Gimli and Enguina had only camped for an hour or so, enough to let the horses graze and to gulp down some meager fare themselves. This was all the time they felt they could spare, even though they were tired and they assumed their mounts were as well from riding through the darkness and then all day long. But they had seemed rested and eager to hit the trail again; this had pleased both the elf and the dwarf, and they had made excellent time.

That is, they made excellent time until they became lost just before sunset. Somehow, the trail had completely disappeared and they had spent nearly two hours back-tracking and searching for it. They were near the outskirts of the mountains surrounding Mordor now, and the volcanic types of rock were disguising the trail. Moving at the pace they had been traveling, it had also been easy to lose the trail. After much disgust, and then desperate prayer and pleading to Ilúvatar done in both the silence of the heart and aloud, they had found the trail anew.

At the moment, they found themselves in the pitch black of a dark wood. The air was close and heavy, and the trees seemed to snatch at their clothes and cloaks as they rode along. Enguina could barely see anything, and she prayed for some of the clouds to dissipate that had clearly been forming towards the evening. They blocked all light from the moon and Enguina and Gimli had no other choice but to rely on the sight of their mounts to guide them through. They could only hope they were still on the trail.

"The air is so…close in here, don't you think, lass?" asked Gimli, and then he muttered under his breath, "I don't think I've been more miserable in a wood since the first time I walked through Fangorn."

Just as he spoke, Enguina's sixth sense for minor danger kicked in and she thrust up her hand to block the low-hanging branch that could have knocked off her head. Lifting it, she ducked under it and dropped it behind her. About to reply to Gimli and warn him about the branch, another struck her in the head. She cursed aloud, reaching up to touch her forehead, wincing.

"Be careful, Gimli; the trees in here are getting closer, and this is no wide, well-used trail we are traveling." Her voice cut off at the end as she hissed when a tree branch cut her cheek.

"All right up there?" he called to her and she agreed it was fine. Then he chuckled at her and continued, "I am quite a bit shorter than you, lass, but I'll watch out just the same. And I can't see how you can tell the trees are thick in here; I can't see anything, not even my own hand a few inches from my face!"

Enguina tried to smile, even though she was still a bit worried about losing the trail. "That is how you can tell they are thick. You can no longer see the moon through the trees."

Gimli let out a snort. "I knew that!" he stated and she laughed. "Perhaps we should light a torch, though. I know we said we didn't want to do that, but we don't know what to expect in these woods. There might be catamounts or bears, and we don't want to meet them in the dark unprepared."

"Perhaps that is a good idea, Gimli," she replied quietly. "Only, be careful please."

"Well, first let me see if I can find the gear I need here…"

She smiled to herself as she listened to Gimli mutter to himself from behind her. Never, never ever in a life age did she think that she would be enjoying traveling with a dwarf! But she and Gimli were great companions, and she was growing as close to him as he and Legolas were to each other. There was no doubt that within a short time, she would love Gimli just as much as Legolas did. Oh, but that thought led her to thinking about how much she missed Legolas, and how worried she was and her heart hurt, so she tried to press the thought away.

Taking several minutes and several curses later, the dwarf finally lit the lantern and raised it up. "See?" he said, casting the light forward where Lómë was walking just in time for her to duck under another large branch. "This will be perfect for shedding a bit of light!"

Suddenly, Enguina thrust up her arms and cried out, Lómë dancing to the left of the trail, throwing his head. Gimli called out to her, but then he heard the flutter of wings and he cried out himself as something, or several somethings, slapped into the side of his head. He ducked towards Firgenwine's neck, lowering the lantern, as he saw Enguina doing much the same ahead of him. Thousands of bats flapped over them, Firgenwine and Lómë dancing all over the trail, but were unable to plow forward with all of the rodents flying haphazardly. Enguina screamed as several became wound in her hair, and she had to drop the reins to free them so they were not clawing and scratching her neck and head.

"Gimli! Gimli, put it out!" she cried, and no sooner had she began calling to him, he had the idea himself. He was discouraged from keeping out the lantern with such a mighty force of bats flying from the trees nearby. Then he heard her speaking to Lómë, trying to calm him, her soothing voice barely heard over the fluttering of wings.

Finally, after many minutes, the bats finished flying off and about them, the last two hitting Enguina in the back of the head. "Ugh," she muttered, rubbing her hands through her hair to ensure they had all left her hair. She heard Gimli grunting as he sat upright.

