Nina: The plot will thicken more, believe me.
Magsluvsaragorn: Niphredil does deserve it!
Ellowyn Tinuviel: Thanks for the great reviewS with a capital S! I thought the thing about Lothiriel and Eomer/Eowyn was funny too. Ok, my dreams are weird!
I ended up having a little bit of extra time, so I got this one written. I don't anticipate being able to write for a while, though. After this update, I'll TRY to get the next one up within the first week of September. If I'm lucky, I'll get it out sooner. If not, it will be after that. But I am still working really hard on it!
Chapter Sixteen
Eowyn charged directly to Beregond's small house. It was several levels below, so by the time Eowyn reached the house, she was quite exhausted, even being as fit as she was. How do most people do it? She wondered as she searched the street for Beregond's house. She had only been there once, but she was almost certain that she could find it again.
And there it was. A little quaint house sat on the far corner of the street. A boy of ten or eleven summers ran from the house. Surely it was Bergil, of whom Faramir had oft spoken fondly.
Eowyn walked briskly toward this house and the boy.
"Excuse me, are you Bergil, son of Beregond?" She asked the boy. It was strange to her to think that this young boy already had a name. For in Rohan, the people did not carry names until their eighteenth summer.
"Aye, Ma'am, 'tis me," the boy said cheerfully. Eowyn smiled. She was being called "Ma'am" a lot today.
"Could you tell me whither your father be?" She asked.
"Aye, Ma'am, he is on the wall at the moment. But he should be down within the hour, for 'tis his breakfast hour."
"Thank you. I suppose I shall wait for him then," Eowyn sighed.
Then Bergil noticed the sword that she had strapped to her waist ere leaving.
"You...you're Eowyn Shield-Arm!" He exclaimed. Eowyn smiled. She was becoming like Aragorn with so many names.
"Oh, please teach me to use a blade like you do! My father uses a bow more often, but I prefer a sword. Please!" Bergil pleaded. Eowyn smiled and accepted his pleas with gratitude.
She didn't like not having something to do. She could say without a doubt that one of the worst days in her life was when she was told by Aragorn that she could not follow him to the Paths of the Dead. She would always remember losing control and crying in her room for longer than she had ever in her life. She would always remember the way she felt as though she was wasting time, but she couldn't help it. That was why she was grateful for Bergil's offer.
Thirty minutes of lessons past before Beregond came finally.
"Well, well. The White Lady of Rohan teaching my son to use a blade," Beregond said with a smile.
Eowyn grinned wearily back before she noticed who else was with him. Great, he had brought Faramir along.
She didn't know why, but she blushed deep when she saw Faramir.
"Hello Eowyn. How do you fare?" Faramir asked mildly, with a small smile upon his face.
"Um...well actually I fare quite well excusing some minor details," she replied wearily.
"Bergil, go help your mother," Beregond commanded sharply.
"But she said I could have the day off!" Bergil exclaimed.
"You can still help," Beregond insisted. Bergil lowered his head and tramped off to his house.
"Now, what are these minor details that influence your health?" Beregond asked gently.
"Well, I actually wanted to talk to you about that matter myself," Eowyn admitted.
"Come, sit. I have some extra food that you can eat. We will discuss these matters over breakfast," Beregond declared.
Eowyn nodded her consent and then started off.
"Well, you see, Aragorn told me that Natalie was poisoned that day when she became suddenly ill. He also mentioned that the poison was meant for someone else. He implied that I was that someone else..."
Faramir put his head in his hands and sighed. Eowyn paused to wonder what he was thinking, ere she returned to her mission.
"So I went to the kitchen today and asked a servant girl what she knew. By all evidence, the man who did it was a man with greasy, blond hair. Do you know of this man?" She asked finally.
Faramir's head jerked up with the description. Eowyn met his eyes fiercely.
"Do you know of this man, Faramir?" She asked quietly.
Faramir hesitated, and then nodded. "As do you, Milady," he said. "You know this man, for his name is Grima son of Galmod. He sat next to me on the same day that Natalie was poisoned. I had wondered if you were aware of his presence or not, for I found it strange that you passed the seat that was next to him. But I see now that you did not..."
"I admit that I feared the man I saw sitting there, for he had an ill favored look to him. That was besides the point that he resembled Grima in remarkable ways. Now I know, and now I fear. My life in the citadel is no longer safe. I do not know what I shall do, but I know that I must do something. Or else Grima will do something."
(new scene)
"Eomer?"
"Lothiriel?" Eomer asked boldly.
Lothiriel gulped loudly. Eomer smirked. Lothiriel thought fast. She suddenly fell to her knees.
