Author's note:
Here is chapter 6 of 'Sulaeke'. There are a few references to modern things in this chapter, such as using 'snail mail' (that is NOT the phrase I used, thank goodness). There are a couple of added characters, and although they are not important, I would like to list them now so that readers and writers know that they are mine. Their names are 'Thorgad' and 'Barihim'. I'm sorry for taking so long to update! I have decided to do a short review of what has happened so far. Here goes:
Chapter One: Sulaeke and Sadaeth's brother and Father arrive back home, safe and sound. Sulaeke decides it would be fun to buy a few gifts for them, so they hurry to the marketplace, where they have a brief encounter with the steward's sons; Boromir and Faramir.
Chapter Two: Aglaron is promoted to join the Rangers of Ithilien, and he is not happy with his new captain, Faramir of Gondor. Sulaeke realizes for the first time that she is infatuated with Faramir.
Chapter Three: At the Training Arena, Aglaron gets into a fist fight with another Gondorian named Wicaiven. Boromir interrupts the fight.
Chapter Four: Sulaeke meets Faramir again, and embarrasses herself terribly.
Chapter Five: Aglaron goes to his first meeting as a ranger of Ithilien. Unfortunately, Wicaiven is there, and they almost get into another fist fight. Thankfully, Captain Faramir dismisses Wicaiven.
Please enjoy and review!
Sulaeke: Chapter 6
Faramir sighed, suddenly feeling fairly guilty. He looked around for Aglaron, hoping that he had not been hurt. He had told his second in command, Thorgad, to begin the exercises, and he appeared to have done just that.
He found Aglaron rather quickly. He was sparring with another ranger, Barihim by name, and he appeared to be doing quite well. He had a rather unique fighting style, but as long as it worked, Faramir was not concerned.
Faramir hurried over to him and took him away from the crowd of rangers, leaving Barihim partner-less.
"Are you unharmed?" Faramir asked.
"Yes, I'm fine," Aglaron said promptly. He was relatively embarrassed by the whole episode. He looked over to where Barihim was standing, obviously desiring to continue their fight.
"I have dismissed Wicaiven."
Aglaron turned back to Faramir. "Why?" he asked incredulously.
Faramir looked at him blankly for a moment. "What?"
"Why did you dismiss him?"
"Well, he has never been… satisfyingly dutiful, and I suppose I had been pondering dismissing him anyway. I found his 'salutation' toward you slightly less than hospitable – it was the 'deciding factor', so to speak." Suddenly, Aglaron had two opinions of Faramir: 1) That he specialized in the art of stealing people's prides, and 2) That he talked way too much.
Sulaeke was bored. More than just bored – she was bored to tears. She needed something to do…
Suddenly, an idea came to her! She scurried into her bedroom and sat down at her desk, pulling out a quill and paper. Sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, she began to write.
Within one hour, her waste basket was full of crumpled papers, and she held the perfect copy of her work in her hands. Blowing on it to dry the ink, she read:
Dearest Lord Faramir,
When I saw your face for the first time, you took my breath away. Your eyes bore deep into my soul, and I felt all of my secrets were exposed. Your smile touched my heart the way no other's had.
Ever since that moment, I have not slept. I see you in my mind, and I am filled with such happiness and energy that all chance of rest is stolen from me. However, it is not only at night that I think of you. By day, you are everyone that I see. You are all that I desire, everything. Should I ever find another love, it shall not be full, for you have made such an impression on me.
It is with the deepest sorrow that I realize you could never feel about me the way I feel about you, and I shall be forced to continue to admire you from a distance, as I have done before choosing to compose this letter.
Though you do not know me by name, it is only fair to you, and to me, that you know of my affections, and I can only hope that you will not be troubled by this information.
Utmost adoration,
Sulaeke
Sulaeke chuckled slightly. It was perfect! A little exaggerated perhaps, but perfect nonetheless! Now all she needed to do was get it to Faramir somehow… She could not mail it – she would have to use a return address. Perhaps Aglaron would deliver it for her. She hopped out of her chair and ran out into the living room before she remembered that Aglaron was not home. She sighed. She was going to have to wait a while.
She sat in her chair and was once again bored. She waited there for a while, until suddenly she heard the front door open. Thinking it was Aglaron, she jumped out of her chair and ran to the entryway. She was once again put into her state of boredom when she saw that it was only her father. He appeared to be in a very bad mood.
"Are you alright, Father?" she asked innocently.
"I would be alright, had it not been for our imbecile of a steward," he replied angrily.
"You spoke to the steward?"
"No, no, I didn't speak to him. He sent word to my captain, ordering him and his troops to march out of Gondor to find and kill a band of orcs that have been causing trouble near the city. I shall have to leave again."
"Oh, Father, that's terrible! And you have only been home for a few weeks!"
"The least I can hope is that Aglaron will not have to leave again for a while, so that someone would be here with you two. I wouldn't count on that though. So far our luck has failed us often."
Sadaeth had apparently heard the conversation, and she walked out of her room to join Sulaeke and her father. "How long will you be away?"
"It is hard to say. According to my captain, the orcs we will be chasing are capable of moving much more swiftly than others we have chased. It could be a few months."
"Oh, no." Sadaeth sat down in a chair and put her head in her hands. "When will you be leaving?"
"The Captain said to be ready by dawn. I should put my things together now." He walked stiffly into his bedroom and closed the door. Sulaeke and Sadaeth heard the opening and closing of drawers and angry muttering. They looked at each other.
"I say Father and Aglaron should simply resign from the army," Sadaeth commented. "They are away too often, and we hardly get to see them anymore. If Mother were still alive, she would never have let them enter in the first place. Then we wouldn't be in this mess."
"I know. It's getting too hard to keep this family together as it is. The last thing we need is to have one of those two killed."
Sadaeth nodded her head gloomily. "I wish there was something we could do."
"Me too."