Disclaimer: The Lord of the rings does not belong to me.
Tuesday
Chapter 3
__________________________________________
"Where were you last night?" Boromir asked his brother as he entered Faramir's room. Faramir looked up at his brother from the book he was reading.
"Here... in my room. Didn't Helena inform you? I was unwell." The younger brother said as he closed his book and placed it on the table next to him. He enjoyed having a good read in the early morning before anyone important had woken up. Boromir knew this and he came in when his father was still alseep.
Faramir's room was filled with books. Shelves and shelves of books that went up to the ceiling. Even though his room wasn't particularly very big but the amount of books towering above everything else seemed to increase the atmosphere of the place. Boromir shuddered at the amount of words surrounding him. He was never one to read unless he had to.
"Oh really? What was it?" Boromir asked as his folded his arms across his chest.
"The flu." Faramir said quickly. He had rehearsed it in his mind so many times before he went to bed the night before for he knew that someone was bound to ask him that. However, he still made one mistake.
"How queer. The maid said you were feverish." Boromir said with a smirk as if he knew that his brother had not told the maid what to say.
"I am sorry. I lied. I snuck out last night and had dinner with a friend." Faramir sighed, giving in to his brother. It was so hard for him to lie because he hardly ever did and although he was smart enough to cover a few of his tracks, he was not perfect.
"Yes, that you did do. Not only that but you left me with Father who went on and on about how weak you are that you would get sick from doing nothing. Do you even realize how much torture that was?" Boromir half laughed at, half scolded his brother. Only Boromir was able to make Faramir feel good about lying.
The older brother placed his hand on Faramir's shoulder and his expression turned to one that was slightly in pain. Faramir looked so much like their mother that it made Boromir feel sad sometimes when he met with his younger brother's eyes.
"Tell me, Boromir. What do you see when you look into my eyes?"
Boromir thought for a moment and then he answered in a serious tone and unmockingly.
"The heart of a woman. Our mother's heart and her gentleness. You were not born a warrior, little brother. You are too compassionate, you cannot go on like this." Boromir said. He released his grip on Faramir and straightened his posture. Faramir got up too and he tried to seem as big as his brother was but even though he stood tall, his older brother would always look smarter and more powerful than he did.
"I promise you, I will not fail. If it is my gentle nature that is holding me back, then I assure you it will be rid of." Faramir said. Boromir was not so sure his brother could do such a feat and furthermore, he did not want his brother to change. There were really very few men he could turn to when he needed to have a real heart to heart and with Faramir deciding to change his character, there would be one less.
"Well then, little brother. I am not the one who has to hear what you just said." Boromir said as he turned to go. He took one last look at his younger brother over his shoulder and shook his head. Do not ever change Faramir, Boromir prayed silently to himself.
Faramir sighed as he slumped back down into his chair. He stared as the book on the table and fingered the cover, his index finger subconsciously going round and round in circles. The last person he wanted to see that day was his old man and that was the first person he had to report to first thing in the morning. He needed to get away. Very far away.
And as he turned his attention to look out the window and at the villagers of Gondor, bustling about with their daily lives, he knew just who could help him.
___________________________________________________
"Its a lovely day, don't you think so Tuesday?" Faramir greeted his new friend. Tuesday was standing on a stool while dusting the shelf in a toy shop. Her hair had a scarf tied around it to keep it from falling into her face and she had an old, dirty apron tied around her waist. Obviously she had been doing some kind of craft work around the toy shop.
"Lovely? You must be joking, it must be the warmest of all summer days." The girl answered without looking back. "I told mother not to tell you where I was and somehow I knew she would still tell you anyway."
"How would you know I would even look for you in the first place?" Faramir asked, wondering how she could make a prediction like that. Tuesday shrugged and got down from the stool. She untied the scarf, letting her hair fall back into place while also using the scarf to wipe her sweaty forehead.
"With all due respect, Faramir, you're really boring. A nice person but honestly very boring, not to mention, you're too polite. And I knew you would come back because every boring person needs a fun person." She said as she untied her apron as well, tossing it untidily on the counter.
"And you're saying that you are a fun person?" Faramir asked, raising an eyebrow. No one had ever told him he was a boring person, but then again, everyone he knew was either too polite or too boring to tell him that.
"Yes, of course I am. You should have seen your own face during dinner last night. You were laughing so hard and I do believe snorting as well. Like a pig. Smelly too." Tuesday informed and then she abruptly grabbed him by his hand and pulled him along with her out of the shop.
