Run It Back Again (Part 2)

Chapter 41

*Boromir's Pov-

"Son, tell me something."  I tilted my head at Father as he beckoned me closer.  "The princess, Era...  Do you fancy her?"  I withdrew slightly and carefully considered my answer, thinking about what Era would want me to do.

"In some ways, I do fancy her, but I respect her more than anything."  He nodded understandingly.

"Is she as good of a warrior as King Thorin and Queen Skyrena?"  I thought for a moment.

"I suppose so, in her own way, but she's more concerned about those around her than saving her hide.  At least, until she's angered..."  I smiled a little at the memory of our spar.  "But, she is more cautious about her fighting than even myself and is very quick to discover weak points."  He nodded.

"And her shifting?"  I shrugged.

"She shifts when she needs to, which is when she needs the abilities of whatever animal she shifts into.  Mostly, unless she's horribly out sized..."  I shuddered as I remembered how she took on the troll in the form of a troll and almost got caught.  "...Or horribly outnumbered, she won't shift."  Father smiled a little.

"Can we trust her, son?"  I nodded.  "Then, we should see about getting her to stay in Gondor."  I frowned as I raised an eyebrow at him.

"But, she's the princess of Erebor...  It's her home.  Her family's there!"  I stopped as I remembered King Thorin's death.  However, Father shook his head.

"We'd give her a reason to stay."  I swallowed hard.

"What reason could we give her that would be good enough to ask her to give up everything just to stay in Gondor?"  He raised an eyebrow at me.

"You..."  I stood there, staring at him in shock, as he continued.  "I know you love her.  If you were to ask her to marry you and stay in Gondor, I don't see why she wouldn't.  Of course, you'll have to speak with King Thorin, as well..."  I shook my head, dropping my gaze.

"King Thorin died a few days ago in battle."  He raised his hands up in praise.

"All the better!  She can be all yours!"  I sighed and shook my head.

"I don't know if she'd accept me, Father.  Besides, I don't want to marry her just so she'll stay in Gondor or just because she's a good warrior...  If I marry her, it'll be because I want to and if she'll have me."  Father examined me closely, looking me up and down.

"You've changed, son..."  He stopped and tilted his head at me.  "I see only the appearance of the man that left before.  As far as your character..."  He smiled a little.  "You're the type of man who should be king."  I lowered my gaze.

"But, I will never be king, Father.  I couldn't..."  He frowned.

"Why not?"  I sighed.

"Because, I don't want to be king.  I want to be a warrior and nothing else."  He shook his head at me.

"Something isn't right about you, and I'm going to figure out what it is..."

*Era's Pov-

"Now, master hobbit... Let's hear you pledge alligence to Gondor." I heaved a soft sigh and turned to face Pippin as he swallowed hard and started reciting the pledge. As he did, Boromir edged closer to me and whispered.

"Father didn't intimidate you, did he?" No... Instead, he simply nagged me about something I knew I shouldn't talk about... I shook my head.

"Not at all..."  Suddenly, someone came running into the room.

"My lord...  Orcs!  Just outside the boundaries of Minas Tirith!"  Both Boromir and Faramir exchanged looks as their father looked from Pippin to them.  Finally, Boromir spoke.

"We'll go after them..."

*Boromir's Pov-

Before I left, I promised Era that I would be careful and refrain from shifting.  However, as we reached the first line of Orcs, and I smelled the blood, I felt as though I lost control...

*Era's Pov-

Later that day, I paced around my room, trying to clear my head. This all didn't make sense. Gandalf said that the attack would be here, at Minas Tirith, yet Faramir was sent of just this afternoon to take out a host of Orcs? Something didn't seem right. As I paced the room, I didn't hear Pippin knock.

"Era?" I froze and stared at the door. "Era, are you in there?" I approached the door and opened it carefully.

"Yeah?" I frowned as I looked down at him. "What's going on?" He swallowed hard as he answered.

"Lord Denethor wishes to see you... He fears something happened to Faramir." I swallowed hard and nodded.

"Let's go..." I took off, running for the throne room. Skidding to a halt, I saw Denethor kneeling down by a body and shaking his head while Boromir, flanked by several guards, stood by.

"He's dead... He's dead!" I frowned as I came forward.

"What happened, my lord?"  He turned and glared at me.

"It's your fault...  You changed my son into a monster!"  I restrained from glancing at Boromir as Lord Denethor stood and approached me, low and threatening.  "You changed him into a shapeshifter, and he killed some of his own men...  HE KILLED HIS OWN BROTHER!"  I stopped and looked at Faramir, focusing on the faint sound of his breath and heart beat.

"He didn't kill Faramir...  Faramir was wounded by an arrow in the first clash."  Lord Denethor stared me down as I looked him in the eye.  "And, Faramir is still alive."  Without warning, Lord Denethor struck me across the cheek, sending me stumbling back as the echo of his hand against my face sounded through the halls.  No one moved for the longest time while I regained my balanced and placed a hand gingerly on my face, feeling my flesh grow warm and red.  Finally, Lord Denethor spoke.

"You stole my sons from me...  One is dead, and the other is as good as dead."  He narrowed his eyes at me.  "You will pay for what you have done."  He turned and glanced at Boromir before continuing.  "At dawn tomorrow, you will burn along with those whose souls you have destroyed."  He nodded at a few guards.  "Lock them away and make sure they can't escape."  I cried out in pain as my arms were retched behind my back while I was dragged through the halls, listening to Boromir call out after me.