A Long kept Secret.

After the final battle, Faramir finds himself having to deal with a secret he kept for his brother, His child. Now that she is grown, who can own her heart? A prince of the Forest or the son of a King.

Prelude~

Year 3018, July 4th

Boromir reared his horse up and spurred off to her house. He hadn't seen his secret fiancé in almost a week. He was going to represent his father in the Council of Elrond. He went through the forest to her cabin.

He made the mistake of making her pregnant, he didn't want to do anything more like that until he was married. She was due very soon, he regretted the fact that he had to leave, but she still had her father to look after her. Never in his life had he seen a man care so much for his daughter as Her father did for her.

He saw the cabin drawing near. As soon as he drew up close he noticed something terribly wrong. The door was bashed in and the windows broken. In the tree next to him he saw an arrow,

" Orcs" he said venomously. Suddenly he grew terrified for his love and his child. He his heart ran cold, " Kitola! Kitola!" he cried out his loves name. He dismounted and ran into the house. " Kitola!" The entire house was sabotaged. The table was overturned and something was underneath it. With throat dry he over turned the table and saw his worse fear a reality.

It was Kitola. She was laying there, he stomach torn open. No trace of his child. He began to weep as he lifted her limp, cold body. He felt her reddish hair and looked into her lifeless green orbs. He heard something behind him; he turned slowly to see Faramir standing there.

" Brother…" Faramir looked at him sadly.

" She was my fiancé, Faramir." Tears coursed down Boromir's cheeks. " She was carrying my child." Boromir sobbed openly. Faramir was shocked and grieved for his brother. " Please don't tell father or anyone. It was going to be my big surprise. Keep it secret. Care for this promise?" Faramir nodded as he watched his brother lie the body down again. Boromir stood up and walked out the door. Faramir gave one last look and went out the door with him. Boromir stood next to his horse trying to banish the tears. Faramir walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder,

" I promise."

A Long Kept Secret

Chapter 1~

Year 3019, March 26th

" We've won! We've won!" People throughout the city rejoiced as the soldiers returned from battle. Faramir watched the parading through his window from the hospital wing of the castle. Aragorn had healed him from the burns he suffered from. As he sat and smiled, looking to the celebration he heard a voice coming near, screaming his name.

" Faramir! Faramir! I must find lord Faramir!" He listened curiously to what an old man could possibly want from him. He heard Ioreth reply

" He is resting, you cannot disturb him."

" I must find him! It is important!"

" Sir you are injured from battle! If you do not get care right away you will be in serious trouble!" Ioreth told him shrilly.

" My fate is sealed, show me to lord Faramir!" Faramir grew concerned at the last remark, " Tell him it is about his brother's secret!"

" Let him in Ioreth!" Faramir called quickly. Faramir sat up further, and looked at the old man. He was bleeding terribly from his stomach. "Go get help for this man, Ioreth," he told her quietly. She left. The man collapsed against his bed.

" Your brother had a secret, he told you the day he left for Rivendell." The man rasped. " His child, my grandchild, lives. Orcs killed her mother brutally after she gave birth. When the Orcs came I was upstairs, putting the baby down for a nap. Thank Elbereth that I was. She was quiet as a mouse as they tried to kill me. Once they succeeded in murdering my child, my angel. They left me there to die. No harm became of the baby. I took care of her. Your niece is in the cottage sleeping peacefully. I will not be able to see her again. Please take care of your brothers secret, I can't any longer." Slowly Faramir watched in horror as the life passed out of his eyes and he fell to the ground, dead. Faramir closed his eyed and held back the grief that began to take him.

He had a niece. Boromir left him and his daughter. His niece would is his only living relative, if Orcs hadn't plundered the cabin in retreat. He found his strength return to his legs quickly. Healing could wait, his promise could not.

"Ioreth!" he called quickly. Aragorn and Ioreth came into the room. Aragorn looked at the man dead on the floor and closed his eyes. Ioreth shuddered at the pooling blood on the floor. " Ready a horse for me." Aragorn looked at him doubtfully. " I have business to attend to."

" They are on the retreat. It is not safe yet to go out there, especially in your condition." Aragorn told him.

" That is why I must go." He paused. Surely Boromir would understand if he told Aragorn about it. He thought it over well.

