It began with sudden screaming so loud it echoed from the walls of the cavern and reverberated along the corridors. Every Ithilien Ranger heard it, and it caused their hair to stand up on the back of their necks; guttural screams that were made of pure terror. Everyone in the cavern sat upright, and Gimli threw his hands up over his ears.

"By heaven what is that?" cried Éowyn as Faramir leapt to his feet. None of them even knew what was happening, but when they saw who was screaming their hearts stopped.

Legolas had never heard her like this; he had never heard her screaming in the night, and his heart was torn open and something like ice went straight through his chest to his spine. He was already at her side, trying to wake her, grasping at her hands as she thrashed about on the stone, wrestling with an invisible adversary. She tore open her left arm with her own nails and scratched his face and his neck before he caught her left wrist. Her right hand was tangled in her own hair, blonde strands tearing out as she yanked and yanked.

"Eru in Heaven!" he cried. "Enguina stop! Stop!"

"NOOOOOO!" She wailed into the night, and that was when Faramir realized that the scream had been a word, not just a sound. He ran to Legolas's side, reaching for her, to help hold her down; as he got closer he could see her face, sweat and tears pouring down it. Just as his fingers brushed her leg, her foot lashed out and caught him in the knee, twisting it. Crying out, he dropped back, wrapping his hands around it.

"Faramir!" yelled Gimli, who was closest to him, and he reached down and grabbed the man. "Are you all right, laddy?" His voice could hardly be heard above Enguina's screaming.

Éowyn moved forward towards Legolas and Enguina but he held up a hand to her. "Stay back!" he snapped. The last thing Enguina needed to do was injure Éowyn when she was pregnant; she would never forgive herself. He grabbed her arms and dragged her away from Faramir; Enguina was still screaming and violently thrashing to escape him.

This dream did not want to end; it was fierce, and it had such a hold over her mind that even wrestling with her was not going to work. His hands and arms and hers were covered with scratches, and her left wrist was bruised from how tight he had held it. He had to wake her; he had to try anything that might work, no matter how awful.

Reaching out and grabbing the nearest flagon full of water, he pulled her hand away and splashed it down onto her face. She woke, screaming as he grasped at her hands when she tried to yank away from him. Pain speared through her arms and shoulders and then that familiar place across her abdomen, and she writhed away from him, her eyes full of terror, her head spinning.

"Nonono, please, NO!" she wept, trying to pull away, desperate to be free. She was going to be sick; she tried to force it away, but her breath just kept coming out in gasps, tears pouring down her face.

"It is all right!" Legolas cried, tears on his own face as he looked on her. "You are all right!" Everyone else did not matter; only her…only her! "You are safe! There is no one here to harm you! No one will touch you, I swear it!"

"Uh…" the sound as her breath caught in her throat caught between a plea and a sob made him realize that she was going to retch, and he lowered her hands, released her wrists, and reached out to grasp her shoulder. She tried to wrench away, to bat him off, but she was so clumsy and disoriented from the dream that she missed and he rolled her onto her side, her face brushing the stone. She tried to roll back, to drag herself away from him, anything…but instead she felt him grasp her hair and sweep it back from her face.

The action was so familiar that for a moment, she came back to herself; the feel of his fingers on her face shifting her hair behind her ears made her realize that this was not him…it was Legolas. But the dream was too potent in her mind, too real…and that pain…oh, that awful pain…

"Uh…" her throat caught again, and this time she did heave on the stone, coughing and choking as he scooped her halfway into his arms. He held her for a sum total of three seconds before her nails dug into his arm, but there was little she could do to him when she was as sick as she was with her head spinning.

"Dear Ilúvatar," he heard Éowyn whisper from close by, just behind his shoulder. She grabbed whatever was nearest, a pan with leftovers from dinner in it, and pushed it beneath Enguina's face. Taking the water left in the flagon, she soaked a towel in it and slipped it around the back of the elf's neck.

