Hi!

I truly apologise for keeping you waiting this long. Somehow, private life messed up with me the last few weeks and I only now started writing again. I have another story I would like to finish and so I neglected this one a bit… I am sorry, really.
But now I finally managed to force me writing again on this story again and here is chapter three. I hope you are still with me and enjoy the story!

I thank all my reviewers of chapter two! It doesn't make sense to answer to them now because I think that you have long forgotten what you've written in the reviews… ;)

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Chapter Three

Dust was whirled up from the hooves of the horses on the dusty plain where the riders disappeared in the distance. They were only small black spots now, not recognisable persons anymore. Nevertheless, Aragorn knew exactly who was departing to Isengard: Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Théoden, Éomer and some of the Rohirrim.

Below in the keep, people started to get back into daily routine. Babies cried, children were playing on the stairs, women hurried around to get food for their families and even some hesitant laughter could be heard. The men were busy with the repair of the wall and the banging of hammers could be perceived even on the upper battlement.

Aragorn averted his gaze again from the life in the keep to the departing company but he was unable to make them out any longer in the distance.

His hands trembled from exhaustion where they gripped the stony wall but stubbornly he had ignored the advice of the healers and had come on the battlement to see off his friends. The people, some of them worried to see their king leave so soon after the battle, had sung at their departure as was the custom in Rohan and many of the Rohirrim had wished them a good journey and a safe return.

Aragorn had watched everything from the battlement. The way down to the wall and up again would have cost him too much of the little strength he possessed.

Legolas had not been happy at all to see his Human friend standing on the battlement, white as the wall behind him and clad only in a pair of loose fitting breeches and a linen shirt. But the Elf had been tired of arguing with Aragorn and he had just waved at the Human as a farewell.

Their last encounter had not quite ended as Aragorn had wished. As he had promised, the Elf had come early this day to say his farewell and to sort out the tension between them. Aragorn had been unsure of what to say and the right words would not come to Legolas either, so they had ended up saying a few awkward words to each other and staring at the wall in an uncomfortable silence for the rest of time. When the Elf had finally brought himself to speak about what troubled his soul, Aragorn had already been half asleep again and the words had pulled him out of his dozing. Seeing this, Legolas had been hesitant to continue and finally came to the decision to sort out everything after their journey. He had left Aragorn, who had had a hard time keeping his eyes open then, with a few polite words.

Now, the Human cursed his sleepiness. The healers had given him a painkilling potion which had left him drowsy for half the day and still clung to his mind like a sticky paste. He would have liked to say many things to Legolas but everything would have to wait now.

He had also spoken to Gandalf about the bad feeling he had had every time he thought of the journey of his friends. The wizard knew that Aragorn possessed the gift of foresight but this time he could not bring himself to trust the Human's warnings as much as he wanted. Gandalf still saw the deeply hidden frustration in the Ranger about being left behind and he thought that Aragorn's own predicament had made his judgement a bit overanxious. Besides, the Human still fought a low fever which had made his dreams uneasy of late.

The wizard had believed Aragorn to feel danger and he had sworn him to pay attention but he would have done so even without the Human reminding him.

Aragorn felt his whole body begin to tremble with cold as he still stood at the battlement even though the figures long had disappeared behind the hills. Going back to bed became a very tempting idea but he feared to let go of the supporting wall. His knees felt weak and the pain in his side had gotten worse the last few minutes.

Suddenly he heard the rustle of fabric behind him and a second later, a blanket was placed around his shoulders. For a short moment he felt like a very young boy again, tightly wrapped in blankets.

Lady Éowyn stepped next to him on the battlement and looked in the same direction where his own gaze had rested for a long while and where the riders had disappeared some time ago. Then she faced him, a serious expression on her face.

"You gave me quite a fright when I could not find you in your room."

"I wanted to see them off," Aragorn answered quietly.

"I came to the same conclusion after a time. However, they are gone now and it is still too cold to stand here only dressed as you are. You will catch a cold on top of everything else."

He looked at her tiredly.

"Does it even matter anymore?"

Éowyn stared at him, mouth open, too surprised for the moment to retort anything.

Sighing, Aragorn let his head drop on his hands that were propped up on the wall. Wonderful, simply wonderful! He had not meant to say the last phrase aloud it had just escaped his mouth. Now Éowyn would think him either suicidal or pathetic, which were both very thrilling options.

