Chapter Text
Or: Does Boromir fall in love with you OFC? Is their time together affectionate and touching? Do they cry?
~+~
‚You did it again!‘ There‘s no mistaking the clear accusation of the speaker‘s voice.
‚I know, but it was just a mistake. There‘s so many at once that I simply missed it.‘
‚The harmony is disturbed. You know He hates disturbances.‘
‚Couldn‘t He just bring her back?‘
‚Mistakes like this one can not be reversed.‘
***
„Are you okay?“
I wanted to raise my head automatically, but a large hand that came to rest on the back of my nack pushed my skull back between my bended knees. „Take your time, my lady, you seem to be quite shaken, still.“
I mumbled something incomprehensible and continued staring at the stones illuminated by the light of the fire Boromir had started some time ago. I had no idea how he‘d managed that. Witchcraft, probably. I giggled hysterically.
„Lucy?“ The son of the crazy Stewart, who was perhaps more normal than me at the moment, sounded seriously concerned. „I did not mean to scare you like this.“
„You didn‘t.“ Now, I raised my head and looked at him through glassy eyes. „No, you didn‘t. I‘m not scared. Not me. I‘m never scared.“
You could tell he did not believe a single word I just said. Shaking his head, he took the blanket and
put it around my shoulders, then awkwardly patted my head and settled down on the other side of the fire. Boromir was no spring chicken either. I don‘t even think dying and being resurrected again in the last 24 hours was the worst of it. No, my little stunt after realizing what had happened to me had been worse.
From what I gathered from my own memory and Boromir‘s politely reserved remarks, he had saved my life twice. First, he had been by my side fast enough to push aside the sword on which I would inevitably have been impaled when collapsing, and secondly the hero of Gondor had kept me from falling headfirst into the river and drowning. We were definitely even, now.
„Have you been robbed?“, he ended our lapse in conversation.
„Robbed?“,I echoed dumbly.
„I just thought ...“, he murmured with a glance to my exposed legs sticking out under the blanket.
What does a MarySue say in such a situation? The truth? I just couldn‘t imagine that this seasoned warrior would believe my story about another world, portals, and Tolkien. He already thought me weird, but after such a speech he might just truss me up and throw me back into the water. How was it called again? Antonin, or something similar. Besides, the like had a different name, anyway. Better to avoid that slippery slope altogether.
„I don‘t know.“ It wasn‘t even a lie. After all, I was no scientist. I didn‘t even know how electricity travelled from power poles to the wall sockets, let alone how lightning could transport harmless joggers to fantastical lands. „I only remember being struck by lightning and waking up on the boat, after.“
„Ah.“ He even believed me. Great, apparently everything was possible if you had pointy ears. „Where are you from? Lothlórien?“
Welcome to the minefield, I thought. I really couldn‘t say Lothlórien, because Boromir had been there before and might decide to go back there together. „No.“ The friendly ex-dead man stayed silent, but his gaze was penetrating. Boromir was waiting for an answer.
„North.“, I declared with a grand gesture to the right.
He frowned. „That‘s west.“
„Really?“ Maybe I should have trusted him with the whole ‚I died and was transported to Middle Earth to steal the fellowship‘s cool scenes‘-story? „I‘m confused.“
„I never would have guessed.“, he murmured drily and threw another stick into the fire. „How come you speak our language so well?“
I was stunned. I did? As far as I knew, we were speaking English. Did we not? Had to be MarySue magic tackling this linguistic obstacle, then. I was wondering if I had gained any other special abilities? Sword fighting wasn‘t included, apparently, as I hadn‘t even been able to catch a single fish. „Good teachers.“
That was good enough for him, how nice. Maybe it was due to how exhausted he suddenly seemed. The day had not been easy for the poor man either. First, he‘d nearly barbecued one Hobbit, then been massacred himself while defending the other two, made a trip by boat, sunk and was saved by a crazy Elleth, saved the crazy Elleth … that‘s what I‘d call stress.
„We should follow Aragorn“, he sighed and blinked owlishly.
