How did it come to this?
Loyal to her family, her lands and her people, Théadain, the illegitimate daughter of Théoden, King of Rohan, has little concern for the world that lies beyond her familiar grasslands. When all that she loves is threatened...
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Chapter 29
And so the Fellowship of the Ring was broken.
Shattered and scattered, they had been divided by the forces of evil they had set out to destroy.
Frodo and Sam had set out for Mordor alone, the only ones able to carry on with the quest to destroy the One Ring. In the midst of the battle they had slipped away across the great river, not knowing whether their companions would survive the fray.
Merry and Pippin had been taken by what they had come to identify as the Uruk-hai, servants of evil who only knew that they sought a Halfling, unaware of that fact that they had taken the wrong ones. Those Hobbits too knew nothing of their friend's fate, save for the fact that as they had been pulled away, they had seen Boromir pierced by three arrows, and Théadain disappearing amongst the forms of their enemies, fighting desperately to reach them.
And the others; Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Théadain, stood mournfully on the banks of the Anduin as Boromir's body was laid in one of their elfin boats.
With tender, careful hands, Théadain arranged his broken horn at his side so that it looked complete, bending to brush back a few strands of his dark hair so that she could lay soft, parting kiss on his brow. The words of Aragorn rang in her ears as she looked down at the still form of her friend; 'They will look for his coming from the White Tower. But he will not return.'
If it hadn't been for Boromir, she would be laying in a boat of her own. He had saved her, and yet would not live to see the end of these dark times. She wished she was able to conjure up poetic words, to bid her friend farewell and celebrate his life, but it was all she could muster was the strength to not sob openly as she volunteered to take the boat out. Leaving her boots on the shore, she stepped into the cool water of the Aduin and carefully guided his boat with her hands until she stood at waist-depth, feeling the river tugging at her, as if it was asking her to lift her feet and be borne away on the current with the little boat.
Part of her wanted to do it, to drift away into nothingness and know no more of this pain. Her heart felt truly broken, it was as if someone had reached into her chest and torn the beating organ into two halves. One half lay with the man lying still in the boat under her hands, the other wretchedly pumped on in her hollow chest, forcing her to remain without him. She could not stop herself replaying the battle in her mind, trying to find some flaw in what she had done, something she had missed that might have saved him, but there was nothing. He had fought valiantly, and part of her knew that he would not be ashamed of falling in battle, protecting his friends.
Although, she had allowed two of those friends to slip through her fingers.
Théadain could not drive the image of Merry and Pippin's frightened faces from her mind. If only she had fought harder, if she had been able to reach them, they might still be here. What had she left them to? Fear and torment as they were taken to the enemy? Torture and death when it was discovered that they did not carry the Ring? It was too awful to think of. Thoughts of the Hobbits settled her resolve though, she could go on. She could endure this heartache, if there was a chance they were still alive, she would go after them. If Aragorn and the others decided to follow Frodo and Sam across the river, she would let them go – but her conscience would not be able to rest without at least trying to rescue her friends. As she looked down at the peaceful face of Boromir, she knew he would approve of her choice. She knew now what she had to do.
"Ferðu, Westu hál my friend." She breathed, bidding him farewell in the tongue of her forefathers as she could not bring herself to say goodbye in her own words. After a long moment, when the chill of the river had thoroughly reached the depths of her heart, she was able to release her hold on the boat. Tears tracked freely down her cheeks as the current held it steady for a brief moment, before carrying him away from her, out of arm's reach and away towards the Falls of Rauros. She stood there, shivering in the water until she could no longer see the boat, as it disappeared into the clouds of spray that surrounded the waterfall. The river would bear him through Gondor, passing the cities he loved so fiercely before guiding him out to the sea.
Slowly, she turned and made her way back to the shore, where Gimli stood leaning on his axe. When the time had come in the forest for Aragorn and Legolas to lift Boromir's body, the dwarf had gathered her trembling form up, letting her lean on his broad shoulder as he had guided her down to the river, letting her cling to him as her legs tried to remember how to walk. At the edge of the river he had given her time to sit, encouraging her to eat something and swallow a few mouthfuls of water, giving her the chance to let her strength return. Now he reached out a gloved hand to her, drawing her to his side silently as his gaze fixed on the distant falls. Whilst Théadain had leant him strength at Gandalf's passing, he could now lend his to her.
Motion behind them jolted them both from their thoughts as Legolas pushed the last remaining boat to the shore; "Hurry!" He urged them, "Frodo and Sam have reached the Eastern shore!"
She glanced across the river at his words, seeing the small, abandoned grey boat they had left, before turning to look to Aragorn for guidance, waiting to reveal her own plan. He had remained silent since they had left the forest, moving only to carefully remove Boromir's vambraces as the man was laid to rest in the boat, taking them as a way of carrying his friend with him. It would pain her to leave him, she knew that, but she valued the lives of her friends above her own emotions. Whatever longing she held for the dark-haired man, she could lay it aside now. The world was greater than she and him, and had more desperate need of her focus.
"You mean not to follow them." Legolas breathed in resignation as he watched the man finish fastening the vambraces to his own forearms.
"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands." He murmured softly yet firmly, as if his decision had been made long before the battle.
"Then it was all in vain." Gimli sighed as he turned to walk towards the man, "The Fellowship has failed."
"Not if we hold true to each other." Aragorn breathed, laying a hand each on Legolas and Gimli's shoulders, his gaze landing on Théadain as she slowly approached, seeing the resignation and heartbreak in her eyes. If he had thought they had time, he would have drawn her into his arms, to try and shield her from this grief, but he could see that she was attempting to distance herself from it already. There were more pressing matters at hand than their emotions.
"Boromir would not have wanted us to give up. Nor Gandalf." She whispered, wiping the tears from her cheeks with her damp sleeve as hope flared in her chest at his words. Perhaps she would not have to leave them after all.
"We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not while we have strength left." Aragorn decided, drawing back from his companions to gather his belongings, "Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light." He informed them, watching as Théadain hurried to ready herself, tugging her boots on and snatching up her coat from where it lay on the riverbank. "Let's hunt some orc." He murmured, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as Gimli growled a fierce sound of agreement, setting off after their leader as he turned to dash beneath the trees.
Pausing only to cast one final glance over her shoulder at the river, Théadain pulled on the coat that Arwen had gifted her with when they had left Rivendell, laying a hand to her sword, bow and dagger to check she was ready, before setting off after them.
[A/N: And so we've reached the end of The Fellowship of the Ring - I really hope you're enjoying the story! Thank you so much for reading, voting and commenting! x]
