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Shadow knight1121: Thanks! I know, he better stop that!
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I do not own Lotr. I only own Ayesha, Haromir, and Rowan.
Please enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 12
Bright sunlight assaulted their eyes as the Fellowship finally made it out of the Mines, earlier than they had anticipated. For being in the dark for so long, they all had to take a moment to find their bearings before collapsing on the rocky terrain, all of them heartbroken.
Sam sobbed, unable to go much farther than a few feet from the door, fat thick tears rolling down his face. Gimli was attempting to run back inside and Boromir restrained him from doing so, though he wanted to go back as well. Pippin was lying on the rocks crying, Merry rubbing his arm comfortingly, as he sobbed too. Legolas had released Haromir when they had reached the archway out of the mines and he stood watching helplessly as his friends grieved.
Haromir was sitting alone his back to the group unshed tears in his eyes and a memory in his heart.
There were a few large bushes outside the Steward's Hall that served for young thin trees to a young boy of seven. Haromir was pretty smug with his new hiding place and hoped that no one would find him or his treasure.
"Pardon me." A voice called from outside the bush and Haromir parted the thick leaves slowly. An old man leaning on a walking stick was peering at the top of the bush. It was Gandalf the Grey who often came to visit the Steward. "But could you tell me where I might find the pastry thief? The cook is going ever flustered, since she cannot locate her missing items." Haromir knew that he was talking about him, but the fact the old man was talking to the bush made him giggle. A knowing smile reached the old man's lips.
"Have you seen him?" Haromir shook the bush. "No? Well then, I suppose that his father will might sad to hear that he is gone." Haromir hadn't thought of that. Would his father really be sad if he never came out of his hiding place?
"I don't think he wants to cone out." Haromir answered and Gandalf laughed quietly.
"Oh and why is that?"
"He's hiding."
"I see. Well if he comes by will you tell him that his brothers are back from their training session?" Gandalf chuckled aloud as the bush gasped and suddenly a young boy popped out of the leaves. His light brown, almost golden hair sticking up with leaves in it.
"Is it true?" He asked excitedly. "Are they really back?"
"Indeed and you better put away those goodies before the cook sees you." Haromir shoved a whole small confiscated cake into his mouth and smiled with protruding cheeks at the wizard. Gandalf laughed again and shook his head. "You are one of a kind, young Harry, don't ever change."
"Harry!" Haromir turned from Gandalf and beamed, cake still in his mouth, at his brothers who were now standing in the courtyard.
"Bor! Far!" Harry called, though his call was muffled by the sweet cake. "You are back!" He ran over as fast as he could and Boromir hugged him first.
"Have you been stealing from the cook again?" He half scolded as Haromir finally swallowed the last bit of cake and the boy nodded sheepishly.
"Ah, leave him be. Looks like he's got more." Faramir stated, showing a small bag to his older brother.
"Want one, Boromir?" Haromir tempted, waving the yellow fluffiness. "It's really good." Boromir burst into laughter.
"I cannot stay mad at you and yes, I will have one."
"Only after I do." Faramir grinned and Boromir rolled his eyes with small snicker. Haromir hugged his brother's neck.
"I'm glad you're back. It's been awful boring and I can't practice sword fighting with anyone else."The boy almost whined and Boromir smiled and caught Gandalf smiling at them.
"I believe your father wants a word with you all." The wizard told them and Boromir nodded. They walked down the hall and Haromir switched brothers, clinging to Faramir now. "Far, I need help reading again. I keep getting stuck."Faramir ruffled his brother's head.
"Well, have a look later, all right?"
"Okay." Haromir murmured and then he looked at Gandalf. "Mister Gandalf? Why do you have such a long beard?" They all burst into laughter at the question as they headed inside the Steward's Hall.
Haromir found a hand in front of him. He looked up to see Aragorn looking at him, pain pushed back in his eyes.
"Come." Aragorn murmured and Haromir took the hand, getting up from the ground.
"Legolas, get them up." He called to the Elf and Legolas looked unhappy to have to move the sobbing Hobbits. Haromir pushed back his own tears in an attempt to be strong. He had lost more than a friend, he had lost a grandfather-like figure and that seemed to hurt more.
"Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" Boromir said to Aragorn.
"By nightfall, these hills will be swarming with Orcs. We must reach the woods of Lothlorien."
"And you think us safe there?" Boromir challenged and Aragorn stepped towards him.
"That is our course." Aragorn stated firmly, daring the Gondorian to say anything further, when he did not Aragorn turned to the others. "Come Boromir. Legolas, Gimli, get them up." Gimli was the one who needed help getting up and Legolas took that task. Aragorn pulled Sam to his feet and then looked for Frodo.
"Come, along little ones." Boromir murmured to Merry and Pippin. Merry nodded and wiped at his eyes, while Pippin only sniffed louder looking more upset. Haromir looked Pippin in the eyes.
