Ok, this is the same as what I posted exactly a week ago, only with updated thank yous. There is no more Epilogue, sorry to disappoint people. However, if you didn't see your name in the last one, then it's probably here now. Thanks again to everyone. This was for you guys.

Disclaimer: I realised just then that for the past 3 chapters, I have forgotten to put disclaimers. But the only things that I needed to disclaim were the character and places. The entire storyline was mine! MINE, I TELL YOU! Muahahahahahaha!!! Ok, I'll stop now. I'm getting a little carried away (is that an understatement or what!). I'M A MENTAL CASE! But you all knew that. So, on to the story!

A/N: (I have to date this: 29/11/03 or 11/29/03 for you weird people; why can't you be normal! Lol.)

My massive note is at the end of this chapter. Don't get too excited, this chapter isn't that long. I just had no idea how many people I had to thank. Long list, and that's not everyone. Just to say a quick thanks to everyone (the individuals are at the end), it has always been for you guys that I write this, and that there is a reason for my posting this today. It's Hope in the Darkness's 6-month anniversary! On this day, 6 months ago, I posted the first chapter of this story! How weird is that? Only 6 months! Anyway, here we are, the final instalment.

I think I updated this. It's only short anyway.

Epilogue: Away From You

Freedom -

             The sky was splashed with brilliant shades of pink, orange and purple as Éowyn woke the following morning. She had spent the night on the edge of the Druadan Forest, just north of Minas Tirith, near Anórien.

The sun was rising over the hills in the east, flooding the lands around in light. Éowyn was lost in the beauty of the sunrise, its simplicity and its brilliance. She wondered how many more she would see like this.

She sat on the ground in silence, watching the sky change as the hours passed by. There was no hurry; she had all day.

Éowyn began to muse about where she would travel to, and what she hoped to see and accomplish in her time away. There were so many places to go and see; she could hardly keep track of the thoughts racing through her head.

She planned her route in her mind. She wanted to see Merry, to thank him for all he did during the battle of the Pelennor Fields, and to give him a gift. She would go to the Shire and deliver it, perhaps see the other three hobbits. Then, she would go to Dol Amroth and visit Prince Imrahil.

Her mind wandered back to Aragorn, and what he might be doing at that time.

She shook herself hastily out of this daze. She had to forget him, or she would never be free of him. She rose from her seat and wandered over to where Windfola was grazing. Éowyn ran one hand over his mane.

"We should go soon," she said quietly. "We have a long ride ahead of us."

She took hold of his bridle and walked him away from the grass to where she had put her belongings. She packed up the camp and mounted Windfola, directing him towards the Great West Road.

Along that road, much further east, lay Edoras; and beyond that, over mountains and across plains, the Shire. She desired to see her home before she embarked on this visit to Merry. She could gather more supplies for her journey, as she had only managed to take a little from Minas Tirith. They galloped through the forest and past Ered Nimrais, heading for Rohan.

Aragorn Reflects -

Aragorn had barely slept that night. When the following morning came, he was still thinking, still worried, about Éowyn. He walked over to the window and gazed out at the vivid sunrise, looking out as far as he could, as if to find Éowyn.

His head was swimming with memories of their time together. He recalled the first time he had seen her, standing tall and proud on the steps of Meduseld. She had grown so much from the child she was when first they met.

Although she had seen much grief at such a young age, she had experienced little of life. She now had built on that knowledge and matured into a woman of deep thoughts and reflection. She was no longer as rash, however she still retained her stubbornness.

He laughed a little to himself when he remembered some of their quarrels, but stopped himself. Perhaps, maybe it was those little disagreements that had caused her to imagine that he didn't care, caused her to leave.

She had cared for him so that every time he pushed her away, she had been broken to an extent, until finally she needed to go far away to heal her heart.

He pondered this for a while as he gazed out of the window, watching the sun rise over the plains.

From Rohan to Rivendell -

            Éowyn had spent the night within the walls of her home. There was a feeling of security, as there had never been. Gríma was gone from there, never to return. She saw to it that Windfola was well fed. He was happy to be back in the stables at Edoras.

Although the Gondorians took good care of the Rohirric horses, it was nothing to how they were looked after in Rohan. Éowyn had gathered supplies for her journey to the Shire beginning the following day, as well as receiving a hearty meal within Meduseld. She slept well in her own bed that evening.

