~ Sightseeing in Middle-Earth ~
~ Quote: ~
"Life sucks. Death is only slightly more amusing." - BlackFang (someone from the online Muck of Alfandria)
"I'm always amazed anyone's interested in what I have to say." - Orlando Bloom
~ Disclaimer: ~
I don't own Boromir, or any part of Middle-Earth, nor any of the characters in it. I do, however, own Erin, her family, and her home.
~ Chapter XXIII~
~ Chapter 23 ~
WARNING: This chapter is rated R for mature subjects, situations and naughty language.
Much to the dismay of Boromir, and the members of the Fellowship remaining in Minas Tirith, Gandalf did not return for quite awhile. In fact, he stayed in Lothlorien and came with Arwen's escort a month later. And then, of course, Boromir and the rest of the Fellowship were obliged to put their concern for Erin on hold for Aragorn and Arwen's wedding. It was not until several days later that anyone was able to bring up the topic of Erin and her home. And then, Gandalf refused to say anything until all the Fellowship was together.
That, of course, took some doing. The hobbits were easy enough to find, and Boromir had been the one to ask Gandalf in the first place. But Legolas was nowhere to be found, Gimli was hiding in his room from all the elves that were not as understanding as Legolas, and, well, it doesn't take many brains to know where Aragorn was. They managed to coax Gimli out of his room, however, and Legolas appeared not long after. Aragorn, they ended out leaving to his own devices.
Boromir was eager to know exactly what Gandalf had gone to speak with Galadriel about, and what had come of it, but first Gandalf had to explain to those of the Fellowship where Erin had truly come from, and then what they'd learned about Erin's home from Haldir. The hobbits, of course, were quite shocked, and Gimli and Legolas looked rather angry. Especially when they discovered that Erin had returned home.
"Surely she did not go back there willingly?" Legolas asked when Gandalf was done.
"She did." Gandalf replied solemnly. "Her presence here changed many things. Without her, one member of your Fellowship would be dead, among other things. And those changes have begun to take their toll on Middle-Earth. Lady Galadriel has sensed it - a feeling as if the world is struggling to hold itself to something. She feared that Middle-Earth was spiraling towards it's own destruction. Not in a great battle, but slowly fading out into oblivion as it can no longer hold itself together in the wake of the changes Erin has made. I have felt the world struggling, as well, but I do not believe Galadriel has come to the right conclusion. There are many things the world could be struggling for or against, and I do not sense destruction in the future if Erin comes back to and stays in Middle-Earth." Silence fell when Gandalf finished.
"So if Erin went back because she believed her continued presence would destroy Middle-Earth, and it will not, should we not tell her so?" Boromir asked finally.
"It is not that simple, Boromir." Gandalf said with a sigh. "It takes great magic to go between our world and Erin's, and from what we have heard of her world, there is no one there to wield the magic's that would similarly be needed to return."
"So we can get there, but not back?" Frodo asked, and Gandalf nodded.
"Is there no way at all?" Boromir asked, frowning.
"There is one way. It has never been tried before, and thus the results could vary. It may succeed spectacularly, or all involved could die. Or worse." Gandalf replied gravely. "Once the spell began, it would be easy to tell whether or not it would fail. But once begun, the spell cannot be stopped."
"Even if I cannot return, I will go to Erin's world." Boromir said quietly in the silence that followed.
"If that is what you wish." Gandalf said, looking intensely at the Man before him.
"It is." Boromir said firmly.
"I cannot guarantee that those I would need to help me cast the spell to bring you back will be willing to even try. The risk is great, and the possible outcomes too numerous to count." Gandalf said sternly, and Boromir nodded.
"I know. But I will not stay here by myself when there is a chance that I may be able to be with Erin. Without her, I am only half of a whole." the Man said, a challenge in his eyes, daring any to contest his claim. None did.
"Then prepare yourself and come to the courtyard at sundown." the wizard said. "I must prepare myself." With that, the wizard turned and the left the room. Behind him, silence reigned as the group slowly rose and departed, each going their own way.
Come sundown, the group reassembled in the courtyard in front of the Citadel, with the additions of Aragorn, Arwen and Haldir. Haldir, for his part, looked a little upset. It was discovered later that he'd tried to go, as well, but Gandalf would not let him, and Galadriel had forbade him to. The Fellowship wished Boromir good luck, and Gandalf explained that he could not transport Boromir directly to where Erin was, but he would land somewhere within a 100-foot radius of where Erin was. Then Gandalf told everybody to stand back from Boromir, and he stood back as well as he prepared to begin the spell to take Boromir to Erin's world.
When he was ready, Gandalf raised his staff above his head before beginning a chant in some tongue long forgotten by all but the wizards, and perhaps the older creatures in the world, such as the Ents. At first, all was quiet except for Gandalf's chanting, and nothing seemed to be happening, but gradually, a light seemed to grow around Gandalf's staff, and then reach out towards Boromir. It swirled around him like a mist, and a light wind picked up, swirling around Boromir, not-quite-heard voices whispering in it. The light wound around and around, until finally Boromir was completely hidden from the view of those in the courtyard, and then suddenly - it was gone. All was calm, and Gandalf sighed, lowering his staff.
