Ch. XIX - Broken

AN: This one took a little longer to get out because I honestly forgot that I hadn't posted it. Sorry for the wait! Hope you enjoy!

Carefully Eileen followed after Boromir, always keeping a few yards behind and dodging between shrubs and rocks for cover. At every twig snapping or crunching of stones beneath her feet she grimaced, but Boromir's blind determination to find Frodo dimmed his senses. She breathed a sigh of relief when at last Boromir approached Frodo. She squatted behind a low shrub. She could hear only little of their conversation, but Boromir spoke kindly enough, in his own fashion.

He sat down next to the hobbit on the large stone where Frodo had been sitting alone. "Damn it," Eileen muttered to herself. If only she could hear what was being said. Was Boromir trying to convince Frodo to stop in Gondor? She crept out from behind the shrub but stayed low to the ground, crawling behind a gigantic, moss-covered boulder. The further she crept, the more she could make out.

Her deduction was confirmed when she heard Boromir speak of at least taking rest in Minas Tirith, even if Frodo did not desire to stay there overlong. It sounded as though Frodo, as politely as he might, tried to decline. Boromir's voice grew louder and she could hear him clearly now, going on about the great victories he might win with the power of the Ring in his grasp. The man stood suddenly, and began pacing back and forth, carrying on about the glory he would gain with the Ring under his control. In truth, he sounded completely mad and not at all the person Eileen had come to know and for whom she developed such fondness.

Her heart began to race; she knew she promised to help Boromir convince Frodo to come to Minas Tirith, but she knew for certain that she could not keep it, not even in show. These notions he had were not only false but downright dangerous. She considered what would happen if Boromir, already driven to madness at the mere possibility of wielding the power of the Ring, actually took it into his possession; The man she met would be utterly lost; she would never see him again. She cared for him too much to accept such a loss.

Boromir's rambling grew louder and even from her position she could see the fear in Frodo's eyes. Things were going south and fast. Boromir sprang forward and it appeared as though he were going to attack the poor halfling. Frodo frantically dodged to hide behind a nearby boulder, and Boromir followed after. Eileen leapt out from hiding.

"Stop it!" Eileen called out, "Boromir, you have to stop this!"

When Boromir looked back, standing only a few yards away amongst the boulders and trees was the girl. Her weapon was drawn, and an arrow already sat notched in her bowstring. He started at her astounded, but he was at least distracted for the moment.

"Go back to camp, Frodo," Eileen shouted, holding her bow taught and aiming at the man she had hopelessly fallen in love with.

Frodo did not speak or even give her a second glance before he disappeared into thin air. Where he went, neither she nor Boromir could guess. Boromir stared at her with a hatred she had never witnessed in her life. His face was red and twisted in fury; she could even see that he was trembling.

"You have betrayed me!" he shouted, stalking towards her suddenly. "All I ask is for you to take my side, why can you not do that?" he demanded.

"Stay back!" Eileen threatened, "I'll shoot!" He stalked towards her angrily but then... his face relaxed as if he were waking from a terrible dream. Each passing moment brought clarity to his eyes. He stared at her, suddenly looking horrified at his own behavior. He dropped to his knees with his face in his hands. Eileen lowered her bow and loosed the arrow into the dirt where it stayed. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she plead, quickly striding over to him, "I had to, I'm sorry. I never would have done it, I swear." He reached up and with his strong arms pulled her into an embrace. His face was buried against her stomach, and slowly she reached down to cradle his head in her arms. He was crying.

"What have I done?" he said thickly.

"Nothing that can't be forgiven," Eileen answered.

"What will happen now? Hope is lost," he wept.

"Don't think like that," Eileen said, gently caressing his face, "We can't give up, no matter what."

"The others..." he began, but she knew what he wanted to say.

"I... I won't speak of this to anyone," she vowed.

"And what of Frodo?" he said, releasing her from his embrace. She reluctantly let him go as well, and he stood up sluggishly. Shame covered his fair face and his eyes were red from tears.

"We'll see when we get there," Eileen said, gazing up at him sadly. She could not help reaching up and taking his face in her hands. "I'm sorry that I broke my promise," she said sadly.

