CHAPTER 21: Get Through This
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"Retreat!"
The gates of Minas Tirith opened and Faramir led his men in. They had been outnumbered; if they had continued fighting, all that would result was a needless lost of lives. And so he had made the decision to withdraw to Minas Tirith, and get reinforcements. There was no time to lose. The Orcs seemed content for now to pillage and plunder in Osgiliath, burning and destroying buildings. He had to act fast, before they decided that they wanted Minas Tirith as well.
He dismounted, and pushed his way through the crowd of men and anxious women, in search of his brother. He spotted him some distance away. "Boromir! Boromir!" Boromir turned, and began to work his way towards him. "There are too many of them, we couldn't hold them back," Faramir began.
Boromir cut him off. "Yes, there's no time to waste. Gather the men you have, and I'll get the rest of the soldiers we need. We'll march back to Osgiliath by nightfall." Then he disappeared to gather his soldiers, and Faramir turned back to get his men ready to go back for battle.
"Faramir!" Liana came rushing to him, and hugged his leg (it being the highest point that she could reach). He picked her up, and then found Aislin coming forward to hug him as well.
"You don't know how good it is to see you safe and well!" Aislin said, giving him a relieved kiss on his cheek. "I had worried that the worst had happened."
"It has happened," Faramir said. "We're going back by nightfall. I need to assemble my men now." He handed Liana back to Aislin. "There's nothing that the two of you have to worry about, Minas Tirith is safe."
Tears came to Aislin's eyes. "I have plenty to worry about," she said softly.
Faramir put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't. Don't think about it, things will be all right, I promise. Boromir and I will be safe. You just be strong, and take care of Liana. She needs you." He forced a laugh. "Boromir needs someone there to take care of his every need after the battle, as well. No one's better at doing that than you."
Aislin took a deep breath and nodded. "Take care of yourself, Faramir."
Faramir patted Liana's head, then went to attend to his men.
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Aislin watched as the men marched out to Osgiliath, Faramir and Boromir riding ahead. She looked, dry-eyed, over the other women, weeping for their husbands, brothers or sons. Everyone was worried, everyone was scared. There had been whispers and murmurs about evil for such a long time, but now everything was all too real. Everything had descended upon them, and she wondered what was going to happen to them all.
"Where are they going?" Liana asked, holding on tightly to Aislin. "Why are they going there? It's safer here in Minas Tirith."
"They're going to chase the enemy out of Osgiliath, and make it safe again," Aislin explained in whispers. "Don't you worry about them, sweetheart, things will be all right, just as Faramir said. We'll wait for their return right here in Minas Tirith, and we'll be ready to celebrate their homecoming."
"But why do they both have to go?"
"They're stronger when they're fighting together, you see. Nothing can defeat them when they're fighting side by side." Aislin gave Liana a little smile of confidence, and the girl smiled back. Please, let them both be safe, Aislin prayed in her heart. We need them. I need them.
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Boromir did not allow himself to look back as he rode beside his brother. He knew that Aislin and Liana were watching; he knew that Aislin would be worried, Liana would be afraid. But Aislin was one of the strongest people he ever knew; everything would be all right under her. He kept his eyes on the city ahead, and thought through his plans. Behind him the men began to form ranks, breaking into the formations they had trained on before. Everything was going smoothly, everyone knew what to do. So far, so good.
He grinned at Faramir. "Well, we're not doing too badly so far," he said, making sure that his tone was light. "Let's just concentrate on the battle, and there's no way they'll get to keep Osgiliath."
Faramir nodded. "All right. Let's do this."
And may we all get through this, Boromir thought, as they drew closer to the city.
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I apologise for the pathetic length of this chapter. It just didn't seem like anything else should come into this chapter. There's probably going to be another leap in time in the next chapter. Wait… come to think of it… maybe not. Next, next chapter probably. We'll see. I'm keeping pretty well to my no-Internet-on-Mondays-Wednesdays-Thursdays policy.