"Well…that was certainly fun, wasn't it?" he asked as Firgenwine drew closer to Lómë. He squinted to see the elf as she gingerly returned to sitting upright.

"I did not appreciate the bats," she replied, her voice shaking just a little. She shuddered and rubbed her arms. "I really hated that."

"Well, here we are!" he said with a laugh. "At least we made it through that alive and with only a few scratches. Bats are nasty creatures, but it's not them so much that bothers me," he admitted. "I don't much like dark forests; well, I don't think the fact that it is dark makes it any worse. I think I simply do not like forests!"

Enguina laughed at him and shook her head. "We have no choice in the matter, Gimli. We must continue to press onward if we are to save Legolas."

"I wouldn't have that any other way," he sighed and urged Firgenwine forward into the trees and darkness once again. This time, Lómë followed. "We haven't rested in some time, and we're going to get tired very soon," Gimli added, frowning. "I don't know what else we can do aside from tying ourselves in the saddle."

Enguina grimly smiled at that image in her mind. "I am willing to go that far if we must. We lost so much time getting lost, and I do not think we should stop in this forest unless our lives depend on it."

"Maybe they will if we hang ourselves in the dark by a tree limb," Gimli grumbled, swiping the branches out of his way that still seemed to snatch at him. "Though you're right, Enguina; we've lost enough time already and there's no way that lot camped in here. It's probably not wise to stop." The crunching of leaves beneath the hooves of their horses sounded loudly in the utter darkness all around them. "I mean, this would be the perfect place for an ambush if I knew I had others trailing me."

"I do not believe they could possibly know we are coming, Gimli."

"Well," he said softly, "I'm not one who takes captives, but if I were, I'd have look-outs all along the way to make sure I wasn't being followed. Though, by the looks of Faramir, I suppose they'd have assumed he was going to die quickly and there would be no one to tell. Perhaps there wouldn't be anyone watching for followers. Perhaps they expect no one to follow them."

"They would be very wrong," Enguina added. "But we most certainly cannot stop; it could mean the difference between life and death for Legolas." Her voice had softened. "We must assume they are going to kill him, after what they did to Faramir."

"I wish we were already upon them."

So do I, Gimli…so do I.

Over the next hour or so, the going through the woods was hard. There were branches at every turn that waited to overtake them, and the horses would spook at shadows their riders could not see. At one turn, Gimli was nearly thrown, and then Enguina was nearly swept from Lómë's back by a thick limb. They kept a tight rein on their horses, Enguina now out in front with a raised arm to prevent herself from being dragged from the saddle.

Suddenly, light flickered through the tree canopy above them, and Enguina grinned. "There is light, Gimli! Straight ahead; do you see it?"

"Finally!" cried Gimli, groaning with frustration. "Let's get out into the light!"

They exited the forest and stood on the edge of a dismal scene. They were in a completely uncertain area; neither the dwarf nor the elf had ever been this far Northeast, so near the Black Land. They had traveled out of Ithilien, but they had no idea of this, for they had no idea where the boundary for that land lay. The moon shed some light on the shrubs that now appeared in the area before them, and they were relieved to see they had left that dark patch of woods behind them. The woods seemed so out of place when they looked back that it seemed it had been planted there to turn them away from following Legolas' captors. Enguina sighed softly, bringing Lómë to a halt, for she was sore and tired. Looking at the stretch of land before them, her heart fluttered and pained; she was already losing hope.

"Will we ever catch them, Gimli?" she murmured, and Gimli was surprised by the amount of despair in her voice. She had encouraged him through the woods, and now, when his heart felt lighter simply by being out of them, she seemed to despair over the long road ahead of them. He reached out and touched her arm with a gentleness seldom seen from any dwarf. When she turned her head towards him, her eyes were misty.

"We can't give up hope, Enguina," he stated with compassion. "There'll be many trials and days of riding ahead of us, but don't doubt that we'll catch these evil men! If there's anything I've learned from journeying with Legolas and Aragorn, it is that we have to keep our faith alive. The moment when things seem at their worst, something good always comes."

"That…has not generally been my experience," she replied quietly.

He frowned at her. "Well, we're going to look at things from a positive outlook. We have followed the trail fairly well so far, and we've made it out of the woods. These are both very positive."

"But we do not seem to be any closer to finding Legolas."

"We will. Eventually, Enguina, all things come together for good, understand? Take my word for it. Don't worry so much, and don't be too afraid."

"Because I am with you?" she offered with a smile.