He took her hands from his cheeks then shook his head. "No, it is I who should apologize. I did not see clearly... I never should have asked such a favor of you," he said.

"I forgive you," she answered more lightly, "See? I still..." She paused for a long moment, and then looked away.

"Still what?" he asked. He stared at her with perplexed interest. She smiled weakly.

"I still... love you," she stammered, unable to stop the words from tumbling out.

He stared for a long while in silence. Eileen's heart began slamming into her ribcage and she dreaded his reaction. She could not bring herself to look him in the eye. She immediately began berating herself in her mind for confessing her feelings. Boromir stood in silence a long while.

"I know," he said at last. He had known for some time, but he never wanted to admit it. The way she went out of her way to talk with him each night, how she made needless contact during their sparring matches. He could even see it in the way she looked at him, her eyes shimmering with delight as she gazed upon him. He had known, and he wondered how she could possibly have not found him out as well.

Indeed, she did not have the slightest clue as to his feelings, because she looked down and began to say, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" but was cut off when Boromir pulled her into a kiss. She was surprised at the softness of his lips and how gently he kissed her. They kissed again and again, and Boromir wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her hips towards him. She placed her hands on his chest. She felt like a horny teenager, wishing she could yank off his clothes and touch his bare skin. She began to open her mouth but he stopped. She looked up at him expectantly. He swallowed.

"I have longed to kiss you, but I do not think this is the time," he said with a sigh. She frowned, but could not find it in her to argue. Boromir had just scared away the Ring bearer and Eileen had turned her bow on him moments before. He cried, she confessed, they kissed. Everything happened so quickly.

"You're right," she said, "We should probably head back to camp." However, she could not find it in her to start walking. He also stood still, and then sighed. Eileen gazed at him uncertainly. "So…" she whispered. Boromir shook his head.

"I do not know if this can ever be," he said quietly. The girl bit her lip and she felt a hollow form in her gut. She wanted to ask him why not, promise she would not distract him, offer to keep it a secret, whatever he wanted to allow her to be with him. But she knew better. Growing up with boys and having several boyfriends under her belt had trained her well. She knew what to say, though it pained her to say it.

"It's okay," she said, "I understand. We have other things to worry about." He nodded, but he stared at her longingly. Is that really what she wanted to say? A part of him wished she would argue or plead for one last kiss, as women were wont to do. But she just stood there, waiting for him to start walking back to camp. As if she could read his mind she said, "I wish it didn't have to be this way, too, but… what else can we do?" She smiled after a moment. "I didn't mean to make that rhyme." He laughed.

"We need to do what we must, and focus on the charge laid out to us," he said resolutely. She was staring at him with those bright eyes, those freckles, and her lips turned into a half smile. He stepped forward and cupped her hands in her face. "Earlier today, I wanted to tell you that you always look beautiful." She looked down smiling. "I would kiss you again, with your permission." She said nothing but instead turned up her face and kissed him, standing on the tips of her toes to reach his lips. They kissed, and maybe once more. And perhaps once more after that. Their lips parted. Eileen forced a smile.

"Let's do what we must," she said.

When they finally reached camp again, Aragorn eyed them with suspicion. He immediately asked, "Where have you been?" Eileen left it to Boromir to explain as much (or as little) as he chose. He left out the part about trying to take the Ring, but Aragorn was clearly not pleased to hear that Boromir had approached Frodo in an attempt to convince him to take the road to Minas Tirith. The fact that Frodo put on the Ring and fled displeased Aragorn and the others even more. However, neither mentioned the extent of what Boromir said, or the part when Eileen aimed her bow. Or the kiss.

"Is that all you have to say?" Aragorn demanded coolly. "And what have you to say? You were with Boromir?" he asked Eileen.

"No... well, kind of," Eileen said.

"You were kind of with him?" Aragorn asked doubtfully. The rest of the company began to listen in on their conversation. She felt like a child back in elementary school, having done something bad and stumbling over her words to explain the situation without ratting out the other culprits while everyone in the class watched.

