Lord of the rings was Jessica's favourite films but she decided she would have been much less interested in them if Peter Jackson had added some realism to them… like where he leaves out the shots of Gandalf and Pippin riding to Minas Tirith for three whole fucking days, eating barely anything and sleeping in the dirt.
What she wouldn't have given for a book, a smart phone… even a Nokia 3210 to play Snake on. She knew that she should be glad for the respite from battle but she was just so bored and completely fed up of being on a horse, no disrespect to Arod of course who she suspected had it even worse than her. She wouldn't have liked to travel for three days with 145lbs on her back.
So it was with great elation, and some trepidation, that Jessica finally set eyes upon the White Tree of Gondor in the huge courtyard of Minas Tirith. As usual she followed along behind Gandalf who was using his flare for dramatic entrances to address Lord Denethor as Pippin and herself took in the sights like a couple of tourists.
"Hail Denethor, son of Ecthelion, lord and steward of Gondor. I come with tidings in this dark hour and with counsel." She turned to face the throne Denethor sat upon as Gandalf greeted him and was flawed by how old and cruel the lord looked.
"Perhaps you come to explain this." A croaking voice escaped the man that sat before them as he held up a pale boney finger upon which Boromir's cloven horn hung, swinging lightly before them.
Both Jessica and Pippin flinched minutely at the reminder of their fallen comrade, their eyes looking anywhere but at each other.
"Perhaps you come to tell me why my son is dead." His voice was stronger now and rang out clear between them however his expression stayed in neutral, like the only emotion he was able to show was awake.
Jessica felt like his words were cloying on her skin, digging into her and settling on her bones. She felt the accusation pierce her... just like she had done to Boromir. The guilt suffocated her, the oxygen waned in her head and she pulled nervously at her borrowed too short dress as she felt Denethor's weighted stare come to rest upon her.
Just as Pippin stepped forward to speak, no doubt to offer his services or something else equally stupid, Jessica began to talk with no real direction or no great plan… just the need to atone.
"I can tell you why."
Denethor, Gandalf and Pippin all gazed upon her with wide eyes.
"He's dead because… because I killed him. I killed Boromir… my, er, lordship."
She was startled into silence as Denethor stood abruptly, menace in his gait as he approached them. His expressionless face gave her the creeps as he showed all the facial range of Kristen Stewart, even after being told that he was standing in the presence of his favourite son's killer.
"Do you mean to tell me, girl, that you murdered my son and heir?"
Only the weight of Gandalf's hand coming down on her shoulder stopped her from fleeing as Denethor stood before her on long lank legs, boring down on her.
"I didn't… I didn't murder" – she choked on the word – "him, I was trying to save… him and… well, I just… I didn't…." she trailed off awkwardly as her cheeks began to stain red.
"I am troubled by your words girl." He spoke harshly now, his voice strong and confident. "For if you are telling me the truth then I would have you charged with treason this instance and sentenced to death for your crimes against Gondor. However you must posses a great sickness of the mind, for I believe you lie. How would a female, as slight and pathetic as yourself, take out a mighty man such as my son? I demand you cease your poison lies and hold your wicked tongue whilst it still remains in your mouth." He turned to face Gandalf with a sneer. "You always did travel with the strangest of companions wizard."
Jessica's eyes had never been as wide as they currently were, she could barely hear him speaking above the pounding of her own heart. What was she supposed to do now? Laugh it off and tell him she was just fucking with him and look like a sick liar, or continue with the truth and face the penalty of death?
She swallowed harshly.
Luckily she was saved from any response as Gandalf stepped in between her and Denethor's furious glare.
"My Lord, there will be a time to grieve for Boromir, but it is not now. War is coming. The enemy is on your doorstep. As steward, you are charged with the defense of this city. Where are Gondor's armies? You still have friends. You are not alone in this fight. Send word to Théoden of Rohan. Light the beacons."
Denethor turned towards the wizard with a snarl; "You think you are wise, Mithrandir. Yet for all your subtleties you have not wisdom. Do you think the eyes of the White Tower are blind? I have seen more than you know. With your left hand you would use me as a shield against Mordor. And with your right you would seek to supplant me. I know who rides with Théoden of Rohan. Oh yes. Word has reached my ears of this Aragorn, son of Arathorn. And I tell you now, I will not bow to this Ranger from the North, last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship."
"Authority is not given you to deny the return of the king, Steward." Gandalf replied sternly.
"The rule of Gondor is mine, and no other's!"
Gandalf shook his head as Denethor returned to sit heavily upon his throne. He turned to face Jessica and Pippin with a deep frown.
