Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

A/N: Ok, so I went through and I think I corrected all of the mistakes. If I missed something, I'm sorry. While I'm apologizing, let me also say that I'm sorry for making everyone wait so darn long for this chapter. Aside from that, let me know what you think of the chapter, ok?

Chapter 10: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

"Where is she?" Éomer roared, slamming Aeofrith against the wall, his eyes blazing with fury.

"I know not what you mean, my lord," Aeofrith gasped as Éomer's grip on his throat tightened menacingly.

"My lord, if you kill him, he won't be able to answer," Garulf said pointedly, attempting to calm the king down before he strangled the scout.

"Éomer!" Éomer's head whipped around as Éowyn hurried toward him, staring at him in disbelief. "What madness has overcome your senses? Release him!" She placed her hand on his arm, but he would not be swayed as he stared furiously at Aeofrith.

"Not until he tells me what I want to know! She's gone again, and he is going to tell me where she went this time!"

"If it is Ellemir you speak of, then he doesn't know," Éowyn said softly. A slight hitch in her voice caught Éomer's attention and he turned a dark gaze on his sister, his fingers loosening imperceptibly.

"And what do you know of it?"

"Let him go, and I will tell you," she told him calmly. I'm sorry I must break my word, Faramir, but there is no help for it. He'll kill Aeofrith if I don't tell him. With an angry glare, Éomer released Aeofrith and wheeled around to face her.

"Where is she?"

"He asked me not to say."

"Who did?"

"Faramir."

"Why?"

"I'm not certain. I think Ellemir asked him to say thus."

"And what cause would she have to not speak to me ere she left, Éowyn?"

"I think something was amiss, Éomer. Ellemir was upset by something she saw and begged Faramir to leave with her. And Faramir couldn't very well let her go alone, so he left with her."

"So, they've left Rohan?"

"Yes."

"When did they depart?"

"Before sunrise."

"So you knew and said nothing!" he roared, angry that Éowyn could have stopped them from leaving and had instead done nothing.

"I'm sorry, Éomer, but Ellemir told Faramir that you mustn't know of their departure. I think she feared what would happen if you knew."

"If she feared that I would stop her, then her fears were not unfounded, for well I would have expected a better reason for her departure than baseless fears."

"Éomer, you shouldn't doubt her though you understand not her reasoning. She sees things that you do not. If she felt she needed to go, we should respect that."

"And so I do nothing?" he asked incredulously, his voice rising with his ire.

"You'll simply have to be patient," Éowyn said, knowing that the words were foolish even as she said them. Éomer was not know for his patience.

"So be it," Éomer growled. "Speak no more of her to me."

"Éomer, she was only trying to protect you!"

"And am I so weak that I need protection?"

"No, of course not," she began, but he cut her off.

"We are done here," he said with finality. She watched helplessly as he brushed past her angrily, headed no doubt for the stables to calm himself. Oh, Faramir, how I wish you'd convinced your sister to speak to Éomer ere she left. She worried that this newly-formed rift would not be so easily healed, for well she knew how unforgiving her older brother could be.

"Ella, we should stop. The horses need rest."

"We cannot stop now, Faramir!" she called over her shoulder as they rode for Gondor.

"If we don't, we endanger the horses." With a worried sigh, she reluctantly reined in her horse behind him and allowed Faramir to lift her from the saddle. "We'll rest for a time and let the horses recover," he told her.

"We shouldn't tarry here," she said worriedly, her eyes sweeping the horizon.

"Surely the danger you sensed is not so close that we cannot rest for a moment," Faramir said reasonably.

"Do you not sense it? There is something in the air, a sense of urgency. It frightens me, Faramir."

"Have you seen nothing more that could inform us of the danger you've spoken of?"

"No. I know only what I saw in my dream--a distant foe who seeks power over Rohan."

"What did you see that so frightened you that you were afraid to remain in Rohan?"

"You didn't see the hatred in their eyes, Faramir. Or hear the evil in the voice of the one who leads them as he spoke of Éomer."

"Know you the one who spoke?"

"No, I know not who he was. But his mind is twisted by hate, and he longs to see Éomer fall." She paused, her fearful eyes gazing up at him, and she reached for his arm. "He wishes to use me against Éomer. I was afraid that if we stayed, he would succeed."

"This foe--know you if it is Man, Dwarf, Elf, or some other?"

"Man."

"By far, the most dangerous of the three," Faramir murmured to himself.

"Why do you say so?"

"I have seen what Man is capable of, his potential for destruction."