"Eomer! Please don't give me away! Do this for me, for your sister! Please Eomer, you cannot tell anyone. I swear that this is an innocent act! Do not thrash it!" She pleaded while sobbing. Privately, she wondered where she had learned her acting skills, and if Eomer was falling for them.
Apparently, he was, as he knelt to the ground and pulled her into an embrace. "What do you mean, for my sister?" he asked her gently while rocking her slowly.
Lothiriel sniffed falsely. "This is for her. You see, she is in love with Faramir. But she cannot marry him as he is engaged. So Arwen came up with this idea to force Denethor to call the wedding off. He hasn't done it yet, but..."
"Don't worry, Milady. I will not bust your plan. I do not thoroughly approve, however. I do not expect to see this behavior from you again. However, since you are working at this plot already, I believe it to be cruel to stop you now. I will not destroy your scheme," he confirmed.
Lothiriel finally relaxed. He wouldn't stop her, and here she was, in the arms of the man she loved. But all too soon, Eomer stood and helped her to rise as well.
"You wouldn't want to be caught," He said with a grin.
"And neither would you!" Lothiriel retorted playfully. Eomer blushed.
"No, no I wouldn't. There I admitted it," He mumbled. Lothiriel laughed.
"Go on, but let me know when your game is up. I have to speak to you about something of great importance," Eomer said.
"Can you not discuss this very important issue now, Milord?" Lothiriel asked.
Eomer blushed again. "I do not think now is the right time, Milady. Perhaps later," He said, and then turned swiftly away.
Lothiriel tried very hard to puzzle this out, but she could not succeed. So instead she went in search of Lady Niphredil, fiancee of Prince Faramir.
(new scene)
"I'm glad you were there, Faramir. 'Twould have been hard to figure out if 'twas Grima indeed," Eowyn said after a long break of silence.
"Aye, but you know that you could always as me anyway," Faramir replied.
The two were walking back to the citadel, and neither really knew what to say. They had each given brief comments, to which the other responded to with brief answers, and then they would laps back into silence.
"Bergil seemed to be enjoying himself more than I have ever seen. You are very good with children," Faramir commented.
Eowyn blushed. Why was it that whenever someone said something like that, particularly Faramir, but that was beside the point, she blushed so?
Faramir noticed.
"That color of red suits your face, Milady," he said with a laugh. But it wasn't the kind of laugh that would wound Eowyn. Instead it was the kind that would draw her into laughing as well.
"Thank you. 'Twas a mighty complement I received," Eowyn said once their laughter had subsided to chuckles.
Faramir laughed again at this. Eowyn smiled to herself. She was very glad to know that he still treasured her as a friend at least. But once this was all over, once he found out the truth, would he still cherish her as a lover?
Silence found refuge in their mouths again. The two did not talk for the rest of the walk.
They came to their splitting ways before either of them realized it. When the time came to leave her, Faramir felt as though he would be leaving her forever. There was still one more question that he felt he needed answered.
"Milady, why have you been avoiding me of late?" He asked suddenly.
Eowyn seemed taken aback. "Of what do you speak, Milord?" She asked quizzically.
Faramir sighed. "I don't know, it just seemed as though you did not wish to be around me. I thought if I knew why, then I would know not to be around you in certain cases,"
"Can you think of an example when I expressed this desire?" Eowyn asked.
"Perhaps' twas just my imagination. It tends to overreact in such cases. However, it seemed to me that you were not happy to see me today," He expressed.
Eowyn was shocked. She was quite sure that he could not have seen that unless he had been looking for it. Even then, it would have been difficult. He would have to know exactly what he was looking for and where to look for it. True, she had been displeased to see him because she did not want to talk to him for fear of falling too much in love. However, the only way anyone would know that is if they looked deep into her eyes and read accurately what they said.
"I do not know of what you speak, Milord. I was perfectly happy to see you. You are one of my dearest friends! However, I must go now," she gasped.
Faramir nodded and turned away. He was quite sure that she knew exactly what he was talking about, for he had read her eyes again. In the amount of time that he had known her, he had learned more about her than anyone else in Middle-Earth besides Eowyn herself and perhaps Eomer.
He proceeded to Aragorn's office to discuss the royal marriage, Aragorn's least favorite subject. Faramir found it extremely hilarious when Aragorn became all fidgety whenever discussions of marriage came up. He feared that Arwen might change her mind or that he might do something to ruin it for her. But then things became less funny when Aragorn started snapping at everyone. At that point, Faramir would typically take his leave, as he was not usually need much.
Eowyn, on the other hand, went straight to Arwen's chambers.
"Arwen!" She cried, barging into the room. Arwen looked up, curious. She had been sewing her wedding dress, and Eowyn was relieved to see that she was alone.
"Arwen, I found out about the poison. 'Twas Grima. Grima Wormtongue!" she cried.