"When I noticed that Boromir left I went to follow after him – I didn't hear most of their conversation, but I saw Frodo vanish and leave..." she explained reluctantly.

"Vanish?" Sam repeated in a panic, "This isn't good! What could you have done to make him go and put the Ring on?" Sam sprang up, determined to find his Master. The other two hobbits followed suit without second thought, and before Aragorn could react, the hobbits ran off. He called for them to wait, but it was to no avail. The halflings were already out of sight; the company could only hear their desperate calls: "Frodo! Frodo!"

Aragorn directed Boromir to go and look for Merry and Pippin while he went after Sam. Eileen dashed after Boromir, determined not to leave his side. They jogged for few minutes before the hobbits came into view.

"There they are!" Eileen called out, pointing to where the little hobbits stood frozen. "What are they doing? Why are they just standing there?" Eileen asked with confusion.

"There! Orcs!" said Boromir, sprinting forward hoping to reach the hobbits before the orcs could. In that moment she saw what Boromir spoke of: crawling through the shrubbery and swarming over the boulders were an uncountable number of orcs heading right for them. They were bigger than the ones she had seen in Moria.

"Merry! Pippin!" Eileen shouted frantically, "Over here, come on!" She was an archer, so she would help Boromir keep the orcs at bay with her bow, not with close combat. She did not feel confident in her ability to strike down a foe with her dagger. All the better to have the hobbits stay near her where orcs would not be able to come within close proximity. She did not doubt for a moment that Boromir would be able to hold them back with his sword and shield.

The hobbits scurried to Eileen's side and looked on with wide eyes as Boromir began to take on the horde of orcs. Eileen notched an arrow and fired without hesitation this time, but missing half her shots. It was still worthwhile; he other half hit their mark, and there were less orcs to beleaguer Boromir. One after another, orcs fell in piles around Boromir as he cut them down.

Off in the distance Eileen set her aim on the largest orc she had seen yet. She pulled back her bowstring and whispered a little prayer to her arrow, kissing the string before releasing it. However, she had not anticipated the massive orc chopping the arrow out of the air. In all her prior experiences, the orcs never predicted her shots. In Moria it had been like shooting fish in a barrel. But this beastly creature with skin as black as void knocked away her arrow like a fly and roared with excitement. From behind its back, the creature pulled out a bow of his own and set his eyes on Boromir.

"Boromir!" Eileen cried, but if he heard her he made no sign. The brutish creature notched and arrow and calmly drew back, and Eileen knew who he was aiming for. She sprang forward, jumping over rocks and fallen trees, shouting, "Boromir!" She was only a few feet away from him when the orc let his arrow fly.

"NO!" she screamed, diving at the man. She managed to tackle him to the ground before the arrow hit its intended mark, but not without consequence. Now she and Boromir lay tangled up on the forest floor with the orcs swarming in all around them.

"Are you mad?!" Boromir hollered, recovering quickly and yanking the girl up with him. Immediately his sword was swinging again, taking out one orc after another.

"That fucker almost made a pincushion out of you!" Eileen yelled back, motioning towards the ugly orc who had fired the arrow. Boromir then saw the big lout with bow in hand.

"Take him out," Boromir commanded. Boromir was able to shield the next arrow fired by the orc captain with ease, to the creature's great displeasure.

When Eileen reached back for another arrow to retaliate, she found that her quiver was empty. "Shit!" she hissed, desperately looking around to see if any fallen orcs were near enough to simply reclaim the spent arrows from their corpses. She had fallen back a few yards and pulled the hobbits along with her, so she was quite removed from the immediate battle by now. The Halflings did what they could by pelting the orcs with stones, which was surprisingly effective.

However, Eileen knew if she did not continue help Boromir keep the orcs at bay, they would be overrun. The orc captain was relentless with his arrows and was fast approaching. "Stay here!" she commanded to the hobbits before sprinting forward to harvest her arrows from the dead orcs.

"I told you to stay back!" Boromir scolded through clenched teeth. She was amazed that he had even noticed her despite being caught up in battle, dodging the oncoming arrows or shielding them in just the nick of time.

