Chapter 8
Minas Tirith
Perhaps I as the author should back up a bit in the telling of this tale, for those of you who may still be a bit confused about the earlier happenings with our little Miss Ruby. You see, as soon as the meeting was over and all had been decided, she immediately slipped out of the room taking great care not to be noticed by anyone. She hid until she saw Gandalf come out alone and started walking at a brisk pace down the hall. She rushed to catch up with him.
"Gandalf!" She hissed at him, not daring to raise her voice too high for fear of either Merry or Pippin hearing her. "Gandalf!"
"Yes Ruby?" He said turning to face her, a puzzled expression on his face.
"I want to come with you." She gasped, making his eyes go even more wide with surprise. "I want to ride to Minas Tirith."
"Now Ruby…" He began to protest, but she wouldn't let him.
"I know you're taking Pippin with you, and I'm not leaving him." She told him firmly, looking him right into his eyes.
"I'm sorry my dear, but I can't let you do that." He started wanting to reason with her, but if there was one thing Ruby had learned from her sister, Hazel and her cousin, Sam it was stubbornness. She knew how to hold her ground, especially on an issue like this.
"Yes, you can." She insisted. "You must. I promise I won't be any trouble, and I'm quite light, even for a Hobbit. I won't slow you down at all. I promise."
"It's not that." He argued growing more and more frustrated with her as the time went on. "It's far too dangerous. I can't guarantee your safety."
"I know Gandalf." She whispered, lowering her head slightly as she did so unable to deny his words even to herself. "I know."
"Are you not afraid?" He asked quizzically seeming honestly curious as to what her answer might be.
"Of course, I am." She replied, her tone once again becoming firm in her resolution. "But if there's one thing that I've discovered during this adventure, it's that there are things that are stronger than fear."
"Like what?" He asked a small smile beginning to cross his face.
"Hope, faith, and love." She said, looking him right in the eye. "And that's why I must go."
"You love him." It was more of a statement than a question, though she nodded her head in response anyway. He simply stood there for a moment, as if trying to take all of this in before she spoke up instead.
"I am coming Gandalf, whether you agree or not. Even if I have to follow you on foot." He had only needed to look into her eyes to see that she was dead serious, and as he did so his small smile spread into a wide pleased grin.
"Then I suppose you had better go get whatever few things you'll need." He told her. Instantly, her face lit up, and she threw her arms around him professing her deepest gratitude before making him promise not to say a word to Pippin, knowing that he would try to stop her if he knew. Besides, she wanted everything to be a surprise. After that she hurried off to take Gandalf's advice.
She ran into Merry just as she was leaving the room, and he stared at her few provisions with dismay. "You're going with them?" He asked, even though she could tell he already knew the answer.
"Yes." She said quietly not quite able to meet his solemn eyes. "Pip doesn't know though, and I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell him."
"No, of course not." He said his voice flat. "I went to talk to Gandalf, ask him if I could accompany the two of them but he refused. Seems I was too slow."
"I'm so sorry Merry." She replied feeling her heart grow sick at the thought of leaving Merry behind all alone, but she simply couldn't abandon her Pippin. "I didn't mean to…"
"No, you're all right. I doubt they would have let me along anyway." He said shrugging it off not quite nonchalantly. "Just… take care of him for me. Try to keep him out of trouble."
"I promise." She said, tears pricking in her eyes as she leaned forward and gave him a big hug.
"Oh, and Ruby, take care of yourself too would you. I know Pippin would be devastated if anything happened to you. We both would." He added, and she found herself laughing through her tears as she nodded her head in agreement, praying with all her heart that she would live to see her friend again.
After that she had hidden in the stable, staying out of sight until both Gandalf and Pippin had mounted the horse, before climbing on behind Gandalf herself. Of course, she was the one who had whispered to Merry, and press something into his hand as a parting gift before galloping off. This parting gift just happened to be the damaged cover of Hazel's book, being Ruby's most precious possession (beyond her violin, which she once again refused to leave behind under any circumstances) and she hoped it would remind him of both of the Goodchild sisters, no matter what happened.
The ride was unlike anything Ruby had ever experienced in her entire life. The powerful feeling of the horse galloping forth beneath her, constantly moving forward without a single break during the whole three days. It was both thrilling and exhausting to Ruby, as she clung the best she could to Gandalf and waited for whatever adventure laid ahead of her: and to her surprise, despite her fear she was also filled with an intense anticipation. Perhaps she was finally finding the courage she had so longed for.