"But Man is also capable of great kindness and beauty," she argued.

"Perhaps, but his capacity for destruction far outweighs the others, I think."

She frowned up at him, discouraged by the resolve she saw in his face.

"Faramir, have you lost all hope in Man?" she asked softly.

"Sometimes, I am not certain."

"It was not always so," she said sadly. "Once, you had faith in Man, just as Boromir did. But something happened along the way—too many men were killed by Sauron's forces, and you both lost your faith." She could still recall the day that Boromir's faith in Man had suffered a devastating blow…

Ellemir swayed on her feet, despair preying on her mind as she turned to stare at the rows of wounded lying on cots before her. There's so many of them, and I am no healerThere is little else I can do here, she thought desolately.

"My lady, you must speak to him—he won't leave!" One of the healers spoke to her, pleading as he caught her hand in appeal.

"What do you speak of?" she asked, confused by his sudden appearance at her side.

"The Lord Boromir. He refuses to go, he says he won't leave Master Kyril."

"Kyril?" she asked, instantly bringing to mind the image of Boromir's closest friend, aside from Faramir. "Is he among the wounded?"

"No, my lady. He's among the fallen," the healer said softly.

"Oh, Kyril," she murmured sorrowfully.

"Lord Boromir has taken up vigil beside Master Kyril and will not be swayed to leave. He is injured, my lady, but will not let us tend his wounds."

"He's hurt?" she exclaimed in dismay.

"They are not serious wounds, but your brother is weary—he needs rest, my lady, but he will not be swayed by us. We thought, perhaps, that he would listen to you."

"Very well. I shall try my best," she said, though her heart ached with grief and despair at the darkness that seemed to be overtaking them all. Boromir is the strongest of us. He cannot fall into despair, or there shall be no hope for any of us. Weariness beat at her as she slowly made her way to the fallen. There, shrouded in the oppressive darkness within, Boromir sat beside a still figure, his face hidden in shadow.

"Boromir," she said softly, walking quietly toward him. She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, feeling the tremors that wracked his solid frame as he struggled to contain his grief. "I am sorry for your loss, brother," she whispered.

"He was right beside me," he murmured. "I lost sight of him, and when next I saw him, the Easterlings overtook him. Men no different than us, and yet they care not. They slaughter us as easily as Orcs."

"I'm sorry you had to see it. To watch as they killed your friend before your very eyes…"

"No, Ella, you don't understand—they didn't simply kill him. They tormented him first, as a cat toys with its prey. Today, I have seen men become little more than beasts…what do we fight the growing darkness for, if man has already fallen?"

She felt an answering despair well up inside her at his words, but she somehow found it in her to fight it, knowing instinctively that she had to be strong for him. "Boromir, you mustn't say that! We must keep fighting," she cried, even as the darkness within her grew, as hope and courage faltered. "Bolster your courage, brother, and do not despair," she said, her gentle voice pleading with him.

"My hope in Man is but small, Ella, but for you, I will try," he said softly, and she subtly relaxed as a glimmer of his former strength reappeared in his eyes.

"Come, you must rest now. Let the healers tend your wounds."

"There are others who need their aid more than I. I will remain here, with Kyril."

"Why do you torment yourself this way?"

"Because he was my friend, and I will not have him lost and forgotten in this darkness."

"Brother, your body is weary and your heart is troubled. Go and rest. I will stay with Kyril until you can return. He will not be forgotten." Boromir looked up at her with red-rimmed eyes, his penetrating gaze capturing hers for a seemingly timeless moment before he finally nodded. She helped him stand, waiting at his side as he stared down at Kyril with pain-filled eyes. Sensing his need for comfort, she gently enfolded him in her arms, holding him as he began to vent his grief. As sobs overcame him, he began to wilt, and she struggled to support him as he fell to his knees once more.

It is an odd feeling, Ellemir thought, to be the strong one. Her heart was breaking as she supported her brother, he who had always been the strongest, the one they all depended on. To see him before her, broken and bleeding, was almost more than she could bear.

As Boromir's grief finally subsided, Ellemir looked up to see one of Boromir's men standing hesitantly in the doorway, an offer of assistance in his eyes. She gestured to him to come forward, and together they pulled Boromir to his feet. As the soldier held Boromir up and led him away, the darkness threatened to overwhelm her once again. She turned back to Kyril with tear-filled eyes as she thought of her brother's wavering hope in Man. I can't be the strong one—If Boromir falters, then surely we will all fall.We must have hope that Man will prevail, for without it, we are lost she thought, the last bit of light within her fighting the darkness that beat at her incessantly.

