Author's Note: This is a bit of a joke that I wrote with the help of a friend. We thought that Faramir was skilled at different languages, and wondered just what languages he could speak.
Trying to think of as many as possible, and writing a story on each. Some languages will be from Lord of the Ring, some will not, but we will name them and where they come from. So Have no fear
Sharpe is back, since so many seemed to enjoy him. This time the language is French, with many thanks Earendil Eldar for translating it for us.
Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Ring, I only borrow parts of it and shall return them as soon as I am done. Completely undamaged, as I am certain it will be impossible to see where we glued the pieces back together.
As always when Sharpe appears here, warning for curses and such, also this is another time when there will be several parts.
A King For A Soldier, part one
"I'm bloody close to getting used to this bloody thing."
Faramir's head snapped up as he had not noticed any one else entering the library. There was also the fact that he recognized the curses as much as the voice. It was Sharpe, he turned around with a smile.
"I'm glad to hear that, since I must say it's an enjoyment to see you again." Faramir said with a teasing tone in his voice. Sharpe was not much for formalities, and almost as fun to tease about it as Aragorn was. "Or in plainer words, I'm glad to hear it because I actually enjoy your company."
"Careful ye don't choke on ye bloody tongue, talking like that." Sharpe snarled, but the glint in his eye let Faramir know he to was teasing.
"The danger of the formal language." Faramir laughed. "Sooner or later you'll find you said something else entirely than you meant to, and that shall make you sound as the good Lord Demeni."
"I don't know that bugger." Sharpe frowned. "Is he a Frog, or a bloody gentleman?"
"Ah, he's a lord of the court here." Faramir explained. "He has, shall we say a talent, for meaning to say one thing, and yet say something entirely different."
"He's a drunk?" Sharpe asked with a snort. Drink tended to make men say a lot of funny thing, one only had to listen to Price to hear that. He had claimed that he was not swaying from drink, but instead that he caught the wind more than most, from his willowiness. It was however impossible not to like him.
Faramir chuckled. "No, he's not a drunk, merely confused over his vocabulary and how to use it. He recently suggested we'd force all the soldiers into chastity, when he in truth meant we should have chastised them."
"Don't think the soldiers would have liked that." Sharpe declared with a wide grin. "Ain't a soldier won't tumble with a pretty lass once in a while. Ye bloody well can't stop them or they'll all desert."
Faramir nodded, the problem was not that big in the Gondorian army, but enough that he knew what Sharpe spoke of.
"They would not have enjoyed it." He agreed. "And it would have been unreasonable as well. But I will admit we got a good laugh out of it."
"That's alright then." Sharpe grinned. He took a seat at the table. "Soldiers will fight, drink and loot. Long as they do the fighting right, they can do the other as they want. Simple rules to keep them in line, never get drunk except when told to, never steal except from the enemy, and fight like the bloody devil himself. Keep 'em to those rules."
"Our rules differs slightly." Faramir said thoughtfully. "But there's not two army that works in the same way. Our army differs as well, and you make the rules to fit the army."
"Bloody Frogs didn't seem to have any rules." Sharpe frowned. "Not some of them anyway."
"There are always exceptions." Faramir smiled. "We are lucky to have a good leader who leads by example. And he sets a good example."
"Who's the leader for the army then?" Sharpe asked, if Faramir had said anything about it, he could not recall it.
"Our King, Aragorn." Faramir told him. "He leads the army."
"You got your King leading the bloody army." Sharpe asked baffled. "You've got to be joking. What'll the King going to do there, sit ands wave at them."
"Our King would wave a sword at them." Faramir smiled.
"Kings doesn't bloody fight." Sharpe objected, shaking his head bewildered. "Never seen a bloody King fight his own battles. Wouldn't need soldiers if they did."
"There are as many different kinds of Kings as there are different kinds of armies." Faramir smiled warmly. As rough as his language might be, he enjoyed talking with Sharpe. The man was a most amusing companion.
"Figures." Sharpe said with a half snort, half chuckle. "Anyway, I told that thing ye taught me to Harris, he didn't think I would know something like that. Didn't believe what he was hearing."
Faramir smiled bemused, he could see why Sharpe found that so amusing. "I can make sure to teach you some more of that before you get back to him, see if we can make him even more confused about it."
"Whatever ye have. It'll show that scribe that he's not the only one who can speak bloody Frog."
"I think I know something that would be suiting." Faramir thought about what he had and another man had found. The two of them had shared the burden of a heavy loss, and they had found something that was very fitting, yet Sharpe here would want it in French and not in the German tongue. "Les bons amis sont ceux qui sont allés pendant cinq minutes et vous
les manquez pour une éternité." He said with a soft smile.
"What is that?" Sharpe frowned, he stood no chance of figuring out the translation on his own. He repeated the phrase anyway, and Faramir thought that he was actually quite an adapt student. His first try, and ha had it more or less right.
To make it easier he repeated the phrase once again. "Good friends are the ones that are gone for five minutes, and you miss them for an eternity." He translated.
