A/N: Written for a challenge posted at And it is a day or so late.
Disclaimer: I don't own these people.
"My lord, I think we should find some shelter." Éowyn yelled over the wind. Faramir knew this, but could not think of anywhere to stop.
I should know these woods, he thought. He and Éowyn, along with Beregond and some Rangers were traveling to take a look for a place to build their new home in Ithilien. They had seen the storm clouds coming, but they had pressed on. Faramir wanted to find a place soon, and to show Éowyn more of Ithilien. They had been living in the Steward's apartments in Minas Tirith at the moment, thought they both wished for a place to call theirs.
Faramir lead them through the woods, as the rain poured down upon them. Through the trees, he saw a building. He pointed and shouted, "That way, there seems to be a shelter." The others nodded under their cloaks.
They slowly reached the abandoned building. It seemed to be in a condition to give them shelter for the duration of the storm. The wooden walls would keep out the elements, and they could set up their tents in there for further warmth, or if the roof leaked.
They dismounted and lead the horses through the door. Inside seemed large enough for everyone, but water trickled through the roof in places.
"At least it stops the wind and most of the rain." Éowyn said.
Faramir nodded. "We should put up the tents." They all began to work together. Once the tents were up, they began cooking food for supper. Everyone had learned not to let Éowyn make anything, thought she claimed she was getting better at it. This did not stop every one of the others from making sure she was busy with something else while they prepared food.
They took off their wet cloaks and hung them, or laid them out near the fire. Bowls were brought out and Damrod began to dish out food to everyone. They sat around the fire, feeling very grateful for the warmth and shelter from the storm. Outside, there was a flash of lightening and thunder shook the building. Some shivered a little, others just kept eating. Éowyn moved closer to Faramir. Damrod looked around at everyone, and decided to lighten the mood a little.
"I think that we should tell stories." Damrod said. "Lord Faramir, would you do us the honor?"
Faramir shock his head. "I do not feel up to the challenge tonight, might you Damrod?" He asked. Éowyn looked at him quizzically, but kept quiet.
"I think I shall then." Damrod cleared his throat and began. "I do no know if this tale has any truth to it, but I was told it when I was just a lad. There once lived a maiden, who loved a young man. She had never said a word to this man about her feelings, but that did not stop her from considering him hers. Everyday, she would watch him, wondering why he did not notice her, then she happened to hear that her young man was engaged, to another girl. The maiden wept for days, not wanting to believe that her love would leave her so. Some say she died of a broken heart, but it is not certain what was the cause of her death. Though her body was laid to rest, her spirit was not. It followed her love, not wanting to give him up. She was kept away from his wedding, and insuring festivities. That, however, did not keep her away for long. The next night, she frightened her love's wife. She throw objects at her, taking out all of her pain on the poor wife. The man would not believe the stories he heard in the morning, since he never saw any of this. To calm his wife, he decided to stay awake one night, watching over her. The spirit was more clever than he, she stayed away that night. The next morning, he was called away after he told his wife of seeing nothing. She was afraid to be alone, though she was beginning to doubt what she had seen. So, that night, she did not fear her sleep. The spirit, who knew that her love was gone, and decided to torment the wife again. After a few nights of this attack, the wife decided to strike back. When the spirit came, she throw objects at her. This did nothing, though the spirit became even more enraged than she was. She took it on herself to hurl larger items at the wife." Damrod began to mime the throws. "Back and forth objects went, until finally, the wife asked the one thing she had never before. 'Why are you tormenting me so, oh spirit?' she cried." Damrod's voice rose with these words. "The spirit cried 'You stole my love!' and hurled a chair at the woman. It struck her, harming her. The spirit thought that the woman would take the warning and leave. Instead, the woman died. No one knew about her death, until her husband came back. He found her dead body and was distraught. The spirit appeared to him, and told him what she had done. He cursed her, so she turned on him. She hunted him, depriving him of any happiness he may have received." Damrod finished. The wind howled while everyone sat, silent.
