A/N: I hope that ya'll enjoy this chappy; and I wanted to thank Lothiriel for the kind reviews! and so here is chappy nineteen:)
000
Theodred knew that he had something important to do before he left, so a few minutes later he made his way to the main hall where he knew that he would find his father, King Théoden-and Grima.
The guards did not deny the heir to the throne of Rohan admittance, and so as he walked into the main hall, he bowed in reverence, although he doubted that Théoden took much notice, considering that fact that he was rather ill.
But Wormtongue, who thought that he had earned the right to speak for Théoden, stood and began to speak to Theodred.
"And what is your reason for disturbing your ill father; I thought I had made it quite clear to the guards that lord Théoden was not to be disturbed-by anyone," said Wormtongue in his usual sneaky voice.
"I do not need to answer to you Wormtongue; leave and me a moment alone with my father," and then he added, out of his anger for the foul man; "you disgust me."
Grima looked infuriated; "You see, your highness how he treats me, when I want nothing but the best for you; I think that he intends to keep you ill."
"I have had it with you Wormtongue!" Theodred yelled, losing his composure, and almost forgetting why he had com in the first place; he shoved Grima against the wall, and held his right arm firmly at the foul man's neck.
"Let him go Theodred; leave him alone!" said the wheezing King.
"Can you not see him for who he really is father? He is a vagabond! He is the scum of the earth!"
"Do not speak of him in such a way; your behavior disgusts me, do you want to keep me ill!" and he had to stop because he was short of breath.
Theodred; still heaving from anger, roughly let go of Grima and sent the man holding his neck and over-dramatically gasping for breath.
"Now be gone! You have caused uproar in your short time of being here; be gone, I am too angered to look upon your face right now," said the King in a dry, cackled voice.
"Do not speak so much wise one for your voice is weak; but you have spoken justly, said the Wormy Wormtongue.
"You need not worry about me leaving father," said Theodred, not sounding phased by what Théoden had just said, though, in fact, he felt the opposite. "That is why I came, my lord: to bid you goodbye; I am leaving without delay-I am returning to Gondor."
And before either one of the twosome could speak, Theodred's fiery son had angrily left the large hall.
000
"I do not think so," Faramir replied, forgetting his pain and boring into the windows of her soul.
Tatiana did not hold his gaze; "Do not speak like that; my chance of redemption is over; in some ways I wish that I was no longer amongst the living."
"Why do you wish such a terrible thing?" Faramir asked.
"I have my reasons and they are just," she said.
As Faramir stared into the beautiful Elven-woman's eyes, he felt compassion on her and wished her happiness-and in some sense, he felt as though he was drawn to her; in some way intrigued by her strong will and sorrow.
"I have broken many hearts," Tatiana said; she seemed as though she was speaking her thoughts aloud.
"And how is that?" Faramir asked.
"I was not like my father who hated you men of the west-in fact; I fell in love with one."
For some strange reason, Faramir felt the tiniest twinge of something like jealousy; he did not know why, but he tried to push it aside as he continued to listen to her story.
"And so my father pledged himself to the Shadow Elves, and he forced me to do the same; I am have been one outwardly, but I was not one in my heart and my love knew this-but for the sake of his life and mine, I went along with it the best way that I could. Until one day, my father and a few other elves had captured two children, they were brother and sister I believe, and they seemed as though they were twins-about eight years in age; but my father wanted to kill them and dangle their bodies on trees as symbols of what would be done to all who opposed Sauron-''
Faramir swallowed hard, he could imagine the terrified looks of the children, and the heartless face of the elves; he hoped that he was wrong about the way that the story was going.
"I could not let that happen," Tatiana continued in a hushed voice so that no one else around the camp would hear. "But there was very little that I could do; I begged and pleaded, but father would not hear it; and though Selwyn's father was the leader of the Shadow elves, we had split up into groups and so at the time my father made all of the decisions concerning our camp; and it was soon decided that their painful execution was to take place the next day; so that night, I snuck into my fathers tent and stabbed him to death-yes, we had a struggle and so I was not left unmarked, but I was able to save those children's lives, and ran with them a while and showed them a safe place to hide where none would find them-but I could not go all the way with them for I was soon caught."
