Chapter 5: The Four Balconies
The two came upon Osgiliath on the fourth day, of which they spent rummaging for any provisions that may become useful, such as food. It had been four days since either had smelt the nice odour of a scrumptious meal, and unless they became cannibals, they would starve. So it was reassuring to reach civilization.
Osgiliath had been rebuilt since the War of the Ring, and the stone towers were even more glorious than before. They were carved with the care of newfound hope, and were tall and looming. One tower in particular caught their eyes. It was a tall grey stoned building, which winded upwards and then spread out in four directions: north, east, south and west. Each balcony had a great statue, carved magnificently out of white rock.
Immediately the two made their way towards the tower, as it was the most obvious thing to do. Inside it was full of sleeping bodies. Aragorn tried to wake one Gondorian, and his expectation came true, the body didn't even stir. For Janyn, it was rather depressing to stand in a room, knowing that you have condemned them into eternal sleep, but she would not admit her faults to Aragorn, he would not see that she was disturbed. She was afraid he'd thing she was weak, and that wouldn't do for her. And so she pretended not to mind the sleeping bodies, and started to climb a great spiral stair.
To the delight of the two wanderers, the second floor was a great hall, with long tables completely lavished with food. Every inch of the table was covered with dishes full of fruit, meat, bread, and drink. The two had reached a new heaven. The bread was a little stale, for it had been out for four days, and some on the food was plainly inedible, but much of it was still exceptionally delicious.
It was not hard to find sacks to pack food in, for some of the men were obviously travelers, and carried large bags on their backs. The two loaded up the bags with food that should stay fresh for another few days and then they each took a handful of whatever was in front of them.
After their feast, Janyn sat down on a rather comfortable chair. She slouched backwards and stared blankly at a painting on the east wall. It was a rather extravagant painting of a golden army of Men slaying an orc. But it was rather graphic and the painter had even painted a splattering of red blood in the middle.
She looked around and realized that Aragorn had gone missing. Where was he? She grudgingly got up and walked over to the winding stairs. She started to climb up but they seemed to get steeper as if the maker purposely didn't want people to climb them. She finally made it to the top, although she thought she'd die, for these steps were worse than those of North Toronto, which was a high school in Middle Earth which was slowly disintegration into particles of dust. Anyways, back on topic, She was in a circular room with four arched doorways that lead to the balconies. She went out onto the north balcony, and there she found Aragorn standing with his head bowed. He was leaning on the side and his hand tightly gripped the stone. She slowly and silently began to walk up to him, when she heard him sob. He was crying! She hid behind a statue, of which was Boromir son of Denethor, member of the Fellowship of the Ring, and although the statue was of amazing detail, she was quite enveloped by Aragorn's situation.
Under his breath she caught the words, almost like a prayer, 'Ich vermisse dich Undómeil. Wo bist du? Im Tod sollten wir zusammen sein. Und doch, der Tod hat uns nicht vereint. Bitte, Ich verbringe meine Zeit damit auf dich zu warten. Ich moechte dich wieder sehen.' They seemed to echo, as if the voice did not come from his lips. She looked at him with sincerity, and yet, she was secretly disappointed. Inside she was jealous of the blesséd Arwen. She certainly felt the guilt of her evil thoughts, for she was not entirely a tyrant of love, as she once considered herself.
She smiled when Aragorn had finished and slowly came out from behind the statue. She positioned herself near the door, so it seemed he had just walked onto the balcony. Aragorn's back was still turned when she spoke. 'I couldn't find you, my lord.'
'I was,' Aragorn gave a cough in order to stall, but he did not need to, for Janyn courageously intervened.
'Just enjoying the sun, I'm sure. It has been such ghastly weather lately. It's so nice to finally see some sun.' He nodded slowly in return, so she continued. 'I wonder if everybody in Middle Earth is sleeping, or just Men.' This was quite a significant observation she had just stated, and immediately Aragorn jumped up.