"It is done." he said.
---
Boromir glanced about himself as the light dissipated. He was no longer in the courtyard of the Citadel, that was for sure. But any more then that and that he was inside somewhere, he did not know. So he began to inspect the room carefully.
The room was dark, with no windows, and seemed quite large, yet some light seeped into the room, enough for Boromir to see. There were boxes all around the room, and more then once Boromir almost ran into an unseen pile. Gradually, Boromir realized that there was no way out of the room, unless one followed the stairs which seemed to lead towards the one source of light in the room, and so follow the stairs he did. At the top, he came to a door, and listened there for awhile to hear if anyone was beyond it. He could here nothing close by, so he quietly opened the door and stepped out.
After recovering from the sudden brightness of full daylight, Boromir came face to face with 21st-century technology. There were strange humming boxes, with various different features on them, and many other strange objects that looked familiar, yet more...modern. Boromir also came face to face with the mess that was Erin's house. It was dirty there, dirtier then Moria, in Boromir's opinion. Though it was obvious someone lived there, it was also obvious that they had not bothered to clean in quite awhile. Grime covered everything, and piles of random, strange things were on the floors, table, chairs, counters - any available surface.
One thing that caught Boromir's eye among the mess was the familiar hilt of a sword, hidden under a pile of dirty clothes. Stepping carefully through the mess, Boromir reached down and gingerly pulled the sword out from under the mess. Sure enough, it was Erin's sword. Glancing around, Boromir looked for any more signs that Erin had been there, but found none. So he slid the sword into his belt and decided to look further.
There were three exits from this room - one seemed to be to the outside, another to a large room, and the last one led down a hallway. Glancing into the large room, Boromir saw no one, and so he went down the hallway. Coming upon a closed door, he stopped for a moment and considered opening it. He dismissed that idea, however, deciding to come back to the door if further searching did not reveal any hint of Erin's whereabouts, and he moved on to the next door, which was slightly open.
The room beyond was a bedroom, apparently for two people. Knowing that was not Erin's room, Boromir moved on to the next door, also partly open. A glance inside revealed a room containing a bathtub, along with several other strange contraptions Boromir did not recognize.
Boromir left that room alone, and moved on to the next door, which was completely open. It revealed a messy, black bedroom. Glancing around, Boromir saw pictures of strange people on the walls and ceiling, and many strange devices scattered about the room. There was no one in this room, however, and since Boromir could not even see the floor, he did not venture further into the room. He moved on to the final door, which was open only a small bit. Carefully creaking it open a small amount, he discovered it was a closet.
At that moment, there came the sound of a voice from back down the hall, causing Boromir to start. It had been deadly silent until that moment, and the noise was surprising. Stepping silently, Boromir headed back down the hall, trying to figure out where the voice had come from. Listening, he heard unidentifiable noises coming from beyond the closed door that he had first passed by. Boromir pondered again whether or not he should open the door, but finally decided he should.
So he carefully and quietly opened the door and stepped inside. Beyond was another bedroom, this one actually sort of neat, and quickly glancing about, Boromir thought that this, perhaps, was Erin's room. And then his eyes fell to the bed, where a couple were in the middle of - Boromir averted his eyes and spun on his heal, intending to leave the room, embarrassed at having entered. But something caught his eyes and made him stop.
On the floor, by the bed, crumpled and shoved out of the way, were some very distinctly Elven clothes. The most notable object, the one that had caught his eye, was the brooch from Lothlorien. Slowly, dreading, Boromir's eyes returned to the bed, and he saw without a doubt that one of the two on the bed was Erin.
Boromir froze, his eyes locked onto Erin's face, mind refusing to work, refusing to believe what he was seeing. Then his mind slowly began to work again, and he began to notice other things. Namely, that Erin seemed limp and unresponsive to the ministrations of the man above her, who was so absorbed in what he was doing that he had not even noticed Boromir's entrance. Mind working furiously, Boromir's eyes flitted around, and noticed more things. Erin's wrists were bound together and tied to the top of the bed. There was a deadness in her eyes, as if she was no longer paying attention to the world around her. The man above her had a glint in his eyes that Boromir had seen one too many times in the eyes of Orcs on the rare occasion that one had spotted a female.
In two strides, Boromir was at the bed, his sword drawn. The man barely had time to realize that there was someone else in the room before he felt the cold, sharp steel of a blade against his throat. Slowly, getting his mind used to working, the man turned his head to look at Boromir.
"Who're you?" The man spat after a silence.
"Boromir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor." Boromir replied icily. "Who are you?" The man had the audacity to laugh.
"What are you, some kind of nutcase?" he demanded, and Boromir pushed his sword harder against the man's throat. Instantly, the man ceased laughing.