"Come. All has turned to vain ambition. He would even use his grief as a cloak. A thousand years this city has stood." They trailed quickly behind him as he left the great hall at a furious pace. "Now, at the whim of a madman, it will fall. And the White Tree, the tree of the king, will never bloom again."
"Yeah he's a real weirdo, looks like the kinda guy who would only be happy polishing his knife collection." Jessica agreed as she turned to see some men with swords standing immobile in front of the white tree.
"Why are they still guarding it?" Pippin asked in a small voice.
"They guard it because they have hope. A faint and fading hope that one day it will flower. That a king will come and this city will be as it once was, before it fell into decay. The old wisdom borne out of the West was forsaken. Kings made tombs more splendid than the houses of the living, and counted the old names of their descent dearer than the names of their sons. Childless lords sat in aged halls, musing on heraldry or in high, cold towers, asking questions of the stars. And so the people of Gondor fell into ruin. The line of kings failed. The White Tree withered. The rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men."
Gandalf walked towards the wall that surrounded the courtyard and peered over it as Jessica and Pippin walked to stand beside him. Jessica swallowed in absolute fear, she wasn't sure whether it was from the massive height she found herself at or the ominous red clouds that hung over the city, looming dark and high in front of them.
"Mordor." Pippin breathed.
"Yes, there it lies. This city has dwelt ever in the sight of its shadow."
"A storm is coming." Pippin noted in reply to the wizard.
"This is not the weather of the world. This is a device of Sauron's making. A broil of fume he sends ahead of his host. The Orcs of Mordor have no love of daylight, so he covers the face of the sun to ease their passage along the road to war. When the Shadow of Mordor reaches this city it will begin and I fear Jessica will not have long left to live with Sauron's reach so near to her own poisoned skin."
She swallowed harshly at his words hoping she'd be able to summon some courage from somewhere. Her mind went to thoughts of Legolas.
"Well, Minas Tirith, very impressive. So where are we off to next?" Pippin asked with forced optimism.
"Oh, it's too late for that, Peregrin. There's no leaving this city. Help must come to us."
Jessica was left with little to do but wait as Pippin and Gandalf wandered off to do their own thing. Her mind was a mess and she was studiously avoiding anywhere Lord Denethor might be at all costs, however luck was never on her side. As she aimlessly walked around a large library she came to an abrupt halt as a tall figure turned a corner and set eyes on her.
"Girl." Denethor's voice sounded like gravel as he stood looming over her. "What has that wizard planned in my city?"
She shook her head, unable to speak.
"Now you hold your tongue?" he stalked forward. "You will tell me."
Jessica could only swallow.
"You refuse the orders of your lord?"
"I… you are not my lord, my lord." She cringed as she addressed him by his title after denouncing him.
"So be it." He interrupted. "If I am not your lord then I will take your words very seriously girl, an act of treason against Gondor is punishable by death. I charge you with the murder of my son and heir, the steward of Gondor, Boromir. How do you plead?" a sickening smile seemed to take over his gaunt face and despite the topic of the conversation he seemed to be positively beaming at the sudden turn of events.
Probably saw a dead dog on his way over or something.
Seemingly out of nowhere two guards flanked him as they withdrew their swords. Jessica thought the fear would cripple her, steal her of words and the ability to move. However everything that she had been through since she had arrived had changed her slightly and she was no longer a selfish coward.
She raised her head like a proper lady and put her nose in the air as she spoke as sincerely as she could, the tears stalling in her eyes and refusing to fall; "I do not plead, I did what was best for all of Middle-Earth. Boromir forgave me and… I forgive myself. I will not plead for your forgiveness nor for your mercy for it is not yours to offer."
Denethor's eyes narrowed as he snarled but Jessica finally felt free, felt the guilt leave her and didn't even flinch as the guards stepped forward to remand her. They were halted by the entrance of another person and Jessica was stunned as she turned to see who the new arrival was.
"Lord Denethor!" Lady Éowyn gasped harshly as if she had been running. "I am glad to have found you; I must seek your counsel."
He turned his sneer to her then, ignoring Jessica.
"Why have you come here shield-maiden of Rohan? Do you travel with that meddlesome wizard?"
"My uncle-"
"-No seriously, why are you here?" Jessica interrupted and Éowyn frowned in confusion as she took notice of Jessica stood in between the two well built guards for the first time. "Why aren't you with Aragorn and the rest of the merry men?"
"Aragorn… spurned my advances and sent me on my way." She replied sullenly, like a sulking child.
"And you listened?" Jessica gaped.
"A battle is no place for a woman."
"Who are you and what have you done with Éowyn?"
Jessica, Éowyn, Gandalf, Denethor, Pippin and a few select others sat in what appeared to be a fancy parlour as lots of people engaged in various heated discussions.