"We've just passed into the realm of Gondor." Gandalf finally said and Ruby instantly perked up taking in the landscape around her. "Minas Tirith. City of kings." Gandalf continued as they came to a crest of a hill, and she saw the city in the distance catching her breath as she took in the view. Then smiled to think she was almost there, the place she was sure would hold the peak of her adventure. But then she realized that she had already reached the peak. The moment when she decided to come with Pippin, despite all the danger, all the fear; that had been her shining moment. Just like Bilbo's… taking those last steps to face the dragon. Nothing before or after could be more important.
They rode through the many levels of the city, and people throughout the place were shocked at this running to jump out of their way, as the White Wizard called out, "Make way!" Finally, they came to a stop and both Pippin and Gandalf dismounted the horse. Ruby knew the moment had come. Just as that thought came into her mind Pippin looked up at her, and his mouth fell open.
"Ruby?" He cried gazing at her in utter astonishment.
"Hi Pip." She replied smiling shyly back at him.
"What in all of Middle-Earth are you doing here?" He asked, still quite stunned.
"Helping you of course." She answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"But how…" He began unable to even finish the question.
"I convinced Gandalf to give me a ride with the two of you." She said simply.
"Convinced is hardly the word." Gandalf objected, giving Ruby a small teasing wink as he did so. "Forced is more like it. I have met few Hobbits more stubborn than you Ruby Goodchild, and one of them would just so happen to be your sister." He helped Ruby off the horse.
"It's one of the things that make us so amazing." She teased back smiling, though her smile soon faltered as she took in the frown on Pippin's face.
"What about Merry?" He asked a strange look coming onto his face.
"Oh, he wanted to come Pip, and he would've if he could, I know it." She began turning away, mistaking it as a longing for his best friend and cousin, and feeling guilty as if she were somehow 'replacing' him. Something she knew she could never do, nor would she ever want to make such an attempt.
"I know that." He cut her off, reaching out and taking her hands in his for the first time since their fight four days ago. Ruby didn't realize how much she had missed his touch, until that moment, and she gazed up at him not daring to hope. Which she realized was the look she had seen on his face: hope. "What I meant was; why didn't you stay with him?"
"Because as much as I care for Merry, and I'll admit I used to have a tiny crush on him back home, but I chose between the two of you when we were in Fangorn forest; and I'm sticking with that choice." She told him, giving his hand a quick squeeze.
"And why is that?" He asked, the tiniest bit of a smile creeping onto his face, evoking a rush of warmth in herself.
"Because it was the right one." She told him confidently, so as to make sure there wouldn't be any doubt. He smiled even wider, then leaned down and kissed her tenderly on the lips. The same way he had all those many days ago in Treebeard's branches, and Ruby felt the same adoration coursing through her that she felt then. "I love you Peregrin Took." She whispered when he finally pulled apart.
"And I love you Ruby Goodchild." He whispered in return, pulling her to him and holding her close for a moment, before Gandalf cleared his throat effectively bringing them back to the present and reminding them of his presence. Ruby couldn't be blushing any harder.
"Shall we?" He asked, and they both nodded as they continued into the Courtyard of the Citadel. Suddenly a hauntingly beautiful withered White tree caught Pippin's attention, and he began to call out, "It's the tree. Gandalf…Gandalf!"
"Yes, the White Tree of Gondor. The tree of the King. Lord Denethor, however, is not king. He is a steward only, a caretaker of the throne." Gandalf explained as they continued walking, though he paused just before they were about to enter the main hall. "Now listen carefully. Lord Denethor is Boromir's father. To give him news of his beloved son's death would be most unwise. And do not mention Frodo or the Ring. And say nothing of Aragorn either. In fact, it's better if you don't speak at all, Peregrin Took." He said, and Pippin nodded his head with understanding though he seemed the tiniest bit miffed that he did not say the same to Ruby, which only made her giggle and smile proudly. Not that she saw herself saying anything anyway, and she knew this was the real reason that Gandalf didn't both addressing her but it still felt good.
With that the three entered the hall, and came to stand before a man sitting on a chair at the end of this. "Hail Denethor, son of Ecthelion, lord and steward of Gondor. I come with tidings in this dark hour and with counsel." Gandalf called out to him.
"Perhaps you come to explain this. Perhaps you come to tell me why my son is dead." The man said his voice hollow with grief, as he held up Boromir's cloven horn making Ruby flinch as images of Boromir's death assaulted her all at once. Suddenly an almost overwhelming emotion came over her, prompting her to do something that neither she nor her companions (not even Hazel had she been there) could have predicted.
