Shadow of a Doubt
Chapter Eleven - Tomorrow May Rain
by Capella no da
Note: This probably took the longest out of all my chapters to write! *^_^* So sorry to all you folks out there...I had a computer virus, which I fixed two weeks ago...*cringe* I know. I should have had the next chapter out the VERY NEXT DAY...but then...my muse went on permanent leave. So I had a bad case of writer's block. But tonight I had a free two hours so I decided to FORCE myself to write this! And because of that it might not be as good as the rest of them, but hey! it's out, right?
Now that that's over with, here, FINALLY, is the next chapter!
______________________________
"One day you'll look to see I've gone
For tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun
Some day you'll know I was the one
But tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun."
-- Beatles, "I'll Follow the Sun"
______________________________
Harry had never had such an urge to hug someone in his entire life.
Whatever Gandalf had done worked -- the Uruk-hai was laying face down a few paces away from his feet, small rivlets of blood running down through its hair to the floor. Scooting back until the creature was a better distance away, Harry looked up and a bright flash of light nearly blinded him.
Getting up the courage to open his eyes, he watched in amazement as Gandalf raised his staff and seemed to tower over Saruman like a giant. Saruman's face was nothing of the confident, sneering man he had been earlier, nor the smooth honey of the beginning. He was cowering in fear on the floor, and Harry resisted the urge to rub his face in it.
Suddenly Gandalf looked in his direction, blue eyes flashing a horrible fire, and beckoned him with a crook of a finger. Harry scrambled to his feet ignoring his twisted ankle and slowly oozing hands. He ran as fast as he could to the safety of the wizard and the open doors with sunshine behind them.
Gandalf glared once more around the hall of Saruman before walking out with a almost kingly air, glancing at Harry to follow.
Once the huge doors slammed shut behind them and they were down the stairs, Harry whirled around to face Gandalf.
"Bloody hell..." was all he could manage for a moment. A million questions were whirling around his head so he asked the first thing that came to him. "Aragorn said you were dead!"
"Gandalf," he murmured. "Yes, I was called Gandalf once." He sighed, sitting on a boulder. "I am no longer Gandalf the Gray, but Gandalf the White, as Saruman was and should have been. But he is corrupt."
Harry waited for more, but Gandalf stopped, shaking his head. "But how did you survive, Gandalf? If everyone said you were dead?"
Smiling, Gandalf placed his hand on Harry's head. "That is a tale for later, young wizard. For when we meet back up with a few friends."
"You mean Legolas and Aragorn?" Harry asked, big green eyes shining. Gandalf nodded. "And Boromir and Frodo?"
Harry didn't notice the minute pause in Gandalf's words. "I have already met with the Company. Many things have happened but for now, we have a long journey, Harry." Gandalf laid a gentle hand on Harry's forehead. "Sleep." Harry nodded slowly, already sinking to the ground in the beginnings of sleep, mussed black hair falling over his face. He wasn't aware as Gandalf lifted him onto Shadowfax, or as hoofbeats pounded over the plains of Gondor, or as Gandalf carried him through the forest of Fangorn. He wouldn't wake even when Gandalf finally found Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas. For three days he slept, watched carefully by his companions.
________________________________
"Should we tell him?"
"Not yet. He will ask on his own and until then, none of you must speak a word of it."
"Gandalf --"
"I know you care for the boy, Legolas. But we cannot risk anything right now. If we tell him too early, I am afraid that -- I don't know what will happen. He was close to Boromir."
"What happened to him in Orthanc, Gandalf?"
"I do not know, Aragorn. For now we just must wait until he wakes, and then we must go to Theoden. I wonder what will happen there to him."
"You mean you did not tell him --"
"No. He will also find that out on his own."
"But what if he refuses? Gondor's fate could very well rest on his shoulders, Gandalf. I do not want to take that risk."
"I know, Aragorn. More than anyone else, I know."
____________________________
Harry woke to a cool hand caressing his hair gently. Moaning from the sharp stabs of pain in his hands and legs, he moved slightly. The hand was taken away, and a barely muted gasp of surprise came from above him.
"Harry?"
Trying to croak a response through a throat that was suddenly throbbing, Harry cracked open his eyes. He had to blink several times before everything painfully came into focus. A changeable pair of gray eyes filled with worry hovered above him.
"You're alive," Legolas murmured, cupping Harry's cheek from where the young wizard was lying on the ground. "You were so still -- I almost thought --" His voice cut off sharply in the middle of his sentance.
"Water?" Harry whispered. Legolas lifted a water bag to his dry lips and he drank greedily, trying to remember to stop so that he didn't get sick. "Thank you." He grinned at Legolas, whose face seemed to lift a little. Apparently Legolas was still worried about the incident in Rivendell -- unless something had happened that Harry didn't know about. He sincerely hoped nothing had.
"Harry, forgive me."
Harry blinked, taken off guard by the genuine apology. "For what?" he answered cautiously. Legolas paused, the apology obviously the extent of what he wanted to discuss. His face never changed but those eyes became a little frightened. Legolas stumbled over his words.
