Uhm, okay, first update in years I think... Don't think anybody still reads this, but you never know =) This was written quite a while ago and I just found it on my computer. There are a few other appendix chapters as well, I will post them sometime in the future.

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Ithilien, June of 1425

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Faramir, Steward of Gondor and Prince of Ithilien, walked down the hallway to his wife's bedroom in the evening. It was a lovely summer evening, normally all the windows would have been open to let the warm summer breeze in and fill the rooms with lovely scents from the gardens. Though this summer the windows were often kept closed, a slight feeling of shock still lay over the city built on the hills of Emyn Arnen, the city which had been given the name Emynare when it was built.
Since the Great War they had been blessed with peaceful times and no orcs, trolls or other vial creatures had been spotted for years. Now Master Meriadoc, one of the soldiers of the Great War who was held in high regards in Ithilien, had been slain by orcs close to the city. The loss of a young hero, most people thought he was but a teenager because of his size, by the hand of orcs had brought back sad memories of the past and even a fear that evil was returning to the lands. Faramir had no such fears; a band of orcs was no proof of an evil force returning to Middle-Earth. But the loss of a Hobbit had been a painful experience for everyone involved.
He entered his wife's bedroom and found Éowyn sitting on a stool by her mirror, brushing her long blonde hair with a look on her face that reminded Faramir of the first days they had met. The same shadow seemed to have fallen over her spirit only this time she had gone into hiding instead of wishing to charge out and face it head on.
She looked up when he entered and managed a smile. She felt bad for Faramir, she had not been a very joyous wife to him during the past month and though he was patient with her she knew it must be trying his patience. She had been very close to the dead Perian, but Faramir had known him too and cared for him. He had also been his Captain and overseer while he visited Ithilien and had held a responsibility for his safety. Éowyn should have been standing beside Faramir during this time, showing him her support and casting aside her own feelings. She knew that was how it should be, but she couldn't muster up the strength to play that role. Not right now.
Faramir walked over to her with a loving smile and gently took the brush from her hand, placing it on the bureau. He lifted aside her long hair and placed a kiss on her neck. Éowyn kept in a sigh.
"My lord…" she said, speaking to him formally as she always did when she was distressed or irate. This time it was the former. "My lord I am sorry."
He let her hair fall back and gently brushed her cheek with his thumb. She knew what he wanted, and she knew it was her duty to do as he wished, but she also knew that she could not stand the thought of it right now. Faramir was gentle and compassionate and would never dream of insisting, but she knew he must be getting tired of her resisting. They had not shared a bed since grief had come back into her life.
"Forgive me" she said and looked down on her hands. "My heart is too troubled. Though I have known great grief in my past it has often come hand in hand with great joys, after the War there was little reason to sit down and grieve. Now there is no joy and I need a little more time before I can cast this sorrow aside."
Faramir knelt down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Do you not think I see your sorrow?" he asked. "Take as much time as you need, my lady. I am here for you for better and for worse, and if you need more time to heal then by all means."
"Thank you for being so understanding" she said. "Not all men would understand carrying such a sorrow for the loss of an esquire, one who has only been in your service for a few years."
"He was more than your esquire" Faramir said.
Éowyn nodded and closed her eyes. She had only just began to deal with the shock of Merry's death, for the longest time she had tried to tell herself that it had not happened, the Hobbit was in the Shire where he belonged, safe and sound.
"Allow me to stay with you here tonight" Faramir said. "You should not be alone when your heart is aching. There is no reason why a husband cannot share his wife's bed doing nothing but holding her."
"No" Éowyn said. "No. Please. I must be alone. I have too many thoughts to sort out and those thoughts must be thought of in private."
"Very well then" Faramir nodded and rose. "You know where to find me should you change your mind. And as for the other part… When you are ready, let me know. I will be waiting."
He left the room and on top of everything else Éowyn felt guilty. She knew Faramir was a true gem; he was understanding and compassionate and he would always stand by her no matter what. He was exactly the kind of husband she needed to have in times like these, but she was not able to be the wife he needed in return. A man like Faramir should have a wife who was always there by his side, playing her role to perfection, or rather living the role to perfection. He deserved a woman who tended to his needs at all times the way he tended to his wife's; he deserved a woman who didn't push him away to deal with her own emotional turmoil.

