I honestly didn't know what to say. Faramir left the hall, his boots stomping their way down. Kristen's face was as red as I imagined my own to be.
"So," Kristen said, breaking the silence. "That's probably not good is it?"
"What do you mean?"
"You said Gandalf told you things in the story couldn't change. A guy like that has got to already have a love interest, right?"
I sighed and sat down on the bench. "No. I mean, he did. It was Eowyn."
"Eowyn?" she asked. "Isn't that the girl Rachel..?"
"Yeah," I answered simply.
Kristen sat down beside me. "I didn't do it on purpose," she said.
"What do you mean?"
"Kissing him. It was an accident."
"I don't understand. Did you trip over something?"
Her eyebrows crinkled. "Are you mad at me?"
I leaned against the wall. "No, I'm not mad." I had no right to be mad, not after all I just went through with Rachel. "Do you love him?"
She leaned her elbows onto her knees. "I barely know him."
"That's not what I asked."
She rubbed at her temples. "I don't know, Claire. All I know is that I don't want him to die. And what he said when he left the throne room…He just sounded like he didn't care anymore."
Kristen had always been so hard to read. I'd known her since we were eleven years old and I still couldn't figure out what was going on in her head most of the time. That was Rachel's job. And since Rachel was such a gossip, I usually just waited for her to tell me what was going on. I had been a little pissed at Rachel since she'd sent me away. But this was the first time since reaching the White City that I wished she was here. I had no clue how to handle this.
I stood up. "We should head down to the first level. The people will farewell the soldiers to Osgiliath."
Faramir lead a group of about fifty soldiers on horseback throughout the first level of Minas Tirith. Kristen and I watched from a balcony as the commoners gifted flowers to the soldiers.
Gandalf came through the crowd, calling for Faramir. "Your father's will has turned to madness," he called. "Do not throw away your life so rashly."
"Where does my allegiance lie if not here?" he asked. "This is the city of the Men of Numenor. I am glad to give my life to defend her beauty, her memory, her wisdom."
"Your father loves you, Faramir," Gandalf said.
I felt Kristen beside me start to shake and noticed she was crying. "What's wrong?"
She wiped a tear from her cheek. "He still doesn't care. I didn't change it." And as the soldiers made their way through the gate, Kristen ran from beside me and up the stairs.
I tried to follow her, but it was no use. She was faster than me and had had three more days than me to learn how to navigate this confusing city. By the time I had made it to the fourth level barracks, which were all but empty at this point, I had lost her.
I walked back to our room at the Healing Houses in defeat. I felt awful that I hadn't done anything or said anything to help Kristen. When I got to our room, there was a small boy there, looking confused. "You're not Lady Kristen," he said.
"No, I'm her friend Claire," I said. "I don't know where Kristen is."
"Bergil?" I heard a woman call. She rounded the corner, her face flushed. She was wearing the robes of a healer. "I'm sorry, miss. Was my boy bothering you?"
"No, not at all," I said.
"Begging your pardon, but what might you be doing in these quarters, miss? A guest of Lord Faramir is staying in that room."
"I know. I came here with Gandalf. I'm a friend of Kristen's. I've been staying with her."
"Oh, well that's a different matter, then," she said, holding out a hand. "Wendil, milady, and my boy, Bergil. We were saying goodbye to my husband again. He left with Lord Faramir."
My stomach dropped, because if things stayed like they did in the movie, Faramir was to be the only person to survive that last trek to Osgiliath.
"You wouldn't happen to know where Lady Kristen is?" Wendil asked.
"I was just looking for her."
She looked between me and her son. "I hate to ask, but the wounded Faramir brought back with him is a great deal. I haven't the time to tend to them and watch Bergil all at once—,"
"I'll watch him," I said immediately. I needed something to distract me from everything that was going on.
She left me with the kid who stood there just…looking at me. "So…what do children in Middle-earth do with their time?" I asked.
The boy just shrugged his shoulders and continued to stare at my face. It was going to be a long day.
Bergil was sweet enough and he had some ideas about how to spend our time. He took me throughout the lower levels of the city introducing me to some family friends of his. We even peeked into the barracks and caught a glimpse of soldiers putting on their armor and sparring with each other. No one minded, so long as we stayed out of the way.
Late in the evening, however, thunderous footsteps sounded throughout the city. We ran to the balcony of the barracks and saw the cascades of Orcs and their giant war machines piling onto Pelenor Fields. The men from the barracks fled this level of the city and swarmed to the two lower levels to defend Minas Tirith.
I thought I would be scared, but for some reason, I wasn't. I still didn't know where Kristen was, but she knew this city better than I did, so I didn't find any reason to be worried there. What looked like a million enemies were a few hundred feet below and I did not fear for myself. Fighting at Isengard was not like this. There was more danger than what seemed to be here. At least here, the walls stood tall enough to grant me some comfort.
The soldiers in the barracks swarmed out of there, fast as lightning, ready to defend their city. From above, I heard a voice shout, "Flee! Flee for your lives!" It was Denathor, acting like the pussy he was. But soon, Gandalf's voice replaced his. "Prepare for battle!"
I looked down at Bergil, who had turned a nasty shade of white. "We should get you back to your mom," I said to him. He didn't reply. He simply grabbed my hand and led me back to the Healing Houses.
It looked like most of the lower levels had evacuated here for protection, which was pretty stupid to me. Surely the safest place was the Hall of Kings, but there was no way Denathor would share his grandeur with us lesser beings.
