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The Road Ahead (NC-17) Print

Written by Valkyrie

18 December 2007 | 23561 words

[ all pages ]

Title: On the Road
Series: THE ROAD AHEAD (Part 6/8)
Sequel to: THE RITUAL
Author: Valkyrie (email)
Pairings: Aragorn/Faramir, Aragorn/Arwen (implied), Faramir/Éowyn (implied)
Rating: NC-17
Archive: yes, but let me know where
Warnings: m/m relationship
Summary: Aragorn and Faramir do more talking
Authors’ note: this is totally AU. If you like to read things canon, this is not a story for you.
Feedback: kind words will be welcome as well as constructive criticism.
Disclaimer: The characters are property of J.R.R. Tolkien. I have not and will not receive any money for this story. It is free for all to read.

Very especial thanks to my beta reader Chris. All remaining mistakes are mine.


Part Six – On the Road

Arwen found Éowyn in the gardens, sitting under a tree. She did not need her elven senses to see that the lady of Rohan was in a very dark mood. The queen could not help the chuckle that escaped her lips and made Éowyn snap out of her reverie.

“Fighting with Faramir again?” teased Arwen as she made herself comfortable under the shade. “I thought you two were past that.”

“He can be so dense. Sometimes I swear I could kill him! I wish I knew how to beat some sense into that thick head of his. He thinks himself unworthy of love. I do not know how he accepted me at his side. I do not know if he really loves me.”

“Do not doubt that my friend. He loves you dearly. You ground him and make him feel he is needed and cherished.”

“I am not so sure of that. I get onto his nerves when what he really needs is peace. I want him to be happy, and I do not know if he is going to find that with me.”

“You make him feel strong, Éowyn. You bring out the fire within him. In few words you complete him in a way Aragorn will never do.”

“How can you be sure of that?”

“Call it elven intuition. Do not worry about Faramir’s love for you. It is sincere and strong,” said Arwen, her voice reassuring.

“I… I offered him my love with no restrictions or conditions. In my mind I know that the love he feels for me is different from the love he feels for Aragorn but… I cannot help but feel…”

All the time Éowyn stared up to the tree branches finding soothing the way they danced with the breeze. She did not want to see a look of reproach in Arwen’s eyes. She thought she was being selfish feeling that way. But she could not help the pang in her heart when thinking she might not be enough. Truth was, Faramir needed Aragorn whether he acknowledged it or not.

“You ask yourself why you are not enough. Why Faramir cannot be content to have only you in his life.”

Éowyn’s surprise was evident when she met the queen’s gaze. She thought she would never get used to the unparalleled foresight of her elven friend.

“Sometimes I think you can read my mind,” said Éowyn.

“I am only good at reading hearts, well, at least ‘some’ hearts,” Arwen answered, a bright smile on her face. “And I can tell you that the hearts of elven and human kind alike have a big capacity for love. Sometimes we find only one love in our lives and that is enough. Sometimes we find more than one soul that is tuned to our own, and we should embrace them, for true love is rarer than you imagine. It is not common to find one being that completes you in every way. To find love that consumes you and to feel really as one is a real treasure. Elven kind has the luxury of years uncountable to search for this, but the irony lies in that as many years as we have, we seldom find true and pure love. So, we do not begrudge the ones who find love in more than one but celebrate the happiness of such event, for there are those that walk this earth and the lands beyond without ever having encountered it.”

“I can understand what you say. Our lives seem as the blink of an eye compared to the lives of elven kind, and so we do not have the luxury of waiting for that perfect soul to appear. It is as you said. More often than not we live and die, and we do not know true love.” Éowyn seemed to ponder something for a while and then she continued, “You made my heart light, my friend, and for that I thank you.”

Arwen placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and with a reassuring smile she got up to find her wayward husband.


Aragorn felt as light as a feather, a heavy weight lifted from his shoulders. He could be like this forever, holding Faramir in his arms.

The young Steward was exhausted after their exchange. He had asked Aragorn to hold him tight to which Aragorn gladly complied. There was no need for words. Everything would be fine. Nothing would keep them apart now. Faramir would emotionally heal and they would overcome all that had happened.

Aragorn did not know for how long they remained like that and when Faramir felt pliant and quiet in his arms, he realised the young man had fallen asleep. Aragorn lifted him in his arms and put him on the bed, climbing beside his beloved in order to guard his sleep. He knew it was not going to be easy to regain what they had, but he would do everything in his power to make it up to Faramir. A light knock on the door interrupted Aragorn’s reverie.

“Enter,” he said, hoping his charge would not wake up and continued brushing the steward’s silky strands with his fingertips.

Arwen hesitated for a moment at the scene that welcomed her as she entered the room, and then her lips curved in the sweetest smile. “Oh my love,” she whispered, “you have reached him at last.”

“Not quite,” answered Aragorn in a hushed tone and looking at her with a strange mixture of happiness and sadness, “the path before us is long and hard, but I have faith we will prevail.”

“What will you do now? You know he is going to Ithilien sooner or later. What then?”

“I was thinking about that. I would prefer for him not to take that responsibility yet. He has endured much.”

“Do you think it wise? Remember, Faramir is a gentle soul but he is not weak. Would he welcome the idea?”

“I do not know. The only thing I know is that I do not want to be parted from him now that I have him back. He has not physically fully recovered and the emotional strain is great as well. I wish for him to stay in Gondor for a while.”

“I will leave you to him and tell Éowyn the good news. We were just talking about you two stubborn men.” And she left, chuckling to herself.


Faramir woke up to the quiet murmur of voices. At first he did not remember where he was and then everything came to him in a rush, and he was suddenly aware that his head was resting in the king’s lap, the royal hand gently caressing his hair. He struggled not to reveal he was awake and concentrated on the conversation.

