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Jedi Knight 247
000
Before Faramir could answer, Selwyn stepped between them.
"Leave him alone Sherah; he and the half-Elven are brothers."
"Is that so?" Sherah sneered, "The two of them would sell for a large sum in Harad-or Mordor."
"We have an agreement! You do not mess with my and I do not sell your Haradrim to Mordor!"
"Unless given my permission," Sherah finished, he then turned his attention back to Faramir; "There is something about him, he does not look Elven to me."
"He is! Now let us move on, for we have much more important things to discuss," said Selwyn, walking a small distance and ushering for Sherah to follow.
Giving one last look at the one whom he was convinced wasn't an elf-or half Elven, he turned and followed Selwyn.
Soon the line in which the elves had stood broke apart and the elves busied themselves around what was left of the camp.
Faramir, seeing that he was still being watched to some degree decided against another attempt to run away.
As he looked to his right he saw a stream…he was so thirsty, and so without another thought, he walked up to the stream; he could almost feel the keen eyes of the Elven guards as they watched him intently; as he knelt down to take a drink, he heard a voice behind him.
"Perhaps you had better use this instead of your hands."
He had only heard that voice briefly, but he recognized it: it was the voice of the Elven-woman who had led him out to stand in line with the other elves, but he did not know her name.
He looked up to see that she too was kneeling by the stream; she had filled a wooden bowl that was not too deep and she handed it to Faramir, who thanked her and drank it eagerly.
She also began to fill some water skins with the cool, crisp water of the stream. Faramir couldn't help but notice that there was a somewhat saddened look on her fair face.
"Will this also be your first time?-going beyond the black gates?" he asked suddenly.
She fixed her green eyes on him in a way that made him feel as though she could see right through him. "No," she answered.
Seeing that she had a lot of water skins to feel, and also seeing that she was a woman, Faramir took some and began to help her fill them.
"You need not help me," she said, glancing at him.
"It is no burden for me to help you," was Faramir's reply.
And so she did not object to him helping her; they continued to fill the water skins in silence, until they accidentally reached for the same one; Faramir looked into the Elven-woman's sorrowful green eyes and felt pity for her.
"Tell me what is troubling you," he said, still holding her gaze.
She looked down, and to Faramir it seemed as though she was having an inward debate: to tell or not to tell.
He never broke his gaze with the woman, and he didn't even take the time to think of what he was doing; he probably should have just left her be, but he could not.
0o0—0o0
The brunette Elven-man watched them with fury;
"What is she doing talking with that Gondorian swine?" he thought, as he watched the two of them. Blinded by his anger he was about to give the Captain of the Ithilien Rangers a fistful-literally, but someone put a hand on his shoulder.
"Now is not the time to let your anger get in the way," said his fellow elf.
"Thank you Faelivrin, but I think that she means to tear my heart out when she does this-for she knows how I hate those swine of the west!"
"Yes; then do not let her get to you, for she is merely playing on your anger-you know better than I how she does such things, trust me, it is all out of spite but she will soon adjust," assured the elf.
The elf's jaw was still clenched due to his anger, but he nodded in agreement to Faelivrin nonetheless.
0o0-0o0
She stared at him with uncertainty; "Why would you even care? Are we not enemies?"
"Very well; but if you are my enemy then I only ask that you will consider me as an enemy with a conscience."
She looked behind her uneasily, as though she thought that someone was watching her, and then she turned back to Faramir.
"I am to be married you know."
"I did not know that," Faramir answered honestly.
"To an Elven-man of this camp; it is not my wish, but what say do I have in the matter?" she laughed bitterly.
"I am sorry-I do not wish you unhappiness," said Faramir, who then was reminded of a very similar situation back in Minas Tirith.
"Do not be sorry for me; some would say that I deserved this-perhaps I do, for many elves say that I not born, but that I am made from the very fires of mount doom."
Faramir didn't know what to say to that; "What is your name?" he finally asked.
"Tatiana," she replied.
000
The next morning Boromir and Denethor were having their usual break of fast-but that was about the only thing that was usual: Boromir did not even get four hours sleep that night; Eowyn had run away and he did not know where to. Of course there was her faithful maid, Norah who possibly knew where the lady was, but was withholding important information from him.
Earlier that morning, Denethor had been informed by an eavesdropping servant who had told him everything that he could remember about Boromir and Norah's conversation.
