A/N: Well, hopefully you guys will enjoy the earlier update! I apologize that its a bit shorter than usual, but all in all, I hope that you guys enjoyed it; and now to the reviews...

To Cindy: Thanks for the pointers Cindy! One can never have enough advice; actually English is my native tongue, but it isn't my strongest subject, and the bad grammar is also due to the fact that sometimes I type fasterthan I should, therefore I create more errors, but thanks for the help. :D

To Lothiriel: I'm glad that you liked Laddyn! And I'm glad that you like the quick updates-and the story! Thanks for the review:-)

Chapter Twenty: Wounded Captain

"Ah, indeed you are no elf," Sherah sneered, letting go of Faramir.

Faramir took this as an opportunity to back away from the Haradrim.

"I am not afraid of you, Haradrim," he said, trying to maintain his dignity.

"Oh, but you will; soon you will be begging for mercy-at my feet!" he said, letting out an evil laugh.

Just then, Selwyn entered the tent. "What are you doing in here Sherah? We have important matters to discuss!" he said in an agitated tone, for he had a feeling that he knew why Sherah had gone into Faramir's tent.

"I believe that you are trying to hide something from me, Selwyn," said Sherah with a sly grin.

"Come, we do not have the time to engage in frivolous conversations like this; let us return to my tent and finish our discussion," urged Selwyn.

And so, with one last glance at the man whom he had now discovered was no elf, Sherah departed with Selwyn.

When they had left, Faramir breathed a sigh of relief; but for how long? It would only be a matter of time until Sherah returned.

And then, someone suddenly drifted back into his thoughts: Tatiana; she had been in his thoughts for almost the whole day, and he did not know why, but he could not wait to see her again.

0o-0o-0o

As Galen looked and saw Minas Tirith in the distance, he began to grieve inwardly; suddenly, he heard a soft familiar voice.

"I know that you long to return to that city, and I am certain that you will someday," said Morwen reassuringly.

"I am not so certain Morwen, I fear that this is how I will be forced to live my life until…until the end."

"That will not happen; you must have faith, for there is always hope."

"I am glad that I have you to talk to Morwen, I do not know what I would do if you were not here with me—although, in some sense I do wish that."

Despite their grim situation, Morwen was able to smile; "You will get your chance to escape, that I promise."

"I will not leave without you Morwen, even if it is my one and only chance of escaping," said Galen, staring out into the distance at the white city of Gondor.

"I would never forgive myself if you were to put your life at risk for my sake," Morwen said.

"And I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't; you are not one of them, for it was not your wish to be apart of this; you were forced to be apart of it-and so am I."

Morwen and Galen saw eye to eye on many issues, for they had bonded over time, and although they did not admit it to anyone-or even each other: they were beginning to fall in love with each other, and they both knew that Selwyn would not be pleased.

"Morwen," said Galen breaking the silence, "I am glad that I have come to know you, and if this is the only way that our paths could have met then I am not so grieved about what has happened to me," he said softly.

"And I know that it may sound selfish, I cannot help being glad that you are with me, for now I do not know what would have happened if I had not met you."

000

Earlier that day as Boromir and his men had galloped beyond sight across the Pelennor, Marcus and his men were just about ready to leave.

Marcus was an ambitious soldier who had already risen to high ranks in the Gondorian army by the time that he was twenty and five.

Now twenty and seven, his ambition and love for his country had only increased; he was a man of about six feet tall, and he had one of the best pairs of blue eye that one could ever see; Denethor had entrusted him to lead the mission, for he knew that he was trustworthy, because if nobody else in Middle-earth could keep their word-Marcus could.

As they rode on the first level of the city, some people stood outside of their houses and watched them go by; for even though they did not know why or where they were going, they still enjoyed the sight of seeing gallant soldiers of Gondor pass by their houses.

As they approached the great gates of Minas Tirith, the guards opened them and they rode out across the Pelennor.

