*** I am sorry the last chapter was so short! In order to make up to you, my dear readers, I made this chapter the longest I've written so far. I hope you enjoy it! I couldn't think of a fitting title, so it's just called "chapter 10", sorry for that. And, as always, thank you sooooo much for your kind words!! I appreciate every review very much, so keep them coming! ;o)

Cath Sith: I see no reason why anybody would make nasty remarks about your German, really! I am impressed by your skills, especially considering that German is a very tough language to learn, much harder than English!! I'm honored that you make such great efforts to review my work in my mothertongue! (But if you feel more comfortable with it, please feel free to write English reviews, okay?)

Chrisi: Monster-Reviews erschrecken mich nicht im geringsten!! Ich liebe Deine ausführlichen Rezensionen, sie sind sehr aufschlussreich! Vielen Dank!! :o)

Steffi: Ich verzeihe Dir (hehe)! Danke für Deine lieben, lobenden Worte; Ich bin ganz gerührt!

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Boromir blinked his eyes open. He had a terrible headache and felt as if he just had woken up from a deep but troubled sleep. He was dazed and every single bone in his body seemed to hurt. It took some time until he noticed that he was lying on the ground, backside down, and not sitting on a horse. Slowly he slid his hands over the ground, searching for nothing in particular. His hands touched a cold, rough surface of stone and... He sat up abruptly, staring down at his hands. He wasn't tied up anymore, the rope was gone. And the blindfold too. He choked when his eyes caught his wrists for the first time in many days. To describe them as sore would be an understatement. The permanent friction of the rough rope had cut deep in his tissue. His skin was practically gone and revealed inflamed flesh covered with a disgusting mixture of thick blood and glutinous pus. It burned like fire, but it was by far not the only pain that licked through his body. He lifted a hand to his face and touched it carefully, wincing slightly at the sharp pain that ran through his head when he lay his fingertips on his right brow. He withdrew his fingers quickly and found them returning streaked with dark blood. He started to explore his face with both hands, ignoring the pain he caused himself. It felt odd and unfamiliar. Swollen, soft, and sticky with slowly drying blood that must have been drawn not long ago. He couldn't remember that they had beaten him up this heavily, but he couldn't even remember that they brought him here either. He obviously had a mental blackout concerning the last few hours, or even more.

Boromir rose on his feet and scanned the area. He was in some sort of dungeon, put away in a medium sized cell. He assumed that they kept him either below or deep inside the mountains as his prison was nothing more than a small cave that had been dug into a massive rock, a line of thick bars arranged along the entrance to prevent him from getting out. The dim light that illuminated this place was produced by a few torches that were attached to the walls in the corridors that led to and away from his prison. Boromir wondered where these corridors led and what would happen with him now. He still was clueless to the motivation of his abductors and also their identities.

He withdrew to the darkest corner of his cell and sat down with a small groan of pain, leaning his aching back against the cold and stony wall. He closed his eyes in order to concentrate on fighting back the stupor, he needed to be fully awake if he wanted to develop some sort of plan on how to get out of here. It was probably impossible to sneak away without being confronted by his abductors, but he had to do something as long as he was able to fight back. He couldn't just sit and wait for them to return and finally beat him to death. After a few moments he took a deep breath and went back to the bars to examine them more closely. They had gotten him in, so there had to be a way to get out of here again, too. He quickly found the way out to be a simple door made of bars as well, locked with a heavy padlock. But before he could even try to get it open, there were steps approaching from deeper down one of the corridors. Boromir wrapped his hands around two of the bars and waited for whoever was to pay him a visit.

"I see you woke up again," one of the three men said when they reached Boromir's prison.

"I hope you changed your mind in the meantime," another one said. Boromir recognized him as the leader of the group that had abducted him whereas the other two were unfamiliar to him.

"I know not what you are speaking of," Boromir said, holding the cold stare of the man who had thrown him in the river not long ago. After some moments of silence, the leader inhaled audibly and turned to his companions.

"Get him out and continue with him until he spits out something useful. Make sure you won't injure his head so heavily again, I need his memory to work perfectly. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good," the leader said and turned back to Boromir again, "And this time there will be no mercy, you hear me? This time we will make you speak! We will not let you escape into unconsciousness again! "

"Make me speak of what?" Boromir asked. His head was empty, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember what had happened before he woke up in this cave.

