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Late April, Year 10 FoA
Minas Tirith
Boromir’s heavy footfalls echoed noisily in the halls of the Citadel. Accompanying him to the Council chamber was his squire, Innas, who was one year away from becoming a man, and Indor, his poor secretary who was limping as fast as his cane and bad hip would allow. Though the man did not utter it aloud, his thoughts were clearly written on his face: Had you not stayed late at the training grounds, sir, we would not have needed to hurry to the Council meeting like this.
Indor was always fussing at him for his frequent tardiness, but Boromir did not much care for dull meetings and preferred instead to spend time with his family, his friends, and his soldiers. Still, he acknowledged that he did put his secretary through hardship. He would offer Indor time off if the man wouldn’t rebuff his attempts every time. He certainly did love his work, despite how unnecessarily difficult Boromir sometimes made it for him.
“Don’t worry so much, Indor. They do not need me there to start the meeting. And besides, the first twenty minutes are usually comprised of everyone stating how honored they are to be there,” he said with a roll of his eyes. Innas snorted before he could stop himself.
“While the amount of time may not be wholly accurate, sir… I must agree with the rest,” Indor said and then sighed.
As they were nearing the library, the sound of laughter trickled into the corridor. Boromir’s boots squeaked as they skidded on the floor and he turned towards the library, nearly causing Innas to crash into him.
“Whoa!” the teen exclaimed before regaining his footing and following Boromir inside.
“Sir, I really think we should… get to… the meeting.” Indor hung his head and sighed.
“Don’t worry, uncle, I’m sure we won’t be long!” Innas called over his shoulder. Indor sighed again and followed his nephew, ignoring the disapproving looks from the librarians from the noise his cane was making.
Boromir headed towards the northern end of the library where the more spacious yet private reading areas were located and came upon a long table where three young girls were listening to their teacher. The woman noticed him and immediately fell silent before bowing her head and curtsying. The girls turned around, and two of them started to get up from their chairs to do the same, but Boromir held up a hand.
“Don’t mind me. I heard laughter and was curious about what you were discussing, as nothing I ever learned from my tutor was that exciting,” he said before placing his hands on one of the girl’s shoulders.
“My lord, this week I began teaching them about the Elven realms and cities of Middle-earth, and today they are learning about the fallen city of Eregion,” said the woman, Lady Idhreniel.
“Is that so? If it was anything like Moria, then I am sure it was quite impressive in its golden days. There was not much to look at when I was there.”
“You’ve been there, Father?” the girl he was standing behind asked as she looked up at him.
“I have indeed. In fact, I have been to…” his mouth moved silently as he counted in his head, “I believe two realms and two cities. Although Edhellond is more of a harbor than a city.”
“That is where Amroth drowned, correct, my lord?” asked Lady Idhreniel’s daughter, Merendis. He smiled.
“That’s right.”
“I know your lady wife is originally from Rivendell, as is the Queen, but which of the other realms did you also visit?”
“Ah… sir, the meeting,” Indor muttered.
“I would be happy to tell you about it,” Boromir said before pulling out a chair beside his daughter, Finduilas, and plopping down into it. Lady Idhreniel offered Indor an apologetic look. Meanwhile, Innas was trying to look at everyone and everything except the third girl, Aerlinn, who was seated across from Boromir and smiling up at him, occasionally fluttering her eyelashes. She wasn’t even trying to be subtle. “Have a seat, Indor. We’ll probably be here for a while.”
“Yes, sir,” Indor assented.
“In answer to your question, Lothlórien is the other realm. During the Quest of the Ring, the Fellowship spent a month there after… after we passed through Moria.” He didn’t want to speak about what they found there and what happened after. “When we entered the Golden Wood, the Marchwardens came upon us and said they would bring us to their main city only if we allowed them to blindfold Gimli, the only Dwarf among our group.”
“What?! Why would they do that to Gimli?” Finduilas asked, sounding outraged. Boromir was not the least bit surprised, as she was quite fond of the Dwarf, and he wondered what Gimli would think if he told him about her reaction.
“There has been hostility and distrust between the Elves and Dwarves for thousands of years, and so the Elves of Lothlórien did not want him to know how to find their city. Elessar, known then as the Ranger Aragorn, said we would all be blindfolded so that Gimli would not be singled out. After that, we were brought to meet with the Lord and Lady of Lothlórien, the latter of which I had heard stories of from boyhood. And not good ones. As it turned out, some of those stories turned out to be true, but others turned out to be nothing more than old wives’ tales.”
“How does Lothlórien differ from Rivendell, my lord?” asked Lady Idhreniel.
“There was something unsettling about Lothlórien. At night, the trees and structures glowed with strange white light whose source could not be pinpointed, and yet while the air was made warm from enchantment, it seemed cold and truly frozen in time. Rivendell, on the other hand, did experience the change of seasons, and it was a more comforting place.” For most people, that is. “I was there for two months, and though there were days where I sought ways to occupy myself, I was far more restless in Lothlórien. I think one reason being that Anael was not there with me like she was when I was in Rivendell.”
“How did you meet Lady Anael?” asked Aerlinn, who had temporarily paused her staring contest with Innas. Boromir had been asked this several times, and while a little embarrassing and a far cry from being a romantic first meeting, he never tired of telling the story.
“I was in the orchard and she dropped an apple on my head as I passed under the tree she was standing in,” he said with a chuckle. The three girls all giggled and covered their mouths with their hands. Lady Idhreniel looked slightly concerned, but when Boromir did not react angrily, she allowed herself to relax.
“Was Fin born there?” Finduilas scrunched up her nose and turned to look at him.
“No, she was born here.” Though she was conceived there, but they didn’t need to know that.
“That explains why she doesn’t act like an Elf at all,” Aerlinn said with a cheeky grin. Finduilas crossed her arms and huffed.
“I just like humans more, that’s all. Elves are so overrated.” Boromir smiled at his daughter and then leaned over to kiss the top of her head.
“I agree with you, although not all Elves are bad. I married one, something I never thought possible, and I consider Legolas a friend, although it is often difficult to know what he is thinking.”
“I want to see Legolas’ realm. I heard they have huge spiders!” Merendis and Aerlinn both made a face of disgust.
“Perhaps we can ask about visiting after the spiders are taken care of,” Boromir said, his voice carrying a hint of exasperation. His daughter really had no sense of self-preservation.
“Do they have large animals in Rivendell?” asked Merendis. This seemed to grab Finduilas’ attention.
“I did not see any other than birds and horses.” Finduilas pouted.
“Sounds dull. No wonder Mother left.” Her comment earned another round of giggles.
“Lady Finduilas, that was unnecessary,” Lady Idhreniel chided. Again, Boromir reassured her it was alright with a look. He patted his daughter’s head and then rested his hand there.
“Your mother had her reasons for leaving Rivendell, but I can assure you it was not for their lack of giant spiders.” Boromir noticed Indor’s fidgeting out of the corner of his eye and decided that he had procrastinated long enough. He pushed back his chair and got to his feet. Again, he waved off Lady Idhreniel’s attempt at propriety. “I have taken up enough of your time, and I really ought to attend the meeting, though I have little desire to do so. But if you have more questions about Rivendell or Lothlórien, or if you discuss Rohan or the lands to the South and East, I would be happy to talk about them.”
“Wait, you have been to Harad and Rhûn, too?” Aerlinn asked.
“Harad, yes, and Umbar. But I do have a lot of experience fighting against the Men of Rhûn and Khand, as well. So, if you ever have any questions about—”
“Sir, the meeting,” Indor hissed. Boromir laughed.
“Duty calls. Good day to you.”
They exited the library and continued on without taking anymore detours. Indor thought that they were going to make it without Boromir getting distracted again, until the door to the courtyard opened and in came Queen Arwen and Anael, a few of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting trailing behind them. They both held their rounded bellies as they walked. Although they had become pregnant around the same time, the Queen looked slightly larger, a possible sign that she was carrying twins. It ran in her family, so it was not all that surprising.
Boromir’s smile brightened tenfold as he gazed upon his wife. His feet turned without his awareness, and he had just started towards her when Indor cleared his throat.
“Sir.”
“Yes, yes. The meeting,” he said with wistfulness in his voice and in his eyes.