"Boromir died to save us, my friends and me. He fell defending us from many foes." She told the Steward stepping forward and immediately catching his attention, as well as her two friends.
"Ruby!" They both cried in unison, before Gandalf muttered under his breath "Of course I told the wrong Hobbit to keep quiet."
"I offer you my service, such as it is, in payment of this debt." Ruby continued, ignoring the both of them as she knelt before the man.
"I was one of the friends of whom she speaks. I make the same pledge." Pippin spoke up straightaway, coming to kneel beside her.
"This is my first command to you. How did you escape and my son did not, so mighty a man as he was?" Lord Denethor asked, his voice seeming so hollow and cold, only making Ruby feel worse.
"The mightiest man may be slain by one arrow, Boromir was pierced by many." She told him, allowing a single tear to spill down her cheek as her last sight of Boromir flashed once again painfully in her mind's eye. The Steward instantly started to sob at this, and Pippin reached out to take Ruby's hand as more tears threatened to burst forth.
"Get up!" Gandalf practically hissed at them, whacking at both of them with his staff, resulting in their quick obedience. "My Lord, there will be a time to grieve for Boromir but it is not now. War is coming. The enemy is on your doorstep. As Steward, you are charged with the defense of this city. Where are Gondor's armies? You still have friends. You are not alone in this fight. Send word to Théoden of Rohan. Light the beacons." He advised, suddenly the man's whole demeanor turned icy cold and hard washing away whatever pity she might have felt for him with his cruel stubborn words.
"You think you are wise, Mithrandir. Yet for all your subtleties you have not wisdom. Do you think the eyes of the White Tower are blind? I have seen more than you know. With your left hand, you would use me as a shield against Mordor. And with your right you would seek to supplant me. I know who rides with Théoden of Rohan. Oh yes. Word has 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." He snarled fiercely, and for a moment Ruby wondered how a man could be so utterly foolish. And how she could have offered him her service!
"Authority is not given you to deny the return of the king, Steward." Gandalf told him reproachfully.
"The rule of Gondor is mine, and no other's!" Denethor cried rising to his feet, and for a moment he truly looked mad, before seeming to lose his strength and slumping back into his seat.
"Come." Gandalf said, leading the hobbits out of the room. "All has turned to vain ambition. He would even use his grief as a cloak. A thousand years this city has stood." Gandalf told the two slightly confused and frightened Hobbits, as they entered the courtyard once again. "Now at the whim of a madman, it will fall. And the White Tree, the tree of the king, will never bloom again."
"Why are they still guarding it?" Pippin asked him, seeming sincerely curious by the question.
"They guard it because they have hope. A faint and fading hope that one day it will flower, that a king will come and this city will be as it once was, before it fell into decay. The old wisdom borne out of the West was forsaken. Kings made tombs more splendid than the houses of the living, and counted the old names of their descent dearer than the names of their sons. Childless lords sat in aged halls, musing on heraldry or in high, cold towers, asking questions of the stars. And so, the people of Gondor fell into ruin. The line of Kings failed. The White Tree withered. The rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men." He told him, walking to the edge of the wall and looking out at the world beyond. They both trialed after him, and in the distance Ruby could see red clouds climbing over mountains, seeming to be coming toward Gondor.
"Mordor." Pippin breathed, and Ruby couldn't help but shudder at the name (so much for courage).
"Yes, there it lies. This city has dwelt ever in the sight of its shadow." Gandalf agreed his voice sounding the tiniest bit ominous.
"A storm is coming." Ruby remarked her voice soft and forlorn.
"This is not the weather of the world. This is a device of Sauron's making. A broil of fume he sends ahead of his host. The Orcs of Mordor have no love of daylight, so he covers the face of the sun to ease their passage along the road to war. When the Shadow of Mordor reaches this city, it will begin." Gandalf explained and at that both Hobbits turned to face one another the same look of concern on both of their faces.
"Well, Minas Tirith, very impressive. So, where are we off to next?" Pippin said trying to make his voice light as he smiled up hopefully at the Wizard, but Ruby knew that this was in vain.
"Oh, it's too late for that, Peregrin. There's no leaving this city. Help must come to us." Gandalf replied solemnly and the three fell into a tense silence. But still in spite of all the apprehension growing inside her, Ruby could not regret her decision to come. After all she was with her Pippin, and as long as that was true, she knew she was where she needed to be.
Yay! I guess… hope you enjoyed!