"Don't worry Boromir, you will remember soon. And you better open your mouth this time, my patience is limited. Either you tell us what we long to know, or you will experience pain you didn't dare to dream of until now. It is a simple choice. Speak or die. Pick your decision wisely."

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Aerilyn sat on the windowsill of her bedchamber and stared outsides. She had done nothing else since she had been discharged from the houses of healing, just sitting at the window and watching the street, hoping that her eyes would catch the company returning home safely with Boromir. But it did not happen.

She lifted her feet onto the windowsill and drew her legs close to her body, embracing them with her own arms and lowering her chin on her knees. She closed her eyes and her mind was occupied with lovely memories immediately, memories that were connected with this very windowsill she was sitting on. Their first kiss. She would never forget it. She would never forget Boromir. Her hopes of welcoming him back faded with every day, but her memory of him would never cease.

A knock on the door drew her attention away from her hurtful thoughts.

"Come in," Aerilyn said although she wasn't in the mood to see anybody. The only people she longed to see were Boromir and Atalar, and she doubted it was either of them who was knocking on her door.

"Milady, I bring you a dress you shall wear this evening. Your father wishes you to come and have dinner with your dear mother, Steward Denethor and Lord Faramir," her handmaiden said after entering the room.

"Tell my father I will not come," Aerilyn said and shifted her gaze back to the road.

"Lady Aerilyn," the maid said, "You need to eat something."

"I am not hungry."

The handmaiden sighed and put the dress she was carrying on Aerilyn's bed.

"If you change your mind call me so I can arrange your hair."

"Yes, thank you," Aerilyn replied absently.

About one hour later Aerilyn got off the windowsill and went to her bed. There lay one of her most beautiful dresses, pale blue in color and made of silk. It had a lot of stylish and complicated details so it needed over half an hour to put it on and she also would need help to do so as she couldn't lace up the backside of the dress by herself. She looked down to the dress she was wearing now and bit her lower lip. The fabric was simple and gray, nothing compared to the splendorous and elegant material of the light blue dress that was waiting on her bed. It also was rather shapeless, not at all emphasizing the fineness of her waist, the appealing curves of her breasts, or any of the other charms of her lovely female features. But after all it was a dress. She didn't care for her hair and just let it hang loose, her unruly curls falling down over her back and shoulders, and left her chambers to head for the huge dining room.

When she entered it she found everybody sitting at the table already. The conversation that was going on between her parents, Steward Denethor and Faramir died away the second she set her foot in the room and four pairs of eyes focused on her. She felt like an intruder and almost turned around to retreat again, but her father quickly rose on his feet and outstretched a hand to her direction.

"Aerilyn, my sweet one. I am glad you decided to have dinner with us. Come and sit down," Ribensis said with a soft tone in his voice. He usually was a rather harsh man, but after all he also was a father who loved his daughter.

"I can sit down on my own," Aerilyn said with a faint voice and passed him without taking his offered hand.

"Very well..." he only muttered, sharing a concerned gaze with his wife, and sat back down while Aerilyn took a seat without his aid. She raised her head and looked into Faramir's face. He sat directly in front of her on the other side of the table. He smiled slightly when their gazes met. She didn't react and shifted her gaze aside, for some reason she couldn't stand his stare. Her eyes captured the empty chair next to Faramir, the one Boromir had used to sit on when they all had dinner together. She clenched her teeth to fight back tears and stared down on her hands that were folded in her lap. She heard the others continuing to talk about things she wasn't interested in and remained silent until the food was served.

"Aerilyn," her father said when they were almost finished with eating, "Yesterday one of Steward Denethor's mares gave birth. Why don't you ask Lord Faramir to take you to the stables and have a look at the foal."

She looked up, her eyes welling with tears she didn't allow to fall down.

"I am not interested in taking joyful walks to see newborn foals with Lord Faramir," she said with a rejecting tone in her voice. She felt the bewildered gaze of her mother, and she saw her father's body stiffen. She knew what that meant and pressed her lips together when Ribensis leaned a bit forward to rebuke her.

"Aerilyn! You will not speak like that of Lord Faramir, I want you to apologize immediately."

"Steward Ribensis, I am sure your daughter did not mean it to sound insulting," Faramir tried to appease Aerilyn's father, but he didn't listen to him.