„Tomorrow.“, I consoled him. „Just sleep a little, buddy.“
„My lady ...“
He meant me; there was no one else present. „Yeah?“
„About this informal way of speaking.“ Boromir cleared his throat. „Your teachers must have made a mistake there.“
„We nearly drowned together, that definitely counts as bonding. Just call me Lucy.“ I just could not bring myself to address him by his honorific. That would mean accepting I was stuck here, and I still had one tiny little shred of hope I would wake up in a hospital tomorrow and find myself in the papers as the newest victim of some tragic accident.
For a short moment, I contemplated taking turns keeping watch. Weren‘t there Orcs running around here? But then I remembered that those had all been slaughtered or were already on there way to – where did they go again? - to deliver the Hobbits. Besides, Boromir, the only capable guard of our team, was out like a light and now sitting on the opposite side of the fire like some Peruvian mummy.
***
Boromir was sitting on the edge of his canoe and shaking his head at me. „This really is not appropriate, Lucy.“
I kept silent about the fact that this could be called extraordinarily covered, back in my world or time or whatever. Boromir, honorable gentleman ballads would be sung about, had sacrificed his tunic so I would be dressed at least somewhat modestly. Not that his outfit had suffered from it; the man was still wearing a nicely embroidered shirt with sleeves reaching up to his elbows underneath a generously cut leather vest.
I wore his dark red tunic was made out of light wool as a knee-length dress. A leather strap from the depths of his luggage was replacing a proper girdle and the blanket, which in reality was no blanket at all, but a lothlórian Cape hung around my shoulders. Underneath the dress, my brand-new pair of shapely elven legs stood out. Some aspects of this accident, like the total lack of cellulite, were fantastic.
„If you slip on your strange sort of footwear, we will be ready to leave.“
I had to bite my tongue to keep from protesting again. Personally, I would have preferred to stay for a while. I was still hoping for another thunderstorm and solemnly swore I would climb the highest tree in our vicinity – with a bit of luck, lightning would have struck and transported me straight back. Boromir, however, had said that there would probably be no storms over the next few days.
With clear desperation, he had offered to paddle me to Lothlórien, instead. I had declined his offer, politely but firmly.
Lothlórien!
Elves, and loads of them! It probably would have taken them less than five minutes to expose me and throw me off the next tree. They practically had to think of me as Sauron‘s handiwork. No, if I couldn‘t wait for another storm, then I‘d march across the Prairie with Boromir to find his former companions.
„I can take our bags“, I offered and speculated of walking extra slowly for it.
„Thank you for the generous offer.“, smiled the gondorian Mr. Sunshine with the heart of gold who apparently had overcome his weakness for small, ring-shaped jewelry. Valiantly shouldering the roll of cloth containing our supplies he marched off.
I had no other option but to trot after him. I didn‘t like his carelessness in putting a strain on his recently healed wounds. If he overtaxed himself and dropped dead, I would be on my own again. One day of this nightmare and I‘d already grown used to his presence. Well, that and, simply put: I was also screwed if he decided to nake off and leave me to fend for my own. Of course, I was worried for his wellbeing.
He seemed to be made of sterner stuff, though. This morning, I had snuck a glance between the bushes at the river, where my bare-chested hero splashed around in the water and observed that his wounds seemed no longer worth worrying about. Well, they were crusted over, at least. Seemed to be a good sing, I‘d decided.
In any case, he marched up the rising terrain without any sign of exertion until we arrived at a fairly large clearing. There, he stopped suddenly and looked around with a gloomy expression.
Cautiously. I did the same and registered with horror there were a lot of charred, blackened bones scattered around us. „This is disgusting!“
„Uruk‘hai“, Boromir murmured, his head lowered and shoulders strained. „This is where I died.“
„Not quite“, I reminded him gently.
