**Author's Notes:
I know that you are all waiting patiently, well except for ME132 who would love to have an endless supply ;) however with Liam working, it is slower getting more out. So I am posting one last chapter today. He doesn't work tonight, so if my back doesn't have me in the hospital by morning, there will be more posted tomorrow. If I do have to go to the hospital, you may not have anything new for some time. Here is hoping I make it through tomorrow. ;)**


***************Chapter 26***************


Wormtongue smirks as the men take Eowyn between them and drag her, not very nicely, down the dungeon hall and then up the long winding staircase that follows. Finally, after what seemed like hours, they reach the room they wanted to go into. Pushing the door open he moves inside and then smirks as the men follow with Eowyn. "Leave here there on the floor. But chain her up. Yes yes. Perfect. Now leave." He smirks and waits, watching Eowyn closely. When the sedative begins to wear off, it was not a powerful one, just one that would make her easy to handle. The real problem had been getting the cloth over her nose and mouth. That was why he had accompanied the men. She wouldn't be expecting him. When she begins to stir he grins more. "Hello my precious Eowyn." When she looks up at him, then managed to lunge at him he just laughs. The shackles around her wrists, that were attached to chains embedded deep into the stone floor, kept her 2 feet away from him, which meant even with her lunging at him he was safe. "Did I not tell you my Dear, that you were mine? And now I hear you are betrothed to that disgusting little weakling, Faramir of Gondor? Come now. I thought you had much better taste than that?" He walks in a circle around her, always staying two feet away from her at each angle. He glances up at someone else, who was staying in the shadows, watching.

Indeed she was out of it the whole time she was being taken elsewhere. She could not think of why he would do this. "You are a monster! Who do you think you are? Do you realize that when my brother finds out what you have done he will have you hanging by your testicles from the highest tree in Rohan!" She growls again like an animal, once more lunging him. But it was doing her no good, she was definitely well tied to the floor. "I will have your head on a platter when I get free from here! Do you hear me, Wormtongue! I do not care what you said, I am not yours for the taking! I have been spoken for by Lord Faramir! He is not only better then you, but he is smarter and you will learn that soon enough when he finds me and gives me your head on a platter as my wedding gift!" She lunges at him again, pulling and yanking at the chains. "Let me go! Or are you afraid of what a woman could do to you? Not afraid are you?" The last is said with a sarcastic laugh.

He laughs and shakes his head. "Only a stupid man would give into that, Eowyn. I know you. I know your abilities. Why do you think I let those men go in first? Now, I do not think your Lord Faramir is such a smart man. If he was he would have been smarter in battle. If he was he would have never let Gandalf into the secret archives of Minas Tirith. And if he was so smart he would have known his brother to be alive. Ah but then again, dreams are so easily planted." He grins and once again looks at the shadows as he hears the soft laugh. Looking back at Eowyn he shakes his head. "Your brother will never find you, nor will your beloved Lord Faramir. And if they do, well....I believe it will be their heads on the platters, presented to both you and the vile creature down in the dungeons. Ah yes. I will not speak of why he is here. Though he is very valuable. To both King and Steward of Gondor. So obviously it is a good thing my orcs found....yes yes. Sorry. My Lord's orcs found him when they did." He shakes his head, sighing. "One would think a ranger and King, who was raised by elves, would know how to detect which poison is used. Or if any at all."

She glares at him, hearing the laugh and hearing the changes in speech. She had caught the part about HIS Lord. "Who are you working for, Wormtongue?"

He smirks and is about to shake his head no when his Master answers Eowyn instead. He steps back, bowing his head.

"He obeys me." Saruman steps out of the shadows and into view, a slight smirk on his face when he sees Eowyn's shock. "Oh please. Gandalf may have broken my staff but there are many way to build a staff." He taps his on the floor, smirking some more. "And there are tunnels out of Isengard that those moronic pieces of wood did not know about." He shakes his head, and when she asks him why they kept her and Boromir prisoners he grins all the more. "It is simple my Dear. You and Lord Boromir are bargaining chips. You are valuable to the King of Rohan and the King of Gondor, as well as the Steward of Gondor. Boromir is valuable to Aragorn and Faramir. So you see, I could rule over both Rohan and Gondor, IF I wanted to. But that is not what I wish. No. You will see in time what it is I wish to do. As will all of Middle-Earth."

She glares at him when he finishes, then lunges against the chains. "You will not get away with this! I am not valuable to the King of Gondor anymore, and the Steward will not give in to your demands!" At least she hoped he wouldn't. She loved him very much and hoped that he would still not give in.

Saruman laughs and shakes his head. "Silly girl. You are a good friend to the King of Gondor. So therefore you are valuable to him. But enough talk. Grima will take you back to your cell...but first." He nods and stands back, moving back into the shadows and disappearing again.

