I Realize

Posted: May 2004
Title: I Realize
Author: LadyHawksShadow
Type: FCS
Characters: Aragorn/Legolas (Eowyn)
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot (what little there is of it) and do not profit from the use of these characters.
Timeline: Set in SA, just before the Battle of Helm's Deep.
Warnings: Drabble
Beta: Larian Elensar
Author's Notes: This has been sitting in the back of my brain since The Two Towers movie first came out. I've been trying real hard to ignore it and hope it would go away. I guess not.

Summary: Aragorn returns to Helm's Deep after his near fatal accident with a warg. Eowyn at last understands exactly who gave him the jewel.

*~*

"I asked you who she was, the woman who gave you that jewel and you waited so long to answer that I thought I'd offended. And, yet, when you turned to me with that sad, sad smile that nearly broke my heart and said that she was leaving with her people for the Undying Lands, I felt hope."

Now I realize.

"And when all the riders at last made it to Helm's Deep and you were not among them, I despaired to the depths of my soul. In my mind, I can still see Gimli standing before me with his eyes bright with tears saying that you had fallen. I thought I had lost you."

Now I realize.

"I pace these walls, feeling the bars of my cage closing in. And I accept them as I cannot accept the truth of what my eyes have seen. I turned, full of hope and wonder at your return and my heart rejoiced. I watched Legolas place into your hand that jewel, bright as the sun, and the way your fingers closed over his and the smile of wonder on your face."

Now I realize.

"I could never compete with one such as he, shield maiden that I am. For the truth now stares me in the face: I am a maid and he is a warrior, proud and true. The handclasp is causal; warrior to warrior. The smile is what I fix upon. There is joy in the way your lips curve, the tilt of your head. In his eyes shine love and hope and he meets your gaze, not as a follower to a leader, but as a lover to a love."

Now I realize.

"I have no hope of competing and my heart grows cold where there was the budding of warmth, like a false spring of a bitter winter."

Now I realize.

*****

THE END

If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to: LadyHawksShadow