Beregond coughed, bringing everyone out of their retrieve. "Well, that was an interesting story. Thank you for telling it. I am going to retire for the night." He stood and walked to where he had pitched his tent and disappeared inside.
Faramir decided it was time as well. He stood. "I think that I should retire as well." And he turned to his tent. Éowyn looked at him as he walked away. "Forgive me," she said, "I feel I should retire as well. Thank you for the story Damrod."
"'Twas my pleasure, my lady." He said. Éowyn smiled and turned and went to her tent.
She entered and saw Faramir sitting at the desk that had been set up, writing the events of the day down. One of the men out there would have to ride to Minas Tirith to deliver the letter to the King. Éowyn assumed that this would not happen everyday, considering the weather and the distance. He leaned back a little, and turned towards her. She sat down on the camp bed and looked at him.
"Why did you not want to tell a story tonight?" She asked out right.
Faramir had his reasons for not wanting to tell a story, though he did not wish to discuss them at the moment. "I am just tired tonight. And I like to hear stories as much as telling them." He said with a weary smile as he sat down next to her on the bed.
"If you are tired, then I think that you should go to bed right away." She said with a sly smile as she pulled him into the bed with her.
The storm stilled as the night wore on. The wind still howled through the building, but nothing more. The rain had stilled and only came down at times. The moon appeared from behind the clouds, bright and full, illuminating the forest.
Faramir stirred in his sleep. He woke with a jolt. He could not remember what had made him awaken, but he could not return to sleep. This was not the first time in his life that this had happened, though it was the first since he had married Éowyn. Faramir lay wake, staring at the ceiling of his tent. He was about to fall back asleep; he thought he heard his name. No, he thought, it was probably just the wind.
"Faramir." Someone, or something, whispered in the air. This time Faramir knew that he heard his name. He looked over at Éowyn, to see if she was the one who had said his name. She was asleep next to him.
"Faramir." The voice called again. This time Faramir knew it was a voice. He grabbed some clothes and walked out of his tent. Looking around the camp, he saw no one. He was about to turn back when he heard it again, coming from the door of the building.
Faramir walked to the door, and looked outside. It was at a time when the rain had stopped, and the moon was out. He could not see anyone out there, but the voice called again. He walked out into the night, hoping to find the source of the voice. He looked around, but did not see anyone. He was about to head back, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked in the direction and saw someone illuminated by what he assumed was the moonlight. He walked toward the figure, but it moved into the trees as he approached. Faramir followed, assuming this was the one who had been calling his name.
The figure moved in and out of the trees, while Faramir was trying to know where it was going. The figure lead him into a clearing and disappeared. Faramir looked around, wondering where it had gone.
"Faramir." This time it was behind. He turned and saw the figure. He could clearly see that it was a woman, her long black hair shown almost silver in the light. It was not the moonlight that illuminated her, but it seemed to come from within her. She was dressed in white and to Faramir she looked vaguely familiar.
"Why did you call my name?" He asked.
She laughed and Faramir knew why she seemed familiar. "Mother?" He asked. She nodded and smiled at him.
"Yes, little one." Finduilas said with another smile. "Though, you are not so little anymore."
"How can this be?" Faramir asked. He was completely bewildered by what was happening.
"Do not ask how, only know that it is." She said. Emotions welled up inside Faramir. He wanted to ask so many questions, say so many things to, but words seemed to fail him.
Finduilas just smiled again. "I have been so proud of you all your life, little one. I am sorry I could not have been there to see you grow into the man you have become."
Faramir felt tears form behind his eyes. "I have missed you." He said.
"I know, little one. I have missed you as well. There are so many things that I have wanted to say to you." She reached out her hand to try to touch him, but pulled back. This time her smile was sad. "I can not touch you. My time with you tonight is running thin. I will be back tomorrow night and as long as you stay here. Do not worry, I will be here again, little one." She moved back into the trees. Faramir wanted to follow, but stopped himself. He watched her disappear into the trees. He began to walk back to the shelter, wondering what he had just seen. In a daze he made his way back, and into his tent. Éowyn was still asleep. Faramir got back into bed, the same way he had left it. Éowyn rolled over and wrapped herself around him. He lay awake for a little, thinking before sleep over came him.