There was a pause in her vomiting. Legolas never even looked up from what he was doing; between holding her against him and feeling her begin to quiver, he had enough to worry about. Her left fingers were digging even deeper into his arm, but the right was on the stone holding her, her whole body beginning to lose itself to fear.

"Is she ill?" cried Gimli. "What can I do, lass?" he begged Éowyn. "Tell me! Anything!"

"Is Faramir all right?" asked Éowyn worriedly as she prepared another towel for Enguina's face.

"I will be all right," the man replied, his eyes fixed on Legolas holding Enguina. "Give us a duty, Éowyn."

"Go and reassure your men no one is dying!" she cried, wringing her hands, her eyes tearing up. "And Gimli, make some tea!" She turned away as both of them went to do exactly as she said, and she reached out to touch Enguina's forehead with the cloth, her eyes catching on her torn shoulder, her hair, her face, and then Legolas's face as well.

"Shh…shh…" he whispered, his voice breaking. He could hear her breathing coming out in gasps. "Everything is all right. You are safe."

"Let…let…" she was gasping, and Legolas knew what she was trying to say.

"Not this time, moina quén…not this time." He felt her body tense even in its shaking, and saw Éowyn pull back with the cloth as Enguina vomited again, unable to control herself. This was his fault; his fault for pushing her, his fault for making her think about the dream; his fault for his impatience…and he cursed and cursed himself over and over as he held her. He was to blame.

When she had stopped for the second time, Legolas rolled her back against him. He was serious about not letting her go this time. As he moved her, he saw her forehead, scratched and bleeding, tears pouring down her face, sweat dripping down her neck.

"Nnno…no," she whispered, but she did not open her eyes. Éowyn put the towel on her forehead, but Legolas shook his head.

"She is freezing," he said. "She needs a blanket, some water." He slipped his arm underneath her head, the other still wrapped around her upper body. He took his left hand, her hand coming with his arm, and took control of the towel from her face, wiping it gently and then her mouth. Her teeth were chattering and her body was shaking so hard she was making noises as she lay in his arms, head still spinning.

"S…ssss…ssorry," she whispered, and he choked on his own words.

"I am the one who should be sorry," he told her, and leaving the cloth back on her forehead, he gently laid his hand on her face. She flinched, as he knew she would, but she did not beg him to stop touching her.

Éowyn opened up the blanket and laid it over her and half over Legolas. His mind was beginning to function again as it should, and he needed to forget his guilt in this and focus on helping her…immediately. The elf raised his head and caught Éowyn's eye. "She is pale…are there any mint leaves? Anywhere?"

"There are some in my saddle bag," said Éowyn and Gimli brought them to her at once, where Legolas slipped one into Enguina's mouth.

"Chew on this," he said softly, "it will help settle your stomach." He lowered his hand and rested it over her stomach and she suddenly jolted.

"No," she said, her eyes snapping open, and he raised his hand from her. "Do not touch me, Legolas," she whimpered. Especially not there…not there… The phantom pain took her again and she paled, her head spinning as she tried desperately to chew the leaf and settle her stomach, her thoughts. His hand returned to her face and he wiped it gently with the cloth. She tried hard not to heave again.

"What else can I do?" asked Éowyn, brushing her fingers against Enguina's arm.

"Give…give her a few moments to calm down," he said softly, "and then she has wounds we need to look at."

"So do you," Éowyn said, reaching up to touch the scratches on his cheek and neck.

"Forget them. Hers are more serious," he said, thinking of her shoulder. "Just…let her breathe for a few minutes." Holding her was the only service he could do her, and he kept his hands to her face. Whatever had happened to her, whatever this was, this was the worst it had been so far. This was the worst he had ever seen, and he thought of Aragorn's words: that he did not know what suffering was.

If it is much worse than this, Aragorn…I do not think I wish to know; I do not wish to see.

"This was the longest night of my life," Legolas said softly as he tightened the cinch on the grey's saddle, and Glosbrethil snorted. He was absolutely exhausted mentally, and physically he was not much better.

