that included killing him now.
She nods to Faramir as he finishes up. "Oh I am sure that those in this household will know, I do not mean for it to be a secret, like something dirty or unholy. No, I just mean for it to be kept quiet so that no one feels slightly should they find out that the wedding already was. They need to know that there is no wedding, that it is just a blessing. That is why I want it quiet, but I know that some will know, including my brother's love." She turns to look at Eomer again, taking his hand, this time the love was clearly visible for her brother, a big brother that always took care of her. "Eomer," she starts softly. "So many times in our life you have put yourself in front of me, either physically or mentally to make sure that I was protected. You would take a punch for me any day, I know this. I know that you would die for me if it would keep me alive." She squeezes his hands. "But this is something that I have to do. I don't know that I am the only one that could do this, for if it happened it would all be quick, too quick for even Faramir to realize that he had changed, if I have my way. And too quick that he doesn't even know it is done. I hope. But more then that I hope that he really loves me. Because I believe it is that love that will pull him through, if he really loves me. Yes, he was wrong to keep this from me. It is the reason that I ran today. It is the reason that Faramir and I have been fighting for the most of the night." She smiles shyly at Faramir and then back at Eomer. "He has asked to be forgiven and I have. But only if he does this. Please, I know this isn't what either of us wanted for my wedding, but it is just our official one. The important one will be later, for all to see. It will be a celebration too, one of his return. Please do not be upset with him so much that you deny me this. I need these two months with him even if it is the last I will have. Please, bless our marriage as well as our trip, make it a legal marriage and in the morning we will leave here as husband and wife and I will have this time at least without question."
Eomer looks at the two of them and shakes his head, sighing. What choice did he have? He could say no and then Eowyn would hate him forever. He could say yes and she would then be married and leave with Faramir and he would hardly get to see her at all. But he would put his own feelings and thoughts aside to discuss with Lothiriel later. Ah yes. With Eowyn leaving, he would not be so alone. He had Lothiriel. And would always have her. A smile appears on his lips and he gets up, walking around slowly for a moment, just to draw it out. He hears Eowyn start to say his name and turns. "Would you like me to marry you right now? There will have to be a witness, other than your horses. And so you know, I meant what I said. He is not to leave until he fixes the stable door." He says the last part while pointing at Faramir and looking at Eowyn.
Faramir actually had been expecting another punch so when Eomer says he would marry them he was visibly shocked. He really doesn't know what to say so he looks over at Eowyn, shrugging a little when she looks at him. Who could they use for a witness? Boromir was more than likely asleep, as was Gandalf, and probably now Beregond. Lothiriel as well. There were Eomer's guards.....but they weren't his friends personally.
Eowyn is thinking the same thing as Faramir and finally looks at her brother, shaking her head. "No, in the morning." She walks to her brother and kisses his cheek softly. "He will fix the door and I will help him. You go get some sleep and we will have it done in no time." She rubs his arm lightly. "You will need your sleep tonight, it is the last you will have with me watching over you for a long time." She was teasing, and she meant because of her trip, not realizing how true the statement was, because of her marriage, not just one little trip. "In the morning we will have Gandalf and the rest of our small family witness it. Tonight he will fix the door and then retire to his own bed." She hugs her brother tight, whispering in his ear, "Thank you for understanding, Eomer. It means the world to me."
Eomer snorts as his sister says she was looking after him. "Yes. Sure. This coming from the woman who got herself kidnapped?" He smiles and shakes his head, he then looks at Faramir. "There are tools in the tack room and wood behind the stable. And she will not help you. She will supervise. And if she tries to help you I will not go through with the wedding." It was the only way he could think to punish Eowyn for the door. For he knew if she wasn't helping Faramir it would be like a punishment to watch the man work. Or so he hoped. "I will see you in the morning. And no helping him, Eowyn. He may be dying but he can still work." He smirks and then leaves, frowning as soon as he is away from the stables. He walks off to the Great Hall, and once inside he heads not to his room but to Lothiriel's. He knocks on the door and waits for her to answer.
Faramir smiles and nods to Eomer. He was no stranger to working with wood or building things. Doors included. He had to help for two reasons. One was he was punished by doing hard labor in Minas Tirith, and two, he and his Rangers had to fortify their hide-out in Ithilien when they were stationed there. So building a stable door was not going to be too hard. He walks over and examines it, then looks at Eowyn with a smiles. "Here. Let me make you a seat and you can help by passing me tools. Or holding a board in place when I need you to." He walks over and picks up a bail of hay, his muscles straining as he carries it over close to the door. He sets it down and looks at her. "Well....at least he stopped asking us what we were doing in here."
He knew it was going to kill her to just sit there and not help Faramir and she glares at his back as he leaves. "It isn't fair, Faramir. I could help you. I was partly the reason." She huffs as she sits on the hay. Oh she knew he could do it alone, that wasn't it. She just felt guilty because it was partly her fault. He shouldn't have to deal with it alone. She nods when he suggests helping hold a board when needed. "Yeah, it stopped him talking about why we were here, but still, I want to help." She huffs again, crossing her arms over her chest. "I could help, he wouldn't know." She looks at him hopefully.
He looks over at her as he comes back with a stack of wood. Setting it down he nods, having heard her speak since the door to the stables was no longer there. Using a tool he pries the broken pieces of door off examines them to see if he could use them. Then he looks at Eowyn. "Hold this would you?" He pulls off his shirt and hands it to her. "I do not wish to get my shirt dirty anymore than it already is. And you will help. You will pass me tools and hold the boards in place."
She nods to him, taking his shirt and then taking a seat and watching him. "He knows what it is he is doing, because I am not the type to sit around, but he will know if I am helping, so we have to be careful." She leans back against the wall, sighing at him. "What do you think the morning will bring?"
He looks at her as he pulls a piece of broken wood off the frame of the door. He looks it over and then tosses it aside. "Our wedding and my brother's stubborn streak when he learns he is not going to Gondor." He smiles at her, then goes back to fixing the door. He sets a piece of wood into place and hammers a crude nail into it. "Boromir will fight going to see the elves. He doesn't like travelling into their realms. I myself will find it a fine treat. Even if it is going to my death as well."
She throws a piece of tack at him, frowning as it finds it's mark on his thigh. "Do not talk like that, or that will hit a bit to the right and a lot harder and it won't be leather but metal." She folds his shirt and lays it carefully in her lap, looking it over and then refolding it before she gets up and walks over to him, tossing the shirt over her shoulder. "You said that you needed me to hold something." She looks outside and back at him. "As long as it is something you could not normally hold on your own, I can hold it. He probably has us being watched, knowing my brother." She sighs, leaning against the other doorframe. "He does not have to come, I told you that we will not make him go." She slides down the doorframe and sits with her knees close to her chest, making sure her skirt was covering everything, even her feet. Then she lays his shirt out on her legs again, half folded, before looking back up at him. "We probably should tell him tonight since things have gotten out of hand as it is. I am just glad that by brother didn't wake the whole realm." She looks around, then back at him. "He was loud enough to wake the castle." Then she rests her chin on her knees, smelling his scent on his shirt and sighing. It was a mess, that was for sure. Not his shirt, the situation.
He looks at her with a smile. "Oh but you would not wish to damage 'that' before we are truly married now would you?" He gestures for her to come hold a new board in place and once she does he uses a few nails and hammers them into the board in the right spots. "What bothers you, Eowyn. I can tell something does. Is it because we will be leaving tomorrow and you will miss your brother? Or are you merely upset that I am doing all the work and you are doing nothing? Or is it something else I do not know about?"
"A lot bothers me, Faramir. Most of all the way you keep talking as if you are going to die. There is no guarantee either way. Part of it that we are leaving in the morning and I won't get to see my brother for awhile, but more then that is the fact that I will be skipping out of my responsibilities here. There is so much that I should have finished." She sits back down, putting his shirt back on her knees and watching him. "Is there something else that you do not know about? Would I really tell you if there was?"
He looks at her, on his knees now since he was working on the door. He leans back and looks at her. "Responsibilities that Lothiriel is capable of taking over, Eowyn. Like my responsibilities at home, that the King has to look after till I return." He frowns and sighs. "Ah I forgot about that. How unreliable I must look to Elessar now. I did not tell him I was going on a trip." He picks up another board and nails it into place. He then laughs bitterly and shakes his head, mumbling. "Father was right." With a deep sigh he looks over at her. "I say I will die because I am not as strong as you and Gandalf think, Eowyn. I am not. I am a man. I will not be able to resist this which I will have brought upon me. Then you will have to do away with me." He sighs deeply. "Even now I can not rid myself of this fear, and how is that to help me?"
