Written for the 'There and Back' Advent Challenge.
The Golden Cage
I had forgotten just how fair the Golden Hall appears standing atop the high hill, gleaming in the sunlight. There had been little of that ere I departed. I was like a caged bird imprisoned in darkness. I thought death alone could bring release.
Instead, death took my uncle and it is I who return, with shouts of victory ringing in my ears. Do my people forget how I forsook them in their hour of need?
Will Edoras again feel like a cage? It matters not. Faramir rides beside me, love shining in his eyes. He has set me free.