Beyond the Ice and the Fire
Breathe life into this
feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil
of fear
Take these crumbled
hopes
Etched with tears
We'll rise above these
earthly cares
- Loreena McKennitt,
Dante's Prayer
Eowyn leaned against the balcony of her rooms, staring up the river towards the dark smudge on the horizon that was Lothlorien. She could hear Faramir behind her, rolling over in his sleep, and turned her head to look at him. His once brown hair had gone completely grey, and there were hollows in his cheeks that hadn't been there before. Fear gripped her heart for a moment, and she closed her eyes against the tears that gathered there.
She made her way to the fireplace, her sight blurred by tears, and age, to lift down the ornate wooden box that rested there, opening it to look over the treasures gathered inside. A brief letter from her brother, telling her of the lady he loved, and asking her to watch over her when she returned to Gondor. A stone worn smooth by the river that she'd found when walking with Arwen, and their children along the banks.
Her fingers brushed over the one she loved best, the texture silky beneath her fingertips. The silvery braid gleamed in the moonlight, and she felt the fears that had weighted her heart lift away again, as they always did when she held her treasure. A smile touched her lips, and she moved towards the desk, leaving the treasure box open and abandoned on the mantle.
Eowyn dipped a pen into the inkwell, her pen scratching over the thin parchment she kept in a box there. When she finished the letter, and it was dry, she sealed it with the ring that sat on the desk next to the wax, writing a single name across the outside. Rising, she turned back to the bed, curling up next to Faramir, the plait of silvery hair twined in the fingers of one hand.
Absently, she noted that Faramir felt chilled, and drew up the blankets around them before succumbing to the numbing lethargy at the edges of her mind. I wish I had the courage to tell you how much I loved you. Maybe next time, if we meet again. Remember me, Haldir, when I find you again.
FIN