She gets up and carefully puts his shirt over the edge of a stall. Then she enters Crystal's stall and retrieves the blanket and clothing. "I will take these in so that they can be dried and ready to go with us." She stops at the opening to the stables and stares at him. "I see now that I was wrong. You do not love me. You never will love me. Not like I love you." She puts up a hand. "Hush, I do not want to hear any more lies, my heart can not take them. I will go with you, as promised. But do not pretend a moment more that you love me when you do not. My heart just can not take it any longer. If you loved me you would not say the things that you are saying. You would not give up on yourself so easily. You would not give up on me so easily. Your father was not right, but I can see that no matter how many times I tell you that he was not, you will forever believe a dead man then the woman that loves you. You love him more then you love me. You believe in him more then you believe in me. You have just proved that." She shakes her head. "I will see you in the morning." She turns and heads out the stable doors, her heart breaking. Here she thought that he had finally seen the truth, that he really did love and trust her. But he did not trust her, or her love or else he would not be speaking like he was. He had given up, let his father speak through him. Nothing she or Boromir said mattered. Here she thought that he loved her, really loved her. But he didn't, or he would not toss her words aside as if they were nothing.
He watches her and sighs deeply, his shoulders slumping as he works. He did love her, deeply. He hated hurting her but what man could resist such evil as he was to be forced to undertake? She could not understand. He was strong, yes, but he was tired as well. Tired of being strong constantly. Tired of everything. The only time he had ever felt at peace or refreshed was in Ithilien. He glances at the moon and then sighs once again. "For being a smart man, I am very stupid." He rubs his hand against his head, knowing what he must do, no matter how stupid it would make him look. She would not believe he loved her, not unless he saved himself. And to do that he would have to go it alone. He would leave when he was finished. They would come after him, he knew that. But if he was far enough ahead he....he snaps his head to the right when he hears gravel moving. Then sighs and rolls his eyes. "Go back to bed, Boromir."
Boromir had awoken from a strange dream. It had been of Faramir, standing in woods he knew all too well. And when his brother turned to look at him there was a great sadness in his eyes, before they turned fire red and that was when he awoke. He hated dreaming. He hated that trait. Though Faramir got them far more than he, he still hated the ones that came to him. Getting off the bed he had dressed as quickly as he could, which wasn't quickly at all, and then left the room. He had gone to his brother's room and found nothing there. He then had gone in search of his brother and had neared the stables in time to hear the words his brother had said and the words Eowyn had followed with before leaving. He frowns deeply and stays quiet and in the shadows until Eowyn had gone inside, then he turned and walked quietly towards his brother. When he is told to go back to bed he frowns. "I am not tired. Why are you fighting with her again? And why are you fixing the stable door, Little Brother?"
She holds the tears back, finding it harder and harder as she takes each step. More then anything she wanted her brother right then. She wanted to seek him out and tell him her problems like when they were kids. But she couldn't, not with Faramir being the problem. That would only cause even more problems. As she walks by her brother's room she wonders if she could just say she needed to talk to sleep next to him tonight because she wasn't feeling good. She pauses and is about to knock when she realizes that he would know who the problem was. He wouldn't believe that it was nothing more then a stomachache, he would know. And she couldn't have him judging Faramir again. Not now when he didn't approve of him in any way. Besides, she sighs as she looks down, there was no light, he must be asleep already.
She walks away from the doorway, pausing outside of Gandalf's room. Once more she thinks about talking to someone, at least Gandalf would know what was going on, and maybe he would talk to him too. But no, this was her own problem. She would solve it herself.
So she goes back to her own room, entering and locking the door behind her before throwing herself down on the bed and burying her head into her pillow. She feels the tears clutch at her heart, burning the back of her eyes, but she refuses to cry. It was her tears that had shown him how weak she was. She cried far too much lately, and always while he was around. It was no wonder he could not even have faith in her for one night, she was the weakest person she had ever met. She didn't remember ever being this weak. When was it that she because this thing she was now? When was it that she let things effect her so much? She wasn't sure, but she was certain that she had to end it, end it now so that Faramir would see a strong person on the trip to Lorien. She would never cry again, at least not in his presence.
It is as if that last thought gives her the okay to cry one last time, the tears wetting her pillow as she sobs into it. She went over again and again in her head everything had happened between the time that he had had faith in their love, in himself, and when he had said those words in the barn. What had happened that he had changed his mind so soon? Had she cried? Had she shown a weakness that had shown him that she was too weak to help him fight off the darkness he would have to in Lorien? They had had a lovely meal, so she thought. Then they had come out to the barn to make love. She had been strong then, taking over in fact, so it had to be before then. Sometime between when he had woken from his pain and they had made love he had seen something weak in her, something that had told him she was too weak to help him through this. But what? She sobs into her pillow harder, not seeing it, not seeing what she did wrong that he had lost faith in her.
Then almost as quickly as they start they stop and she sits up. She wasn't even packed, she hadn't been intending on going to Gondor with him. So she gets up and goes to her dresser, rinsing her face off with cold water from the basin before blotting it dry. It didn't help much, her reflection in the warped mirror wasn't that good, her eyes red and swollen, her face white. She was glad she would not see anyone else tonight, she thinks as she starts to pack a few things. She had promised to go, though she didn't know why he wanted her now, he didn't believe in her.
"Because it was broken and I have skill fixing these things." Faramir cries out in pain as he misses the nail and instead slams the hammer against his thumb. He curses and shakes his hand, trying to get his thumb to stop throbbing. He kicks the door and curses as that just hurts his foot. Damnit. His anger was rising in him and it wasn't till he heard Boromir laughing that it erupts. He glares and throws a piece of wood at his brother. "Be quiet! If you have not come to help then go away!" He sucks on his thumb and goes back to fixing the door. He shrugs off the hand that touches his shoulder. "Boromir, just go. You can not help me. No one can. I have so many demons to fight against." He sighs and finishes with one side of the door, noticing with his brother's help it had been done faster than he thought it would.
"We all have demons, Brother. I myself fell to the power of the ring. That is why I am in the condition I am in now. You did not fall to the power of the ring, Faramir. If you had you would be punished likewise." He holds a board in place, watching his little brother. "Let his words go, Faramir. You and I both know that you are not a failure. All of Gondor knows that as well. Faramir, look at what you have done, look at all you have accomplished in your life. Does that speak of a failure?" He smiles when his brother hesitates, then shakes his head. "Good. Father did love you. He knew you were special. I heard him telling mother before she died. She had asked him why he pushed you so hard. He said because to fight Sauron you needed weapons. Not song or book knowledge. You remember what happened after mother died do you not?" He sighs when Faramir shakes his head. "You went everywhere with him. He would not let you out of his sight. It was not until he was sure you would be fine that he let you go. And when he changed it was not because of you. You know of the Palantir, Faramir?" Again he waits for the nod, then sighs. "Well....it changed him, Faramir. It poisoned his mind. Gandalf told me that once. That was why he pushed you away. That and he wanted to keep you alive. He may have done it wrong but he did help you survive, Faramir. And now you must remember the years where he showed you love. Remember those, and let Eowyn replace the pain in your heart with her love. Brother, she loves you, deeply. Please, let her help you. Tell her your fears." He helps hold up the door while Faramir puts it back on it's hinges, then gets to work with his brother on the other side. "Brother, why do you fear so much?"
Faramir looks at his brother and sighs. "I am leaving, Boromir. I mean tomorrow. I am going with Gandalf and hopefully Eowyn. We are going to the elves to have the last resort done." He explains everything to his brother as they finish the other door to the stables. And once they have it back on it's hinges he finishes and looks at Boromir. "You must come as well, Boromir. Gandalf says the elves might be able to help your arm. They have healing knowledge that is far more advanced than any human healers. Save King Elessar. Please, Brother, will you come? I wish to have you there. Incase these last two months are the end for me."
Boromir frowns deeply, listening to his brother. When they are done he sits on the bails of hay with him and shakes his head. "I can not go there, Faramir." He frowns more when his brother's shoulder's slump in defeat. It is that utter look of defeat that gets to him. With a deep sigh he shakes his head again. "Faramir please....you know I can not face her again......brother.....alright! Fine! I will go with you. But Monica will be coming as well. She is to be my wife." He smiles as he sees his brother's head shoot up. He shrugs his one shoulder, his other moving just slightly but it wasn't noticeable. "She is a wonderful girl. And I do love her. Perhaps not yet as deeply as you love Eowyn but I will learn to love her that much. And father always said I should settle down. Do not give me that look. Father was older than I am mother was just a few years older than Monica when they were married." He laughs as he sees his brother's look and hears what he says. "Ah but you know what mother always said, love does not see age."