"Because we've got each other," he stated. "We'll find him, lass." Enguina nodded, a knot in her throat that she was unable to speak around. "Let's ride for as long as we can, shall we?"

Lómë and Firgenwine began walking together again, and Enguina thanked Ilúvatar for the presence of Gimli. She could not imagine how dismal she would be without his encouragement.

Morning had come far too early for Annî as she lay fast asleep against Arwen's back, strapped tight to the elf through a make-shift sling with a long strap of fabric. She had been in awe the first hours of the ride yesterday, exclaiming at everything and enjoying the company of Aragorn and Arwen. After some time, however, the ride became grueling. Aragorn had warned her that they would be riding quickly; she soon found out that he had not been teasing her. Unused to so many hours in the saddle, Annî had grown very uncomfortable very quickly, though she had been thoroughly amazed at the speed with which they traveled. Arwen and Aragorn, putting their heads together, devised a way of travel that would normally be used for infants, but it was a necessity now.

Arwen could not believe that Annî was still asleep against her as Asfaloth loped along, his hooves thudding rhythmically against the ground. The sound was soothing to her heart, the rhythm perfect for her thoughts which centered on the missing Legolas and the wounded Faramir. They were moving as quickly as they could. Thankfully, the moon had just begun changing from full, so she and Aragorn had been able to ride late into the evening before stopping to camp. It was not yet dawn, and they had set out early to waste no time. Arwen was beginning to recognize familiar sights as they began to draw near to Henneth Annûn.

She glanced over and caught Aragorn's eye. He smiled at her, but she wore a frown; she knew he was trying to encourage her. "I am worried," she said to him, shaking her head. "I woke this morning with trouble in my mind."

He gave her a lopsided smile. "Are you sure that was not because Annî nearly fell asleep on your head last night?"

She gave him a withering look. "No, it is because of them. Something draws near, Aragorn; this is not as simple as it seems. Yes, Faramir is wounded and Legolas is missing, but I feel…I feel there is something else that is gnawing away at me, pressing down on me."

It was his turn to frown. Again, he knew far too much about Elven premonitions to refute them. "Yet, you are still unsure who they focus on."

She nodded, sighing, frustrated. "I only know there is trouble elsewhere…something stirring, moving in the shadows. I cannot explain it." She glanced back at him. "Forgive me; I cannot stop thinking about them."

"Neither can I," he replied, and she watched his gaze drift toward her back.

She finally smiled. "Is she still asleep?"

"For now. I feel badly for her; I know this journey is difficult, but we had no other choice. There was no way we could have left her in Minas Tirith."

"No, and I know she is having fun as well, but this is the first time she has been on horseback for so long, and moving so quickly. Though, there is no way to prepare for such riding."

He reached out and touched her arm lightly. "And you? How are you doing?"

"Beloved, are you trying to say that I am unfit?" She gave him a little smirk, and he knew she was teasing him.

"Would I ever say such a thing about you?" he asked. "I was asking because you have not ridden for so many miles in so long. You have not been riding like this for some time, and you have been recovering as well. How do you feel?"

"Rested, actually, even though we did not stop for very long," she said, looking ahead. "How many more leagues have we to run?"

"It will not be long now," Aragorn replied. "We are riding hard; we should reach Henneth Annûn before nightfall."

She nodded. She was ready to ride hard and fast; her worry would take care of that. It was Annî she thought of when it came to the long ride. It would be several hours yet before she was awake for Aragorn had bundled the girl tightly against her back. She glanced back to Aragorn as he looked to the trail ahead.

"Aragorn…" she asked, and he turned back to her.

"What is it, Arwen?"

"I am afraid we will not reach Faramir in time," she said a bit more softly.

"Of course we will," he replied.

She continued a bit sheepishly, "I also think that when we arrive, we will find ourselves quite on our own. I think Gimli and Enguina…well, I have a feeling that they might already be hunting for Legolas if he has not already been found."

Aragorn sighed, shaking his head. "I suspected as much. We will see when we arrive, I suppose. I hope we do not end up tracking all three of them instead of just Legolas."

She kept her eyes focused on his. She had not had the privilege of traveling like this with him before; he had not been in Ithilien since chasing down Calendur, and before that three years, and before that not since before they had become engaged…yet, he remembered every turn to Henneth Annûn, and he knew exactly where he was traveling.

She was, to say the least, impressed and even a bit in awe of him, and even as worried as she was, she could not help but take notice. He was so strong; he had always been strong. She knew he had ridden for days to reach her just months ago; she had touched his rein-scarred hands. He would move heaven and earth…he would. Just to be with him, racing to Faramir, searching for Legolas, she had less doubt, more confidence. And when he looked in her eyes…

"Is everything all right?" he asked her.

