Promise Me

Chapter Nine

Sometimes, dreams do come true.

Gabriella smiled as she snuggled closer to Boromir. Part of her was unable to believe this had all actually happened. She'd imagined it again and again, but somehow never believed it would ever come to pass. Then she thought him dead and her hope was shattered beyond repair.

But now? Now, everything was different.

He lay quietly beside her, his arm snug about her shoulders, her head resting peacefully against his chest, tucked into the slope where it met his right shoulder. Nothing had ever felt so perfect as this. His fingers had brushed along her upper arm, but little by little, the strokes slowed, then stopped altogether. He was asleep, his breathing deep and even, his sleep peaceful. Good. He'd earned a restful slumber.

She rose onto one elbow to gaze down at him. In sleep, his anguish, his loss, everything he'd been through seemed to fall away and as she just watched him sleep, he reminded her of the young man she'd met on the Anduin's banks so long ago. She wished there was some way to stop time completely, to give him a bit of time to rest away from the realities of his new life, to let him remember that same young man.

She had been all of thirteen years old that fateful day, and when he'd approached her, he looked so furious, that for a moment, she was genuinely frightened. But, having spent so much of her childhood in a tavern, she knew showing fear was never a wise tact to take. So, she stood up to the steward's son as if it was something she'd done on a daily basis.

He'd seemed surprised by it, but the next day, he'd come looking for her to assure her that the horse was just fine. In that moment, a friendship was born. To so many, he was the Steward's heir, but to her, he was just Boromir. He was brash and handsome and brave and he looked out for her and for his brother and for the people of Gondor as a whole. He and his brother saw her as the sister they'd never had, and she was perfectly content with that until the day came when she'd realized what she felt for Boromir was far more than sisterly affection.

She couldn't remember a time when she didn't love him. As the years passed, and each one found themselves in a relationship with someone else, something would always happen to cause that other relationship to fall apart. For her, it was always the sense of not being with the right person, not being as comfortable with any other man as she was with Boromir. No matter what, he was the one she always wanted to share good news with and his was always the shoulder upon which she looked to cry or lean.

More often than not with Boromir, any woman he might have had an interest in always grew increasingly jealous of his relationship with Gabriella. He confessed one night about a year earlier that he'd been given an ultimatum where she was concerned. And that did not sit well with him.

But now, they stood on the precipice of an entirely new future and this time, she would not let fear get in their way. She had waited so long for him, for this moment, and she wished she had some way to make it last a bit longer as well, for it was better than she'd even allowed herself to imagine. With one finger, she traced along the rough stubble from his jaw to his chin. Normally, his cheeks were smooth and clean-shaven, with just the goatee, but it had obviously been some time since he'd last been able to shave, for he was well on his way to a full beard.

His was such a fascinating face. And not only because he was so powerfully handsome (although it certainly did help) but because his features were bold and strong, and his dark golden-brown hair set off his pale eyes so perfectly. She could study him forever and not ever grow bored, would still find something new and fascinating about him with each day.

She wondered about the scar on his forehead, though. It was only barely visible, a faint, slightly jagged thin line that began just above the inner corner of his left eyebrow and trailed almost to his hairline. She didn't know where he'd gotten it, only that he'd aways had it.