Faramir smiles at his brother, shaking his head. "Aye but I am merely 12 years older than my bride. You are over 20." He grins at his older brother as he pulls on his shirt, then moves to sit beside him. When Boromir puts his arm around him he rests his head on his shoulder. "I do remember those years. Though not until you reminded me. I remember he would play with us. He would actually play with us. And that was when he gave me those books on the elves." He smiles at the thought, then sighs softly and frowns. "I do love, Eowyn. More than anything. I would die for her. I want to live for her as well but Boromir, what if I am wrong. What if she can not kill me? What if she runs me through with her sword and it does nothing? She would be the first one that I harm. And I can not live with that. And if we marry and have a child, they will have blood on their hands and be forever thought bad of because of me." He sighs and lifts his head from his brother's shoulder. "But yet she still loves me. I do not understand her love for me. I greatly want it though. I need it. I need her." He was speaking more to himself than to Boromir. "I need her to love me and want me. And I need to love her and want her. How does one deal with the fact that their whole world revolves around one person?" He hears a laugh and smiles as he instantly knows why his brother is laughing. "Yes I know. I should know better as you were my whole world for a very long time. You still are in a way as you are my brother. But still. I fear losing her. That is my greatest fear. Is that why I push her away then?" He looks away, again having a conversation with himself, something he was prone to do and something that always, especially now, sent his older brother into fits of laughter. "Yes yes. It must be. For if I push her away now then I will not hurt so much when she leaves for good. Bah! I AM an idiot!!!!!!!" He stands quickly, then looks at his brother, who was rolling on the floor laughing at him. "Shush you! I have just had a revelation and all you can do, you mangy mongrel, is laugh?! I love Eowyn of Rohan and in no way am I letting her get away now. I will no longer push her away and I will no longer fear death as long as she is by my side. Boromir! You are not taking my oath seriously! Boromir! Curse you, Devil! You always do...hey!" He falls to the floor and grunts, then laughs as this time a pile of hay really is thrown on him.
Boromir smiles when his brother sits beside him and he puts his arm around his shoulders, much like he always had when they were children. He listens silently to his brother, a smile on his face as he shakes his head. When Faramir speaks of his world revolving around one person and how to deal with it he can't help but laugh. But he stays silent, knowing his brother well. He needed to talk this through with himself. And it was always a good laugh to watch his brother argue with himself. And now was no different. In moments he is thrown into a fit of laughter, falling off the bail of hay to just laugh himself silly. He continues to laugh, even as Faramir curses him and calls him name. Feeling his brother needed to laugh as well he reaches out with his good hand and grabs his ankle, yanking him down. When Faramir is on the floor he smirks and throws some hay on him. "I am no dog, Brother. Though you I am not so sure, seeing as you were always thought as the runt." He laughs as hay is thrown at him and in no time at all a wrestling match is in progress. "Hey! No. You will not best me. Even with one arm I can........ahhhhhh!!!!!" He starts to laugh as his brother tickles him. This was an old game, one they had not played in a long time.
It is those thoughts that have her unpacking her things. That was it, she wasn't going. He did not love her, at least not enough to believe in her, not enough to believe that she could help him. So she unpacks it all before she goes in search of Faramir. She hoped to find him in his room, it having been long enough for him to finish, but he wasn't there. She does pause there a moment though, entering his room and looking around. "I wish there was something in here, something that I could take and show you and prove to you…" But her voice trails off as she sits down on his bed and puts her head in her hands. "Why do you insist on doing this, Faramir?"
Getting up, she leaves his room, stopping in the library and then in Boromir's rooms. But Boromir wasn't even in his rooms, and it gets her to wondering. Finally, standing outside the doors to the stable, she can hear voices. She knows that one is Faramir, but which does the other belong to? She leans her head against the door and listens harder. Who could it be…….
But the second she wonders who it is, she realizes who it is, the voice so like Faramir's it could be no other then his brother. Good, perfect, with someone else there it wouldn't be so hard on her.
Without delaying a moment later she walks in and looks between the two. "Hello there, Faramir," she nods at him and then smiles at his brother. "Boromir." Then she looks back at Faramir, straightening her shoulders and her back, hoping she can get through this in one piece. "I am glad you are here, Boromir," she says as she looks at him again, smiling softly. "I have a favor to ask of you. I don't know how much you have been told but the situation is that I am not feeling too good. So I would appreciate it if you would go with Faramir to Lorien. I do not think that I will be able to make the trip and he will need someone much stronger then I and with better sword skills." That was it, wasn't it? He needed someone stronger then her, Boromir would be perfect, for she was too weak for him.
Boromir frowns as he looks up at Eowyn and hears her request. What did she mean by that? He was not going to Lorien to be there for Faramir. She was. He looks at his brother and sees the look on his face and shakes his head, looking at Eowyn. "No." It was all he was going to say. And when he sees the shocked look on her face and when she repeats the one word he shrugs. "I will not take your place because I will be there for treatment myself. I will not have the time. Besides, you need to be there for he wants you there." He gets off the floor and look over at his brother and Eowyn. He then sighs deeply and shakes his head. "Idiots. BOTH of you! You Faramir must tell her what you just told me and Eowyn, you have to believe him and stop being a teary female because as long as I have known my little brother, not one lie has passed his lips. And I am going to stand here till you both stop OWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He covers his eye where Eowyn had hit him, blinking a few times and touching around to it make sure it was okay, then looks at his brother who was laugh, and Eowyn, who looked ready to hit him again.
When Eowyn walks in and speaks Faramir looks almost devastated. When she finishes he is instantly on his feet. When Boromir says his piece before he can say anything he can't help but smirk when Eowyn hits him, then he can't help but laugh. Oh he had walked right into that one. He knew how Eowyn hated it when people thought her a weak female. He smiles and pats his brother's shoulder, then walks over to Eowyn and before she can do anything he takes her in his arms and kisses her with a deep passion. He pulls back a little later and sighs softly. "Eowyn, I do not wish you to stay. I need you with me. And this time I mean it. I need you to be my wife so that when we return we may go straight to Gondor and have King Elessar bless our marriage. Then I will take you to Ithilien and show you where we will someday live." He kisses her softly again. "I do not fear I will die now. No longer will I push you away from me."
When Boromir calls her a teary female she about comes unglued, hauling back her fist and bringing it in connection with his right cheek, not caring that she probably gave him a black eye. "I am NOT a teary female!" she says between her teeth. She is then about ready to protest when Faramir kisses her. She tries to pull away again, but he won't allow it, kissing her again. So she looks away from him, being stubborn as she was. "That is not what you said only a few hours ago. In fact if I remember correctly, you might as well have called me a teary female like Boromir did." She didn't care if he was still there or not, speaking as if he wasn't because right then she was still too upset to talk to him. All it does is solidify her belief that she cried too much lately. Never again would she cry. Never. But could she trust him not to do those things? Once more she is left to wonder what it was that had changed his mind in so short a time.
"Yes I must thank you, Eowyn, who is to be my future sister-in-law. You gave me a black eye. Now what is my wife going to think on our wedding day?" Boromir smirks and shakes his head. "Oh and just so you know, I will not forget this, Eowyn. Be afraid. For I have never let Faramir get away with hitting me. Ask him. I am going back to bed." He limps from the stables, but then stops and sticks his head back in. "Oh and when you go to bed, Dear Sister, I would check under your covers first." He smirks and leaves, laughing as he limps back to the great hall.
Faramir smirks as Boromir leaves, shaking his head. He then looks at Eowyn and sighs. "I do not think you a teary female. I love you. I just fear you will leave me. But not anymore. No. I will no longer be a fool. I will deal with that time when it comes and not worry about it." He sees her skeptical look and drops to his knees, holding her hands. "Please, Eowyn. You must believe me. I will kneel and beg for your forgiveness if that is what you want." And he does just that, while kneeling he begins to beg her for her forgiveness, kissing her hands softly again and again, until finally she makes him stand up again. He smiles, a foolish smile. "Please, Eowyn? Forgive me? I will not doubt myself or your love again. Please?" He leans in and kisses her softly, whispering against her lips. "Please?"
She frowns at Boromir when he leaves but then instantly forgets him and his threats, rubbing her knuckles as she stands there looking at him as he kneels in front of her, begging her. "Please, do not do that. You do not need to kneel in front of me." She tugs at him, trying to get him to stand. "Faramir, you have me confused enough without doing this. Please." She tugs harder and finally gets him up, sighing as he stands. Then she speaks out loud, feeling that the way things where, she might as well voice her own fears. "Faramir... Look, Faramir, you want me to forgive you but I need something too. I want you to believe in me. I am not a teary female, like he claims, like you seem to hear me as. I am strong. I am strong enough for the both of us. But you have to believe in me. I will forgive you if you promise to believe in me. " She wraps her arms around his waist finally, holding onto him instead of pulling away.
