[An. Here's the next chapter of Strength of Heart, Strength of Mind.

Reviewers:

AsianScaper I'm not sure what you meant by the influence of Gaiman, and a prologue is really just a teaser anyway to get people interested in the story. I am however glad that you like the story and I will be sure to continue it.

Galadrielwannabe glad that you have the same thoughts as me about Boromir, however I'm saving him because he is my friends favorite character, mine is Legolas, if you can't already tell. The prologue was written from Leilani's point of view and as such it was written in first person, if this still poses any mistakes do tell me as I do not write in first person much and would like to improve it.

Dread Lady Freya hopefully this will fill in some of the blanks I left if not just be patient all your questions will be answered……. eventually.]

Disclaimer:

I do NOT own or have in my possession anything that says I own the Lord of the Rings, though if I did you could be assured that I would promptly marry Legolas and we would live happily every after. The Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and no one else, unfortunately. The characters of Destiny and Leilani are mine however and therefore not any one else's to mess with. If you would like to use them in your story please contact me first and I will give you the background and character descriptions that I have created for the two of them for this story.

Chapter 1 First Meetings

Many years have passed from the time that Faramir and Boromir had brought Destiny and Leilani to Minas Tirith. Both girls have grown up to be beautiful young ladies whose very presence in the House of the Steward's was much appreciated by all who knew them.

At the age of 8 Leilani and Destiny began begging the two brothers to teach them how to defend themselves. After listening to their begging for over 3 months, with no rest from there pleas, the brothers caved and began to teach the two girls how to fight. To there great surprise the cousins turned out to be great fighters once they were taught the basics. As they grew older there skills only improved. Denethor watched the 4 carefully, keeping note of how these two girls had power over his sons. When Denethor noticed just how skilled the girls were at fighting he called a stop to there lessons, telling them that women have no need to know the art of war. The girls' protests to the contrary however fell on deaf ears as he told them they would now be apprenticed to the Houses of Healing, and that they would have to start acting like the young ladies that they were. This apprenticeship took place when the girls were 10.

Neither really protested this change once they began their apprenticeship as there was no time. Each day was busier than the last as they learned more and more about how to heal the various injuries that came to the Houses of Healing. They learned about the poisons that could kill a man and how to remove them or neutralize them. By the age of 13 the girls were skilled healers whose match could not be found in Gondor. It was after they had achieved this mastery of healing that the girls approached Denethor once more to ask if they may continue there training with weapons. Denethor allowed them to on the stipulation that when not in their lessons they behave like the young women that they were. The girls agreed before leaving the hall calmly. Only once they were certain that they were out of Denethor's sight did they take off running towards the training fields were they knew Boromir and Faramir were training with the soldiers of Gondor.

As the girls had grown more comfortable with their new situation and the kindness that the two brothers had shown them they began to relax. Destiny in particular had blossomed from the scared little girl of 5, to the self-confident young woman that she was becoming. She had a curiosity that surpassed even Faramir when it came to learning new things from the books in the library. The two of them could often be found in the library with their noses buried in some book or scroll. Leilani on the other hand was the complete opposite. Though she did indeed feel more comfortable with there new home in Gondor, she still cared more about protecting Destiny than about protecting herself.

So if was Destiny that shouted there good news to the two brothers when they arrived at the training grounds. Destiny ran right over to where the two brothers were practicing as Leilani trailed behind to watch her cousin. The soldiers who were practicing with the brothers laughed at the idea of the girls fighting but both of them ignored the soldier's jibs, as they awaited the brother's response. They did not have to wait long. Faramir began to smile as he registered just what Destiny had told them. He dropped the sword that he had been practicing with to pick Destiny up by her waist and began to swing her around.

"That's great," Faramir exclaimed, his voice nearly drowned out by Destiny's giggles. Boromir smiled at the picture the two made as Faramir continued to swing Destiny around.

"It is wonderful news indeed," Boromir told them when Faramir stopped swinging Destiny around. "Am I to take it then that you would like to begin right now?" Boromir asked as he stared at the two cousins. Leilani and Destiny looked at each other before smiling and nodding there heads vigorously at Boromir. "Then you had best change out of those dresses than shouldn't you," Boromir chastised them. The girls looked down at the dresses they wore sheepishly before turning and dashing back to there rooms to change. They never heard the protests of the soldiers which surrounded the brothers, nor did they hear the rebuttals of the brothers to the soldiers.

When the girls came back to practice they scarcely noticed that some of the soldiers had left, not wanting to participate in training the two girls. On the way back the training grounds the girls had stopped at the armory to pick up a new set of weapons, the ones they had used before now to small for them. Destiny chose a sword similar to the ones Faramir and Boromir used, just a little smaller so that she could wield it. Leilani chose her favorite weapons, a pair of short swords, just a little bigger than a pair of knives. Destiny's sword was strapped on her belt, while Leilani's short swords were strapped across her back. The two girls walked calmly back to where the two brothers were standing. Any doubts of the girls' abilities as fighters were laid to rest that day as Destiny and Leilani practiced with the brothers. The girls were able to hold there own for almost two hours before faltering. In the case of Leilani, she had almost disarmed Boromir a few times with moves none of the soldiers had ever seen before. From then on the girls accompanied Boromir and Faramir to there training sessions with the soldiers. Each time they were able to find new ways to amaze and surprise the soldiers with which they trained.