"Wait, wait! Where are we going?" Faramir asked. He tried to pull away at first but her hands were really sticky from all the workshop glue that it stuck to his arm hair. It hurt quite a bit when he struggled so he decided that he would let her pull him along and if she got too far, he would try to in vain to break free.
"We are going to take you to have fun." She said in an annoyed tone, as if it was the most blatant thing in the world. "And cool off at the same time."
"But don't you have work to do?" He asked. The girl had just left the shop in the middle of a working day that it surprised him. But when he thought about it, Tuesday had surprised him a lot of times ever since the day he met her.
"I'd have to ask you the same thing, wouldn't I?" Tuesday laughed as she picked up speed and began to run into the never ending horizon, beyond the borders of the great White city, with Faramir tagging along unwillingly at first but after awhile he no longer felt bound to any puppet strings of the real world. He was free, for now anyway.
______________________________________________
It was late afternoon when the sun was shining the brightest then. It was the hottest time of the day as well and by the time Faramir and Tuesday got to their destination, their clothes were soaked in prespiration. Tuesday's hand had also broken off from his because their sweat had mixed with the glue to wash it off.
"Here we are!" Tuesday exclaimed as she removed her shoes and ran forward, plunging her feet into the river before them.
Faramir looked around in fascination. In all his days serving as a Gondorian ranger, he had never come across such a place. It looked almost like the forbidden pool but more vegetation grew inside the caves that they were in. That made it even more mysterious because it was quite impossible for plants to grow without any sunlight, save for moss and fungi.
"This place is truly astonishing!" He exclaimed as he drummed his fingers against the smooth surface of the cave walls.
"I came across it when I was younger... my brother and I found it." She said. Her voice shook alittle in sadness when she mentioned her brother.
"You have a brother? I did not see him the last time." Faramir said. He was quite sure Tuesday was an only child the way her mother doted on her so. He wondered what happened to him. Did he die? He did not dare ask her in case he offended her. But she knew he wanted to ask so she told him anyway.
"He fell in love with a girl. She was from Dol Amroth. She would not part with her land, so he went to live with her after they got married." Tuesday said sadly. She never really liked the fact that he was in love.
"You say this with much pain. Why is that? Were you close to your brother?" He asked.
"Indeed. We were so close, even in our age difference, we showed much resembelence towards each other. He was eight years older than I was but we looked like twins, especially since he looks younger than he is." She said, taking a deep breath and then she continued with an even heavier heart. "We would do almost everything together. And we loved to explore lands as far as our parents would let us go, far from Gondor."
"So he must be happy to live in Dol Amroth then?"
"I do not know. We do not communicate anymore. He does not reply any of my letters. That evil wife of his must be throwing them away. It is as if she has a spell on him. Before they were married, he would take her to all my brother's and my secret hideouts. Places where we vowed we would never tell another soul of. I can forgive him for that I suppose. But I can't forgive him for..." She hesitated for a moment and it sounded as if she just drew the hardest breath.
"Leaving me behind."
For a while, Faramir said nothing. Then he sat by her side and pulled her hands in his.
"Will it be wrong if I asked you to be my younger sister then?" He asked.
"You don't know how to be an older brother." She answered plainly.
"I will if you let me." He said quickly only to hear her laugh. "Very well. You will be given some time to prove your worth as my older brother. If you fail... there will be consequences!"
At this, Faramir was pleased. So pleased in fact that he jumped into the water and picked her up in his arms, swinging her around as much as the water pressure would let him. Tuesday screamed in surprise but did not struggle. It was not in her nature to fight back and she probably would not even try to escape if someone had held her captive.
He dropped her down into the water which was about knee high. And when she stood up, she took him by his hand, like she would have with her older brother and brought him beneath the cold shower of the waterfall above them. The water fell hard and solid against their weather beaten backs. It stung for awhile because their skin had been quite badly burnt by the scroching sun on their half day's journey to the caves but within less than a minute, the liquid began to massage them and loosen their muscles and the pain ceased.
"Do you know how to dance, Faramir?" She asked. Faramir nodded reluctantly.
"I can, but I am not very good at it though. I have two left feet and I try to avoid all invitations to dance." He said, embarassed.
"Can you teach me? I do not know how to... at all."
Faramir nodded again. There were only two of them and the water would make it harder for him to move forward and step on her toes so he agreed. "Its quite simple for the ladies really. All you have to do is follow my lead."
