BATTERED LIVES

Usual disclaimers apply..I still don't own these characters, but I live in hope.

A/N: This is pretty AU, but deals with the subject of domestic violence and post-traumatic stress. It existed in Middle Earth...they just didn't know it. However, it isn't real - don't be too cross with me!

Éowyn spurred her horse to gallop even faster through the forest of Ithilien. The wind, rain and her tears combined to blur her vision, and she was unsure of the route she was taking, but she trusted Windfola to speed her to Minas Tirith, and to Aragorn, who would know what to do and how to help her. When her disappearance was discovered she knew that search parties would be despatched, and no doubt she would be found, for her tracks would be easy to follow, and she wondered how long it would take for Faramir to realise that she was no longer in Emyn Arnen, and if he would follow her. She lowered her head to avoid a hanging branch that nearly unseated her from her horse, and tried to concentrate on ensuring that she arrived safely at her destination - she would not think of Faramir, for the memory of their argument was too distressing, but it was not so easy to wipe away the image of his face, or the intensity of their quarrel. She had loved him so much....she still did love him...but she knew it could go on no longer, that she could not continue to live with the constant rows, and the violence that inevitably followed.

"Éowyn!"

Aragorn looked in horror as the former Shield Maiden of Rohan entered the room where he and Arwen were dining. She was soaked to the skin, but her face was wet with tears, which were spilling from reddened and swollen eyes. Arwen jumped from her seat and ran to the side of the woman who had become her friend and confidante, and whose distress was all too apparent as her body convulsed with choking sobs.

"What has happened to you Éowyn?" Arwen asked, as she placed her arm around the younger woman, and she gasped in shock when Éowyn turned to face her, and revealed a gash on her cheek, surrounded by the swelling and discolouration of a recently acquired bruise.

"I.....Faramir........."

"Is Faramir safe?" asked Aragorn, concerned for his Steward and friend.

Éowyn nodded. "Yes - he is still in Ithilien.......we.....we quarrelled......"

Éowyn was struggling to speak, but she reached out and grasped Arwen's arm in an almost desperate plea for some comfort.

"Hush," said Arwen. "Don't try to speak yet," and she turned to Aragorn. "Please my love," she said, "Get Éowyn some sustenance."

Aragorn pressed a mug of warm mead into Éowyn's shaking hands, and looked to his wife as she silently gestured with her eyes for him to leave them. He stood for a moment, unsure what to do, for although he had seen much pain and despair in his long life, this disturbed him greatly.

After several minutes, when Éowyn had regained some composure, Arwen tried gently to question her about the events that had led her to flee to Minas Tirith, alone, unprotected, and injured.

"I love Faramir," said Éowyn, "But it's impossible........we cannot continue as we are. I'm afraid.......oh Arwen, I have to leave him - it isn't safe..." and she broke down as Arwen hugged her tightly, tears forming in her own compassionate sapphire eyes.

"Do you feel better now?" asked Aragorn gently.

Éowyn nodded. "You will go and see Faramir?"

"Of course," Aragorn replied. "I will go immediately." He knelt down in front of her and took both her hands in his.

"Éowyn, you have to understand what war and battle can do. It changes people. And those who are not changed, are at the least damaged. Those who see family or friends die cannot hope to remain unaffected....and if one also sustains serious injury, then the body and the mind can have too much to cope with......"

Éowyn looked at him, her eyes still full of a fear and despair that broke Aragorn's heart. "Is there hope?" she asked.

Aragorn nodded. "I believe that if a person is good at heart, there is always hope."

Faramir was in his bed chamber, and did not hear Aragorn approach. The first he knew of the King's arrival was when he felt a hand resting upon his shoulder, and as he turned to look into the face of his friend, it was obvious to Aragorn that his Steward was feeling the effects of the deteriorating situation between he and his wife. He was pale, and dark circles around his eyes bore witness to his lack of sleep.

"Éowyn.......," Faramir began.

"She is safe," Aragorn reassured him.

"She was hurt," said Faramir.

"Nothing that won't heal," Aragorn replied, "But what of you my friend?"

"You wonder how this could have happened?" Faramir said softly. "I have always believed it wrong to hit a woman, no matter what. It was an accident......we were arguing and I pushed her away....I shouldn't have done so for she fell and hit the corner of the table........."

"Faramir," said Aragorn, "I know exactly what happened. Éowyn has told me everything."

Faramir's lowered his head, and said nothing, but eventually felt compelled to look at Aragorn, who was watching him intently, not with disgust at his weakness, but with the compassion and caring of a true friend.

They were more than King and Steward. Faramir had lost brother and father in the War of the Ring, and Aragorn had gladly attempted to fill both those voids, and he was filled with an overwhelming sense of love for the young man who had suffered so much in his lifetime, but who had borne it all with acceptance and dignity. He had been a brave and loyal servant of Gondor, but was now faced with an enemy he knew not how to defeat.

"She told you?" Faramir asked.

Aragorn nodded.

"But she loves you Faramir," he said. "You must believe that. And it's because she loves you that she came to Minas Tirith to get help. Will you return with me?"

Faramir nodded, and reached for his shirt, but Aragorn stayed his hand.

"I think first I should tend to these, don't you?" he asked, as he gestured towards the mass of bruises and abrasions that covered Faramir's torso, some old and fading, some all too obviously recent, but all inflicted by Éowyn upon her gentle and loving husband.

Faramir would have kept the secret for eternity - he could never have betrayed Éowyn, no matter how much she had provoked him with her violent outbursts, but the relief of having someone in whom he could finally confide was as the removal of a heavy load.

"How could she do this to you?" Aragorn asked.

"She would lose all control," Faramir replied, "I don't think she was fully aware of what she was doing until afterwards......."

"No," said Aragorn, "I mean how could she do it? I don't see Éowyn as having the brute strength of an orc."

Faramir sighed. "It's not easy to defend yourself when you will not return blows. Most times I could restrain her, but when she is determined, well, you know Éowyn........she would just become more wild, and sometimes she needed to find her target for the rage to subside."

"You allowed her to hit you?" Aragorn was incredulous.

Faramir shrugged. "Sometimes it was the easier option - she would settle then, and become Éowyn again. And most times, my defences were lacking. I needed to concentrate on keeping my temper, though that sometimes made it easier for Éowyn - I knew that if I lost control, I could do more damage to her than she to me. But oft my refusal to retaliate just served to make her worse. She would call me a coward, amongst other less polite words."

He smiled ruefully at his King.

"I've faced far worse dangers than an angry wife." He paused before adding, "This was the first time I fought back, and you saw the result. Will she forgive me?"

"Faramir," said Aragorn, "You really are the most remarkable man. Éowyn did not flee from you, but from herself! She doesn't hold you responsible for her injury but she does realise that she needs help. She also realises that she would not have received it here in Ithilien because your devotion to her ensured your silence, and although that may have been most admirable, it was not the correct course to take. You may not think so now, but the result of your actions will help Éowyn, more than simply allowing things to continue."

Faramir smiled and for the first time in a long while, it was a smile that reached his heart. He trusted Aragorn and felt confident that he would help his Éowyn, for he knew that his wife was a good woman, tormented by her personal demons.

"Would you like to tell me how it all started?" asked Aragorn, as he treated the legacy of Éowyn's fury.

"I would," replied Faramir after a moment's thought, "For I know that you will not judge her," and it was with great relief that he was finally able to share his burden.