First, it took nearly three hours for everyone to settle back down from the chaos of Enguina's nightmare. She barely spoke to anyone but Legolas, explained nothing, and was asleep first being as exhausted as she was. He comforted her, soothed her, even sang to her while she was sleeping; he knew this worked, staying up to watch her the rest of the evening, because each time she would give a soft moan in her sleep, he would chase the dreams back by stroking her face or combing his fingers through her hair.

Éowyn had spent a great deal of time placing ointment on Enguina and Legolas's wounds. Gimli had spent the majority of the night sitting and staring at them, worried and yet so confused. Faramir, unable to simply sit by, spent the night discussing the Ranger who had been killed out in the wilderness with several of his other men. There was not much information to be discovered, but at least he found that another Ranger had been killed around the same time, also by something human. The men had been working on tracking whoever it was though without much success, and then the travelers had found the body of the second man they had lost.

"You are not going anywhere without us!"

Legolas lifted his head at the sound of raised voices coming from the next stall, knowing full well it was Éowyn and she was angry. There was nothing that Faramir could do about that; there was no way after last evening and the fact that Éowyn had a contraction this morning that he was going to allow her to come with them. Not today. As Legolas, Faramir, and Gimli were in the middle of preparing their mounts, she had come into the stable as angry as bear that had been poked with a stick. In all fairness, they also were going out to see if they could search out a killer, and they did not want to take the ladies on either errand.

"I knew I should never have mentioned—" Éowyn began again hotly and Faramir glared at her.

"Now, see here, woman," he said. "You are lucky you told me, because if you had not and I had found out…well, the situation would not be pretty."

"That, coming from the mouth of a man who—"

"Éowyn, please," Faramir began, trying a new tact—begging, "trust me. You can come tomorrow, please! Just one day; one day of sitting here and taking it easy. You will not miss a thing!"

"I want to come!" she said, her voice showing her irritation. "You know that we wished to come! Why would we be here with you if we did not desire to go?" Faramir reached out and settled his hands on her shoulders.

"Éowyn—"

"Do not 'Éowyn' me, Faramir!"

"Please…be reasonable—"

Their conversation grew intensely more heated, and Legolas had to cover his ears just to drown out the noise, while Gimli simply stood by, sighing and pulling the cinch on Firgenwine. The elf looked up and watched as his bride-to-be leaned against Glosbrethil, laying an arm over his rump as she rested her head on it. She watched him silently, and he felt guilt spear him in the gut simply by looking at her scratched face. Her hair was in place even though she had torn a chunk of it out last night, you could not tell; but it was her eyes that looked so tired, and she was favoring her left shoulder that she had torn with her own hands. They were haunting him; he knew the part he had played in last night's debacle, and he hated himself for it.

Unlike Éowyn, Enguina was not angry; she was simply unhappy. If Legolas did not already know how set Faramir was in his decision to leave Éowyn behind today, there was no way he would have left her. But Éowyn needed someone to keep her company, and Enguina needed more rest; it was a logical choice. He looked at her with compassion, laying a hand on her cheek and stroking his thumb across a fading scratch beneath her eye.

"Can you forgive me, moina quén?" he whispered, his eyes sad, but she shook her head.

"What is there to forgive, Legolas?" she asked in reply. "If I…had explained months ago, nothing like this would have happened."

"The fault here is mine," he stated, looking into her face seriously. "I will have it no other way. I am sorry that you hurt yourself; I am sorry I could not wake you. How do you feel this morning?"

"A little better," she said. "Not as ill…but tired."

He winced as Éowyn shouted something rather harsh at Faramir, and he looked at her guiltily. "Can you please be more understanding than that?" he asked softly.

She gave him a little smile. "Only slightly. I know why you are doing it, but I cannot say I condone it or like it. Not at all," she admitted. "You seek to protect us, and give us some peace, yet you are leaving us here alone when all day we shall only be thinking of you and if you are safe. And in a fight we are very useful." Legolas looked at her doubtfully and her eyes narrowed at him, though she did not lift her head. "Do not look at me like that; Éowyn is very skilled with a blade, and there are few who could match my skill with a bow except perhaps you."

