Always, there was a warmth to Rohan that could not be denied or ignored. Nor should one deny or ignore it, Faramir thought, as he walked alone in Meduseld's halls. His wife still slumbered and he left her as such; for now, he would wander in the home Éowyn still longed for in her heart, and breathe in the air that was both foreign and yet familiar to him.
A welcomed comfort, for he was a stranger in the House of Eorl.
Alone with her thoughts was Lothíriel, the new Queen of the Mark. It had been around forty years since Rohan had had a queen, but she found her feet quickly, and the people were so kind and welcoming, it was not a struggle to gain their affections. Their king loved her, so they too loved her.
And yet, as she walked the halls, deep in thought, she questioned whether Lady Éowyn would approve of all that had been done by Lothíriel since she was crowned. The White Lady had been mistress of Meduseld for years, and the young queen could only hope that everything met with her approval. She so dearly wished to be favorable in Éowyn's eyes for her own merit, and not simply because her brother loved her.
Hearing footsteps, Lothíriel looked up, smiling when she saw it was her cousin.
"Faramir! A good morning to you, dear cousin. Did you sleep well?"
"Lothíriel," Faramir said, affection on his eyes and lips - and then, remembering himself, his place and hers, he planted his feet firmly and gave his cousin a low bow. She was, after all, Queen of Rohan, and he was merely a guest in her halls. "My lady." But when he looked at her again, he was smiling, and he began to reach for her hand. "Yes, I did. Any man would not find better or lovelier accommodations anywhere else."
Faramir's response reminded her of herself. She was not simply his younger cousin whom he saw every few years, but his hostess and a queen. She should not have been so familiar either, but Faramir was of a nature that would never hold such against her.
She acknowledged his deference with a slight incline of her head, but smiled widely and gave him her hand.
"I am so pleased to hear so. I confess, I was in a state before your arrival, hoping your accommodations would suit. Not because I believe you or your lady to be the sort to expect something beyond anything else but," here she paused and looked around them before stepping closer. "I wished to do as well a role as the Lady Éowyn would have done. Can you tell me, has she found fault with anything?" She just managed to stop herself from biting her lip in anxiety. It was not a proper image for a queen to project.
He squeezed her hand and tucked it in the crook of his arm, then moved forward, intending that she walk with him. Moments like this where he could freely talk with his family were rare, and on days of peace even rarer, and Faramir thought he would soon wake up from a lovely dream, for this could only be one.
And yet he did not wake, and the dream went on.
"The people of Rohan now view me as an unwelcomed guest, for my presence this morning has caused their beauteous queen terrible distress." He turned towards her and smiled. "There is naught to worry, my lady. The White Lady had not found fault with anything. You may take my word for it, if you wish."
And it was true. Faramir could not forget the lovely mood that fell on his wife when she set foot in Meduseld. To him, she had never looked more beautiful than she did with the warmth of Rohan surrounding her.
As he began to speak, Lothíriel began to look worried, until he went on and she saw there was no need to fret. Really, she should have known better. She had three elder brothers who always teased her, and Faramir had his own way of bringing amusement to their conversations, but for some reason she always fell pray to his deceptions, harmful though they were.
"That lightens my heart, cousin. I am here in the home that used to be hers, doing the duties she once executed beautifully. I am glad nothing has gone amiss." Pausing to rethink that, she added, "Yet," with a smirk up at him.
Faramir chuckled. "Surely such sentiments have no place here. Not in the home of the beloved king and queen of the Mark! I fear what the Lord Éomer would say should they reach his ears."
And yet he knew Éowyn's brother was of stout heart and stouter love for his cousin - there was nothing to fear.
"The Lord Éomer well knows my concerns, as he was forced to listen to them again and again prior to your arrival. He too assured me there was no cause for such worry, but I believed that as a Marshal oft far from home, he was not the best judge as to the housekeeping particulars of the Golden Hall."
However, now that two of the very small number of most important men in her life had assured her that she had done well, she was in higher spirits and not longer felt concern over what Éowyn thought.
"I shall lay my worries to rest now. Between you and my husband, I see all is well."
"You seem to think that being far from home makes him blind to the changes done to it," he said lightly, looking around him and at the colorful tapestries decorating the grand hall. "Yet it is my belief that the longer one stays away from home, the more one seeks to surround himself with the familiar, and the more one sees the changes done to them." He glanced at her before continuing, "That he has not said anything against you is a silent testament to your skill, and his great love for you."
Lothíriel looked at her cousin in curiosity. She had never considered things in such a manner before, but she had assumed a man would not care for matters in what was known as the woman's realm.
"Truly? You believe that, even if he were preoccupied with other matters, he would have told me if I was doing anything wrong?" She looked away for a moment, digesting this. "Not all lands can be like Dol Amroth, and I do not wish to impose all that I have learned there here on Ro-- the Mark."
Her face heated up slightly, and she bestowed him with a smile. "Éomer says only outsiders refer to his land as Rohan, and I am an outsider no longer."
"Nor should you consider yourself to be one," he said lightly. "One cannot ask for a more beautiful land to look after, Lothíriel. I trust that you are not finding it difficult to settle here?"
Faramir felt it his right to ask, especially as Rohan was so unlike Dol Amroth in many ways.
