latest Eowyn/Faramir drabble

[thrihyrne]

This one is dedicated to altariel1 as a belated birthday gift, but it works with the others recently posted.

Day Two: Approach

Faramir paced his room, the walls, the courtyards. Despite his many footfalls, restfulness remained ever ahead of him; tragedy lurked behind in his dim shadow. His feet took him to the Houses' kitchen, where, unsurprisingly, he found Meriadoc.

"Steward!" the hobbit exclaimed, scooting back from the table.

"No, no, please be as you were." Faramir sat down across the board. He felt an unlooked-for kinship with the halfling, his wounds shackling him to the stone walls of Minas Tirith as he himself was bound. Despite Meriadoc's stature, Faramir knew a devoted solider when he saw one, and ached at their doubled impotence. Better to think of something else, even if only for a while. "You know the White Lady of Rohan."

The hobbit swallowed and dabbed at his mouth, vying for time before he answered.

"I knew Dernhelm, my lord. But I would be privileged to tell you of him."