The next day the rain returned again. It poured, making anything more than a few feet away from the door of the shelter invisible. Faramir decided against sending any letter to the King, thinking it better to keep everyone together. Éowyn had again been kept away from any food preparations, so she tended to the horses. Faramir was quiet most of the day, keeping to himself instead of talking to anyone. He left dinner early, not wanting to listen to anyone tell any stories.
He sat on the bed in his tent, playing with his wedding ring. It was a habit that he had picked up. Éowyn walked in as silently as possible.
"Faramir." She said and he was startled and dropped his ring. Éowyn bent down and retrieved it for him. "Are you all right?" She asked, concern in her eyes.
"Why would you ask a thing like that?" Faramir responded, not wanting to tell her just now what he had seen.
"You seen distant, that is all, love. Like you have something on your mind. Is it the rain?"
Faramir sighed. "It is the rain. I fear that any progress that we have made in finding a place to build has been lost because of it. Not to mention any fields that could be flooding." Faramir thought quickly of anything that could have been on his mind. He saw that Éowyn seemed to understand this.
"So much to worry about. No wonder you have been so quiet." She said moving closer.
Éowyn had gone to sleep, and Faramir stayed awake, trying to wait for the best time to go and seek his mother again. He listened until the rain seemed not to be in such a downpour and silently made his way out of the building. He retraced the steps he took the other night, though this time it was in a light rain. Faramir cursed it, knowing that the cold he was feeling was only going to get worst as the night wore on. He found his way to the same clearing, and waited.
After awhile, he was beginning to feel too cold to stay any longer, and doubted what he had seen the night before. He was about to turn back when he saw her. In the same trees she had left through, there stood Finduilas. Faramir walked over to her, knowing that there would also be more cover from the rain under the trees. He wanted to embrace her, but she put her hand to stop him.
"No," She said, "I can not touch you, you know that."
Faramir felt like a little boy again, not being able to do what he wanted. Instead, he pulled out a pouch that hung around his neck. He opened it and poured the contents into this hand. There were broken pieces of seashells, which at one time had been six whole ones. "I still have them." He said. "From the last time we were in Dol Amroth together. I have never been anywhere without them." Faramir felt a little foolish for showing them, but he did not care. It was true; he had kept them as a way to remember his mother. She had helped him find all of them.
"I remember that day. You kept wanting to go into the water, but you still to little. So we looked for the shells instead. You were so happy when you found any of them." She said with a little laugh.
"That is one of the first things I remember." Faramir said looking to her.
"It is a good memory to remember." Finduilas said. "Your brother misses you as much as you do him." She said looking at him.
"Boromir is with you?" Faramir asked, feeling the tears behind his eyes again.
"Yes, he, as well as I, wished we could have been with you for recent events."
"You know about Éowyn?" He asked.
"I do, and I could not think of a better woman for you, little one. She has helped you as much as you have helped her."
"I think she would like you and Boromir as well." Faramir said.
The rain picked up and the little that had come through the branches increased considerably. Faramir was about to swear under his breath, but stopped himself. He looked longingly at his mother.
"I fear the rain is to much for me." He said sadly.
"It is all right, tomorrow night will be better, and I will be here again." Finduilas said.
Faramir said good-bye and walked back to the shelter. The rain coming down made him shiver and his breath come out in white puffs. He was glad when he reached the inside of the shelter. There were still embers in the fire pit, which Faramir stoked and sat in front of for a little, trying to get warmer. He took off his cloak, leaving it beside him. He heard someone behind him and turned around. Éowyn stood behind him. He motioned for her to sit by him. She sat down and looked at him with concern in her eyes.
"Could you not sleep?" She asked.