The next morning, Éowyn saddled Windfola for the ride out of Rohan. They were to visit the fabled and beautiful Rivendell on their way to the Shire.

They would go through the Gap of Rohan and follow the Misty Mountains to Rivendell, staying for a number of days to enjoy the beauty and serenity, then cross the Fords and stop in Bree before going up to Hobbiton. It would take a good a month or two at least to cover this on horseback.

She had the intention of staying in Hobbiton for a few weeks, to enjoy the quiet countryside and charming atmosphere before journeying around the land of Eriador and make her way back down into Gondor to Dol Amroth.

She longed to visit the city, and to see Imrahil again. She had not had long to acquaint herself with him, but from what she had been told, he was very kind and had become friends with Éomer during the course of the war. From there, she would journey west, into the unknown lands, but for how long, she did not know.

When all of this was done, she would return to Minas Tirith to face Aragorn. This was her plan. By then, she would be free of his memory and could manage to see him again without feeling the same as she did now. Her heart ached so to leave him, and still did now. The thought of not seeing him for another two years was almost too much. But if she were to prove herself worthy of him, well travelled and wise, she must go through with this.

Éowyn mounted Windfola at the steps of the Golden Hall and rose down through the city and far out over the plains. She wondered now when she would look upon her home again. She thought of Aragorn. He had ridden up to the city and seen her atop the steps of Meduseld.

She remembered also the morning after Théodred's passing. She had been angry and distressed, but he had comforted her. The words he had spoken meant more now. At the time, she had desired only to be left to her grieving. As they sped away from the city, Éowyn whispered to the winds:

"Hope still shines in the darkness for us, Aragorn."

The End

A/N: Sniff sniff It's all over!!! Sniff sniff. I wanted some closure for this one. I was going to put a prologue at the start of the next one, but that would spoil some of the story. So the time between this story and the sequel will remain secret, until I uncover parts of what happened in between as we move through the second.

Now, my thank you messages to those who reviewed more than once, have been reading it from the start, those I know, or have e-mailed etc and haven't previously mentioned (I'm very specific aren't I). There are 2 whole pages!!! OMG! And these aren't all of them!:

anfieldgyul: Van, thanks for everything, all the suggestions and reviews. It's been so nice to hear from you every time I post a new chapter, even if it's sometimes delayed, lol. Stick around for the sequel and I'll try and catch you on MSN sometime in the next few weeks.

Calleigh: Thanks for the compliment :) and yes, there will be more to come, straight after this. I hope to hear from you in future and thanks again for the support.

demon horse 900: I can assure you that you will find the ending perfect, as long as you vote for it ;) and all goes well. There will be more Aragorn/Éowyn to come and much cuter and more in love than before.

Egleriel: I'm glad you like my story so far and I hope you got my e-mail and enjoy the rest of the story.

flipperjc: Hey Jen, thanks for all of your praise and support with my story. Don't worry; this isn't the end of me yet. I hope you've enjoyed this time as much as I have.

Forrie Rich Soph Luce and Bills: Aww, thanks guys. I'm flattered that you like it. 

i cant find the snitch: Lol, nice to see that you will be staying for the next instalment. Thanks for the compliments, hahaha.

Jessica: I'm glad you have enjoyed the story and keep enjoying it. Hope to hear more from you in future.

Kiki: Hey, it's nice to know that you've been reading this since the start. I'm getting a lot of those at the moment. Thank you for following it and stay around for the sequel :)

Lady Shinimegami: I apologise, my e-mail to you went astray and didn't send properly. Regarding the tenses, that part of the story would have been written about 6 months ago when I was still undecided on the tenses and partially changing it. I probably wrote it at 4am and in a somewhat dazed state. Forgive me for that, I'll go back and change it later. The history of what happened before the story is a mystery to even me, or at least the specifics are. Aside from those things, I hope you enjoyed it, and feel free to e-mail me about anything else you want to know (no spoilers though) ;)

Lady Taliana: OMG! I commend you for sitting down and reading the whole of my story in one afternoon. Round of applause, I couldn't have done that! Congratulations and thank you. I'm glad you liked it, and if you remember any of those other things you wanted to say, feel free to e-mail me.