"I wish you'd told me sooner of your fears," Faramir said suddenly, bringing her attention back to the present.

"What fears?" she asked, slightly confused as she sought to remember what they had been speaking of.

"The fears that gave you cause to make us leave Rohan, Ellemir—have you heard nothing I have said?" he asked in exasperation.

"Oh, of course. But why do you wish I had told you of them sooner?"

"Because rushing away from Rohan without escort was foolish. Had I known we faced pursuit from some strange foe, I would not have been so quick to agree to leaving."

"What would you have had me done? Surely you can see that I had no choice!"

"I think we would have done better to wait," Faramir said softly, his eyes suddenly gazing past her. "Ellemir, get back on your horse," he commanded, his quiet tone belying his urgency. She turned in the direction he was staring, and a chill went down her spine. She quickly hurried into the saddle as Faramir leaped onto his own horse and pulled his horse around in order to place himself between Ellemir and the fast-approaching enemy.

Ellemir could hear her heart pounding almost in time with the drumming hoof beats of the two horses as they tried to outrun their foe. She feared to look behind her as they fled across the plains, and she desperately wished that she was merely dreaming.

As he used his body to shield Ellemir from harm, Faramir looked back to gauge how many men were pursuing them, and he felt his heart quail at the sight of their pursuers. Resolve rallied in his breast, though, and he urged his horse to go faster, for even though their capture was eminent, Faramir couldn't find it in himself to simply give up.

A wrenching pain in his back suddenly gripped him as an arrow found its mark. He slumped against the horse's neck as the pain enveloped him, and he heard Ellemir cry his name. Distantly, he felt himself slip from the saddle and the jarring impact with the ground, and then Ellemir was beside him, crying his name frantically.

As Ellemir knelt over her brother, desperately trying to wake him, rough hands suddenly pulled her away, jerking her to her feet. Tossing her head defiantly, she looked up to see a large, coarse man standing before her, and his face was all too familiar.

"Take her," he said, his voice harsh and raucous as he stared down at her. "She's the one." She fought the ones that held her as they pulled her towards one of their horses, and she cried out, fear inching its way into her heart as they secured her in a saddle. As they rode away, she began to cry as Faramir lay where he'd fallen. Please don't die, brother, she thought desperately. You are all that is left to me. I cannot lose you as I lost Boromir. Forgive me, Faramir, for I have let this come to pass. I was wrong—we should have stayed in Rohan.

As she was taken farther and farther away, Faramir struggled to climb to his feet, fighting the pain and the darkness that assailed him. I have to warn Éomer. It was his last thought before he was swallowed up by the darkness.

A/N: Thanks to all of the wonderful people who sent me reviews:

Mesphia: Yay, I got a flashback in! I hope you enjoyed it, because it took some time before I could figure out what sort of flashback I could put in.

wondereye: Yeah, you can see how mad Éomer was about Ella leaving. Now, he's moved on to the "I'm ignoring the problem" stage. Anyways, thanks for the review, and I'll hope you'll review this chapter for me as well!

Artemis Darkclaw: I was glad to hear that you liked the last chapter despite the lack of a flashback. I was able to squeeze a flashback into this chapter, so I hope you liked it. And while this chapter title isn't quite as cool as some of the others, I have fun trying to come up with cool titles, nevertheless.

ModestySparrow9: Did you notice the flashback? I'm working ever so hard to make sure that my chapters of this story have flashbacks, because they're so fun! How did you like this one? I was so sorry to hear about your computer problems—I recently had issues with a disk that became corrupted, so I really understand how you feel. Granted, I only lost school stuff, not fanfiction material—nothing important. LOL. Anyways, I hope you get everything sorted out with the computer. Anyways, thanks for reviewing, and I hope you'll review again! Expect more Dayn chapters soon, because I'm already working on the next chapter for "A Shattered Soul."

mimishell: Ok, so I got your boy in this chapter quite a bit, so you'll have to let me know what you think. There's still a bit of that whole brother-sister interaction between him and Ella that I think you'll like. And yes, I did fulfill my need for angry man stereotyping with the last chapter. Oh, wait…I did it in this chapter as well. LOL. As always, I have to get my temperamental males in, you know how that is. As a psychology person, you'll perhaps recognize that Éomer covers up his worry with anger. Yes, that's right—that's precisely why I do it. Hah. Anyways, thanks for reviewing for me, because you know how it just makes my day!