"I'm out of ammo," she replied. As she bent to retrieve an arrow, an orc leapt at her and tackled her to the ground. Unlike in the movies, the creature did not waste time with speech or cackles, he brandished his sword and raised it for the kill. Eileen lifted her arms, hoping the bracers given to her by Galadriel would hold out. Though the blade did not pierce her flesh, the force behind the blade was more than enough to send spikes of pain through her arms. She cried out in terror, and the orc only smiled, revealing its crooked, blackened teeth.

"A woman?" he sneered, "We might have some fun with you." He snatched up her wrist and began dragging her up from the ground. Naturally she tugged and squirmed to get away in a frenzied panic, temporarily forgetting any rational thought. All memories of her grappling training with Boromir were forgotten. Her mind didn't even have words to urge her to fight and run for her life. The look on his face suggested he was interested in more than killing her.

Eileen suddenly remembered the little dagger Boromir had given her strapped to her thigh. Quickly she reached for the blade and did not hesitate to drive it into her captor's forearm. Hot, black blood splattered her face and clothing as she drove the dagger into its arm again and again until at last it released her. "Filthy little bitch!" screamed the creature, recoiling back. However, the beastly humanoid only needed a few moments to recover before stalking towards her. She scurried to her feet but he managed to grab her by the hair and yank her back.

"Boromir!" she cried desperately, but it seemed that the orc captain had reached him at last and was giving him the fight of his life. She and Boromir made eye contact for a split second, and in that short moment she saw the remorse in his eyes. He desperately wanted to help her, but could not for his preoccupation with Lurtz. Not only was she seized, but also Merry and Pippin were plucked from the ground like mice in the talons of hawks. Their captors did not hesitate to carry them off. She could hear their frantic pleading for help, but she too, could do nothing to save her companions.

She struggled on but froze when she felt the cool edge of a blade at her throat. "Now, now," cooed the orc, "I'd hate for you to go cold before I'm done with you."

"You touch me and I'll fucking kill you," she shouted.

"Will you now?" asked the orc with interest, "I do like a fighter." She opened her mouth to shout another hollow threat, but she felt the dagger pressed more firmly against her neck. She could feel the warm trickle of blood begin creeping down her skin. "What were you gonna say, dearie? Go ahead, try and call for help again," he cackled as he began unbuckling her belt. Her mind was racing. This isn't real, this can't be happening to me. This just can't be happening to me... not in front of Boromir, no, it's not real.

She feared to move or have her throat slit. Boromir wasn't faring much better in the battle. Already he had taken a few hard blows to the head and was only barely parrying Lurtz's attacks. He began to tire and even Eileen could see it. She considered her options: die now, or die later after being raped and beaten. She wanted to the shut out the thought, but how could she bear to live through it?

Her belt dropped to the ground with a clank and she could not endure to keep her eyes open. His hand crept to the seam of her breeches... and yet he halted. The knife at her throat dropped and his hand released her hair. The orc collapsed behind her and when she turned, she found Gimli had buried his axe deep the orc's back. Her knees buckled and she dropped to the ground. Shakily she reached for her belt but struggled with the buckle. A warm, wet tear slid down her cheek and hastily she wiped it away. Soon she saw that Legolas and Aragorn had come as well, and together with Boromir they defeated the orc captain. The rest of the orcs were either slain or scattered by the remaining members of the Fellowship. She was grateful that Gimli didn't stop to speak with her in his haste to drive his axe into more orc skulls.

It did not take long for the battle to end. Seated on the ground Eileen stared at her quivering hands, wondering if she had ever been so frightened in her life. Boromir rushed over and knelt down beside her. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" he asked, and then in a low voice, "Did he..." She shook her head but could not meet his eye.

"Did you ever find Merry and Pippin?" Aragorn asked urgently.

"A moment," he snapped back, "She's shaking."

"No, I'm fine," she said, "That was close, that's all, but I'm fine."

"What happened?" Gimli asked.

"I... really, it's fine," she insisted, "I was just scared. We have to go, the orcs... they took Merry and Pippin. Who knows what happened to Frodo and Sam..."

