Faramir left his father's courts just as Anna walked to the doors. 'Your lordship, where are you going?' she asked after him for he had walked right past her.
'I am going to Osgiliath to regain the city,' he replied. Anna knew the city.
'They will be coming to Minis Tirith soon enough. You do not need to go there,' she beseeched, and Faramir turned. 'What would you gain?'
'More time for Minis Tirith. The respect of Gondor and a father,' Faramir also let slip, figuring her position was not too high and her alliance could not be with Denethor if she kept company with the wizard.
'But there are Mordor orcs there. You know the impossibilities of regaining an already defended post,' she tried scaring into him.
Faramir smiled. 'Gandalf commented on you gift of story weaving.' Seeing her face drop to a scowl, he tried to regain her favor. 'Not in that your stories are untrue, but in the choosing of words to implant the same fear you had once felt,' Faramir hinted at the Nazgul story that introduced the two to each other. 'Sometimes fear can hurt you or help you. The Nazgul scream, it can remind you of all its evil.'
'Or warn you that it is coming,' she said as she caught on. He gave her a wink and walked away, vanishing like an epic hero.
Anna walked back to the doors of Denethor's hall and leaned against the wall next to them. The shadow of Mordor would have to be made of bats if it wanted to block out the brilliance on the stones of Minis Tirith.
Soon after Pippin's song, he was dismissed by the Steward, rather harshly if you asked the hobbit. Once Pippin closed the door behind him, out popped Anna from her post outside.
'Pippin, was that you?' she asked for she had also heard his song.
'Was what me?' Pippin asked confusedly.
It seemed guarding Pippin from the worst was too late for the pain felt in the song was more than a simple bard's experiences. 'Nothing,' Anna replied.
'Is there any news of Faramir's company?' Pippin questioned. Anna looked in the direction of the hobbit's gaz, out and beyond the walls of Minis Tirith.
'No,' she said softly. 'Come, a little further down and we may see something.' Anna led him down a little ways until they reached a balcony that looked out to Mordor, level with the sunrise, if it ever came again. At Osgiliath, all was quiet; whatever had happened, it was over now. It was too far out to discern the dead, or even to see if there were any.
'What is down there?' Pippin pointed to a slowly trotting misshapen figure.
Anna gasped. 'Open the gate!' she screamed and ran down to the lower levels. 'Open the gate!' The order was passed on and slowly, it opened.
In walked Faramir's horse, with Faramir being dragged. Through the open door, a vast mass of a black army headed its way to Minis Tirith.
'Close the gate!' some captain bellowed.
The city set itself for the battle it had been waiting for since the shadow begun to grow. Behind the army, the darkness grew and spread across the battlefield as the orcs stopped and set their contraptions to order.
'Release the prisoners,' an orc growled in glee. Up, over the orcs' heads, over the gate and against the soldiers' shields dropped round objects. They smashed upon the streets and hit the men like soft mangoes. When they looked down, they recognized the faces as those who had gone out to retake Osgiliath.
Then, the stones of fire came over the gates, sending general chaos to the city. Platforms rose bands of orcs over the gates and into the city as Gandalf roared orders to stand ground while the Nazgul shrieked overhead. Suddenly, Gandalf was forced to kill an orc coming at Pippin. One after another came for the hobbit. 'Pippin! This is no place for a small hobbit!' Gandalf cried above the roar of the war.
Pippin slashed with his drawn sword at an orc behind Gandalf. They both smiled. 'Never say a hobbit's not worth his size,' Gandalf muttered. 'Now get yourself to the Steward. Ilmare!'
At this, the girl came up from behind Pippin. Where she was before then, no one could tell.
'Escort Mater Peregrin to the Steward,' Gandalf finished and returned to command the Gondorian forces.
Pippin ran ahead as Anna followed until Pippin muttered, 'Wait,' and stopped on a dime. Turning, he continued, 'Gandalf called you Ilmare. That is not your name. Is it?'
Anna waited a moment, trying to recall back the scene. There was so much going on, she just responded, without even thinking. 'How am I supposed to know?' She walked past him. 'Take the rear, you are the one with a sword.' In that way, they reached the Steward just as he set Faramir's train to leave to their tombs.