Disclaimer: I do not own any characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien (such as Boromir, Faramir, or Denethor). I own only Hallahiriel, the former Barmaid of Dol Amroth, Thaurelda, Corerith, Aethlien, Airigoniel, Ascafenien, Lady Brumwen, Therassa, Owynvan and Gweddyn.
The story is set in 3011, seven years before The Fellowship of the Ring. Boromir is 33 and Faramir is 28. Hallahiriel happens to be 26.
The Continuing Story of Hallahiriel, the Former Barmaid of Dol Amroth
By Leah Pensotti
Chapter Nine: Prelude to Disaster
A month after the arrival of the twins, the days were eventful and filled with mild exhaustion and hints of complete euphoria. Hallahiriel was up and about, grateful to be out of bed and she had never seen Boromir more attentive than he was with their daughters. She doubted that he took that much notice even in battle.
Boromir would get up in the middle of the night, bleary-eyed and full of sleep to check on the girls. As would Faramir, who had become quite attached not only to Ascafenien and Airigoniel, but also Thaurelda. The seamstress's niece frequented the house to bring back books, discuss them with Faramir and to check on Hallahiriel and the babes. Though, Hallahiriel knew better, for it was plain to see that Faramir and Thaurelda were mutually smitten with each other, though neither of them really knew how to go about pursuing it.
Hallahiriel, when still stuck in bed, would formulate plans and ideas on how to draw the would-be paramours together. However, one day, Denethor (who had been making very sporadic and rare appearances from his quarters) had arrived at dinner with a rather odd but exciting announcement.
"It's time to celebrate the arrivals of our house publically. There shall be an event here in our home in a fortnight to introduce my granddaughters to society. I have already sent word to Imrahil and to Theoden of Rohan. I also invited Hallahiriel's father for the journey. It will be a grand affair." The steward turned to his meal bluntly, leaving the rest of the house to shocked silence.
Faramir hid a frown; he knew what his father wanted in dealings with Rohan. He was already trying to align a political match for Airigoniel and Ascafenien, though they were only one month old. Theoden's son Theodred, was well into his thirties while the King's nephew, Eomer was twenty. The girls would be sixteen before they would marry and the men would be in their fifties and late-thirties respectively.
Somewhere along the way, Faramir lost his appetite. He doubted that Boromir or Hallahiriel knew the plans that Denethor had in store for their children, but they were sure to find out. Since Boromir had returned home, Denethor had been nothing but joyful. Though he still held himself captive and reclusive in his study.
Hallahiriel dreaded such an event, because she was still recovering from the births and she still could not fit into her normal clothes and the ones that she wore during her pregnancy hung off of her. She was stuck somewhere in the middle. She didn't want to make a new gown, for her new size and have to parade around royalty like a cow used for breeding. Perhaps then, those silly rumors of her so-called "elvish lineage" would be dashed. She doubted that elves kept weight on after the births of their offspring, it all probably magically disappeared immediately.
After the meal, Hallahiriel and Boromir took a walk in the courtyard while the children napped. Boromir could see the perplexed look on Hallahiriel's face and he pulled her close to him.
"What troubles you, Halla?" He titled her chin up to look at him. She smiled weakly and shrugged.
"It's the celebration your father has planned. I fear that I am not ready for such an event. All of those people in all of their finery and I still look pale, tired and well...not like I used to." Boromir frowned at the words his wife spoke. He personally could not keep his hands off her since she has been able to be out and about, but Ioreth told him that this was common for women after they bear children--that they could feel a little low.
"Halla, you have nothing to prove anymore. You have done that already. You are a legend in most parts and people will never see you as anything less than enchanting. I know that I find you more beautiful now than ever and I quite like your more womanly shape, as you might have noticed." Boromir smiled a little mischievously at her and traveled his hands to her hips.
She could not help but blush, but it was true. He did seem to appreciate her new found curves a little more than she did herself. She chuckled and gave him a wild smile.
