well, i'm back again, after a fairly long break... again, i apologize for how long it took me to get this out... i blame poetry, and school, and friends, and other crap... and getting a cold :) but, here it is!

As usual, i don't own any original characters, they belong to Tolkien! riana, cearien, cri, and callyn are mine!

The Fellowship Plus One
Chapter Forty-Three: The Council's Decision

Those first few days after the Battle of Pelennor, as the Men had begun to call it, went by in a blur for me. I spent most of my time with my little brother in the Houses of Healing- apparently the silly child had overextended himself in the battle. Cri slept for almost three days straight, and after that, the healers refused to let him out of bed for another three days. He was restless, always looking at his window across the room, looking like I'm sure I did most of the time.

He wanted to fly. I could see it written all over his face, but I thought there was more to it than just the addictive quality of the skies. Every once in a while, I would catch him looking across the hall when his door was open. After about the fifth or sixth time this happened on the third day of his bed-ridden captivity, I asked him what was bothering him.

"Cri?" I asked softly form where I stood by the window. He grunted at me, not turning his head away from the door. I sighed and moved to sit next to him on the bed; Cri reluctantly turned to look at me. "What is over there that you keep staring at?" I half expected him to say he had met a girl while here, and she had been injured in the battle. Thus, his actual answer surprised me.

"A Man." My entire body twitched in surprise; he chuckled at me.

"A Man?" I echoed, my voice distant. He nodded, a small smile tugging at his mouth.

"Yes. His name is Faramir, and he helped me when I was lost…" Cri still hadn't told me what had happened after he disappeared, and half of me felt betrayed. The other half of me, the kinder, more understanding half, knew it had to be something he didn't want me to know. That half was currently winning over the more unfriendly parts of me. Most likely, this Faramir knew, and I wanted to meet him.

"If the healers agree to let you walk, will you introduce me to him?" Cri smiled, the first true smile I had seen on his face since that first day, and nodded enthusiastically.

"I think you'll like him, Riana. He is… very much like you." Confused, I turned to stare at my little brother, but with the obstinacy that comes from being a younger sibling, he refused to tell me any more. We were glaring at each other, both trying our hardest not to laugh, when Aragorn entered the room, carrying a tray with food on it. He stopped in the doorway, one eyebrow raised; Cri and I lost any control we had had as both of us burst out laughing. Shaking his head amusedly, Aragorn placed the tray on the windowsill, saying,

"I am not even going to bother asking. No doubt I would not understand your reasons." This, of course, simply had me and Cri laughing even harder; I almost rolled off the bed, I was laughing so hard. I would have had Aragorn not suddenly appeared at my side and shoved me back the other way, a look on his face that said he was trying not to laugh himself although he had no idea what was so funny.

After a time, Cri and I finally got our laughter under control and our breath back, and Aragorn still had that look on his face. He waited a few minutes, most likely to make sure we were finished, before speaking again.

"Cri." My brother looked at him, his eyes shining. He looked much like the Hobbits did at times, with his slightly curling dark brown hair and big puppy-dog eyes. I patted his head and he spoiled the effect by turning to glower at me; I smirked at him before turning back to Aragorn.

"Are you going to let him walk now? He's been stuck here long enough and he has something he owes me," I grumbled at the Man who apparently was a King. Aragorn chuckled softly before answering me.

"I see no reason why not, as long as he is careful. I do think you should stay in the Houses for a little while longer, Cri, since you have not yet regained your full strength." He turned to me, looking like he wanted to say the same to me- I had received some fairly serious wounds in the battle that I hadn't noticed until later- but restrained himself under the glare I gave him. A soft laugh from the door had me leaning to the side; Aragorn moved out of my way.

"Aragorn, one would think you would have learned not to keep one of their kind locked away like this, even if they are injured," Legolas commented from the door. I smiled and went to hug him. He had been off doing Elf-ly things with Aragorn, most likely seeing how much repair work would be necessary after the battle, overseeing the funeral pyres of both our people and the enemy, among other things. He had willingly given me almost a week alone with my brother; I was glad of it, but I had also missed his company.

