Strangers No More

I do not own the rights to Lord of the Rings

Chapter Twenty Four

Evidence at Last

Pain. Falling. Leg. Cloak. Weapon. Wheat. Wine. Falling. Cloak. Falling.

'How is he?'

'Three of his fingers are broken and so is his right leg. There are bruises all over him.'

'Will he recover?'

'Of course. I think he's waking up now.'

Edmund's eyes slowly opened and he saw a ceiling. Then he felt a pain in his leg and hand. In fact, everything hurt. Slowly he moved his aching head around and saw that he was in the Houses of Healing. It was one of the smaller wards with three other beds but none of them were occupied. When he tried to move his leg he couldn't and he recognised the feeling of a splint around it. Standing around his bed were a few healers and with them stood James, Jason and Captain Beregond.

'Good afternoon Edmund,' my uncle said to him. 'I understand that you've been practising acrobatics.'

'Christ,' he cursed and sat up.

'Edmund the Captain here needs to ask you some rubbish,' Jason told him.

'I need to ask you some questions,' Beregond clarified.

'Go on then,' Edmund said and felt the side of his face. It hurt a lot and felt swollen from bruises.

'What were you doing out that late at night?'

'I was trading wheat for wine. It was a good deal.'

'Who were you dealing with?' asked Beregond.

'A wine merchant named Dedino. I gave him fifteen sacks of wheat for sixty bottles of wine. Like I said it was a good deal.'

'Why were you on the roof?'

'I wasn't. I, let me see, yes I was on my way back to the barracks when I saw the murderer climbing out of a window. He fell to the ground and I attacked him. We fought but he retreated and climbed up to the roof. I followed him up and I put my hands on the roof when he, well, he stamped on my fingers and I fell.'

'You say he climbed up the building. How?'

'He didn't really climb. He actually managed to jump from window to window.'

'He jumped?' Beregond asked sceptically.

'That's right. He managed to get up there quickly,' Edmund told him but then remembered something. 'What was he doing in that building?'

'We found a body,' Beregond told him and Edmund shook his head.

'Damn.'

'I think that's all I need to know,' Beregond told him. 'I may return later though.'

'If there's any way I can help you I'll do it,' Edmund assured him and the Beregond left. 'James, there's some work I need to do today. It's fairly important for my business.'

'I'm sorry Edmund but you're not allowed to leave here until your leg's healed,' James told him.

'Can't you at least send me my documents?'

'Of course,' my uncle assured him. 'If you need anything young Mathew's agreed to do some errands for you.'

'Excellent. I'm glad he can spare the time to help me.'

'It's no trouble for him. Just promise me you won't try to leave.'

'I promise.'

...

'I'm just glad he's alright.'

'I want to know how he's still alive.'

Sunniva and I were walking through the gardens of the Houses of Healing. She was no longer wearing her bandage but there were stitches. The wound would certainly leave a prominent scar but all which mattered was that she survived.

'How far was the fall?'

'About four floors I think. He's covered in bruises and his legs broken but he lived.'

'It's a damn miracle.'

'I wouldn't be surprised.'

We both chuckled and came to a balustrade looking over the city and in the distance the mountains. Now that the constant cloud over the realm had died with Sauron the mountains were in a strange way pleasant to look at.

'What did your uncle say when you told him?' she asked me.

'He was happy for us,' I told her and took her hand. 'He just wants us to wait until after Markus and Hethnina are married.'

'Oh the wait,' she sighed dramatically.

'The wait will be worth it Lady Harris,' I told her and at my last words she visibly stiffened.

'I'm going to be a noble aren't I?' she said, sounding a little intimidated by the prospect.

'Sunniva you're more of a noble than half the people who inherited their titles.'

'Thanks. I just, well, I don't know the first thing about being a Lady or anything.'

'You'll learn.'

'From who?'

'Give me some time and I'll work that out,' I said offhandedly but I saw that she was still concerned. 'Don't worry about it.'

'What if I showed you up one day or embarrassed your family?'

'Sunniva, I wouldn't care if you ever did. As long as we're together I'm fine.'

'That's very sweet.'

'I know.'

...

Faramir sat in his study with Beregond discussing the latest murder and any clues they had uncovered.

'Who was she?' Faramir asked him.

'Her name was Etharal. She was thirty one years old and, I'm sorry to say this, she was with child.'

'Where was her husband?'

'He's a captain in the army and he's stationed near Dol Amroth.'

'Send word to him. He is allowed to come here for the funeral.'

'I understand.'

'Do we have any evidence?'

'Yes. Sir Edmund saw the murderer climbing out of Etharal's window after the murder and startled him so he fell to the ground. When he fell he dropped a set of lock picks he used to open the window from the outside.'

'Were there any maker's marks on them?' Faramir asked him quickly, suddenly excited at finally having evidence.

