"My lord, we cannot take the city, our numbers are too few."
She stood there before Lord Denethor, her arms folded behind her back and head bowed in respect.
Lord Denethor sat upon his chair, clothed in magnificent robes, and looked on her in distaste. To think that this woman was a captain was absolutely absurd.
"You will lead your men into battle and take back that city," said Lord Denethor, growing impatient.
Salandiel brought her head up and looked Denethor in the eye,
"I will not lead my men to their deaths! Going in to take that city will bring more harm than good. I say we stay back, gather our—"
"Enough!" shouted Lord Denethor as he stood up.
Salandiel closed her mouth and raised her eyebrows, not too surprised at the sudden outburst. Lord Denethor had grown more impatient of late, taking to sudden outbursts followed by long periods of him withdrawing in on himself. He was once was a noble man but the battles against the forces of evil had slowly begun to eat away at him and rot his mind.
Denethor slumped back into his chair, drained. He brought his eyes up to meet Salandiel's and she suddenly felt fear for what he would do.
"One would think that I could rely on my Captain to follow my orders," said Denethor darkly.
Despite the evil chill that Salandiel felt emanating from him, she would not back down.
"And one would think that the Lord of Gondor would put the lives of his soldiers above the need to gain power," said Salandiel defensively.
Lord Denethor slowly rose from his seat and despite his haggard looks and slumped shoulders, he towered over Salandiel. Salandiel took a small step back, fearing what Lord Denethor might do next.
"Guards!" cried Lord Denethor.
Salandiel looked around her and saw two men emerging from the shadows. She did not recognise their faces. One of the men lunged at her but she was too quick for him and ducked to avoid his arms, punching him in the stomach. He keeled over and Salandiel turned just in time to kick the jaw of another man who had tried to grab her from behind. But just as Salandiel moved her hand to withdraw her sword, three more men emerged, overwhelming her. Two of them grabbed her arms to restrain her whilst the other man brought his fist up to meet her face. Salandiel's head flew back with the impact and she felt her head start to swim. She knew that she would not win this fight. He sent another blow to her stomach.
The man continued his assault on her and just as Salandiel could feel the blood running from her now-opened scar, Lord Denethor ordered, "Stop!"
He stalked towards Salandiel who fell to her knees. Leaning down, he grabbed her battered face roughly and brought it up to look into her glazed eyes.
"Gondor has no need for traitors like you," he sneered.
Through the fog in her mind, Salandiel was able to spit out a few words, "We both know that I am not the traitor here."
With the last bit of her strength, she spit at the feet of Lord Denethor. Lord Denethor stepped back and let out a growl.
"Captain Salandiel, I hereby banish you for life from the land of Gondor," stated Lord Denethor loudly, "If you step over our borders, you shall face the penalty of death."
Denethor bent down again and hissed in Salandiel's ear.
"Just be grateful I didn't send you off to battle to be slaughtered like you dear father."
Salandiel let out a strangled scream of rage as Lord Denethor chuckled darkly. She knew that she had to stand up to him and fight for her father, for herself, but her strong will had seeped out of her taking with it her remaining strength. She dropped her head in defeat.
Lord Denethor stepped back and looked at the men who still held Salandiel.
"Take her from my sight."
With one last look at the retreating mad lord, Salandiel was dragged from the great hall and thrown out of the gates, never to return...
Author's Note: Hey there! So a bit of a short chapter but you got more of a look into Salandiel's past. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed thinking up this scene and writing it. What did you think of her banishment?
Again, please leave a vote or a comment if you enjoyed this. Tell me what you think of this story.
Much love!
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The Captain of Gondor (A LoTR/Aragorn fan-fiction)
Fantasy"I swear an oath to protect my people, to serve my people and to fight for my people, until I am released by my lord or death do take me" What does it mean to be a soldier of Gondor? As the first female Captain she was revered by many, loved by few...
