Thank you so much for all of your reviews and for all of the responses to my wedding question. That was totally sweet and I love you all;-)
You know what's funny? This story was originally going to be a two or three chapter story, and now it's...large;-) Anyway, Lady of the Dog Star, thank you for pointing that out. What I MEAN'T was the first time he could remember, but I must have left that out. Hits self on the side of the head I'll try to be more careful;-)
Ok, now we're gonna go back in time just a tad. Have fun!
How long Èowyn had been sitting by the bed, she wasn't sure. She knew that it was late at night, and she had been sitting there since she had taken a short nap around noon. But it didn't really matter; she wasn't tired.
Faramir was doing better...or so it might seem. He wasn't thrashing or calling out anymore, but he lay still and calm. His face was peaceful, but his breathing... Èowyn couldn't help thinking it might be too shallow. His chest barely rose at all when he took a breath.
The room started to blur, and she realized just before she hit the bed that she was falling asleep. With a jerk, she righted herself and took a deep breath. Maybe she was more tired than she had thought! She glanced around. Nobody to take over.
Don't be silly, she reprimanded herself. You don't want to sleep anyway. Faramir needs you by his side.
"You should sleep," said a voice from the doorway. Èowyn turned to find Halla leaning against the doorframe. She shook her head.
"No. I must be here when he wakes up or..." she stopped abruptly, then went on. "Anyway, I'm not tired."
"You almost fell asleep a few seconds ago," he countered.
"Have you been watching me?" Èowyn crossed her arms.
Halla slipped into the room and seated himself on the edge of a table. "Yes. Yes I have."
Èowyn raised an eyebrow. "May I ask why?"
Halla leaned back, studying her. "Why were you out in the woods? Why is he injured? Why do both of your names sound so familiar?"
Èowyn held up her hands. "Look, I know it seems like a deep dark secret, but it's not. I just---I didn't want to go into it earlier. It's all very hard for me." She shook her head. "Alright, I'll make a deal with you."
Halla tilted his head.
"I'll tell you about us if you tell me about your family and why you live out here in the middle of Ithilien all alone."
"Deal," Halla said. He got up and moved to a chair by the bed. "You start."
Èowyn took a deep breath and smoothed wet hair off Faramir's brow. "The reason we sound so familiar is that...our correct titles are Lord Faramir, Steward of Gondor, Prince of Ithilien and Captain of Gondor, and Lady Èowyn, Princess of Ithilien, Slayer of the Witch-King, and Descendant of the Kings of Rohan. Eomer King is my brother."
Halla blinked and whistled slowly. "I expected something of the sort, but I never thought that..."
Èowyn lifted her chin. "I expect you to keep my secret, please. I only told you because I feel I can trust you. Don't prove to me that I have displaced my trust." Then she sighed and went on. "It's a long story: how Faramir was injured. I'm not quite sure how it all happened anyway. A week and a half ago I challenged him to a duel. He accepted, and a week later we went out to a quiet place in Ithilien and started our duel. Then..." she paused. "Then something happened inside of me and I was back on the day of the great battle in the Pelennor fields. I was fighting the witch-king. And I hurt Faramir. After I came back to reality I bound his wound, but it was deep and he lost a lot of blood. It reopened when we both fell asleep. By the time we both awoke again it was getting dark and I had to get him onto a horse. We rode, but I don't know my way so well around here, so we got lost. That's when the storm started, and we had to spend the night outside. If only I had gone a few yards over the hill and seen your house!
"Anyway in the morning Nympha found us. That's my story." Èowyn looked down to see her hands twisted in her dress, and she unclasped them, smoothing the wrinkles out. When she looked up at Halla she saw he was leaning forward. "And your tale?" she asked.