Secretly, I glanced down at my stomach. Part of me suspected that our time together had created something we were not entire ready for, but most of me though I was just being paranoid. Either way, I was glad of that time we had had, and I hoped we could have it again soon. However, we had a war to win before it could happen again. Cri smirked at me from the bed, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

One would think that a little brother would be more respectful of an older sibling with a mate… or perhaps I was overestimating his maturity. Maybe some of the child he had been before had survived his journey. I leaned against Legolas, feeling his chuckle through his body even as I heard it. He slipped one arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him as he addressed Aragorn.

"Gandalf is calling for a council tomorrow. He wants as many of the Fellowship as can be brought present as possible." As Aragorn nodded, Legolas turned to me, "I would think you should be there as well, Rianadra." I sighed, having figured as much when he had said "council". But at the same time, I thought there was more to it that the Wizard simply desiring my presence at a war council. I had a bad feeling about it; but I could not deny him.

"I will be there." Legolas nodded, kissed my forehead, and left after he whispered, "I love you," in my ear. I tried my best not to let out a frighteningly feminine giggle as Aragorn followed the Elf out the door. A gagging sound from the bed saved me from an embarrassing display of girlishness. I turned to glare at Cri as he clambered clumsily out of bed. I refused to help him- he could get himself out of bed, and besides, he had made fun of me and Legolas.

Finally, he was out of bed, with his boots on, and headed across the hall with an air of importance. I almost laughed, but I guessed it would have hurt whatever manly pride he had gained since he had been taken from me. I stood behind him a little ways as he knocked on the door, and waited in the doorway as Cri went in. Standing in the window, the afternoon light giving him a bit of a halo, was a Man. He wore the grey robes that all patients wore in the Houses, and his feet were bare. He turned at the sound of the door opening, and smiled broadly at the sight of Cri and me.

"Cri, lad, it is good to see you well!" He held his arms out, and Cri went to hug him; I thought I saw tears in my brother's eyes, but decided not to comment. After all, our rule of not crying didn't seem to exist anymore; we had both broken it many times now. I looked away for a moment as Cri muttered something that sounded like, "It is good to see you well, too," until I heard them part. Still I waited until the Man addressed me.

"So, are you the famous Riana Cri has told me about?" I turned back to look more closely at this Man who had become something of an older brother or father figure to my precious little brother. Cri looked from me to him and back again before interrupting.

"I need to go find something to eat, Riana, I'll be back later," and ducked out the door before either me or the Man before me could say anything. We both blinked after him for a second or two before returning to study each other again.

I saw a tall, proud man with kind eyes and a gentle smile that hid a surprising strength. His eyes were a pale green, and seemed to have an ability to look straight into a person's soul. They also held far too much worldly knowledge than a Man of his age should know. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, although I was a terrible judge of human ages. He could be far younger or far older; I had little to no way of knowing for sure. I stayed silent for a moment as he took stock of me as I had of him. After a long time, he spoke again.

"He looks like you." I blinked, surprised. I had always thought my brother and I had very little in common as far as appearance went. Apparently I was wrong.

"We do?" I asked, moving to sit in a chair next to his bed. He came and flopped onto the bed in front of me, a small smile on his face.

"Yes," he answered, "but not in actual looks… It is more the way you carry yourselves, and in the way you move." Ah, I thought, That makes sense… I liked this Man, I decided.

"That would make sense. I all but raised him." A silence fell between us for a moment, then I had to ask, "Faramir?" He looked at me in askance and I swallowed hard before going on. "Do you know what happened to my brother? He… will not speak of it to me, and I cannot tell if he is ashamed or is afraid to tell me." A sadness entered Faramir's gaze as he met my eyes.

"I do, and I would assume he is more ashamed of what happened, although there is nothing for him to be ashamed of. I will tell you, but…" he trailed off, the sadness expanding until his entire being exuded it. I sighed, covering my face with my hands. I knew whatever my brother had been through, it was awful enough to erase nearly all of the child he had been. That was enough to worry me; the fact that his friend could hardly bring himself to speak of it frightened me.

