PLEASE READ: I am so very, very sorry that I have been MIA for a long time. I was trying to work out how this chapter was going to go and I ran into more walls than I would have liked. I sort of like how it came out, but I don't know if you guys will. I think this shall be my last story for a little bit. Life has just been a little too crazy for me to actually sit down and get anything decent down on paper, so, I am hoping that I won't be away for too long. If you miss me too much; I'm doubting you will, but if you do PM me and I'll let you know if I'm anywhere close to anything new. Thank you so much for being patient with me.

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Lord of the Rings.

Chapter 15

It had been over twenty years since the night Éomer returned from the Black Gates of Mordor to Minas Tirith and fifteen years since his world came shattering down around him. Éomer stood in his study looking out the open shutters of the window, his eyes staring blankly at the mountains before he slowly closed his eyes.

Beornwyn's screams rippled through the Golden Hall and their three year old son, Eldonor, gripped Éomer's hand tightly. "Papa, mama all right?" he asked as he turned his light eyes up to him. Éomer looked down at his son and forced a smile as he kneeled down in front of him.

"She's all right she is just bringing your little brother or sister into the world," Éomer said and Eldonor nodded, his gold hair bouncing slightly, but he didn't look convinced. Éomer looked at the maid that stood behind him. She nodded and quickly guided Eldonor from the corridor outside the healing chamber and through the hall. Éomer knew something was not right. He opened the door and entered the room only to have the heavy smell of blood fill his senses.

"Éomer King," a surprised voice said and he looked up just as a young healer walked from around the screen holding blood soaked cloths. "You should not be here."

"How is my wife?" he asked and she hesitated as the cries a baby echoed in the room. Éomer smiled and strode forward walking around her to see two women tending to the crying baby and the midwife and three other women fussing over Beornwyn and talking urgently and too fast for him to catch. "Beornwyn?" he asked and when the women stopped talking and looked at him the expressions on their faces did not ease his slight panic.

He walked forward slipping slightly on the blood that coated the floor. There was too much blood. Far too much and he took Beornwyn's hand. Her eyes seemed unfocused and distant and she barely wrapped her fingers around his. The midwife and the women started working on her and she turned her dulling eyes up to him.

"A son . . .another son," she said with a weak smile. "I . . . I am . . . so tired." Her eyes slowly closed as she let out a heavy breath.

"What is happening?" he asked as he looked at the midwife and she looked at him with a grave expression.

"She has lost too much blood, my lord," she said. "We cannot stop it, even now. She is dying." Éomer's body shook as his grip tightened on her hand.

"Beornwyn, do not dare leave me," he said heatedly and she opened her eyes slowly. "Do not," he demanded as tears welled in his eyes. He could not lose her. He had only had her for such a short time. Fate would not be so cruel as to take her from him.

"I . . . love . . . you," she breathed before her eyes went dark and a slow breath slipped from her lips.

"No," he said as he let go of her hand and grabbed her shoulders. "No! Beornwyn!" he cried as he scooped her up into his arms, but her arms fell limp at her sides and her head lulled back. "No!" he shouted as he cried. His sobs echoed off the walls and with tears in their own eyes the healers and the midwife took the new prince and left the King to grieve. He clutched her tight to her chest and rocked as a pain unlike anything he had ever felt consumed him.

A knock on the door brought Éomer from the dark memory and he opened his eyes, wiped at his tears, and turned to the door. "Enter," he called as he walked towards his desk. A tall young man of eighteen summers entered the room, dressed in his fine wears and sword belted at his side. His light brown hair was pulled back and tied by a leather tie at the base of his neck. His features were strong and handsome; his light eyes a mirror of ones Éomer looked into many years ago. Eldonor may have grown into looks similar to Éomer's but his eyes were purely his mother's.

"Father, we are waiting for you," Eldonor said slowly, his voice even deeper than Éomer's.

"Is your brother ready?" Éomer asked and Eldonor nodded. Éodor turned fifteen that day and even though Éomer dreaded the day, he celebrated the birth of his youngest son with dinner and a reading from the journal Beornwyn began keeping when she found out she was pregnant with Eldonor. He could not blame Éodor for Beornwyn's death; he came to realize that her death could not have been stopped. Taking a deep breath, Éomer picked up the warm leather book from his desk and walked with his eldest son from his study into the main hall.