The pile of charred Uruk‘hai was already horrible, but seeing a man like Boromir sinking to his knees and bursting into tears was even worse. Feeling terribly awkward standing there, right next to him, I began to fiddle with one of my magical braids, which was just as perfect as it had been when I‘d gone to sleep the day before. These things really held their own. „Boromir ...“
„I was supposed to protect the Hobbits“, he whispered dejectedly. „Instead, I chased after the Ring and scared Frodo away. The Hobbits were defenseless and it‘s my fault alone the Uruk‘hai were able to take them.“
True, but I couldn‘t tell him that. Just imagine: this gigantic, muscular man, who bore an eerie resemblance to the actor from the movies, was wallowing in self-pity and brawling. I did feel sorry for him, honestly, but I had imagined my battle seasoned protector in the wildness to be a little more resilient than that. On the other hand, I‘d grown used to such outbursts from professional experience. Even the coolest world conquerors had their weak moments when faced with a dentist‘s drill. There‘s only one solution: maternal love and care. I‘m quite good at it.
Therefore, I got down on my knees next to him and took one of his giant paws in my tiny ones. „Everything is predetermined“, I explained and hoped desperately I was wrong. That would give my presence here something very foreboding. „And you have resisted the Ring, in the end.“
Wrong announcement. His head lifted like in slow motion and he stared at me distrustfully. „What do you know about all of this?“
„Only rumors circulating amongst my people.“ Or the content of three movies, but that would have overwhelmed him. „The Lord of Imladris sent out a group of nine people to destroy the One Ring. After all that you‘ve told me, the fellowship came here and broke.“
He nodded silently. The suspicion had thankfully disappeared from his gaze. It definitely would have returned though, had I mentioned more details. Come to think of it, I still wasn‘t sure if this was the film version or followed the books. „The temptation of the Ring is great, but you‘ve reacted well enough, I think.“
Hm, the phrasing seemed to throw him a little. I hadn‘t gotten used to their stilted manner of speech yet. He would have to live with it. In any case, he rose to his feet again, pulling me up with him, and started scurrying around the clearing, much to my confusion.
„We have to get you a weapon, Lucy.“, he explained finally, holding up an ugly black bow. „Do you have experience with archery?“
Did I? I furrowed my brow. „I‘m not sure, actually.“
What seemed like only seconds later, I was standing at the edge of the clearing, holding the bow and contemplating if the tree on the opposite side would mind me shooting an arrow into its bark. On the other hand, chances were I would hit one of the specimen next to it, or my own foot. I took the arrow Boromir handed me. And MarySue magic struck again!
The immortal with the dream figure, lilac eyes, and silky black hair who‘d been dropped on Boromir‘s oaken bier by lightning the day before clearly was a fiend at archery. Spiritually, I was standing next to my body while my alter ego casually notched the arrow, strung the bow, and perforated the tree. I‘ll confess to being flattered when my companion clapped my shoulder in apparent delight.
The elation distracted me from our grueling trek through the woods for a while, at least.
***
Compared to the march of the next day, the walk through the forest was a walk in the park. After a quiet night under the last trees at the edge of the woods, Boromir the indestructible suggested continuing to Rohan. Westwards, with a southern twist. I had no objections to that, though either the movies had left out a few decisive scenes or we were in the book version which contained some seriously steeps and therefore difficult slopes peppered with rocks.
„I thought Rohan was made of meadows“, I grouched at about noon and bit my still clean white teeth into some elvish waybread. Colourless, tasteless, and enormously saturating – Elves were the inventors of the emergency provisions.
„It won‘t be long“, my companion thought out loud, heroically gazing at something in the distance. „Then, it will also be easier reading the tracks. We‘re lucky the dwarf is the easiest to recognize.“
„Yeah, lucky“, I echoed without much conviction. I had no clue which tracks Boromir was following. I for one couldn‘t make out anything other than rocks and dirt.
Additionally, my MarySue magic seemed to be dormant. I‘d always thought the firstborn were supposed to be able to run until the edge of the world without breaking a sweat. As if! Either I was just part-time elven or Tolkien had lied and Legolas was simply an exception because he‘d been training. Without my jogging, I would have keeled over after an hour. My shoes were, contrary to the manufacturer‘s specifications, not quite suitable for this terrain.
We plodded on until the sun went down, then, to my great satisfaction, Boromir was the first to run out of strength. The good man looked a little pale. The malicious glee left me at the prospect of him joining his forefathers for good.
„You okay?“, he asked, breathing hard.
I wouldn‘t damage his pride any further. „I could use some rest.“
We sank to the ground right where we were standing and it took a while until our spirits revived. A campfire would have been spotted from miles away, so we didn‘t bother collecting wood.