"Faramir?" He swung his gaze back to mine. "What happened to my brother?" He sighed, and I wanted to press more. Finally, after a few long, painful moments, he answered me.

"I do not know all the details about what that lad went through, because he told me very little. I can assume much, though." I glared at him, waiting for him to stop dancing around it and come straight out and answer me. He met my eyes squarely and finally answered, "He was captured by Orcs, Riana. He said nothing more than that to me, but I know Orcs. They are cruel masters and even worse captors. I can only imagine the tortures that lad went through."

I shuddered. I had imagined something terrible, but nothing so terrible as that. The young Man rested a hand on my shoulder. "Riana?"

"Yes?" My voice came out as a quiet whisper. I cleared my throat and tried again, "Yes?" He smiled sadly at me and asked,

"What happened to separate you? I can see how much you care for him and he cares for you. You would not have separated willingly, I think." I winced at how quickly he figured that out.

"No, I would never have left him willingly or willingly let him be taken from me." I sighed, moving to stand by the window and stare out across the City. "You must understand, Faramir, I have spoken of what happened to no one. I barely even think of what happened to us, the pain of it was that great. But if you desire to know, I will tell you." I turned back to look at him; the gentle, sad smile was back on his face, but I saw none of the pity I had been expecting.

He was silent for a time, but finally asked, "If you are willing to tell me, I am willing to listen." I took a deep breath, fighting the tears that threatened to overwhelm me, and started.

I told him of our lives in Mirkwood, how we had lived there after the deaths of our parents a century or so before. I told him of the darkness that overtook the majesty of that forest and forced us to leave the sanctuary of its secret halls.

I told him of the ambush that took my little brother away from me.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Two days later, I was called by Gandalf to join what remained of our Fellowship along with a few others in a war council. I went, more because the Wizard asked so nicely; all I wanted to do was sit in the courtyard and think. It had been hard, telling a Man I hardly knew- even if I liked him immediately- all that had been done to me and my brother. Now I needed to think, but it didn't seem I would have the chance to do so. I sighed when I saw the White Wizard approach me as I sat staring out across the city. Now I stood in the Hall of the King, watching as Gandalf and the others debated about what we should do now that the battle of the Pelennor Fields was won.

"Frodo has passed beyond my sight. The darkness is deepening," Gandalf was saying when I finally returned to the conversation. I felt Legolas brush my shoulder briefly as Aragorn and Gandalf argued.

"Are you well, Rianadra?" the Elf whispered behind me, sliding his arm across my shoulders. "You have been… worried… for some time." I glanced back at him, considering lying, but the worried, loving look in his eyes kept me from doing so.

"I…"

Gimli's voice interrupted, "Then let him stay there! Let him rot! Why should we care?" Saved from answering by the Dwarf, I glanced back at the others.

"Because ten thousand Orcs now stand between Frodo and Mount Doom. I've sent him to his death." I sighed; Gandalf's voice was so hopeless. Had he truly given up? There was still hope!

I was about to say something, but Aragorn beat me to it, "No," he said firmly, "there's still hope for Frodo. He needs time, and safe passage across the Plains of Gorgoroth. We can give him that."

Skeptical as always, Gimli grumbled, "How?"

"Draw out Sauron's armies. Empty his lands," he glanced across our small company and added, "Then we gather our full strength and march on the Black Gate."

"We cannot achieve victory through strength of arms." That was Éomer. I sighed, knowing he did have a point. We had nowhere near enough men to fight off all of the Enemy's armies.

"Not for ourselves," Aragorn explained, "but we can give Frodo his chance if we keep Sauron's Eye fixed upon us." The King glanced around at all of us again and said, "Keep him blind to all else that moves." Enlightenment shot through me as Legolas commented from behind me, "A diversion."

All was silent for a moment, then Gimli grumbled from the Steward's throne, "Certainty of death. Small chance of success." He paused, grinning, "What are we waiting for?" But Gandalf was not fully convinced.

"Sauron will suspect a trap. He will not take the bait." I figured he was talking only to Aragorn, but I heard him anyway. The Man grinned at his friend.

"Oh, I think he will."

well, thus ends chapter 43! review please!