A/N: I haven't updated in months! Well, I'm kind of fond of this chapter. It's a twist, so I hope you weren't expecting it to end any time soon. Anyway, please read and review, and most of all, enjoy!
Faramir's P.O.V.:
A year it has been since the ceremony. What has happened since then, you ask? I will tell you. As I have retained my title as the Stupidest Man in Arda, I have also gained yet another title: the Loneliest Man in Arda. How can that be, you ask? What of the lady, Éowyn; is she not your wife? Many and many a day, I have wished that I could put these doubts to rest. The truth is that the ceremony was never finished.
Flashback
Already it is my wedding day, and long have I waited for it. Why, then, am I as afraid and unsure as a boy? Is it the conversation I came across at the banquet? For surely it was nothing.
"Funny," the servant had whispered to her friend, "Him and that Éowyn. Do you think he knows?" The friend had given a quizzical look and leaned in slightly.
"Know what?"
"About her lover, of course!" The servant had beamed, obviously proud of herself for obtaining this juicy piece of gossip. "I heard that Éowyn only has eyes for one man, not Faramir, and he is none other than…" but the noise of the crowd had blocked out the name. Cursing the drunken lords for their loud speech, I had left the servants.
Maybe it really was nothing. But what if it was not? And what man did they speak of? I cannot think of any man who could make her look at them the way she looks at me. Not a single man who I have seen who makes her cheeks flush… save for one.
"Sir, it is time." My guard points to the door from where I will enter the ceremony but my mind is teeming with confusion. She said I was the one.
Éowyn's P.O.V.:
It is just moments before the ceremony. I can finally confirm to the entire whole world what I have already said to it: he is the one. For once in my life, I have a future. We have a future. I am ready.
"Éowyn!" His deep voice and pounding footsteps ring through the corridor and I swallow hard. The last man in the world I wish to see now.
"Good afternoon, King Elessar." I start to bow but curtsy at the last minute and steal a glance at him as I look up. He has cleaned up quite a bit for the ceremony.
"You look beautiful," he says calmly, but I can feel shivers running along my spine. I may not love him anymore, but I will always remember. "I came to give my blessings to you and Faramir and to give you this-"
He searches through his leather pouch and pulls out a strand of shimmering, pearl flowers on a delicate silver chain. Daisies: my favorite.
"Beautiful- it's beautiful- thank you, King Elessar," I manage to sputter out.
"A good friend of mine in Rivendell made it," he continues. "He said it was for your hair, but I do not know how to arrange it. Maybe something like this…" He takes the chain and weaves it skillfully into my hair. "I am quite good, am I not?" He laughs heartily but I, still at a loss for words, just smile.
"Thank you," I whisper again. He nods and smiles.
"You should be going; the ceremony has already started." With that, he turns and goes through the curtains of my quarters and back to his seat. Had I not had Faramir, I would have fallen for this man again just now. Thank Eru for Faramir.
Faramir's P.O.V.:
Already I have entered the courtyard. Seated before me are hundreds of people: family, friends, many of whom I do not recognize. Why is Éowyn not here? It is she that was to enter first on the arm of her brother.
"Where is the lady?" calls a man from the back.
"Perhaps I should get her," I whisper to Éomer and he nods. Stepping back inside, I run down the corridor to her quarters. Strangely, I hear talking coming from the inside. Quieting my footsteps, I brush the curtain aside slightly and peek inside.
Éowyn is sitting upon a stool. A man with large hands places something into her hair and he laughs merrily. My eyes trace the arms to the beholder: Aragorn. "You should be going," he says to her, "The ceremony has already started." I run back to the courtyard before they might spot me. My heart is still racing even after I have stopped running.
"Is she coming?" Éomer asks me inquiringly. I nod, but don't know whether to stop nodding and run or continue and stay.
"I see Aragorn running to his seat with a pang. Éowyn then appears through the door frame, looking lovely but rather flushed. She clutches the arm of Éomer and smiles apologetically. They walk towards me and I to them and we meet in the center of the courtyard. Harps and lutes are playing loudly but I hardly hear them. My heart is beating all through my head and I look at the woman who has broken me as I approach her. Perhaps it is time to settle this, once and for all.
"Eowyn," I say as calmly as I can, "We need to discuss something. It's about him."