Sorry it's taken me awhile to update. Things have been awfully busy lately. Enjoy!

Chapter 26:

Pippin and I were walking back to our rooms, which were on the seventh level, when we saw one of the palace guards, who looked very familiar.

"Levi!" I said, and ran over to him.

He looked confusedly at me.

"Milady, you must think that I'm someone else."

He blushed, and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"I never thought I'd meet an elf, especially one as beautiful as you."

"Levi, snap out of it! It's me, Bliss! Or, Aedinil, whichever."

He wrinkled his brow, looking curiously at me and Pippin.

"My name is Roran, son of Carlisle."

"Roran, son of Carlisle?" I cringed. "How original. Those names are ripped off from Twilight and the Eragon books."

I lifted up his shirt before he could get away, looking at his stomach.

"Would Roran, son of Carlisle have a Lynyrd Skynyrd tattoo on his stomach?"

There it was, in cheap greenish-black ink: The Lynyrd Skynyrd logo with a mohawk-wearing seagull, proudly squawking "Freebird", out of a cartoony dialogue bubble.

I'd called him tasteless and stupid for having gotten it, but now I was glad that he had such an undeniable identifying trait.

"Leonard? I do not know him. Should I?" he asked, smoothing his shirt down modestly.

Honestly, what had she done to Levi?!

Maybe my powers would work on him. If only I knew how to phrase it...

I pondered for a moment.

"What's a Freebird?" Pippin asked, always one to point out the big picture of things.

"Shh." I said, trying to think. If I screwed this up, it could possibly screw him up even more. Mortals and magic really had no business mixing.

"Be free of Zaida's spell." I said.

Levi blinked, and something seemed to change abut him; the whole zombie-like thing was diminished, and he looked more normal.

"Bliss? What the hell---?" he pushed me aside, and looked at our surroundings. "This looks like…but it can't be…"

Wow, that was alot easier than I'd expected.

"You're in Minas Tirith, Levi. Zaida brought you here."

"Why me?" he asked, looking alarmed.

"Don't you remember anything? What's the last thing you remember?"

"Um, You guys left. That's about as far back as I…"

He squinted, trying to remember.

"Zaida's your mom's name, right? Sorry, dumb question. Why me?"

"Not just you." I explained. "She brought Matthew and Dad, too. Do you know where they are?"

"Bliss, you're just lucky I know where I am, at the moment. Minas Tirith, holy crap, I'm in Middle-earth…" he looked on the verge of a complete freak-out.

"She didn't hurt you, did she?" Pippin asked Levi.

"How would I know?" he asked, looking like he was about to enter panic mode. "What if I can't ever go back?"

"Look, Levi, your concern is understandable, but Zaida has married Denethor. I'm assuming you know who Denethor is, right? He was in the movies, wasn't he?"Levi nodded.

"She married Denethor? WTF?"

"What's WTF?" Pippin asked.

"Pippin, big picture, please."

Pippin smiled sheepishly at me.

"First things first. We can't let Zaida know that you're not under her spell anymore. Can you pretend to be under her control a bit longer?"

"How about not? I'm just gonna stick with ya'll. Can I have a really cool sword?"

I felt a headache coming on.

That's when I noticed some sort of commotion on the lower level. I leaned over the rail to see better, glad that I had elf sight.

Someone was leading a horse through the gate, and they had someone slumped over the back of their horse, both of them dripping blood.

With a wave of nausea, I realized that it was Faramir and Boromir.

~Break~

"Let me see him!" I told Boromir, who was holding me away tightly, his head buried in my hair, in grief.

Pippin and Levi were with Gandalf now, leaving me with Boromir in case he needed anything.

Boromir had brought Faramir back, and all assumed he was dead. I still had doubts, but since I wasn't allowed to see the body, I didn't know for sure. I had to see a body; I had to be sure!

I'd been distracted for a few minutes, healing Boromir, who'd gotten a large gash cut into his let side, and had several broken ribs.

