*** A word to the review of Caylinn: I know what you mean, but it's really difficult. It's hard enough for me to write in English, but it's even harder to write in "old" style. I know I'm jumping from "old-fashioned" to "modern", but I can't change it. I really try my best, but I guess you will have to live with it as my English vocabulary is limited (especially the old fashioned ones they would use in Middle-Earth). I hope I will be able to improve my writing in future.

Everybody else who reviewed: Thank you so much, it means a lot!! :o)

Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it. Keep the reviews coming and have a nice day, everybody! ***

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Aragorn waited in front of the houses of healing for the other three to arrive. He sat on the cold stairs made of stone, his elbows on his knees, his chin resting on his folded hands.

'She is so young,' he thought. Too young to die. He hoped he had been able to bring her to the healers in time to rescue her life that was just at its beginning. Now there was nothing he could do to help her, nothing apart from hoping and praying. He also hoped and prayed for Boromir. He wondered whether it was really possible that Atalar was right. He hoped it was not, but he could not tell for sure. Boromir was surely a noble man, but he also carried weakness in his heart. He was easily controlled by his feelings, not able to fight them back. But could it be that his weakness had made him try to kill a woman? He had to admit that there were hints that pointed at Boromir, but for now Aragorn refused to think of Boromir as a ruthless murderer who brought death to a young and innocent maiden. It needed more than a dagger and a whispered word to convince him. He still was caught up in his thoughts when he heard three horses approaching.

"What do they say? Will she live?" Atalar wanted to know when he had gotten off his horse and was by Aragorn's side.

"I do not know," Aragorn said and frowned when he saw that Legolas helped Boromir's brother getting to the ground and then started to support him while Faramir groaned in pain when he made contact with the street. The left side of Faramir's light trousers was partly ripped and soaked with blood.

"What happened?" Aragorn asked and rose from the stairs.

"An accident," Atalar muttered and wanted to vanish in the house, but Aragorn grabbed his arm and forced him to stay.

"Legolas?" Aragorn asked and pierced the elf with a sharp gaze. Before Legolas could reply anything Faramir spoke.

"You heard Lord Atalar. Just an accident," he said. Aragorn could tell both that he lied and had to make quite some effort to hide that he was hurting badly.

Atalar ripped his arm out of Aragorn's grip and left the three alone on the dark road.

"Come, Lord Faramir, you need to be seen by the healers as well. This looks like a serious wound to me," Aragorn said with a sigh and stepped nearer to help Legolas supporting the younger son of Denethor.

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When Boromir regained consciousness again, the first things he noticed were that he was blindfolded and gagged. He instinctively straightened up and wanted to lift his hands to his face to free himself, but his wrists were tied together behind his back. A muffled sound of surprise made its way from his throat when he realized he was sitting on a horse that was slowly heading to some direction he couldn't even guess. He didn't know where he was or why. And with whom. Or was he alone? He tried to concentrate on the surrounding sounds. It wasn't easy as his mind was still recovering from the unconsciousness and he felt almost nothing than stupor and dizziness, but he could tell that there were more than only four hooves moving. Then there suddenly was a male voice to his right side.

"He woke up," the voice informed somebody.

"Now look at him, still the posture of a noble man, although tied up and surely scared to death," another male voice said, this time from the left, "Tell me, are you scared, Boromir of Gondor?"

Boromir turned his head to the direction the voice came from, although he couldn't see anything. He couldn't even tell whether it was day or night.

"I asked you a question, Lord Boromir," the voice said again with an amused undertone. A few other men laughed in low voices.

"Don't you want to answer?!"

A sudden slap against the back of his head made Boromir jerk and move his body abruptly when he ducked away in reflex. The horse he was sitting on started to get nervous. He tried to keep in the saddle, but when the animal started to buck underneath him he didn't manage to keep his balance without the use of his arms. He was thrown from the horse's back and crashed to the dusty ground heavily, front side down. A groan of pain forced its way up his throat when his forehead made very hard contact with a sharp and solid item, probably some sort of stone. He heard massive laughter around him from several men, but still he couldn't tell how many exactly they were. He also wondered whether Aerilyn was somewhere here, too. Tied up, blindfolded and gagged just like he was. The worry about his betrothed ripped his heart into pieces, but there was nothing he could do. He could hardly move, hardly breathe, and not see anything at all. He never had been in a situation as humiliating as this one before.

"Get him up on the horse again, quickly," somebody said, still laughing.

Boromir heard two of his kidnappers jump from their horses and approach him with heavy steps. Strong hands grabbed him and pulled him up on his feet roughly.

"He is bleeding from a deep wound," a voice very near to his ear said, sounding a bit worried.

"I do not care. We will have to get rid of him as soon as the time has come, anyway. And now get him up on the horse!"

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"What are you going to tell your people, Steward? I do not think it would be wise to let the people know what really happened, this incident could lead us to a civil war. People of Katalla will start to accuse and fight the people of Gondor, and the other way round. But you need to tell them *something*, they all are awaiting the festivities," Aragorn asked Denethor when a small group had gathered around a large table to discuss the matters. When Denethor didn't respond but kept thinking about the question, Legolas raised his soft voice.

"Aragorn is right. No matter how fast our horses will carry us, I doubt we will find Lord Boromir in time. Besides, Lady Aerilyn lies near to death. The wedding can not take place."

"Of course it can not take place! And it never will! My sister will not bond with a murderer!" Atalar hissed from his chair.

"My son is not a murderer, Lord Atalar. Something terrible must have happened to both of them, Lady Aerilyn and Boromir," Denethor spoke.

"And I say it is him we have to blame! Boromir is well known for not being trustworthy!"

"That is not true!" Ghorid, the eldest son of Denethor's brother, said.

"You only say so because you are of the same blood! I do not trust any of your people!" Atalar exclaimed and moved his gaze back to Denethor. "I do not trust you, Steward of Gondor, neither do I trust your brood."

"Watch your mouth, or you will regret it!" Denethor roared, his eyes thin slits sparkling with fury.

"Do you think I'm afraid of you?!" the young man replied, his voice not at all lower.

"Atalar!" Ribensis, steward of Katalla, hissed with a threatening tone in his impressive voice to silence his hot-headed son.

"I will send out a company to find out what has happened. And hopefully it will not only return with answers but also with my living son," Denethor finally decided.

"Lord Faramir lies wounded, he can not come. I will go for him, in the name of the honorable family and Gondor," Ghorid stated without hesitating.

"I will come, too. And I swear by my father's empire, I will take deadly revenge if our journey reveals that Boromir's hands are covered with my sister's blood!" Atalar exclaimed.

While Aerilyn's brother spoke Aragorn's gaze was searching for the eyes of Legolas. When they finally looked at each other, Legolas could easily read the silent question in Aragorn's eyes and nodded only once, blinking slowly in agreement.

"We will join the group too, for Boromir is a comrade who bravely fought by our sides and risked his life more than once to rescue one of us," Aragorn said, feeling the sharp gaze of Atalar on his face.

"Very well. The sooner you depart the better," Denethor said and rose from his chair to put an end to the discussion.