It was a few months after this momentous occasion for the girls that they met for the first time Mithrandir, or Gandalf the Grey as he was otherwise known. The other times that Mithrandir had visited Minas Tirith the girls had been busy with their studies, so they had yet to meet the eccentric wizard. When Mithrandir arrived he spoke first with Denethor who asked him to accompany him to meet with his sons and their friends. Mithrandir's curiousity was peaked as Denethor never before had asked him to follow him anywhere, let alone desire him to speak with his sons. The two walked down to the training field in which the brothers and the cousins were still training.

When they arrived at the training fields Mithrandir's first instinctive reaction was to cast a protection spell on the two young girls that were fighting with the Steward's sons. However a second later he saw that it was unnecessary as the girls were giving back as good as they got. The two girls were holding there own in against the two older boys. A few minutes later a shout of delight could be heard as Destiny disarmed Faramir. Her shout was soon followed by Leilani's grin of satisfaction as Boromir's sword went fling. The clattering of the two swords broke the silence that now filled the training fields. When the clanging of the two swords stopped the silence was broken once more by Faramir.

"Well done you two, that's the first time you've managed to disarm the both of us. You've been practicing Destiny, you've gotten much better."

"Thank you Faramir," Destiny replied as she smiled up at him. Denethor took this opportunity to approach the foursome, Mithrandir following a few steps behind.

"Well done indeed girls. I see that my sons have been slacking in their training if the two of you can disarm them," Denethor called out as he drew closer to the group. The four jumped slightly in shock before the boys looked down at there feet sheepishly. Destiny and Leilani however looked at the old man that had followed Denethor.

"My Lord Denethor," Destiny began. "Who is your companion?" Denethor smiled down at Destiny as Boromir and Faramir lifted there gazes to see Mithrandir.

"Mithrandir!" Faramir called out as jogged over to shake the wizard's hand. "It is wonderful to see you again. Are you going to be in Minas Tirith long?"

"With a welcome like yours my dear Faramir I hope to stay as long as I am welcome," Mithrandir answered him as he smiled down at the boy. "Now Denethor who exactly was it that you wanted me to meet?" he asked as he looked out over the sparsely populated training field.

"These two young ladies," Denethor told him as he motioned the girls forward. "Mithrandir I would like you to meet Destiny and Leilani, two members of my household who I would be proud to call my daughters." Both Destiny and Leilani stared up at Denethor in shock, while the brothers exchanged curious looks as they wondered just what there father was up to now.

"My lord, do you truly mean that?" Leilani asked as she stared at Denethor.

"Of course I do, my dear. It has been 8 years since you first joined us in my household and we have yet to find any trace of either of your families. The fact that my sons are deeply attached to both of you also helped to influence my decision," Denethor told them as he smiled down at them. Mithrandir stared at the Steward of Gondor in shock. It seemed as if the very presence of these girls was having a positive influence on the cold and harsh Steward.

"Oh thank you my lord," Destiny cried out as she threw her arms around Denethor's waist in a hug. Denethor looked startled at her reaction but soon relaxed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"I thank you for doing this my lord, but you did not have to. We would have ended up a part of your family anyway," Leilani told him, her eyes slightly glazed over as she looked at something none of the others could see. Destiny pulled back out of Denethor's arms and turned to face her cousin.

"Leilani?" she asked, her voice laced with confusion. Leilani shock her head as her eyes snapped back into focus.

"Des?" Leilani asked, confused.

"What did you mean little one?" Boromir questioned Leilani as he knelt down beside her to look into her eyes.

What do you mean Boromir? What's going on?" Leilani whispered, tears starting to form in her eyes.

'Leilani,' Destiny thought as she walked over and hugged her cousin. "May we please be excused my lord? I don't think that she is well and I would like to get her into bed," Destiny stated as she looked up at Denethor.

"Of course, Destiny. If she still does not feel well at supper I'll send some up to your room for the two of you. You are also excused from the rest of your lessons and duties for today," Denethor responded. Destiny nodded before beginning to lead her cousin to their room. Mithrandir followed the progress of the two girls until they were out of sight. When they finally disappeared around a corner he turned back to his host.

"I think Denethor that I would like to learn more about these two young ladies."

"For that you had best speak with my sons, for they know the two of them the best out of anyone," Denethor informed the Maia. "So I will leave the three of you to your discussions." Denethor then turned and headed back into the tower, intending to check up on how Leilani was doing.

Mithrandir turned to the two brothers. Boromir sighed before turning to lead the way to the library, they would not be disturbed there and there was much to tell the old wizard. Over the next two days the brothers told Mithrandir everything they knew about the cousins.

On the third day after the Maia's arrival the girls once more rejoined life in the Steward's house. Mithrandir observed the girls as they went about there daily tasks. Mithrandir carefully observed the girls hoping to better understand them. He watched as they began their morning by heading to the Houses of Healing. They spent three hours there lending there aid and skills to the healers there. They then attended an hour of lessons with one of the noble ladies of the court. When these lessons were done they attended lunch with the Steward and his sons. After lunch they attended lessons once more before they joined Boromir and Faramir for their weapons training. By suppertime Mithrandir was no closer to figuring out the mystery behind the two girls than he was before. However during supper that night he got a brief glimpse of who the girls really were.

[An. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter I will try to get the next on out as soon as possible. It is already halfway done being written.

As always let me know what you think of my stories as I always look forward to learning I have a new review.

Till next chapter,

Silver Tenshi]

(Completed: May 5, 2004)