Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. That honour belongs to Professor Tolkien.
Summary: The fellowship has been up against all sorts of Danger and managed to survive. Unfortunately, they never expected this. Will they, and the rest of Middle Earth, survive a new horror?
Chapter Fourteen
It was the second day after I had arrived at Minas Tirith and if being cooped up in the Citadel was not enough to drive me mad, I assure you Boromir was doing a fine job on his own. At the moment, he was pacing the length of the room and worrying himself about how Faramir was fared in the attempt to retake Osgiliath. Suddenly, he left the room with the announcement that he was going after them. I suppose I should be grateful that he lasted this far into the afternoon. I had expected him to crack before midday. I sighed and put down my hairbrush. Men!
I hurried to catch up. "Care to tell anyone exactly where you are going?" Stuff diplomacy, someone had to stall Boromir long enough to talk some sense into him. Either that, or hit him with a sledgehammer.
Boromir glared. "Get out of the way. I am going to Osgiliath." He shoved past me.
I followed. "To do what, exactly? Rush off without back-up and get yourself killed? If there is a way to re-take Osgiliath, then Faramir will do so. If there is not, Faramir is not suicidal and will try to get his company back."
Boromir tried to pass. I blocked him again. "If something does happen to Faramir – don't scowl at me, it is possible – what good will your death accomplish? The line of the Stewards will fail and your people will lose hope. If something happens and Aragorn falls, who will your people turn to? Denethor will not live forever and has no children after you and your brother. For the love of heaven, think about the consequences!"
He ignored me and pushed past. I let out an explosive breath. "Sorry about this, mate." I hit him as hard as I could in the face, then doubled over, holding my hand. Fuck, that hurt!
Boromir's nose was bleeding, which kind of ruined the effect of the snarl he sent at me. "I dink you broke by dose!" He sounded surprised.
I returned the Glare. "Good. Now are you going to be sensible? You can't ride off like that."
He gave a reluctant nod. I inclined my head. "Good. Now, help me find the Houses of Healing and we'll get a healer to re-set your nose.
I called to Bella and dragged him off. My self-appointed 'Older Brother' might not have abandoned the idea of going after Faramir, but at least he had been stalled.
"She broke your nose?" The healer looked as though he was trying desperately not to laugh. "What in Arda did you do?" Boromir pulled a face and didn't answer.
I thought this was a bit of a 'don't ask, don't tell' situation, but hey. "He was about to go and get himself killed. He was refusing to listen to common sense, so I hit him." I paused. "I didn't actually intend to break his nose, just get him to calm down slightly." I turned back to Boromir, "Anyway, which do you prefer? Alive with a broken nose, where you can still help others; or mortally injured, with far more than a broken nose to worry about?"
Boromir was about to reply when another of the healers, Lady Ioreth, interrupted. "Very well. If the lady could wait outside for a moment, we can re-set Lord Boromir's nose."
I went outside, just in time to dodge a large round missile. I twisted my torso out of the way and caught it, then looked over to the Old Guesthouse, where a group of boys were playing.
One of them, resembling a guard I had seen before, was talking to Pippin, while a few of the others came over, looking sheepish.
I raised an eyebrow and gave them a steady look, a tactic I had seen my mother use against a class of unruly Year Eleven students. Sure enough, they avoided my eyes. I examined the 'missile' and found that it was a ball. I handed it back with a slight smile. Pippin and his companion came over to join us, Pippin exclaiming, "Natasha! I haven't seen you since we arrived. What are you doing here? I thought you would be with Boromir or someone!"
I laughed. "One question at a time, Pippin! Boromir is in the House of Healing and they asked me to wait outside. If you mean why am I in this exact spot instead of outside the Houses, then I came to return a wayward ball of your companions. I apologize for not being able to speak with you, I have been busy."
The boy Pippin had been talking to spoke up, his eyes wide. "You know Lord Boromir? Is he as fierce and mighty as the soldiers say? I am Bergil, son of Beregond. My father speaks of him often."
It never rains but it pours, get one question and get five more after you answer the first. "I have been one of Lord Boromir's travelling companions but recently. I do not look upon his as particularly fierce, but I suppose others might do so."
Pippin smiled at me. That was one thing I liked about Hobbits, it took a lot to dampen their spirits. "I have not seen Boromir angry and besides, Natasha can also use weapons to defend herself."
Boromir spoke from behind us. "Which weapons? A blade, her bare hands or that pint-sized menace that never leaves your side?" His voice was still slightly muffled, but the boys jumped in surprise.
I used to play that sort of thing at Brownies and Girl Guides not so long ago. I didn't bat an eyelid. "Don't be snide, Boromir. It isn't very becoming." I turned around. "The healers fixed your nose, I see."
Boromir gave me a withering look. "You aren't going to let me live that down, are you, Little Sister?"
I shrugged. "Depends. Are you going to listen to sense? If so, I'll pretend that I have no idea what the Citadel staff are gossiping about. And since when did I become 'sister'?"
Boromir still didn't look too happy. "Fine. As to your question, Faramir and I decided it would be a good idea as you have no male relatives." He smiled. "Not yet, anyway. Besides, we always wanted a sister to look out for."