He smiles at her, his arms going around her to hold her close. "I do believe in you, Eowyn. That is why I am asking for your forgiveness." He leans down and kisses the top of her head. "I promise to believe in you, though I have always known you were strong. Come. I must smell from working up a sweat and I want nothing more than to get clean and then to climb into a nice bed to sleep. And I intend to sleep till noon. For you all can wait until I am rested before we leave."
She nods, finally looking up at him. "Yes, Faramir, I will forgive you." She had made her own peace with herself. She would never cry again. Last night she had cried for the last time. "Lets go. You can get your sleep and then we will leaves after lunch." It was Eomer's fault that he had had to work and was now beat, she didn't blame Faramir. So as she takes him from the stables, making sure that the door was locked behind him, she keeps one hand laced with his. "You will be able to get plenty of sleep."
He looks at her and smiles, but when she looks at him he notices something and stops. "You are keeping something from me. Eowyn, I do not wish you to change because of me. Or what Boromir says. Do not listen to him, Love. He merely says stupid things because he does not think before he speaks. Oh he is a smart man, very smart. He just has an ego to rival any king's." He smiles at her. "If you fear I think less of you for something you did well think again. I could never do that, Eowyn. I love you for you. No matter how you act."
Eowyn shakes her head at Faramir "Do now worry, I will be fine. As for Boromir, this has nothing to do with him." She leans in and kisses him softly. "Come on, Faramir, you need to take your nap so that we can get married." She tugs on his hand. If he stayed in this good mood she would lay with him and sleep the rest of the night in his bed.
Faramir doesn't move. "So you are still willing to marry me?" He smiles when she sighs and rolls her eyes at him. "Yes. Of course you are. May I ask one thing though?" He sees her annoyed look but ignores it. "Since you will be my wife, if I ever doubt us or myself again, will you simple knock some sense into me?" He gives her a serious look, for he was serious. He didn't like doubting her. And if he could help it he wasn't going to do it again. "And if I am afraid will you simply kiss me and tell me not to be? Remind me of how strong you think I am?"
She thinks about everything he says, his words only making her feel worse though she knows that is not his intention. But here she had cried into her pillow because she felt she had been weak. Now she felt like she had given up on him, as if once more she had not been strong enough for him. She had turned away from him when he needed her the most to believe in him.
The tears burn her eyes, but they do not fall, there is no sign of them outwardly at all. She refuses to cry even though her heart was breaking at her own weakness. She nods in answer to his question, then finally finds her voice. "Yes, if it happens again, I will not run and leave you like a coward, I will instead kick sense into you until you believe in yourself again. You are strong, Faramir, far stronger then I am. You have to remember that."
He frowns and still does not move, instead he pulls her to him and wraps his arms around her. "I do not think you a coward, Eowyn. Oh I think Gandalf is right. We are made for each other. For I am about to say I think of myself as a coward but I do not wish to feel the sting of your hand." He smiles and holds her close. "Darling, let us forget this. Let us not dwell on negative emotions. We are to be married in some hours. I wish to have a happy bride, free of all burdens when I marry you. And I will be the same for you. I will not think of my fears or hear my father's voice. I will simply dwell in the hear and now and be happy that I will finally have you as my family. I will love you and tonight we will finally be able to sleep in each other's arms without having to feel guilty because it might not look right to others." He kisses her forehead softly, sighing against it. "I love you, Eowyn, and I wish nothing more than to make you happy."
She nods, agreeing. Yes, she would put it all aside, even her resolve not to cry. Right now she would set it all aside and just concentrate on them together, not on her or him separately, but on them together. "Not forget it, but put it aside. Forget the negativity, but put aside the things that we need to work on for later. You want a happy bride and I want a happy husband. I love you too, Faramir and I want nothing more then to have you happy. You should see that by now, do you not?" She eyes search his, wanting to truly know.
He smiles down at her and nods. "Yes, Love. I do see that. I know you want me happy." He kisses her softly. "Come. I will walk you to your room." He takes her hand and begins walking again. "Unless you wish to sleep with me in my room."
When Faramir indicates Eowyn should be quiet she is instantly silent, listening hard, hoping she can hear something. She then hears it, her brother! Her eyes fly to Faramir's face, but he is already leaning over the edge. When he gets hit in the face she squeaks, her hand instantly going over her mouth to stop her from screaming. Then she hears Beregond's voice and feels a little better, but not much, especially since she was laying there, naked with hay in her hair and her clothes far too wet to be able to get back into fast.
She almost yelps again when the cloths fly up and her face falls the instant they do. It didn't solve her problem, but then he could leave and she could maybe just wrap herself in a blanket and if he wasn't there she could use the excuse... aw hell, nothing was going to work. She clears her throat a little and says softly, "Beregond, could I barrow your shirt please?" When he passes up a dress, luckily a simple one that would be easy to get into, she whispers a hasty thanks to him and is quickly slipping the dress on.
Moving to the edge of the loft once she is dressed, she looks over and sees just the guard so far. The voices had stopped outside and her eyes go to the doors. Nothing so far, but how did Beregond get in? Had he been in there the whole time? Her face goes a beat red, but then instantly she realizes he couldn't have been because of the clothes. She quickly leaves the loft, grabbing the blanket from Faramir's bedroom to take down with her. "Where is he?" she whispers ever so softly to Beregond as she quickly gets their wet clothes and wraps them in the blanket. She is about ready to hide the bundle when she hears it, a crash and pounding. Everything was happening at once it seemed and the only thing she can think to do is toss the bundle into her horses stall and pray that her brother wouldn't look in there.
Faramir smiles at Beregond and thanks him quietly before he pulls on the pants and does them up quickly. He then pulls on his shirt and is very glad that it had no buttons or strings. Those would take time he didn't have. It suddenly dawns on him. His boots! "Beregond. My boots!" He sighs deeply as they are thrown up to him. He looks over at Eowyn as she climbs down from the loft. He is just pulling on his right boot, having already pulled on the left, when the doors to the stable crash open and Eomer and the stable hand, along with two guards rush in. He quickly grabs the blankets and stows them under some hay in a corner of the loft, then tries to look like he was up there merely to get hay for his horse. Though his horse didn't need it.
Eomer counts silently, then gestures to the door. He watches as the gaurds quickly break through the door. He follows them in, the light from the stable hand's lantern shining some light into the stables. What he sees makes him instantly suspicious. "Explain yourselves. What is going on here? And why are you without shoes, Eowyn? And why is there hay in your hair?" He looks up to the loft where Faramir stood, holding a bail of hay, that HAD to be heavy. He tosses it down and then follows after it, saying she had hay in her hair because she got hay in his and he wanted to return the favor. Eomer, raises a brow at that statement, not quite believing it. He turns to his guards and informs them everything was fine and to tell the others, then to go back to their posts. He looks at the stable hand after he comes back from lighting the lanterns around the barn. "You may go as well. Thank you." He waits for them all to leave and then turns to Faramir's guard. "You may leave as well. I wish to speak with your Lord and my sister alone." He snorts as the guard looks to Faramir for the order to leave and when given it, finally leaves. He shakes his head and looks at Faramir. "YOU will fix that door before you leave tomorrow. Do not give me that look, Faramir. You are Steward of Gondor, and this is NOT Gondor. You will fix it. And you both will tell me what you are doing in this stable. Surely not taking care of your horses as you would make it look." He walks over to the two stalls, noting the blanket in a pile in the corner, but not acting like he saw it. Instead he looks at the two stalls. "Your horses look fine. So you are not in here tending to them."