“…Physically fully recovered and the emotional strain is great as well. I wish for him to stay in Gondor for a while.”

Stay in Gondor, Faramir thought, but what of his duties in Ithilien? It was not that he did not want to stay, but he did not like that Aragorn thought him weak. And then again, was not his blundering about ‘him being sent to Ithilien’ what had caused this particular situation in the first place? He was being completely irrational. First, he stated he wanted to leave and then felt rejected when he was granted his wish of being sent to Ithilien. And now when the prospect of staying presented itself, he was bothered by the fact that Aragorn was thinking him weak—

Faramir was startled by the light pressure on his brow and he opened his eyes, all pretence of being asleep forgotten. He stared up to find an amused Aragorn staring back at him.

“You were brooding.”

“I was not,” answered Faramir, wishing he did not sound as childish as he thought he sounded.

“Yes, you were, or is it a new fashion to sleep with your eyebrows that close together?”

Faramir averted his gaze and was suddenly all too aware of the position he was in. Aragorn was resting against the bed frame and was holding him in his arms, so the young man was lying with half his body on top of the king. Faramir tried to get up, but Aragorn was having none of it.

“I like to hold you in my arms, please, do not deny me this little comfort.”

It was said with such a longing and sadness that Faramir could not help, but rest his head on Aragorn’s chest again, his speeding heart starting to calm under the peaceful pace of the king’s. Faramir thought he could get used to this.

“What is in your mind?” asked Aragorn.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?” said Aragorn with a great deal of scepticism in his voice.

“…Everything… My emotions are at odds. I like being here with you like this. But I do not want you to think about me as being weak.”

“I do not think you are weak, on the contrary, you are the bravest man I have known.”

“But you do not act like it.”

“Care to explain it to me?” Faramir had become tense in Aragorn’s arms, either for being upset or in fear, Aragorn could not tell.

“You… are always protective of me. I feel like I am always giving you reason to worry. I do not want to find myself thinking all the time if what I am doing will cause you worry. I do not want to find myself in such a position again.”

“What do you mean ‘again’?”

Faramir did not answer right away, and Aragorn thought he might not answer his question at all.

“It is complicated,” said Faramir, giving no indication of wanting to elaborate.

“I want to know. I want to understand. I love you Faramir. There is no denying that. We share a bond, no matter our current situation. We share a bond blessed by the Valar themselves. So please, do not shut me out.”

Aragorn started to tentatively run his fingers through Faramir’s hair. He did not know if the soothing gesture would be welcome, but he wanted to comfort the young man.

“All my life my actions have been guided by duty and by what others might think of me. I love Gondor, and it is no sacrifice for me to fight or give my life for this city. But I had to demonstrate my love for this land under my father’s standards. I found myself always careful of word and action, always careful of not to raise anger, disappointment, or shame.

“It was never enough. My father always found a fault. He always found me lacking. My actions were never brave enough, my words were never clever enough, my love for this land was never loyal enough. In the end only my death was enough for him. Only in death he found his love for a son that—”

Faramir did not continue, only put his arms around Aragorn’s waist and burrowed his head deeper in the king’s chest.

Aragorn thought that Faramir was going to break down in front of him. He hated to see him like this. Though it was necessary for the young man to let out all the repressed emotions, he knew well that Faramir would later hate himself for showing what he thought a weakness.

But instead of falling apart, Faramir tightened his hold with a force that took him by surprise.

“I love you. I love you so very much. I do not want my love for you transformed in fear of what you might think of me. I do not want to find myself once again fighting for someone to see me as I am, hoping he would accept me as I am. I want to be free. I felt chained. Heavy chains of hope and duty held me to my father. And you freed me from those chains with your friendship and love. Do not put them on me again, for I feel I might die if this happens to me once more, and your hands were the cause of it.” The words rushed out of Faramir. He trusted Aragorn. He trusted him even after all that had happened and he knew that only with Aragorn at his side would he have a chance of living fully.

NB: Please do not distribute (by any means, including email) or repost this story (including translations) without the author's prior permission. [ more ]

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8 Comment(s)

oh, my! can’t wait for the next chapter.

— traveller    Wednesday 24 October 2007, 4:31    #

This is absolutely beyond words. Amazing! Thank you so much for writing this wonderful story and please continue as soon as you can…

— eve    Thursday 25 October 2007, 23:13    #

I remember that I read The Ritual long time ago and kept expecting to find The Road Ahead would appear, then finally gave up. So I’m so excited to be able to read it up to the conclusion. Thank you.

— Kittyrefuge    Tuesday 30 October 2007, 19:52    #

Thank you! For a week I knew exactly when you promised to add more chapters to this story, and: you did! Thank you for keeping your promise and for continuing this wonderful story. Cannot wait for the next chapter now! Warm regards, Eve

— eve    Sunday 4 November 2007, 0:54    #

Hi! Thank you, this story is wonderful. I have to admit that I keep on waiting for the next chapter! Kind regards, Eve

— eve    Wednesday 14 November 2007, 22:29    #

what a beautiful ending, thank you so much! (i had been waiting for this story since i read The Ritual)

— traveller    Tuesday 18 December 2007, 20:11    #

This is a heart achingly beautiful piece of work. Ever since I read the ritual I hoped to see a sequel, only to find that it was hiding under my nose. Thank you so much for sharing.

Byte    Tuesday 22 January 2008, 7:13    #

A fabulous story, thanks Valkyrie!
Perchance, do you envisage a sequel, this will be wondeful.
Amicalement.

— camille    Thursday 9 July 2009, 19:12    #

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