Firstly, a very very very big thank you to my first reviewer ClapToSaveTheFairies! Yes, the lightening is setting ground for later on in the story, and I am glad that I have managed to keep the characters true, I was worried that I was revealing a little too much into Eowyn at first, but seeing as it seems to go down well I shall not worry :) Well, here it is, Chapter 2
Eowyn sat upon the grass and stared at the tomb of Theoden. "If only you were here, Uncle." She whispered into the silence around her. Behind the tombs lay the hill that was the city of Edoras. It was bustling with market stalls and villagers doing their shopping, playing with their children, preparing their horses, in other words, the last place on Middle Earth Eowyn wanted to be at that moment. She needed to be alone with her thoughts, with her family. Eomer was there for her, whenever he could be, and she knew that he worried. She spoke once again to her family. "You have all been taken from me, who is to leave me next? Eomer? Faramir? I could not be without them." She felt tears begin to swell in her eyes. No. She would not cry again, too many tears had fallen that morning.
Hours passed before a familiar sound reacher her ears. "Eowyn?" A voice somewhere in front of her called her out of her thoughts. She saw Eomer strolling down the path towards her, and even at the distance between them, she could see the worry written on his face. She stood up, aware that there were grass stains on the hem of her white gown accompanied by small traces of dusty dirt. He jogged a little before stopping before her. His hands found her shoulders worriedly. "Eowyn? What are you doing out here? It is freezing, the sun was down long ago!"
As he spoke of the cold, she shivered and found herself extremely tired. She leaned against him, his body was warm, yet she could not feel his warmth transfering to her own body. All she wanted to do was be held, to feel the warmth of another. Eomer was suprised at his sister's behaviour. She had been acting strangely for weeks, ever since their Uncle had been buried, but this he had never seen. As she leant against him, he wrapped his arms around her. The chill of her skin startled him, she was so cold! Why had she let herself get so cold? Her rubbed his arms up and down her back as she shivered, trying desperately to warm her. Staying out in the cold wasn't going to help her.
"Come on," He said softly, keeping his sister in his arms as he lead her back to the city. "We need to get you warm, you'll get sick." He gave her a small smile. "You don't want to be sick when Faramir gets here." He saw a flicker of a smile form on her lips, Faramir always caused her to smile. The smile faded though and Eomer could see she was in some discomfort.
"Eomer." She muttered, the weakness in her voice suprised him. She usually hid her illness from him, so to be letting him help her was either an improvement on her stubborness or a bad sign. "I won't lose you and Faramir." It wasn't a question to him, it was as if she had been telling herself that since she had come out here, and was telling him now as a way of proving it to be right. He rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.
"No, you shall not." He assured her. "That I can promise you, sister." What was going on in her mind, he could not tell, yet he knew that whatever the swirl in her mind was telling her, it wasn't doing her health any good. As he laid her in her bed when they got back to the Golden Hall, he was startled to feel a small fever developing on her forehead. It was most likely due to her stubborness sitting in the cold all day and well into the night. He frowned, but it did not feel threatening, and would no doubt disappear after she had rested well.
The next morning, Eomer was seated at the head of the dining table, with Eowyn at his right hand. She looked pale, and he was worried about her still, but after investigating into this matter, he found that she no longer had a feverish warmth, and she was more sociable today than she had been for a while. This was no suprise, as the company from Gondor was to arrive today, and the prospect of seeing Faramir again was one that could bring a light to her heart even in the deepest darkness.
The breakfast meal before her, however, of sausages, eggs and warm toasted bread, did not seem at all appetising to her. The smell of the combined foods seemed almost nauseating to her, yet she forced down the food under the watchful eye of Eomer. "What time are Faramir and King Aragorn expected to arrive?" She asked him, if only to break the silence between them.
"Around noon." He said cheerfully. "I should think that Aragorn shall be extremely pleased with bringing young Faramir along. From what I hear he would not stop pining for you since we had left."