Halla leaned back again. "Simple. My father and mother were raised among the elves around Lothlorien, and when the war was over they came down here. It's been a few years, and we never really fit in too well with men, though they are our own kind. So we moved into the wild to have some privacy. I knew I had heard your names before, but I couldn't remember where. Now I know." He smiled and took Èowyn's hand in a friendly way. "Look, Lady Èowyn...I know this is all very hard on you. I should not have said what I said earlier...about your husband dying and all. There is, perhaps, a bit of hope---"
"You don't have to worry, Halla," Èowyn smiled. "It was only the truth. Of course I...wish for him to live, but if it is his time to go..." she broke off sharply and bowed her head. As she began to sob silently Halla put an arm around her awkwardly.
"Please, my lady, don't! You must be strong, for him," he whispered.
Èowyn gasped for breath and leaned against the young man. "I know---I know! But it's---all---my---fault!" she wept.
"No, no it's not," Halla soothed. "Please, don't blame yourself for what happened. It was an accident." He rubbed her arm and helped her sit up. "You're tired, Lady Èowyn. You should sleep. I'll take over and---"
"No." The word was said with such force that Halla drew back. Èowyn looked up. "No," she repeated. "I must stay by his side. But...I'd be grateful if you would join me?"
Halla nodded. "Of course. Would you like some strong tea?" he asked.
Èowyn smiled...the first for a long time. "Please," she said.
As Halla left the room to boil water, Èowyn turned her full attention on her husband. You're always hurt by the ones you love, aren't you, she thought. You've dealt with more than any one man should have to deal with. 'Twas you who brought me back from the clutches of despair, and look how I repay you! Faramir, oh my love, you should have had a Numenorean woman. Not I, a wild shieldmaiden from Rohan. Look what I did to you? Can you ever forgive me? She bowed her head and gently took his hand between her own. I would gladly give up the sword completely, were you to just return to me. What will I do without you? What will Elboron do without you? This is not how it's supposed to end! Oh Faramir, Faramir, can't you see that I need you?
The hand she was holding suddenly jerked, and she looked up. Faramir's face contorted in pain, and she wasn't sure whether to be scared or glad that he was finally moving. He began to gasp, deep, shaking breaths that were edged with coughs.
"Faramir?" she said softly. "Faramir, what is going on?"
Then, for the first time in so long, it seemed, Faramir opened his eyes and looked straight at her. There was no sign of hallucination or fever in them, and he smiled weakly.
"Im na bar, Èowyn," he whispered in a quiet voice. "Im na bar."
Èowyn sobbed, low and long. Tears fell onto Faramir, who smiled and wiped them from her face. "There is no need to cry, my love. I will get well now."
Then Halla was there, gasping and putting a hand to Faramir's forehead. "I don't understand!" he murmured. "How is this possible?" He ran to the door. "Amme!" (Mother!) he cried, "Amme túl asc!" (Mother come quickly!)
Loomi was there in a snap and she too couldn't believe her eyes. "His fever has gone down a lot," she said to Èowyn. "I think maybe..."
"Yes, he will live," Èowyn said with shining eyes. Then she looked back at Faramir. "Sleep now, my love," she whispered to him. "In the morning I will explain everything to you."
Faramir smiled and closed his eyes. Within five minutes sleep had claimed him and he rested peacefully. Èowyn sat back in her chair, meaning to watch over him, but she too fell prone to the guiles of sleep, and she breathed evenly along with her husband.
Loomi pulled Halla from the room and whispered, "What happened? How is this possible?"
Halla smiled. "It's a miracle, Amme. Eru spared him."
Loomi shook her head. "It is beyond my comprehension, I'll admit to that."
The next morning found Èowyn still sleeping peacefully with the sunlight shining on her. The fresh light seemed to light up the golden color of her hair, and to Faramir, who lay watching her sleep, he could believe he was watching an angel. There is a reason I came back, he smiled. And it's right in front of me.
At that moment Èowyn stirred and opened her eyes. She smiled as she saw Faramir looking at her. "Good morning, mel," she said.
Faramir held out his hand. "Help me sit up, my love. My strength is somewhat depleted."
Èowyn took his hand. "Absolutely, Faramir. And it should be depleted...you've been thrashing in fever for three days!" She assisted him in sitting and then asked, "Please, may I sit next to you?"
Faramir's gaze met her own. " Èowyn, why ask?" he murmured. She slipped in next to him and put her arms around him.
