Another Chapter! This one is a bit longer than the last one! So, with the hundred words each day for a hundred days, so far I only missed one, and ironically it was not yesterday, the day I was out from four till midnight, it was the day before, when I had all day to write...

I finished this chapter today, and yesterday I started the next chapter, 'cinda confusing. (I did not have any previous work with me yesterday when I was writing, so I did not know what to add to this chapter, or even that it needed adding to.) I am rambling now.

Anyway...since I have not had any new reviews, followes, or favorites, I will say to every one who has already done it: Thank you again, I really do appreciate each one. And it makes me excited to see a email saying that some one did something with my story .

On to the story.

Faramir sat against a rock, watching as Aragorn and Gandalf discussed their path. Aragorn wanted to go thru the pass of Caradhras, and Gandalf wanted to go thru the mines of Moria. The steward's son shuddered at the name. He had never heard of it before, but it filled his with foreboding. Faramir turned abruptly as he heard a noise from behind him, and he saw the rest of the company standing together. Gimli, the red haired dwarf, was talking, leaning on his axe.

"Moria! The home of my family. They went and forged grand things! Toys, and jewellery. Armour, and swords." The dwarf's face was shining as he thought about the mine. Faramir looked up, behind the dwarf, and saw the blond elf shaking his head.

The Elf caught Faramir's eye, and smiled, and rolled his eyes, causing Faramir to smile back. After the younger human's outburst the other day, Faramir could sense a change in the elf's demeanor towards him. Legolas was no longer cold, and distant, but now talking to him, trusting him more.

Aragorn and the wizard came up to the group, and the talking silenced, as everyone stared at the two of them. Faramir felt the tension growing in the air, and he glanced at the others watching as they shifted nervously, looking at each other with worry. After a few seconds of silence, Frodo spoke up

"What way are we going?"

Gandalf sighed and walked away, shaking his head, and muttering to himself. Aragorn gave a slight smile

"The lesser of the two evils." The tall man shrugged "The pass of Caradhras is dangerous. But the Mines of Moria..." He trailed off, eyes dark and distant as he remembered something from his past.

Gimli glowered, "The Mines of Moria are not dangerous. They can't be. There is the normal dangers of deep holes, but that must be all. My cousin is living there, and if we went that way, there would be a mighty feast waiting for us."

Pippin's eyes brightened "A feast?"

Gimli laughed "Yes, a feast! And you would learn of the hospitality of dwarfs!" He turned to Legolas "It is much better than that of Elf's."

Legolas frowned, eyes flashing "We have perfectly good hospitality." he held his head up, staring down at the dwarf.

The red haired dwarf just smirked, "You didn't when you captured my father, and the rest of Thorin's company. Excluding Bilbo."

Faramir watched in amusement at the argument quickly escalated into the, by now, very familiar argument. He shook his head, the two members of the company continually argued, but he got the feeling that they were just pretending to dislike each other so much. He turned to look at Aragorn again.

The other human gave a small smile then broke in "Well, there will be no need to test the hospitality of dwarfs, for we are not going that way." He looked to the direction Gandalf had walked, and motioned with his hand. "Come, we must continue on. We should reach the foot of the mountain by the time we stop. Tomorrow night we shall climb it."

By the time they had stopped for the night, they had indeed reached the foot of Caradhras. Faramir stood with his back to the rest of the company, looking up at the mountain, as he stood guard. He heard movement behind him, and in a instant, he had spun around, his sword in his hand. The steward's son let out a breath, and sheathed his sword again as Aragorn walked up to him. The older human had a amused look in his eye.

"You are very quick. If I had been in reach, I may not even be alive now!"

Faramir averted his eyes, "I apologize. I meant no harm." He felt tense, this was the first time since their first meeting, that he and the King were alone, and he didn't know what to do. He looked out of the corner of his eyes at the King, and was shocked to see a almost disappointed look on his face. He turned to face Aragorn "What is the matter, sir?"

The older man sighed "This." he motioned to him and Faramir, "I don't want to be treated like a king. At least not till I am a king. Right now I am a ranger, guiding a group of mismatched people." He looked over a Faramir "I know that everyone asks Gandalf for advice, and such, but I feel as if I am the one leading."

The Steward's son looked hard at Aragorn for a moment, then smiled "That may be because you are the leader. This is a test, for when you are legally king. You will have some experience leading strange people. If you can keep Gimli and Legolas in line when they are together, so they don't kill each other, or others, then you can take on anyone." He smirked at Aragorn's expression, "Don't worry. You'll do fine."

Aragorn turned to the younger man, "How do you know what to say all the time?"

"I don't. I just say what is on my heart."

Aragorn licked his lips, then after glancing at Faramir, he sighed "What do you think of your father?"

The younger man stiffened "What do you mean?"

"I know that you think he will try to take the throne. But what do you think of him, as a human, as your father?"

Faramir, after scanning the land around them, sank down to the ground with a sigh "Before my mother died, my father was loving, he was the best father a person could ask for, and the best husband. But when my mother died, he...became lost in grief, he didn't care for me and my brother, Boromir, as much. Then he started using the palantír. My father became more abrupt, and demanding. My brother was able to keep away from his anger, because of his training, and his ability with his sword. But I am five years younger, and my father didn't like that I didn't originally want to fight. The evil in the palantír ensnared my father, and disillusioned him, making him think that fighting is the only way to survive." Faramir stood and began pacing around the camp, motioning for Aragorn to follow.

"After that my father fell deeper under the spell of the palantír. He resorted to physical violence when I didn't cause him approval. My father always was sorry for what he had done when he came out of the spell. I know that I had the ability to run from that, or to deal with it another way, but Denethor, Steward of Gondor, is my father. What he does is wrong, but that will not change the fact that as my father, I love him. He is under the spell of something evil. I also could not let any one else fall under his wrath. I stayed to protect him, and others, from himself." The younger man looked over at Aragorn who was striding beside him in silence.

Aragorn was silent for several minutes, then he stopped Faramir with a hand on his shoulder "If the palantír is evil, or has evil in it, then I can think of another reason why it, thru you father, would attack you. Evil can not survive vary long in the presence of good. And you have goodness in you."

"I am not good." Faramir lowered his brows, and watched a Aragorn shook his head

"No. Neither am I, or anyone else, but you do have a attitude that repels evil."

Hope you enjoyed.

Personally I have found that I like the more relaxed Faramir better, but when he and Aragorn start talking, I needed that bit to make it coinside with how he was acting before...Hope I didn't make this too cheesy.

Any one who wants to point out mistakes are free to do so, I will do my best, with God's help, to swallow my pride, and exept it with out feeling disappointed that my work isn't perfect. I know it's not perfect, I just am a bit disappointed when I get proof. So since I want my writing to get better, I need to accept help.

Untill next time.

Soli Deo gloria