Eowyn quickly runs her fingers through her hair, pulling out as much of the hay as she can, glad that Faramir had thought of a good reason that they had it in their hair. "Eomer, what Faramir says is true about the hay. We had a little fight of sorts, we were throwing hair and water even." She motions to the trough, half the water on the floor. Then she moves over to Eomer and takes his hands. "There is a lot that you do not know that you should know. Please come." She pulls him towards the bail of hay Faramir had tossed down and sits down, pulling her brother to sit next to her. Then she speaks again. "Eomer, Faramir and I have decided that we wish you to marry us in the morning. Wait, let me finish," she saw his objection coming. "It will not be for the friends or even family, it will be for Faramir and me only. You could do it now, tonight if you wish, because it needs to be done." She sees the wheels working and quickly she covers his mouth with her hand. "Faramir is dying, Eomer. He will die if he does not try this last treatment that Lord Elrond can give him. We must travel to Lorien and meet him there, as Faramir has agreed against his will to do it. He has agreed for me. The trip will be long and in the end he may still die. I have had to fight him tonight about this because he did not want it, but I want it. I want the chance to live my life with him." She takes a deep breath. "I will not go into details now, I will later, but the end result may be death. If that is to be, it will be at my hand, and it will be by his wife. I want.. no I NEED these next two months as his wife should he die. I need to have the memories. And if it is to happen and he is taken from me, then maybe I will not be alone. Maybe I will be with child, his. So you need to marry us, can you see now?" She drops her hand from his lips, her eyes going to Faramir, love shining there that even Eomer could see. "When he is finally well," she looks back to Eomer, "as I believe he will be, we will travel home and have a wedding for everyone. Then those of Gondor and Rohan that wish to be there will and for all they will know it will be our first. But for us, we will know, and if the kingdoms have to know later because of certain circumstances, then so be it. But for now... Eomer, we were not doing anything in here that was bad. We were only playing around, that is all." She gives his hands a squeeze, hoping he would take it at face value. Also wondering if he was going to now explode now that he knew she was leaving too.
Eomer looks at Faramir, frowning at him. He was upset, but he was upset at Faramir. Getting up he walks over to the man and does just what Boromir had done earlier. He hits him, glaring at him. "You are dying and you would refuse something that could save you? How can you hurt my sister in such a way?! She loves you! She is willing to give up anything and everything for you! You truly ARE a fool, Faramir of Gondor, son of Denethor. You....what? No there is something you both are not telling me and if you wish me to marry you now, tonight, you will tell me." He looks at his sister, then at Faramir. "Why would my sister have to kill you if this last thing did not work? Would you not die anyways?"
Faramir had expected the punch from Eomer, but not the words. He expected Eomer to be mad that Eowyn was leaving. So while rubbing his jaw, he looks at Eowyn and then at Eomer. When asked what he wasn't telling Eomer he sighs. "She killed the Nazgul King. She is the only one who would be able to kill me if this goes wrong." He sees confusion on his future brother-in-law's face and sighs. "Sit Eomer." Once the man does he explains the last and final treatment, his last chance at life. He explains how he would have to be stabbed with a blade from Mordor, much like Frodo had. But this would not be taken out so quickly. He would have to hold the blade in until it disappeared. The blade would then somehow destroy the poison that was killing him, as it would be destroying him in the process. The tricky part was what Lord Elrond or Lady Galadriel would have to do. They would have to pull him from the brink of letting the darkness take over, at the precise moment. If not, then he could very well become the next Lord of all Evil. If they managed to pull him back in time, if he managed to keep the evil at bay long enough to kill the poison and allow the elves to pull him back, then he would be cured and go on to live many many years with the only indication of his ever being touched by the dark blade being a scar. And possibly the headaches he had been having. But those would be rare unless something evil was close enough to effect him.
When he is finished he sighs and looks over at where Eomer sat. "It would fall to your sister to kill me. THAT is why I wished not to have this done. That and I do not wish to be the next bringer of death and destruction on Middle Earth. Gandalf and your sister seem to think I can fight it merely because I did not give into the power of the one ring." He sighs and looks down, then up at the two of them. "I do not know what will happen but I can not run away from this. Nor would I. It is what my Lady wants and I myself would rather like to have a life with your sister." He smiles at Eowyn, then looks at Eomer. "So....since you are the King, I will ask, will you bless our marriage and make it official, even if it is just the three of us.....and Gandalf and Boromir, and Lothiriel who knows of it?" He smiles and looks at Eowyn with a shrug. "We can not keep it from my brother, Love. I can not at least. And Gandalf will figure it out on the journey. And I doubt Eomer can keep ANYTHING from my dear cousin."
Eowyn rushes to stop him but is too late and winces when Eomer hits Faramir. She had hoped that the way in which she told it all, how she was so nonchalant about the whole thing that he would have missed the part about killing Faramir as well as just how dangerous the whole trip was going to be to begin with. But she should have known, her brother had caught on right away to what Faramir had done. And though she didn't agree with him hitting Faramir, it honestly warmed her heart when he had voiced to Faramir just how self centered he had been when they all knew just how much she loved Faramir and would do anything for him, that included killing him now.
She nods to Faramir as he finishes up. "Oh I am sure that those in this household will know, I do not mean for it to be a secret, like something dirty or unholy. No, I just mean for it to be kept quiet so that no one feels slightly should they find out that the wedding already was. They need to know that there is no wedding, that it is just a blessing. That is why I want it quiet, but I know that some will know, including my brother's love." She turns to look at Eomer again, taking his hand, this time the love was clearly visible for her brother, a big brother that always took care of her. "Eomer," she starts softly. "So many times in our life you have put yourself in front of me, either physically or mentally to make sure that I was protected. You would take a punch for me any day, I know this. I know that you would die for me if it would keep me alive." She squeezes his hands. "But this is something that I have to do. I don't know that I am the only one that could do this, for if it happened it would all be quick, too quick for even Faramir to realize that he had changed, if I have my way. And too quick that he doesn't even know it is done. I hope. But more then that I hope that he really loves me. Because I believe it is that love that will pull him through, if he really loves me. Yes, he was wrong to keep this from me. It is the reason that I ran today. It is the reason that Faramir and I have been fighting for the most of the night." She smiles shyly at Faramir and then back at Eomer. "He has asked to be forgiven and I have. But only if he does this. Please, I know this isn't what either of us wanted for my wedding, but it is just our official one. The important one will be later, for all to see. It will be a celebration too, one of his return. Please do not be upset with him so much that you deny me this. I need these two months with him even if it is the last I will have. Please, bless our marriage as well as our trip, make it a legal marriage and in the morning we will leave here as husband and wife and I will have this time at least without question."
Eomer looks at the two of them and shakes his head, sighing. What choice did he have? He could say no and then Eowyn would hate him forever. He could say yes and she would then be married and leave with Faramir and he would hardly get to see her at all. But he would put his own feelings and thoughts aside to discuss with Lothiriel later. Ah yes. With Eowyn leaving, he would not be so alone. He had Lothiriel. And would always have her. A smile appears on his lips and he gets up, walking around slowly for a moment, just to draw it out. He hears Eowyn start to say his name and turns. "Would you like me to marry you right now? There will have to be a witness, other than your horses. And so you know, I meant what I said. He is not to leave until he fixes the stable door." He says the last part while pointing at Faramir and looking at Eowyn.
Faramir actually had been expecting another punch so when Eomer says he would marry them he was visibly shocked. He really doesn't know what to say so he looks over at Eowyn, shrugging a little when she looks at him. Who could they use for a witness? Boromir was more than likely asleep, as was Gandalf, and probably now Beregond. Lothiriel as well. There were Eomer's guards.....but they weren't his friends personally.
Eowyn is thinking the same thing as Faramir and finally looks at her brother, shaking her head. "No, in the morning." She walks to her brother and kisses his cheek softly. "He will fix the door and I will help him. You go get some sleep and we will have it done in no time." She rubs his arm lightly. "You will need your sleep tonight, it is the last you will have with me watching over you for a long time." She was teasing, and she meant because of her trip, not realizing how true the statement was, because of her marriage, not just one little trip. "In the morning we will have Gandalf and the rest of our small family witness it. Tonight he will fix the door and then retire to his own bed." She hugs her brother tight, whispering in his ear, "Thank you for understanding, Eomer. It means the world to me."
Eomer snorts as his sister says she was looking after him. "Yes. Sure. This coming from the woman who got herself kidnapped?" He smiles and shakes his head, he then looks at Faramir. "There are tools in the tack room and wood behind the stable. And she will not help you. She will supervise. And if she tries to help you I will not go through with the wedding." It was the only way he could think to punish Eowyn for the door. For he knew if she wasn't helping Faramir it would be like a punishment to watch the man work. Or so he hoped. "I will see you in the morning. And no helping him, Eowyn. He may be dying but he can still work." He smirks and then leaves, frowning as soon as he is away from the stables. He walks off to the Great Hall, and once inside he heads not to his room but to Lothiriel's. He knocks on the door and waits for her to answer.
Faramir smiles and nods to Eomer. He was no stranger to working with wood or building things. Doors included. He had to help for two reasons. One was he was punished by doing hard labor in Minas Tirith, and two, he and his Rangers had to fortify their hide-out in Ithilien when they were stationed there. So building a stable door was not going to be too hard. He walks over and examines it, then looks at Eowyn with a smiles. "Here. Let me make you a seat and you can help by passing me tools. Or holding a board in place when I need you to." He walks over and picks up a bail of hay, his muscles straining as he carries it over close to the door. He sets it down and looks at her. "Well....at least he stopped asking us what we were doing in here."
