They woke to a grey, bleak dawn the day of their journey. Dressing and eating quickly and silently, they shouldered their bedrolls, weapons, and saddlebags and made for the stables.

By the time they got there Faramir had considerately saddled their horses. Lost in thought, he stood pensively between the horses, their reins in each hand. He looked up as they approached.

The air was awkward and uncomfortable around them as Faramir wordlessly handed them the reins. Wordlessly, they walked down to the First Level together, Boromir and Sedryn leading their horses by the reins.

Sedryn felt herself grow sad as she recalled the last time the three of them had traversed these steps. That had been on her wedding day not three days before. Then, she had been positively giddy. Now…she squared her shoulders and looked ahead. Why did it feel so very wrong to leave Gondor?

They didn't stop until they were out of earshot of the sentries that let them through the Outer Gate. They delayed the inevitable as long as they could, but finally Faramir was the first to speak.

"You should go," he said, his voice flat and lifeless.

Boromir nodded. "Namarie." He said simply, honoring his brother in the only way he could.

Sedryn stepped up next. Gripping her former Captain by the arms, she looked into his eyes and took a breath to speak. Letting it out in a rush, she turned away, cursing her weakness. Faramir saw tears in her eyes as she moved from him, and suddenly the words seemed to come more easily. Walking forward, he took her by the arm, turned her around, and hugged her. "Hold to hope," he told her. "It is not yet lost."

She nodded.

"We will come back, Faramir, if it is in any way possible," Boromir said. "Even if we have to be carried home on litters, if it is in our power, we will return. Nothing short of death will keep us from Gondor, and that is a promise." He said passionately, clasping his brother's shoulder.

Faramir nodded. "I know," he said. "I wish I was going with you, if only to make sure you don't hurt yourself."

Abruptly, Boromir stepped into Faramir's ready embrace and wrapped his arms around his brother's slender body. "For Eru's sake take care of yourself, Brother!" he said, and Faramir found himself rapidly blinking back tears when he heard the quiver in Boromir's voice. Too clearly, he remembered his vision of the death of Gondor, and he knew instinctively that there was a chance to avert that doom only if they stayed. This order of Denethor's was madness, and yet Faramir knew that Boromir hoped to at least attempt to secure some sort of help for Gondor so he said nothing. Finally Boromir pulled away and mounted his horse.

"Remember this day, Little Brother," he said, and then they were gone. Faramir stayed in that place a long while…

Not until the long hours of daylight passed and the lengthening shadows began to fade did Boromir speak. "We'd better make camp for the night."

Dismounting from their horses, they unsaddled them and released them to graze before tending to their own needs. As they were still close enough to Gondor, they risked lighting a fire to warm up. Bustling about, Sedryn cut thick slices of traveler's bread and topped it with thick hunks of seasoned beef and potatoes she had heated up in a pot on the fire. Seeing Boromir's inquisitive smile, she shrugged. "I thought it would be nice not to have to hunt the first day. There's even tea for after." She said, handing him a plate. She made one for her own and sat next to him.

They ate in a companionable silence. Quickly, they finished eating and Sedryn put everything away as Boromir whistled for the horses and tethered them nearby. By the time he had returned Sedryn had both set out the bedrolls and prepared the tea. Accepting the proffered mug gratefully, he sat down on his bedroll and leaned against the ample trunk of a redwood tree. Sedryn, already enveloped in her blankets, cuddled up to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'll take the first watch," he said, sensing her tiredness. Smiling tiredly at him, she nodded and moved down so that her head rested on Boromir's outstretched legs. "Thanks," she said, and closed her eyes.

He had tired her today, he realized, unable to resist tracing her cheek down to her jaw with his finger. Resting his head against the tree, he watched and waited for as long as he could before waking her up and switching places with her, his head on her lap.

Sedryn had the final watch of the night, and she was loath to waken Boromir, deeply asleep and at ease. Even the rising sun seemed gentle as it lit up the sky and caressed his face with warm beams. Bending over, she kissed him, and a smile flickered over her face as she heard his sleepy intake of breath. "Good morning, love."

He rubbed his hand over his face. "Good morning," he answered, sitting up and stretching.