He pulled one of her hands into his and picked up her other hand and placed it on his shoulder. Then he realised it would be a real disadvantage in this lesson because they did not have any music to follow.
"We do not have any music..." He said, slightly disappointed.
Tuesday smiled and with the hand that was resting on his shoulder she pulled his head to lean against hers and she whispered in a tiny voice. "Imagine the waterfalls are your drums... find a clear beat..."
"But I..." Faramir began to protest because he did not see how this was going to work but Tuesday cut him off.
"Shhh... close your eyes. Now...listen to the trumpets." She said in a hushed voice. Soon, she was humming a melody from a song she had known since she was a child.
Faramir obliged and he closed his eyes and in the darkness of his mind, he could concentrate very well to her humming and as she became steadily louder and louder. Everything seemed so clear then. Darkness no longer clouded his mind. A brightly lit hall had popped up and minstrels and other Lords and Ladies were there, all in his imagination.
And before him stood Tuesday, her soaked cotton dress replaced by a dark blue gown with silver stars embroided along the sleeves and her hair was in a bun. There in his own mind did he first notice how soft and vulnerable and shy she looked even though she did not seem so in the character which she portrayed in reality.
Soon, he bagan to dance with her and he found himself in perfect form. He did not care if he were to make any mistakes because his father was not there and he was perfectly comfortable with Tuesday and she did not seem to mind if he was far from a perfect dancer.
Suddenly, the music stopped and Faramir's eyes flashed opened. Tuesday had stopped humming and she was looking very intently at him, studying his face.
"Why did you stop?" He asked. Tuesday shrugged and let go of his hands.
"I know how to dance now." She said quietly. Faramir nodded. He did not in fact teach her how to dance properly but it was vice versa and he thought it was a fantastically magical experience, one he was sure he would not forget.
_____________________________________________
End of chapter 3
_____________________________________________
Plasmolyed Cell Membrane: Whoops! I was s'posed to have written abt how Faramir gets into trouble in this chapter.. but I just couldn't without writing this part... so...hehheh. wait for it in the next chapter! In the meantime... REVIEW DARLINGS! Oh and sorry if there are many spelling mistakes... I don't have spell check.. bleagh!
Tuesday
Chapter 3
__________________________________________
"Where were you last night?" Boromir asked his brother as he entered Faramir's room. Faramir looked up at his brother from the book he was reading.
"Here... in my room. Didn't Helena inform you? I was unwell." The younger brother said as he closed his book and placed it on the table next to him. He enjoyed having a good read in the early morning before anyone important had woken up. Boromir knew this and he came in when his father was still alseep.
Faramir's room was filled with books. Shelves and shelves of books that went up to the ceiling. Even though his room wasn't particularly very big but the amount of books towering above everything else seemed to increase the atmosphere of the place. Boromir shuddered at the amount of words surrounding him. He was never one to read unless he had to.
"Oh really? What was it?" Boromir asked as his folded his arms across his chest.
"The flu." Faramir said quickly. He had rehearsed it in his mind so many times before he went to bed the night before for he knew that someone was bound to ask him that. However, he still made one mistake.
"How queer. The maid said you were feverish." Boromir said with a smirk as if he knew that his brother had not told the maid what to say.
"I am sorry. I lied. I snuck out last night and had dinner with a friend." Faramir sighed, giving in to his brother. It was so hard for him to lie because he hardly ever did and although he was smart enough to cover a few of his tracks, he was not perfect.
"Yes, that you did do. Not only that but you left me with Father who went on and on about how weak you are that you would get sick from doing nothing. Do you even realize how much torture that was?" Boromir half laughed at, half scolded his brother. Only Boromir was able to make Faramir feel good about lying.
The older brother placed his hand on Faramir's shoulder and his expression turned to one that was slightly in pain. Faramir looked so much like their mother that it made Boromir feel sad sometimes when he met with his younger brother's eyes.
"Tell me, Boromir. What do you see when you look into my eyes?"
Boromir thought for a moment and then he answered in a serious tone and unmockingly.
"The heart of a woman. Our mother's heart and her gentleness. You were not born a warrior, little brother. You are too compassionate, you cannot go on like this." Boromir said. He released his grip on Faramir and straightened his posture. Faramir got up too and he tried to seem as big as his brother was but even though he stood tall, his older brother would always look smarter and more powerful than he did.