"For -- Rivendell. I'm sorry about -- I know you have someone, Harry. Forgive me. I never wanted this between us." Legolas seemed on the verge of saying something else, but caught himself.
Harry smiled easily and put his hand on Legolas's where it rested on Harry's cheek. "Is that all?" he asked. "I forgave you a long time ago."
Legolas's face was suddenly full of anguish. "Gods, Harry, why couldn't you just hate me?" he cried, pushing off from the ground and walking into the dark depths of the forest. Confused, Harry tried to push himself off the forest floor when a spasm of pain ripped through his stomach. Falling back with a gasp, he clutched his middle and curled up in a ball, trying to relieve some of the pain. It passed slowly, then was as if it had never been there.
Getting to his feet with only minimal trouble from the scrapes and cuts, Harry looked at his middle to make sure there wasn't a huge, gaping hole there. He felt a little sheepish when nothing was wrong. I must just be hungry, he thought. I've only been in that damn tower since forever, it seems like. He walked toward the distant fire, a faint feeling of unease settling in his stomach.
_________________________________
"They were *captured*?"
"Harry --"
Clenching his fists, Harry looked up at Aragorn accusingly. It seemed like such a little time ago when he'd talked to Pippin and Merry. Now they were gone.
"Why the bloody hell didn't anyone try to protect them?" Harry asked. "I thought this Fellowship was supposed to be like a family, you know, as in protecting each other?" Harry knew he was probably going over the line but he didn't care.
Aragorn looked the angriest that Harry had ever seen him. His face was carefully controlled, but his eyes shot daggers. "Someone did protect them. And now he's dead."
"Dead?" Harry asked quietly. He almost knew what the answer would be.
"Boromir is dead, Harry."
Harry felt faintly like someone had punched him in the gut, all the air leaving his lungs in one breath. His eyes clouded over with tears that he refused to let fall. Dead. He clenched his teeth tightly together to keep from sobbing.
Boromir, who had rescued Harry from the monsters when everyone else had forgotten. Who had carried him for who knows how long through Moria and the paths beyond. Who had become the older brother that Harry never had. One of the only people here he could really trust. Dead.
"Harry?" he heard Aragorn ask gently. Unable to speak, dashing tears out of his eyes, Harry ran blindly into the woods. Not looking where he was going he tripped over a tree root and fell, unable to get up. He pressed his forehead against the soft dirt of the forest floor and shut his eyes. He noticed dimly that his hands were shaking.
Shifting on to his side and curling up, not caring what animals lived in this forest, Harry silently cried himself to sleep.
___________________________
Chapter Eleven - Tomorrow May Rain
by Capella no da
Note: This probably took the longest out of all my chapters to write! *^_^* So sorry to all you folks out there...I had a computer virus, which I fixed two weeks ago...*cringe* I know. I should have had the next chapter out the VERY NEXT DAY...but then...my muse went on permanent leave. So I had a bad case of writer's block. But tonight I had a free two hours so I decided to FORCE myself to write this! And because of that it might not be as good as the rest of them, but hey! it's out, right?
Now that that's over with, here, FINALLY, is the next chapter!
______________________________
"One day you'll look to see I've gone
For tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun
Some day you'll know I was the one
But tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun."
-- Beatles, "I'll Follow the Sun"
______________________________
Harry had never had such an urge to hug someone in his entire life.
Whatever Gandalf had done worked -- the Uruk-hai was laying face down a few paces away from his feet, small rivlets of blood running down through its hair to the floor. Scooting back until the creature was a better distance away, Harry looked up and a bright flash of light nearly blinded him.
Getting up the courage to open his eyes, he watched in amazement as Gandalf raised his staff and seemed to tower over Saruman like a giant. Saruman's face was nothing of the confident, sneering man he had been earlier, nor the smooth honey of the beginning. He was cowering in fear on the floor, and Harry resisted the urge to rub his face in it.
Suddenly Gandalf looked in his direction, blue eyes flashing a horrible fire, and beckoned him with a crook of a finger. Harry scrambled to his feet ignoring his twisted ankle and slowly oozing hands. He ran as fast as he could to the safety of the wizard and the open doors with sunshine behind them.
Gandalf glared once more around the hall of Saruman before walking out with a almost kingly air, glancing at Harry to follow.
Once the huge doors slammed shut behind them and they were down the stairs, Harry whirled around to face Gandalf.
"Bloody hell..." was all he could manage for a moment. A million questions were whirling around his head so he asked the first thing that came to him. "Aragorn said you were dead!"
"Gandalf," he murmured. "Yes, I was called Gandalf once." He sighed, sitting on a boulder. "I am no longer Gandalf the Gray, but Gandalf the White, as Saruman was and should have been. But he is corrupt."
Harry waited for more, but Gandalf stopped, shaking his head. "But how did you survive, Gandalf? If everyone said you were dead?"
Smiling, Gandalf placed his hand on Harry's head. "That is a tale for later, young wizard. For when we meet back up with a few friends."
"You mean Legolas and Aragorn?" Harry asked, big green eyes shining. Gandalf nodded. "And Boromir and Frodo?"