„We won‘t be able to catch up with them.“, Boromir prophecised gloomily while toying around with two pebbles. The resulting clicking noise seemed to soothe him, but it only served to annoy me further. „Maybe we should head directly for Isengard, as this will be the Uruks‘ destination.“
„Saruman?“, I inquired carefully.
„It has to be him. The Uruk‘hai did not come from Mordor and they wore the sigil of the White Wizard. I wish I knew which choice was best. My heart longs for Mina‘s Thirith which will soon face all kinds of attacks from the east, but it also tells me not to leave my companions in this time of need.“
I thought it best not to answer. Boromir lived, so Canon was dead, anyway. Who knew what else had been changed or how many MarySues roamed the lands, causing chaos and confusion. I might even meet a colleague who‘d singlehandedly saved the Hobbits from the clutches of the Orcs and then accompanied Aragorn and Legolas to Isengard where she‘d convinced Saruman of joining the side of Light once again. Or evil had long since triumphed and we would get into serious trouble if we went any further eastwards.
„Let‘s just follow them for one more day“, my friend, the wise warrior, decided after a long pause. „If we haven‘t found them by then, we‘ll go to Edoras to find shelter. It may be a detour, but in times like these, it is crucial to rely on our longstanding friendships. King Théoden wouldn‘t betray us. He is a friend of Gondor, even if it has been a long time since my father last visited. He will loan us horses and provisions for our way there.“
„That really would be something.“
„Lucy, sometimes your manner of speech really is strange.“
„Hey, I‘m an Elleth who was struck by lightning. What did you expect?“
To my delight, he started laughing. Boromir had a really nice laugh, one that warmed your heart. When he wasn‘t trying to steal the One Ring, he clearly was a friendly, helpful gentleman who didn‘t look bad, either ...
The sudden panic hit me quite unexpectedly.
„You go to sleep, I‘ll take the first watch!“, I snapped at the surprised Boromir, snatched up my ruddy Orc-bow and began climbing the next highest rock. There, I curled up into a ball, with my back facing the campsite, and pretended to be watching the inhospitable landscape.
My hands were shaking, my knees too, and my heart was thumping like mad. Until now, I had forgotten about the mandatory love story a MarySue like me had to absolve. What if poor Boromir would be my victim? This whole misfortune really was none of his fault and I liked him far too much to let him suffer for it.
Unfortunately, the odds seemed to be in favour of this scenario. I had saved him, we were recking through the Prairie together and my elven beauty might make even the most stoic of men swoon. And I was a master of archery, too. If it came down to it, the man practically had no choice.
It was a dilemma. Over the next few days, this thought kept popping up again and again. I caught myself mustering Boromir suspiciously for the first signs he would one day trail after me like a lovesick puppy. I hadn‘t found any yet, and besides, we were busy following a trail leading westwards with the aforementioned southern twist. According to Boromir‘s expertise, our route was used quite frequently. Humans, Uruk‘hai, dwarfs, horses. The latter should, of course, come as no big surprise in a country like this.
At another time, in another body, I would probably have enjoyed our journey. Rohan was a beautiful country with seemingly endless pastures, juicy and green. Sometimes, the wind blowing over the plains seemed to create waves reminiscent of the sea. Franky, the wind was blowing all the time. But Rohan also was a very loosely populated country - there was not a soul to be seen. Only a few hares who met their end at Boromir‘s hand, whose experience with bow and arrows couldn‘t be denied.
He also had to skin and disembowel the poor critters, as I declined on grounds of womanly sensitivity. With eating, I helped once more– it was a nice change from crispbread.
Boromir was a very pleasant tour guide. He didn‘t expect constant conversation and when we spoke, it often was by a campfire about the hares or plans for the next day. He also was very knowledgeable about our surroundings, and I an avid listener. It didn‘t stop me from watching him suspiciously once he got a little too friendly.
During the days when I was walking behind him, I had started plotting to save the man from his possible misfortune of falling in love with a fake Elleth. On an unrelated note, I still hadn‘t given up my hope of returning home the same way I‘d landed here. Every little cloud in the sky captured my attention.
