There Is No Time For Fear (Aragorn x oc)

eight

Iston POV

"Where's Frodo?" I hear Merry say from nearby. I'm standing a little bit away from where the fellowship rests on the edge of the lake, as I have been lately, nothing has felt quite right since we left Lorien.

Everyone starts to look around frantically. He's just a hobbit, he can't have gone that far. I watch as Aragorn looks down and notices Boromir's shield is here and Boromir is gone. We rush to start searching the woods and I hear voices in the distance.

"Can you protect me from yourself?" Frodo says to Aragorn as I step out of the trees near them. "Would you destroy it?"

Frodo is holding out the ring in front of him and Aragorn stares into it as if he is fighting. Aragorn reaches forward and closes Frodo's hands around the ring.

"I would have gone with you to the end. Into the very fires of Mordor." He says softly.

"I know." Frodo looks towards me and Aragorn turns to look at me also. "Look after the others. Both of you. Especially Sam. He will not understand."

I nod at him. It's taken me a while to understand what is happening, but now I see. Frodo doesn't know who is safe from the ring and who is not. He can trust no one but himself. A soft light comes from the sword sting, hanging on Frodo's side and we all look at each other in alarm.

"Go, Frodo." Aragorn says quickly. The hobbit hesitates.

"Go!" I say and we draw our weapons. "Run!"

Frodo races off. I follow Aragorn out of the trees and see a troop of Uruk-Hai. We glance at each other and stand closer, ready to strike. They attack and we fight back, rushing into the midst of the group.

It's been many years since I fought with a staff rather than a sword and I'm glad I have Aragorn to cover me when I falter. The side of a crude axe falls on my shoulder and Aragorn swipes the one holding it to the ground and stabs it through the chest. The group of Uruk-Hai back us up the steps of the seat of seeing. A sword slams down towards Aragorn and I catch it on the side of my staff. A wave of blue emanates through the air and the Uruk-hai all stumble back a few feet.

"Elendil!" Aragorn yells and jumps from the top of the seat. Legolas and Gimli dash out from the trees and join the fight.

"Aragorn go!" Legolas yells. And Aragorn runs off to defend Frodo while the three of us fight on. I lose track of how many we kill. Arrows fly through the air around me and the Uruk-Hai keep coming. Eventually, their numbers begin to thin and we hear a sound from the forest below.

"The horn of Gondor." Legolas says in surprise.

"Boromir!" Aragorn runs towards the sound of the horn without a second thought. The three of us follow him, killing Uruk-hai along the way. Legolas and Gimli get caught up killing one after another and I push ahead to follow Aragorn. I rush into the clearing to find Boromir wounded and Aragorn fighting Lutz, the leader of the Uruk-Hai.

Aragorn is pinned up against a tree, his sword on the ground beside him. I slide across the ground, grab the sword, and toss it to Aragorn, fully trusting in his ability to catch it. He does not disappoint and returns immediately to fighting.

I turn to Boromir, whose face has gone white.

"I can help you." I say kneeling next to him.

"You cannot." He tries to breath in deeply. "I may not know... much... about magic. But I don't... think you have enough power to heal... a man on the brink of death."

I stare at him, knowing he is right. I do not like to feel helpless. I was given this power, this gift. Yet here I am, without enough of it to save him.

I look behind me and watch as Aragorn cuts off the head of the Uruk-Hai. He turns to look at us and comes quickly to kneel next to me.

"They took the little ones." Boromir says quickly.

"Hold still." Aragorn says

"Frodo. Where is Frodo?" Boromir reaches up to clasp my hand.

"I let Frodo go."

"Then you did what I could not. I tried to take the Ring from him." Boromir reaches up his other hand to take Aragorn's hand.

"The Ring is beyond our reach now."

"Forgive me. I did not see it. I have failed you all."

"No, Boromir. You fought bravely. You have kept your honor."

"Failure would mean giving up, and you never walked away." I say, my eyes brimming with tears. 

Aragorn releases Boromir's hand and reaches to pull an arrow from Boromir's body but I reach out a hand to stop him.

"Leave it! It is over. The world of Men will fall. And all will come to darkness, and my city to ruin." Boromir turns his head towards me. "There is nothing more that can be done."

I nod at him and he squeezes my hand. I squeeze it back and then release it and step away from the sons of Gondor. 

"I do not know what strength is in my blood, but I swear to you I will not let the White City fall, nor our people fail." I can hear Aragorn say.

"Our people? Our people." Boromir seems comforted by that thought.

I back up further and Legolas comes running up, only to stop next to me. Aragorn places Boromir's sword in his hand and he clasps it to his chest.

"I would have followed you, my brother. My captain. My king." He manages to say before his chest stops.

"Be at peace, son of Gondor." Aragorn says softly and sadly. He leans forward to kiss Boromir's forehead. "They will look for his coming from the White Tower. But he will not return."

A silence fills to clearing. We all seem to acknowledge that moving forward means that Boromir is really dead and, although he had is faults, we do truly care about him. Finally, Aragorn reaches down and picks up the body of Boromir, bringing him towards the river. 

We send Boromir off into the river with honor; his shield and sword with him. I take Aragorn's hand as we watch the boat go over the falls.

"Hurry! Frodo and Sam have reached the eastern shore." Legolas says loudly, pushing a boat out into the water. He looks back and meets my eyes, then Aragorn's. "You mean not to follow them."

"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands." Aragorn says.

"Then it has all been in vain. The Fellowship has failed." Gimli says, upset. The elf and dwarf walk towards us.

"Not if we hold true to each other." He looks at each of us in the eyes. "We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not while we have strength left. Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light. Let's hunt some Orc."

He turns to me, bloody face and kisses me once before reaching down, picking up a dagger, and leading the way into the forest. Gimli looks at us surprised, then a smile spreads over his face.

"Haha!" He laughs and raises his axe before running after Aragorn with Legolas and I following quickly behind.