"I cannot deny any of that," he replied, stroking her face again. "But…"

"You would still rather me here."

He nodded slowly. "You are tired, Guin, and a long day of riding is not what you need right now." She raised her eyebrows at him and sighed.

"Actually, I think turning my mind to something such as 'hunting for a murderer' might be the perfect thing to distract me."

"But not Éowyn," he said softly, and Enguina glanced over at the woman who was still stubbornly arguing with her husband, though softer now and there were tears in her eyes. "She is exhausted, and she will not rest if you do not. You know it; your staying here would make Faramir very grateful and would prolong his life and their marriage for many more years."

"Ugh," she replied, rolling her eyes, "that was the worst guilt maneuver you have used on me in some time."

He smiled at her. "But it worked."

"Of course it did," she said a bit grumpily, narrowing her eyes at him. "And believe me, I am only doing this for Éowyn, not for either of you. She needs her sanity…which the male counterpart of any species has a habit of ruining for females."

He chuckled at her words and pressed his lips to her forehead. "You are so amusing."

"If I did not know better," she continued, "I would say that this is some sort of strange attempt at spending time with your pals before the wedding."

"It is nothing of the kind, and I spend plenty of time with them." He laid his forehead against hers. "I love you, Guin. Just…stay here, please?"

She sighed, and nodded, slipping her arms up around his neck as she stood upright. He moved in slowly for a long kiss, laying his hands on either side of her waist and simply holding her. After a few uncountable moments of bliss, she released him, and he watched her reach up and wipe her eyes. He realized that this was the first time they would be apart since he had rescued her four months ago.

"Are you all right?"

"It is nothing," she said, swallowing hard, and he nodded. As he started to release her, she held onto his tunic and continued to look into his eyes. "Legolas, I…I realize that I have not been very honest with you and I…I…can I make you a promise?"

"A promise?" he said gently with a smile, tilting his head. "You have promised yourself to me," he told her, "and that is better than all the promises in the world. What is it that you want to promise?"

"When you come home after noon," she said softly, and he heard the tightness in her throat, the way her hands gripped his shoulders, "we will go for a walk, you and I…and…and I will tell you the truth about my dreams. I will tell you everything," she stuttered out. "Whatever you want to know…even if it takes me hours…I will tell you." She dragged her shaking fingers along the scratch her nails had made in his face last night. "You deserve to know the truth," she whispered. Even if it tears my heart out. "And I am sorry…sorry that it has taken me this long to tell you."

He knew what it cost her to speak those words to him, and he gently bent his head to kiss her again. "I accept your pledge," he said, his eyes full of mercy, "and let me pledge to you that I will be understanding, and that I will comfort you, and that I will love you, no matter your fears or your words."

"I…I love you," she whispered, and he said the same as he kissed her again. "Hurry home…please."

"We will not be gone nearly as long as you think," he told her, and she nodded as she patted Glosbrethil.

"Let me retrieve Éowyn," she said with some exasperation. She released Legolas and he followed her as she reached out to catch Éowyn's arm. "Come, Éowyn, leave the men to this day."

"I am not going to give up that easily," she said firmly, her arms crossed. Enguina turned her towards her and laid her hands on her arms.

"Arguing with Faramir for nearly half-an-hour is not what I would call easily, Éowyn," she said with a wry smile, and Éowyn blushed.

"I…we should be going," she insisted.

"Yes," she agreed, "we should…but we are not, at least not today." Éowyn turned piercing eagle eyes on Legolas.

"What did he say to you?"

"He did not have to say much," she admitted to her. "Besides, I was thinking that perhaps it might be of use after all to stay here without the two of them. We can plan a bit more of my wedding; if you understand what I mean." It was the raising of her eyebrows that suddenly made Éowyn grin.