„It‘s only a cloud“, said Boromir after a while, shaking his head. „It‘s too small for a thunderstorm.“
„Am I that transparent to you?“, I mumbled sheepishly, staring at the ground near my feet. My sneakers wouldn‘t hold for much longer. Brand quality, my ass!
„Only when it comes to storms“, he consoled me. Then, to my horror, he put his hands on my shoulders and waited until I met his gaze. „I promise, Lucy, I will take you back home once this is all over.“
I confess that my eyes immediately welled up. He wouldn‘t be able to keep his promise, but it was touching, nonetheless. „Thank you, Boromir.“
And then he had the audacity to wink at me before turning around again and heading for the charred pile of Orc-carcasses disfiguring the landscape. I already knew what that meant and I also knew there was no way I would ever set foot in the dark and gloomy forest lying behind the pyre.
Luckily, Gondor‘s hero didn‘t feel like taking a walk in the woods, either, and was prowling around the pile of Orc-barbecue like some sort of deer-hound on the scent, instead. I decided to channel my inner Elf and started doing the same. It wasn‘t all that difficult either, as I remembered this scene in particular quite vividly. I‘d never liked the woods and these ones were even creepier than the movies had suggested.
„Lots of riders.“, I announced grandly while staring at some flattened grass that could as well have been crushed beneath the tires of an Army truck. I for one wouldn‘t have been able to tell the difference.
„And the tracks in between are leading towards the forest.“ Boromir was bent forwards and now turned his head to look at me. „We could follow them.“
„No wise decision“, I declared out of pure self-interest. I wouldn‘t go in there for all the tea in China. The actual main characters had left the forest by now, anyway, and I had absolutely no desire to make the acquaintance of a real Ent whatsoever. I‘d been spared of meeting the supernatural creatures of Middle Earth so far, and I wasn‘t looking to change this any time soon. „This forest is old, very old. Full of memories and anger.“
A stolen line, but it seemed to work. Boromir didn‘t seem too eager to march through Fangorn either. He threw me a lopsided grin and clapped my shoulder. „ Let‘s go to Edoras, Lucy.“
***
‚Going to Edoras‘ meant a few days‘ walk through the Prairie. I have to confess I‘d underestimated the way Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf, the by now White, had travelled before Gandalf gave his performance as a rickety old man on the steps of Meduseld. In my and Boromir‘s defense; they‘d had horses.
Edoras was situated on a single lone hill in the middle of a valley basin through which the wind whistled constantly. This was nothing new, but what I had not been prepared for was the sheer irreality of the place.
Elven eyes are sharp, like binoculars, even if they were substantially better looking – especially lilac ones like mine. Even from half a day‘s march away I could make it out clearly, though it was very small still. So, during our approach, I had the chance to get used to the strange atmosphere lying over the city. At first, I thought it might have had to do with the fact that this was the first settlement of this world. That might have been true in the beginning, but bit by bit I realized there was another reason for my irritation.
„It seems abandoned.“, I announced when we were only a few hours away.
„They will be in their houses“, my companion, who was only now able to make out the rooftops in the distance, disagreed. „These are dangerous times and the fence is their only protection.“
„If you say so.“
A few hours later, we were standing in front of the locked gate of the impressively high stake wall and waited to be let in.
Boromir had shouted and finally hammered against the gate like a berserker. No one had even looked over the wall to chase away the troublemakers.
I gave Denthor‘s heir a long look.
„It‘s abandoned.“, he admitted grudgingly to the bitter taste of defeat. „You were right.“
„Helm‘s Deep?“, I suggested, feeling smug. So superior!
„That will be it.“, ha conceded and sighed. „We will have to keep marching. Iknow its location from a few descriptions in my father‘s archives.“
„Excuse me?“ The hint of hysteria creeping was due to a lack of sleep, aching feet in ruined sports shoes, and the urgent desire for a good night‘s sleep in a proper bed. It didn't have to be a water bed exactly, but everything was an upgrade to the hard ground we‘d spent our nights sleeping on.
