"Saving Prince Theodred
Part 2
by Beryll

 

Faramir drew his thick woolen cloak closer around himself and the hood deeper into his face to hide from the icy rain that had been their constant companion for two weeks now. He had forgotten how bad the winters up north really got. And they were still way south from Gondor.

The lines on the sails were constantly collecting a coat of ice and he made a mental note to send up men to knock it off again. With a grim smile he remembered the countless times he had been hanging up there in the wind and rain hammering away at the ice while he had been doing duty on Gondorian ships of war. Those times were passed at least.

He squinted out over the foggy sea to catch a glimpse of Elladan's ship, but she was hidden in a gray shroud, only her white sails winking at him occasionally. He dearly wished he was over there right now.

"Faramir, please." Boromir's voice grated on his nerves again, reminding him that he was not alone on this early morning and that they were still locked in an argument that they had been having ever since Faramir had told Boromir of his mad plan. And of the fact that Boromir would stay behind, safe and sound on board the "Stormcrow".

"No. And that is still my last word. Will you give up now, please." he replied tiredly. It was madness and near suicide to walk into Umbar and try to sneak out its most precious. To take Boromir along would be ridiculous.

"It is my brother we are talking about here!" Boromir grabbed Faramir shoulder and turned him around so the pirate captain had to face the angry prince. "I will go with you!"

Faramir looked at him close to despair. "How many times have we been through this now? It would be stupid to take you along. If you look anything at all like your brother there is a good chance they will recognize you. And you won't be able to pull of acting the human slave! You're not even able to act a good crewman and obey my orders. How are you going to grovel and beg at the feet of an elf? You'll jump in their faces the first chance you get. You will stay here! It's dangerous enough as it is, I won't let you ruin what chances we've got!"

"I can behave!" Boromir retorted, his own voice very close to shouting now.

Faramir fought for some more patience and finally lost. "No, you can't." he growled. "Let me make this perfectly clear for you: either you stop arguing right now or you will spend the time of my absence locked up in the brig. Period."

Boromir stared at him in disbelief. "You wouldn't..."

"Bloody well I will!" the captain shouted. "I'm at the end of my wits with your stubbornness. How can you be so brickheaded?!"

For a long moment, the two men stared at each other, fury burning in both their eyes. But it was Boromir who lowered his gaze first. "Can't you tell?" he said so softly that Faramir could barely hear him over the howling wind. "You go to rescue my brother, you do this for me. And you want me to stay safe while you go into danger? I feel like shit."

Faramir sighed. Gently he brushed some strand of his lover's wet and tangled blond mane out of his face. "Listen, Boro. I will be fine. If there is anybody at all who can pull this of it's Elladan and me. And I will be much safer when I know you are here and not getting into trouble." He grinned crookedly. "I mean, seriously - how am I to keep my wits about me with you around constantly distracting me with that pretty face and shapely legs?"

Boromir snorted in exasperation. "You're impossible." he stated flatly.

"And that's why you love me." Faramir replied unfazed. "Now promise you will not do anything stupid and stay on the ship."

For a moment rebellion showed in Boromir's eyes again, but then he nodded slowly. "I promise." he said. "And I also promise, that if you get yourself captured I will come and rescue you and my brother and that foolhardy elf pirate. And if I have to bring the whole Gondorian army to do it, I will!"

"I was afraid you would say something like that." Faramir answered with a grin. "Why don't you do something useful instead? Why don't you and Eomer and Hama get together and so some pirating while your captains are gone. Maybe then this trip north will at least pay off. Cause I doubt your daddy will pay us for rescuing his heir. At least not in good hard coins."

Boromir shook his head, now with a grin of his own. "You're pirate through and through, aren't you?" he asked, tell tale tenderness in his voice.

"Yeah, and that's another reason why you love me." Faramir buried his hand in the other man's hair and drew him closer for a long kiss, sharing the taste of hungry lips and the warmth of their bodies for a moment. "Why don't we go below and say good bye properly?" he asked a little breathlessly when they separated a while later.

Boromir just nodded, hunger burning now in his eyes, quickly extinguishing the last remains of anger at being left behind.

---

>Boromir, curled up on his bed, lying on his side, barely covered by the thick woolen blanket, looking like a big relaxed feline, the lantern on the night stand casting reddish golden light on his hair. His eyes closed, his face peaceful in his slumber.<

That was what Faramir thought about while he desperately tried not to let go of any of the heavy, cumbersome pieces of luggage that Elladan had so generously laden him with. What he was not trying to think about what the biting cold that was slowly seeping into his bones.