I narrowed my eyes. "In that case, I have several incidents from Lothlorien to hold over your head. Stop teasing me about it. And before you protest, finding something embarrassing to annoy her brother with is a sister's privilege. So there."
By this time, we had completely forgotten about Pippin and the other children, so we were slightly startled when one of them asked eagerly, "What happened in Lothlorien?"
I lifted Bella up onto my hip. "If I told you that, then I wouldn't have anything to threaten my brother with, now would I?"
Bergil now spoke up again. "Why were you in the Houses of Healing, Lord Boromir? Was it an accident on the training field?"
Boromir looked resigned. "I charge you not to reveal this," (Bella giggled) "but it was nothing so dire. My lovely young sister decided that I was being foolish, and broke my nose when I would not heed her."
Luckily for my new Brother's pride, a bell rang loudly before anyone started to laugh. I looked at Boromir, unsure of what this bell meant. He caught my confusion. "The closing of the Gates. We should go inside." He took Bella from me and beckoned to Pippin, who bade his companions farewell, and followed.
It was the next day when things finally came to a head. I had had a bad feeling growing ever since yesterday. There are times when I really hate being right. This was one of them.
Boromir and I were taking breakfast with Denethor when Pippin came in to hear what his duties would be. Denethor sent him off to the Guardhouse for a uniform of a Guard of the Citadel. Less than ten minutes after that, a cry went up from outside. The three of us ran to see what was happening. Well, Boromir and I ran. Stewards do not run, they hasten.
The source of the commotion turned out to be Faramir, badly injured. Boromir turned white and ran to his brother. A healer pushed him out of the way and had the Younger son of the Steward taken to the House of Healing. Both Denethor and Boromir seemed to be in shock, so I told Beregond to try to disperse the crowd and pulled the two of them back to the Throne Room.
Less than an hour passed before we heard the shrill cries of the Nazgul, and the dull 'Boom' of a Battering Ram on the Gates of the city. All three of us rose. If this was to be the end of the White City, the Denethor and Boromir would go down fighting. Me? I knew that it would be chaos down there, and wanted to get as many people out of the way to make a semblance of order.
Screams rang out from below, and I felt the blood leave my face as I recognized one in particular. A few of the maids had offered to look after Bella while I ate with Boromir and the Steward. I tore out of the room as fast as I could, looking for her. 'Please, let her be safe…"
True to my expectations, the city was in chaos. I found Bella and then tried to lead the woman and children out of the way as Boromir rallied the soldiers.
Denethor led us to a passage that would supposedly take us to safety, then returned to battle just as the Army of Mordor breached the walls of Minas Tirith.
I looked at the rest of the group. There were a few boys who I had seen practicing with swords, but were obviously counted as too young to be guards, but for the most part, our group consisted of woman and either the very old or the very young. I looked around, seeing a building that I recognized as one of the shops Boromir had pointed out, where a blacksmith made weapons. I grabbed one of the women who had shown a fair amount of sense. "Lead these people to safety. Bella, go with them. We will follow. Pippin, boys old enough to have trained with weapons, come with me."
We hurried to the blacksmiths shop, finding some sort of weapon. We had just come out and were following the others when a wave of Uruk-Hai swarmed into the area.
A coolness filled me, trickling in like spring rain. I felt strangely detached from myself as Eowyn's teaching ran through my mind. An Uruk ran toward me, sword raised. Find a weakness, step and strike… My sword ran through the leather fastening of the breastplate. The piece of armour flapped away, step and thrust!… I drove my blade through its chest. I moved onto the next, chancing a quick look around. Pippin and the boys were fighting well and we were holding the Uruk-Hai at bay for now, but they kept coming, pressing their advantage of numbers.
I fought off one Uruk and tried to think of a way to stop the rest. Practice at keeping your mind on five things at once does come in useful.
There! Just next to us was an empty stable! One of the Uruk's was carrying a torch!
I directed Pippin and two of the boys to roll some of the hay bales to block off most of the Uruk-Hai. I made sure that the Uruk with the torch was close enough that I would be able to reach him when the bales fell.
Pippin and the boys did well, sending bales tumbling down to block the entry to the passage. I let some of the Uruk's on the other side start to climb up, and then found the Uruk with the torch. I may dislike sports, but once you learn, it stays with you. I changed my grip then swung my sword like a Baseball Bat, sending the torch flying and hitting the Uruk in the face. The hay bales went up in a blazing inferno and I thanked the gods that the roofs were made of stone. We turned and ran after the rest of the group.
We reached what appeared to be a strong room, with a few supplies, and barricaded the door. How long we stayed I do not know, but it felt like an eternity as we did our best to bandage injuries and make ourselves comfortable.
Then, we heard horns blowing in the distance and a thunder of hooves.
The Riders of Rohan had arrived.
A/N – How did everyone like my first Battle scene? Should I do more or should I skip over them in the future?
Anyway, there's Chapter Fourteen up! Unfortunately, it is also 12:30 at night, so I'm going to upload this and go to bed.
Review and tell me what you think.
Nathalia
