Chapter 15; The Departure of Boromir

The three of us ran swiftly through the wood. As I ran, I thought and prayed to whatever it was that listened. 'Please, be alive…please please PLEASE let him live!' the dread that I felt was blowing around my insides like a circling wind, waiting for me to either banish it with Boromir's life or swallow it with his death. My eyes worked madly searching in the trees. Was he there by that log or lying dead behind those bushes? I saw him not and only continued down the hill. We finally came to a glade not far from the river where we found Aragorn kneeling by a tree; the minute I saw him, I knew what had happened. The winds inside of me blew harder, turning all of my inside cold and when I ran to Aragorn I felt the wind slowly wrap itself around my neck, my stomach and my chest; there lay Boromir against a tree's base with many Orcs scattered about his feet and three thick, black arrows in his chest.

"No." I whispered as I saw him and ran to his side. The winds had stopped blowing; they were replaced by emptiness, the same emptiness that I saw in his dead eyes. I touched his skin and felt the same cold that touched me when I worried. I knelt slowly and grabbed one of his hands. I could barely talk as I spoke to him. "Boromir…B-Boromir?" His blue lips said no reply and as I rested my hand on his frozen chest I murmured, "I am so sorry…" suddenly the emptiness I felt was replaced with dark sorrow, as if something opened Pandora's box inside of me and I was filling with a never-ending fountain of sorrow. I began to shake my head as tears fell from my eyes and I covered my mouth with my hand. "Boromir…" I said shakily but Boromir did not answer back. I looked at his still face as the sounds of tears came from my throat and Aragorn stood and said,

"Boromir is dead." I rested my forehead against the cold hand I held and I felt my hot tears stream down my cheeks then become cold as they fell off me; they became cold like him. I squeezed the dead hand hard as I thought 'I could not save him, I didn't save him.' I felt Aragorn take the hand out of my grasp and move it back so that it rested upon the hilt of his sword. I covered my face with both of my hands as I began to sob loudly over the body of my friend.

"I'm so sorry Boromir!" I cried. I took my wet hands off of my face and placed them on Boromir's cheeks as I whispered, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." Suddenly I felt hands grasp my shoulders and pull me to my feet.

"He is dead, your tears will not wake him." It was Aragorn and he hugged me as I cried into his shoulder. "He died the death worthy of any warrior, do not be sad for him." I nodded as I let go and wiped the tears out of my eyes. I nodded again and looked to Aragorn; I could feel the stinging in my eyes from crying but I took a deep breath and looked at Boromir no more.

"Where are the hobbits?" Legolas asked Aragorn.

"Merry and Pippin were taken and bound, but I do not know of Frodo and Sam." Aragorn replied wearily.

"But what is to be done then?" Gimli asked."

"First we must tend the fallen," said Legolas mournfully. "We cannot leave him as carrion amongst these foul Orcs." I turned my back to them as I stared out into the trees. I wiped my eyes once more. "We have not the time or the tools to bury our comrade fitly, or to raise a mound over him. Let us send him to the Falls of Rauros and give him to Anduin. The river of Gondor will take care at least that no evil creature dishonors his bones."

"Yes," Aragorn answered, "we will lay him in a boat with his weapons and the weapons of his vanquished foes." We soon gathered the weapons and placed them all on the shore, then slowly placed Boromir's body on a crude stretcher we made out of twigs cut by Gimli's axe our cloaks of Lórien and carried him beside them. "Our boats are a mile or so up shore, still resting in Parth Galen; I suppose we must hike up the shore to fetch them." Aragorn stood and looked up shore when Legolas said,

"No Aragorn, rest; Gimli and I will go so that you both may remain." He said as he looked between both Aragorn and myself. Aragorn nodded and with a nod Legolas sprang up the shore with Gimli behind him. Aragorn sighed and sat beside me on the shore asking,

"Are you alright then? Where is your wound?"

"On my back." I whispered and turned my back to him. I felt his hands shake and fumble with the cloth on my back as he examined the wound. I sat facing Boromir on the stretcher and as I stared at him I finally stopped my crying. The fountain of sorrow was drowning my heart still, I could feel it, but I could cry no more for was exhausted. My body ached and my heart ached worse, I could tell that Aragorn felt somewhat the same.

"It is not the most serious wound I have tended, Laura; though it will take time to heal. It is a puncture wound and I fear that now I can only bandage it." Aragorn said wearily.