The weather was still the same, icy cold rain driven by howling wind. Only now he was not wearing proper clothes and a warm cloak, but faded trouser, hacked off at the knees and a simple slaves tunic. Not to mention that his bare feet were close to freezing off.

Up till now he had kept his eyes carefully trained on the foppish, high heeled boots of his 'master', who was walking in front of him, but now, as said boots stopped in front of the high portal he risked a glance at his surroundings. A shiver ran down his back at the sight of the sturdy stone walls rising high. Umbar truly was the best fortified city south of the Misty Mountains and the inner keep was even better protected then the city itself. And they were about to enter it. If Elladan managed to convince the guards that he was indeed his brother Elrohir.

At least he did look the part. Just like Faramir, he had considerably changed his attire. Instead of the simple sailor's clothes he normally favored, he was now in full 'court dress', including frills and ruffles and the largest hat with the biggest feather he had been able to find. The only feature that remained was his mithril sword, now sheathed in fine leather and concealed by his velvet cloak. It was a risk to take a sword as recognizable with him, but he had not been willing to part with the weapon. Faramir was not sure how old the elf was exactly, but he was pretty sure that the sword had accompanied him many centuries so he had not argued for long.

Gladly taking the opportunity to catch his breath after the long walk up to the gate, Faramir fixed his eyes to the ground again and listened as the guards cautiously welcomed the unannounced visitor. They had left the coach they had 'appropriated' further below, as the path up to the gate of the actual keep was to narrow for more than two men walking abreast. Maybe that was a good thing, as the guards didn't have opportunity to check out that coach to closely and wonder why a noble elf was traveling in such a simple thing. Even now, they were probably wondering why 'Elrohir' had only one human slave with him.

The elven captain was spinning a tale for them right now. And as to be expected, it was more than convincing. He was complaining loudly about the inferior stamina of his guards and servants, who had fallen sick a week ago and who had to be left behind as their recovery would take them at least a month. Of the indignity of having to buy a human slave to care for his needs, as there was nothing else available. Of the rigors of travel without proper attendants.

By the time he was getting close to the end, the guards were uneasily shifting on their feet and before Elladan could finish, one of them coughed politely, interrupting him.

"Yes, your highness, we understand. I am sure Lord Cirdan will be most pleased to welcome you and listen to your woe. You may now pass."

They even waved an elven servant over, to show 'Sir Elrohir' to chambers befitting his rank.

Faramir suppressed a grin and reshifted the luggage and then trotted behind his master like the stupid pack mule he was pretending to be. He did not miss the look of mixed disgust and pity on the faces of the elven guards though, when he passed them. Obviously, they were considering it a bad fate for even a human to be stuck with 'Sir Elrohir'.

---

Elladan had told Faramir that he had been stationed in Umbar for nearly 200 years when he had been a captain of the elven fleet, so he knew quite a lot about the keep. On the other hand, Elrohir had only been to the city a couple of times, visiting his brother, so Elladan made no use of his knowledge and instead stayed in the quarters he had been assigned, waiting for the invitation to an audience with Umbar's High Lord.

The elven captain sat in a large armchair close to one of the small windows, trying to look calm, but Faramir knew him long enough to be able to tell, that he was more than a little nervous.

"You think he might recognize you?" Faramir asked, after he had stowed away all the luggage, like a good servant should.

Elladan shrugged. "We never were close. I don't think Lord Cirdan is close to anybody, really. But there is a chance. After all he has known me and my brother since we were children. I will have to be careful and limit contact with him as much as possible. Which shouldn't be too difficult. Elrohir is not of any worth to him. Just another elven lord from far away, who does not contribute anything to the war in Cirdan's eyes."

"So it's all about the war for him?"

The elf nodded. "At least it was when I last saw him. And elves don't change their habits quickly."

He looked at Faramir thoughtfully. "Why don't you do something useful, slave." He then said with a grin. "Go find the kitchen, get your cruel master some food and hot spiced wine, get the servants to make some fire in fireplace. Do something to earn your food."

The human grinned. "Yes, master." He replied meekly, looking forward to a chance to have a look around, to secure some possible escape routes and of course start gathering information. After all this was not a holiday excursion. They were on a mission. That the kitchen would probably be a lot warmer and would grant him a chance to thaw his feet was another major plus.

He skipped the deep bow that would have been expected of a slave and instead turned on his heel, leaving the elf behind to ponder all the thing that could possibly go wrong with his audience on his own.

