A sweet and sad story… Thank you very much for it.

Ah, my dear, now what have we discussed argued agreed upon regarding apologies? ;) Aaaaand you’re back!!! I’ve received your email, but haven’t even gone so far as to open the photos yet because I want to be settled and ready for the Australian experience and not all frazzled from work so I’ll read on Wednesday when I finish early and have some time to relax :) (…for some reason I feel as if I’m sharing in your jet-lag experience somehow…all I’ve done is do a 6 hour day at work after a fortnight off and I feel as if I’ve climbed Everest- I want to go to bed! I did fly up from London last night though…that counts!) Anyway, get yourself to bed and sleep off that horrible jet-lag!

Okay so firstly I’m going to leap upon the point that you mention about the anonymous scribe…now if I’d thought about it more or waited a little longer before posting the story or if I possessed any sort of cleverness whatsoever then I would have made the mystery author perhaps Pippin or some other character, and of course then the story would have changed slightly for I couldn’t have our Peregrin writing so vaguely about his friend Faramir! But alas, I am not sharp enough and it’s intended to be just as it appears in the story- some random trainee scribe or somesuch practising his scrollwork with a history of Elessar’s rule :P A slightly opinionated scribe, though not obviously so. I think by omission he only draws more attention to many things…Faramir himself, the rumours, the scribes own opinion on such matters…and then you’ve got to wonder how those rumours came about; gossip started by supporters of Denethor, or maybe the king and steward’s friendship was rather close?

I don’t know where this story came from, and when I started I hadn’t even thought of it being told from Arwen’s perspective until she quite suddenly cropped up in the middle of it (much like how our beloved Tolkien hadn’t ever pre-planned on Faramir existing until the moment he decided on having him in the text! Or at least I’m sure I’ve read something along those lines in reference to his creation.) I kind of just let this story take me wherever it wanted to, and was pleased when it seemed to make sense in places! I didn’t want Arwen to be too sympathetic- she says she liked Faramir but I don’t suppose she would be to happy with the notion (even if it WAS just rumour) that her husband, despite loving her no less, might also be looking at another man with more than just friendly affection. But I also didn’t want to paint her as too vindictive. I think she kept them waiting a little because she wanted Aragorn to give up and go beyond, but mainly because she loved him and she doesn’t want to let him go. This way, keeping him waiting for Faramir (because she can’t follow him) it means they still have time together, even if Aragorn doesn’t react to her and she must hide behind a pillar. And, in the end, it’s Faramir that thanks her, in his way, for what she’s given up.

I kind of want to keep writing this story forever but I think it’s better if it ends where it ends. It made me so sad to write, but I couldn’t stop! And you say you’ve read this multiple times? Honestly again you totally honour me with your lovely, lovely comments; I always think my narrative voice or tone is a bit…I don’t know, staid sometimes, I keep feeling I fall into the same way of describing things and get frustrated but I’m glad it’s hopefully not the case here. Like I promised in the author’s note the next story I’ll be posting is of a much lighter tone, i.e. I’ve written it entirely tongue-in-cheek and it’s really a bit silly and supposed to be funny, so hopefully it’ll mend any hearts broken by this story here although I wouldn’t go so far as to say anything I write had anything near that sort of power. Anyway, the next story is almost done…only perhaps a chapter (yes, chapters!) more to do and then an edit and then, freedom!

Thank you again!! :D And get some well-deserved rest and recuperation; I always find one needs a holiday in which to recover from the holiday :)

First of all: please accept my humble apologise for the delay! Doubtlessly it had been possible to read through a fanfic in a public internet café (or in one case, a hostel kitchen. I wonder how the computers respond to the constant vapour). It had, but it would have been a disgrace. For this is such a delicate weave of love and gentleness; and I totally disagree, for of course Faramir is a main character in it! As a matter of fact he´s even more: he´s in everything! Like a breeze or a scent or a special vibe he fills the whole setting, in his own, unobtrusive way. It goes perfectly with the general tone of the story, the soft, gentle sadness, the image of a silvery ghost waiting, bound to his tomb out of free will for centuries. No matter how many times I read this, I always end up in tears – even if you (Arwen) finally shows them the way to a happy ending. ;_;

Just because it can´t be said often enough: Your skills as a writer are exceptional. I was never a great friend of Arwen, and yet you managed to make her loneliness palpable to me, using not more than a few repeating sentences. I caught myself re-reading random parts of your fics, only to listen to the “narrative voice” (is that a word? Does it make any sense?) and feel comforted by the special atmosphere you created.

And now I´m concerned with only one thought: Who wrote the scroll? For a second I thought it might have been Pippin, since he had been guest of the king in his later years. Or maybe… Gandalf? But no, Gandalf´s the one to dig out old parchments, not to write them (not to mention that he would certainly pride himself on a good handscript/writing style). Soooo… may I ask if you had figured anybody?

I´m sure you have already noticed, but just to convince myself I´d like to point it out again: I´m baaaaaack!!!!! :D And I promise to drown you in pictures and epical e-mails (at least regarding the length)! Until then please forgive me my procrastination – the jet lag´s arms are long and I still feel tired at the strangest times – whereas three o´clock in the morning seems a great time to chop a few cubic metres of wood. Might take me a couple of days to become a human (non-nocturnal) being again…