3
" Then, whether Aragorn had indeed some forgotten power of Westernesse, or whether it was but his words of the Lady Éowyn that wrought on them, as the sweet influence of the herb stole about the chamber it seemed to those who stood by that a
keen wind blew through the window, and it bore no scent, but was an air wholly fresh and clean and young, as if it had not before been breathed by any living thing and came new-made from snowy mountains high beneath a dome of stars, or from shores of silver far away washed by seas of foam. 'Awake, Éowyn, Lady of Rohan!' said Aragorn
again, and he took her right hand in his and felt it warm with life returning. "
― , The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3)
9
" Eowyn to Aragorn:
"’Too often have I heard of duty [...]. May I not now spend my life as I will?'
‘Few may do so with honour.'
‘Shall I always be left behind when the Riders depart, to mind the house while they win renown, and find food and beds when they return?’
‘A time may come soon,’ said he, ‘when none will return. Then there will be need of valour without renown, for none shall remember the deeds that are done in the last defence of your homes. Yet the deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised.’ […]
‘I can ride and wield blade, and I do not fear either pain or death.’
‘What do you fear, lady?’ he asked.
‘A cage,’ she said. ‘To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire. "
― , The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3)