"Who. Are. You. ?." Boromir asked again, voice low and menacing.
"Mark Hean." the man replied, eyes wide. Boromir, having been told Erin's full name by Gandalf, looked startled at hearing this man use the same name. The man seemed to take courage from Boromir being startled, and spoke up again, his eyes flashing now.
"I dunno know who ya really are, buddy, but you're trespassin. This is my house, and I don't remember ever seein ya before or invitin you into my house." he said boldly.
"I doubt that even in this strange world one needs to be invited in to stop such an act as you were committing." Boromir said, his eyes narrowing as his anger increased.
"What do you know?" Mark spat back. Boromir was about to snap a reply, but at that moment, life seemed to return to Erin, and she shifted underneath the weight of the man on top of her, groaning slightly.
"Get off of her." Boromir said icily, adding more pressure to his sword to be sure Mark obeyed. The man scrambled off Erin, and Boromir shot him a warning glance before sheathing his sword. Staunchly ignoring the fact that Erin was wearing exactly nothing, Boromir knelt next to the bed and gently lifted up Erin's head.
"Erin?" he asked softly, concern in his voice. Erin groaned again, and her eyes slipped closed. But she leaned towards Boromir, and when he took his knife and cut the ropes that tied her hands to the bed, she quickly latched onto Boromir's arm. Now Boromir turned to glare at Mark, who was at the end of the bed.
"Who are you?" the man asked again, suspiciously. "Are you someone Erin met when she ran away?"
"Yes, I am." Boromir said, his voice almost a snarl.
"Are you a cop?" the man asked, worry suddenly in his eyes.
"I do not know what a 'cop' is, so I would say no, I am not." Boromir replied, and Mark heaved a sigh of relief. And then his eyes blazed.
"Well if ya ain't a cop, then you got no business in my house!" he growled. "Nor do you have any business with my daughter!" Then he, foolishly, launched himself at Boromir. The knowledge that this man was Erin's father and had still been doing such things to her only enraged Boromir, and within moments, Mark was lying, dazed, at the base of the opposite wall. Boromir drew his sword, his anger blinding him as he raised his blade to end the life of the disgusting creature before him, but at that moment, Erin came into her full consciousness.
"No, don't!" she exclaimed as she saw Boromir with his sword raised. Boromir instantly sheathed his sword and returned to the bed. Erin seemed to eye Boromir warily as he came over to the bed, and flinched back when he reached out to cup her cheek. Boromir looked at her, confused.
"Erin, I will not hurt you." he said softly.
"I...I know." she replied, but still she eyed him warily. Then, cautiously, she reached out and lightly touched his arm, drawing back almost immediately after doing so.
"Are...are you...real?" she asked hesitantly, biting her lip.
"I am." Boromir confirmed, and then, to his surprise, Erin curled into a ball and began to cry. Glancing over at Erin's father, Boromir saw that he was still dazed, and decided it would be best to leave the room. He pulled the cape from Lothlorien out of the scrunched pile near the bed, and lay it carefully over Erin before gathering her into his arms. Grabbing the remainder of her Elvish clothes, he lifted her and carried her out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
He took Erin to the large room off of the second room he'd seen upon entering this world, since he remembered seeing a seat of some sort there. He remembered correctly, and he carefully set Erin down on the couch before sitting next to her. She immediately leaned on his shoulder, and as she continued to cry, Boromir looked around more thoroughly.
The room appeared to be a gathering place of some sort, and there was another door to the outside world on one wall, along with a large - curtained - window. Other then that, and the door by which Boromir had entered, there were no exits from the room. There were several other strange devices in the room, and Boromir couldn't even begin to guess what each of them was for.
"I kept dreaming that you'd come." Erin's voice was soft, and she was speaking in-between sobs, so Boromir barely heard it.
"And now I am here." Boromir said softly, and lightly kissed Erin's forehead.
"Don't leave me." Erin said suddenly, and her hand clutched onto Boromir's shirt, her eyes intense.
"I will not leave you." Boromir promised. Erin nodded, and then crawled into Boromir's lap and held on to him tightly. There had been no more then a few moments of silence before suddenly the door from the outside banged open, and a woman dressed in skimpy clothes came sauntering in. Boromir instinctively leaped to his feet and drew his sword after moving Erin off him and onto the couch so she would not end out on the floor. The woman, instantly spotting Boromir, stopped, and looked him up and down. Erin, on the couch, looked fearfully up at Boromir, and then back to the woman.
"Well well. What have we here?" the woman broke the silence with her sultry voice, walking seductively closer to Boromir. She stopped as he brought the point of his sword to her chest, but then she just smiled coyly and brushed the blade off to the side before coming uncomfortably close.
"And who might you be?" the woman's voice was almost a purr, and Boromir eyed her warily.
"I am Boromir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor." he replied.
"Mmm, I'm sure..." the woman said, looking Boromir up and down again, and then laughed, turning to Erin on the couch.