"Start behaving, Aerilyn! You are no child any longer! Not only do you insult Lord Faramir, you sit here not eating anything but only poking in your food. What did I teach you manners for if you won't show them?! And look at you! Is that how a lady is supposed to take part at a dinner with the Steward who is going to be her father-in-law in near future?!"

"I see no sense in wearing beautiful dresses!" Aerilyn screamed, suddenly feeling overwhelming fury building up in the depth of her small body and rose on her feet so abruptly that the chair fell over, "I see no sense in getting my hair made! The only man I would wish to look pretty for is not here!"

"Sit down!" her father barked, shocked about her behavior.

"No!"

"Lady Aerilyn," Faramir tried to calm her down, "I am sure we will get a proof of life soon. Perhaps they already found Boromir and will return within the next days and your concern will be proven unfounded."

"My concern is not at all unfounded! You have to consider that our messenger did not return yet. Something terrible must have happened! I can't think of anything that could have distracted her but a deadly battle or assault they all got caught up in."

"Maybe she just didn't find the company yet, I am sure she will return soon," Ribensis said.

"No, Inunyen is the best messenger we have. And you know that. You know that she must have found them already! If everything was alright, she would have returned by now to bring us good news! But Inunyen is not here! Neither is Atalar, nor Boromir! They are probably dead, and you sit here and have cheerful conversations about the breeding of horses! You disgust me!"

And with that she raced off, tears of both sorrow and anger streaming down her face.

"Excuse me," Ribensis said in a low voice and rose on his feet to get after his daughter. He caught up quickly and grabbed her upper arm to bring her to a stop.

"Leave me alone," Aerilyn said, wiping away her tears with her free hand.

"I will let you go for now, but I wish to see you apologize to both Steward Denethor and his son Faramir tomorrow. Don't you see you are disgracing our family with your childish behavior? It is terrible what happened to you and Lord Boromir, and I will mourn if it is proven that he fell in combat against the abductors. But his death will not change the agreement between Steward Denethor and me, do you understand?"

Aerilyn looked at her father with big eyes and choked hardly. She already had an idea of what he was about to tell her, but when she heard him speaking it out loud it felt like a slap in the face.

"Denethor and I agreed to marry you to Lord Faramir if Boromir is declared dead. I expect you to behave appropriately when he is around for he perhaps will be your husband soon."

"No, this cannot be true," Aerilyn said, her a voice trembling with horror, "You both are treating your children as if they were some kind of commodity! What would you have done if I had been killed by the assault?! Would you have arranged the wedding of Faramir and Atalar?!"

She felt the grip of her father getting harder, bruising her delicate arm.

"My patience with you is slowly coming to an end, my dear daughter!" he hissed, "You seem to forget who you are! You have duties like everybody else in this family! You have enjoyed all the privileges you possibly can claim as the daughter of a steward for about twenty years, now it is time that you as well start dealing with the responsibilities and obligations that come with this position! Life does not always choose the path we would like best. We all have to make sacrifices in order to turn the life of our people and the status of our empire to the better, it is our duty to do so without complaining. And you will be no exception. Is that understood?"

Aerilyn didn't reply but shut her eyes tight, feeling that she wouldn't be able to suppress her sobs for much longer.

"Is that understood, Aerilyn?!" her father repeated authoritatively, shaking her slightly.

"Yes, father," she whined only.

"Now go to your chambers and stay there. I do not want you to cross my eyes for this evening."

As soon as he released her arm Aerilyn ran to her room where she first of all hurled the blue dress away to a corner furiously. Then her burning rage turned to massive despair that filled her completely, making her heart ache heavier with every beat. She never had felt more miserable and helpless in her life, and so she nestled up in her bed, trying to get a tiny bit of comfort from the softness of the sheets she wetted with her tears.

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Inunyen knelt on the ground, bent over Atalar's sleeping body, and hold her breath. She hesitated, the sharp blade of her dagger only inches from Atalar's throat. Quickly she looked up once again to make sure that none of the others was coming. Since Atalar refused to sleep near to Ghorid, Aragorn or Legolas they had started to split up in two groups every time they set up a camp, leaving Atalar alone with Inunyen. They were out of sight, but not really out of hearing and Inunyen had to act quickly if she didn't want to be in danger of getting discovered by one of the others. She choked hard and tightened her grip around the weapon. She had only one try, she had to kill him with only one thrust so he had no chance to scream... One hard thrust in the smooth skin of his neck she once had sucked on in ecstasy, back at Katalla when they had given in to their desire, hidden in one of the stables, covered by the darkness of the night. It had been her first and last encounter with the act of lovemaking, and she remembered every second of it as if it had been yesterday and not years ago. Despair welled in her heart when she noticed that her hand was shivering slightly. She couldn't deny her true feelings. She cursed her weakness, her inability to do what had to be done. She wished she could switch off her emotions, but she couldn't. Inunyen blinked hardly to fight back tears that gathered in her eyes. She was disappointed about herself, about her failure.