"What was that remark meant for?" Éowyn asked lowly, a hidden flame blazing in her eyes.

"Do not pay attention to what I say, Lady Éowyn. It is just that I feel that I am needed elsewhere and that I do not belong here. I should be out there with my friends, not in this keep as if I was a burden that no one cared to take with him."

Aragorn's answer was a bit muffled through the fabric of his shirt as he still rested his heavy head on his forearms. There was no sound to be heard for some time and he finally got a bit concerned because of the lack of answer from Éowyn. He slowly lifted his head to see what made her this quiet.

Éowyn stood a few paces away from him, head turned in the other direction. She trembled a little which made him worry a bit more and her hands were balled to fists.

Pushing away from the wall, Aragorn stepped around her to see what had rendered her silent, but she stubbornly refused to meet his gaze.

"Éowyn, what is it? Is it something I said?"

She breathed heavily as if to control herself, then she turned to face him and met his gaze squarely. To his bewilderment, her eyes were hard and her lips pressed tightly together in anger.

"Yes," she said lowly, the tone of her voice icy. "Actually, it is something that you said. I always held your name in high esteem, my lord, but it seems that you are no different than the other men."

Éowyn abruptly turned around and intended to leave him behind on the battlements, but an arm ranked around her shoulders and held her back. Furiously, she tried to shake the hand away and break loose of the grasp, not in the least caring about what kind of pain this action would wake in Aragorns's injured side. However, the grip on her shoulder was so firm it hurt the soft flesh beneath.

"Let me go, you are hurting me!" she snapped at Aragorn but he just shook his head in denial.

"Not before you told me what made you this angry at me."

Éowyn stopped her struggle after a time and gave a sigh of frustration.

"Fine! I will tell you, but first let me go."

Aragorn nodded, releasing the tight grip on her arm. Sweat poured down from his pale face and he felt himself trembling like mad. Waves of pain spread out from the wound in his side and left him gasping for breath. By the way the wound hurt him, he also knew with near certainty that it had started to bleed again. Nevertheless, Éowyn's sudden outburst bothered him more than he liked to admit and he needed to know what had made her this angry.

He had grown to like her, the gentleness of her spirit and her hands were soothing to him in many ways. Yet there was a fierceness to her temperament he had not explored before in a woman.

"Please, Éowyn, tell me what bothers you. I do not want to lose your friendship because of some careless words."

Standing in front of him, she suddenly looked frail, the white dress being harassed by the rough winds. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, her gaze was not directed at him anymore but on the plains that stretched out before the keep.

"You think that you do not belong here," she spoke softly, not looking at him. "You think that you should be doing something different, something of more importance. All along you are only thinking of yourself. You claim that you do not want to lose my friendship, but nevertheless you would leave me behind in this keep without a second thought if you would be able to."

Aragorn felt as if she had slapped him. He wanted to open his mouth and speak but she cut him off with a brusque movement of her hand.

"You wanted me to talk, now let me speak. Perhaps you have not noticed, but there are others who would like to be doing something else as well. You know, not all of us are looking forward to a life in the keep, even if it is only for a short time. But the villages are burnt, the cattle scattered or dead and the harvest destroyed. Many of my people cannot return to their homes as you can return to your tasks when you are healed. Nevertheless you are complaining as if you were the one most betrayed by this war."

Éowyn's voice had died down to a whisper.

"You only get a taste of what I feel most of the time. Oh, how I know how it feels to be left behind! There is so much I wish to do, I wish to accomplish, but I will never be allowed to do what I want."

"What is it that you wish, Éowyn?" Aragorn asked softly, feeling ashamed, moved and enlightened at the same time.

"I wish to fight!" she whispered fervently. "Fight for my country, for my people! Fight as you do, side by side with your friends and bringing victory to all those whom I love. It is no big wish."

Aragorn hung his head, one hand on his forehead, not daring to meet her gaze. Silence came between them and only the wind could be heard rushing over the plains, for he failed to come up with an answer to her desperate yearning. He opened to voice his apology, but her gaze turned cold as ice and she took a step back.

"No," Éowyn warned, her eyes narrowed to slits. "Keep your pity to yourself, I do not want to hear that now."

Still angry, she turned away from him and walked to the door.

"I will inform a healer to help you get back to your bed, my lord."

- TBC -

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I hope I get myself to update sooner this time, but I cannot promise anything…