"You know what, Enguina? Perhaps staying here could be fun." Faramir looked so relieved Enguina thought he might faint, but it was Legolas's immediately paling face that she could not help but smile at.

"Perhaps we should take them with us," Legolas interjected with abrupt urgency. Faramir turned to look at him then, wondering what in the world was going on with all of them.

"What fun we shall have," Enguina added with glee. "However, we do want one small concession…barely anything if you ask me."

"What?" said Faramir almost immediately and as flatly as he possibly could. If he knew anything about women, and he knew quite a lot, it was that when they put their heads together they could become crafty.

"We want the dwarf," said Éowyn just as flatly, as though they were doing an exchange.

"What?" asked Gimli and Firgenwine's ears pricked forward.

"No," denied Legolas, "absolutely not. Gimli comes with us."

"What?" said Gimli again.

"Why? We have more use for him than you." stated Enguina, crossing her arms.

"What am I doing?" asked Gimli for the third time.

"What do you want him for?" asked Faramir, crossing his arms.

"We want him for company!" insisted Éowyn, and Gimli was now looking back and forth between those who were speaking, totally confused.

"Right," said Legolas sarcastically.

"We want him for…protection," admitted Enguina, and all four of her friends including Éowyn stared at her as though she had fourteen heads. "Really, we have no strong men to take care of us while you are both gone, and he would be the perfect one to do so. While you are both so busy, you could at least spare us some company in a strong dwarf—"

Legolas looked at Faramir, whose brow had furrowed and when their eyes met, they both shared a look. "Obvious flattery," stated Faramir, and Legolas nodded.

"Far too much flattery and far too much soft tone of voice to be truth."

"They are trying for some mad reason to allow the dwarf to stay. I wonder what their motive could possibly be."

Legolas shook his head. "Unsure. But—"

"Because we love him," said Éowyn, putting her arms around Gimli and resting her chin on his head. "Please let him stay?"

"What in the devil is going on here?!" yelled Gimli; he was thoroughly confused. Firgenwine snorted and tossed her head.

"Éowyn and Enguina want you to stay with them," said Faramir, crossing his arms. "I think there is something strange at work here."

"Why?" the dwarf asked, but he knew they must have their reasons. They must. "Well, I suppose if the ladies do wish me to stay," said Gimli rather suspiciously, "I have to abide by their wishes. I mean, they are staying behind after all. I suppose I could make them happy and remain here." He looked at the two men. "Besides, this rock is much more to my liking than those strange woods that you all seem to like too much. Yes," he said, nodding, "I will be much happier here. I will stay."

"And," added Éowyn, "if you do not let Gimli stay, we will simply follow you on horseback as you leave."

"Oh no, no, no…" said Faramir shaking his head. "Fine, the dwarf will stay."

The ladies' smiles were far too large for Legolas and Faramir, who by that time knew there was most definitely a conspiracy going on. It was completely foreign to them, since it had been their plan to leave both women home to begin with; but naturally, as women can do so easily, it was turned about on them.

"It is time to go," said Faramir, shaking his head. "I do not think I understand what happened here at all." He turned to Éowyn and wrapped his arms around her to give her a hug. "Have a good day, my love."

"Faramir, in truth…you will be returning before this evening?"

He looked into her eyes. "We shall be gone no more than a few hours; absolutely before sundown, but perhaps even as early as late afternoon." She touched his face.

"Will you promise me that?"

He looked seriously at her, leaning his forehead against hers. "Éowyn," he said softly, taking her face into his hands. "I can promise you that we will come back. I promise that I will not leave you. I promise you that my love remains with you. I promise that I will think of you constantly. I promise—"

"Don't you think you've made enough promises, lad?" Gimli chuckled, giving Faramir a shove. "Get on the horse before it takes off without you, since he made no promise to wait!" Faramir chuckled and leaned forward to give Éowyn a kiss.