'I wonder.' Aragorn thought.
But not much could be done about this, unless they should make weeklong journeys to other lands to check. But that would be very inconvenient, considering their current mission was not one to be foolishly dismissed.
They spent until next morning in Osgiliath. Aragorn explained the four balconies.
'The balcony to the north, has a great statue of Boromir, son of Denethor, for his body was found to the North of Gondor, floating over the Falls of Rauros. I stand on the West Balcony, or rather my statue does, because I came from out of the West, in Rivendell.' Janyn got excited at this and ran out to see it. Aragorn rolled his eyes and continued once she returned laughing. 'On the East Balcony, there is a statue of Elendil, a great King. He is facing Mordor. And to the South is a statue of Arwen. Beloved queen of Gondor.' Aragorn looked at the ground. Janyn sat helplessly. She looked over the south balcony at Arwen's statue. She stood up and walked towards it. A long red cloth handing from the doorframe was tangled in the wind. Janyn tossed in to the side as she went through. She approached the statue with light steps, afraid to bother it. She then looked defiantly up at it and smiled. It had not killed her. It was actually easier to look at it than she thought. She ran her finger along the stone's inscription reading 'Undomiel, the Last Lady.'
Janyn knelt down to read the rest of the inscription, but she felt someone breathe down her neck and say 'Hello there!' She jumped higher than the clouds, turned and saw a tall young man, with long blond hair. He was an elf!
Aragorn suddenly came out and the elf held his arms wide. Aragorn and the elf hugged, both smiling. Janyn just stared. Finally, when they were ready to acknowledge her, Aragorn turned and introduced Legolas to Janyn. Legolas gave her a cheeky smile; apparently it was the biggest break though for him in personality. He knelt down on one knee and kissed her hand.
'Thou ist fairer than thy sun lit upon a rose.' He said.
'Thou hast been reading Shakespeare to oft, Lord.' She replied.
Legolas blushed, although he still looked gorgeous with rosy cheeks, and said to Aragorn, 'It is by chance that I find you here, but how come you are not affected by this plague?'
Aragorn pointed at Janyn, who was looking at the ground. Legolas walked toward her, and deciding to give love yet another try, he held her hands and bent in towards her. Janyn raised an eyebrow in humility for the poor elf.
'Let's talk inside.' He said.
They went inside the great halls and shared their tales with each other. Legolas was in Mirkwood when he got word that all mortals had fallen into a dark sleep. He was out hunting when a messenger had stopped him. Immediately he made haste and rode to Gondor. And had been riding for three days. He reached Minas Tirith and was not able to find the king's body anywhere. Then, reading an inscription on an empty tomb, it hit that Aragorn was dead. But his body had still disappeared. Legolas decided to ride to Osgiliath, maybe his friend lay there. But luckily he found the king and he was not dead. In fact it was quite the opposite. Aragorn's age had decreased since their last meeting.
Janyn told Legolas about the curse and that they must travel to the Secret World and beg for forgiveness. Legolas immediately twitched uncomfortably.
'Ithilyn? You journey to the doom of men. To Itylas?' He asked shaking.
'I am his daughter.' She said. 'And yes, we are travelling to the dead land. We have no choice.'
'And Aragorn has agreed to this?' Legolas asked. They both turned to him.
Aragorn, who was trying to avoid the conversation, nodded and said. 'Yes, I have.'
Janyn looked proudly at Legolas. 'He has already been there. Do you think he just happened to get younger? I gave him youth.'
'For what? Yourself!' Legolas yelled.
'He'd be dead if it wasn't for me!'
'True. But the only reason you kept him alive was so you could woo him!'
'I kept him alive because I love him!'
Legolas stopped, his mouth hanging open. Janyn's face was on fire as she reflected on what she said. Aragorn calmly sat down on a chair and put his face in his hands. Janyn was between a rock and a hard place. She took a deep breath, faced Aragorn and quietly said, 'Sorry, Lord.' And ran from the room.