"I believe it will be," she replied, and she found that as the words left her mouth she felt quite certain it would be.

He was a Hunter. He would find Legolas. And she would be at his side to help him.

The sun was almost setting as Galen stood just inside the chamber where Faramir lay motionless on the cot they had prepared. He pulled his knuckles, which he hardly ever did unless he was nervous, which he was very much right now. All was silent in the room, except for the sound of breathing. Finally, after two days without rest and at constant vigil, Galen had convinced the Princess of Ithilien to take sleep. She had forced them to set the mattress beside her husband so that she could remain near him; she would not leave his side.

There was nothing that the men who had been trying to heal him had been able to do. He had been steadily declining in health for the past three days, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. The Princess—Éowyn, he thought, as she had told him to call her—had been at his side every moment, watching him begin to fade. He had not woken in several hours, and his skin was growing paler as the moments passed; he looked almost like a ghost. His injuries had been more severe than anyone had realized; even though the Healer had stopped the bleeding of his wounds, he had internal injuries that were far worse than anything they could see. There was, literally, nothing that could be done. As Galen stared at his face, he wished that they had found him dead; at least that way he would not have suffered, and he would not have inflicted this long goodbye on his wife.

He was distracted by the sudden movement of Éowyn waking, her shoulders stiff and tense as she sat up on the cot, one arm wrapped around her womb as she slid her feet to the floor. Leaning down towards Faramir, she reached out with her right hand and stroked his face.

"Love," he heard her whisper, "your face is so cold."

"My Lady," Galen said from the entryway, "you have not been asleep two hours. You need rest." His voice was quiet, so it was quite easy for her to ignore him completely. She moved the strands of hair from Faramir's face and ran her thumb gently along his eyebrow, looking carefully at the bruising around his eyes.

He looked even worse than he had when she had gone to sleep. He was so motionless, her heart began to race and her throat tightened. "Faramir?" Of course, there was no response, and she struggled to catch her breath. "Faramir?" she asked again. The alarm in her voice made Galen straighten and move immediately towards them.

She dropped to her knees beside him, grabbing his hand in her left and cupping his cheek with the other. His hands were like ice, and they terrified her. She remembered, then, staring down into her Uncle's lifeless eyes, his face going cold, his gloved hand stroking her face and her breath caught in her throat, tears flooding her eyes.

"No, Faramir…no," she gasped, her nails digging into his hand as she clung to him.

Galen reached out and touched her shoulder. "My Lady," he whispered, "you have to let him go." He had not meant the words to come out that way, but it needed to be said. The Prince was dying; he might already be dead.

Éowyn yanked ferociously away from him, throwing herself down on Faramir, laying her head against his chest, pressing her face to his throat. Even as weak as he was, as tired as his body clearly was of living, his heart had not yet given out; she felt his pulse strongly through her head, and she lost it, curling her fingers into his hair and crying.

"Husband, do not leave me," she wept. "Please, Eru, be merciful! Not Faramir, not Faramir! Not now! Eru, do not take him! I am not ready!"

Galen stepped back from her; she needed to grieve, and he felt her pain most keenly.

Suddenly, Tandaarin was at his elbow. "Captain."

"What is it, Lieutenant?"

"Riders, my Lord," he replied. "They were spotted nearly a mile off."

He turned to him immediately. "The Lady and Gimli? Coming from the North?"

"No, riders from the South," he said, shaking his head. "From Gondor."

"Ours?" he said, leading the way from the room and following the cavern downwards.

"I do not know, Captain, but they certainly did not stumble upon us in the coming darkness. I came straight to you. Perhaps they bring word?"

Galen sighed, and replied grimly, "Pray, Tandaarin, they bring more than word."

Only moments after they had reached Henneth Annûn, Aragorn knew. When there was no elf and dwarf to meet him, only groups of Rangers, it was very obvious that Arwen's worry that they had already departed had been confirmed and that they would probably receive no updated news about Legolas. He dismounted and reached up toward Arwen to take Annî from her before she dismounted herself.

"Where's Mommy?" the little girl asked immediately. For the past two hours she had ridden in front of Arwen.