"Claire! Claire," I heard a voice call over the cries of the women and children around me. It was Pippin, his tiny body maneuvering around everyone. "You've got to come quick!"
"Where? What's wrong?" I asked. Bergil still held my hand.
"It Faramir. He's wounded. He came back with Beregond but Denathor thinks he's dead. He won't listen to me. He's going to burn Faramir alive!"
Bergil's hand squeezed harder at the sound of his father's name. I looked down at the boy, whose face was still a sick color. No kid his age should ever have to see stuff like this.
"You need to find Gandalf," I told Pippin. "He's the one who can fix this. I don't know what to do." I couldn't get involved. That's what Gandalf told me. Rachel may have been willing to mess stuff up, but that wasn't me. I stuck by the rules.
"I can't find him. He's left the apex and gone down to the battle below. I wasted so much time trying to find you. Please, I can't do this on my own."
I wanted to protest, but then I remembered what Kristen told me about being on her own for so long without me or Rachel. She felt like she was powerless and useless. That she didn't know how to handle the power of the Ring or how to avoid the Nazgul. All I wanted was to be there for her and I couldn't. But I could be there for Pippin.
I left Bergil with a woman he said was his neighbor and followed Pippin up to the great hall. Guards still stood surrounding the tree and the sounds of the fight below the apex were loud and painful to hear.
We burst into the hall. The pyre had already been lit and guards surrounded it. Pippin ran and jumped into the fire, rolling Faramir's body out of the flame. I ran forward as Denathor cried, "You will not take my son from me!" He started grabbing Pippin. Without any thought at all I grabbed a sword from the sheath of the guard nearest me. It was heavy, but the adrenaline coursing through my system helped me raise it and slash at the wrists of Denathor. He screamed in pain, letting go of Pippin, who was now patting out the flames on Faramir's tunic.
"Thank you," Faramir said, the pain of his injuries evident in his voice.
Denathor continued to cry, but something in his voice changed when he heard Faramir's voice. He tried to walk forward, but tripped on his robes and fell into the fire. Covered in oil, the flame took to him immediately. His flaming figure rose from the pyre and ran out the door of the Hall.
I stood in shock, staring at the sword. What had I just done? I felt a hand on my shoulder. The guard whose sword I stole stood beside me. With some difficulty I handed it back.
"Thank you, milady," he said, taking the weapon and sheathing it. "For the life of my captain, I thank you."
"You could have saved him yourself," I snapped. This whole time he wanted Faramir safe and I had to save his ass? What the hell?
"He is—was lord of this land. His word was law. Faramir may be my captain on the battlefield, but here in the Hall of Kings, Denathor had the power. I could not stop him.
It was kind of a crap answer in my opinion, but I nodded anyway, sinking to the ground, exhausted.
"We should get him to the Healing Houses," Pippin said. Faramir had passed out again.
I nodded and the guard I had been speaking to held out his hand, helping me up. "I am Beregond, milady," he introduced.
"Bergil's father?" I asked.
His face became confused. "Yes. How did you…?"
"I was his babysitter for the day. He sure does love you."
He smiled. "Thank you, milady. I am most anxious to see him again."
"We should take Faramir to your wife. She seems like an excellent healer."
Back at the Houses, Kristen had returned. "Where have you been?" I asked.
"The stables riding Gordion. I just needed a distraction, I guess." Then she spotted Faramir. "What the hell happened?" she yelled, running over to his stretcher.
"Denathor, that bastard," I said. "He's fine. He was hit with something poisonous. If we can get him to a healer in time, he'll be alright."
"Wendil's just through here," she said, leading the stretcher through the halls of the Houses and into an empty room. I noticed her hand resting beside Faramir's the whole way there.
Wendil came through immediately, giving her husband a brief smile before promptly kicking us out of the room and getting to her work.
Outside in the corridor, Kristen and I sank to the floor. "Do you think I'm being stupid?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"This whole thing. I mean, we don't belong here. We're going back home. Is it stupid for me to fall for this guy?"
"I don't think it's stupid, I think it's sweet," I said, and I meant it. "I mean, I don't know how to get home. We could be here for a long time. I haven't thought about it much because it scares me, but it's true." She didn't look convinced, but I knew one thing that would cheer her up: a good bit of gossip. "Don't worry, though, Kristen. You're not the only one. I'm pretty sure Rachel's got a thing for Eomer."
She smiled. "You said they were fighting over Eowyn."
"Yeah, but you know Rachel. A good fight and argument with a tall guy with long hair? She can't resist."
We both laughed then. I wasn't positive about the Rachel and Eomer thing, but I was pretty sure. Rachel didn't crush often, but when she did, it was obvious to someone who knows her.
Suddenly, the ground below us shook with a great force. "What was that?" Kristen asked.
I stood as the next pound came. We both ran to the balcony of the Houses. I had to confirm what I already knew. "Grond," I answered. For indeed, the giant wolf's head was pounding on the gate below.
It didn't take long. A few minutes later, they broke through. Beregond was gone now. I assumed down with his comrades.
But a beacon of hope sounded in the distance as a great army of horse riders came over the hill in the distance. The Armies of Rohan.
Their horns sounded and somehow I knew Rachel was there among them, ready to prove something to this world.
I just didn't know what.
A/N: Holy crap, sorry for the long update. Classes this semester have got me like. Anyway, hope you guys are still with me. Battle of Pelenor Fields the next chapter. Hopefully it won't take me so long this time. Don't forget to leave a review!