Faramir could not believe it: Tatiana had killed her father! But yet he could understand her desperate reason. "You are not wicked for wanted to save those children's lives," he said.
"I was caught with my fathers stained blood on my clothes-and from that day forward I was deemed 'wicked'."
0o-oo-o0
"She means to drive me insane!" said the fuming elf. "She must know how this angers me!"
"Please do not act on your anger, Jaylyn," pleaded Faelivrin; "She soon be bound to you in a way that no man or elf can set asunder."
"I cannot wait for that day, for she will be under my rule whether she likes it or not."
000
Before leaving, Boromir had said his goodbyes to Denethor; he could see it in his fathers eyes that it broke his heart to see his firstborn leaving on a dangerous ordeal, but Boromir would not hear Denethor's last plea for him to stay.
Now, back to the present, Boromir and Eomer were galloping with the other soldiers across the Pelennor; Boromir and Eomer were, of course, riding in front.
The plan was to reach Anorien by that night, stopping only for a brief rest before riding to east Emnet; the only place where Eowyn intended to run to was most likely Mirkwood, for that was where all of the evidence pointed, and even though Eomer tried to suggest other places where she might be, it was of no use: Mirkwood was their destination, and it they would not be deterred.
000
That night, as Faramir rested in a small tent that had been provided to him, he longed for that city which he had called 'home' all of his life; he was able to see Minas Tirith in the distance when he stood outside; and somehow, in a hopeless situation, it gave him hope.
His heart almost jumped when he turned and saw that the tent flap was opening; he held his breath hoping that it wasn't a Haradrim, for he could not even bear to look at one at the moment.
But he would have to bear it.
For in walked Sherah, with a sly look on his face, and in evil gleam in his black eyes.
"Get away from me," Faramir somewhat ordered, although he had the feeling that it wouldn't do any good.
"You see, I agreed to Selwyn that I would not mess with his 'elves' but a non Elven captive is a different story," he said, walking up to the still bound Captain of Gondor.
"Gondorians like you would sell for a large sum in Harad or Mordor," stated the Haradrim.
Faramir had completely backed up against the tent, and now there was no where for him to go.
"I know that you are not half-Elven, which gives me the right to do with you as I please."
"Get away from me Haradrim," Faramir spat; "You do not own me, and I never will obey you; leave now."
"Your words are lifeless when it comes to threats; you can only speak but that is all; I will now find out once and for all whether of not you are an elf."
But when he approached Faramir, and bent down to check, Faramir kneed him hard in the chin, causing Sherah to draw back, but only for a moment; he grinned evilly, and Faramir could see the blood in his mouth.
"You will not get away with this, you swine," said the Haradrim, sounding calmer than Faramir had expected.
But Faramir was not about to sit around to find out what the Haradrim was going to do; he sprung to his feet and used his hands, even though they were bound, to knock the Haradrim in the chin once more.
Sherah was now furious; taking Faramir off-guard, he grabbed the Ranger's hair, and revealed what he had thought all that time: he was no elf!
000
As soon as the sky had darkened, Eowyn, Arial, and Strider had set out once more; Strider knew Rohan well, it seemed as though he knew every nook and cranny, and he seemed to move about swiftly and tirelessly; if one had seen him from afar, then he most likely would have been thought an elf!
This amazed both Arial and Eowyn; she was, in fact, becoming more and more intrigued by Strider as every day passed; they would spend a lot of their time talking together, while Arial sat alone thinking of his brother, and hoping that it was not too late.
After what seemed like they had been journeying for ages, they began to see the first signs of dawn; and better yet: they had reached the Wold, bringing them one step closer to the Elven land of Morkwood.