"Good morning!" she answered lightly, feeling cheery in spite of herself. "Sleep well?"

"Splendidly," he said, getting to his feet. "What's for breakfast?"

"Egg and sausage bread." She answered, digging in one of the packs. She pulled out a roll and tossed it at him. He laughed as he caught it—that was the biggest roll he had ever seen. And as he bit into it he was happy to realize that his wife could cook.

Later that day, Sedryn shifted uncomfortably in her saddle and sighed. Boromir was obviously preoccupied with something, but at this point she was beyond caring. Eru, she was bored! They hadn't said a word since their midday meal, and not much before that. She supposed she should have just been glad of the chance to ride with her husband, but they had been riding for two days! She sighed again unconsciously.

"What?" Boromir said suddenly, startling her. At her questioning blink, he said, "You've been sighing like a lovelorn…well, like you're lovelorn, for the last two miles."

She snickered. "That's one way to look at it, I suppose. Truth is, I'm bored, and you're sitting there like those trolls we found turned into stone once, with their faces caught in mindless grimaces."

"Sorry," he said, feeling abashed. "I'm just…a bit…worried. It's a very long journey, and so it's a very long time to be away from Gondor."

"So it is," She agreed, her face as grave as his. "But it is not given to us to chose our paths. Trust to Gondor to care for Her own."

"And hope we are included in that as well." Boromir added. "Let's speed up a bit and we'll stop early. We're about two days away from Dunharrow."

She nodded and clucked a few words to her horse so it sped up. An hour and a half later they stopped at a small, high stone outcropping.

"Faramir would have loved this," Sedryn said. "He would have said 'I can hold this till the end of time with just ten Rangers.'"

Boromir chuckled. "He would, that. Come on, let's eat."

Building a fire, they ate and shortly after, Sedryn took the first watch. Night passed quickly; it only seemed like minutes before they awoke and began on another dreary, drizzly day of journeying. Midmorning they found a wild apple tree and stopped a while to gather a few of them. Sedryn munched on apples throughout the day.

Not far from Rohan, they stayed that night in a small abandoned cabin, bringing their horses with them rather than leave them outside. Sedryn rubbed her hands in glee when she saw the fireplace. Cover and warmth! As Boromir went out hunting, Sedryn gathered scraps of wood for a fire she tended until Boromir returned with a hare in his hands, ready for cooking.

But the stew, alas, was not to be eaten by the couple, for in their most vulnerable moment as Boromir returned from hunting, there was no one taking guard. No one saw the Orcs coming in around the corner until it was too late.

Their only warning was the harsh guttural sound of Orc-language as the group neared. Sedryn was rooting for salt in her pack and Boromir was skinning the hare when they heard the noise. Both stiffened.

Boromir cursed fluently as they grabbed their packs and slung them over their shoulders again. Taking care not to be seen, Boromir walked to the window and peered out.

There was no use, he realized, both them working out that the Orcs had likely seen the fire from the window and had taken advantage of their carelessness to surround them. Again, Boromir cursed his lack of attention. "Dryn, I'm so sorry," he said, worry creasing his rugged features.

Sedryn looked at him oddly. Abruptly, she spoke. "Orders, Captain?" she said.

Boromir felt a slow smile make its way onto his face. He understood what she meant; by putting herself back into the role of fighter she made it easier for him to step back into the role of captain.

"Right." He said, and Sedryn smiled at hearing the tone of command in his voice. Through the mind clasp she heard his thoughts:

They know we're here; we don't know how many there are; we're likely surrounded. They will attack…We have to ride out. He realized.

Do we wait for dawn? Sedryn asked.

We can't fight that long. Boromir answered. Ready yourself. We fight our way out of here.

Sedryn nodded. Picking up a bucket, she doused the fire and unsheathed her sword amidst the nearing shouts and taunts of the Orcs. The Orcs were close enough for Boromir and Sedryn to see their blackened bodies and red gleaming eyes through the window.

"Hurry!" Boromir barked, intending to leave before the Orcs smashed through the window.

