With a frustrated sigh, Lothiriel replaced yet another scroll. It had been hours since she had made her way to the library in search of something resembling answers about her strange dreams. Scroll after scroll, book after book, and nothing. There were studies about the effects of dreams on one's health, theories about how dreams are created and what they mean in the context of the individual and their past, even some records of dreams had by kings of men long ago. But everything she had found discussing meanings was framed in the context of the past.

Though she was trying not to feel discouraged, she couldn't help but feeling like this was searching for a drop of water in the ocean. "It's only been a few hours." she reminded herself, and determinedly grabbed another scroll which in the end revealed just as little as the rest. "This is hopeless." she lamented as she replaced it and picked up yet another with dwindling hope.

It was written by Eanur's steward, Mardil. The first few paragraphs depicted terrible dreams of fell beasts in the sky and voices coming from Minas Morgul during the time between the challenges from the Witch King. As she read, the words began to feel more like a lament than a simple historical record. It felt as though she was oh so close to something important; and she was. In the final paragraph, though hidden in speculation, was a clue she had been searching for.

Our King rode out to answer the Morgul King's challenge and I do not know if or when he will return, though I fear the answer is perhaps all too clear. I cannot help but wonder if the dreams that came to me were meant as a warning. A calling to a higher purpose that I have now failed. I see them now in a different light. For all those years I believed them to be rooted in my fear of the past, rather than implications for the future. I possess no proof, nor do I know whether I truly believe it to be possible, but I cannot shake the feeling that I have missed something important.

Lothiriel nearly leapt out of her seat with joy. It wasn't a complete answer; in fact it couldn't really be called an answer at all. But it gave her direction, a place to look next. Most of all it gave her hope, and for the moment that was enough. Further research on Mardil could wait, and her heart felt the slightest bit lighter as she replaced the scroll on the shelf and took her leave from the library.


Lothiriel had spent most of the morning in search of as many blankets as she could possibly find. After the rain stopped the day before, the walls became somehow more chilled. There was no sickness yet, but there were murmurs of concern among the healers. She had used every scrap of cloth in the Houses, and then recruited another healer to help her search for more. By the time they had completed their search, she was relatively sure they had found every blanket left in the sixth circle.

After distributing them among the other healers to pass out, Lothiriel made immediately for Holdfa's bed. He was awake, but once again his gaze was simply fixed on the ceiling.

"I've brought you a blanket. It's become quite cold and we wouldn't want you to fall ill." she said quietly as she approached. Holdfa glanced at her but didn't respond. She gave him a small smile and draped the extra blanket over him. "How are you feeling?" He remained quiet and just looked at her for a moment while she placed the back of her hand against his forehead. "You don't feel feverish." The corners of his mouth twitched upwards, but there was nothing happy in his eyes. "I'll come check on you again later." she said quietly, and he gave the faintest of nods.

She continued on her way, distributing the blankets and offering words of comfort where she could. As she placed the last one over a shivering boy who couldn't have been more than seventeen, her chest grew tight and tears pricked her eyes. Merry's words once again echoed in her mind, "I can't imagine I will ever again be truly whole." Sitting outside in the peace and quiet, it had felt so easy to focus on hope. To push aside the fear and the gravity of their reality. But looking at these children who, even if they lived to see the world reborn, would carry the weight of the sacrifice all their days, hope seemed impossible. The room suddenly felt too small, her breathing grew shallow, and in that moment it took everything to keep her feet under her.

"I have to get outside. Now."

It didn't feel real, like she wasn't in control of her body as her feet carried her towards the garden. The moment she was outside, she crumpled to the ground and gathered her arms around her knees. Sobs wracked her body as she felt the weight of her anguish pressing down on her. It threatened to open the ground and swallow her whole. Her hopeful words from the day before felt so far away, like they were spoken by a different person in a different lifetime.

Vaguely she heard footsteps approaching, but she couldn't bring herself to look up. They approached her slowly, and she felt someone sit beside her. No words were spoken, but the simple comfort of another person helped calm her. Her eyes dried, and she took a few shuddering breaths before looking up.

Faramir sat beside her, gazing at the sky.

"My apologies, cousin." said Lothiriel, quickly wiping her tear stained cheeks. Faramir turned to look at her with kind eyes. "There is no need for apologies." he said with a smile.

"Even so, I offer them. Here I am, falling apart over nothing while I cannot imagine the horror you have faced." she replied, the image of the battlefield flooding her mind. He looked at her thoughtfully. "I do not think it is nothing. Whatever has caused your heart to break so cannot be insignificant. What happened?"

Lothiriel swallowed a lump in her throat and looked down at her hands.