He knew it was going to kill her to just sit there and not help Faramir and she glares at his back as he leaves. "It isn't fair, Faramir. I could help you. I was partly the reason." She huffs as she sits on the hay. Oh she knew he could do it alone, that wasn't it. She just felt guilty because it was partly her fault. He shouldn't have to deal with it alone. She nods when he suggests helping hold a board when needed. "Yeah, it stopped him talking about why we were here, but still, I want to help." She huffs again, crossing her arms over her chest. "I could help, he wouldn't know." She looks at him hopefully.
He looks over at her as he comes back with a stack of wood. Setting it down he nods, having heard her speak since the door to the stables was no longer there. Using a tool he pries the broken pieces of door off examines them to see if he could use them. Then he looks at Eowyn. "Hold this would you?" He pulls off his shirt and hands it to her. "I do not wish to get my shirt dirty anymore than it already is. And you will help. You will pass me tools and hold the boards in place."
She nods to him, taking his shirt and then taking a seat and watching him. "He knows what it is he is doing, because I am not the type to sit around, but he will know if I am helping, so we have to be careful." She leans back against the wall, sighing at him. "What do you think the morning will bring?"
He looks at her as he pulls a piece of broken wood off the frame of the door. He looks it over and then tosses it aside. "Our wedding and my brother's stubborn streak when he learns he is not going to Gondor." He smiles at her, then goes back to fixing the door. He sets a piece of wood into place and hammers a crude nail into it. "Boromir will fight going to see the elves. He doesn't like travelling into their realms. I myself will find it a fine treat. Even if it is going to my death as well."
She throws a piece of tack at him, frowning as it finds it's mark on his thigh. "Do not talk like that, or that will hit a bit to the right and a lot harder and it won't be leather but metal." She folds his shirt and lays it carefully in her lap, looking it over and then refolding it before she gets up and walks over to him, tossing the shirt over her shoulder. "You said that you needed me to hold something." She looks outside and back at him. "As long as it is something you could not normally hold on your own, I can hold it. He probably has us being watched, knowing my brother." She sighs, leaning against the other doorframe. "He does not have to come, I told you that we will not make him go." She slides down the doorframe and sits with her knees close to her chest, making sure her skirt was covering everything, even her feet. Then she lays his shirt out on her legs again, half folded, before looking back up at him. "We probably should tell him tonight since things have gotten out of hand as it is. I am just glad that by brother didn't wake the whole realm." She looks around, then back at him. "He was loud enough to wake the castle." Then she rests her chin on her knees, smelling his scent on his shirt and sighing. It was a mess, that was for sure. Not his shirt, the situation.
He looks at her with a smile. "Oh but you would not wish to damage 'that' before we are truly married now would you?" He gestures for her to come hold a new board in place and once she does he uses a few nails and hammers them into the board in the right spots. "What bothers you, Eowyn. I can tell something does. Is it because we will be leaving tomorrow and you will miss your brother? Or are you merely upset that I am doing all the work and you are doing nothing? Or is it something else I do not know about?"
"A lot bothers me, Faramir. Most of all the way you keep talking as if you are going to die. There is no guarantee either way. Part of it that we are leaving in the morning and I won't get to see my brother for awhile, but more then that is the fact that I will be skipping out of my responsibilities here. There is so much that I should have finished." She sits back down, putting his shirt back on her knees and watching him. "Is there something else that you do not know about? Would I really tell you if there was?"
He looks at her, on his knees now since he was working on the door. He leans back and looks at her. "Responsibilities that Lothiriel is capable of taking over, Eowyn. Like my responsibilities at home, that the King has to look after till I return." He frowns and sighs. "Ah I forgot about that. How unreliable I must look to Elessar now. I did not tell him I was going on a trip." He picks up another board and nails it into place. He then laughs bitterly and shakes his head, mumbling. "Father was right." With a deep sigh he looks over at her. "I say I will die because I am not as strong as you and Gandalf think, Eowyn. I am not. I am a man. I will not be able to resist this which I will have brought upon me. Then you will have to do away with me." He sighs deeply. "Even now I can not rid myself of this fear, and how is that to help me?"
She gets up and carefully puts his shirt over the edge of a stall. Then she enters Crystal's stall and retrieves the blanket and clothing. "I will take these in so that they can be dried and ready to go with us." She stops at the opening to the stables and stares at him. "I see now that I was wrong. You do not love me. You never will love me. Not like I love you." She puts up a hand. "Hush, I do not want to hear any more lies, my heart can not take them. I will go with you, as promised. But do not pretend a moment more that you love me when you do not. My heart just can not take it any longer. If you loved me you would not say the things that you are saying. You would not give up on yourself so easily. You would not give up on me so easily. Your father was not right, but I can see that no matter how many times I tell you that he was not, you will forever believe a dead man then the woman that loves you. You love him more then you love me. You believe in him more then you believe in me. You have just proved that." She shakes her head. "I will see you in the morning." She turns and heads out the stable doors, her heart breaking. Here she thought that he had finally seen the truth, that he really did love and trust her. But he did not trust her, or her love or else he would not be speaking like he was. He had given up, let his father speak through him. Nothing she or Boromir said mattered. Here she thought that he loved her, really loved her. But he didn't, or he would not toss her words aside as if they were nothing.
He watches her and sighs deeply, his shoulders slumping as he works. He did love her, deeply. He hated hurting her but what man could resist such evil as he was to be forced to undertake? She could not understand. He was strong, yes, but he was tired as well. Tired of being strong constantly. Tired of everything. The only time he had ever felt at peace or refreshed was in Ithilien. He glances at the moon and then sighs once again. "For being a smart man, I am very stupid." He rubs his hand against his head, knowing what he must do, no matter how stupid it would make him look. She would not believe he loved her, not unless he saved himself. And to do that he would have to go it alone. He would leave when he was finished. They would come after him, he knew that. But if he was far enough ahead he....he snaps his head to the right when he hears gravel moving. Then sighs and rolls his eyes. "Go back to bed, Boromir."
Boromir had awoken from a strange dream. It had been of Faramir, standing in woods he knew all too well. And when his brother turned to look at him there was a great sadness in his eyes, before they turned fire red and that was when he awoke. He hated dreaming. He hated that trait. Though Faramir got them far more than he, he still hated the ones that came to him. Getting off the bed he had dressed as quickly as he could, which wasn't quickly at all, and then left the room. He had gone to his brother's room and found nothing there. He then had gone in search of his brother and had neared the stables in time to hear the words his brother had said and the words Eowyn had followed with before leaving. He frowns deeply and stays quiet and in the shadows until Eowyn had gone inside, then he turned and walked quietly towards his brother. When he is told to go back to bed he frowns. "I am not tired. Why are you fighting with her again? And why are you fixing the stable door, Little Brother?"
She holds the tears back, finding it harder and harder as she takes each step. More then anything she wanted her brother right then. She wanted to seek him out and tell him her problems like when they were kids. But she couldn't, not with Faramir being the problem. That would only cause even more problems. As she walks by her brother's room she wonders if she could just say she needed to talk to sleep next to him tonight because she wasn't feeling good. She pauses and is about to knock when she realizes that he would know who the problem was. He wouldn't believe that it was nothing more then a stomachache, he would know. And she couldn't have him judging Faramir again. Not now when he didn't approve of him in any way. Besides, she sighs as she looks down, there was no light, he must be asleep already.
She walks away from the doorway, pausing outside of Gandalf's room. Once more she thinks about talking to someone, at least Gandalf would know what was going on, and maybe he would talk to him too. But no, this was her own problem. She would solve it herself.
So she goes back to her own room, entering and locking the door behind her before throwing herself down on the bed and burying her head into her pillow. She feels the tears clutch at her heart, burning the back of her eyes, but she refuses to cry. It was her tears that had shown him how weak she was. She cried far too much lately, and always while he was around. It was no wonder he could not even have faith in her for one night, she was the weakest person she had ever met. She didn't remember ever being this weak. When was it that she because this thing she was now? When was it that she let things effect her so much? She wasn't sure, but she was certain that she had to end it, end it now so that Faramir would see a strong person on the trip to Lorien. She would never cry again, at least not in his presence.