The two came upon Osgiliath on the fourth day, of which they spent rummaging for any provisions that may become useful, such as food. It had been four days since either had smelt the nice odour of a scrumptious meal, and unless they became cannibals, they would starve. So it was reassuring to reach civilization.
Osgiliath had been rebuilt since the War of the Ring, and the stone towers were even more glorious than before. They were carved with the care of newfound hope, and were tall and looming. One tower in particular caught their eyes. It was a tall grey stoned building, which winded upwards and then spread out in four directions: north, east, south and west. Each balcony had a great statue, carved magnificently out of white rock.
Immediately the two made their way towards the tower, as it was the most obvious thing to do. Inside it was full of sleeping bodies. Aragorn tried to wake one Gondorian, and his expectation came true, the body didn't even stir. For Janyn, it was rather depressing to stand in a room, knowing that you have condemned them into eternal sleep, but she would not admit her faults to Aragorn, he would not see that she was disturbed. She was afraid he'd thing she was weak, and that wouldn't do for her. And so she pretended not to mind the sleeping bodies, and started to climb a great spiral stair.
To the delight of the two wanderers, the second floor was a great hall, with long tables completely lavished with food. Every inch of the table was covered with dishes full of fruit, meat, bread, and drink. The two had reached a new heaven. The bread was a little stale, for it had been out for four days, and some on the food was plainly inedible, but much of it was still exceptionally delicious.
It was not hard to find sacks to pack food in, for some of the men were obviously travelers, and carried large bags on their backs. The two loaded up the bags with food that should stay fresh for another few days and then they each took a handful of whatever was in front of them.
After their feast, Janyn sat down on a rather comfortable chair. She slouched backwards and stared blankly at a painting on the east wall. It was a rather extravagant painting of a golden army of Men slaying an orc. But it was rather graphic and the painter had even painted a splattering of red blood in the middle.
She looked around and realized that Aragorn had gone missing. Where was he? She grudgingly got up and walked over to the winding stairs. She started to climb up but they seemed to get steeper as if the maker purposely didn't want people to climb them. She finally made it to the top, although she thought she'd die, for these steps were worse than those of North Toronto, which was a high school in Middle Earth which was slowly disintegration into particles of dust. Anyways, back on topic, She was in a circular room with four arched doorways that lead to the balconies. She went out onto the north balcony, and there she found Aragorn standing with his head bowed. He was leaning on the side and his hand tightly gripped the stone. She slowly and silently began to walk up to him, when she heard him sob. He was crying! She hid behind a statue, of which was Boromir son of Denethor, member of the Fellowship of the Ring, and although the statue was of amazing detail, she was quite enveloped by Aragorn's situation.
Under his breath she caught the words, almost like a prayer, 'Ich vermisse dich Undómeil. Wo bist du? Im Tod sollten wir zusammen sein. Und doch, der Tod hat uns nicht vereint. Bitte, Ich verbringe meine Zeit damit auf dich zu warten. Ich moechte dich wieder sehen.' They seemed to echo, as if the voice did not come from his lips. She looked at him with sincerity, and yet, she was secretly disappointed. Inside she was jealous of the blesséd Arwen. She certainly felt the guilt of her evil thoughts, for she was not entirely a tyrant of love, as she once considered herself.
She smiled when Aragorn had finished and slowly came out from behind the statue. She positioned herself near the door, so it seemed he had just walked onto the balcony. Aragorn's back was still turned when she spoke. 'I couldn't find you, my lord.'
'I was,' Aragorn gave a cough in order to stall, but he did not need to, for Janyn courageously intervened.
'Just enjoying the sun, I'm sure. It has been such ghastly weather lately. It's so nice to finally see some sun.' He nodded slowly in return, so she continued. 'I wonder if everybody in Middle Earth is sleeping, or just Men.' This was quite a significant observation she had just stated, and immediately Aragorn jumped up.
'I wonder.' Aragorn thought.