"Here," Boromir said gently as he wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb, "Are you sure you're alright?" She lightly brushed his hand from her face and finished drying her tears with her forearm. He helped her to her feet.

"How long ago were Merry and Pippin taken?" Aragorn asked.

"I don't know," Eileen said, some of the color returning to her face, "Maybe an hour ago."

"No more than two," Boromir added. Aragorn pursed his lips.

"And none have seen Frodo or Sam?" Aragorn asked. Everyone shook their heads.

"Maybe they made it back to camp?" Eileen suggested. Aragorn nodded, but then looked off in the distance where the horde of orcs ran off.

"Let us check there, first, then," Aragorn said.

What remained of the Company jogged back to their encampment and found a strange thing: A missing boat and two missing packs. Aragorn frowned.

Legolas said, "Perhaps they fled the orcs. We may be able to catch up with them."

"But what about Merry and Pippin?" said Eileen, "We can't just let them go."

Aragorn sighed, looking in the direction of where he suspected Sam and Frodo went. He could see clearly their footprints leading to the where their boat was docked. Then he turned his attention back to the woods. "This is an evil choice set before me," Aragorn said heavily.

"Well then let's split up," Eileen said urgently, fearing for her friends.

"No," Aragorn said, "No… I think it may be for the best to let Frodo go." The rest of the remaining members of the Fellowship agreed, and so it was decided they would track the orcs who took Merry and Pippin. Everyone began gathering whatever meager supplies they could carry, and quickly. However, Boromir noticed that Eileen was moving more slowly than the rest of the group. He could see that her hands were still shaking, and the image of the orc dragging her along kept replaying his mind.

Eileen could still hear the orc's harsh voice implying the ways he would violate her. It frightened her more than the winds of Caradhras, the howls of wolves, or even the darkness of Moria. She'd rather die than let one of those foul creatures lay hands on her. She'd rather be cut by their crude blades or pierced by their poisoned arrows than be... she couldn't even think the words.

"Are you certain you are alright?" he asked.

She looked down with furrowed brows, and he could see the tears welling in her eyes. "I didn't know…" she whispered.

"Please forgive me," Boromir said. He knelt down and cupped her face in his hands, "I was not there for you, and for that I am sorry."

"I panicked," she said, "He started taking off my…" she trailed off, too disturbed to finish her sentence. "I didn't know," she repeated.

"That is why I did not want you getting too close," Boromir said, "And why I tried to train you."

"I know, but I froze. I was so scared," she said quietly, "Nobody told me orcs did stuff like that. I didn't know they were like us… I thought they were just… monsters."

Boromir sighed, "I had hoped you needn't find out."

"I guess it doesn't matter now," she sighed.

"It will never happen again," he promised, "I swear it."

She smiled weakly and said, "Okay." He bent down and kissed her forehead, unable to stop himself. Had their kiss taken them past a point of no return? He promised himself he would not let it slip again. Meanwhile Eileen tried to tell herself not to read into it. But how can I not? What if I just need to convince him this can work? she thought.

"Forgive me," Boromir whispered.

"Always," Eileen answered.

"We must hurry," Aragorn said, suddenly beside them. Eileen blushed. Had he seen the whole exchange? Boromir stood and pulled Eileen to her feet so they could finish making ready to leave. They hid the boats and their remaining supplies, so as not to inadvertently leave them in the hands of an enemy.

Quite some time passed before the company was ready to head out, and Aragorn set a quick pace. They did not simply begin marching in the direction where the orcs had gone, but set out at a run towards the glade where Boromir and Eileen fought to protect Merry and Pippin. There Aragorn was able to quickly pick up a trail, and so they set out after their friends.

Thanks to:

ZabuzasGirl: Consider your wish granted.

RozenMaiden14: That's such a kind compliment, thank you. I hope you enjoyed the dose of romance in this chapter. It should get more interesting from here on out.

. .Name: Thanks so much, I hope it keeps going in the right direction.

I have another 2 chapters lined up, so as long as I don't forget to post them, you should be seeing more very soon.