"Faramir, please, please, please forgive me!" she said in a low voice. "It's all my fault! I wounded you, and I almost lost you. I almost...killed you!" She buried her face in his shoulder and began to cry.
Faramir bit his lip. So Èowyn had all this time been blaming herself for what had happened. If he'd known that... " Èowyn, Èowyn hush! It's not your fault." He lifted her chin and looked into her teary eyes. "You've been blaming yourself the whole time, haven't you."
Èowyn gulped and nodded. "It was my fault! I was the one who injured you, and I was the one who couldn't find my way back to Emyn Arnen! We had to spend the entire night out in the rain and cold because I couldn't see the house just over the hill and---"
Faramir put a finger to her lips. "Enough," he whispered. Then he kissed her gently. "I forgive you, and it is my wish that you would forget about this whole thing. From now on...I was injured when my horse threw me onto a jagged rock. Alright?" He tilted Èowyn's chin up again.
Èowyn's eyes filled with tears again. Who am I married to? she asked herself for the millionth time. What kind of man is this? I don't deserve him at all.
She had, of course, no idea that he himself was thinking, Who is this angelic creature I'm married to? I don't half deserve her. "Èowyn," he asked after a minute in silence, "Tell me how we got here---wherever here is---would you?"
Èowyn laughed at herself and sat up a little. "Silly me! Of course you will be wondering how we got here. Well..."
"Hush now, my baby, be still love don't cry,
Sleep as you're rocked by the breeze.
Sleep and remember my last lullaby,
So I'll be with you when you dream."
The baby cried all the louder. Hild shushed it and rocked gently, sighing as she walked the large room. How many days since the Lord and Lady had been in their room? Three? Hild sighed again. Three too many.
As Lord Elboron's wet nurse, Hild had been summoned from Rohan to care for the child. She had a baby of her own, her little Harding, and her man had come to serve under Lord Faramir as well. His name was Herubrand.
As Hild rocked the child, she said softly, "Hush, little princeling! You're safe. Your parents will be home soon, and all shall be well." But little did she believe her own words. No one knew where Faramir and Èowyn had set out for. They had said they were going for a picnic, and naturally no one said a thing about it. They should have been home by late afternoon...dusk at the latest. But they weren't.
There was no one who knew Ithilien like Lord Faramir. After all, he had been the Captain of the Rangers for years. So why should he not come home? The conclusions to be drawn were terrifying. Either they had been captured or hurt...one could decide which they wanted to believe.
Elboron was finally quieting down, and Hild set the child in his crib with a gentle kiss. "Sleep, baby," Hild whispered. Then she hurried out of the room and into the next. She tried to sew for a while, but her mind wandered down terrifying paths when she was not paying strict attention to it. Finally she stood and walked to the window.
"Herubrand!" she called as she caught sight of her husband. "What news?"
Herubrand looked up and smiled. "I'll be right up, Hild dear."
Hild began to pace the room, knotting her hands in her pockets. The search party had gone out early that morning to try to find the missing Lord and Lady.
Before long Hild heard steps on the stairway and she flung the door open. "Well?" she cried. Herubrand sighed and walked into the room.
"Let me change first, Hild. I'm soaked." He pulled his boots off slowly, holding his toes up to the flickering fire in the hearth. Hild brought him a change of clothing, and as he pulled on a fresh tunic he said heavily, "We couldn't find them."
Hild's stomach felt queasy. "What---what do you mean?" she asked.
"We searched the countryside all day and yet we couldn't find them. Where could two people and two horses go, I ask you? Where?"
Hild shook her head. "What do you think happened, Herubrand?"
Herubrand rubbed his chin, still glistening with water. "I don't know. We found no trace of them at all." With a sigh, he bent over and buckled his belt on. "Beregond refused to give up the hunt, and about seven men stayed with him. I brought the rest home with me."
Hild stood slowly and looked out the window at the wet sky and rolling hills of Ithilien. May Eru grant him keen sight and quick wits, she thought sadly, so he may bring our beloved Lord and Lady back home.
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