Living Proof

Chapter Thirteen

The clouds grew darker by the moment and although he expected it, Boromir still swore softly as the skies opened and rain fell in slow, fat drops that quickly became a teeming downpour. Shaking his dripping hair out of his eyes, he continued moving forward through the trees.

Between the rain and the darkness, he didn't see the exposed tree root until the tip of his boot caught it and sent him sprawling to the muddy ground with a not-so-muffled oath bubbling to his lips. Pain flared through his thigh as he hit, a hot spike that drove up into his hip. It wasn't the same pain that he'd felt in the those first days, but one brought on by overuse and exhaustion, as he'd stopped only when absolutely necessary since departing the cabin in the clearing.

One hand gripping the sore muscle, Boromir rolled onto his back, the oaths coming harder and faster at as wet mud seeped into his trousers yet again. He'd gotten himself hopelessly lost that first night, wandering about in the unfamiliar woods without so much as the moon to offer any light. Now, he wasn't at all certain where he was, as the rain had fallen with little break for almost a week now. For one who was usually much better with his surroundings, this was beyond infuriating.

With a low groan, he sat up and got to his feet to begin moving once more. The weather suited him, for it was as dark as his mood, and both had been this way since he'd awoken to find Kaia gone.

He stopped, his shoulders slumping as he turned his face up to the sky, to the icy raindrops pattering against him. A sense of hopelessness, one he hadn't felt since the night they'd arrived in Lothlórien and the lady Galadriel had known what he would do in the very near future. She knew he'd try to take the Ring from Frodo, knew the weight he bore and the reasons why he'd try to take it.

And yet, she'd assured him all was not lost.

Except that it was and it happened not when he'd betrayed Frodo and the rest of the Fellowship, but when he woke up alone in a small, ramshackle cabin in the midst of the woods.

Sleeping with Kaia had been a mistake, for it awoke feelings in him that were best left undisturbed and buried. It awoke feelings that he had neither time nor room for in his life at the moment. His father had tasked him with retrieving the Ring in order to restore Gondor's glory and renew the faith of its people in their steward. There was no room in his life for women, for romance, for anything even remotely resembling romance, actually. Perhaps some day, but not now. Which had been just fine with him. Any woman who thought to consider him her suitor was quickly disabused of that notion. And it had been working just fine for him.

But he had not once thought he would meet a woman such as Kaia, who made him question everything he'd once been so certain of, who made him want to forget the task Denethor had laid upon his shoulders and go in search of her instead. And that infuriated him as much as it frustrated him. He didn't want to want Kaia. He didn't want to be concerned about her, didn't want to worry about her.

He didn't want to lo—

"I don't," he muttered to the darkness, resuming his stride again. "And right now, all I care about is getting out of this blasted fool rain."

A faint light broke through the trees, so he soldiered on toward it. Rain pounded down on him as the light grew larger and a cabin came into view. It was much like the cabin he'd just left and for one fleeting moment, he wondered if Kaia would answer the door.

The steps bowed badly, creaking as he stepped first on the lower one, then the upper one, and when he knocked, he offered up a silent request that whoever opened that door was friendly.

But not only did no one open the door, but he could no longer even see the light that led him to it. The door handle gave when he gripped it, and the door opened without a sound, but only darkness greeted him.