"I promise I will return to you…you have my word." She kissed him again, and he mounted Dwimorisen. He and Legolas were headed out the stable entrance in another moment, but behind them they could hear the voice of Gimli, laughing:

"Let's get Firgenwine out of all this gear and then we'll begin to plan this massive wedding of yours!"

It left both Legolas and Faramir a bit worried about why they kept emphasizing the word 'wedding.'

Arwen sat in the grass with her back against the stone circle of the Fountain, her legs curled beneath her, and a good book in her hand. She and Annî had been playing in the garden this morning and the little girl was lying in the grass beside her on her stomach, a piece of charcoal and parchment in her hands and beneath her. Sketching, or scribbling, was one of Annî's favorite pastimes, and every once in a while Arwen would look up from her book and spy over her shoulder, in which case Annî would scold her and tell her the picture was not ready yet. Arwen would smile and return to her book.

She reached forward now and gently ran her fingers through Annî's hair, leaning her head back against the stone and looking up into the sun-filled sky. It was a beautiful spring day, and she was more than happy to be out and enjoying it.

"Annî," she asked, "are you hungry?"

"No," she said, making more lines on her paper. Arwen smiled and looked down at her.

"What are you drawing, love?"

"It's done!" she cried, climbing to her feet and holding it out for Arwen to see. The elf's only thought before she looked at it was that she hoped this time she could figure out what it was without having to ask her.

"Oh…Annî, this is lovely." No…no idea what this is, darling. Ilúvatar, forgive me for not being able to see through the eyes of this child. "Now, tell me all about what you were drawing."

Annî beamed with delight and began describing each flower and butterfly and lamb that she had been drawing that looked so much more like trees, slabs of meat, and cows…but Arwen smiled and exclaimed at each one.

"Can I draw a piture for Tirion?" she asked.

"Of course you can, chên nîn," she laughed. "And what are you going to draw him?"

"Yes, what are you going to draw me?" laughed Aragorn as he came out between the rows of blooming flowers.

"Tirion!" Annî screamed at the top of her lungs, and she dropped the paper and ran barefoot through the grass to run into his arms as he lifted her high and spun her around. When she had been sufficiently spun, Annî grasped his hand and dragged him nearer to where Arwen was seated in the grass, wishing that she had lacked the self-control to have done the same.

"I do not think I have ever seen anyone so delighted to see me," he teased, as he lowered himself into the grass beside his wife.

She smiled at him. "I would have given you a better reception," she said, tilting her head to kiss him softly in greeting, "but I was far too comfortable here."

"Oh, undoubtedly," he laughed, and Annî grabbed her parchment.

"Tirion, I was drawing you a piture!"

"A picture?" he said with a smile as he touched her hair. "What is it of?"

She held it up and pointed the imaginary objects out to him. "There is a horze and then me riding! And then there is you, and Tiriel, and then a big tree! And the river and the sun and then couds!"

He gasped. "It is beautiful." Arwen could not help but be enchanted by their exchange.

She giggled, stomping her feet in place for a moment as she laughed at him. "But Tirion!"

"What?" he asked, grinning at her as he laid his arm over Arwen's shoulders and she leaned into him, setting her book on the ground. She was transfixed by Annî's delight.

"I didn't draw it yet!" she exclaimed, and she tossed herself into the grass at his feet and begin scribbling on the parchment. Aragorn could not help but keep the smile on his face, but he felt Arwen's eyes on him after a few moments.

"What?" he asked her, looking down into her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" asked Arwen softly, and he laughed at the surprise in her voice.

"Do you want me to go away?" he teased.

"By no means," she said, her fingers interlacing with his. "I simply cannot believe that you are out here with us. Must you go back?"

"As a matter of fact…no," he said with a smile. "We are finished with our meetings, and I knew you were both out here from one of the guardsmen—"

"Mennev or Hildanir?" she asked, thinking fondly of them.

"Mennev, this time," he replied, "and I came right here. I was thinking, as I often do in Council meetings—they are very dull usually," she laughed softly at his words, "that if Annî was interested, we could have a picnic lunch…and possibly go swimming on this lovely day…and ride down near the Anduin."