Arwen silently walked over to Eowyn and embraced her.
"Don't worry. We will solve it. I will talk to Aragorn today. Grima won't stay long," she cooed.
Eowyn began to feel a little better, but she was still worried.
"What if he has some helpers here who continued his work, even after he left?" Eowyn sobbed.
"Don't worry. He won't get any help. Grima isn't that kind of person from what I hear. He will work on his own. He won't want to have to trust someone else. Besides, 'twould be too much work to find someone else to help him," Arwen soothed.
Eowyn nodded. "Aye, I suppose you are right. I am just so nervous about everything going on," She sighed.
"What happened with Faramir?" Arwen asked. Eowyn looked at her, startled. "I saw you walking together. You were laughing," she explained.
"But...but...that was...that was several levels back!" Eowyn sputtered.
"And elves can see for many miles," Arwen said simply.
"Oh."
"Well..." Arwen promted.
"Well nothing really. Basically we walked back to the citadel and didn't have anything to say to each other so we resorted to terribly bland things," Eowyn said.
"Well, now, that won't go far in a marriage. What were you laughing at?'
"Oh, he was just teasing me for blushing.
"And why were you blushing?" Arwen asked with a laugh.
"I don't know! I just always blush when someone says something about me being good with children I blush! So naturally, anything that makes me blush, Faramir brings up and..."
Arwen laughed jovially. Eowyn pretended to laugh along, but inside she worried. What would she and Faramir talk about? Not that she had to really worry about it, but supposing they did marry, what then? Would they sit together in silence, each realizing with the passing seconds how huge of a mistake it was? That was the fate she feared for Faramir with Niphredil. That was the fate she feared when Theoden fell under Wormtongue's sway, and she thought he would force her into marriage. That was the fate she had feared so many times before. A cage, and there was nothing to free her from it.
"Eowyn, do you feel well?" Arwen asked, concerned.
Eowyn nodded. "Just a little dizzy," she lied.
"Well that is not well," Arwen declared. "Go lie down. We can talk later," Eowyn nodded and turned to leave.
"Oh, Eowyn? I thought you would find this interesting. Apparently, Niphredil kissed Lothiriel on the cheek," She said. Eowyn didn't even ask how she knew this information. She was too shaken to think about that sort of thing.
Eowyn went to the library, and sat in a chair, trying to imagine Lothiriel's expression when Niphredil kissed her.
This was the way Faramir found her, staring off into space.
"Of what do you think, Milady?" Faramir asked quietly, as to not disturb her.
Eowyn seemed to be startled at his appearance, and began speaking before she was aware of what she was saying.
"I was just trying to imagine Niphredil kissi..." She cut herself off there, horrified.
"Niphredil kissing whom?" Faramir prompted gently.
"No one, no one at all!" Eowyn cried.
"Whom?"
Eowyn looked frantically around the room, and then looked directly at Faramir.
"You," she answered firmly.
"'Tis a lie," Faramir stated quietly. Eowyn gapped. How did he know?
"No, 'tis the truth!" she insisted.
"Then why did you gape at me in such a way?" Faramir asked.
"Ok, fine, 'tis a lie. You wanted an answer, so I gave you one, now you don't want a lie, so I shan't give you one," Eowyn declared boldly.
"Aye, I want the truth," Faramir stated just as boldly, but softer.
Great. Now I have to tell him. Fabulous. Eowyn thought to herself. This was really not what she wanted to do. She did not want to hurt Faramir in this way, but he had asked for it.
"Fine. I'll admit it, I was trying to imagine Niphredil kissing Belegthon."
Faramir swallowed. Eowyn nearly cried, for she had wounded him badly. It was a lot worse than she had thought it would be.
"What gave you the thought that she might?" Faramir asked, his voice broken. His eyes glistened, for he already knew the answer. But it was harder for Eowyn to bear his calm than she thought it would be. She wished now that he would break down and leave, leave her back to her guilty thoughts.
"I...I don't know," she lied again.
"Yes you do."
"Because she did it." There she had said it. She had just crossed from hurting Faramir, to killing Faramir.
(new scene)
I don't know why I kept asking her. I knew the answer already and to hear it pronounced by her lips would be more than I could bear. But somehow, somehow I pushed through it. Once Eowyn said it, we moved on to more friendly things. No longer was I crying. No longer was she fearing about hurting me. 'Twas no longer an issue.
However, I could not get my mind off of the fact that here I was, engaged to a woman whom I did not love, not only that, but I was in love with another woman. To add to this situation, she was kissing someone else. I wondered for a brief moment if it would be all right to kiss Eowyn right then, but I banned that thought quickly. Just because my wife-to-be would stoop to that level did not mean that I would.
But there was a tempting element to it, I could be happy, if only for a second...