It is as if that last thought gives her the okay to cry one last time, the tears wetting her pillow as she sobs into it. She went over again and again in her head everything had happened between the time that he had had faith in their love, in himself, and when he had said those words in the barn. What had happened that he had changed his mind so soon? Had she cried? Had she shown a weakness that had shown him that she was too weak to help him fight off the darkness he would have to in Lorien? They had had a lovely meal, so she thought. Then they had come out to the barn to make love. She had been strong then, taking over in fact, so it had to be before then. Sometime between when he had woken from his pain and they had made love he had seen something weak in her, something that had told him she was too weak to help him through this. But what? She sobs into her pillow harder, not seeing it, not seeing what she did wrong that he had lost faith in her.
Then almost as quickly as they start they stop and she sits up. She wasn't even packed, she hadn't been intending on going to Gondor with him. So she gets up and goes to her dresser, rinsing her face off with cold water from the basin before blotting it dry. It didn't help much, her reflection in the warped mirror wasn't that good, her eyes red and swollen, her face white. She was glad she would not see anyone else tonight, she thinks as she starts to pack a few things. She had promised to go, though she didn't know why he wanted her now, he didn't believe in her.
"Because it was broken and I have skill fixing these things." Faramir cries out in pain as he misses the nail and instead slams the hammer against his thumb. He curses and shakes his hand, trying to get his thumb to stop throbbing. He kicks the door and curses as that just hurts his foot. Damnit. His anger was rising in him and it wasn't till he heard Boromir laughing that it erupts. He glares and throws a piece of wood at his brother. "Be quiet! If you have not come to help then go away!" He sucks on his thumb and goes back to fixing the door. He shrugs off the hand that touches his shoulder. "Boromir, just go. You can not help me. No one can. I have so many demons to fight against." He sighs and finishes with one side of the door, noticing with his brother's help it had been done faster than he thought it would.
"We all have demons, Brother. I myself fell to the power of the ring. That is why I am in the condition I am in now. You did not fall to the power of the ring, Faramir. If you had you would be punished likewise." He holds a board in place, watching his little brother. "Let his words go, Faramir. You and I both know that you are not a failure. All of Gondor knows that as well. Faramir, look at what you have done, look at all you have accomplished in your life. Does that speak of a failure?" He smiles when his brother hesitates, then shakes his head. "Good. Father did love you. He knew you were special. I heard him telling mother before she died. She had asked him why he pushed you so hard. He said because to fight Sauron you needed weapons. Not song or book knowledge. You remember what happened after mother died do you not?" He sighs when Faramir shakes his head. "You went everywhere with him. He would not let you out of his sight. It was not until he was sure you would be fine that he let you go. And when he changed it was not because of you. You know of the Palantir, Faramir?" Again he waits for the nod, then sighs. "Well....it changed him, Faramir. It poisoned his mind. Gandalf told me that once. That was why he pushed you away. That and he wanted to keep you alive. He may have done it wrong but he did help you survive, Faramir. And now you must remember the years where he showed you love. Remember those, and let Eowyn replace the pain in your heart with her love. Brother, she loves you, deeply. Please, let her help you. Tell her your fears." He helps hold up the door while Faramir puts it back on it's hinges, then gets to work with his brother on the other side. "Brother, why do you fear so much?"
Faramir looks at his brother and sighs. "I am leaving, Boromir. I mean tomorrow. I am going with Gandalf and hopefully Eowyn. We are going to the elves to have the last resort done." He explains everything to his brother as they finish the other door to the stables. And once they have it back on it's hinges he finishes and looks at Boromir. "You must come as well, Boromir. Gandalf says the elves might be able to help your arm. They have healing knowledge that is far more advanced than any human healers. Save King Elessar. Please, Brother, will you come? I wish to have you there. Incase these last two months are the end for me."
Boromir frowns deeply, listening to his brother. When they are done he sits on the bails of hay with him and shakes his head. "I can not go there, Faramir." He frowns more when his brother's shoulder's slump in defeat. It is that utter look of defeat that gets to him. With a deep sigh he shakes his head again. "Faramir please....you know I can not face her again......brother.....alright! Fine! I will go with you. But Monica will be coming as well. She is to be my wife." He smiles as he sees his brother's head shoot up. He shrugs his one shoulder, his other moving just slightly but it wasn't noticeable. "She is a wonderful girl. And I do love her. Perhaps not yet as deeply as you love Eowyn but I will learn to love her that much. And father always said I should settle down. Do not give me that look. Father was older than I am mother was just a few years older than Monica when they were married." He laughs as he sees his brother's look and hears what he says. "Ah but you know what mother always said, love does not see age."
Faramir smiles at his brother, shaking his head. "Aye but I am merely 12 years older than my bride. You are over 20." He grins at his older brother as he pulls on his shirt, then moves to sit beside him. When Boromir puts his arm around him he rests his head on his shoulder. "I do remember those years. Though not until you reminded me. I remember he would play with us. He would actually play with us. And that was when he gave me those books on the elves." He smiles at the thought, then sighs softly and frowns. "I do love, Eowyn. More than anything. I would die for her. I want to live for her as well but Boromir, what if I am wrong. What if she can not kill me? What if she runs me through with her sword and it does nothing? She would be the first one that I harm. And I can not live with that. And if we marry and have a child, they will have blood on their hands and be forever thought bad of because of me." He sighs and lifts his head from his brother's shoulder. "But yet she still loves me. I do not understand her love for me. I greatly want it though. I need it. I need her." He was speaking more to himself than to Boromir. "I need her to love me and want me. And I need to love her and want her. How does one deal with the fact that their whole world revolves around one person?" He hears a laugh and smiles as he instantly knows why his brother is laughing. "Yes I know. I should know better as you were my whole world for a very long time. You still are in a way as you are my brother. But still. I fear losing her. That is my greatest fear. Is that why I push her away then?" He looks away, again having a conversation with himself, something he was prone to do and something that always, especially now, sent his older brother into fits of laughter. "Yes yes. It must be. For if I push her away now then I will not hurt so much when she leaves for good. Bah! I AM an idiot!!!!!!!" He stands quickly, then looks at his brother, who was rolling on the floor laughing at him. "Shush you! I have just had a revelation and all you can do, you mangy mongrel, is laugh?! I love Eowyn of Rohan and in no way am I letting her get away now. I will no longer push her away and I will no longer fear death as long as she is by my side. Boromir! You are not taking my oath seriously! Boromir! Curse you, Devil! You always do...hey!" He falls to the floor and grunts, then laughs as this time a pile of hay really is thrown on him.
Boromir smiles when his brother sits beside him and he puts his arm around his shoulders, much like he always had when they were children. He listens silently to his brother, a smile on his face as he shakes his head. When Faramir speaks of his world revolving around one person and how to deal with it he can't help but laugh. But he stays silent, knowing his brother well. He needed to talk this through with himself. And it was always a good laugh to watch his brother argue with himself. And now was no different. In moments he is thrown into a fit of laughter, falling off the bail of hay to just laugh himself silly. He continues to laugh, even as Faramir curses him and calls him name. Feeling his brother needed to laugh as well he reaches out with his good hand and grabs his ankle, yanking him down. When Faramir is on the floor he smirks and throws some hay on him. "I am no dog, Brother. Though you I am not so sure, seeing as you were always thought as the runt." He laughs as hay is thrown at him and in no time at all a wrestling match is in progress. "Hey! No. You will not best me. Even with one arm I can........ahhhhhh!!!!!" He starts to laugh as his brother tickles him. This was an old game, one they had not played in a long time.
It is those thoughts that have her unpacking her things. That was it, she wasn't going. He did not love her, at least not enough to believe in her, not enough to believe that she could help him. So she unpacks it all before she goes in search of Faramir. She hoped to find him in his room, it having been long enough for him to finish, but he wasn't there. She does pause there a moment though, entering his room and looking around. "I wish there was something in here, something that I could take and show you and prove to you…" But her voice trails off as she sits down on his bed and puts her head in her hands. "Why do you insist on doing this, Faramir?"
Getting up, she leaves his room, stopping in the library and then in Boromir's rooms. But Boromir wasn't even in his rooms, and it gets her to wondering. Finally, standing outside the doors to the stable, she can hear voices. She knows that one is Faramir, but which does the other belong to? She leans her head against the door and listens harder. Who could it be…….
But the second she wonders who it is, she realizes who it is, the voice so like Faramir's it could be no other then his brother. Good, perfect, with someone else there it wouldn't be so hard on her.
Without delaying a moment later she walks in and looks between the two. "Hello there, Faramir," she nods at him and then smiles at his brother. "Boromir." Then she looks back at Faramir, straightening her shoulders and her back, hoping she can get through this in one piece. "I am glad you are here, Boromir," she says as she looks at him again, smiling softly. "I have a favor to ask of you. I don't know how much you have been told but the situation is that I am not feeling too good. So I would appreciate it if you would go with Faramir to Lorien. I do not think that I will be able to make the trip and he will need someone much stronger then I and with better sword skills." That was it, wasn't it? He needed someone stronger then her, Boromir would be perfect, for she was too weak for him.