"Well, then. I suppose that your opinion is the only one that matters. Perhaps I could get Thaurelda to help me with a gown, that is, if she can tear herself away from your brother." Boromir smiled in return, Thaurelda had become very much a fixture in the house and she and Faramir had very intellectual conversations in the library or in the hall by the fire. It was comforting to see his little brother find companionship at last.
He pulled Hallahiriel against his chest and raised an eyebrow to her, "We should go check on our daughters, love. Then after they are fed and changed, perhaps we should retire."
Hallahiriel caught the sly smile on Boromir's lips and kissed him lightly, "That sounds lovely."
The next afternoon, Hallahiriel sat in the nursery with Thaurelda and tended to the children. Thaurelda held Ascafenien gently in her arms as Hallahiriel finished nursing Airigoniel. Thaurelda released a happy sigh and Hallahiriel straightened her dress and wrapped Airigoniel securely in a soft blanket. She looked up to her friend and gave her an interested look.
"Is everything alright, Thaurelda?" The girl shot up straight, not thinking that Hallahiriel had heard her. She nudged her thick, dark braid over her shoulder and smiled in an embarrassed fashion.
"I'm well, Lady Hallahiriel. In fact, I am very well." Hallahiriel smiled in return, she knew that Thaurelda was thinking of Faramir at that very moment. She remembered that feeling of new love and realizing just what every feeling meant.
"I am glad to hear that. I have something to tell you, Thaurelda. The Steward wishes to have a celebration in a fortnight to announce the twins to society. I need help making a gown and I was wondering if you would help me?" Thaurelda smiled and shook her head.
"Of course." Hallahiriel sighed in passing and nodded happily.
"Good. We should get started right away, for there are the matters of your own gown to take care of." Thaurelda's head snapped up in surprise and she had a petrified look on her pretty face.
"M-my gown?" Hallahiriel chuckled and nodded again.
"Yes, you should come. It is going to be, as Denethor said, 'a grand affair.' The king of Rohan and Imrahil from Dol Amroth are going to be in attendance. It is the perfect opportunity for you to make yourself known; and besides, I have a hard time imagining Faramir wanting to dance with anyone else."
Thaurelda began to burn a deep scarlet across her cheeks. Hallahiriel shook her head in disbelief and stood to place Airigoniel in the crib.
"Surely, you're not scared. I saw quite a different woman when I was giving birth. You were fearless. I want you to come, you are my friend and I could not imagine you there." Thaurelda rose and handed Ascafenien to her mother. Hallahiriel planted a feather-light kiss on the infant's cheek and lowered her into the crib with her sister.
"It would be like a dream to be there, but I would not fit in. I am a country girl and not a bit refined enough for fine dresses. It would be an embarrassment and a mistake." Hallahiriel spun on her heel and took Thaurelda by the shoulders.
"You forget who you are talking to, Thaurelda. I was a barmaid from Dol Amroth up until that day at Imrahil's. You are lovely and you deserve to come. Perhaps tales of you will spread, too. For you look much more an elf than I. You are much taller and more statuesque. Anything is possible, Thaurelda. That is what I have learned in the past four years."
Thaurelda nodded solemnly and Hallahiriel patted her shoulders in comfort, "Come, let's leave the children to rest and well will go to your aunt's shop to gather some materials. I do believe I need to get out for awhile."
A week and a half later, Hallahiriel sat by the fire with Faramir. Boromir had been talking with the steward all afternoon and Corerith had volunteered to sit with the twins as they napped. Hallahiriel had been working on her gown for the celebration all week and now was finishing up the bodice to her dress that was a faint gold with midnight hued trimming. Faramir turned to her, drawing his attention away from his book.
He had never seen Boromir and Hallahiriel more happy than they were with their children. Indeed, Airigoniel and Ascafenien had brought a more than welcome change to the house, and he himself had found it quite comfortable in the nursery telling tales to his newborn nieces.
"That shade is quite interesting, Halla. I believe it will flatter you nicely." Hallahiriel looked up and nodded in return.
