Light Under the Shadow of Black Wings

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓

On the morning of the coronation itself, Deora had been faithfully watching the main gate as hundreds upon hundreds of people from all corners of Middle Earth began to pour into the walls of their fair city. But once the hour of the ceremony approached them, she had been all but forced to retreat back to the palace level in order to fulfill her second duty of the day.

Standing in front of the tall mirror in her humble bedchamber, that lived in a building adjacent to the main palace, Deora tugged at the intricately decorated skirt of the long, dark blue dress that now adorned her body.

If her memory served her right, that was the first time an article of clothing such as that ever so much as touched her skin. And it wasn't as if she didn't recognize the person staring back at her in the reflection, for it truly was just her in a dress, with her hair carefully curled so that it framed the edges of her face. But for some reason or another, she felt just the smallest twinges of unease swimming through her veins as she continued to glare softly into the mirror.

A shape suddenly appeared just over her right shoulder, gentle arms slowly wrapping themselves around her waist.

"You alright, my love?" Faramir asked as he placed his chin atop her semi-exposed shoulder.

Deora nodded, her hands winding themselves tighter in the fabric of the dress.

"I just...feel a bit ridiculous." she admitted in a whisper. "I do not think I was meant to wear clothes such as these."

"No?" he questioned, meeting her eyes in the mirror. "A shame. Because you look absolutely breathtaking."

Deora tried extremely hard to hold back the flush that was attempting to crawl up and onto her face.

"Flattery is not going to get you anywhere, my lord." she muttered with a defensive roll of her eyes.

"I don't know-" he hummed thoughtfully, bringing one of his hands up to lightly tug at her ear, both of which had already turned a bright red color. "It looks like it got me somewhere."

Playfully batting his hand away, Deora severed eye contact with his reflection.

"Come on. We're going to be late." she said in a quick whisper, making a move towards the distant doorway. But before she had been able to fully slip out of his hold, Faramir added a slight amount of pressure to her waist, gently forcing her to spin around to face him instead.

Seeing that his gaze had hardened into something slightly more serious, Deora instantly fell still.

Faramir reached up, gently brushing a curl away from her face.

"Our kingdom changes today." he said quietly. "For the better. And in this new world, a world that you sacrifice so much to defend, I would have you realize that everything good that comes your way...you were meant to have it."

Deora stared back at him, briefly dumbfounded by his proclamation. She had never voiced those kinds of insecurities out loud before, and yet he had managed to pluck them from deep within her mind with seemingly little effort at all. His ability to do that was bordering on supernatural, but just as in every other instance, she always found herself eternally grateful for it.

A small breath escaped her throat as she placed her hand underneath his chin in order to urgently guide his lips to hers.

The two of them remained in that moment for as long as their human lungs allowed them to do so. And when they did eventually separate, Deora braced her forehead up against his.

"You always did know how to talk pretty." she whispered.

Faramir let out a short sigh.

"I am perfectly serious."