Boromir smiled as his eyes gazed at the city before him. Minas Tirith he thought as a feeling of contentment washed over him. He rode his horse into the city with Gandalf and Pippin on Shadowfax behind him. The people rushed out when they saw him, many of them greeted him or bowed. He smiled and nodded at his people.
They rode up the many levels of Minas Tirith until they finally reached the top. He slid from his saddle as a stable boy came to take Hasufel and Shadowfax away. "Brother!" He heard someone shout. Boromir looked to his right where he saw his younger brother, Faramir, running towards him. A huge smile found its way onto his face as he greeted Faramir, "Brother!"
They raced towards each other then embraced tightly, a feeling of peace and happiness washing over both of them. "I have missed you little brother." He whispered in his little brother's ear before pulling away from their embrace. Faramir had tears running down his face which confused Boromir, thinking that maybe he had done something wrong.
"Faramir, what is wrong?," he asked him but his brother only shook his head before greeting Gandalf and Pippin.
"Another hobbit? I imagine the Shire must be very dull if so many of you have ventured out of it..." Faramir said as he smiled at Pippin. The young Hobbit brightened after hearing his words.
"You've seen my kin?," he eagerly asked him, grabbing onto the man's hand and pulled on it until he was knelt before the Hobbit. "Tell me! How fare Frodo and Sam?" Pippin demanded, needing to know what had become of his brothers for that was what they were to him now. His brothers, family.
Faramir's countenance seemed to dim. Shoulders hunched, regret and guilt written upon his face. He went to answer the Hobbit but Boromir interrupted them, inquiring on the health of the one person who he wished to not encounter for fear of throttling the man. "And how is Father, Brother? Is he well?," he asked him.
Faramir seemed to deflate even more, hands clenched tightly at his side. Boromir took one look at his brother and knew that his Father had not come to appreciate his brother even in his absence. "Come. Let us go so I may greet him." His brother nodded before walking away, Boromir, Gandalf and Pippin followed closely behind him.
A sigh of contentment escaped Boromir's body as the group entered the great Halls of Minas Tirith. His eyes found his fathers as he saw the prideful man sat on the throne. A throne that surely did not belong to him. He bowed his head as he stood before his father. "My son, you have returned." Denethor greeted him, disregarding Gandalf and Pippin quite rudely.
"Father." Boromir did not smile nor did he offer the man any form of affection. Denethor smiled widely at his favoured son before moving to embrace him.
"My son! You have returned at last." Boromir tried to smile as his Father embraced but knew that it looked more like a grimace. His Father gripped his elbow and tried to pull him towards where he sat but was stopped by a shake of Boromir's head and a nod towards where Gandalf, Pippin and Faramir stood.
Gandalf stepped forward, a grandfatherly smile on his face. "Hail, Denethor, son of Ecthelion, Lord and Steward of Gondor. I come with tidings in this dark hour... and with counsel," Gandalf greeted him. "War is coming to Gondor. You must light the beacons."
Denethor sneered at the White Wizard and the terrified Hobbit, his nostrils flared and hands clenched at his side as he glared at their group. "You think you are wise, Mithrandir, yet for all your subtleties you have not wisdom. Do you think the eyes of the White Towers are blind? I have seen more than you know." Boromir looked confusedly at his Father before making eye contact with Gandalf with a look in his eye as if to say that he has no idea what he is talking about.
"I know who rides with Théoden of Rohan. Oh, yes. Words have reached my ears of this Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and I tell you now: I will not bow to this Ranger from the north. Last of a ragged house long bereft of Lordship!" Denethor shouted at the expressionless Wizard. Pippin stood at the Wizards side, glaring at the Steward. Aragorn was his friend and family. No one was allowed to speak about him like that in his presence.
Boromir was of the same thinking. "The throne is not ours Father. Not yours. Aragorn will make a fine King," Boromir vowed with a certainty. "Only a King on Gondor's throne can lead our people to a prosperous future..." he trailed off, seeing the angry look on his Fathers face.
Denethor whirled around to glare the Gandalf and Pippin. He stomped over to them loudly. His right hand seized out to grab the scruff of Pippin's tunic, lifting him off the floor jerkily. "What have you rodents done to my son! What trickery is this!" He threatened, shaking a struggling Pippin in his grip. Gandalf moved his staff to hit Denethor but the sound of something shattering on the Stewards head stopped the commotion as Pippin fell from his grip into Faramir's waiting arms while Denethor crumbled to the floor unconscious. Boromir stood behind the crumbled form, a disgusted expression and a rather ugly scowl on his face. He moved and embraced his Hobbit friend before turning to the shocked guards.
"Will what you saw fall from your lips?" He demanded from them. The loyal guards glanced at the each other before shaking their heads and agreeing that none of which was seen would be spoken to others. Boromir smirked at them before he called for one of the guards to him. "You request my presence, my Steward?" The guard smirked at the shocked expression on the new, young Stewards face.
"Yes," he replied. "Send one of the servants. The beacon of Amon Dîn shall be lit." Boromir turned to his brother with what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "The time to fight for Gondor has come, little brother. Prepare for battle Captain Faramir."