"I thought it was lovely, too. A little more appropriate now that I am a mother of two. I daresay that a new crop of young maids will be the spotlight of the event." Faramir chuckled and shut his book at her statement.
"Aye, and their names are Ascafenien and Airigoniel." Hallahiriel gave him an exasperated look.
"Indeed, Faramir. It is their affair. However, I meant young ladies like Thaurelda." With the mere mention of her name, Hallahiriel could see a visible change wash over Faramir's face and she did all in her power not to laugh out loud. Instead, she straightened up and continued.
"You will dance with her, won't you? You must not let the opportunity pass. If I do remember correctly, it was you who convinced Boromir not to let the same happen to him nearly four years ago. Now, brother, I intend to do the same for you."
Faramir looked thunderstruck and felt as though a stack of books in the library had just fallen on his head. He looked at his sister-in-law and she merely smiled in return.
"So she is going to come?" He managed to ask through his quandary.
"Of course, I am helping with her gown tonight. Thaurelda is very much looking forward to it. She reminds me a lot of myself, really. I guess that is why I am so fond of her. I did have to convince her to come, though. She thought that she would be out of place. I told her she was wrong and that you could not imagine dancing with anyone else." Faramir's eyes grew wide and seemed to be flabbergasted.
"You said that? To her?" Hallahiriel giggled at his shocked look and stood up from the chair, the bodice she was working on cradled in her arms.
"Now Faramir, don't be angry with me. I am just trying to help you and Thaurelda through the awkward period, which has been going on far too long. It's excruciating, even to those of us who only observe." She bent to kiss him lightly on the cheek and then headed upstairs to the nursery to check on her daughters.
As she opened the door, she found Boromir standing at the crib looking down at the babes. He had a very discouraged expression on his handsome face. Hallahiriel placed her sewing in the ricking chair and crept up to him slowly. Her hand slid across his back and she rested her cheek on his shoulder and looked down at the twins who still napped.
"What happened, my lord? You look very troubled." Boromir hung his head and sighed. He did not look at her, but continued to watch his children. When he finally spoke, Boromir's voice quavered in a low whisper.
"Father wished to speak with me, love. About arrangements for the celebration. He wants Gondor to be strengthened by a political match with another country, particularly Rohan." Hallahiriel felt confusion envelope her and she sighed. She took his arm and forced him to stand face to face with her.
"What does that entail, Boromir? Tell me, for I am not understanding." Boromir looked down at his wife and he was obviously battling emotions that raged beneath the surface.
"He wishes us to betroth our daughters to strengthen alliances." Hallahiriel felt anger boil up inside her. She looked down to her slumbering infants and then back to her husband, not wanting to believe what she was hearing.
"That's mad, Boromir! They are just newborns! They cannot speak or defend themselves, let alone hold up their own heads! But it is already time for them to be promised to some man for the sake of their country? I will not allow it to happen!"
Boromir took Hallahiriel in his arms and felt her shake with anxiety. He was torn. He would give anything for Gondor; life or limb. However, his daughters and his wife were not going to be compromised.
"I told father that there was no need for such arrangements. But he is bent on making an impression on Theoden's house. I am hesitant to make such decisions for the ones dearest to my heart."
Boromir stroked Hallahiriel's hair that hung to her waist while she cried against his shoulder. She felt like her daughters were being portrayed as pawns in some mad game that she did not and would never understand.
"Have you met those he wishes to match our children with?" Hallahiriel mustered the strength to ask, though she feared to know the answer.
"Yes. They are Theodred, the King's son and Eomer, the King's nephew."
"How old are they?"
Boromir felt the sadness clot in his throat, "Theodred is my age while Eomer is twenty."
Hallahiriel pulled away, a sickened look on her face and saw that Boromir's expression mirrored her own.
"And how old will our daughters be if they wed?"
"Sixteen."
