Epilogue – 'Aurë entuluva.'

High upon the wall of Minas Tirith, within the gardens of the Houses of Healing, Faramir the Steward of Gondor looked out over the Fields of the Pelennor from the very spot where he and Éowyn had looked together. The wind was strong, just as it had been that fateful day, blowing through their hair and intertwining them in the breeze. If he closed his eyes, he could almost convince himself that he could feel her presence beside him, wrapped in a warm mantle, trusting him to guard her against the Darkness.

"Father."

Faramir opened his eyes slowly and turned, seeing his son Elboron standing a short distance away, waiting. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his expression was irritated at best.

"You asked to see me." His voice grated on Faramir's nerves. There was so much hatred and anger behind it.

"Yes," said Faramir softly. "I-I wish to apologize…for all that I have done to hurt you. I had no right to put my own needs before yours. You should always come first in my life." He paused awkwardly. "Elessar…told me that you seek to remove your name from my family. Elboron, if there is any way you can forgive me…I promise you, I will never, ever put myself first again. I cannot change the pain that I have caused you, but I can ensure that I will never hurt you again."

"Sometimes promises aren't enough." Elboron's voice was blunt and sharp. His words seemed to strike Faramir like a blow. "Sometimes people can't just forgive."

Faramir closed his eyes. "Elboron, I loved your mother very much. She was…the bravest, strongest woman I have ever met. You are so much like her, Elboron. You are so strong, so fiery. I…I am not like you, Elboron. I wish that I could be, but I am not. I do not have your strength or your fire. I am weak, and sometimes I make horrible mistakes that I regret with every part of my being. Please…" Faramir's eyes bored into Elboron's, desperate, begging. "Our…our family is shattered, Elboron… Please, do not break my heart further. I need you. The babe will need you. Please."

Elboron was shaking now, and Faramir took a step nearer his son. Elboron did not move away. "Father," he said, choking on his words, "if you need me, why did you not say so before? Why did you…?"

Faramir put his hand gently on Elboron's shoulder and squeezed. As he sought an answer, he looked to the heavens for help and guidance. No answer would ever bear so much weight as this one. "Because…I believed that I could never…never live without your mother. I was haunted by her, by the memory of her, by the loss and the grief, and I…" Faramir closed his eyes, struggling with tears. "I forgot…just how much like your mother you have become. I forgot that you can be my shining star…just as your mother was."

Unshed tears shimmered in Elboron's over-bright eyes for a moment longer before spilling over and streaking down his cheeks. Faramir pulled his son into his arms, and they held each other as they both wept, overcome by their pain but comforted by one another.

"Father…" whispered Elboron, sounding again like the small boy that Faramir had once rocked in his lap. "I never got to see her… I'm never going to see her ever again… She's…she's gone… Oh, Papa, she's gone!"

Faramir's arms tightened around his son, and he repeated the words that Aragorn had whispered to him. "Yes, Elboron. She is…gone… But I am not going anywhere. I am here for you, and I promise that I always will be."

"Faramir?"

He looked up, eyes still glistening with tears, and saw Arwen moving towards them through the gardens with a tiny infant in her arms. Aragorn, Eldarion, and Elphir were by her side. A twinge of pain flashed through his heart.

"Would you like to hold your daughter?" Arwen asked gently.

Without answering, Faramir pulled away from Elboron's embrace and moved towards her. Arwen held out the child and laid the babe carefully into her father's loving arms. Faramir looked down at her shining grey eyes and her little, grasping fingers and the tufts of raven hair atop her head. Though she resembled her father, Faramir could see all of Éowyn's beauty and grace reflected in the small girl that yawned and reached up to grab his tunic.

Eldarion moved to stand beside Elboron, and the two friends exchanged a glance of sorrow, apology, and forgiveness. Arwen stood back beside Aragorn. Both of them could see the sad joy that flickered to life in Faramir's eyes as he pulled his daughter closer in to his chest. Elphir looked with weary adoration on the sight of the infant girl resting safely and cozily in Faramir's arms for the first time since birth. He had not failed in his promise to Boromir. Though his wounds went deep, the gleam of light in Faramir's eyes was the gleam of healing, the gleam of hope.

"She's so...beautiful," whispered Faramir, his eyes welling with fresh tears. "Has she no name?" Faramir looked up at Arwen, then Aragorn. "Did Éowyn not…?"

