I'm not sure if you all know this but I re-uploaded chapter 27 yesterday, which is why some of your author alert emails might have been a little screwed. I uploaded an extra chapter and then deleted a chapter and realised I goofed and redid a whole bunch of stuff and that's why you might have got more author alerts than you actually should have received. Hehe. Sorry.

By the way, thanks to PopcornLeader for recommending my story! And to boobtubesngrass, welcome to my story!

To Lossenrhos: Awww you're making my head swell. J Thanks (well, not for swelling up my head, but for the compliments… I think you get what I mean hehe)!

To everyone else: I realise that I haven't been thanking y'all for your reviews for an extremely long time and that's really rude of me and so I just want to thank everyone for your reviews now, they really keep me going! And special mention to cherryfaerie because you leave so many reviews and I'm always really happy to read them!

CHAPTER 29 : I Will Not See You Again

"Liana! Where have you been?" Her mother looked furious.

"No, Mother, I just… I went…"

"Don't you ever do that again, do you hear me? Running off into the crowd without even telling me where you are going, much less asking for permission! The place is full of soldiers and people and horses, you could get lost in the crowd!"

Pippin cut in smoothly. "Lady, your daughter was looking for Captain Faramir. I think that she was just really worried about him, and couldn't wait to see him. But you see, now she's back home safely, and you can stop worrying now."

Aislin stopped her tirade and looked down at Pippin. Then she smiled. "Yes, thank you…"

"Peregrin Took."

"Thank you, Master Took. I'm glad you brought Liana home. Come in, sit down. I was just getting Alban some food, perhaps you would like to join him?"

Pippin grinned. "All right. I never say no to food anyway."

Liana laughed, glad that she was out of trouble. "Thanks," she whispered to Pippin as they went to the table where Alban was sitting.

"Not a problem, needed that a lot myself back in the Shire," he whispered back.

Faramir went to see Aislin immediately after he saw his father. Pippin saw the tears that were still in his eyes, and said, "Liana, why don't we go out? You could introduce me to your friend Rianne. May I take her with me, Aislin?"

"Yes, Pippin, of course you may," Aislin replied distantly. She had also seen the look on Faramir's face.

Pippin took Liana by the hand and left. Alban had gone to join the other soldiers, and Aislin's mother was at the armoury, helping to attend to the wounds of other soldiers. This left Faramir and Aislin alone in the house.

"Sit down, Faramir. What's wrong? What is it?" Aislin took a chair, and Faramir obediently took a seat opposite her.

He looked down at his hands, not knowing how to put it. "I went to see my father…" he began, before breaking off again. How can I say this? He took a deep breath. "He wants Osgiliath back."

Aislin gasped. "But… it's overrun, is it not? Alban told me. It's overrun! How would you…" she broke off, seeing the look in his eyes. "You intend to die trying."

Faramir nodded. "My father will not take no for an answer, and I would not disobey his orders. I have sworn to serve him, and Gondor…"

The chair fell to the ground with a loud thud as Aislin stood up suddenly. "You will do Gondor no good dead! And what about your men? There's no hope for them either, is there? What's going to happen to Gondor if all of you were killed? Who's going to lead the soldiers? What's going to happen to all of us?"

"I will not disobey his orders," Faramir repeated. "I made promises, Aislin, such a long time ago, and I've kept them all these years. I have no intentions of breaking them now. I remain loyal to my father."

"You're no good to your father if you're dead."

Faramir stood up. "At least I would have tried."

Aislin shook her head. Tears were shining in her eyes when she looked up at him. "There's no way I can change your mind, is there? No one can change your mind."

"No one can changed my mind," Faramir agreed. "And I just came to… to say goodbye. Don't tell Liana about this, she is just a child, she will not understand. Look after her. And don't go to the gates later… or I wouldn't be able to leave. I have to go now… I will not be seeing you again…"

He broke off as Aislin flung herself into his arms. "I told you once that I don't hate your father, but I hate him now, more than I ever could hate anyone. We've already lost Boromir and now I'm going to lose you too."

Faramir stood with his arms around Aislin, not wanting to move. We've been friends for so long, and I love her so much. "Don't hate him, Aislin. I don't hate him. It's just how things have to be. But don't worry, you'll be all right. You have Liana, and you will live for her, take care of her. You will see the boys fall in love with her, you will see her married, with her own children, and you will love those children like you love her. Boromir would be happy to know that, and I know I am happy to know that."

"I'll miss you so much." Aislin pulled away slightly so she could give him a kiss. "One day I'll see you again."

Faramir nodded dumbly, not sure what to say, and left the house.

Aislin stood in the doorway, watching Faramir walk away. A tear rolled down her cheek as she recalled the day they first met, where he had tripped over that laundry basket right before eyes, just before this very same door. He had been hurrying to his father, a frightened, worried young man. She thought back on the good times they had had, just the three of them. Then, laughter was so much more common than tears.

She had known Faramir for twenty years, twenty years that had flown by as if they amounted to nothing. But so much had happened, so much lost, so much gained, so many tears cried. And now that would come to an end, such a sudden end. She would not be seeing him again, and there was nothing that could be done to prevent the parting.

Soon you'll get to see Boromir, but I will still be here…

"What's happening, Pippin?"

"I honestly don't know, Liana. I barely have an idea of what is really happening right now," Pippin confessed. He felt so confused himself; how could he answer this eight-year-old?

"I wish none of this was happening. It makes my mother cry a lot. We've already lost my father, and he was such a brave man. I don't even know what happened to him. He had to leave Gondor."

"Where did he go?"

"Mother said that he went to Rivendell."

Pippin's breath caught. "Was his name Boromir?"

Liana's eyes lit up. "You knew him! Did you know what happened to him?"

Pippin squirmed in his seat on the bench. "Perhaps… I shouldn't… your mother might not…"

"It's all right, you can tell me. I want to know." Liana's eyes never left his face.

Pippin hesitated for a moment, and then caught the look on her face and gave in. "Well… all right… Your father, Boromir, died for my friend Merry and I. We were being attacked by Uruk-Hai, and he was trying to protect us, keep us from getting caught, but there were too many of them… He fought bravely."

Liana was silent for the longest time, and Pippin even began to get worried. Perhaps he shouldn't have told her after all. What was he thinking, telling something like that to a little girl? Gandalf was right, he was a fool. Then Liana looked up at him again, and gave him a small smile. "My father was a hero?"

"Of course, he was never anything less."

She nodded, and then looked out into the distance. "I knew it. He was always a hero. To my mother and I."