"I was okay. Hopeful, even. Everything felt as well as it could, given the circumstances. But with the chill, there's concern of illness.. So I found blankets and passed them out. As I was covering the last boy, he looked so.. Young. He was shivering and there was something so hollow in his gaze." Her voice was quiet and shaky as she continued. "Yesterday Merry spoke of not feeling whole again, and his words came back to me while I was looking at that boy. A child who may not live to see tomorrow. But what will he have left even if he does?"

She took a shuddering breath, and Faramir nodded, offering her a small smile. "He will have the rest of his life to learn to be whole again, even if it is not in the same way as before. It is terribly easy to let dismay win. When the world seems overcome with darkness, we must learn to cling to the light. A difficult task, to be sure, but a test of one's strength."

A wistful look crossed his face and he looked away towards the east. She followed his gaze, knowing that the light she should be clinging to was anywhere but there. But the people who carried parts of it were out there somewhere. "Has it really only been two days since I've seen them?" she wondered. It felt like a lifetime ago. "Do you think we'll ever see them again?" she asked quietly, thinking of her father and brothers, Pippin, Eomer.

Faramir didn't respond right away, his eyes fixed eastward for a few lingering moments before he spoke.

"I don't believe that darkness will win. What the cost of that might be, none can know."

Neither spoke another word, and they sat together in silence until the light began to fade and the sky began to turn from blue to orange to pink. The sun was nearing the horizon when they finally stood. "I must return. I told Holdfa I would check on him again." Faramir nodded and gave her a smile. "Cling to the light, cousin. It is there, if we have strength enough to seek it."

She smiled at him and gave a very small curtsey before making her way back inside. Long shadows were cast across the floor as she returned to Holdfa's bedside. She wasn't in a particularly talkative mood, so she just sat with him quietly. It was nearly dark when he broke the silence. "Will you sing to me?" he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. She glanced up and met his eyes, wide and earnest. She smiled at him and pulled the chair a bit closer, resting her hand on his head.

"I am a poor wayfaring stranger,

I'm traveling through this world of woe.

But there's no sickness, toil, nor danger

In that bright land to which I go.

I'm going there to see my Father.

I'm going there, no more to roam.

I am going over Belegaer,

I am going over home.

I know dark clouds will gather round me,

I know my way is rough and steep.

But far green fields lie just before me,

Where Elbereth's redeemed

Shall always sleep.

I'm going there to see my Mother,

And all my loved ones who've gone on.

I am going over Belegaer,

I am going over home."

Holdfa smiled as she finished, and though it was small, it was more than she had seen from almost anyone in the past days. "Thank you." he said quietly. "My mother used to sing that to me when I was a child. When she passed, it made me feel closer to her.. And now it brings me comfort when I am frightened or sorrowful." she replied. He looked at her with sad eyes but did not speak. "Rest, Holdfa." she murmured as she stood, tucking the extra blanket a bit closer around him. The boy gave her a small nod and closed his eyes as she blew out the candle.

It was her intention to return to her room immediately, but as she made her way through the empty city the idea of being within those walls felt like too much. Instead she allowed her feet to carry her towards the ramparts where she had sat with Pippin what felt like lifetimes ago. Though in those moments she had known they were preparing for war, they had felt peaceful. Carefree. Perhaps some part of her mind hoped that sitting there, even if it was alone, would bring back some of that.

When she arrived, she swung her legs over the edge and let them dangle in the darkness. She could almost hear her fathers voice in her mind as she sat there gazing out over Pelennor. "It is quite improper for Princesses to sit in such a way!" he would have scolded, though the twinkle in his eyes would have given away that he was not half as cross as he pretended to be. Tears stung the back of her eyes at the thought of her father, but with a deep breath she managed to keep them at bay; instead she allowed herself a small chuckle at the thought of him scolding her so.

"I was rather certain I would not come across anyone else here at this hour." said a voice from behind her. She turned sharply to see Eowyn standing there, shawl wrapped tightly about her shoulders as she approached.

"My apologies, my lady." said Lothiriel hurriedly, trying to bring her legs back over so she could curtsey properly. Eowyn just shook her head. "Please, don't trouble yourself on my account. You looked quite lost in thought." she said as she reached Lothiriel's perch and gracefully climbed up to sit next to her.

"I too thought this place would be deserted." said Lothiriel, and Eowyn chuckled darkly.

"It seems this is where the restless seek solace."

"And have you found anything?" asked Lothiriel carefully, glancing over at the other woman. Once again she was struck by the accuracy of her dream in portraying the woman now sitting before her. Not a mysterious stranger, but a real person.