" Is there a reason you must go so urgently?" Aragorn asked him carefully,

" Yes, Ioreth must leave, though." Ioreth seemed relieved to leave the body in the room. " It all started about ten months ago, the day Boromir left here." Aragorn seemed more alert at the mention of Boromir's name. " I followed him, he had forgotten to say goodbye to me. When I found him he was in a cabin, in the woods crying over a dead woman. He told me it was his fiancé and that she was bearing his child." Faramir paused, his grief of the last time he saw his brother setting in, and "I promised my brother that I wouldn't tell father or anyone I said I would care for the promise." A tear rolled down his cheek. "This man, the woman's father, just told me that his child was alive, sleeping in the cabin. My lord, my king, please let me go to her. She is the only family I have left. I promised." Aragorn sat taking it all in. He wondered for a moment, if her were in Boromir's shoes would he have taken the grief so well? Boromir seemed emotionless at the council.

" I will go with you, help you bear this promise." Aragorn told him quietly. Faramir looked at him, he was a wise King.

" Thank you, my lord." Aragorn helped Faramir get up. When he came out of the room, Eowyn looked out her door curiously. Without saying a word to anyone they made their way to the stables.

Aragorn helped him onto a horse before mounting the same horse and riding off. Faramir held on tight. He knew that they needed to take the same horse or else Faramir would fall off and someone needed to hold the baby while someone held the reigns. They rode far into the forest,

" Faramir, where is this place?" Aragorn asked

" It is down that path, there," he pointed to a path with undergrowth nearly covering the path. The horse galloped down the path. Then he saw the cabin coming up ahead. Once in front of it Faramir got off and limped inside quickly.

Aragorn thought he heard a noise he walked forward to where he thought it came from. Feeling as he were being watched he drew Andúril. He turned and looked to the house. As he did he saw small Orc bolt into the cabin.

"Faramir!" called out quickly, he rushed to the house. He heard Faramir grunt and the sound of a baby crying. Rushing to the sound he found an upstairs room. There was a cradle tipped over and a baby inside it. He looked to the other side of the room. There was the Orc it was on top of Faramir. Both were motionless. Aragorn stood there in shock as he saw the Orc appear to rise. Just as he would have gone up to it and killed it mercilessly, it fell to the side revealing Faramir trying to get it off him. Aragorn quickly went and helped him up.

As soon as Faramir was up he rushed over and picked up the baby wrapped in pinkish blankets. He held it close to him and it soon stopped crying. A tear rolled down his cheek as he held it close rocking it and soothing it with words.

Aragorn walked over as Faramir pulled it away and looked into its face. She had the same grayish-green eyes that Boromir had and the same reddish hair her mother did. Aragorn put a hand onto Faramir's shoulder, and smiled.

" This is my last living relative, Aragorn. She's beautiful." Faramir said smiling at the babe. Aragorn smiled and then grew somber.

" How are you to guard your brother's secret if you come into Minas Tirith with a baby that looks like you and him?"

" We will have to tell one day, she is the true heir to the stewardship, not I." Aragorn didn't realize that, it was true though. He remembered the law in the scrolls he read ' If an heir is produced, it comes before a brother or sisterhood.'

" Who are we going to tell right away? We have to tell someone if something were to happen to us, no one would know." Aragorn asked him, the baby cooed.

" Arwen, and no one else, for now. One day when she is old enough she will be told, and then everyone will know." Faramir told him still looking lovingly at the babe. They left the house and rode to Minas Tirith once again. Faramir sat in the front holding the fragile bundle while Aragorn held him on. In less then a half hour they made it back. It was dark out though. Once they were inside the stables, Gandalf came out to greet them,

" I wonder if I should ask where you two where?" Gandalf said with a hint of anger in his voice. Faramir came down with the bundle; he looked at Aragorn then began to explain to Gandalf,

" This is Boromir's child. I thought she was dead long ago, but her grandfather took care of her and he died earlier today. I need to get her…" Gandalf held up a hand,

" I understand Faramir, Boromir told me once of this. I felt so terrible that he lost his love and his child." Faramir nodded and was silent. He held the child up to his shoulder and embraced it tightly. He took a deep breath and started up to the hospital wing of Minas Tirith.