"It's not your fault, Pippin; please don't ever think that it was. What happened…happened for a reason that none of us can explain or begin to understand."
"But if I hadn't…He told me to be careful."
"They might have found us anyway. We weren't exactly quiet most of time."
"Harry is right, Pippin." Boromir said ruffling the young Hobbit's head. "It was by no fault of yours that Gandalf has fallen." Pippin seemed more encouraged then and allowed Boromir to steer him and Merry towards Aragorn and Frodo.
They traveled on, with Frodo and Haromir starting to lag behind from their injuries. Frodo's sides were aching from where the spear had slammed the Mithril rings into his ribs and his grief made it hard for him to continue. He suddenly paused when he heard no footsteps behind him and turned his head to see Haromir leaning against a rock. The young man was wiping sweat from his brow and wincing with every moment.
"Forgive me, Frodo." Harry spoke when he had made it to where the Hobbit stood. "I had to rest a moment, but now we must catch up to the others."
"We should stop and see to your wounds. You look pale."
"I am fine. I just need water where we can find it. We have to keep going." Haromir gave the Hobbit a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Frodo kept walking, but his concern for Harry grew. Haromir hadn't tried to take the Ring from him, but Frodo was sure that the temptation would come to him eventually.
Up head, Legolas took the time to look behind him. "Daro, Estel. Two lag behind." He murmured and the Ranger stopped his long stride. Aragorn turned to see Frodo and Haromir bringing up the back and he called them all to a stop before walking over to the two left behind.
"I am sorry, my friends. So much has happened this day and we have such need of haste, that I have forgotten you are hurt Frodo; and Harry too. You should have spoken. We have done nothing but push on since leaving Moria."
"He would not have spoken." Boromir stated, eyeing Haromir. "He would not have told you."
"Neither the less, I will do what I can to ease the both of you." Aragorn told Frodo and Haromir, who's lightheadedness was getting to him. He swayed slightly and Boromir came to his side.
"Easy, little brother." Boromir murmured and Haromir winced at the pain in his back. Aragorn turned and lifted Frodo.
"It is not far now, there is a place where we can rest. Then I will do what I can to ease the both of you." he began walking again and Boromir supported Harry.
They stopped at a small glade where the mountain finally ended and a field lay before them. From their campsite they could just make out the trees of Lothlorien. While Gimli started a small fire, the smallest they could permit, Aragorn bade Frodo and Haromir to sit. Boromir forcibly made his brother sit on the ground near them and Harry scowled up at Boromir.
When Frodo's bruises were tended to and the hobbit lay near the warmth of the fire, Aragorn turned to Haromir. The young man stiffened, eyeing what the man had in a bowl at his side with somethin akin to suspicion. Aragorn laughed lightly.
"It is only athelas a plant I gathered near Weathertop nothing more." He murmured and Haromir nodded once. "Are you always this untrusting?" The Ranger enquired and Boromir snorted.
"If he was not then I would not know him then for he has always been like that." Haromir shot his brother an icy glare and then cringed when Aragorn motioned for him to remove his garments.
Reluctantly, and knowing that he was being watched by everyone, Haromir shed his leather jerkin and arm guards, his battle stained, thick, navy Gondorian tunic and his thin undershirt, leaving him bare-chested in his beeches. Boromir hissed at the sight of his brother. A large dark blue colored bruise covered his right side completely and a few more were scattered along his back.
Aragorn frowned and touched the bruise lightly, probing for any broken bones and Haromir let out a small gasp of pain when Aragorn got to the darker part of bruise that was right in the middle of his side.
"Nothing is broken." The Ranger murmured. "Only badly bruised."
"Could have fooled me." Harry grumbled and Gimli snorted from his place at the fire. Boromir rolled his eyes and Legolas hid a smile. Aragorn only shook his head and like he had done to Frodo earlier, he dipped his fingers into the warmed water of athelas and then smeared it across the bruises.
"I have never heard such a ruckus." Gimli stated once Aragorn was done wrapping cloth over the medicine covered wounds. "One would think he was being tortured." Haromir sent the Dwarf a glare.
"You would make noise too if you had been hit by a Cave-Troll."
"Ha. I would not have let it get me!" The Dwarf boomed and Haromir growled.
"Enough, Gimli." Aragorn reprimanded and moved from Haromir's side as the young man pulled his undershirt back on.
"You're arm is bleeding." Legolas called and Haromir scowled, internally cursing his friend's Elven sight. Aragorn turned back around, but Haromir was already turning away. Boromir blocked him and Gimli snorted.
"You really are stubborn lad."
"So are Dwarves." Haromir replied, though his eyes showed that he was teasing. Gimli laughed. "I will wash it off. Just old blood." Harry said, but Aragorn ignored his protests as he turned his arm to view.
"Old blood, yes, but not so old an injury. This arm has been injured before." Haromir didn't answer him and Aragorn looked up from the arm.
