Fo.A 36, Prince's house
A knock on the door. He does not pay it any attention.
Another one.
This time Denethor looks up and around. The sun is shining brightly in his room. From the sun's position, he can tell it is around midday.
Midday?
He frowns. Really? He thought it was not yet this late. He must have slept for longer than he thought.
Another knock sounds. This time it sounds more urgent.
He turns back to the door. Someone sure is persistent. He now wants to know who wants to talk to him. If only to get them to leave. The doorknob moves after he has called the person in. The door opens slowly. A white gown becomes visible seconds before he sees Éowyn's face. In her hands is a tray with food. She walks into the room towards the nearby table on which she places the tray. He smiles as he stands up.
"Thank you, Éowyn. This is attentive of you."
"Of course, father. It is past lunchtime and you failed to show up so we thought you would like some food brought to you," Éowyn explains.
"Who says I did not order some?"
"I know you did not as we asked the staff if you sent you for anything which they denied," she explains, "And before you say anything, father, that the staff could have brought it; I just wanted to check up on you,"
"That is attentive of you, Éowyn. I assure you I am perfectly fine," He nods as he sits down at the table.
Éowyn narrows her eyes at him but doesn't say anything and remains in the room. He frowns. She just stares at him sternly. He can tell there's something she hasn't said before.
"Yes, Éowyn. Is there something else you need from me?"
"No, father. There is nothing I need from you now. I just wonder what you told Faramir and the boys as they seemed highly confused about something. So, is there anything you can tell me?" Éowyn asks nervously.
"You do know why I am here, do you not?" he asks for clarification.
Éowyn nods. Yet at the same time, she also looks confused at him. It only lasts for a few seconds before her eyes widen. He smiles and nods.
"Indeed, you realize what we have been talking about, do you not?"
"Yes, father, I do," Éowyn admits as she scratches her head while smiling wryly, "I should have realized this probably before."
He shakes his head but refuses to give a response. Instead, he looks at the tray. On it are a couple of rolls of bread, cheese, fruit, small tomatoes, and meat. Also, a cup of wine, an empty water goblet, and a pitcher filled with water stand on the tray as well as an empty plate. He starts to pile food on the empty plate when he notices Éowyn remains standing. He motions for her to sit down which she does not do. He looks at her and raises an eyebrow.
"Is there something you need, father?" Éowyn asks.
"No, there is nothing."
"Alright," Éowyn acknowledges.
She falls silent and frowns. He does not miss how she seems to be considering something. What he does not know but he is fairly confident he will learn it soon. And indeed, after a few minutes, Éowyn speaks up.
"If you want, father, you can join us for dinner in the dining hall."
"I think I will do so because I will enjoy seeing the youngsters having fun."
"Of course, father. I will see you then at dinner. A servant will come by later to collect the tray."
He nods and watches as Éowyn quietly leaves the room. Just as the door clicks close, he returns to his lunch which he eats calmly.
Once he has finished his lunch, he stands up and walks to the window. There, he looks out into the city. A smile grows on his face. It is attentive for them to invite him to dinner. He will certainly enjoy the time he has with his family at dinner (just as he told her). By knowing about it already, he will have ample time to rest. Which he will do soon but first he wants to look over the city. He prefers to enjoy the way the city is still novel to him. Something which will change soon enough.
He moves a bit to the side and sits down in a conveniently placed chair. He leans back and closes his eyes. He wants to take a small nap. Just for a minute. Or that is his idea. Instead of a few minutes, he falls asleep for hours.
His eyes blink open to the sight of clothing. At the same time, they feel heavy. It feels as if he's been asleep for hours but that can't be. He only closed his eyes for a few moments to take a nap. He looks up out of the window. The sun has moved away from the south and seems to have just passed over the west.
The west?
He looks more attentively out of the window. His eyes widen as he realizes he's fallen asleep for hours. He did not realize he was so tired. At all.
He leans back and his eyes begin to drop. He fights against it for multiple minutes. Only after he takes a few deep breaths do his eyes stop dropping. He looks out of the window and smiles at the sight before him. The land before him is bountiful and prosperous. Flowers and plants bloom just as the harvest does. It is a stark contrast to how it was years ago when Gil returned and even before that. As he thinks about this his mind moves back to Gil's rule.
The first few years had been peaceful much to his surprise. He would have thought other lands would seek to challenge a new king. A king, they did not seem as experienced. But then it was after the Siege. Even they had lost a lot of men either by them being taken prisoner or killed. So in this regard, it was not surprising but still…he would have thought they would cause more problems than some border skirmishes.