"Shh," Arwen said softly, "we will find her in moments." Handing her down to Aragorn, she gave him a guilty look. "I tried to tell you—"

"I know," he replied, lowering Annî down. "It is fine; they will be fine. By the time—"

"Valar be praised, you have come!" a voice cried from behind them and Arwen stopped mid-dismount as Galen came rushing up to them. "Thank the heavens, my Lord!"

"Daddy! Where's my Daddy?" asked Annî, and Arwen swung the rest of the way down and picked Annî up into her arms as Aragorn turned to the Ranger.

"Galen, what has been happening? The Rangers you sent told us—"

"We were not expecting you to come so quickly!" he exclaimed. "The Prince's need is dire; he is failing even as we speak."

"Take us to him," Arwen said as Annî wrapped her arm around her neck, her thumb in her mouth.

The man behind Galen stepped forward. "Tandaarin, my Lord and Ladies," he said, "we will see to your horses."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," replied Aragorn as Galen began to stride away.

"I will brief you on what we know on the way."

Aragorn shoved passed Galen upon hearing Éowyn's sobs, and he entered the room nearly five strides ahead of the man, his anxiety over Faramir taking over. Arwen was two steps behind him, her eyes immediately settling on the woman hunched over him. They could hear her voice, whispering pleading words.

"Faramir, please stay with me…Ilúvatar, do not take him…do not take him…" As Aragorn drew near, he could see one of her hands clutching Faramir's and the other incessantly stroking his face, over and over her hand drew down his cheek. The man was so pale that Aragorn's breath caught—he was a corpse already.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Annî struggled so much that Arwen had to put her down; at the sound of her daughter's voice, Éowyn was shaken out of her shock and horror at the possibility of her husband's death and she stumbled into a turn, just in time to open an arm before her daughter ran into her full-tilt.

"Annî?" she croaked in disbelief, her voice harsh from exhaustion and sobs.

"Daddy…" the little girl moaned, stretching a hand towards her father, beginning to cry outright; now there was real danger. The man lay still, unmoving on the mat; that terrified her.

"Ar…" Éowyn began, the disbelief becoming complete astonishment as Aragorn reached her side, but her voice cut off and she could not speak.

"Daddy hurt! Hurt!" Annî was crying loudly, and Aragorn ran his hand through Éowyn's hair, a caress that served to soothe a bit of her anxiety.

"Éowyn, let me see to him. Go with Arwen; rest. He is going to be all right." Her relief, her exhaustion, was such that she nearly swooned on the floor, but Arwen was there taking her to her feet as Aragorn slipped easily into her place. "Galen," Aragorn said seriously, beginning to roll up his sleeves, "I need hot water, the Healer, and these wounds need to be bathed again immediately." Annî and Éowyn's cries were echoing in the cavern, and he turned to look over his shoulder. "Arwen—"

The elf drew Éowyn and the crying child out of the entryway, taking her into the hall. She turned to the guard nearby. "Please, my Lord, is there somewhere the Lady can rest?"

"No, no," Éowyn whispered, her face half-buried beneath Arwen's shoulder, Annî crushed between them, "I cannot leave him. I cannot!"

She slipped a hand up into Éowyn's hair. "Hush now," she said in her melodic, soothing way, "Aragorn is with him. He will be all right." Her eyes went back to the Ranger. "My Lord?"

"Of course, my Lady." The room was not far where he took her, but there was a place where Arwen could sit Éowyn down, and within moments, they were alone, the woman's face pressed to her neck.

"Mommy, Mommy…" the little girl whispered.

"I am so glad you are here, little one," Éowyn replied, her voice broken by tears.

"What happened to Daddy?"

"Daddy—" Her voice cut off in a sob and she clutched her little girl more tightly. "Daddy was hurt, but…Tirion is here now, and everything is going to be all right, Annî." Arwen swallowed hard, stroking Éowyn's hair over and over; she prayed with all her might that the woman was right, that Aragorn could save him.

The stress of traveling and seeing her father so injured put Annî to sleep in the arms of her mother in a very short period of time. Arwen waited until she thought Éowyn was in control of herself before she began to speak, but the woman got there first.

"I…I should be in there with him. Let me—"

"No, you are all right, and you have Annî. Let Aragorn work; he needs quiet, Éowyn." She spoke quietly, but firmly. "You need to think about the child within you as well as Faramir. You look as though you have been up for days; you are completely exhausted." She lowered one hand on Éowyn's womb.

"How in heaven's name are you here?" Éowyn whispered back. "I am so thankful, so grateful, but I…I cannot understand, Arwen. What are you doing here?"