"Yes, it was injured before." Boromir answered for Haromir. "It was injured when he and I were heading to Rivendell."
"It is fine." Haromir stated and pulled his arm back from the Ranger. "It will be fine." Everyone looked skeptical, but the young man wouldn't allow anyone else to touch his arm as he stood up. "I am going to get more firewood." He left without waiting for an answer.
"What was that about?" Pippin asked and Boromir frowned at the tree line, before pushing off the tree he was on and following after his brother.
Anger filled his mind and Boromir was unable to pinpoint why he was suddenly angry with Harry. Was it because the young man refused to listen to his advice about talking to the Elf? That all hearing Elf who couldn't stop staring at him, as if waiting for something to happen, always around him and constantly talking to his brother. It was enough to drive one mad and it was bad enough that they now had to follow this would-be-king.
He found Haromir testing out his arm, turning it this way and that and with a nod of satisfaction tied back on the leather guard. Boromir cleared his throat and Harry jumped whirling to face whoever was behind him, sword raised.
"Oh, Bor. It's only you." Harry murmured. Boromir blocked him from walking back to camp with the small twigs he had found.
"We need to talk about what happened."
"I said I was sorry, I just lost control. It will not happen again."
"Harry." Boromir snapped. "This is not about that."
"Then what?" Haromir snapped back, irritated. The angry remark, made Boromir pause and he suddenly came to his senses. Unable to remember why he followed his brother he struggled to say something.
"It…it is nothing." Boromir stated and he clapped a hand to his brother's shoulder. "Just rest. I will gather the rest." He offered and took the bundle from Haromir. He gave his brother a small push and Harry went back to camp, frowning. He came out of the trees, still frowning, and Legolas and Aragorn looked at him in concern.
Haromir slept in the middle of Merry and Pippin who had attached to him for warmth. They had decided that until they were safe enough, that no large fire needed to be lit at night. Frodo and Sam slept fitfully nearby, dreams of Moria making them restless. Boromir and Aragorn had the first watch, but Legolas and Gimli did not feel the need to sleep yet.
"I've noticed a change in Harry these past few days." Aragorn said quietly, starting the conversation. Boromir looked at him as he explained first what he had seen on the way through Moria. Boromir sighed with small nod of his head.
"Yes, he does that. He has been trained to hear things that others do not and if his eyes could not see then he would hear and know where things were. When he was younger he used to identify when Faramir or I walked into a room without looking. He could be reading a book and hear which of us took a step."
"Who taught him this?" Legolas asked with a tilt of his head and Boromir frowned.
"I know not. He used to say that it came to him in a dream of how to focus on the world, but I never believed it. Perhaps I should have."
"And his focused fighting?" The Elf asked.
"Yes that," Boromir answered. "My brother gets into these…I am sure not to call them." He trailed off a moment and then met the Fellowships' eyes. "Haromir sometimes does not realize that he does it."
"How long has he done this?" Aragorn questioned.
"Since he was started the field training at age thirteen. I am not sure why or how it has come to be, but he has the tendency to get off track."
"Does he do this each time?" Legolas enquired and the Gondorian bristled.
"It is not dangerous to us if that what you are implying Elf." He snapped. "He will not harm us."
"I did not say he would." The Elf Prince replied coolly. "I was merely wondering if it can be controlled."
"He did not do it when fighting the wargs. Or with that monstrosity outside of Moria." Gimli spoke up.
"Indeed, he did not." Aragorn agreed. "But those were not so many and Boromir was in no danger."
"What do I have to do with this?" The Gondorian asked, angrily. "You blame me for what he does?"
"I do no such thing. Harry told me the reason he sticks by you. He is to protect you."
"Protect me…Yes he did mention something of the sort while we were in Rivendell. I thought he was jesting."
"Surely you're father would not have put him up to this." Aragorn stated. "He would not allow that."
"I do not know for certain." Boromir answered truthfully. For once he looked remotely unsure, his gaze holding Aragorn's. "My father's intention with Haromir has been a long debate between Faramir and me. We are not sure what he wants from him."
The Company fell into silence none of them knowing what to say or what to add and soon Gimli dozed off. Aragorn went to stretch his legs not too far from them, but far enough for him to see out into the vast moonlit land. Legolas and Boromir ignored one another. It seemed the Elven Prince found the Man just as untrustworthy as Boromir found him.
"No." Harry said quietly and both Man and Elf turned to him. The young man was frowning in his sleep, Pippin and Merry tucked into his sides. "No more cakes." Boromir snorted and then raised a brow when Pippin giggled in his sleep.
"At least they can sleep peacefully." The Man stated, almost reluctant to speak. For a moment he wasn't sure if the Elf would respond when:
"It is best they do. Grief is better dealt with over time. Though, I fear they do not have much time for it." Boromir silently agreed and soon he went to lie down, while Aragorn took the watch. He did not close his eyes once.
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