"My dear, I don't know where you managed to find this one, but thank you. Those adolescents you kept bringing home were nice and energetic, but it will be nice to have someone a little more...experienced...for once." the woman's catty smile made Erin's eyes go wide, and her eyes flitted to Boromir before she whimpered and curled into a tighter ball. Boromir, for his part, was not liking the implications of what the woman said, and stepped back from the woman, determined to find out what was going on.
"Oh come now, I don't bite." the woman said, flashing Boromir a seductive smile and coming even closer to him then she had before. She reached out and lightly trailed her hand down Boromir's chest, and as she went, her smile grew wider as she realized in exactly how good shape Boromir was.
"I suggest you stop, lady." Boromir said calmly. The woman did not, however, and Boromir was forced to brushed her hand away before it went any lower then his stomach, now more annoyed with then worried about the woman. He sheathed his sword and stepped around her, going over to Erin where she was on the couch.
He approached concerned, and Erin watched him almost fearfully. Or rather, she watched the woman beyond his shoulder. For good reason. Before Boromir could even realize what had happened, he was on the couch, the woman straddling him as she caught his lips in fierce, passionate kiss. Recovering from his shock rather quickly, Boromir angrily shoved the woman off him. She landed on the floor in an undignified heap with a squeal of protest, and Erin looked between the woman and Boromir in shock.
"Come, Erin, let us leave." Boromir said, his voice tinged with anger, and Erin nodded vigorously, then seemed to realize she wasn't wearing anything. Spotting her Elvish clothes on the couch, she grabbed them and, after glancing around for a moment, dove behind the couch to get changed. Boromir half-smiled at the realization that Erin's modesty was still very much there, and then he returned to glaring at the woman on the floor, who was looking at him in utter shock.
When Erin reappeared from behind the couch, she was fully dressed, and Boromir handed her her sword. As she strapped it on, her father suddenly appeared in the room, looking angry and holding a strange grey object, which he pointed menacingly at Boromir. Boromir, not knowing what the object could do, eyed it warily, especially since Erin seemed to freeze with fear the instant she saw it.
"Mark, do you know who the fuck this bastard is?" the woman on the ground spat as she rose. Her manner had changed completely - she'd gone from seductive to stuck-up and saucy.
"Naw, but he'll be fucking dead ina moment if he doesn't explain who the fuck he is and what the fuck he's doing here!" Mark growled.
"I have told you who I am, and I am here for Erin." Boromir replied calmly. "And now that I have found her, I shall be leaving with her." he made a move as if to go towards the door, but Mark moved the object off to the side and there was a loud noise before he brought it back to bear of Boromir, who was staring in shock at the hole in the wall that had appeared moments after the loud noise.
"You're not going fucking anywhere!" Mark yelled. "Especially not with my daughter!" There was silence, and Boromir remained still. Erin's eyes were wide with fear, and she seemed rooted to the spot. It made Boromir sad to see this woman who had stood face to face with Sauron himself and remained fearless, suddenly paralyzed with fear.
"Glory, go call the police." Mark said calmly after awhile, seeing that Boromir was not planning on moving.
"You should just fucking shoot him." the woman - Glory - spat, but turned on her heel and left the room. The tense silence was broken as Erin suddenly whimpered, and her eyes rolled back into her head as she went into a faint. Boromir, without thinking, leaped to catch Erin before she reached the ground, and the was another loud noise as Mark shot instinctively. He missed, and did not fire again as Boromir was now holding Erin close and he was not a good enough shot to be sure he'd hit Boromir and not Erin.
"Get the fuck away from my daughter, you fuckin bastard!" Mark snarled.
"No." Boromir replied simply, anger burning in his eyes as he wondered where this man thought he had the right to be protective of Erin after what he had been doing to her.
"YES!" Mark roared, anger blazing in his eyes, and another loud noise came, followed quickly by another hole in the wall. "I'm done fuckin warning you, bastard! The next shot won't fuckin miss! Get the hell away from my daughter!" Boromir stared stonily at the man, who seemed to waver for a moment under the stare. Then he seemed the regain his courage. "What the fuck are you doing now! Stop it, whatever you're doing!" Boromir looked curiously at the man, wondering what he was talking about, and then a light caught his eye, and he glanced down to see a familiar mist made of light swirling slowly around his feet. Still holding Erin, he slowly stood up.
"What the FUCK?!" Glory exclaimed in a high-pitched squeak as she reappeared in the room. "Mark, stop whatever he's doing!"
"I don't even know what he's fucking doing! How the fuck can I stop it?!" Mark snapped back.
"Just shoot him, then!" Glory squealed, gripping Mark's arm in her fear. Mark decided that Glory's idea was a good one, and there was another loud noise as he shot at Boromir. Much to the amazement of everyone, however, there was a small clink and they all stared at the floor where the round metal object lay. Then the swirling light blocked the rest of the room from Boromir's sight, and Mark took up his shouting again. Boromir heard several more shots, and then he shut his eyes as the light flared to whiteness.