"That's fine." I whispered and looked in the sand as he clumsily wrapped a bandage over my clothes to cover the wound. When he was done, I turned away from Boromir and we watched the waters of the river. I then asked Aragorn quietly, "Aragorn…do you ever wish you were not here? Fighting this war?" After a moment of silence he answered slowly,

"Never…and…always." He paused between words as he spoke them. "Just like you I too left things behind…and in times like these I do wonder of my leaving's worth." He was quiet. I looked at him for a moment then to the water and he said, "It is difficult to be far from the ones you love; whether you're separated by worlds or death. But they will always be with us as, if you truly love them…for they have made us who we are and we will always carry them with us." I nodded as my hand went to the necklace I wore around my neck; it was the small seashell that Arwen gave to me. I soon realized that I missed them: my mom, my sister, Janine…Boromir…I missed them all. I sniffled and wiped my nose with my hand; it stung for all the scratches and battle worn cuts upon my knuckles. "We also have each other." Aragorn said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "We know with certainty you, Gimli, Legolas and I will all be here in these darkening times and to have a bond such as that is a treasure indeed." At that moment, we heard a change of sound in the river. Down the stream drifted Legolas and Gimli in two of our boats. When I saw them I realized that Aragorn was right. I nodded once more and I smiled as I whispered,

"Thank you Aragorn." He nodded and replied,

"You are welcome." Now more than ever I really appreciated Aragorn, he was like a father to me, and that was worth more than worlds. Suddenly the fountain inside of me began to relent and I began to feel the hope at the bottom of the box.

"There is a strange tale to tell!" we heard Legolas call from the river, "There are only two boats upon the bank, and we could find no trace of the other." They pulled onto shore and got out of their boats. We stood as Aragorn asked,

"Have Orcs been there?"

"We saw no sign of them." Gimli answered as he struggled to get out of the boat. "And Orcs would have taken or destroyed all the boats, and the baggage as well."

"I will look at the ground when we come there." Replied Aragorn and I added,

"I will save you the walk." I paused as they looked at me. "It was Sam and Frodo."

"But why should they leave us behind, and with out a word?" Gimli asked and added, "That was a strange deed."

"And a brave deed." Said Aragorn. "Frodo did not wish to lead any friend to death with him in Mordor. But he knew that he must go himself. Something happened after he left that overcame his fear and doubt." We were silent as Legolas said,

"It is clear then that Frodo is no longer on this side of the river. Only he could have taken the boat; and Sam must be with him." All was quiet, until Legolas added, "Then let us bury our friend the make haste, if they have only just crossed the river then we may still catch them." Aragorn looked away from Legolas and I looked out to the river once more. "You mean not to follow them."

"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands." Aragorn then pulled the boat further onto shore and said, "Let us tend to our fallen." We laid the weapons then Boromir in the boat that was to take him away. The golden belt of Lórien gleamed about his waist as we lay his helm beside him and the cloven horn of Gondor and the hilt and shards of his sword in his lap. Legolas and Aragorn then pushed him out to the water. I waited on shore beside Gimli as I watched the boat become smaller and smaller as it drifted then finally disappear as it cascaded over the falls.

"Boromir, you will not be forgotten." Aragorn said as he looked upon the boat. We all moved from shore and hid the last boat along with belongings that could be left behind. I left my bag behind and took only the clothes that I wore and my sword for Aragorn and the others carried water and the lembas bread. We returned to the glade where Boromir fell and picked up the trail of the Orcs easily.

"No other folk make such a trampling." Said Legolas, "It seems their delight to slash and beat down growing things that are not even in their way."

"But they go with a great speed for all that," said Aragorn, "and they do not tire. And later we may have to search for our path in hard, bare lands."

"Well, after them!" said Gimli, "Dwarves too can go swiftly, and they do not tire sooner than Orcs. But it will be a long chase: they have a long start." I sighed as I looked to the land before us and realized his candor.

"Yes," said Aragorn, "we shall all need the endurance of Dwarves. But come! With hope or without hope we will follow the trails of our enemies. And woe to them, if we prove the swifter! We will make such a chase as shall be accounted a marvel among the Three Kindreds: Elves, Dwarves, and Men. Forth the four hunters!" And like a deer he sprang away through the trees and onward he led us, tireless and swift now that his mind was made up. By sunset, we left the woods by the river behind and we passed away into the green plains of the Rohirrim.

Chapter 14 Reply Reviews

Callisto Callipsi: Well! I'm sorry about the unfortunate timing! Just a few days ago I found out that the story line for Final Fantasy X was a story line that I came up with like in the eighth grade…but, unfortunately for me I quit the idea and took it off of …geeze Louise…

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