Far and Away

Chapter 31

(Warning! Beer and alcohol are involved!)

Merry walked into the kitchen and was immediately greeted by an elderly woman who was working in the kitchen. She gave Merry an apple and patted his head.

Merry walked over to a stool and climbed onto it. He shook his hair and rumpled it back the way that he liked it. He sat patiently for Faramir for over an hour. When Faramir still didn't show up, Merry got down from the stool and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, a loud bell rang and men began to shout. Merry hurried to the door and ran down the hall to Eowyn's room. He burst into the room, breathless. "What's happening?!" he exclaimed.

Eowyn glanced at Merry and then hurried to the window. She motioned Merry over. They both looked out over the city and tried to listen to what the men kept saying. "Can you make anything out?" She asked Merry.

Merry shook his head. "I'm going to find Faramir."

"I'll go with you." Eowyn grabbed her thing coat and a cloak. As they hurried down the hall to Faramir's room. Merry wondered where the cloak had come. He decided not to bother he about it, because she still looked a little angry with him. Eowyn knocked softly on Faramir's door. There was no answer.

Merry pushed the door open and walked right in. Faramir was standing in the middle of his room in the transition of putting on a shirt. Faramir stopped as Merry came into the room. Eowyn's mouth dropped open and her face turned ten shades of red. When she saw Faramir looking right at her, her face became redder and then suddenly pale. She mutter something under her breath and quickly closed the door, leaving Merry and Faramir alone. Merry noticed a hint of color had risen in the Captain's cheeks, but he didn't say anything. Faramir slipped his shirt over his head and pulled his coat on. He turned to the expectant Merry. "Yes?"

"What's going on Faramir?"

Faramir looked at Merry with confusion. "What was that?"

"What's happening? Why is the bell ringing? Why are men yelling?"

Faramir leaned close to the winder for a moment and then exclaimed, "We've won Merry! They're shouting about Aragorn's Victory! The King is returning back to Gondor!"

Merry smiled. "They're really coming back? We've won? How?"

"I'll find out." Faramir pushed his door open and hurried to find someone- anyone- who had news of the battle.

Merry happily ran down the hall to Eowyn's room and pounded on the door. Eowyn opened it and looked down at a breathless Hobbit, who stood panting in front of her. She grabbed his shoulders.

"Merry, are you alright?!"

Merry waved her aside and after fully catching his breath said, "We won!"

Eowyn looked at him, dumbfounded.

"We did it Eowyn! I don't know how- Faramir's going to find out- but we won and they're all on their way back to Gondor right now!"

Eowyn raised her hand to her mouth and choked back a sob. "Are they all coming home?" She whispered.

Merry froze. In his excitement, he had forgotten that there were probably many who lost their lives. And now all he could think of was Pippin and if his cousin was alright. And what about Frodo and Sam? No one had even mentioned them- not even Faramir. What about all the others? Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and Gandalf? The thought was almost too much for Merry.

Faramir entered the room to see two pale faces. He paused and stared at one and then the other.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Faramir asked.

Eowyn looked at Faramir. "Are they all coming back?"

Faramir looked at her gravely. "No," he said. Eowyn became very quiet. Faramir looked at Merry, who lifted a sad, but eager face to the Captain.

"What happened?" Merry asked.

"Well, from what I got (I'm really not sure how much is true Merry) but this is what I head: Aragorn, Imrahil, and Eomer are returning triumphant from the Black Gates. There was some mention of the Eagles, but they've always been a myth-"

"No! They're real!"

Faramir stared at Merry for a moment and then nodded. "Alright. I believe you, Merry. So the Eagles were sighted, but the didn't get there until the battle had already started. Its said that they fended off the Nazgul, which probably saved the lives of many of our men. And after the battle was over, the largest Eagle came down, picked Gandalf up and, along with two other large Eagles, and flew straight into Mordor. And I'm assuming it was to get Frodo and Same, although no one said that. No one I spoke with said how the battle ended of what had happened exactly- although, they did mention an explosion."

"An explosion?"

"Yes, but they didn't specify so I really don't see a connection to the battle."

Merry nodded and glanced at Eowyn, but she had disappeared. "Where did she go?"

