Author's note: Just to repeat, I revised Chapter Ten so the rating will be reduced so everyone can read and enjoy it. Oh, and for a good laugh, go to this website and have a look at this. A very talented artist by the name of Brianna Garcia drew this in response to all the Aragorn/Legolas fics out there. It's so funny! Poor Legolas! www.side7.com/art/brigarc/arwen_mallet.gif

The Ring of Stars by Shelly

CHAPTER THIRTEEN


Lillisandra did not believe at first what she had heard, but then she saw Boromir look her way and saw the naked truth in his eyes and she knew then that the trap had been sprung on her, the prison doors had slammed shut and would not let her go. He had betrayed her, the one she loved more than her own life. He had delivered her here and had even placed the shackles on her to bind her here, and she wondered if his words had merely been said to keep her here long enough for his father to make the announcement.

She heard those around her offering their congratulations, but she only saw his eyes on her, filled with sorrow and pain as he made his way towards her, having to wade through all the well-wishers also. She turned and pushed her way towards the door, hearing Boromir call her name and ignoring him as she wished not to speak to him ever again. She finally escaped outside and immediately felt a hand on her arm. She attempted to jerk it free but was pulled back by a firm grip that she saw belonged to Faramir.

"Let me go," she demanded.

"Please don't walk away, Lilli," he pleaded. "I'm sure he knew nothing of this."

"Haven't you helped enough for one night?" she shot back, her eyes filling with tears. "I trusted you, Faramir. I honestly believed you meant to help me--"

"I do," he responded. "You know I care for you."

She swallowed deeply as she fought against her tears. "You have a strange way of showing it." When she turned away, he let her go, and she ran back to her room, silent sobs shaking her shoulders.

Faramir leaned against the wall just as Boromir came outside, and he stopped him with an outstretched hand. "Let her go, brother. She will speak to neither of us this night."

"I can't just let her leave," he protested, wanting nothing more than to catch up to her and explain this whole mess to her.

"There are times when you must, and now is one of those times." He looked into his older brother's eyes. "Did you intend for this to happen or was it entirely our father's doing?"

Boromir ran his fingers through his hair. "I did at first but then when I saw her, I knew that I loved her too much to do such a thing to her. I cannot ask her to be my wife only to make her a widow, no matter what our father wishes."

His younger brother sighed. "What a tangled web we weave," he muttered to himself.

Boromir was silent a moment as he gazed up at the stars. Finally he, too, sighed. "I think I will speak to Father," he said. "He heard me tell him not to go through with it, and yet he did so anyway. I want to know why."

"Where will you speak to him?" he asked.

He thought a moment. "I think I'll take him to the conference chamber at the side of the hall in the Tower."

Faramir nodded. "I will try and talk to Lilli some more," he said as they parted ways, Boromir returning back inside the hall as Faramir started off towards Lillisandra's room. When he arrived he found her door locked and heard her inside as she was given away by the occasional sniffle. "Lilli, please talk to me," he pleaded, receiving no answer. "Look, you must realize that Boromir tried to stop this from happening. It is our father that deserves the blame, not him. As a matter of fact, he's trying to talk to him right now to find out why he did this."

She sat on the bed inside her room, her knees drawn up to her chest as she tried to block out his voice which she knew spoke the truth. She was merely unsure if she should trust Boromir not to hurt her again, and she rose from her bed and opened the door to invite Faramir inside as she resumed her position on the bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed nearest her, not making any move to touch her just yet. "Lilli, Boromir loves you," he stressed. "And I know you love him in return. So what is the problem that is keeping you at each other's throats so much? Is it pride that keeps you both from realizing how much you love one another?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Perhaps at first it was pride. But then it appears that your father has become the latest problem."

He nodded. "It appears so. After he saw you two in a liplock on the floor, I think he became a little nervous and that's why he hastened to tell everyone of the wedding, despite Boromir's wish that he not announce it."

"He does not wish to marry me?" she asked, surprised.

"You misunderstand me," he corrected. "He desires more than anything else to make you his wife, but he will not for he is afraid that he will make you a widow as soon as he makes you a bride."

She sighed and shook her head. "So much wasted time between us over nothing. Perhaps I do not love him at all, for if I did then none of this would've been allowed to happen."

He smiled and laid a hand on her knee. "First love is by no means perfect," he pointed out. "For him, falling in love with you has been a new experience for him. He is unsure of what to do and there are times when pride will get in the way, as it does with those who are a little fearful of the sacrifices they will have to make for the one they love. But then as the love grows stronger, they begin to realize how much they will sacrifice of their past life in order to forge a new one."

A slow smile crept onto her face. "When did you become so wise, my friend? I always thought that elves were supposed to be the wise ones, the fountain of all information as they lead eternal lives."

He laughed. "I suppose Gandalf has rubbed off on me. I have learned many things from him, many having to do with the ways of men. And it also helps being observant when around those that are in love. As well as being in love myself," he added softly, his heart in his eyes.

Her smile faded as his words sunk in. Was he saying he was in love with her?

Their attention was soon diverted as they heard a knocking at the outside door, and Faramir opened the door to let in a very frustrated Boromir. "Did you speak to him?"

"No, he wouldn't speak with me as he knew very well what I wished to speak with him about, and I dared not press him in front of so many." Then he stopped as he saw her standing in the doorway of her room, the candlelight at her back. They seemed to stare at each other for what seemed like forever before Faramir excused himself, his older brother barely acknowledging him.