Denethor, no doubt was glad to have learned of the information; but due to the fact that he tried to maintain the image of a just man, he had punished the servant to work as a scullery servant in the kitchen for two months. He still had yet to tell Boromir of Faramir's so-called desertion.
"Son," he began. "I know that it must be hard for you to come to terms with the fact that Eowyn has run away, but if you are to find her then we must send soldiers after her immediately; unless, of course, you want a band of orcs to reach her first."
"How did you know of Eowyn's escape father?"
"I have my ways of knowing son, now what do you say that we send some soldiers after her today? And some Rangers-we'll send the best and we will bring her back, be it by force or by her own free will, she will be within these walls before a month has passed."
"If we are to send soldiers after her, then I will go with them."
"No, no, you need not go; will you leave your father to be alone?"
"You know very well that you are not alone my lord," Boromir said. "I will not feel right if I do not go after her myself."
Denethor sighed, "Then indeed you will go-but remember this before you jump into a dangerous situation: you have an ageing, weak-hearted father waiting within the stone walls of the city that you call 'home' should anything happen to you…my first-born, then I shall cease to care for what should happen to me in the days to come; you, my son, kept me from just that when I lost the most precious jewel of my life-I see her in you, her courage, her forgiveness, her eyes…" Denethor stopped for he began to choke back tears.
"Father, nothing will happen to me; I promise," Boromir said; he could see a lot of his mother in Faramir also, and he knew that Denethor could too, but he did not speak his thoughts.
000
Before Boromir and Denethor had awakened from what little sleep they had gotten that night, Faramir had just finished his brief but deep conversation with Tatiana, and the elves were now preparing to set out for Mordor; suddenly, a brunette Elven-man who was carrying some rope walked up to Faramir.
"I hope that you will enjoy yourself as we journey to Mordor-no, I think that you will enjoy yourself more once we have passed the black gate; do you not think so, Gondorian?" he spat.
Faramir could hear the bitterness in his voice, and the way that the elf looked at him was a look of sheer hate and anger.
The elf seemed to take great pleasure in binding Faramir's wrists; for he bound the rope so tight that Faramir could literally feel it cutting through his skin. The elf knew this, for he could see that Faramir's wrists were beginning to bleed; he would not have been able to tell otherwise, for Faramir could tolerate pain well.
The elf led him by the remaining rope to where most of the elves and Haradrim had assembled; Faramir knew that they were soon going to set off for the land of shadow.
The elf now stood quite poised, but he did not let go of the rope. A part of Faramir wanted to ask the elf to kindly loosen the ropes, but he knew that that would just make things worse for himself, for he clearly saw on the elf's face that he enjoyed every moment of binding him. Faramir did not know the elf, but the way that the elf looked at him made him feel as though he should have known him.
Finally Sherah and Selwyn emerged, and leading Selwyn's horse was Galen, the young half-Elven, he also noticed Tatiana, but she was a little further ahead, and last but not least, he spotted Morwen, who was standing beside her brother. She almost instantly looked in his direction, neither averted their gaze.
The brunette elf, who was determined to make Faramir's journey to Mordor a living hell, suddenly jerked the rope, causing Faramir to let out a stifled groan of pain.
The elf laughed spitefully, "Be hush you swine," he sneered.
Morwen, who seemed to hear what was said, so desperately wanted to slap the elf that she knew as Jaylyn, but she would face sheer consequences from her brother—sheer consequences indeed.
000
As soon as the storm had ceased, the company of three had set out once again; for the thought of still being so close to Gondor made both Arial and Eowyn feel uneasy, for they fear that they might stand a better chance of getting caught.
They had journeyed through the night without rest; it was coming into the late afternoon when they finally rested again. Since they all felt some sense of tiredness, it had been agreed that they would stop and take a much needed rest once they reached Sarn Gebir, and so they were relieved once they finally reached their point of rest.
It also meant that freedom was closer once they reached Sarn Gebir, for they could now see the finishing line.
Strider's plan for them to safely reach Mirkwood was for them to mainly travel under the cover of darkness (night) and once they reached the Wold, they would rest again before heading for the field of Celebrant and then on to Mirkwood.
It seemed like a very good plan to Eowyn and Arial, for they did not oppose it. They just hoped that they would reach Mirkwood before the Gondorian soldiers reached them…