Denethor was sitting in his chair determinedly when Faramir entered the room. He looked exhausted, but his father did not seem to care about this. He merely looked up at him and there was definitely impatience in his eyes as well as in the rest of his face.
"So what is your excuse for being so late THIS time?" was the first words that he highly doubted one day regret using as his first words to his son.
"We had to go to defend Ithilien" was his rather patient response.
"Excuses excuses" he mumbled under his breath before finally saying to him "Then what are you doing here? Osgiliath is still under attack.""We had to pull back. If we didn't all of us would be dead." (F)
"That's war. The brave die for their country, and the weak are punished." (D)
"And many innocent lives are also taken." (F)
Denethor didn't immediately reply to this. He knew Faramir presented a fair argument. He also knew how much Faramir disliked war. He was a very good soldier he hated to admit. How can one who hates war so much be as good a soldier as he is?
"But then I've seen you on the war battle field on more than one occasion" he argued.
"That is only to protect those I love from dying". (F)
"You're avoiding the original question". (D)
"I answered that already" was Faramir's response this time with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"You most certainly did NOT! It does NOT take a week and a half to get rid of a bunch of Easterlings and defend Osgiliath!"
Faramir hesitated a moment and then while struggling to keep his temper and told his father about the halflings he had met in Ithilien and then stopped and waited his response.
Very annoyed Denethor demanded: "This is how you would serve your city?! You would risk its utter ruin?!"
"I did what I judged to be right" was Faramir's quite patient response.
"What you judged to be right! You sent the Ring of Power into Mordor in the hands of a witless halfling!" he paused before continuing, "It should have been brought back to the citadel to be kept safe. Hidden. Dark and deep in the vaults not to be used. Unless, at the uttermost end of need."
Faramir responded with "I would not use the ring. Not if Minas were falling in ruin and I alone could save her."
He couldn't save her with his live depended on it!"Ever you desire to appear lordly and gracious. Like a king of old. Boromir would have remembered his fathers need. HE would have brought me a kingly gift!" (D)
"Boromir would not have brought the ring. He would have stretched his hand out to this thing and taking it he would have fallen." (F)
He seems rather confident about this. What does HE know?"You know nothing of this matter!" he yelled accusingly.
"He would have kept for his own" was Faramir's just as confident response before continuing, "And when he returned, you would not have known your son."
All right that was the last straw! I will NOT tolerate any more of this!Without thinking about thinking, he jumped up from his chair and started to advance and very accusingly bellowed:
"Boromir was loyal to me, not some wizard's pupil!"
He then fell over and started to weep. Faramir stepped forward and looked down at him with a worried expression on his face before asking
"Father?"
Denethor looked up to see the most amazing thing that he believed he would never seen.
"My son." He said through his tears.
Standing right behind Faramir was Boromir just like he had looked before he departed for Rivendell nearly 7 months ago walking towards him before disappearing so only Faramir was standing there in front of him.
Denethor suddenly remembered that Boromir was gone forever. He would never return. And that feeling would never leave him. He turned to Faramir and said quite harshly:
"Leave me."
Faramir turned and left and left him alone remembering the pain that he had felt for a month. Why did I send Boromir? Why didn't I let Faramir instead? If he had died in place of Boromir, things wouldn't be hopeless in this war. He believed what he was saying to himself and was confident that it wouldn't come back to haunt him and cost Gondor the war. Where is this Rohan and Theoden King? They should have seen the light of the beacon by now! Theoden has betrayed me! He went back to his chair and just contemplated on the hopeless situation hoping that things would turn around.