Eowyn's pale cheeks flushed a healthy pink as she lowered her chin to hide her embarrassment. "Is that so?" She asked innocently, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"And I look forward to telling Aragorn that Faramir's feelings have not been in vain." Eomer chuckled. Eowyn glared at him. "Don't look at me like that, sister. I have seen you looking at the horizon towards Gondor. I am no fool." He retorted heartily.
Her gaze softened and she looked down at the food before her. It seemed to twist in shape before her eyes, and she felt a headache coming on, as well as the dizziness with it. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing evenly to let the feeling pass. At first, it got worse and the nausea intensified, causing her to sway a little in her seat. "Eowyn?" She snapped her head back up as her brother's voice reached her ears. Immediately, the feeling dissapeared, and the only emotion she was left with was longing, a longing for the man she loved. "Is everything all right, sister?" He asked her, placing his hand over hers on the table.
"Fine, brother, just fine." She replied, giving him a small smile and squeezing his hand in reassurance. Eomer raised an eyebrow at her, but did not press the matter. He knew full well that Eowyn was not fine, there was something wrong, he knew this even if she would not admit so. She would always say she was fine. As long as Eomer could remember, she had used that word to cover up all sorts of emotions. At their parent's burial, their uncle and cousin's burials, when Aragorn had not returned her feelings, all covered up by the word 'Fine'.
"Eowyn, if you are feeling unwell, I don't want you pushing yourself." He told her. "I know it makes you worse, and the last thing I want to do is have to travel to Gondor and put you in the care of their healers again." He had hated her being in there, alone, save for Faramir. Thank the Valer he had been there to save her from herself, even if Eomer had not agreed to their intended union at first.
Eowyn smiled at her brother, the pain had gone now. "Eomer. I would rise to see Faramir from my death bed if that is what it took to see him." This brought a worried glimmer into Eomer's eyes. "Do not worry so, Eomer." She said with a small laugh, the sound helped convince him further. "I am not ill. I am perfectly fine."
He was about to speak again when a guard entered the room swiftly. "My Lord, King Eomer." He stopped at the side of the table, bowing deeply. "The company from Gondor have arrived. Lord Faramir has sent a rider ahead to request that the Lady Eowyn greet him at the gate."
Eowyn's heart rose in her chest, and the expression on her face was one of excitement. He had requested her to greet him, and she would do so! Before Eomer could answer she leapt to her feet and ran out of the room, intent on reaching the gate before the crowds of villagers did. She intended on being the first one he saw. Eomer laughed as she ran from the room, then stood also, speaking to the guard. "Thank you, Aronir. I have not seen my sister that happy since we were still in Gondor."
Eomer followed her out of the room, only to find her standing on the steps outside the Golden Hall, staring at the group of approaching riders. "Eowyn? The gate is at the base of the city, not the top." He said jokingly, his laugh evident in his voice.
"I know that." She said softly. "But..."
Oh no, Eomer said, here cam the pessimism. "No buts!" He ordered her gently. "You have not seen each other for long enough, go to him." He gave her a soft push in the direction of the gate, and she smiled over her shoulder at him as she descended the steps.
As they reached the bottom, a crowd had already began to form at the gate. The arrival of the messenger must have caused that, yet the people of Edoras parted their congregation to allow the King and his sister through. As they stood at the head of the crowd, Eowyn reached down and at the last minute, straightened out her dress. When she straightened up, the riders from Gondor came in through the open gate.
At the head of the riders was Aragorn, dressed in the fine attire of the king, with his armour over the top, though there was no need for such protection now the war was over, it was simply a ceremonial case. He looked different from when Eowyn had last seen him as they left Minas Tirith, he looked much more tired, probably from the three day ride and the strain of having to run Gondor. "Eomer, King, it is good to see you once again." He said loudly, as he began to dismount his horse.
Behind him, Faramir practically leapt off his own horse and jogged over to where Eowyn stood. She saw him approaching, and with all the butterflies in her stomach gone, she ran forward to meet him. Laughing, she was gathered up in his arms and they hugged once another closely. She smiled against his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his neck, finally feeling the warmth she had so desperately needed. His arms snaked around her waist to hold her closer, and he rested his head atop of hers. Had she been blind, she would still know that it was him that held her, simply from the sensation her skin felt being in contact with his.