"The door's too narrow for both of us," he said as she mounted her horse. "The wall's rickety; we'll pound the side out and go crashing through. Then ride, ride, ride!" He said, his horse rearing as he led their charge. "Howl like a banshee; they might think there's more of us."

Roaring and shouting their challenges to the wind, they crashed through, holding their swords at ready. Working in tandem, they carved a way through the melee, Boromir on the left and Sedryn on the right.

Sedryn focused on the numbers, nothing else. Doggedly, she fought her way through three, seven, ten Orcs, wishing she had a hand free so that she could fight with her sling as well. Boromir, still angry for getting into this predicament, fought with a savage elegance that had Orcs falling, trailing behind his horse, headless, armless, legless. Necks and torsos slit.

They had almost won through. Sedryn raised her arm to deliver the killing blow to an Orc but another one, seizing his opportunity, hacked with his cutlass at Sedryn's unprotected thigh. He grinned when he felt the blade thud into bone. Sedryn shuddered as he pulled the weapon out and raised it, its edge bloodied, for the kill; but Boromir, reaching into a bag, pulled an onion out of the bag and lobbed it at the Orc. He could feel Sedryn slow her breathing and try to master the pain. It worked, but just barely.

Have to get out, she Sent desperately, her words slurring with pain. Blood loss—I can't last long! Already black spots hovered at the edge of her vision. With every passing second more blood dripped out of the gash in her leg. Her senses swam.

In a very risky move, Boromir gave his horse the lead. Reaching over, he took Sedryn's reins and, using the mind-clasp, he sent just enough alertness to stay upright. Still, he sensed he could not do it long; the blood loss was making her weaker and weaker.

As soon as they broke away from the few remaining Orcs Boromir tied Sedryn's reins to his saddle. He reached over and grabbed Sedryn's arm. As gently as he could, he pulled and maneuvered her until, now unconscious, she was in his arms, the blood still pulsing from her leg. Setting her down before him so that her back rested against his chest, he pulled out a bandage from her pack and tied it tightly around her leg in an attempt to stanch the bleeding. They galloped onward, easily outdistancing the Orcs once they had cleared through.

As soon as he dared, Boromir stopped and dismounted awkwardly, Sedryn in his arms. Laying her onto the ground, he stared at her leg. Her blood had long since soaked the makeshift bandage and had dripped down her leg into her boot, seeped through the leather, and now trickled onto the ground, staining the yellowed grass an ominous dark red. He took Sedryn's pack and rummaged in it, finding fresh bandages and a vial full of liquid that would slow the bleeding. Cutting away the fabric of her breeches with a dagger, he wrapped the bandage around her leg once before liberally dousing it with the liquid. He crooned nonsense to her, soothing her, as she tensed with pain, a groan torn from her mouth. When he finished bandaging he called for the horses and transferred as much of his gear as he dared to Sedryn's horse, wanting to balance the weight on the horses since he would have to hold Sedryn as they rode.

He made his stallion kneel down when it was time for them to leave. Once he had mounted, he reached for Sedryn and, as gently as he could, maneuvered her until she rested in the saddle before him. Afraid of how cold she was and how much blood she had lost, he wrapped her cloak tightly around her and unclasped his cloak and threw it over her so her front was covered. Ensuring that she was as warm and as comfortable as she could be, he bid the horse rise and they started off at a slow canter. He felt more than heard her whimpering against him from the pain of the jarring, so he linked to her through the mind-clasp and sent her the willpower to hold up. It would drain him but he didn't care. He would last till they got to Rohan and found help from Theoden. If he rode through the night they would be there by sunset.

Boromir hadn't realized how much being married changed things. He was responsible for keeping himself alive in order to protect her, and that complicated things because he didn't do it solely out of a sense of duty—he did it from love. He did not think highly of himself, yet he knew that if either he or Faramir or even Sedryn fell, so would Gondor.

Once again he understood how much Sedryn had risked by marrying him. She had married him with the implicit knowledge that he was responsible to first Gondor, then her. And by marrying him she had subjected herself to the same treatment; she was the Lady of Gondor and her allegiance was first to Gondor then Boromir.

But the three of them –Boromir, Gondor, and Sedryn—were, in a strange way, connected. So Boromir guessed that to save one was to protect the others.