And then, Laddyn could no longer hold his tongue.

"What are we to do if we find Captain Faramir? For we all know that there is a possibility that lord Denethor will have him executed."

"It is not our place to interfere with lord Denethor's orders, Laddyn," said Marcus. "We will find Captain Faramir and bring him back, just as our Steward has commanded us."

"Do you not wish that there was something that we could do?" Laddyn asked.

"That is not my place," said Marcus, wishing that Gelidir was present to shut Laddyn up, for he knew that it was going to be a long journey.

000

Earlier that night, as Eowyn, Strider, and Arial were journeying to the Wold under the cover of darkness; Boromir, Eomer, and the soldiers of Gondor had set out again in pursuit of the runaway lady of Rohan.

As Eomer rode in front with Boromir, he began to get a little worried: what if Eowyn was still close by? What would he do then?

He would have to think of a way to slow them down—and he would have to think fast; suddenly, as though his prayer had been answered, an idea struck him.

"Boromir, I think that we will stand a better chance of finding Eowyn if we go on foot," he said; he seemed to talk quite comfortably, considering how fast they were riding.

"We'll lose more time, for if the evidence is correct, then she and Arial were riding horses when they escaped."

"I see your point but she knows horses very well, for she has grown up with them, and I fear that she will be able to know that we are coming when we're miles away."

Boromir sighed, but how could he protest? For was Eomer not her brother? Did he not know her better than Boromir?

Boromir stopped his horse and put up his left hand as a signal for the soldiers to stop, which they did in unison.

"We will continue on foot!" Boromir ordered.

There were a few murmurs amongst the soldiers, but they did what their Captain had commanded. Eomer was no doubt very pleased with the fact that his plan had worked; as a result their pace would be much slower.

And so they left their horses by the river, hoping to return soon.

O0o-O0o

They had journeyed without rest for five hours, but being soldiers they were all used to the harsh conditions.

Suddenly, as they journey in an area that was plentiful in trees, Boromir stopped.

"We are not alone," he said in a whisper.

The soldiers noiselessly drew their weapons, and soon after, they could hear the sound of arguing—Orcs.

"You eat everything! I would have at least liked a bite of him, but no, you had to eat him all; as if you aren't fat enough!" said a squeaky orc.

"I hadn't eaten anything in days Snogga! If you're scrawny it's your fault not mine!"

"Knock it off back there!" said a grouchy voice.

Suddenly, they all stopped walking.

"Am I the only one who smells man flesh?" Snogga asked.

"No! I'm sure that they are over there!" barked the grouchy orc.

They could all hear the Orc's drawing their weapons; and then, taking them by surprise Boromir shouted "Now!"

And they sprung up from their hiding place and began to fight the Orc's. Arrows whizzed through the air, swords were drawn, and the cries of wounded men and dying Orc's rang through the night. But finally, after fighting relentlessly, the men prevailed. But they had to pay a price.

As Eomer helped tend to the wounded, he heard a soldier calling his name urgently; so Eomer, asking another soldier to take his place, ran to where the soldier was. The soldier did not have to explain why he had called him, for Eomer could see clearly: Someone was lying on the ground, and to Eomer he seemed badly wounded. He recognized him instantly—he was Boromir.

Eomer frantically checked Boromir's pulse, it was weak but yet it was stronger than Eomer had anticipated.

But as Eomer could clearly see, he was losing blood fast, for it had already stained much of the grass that surrounded him.

"Bring me some cloth and warm water!" Eomer ordered.

The soldier, willing to do anything that he could for his wounded Captain, hurried off to get the supplies; Eomer only had to wait for a short while until he returned.

"This will not hold for long," said Eomer to the soldier as he cleaned Boromir's wounds. "We must call off the search for lady Eowyn for the moment, and we must return to Minas Tirith immediately."

COMING UP: Will Boromir love long enough to return to Minas Tirith?

And Faramir confronts his feelings for Tatiana.