"You are troubled." Jessica turned to face Gandalf as he came to stand beside her.
"Thing are… changing, and I don't know what's going on anymore or what's going to happen."
"You are concerned that this has changed the outcome of our fates?" She frowned at him as he smiled. "Or perhaps the fate of one individual worries you more so than others."
"Don't say that, I care about you guys and obviously I don't want lots of innocent people to die but I'm no martyr, what can I do to help really?"
"What do you think you can do to help?"
"Talk this out with someone who doesn't speak in riddles?"
"Ah." The wizard smiled indulgently as he pulled out his pipe and began to suck at it. Jessica couldn't help looking over at Éowyn who sat talking to Denethor but Gandalf's keen eyes caught her gaze.
"Does the lady's appearance here trouble you?"
She frowned, chewing on her lower lip rather harshly.
"She's not supposed to be here." She confided quietly.
"Can you get her to where she is supposed to be?"
Jessica paused, hesitating as she looked up at Gandalf.
"I suppose… if I could escape Denethor the death eater's watch, but getting out of here wouldn't guarantee we'd be safe, in fact we'd be walking into a much worse situation." She tried not to give too much information away but she could see that Gandalf had already caught her meaning as he frowned slightly. "And Éowyn may not even want to go now… she's so different after her encounter with Aldhelm. Things are changing Gandalf and we're getting near to the end. I'm not sure how much help I can be anymore."
"A book may have been written but we can all control our fates Jessica. You are much changed whence you arrived here. Do not let fear control you, is that not what the elf would say to you?"
She drew in a sharp breath at the mention of Legolas. Her last conversation with him had been somewhat cryptic. Would/could Legolas return her feelings?
"Do you think that I'm the kind of girl that's worth fighting for?"
"I think you're the kind of girl men go to war for."
And her decision was made. She wasn't going to be a coward, she was going to be a stupid brave martyr and take Éowyn to battle… and tell a certain elf that she was completely head over heels in love with him whilst trying not to get herself killed.
And if he turns me down then maybe getting decapitated wouldn't be so bad.
Deciding to go risk her life in a horrendous battle was surprisingly the easy part, convincing Éowyn to do the same however… not so much.
"We are maidens, a war is no place for us." Éowyn paced furiously in front of Jessica, her hands held out animatedly in front of her.
"Says who?" Jessica sighed. "Just because Aldhelm turned out to be Norman Bates the second and Aragorn's already practically married it doesn't mean you get to run away and hide. You're important Éowyn, trust me on this. That battle is exactly where you need to be."
Éowyn stopped her pacing to turn to stare at Jessica.
"You are unlike any other I have ever met, more fey than elves, more coarse than dwarves, more knowing than wizards, more resilient than hobbits and stranger than men… what… what are you?"
"Just Jessica." She shrugged with a little smile.
"I do not think you are just anything. You have secrets and these secrets involve me risking my life in a glorious battle, do they not?"
"Oh it will be glorious alright, and don't you want to prove to everyone, and to yourself, that women can kick ass and take names just as good as the men?"
"And you are to ride with me into this war?"
"What kind of a hypocrite would I be if I told you to go and then just stayed here and hid myself away like a little bitch?"
Éowyn frowned at her language.
"But you are untrained with a weapon, are you not?"
"I'm a massive Call of Duty fan, how hard can it be? Just watch out for campers, and I don't even need to worry about snipers as you don't even have guns. Easy."
"Something tells me you are not taking this entirely seriously."
Jessica grimaced; "Oh I am trust me, I know how bad this is gonna get. I was at Helm's Deep remember. I also know I stand pretty much no chance of surviving and I'm… I'm fucking terrified Éowyn. If we don't leave now I'm going to run off and find a nice safe tower to live out the rest of my life in. So… what say you? You with me, and all that jazz?"
A slow but shaky smile spread across Éowyn's face.
"I am with you."
"Woo, for Aslan and for Narnia!" Jessica mock shouted with heavy sarcasm whilst Éowyn just looked more confused. "Sorry, wrong book."
This chapter took ages as I just wasn't happy with it. There's not a lot going on but at the same time it all needed to happen to further my plot. I can't be funny and have lots of action all the time :( Also no Legolas so I'm sure you guys got bored but don't worry he's back in the next chapter!
Just a quick something I wanted to address, a few of you, only about 3 or 4 but still enough that I felt I needed to say something, had concerns about the whole marry to save her life thing and the Glemrenil being in love with Legolas twist. Can I just say... trust me? I haven't made it predictable so far, hopefully, and I'm not going to take an easy way out. I have things planned but in order to do that I need to set up some twists and turns. Hopefully I've made this story different so far and you'll like where I take it. Have a little faith please!