She stepped up to him and took his hand in hers, kissing the back of it softly as she looked into his eyes. "We need to talk for there is much that needs to be said between us. Please make yourself comfortable while I pour us some wine."

He removed his boots and tunic as he sat on the edge of her bed, now clad in nothing but his shirt and pants. She walked inside and handed him a glass, holding up her own as if to make a toast. "Before anything is said tonight, let us promise to one another that we will be truthful to one another as we each deserve and not say that which we know the other will want to hear. Do you promise?"

"I promise," he answered, wondering where she was going with this. They touched their glasses together, the crystal chiming delicately, and drained them in one gulp before she took them and set them aside. When she turned back to him, she began removing his shirt, laughing at his look of surprise.

"Don't worry," she whispered. "You're quite safe with me. Now lie on your stomach on the bed."

He did as she commanded, resting his head on the pillows, and was rewarded as her fingers began massaging his back and shoulders, loosening muscles he hadn't known were tight.

She leaned down close to his ear. "Please try to stay awake, but I forgive you in advance if you happen to fall asleep." She kissed him lightly on his cheek and raised back up to resume rubbing his back.

"I doubt I will as I wonder what you have in store for me next," he replied. "Hot oil, I suppose?"

She laughed. "Not unless it's the massage oil variety, but I have nothing so terrible planned for you. Just a short story of my life as I have never gotten the time to tell you anything about myself." She dug the palms of her hands along either side of his spine, feeling the muscles that moved under her fingers. "All my life I have been told not to trust the race of men. But that was before I met two of that race, one that showed me their wisdom, and the other that showed me their strength and determination. Since then I have looked upon the race of men differently than other elves, and perhaps I acquired some of their characteristics that I found fascinating."

"I'm disappointed that I wasn't the one to show you those things," he groaned as she hit a tender spot.

She leaned back down. "Do not be as you have showed me the most important thing man has to offer. The ability to love someone so much that they will do anything for them, even if it means giving up something that they once wanted more than anything."

She sat back up as he turned over on his back so that he faced her, reaching up to pull her down so she rested on his chest. "I do love you that much, Lilli," he whispered.

She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. "Elves have never needed to concern themselves with such matters as we live forever. The concept of giving up one's life for one another is unknown to us, but you have helped me realize that it is the greatest sacrifice of all. And you have also helped me see that men will also give their life for their country if it requires such a sacrifice, leading me to believe that there are those that love their country just as much as their mates."

He sighed as he played with strands of her hair that hung over her shoulder. "Yes, there are men like that," he answered.

"Then tell me how a man can reconcile the two if he loves two things just the same. Both are real yet very different."

He was silent for a moment. "You're asking me if I would choose you before the needs of my country and my people?"

She nodded. "Yes, I am," she whispered. "As much as I hate to ask it."

He thought for a moment as she ran her fingers across his chest, careful to keep it from becoming more than just a massage. "My mind says that I must consider my country first. Yet my heart says differently, and I have always been one to think with my mind rather than my heart." Then he turned his gaze to her. "Can you honestly say the same where your lands are concerned?"

"As of now, I would gladly give up everything if it meant being with you," she replied. "But I have no knowledge of why I am to go to Lorien. Perhaps in time both our duties will lead us from each other. In which case any time we have together will be given to us as our duties allow."

"But I wish it was not so," he said wistfully, caressing her back with his fingers. "I wish to spend every night in your arms and wake every morning to see your beautiful face. I wish for the only music in my life to be that of your laughter or your sweet moans when we make love to one another."

She moved closer so that her face hovered above his. "Then let me fulfill your wish for this time at least," she breathed.



Some time later, they lie beside each other, his fingertips caressing her back, tracing little circles down her spine and around her shoulder blades.

"With you I have felt what it is like to love and be loved. Before now I always concerned myself with the needs of my father and those of the city and never thought what it would be like to be in love or to love someone so much that the very thought of losing them destroys your soul. No other had ever made me feel this way until I saw you."

She looked up at him, one eyebrow arched over one blue eye. "There have been others?"

"Those that have only shared my bed for one night then are gone in the morning," he answered reluctantly. "My brother has had more lasting relationships than I have had."

She smiled. "Which explains his knowledge of such matters." At his questioning look she explained further. "Every time we have had problems he has been there to offer his advice, advice which has often helped me see what I have done unknowingly in my inexperience with such a love that you and I share."

He returned her smile as he caressed her cheek with his thumb. "I also have meant to apologize for my actions as I, too, am inexperienced when it comes to love. It is a hard thing to admit as any man loathes to let a woman know that he knows not how to express his feelings."

"Indeed, men have always been known to express those emotions associated with battle and rage. Therefore it is up to women to show them the gentler side of those emotions, and from what your brother told me you both never had the opportunity as your mother had died young."

"Yes," he answered, his voice soft. "I was ten when she died."

She leaned close to him and kissed him. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"Do not be for it has been many years since then, and perhaps that is one of the reasons I chose not to announce our betrothal. I do not want the same thing to happen to you that happened to her. I want you to be happy and I will do whatever I must to see it done."

She smiled. "Just being here with you makes me happy, Boromir," she whispered, kissing him in a way that let him know that being with him in other ways made her even happier.

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This time they're going to stay together, I promise! Next chapter: They finally leave Minas Tirith!

Reviewers: About time!!

Shelly: *Looking around* Who said that?? ; )