"Riding?" squealed Annî, leaping to her feet in delight.

"I think someone is interested in your idea," Arwen said as Annî threw herself into her arms.

"Tirion! Tirion!"

"Yes, little one?"

"And swimming?"

"Why not?"

"Let's go! Let's go!" she shouted with joy, and she jumped from Arwen's lap and yanked both of their arms until they got to their feet to take her.

Éowyn fell over, laughing and clapping her hands. She lay on her back on the stone, her body shaking with the effort she put out to control herself, except all of her friends were having the same issue. "By Ilúvatar," she whispered, her voice hoarse, "you two are by far the worst conspirators in Middle-Earth! If Legolas knew what you two are planning, he would kill all of us!"

"Kill is such a strong word, Éowyn," giggled Enguina, and then she smirked when Éowyn made no attempt to sit back up. "Are you coming back up to join us, dear?

"I would if I could," she began, still laughing, "but it seems that my belly will not let me!" There was another round of laughter, but Gimli leaned forward and helped to carefully pull her up into a sitting position so that she was facing them once again. She was shaking her head. "Oh…that was so funny!"

"It is a very good plan, yes?" asked Enguina, a big grin on her face.

"Oh, yes, Legolas will simply die." Éowyn smiled hugely. "What else do you have planned?"

"You never know what I will come up with by the eve of the wedding."

"We've also been planning to 'lose' Legolas' clothes for the wedding," Gimli laughed. "That'll petrify him, since I've told him a few times that he's really going to wear his traveling clothes to the altar!"

"Yes!" laughed Enguina. "These tricks will add just enough silliness to our affair to make him laugh. Nothing too sinister; I still want him to wed me, but enough to ease the tension."

"And of course I've a speech planned that's sure to embarrass him!" exclaimed Gimli. "It will be so special I might even sing some of it!

"You really do have it all planned out, do you not?"

Enguina shrugged. "I have been working on it," she admitted. "I know he is plotting against me; he is always teasing me, so this is my opportunity to even things up a bit."

"You know, I'm getting a bit hungry," stated Gimli. "How'd you ladies like me to find some food?" Éowyn touched her stomach.

"Gimli, I did not realize how hungry I was until you asked!" she laughed.

Gimli laughed and rose, bowing. "Then let me serve you!" He moved away to gather some food for lunch and Éowyn watched him depart.

"He is so sweet."

"Shh!" laughed Enguina. "Do not let him hear you say that!"

Éowyn looked back at her, giving her a mischievous little grin. "Now, back to business: have you planned your wedding night yet?"

Enguina blushed immediately and looked surprised at her question. "P-p-plan?" she stuttered, unsure how to respond. "Éowyn, are you teasing me?"

"Not at all!"

"I…how do you…how can I even…?" She stared at the woman, and Éowyn smiled at her.

"Oh, stop looking so worried! You desire to be with Legolas, do you not?"

Enguina's face turned even redder. "Éowyn—"

"Enguina, it is not every day of your life that you get married! Legolas is the one man in the world that you are going to spend the rest of your life with; that first night is...well, special. It is the coming together of two people with so many differences, like joining opposites in a very sacred way. Marriage is so…wonderful."

"Well, one can see that you are happily married, Éowyn," Enguina said, glancing away, her face still quite a bit redder than she would like.

"Let us stay focused on you, hmm?" she said, a twinkle in her eyes. "So your wedding night is the most special and sacred moment of your life. It is the first time in all the years you have been alive that you are choosing to give away something that you have never given to anyone else." She smiled at Enguina, though the elf's nails digging into her palms went unnoticed.

"And what is that?" she asked softly.

Éowyn laid her hand on her arm. "Yourself. And it is terrifying and wonderful, all at the same time! And nothing else matters but the two of you; the night is a celebration of your love, yours and Legolas's…" She smiled at her. "You will make such a beautiful bride, and Legolas will be completely captivated by you…especially if you continue to blush like that the whole night!"