Boromir frowns as he looks up at Eowyn and hears her request. What did she mean by that? He was not going to Lorien to be there for Faramir. She was. He looks at his brother and sees the look on his face and shakes his head, looking at Eowyn. "No." It was all he was going to say. And when he sees the shocked look on her face and when she repeats the one word he shrugs. "I will not take your place because I will be there for treatment myself. I will not have the time. Besides, you need to be there for he wants you there." He gets off the floor and look over at his brother and Eowyn. He then sighs deeply and shakes his head. "Idiots. BOTH of you! You Faramir must tell her what you just told me and Eowyn, you have to believe him and stop being a teary female because as long as I have known my little brother, not one lie has passed his lips. And I am going to stand here till you both stop OWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He covers his eye where Eowyn had hit him, blinking a few times and touching around to it make sure it was okay, then looks at his brother who was laugh, and Eowyn, who looked ready to hit him again.
When Eowyn walks in and speaks Faramir looks almost devastated. When she finishes he is instantly on his feet. When Boromir says his piece before he can say anything he can't help but smirk when Eowyn hits him, then he can't help but laugh. Oh he had walked right into that one. He knew how Eowyn hated it when people thought her a weak female. He smiles and pats his brother's shoulder, then walks over to Eowyn and before she can do anything he takes her in his arms and kisses her with a deep passion. He pulls back a little later and sighs softly. "Eowyn, I do not wish you to stay. I need you with me. And this time I mean it. I need you to be my wife so that when we return we may go straight to Gondor and have King Elessar bless our marriage. Then I will take you to Ithilien and show you where we will someday live." He kisses her softly again. "I do not fear I will die now. No longer will I push you away from me."
When Boromir calls her a teary female she about comes unglued, hauling back her fist and bringing it in connection with his right cheek, not caring that she probably gave him a black eye. "I am NOT a teary female!" she says between her teeth. She is then about ready to protest when Faramir kisses her. She tries to pull away again, but he won't allow it, kissing her again. So she looks away from him, being stubborn as she was. "That is not what you said only a few hours ago. In fact if I remember correctly, you might as well have called me a teary female like Boromir did." She didn't care if he was still there or not, speaking as if he wasn't because right then she was still too upset to talk to him. All it does is solidify her belief that she cried too much lately. Never again would she cry. Never. But could she trust him not to do those things? Once more she is left to wonder what it was that had changed his mind in so short a time.
"Yes I must thank you, Eowyn, who is to be my future sister-in-law. You gave me a black eye. Now what is my wife going to think on our wedding day?" Boromir smirks and shakes his head. "Oh and just so you know, I will not forget this, Eowyn. Be afraid. For I have never let Faramir get away with hitting me. Ask him. I am going back to bed." He limps from the stables, but then stops and sticks his head back in. "Oh and when you go to bed, Dear Sister, I would check under your covers first." He smirks and leaves, laughing as he limps back to the great hall.
Faramir smirks as Boromir leaves, shaking his head. He then looks at Eowyn and sighs. "I do not think you a teary female. I love you. I just fear you will leave me. But not anymore. No. I will no longer be a fool. I will deal with that time when it comes and not worry about it." He sees her skeptical look and drops to his knees, holding her hands. "Please, Eowyn. You must believe me. I will kneel and beg for your forgiveness if that is what you want." And he does just that, while kneeling he begins to beg her for her forgiveness, kissing her hands softly again and again, until finally she makes him stand up again. He smiles, a foolish smile. "Please, Eowyn? Forgive me? I will not doubt myself or your love again. Please?" He leans in and kisses her softly, whispering against her lips. "Please?"
She frowns at Boromir when he leaves but then instantly forgets him and his threats, rubbing her knuckles as she stands there looking at him as he kneels in front of her, begging her. "Please, do not do that. You do not need to kneel in front of me." She tugs at him, trying to get him to stand. "Faramir, you have me confused enough without doing this. Please." She tugs harder and finally gets him up, sighing as he stands. Then she speaks out loud, feeling that the way things where, she might as well voice her own fears. "Faramir... Look, Faramir, you want me to forgive you but I need something too. I want you to believe in me. I am not a teary female, like he claims, like you seem to hear me as. I am strong. I am strong enough for the both of us. But you have to believe in me. I will forgive you if you promise to believe in me. " She wraps her arms around his waist finally, holding onto him instead of pulling away.
He smiles at her, his arms going around her to hold her close. "I do believe in you, Eowyn. That is why I am asking for your forgiveness." He leans down and kisses the top of her head. "I promise to believe in you, though I have always known you were strong. Come. I must smell from working up a sweat and I want nothing more than to get clean and then to climb into a nice bed to sleep. And I intend to sleep till noon. For you all can wait until I am rested before we leave."
She nods, finally looking up at him. "Yes, Faramir, I will forgive you." She had made her own peace with herself. She would never cry again. Last night she had cried for the last time. "Lets go. You can get your sleep and then we will leaves after lunch." It was Eomer's fault that he had had to work and was now beat, she didn't blame Faramir. So as she takes him from the stables, making sure that the door was locked behind him, she keeps one hand laced with his. "You will be able to get plenty of sleep."
He looks at her and smiles, but when she looks at him he notices something and stops. "You are keeping something from me. Eowyn, I do not wish you to change because of me. Or what Boromir says. Do not listen to him, Love. He merely says stupid things because he does not think before he speaks. Oh he is a smart man, very smart. He just has an ego to rival any king's." He smiles at her. "If you fear I think less of you for something you did well think again. I could never do that, Eowyn. I love you for you. No matter how you act."
Eowyn shakes her head at Faramir "Do now worry, I will be fine. As for Boromir, this has nothing to do with him." She leans in and kisses him softly. "Come on, Faramir, you need to take your nap so that we can get married." She tugs on his hand. If he stayed in this good mood she would lay with him and sleep the rest of the night in his bed.
Faramir doesn't move. "So you are still willing to marry me?" He smiles when she sighs and rolls her eyes at him. "Yes. Of course you are. May I ask one thing though?" He sees her annoyed look but ignores it. "Since you will be my wife, if I ever doubt us or myself again, will you simple knock some sense into me?" He gives her a serious look, for he was serious. He didn't like doubting her. And if he could help it he wasn't going to do it again. "And if I am afraid will you simply kiss me and tell me not to be? Remind me of how strong you think I am?"
She thinks about everything he says, his words only making her feel worse though she knows that is not his intention. But here she had cried into her pillow because she felt she had been weak. Now she felt like she had given up on him, as if once more she had not been strong enough for him. She had turned away from him when he needed her the most to believe in him.
The tears burn her eyes, but they do not fall, there is no sign of them outwardly at all. She refuses to cry even though her heart was breaking at her own weakness. She nods in answer to his question, then finally finds her voice. "Yes, if it happens again, I will not run and leave you like a coward, I will instead kick sense into you until you believe in yourself again. You are strong, Faramir, far stronger then I am. You have to remember that."
He frowns and still does not move, instead he pulls her to him and wraps his arms around her. "I do not think you a coward, Eowyn. Oh I think Gandalf is right. We are made for each other. For I am about to say I think of myself as a coward but I do not wish to feel the sting of your hand." He smiles and holds her close. "Darling, let us forget this. Let us not dwell on negative emotions. We are to be married in some hours. I wish to have a happy bride, free of all burdens when I marry you. And I will be the same for you. I will not think of my fears or hear my father's voice. I will simply dwell in the hear and now and be happy that I will finally have you as my family. I will love you and tonight we will finally be able to sleep in each other's arms without having to feel guilty because it might not look right to others." He kisses her forehead softly, sighing against it. "I love you, Eowyn, and I wish nothing more than to make you happy."
She nods, agreeing. Yes, she would put it all aside, even her resolve not to cry. Right now she would set it all aside and just concentrate on them together, not on her or him separately, but on them together. "Not forget it, but put it aside. Forget the negativity, but put aside the things that we need to work on for later. You want a happy bride and I want a happy husband. I love you too, Faramir and I want nothing more then to have you happy. You should see that by now, do you not?" She eyes search his, wanting to truly know.
He smiles down at her and nods. "Yes, Love. I do see that. I know you want me happy." He kisses her softly. "Come. I will walk you to your room." He takes her hand and begins walking again. "Unless you wish to sleep with me in my room."