"I promise you, I will not fail. If it is my gentle nature that is holding me back, then I assure you it will be rid of." Faramir said. Boromir was not so sure his brother could do such a feat and furthermore, he did not want his brother to change. There were really very few men he could turn to when he needed to have a real heart to heart and with Faramir deciding to change his character, there would be one less.
"Well then, little brother. I am not the one who has to hear what you just said." Boromir said as he turned to go. He took one last look at his younger brother over his shoulder and shook his head. Do not ever change Faramir, Boromir prayed silently to himself.
Faramir sighed as he slumped back down into his chair. He stared as the book on the table and fingered the cover, his index finger subconsciously going round and round in circles. The last person he wanted to see that day was his old man and that was the first person he had to report to first thing in the morning. He needed to get away. Very far away.
And as he turned his attention to look out the window and at the villagers of Gondor, bustling about with their daily lives, he knew just who could help him.
___________________________________________________
"Its a lovely day, don't you think so Tuesday?" Faramir greeted his new friend. Tuesday was standing on a stool while dusting the shelf in a toy shop. Her hair had a scarf tied around it to keep it from falling into her face and she had an old, dirty apron tied around her waist. Obviously she had been doing some kind of craft work around the toy shop.
"Lovely? You must be joking, it must be the warmest of all summer days." The girl answered without looking back. "I told mother not to tell you where I was and somehow I knew she would still tell you anyway."
"How would you know I would even look for you in the first place?" Faramir asked, wondering how she could make a prediction like that. Tuesday shrugged and got down from the stool. She untied the scarf, letting her hair fall back into place while also using the scarf to wipe her sweaty forehead.
"With all due respect, Faramir, you're really boring. A nice person but honestly very boring, not to mention, you're too polite. And I knew you would come back because every boring person needs a fun person." She said as she untied her apron as well, tossing it untidily on the counter.
"And you're saying that you are a fun person?" Faramir asked, raising an eyebrow. No one had ever told him he was a boring person, but then again, everyone he knew was either too polite or too boring to tell him that.
"Yes, of course I am. You should have seen your own face during dinner last night. You were laughing so hard and I do believe snorting as well. Like a pig. Smelly too." Tuesday informed and then she abruptly grabbed him by his hand and pulled him along with her out of the shop.
"Wait, wait! Where are we going?" Faramir asked. He tried to pull away at first but her hands were really sticky from all the workshop glue that it stuck to his arm hair. It hurt quite a bit when he struggled so he decided that he would let her pull him along and if she got too far, he would try to in vain to break free.
"We are going to take you to have fun." She said in an annoyed tone, as if it was the most blatant thing in the world. "And cool off at the same time."
"But don't you have work to do?" He asked. The girl had just left the shop in the middle of a working day that it surprised him. But when he thought about it, Tuesday had surprised him a lot of times ever since the day he met her.
"I'd have to ask you the same thing, wouldn't I?" Tuesday laughed as she picked up speed and began to run into the never ending horizon, beyond the borders of the great White city, with Faramir tagging along unwillingly at first but after awhile he no longer felt bound to any puppet strings of the real world. He was free, for now anyway.
______________________________________________
It was late afternoon when the sun was shining the brightest then. It was the hottest time of the day as well and by the time Faramir and Tuesday got to their destination, their clothes were soaked in prespiration. Tuesday's hand had also broken off from his because their sweat had mixed with the glue to wash it off.
"Here we are!" Tuesday exclaimed as she removed her shoes and ran forward, plunging her feet into the river before them.
Faramir looked around in fascination. In all his days serving as a Gondorian ranger, he had never come across such a place. It looked almost like the forbidden pool but more vegetation grew inside the caves that they were in. That made it even more mysterious because it was quite impossible for plants to grow without any sunlight, save for moss and fungi.
"This place is truly astonishing!" He exclaimed as he drummed his fingers against the smooth surface of the cave walls.
"I came across it when I was younger... my brother and I found it." She said. Her voice shook alittle in sadness when she mentioned her brother.
"You have a brother? I did not see him the last time." Faramir said. He was quite sure Tuesday was an only child the way her mother doted on her so. He wondered what happened to him. Did he die? He did not dare ask her in case he offended her. But she knew he wanted to ask so she told him anyway.
"He fell in love with a girl. She was from Dol Amroth. She would not part with her land, so he went to live with her after they got married." Tuesday said sadly. She never really liked the fact that he was in love.