Hallahiriel fought back the urge to lurch with disgust. She would die before any of the Steward's wishes would come true. How could he be so insensitive? Boromir cupped her face in his hands and rested his forehead against her own.
"I avoided being in such arrangements my whole life, Halla. I knew that if I would marry it would be on my own terms. I want more than anything for our children to have that same chance. I will take care of Father. He will come to his senses. I will protect Airigoniel and Ascafenien and have your mind at ease. I swear it to you."
Days after the news of the Steward's true motives behind the celebration, Hallahiriel was dreading the event as a whole. She finished her gown and it looked wonderful, perhaps it was the finest thing she had ever produced with her sewing.
Hallahiriel attended to Thaurelda's dress as well, and had the girl standing in the deep red gown for nights on end. Thaurelda allowed Hallahiriel to fuss over her and suggest ways of wearing her hair. It kept Hallahiriel's mind occupied and stopped her from being completely overruled by paranoia.
But little did she know, that there was more to worry about than the plans that the Steward was making.
Just outside the city, Owynvan camped with his men, going over what each was to do when they infiltrated the celebration that the Steward was hosting in only a day. As Owynvan warmed his hands by the fire, he marveled at his own ingenuity. Everyone in the house was so distracted that it should be easy to go in and take what they needed.
His men had spied on the Seamstress's niece for days. They did not have to provide a distraction for Faramir, Thaurelda's presence was enough. As for Denethor, Owynvan's gift had been working very well indeed because rumors of his reclusive behavior spread through the streets like wildfire. Owynvan smiled, stood and addressed his men with gusto.
"Tomorrow I will have what I have longed for and each of you will gain the reward you have been promised for nearly three years. Success is in our grasp, men. Tomorrow night, is our night!"
The men cheered and Owynvan took a sip of ale from his mug. The truth of the matter was...the night would actually be his, all his.
A/N: Sorry for the cliffy, but I had to break my outline for this section of the story into TWO chapters. In chapter 10, I am still hashing out all the little plotty things that are to come, but here is what I can tell you--Faramir and Thaurelda have smoochies, Theoden and his family (minus Eowyn--she's too young and her presence would ruin certain future meetings) arrive in Gondor and Hallahiriel resents them (although it really isn't their fault, they are victims in this as much as she is) and OWYNVAN crashes the party, takes something very important and demands something dear to Boromir for ransom!
To Rana Ninque: The names came from a name generator. I liked the way they sounded, and then I looked up some of the root words. Airigoniel (pronounced 'Eye-ri-gon-iel') began as Arigoniel (Ar means noble or royal--like in Aragorn, which became a problem. To me the names were too similar, so I added an 'i'. "Gon" means "stone." Ascafenien, on the other hand, "asca" means impetuous or hurried. I hope that this gives you a little insight. I am so glad that you enjoy my story so much and that you have taken such a liking to Thaurelda. She is a great character and I hope that she grows even more! Thanks for the review!
To Simply Sara: Owynvan's plot will succeed. But will it last? That man is deffinetly a catiff! His gift is a palantir--the Arnor Stone more specifically. I am so glad that you enjoyed the kinder, gentler side of Boromir. Fatherhood will change him very much. The next few chapters are going to be painful, lovely and shocking so hold on to your seat! It's gonna be interesting! As this chapter tells; it is only a prelude for the next few! Thanks and much, much love!
To Angel of Harlem: Little Bono Kitty is doing well! Yeah, I like politics. My undergrad degree is in Political Science and I am going to school for my master's degree in PolSci with a focus on women's studies. Sorry to delay on the Faramir smoochies. They will be worth it I promise! I just got too many ideas to fit into one chappie, so the story is growing by the minute. Things really get shaken up from here on! Love ya! Oh, and Rosaleen should be tangling with Snape soon and Lupin shall make an attempt for her affection, though it is against his better judegement!
To Diamond Took 3: You may want to save some of the slicing and dicing of Owynvan for the chapters to come. It's going to get messy and Owynvan is going to do wicked and bad things! Keep reading!