Boromir, Thou Shall Live
By Priscilla Stafford
Author's Note: Chapter Eight is up for all to read! I'm so delighted that many people like Chapter Seven where Haldir finally tells Isilme of his true feelings. Yay for Haldir! I'm sorry that this chapter is short. The reason is because I'm leaving for my school's fall camp! cheers! Anyway, before I left I just wanted to leave one chapter for you to savor till I get back. Hope you like it!
I'd like to thank reviewer iwantboromir for pointing out the fact that I said that Boromir's eyes were 'hazel' in the previous chapter. (knocks head against computer). I must have had a slight brain seizure at the moment. I fixed it to greenish-grey eyes (Sean Bean has green eyes, Boromir has grey eyes). I hope that's ok!
My personal thanks to my 'family of reviewers' (wink!) are at the bottom of the chapter! For the last chapter I got reviews from lots of new people! Many, many, many thanks! I love you guys!
Well, on with the story! This chapter takes place on March 2nd of the great year of 3019 of the Third Age for those who are curious. The Entmoot still continues on as Merry and Pippin wait for the decision to be made for whether to do something about Isengard.
In Rohan, Gandalf has healed King Theoden and the choice has already been made to go to Helm's Deep against the counsel of Gandalf and Aragorn.
Chapter Eight: 'Troubled Hearts'
Pippin watched the butterfly with a lazy eye. The butterfly stopped to rest on one flower, then continued on its journey. The hobbit watched until the butterfly was out of sight.
With a heavy sigh he looked up through the clearing of the trees above. Though it was a cloudy day, he could still tell that it wasn't even midday yet. It was now the third day of the Entmoot, yet there was still no sign that it was any closer to finishing than the day before. The Ents' voices had risen to a great clamor at sunrise but had once again quieted down.
Still, there was a feeling of apprehension in the air. The weather was bleak and windy, and Pippin wrapped his arms around his body tightly, not from the cold but from a feeling of discomfort.
Pippin turned his head to glance at Bregalad, the Ent who was watching over them during the Entmoot. Unlike the days before, he was now standing up erect and tense as if listening to the sounds of the Moot. The hobbit decided not to bother him.
He finally could not stand the quiet any longer. Besides, something was bothering him. "Merry?"
There was a muffled groan from where Merry's body lay curled up on the ground.
"Wake up, Merry!"
Merry finally sat up and looked at Pippin in an exasperated manner. "Pippin, is it important?"
The younger hobbit asked quietly, "What do you suppose has happened to Boromir?"
The other hobbit stared down at his feet, uncomfortable. "No man should be able to survive from two arrow wounds."
Pippin was surprised at the other's bluntness. "How can you say that? Boromir is the strongest person we know, besides Aragorn!"
"We have to be realistic, Pip."
Pippin shook his head stubbornly. "I shan't believe it. There's still a possibility that Aragorn and the others are with him."
At his words, Merry came over to put his arm around his cousin. Pippin saw that Merry's face had softened a bit. "I'm sorry. We can only hope."
The young hobbit looked down and absently smoothed the dirt next to where he sat. "He saved out lives."
"Aye, that he did Pip. That he did."
Pippin whispered as his voice was lost in a strong gust of wind. "Dear Boromir, wherever you are, it is my deepest prayer that we meet again."
Aragorn looked on as Gandalf, now Gandalf the White, rode away on Shadowfax. If only King Theoden would take Gandalf's advice. Erkenbrand of Westfold and his men were even now trying to hold up the shield-wall to fight off Isengard. Should Theoden go in aid?
But no, there was some sense in Theoden's plan to retreat to Helm's Deep. For Theoden's men were few, many having gone with Eomer, the sister-son of the king. The people of Rohan had gone there to escape the terrors of armies before, and Theoden would not abandon them
But still, Gandalf was right, and Helm's Deep was no place to be. The Rohirrim would be going into a trap.
