A/N: Okay so super short chapter to keep you going for a little while, with a bit of a cliff hanger and a slight change in perspective for the next chapter too :)
The day of the wedding dawns crisp and beautiful and despite my dismay at having to once again be crammed into a tight and impossible to walk in dress I am excited beyond words to see Eowyn wed Faramir.
"You look radiant my love," Aragorn says softly as he comes to check I am ready, he has been out all morning with Faramir, checking that everything is ready.
"I feel ridiculous," I reply with a smile of my own as I admire his own appearance, "you however, look every inch the handsome king of Gondor," he chuckles in response pulling me towards him for a kiss before he offers his arm and checking that he has fixed my crown we head off.
The wedding is a joyous occasion and I have never seen two people more in love, other than Aragorn and I, as they say their vows and are joined in matrimony. I am so in awe of her grace and beauty that I find myself thankful that she has found Faramir because despite knowing that Aragorn loves me, I feel the city may have loved her as a queen more than they will me. The evening passes by in merriment and dancing. I feel like I am able to have a lot more fun at this wedding as I was not the centre of attention.
"You look beautiful my friend," Eowyn smiles as she sits beside me after escaping another lively dance.
"My beauty pales in comparison to yours Eowyn, as it always does," I laugh in reply, "tell me, what are your plans now?"
"To dance some more, drink some wine, and then to sleep," she laughs and I shake my head chuckling along with her.
"You know very well I was speaking of your plans beyond this night,"
"I believe that we shall settle here, it is Faramir's home and he is captain here," she says quietly.
"But what about your home?" I ask turning to face her more fully.
"I will visit but Eomer is King and besides, I could not leave my greatest friend, who would you have to help you dress as a lady if I left?" we both dissolve into giggles at this and pass the rest of the evening in a giddy mix of mead and dancing.
For the next two weeks life is as perfect as I could ever have imagined. I wake every morning in Aragorn's embrace, I spend my days training and sparring with the soldiers, who finally respect me as more than just a name, and I spend my evenings with Aragorn, making love and falling asleep against the safety of his body. The sun has begun shinning despite the chill that still lingered in the air and strolling down the corridor towards the training grounds I daydream about the night I had spent with my husband. Rounding the corner I am on the floor before I can register what is happening.
I am immediately aware of noise around me and voices calling my name but am so disorientated that I have no time to put up my shields before the first person reaches out to touch me. The vision is powerful and consumes me as always, images of a childhood, a large and loving family, growing up, the war, the grief for a husband, the struggle with so many small children, and then… happiness, a new husband, a new family and one that is just as loving. Breaking free of the vision I am gasping for breath and trying to focus. I see the woman and reach for her hand,
"I am so sorry my queen I was in a rush…" she begins but I shake my head opening my mouth to interrupt her.
"I am sorry for your loss…" I wheeze, "but know that you will find happiness again," it is as I hear the intake of breath that I become aware of the fact that more people are around us, and I gulp as I realise that they all knew of my gift now, at least in some part. I gaze around as panic begins to fill me, the men and women staring and beginning to whisper about the 'Queen's odd behaviour!' Suddenly among the faces I see Henriq and call out to her.
"Henriq, will you help me to my rooms please I am feeling a little faint," my voice is shaking slightly as I speak and although I am trying desperately to hold on to my composure, I can feel the tears gathering in my eyes.
"Of course my queen," she stutters after a brief pause and I do not have time to register the expression on her face, or work out what it means before she is helping me up and it is forgotten.
"Peyson…" Legolas looks pale as he sees us approaching, taking my weight from Henriq and lifting me almost completely from the floor as we rush back towards the rooms I shared with Aragorn.
"How did…?" I manage to gasp out as we approach the door.
"The whispers are already spreading my friend, I am afraid your gifts are no longer hidden," he sighs and I can hear the tension and worry in his voice.
"Where have you been Legolas? I have missed you," I ask instead, thinking that a change in subject may be the best thing for us… well me anyway.
"I have just this morning got back to Gondor, I have been to Mirkwood with Gimli and then to Fangorn, it is beautiful there now," he explains as we enter the room and the familiar exhaustion that comes after a vision washes over me.
"Tell me about it," I whisper and so smiling he helps me onto the bed and sits beside me talking of his adventures until sleep claims me.
Before I become fully aware of my surroundings several other things come to my attention. First, I was incredibly cold, like ice had seeped into my bones, colder even than I had been throughout our journey across Middle Earth. Second, my head ached, pounded as if I had a stampede of orc were rushing through it, come to think of it my wrists and ankles were also sore and felt as if they had been bound. Third, my chest ached, ached in a way it only had when I was torn away from Aragorn and it is the thought that something may have happened to him that forces my eyes open… an action I immediately regret!