Wormtongue smirks and steps forward, moving into her line of attack. But when she lunges for him again she is suddenly frozen in midair. Saruman had caught her with his magic, making it easy for Grima to take a few pieces of material off her shirt. "I apologize for this my precious." He drags one of his nail across her arm, breaking the skin, leaving a little gouge. It was bleeding enough to work. He takes the material he ripped off her shirt and gets her blood on them, enough to make it look bad. Then he produces a cloth from his pocket and places it over her mouth and nose, smiling when she once again goes dazed. He steps back, nodding to the men who come in as Eowyn crumples to the floor. "Take her back to the cell." He then turns and leaves the room with Saruman, leaving the men to unshackle Eowyn and take her back to the cell.

She doesn't know how long she is out this time, not even feeling as she was picked up and chucked back into the cell with Boromir. She moans, feeling as if a hammer was pounding in her head, the pain on her arm like a burning where he had cut her. Both awaken her slowly. She moans and blinks her eyes, realizing that her head wasn't on the cold hard floor of the cell but in something soft. She moans again, moving her head slightly, blinking and trying to see. It was Boromir's lap her head rested in and that causes a smile to touch her lips. She knew the pain he was in, yet he had felt the need to make sure she was okay. So like his brother he was, both strong and gentle at the same time. "How long have I been out?" she croaks dryly.

He looks down at her as he notices she was starting to wake up. He gently strokes her hair, waiting until she opens her eyes. When she asks her question he shrugs, his right arm moving slightly, though it was hardly visible and caused a great amount of pain, which he ignores. "Well....I do not know. I awoke after you were brought back. And I lose track of time very easily in here. I do not even know if it is day or night." He touches her cheek gently. "How do you feel? I see they cut your arm. I wrapped it. I would do more but I have nothing more."

She lifts her arm, seeing the bandage there and nods. "No, you did just fine." With a sigh she drops her arm and struggles to sit up, groaning and instantly putting her head in her hands. "Whatever it is they use to knock me out leaves a very bad headache." She glances sideways at him. "I know who has us and why they have us. Saruman is behind this. We are merely bargaining chips." She snorts. "He thinks that he has the King of Gondor in his pocket." She shakes her head. "That was one thing that I couldn't ever explain to your brother. As much as I loved Aragorn, his heart always belonged to Arwen. He pretended for awhile, but in the end, we both knew. I much rather like it this way.... " She groans again, closing her eyes. "Anyway, he also thinks that he has the King of Rohan in his pocket. But my brother will not give in to his demands, as I would not for him. We know how dangerous life can be, and how dangerous our standing can be. He will not give in, even if he believes I would die. Because he knows that I would probably die anyway, for Saruman won't let me walk."

He reaches over and rubs her back lightly. "Is that who it is? They always stay to my right so I can never quite make out who it is." He sighs and rubs his hand against the back of her neck. "My brother, as smart as he is, will do whatever he can to find you. That includes going off on his own. But....I think I might have a solution..." He pulls his hand away from her neck, which he had been massaging, and pulls something from under a loose piece of stone on the floor. He holds it out to her, smiling slightly. "I must thank the soldier who taught me how to pickpocket." In his hand was the key to their cell door.

She turns and looks at him curiously, then her eyes go to his hand and she reached out, covering his fingers over the key, looking quickly back to the door then to him again. "Keep it safe, we have to time it just right, go at night." She shakes her head as if to say she knew what he was going to say. "It was coming on night when I was taken up there, do you know the patterns of the guards? Is there a longer break at one time then at another? If you don't know yet, then we need to stay here and watch for a full day, then we can gage. A day may seem a lifetime to us, but it will only be but a day, in which time you can rest up and make sure you can walk. I will help as much as I can. We mustn't let your brother have the chance to come, he will only fall to Saruman too. He wants the kingdoms and your brother can't give him that, but my brother can and Aragorn can." She shakes her head sadly. "So he thinks. It does no good to tell him that it will not work. Not for two little souls would a King hand over his Kingdom."

He puts the key back into it's hiding spot, then he sighs and lays down on the floor. His back hurt from sitting up. But his side and shoulder hurt as well. Oh and his head. His jaw and nose hurt. And he was sure there was a bump on his head. But he didn't want to tell her that. "They will not come for.....I do not know. They fed me two days ago. It could be a day or two before they return to feed me again." He sees her look. "Do not ask me how I have survived. Please, I do not wish to speak of it."

She moves over to sit by him, gently picking his head up and putting it in her lap this time. "I will not ask then, Boromir. But I do want you to rest." She starts to gently rub his back and side, only meaning to give him comfort. "I will count the minutes, you sleep. You will need to be fully rested before we try to escape. It is not just them that we are waiting on now, but you as well."

He closes his eyes, sighing softly as her hands begin to sooth him. "It perhaps would be best if you left me here then. I have a hard time walking." He smiles when she tells him that was not going to happen. That they would both be leaving this place together. It is those words and the feel of her hand on his back that cause him to fall asleep.