"She was not given the chance," Aragorn murmured.

"The task has fallen to you, Faramir," Arwen added with a soft smile.

Faramir looked down at his daughter, who had been brought into the world at the very same time that his beloved wife was taken from him. Éowyn had sacrificed everything to give their little girl life. The babe was Éowyn's, matching her in beauty and in the loveliness of her soul. No name would do justice to the magnitude of the gift Éowyn had given her daughter. No name but one.

Without looking up, Faramir cleared his throat and said, "She shall be called Nimhiril."

Aragorn and Arwen smiled at each other. Elboron quivered on the verge of tears again, but Eldarion's firm hand was enough reassurance to steady him. Elphir put one hand over his heart, weeping both for happiness and for sorrow. A weak smile worked its way to Faramir's lips.

"Thy daughter shall be like unto thee, Éowyn, my love." Tears crept down Faramir's face to her the sound of his own voice. "Nimhiril, the White Lady of Gondor, forevermore."

Éowyn's grave was dark and lonely before dawn. Once again, Faramir knelt beside her, head bowed, tears flowing down his face, but this time he was smiling.

"I must let go of you now," he whispered painfully. "You know…you know that I will never forget you. I miss you…so much…" He choked for a moment and then laughed quietly to recover. "I will always love you. Every moment of every day, I will love you. I can never lose you as long as I remember you for who you were, not what my dreams say you have become..." He stroked away dirt from the name on the tombstone and laughed again as he spoke her name.

"Éowyn. My dear love…" It became more and more difficult for him to smile through his tears. "Our children are well, Éowyn. Both of them. The little girl I have named Nimhiril, White Lady,for her beauty is matched only by your own. Elboron becomes more like you every day… He is growing into a man now. He misses you…" A great sob swelled in Faramir, and his smile grew more strained. "We all miss you… But I know…I know that it is not in darkness that you have come to dwell, but in light. I will see you again…some day…" He caressed the simbelmyne blossom that grew atop her grave. "Éowyn, Éowyn, White Lady of Rohan, in this hour I do not believe that any darkness will endure!"

He knelt alone in the dark for a long time, swallowing his tears and trying to remember above all else that he had not truly lost her. A gentle hand fell upon Faramir's shoulder, and he looked up to see Legolas standing over him.

"The Steward of Gondor has been dearly missed," the Elf commented lightly. "Ithilien has great want of your leadership."

"I am sorry, my friend, that I have not been there to give it. That among other things."

Legolas shook his head. "There should be no apologies from bereaved family. No one has spurned you for mourning this terrible loss." There was a long moment of silence, and finally Legolas spoke again. "Estel tells me that you have visions of those you have lost. It is a rare gift and one that should not be put to such waste."

Faramir looked at Legolas in astonishment. "Why is it that Aragorn is called so by both you and the Queen? 'Estel'? 'Hope'?"

"Yes. It was the name given to him by Elrond when he was brought to Rivendell as a small child to be raised as the Elflord's own. It was also the name he bore most often when he met both myself and the Lady Arwen."

"Why 'Estel'?"

"He was the last chieftain of his people. His father had just been slain at a young age. They had great need of hope in such times. My own father says that the name Estel is what Aragorn is; he is hope personified, the last barrier between lost souls and the Darkness beyond."

"I doubt it not," whispered Faramir. "He has been my saving gracetwice now..."

The sun began to rise in the east, and the first rays of light lit the tombstone with a golden glow so beautiful that Faramir's breath was lost at the sight of it. Legolas turned his head to gaze evenly towards the sunrise, a twinkle in his eye.

"It is strange to see the sun rise again when my heart has been in the black of night for so long, it seems," whispered Faramir. His breathed fogged in the chill air, and he shivered. Legolas removed his cloak and draped it over Faramir's shoulders.

"Do you remember what I told you, Faramir?" he asked softly in Elvish.

Faramir stood, turning his gaze towards the east as well. "No, my friend. I do not remember."

Legolas smiled. "Aurë entuluva. Day will come again."

--- i met. ---

Author's Note: Thank you SO much, all of you! Your reviews have been a constant inspiration for me, and your support has made "Shattered" my very first completed story! Have no fear, however, for this story does not end here. Keep an eye out for the sequel, called "Mending", coming soon. Thank you again! May the hair on your toes never fall out!

- Minyasta

"Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo."