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It’s one of the nights along the Anduin, where all of them are slightly uneasy all of the time. Losing Gandalf, realizing how much time had passed while they rested in Lorien, the vague yet overwhelming sense that someone or something is watching every move they make all looms over them, particularly as night falls. Nobody sleeps well.
The hobbits are faring slightly better, but Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Boromir find themselves sitting in a quiet huddle many nights, all unwilling or unable to lay down and close their eyes. That night, the hobbits had been more mournful and solemn than usual. Their conversation had turned to Rosie, the girl Samwise had longed for while they were all still back in the Shire. He had spoken wistfully of a home, a wedding, children, a future he longed to have. A future he seemed more and more resigned to never seeing.
That night, when the hobbits are all asleep, the remaining members of the fellowship find themselves sitting around their small and dying fire. It's Boromir who brings it up among the four, asking, "did you have dreams of women and wedding parties and a long life before this?"
There's a long silence before anyone speaks, until finally Aragon replies softly, "I did, and still in my heart I hope it will remain. But I did not have this dream until I found my lady Arwen, and I do not think I would have it without her." In the dim light of the fire, the others can see him gently tangling his fingers through the pendant he wears around his neck, pressing it over his heart.
Boromir nods at that, replying, "I felt that I was too busy to spend time looking for love. After all, I had a duty to my city, my people. There was no room for distraction. I know however that others saw the coming doom and it made them seek out a wife,” He pauses, looking into the fire as if it can offer answers, “I do not know if I would have felt different if we had peace, had the same comfort as the wee folk, but in my heart, I don't think I would change my course. My heart lies with my people, not with any one person. I do not think I could ever be enough for a woman, even if she loved me."
When he looks up, he sees Legolas looking at him, with a strange expression on his face. He’s not sure if it’s pity, or shock, or something else. But then the elf speaks, looking pointedly off into space
“I was so sure that I was the only one who felt that way. When I have talked to others, my people, they tell me that I am simply too young, that if I had known anything other than the darkness that covers our land, I would feel different,” he too pauses, looking up at the night sky as if asking the stars for guidance, “I have spent so long convincing myself that they speak the truth, that I would feel different if we were not all doomed. But I too feel it in my heart, that love and marriage will never be for me. Even if we survive this, even if we did not have to face this evil and horror, it is simply not fated for me.”
Gimli is rough and direct when he responds to Legolas, and perhaps Boromir as well, but the dwarf is looking at the elf, and seems to be directing his words to Legolas, although Boromir cannot tell for certain.
“There are many, at least among my people, for whom marriage is not their fate. Some devote themselves to their craft, some are fierce warriors, others simply live their lives. But they all have a future. And perhaps, one day, we may see a future, as unlikely as it seems in this darkness.”
Legolas looks startled, but perhaps hopeful, in a way he has not seen the elf look since they set out from Rivendell, much less since the death of Gandalf. He looks as if he has forgotten the ring, the quest, the dark cloud that looms over middle earth. “I hope that you are correct, master dwarf, for I too would wish to see a future beyond this night.”