"Yes, I went for a walk to try to clear my head." The lie rolled off his tongue with more ease than he wanted it to. He quickly added, "I did not want to wake you."
"It is all right. You could wake me if you were having trouble. I do not mind. Hopefully this rain will end soon." She picked up a stick and touched the end before sticking it into the fire. "Ow." She exclaimed as a thin trickle of blood came from her finger.
"Was it sharp?" Faramir asked looking the cut over.
"I believe it was." She said holding up her finger. Faramir looked at it and kissed it. Éowyn smiled.
"I think I know a better way to get warm." She stood and grabbed his hand and led him to their tent.
The next day the rain was less, but Faramir said they should stay until the rain completely stopped. He had other motives that the others did not know about, but he did care. He was thinking about the night to come. Éowyn stayed closer to him all day, and he made the decision to take her with him that night. He wanted her to meet his mother, and hoped that she would not find the whole situation strange. The day passed much as before, this time Faramir stayed for the talk after dinner and Éowyn thought that he had stopped worrying for the moment. He was smiling with everyone else, and acting like he had before. They retired together, and Éowyn thought that everything was right with the world.
Faramir watched Éowyn sleep for a little, not wanting to wake her up. But he knew that he must. He knew that the rain had finally stopped after midday, and that they would have to leave tomorrow. Now was when he would have to show Éowyn this. He softly whispered her name, hoping she would wake up form the sound. She stirred, but kept her eyes closed.
"Éowyn." He said a little louder. She groaned and rolled over. "Éowyn, Éowyn." She rolled towards him and reluctantly opened her eyes.
"What is it?" She said groggily. "Could you not sleep again?"
"In a way, yes. I have something that I want to show you though." He said moving out of the bed. He got dressed and handed her some clothes and her cloak.
She squinted in the dark. "Are we going outside?' She asked, getting dressed.
"Yes." Faramir said stepping outside of the tent. Éowyn stared at the door, wondering if she should go back to bed. She decided against it and got dressed. She also decided to ware the starry mantle that Faramir had given her. She had brought it, though she had no real reason to. She put it on and went out of the tent and saw Faramir standing by the door. From the dim light of the fire she saw him wave for her to come over. She did and they silently left the shelter.
For Éowyn, it was hard to see in the dark. Though the moon was full, she still kept tripping over roots in the ground. She often whispered to Faramir "Which way? Which way?" And he would stop and guide her. In the end, he took her hand and she followed him.
They arrived at the clearing and Faramir waited to see his mother. Éowyn wondered why he had brought her here. There was nothing that special about it. It was big, yes, and a nice space in the trees, but she could not see any reason why to come at night and not during the day.
After some minutes, Éowyn was beginning to get annoyed with this. "Why are we here Faramir?" She asked impatiently.
Faramir looked over to the trees and saw the light that he had become familiar with. "I want you to meet someone." Was all he said.
"Who are we meeting at night and here of all places?" She asked. She looked over to where he was and saw the same light. She moved closer to him, becoming a little scared of it. She would not have admitted that to anyone, but she wished to know what it was.
"Faramir, what is it?" She asked.
The light moved from the trees and Finduilas stood in front of them. Éowyn saw that it was a woman, who looked a little familiar to her. She could not say that she would have met her before, she was sure of that. And that she was glowing made Éowyn more certain of that fact. Éowyn noticed that Faramir knew this woman, and that gave Éowyn a little comfort. He took her hand and brought her closer to the woman.
"Éowyn, I would like you to meet my mother." He said.
Éowyn opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She was shocked. This could not be happening, she thought. It was all a dream, she told herself. But there she was, now knowing why the woman had looked familiar. Faramir did have her nose and lips.
Éowyn did that only thing that she could think of doing. "How can this be?" She asked Faramir.
He smiled at her. "I asked the same thing myself. I do not know."
Finduilas looked between the two of them. "Do not be frightened, Éowyn. You have nothing to fear from me." She said in a calming voice.