Boromir pointed the gate with palpable annoyance. „It‘s locked.“
„I don‘t see a lock, though, so it must be something on the inside. They will at least have left a guard.“
„N, thy didn‘t. Don‘t ask me how, but Edoras is abandoned and the gate locked from the inside. There‘s no way to get in.“
„Nonsense“, I hissed and batted away Boromir‘s hand trying to pat my arm placatingly. „We will see about that.“
I planted myself in front of the palisade and desperately racked my brain for a way to invade a royal residence. Climbing the fence I ruled out whit a glance at the smooth tree trunks the about 6 ft high wall was made of. The Rohirrim obviously weren‘t stupid and had removed the bark which would at least have offered some support.
„Although, maybe ...“
I turned around. Boromir was standing a few feet behind me and held up a long silvery rope. Giving me a wink, he tied a knot around one of his arrows, notched the bow, and shot the arrow into the frame of the gate with precision.
I waited for him to start climbing, but a glance at his cheerful face told me someone else had been chosen for the job. He wasn‘t wrong: an Elleth was probably better suited for climbing up there. A real Elleth was, anyway. I huffed unhappily, then gripped the barely finger-thick rope with both hands and gave it an experimental tug.
„What are you waiting for?“, Gondor‘s hero questioned.
„I have no idea whether or not I can climb.“; I murmured without turning around. „The lightning strike, you know.“
„Of course you can climb“, he claimed, grabbing my waist to lift me up. „You are an Elleth, your lot can even walk on top of the snow.“
I actually began pulling myself up, only to give a squawk of indignation when I felt his hands below my behind. „What the hell do you think you‘re doing?!“
„I‘m pushing you up!“
„And I‘ll push a knife between your ribs if you don‘t stop. Let go of me!“ As a precaution, I climbed a little further before looking downwards. Boromir, the gentleman, was standing there, arms crossed over his chest, and looking beneath my tunic while grinning smugly.
You wouldn‘t believe how fast one can be when trying to spoil a man's view of their jogging shorts. It took me less than ten seconds to reach the top of the wall and turned to shake my fist at still smirking Boromir. He even gave me a little wave.
„That‘s it, I can‘t do this anymore “, I grumbled and stormed towards the nearest ladder leading towards the back of the gate.
Now, the mystery of the bolt on the inside was lifted. On one side, there was a long rope attached to it that now lay on the ground in one big heap. The Rohirrim had probably held up the latch with ropes from the outside until the last person had left the city. Then, they only needed to let go of the rope and it fell into its position. I assumed that the horse lords had some talented climbers who could scale the wall and remove the latch upon their return.
One of my elven moments came upon me and, blessed with the strength of the firstborn, I had little difficulties lifting the heavy wooden beam. Forcefully throwing open the door wings, I placed myself at the center of the doorway. As I said before, I couldn‘t do this anymore. I was sick and tired of constantly wondering if Boromir was the man of my dreams I was unfortunately unaware of.
Brows furrowed in slight confusion, he came to a stop in front of me. „Lucy?“
„Kiss me, Boromir!“
Silence lay over Edoras, with only the wind singing its lonely song. Well, and Boromir was spluttering with shock.
„Oh, come on!“, I cried out offendedly. „Why are you making such a fuss - I‘m not an Orc!“
„No“, he said slowly. „You‘re not an Orc. But why do you want me to kiss you?“
I frowned at this display of slow-wittedness. „It‘s so we finally know if we‘re just friends or something more. I don‘t want to think about it constantly.“
„Hmm, is there a possibility we are more than just friends?“ He smiled apologetically. „Not that I haven‘t thought about it. I‘m only a man after all, and you‘re a gorgeous woman - or Elleth. Really gorgeous, but ...“
„Boromir!“
I confess I was a little startled when he ended our discussion by gripping my upper arms and pulling me towards his chest. Before I could make a suggestion on how to proceed his lips lay on mine and I got the pleasure of a nice, surprisingly gentle kiss. Nice, but that was it.
We both gave it a few seconds, then he released me and we looked at each other. We both shook our heads at the same time. No, he was not my victim, a fact that came as a giant relief.
„Friends?“, he asked and held out his hand.
„Friends.“, I affirmed and we shook on it.