A/N: Darn. I had hoped the Unseen One's subtle hints would have been enough, but that's ok. If you haven't figured it out already, don't worry. All will be explained in due time. Thanks for reading and being so patient! I'm working on a romance fic (I've finished 3 chapters), so that's been taking up a lot of my time. School is finally out, so I have much more time to write. ^_^

Thank-you so much for the reviews! It's what keeps me going, and it's great to have such nice reviewers! Keep em coming!

In case you hadn't noticed, this story contains ROTK spoilers. I forgot to mention that earlier (better late than never). Sorry!

And now, on with the fic!

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Disclaimer: If you think I'm Tolkien, GET YOUR HEAD CHECKED.

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Chapter 14 – Demands and Uncertainties

Boromir was still worried about her, despite his irritation. Steph was a fighter, he knew that. She hated showing weakness, and many times when it was obvious she wanted to rest, she would snap at him and shoulder the load once more.

But it was something different this time. She wasn't just tired. She looked drained, almost older. Even her voice seemed to have lost a bit of its youthfulness. On the other hand, he felt rejuvenated; better than he had ever felt. He felt like a young man again.

The Unseen One's words echoed through his head. It could almost be called parasitic the way…never mind.

What had it meant by that? Oh, he wished he had asked sooner! Or at least demanded that it stay and explain. He clenched his hands into fists and sat down on the ground. A curse upon the Unseen One! It was nothing but trouble, the way it mocked him and kept him guessing all the time. Where once it had been his savior, it was now his enemy. He trusted something that he could not see, something that could bring about his downfall and Steph's.

Ignoring the Rohirrim around him, he leapt to his feet to yell curses at the Unseen One. Almost immediately, the arrow wounds burned painfully, forcing him to his knees.

"Unseen One!" he called out, his voice strained with pain, "I wish to speak with you!" He had never called the Unseen One to him, as it came when it wanted.

There was a still silence as the people around paused to look at him. Ignoring it, he called again. "Do not ignore me, Unseen One! I demand that you speak with me!"

There was a strong gust of wind and then its voice was in his head.

"You demand to see me Boromir? This is a new idea."

Boromir grimaced at the air. "I am glad you have come."

It sighed tiredly, as though Boromir was wasting its time. "I will not apologize for the arrow wounds Boromir. I abhor being shouted at."

"I wish to know your true intentions! So far you have told me nothing, and put my life and another's in danger!"

There was a long eerie pause. "Your words are not wisely chosen." It said quietly, "I explain what I will and if I choose not to, it is my decision and not yours. You would do well to remember who brought you back to redeem yourself."

"And I rue the hour in which I listened to your forked tongue, Unseen One! I should have touched the light and found peace in death!"

The Unseen One snorted. "Peace in death? Then you are more of a fool than I thought! Your anguished heart would have tormented you for all eternity." Its voice became gentler, like that of a soothing mother. "I gave you new life, Boromir. To redeem yourself, to find peace after death once your goal in this life was fufilled."

Boromir was pacing now, wiping the beading sweat off his forehead, heedless of the confused stares of the onlookers. "And Steph? Why have you brought her back as well?"

"All will be explained in due time, my little parasite. Follow my instructions, and all will go well."

He sighed, his troubled mind still uneasy. "Stephanie. What ails her? She is not herself."

The unseen shoulders shrugged. "Simply the aftereffects, son of Gondor."

Boromir started to demand that it explain itself, but the wind rushed past him again and the Unseen One was gone. There were quite a bit of people staring at him now, whispering amongst themselves.

Still heavy with unanswered questions, he returned to Steph. He still had to protect her.

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Some time later, Steph and Boromir were back on the horse, riding to Edoras. Boromir was troubled by this decision. He liked being near his own land. Steph looked up from watching the ground speed past them. Absentmindedly, she poked his face.

"What's up with you? You look like you just sucked on a lemon."

He scowled at her. "Be silent. I am thinking."

Steph frowned back. "What is up with you lately? You're acting…weird."

"As are you."

"How am I acting weird?" she demanded, pushing her windblown hair out of her eyes.

"I told you to be silent, did I not?"

Steph let out an exasperated sigh. "Dumbass, you're always telling me to do something and I rarely do it. You'd think that after all these years of knowing me you'd get it through your head."

"Be quiet."

"You."

"I was being quiet, you fool."

"You're talking aren't you?"

He was silent. This was going to go on forever.

Steph grinned. "Silence. The worst comeback. I win! 20 points!"

He sent her a dark look over his shoulder and returned to his thoughts. He had been listening to some of the conversations earlier. They wanted to go through the Paths of the Dead. Involuntarily, he shivered. Images flooded his mind. He had been dead once, and he had the sinking feeling that the dead inside would be able to tell. He did not want to be taken back when he had come so far.

"What're you thinking about?" Steph asked in an annoying singsong voice.

"That is none of your concern."

Steph sighed. "You are such an assclown. Tell me. Maybe I could give you some good advice."

He laughed. "I doubt that."

"Oh, tell me! I can help, Borry-mere!" She batted her lashes at him, grinning.

He rolled his eyes, something he'd picked up from her. "Do not refer to me as 'Borry-mere'. It is insulting."

"Whatever you say Borry-mere. What're you thinking about?"

"Steph, do you know what the Paths of the Dead are?"

She shook her head. "Nuh-uh. Explain."

"They wish to travel through them, and it worries me."

Steph raised an eyebrow, suddenly serious. "Because you were dead once."

"Yes."

"Bor, what's the problem? I mean, you've got to have a reason that you think that being dead before would be bad for you in there."

He frowned, his mind full of dark thoughts. "I do."

"And it is…?" she prompted.

"Galadriel sent me no message."

Steph racked her brain. Who was Galadriel again? "Is she the elf lady in white? The queen person from Lothlauren or something? What's so great about her?"

Boromir swallowed hard to keep himself from shouting at her. "Galadriel is ruler of Lothlorien. She is very powerful and wise."

"And you wanted a message from her…why?"

"She sent word to Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. But none for me."

Steph frowned in thought. "What about hobbit dude? Merry?"

"He received none."

"So what's the problem then? He didn't get one either!"

"You do not understand! Galadriel sees much. If I was sent no word, then perhaps I am not even alive, but merely a shadow, as a wisp of my former self! Surely she would have some advice for the future Steward of Gondor!"

She patted his shoulder. "Dude, chill. Let's take the ego trip down a notch. Maybe she just didn't have anything to say."

He was not comforted by her words. "I will ask the Unseen One."

Steph started to ask why he needed the Unseen One's council, but decided not to. "Where are we going?"

Boromir snorted at her bad memory. "Edoras. I told you that."

"I thought you already figured out that I have the attention span of a sandwich."

"Of a what?"

She whacked him in the arm. "Sandwich, you moron."

A few moments later, he hit her back. "Be quiet."

Steph rubbed her arm, sending her a death glare. "You have the reflexes of a dead cow, Boromir."

"What do you mean?"

"It took you like 4 minutes to hit me back!" she whacked him on the shoulder. "That's minus 10 points for you."

He didn't bother to ask what he had lost 10 points for, because Steph soon explained her 'Insult Game'. She was in the lead, of course, and Boromir was losing horribly.

"Your score is pitiful." She pronounced as they reached Meduseld.

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