When Atalar moaned softly and moved she rapidly let the dagger vanish under her cloak. Only a second later he blinked his eyes open and seemed startled to see her so close to his face.

"Inunyen, what are you doing?" he asked drowsily.

"Watching over you while you are asleep, my Lord," she replied in a low voice. She didn't know how many times she had already lied to him, the man she loved. The only human being she ever had developed deep feelings for. He was the dearest to her heart, and yet he was the one she was determined to murder.

He slowly sat up and when she wanted to back away grabbed her upper arm to hold her in position.

"Did you cry?" he asked surprised and worried, his big dark eyes capturing her face.

"No, I did not," she responded, lying once more, "Lie back down, you need to rest."

"Would you lie with me?" he asked, his voice only a whisper. Her mouth turned dry and she couldn't help staring at him, the longing expression in her eyes revealing the truth about her deep feelings she tried to suppress at all costs.

"I am glad you are here with me," he said and ran his hand from her arm to her head. She closed her eyes when his gentle fingers lingered on the backside of her neck, playing with her soft hair. A long time had passed by since he had touched her the last time and it almost scared her how much she had missed it. Although they had been living in the same fortress for over ten years they had hardly ever spent time together alone, not to speak of having physical contact. The fear of being discovered was huge. It was not easy to conceal a secret and forbidden love between the heir to the stewardship and a simple messenger of his father.

Inunyen's eyes shot open again when Atalar's soft lips were lowered on her own, drawing her into a deep, fiery kiss they both had waited to share for what seemed like an eternity. He opened her ponytail and plunged both of his hands in her full hair, pulling her head even closer to his face. She gave in to the passion, allowing him to suck on her lips and probe her mouth with flaming desire. Her breathing quickened when their tongues met and she put a hand flatly against his chest, not yet sure whether she did it to pull him closer or to push him away again.

"I have been craving this," Atalar whispered, his breath hot against her lips, "It has been so long since I tasted your lips the last time."

He kissed her again, harder this time, and began to tug on her clothes. Tears started to escape Inunyen's eyes. Why was fate so cruel? Why did she fall in love with the man she was supposed to assassinate? And why did he return these feelings? Emotions made everything difficult and complicated.

She felt that he tried to find comfort in the kisses, that he desperately tried to work off the pain about the loss of his sister. She hated herself for having brought this untrue news to him that had ripped his heart to pieces, but it had to be done. Wetting both their faces with hot tears and returning his loving kisses, she slid one hand back to her dagger. She closed her fingers around it, ready to draw the weapon and put and end to Atalar's life...

But something hold her back. Something that was stronger than the fear of what would happen to her if she did not do it.

"I cannot," she whispered, broke from his tender grip and rose abruptly. She meant killing him, but Atalar thought she meant loving him.

"Wait!" he blurted out and was on his feet in a second, holding to her arm so she couldn't run away.

"Why don't you want to take this chance? We have been waiting for many years for this to happen," he said in a very low voice and raised her hand to his mouth to kiss it softly.

She wanted, but she couldn't. She wanted to give in to him, to let him take her with his fiery temper and burning passion she loved so much about him. But it could not be.

"I am sorry, Atalar," she whispered and escaped from his grip. He didn't run after her. Inunyen didn't know whether she was relieved or disappointed about it. She only felt confusion for now. She had to get back to her senses. She had her orders that had to be fulfilled, no matter whether these orders contradicted the honest feelings she carried in her heart of hearts.

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~ to be continued ~

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*** I need to clarify something: In my story, there's no Éowyn! Faramir is single. My apologies to everybody who is a hardcore Éowyn-Fan! (I hope you'll still continue to read although I ripped Éowyn and Faramir apart...).

I'm also sorry that I'm beating the shit out of Boromir, but that's the way this story works... Abductors who try to get important pieces of information out of their victim are never nice and lovely I'm afraid! Sorry, Boromir, I love you man! ;o) ***