~ Quote: ~
"Life sucks. Death is only slightly more amusing." - BlackFang (someone from the online Muck of Alfandria)
"I'm always amazed anyone's interested in what I have to say." - Orlando Bloom
~ Disclaimer: ~
I don't own Boromir, or any part of Middle-Earth, nor any of the characters in it. I do, however, own Erin, her family, and her home.
~ Chapter XXIII~
~ Chapter 23 ~
WARNING: This chapter is rated R for mature subjects, situations and naughty language.
Much to the dismay of Boromir, and the members of the Fellowship remaining in Minas Tirith, Gandalf did not return for quite awhile. In fact, he stayed in Lothlorien and came with Arwen's escort a month later. And then, of course, Boromir and the rest of the Fellowship were obliged to put their concern for Erin on hold for Aragorn and Arwen's wedding. It was not until several days later that anyone was able to bring up the topic of Erin and her home. And then, Gandalf refused to say anything until all the Fellowship was together.
That, of course, took some doing. The hobbits were easy enough to find, and Boromir had been the one to ask Gandalf in the first place. But Legolas was nowhere to be found, Gimli was hiding in his room from all the elves that were not as understanding as Legolas, and, well, it doesn't take many brains to know where Aragorn was. They managed to coax Gimli out of his room, however, and Legolas appeared not long after. Aragorn, they ended out leaving to his own devices.
Boromir was eager to know exactly what Gandalf had gone to speak with Galadriel about, and what had come of it, but first Gandalf had to explain to those of the Fellowship where Erin had truly come from, and then what they'd learned about Erin's home from Haldir. The hobbits, of course, were quite shocked, and Gimli and Legolas looked rather angry. Especially when they discovered that Erin had returned home.
"Surely she did not go back there willingly?" Legolas asked when Gandalf was done.
"She did." Gandalf replied solemnly. "Her presence here changed many things. Without her, one member of your Fellowship would be dead, among other things. And those changes have begun to take their toll on Middle-Earth. Lady Galadriel has sensed it - a feeling as if the world is struggling to hold itself to something. She feared that Middle-Earth was spiraling towards it's own destruction. Not in a great battle, but slowly fading out into oblivion as it can no longer hold itself together in the wake of the changes Erin has made. I have felt the world struggling, as well, but I do not believe Galadriel has come to the right conclusion. There are many things the world could be struggling for or against, and I do not sense destruction in the future if Erin comes back to and stays in Middle-Earth." Silence fell when Gandalf finished.
"So if Erin went back because she believed her continued presence would destroy Middle-Earth, and it will not, should we not tell her so?" Boromir asked finally.
"It is not that simple, Boromir." Gandalf said with a sigh. "It takes great magic to go between our world and Erin's, and from what we have heard of her world, there is no one there to wield the magic's that would similarly be needed to return."
"So we can get there, but not back?" Frodo asked, and Gandalf nodded.
"Is there no way at all?" Boromir asked, frowning.
"There is one way. It has never been tried before, and thus the results could vary. It may succeed spectacularly, or all involved could die. Or worse." Gandalf replied gravely. "Once the spell began, it would be easy to tell whether or not it would fail. But once begun, the spell cannot be stopped."
"Even if I cannot return, I will go to Erin's world." Boromir said quietly in the silence that followed.
"If that is what you wish." Gandalf said, looking intensely at the Man before him.
"It is." Boromir said firmly.
"I cannot guarantee that those I would need to help me cast the spell to bring you back will be willing to even try. The risk is great, and the possible outcomes too numerous to count." Gandalf said sternly, and Boromir nodded.
"I know. But I will not stay here by myself when there is a chance that I may be able to be with Erin. Without her, I am only half of a whole." the Man said, a challenge in his eyes, daring any to contest his claim. None did.
"Then prepare yourself and come to the courtyard at sundown." the wizard said. "I must prepare myself." With that, the wizard turned and the left the room. Behind him, silence reigned as the group slowly rose and departed, each going their own way.
Come sundown, the group reassembled in the courtyard in front of the Citadel, with the additions of Aragorn, Arwen and Haldir. Haldir, for his part, looked a little upset. It was discovered later that he'd tried to go, as well, but Gandalf would not let him, and Galadriel had forbade him to. The Fellowship wished Boromir good luck, and Gandalf explained that he could not transport Boromir directly to where Erin was, but he would land somewhere within a 100-foot radius of where Erin was. Then Gandalf told everybody to stand back from Boromir, and he stood back as well as he prepared to begin the spell to take Boromir to Erin's world.
When he was ready, Gandalf raised his staff above his head before beginning a chant in some tongue long forgotten by all but the wizards, and perhaps the older creatures in the world, such as the Ents. At first, all was quiet except for Gandalf's chanting, and nothing seemed to be happening, but gradually, a light seemed to grow around Gandalf's staff, and then reach out towards Boromir. It swirled around him like a mist, and a light wind picked up, swirling around Boromir, not-quite-heard voices whispering in it. The light wound around and around, until finally Boromir was completely hidden from the view of those in the courtyard, and then suddenly - it was gone. All was calm, and Gandalf sighed, lowering his staff.
