Éowyn sat in the sand and watched as Faramir waded out further into
the water. He was peering down into the shallows, his fair head bent
close to the surface of the waves, the bottom half of his breeches getting
soaked with each small swell that came upon the beach. She thought he
had never looked so exquisitely beautiful.
Under the brightly colored canopy that shielded her from the fierce
summer sun, Éowyn leaned back against the pillows the servants had carried
down from Prince Imrahil's manor house and dug her toes into the warm
sand. Since she had never been to the sea, she had been unsure when
Faramir had suggested spending their first anniversary with his uncle
at the beaches of Dol Amroth, but it had truly been a wonderful holiday.
True, the lady of Rohan would never feel the deep abiding love for
the ocean that her husband did, and while walking along the beach together
in the morning or evening was pleasant, she could not lose herself for
hours just looking at the sand and surf. There was a limit to the amount
of time she could spend admiring a particular piece of driftwood, or
following some silly crab across the rocks, unlike Faramir, who seemed
content to while away the hours in such pastimes. But the two weeks
they had spent together here at the shore had been some of the best
of her life and had shown her a side to her husband she had not expected.
The quiet, serious perfectionist who was always ready to provide whatever
was asked of him had not completely disappeared, to be sure, but he
had been overshadowed by a laughing, teasing, romantic who could be
persuaded to behave foolishly at least for a time.
Rummaging in the basket beside her that held the remnants of their
lunch, Éowyn found a half-finished bunch of grapes and pulled one off
to pop into her mouth. Tomorrow they were leaving, returning to Minas
Tirith and its life of cold stone walls, decisions and the constant
stress of rebuilding a country. She wanted to put off thinking about
going back as long as she could. This was their last day to enjoy and
they had promised each other to do so, marching down to the beach early
in the morning and then dismissing the servants so that they could spend
the entire day alone together.
Now, watching her husband as he moved further out from the beach, Éowyn
admired his lean body, the muscles across his naked back moving under
freckled skin, the way his haunches looked so inviting in his wet breeches
when he leaned down to examine a shell or bit of seaweed. She felt herself
flushing slightly and knew it was more than the heat of the afternoon
sunshine.
Faramir suddenly straightened and looked back toward her and she waved
to let him know she was watching. He grinned and motioned with his hand.
"Come look at this!" he called out with excitement.
She rose and walked toward the water, gasping slightly as she entered
its icy coldness and began moving toward him. The water soaked her thin
linen dress so that it clung to her legs, pressing against them with
a delicious chill but making it difficult to walk, even slowly. Faramir
laughed and sloshed toward her, taking her hand and pulling her behind
him. They moved further out and Éowyn gripped his hand tightly as the
water deepened, moving up past her knees and thighs until it was at
her waist. "Faramir, it's getting too deep," she said, annoyed
that her voice was shaking even though she knew it was mostly from cold.
"Just a little further," he urged, putting his arm around
her and half lifting her through the waves. After a moment the water
was shallower, back around her knees again, cool and clear. "Look,"
he said.
Éowyn looked down at her feet and smiled. They were standing on a small
sandbar and all around her were tiny, tiny fish, no bigger than her
small finger. The miniature creatures flashed beneath the surface, pale
silver shadows that dipped and turned in unison, as if they were all
parts of a whole rather than individuals. Éowyn laughed with delight.
"Stand very, very still." Faramir put his arms around her
from behind and they were motionless, gazing down into the water, the
sun warm on their backs and shoulders. After a little while the school
of fish swarmed around their feet and Éowyn drew in a surprised breath
when she felt the tiny mouths nibbling at her toes. If she wriggled
one the whole bunch would suddenly dart off, disappearing into the deeper
waters, yet in seconds they would return from another direction and
begin their explorations once more. She laughed again and looked up
at Faramir.
"So brave!" she said softly, her eyes reflecting the green
of the sea.
Faramir looked down at her, suddenly stunned at her beauty. Her long
blond hair was wind-tossed around her face, her eyes glowed above cheeks
brushed pink from the sunshine and he leaned over without thinking and
pressed his mouth to hers, feeling her lips full and warm beneath his.
As he kissed her she opened her mouth and pulsed her tongue gently into
his, and he answered her in kind. They stood in the surf, kissing for
a long time as Éowyn's hands stole up across the warm flesh of his back
to tangle in his tawny hair and he crushed her to him, his arms wrapped
securely around her waist.
Éowyn could feel him harden against her and she broke the kiss, pulling
back and smiling invitingly.
"Let's go back to the beach," he said in a breathless voice,
his own blue eyes flashing with desire.
"Yes," she said simply and he took her by the wrist and started
for the shore, his longer legs causing her to fall behind in just a
few steps so that he was nearly dragging her, until he turned and gathered
her up in his arms, kissing her as he waded out of the water onto the
sand. He carried her up to the blankets spread beneath the canopy and
lowered her to the ground, Éowyn pulling off her soaked dress as he
stripped his own wet breeches.