X

Faramir sat out on his balcony, reading a newspaper and having a cup of tea. Summer had gone by and October had come with leaves turning yellow and read and with frost in the morning. The latter made him think of his wife, although it had been years since he had last thought of the two together. She was frozen again, not as badly as she had been in the past, but it seemed that when sorrow hit her the sun disappeared from her world and winter took over. The last time around Faramir had been the one to bring the sun back into her life; this time he had to wait for her to let the sunlight in on her own.
Just as he was thinking about her she appeared, almost resembling the frost in her appearance, clad in a white gown with silver threads which glistened like the frost did under the sun. He looked up at her and put his paper away. Something in her face was different today.
"My lord…" she said.
"Milady."
"I was wondering if perhaps…"
A blush appeared on her face and she looked away. Faramir sat up straight in his chair and studied her intensely.
"Wondering what?"
"The worst grief has passed me now. I feel I am ready to go back to life. And I was wondering if perhaps you would wish to start life again with me this evening?"
"Nothing would bring me more joy" Faramir said and took her hands, leading her to sit in the chair next to his. "Though not for the privilege of being allowed back into your bedroom, but for the relief of seeing you come through the woods and out in the open again. I can see the change in you, it pleases me."
"Faramir…" she said and looked sad again for a moment. "I am not worthy of your love. I have shamed you for grieving an esquire so openly, a male esquire, and for shutting you out. I can never make that up to you. I want everything that's good in the world for you; you have my utter devotion and gratitude. I'm just sorry I cannot be the wife you deserve."
"You have not shamed me one bit" Faramir insisted. "You have a big heart which aches when it loses and that is not a bad quality. Don't feel any guilt or sadness anymore, not on my account. If you want to do something for me in return then smile and laugh and sing and show the world that nothing can break the White Lady of Ithilien, Princess of the Mark. Nothing would bring me greater pleasure."
Éowyn smiled and leaned over to hold him. She had worked hard for the past months to get over her grief and her feelings of guilt and now that she felt ready to be side by side with Faramir again she was relieved that he had been patient and waited for her. She truly felt she didn't deserve it but he was willing to give it to her and the only way she knew of doing him right was to accept what he offered. She wanted to make him happy more than anything in the world.

X

Tired and sweaty, but at peace and filled with true happiness for the first time in over a year Éowyn looked down at her newborn son resting in her arms and could not believe her good fortune. A year ago she had been lost in the darkness and now she was in the brightest of lights; once again it was Faramir who had given her happiness. She could not feel any sorrow, not even when thinking about those she loved who were now dead, when she looked into her son's face. He took after Faramir a lot but she could see herself in him too; it was amazing that this little person had just suddenly begun to exist and that he was both herself and her husband.
Faramir, in the other end of the room, lifted up a carafe with cold water and a towel he had wet to wipe his wife's forehead with. She was sweating, her face was red from the strain it had been put through and her whole appearance spoke of fatigue and pain. Yet she had never been more beautiful to Faramir than she was at this moment, holding their child in her arms and looking at him with eyes that sparkled with joy.
Their son had not come into the world easily, but Éowyn had not minded. The long and painful process had oddly enough strengthened her; it was as if it had washed away the sins of her past and made her whole and new again. The medic had told Faramir once it was all over that the Princess Éowyn would never be able to bear a child again, and while it had saddened Faramir he had the feeling his wife would not be as concerned. It was clear from the look in her eyes that she did not believe that any child could be better than the one they now had.
He sat down by her bedside and gently wiped the sweat off her forehead. Then he picked up the glass on the nightstand, filled it with water and helped her to drink it. He took a sip for himself and put the glass away, then he looked down at his son and knew that Éowyn must be right, no other child could be better than this one.
Éowyn lifted her eyes from her son to her husband and the beaming look on his face filled her heart with even more joy. This was her gift to him; every trouble she had caused him was forgiven now that she had bore him a son.
Faramir's eyes met hers and he leaned down to give her a kiss. For the first time in over a year Éowyn felt not the least shred of Merry's ghost; today she had been given the chance to put all of that behind her and start anew. The birth of her son marked a whole new beginning and she vowed silently that this child would never have to see any sadness in his mother's face. She would only laugh and smile with him and he would grow up to laugh and smile as well. This was the future.

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