"Oh, not at all," she answered immediately. "The people are kind and loyal, and the land is perfectly suited to provide nearly all we need." She took his arm and lowered her voice, eyes sparkling in mischief.
"I will say its only fault is that it can be a great deal colder here than in Dol Amroth. I have had to have new gowns made to combat the chill."
He laughed affectionately. Éowyn had brought most of her gowns from Rohan to their home in Ithilien, and was set against having more made. Yet if she asked, then Faramir would certainly be more than happy to indulge her. He had no doubt this was also how her brother felt toward his own wife.
"Did you?" he asked. "Forgive your cousin, for I have little understanding for the need for more clothes - though certainly I can appreciate them."
"That must be because men may find themselves comfortable in whatever they might wear. Women are meant to be looked upon, and the fabrics may look beautiful, but provide little else. I was used to wearing silks, and now I must wear wool and velvet." But she waved a hand, dismissing the topic.
"I am sure this is of little interest to you, though you do humor me so in giving me leave to speak of it. Of what now shall we speak?"
Faramir became quiet for a moment. There was something plaguing his thoughts, and it pained him to realize that he had no one to speak to about it - until now.
"I would ask you a question that perhaps may strike you as odd - yet I would wish for none but a plain answer," he said, his tone low.
"Do you wish to find yourself back in Dol Amroth, despite how happy you seem away from it?"
His question greatly surprised her, and she wondered at it. Her brothers had questioned her on several occasions preceding her marriage on whether she would truly be happy in Rohan and would she not miss her home by the sea too greatly to bear it, but she had not expected such an inquiry from Faramir. Perhaps he meant it in a different way than her siblings.
"Why, what do you mean? My first home shall always have a place in my heart, and at first I felt the separation keenly, but I would not give up this land for anything. I do, of course, hope to visit Dol Amroth from time to time, if the circumstances in the world allow, but it is no longer my home."
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sagittariusly2012-11-12 09:24 am
lothiriel
A welcomed comfort, for he was a stranger in the House of Eorl.
Re: lothiriel
And yet, as she walked the halls, deep in thought, she questioned whether Lady Éowyn would approve of all that had been done by Lothíriel since she was crowned. The White Lady had been mistress of Meduseld for years, and the young queen could only hope that everything met with her approval. She so dearly wished to be favorable in Éowyn's eyes for her own merit, and not simply because her brother loved her.
Hearing footsteps, Lothíriel looked up, smiling when she saw it was her cousin.
"Faramir! A good morning to you, dear cousin. Did you sleep well?"
no subject
no subject
She acknowledged his deference with a slight incline of her head, but smiled widely and gave him her hand.
"I am so pleased to hear so. I confess, I was in a state before your arrival, hoping your accommodations would suit. Not because I believe you or your lady to be the sort to expect something beyond anything else but," here she paused and looked around them before stepping closer. "I wished to do as well a role as the Lady Éowyn would have done. Can you tell me, has she found fault with anything?" She just managed to stop herself from biting her lip in anxiety. It was not a proper image for a queen to project.
no subject
And yet he did not wake, and the dream went on.
"The people of Rohan now view me as an unwelcomed guest, for my presence this morning has caused their beauteous queen terrible distress." He turned towards her and smiled. "There is naught to worry, my lady. The White Lady had not found fault with anything. You may take my word for it, if you wish."
And it was true. Faramir could not forget the lovely mood that fell on his wife when she set foot in Meduseld. To him, she had never looked more beautiful than she did with the warmth of Rohan surrounding her.
no subject
"That lightens my heart, cousin. I am here in the home that used to be hers, doing the duties she once executed beautifully. I am glad nothing has gone amiss." Pausing to rethink that, she added, "Yet," with a smirk up at him.
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And yet he knew Éowyn's brother was of stout heart and stouter love for his cousin - there was nothing to fear.
no subject
However, now that two of the very small number of most important men in her life had assured her that she had done well, she was in higher spirits and not longer felt concern over what Éowyn thought.
"I shall lay my worries to rest now. Between you and my husband, I see all is well."
no subject
no subject
"Truly? You believe that, even if he were preoccupied with other matters, he would have told me if I was doing anything wrong?" She looked away for a moment, digesting this. "Not all lands can be like Dol Amroth, and I do not wish to impose all that I have learned there here on Ro-- the Mark."
Her face heated up slightly, and she bestowed him with a smile. "Éomer says only outsiders refer to his land as Rohan, and I am an outsider no longer."
no subject
Faramir felt it his right to ask, especially as Rohan was so unlike Dol Amroth in many ways.
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"I will say its only fault is that it can be a great deal colder here than in Dol Amroth. I have had to have new gowns made to combat the chill."
no subject
"Did you?" he asked. "Forgive your cousin, for I have little understanding for the need for more clothes - though certainly I can appreciate them."
no subject
"I am sure this is of little interest to you, though you do humor me so in giving me leave to speak of it. Of what now shall we speak?"
no subject
"I would ask you a question that perhaps may strike you as odd - yet I would wish for none but a plain answer," he said, his tone low.
"Do you wish to find yourself back in Dol Amroth, despite how happy you seem away from it?"
no subject
"Why, what do you mean? My first home shall always have a place in my heart, and at first I felt the separation keenly, but I would not give up this land for anything. I do, of course, hope to visit Dol Amroth from time to time, if the circumstances in the world allow, but it is no longer my home."