Éowyn, Faramir, and their two sons and daughter made the journey from Ithlien and were sitting with Éodor at the table when Eldonor and Éomer walked into the main hall. Éowyn smiled at her brother when she saw him and he forced one in return before he looked to his son. Meek and mild were the two best words to describe Éodor. Though he was just as handsome and similar in looks as his brother, Éodor's personality was almost exactly like Beornwyn. He could be determined and stubborn, but he wasn't a fighter. He was a scholar and he would be traveling with Éowyn and Faramir to Ithlien in two weeks to study and learn things he would never be able to learn in Rohan.

"It is time to eat and celebrate," Éomer said with a smile as Éodor looked at him, smiling at his father. "It is a joyous day today, my son," he said as he put his hand on Éodor's shoulder when he came to a stop next to him. "There is no reason to be glum," he added when he saw the hesitation in his son's eyes.

"I am not glum, father, merely uncertain," Éodor said and Éomer frowned as he lowered his hand and took a seat with Eldonor doing the same.

"Uncertain about what, Éodor?" Eldonor asked.

"My journey to Ithlien, leaving you and father for a time," Éodor admitted.

"We will be fine, my son," Éomer said. "Besides, it is time that you take your uncle and aunt up on their offer. Plus, the raven haired girls of Gondor hearts will flutter at seeing one of the Rohirrim Prince." Everyone chuckled and Éodor blushed, but a smile was upon his face all the same.

Dinner progressed without incident and tales were told of the years past and what the future would bring and as they ended their meal, Éomer picked up the leather book he had placed in his lap and held onto with great care. He raised the book for everyone to see and the conversation quieted.

"I think it fitting that this be the last time we read aloud from this journal," Éomer said slowly. "So the last passage shall be a fine way to end it." Éowyn looked closely at her brother and took Faramir's hand into hers. The last fifteen years had been hard on her brother, but he raised his sons well and never took another wife after Beornwyn's passing. Most if not all of Rohan expected him to remarry seeing as he had two young children and their union had been short. However, Éowyn knew that Éomer would never remarry. He loved Beornwyn for too long his whole heart belonged to the woman who was long gone.

"He is moving about more today," Éomer read from the book, reveling in Beornwyn's neat hand. "Yes, I am still certain our second child is a boy. Éomer believes the baby to be a girl, but I know we are to have another son. Eru help me should he be anything like Eldonor as he grows. The child is only three and yet he has thousands of questions and he rather enjoys getting into things he knows better than to get into." Éomer paused and Eldonor's light chuckle and smiled himself before he continued. "Even though he may make my heart still when he jumps from the tables in the main hall before I can stop him, I would not change a thing about him. I love him and Éomer dearly and I know I will love our second child just as greatly.

"He will be coming soon, of that I am certain. I've had a slight pain in my lower back since this morning and I think that is why he is moving so much today. He is readying to enter the world. The world that is now beautiful and free of the darkness that had consumed us for so long. As my children grow, I will do my best to ensure that they understand the sacrifices made by those who lost their lives.

"That they know of their Great Uncle who marched with his men to help rid the lands of the darkness that covered it only to lose his life in the process. Of their Aunt who faced death without fear and of their father . . . their father who fought just as hard and just as bravely as any. I want them to know that life should not be taken for granted. That every second given to you is a gift for it can be taken away in an instant," Éomer's voice broke slightly but he cleared his throat and continued. "I have lived the last five years of my life to the fullest and never in my twenty-eight summers have I been happier. I only hope that I can teach them that."

Éomer ran his fingers over the page and closed the book before he took a deep breath and looked between his sons. Eldonor remembered very little of his mother and Éodor knew nothing of Beornwyn safe for the passages Éomer read to him and the stories Éowyn told him.

"Remember her words, my sons," Éomer said deeply. "She was wise beyond anyone I knew even though she thought otherwise." Éomer turned his tear lined eyes to Éodor who looked at him with a small smile. Slowly, Éomer handed the book to Éodor who took it with a frown. "Take this, keep it with great care, and share it with you brother."

"What about you father?" Éodor asked.

"I have all the memories I need, Éodor," Éomer said before he raised his hand to his temple. "I have them here, and here," he finished and moved his hand down to his heart. He squeezed Éodor's shoulder and then patted Eldonor's before he walked from the hall. It was growing dark, but he wanted to visit his wife before the sun completely left the sky. He had to tell her loved her one more time.

The End