Aragorn left the stables behind as he was lost in thought. The situation made Aragorn uncomfortable, for he had tried to reason with Theoden to no avail. The decision was made, and he would help in any way he could.
He heard Gimli grumbling as usual but let Legolas do all the listening. Instead he focused his attention on a not-so-far figure. Eowyn was right now helping some of the villagers prepare to leave. Aragorn had to agree with Theoden that it was indeed the best idea to have the people of Edoras take refuge at Dunharrow, which was not too great a distance to leave for.
Aragorn tried but could not really understand the Lady Eowyn. She was beautiful, and she possessed a vivacious nature due to her youthfulness. But her eyes, her eyes...
For the second time since Aragorn had begun to watch her, she looked out into the distance as if in deep thought. Even from the distance, the ranger could see that her eyes were sad and wistful. This time though, she turned her head and met his eyes. Aragorn did not look away, and she lifted her chin and stared back. But after only a few moments, she blushed, and spinning on her heel, she fled from his sight.
At the touch of a hand on his shoulder, Aragorn turned to see Legolas. The Elf was cocking his head in a puzzled manner. "Aragorn?"
"What is it, Legolas?"
Legolas gestured to the direction in which Eowyn had disappeared. "The Lady Eowyn, a strange one she is."
Aragorn was not surprised that Legolas had noticed, for he knew that Legolas was a very intuitive Elf. Not much escaped his notice.
The prince of Mirkwood spoke. "Mellon, you must speak to her. She wants you to speak to her.
Shaking his head, Aragorn disagreed. "I barely know her."
"Yet you cannot argue the fact that she respects you." Seeing that Aragorn did not interrupt, the Elf continued. "Eowyn is a woman who is searching for her path. Maybe you can help her find it."
Aragorn pondered the words as Legolas went off with Gimli to help prepare to evacuate the city.
Eowyn could not believe she had flushed in front of Aragorn. She stormed through the halls of Meduseld as she forced herself to concentrate on the matters at hand.
She couldn't stop thinking of Aragorn. Tall and handsome, he was an heir of kings. From the first moment she had seen him, she could feel the power radiate from him, power that demanded and expected respect. Respect he deserved.
Whenever Eowyn saw him, he left her confused. Yes, she was attracted to him. Yet at the same time, he made her feel troubled. He seemed to see straight through her, when in all truth, she did not understand herself.
She noticed that her trunks had been packed and put in various corners of the hall, some to be placed in storage so as not to be stolen, others to be taken with her on her journey. Her eyes fell upon one trunk in particular, and she stood in front of it. Opening it, she saw that indeed, her greatest treasure was laying inside.
With great reverence, one hand on the handle and the other on the scabbard, she picked up her sword. She drew it out quickly and smoothly, as she had done on numerous occasions. For she was a Shieldmaiden of Rohan, and she knew how to draw and use the blade.
She smiled as she laid her palm on the width of the dangerous blade. In a graceful move, she turned and brought the blade up into a comfortable position. Then she slashed, here and there, striking upward at an invisible enemy. She stopped in the perfect attack stance. Then she twirled around to bring her blade down upon another invisible attacker.
Except this time the invisible attacker showed resistance and blocked her blow without a single tremor up his arm. Eowyn's eyes widened as she recognized the man standing in front of her.
"You have some skill with a blade." Aragorn's tone was even, not showing surprise. But Eowyn detected curiosity in his voice. Well, let his curiosity be satisfied. With a sudden burst of strength, Eowyn shoved his blade away to hold her now freed blade close to his chest.
Aragorn paused, then lowered his blade in respect. For some reason, Eowyn did not feel satisfied with herself. She turned away. "Women of this country learned long ago: Those without swords could still die upon them." She picked up her scabbard and sheathed the sword. Then with a final note, to show him that she was no weak woman, she said, "I fear neither death nor pain."
She saw him once again look at her with a curious eye. "What do you fear, my lady?"