Sharpe frowned, he shared friendship with his men, but was it a friendship that affected them in that particularly way? They trusted each others with their lives without a second thought, risked their lives for each other with even less thought, but Harper never sat around biting his nails whenever Sharpe was out of sight.
Yet maybe it did fit in on them, for what was it that made those men risk so much when Harper had taken them with him to rescue Sharpe. Officers was never loved in a way that made the men risk so much for them.
The soldiers never cared if they lost an officer, there was always more of them, to many of them. So why had Harper and the others been prepared to brake him out with force when they thought he would be hung for murder?
He repeated the phrase again. "Bloody stupid thing to say, but I think I know what you mean with it."
Faramir smiled to himself, he suspected that Sharpe would see the truth in it. Even if it looked different for everyone.
"Must have been some bloody philosopher who said it." Sharpe frowned. "Or some bloody poet or other bugger."
I think it was someone who wanted to express his love for his friends." Faramir said with a smile. "If you can understand what was said, it was most likely not a philosopher who said it." He added with a grin.
Sharpe looked at him as if he was surprised to see the more solemn man make such a joke, then he laughed. Now he knew why he liked him. Faramir was an easy man to speak with, he did not bother about proper rank or behaviour. He was not like the officers who would not keep friends beneath their rank, and he was not one to look down on you because he was more schooled.
Sharpe could read and write, and could even do sums correctly, more than most with his background could, yet he was slower than at it than those with proper schooling. Harris could add sums in his head that Sharpe could barely do on paper, at first Harris had used a superior attitude towards him because of it. Even to suggest that his ability to read and write might be more than Sharpe could manage.
Sharpe had been taught to read in a prison cell in India, reading from a page torn from the bible, and practicing his letters on the sand floor. He was ever grateful to the officer who had taught him. Even more so to the colonel who had believed in him.
It had not been a common sight, the colonel who was strictly against harsh language, drink or any kind of fighting that did not include the Frogs. Then Sharpe, for whom it was a struggle to say a full sentence without swearing, who enjoyed nothing more than to get blind drunk or fight with anyone at all.
They had carried an odd respect for each other, and it was that respect that had allowed them to work together successfully.
He and Faramir carried much the same respect for each other, one mans strength against the other mans weakness, and so Sharpe decided that it was worth remaining there a few moments for the company.
Propping his rifle against the table he sat down.
This tale is too long for one single chapter, so here shall be a temporary ending of the chapter as well as the temporary ending that all readers would be used to by now. Both temporary endings shall be terminated next week, thought it will only be temporarily as we even then shall have to make a temporary ending before the following week.
Earendil Eldar: Glad you enjoyed the break, as soon as you involve politicians of any kind, record breaking stupidity is what you get. I think some of them use it as a trademark. Oh, yeah, Hobbits settling for one meal each day, that would be the day, eh? Also, the Kingdom of Dust is the place where anything can happen, and as long as I am writing this, it probably will as well. ;)
Silver Sniper: Yes, it would have been amusing to see real Japanese, but we decided to stay on the safe side, maybe we can elaborate it later, we shall see. At the time being I don't think that Aragorn would want to get rid of the desk, it would take all the excitement and challenge away. It might be annoying, but it is an annoyance that sometimes lets him laugh, unlike the councillors and the nobles, who are only annoying.
Legolas's Girl 9: I hope you could convince Legolas to let you go, you should take him to the library, spend some quality time together.
Lady Elbereth Tealrose: I will try to use the stuff you gave me later, when I can plan its use better, for now I settled for this, I thought you would enjoy the reference. Also, we do know how the desk works, and at some point it shall be revealed.
Lindahoyland: I was hoping you would enjoy the paperwork, you do seem to like that. I have also done my best to comply with your wish, here you have Aragorn meeting Sharpe, what Sharpe's opinion of him as a King is remains to be seen. It shall also be interesting to see how you like the book. One more thing, you have those two perfectly, if you are over any top, it is the one of perfection, and that is why I love reading your story so much. You are the kind of writer I day dream about being, the one that can enchant their readers. At them moment I count a quick laugh from the reader a great success, you have us utterly enchanted.
Steelelf: Glad you found it acceptable even with the Manga. I have seen Manga I would rather I had not seen, and Manga I have looked both twice and more at. I am a big comic fan, so I had to check it out. Still, I hope that this was more to your taste then, since you are such a loyal reader, I would really want you to have enjoyed what you have read.
Here I would like to thank everyone who reads my works, thank you.
Here it must also be said that in the tale "A Two Colour Chain Mail," we started the vote based on the fact that Sean Bean and David Wenham made the perfect image of two brothers. We also got plenty of agreement on that.
So here it is, if you agree with us and think that they should be real brothers. Say so in your review. It shall be your vote. On my authors page, in the bio I shall keep score. When the score reaches 100, they shall be declared official brothers. Then on my authors page shall be an official declaration written by Elenhin and Celebrion.
Then the truth can not be denied, they shall be brothers.