'He'd tried to scratch them off but we managed to identify it. He's a low level metal worker.'

'Then let's go,' Faramir said and stood up. 'We'll need to speak with him.'

...

'I'm sorry my Lord but I can't remember.'

Faramir and Beregond were in the small shop of a blacksmith on the first level. At the back was a forge and at the front was a shop where many tools were on display for the shoppers. The smith, a man named Taelon, was polishing the head of an axe he'd made.

'All we need to know is how many people have bought a set of lock picks from you in the last month,' Faramir repeated.

'My Lord, lots of people buy lock picks from me. I can't remember just one man.'

'Don't you have a record of your sales?'

'I do but I don't show it to anyone,' Taelon told Faramir and put down the axe head.

'Very well,' Faramir said and looked at Beregond. 'Captain, please arrest this man for aiding a murderer.'

'Yes sir,' Beregond said and the smiths eyes went wide.

'Wait, wait, wait! I'll show you.'

'Thank you.'

Taelon disappeared under the desk and grabbed a large book. He placed it on the desk and pushed it towards Faramir.

'Take it if you want.'

'Thank you,' Beregond said and took the book. 'It will be most useful.'

'If this leads you to the killer will I get the reward?'

'Of course,' Faramir told him.

'I'm glad to help.'

...

'After that you'll take the wool to Tadion this afternoon.'

'Alright.'

Edmund and Mathew were in the Houses of Healing. Mathew was being told what jobs he had to do that day.

'Once he's given you the money take it to my room and put it in my money chest,' he then reached into the small cabinet by his bed and pulled out a key. 'Unlock it with this. Don't forget to lock it once you're done.'

'Alright,' Mathew responded. 'Edmund, can I ask you something?'

'Go ahead.'

'How did you get your money?'

'I earned it.'

'How?'

'You better sit down then,' Edmund told him and gestured to the chair by his bed. 'It's not a short story.'

'I don't have to deliver anything for a couple of hours,' Mathew said before sitting down.

'Very true. So, where to start? It really started when my grandfather became a freeman after he saved a knight in a battle and he got a house and some land for it. Then my father decided to be an idiot and gambled everything away when I was seventeen. All we had left was our house and the clothes we were standing in. He couldn't cope and jumped into the River Wear to kill himself.'

'The Wear?'

'A river going through a little town. Haven't you ever heard of it?'

'No I never left my village until there was a battle on.'

'Anyway, we were left with nothing and I had to find a way of supporting me, my mother and my three sisters. With nothing to lose I sold the house and used the money to buy a cart and a beast to pull it. We made a living carting wool from one town to the next until we had enough to buy a little cottage. Anyway, after a while we saved up enough to buy more carts and I started arranging transport for a few farmers goods. We spent next to nothing, only buying what we needed desperately, and we made a lot of money.'

'Well done.'

'Thanks. Anyway, after a while I started transporting weapons and that's when I started getting very rich. I joined one of the carts carrying weapons to the army of Edward the Fourth when we were attacked by some of his enemies. They killed two of my men and tried to kill me. I grabbed one of the swords in the cart and fought hard. I'd never been in a fight before. We almost lost but a group of knights came along and saved us. One of the knights, a noble by the name of Alexander, was thrown from his horse and was almost killed but I saved him. I found out later that his father was the same knight my grandfather saved years ago. When we found out we drank to good fortune,' he laughed with fondness at the memory. 'Anyway, we went on to the army and for my services to him he rewarded me with a suit of armour engraved with the most beautiful carvings I have ever seen. I squired for Alexander in the Battle of Tewkesbury.'

'Tewkesbury? Didn't John's dad die there?'

'I think so. I'm sure I saw the Harris brothers at a distance there but I'm not sure. That was my first real battle. After that I and Alexander went to a tavern and I met a woman named Joan. We married two months later. For years we were happy and lived well. I left England a few times and went over to France and made a lot of money buying good wine there at a low price and selling it for a lot more back home. My sisters got married to rich merchants and my mother died in her sleep with a glass of wine in her hand.'

'Where's she now? Joan?'

'Died two years ago. We had no children but it didn't matter.'

'I'm sorry.'

'It's alright. When another battle came around I saw a chance to win some glory and fame. Now I'm in a world filled with monsters, wizards and a lunatic murderer on the loose.'

'Thanks for the life story.'

'Ha. I suppose I got carried away. I think you'd better get on with your jobs.'

'Alright. I'll see you later.'

'See you later Mathew.'

After Mathew left, Edmund thought about home, quickly brushing away the single tear which trickled from his eye.

AN: He lives! So that was my latest chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. Yeah, I wanted to look into Edmunds back story a bit in this chapter. What do you guys think of it?

Review Response Time:

KiyaNamiel: Well at least this one wasn't a cliff hanger. So, Edmund is not doing anything shady what so ever. Well, apart from the French wine thing.