"You say this with much pain. Why is that? Were you close to your brother?" He asked.
"Indeed. We were so close, even in our age difference, we showed much resembelence towards each other. He was eight years older than I was but we looked like twins, especially since he looks younger than he is." She said, taking a deep breath and then she continued with an even heavier heart. "We would do almost everything together. And we loved to explore lands as far as our parents would let us go, far from Gondor."
"So he must be happy to live in Dol Amroth then?"
"I do not know. We do not communicate anymore. He does not reply any of my letters. That evil wife of his must be throwing them away. It is as if she has a spell on him. Before they were married, he would take her to all my brother's and my secret hideouts. Places where we vowed we would never tell another soul of. I can forgive him for that I suppose. But I can't forgive him for..." She hesitated for a moment and it sounded as if she just drew the hardest breath.
"Leaving me behind."
For a while, Faramir said nothing. Then he sat by her side and pulled her hands in his.
"Will it be wrong if I asked you to be my younger sister then?" He asked.
"You don't know how to be an older brother." She answered plainly.
"I will if you let me." He said quickly only to hear her laugh. "Very well. You will be given some time to prove your worth as my older brother. If you fail... there will be consequences!"
At this, Faramir was pleased. So pleased in fact that he jumped into the water and picked her up in his arms, swinging her around as much as the water pressure would let him. Tuesday screamed in surprise but did not struggle. It was not in her nature to fight back and she probably would not even try to escape if someone had held her captive.
He dropped her down into the water which was about knee high. And when she stood up, she took him by his hand, like she would have with her older brother and brought him beneath the cold shower of the waterfall above them. The water fell hard and solid against their weather beaten backs. It stung for awhile because their skin had been quite badly burnt by the scroching sun on their half day's journey to the caves but within less than a minute, the liquid began to massage them and loosen their muscles and the pain ceased.
"Do you know how to dance, Faramir?" She asked. Faramir nodded reluctantly.
"I can, but I am not very good at it though. I have two left feet and I try to avoid all invitations to dance." He said, embarassed.
"Can you teach me? I do not know how to... at all."
Faramir nodded again. There were only two of them and the water would make it harder for him to move forward and step on her toes so he agreed. "Its quite simple for the ladies really. All you have to do is follow my lead."
He pulled one of her hands into his and picked up her other hand and placed it on his shoulder. Then he realised it would be a real disadvantage in this lesson because they did not have any music to follow.
"We do not have any music..." He said, slightly disappointed.
Tuesday smiled and with the hand that was resting on his shoulder she pulled his head to lean against hers and she whispered in a tiny voice. "Imagine the waterfalls are your drums... find a clear beat..."
"But I..." Faramir began to protest because he did not see how this was going to work but Tuesday cut him off.
"Shhh... close your eyes. Now...listen to the trumpets." She said in a hushed voice. Soon, she was humming a melody from a song she had known since she was a child.
Faramir obliged and he closed his eyes and in the darkness of his mind, he could concentrate very well to her humming and as she became steadily louder and louder. Everything seemed so clear then. Darkness no longer clouded his mind. A brightly lit hall had popped up and minstrels and other Lords and Ladies were there, all in his imagination.
And before him stood Tuesday, her soaked cotton dress replaced by a dark blue gown with silver stars embroided along the sleeves and her hair was in a bun. There in his own mind did he first notice how soft and vulnerable and shy she looked even though she did not seem so in the character which she portrayed in reality.
Soon, he bagan to dance with her and he found himself in perfect form. He did not care if he were to make any mistakes because his father was not there and he was perfectly comfortable with Tuesday and she did not seem to mind if he was far from a perfect dancer.
Suddenly, the music stopped and Faramir's eyes flashed opened. Tuesday had stopped humming and she was looking very intently at him, studying his face.
"Why did you stop?" He asked. Tuesday shrugged and let go of his hands.
"I know how to dance now." She said quietly. Faramir nodded. He did not in fact teach her how to dance properly but it was vice versa and he thought it was a fantastically magical experience, one he was sure he would not forget.
_____________________________________________
End of chapter 3
_____________________________________________
Plasmolyed Cell Membrane: Whoops! I was s'posed to have written abt how Faramir gets into trouble in this chapter.. but I just couldn't without writing this part... so...hehheh. wait for it in the next chapter! In the meantime... REVIEW DARLINGS! Oh and sorry if there are many spelling mistakes... I don't have spell check.. bleagh!