Harry didn't notice the minute pause in Gandalf's words. "I have already met with the Company. Many things have happened but for now, we have a long journey, Harry." Gandalf laid a gentle hand on Harry's forehead. "Sleep." Harry nodded slowly, already sinking to the ground in the beginnings of sleep, mussed black hair falling over his face. He wasn't aware as Gandalf lifted him onto Shadowfax, or as hoofbeats pounded over the plains of Gondor, or as Gandalf carried him through the forest of Fangorn. He wouldn't wake even when Gandalf finally found Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas. For three days he slept, watched carefully by his companions.
________________________________
"Should we tell him?"
"Not yet. He will ask on his own and until then, none of you must speak a word of it."
"Gandalf --"
"I know you care for the boy, Legolas. But we cannot risk anything right now. If we tell him too early, I am afraid that -- I don't know what will happen. He was close to Boromir."
"What happened to him in Orthanc, Gandalf?"
"I do not know, Aragorn. For now we just must wait until he wakes, and then we must go to Theoden. I wonder what will happen there to him."
"You mean you did not tell him --"
"No. He will also find that out on his own."
"But what if he refuses? Gondor's fate could very well rest on his shoulders, Gandalf. I do not want to take that risk."
"I know, Aragorn. More than anyone else, I know."
____________________________
Harry woke to a cool hand caressing his hair gently. Moaning from the sharp stabs of pain in his hands and legs, he moved slightly. The hand was taken away, and a barely muted gasp of surprise came from above him.
"Harry?"
Trying to croak a response through a throat that was suddenly throbbing, Harry cracked open his eyes. He had to blink several times before everything painfully came into focus. A changeable pair of gray eyes filled with worry hovered above him.
"You're alive," Legolas murmured, cupping Harry's cheek from where the young wizard was lying on the ground. "You were so still -- I almost thought --" His voice cut off sharply in the middle of his sentance.
"Water?" Harry whispered. Legolas lifted a water bag to his dry lips and he drank greedily, trying to remember to stop so that he didn't get sick. "Thank you." He grinned at Legolas, whose face seemed to lift a little. Apparently Legolas was still worried about the incident in Rivendell -- unless something had happened that Harry didn't know about. He sincerely hoped nothing had.
"Harry, forgive me."
Harry blinked, taken off guard by the genuine apology. "For what?" he answered cautiously. Legolas paused, the apology obviously the extent of what he wanted to discuss. His face never changed but those eyes became a little frightened. Legolas stumbled over his words.
"For -- Rivendell. I'm sorry about -- I know you have someone, Harry. Forgive me. I never wanted this between us." Legolas seemed on the verge of saying something else, but caught himself.
Harry smiled easily and put his hand on Legolas's where it rested on Harry's cheek. "Is that all?" he asked. "I forgave you a long time ago."
Legolas's face was suddenly full of anguish. "Gods, Harry, why couldn't you just hate me?" he cried, pushing off from the ground and walking into the dark depths of the forest. Confused, Harry tried to push himself off the forest floor when a spasm of pain ripped through his stomach. Falling back with a gasp, he clutched his middle and curled up in a ball, trying to relieve some of the pain. It passed slowly, then was as if it had never been there.
Getting to his feet with only minimal trouble from the scrapes and cuts, Harry looked at his middle to make sure there wasn't a huge, gaping hole there. He felt a little sheepish when nothing was wrong. I must just be hungry, he thought. I've only been in that damn tower since forever, it seems like. He walked toward the distant fire, a faint feeling of unease settling in his stomach.
_________________________________
"They were *captured*?"
"Harry --"
Clenching his fists, Harry looked up at Aragorn accusingly. It seemed like such a little time ago when he'd talked to Pippin and Merry. Now they were gone.
"Why the bloody hell didn't anyone try to protect them?" Harry asked. "I thought this Fellowship was supposed to be like a family, you know, as in protecting each other?" Harry knew he was probably going over the line but he didn't care.
Aragorn looked the angriest that Harry had ever seen him. His face was carefully controlled, but his eyes shot daggers. "Someone did protect them. And now he's dead."
"Dead?" Harry asked quietly. He almost knew what the answer would be.
"Boromir is dead, Harry."
Harry felt faintly like someone had punched him in the gut, all the air leaving his lungs in one breath. His eyes clouded over with tears that he refused to let fall. Dead. He clenched his teeth tightly together to keep from sobbing.
Boromir, who had rescued Harry from the monsters when everyone else had forgotten. Who had carried him for who knows how long through Moria and the paths beyond. Who had become the older brother that Harry never had. One of the only people here he could really trust. Dead.
"Harry?" he heard Aragorn ask gently. Unable to speak, dashing tears out of his eyes, Harry ran blindly into the woods. Not looking where he was going he tripped over a tree root and fell, unable to get up. He pressed his forehead against the soft dirt of the forest floor and shut his eyes. He noticed dimly that his hands were shaking.
Shifting on to his side and curling up, not caring what animals lived in this forest, Harry silently cried himself to sleep.
___________________________