"It is done." he said.
---
Boromir glanced about himself as the light dissipated. He was no longer in the courtyard of the Citadel, that was for sure. But any more then that and that he was inside somewhere, he did not know. So he began to inspect the room carefully.
The room was dark, with no windows, and seemed quite large, yet some light seeped into the room, enough for Boromir to see. There were boxes all around the room, and more then once Boromir almost ran into an unseen pile. Gradually, Boromir realized that there was no way out of the room, unless one followed the stairs which seemed to lead towards the one source of light in the room, and so follow the stairs he did. At the top, he came to a door, and listened there for awhile to hear if anyone was beyond it. He could here nothing close by, so he quietly opened the door and stepped out.
After recovering from the sudden brightness of full daylight, Boromir came face to face with 21st-century technology. There were strange humming boxes, with various different features on them, and many other strange objects that looked familiar, yet more...modern. Boromir also came face to face with the mess that was Erin's house. It was dirty there, dirtier then Moria, in Boromir's opinion. Though it was obvious someone lived there, it was also obvious that they had not bothered to clean in quite awhile. Grime covered everything, and piles of random, strange things were on the floors, table, chairs, counters - any available surface.
One thing that caught Boromir's eye among the mess was the familiar hilt of a sword, hidden under a pile of dirty clothes. Stepping carefully through the mess, Boromir reached down and gingerly pulled the sword out from under the mess. Sure enough, it was Erin's sword. Glancing around, Boromir looked for any more signs that Erin had been there, but found none. So he slid the sword into his belt and decided to look further.
There were three exits from this room - one seemed to be to the outside, another to a large room, and the last one led down a hallway. Glancing into the large room, Boromir saw no one, and so he went down the hallway. Coming upon a closed door, he stopped for a moment and considered opening it. He dismissed that idea, however, deciding to come back to the door if further searching did not reveal any hint of Erin's whereabouts, and he moved on to the next door, which was slightly open.
The room beyond was a bedroom, apparently for two people. Knowing that was not Erin's room, Boromir moved on to the next door, also partly open. A glance inside revealed a room containing a bathtub, along with several other strange contraptions Boromir did not recognize.
Boromir left that room alone, and moved on to the next door, which was completely open. It revealed a messy, black bedroom. Glancing around, Boromir saw pictures of strange people on the walls and ceiling, and many strange devices scattered about the room. There was no one in this room, however, and since Boromir could not even see the floor, he did not venture further into the room. He moved on to the final door, which was open only a small bit. Carefully creaking it open a small amount, he discovered it was a closet.
At that moment, there came the sound of a voice from back down the hall, causing Boromir to start. It had been deadly silent until that moment, and the noise was surprising. Stepping silently, Boromir headed back down the hall, trying to figure out where the voice had come from. Listening, he heard unidentifiable noises coming from beyond the closed door that he had first passed by. Boromir pondered again whether or not he should open the door, but finally decided he should.
So he carefully and quietly opened the door and stepped inside. Beyond was another bedroom, this one actually sort of neat, and quickly glancing about, Boromir thought that this, perhaps, was Erin's room. And then his eyes fell to the bed, where a couple were in the middle of - Boromir averted his eyes and spun on his heal, intending to leave the room, embarrassed at having entered. But something caught his eyes and made him stop.
On the floor, by the bed, crumpled and shoved out of the way, were some very distinctly Elven clothes. The most notable object, the one that had caught his eye, was the brooch from Lothlorien. Slowly, dreading, Boromir's eyes returned to the bed, and he saw without a doubt that one of the two on the bed was Erin.
Boromir froze, his eyes locked onto Erin's face, mind refusing to work, refusing to believe what he was seeing. Then his mind slowly began to work again, and he began to notice other things. Namely, that Erin seemed limp and unresponsive to the ministrations of the man above her, who was so absorbed in what he was doing that he had not even noticed Boromir's entrance. Mind working furiously, Boromir's eyes flitted around, and noticed more things. Erin's wrists were bound together and tied to the top of the bed. There was a deadness in her eyes, as if she was no longer paying attention to the world around her. The man above her had a glint in his eyes that Boromir had seen one too many times in the eyes of Orcs on the rare occasion that one had spotted a female.
In two strides, Boromir was at the bed, his sword drawn. The man barely had time to realize that there was someone else in the room before he felt the cold, sharp steel of a blade against his throat. Slowly, getting his mind used to working, the man turned his head to look at Boromir.
"Who're you?" The man spat after a silence.
"Boromir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor." Boromir replied icily. "Who are you?" The man had the audacity to laugh.
"What are you, some kind of nutcase?" he demanded, and Boromir pushed his sword harder against the man's throat. Instantly, the man ceased laughing.