Even though the weather had not improved at all, the courtyard was quite busy, slaves, servants and soldiers hurrying along on their respective tasks, none sparing a glance at yet another human. Faramir took care to look busy while he tried to find out where the kitchen was located without actually asking anybody. It was not difficult to find as it had several windows opening out onto the yard. The slaves scrubbing pots right in front of it were a good hint too.

Ducking through a narrow doorway into the kitchen itself Faramir had a quick look around, relishing in the heat from the various stoves and open fireplaces. And the enticing smell of roasting meat, freshly backed bread and other delicacies.

Then he stepped up to a matronly elven cook, who seemed in charge but not overly busy. He bowed deeply, keeping his eyes to the floor when he spoke. "My apologies, mistress, my I beg your attention for a moment." Now his years in the Gondorian army really paid off, no better way to learn to crawl than by being a grunt. Again Faramir thanked the powers that be that he had ordered Boromir to stay behind.

"What is it?" the woman replied a bit gruffly but not entirely unfriendly.

"My master is an elven noble who has just arrived. He has ordered me to get him food and spiced wine. And he wants to have the fire build in his chambers."

"Of course, boy, I will have something prepared for him." The cook answered. "Go and warm your feet at the stove, they are turning blue already, hasn't your master given you any shoes? What a waste..."

Faramir just shook his head meekly, smiling inwardly. It did also pay off to be cute and blonde when matronly women were concerned. "Thank you, mistress." He said and received a friendly pat on the head like he was a good dog, not a human being. Just the picture he wanted to present.

Sitting down next to the stove truly was a nice feeling. It only took a few moments and he could at least feel his toes again. Being on deck in any kind of weather hardly ever wearing boots had hardened him to cold a lot.

After only a few minutes, another human slave sat down next to him, handing him some leftover muffins with a smile. "Hey you, never seen you before. New?" the blonde young man asked curiously, using Gondorian and not Sindarin.

Faramir nodded at him in greeting. "Yes. My master is staying here to visit the High Lord. I'm Faramir."

"William." The other man introduced himself. He did wear shoes and a warm tunic. Obviously, the elves were trying to take good care of their human cattle.

Faramir made a mental note to be careful when trying to gather information. Then he took a good bite of one of the muffins.

"Your master's not the nice sort, huh?" William asked curiously, pointing to Faramir warming feet.

"He's okay, doesn't beat me too often so what's to complain about? Nothing much one can do, right?" Faramir answered, paying close attention to the man's reaction.

The frown on William's face and the curse on all elves muttered under his breath was not what he had expected but definitely encouraging.

"You look like they take good care of you here." Faramir ventured innocently.

William shrugged. "Yeah. Still slavery is slavery. Not like I picked being hauled away to wash and cook and crawl for them."

"Well, being a soldier ain't that much better, is it?" Faramir replied.

Again, the other man shrugged. "Don't know, I was working my parents farm when the pointy ears took it. Been here ever since." He sighed softly. "Maybe I would have been better off with the army. But my dad never wanted me to join."

Faramir silently congratulated the man on his wisdom. To William he said: "Believe me, lad, the army's not better than this. Lots of crawling and serving too."

"You were in the army?" William asked, his eyes now shining with curiosity.

"Yeah, a long time ago." Faramir answered truthfully.

"Did you hear about the prince?" William asked and even though there was no guile in his eyes, Faramir answered cautiously.

"No?" he asked back. "What about him. Been out of the loop for quite a while."

"They have taken the heir prisoner. He is in the dungeons, right here in Umbar."

"That's bad news indeed." Faramir said and the other man nodded gravely.

"That was the last of the three princes." he continued. "Now Gondor is without a heir. And I don't think they will ever let prince Theodred go. Although I wonder how long he will survive locked up down there. The dungeons are not a nice place."

"Have you ever been there?" Faramir asked innocently.

"Yeah, I've brought down food for the prisoners now and then." William explained and Faramir had to work hard on suppressing his grin. This was almost too easy.

"Really?" He said, not having to feign his curiosity. "And have you ever seen the prince?"

William nodded. "Yeah. But he doesn't talk to anybody."

'He doesn't have to', Faramir thought. 'He just has to be able to walk so we can get him out.'

But before he could ask his newfound friend, if there was a chance he could accompany him on such an errant down to the dungeons, the elven cook called upon him with the 'master's' food.

Faramir quickly said goodbye to William, promising to himself that he would meet the boy again.

Then he took the tray laden with food and wine and made his way back to 'Elrohir's' chambers.

 

If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to: Beryll

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