The Black Knight

Chapter 14:

I rush down the hill with Gimli, passing corpses of the Orcs. Faylen was right, they are very different from most Orcs and can fight better too. I stop in my tracks when I see Aragorn leaning over Boromir who has several arrows in his chest.

"Oh no," Gimli whispers beside me.

"I would have followed you, my brother. My captain. My king," Boromir utters.

Then he passes. Aragorn touches his hand to his forehead and then to his lips in respect to the fallen soldier, kissing him on his forehead. Gimli bows next to me as Aragorn stands up, a few tears running down his face.

"They will look for his coming from the White Tower. But he will not return," Aragorn says sadly.

I watch as he puts Boromir's arm guards displaying the symbol of Gondor onto his own arms and straps them tight.

"We need to get back to shore! Quickly, the Hobbits will be there," Gimli says and takes off in the direction from where we came.

"Legolas," Aragorn quietly says from my side.

It doesn't take much to figure out the look from him then to his nod at Boromir, knowing what we need to do to pay respect to the soldier. The two of us carefully carry Boromir's body to one of the boats on shore, placing his sword to rest on his chest and his horn beside him. We watch as the boat slowly makes its way to the waterfall and over the edge. I catch a glimpse of motion from across the river and see two small figures climbing up a hill. I quickly move the last boat into the river.

"Hurry! Frodo and Sam have reached the Eastern shore," I say urgently.

Aragorn simply watches the shore on the other side.

"You mean not to follow them," I say quietly.

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

"Then it has all been in vain. The Fellowship has failed," Gimli says.

Then I remember whose presence I no longer feel.

"Where's Faylen?" I ask and look back into the forest.

"And the other two Hobbits?" Gimli asks.

Without waiting for them I rush back up the hill and to the battle site.

She cannot be dead. Please don't be dead.

Aragorn crouches to the ground just past where Boromir was killed, touching spots in the dirt.

"Two Hobbits were standing here," he says. "But suddenly their tracks stop as if-"

He looks off into the distance where retreating Orcs trampled the ground.

"Merry and Pippin were taken," Aragorn concludes.

"And Faylen?" I ask urgently.

Aragorn moves around more and stops at a place some ways right from where Merry and Pippin were taken.

"These tracks are different and lead off at a running pace after the Orcs," Aragorn says. "Faylen was here."

"She went after Merry and Pip," I say.

Aragorn stands and nods.

"I know her, she did not want to wait for us," I say.

"We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not while we have strength left," Aragorn says.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" I say with a smile at Gimli. "Let's go get them and save the Hobbits!"

"Yes! Haha!" Gimli cries.