But not much could be done about this, unless they should make weeklong journeys to other lands to check. But that would be very inconvenient, considering their current mission was not one to be foolishly dismissed.
They spent until next morning in Osgiliath. Aragorn explained the four balconies.
'The balcony to the north, has a great statue of Boromir, son of Denethor, for his body was found to the North of Gondor, floating over the Falls of Rauros. I stand on the West Balcony, or rather my statue does, because I came from out of the West, in Rivendell.' Janyn got excited at this and ran out to see it. Aragorn rolled his eyes and continued once she returned laughing. 'On the East Balcony, there is a statue of Elendil, a great King. He is facing Mordor. And to the South is a statue of Arwen. Beloved queen of Gondor.' Aragorn looked at the ground. Janyn sat helplessly. She looked over the south balcony at Arwen's statue. She stood up and walked towards it. A long red cloth handing from the doorframe was tangled in the wind. Janyn tossed in to the side as she went through. She approached the statue with light steps, afraid to bother it. She then looked defiantly up at it and smiled. It had not killed her. It was actually easier to look at it than she thought. She ran her finger along the stone's inscription reading 'Undomiel, the Last Lady.'
Janyn knelt down to read the rest of the inscription, but she felt someone breathe down her neck and say 'Hello there!' She jumped higher than the clouds, turned and saw a tall young man, with long blond hair. He was an elf!
Aragorn suddenly came out and the elf held his arms wide. Aragorn and the elf hugged, both smiling. Janyn just stared. Finally, when they were ready to acknowledge her, Aragorn turned and introduced Legolas to Janyn. Legolas gave her a cheeky smile; apparently it was the biggest break though for him in personality. He knelt down on one knee and kissed her hand.
'Thou ist fairer than thy sun lit upon a rose.' He said.
'Thou hast been reading Shakespeare to oft, Lord.' She replied.
Legolas blushed, although he still looked gorgeous with rosy cheeks, and said to Aragorn, 'It is by chance that I find you here, but how come you are not affected by this plague?'
Aragorn pointed at Janyn, who was looking at the ground. Legolas walked toward her, and deciding to give love yet another try, he held her hands and bent in towards her. Janyn raised an eyebrow in humility for the poor elf.
'Let's talk inside.' He said.
They went inside the great halls and shared their tales with each other. Legolas was in Mirkwood when he got word that all mortals had fallen into a dark sleep. He was out hunting when a messenger had stopped him. Immediately he made haste and rode to Gondor. And had been riding for three days. He reached Minas Tirith and was not able to find the king's body anywhere. Then, reading an inscription on an empty tomb, it hit that Aragorn was dead. But his body had still disappeared. Legolas decided to ride to Osgiliath, maybe his friend lay there. But luckily he found the king and he was not dead. In fact it was quite the opposite. Aragorn's age had decreased since their last meeting.
Janyn told Legolas about the curse and that they must travel to the Secret World and beg for forgiveness. Legolas immediately twitched uncomfortably.
'Ithilyn? You journey to the doom of men. To Itylas?' He asked shaking.
'I am his daughter.' She said. 'And yes, we are travelling to the dead land. We have no choice.'
'And Aragorn has agreed to this?' Legolas asked. They both turned to him.
Aragorn, who was trying to avoid the conversation, nodded and said. 'Yes, I have.'
Janyn looked proudly at Legolas. 'He has already been there. Do you think he just happened to get younger? I gave him youth.'
'For what? Yourself!' Legolas yelled.
'He'd be dead if it wasn't for me!'
'True. But the only reason you kept him alive was so you could woo him!'
'I kept him alive because I love him!'
Legolas stopped, his mouth hanging open. Janyn's face was on fire as she reflected on what she said. Aragorn calmly sat down on a chair and put his face in his hands. Janyn was between a rock and a hard place. She took a deep breath, faced Aragorn and quietly said, 'Sorry, Lord.' And ran from the room.