Faramir shook his head. "I don't know Merry- I think I might have upset her." Faramir sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "Come on Merry. Let me get that drink I promised you."

Merry inhaled deeply and sighed in contentment. It had been a long time since the Hobbit had had a good drink. It had been Faramir's idea to go to a pub in the fourth level of the city. The noise and bustle of the pub had somewhat of a soothing effect on Merry. It reminded him of the Green Dragon in some ways. He took a deep drink from the large pint that sat in front of him and looked over the top of his mug to see Faramir smiling at him from across the table.

"Thanks Faramir. This really means a lot to me."

"Sure, Merry. Its my pleasure. This is one of my favorite places in the city. It holds a lot of good memories for me. My brother and I used to come here."

"Boromir?"

Faramir nodded. "Yes- I forgot that you knew him."

"He saved both Pippin and my lives. He was a good man, Faramir."

The Captain smiled faintly. "Thank you. Pippin told me a bit of something like that." He sighed and took a drink of his beer. "I do miss him. He always looked after when out mother died. He was always there to protect me-"Faramir cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair. He looked at Merry. "Anyway, its all in the past."

"Pippin was always like my brother, but I'm the one who had to look after him," Merry said, happily sipping on his ale. "He's my cousin and we did everything together. He'd always get us into trouble- but sometimes I made him do things-"Merry looked up at Faramir, but the Captain had drifted far from this world into his own.

Merry finished his ale and sat in silence for a few minutes. His companion's silence made him very uncomfortable and he began to feel lonely. He decided to break it.

"Do you love Eowyn?"

Faramir came crashing back and he stared at Merry. "What?"

"Are you in love with her?"

Faramir's face became completely red. "What makes you think that?" he stammered.

Merry smiled and tried to get the last drops of ale from his mug. "Oh, nothing-"he looked up at Faramir. "Just that you stared at her like you love her. It's the way that you talk to her and look at her. Anyone can tell that you love her. And it seems like everyone but her." Merry frowned down into his now completely empty mug. "I think you should tell her. Faramir, could you get me another pint?"

"Sure." Merry held out his mug and the Gondorian Captain took it.

Faramir stood on the sixth level of the city, right out side the House of Healing on a balcony. The cool spring air came moist and salty from the ocean. Faramir sighed and stared into the west, watching the sun sink over the Misty Mountains. He sighed again.

Faramir placed his hands against the waist high wall of the balcony. He looked down at his scared, weathered hands. His closed his eyes and shook his head. There was no possible way she felt the same about him as he felt for her- but what did he feel for Eowyn? He did have strong feelings for her, but were they strong enough to be called love?

Faramir sat on the wall and shoved his rough hands deep into his coat pockets. She was beautiful, no question there. Eowyn also had this natural fire that seemed to be burning within her and he found that part of her fascinating. Every conversation she had with him was full of excitement and he loved that. She was never boring. She was young, about 25 and was full of a contagious energy. He sighed deeply.

"What are you thinking about?"

A soft voice caused his heart to skip a beat. As he raised his eyes to look at the speaker, he met her stormy blue eyes. She stood in front of him, waiting for an answer. Her angel like features captivated him and caused his heart to beat wildly.

"You seem deep in thought, I'll leave." She turned to go, but he jumped up and grabbed her arm.

"No please stay. Your company is soothing." He sat down again, his hand still on her arm. She slowly sat down next to him. "I've had a lot on my mind lately," he explained.

"The War?"

He noticed that she hadn't pulled her arm away from him, so he cautiously moved his hand to her wrist. "Something like that." He smiled at her and sighed, running his hand through his hair. He glanced at her. "I hope I didn't upset you earlier."

She shook her head. "Oh, no. You really don't know how much it meant to me that Eomer is coming back."

Faramir boldly took her hand. "I know what you mean."

Eowyn smiled at him with her blue eyes. "Yes, well, it's a very good thing that they're coming home." She squeezed his hand and got up. "Good night, Faramir."

Faramir chocked a good night to her and stared after her until she had vanished from his sight. In that one moment he know: he loved her.

(%author's note% alright, I know that it takes me forever to update, but my computer is either not working, or I'm not in town. And school starts in less than a week, so, I'm sorry but I hope that you like this chapter! Please review!! Thanks! %end of author's note%)