With a sigh she fell back on the blanket as he kissed her, beginning
at her mouth and moving downward, sweet, gentle kisses on her lips,
her neck, her breasts and stomach, all the while making little sounds
of excitement that were answered by her own soft moans of approval.
She reached down and caught his face, pulling him back up so that their
mouths could meet again and as he covered her mouth with his, he covered
her body too and entered her in one slow, sweet thrust of consummation.
She cried out softly at the welcome intrusion, feeling him deep within
her before he began to move in languorous, unhurried strokes that mimicked
the crashing of the waves, causing her insides to swell and tingle.
Pulling her knees up to give him as much room as possible, Éowyn put
her arms around him and reached down as far as she could to lightly
draw her nails across his buttocks and up his back with each thrust
and she heard him gasp and felt his movement increase, his muscles tense
as his rhythm sped up. "Ah, Éowyn," he whispered, his lips
brushing against her ear and cheek.
As he quickened his motions she braced her feet in the sand and lifted
her hips to meet each stroke, wanting as much of him inside her as she
could take, urging him on with breathy words of encouragement. "Yes,
my love, yes!"
Faramir needed very little encouragement as he buried himself as deeply
as he could, opening his eyes for only a moment to find that Éowyn's
were shut and a smile was on her lips. As she clutched him to her, he
bent his head and gathered her nipple into his mouth, sucking softly,
being rewarded with a little cry of pleasure and her own hands moving
up to pinch and tease. A bolt of heat shot through him as her warm tongue
reached out and licked across his throat and he groaned softly.
With sudden inspiration he shifted, leaning back on his knees and pulling
her slightly toward him so that her rear rested lightly against his
thighs, letting her wrap her legs around him. Still continuing his steady
movement, he reached forward to twine his fingers in hers, holding both
of her hands alongside her in the sand. "Together," he said
softly as he drove deeper, and felt all of Éowyn's muscles tighten in
response.
"Together." Éowyn arched her back as she answered him, repeating
the word after him until they were speaking in unison, each word punctuated
by the meeting of their bodies, their quiet voices seemingly in direct
opposition to the vigor of their physical union. Éowyn could feel his
rhythm change, feel the tension begin to make him tremble even as her
own body began to coalesce at that certain spot, began to build up to
the final explosion when the mind and the body would burst forth and
float free of mortality for a few seconds.
"Together," whispered Faramir as he felt his bones begin
to melt and pool at the base of him, gathering into a liquid fire that
he would pour into her, filling her, claiming her, melding the two of
them together for a split second of eternity.
"Together." They spoke the word one last time in a sigh as
each of them found completion in the arms of the other, the soft sounds
of their joining hidden in the crash of the surf and pounding of the
waves.
For a long time afterward they lay together on the blankets, arms and
legs tangled, eyes closed, and listened to the waves rushing ashore.
When Éowyn opened her eyes, Faramir had a tendril of her hair, curling
it around his finger. Seeing her looking at him, he reached out and
ran an infinitely gentle hand across her cheek. She smiled at him. "I'm
going to have a baby," she said softly.
The expression that filled his eyes sent a different kind of thrill
through her. She saw the blue depths soften and shine with love and
anticipation and she laughed out loud as he pulled her close to kiss
her again.
Imrahil, hearing their laughter, looked up as they appeared on the
rocky path that led down to the beach, and smiled with satisfaction.
He'd had his doubts when the marriage was announced; not anything against
the girl personally, just a loving relative's concern for his nephew
who had suffered so many bitter blows in such a short time. The people
of Rohan had a faint trace of Numenorean blood, to be sure, and Imrahil
might have suggested a marriage previously between the houses had he
not known of Denethor's contempt for many of "lesser" bloodlines.
But Providence seemed to have intervened and brought the two of them
together with good result. The two weeks they had spent in his home
had shown him their growing love for one another and he was pleased
for Faramir.
They had reached the last of the rocks and were walking toward the
house, arms around one another, faces alight with love and excitement.
Looking up, Faramir saw his uncle sitting on the terrace and grinned,
quickening his steps toward him and pulling Éowyn behind.
"Congratulate me, Uncle, I am going to be a father!" His
blue eyes shone behind strands of golden-red hair and Imrahil saw his
beloved sister's face reflected in her son's. Then Faramir's words filtered
through and he smiled.
"Congratulations, to both of you!" He clapped Faramir on
the back and gave Éowyn a gentle kiss on the cheek, watching her blush
slightly. He reached for the bottle of wine and the glasses he had placed
on the table as he waited for them and filled each one, handing one
to Faramir, then Éowyn, then holding up his own. "A toast,"
he said, and then paused. Gazing at the happy couple before him, standing
there holding hands, he thought back a few years, thought of all they
had come through to reach this time of happiness and hope. "A toast,
to new life, born in a time of peace," he said and raised his glass.
"To new life, and peace." Faramir and Éowyn touched their
glasses to his and to one other's and each of them drank deeply.