"Stop teasing me," Enguina groaned, trying to cover her anxiety. "You must have made a beautiful bride yourself, Éowyn."

"Well, Faramir thought so," she giggled, "and he was the only one I cared to impress."

"I am certain he would have more to say than that," Enguina pointed out.

"He would, knowing him so well, but he is not here to tell of it. Thank Eru!" Éowyn praised. "Sometimes Faramir does not realize that some of the things he does or says are too intimate for public conversation or displays. He is usually so proper and then sometimes…he forgets where we are."

"He forgets where he is and what he is doing because he is so in love with you," Enguina joked, happy to have the pressure off herself for a moment. "And sometimes, I am willing to bet he does it on purpose."

"Enguina, when you spend that first night with Legolas," she said suddenly, "you will be unable to imagine why you waited so long to marry, yet you will ask the question. You will ask: why has Ilúvatar waited until this moment to bind me to this man? Take my words; you will be amazed at everything you will learn from each other." Éowyn laid her hands on her belly suddenly and breathed out.

"Éowyn?"

"I am fine," she said, brushing her off. "Honestly, this is very common in the last few weeks. The body must prepare itself, you know."

Enguina swallowed hard and sighed. "I do not know if I could ever be ready to have children."

Éowyn laughed. "I felt that way, too! I was absolutely terrified…and then I held Annî in my arms. There is nothing in the world that means more to me than her and my love for Faramir, of course."

"And this new little one," Enguina said with a grin.

Éowyn laughed again. "Well, of course!" she replied, rubbing her belly gently. Then she looked at Enguina more seriously. "Speaking of being all right…are you all right?"

"Me? Fine, Éowyn," she said with a shrug. "Why not?"

Éowyn tilted her head, wondering if Enguina was purposely misunderstanding her. "Your shoulder, that nightmare you had last night—"

"Oh!" she said suddenly. "Yes, I am fine. Thank you, though. I…I know you were worried; thank you for asking about me."

"Terribly worried," she said softly. "We all were. When Legolas began shaking you, I was not sure he was going to be able to wake you. And then you were hurt and—"

"Éowyn, please," Enguina whispered as she crossed her arms in a struggle to keep the warmth inside herself, "I…cannot talk about it. Forgive me."

The Rohirric woman squeezed her arm gently. "Is there nothing that I can do for you?"

"Not with this, Éowyn, but…thank you, for trying to help."

The woman watched her for a moment, judging whether she should push and pry or not; Enguina could tell. But Éowyn seemed to think that it might be best to let her tell her own story, so she let it go. "Legolas was frantic over you last night," she said softly.

"I…I know," she replied, sighing softly. "I promised to talk with him tonight." She lifted her tired eyes to Éowyn. "Some secrets are too hard to keep…and this is the last one between Legolas and me."

"Faramir and I do not have any secrets," Éowyn said thoughtfully, "but, then again, there has never been anything to have a secret about. If you tell him, Legolas will understand. He is a very good man."

Enguina smiled wryly. "That is what I keep hearing."

Éowyn laughed. "Well, he is! And I am very sure you already know that or you would not be marrying him." She grinned at her, and then sighed. "Where in the world is Gimli with all that food he said he was going to bring?"

Enguina laughed. "He did say he would serve you, but he did not say he would be timely about it! If you like, I offer to go and fetch him."

"No, no," she replied. "I am sure he will be right back. You know, I do have plans for the rest of the afternoon. Would you like to hear my thoughts?"

"Please share."

"Food, that Gimli is bringing…nap…and then a snack before we begin finding dinner," she said ticking them off on her fingers as Enguina laughed.

"Honestly, Éowyn? You would think your entire day revolves around food!"

"Oh no," she denied as seriously as possible, "most of the emphasis of my day was going to be on the nap! I think we both could use one of those, yes?"

"Now that sounds like a great idea," Enguina admitted.