"The Rangers who had come from Ithilien arrived in Minas Tirith not even two days ago," Arwen replied. "Aragorn and I could not ignore the fact that Faramir had been injured, you alone, Legolas missing, and the possibility of Enguina rushing off to save him. We had to do something, and we could not very well leave Annî alone in Minas Tirith."

"It must have been a terrible journey," she muttered, and Arwen smiled, stroking her hair again.

"No, it was quite the opposite. Annî has been so exhausted from the riding that she has been asleep most of the time. At the start, she found it great fun and asked us thousands of questions about everything she saw. When we were getting close to Henneth Annûn, I think she was just grateful to be finished with the ride, and to be reunited with you."

For the first time since Faramir had fallen asleep that first night, Éowyn smiled. "Has she been good for you? Has my little one been good?"

Arwen nodded. "She is a dear, Éowyn, and she has been having a great time with me. We have been traveling to the Anduin and roaming about the City, and everywhere we go, no one fails to mention how sweet she is or how beautiful. You and Faramir are raising a very precious child." She blushed a little bit. "You have no idea how very lucky you are."

She heard Éowyn sigh, and the woman released Annî with one hand and touched Arwen's face. "When I look at you, Arwen," she whispered, "I am reminded of how lucky I am. It is difficult to forget." There was quite a pause after her words, and she began to regret them almost as soon as they had left her mouth. "Forgive me; I did not mean to hurt you—"

"You are right, of course," she said softly. "How could you forget?" But turning the subject away from herself was the first thing she was going to do. "Éowyn, you must tell me what has happened. I fear that the story may have changed or that there are new developments that have happened since I have heard the story. Please, tell the tale in full."

"I will try," Éowyn said softly. "Legolas and Faramir traveled alone in search of new land for our homes; that morning, I was exhausted, and Enguina had a horrible nightmare the evening before, so she agreed to stay behind with Gimli and me. We have no idea what happened in between those hours, only that Faramir and Legolas had been attacked—by a large party of men and elves. I say large because there were many dead, and there were many that rode away.

"We waited for hours, Arwen, but they never returned. It was Dwimor who returned here to Henneth Annûn long after nightfall, rider-less and in rough condition. We were terrified; so we headed out with a search party and made out to find them. When we did…" she shook her head and returned it to Arwen's shoulder, sighing, "Faramir was in a terrible state. Glosbrethil was tangled in briars and could not get loose, so Enguina set to free him. By the time all of this had happened, we realized that Legolas had been taken; he was nowhere to be found.

"I needed to return to Henneth Annûn with Faramir, so Enguina and Gimli stayed to continue searching. The following morning when I woke from a very brief sleep, I was given news from Tandaarin that the pair of them had ridden off to follow the trail of the kidnappers." She shook her head. "I knew it was going to happen, so I was not very surprised, but there was nothing I could do. I would have only slowed them down, and I needed to watch over Faramir." She bit her lip, tears coming to her eyes. "Arwen, if you had not come—"

She tugged her even closer, laying her head on the woman's. "But we are here, and Aragorn is at his side. There is nothing that, in time, Aragorn cannot heal. Faramir's heart is beating still; he has too much to live for."

"Thank you," she whispered. "And thank you for bringing Annî here to me."

"Of course." She kissed the top of her head. "Now, I am going to return to Aragorn and see if there is anything I can do to make things easier for him. You are going to rest on this bed we are sitting on, and then I will return and wake you as soon as Aragorn has finished what he can."

"Oh, no, Arwen…I could not sleep. Not while Faramir is—"

"He is going to be fine," Arwen stressed. "He will be a little worse for wear for a while, but he is going to be all right. Now, come…lay down here."

Éowyn did not have much of a choice but to listen to her, so within a few moments, the woman was lying down with her child in her arms and her head on a pillow. Arwen covered her with a blanket and stroked her hair, looking down on her with a smile.

"I will stay with you until you are sleeping," she said, and Éowyn smiled at her.

"Thank Eru for the blessing of your peace, Arwen." She felt her eyes closing, but then reopened them to look at her again. "I almost forgot; Galen discovered an elf that was alive at the scene of the attack. He is here, being kept prisoner; he was badly wounded as well, but I have not spoken with him, nor has anyone else. Faramir was so ill."

Arwen shook her head. "Do not worry; hopefully there is much he can tell us about the attack and its purpose. I will find out. In the meantime, you should sleep. Do not worry about anything now, Éowyn. Everything will be all right."

"Of course it will now," she replied sleepily, touching Arwen's face. "Both of you are here."