May it Be | THE LORD OF THE RINGS 🖋

.22. A Noble Man

*UNEDITED*

Aragorn's POV

After we had met with Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel, we were ushered to a grassy pavilion, surrounding a small water fountain, where there was plenty of room for us to roll out our bedding and get comfortable for an evening of well-earned rest.

As we had left the entrance chamber, I looked back to see if Deirdre would be following us, but her eyes remained fixed on the golden woman before her.

Gimli was the first to sleep; no doubt his small legs were weary from the journey and by the level of his snoring it was clear to everyone that the dwarf was exhausted.

The Elves had kindly left food and wine for us, much to the hobbits excitement, and Legolas seemed pleased to once again be amongst his people.

Like most nights, sleep for me did not come easy, so instead I opted to clean and sharpen my blades while trying to distract myself from my own thoughts.

As I was doing this we all heard the Elves begin to sing a mournful song for their fallen friend.

'A lament for Gandalf,' Legolas whispered sadly.

'What do they say about him?' Merry asked him.

Legolas looked down, his eyes beginning to water with unshed tears, 'I have not the heart to tell you. For me, the grief is still too near.'

'I bet they don't mention his fireworks,' Sam said as he laid an elven pillow upon his makeshift bed, 'There should be a verse about them...The finest rockets ever seen. They burst in stars of blue and green. Or after thunder, silver showers. Come falling like a rain of flowers. Oh, that doesn't do them justice by a long road.'

'It was a nice attempt, Sam. Gandalf would have liked it,' I smiled as I stood up and stowed my knives away.

As I walked around our temporary home, I noticed Boromir sitting alone, lost in his own thoughts.

'Take some rest,' I said to him as I sat upon a root of an old Mallorn tree, 'These borders are well protected.'

'I will find no rest here,' Boromir replied, 'I heard her voice inside my head. She spoke of my father and the fall of Gondor. She said to me, "Even now, there is hope left." But I cannot see it ... it is long since we had any hope.'

Boromir looked at me, despair and anguish written all over his face.

'My father is a noble man, but his rule is failing, and our ... our people lose faith,' Boromir continued. 'He looks to me to make things right ... and I would do it, I would see the glory of Gondor restored.'

Boromir looked off into the distance, 'Have you ever seen it, Aragorn? The White Tower of Ecthelion, glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver, its banners caught high in the morning breeze ... have you ever been called home by the clear ringing of silver trumpets?

'I have seen the White City ... long ago,' I whispered as I too thought of the magnificent structure which was carved into a mountain; its brilliant white walls shining brightly under the midday sun.

'One day, our paths will lead us there, and the tower guard will take up the call "the Lords of Gondor have returned." Boromir smiled at me as he spoke of what he hoped for the future but I could not bring myself to indulge in his excitement of a possible homecoming and looked away to not show the Gondorian soldier the sadness that lingered in my eyes.

*

Sometime later Boromir had finally given in to his exhaustion and found a comfortable place to rest his head; all but myself and Frodo had managed to succumb to sleep under the canopy of Elven trees.

Late in the night, I watched as the Lady of Light glided across the lush ground of our campsite, her bare feet visible beneath her white gown. She stepped silently and gracefully as she beckoned Frodo to follow her, which he did while I watched Lady Galadriel's light fade from view.

Shortly after, Lord Celeborn entered the same way his wife had but unlike Lady Galadriel, he appeared to be carrying what looked to be the shape of a young woman. I jumped from my pile of blankets and ran to Lord's aid.

'What happened?' I whispered, mindful of my sleeping companions.

'That I yet not know,' Lord Celeborn replied as he placed the maiden down upon the ground.

I knew who the woman was before Celeborn removed the strands of dark hair which had fallen across her pale face. After all our time spent together, I had learnt how to identify Deirdre from any other woman without needing to look at her face.

'I found her not far from Galadriel's own private garden. She was unconscious and laying upon the forest floor,' Celeborn whispered as he ran his fingers across her forehead.

I suddenly became uncomfortable with what the fair Lady was wearing. Nothing Deirdre had ever worn had been quite this revealing. Though the dress Arwen had her wear to Elrond's dinner had been revealing in the front it had still been modest and covered everything of importance. The gown Deirdre had now worn was anything but that. The skirt had bundled up around her knees, from where Celeborn had carried her, revealing her long and slender legs while her arms remained bare. The corset had been pulled tight and her breasts were almost spilling out at the top.

The strangest part, however, was that the collar like neck piece had been torn down the centre as if she had found it too restrictive.

'Could someone have done something to her?' I asked while inspecting the neck collar.

Celeborn shook his head, 'I believe not. I believe that Naerwen became unconscious due to having learnt the truth.'

'The truth?' I questioned, pulling my gaze from the sleeping beauty to look upon Lord Celeborn's emotionless face.

'Yes,' he answered simply, 'Do not ask me any more questions Aragorn, for the answers are not mine to tell.'

I nodded and looked down at Deirdre again, marvelling at how peaceful she looked in her slumber.

'But know this,' Celeborn said while turning to look me in the eye, 'You are noble man, a good man. You could be a truly great man if you let yourself become who you are meant to be.' He turned to the woman lying on the ground, 'Be the man she deserves. For decades I have silently watched over her as if she were one of my own. She is the bravest, kindest and most skilled of us all. Do not let her fall into darkness, Aragorn, for you must watch over her where I cannot. Can you do this for me?'

Taken back by his words and his sudden softness towards Deirdre, I simply nodded my head.

'Yes,' I whispered, 'Yes, I can do that.'