Eowyn shook her head. "I doubt there is much now to be found in any corner of this Middle Earth," she said quietly. "Have you?"

Lothiriel sighed and shook her head. "I cannot say I have. My mind will not be at ease until those I love have returned, or I know their fate. Nor, I fear, even after."

Eowyn nodded knowingly, but did not say anything more and Lothiriel was loath to break the silence. So they sat quietly on the ramparts watching the stars, allowing the stillness to envelop them in the arms of darkness.

"What were you thinking of earlier?" asked Eowyn suddenly. Lothiriel turned to look at her with a questioning look. "When I came upon you, you were lost in thought but you wore an expression of nostalgia."

Lothiriel chuckled very softly and turned her head back towards the stars. "My father." she said finally. "He would think this whole situation to be rather improper, and would likely give me quite the scolding. But never in a serious manner. He can never hide when he is amused."

Eowyn did not look at her, just gazed up at the sky and listened. "Has he gone to fight?" she asked.

Lothiriel nodded. "I know it is useless to worry, but I cannot help it. My father, my brothers, Pippin." "Eomer." His name came to her head unbidden, but she did not say it. "They have all gone and though I have my work in the Healing Houses it never feels like enough."

"I understand more than you know." Eowyn answered softly. "But the work you are doing is still important. Those who survived need all the help they can get."

Lothiriel gave a small smile and nodded. "It is rewarding. I had to work very hard to convince my father to allow me to come here to study. He was quite against it and believed it to be too dangerous. I suppose he might have been right. Though I may not have been physically injured, I am learning there may be wounds worse than those of the body."

Eowyn didn't respond, just nodded. The two sat in silence a few moments longer, legs dangling over the side of the city into nothingness and eyes turned upwards toward the stars. With a small sigh, Lothiriel climbed back down onto the rampart. "I am sorry, my lady, but I must rest. I have patients who need me at my best, and tomorrow will arrive before we know it." she said. Eowyn followed suit, her feet landing softly on the stones.

"Eowyn." she corrected the princess with a small smile that Lothiriel returned as best she could.

"Eowyn." she repeated back.

They walked back towards the city in silence, basking in the peace that nighttime brings. "It's strange that the world seems suddenly more silent in the aftermath." said Eowyn after a time. Lothiriel nodded. "I do not know if the silence is so loud because the land remembers or because we do. But even if it can be deafening at times, it is better than the alternative." she said quietly. A shudder ran down her spine as she remembered the piercing scream that had haunted her for weeks.

If Eowyn noticed, she didn't comment.

"I must part with you here." she said. "Thank you for your company this evening."

Eowyn gave her the same small, sad smile from earlier. "I hope our paths may cross again soon."

Lothiriel bowed her head slightly. "I hope so. I will be thinking of you." she said, and took her leave.

The following weeks passed in much the same way. Lothiriel spent much of her spare time in the library searching for more information on Mardil. Any time she was not in the library, she was with Merry, Faramir, Eowyn, and Holdfa. Day after day passed, and most every night she continued to dream of the horse riding towards the city. But one day, it changed. Instead of standing at the top of the city, she stood in front of the gate. The rider galloped toward her, and the trumpets sounded from the city.

When Lothiriel woke up that morning, it was as though there was a weight she did not know about lifted off her chest.


He had been rushing towards Aragorn when it happened. From deep within the earth came a low rumble, shaking the ground violently. Even the orcs stopped where they stood with fear in their horrible eyes. Suddenly the volcano erupted behind them in a plume of smoke and flames, and moments later the tower crumbled to the ground. Orcs fled in every direction. Standing in the midst of all the chaos, Eomer was still trying to process what had happened.

They stood down the enemy.

They won.

He survived.

In that moment of utter shock, amazement, and disbelief, the only thought that came to his mind was "I will see them, both of them, again."


Hi everyone!

So here we are! Lothiriel is starting to uncover secrets and answers about why she has such strange dreams, she and Eowyn have officially met, Eomer has survived and will be returning home to them. I think the hardest part about this chapter was explaining how she can go from being so hopeful and seemingly just fine to falling apart so quickly, but I have found that that is how it goes sometimes. We are holding ourselves together, and it's something seemingly very small that shatters us. I felt like it would really be that way for Lothiriel because she has been focused so much on caring for others that she has put aside her own feelings about the trauma that she has experienced.

As always, I love to hear from you and your reviews / constructive criticism are incredibly welcome and appreciated!


Per suggestion by Katia0203, I adjusted the spacing of the dialogue! Thank you so much for letting me know, I hope this makes it easier to follow!