Leah: It's been a while since I had anything from you. I hope that I haven't left it too long to update and lost you as one of my reviewers. Enjoy this final instalment and, if you want, the sequel.

Lyggy: Ok, I'm updating to add more thank yous, mainly those I already know. I love your story, as you know, and I have results from you about the sequel poll. Thank you for supporting my first fanfiction ever, and hopefully the second. There is a Harry Potter comedy going up within the next two weeks, I promise, if you're interested. Keep up the work on yours and good luck.

Malinda: I hope you're still reading the story and enjoyed the conclusion. Stay tuned for more Aragorn/Éowyn stories.

Marina: I haven't had any reviews from you in a while. Hope you read this. Thank you very much for the feedback, I have appreciated all of it.

mcgothic: Hey Sam. Good news, the Harry Potter story will be up within the next week, so watch out. I hope you like it.

ME!!!!!!! & Babe: Edwina! How many times have I warned you about trashing me on Fanfiction.net! Yes, I know you hate me and you think I'm crap (you tell me every day), but can you just keep that for home and not send me reviews telling me what I already know!!! If you're not careful, I'll steal your Delta CD, and break it (I already copied it, so there, :P)! And no, you're not going in my Harry Potter story as a Metamorphmagi either. Grumbles Bloody little sisters and their ridiculous requests.

minny2000: Thank you so much for all of your suggestions and reviews. I hope you liked this last chapter and enjoy the sequel. I promise you that Faramir will be happy with the final result and no one will be disappointed. I couldn't bear to have his heart break. He's far too sweet to deserve that.

Rosa Cotton: My most devoted reviewer, by far. Still watching for that sequel. Mine will be up very soon, today, in fact. I'll post it now. Nice to seen you so happy about how I finished it. I know you got my review on your Aragorn/Éowyn romance fic, so keep writing it. I want to read more! Thank you for all of your support over this period (it's only been six months; how time flies), all those quotes from my story that you loved and added to your reviews (there were lots of those, lol) and the many suggestions you gave me as to what the story should be for the next chapter, I appreciated it all. I bet you will be the first one to review my sequel :) I can just see it coming.

Salysha: Thanks for all the reviews, e-mails, etc over the time I've been writing this. I know you've been busy with classes and your own story and website. I see everything is going well and I hope you liked this last chapter. Best of luck with your work, stories and all. Hope to talk to you sometime in the next few weeks.

Sar and Ban: Hey guys! You get a mention in my story, seeing as you missed the last chapter. Hope you keep reading this over the hols and enjoy.

shikonstardemon: It's been a while since I last got a review from you; nice to hear from you at last. The sequel poll is up and I'm just about to post the first chapter. I hope that you like it.

TheAngelofCrimsonTears: I hope that this chapter and the previous one have appeased you and ended this story nicely. The wait for the sequel will not be long, so no more cliffhangers until after, lol. Thanks for all the feedback on my story; I have enjoyed the comments, they make my day.

The crazy ladies: It has definitely been a while since I heard from you, KK. I hope you're feeling better and for god's sake, empty your inbox when you get out of hospital. I've been trying to send you a Get Well card!

The Dark Wanderer: Well, I can't really say that you're a new fan. I'm very pleased to hear that you've been reading my story since I first posted it. Am I really such a good angst writer that I nearly bring you to tears each chapter? I'm flattered, but I manage to bring myself to tears with laughing in some cases. Funny, huh (no pun intended). Thank you so much for supporting this story and I hope you read the sequel :)

TheOneAndOnlyElbereth: I remember the first time I got a review from you; I almost died of shock (good thing I didn't). Since then, I've had a number of reviews from you (us Aussies have to stick together, lol).

yagirl-123: You have become one of my favourite reviewers, so consider yourself flattered in return for all the reviews I've received from you :) and future ones to come, I hope hint hint. Lol.

Yullia: I'm glad that you like the story and I hope you keep reading. There is more to come and I'd love to get feedback from you on the sequel. Thank you very much for being a fan of my story, and I hope it pays off.

Zanna Avons: No more cliffhangers, well, not until the sequel. I suppose this ending is a bit of a cliffhanger in some respects. Sorry sheepish smile, please forgive me. The sequel is ready to go up as soon as this goes up. Thanks for all the reviews, I have loved hearing from you and hope to in the future.