He shakes his head. Those lands more than made up for it later based on the threats they've received then. Especially from Harad and the East…well regarding the East, the majority came from smaller groups most likely for them to gain more power. The Kahn seemed to be a friend of Gil so never made threats. No, he actively went after those smaller groups just as they did. How those two became friends he…he still has no idea and doubts he will ever want to know. He is just glad they are friends because it preventsf so much trouble. The Kahn could have caused massive trouble had he not been a friend of Gil.
As for Harad, there were also peaceful groups but they were few and far in between. Mostly those groups consisted of trading clans as well as some solitary clans who refused all the contenders for the title of Sultan. Those contenders…they may as well have been aggressors for all the problems they caused with their incursions and internal fighting. Initially, he did not deem the reports about internal fights as significant but…well, it all changed after one particular fight caused an all-out assault after a disposed leader fled into Gil's land. Before that, all it caused were some disruptions to trade (nothing major, honestly; it was more of a nuisance than anything else) and some raids. But this assault trumped all others. More importantly, it forced Gill to act in Harad (after some prompting as he preferred to first strengthen their borders which was a logical thing to do but not the most important response to give) and remove the troublemaker from power. It unfortunately (and honestly unsurprisingly) caused new problems. Fortunately, none spread over the border. In the end, someone took control and did not seek to attack them even though there was a lot of tension between them for years. He still doesn't know why much to his displeasure.
These were not the only battles they've had in the early years. Each time, Gil took Imrahil and Faramir with him on campaigns. He was left behind to rule as the steward; it was similar to how he had been doing for years but also different in some aspects. He no longer ruled under his own authority but as a representative of the king. None of those times are comparable to the others as each had their specific problems which he had to deal with within the boundary of his authority.
After each of those campaigns treaties were signed. Thankfully. He would have insisted on it had Gil not worked on drafting them on his own. This slowly improved their relationship with Harad and the East. Despite the occasional skirmish, the relationship remains good. Or what he calls good. No relationship between two or more lands has ever been perfect. Not that he would expect it to be.
Also, before all this, Gil reconfirmed their alliance with Rohan. Something, he's grateful for as they played a large role in those skirmishes. In return, Gil also fought in support of Rohan whenever they had skirmishes. It all showed how the relationship with Rohan improved (something Gil's friendship with King Éomer most likely played a part in) even if in the early years they were under the rule of an inexperienced king. The inexperience showed at times; times when he would have used it for his benefit but not Gil. No, he gave advice and aid when needed and wanted. Considering it now, he is kinda glad no one used it against Rohan for it prevented even slight aversion.
This brings his mind back to the changes Gondor endured. Some lords were replaced after being punished. Most of those punishments were less severe than he would have inflicted but nevertheless (he reluctantly admits) fair. Something which turned out to be a complete change in court as all criminals faced the same thing. Well, except for a few who committed severe crimes. Those were punished more in line with his method than others. It also meant he had to adapt the punishments he inflicted whenever Gil was on a campaign.
The changed punishments were not the only thing which changed Gondor. This had very little effect on making Gondor prosper. No, the most impact were, in his opinion, the improved trading relationships and good harvests. Ever since the War, harvests have been bountiful. A lot larger than before. It ensured they had ample to trade with which gave merchants more wealth and in turn, the Crown received more from taxes. He smiles, remembering the protests the merchants had when they discovered this. He shakes his head. That discussion got heated very quickly and he was done with it in short order. But not Gil; oh no, he was the patience itself explaining everything to them. Over and over again. He groans and fists his hands in his hair just from remembering it. He would have loved to have ended it but could not do so. Thus, he was forced to endure it until Gil had enough. No matter how much he disliked it. In the end…, he snickers, remembering it, Gil also lost his patience with them (after no less than an hour of discussion) and ended it. The protesting merchants continued for another few years never where Gil or him could hear it but caused no real issues.
The increase in tracing wasn't the only thing which allowed Gondor to prosper; oh no, the lengthy peace has done much more despite some of the conflicts. It allowed people to travel within their borders relatively safely (only some brigands caused trouble but those were easily dealt with) and build their lives the way they wanted. It also helped that from Arnor some goods came as well as goods brought there. It was another increase for merchants and people to build a new life if they so wanted. All in all the people seem pleased with how Gondor is now and by extension the Kingdom.