His leg had been broken, too, but he wouldn't let me heal it. He said I needed to preserve my energy, in case more wounded managed to get back here from Osgiliath.

The other healers had set his leg, and given him crutches, and some herbs for the pain, which I think made him a little drunkish.

"He's dead." he said, his voice sounding far away and monotone.

"No! No, I don't believe it. I won't believe it, not until I see a body!"

"It was too gruesome, Aedinil. You would not want to see."

"I could heal him!"

"No. He's dead."

I broke away from Boromir.

"So were you, basically! But I saved your life. I was able to make you alright, and I can--"

"Aedinil, he's dead. Please just leave it alone." Boromir pleaded.

"I'm going to save Faramir, and there's nothing anybody can do to stop---"

My mother came into the doorway, her shadow falling into the room.

"We're grieving. Please go." I said coldly.

"Denethor has heard of your powers, Aedinil, and he wants to see what you can do." she said quietly.

"Good. See, Boromir, there's still hope. He's gonna be alright. You'll see. Come on. I want you by my side in case I pass out."

My mother raised her eyebrows at this.

"You don't trust me with your own life? How very sad."

"Yeah, well, a lot of things are sad." I replied, and Boromir and I followed her to the throne room.

"Where are Gandalf and Pippin?" I asked, careful to leave Levi's name unsaid. Zaida couldn't know yet, could she?

"Securing our defenses on the lower level." Boromir said. "I'd be with them were it not for---"

"I know. But you're in no condition to fight. You're only awake because I---"

"I know." he replied.

Zaida paused at the door.

"I recommend that neither of you say anything that will upset Denethor further. He is beside himself with grief."

We nodded.

Boromir pushed the door open, and I rushed over to Faramir.

He was laid out on a big stone thingamajig that looked like some sort of creepy alter. He was pale, and had been cleaned up and dressed in nice clothes. Denethor held one of his hands, sobbing. I closed my eyes and concentrated on him, trying to hear a faint breath or heartbeat. There was just a tiny tremor that I could detect. He wasn't dead yet, just like I'd suspected. I placed my hands over him, concentrating on bringing him back, on healing him.

"My sons are spent. My line has ended." Denethor lamented. Muttering under his breath, he said, "No tomb for Denethor and Faramir. We shall burn, as the heathen kings of old…"

It was so quiet, I doubted Boromir could have heard. Well, he wouldn't need some funky cremation once I healed Faramir.

"Father, I'm right here. One of your sons still lives." Boromir said, going over to Denethor, who made no indication that Boromir even existed.

"My sons…" he sobbed. "My sons…"

"What have you done to him?" Boromir demanded of Zaida, who smiled saucily at Boromir.

"What, indeed?" she said "This city has fallen from within, Boromir, and there is no reason to defend it any longer. Denethor's will has turned to madness, and without it's leader, your people have no chance. Give it up."

I wanted to say something to her, to undo whatever it was she'd done, but I decided it was best to focus on one problem at a time. Faramir. I'd heal Faramir first.

Suddenly, I felt myself wrenched away from Faramir, before I was finished.

I opened my eyes, and saw Denethor staring at me, eyes wild and full of tears.

"You will leave us to grieve privately." he pushed me toward the door.

"No! He's alive! If you'd just let me---"

Four guards came over and pulled me and Boromir out of the room. Normally, we could have taken them, but he could hardly fight in his weakened state, and I was woozy from healing.

Boromir pounded on the door.

"Let me in this instant, before I---"

"Boromir," I whispered, pulling on his sleeve. Wow, I was even more drained than I thought.

"He mumbled something, something about 'burning like the heathen kings of old…"

I swayed a little, and Boromir caught me.

"What? What does he mean?" His eyes widen with realization. "A funeral pyre!"

He laid me gently against the wall, and began to pound on the door again.

"It's no use." I mumbled, feeling like sleep would overtake me at any moment. "Don't worry about me, okay? Save Faramir…" I said, and slipped into darkness.

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