"Who. Are. You. ?." Boromir asked again, voice low and menacing.
"Mark Hean." the man replied, eyes wide. Boromir, having been told Erin's full name by Gandalf, looked startled at hearing this man use the same name. The man seemed to take courage from Boromir being startled, and spoke up again, his eyes flashing now.
"I dunno know who ya really are, buddy, but you're trespassin. This is my house, and I don't remember ever seein ya before or invitin you into my house." he said boldly.
"I doubt that even in this strange world one needs to be invited in to stop such an act as you were committing." Boromir said, his eyes narrowing as his anger increased.
"What do you know?" Mark spat back. Boromir was about to snap a reply, but at that moment, life seemed to return to Erin, and she shifted underneath the weight of the man on top of her, groaning slightly.
"Get off of her." Boromir said icily, adding more pressure to his sword to be sure Mark obeyed. The man scrambled off Erin, and Boromir shot him a warning glance before sheathing his sword. Staunchly ignoring the fact that Erin was wearing exactly nothing, Boromir knelt next to the bed and gently lifted up Erin's head.
"Erin?" he asked softly, concern in his voice. Erin groaned again, and her eyes slipped closed. But she leaned towards Boromir, and when he took his knife and cut the ropes that tied her hands to the bed, she quickly latched onto Boromir's arm. Now Boromir turned to glare at Mark, who was at the end of the bed.
"Who are you?" the man asked again, suspiciously. "Are you someone Erin met when she ran away?"
"Yes, I am." Boromir said, his voice almost a snarl.
"Are you a cop?" the man asked, worry suddenly in his eyes.
"I do not know what a 'cop' is, so I would say no, I am not." Boromir replied, and Mark heaved a sigh of relief. And then his eyes blazed.
"Well if ya ain't a cop, then you got no business in my house!" he growled. "Nor do you have any business with my daughter!" Then he, foolishly, launched himself at Boromir. The knowledge that this man was Erin's father and had still been doing such things to her only enraged Boromir, and within moments, Mark was lying, dazed, at the base of the opposite wall. Boromir drew his sword, his anger blinding him as he raised his blade to end the life of the disgusting creature before him, but at that moment, Erin came into her full consciousness.
"No, don't!" she exclaimed as she saw Boromir with his sword raised. Boromir instantly sheathed his sword and returned to the bed. Erin seemed to eye Boromir warily as he came over to the bed, and flinched back when he reached out to cup her cheek. Boromir looked at her, confused.
"Erin, I will not hurt you." he said softly.
"I...I know." she replied, but still she eyed him warily. Then, cautiously, she reached out and lightly touched his arm, drawing back almost immediately after doing so.
"Are...are you...real?" she asked hesitantly, biting her lip.
"I am." Boromir confirmed, and then, to his surprise, Erin curled into a ball and began to cry. Glancing over at Erin's father, Boromir saw that he was still dazed, and decided it would be best to leave the room. He pulled the cape from Lothlorien out of the scrunched pile near the bed, and lay it carefully over Erin before gathering her into his arms. Grabbing the remainder of her Elvish clothes, he lifted her and carried her out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
He took Erin to the large room off of the second room he'd seen upon entering this world, since he remembered seeing a seat of some sort there. He remembered correctly, and he carefully set Erin down on the couch before sitting next to her. She immediately leaned on his shoulder, and as she continued to cry, Boromir looked around more thoroughly.
The room appeared to be a gathering place of some sort, and there was another door to the outside world on one wall, along with a large - curtained - window. Other then that, and the door by which Boromir had entered, there were no exits from the room. There were several other strange devices in the room, and Boromir couldn't even begin to guess what each of them was for.
"I kept dreaming that you'd come." Erin's voice was soft, and she was speaking in-between sobs, so Boromir barely heard it.
"And now I am here." Boromir said softly, and lightly kissed Erin's forehead.
"Don't leave me." Erin said suddenly, and her hand clutched onto Boromir's shirt, her eyes intense.
"I will not leave you." Boromir promised. Erin nodded, and then crawled into Boromir's lap and held on to him tightly. There had been no more then a few moments of silence before suddenly the door from the outside banged open, and a woman dressed in skimpy clothes came sauntering in. Boromir instinctively leaped to his feet and drew his sword after moving Erin off him and onto the couch so she would not end out on the floor. The woman, instantly spotting Boromir, stopped, and looked him up and down. Erin, on the couch, looked fearfully up at Boromir, and then back to the woman.
"Well well. What have we here?" the woman broke the silence with her sultry voice, walking seductively closer to Boromir. She stopped as he brought the point of his sword to her chest, but then she just smiled coyly and brushed the blade off to the side before coming uncomfortably close.
"And who might you be?" the woman's voice was almost a purr, and Boromir eyed her warily.
"I am Boromir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor." he replied.
"Mmm, I'm sure..." the woman said, looking Boromir up and down again, and then laughed, turning to Erin on the couch.