Beside them, Aragorn and Eomer shook hands, looking sideways at the couple with raised eyebrows. "Maybe now he will stop complaining." Aragorn laughed. "He has not stopped since you left."
At the idea of the quiet, reserved Steward complaining for months on end, Eomer couldn't help but laugh. Yet it was true to say that he had never seen such a longing in his sisters gaze until she was parted from Faramir. "I agree. Yet I fear once you leave that it shall begin all over again, My Lord Aragorn."
After what seemed like hours, but was simply a few blissful moments, they pulled back a little from the embrace. She gazed up into his eyes, the beautiful grey orbs that brought peace to her heart. "I have missed you so much." She whispered, as he kissed her forehead. He would have kissed her inviting lips, yet knew that to do this before Eomer and Aragorn was likely to result in either the loss of his head, or something else that he valued just as much and was likely to hurt a lot more. As he set his kiss to her porcelain skin, he let his lips linger there for a moment longer than usual, relishing in the feeling of being close to her again.
They were interrupted by a loud cough from beside them, and they parted fully under realisation that both Eomer and Aragorn were watching them. Eowyn blushed and Faramir smiled shyly. "Shall we continue the reunions inside, Eowyn?" Eomer asked slyly. "Away from the prying eyes of the entire population of Edoras." If possible, she went a deeper shade of red, and in Faramir's eyes such a colour made her look beautiful. He made a mental note to make her blush more often.
They made to go upstairs, Faramir offered Eowyn his arm and she linked hers through it as they climbed the stairs to the Golden Hall. She leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked, yet halfway up she stopped dead in her tracks. Faramir stopped also and turned to face her. She could feel the nausea from breakfast returning. Her head was spinning once more and felt as if there was a thousand dwarves pounding upon the inside of her head with their axes. She raised a hand to her head, in an attempt to still the pain.
"Eowyn?" Faramir asked, cupping the side of her face with one hand and putting the other on her shoulder.
About thirty paces ahead of them, Eomer and Aragorn had turned to see what was keeping the younger two. Seeing Faramir cupping her face made Eomer sigh. "I thought they would at least have the dignity to do this away from the public." Aragorn frowned.
"No, Faramir looks worried." He said concearned, taking a step back down towards the couple. "I think something is wrong with Eowyn." He told Eomer, who instantly went back down the stairs to where Faramir stood trying to get some response from her halfway up to the hall.
"Eowyn." He said, squeezing her shoulder gently. "Love, what is the matter?" As Aragorn and Eomer joined them, her breathing pattern and began to come in raggedy gasps. She leaned forward against Faramir, letting him catch her in his arms. Once again, she found herself against his chest, this time, unable to find comfort in the warmth of his body. She felt as though her skin were on fire, and the sounds of the three men calling her sounded as though they were calling from a far distance, muffled by the imaginary wind that blocked everything out.
As Faramir caught her, Aragorn reached out a hand, placing it against her forehead. He recoiled almost instantly, cursing at the temperature of her skin. "Valer! How long has she had this fever?" He asked Eomer, whose face became written with worry once again.
"Fever? It had dissappeared, not half an hour ago, I checked for it myself." He informed Aragorn.
Aragorn nodded. He knew that Eomer would not allow Eowyn to leave her bed if she was sick, yet he also knew of Eowyn's stubborness. It was unmatched by anyone except Faramir, which was probably making them such a good couple, particularly when neither of them would accept the other talking down about themselves. "We must get her to her bed." He said, aware of the villagers looking on and whispering in concearn for their Lady. "Faramir." The Steward tore his gaze away from Eowyn's limp form and up at Aragorn. "Bring her inside."
Faramir didn't care what onlookers or Eomer thought of him as he lifted Eowyn off of her feet and into his arms. Her head rolled forward onto his shoulder and he hurried, as fast as he could without disturbing Eowyn, into the Golden Hall.
