Replies:
Artemis-chen: Nope, he's never gonna live it down. :} If you ever wanted to see Aragorn being entirely evil…
Asia: Boromir is staying alive. I've already written the end and it's nowhere near as funny if Boromir isn't there.
Gryphix: I'll let Faramir answer that one for himself…
Silindro: I know he's flirting with you. He merely flirts with Éowyn so Faramir has an excuse to go all angsty again.
Auror198: Faramir is too still the Steward. Boromir wouldn't touch the position with a ten-foot-pole now that someone else has it. And…um…this reunion is sort of mushy but I get the feeling it isn't as mushy as you'd like…how about I REALLY pour on the sap later?
Alex: What's the snoopy dance?
Vie and Liz: Here's your more, right here!
A/N: Whew…lotsa reviewsies…sorry if this chapter is a mite short, but the next one's a doozy, so hang in there. Without further ado, here's the next part, In Which Éowyn saves Faramir's butt and Faramir thinks naughty thoughts.
Chapter Ten: Rescue
I sat in a chilly, filthy cell in the depths of Helm's Deep. I never would have thought that Wormtongue would dare use it for a stronghold, but I supposed if Rohan used it, anyone could. The door had been unlocked.
But then, the Deeping Wall had been breeched in a battle three and a half years ago. Rohan must count it useless now, so Wormtongue felt it safe to use.
Well, none of this musing was getting me anywhere. I had an escape to plan. I had to get back to Éowyn, and see what she thought of me. She probably thought I was stupid. I thought I was stupid. Maybe I could redeem myself by escaping. But how?
I pondered that for several hours, only to be interrupted by a commotion at the door. I moved to the barred window, and saw a girl trying to get past the guard. She carried a basket on one white arm, and her face was smudged with soot, as were the few strands of hair that escaped her kerchief. I could not tell the color of her hair, and I realize that this alone should have alerted me.
"Please," she said in a high, breathless voice. "Please, my papa...you took him captive."
I had no children and there were no other prisoners. I began to have a sneaking suspicion that this girl was not all she seemed.
"Get along," the guard snarled.
"Please!" Her voice shrilled higher. "Please! I'll do anything..."
"Anything, aye?" He leered. I winced and silently told the girl to run.
"Anything..." she breathed, edging nearer to the guard. He laughed and reached for her...
...only to be thumped over the head with a heavy piece of wood. The girl smirked, and reached for his keys.
What was she doing? I wondered, watching her. I didn't know her...or did I?
She turned quickly to scan the cell doors, and a single, pale gold thread of hair escaped the kerchief to dangle down her back. Staggered, I whispered a name.
"Éowyn?"
"There you are!" She hurried over to my cell. "Valar, Faramir, what were you doing?"
"Being stupid," I answered ruefully, startling a laugh out of her as she searched through the keys.
"I think it's this one," she announced at last, and inserted it in the depths of the lock. It was indeed: the door swung open. I repressed the urge to pull her into my arms and just hold her. She looked at me for a moment, and I sensed a longing in her to do the same...but it vanished, and I dismissed it as wishful thinking. "Here," she said, shoving the basket at me. "There's a guard's uniform in there. Hurry and change, and we'll go back to Edoras."
"Have you got a horse for me?"
She shook her head. "Just Whisper, but she can carry us double if we don't ride too hard."
"All right," I said, trying to ignore the thought of riding behind Éowyn for several days and failing completely. "Um...I'll just change then."