"My dear, I don't know where you managed to find this one, but thank you. Those adolescents you kept bringing home were nice and energetic, but it will be nice to have someone a little more...experienced...for once." the woman's catty smile made Erin's eyes go wide, and her eyes flitted to Boromir before she whimpered and curled into a tighter ball. Boromir, for his part, was not liking the implications of what the woman said, and stepped back from the woman, determined to find out what was going on.
"Oh come now, I don't bite." the woman said, flashing Boromir a seductive smile and coming even closer to him then she had before. She reached out and lightly trailed her hand down Boromir's chest, and as she went, her smile grew wider as she realized in exactly how good shape Boromir was.
"I suggest you stop, lady." Boromir said calmly. The woman did not, however, and Boromir was forced to brushed her hand away before it went any lower then his stomach, now more annoyed with then worried about the woman. He sheathed his sword and stepped around her, going over to Erin where she was on the couch.
He approached concerned, and Erin watched him almost fearfully. Or rather, she watched the woman beyond his shoulder. For good reason. Before Boromir could even realize what had happened, he was on the couch, the woman straddling him as she caught his lips in fierce, passionate kiss. Recovering from his shock rather quickly, Boromir angrily shoved the woman off him. She landed on the floor in an undignified heap with a squeal of protest, and Erin looked between the woman and Boromir in shock.
"Come, Erin, let us leave." Boromir said, his voice tinged with anger, and Erin nodded vigorously, then seemed to realize she wasn't wearing anything. Spotting her Elvish clothes on the couch, she grabbed them and, after glancing around for a moment, dove behind the couch to get changed. Boromir half-smiled at the realization that Erin's modesty was still very much there, and then he returned to glaring at the woman on the floor, who was looking at him in utter shock.
When Erin reappeared from behind the couch, she was fully dressed, and Boromir handed her her sword. As she strapped it on, her father suddenly appeared in the room, looking angry and holding a strange grey object, which he pointed menacingly at Boromir. Boromir, not knowing what the object could do, eyed it warily, especially since Erin seemed to freeze with fear the instant she saw it.
"Mark, do you know who the fuck this bastard is?" the woman on the ground spat as she rose. Her manner had changed completely - she'd gone from seductive to stuck-up and saucy.
"Naw, but he'll be fucking dead ina moment if he doesn't explain who the fuck he is and what the fuck he's doing here!" Mark growled.
"I have told you who I am, and I am here for Erin." Boromir replied calmly. "And now that I have found her, I shall be leaving with her." he made a move as if to go towards the door, but Mark moved the object off to the side and there was a loud noise before he brought it back to bear of Boromir, who was staring in shock at the hole in the wall that had appeared moments after the loud noise.
"You're not going fucking anywhere!" Mark yelled. "Especially not with my daughter!" There was silence, and Boromir remained still. Erin's eyes were wide with fear, and she seemed rooted to the spot. It made Boromir sad to see this woman who had stood face to face with Sauron himself and remained fearless, suddenly paralyzed with fear.
"Glory, go call the police." Mark said calmly after awhile, seeing that Boromir was not planning on moving.
"You should just fucking shoot him." the woman - Glory - spat, but turned on her heel and left the room. The tense silence was broken as Erin suddenly whimpered, and her eyes rolled back into her head as she went into a faint. Boromir, without thinking, leaped to catch Erin before she reached the ground, and the was another loud noise as Mark shot instinctively. He missed, and did not fire again as Boromir was now holding Erin close and he was not a good enough shot to be sure he'd hit Boromir and not Erin.
"Get the fuck away from my daughter, you fuckin bastard!" Mark snarled.
"No." Boromir replied simply, anger burning in his eyes as he wondered where this man thought he had the right to be protective of Erin after what he had been doing to her.
"YES!" Mark roared, anger blazing in his eyes, and another loud noise came, followed quickly by another hole in the wall. "I'm done fuckin warning you, bastard! The next shot won't fuckin miss! Get the hell away from my daughter!" Boromir stared stonily at the man, who seemed to waver for a moment under the stare. Then he seemed the regain his courage. "What the fuck are you doing now! Stop it, whatever you're doing!" Boromir looked curiously at the man, wondering what he was talking about, and then a light caught his eye, and he glanced down to see a familiar mist made of light swirling slowly around his feet. Still holding Erin, he slowly stood up.
"What the FUCK?!" Glory exclaimed in a high-pitched squeak as she reappeared in the room. "Mark, stop whatever he's doing!"
"I don't even know what he's fucking doing! How the fuck can I stop it?!" Mark snapped back.
"Just shoot him, then!" Glory squealed, gripping Mark's arm in her fear. Mark decided that Glory's idea was a good one, and there was another loud noise as he shot at Boromir. Much to the amazement of everyone, however, there was a small clink and they all stared at the floor where the round metal object lay. Then the swirling light blocked the rest of the room from Boromir's sight, and Mark took up his shouting again. Boromir heard several more shots, and then he shut his eyes as the light flared to whiteness.