"I just do not know how this could happen." Éowyn said.
"How ever it was, I do not know. I see you still wear the gift Faramir gave you." Finduilas said.
Éowyn blushed. It was Finduilas' mantle that Éowyn was wearing. "Oh, I am sorry, I know it was yours. I will not wear it if you do not want me to." Éowyn said quickly.
"It is all right, it looks wonderful on you. Faramir would not have given it to you if it was otherwise." Finduilas said.
"She is right." Faramir said, putting his arm around Éowyn.
"I never thought to ever meet you." Éowyn said.
"I would have guessed Faramir would have brought you here."
"How could I not? I would have wanted her to meet you anyway, Mother." Faramir said.
Éowyn's curiosity got the better of her at that moment. "Is there anyone else that could come?" She asked hopefully.
"I do not know why I was chosen, or who would come. But I do know that your parents and uncle are proud of you, Éowyn." Finduilas said.
"Really?" Éowyn asked as her eyes filled with tears.
"They are." Finduilas's face became worried. She looked back into the woods where she came from. "I fear that my time for tonight is up." She said.
"This is sooner than before." Faramir said a little disappointedly.
"I know, but I can not control this. I am sorry." She said and she walked back into the woods, leaving Faramir and Éowyn standing there. Éowyn felt tears fall from her eyes, and Faramir lead her back to the shelter. When they got back and were inside their tent, Éowyn looked up at Faramir with a tear-streaked face.
"I miss them." She said at least. Faramir sat down beside her. She did not want to hold in her tears any longer and she cried into Faramir. He put his arms around her and comforted her.
"It's all right, I miss my family too. I am here now, it's all going to be all right." Faramir said.
"No, it's not." Éowyn choked out. "I was mad at my Father when he left. It was soon after my birthday and I wanted him to stay home longer. I was so angry with him, I did not even say good-bye." She crocked. Faramir looked down and held her closer. "Éomer did not even know this much, he knew that I was angry, but not that I never said good bye. I did not even know what was going on when they brought him back. There I was, a child of seven years, and angry, and being told that my Father was not going to come back. Even though I saw him." She cried harder into Faramir's shoulder. "I now regret ever being mad at him and wish that I could have said I am sorry."
"We all have our regrets about the dead." Faramir said. Éowyn looked up at him and saw tears fall from his eyes. "I wish that I had a better memory of my Mother, though now I feel I do. I wish that I had never told Boromir of the dream I had had, then maybe he would still be here. But there are some things that we cannot change. And I am sure that your Father knew that you did not mean to be angry."
They leaned back on the bed; Éowyn staying in Faramir's arms as they slowly fell asleep.
The morning dawn bright and clear for the first time in days. Éowyn woke when she felt Faramir move beside her. She forced her eyes open, not wanting to wake in the morning.
"Good morning." Faramir said as he kissed her on the cheek. Éowyn sat up and looked at him.
"Good morning and thank you for listening to me last night." She said.
"I am suppose to, aren't I? Or what kind of husband would I be?" He asked her.
"I would not have thought of that." She said. An idea struck her. She looked at Faramir, who was still in the same clothes as the night before. She stood and grabbed his arm. "Come, I want to see something in the day light." She said grabbing his hand.
Éowyn ran from the tent, getting strange looks from the Rangers around the fire pit. Faramir just ran after her. Éowyn made her way, or tried to, to the clearing from the night before. Faramir knew where she was heading when she started in the direction. He took over midway, and lead the way to it. When they got there, Éowyn looked satisfied.
"Why did you want to go here?" He asked her.
"I think this is a perfect place to build our new home." She said. Faramir looked around and for the first time took in how large the clearing was. It was large enough, and it was not to far from the road.
"I believe you are right Éowyn." Faramir said.
A/N: I am assuming in this that Finduilas had black hair. Though, it could be argued that she had light colored hair from her name, I kind of want to believe that she was given the name, and then later her hair turned darker. And that is about it. Please review!