Promise Me

Chapter Eleven

Gabriella managed to sit and listen as Boromir explained what had happened to him, to the Fellowship, after they left Rivendell. It wasn't easy, as he paused, sometimes for several long moments as he gathered his thoughts, and when he came to Amon Hen, and what happened with Frodo, she had to press her hands to her lips to keep from interrupting him.

His voice wavered. His eyes reddened. But he met her gaze as he said, "I tried to take it from him, and had he not used it, I've no doubt I'd have done whatever I needed to in order to do just that." He tilted his head back to stare up at the ceiling, and drew in a slow, shaking breath. "And as soon as he vanished, I realized what I'd done, realized how much fear I'd put into him. He is almost literally half my size, Gabby, and a hobbit. He knew nothing of fighting or defending himself. And I knew that. I knew it and I used it to my advantage."

"But you didn't harm him?"

He shook his head. "No. He vanished. Vanished and rightly ran off and I—I don't know what happened to him. I don't know what became of him. I was supposed to protect him, Gabby. Supposed to keep him safe and see him to Mordor and I failed. I failed him. I failed Merry and Pippin. I failed them all. Because of my own greed, my own lust to be the one to end Sauron and restore order and protect my people. I wanted the glory of it all for myself. And look what happened."

"Perhaps he made it to Mordor after all. I mean, Sauron's armies were defeated here, perhaps that's why. Perhaps he destroyed the Ring after all."

"I have no way of knowing." He began pacing then, walking from the front door to the ones leading to the kitchen and storeroom, the floorboards creaking with each step. "As I was going back, not to tell anyone what I'd done, but most likely to lie to them about it, I heard them and I—I knew I had to stop them."

Her heart picked up its pace, her blood roaring through her ears as she knew what was coming next. Still, that didn't stop her from murmuring, "Stop who?"

"The orc pack that had been tracking us." He paused his pacing as he met her stare and offered up a sheepish smile. "Had I not been trying to steal that blasted Ring for myself, I'd have been with Aragorn and Legolas and Gimli and I'd have heard them, we'd have seen them and been ready. But... it was just the two halflings and I have no idea how many orcs. And I got between them."

Her eyes stung and her throat seized as he went on. "I never saw the first arrow. I'm not even at all certain I'd heard it. I simply felt it. Felt the burn, felt it spread and it served only to make me angrier. I ignored it. Drew my sword and swung at anything and everything in my path, and told those two fools to run. I was lost, but they—they weren't. Not yet, anyway."

He no longer met her eyes, but looked somewhere over her right shoulder, and her heart slammed into her ribs with such force, she wouldn't have been surprised if a rib shattered. She knew what was coming and although she also knew how it ended, it still pained her to hear it. "Boromir..."

"I had to keep them safe, Gabby. I had to and I wasn't going to. There were so many of them... and the arrows just kept coming." He pressed a hand to his chest, where directly beneath his tunic, the small bandage remained, and then did the same to his left thigh. "I could barely breathe and could see even less, but I held them off until I could no longer stand."

Gabriella pressed her lips together once more, swallowing hard against the sob rising in her throat. She could imagine the scene and her heart ached for him. He looked over at her then, and another sheepish smile came to his lips. "I fell to my knees and all I saw was the filth above me, loading his bow. He took aim, between my eyes, I think, and I knew that was it. In a moment or two, it would all be over. My life would come to an end and do you know something?"