Why did he words seem to stab at her heart? Eowyn was not used to feeling cornered. Eowyn put her sword back into the trunk and faced him with her strongest glances. "A cage, to stay behind bars until use and old age accept them. And all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or desire." She spoke with strong words, and hoped he saw her valor. For oh, though she wouldn't admit it, she wanted him to think highly of her and respect her, not just as a woman to be protected, but as a woman who would fight alongside him.
The Lady Eowyn's heart dropped as she saw him shake his head and look at her with sadness.Did he pity her? Her words had not created the desired effect. "You are a daughter of kings," he said.
His words made her bow her head uncomfortably. He continued to speak. "A Shieldmaiden of Rohan."
Eowyn raised her head as he sheathed his own dagger. His next words were soft, yet she heard them perfectly. "I do not think that will be your fate."
The words pierced her heart though she understood naught what it meant. 'Why, Aragorn,' Eowyn thought. 'Why must you speak in riddles? Speak plainly, for my heart cries out in longing to understand.'
But Aragorn bowed his head respectfully and left the great hall, leaving Eowyn in turmoil.
Author's Note: I'm sorry again that this chapter was short. I hoped you liked my characterization of Eowyn. She really is a fascinating character, don't you think? I'm sure many of you are thinking that's some parts are different from the movie. Just to remind you that I'm also going to be following some parts from the books.
Next chapter: LOTS OF BOROMIR! He's finally getting back into the action!
Special thanks to:
Dragonfly32 Yes, Haldir certainly has found love, hasn't he? I'm so happy that in fanfics I'm allowed to do whatever I want! Hee hee! Anyway, about whether Haldir is going to live or not... sorry, that's still my little secret!
iwantboromir Like I mentioned before, so sorry about the mix-up on the color of Boromir's eyes! I fixed it to greenish-grey eyes. (oooh, so nice looking!...) ahem... got off track... I tend to do that a lot when I start thinking of Boromir. (wink)
Spry Sprite Boromir playing matchmaker is nice, I have a few more plans concerning him playing that part in future chapters. I'm really, really glad you liked the Galadriel/Celeborn scene! I was worried that it wouldn't work out right. Yeah, it's sick what people say about Celeborn and Elves in general. Should I have more Galadriel and Celeborn scenes you think?
Heartsings Welcome to my 'family of reviewers'! wink! Boromir is such a cool character, glad to find another Boromir fan! Your fanfiction sounds really interesting! I'm definitely going to read them once I'm back from camp. Boromir fanfics, yay! Anyway, I hope you like the rest of the story!
Melodist The fact that you took the time to review even though you were in a hurry made me feel so happy to have such faithful reviewers like! You're just too wonderful! As for if Haldir will survive Helm's Deep... that is certainly is the question! Hee hee!
Alex92 Another person asking me to please keep Haldir alive! Ah... we shall see! I like keeping secrets about the plot! Well, Helm's Deep isn't too many chapters away!
BoromirDefender So glad you liked my portrayal of Galadriel and Celeborn. It was admittingly a difficult scene to write but I actually enjoyed it! I'm thinking of adding more Galadriel and Celeborn scenes, we didn't get to read any in the books and certainly the movies didn't show anything!
Aelimir Welcome to my 'family of reviewers'! I'm glad you're pleased with my story, for Boromir lives in it! cheers! There are surprisingly few stories where he lives so I decided to have a go at it (especially when my friend begged me to write one!). Do you have any stories on I'm glad you liked the chapter, am hoping you'll enjoy this one, too! So, you don't think Isilme is too suffocating of a Mary-Sue? I sure hope not, I hate suffocating Mary-Sues... Anyway, I want to tell you again... you are most certainly loved and appreciated! I'd give you a hug of thanks if I could! (probably Japan is too far away) Thanks again!
Lalaithiel Noleambar I told Maria that you think she rocks, she said to tell you that she thinks you rock if you like Boromir as much as she does. (Just between us two, Maria is just 'slightly' a bit too obsessed...) But I guess a Boromir fan can't be too obsessed, right? (wink)!