The beach, when we got to it, was gorgeous.
We stood uphill from it, looking down on it. The hills in the distance
looked blue and pale green in the twilight. The hill we were standing on
was grassy, with sheep grazing in green fields separated by crumbly stone
walls. The sea was a deep blue, and although the sky held a few clouds it
was still a warm night.
The beach itself was covered in soft white sand, which I knew would be
everywhere before the night was over.
I turned to Eowyn who was laying out blankets on the ground.
"You're right," I said, "It is perfect."
She nodded. "I'm glad you like it. When I was younger I used to come here
to think. It's always been one of my favourite places."
I watched hungrily as she started to unpack the picnic basket she had brought.
I had last eaten with Aragorn, just before he left. Eowyn looked up, saw
me watching, and smiled.
"Turn around, Arwen. I want this to be a surprise for you, okay?"
I turned around reluctantly, and listened to everything around me. In front
of me the sea stretched on for miles and miles, its waves crashing on the
shore before me. Behind me, I could hear wind rustling leaves on the bushes
and trees, and the sounds of Eowyn unwrapping and setting out everything
she had brought.
"Turn around." I did, and gasped when I saw all that she had brought.
There was cold meat, chicken, turkey and ham, with little jars of sauce
to go with them. She had fresh fruit, peaches and bananas and strawberries
and cherries. The peaches and bananas had been cut up into little slices
and arranged neatly, but the cherries and strawberries had been left whole,
just their stalks and leaves removed. Another platter had been cover in cheeses,
with crackers and biscuits to go with them. To drink there was a bottle
of fine red wine to go in two crystal glasses.
She smiled up at me, handing me a plate. "Are you going to stand there
and stare, or are you going to sit and eat with me?"
I chose to sit and eat with her.
All the food was delicious, I'm sure, but to be honest I didn't pay much
attention to it. While we ate we talked, mostly about unimportant things:
gossip we'd heard, people we both knew, a play Faramir had taken her to,
a restaurant Aragorn had taken me to. I didn't pay any attention to it. All
I could think about was her. Eowyn. The way she was so beautiful, inside
as well as out. The way she did things like this, made me feel so special.
I felt strangely wonderful inside, all light and happy, but also like some
part of me wanted to cry from the sheer bliss I was feeling. I felt tears
start to well up in my eyes. Eowyn noticed, and stopped mid-sentence.
"Arwen, are you okay?" Her voice was warm, caring. I looked at her, studying
her face. I knew what I wanted to tell her, I just didn't know how to say it.
"I'm fine. But, Eowyn, I wanted to tell you..."
I stopped, watching mesmerised, as she raised a strawberry to her lips.
They curved round it, framing it as she bit off the end. Some juice trickled
down her chin, leaving a red trail behind it.
She cleared her throat. "Arwen?"
I felt my face flush as I looked back up at her now amused eyes. I screwed
up my courage, preparing to speak.
"I just...I just wanted to tell you..." I took a breath. "I love you, Eowyn."
A/N: Ooh, cliff-hanger. This was meant to be a smutty chapter but Arwen ::glares:: went and got all lovey and messed it up. Maybe next time.
Part 6
Part 4