Faramir smiled cheekily at his brother before he nodded and walked out of the Hall. "Oh and someone please remove my Father from these Halls. He shall remain in his rooms I think for the previous Steward has fallen sick and senile and cannot attend to his duties so I shall step in for him."
Boromir, Gandalf and Pippin smirked as the watched Denethor being dragged out of the Hall by a servant. They moved back outside, their eyes immediately found Mordor in the East. Trepidation and fear overcame their countenances before being replaced by determination. "Come my friends. You both need rest and I have a feeling that there will not be much time for rest once the forces of Mordor are on our front doorstep. I only hope Rohan find swift passage."
Boromir led the Wizard and Hobbit to their rooms before seeking out his brother and the other Captains of the Guard. They had much to discuss.
Sam was exhausted. They had been travelling for what felt like Ages just so they could get to Mordor. The road and journey had been tough but he always reminded himself why he did this. For the Shire and his people and Mister Frodo. Especially Frodo. The road to Cirith Ungol or whatever it was called could not be longer. He feared for Frodo aswell. His friend was getting weaker and weaker as they drew nearer to Mordor and he did not trust Gollum like Frodo did.
He watched silently as Frodo and Gollum slept, his hand never too far from his blade before his exhaustion soon took over him. Gollum's eyes opened as soon as he heard the even breathing of the fat Hobbit. "It's watching us, wasn't it precious?" He talked to himself as he clambered towards the Hobbit.
Gollum took out the lembas break from the Hobbits pack with a look of pure disgust on its face. He scattered the bread crumbs on his cloak before throwing the rest of the food over the ledge. "That will teach him precious." He whispered as he turned away from Sam who had awaken after hearing Gollum move from his spot.
"Where are you off to? Sneaking off are we?" Sam shouted, startling Frodo from his poor attempt at sleep. He stared appalled at his Hobbit friend and Sméagol. They argued back and forth with Gollum calling him a fat Hobbit when Sam noticed an awake Frodo.
"Oh sorry Mister Frodo. Didn't meant to wake you but maybe we should move on now," Frodo nodded while Sam checked his pack for the rest of the lembas bread. "It's gone! The Elven bread!," Sam shouted before whirling around to glare at Gollum. "It was him! He took it!"
Gollum argued that it couldn't have been him as he didn't eat the 'nasty Elf bread'. They continued arguing when Gollum feigned surprise as his hand reached out to brush the crumbs he planted on Sam's cloak off. "He tooks it! I've seen him when Master isn't looking stuff his face."
"That's a lie you lying rat!" Sam charged at the thing to hit it but Frodo stopped him, shouting at him to stop it. "Oh my! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it to go so far. You just...just rest for a little bit."
Frodo looked at Sam with an unreadable expression, telling the other Hobbit that he was fine. Sam shook his head and looked at his friend, the worry clear in his eyes. "No, no you're not all right. You're exhausted. It's that Gollum. It's this place. It's that thing around your neck." Frodo gives Sam a worried look as he watched the other Hobbit stare at the chain around his neck. "I... could help a bit. I could carry it for a while...if you want."
Frodo looked at Sam as his words repeat over and over in his head before he yelled, "Get away! Get away from me!" Sam startled away from his head, telling the other that he only wanted to help him. Gollum appeared behind Frodo, whispering about how the fat Hobbit wanted it for himself. Wanted the precious.
Sam glared at a smirking Gollum with a fiery hate and rage. "Shut up you! Go away! Get out of here!" Frodo interrupted his rant saying, "No Sam. It's you. I'm sorry, Sam."
The Hobbit looked at his friend in shock as he began crying and pleading with the other with his eyes to come back to him and believe him over that thing. "You can't help me anymore, Sam," Sam felt as if his heart was being torn in half. "Go home." He collapsed, the tears running down his cheeks faster as he watched through tears as Frodo and Gollum continued up the stairs without him.
Frodo did not look back even when Sam called out to him again and again, his voice soon sounding like a whisper on the wind until he couldn't hear him at all. His own tears began to fall as he thought of Sam and Merry and Pippin. Aragorn. Boromir. Legolas. Gandalf. Gimli. Lee. Bilbo. The Shire. "Is this journey to Mordor even worth it when even one of my greatest friends try and take the Ring?" He muttered to himself.
When Sméagol and him stopped for a short rest later after a few hours of walking, he answered his own question. No. No, it did not seem worth it but he would still continue. He dreamt of Bag End that night, the rolling hills of the Shire and a time much simpler.
So I'm back. I was sick and in hospital so that's why I haven't been updating. Also, I'm sorry if this was badly written but I did want to finally give you a chapter. Next chapter will be all about Boromir and Frodo and Gollum. I probably will not check in with our lovebirds for a short while because I want to write some character interaction for the others. Can you believe that this is chapter 26 and we still have so much to get through. This is what I get for not wanting to have this story over in 10 chapters by cutting down my chapter sizes lol. And yes, I did not kill of Denethor and that's mostly because I kind of want him to find some redemption or maybe so I have someone to kill off later...
Anyways hope you enjoyed xx