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Winter's Rest (R) Print

Written by Monica

09 March 2005 | 25774 words

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Chapter Three

Faramir tried very hard to not flinch as the Elf's warm hands examined him. He wanted to race out of the healing house, but he had promised the king to obey Lord Elrond's orders, and right now he was under orders to lay quietly. It would likely be easier to face a herd of Orcs, he thought sourly.

For his part, Elrond was quiet and Faramir could not guess at what the Elf was thinking. Elrond calmly and gently examined him, asking once or twice about the wounds that he encountered. The scar from the Southern dart was still red and angry; despite Aragron's efforts, it had never fully healed. It ached at times, but now Elrond's touch seemed to soothe it a bit and Faramir was silently grateful. Other small scars were obvious in their cause – the marks of any warrior, and Elrond made no comment on them.

"Turn over onto your stomach now, if you please," Elrond said. He waited patiently, and finally Faramir obeyed him. The Man lay as stiff as stone, his fists clenched. Elrond busied himself with checking the rest of the Human's back, finally satisfied that there were no fresh wounds other than the dart. He stepped away from the bed, signaling that the exam was over, and Faramir quickly and gratefully sat up.

Elrond smiled at him, noting the uncomfortable look on the Steward's face. "Erestor mentioned earlier that he would show you the main library," he said. "I have a few other patients to see to here, why don't you go to the house? Erestor is likely to be in the hall at this hour overseeing dinner preparations."

Faramir pulled on his shirt and stood up, an uncertain expression in his eyes. He seemed to be expecting some lecture or questions, but looked grateful at Elrond's suggestion. "We will talk, young one," Elrond said, holding up one hand. "But it can wait."

"Of course," Faramir said quickly, and Elrond's eyes laughed at the Human's obvious distaste for any such discussion. Faramir looked rather like a young child hoping to put off some punishment and the Elf was amused. Moving with a speed matched only by the twins when they were trying to evade their father's wrath, Faramir bowed and fairly raced out of the room.

Elrond chuckled to himself as he put some things back in order on the end table. Faramir reminded him much of young Estel and the Elf knew that he would have his hands full this winter. He had never encountered a worse patient than Estel, but Faramir seemed bent on winning that distinction.

Once his herbal was in order, Elrond sighed and took a moment to compose his thoughts. Erestor was indeed waiting for Faramir, so he had not told a complete falsehood, but he would have found some excuse to send Faramir away if the advisor was not waiting. He needed answers to his questions, and there were some answers that he would not find from Faramir.

The Elf lord headed toward the warrior's barracks, stopping to make some inquires from young trainees. He was directed to one of the training fields where three of the Human Rangers were participating in a weapon exercise. Damrod was easy to spot, the older man standing out from the Elves with his beard and bulky frame. The Ranger saw the Elf lord approaching and excused himself from the next drill.

"Good afternoon," Elrond greeted him. Damrod returned the greeting, but then settled immediately to business.

"How's the Captain?" he demanded. His gruff manner concealed his obvious concern, and Elrond knew he could count on this Human for aid in dealing with the Steward. He appreciated Damrod's bluntness and decided to respond in turn, knowing the Man would understand.

"How ever did you manage to get him to Imladris?" Elrond turned, gesturing for the Man to walk with him. He had been rather shocked at how thin Faramir truly was and just his brief superficial exam had revealed extreme exhaustion and pain. It was a wonder he had managed the journey.

The Ranger snorted as they left the others and walked down one of the isolated paths. "It was a strange thing," he commented. "My horse threw not one but two shoes, requiring a full day's stop. Then one of the pack ponies went lame and made us stop often and let the beast rest. While it rested, we rested too, of course; including the Captain."

Elrond raised a dark eyebrow. "And Faramir did not realize that you were travelling slowly so he could rest each day?"

Damrod looked at the Elf. "What do you think?" he countered dryly. He nodded at the expression on Elrond's face. "The Captain can read men better than any wizard I've ever heard of, and he's no fool. He knew all right, but what could he do? We had him outnumbered, all the horses were secured at night so he couldn't sneak away, and we had the king's leave to truss him up like a deer if necessary and deliver him to you. He wasn't happy at us coddling him but we got him here in one piece and more or less under his own power. But if this valley had been much further, we would have arrived with him tied to a litter."

The Elf sighed, knowing that the Ranger was not exaggerating. "I sent a dispath to Gondor last night that you arrived; they will be glad to hear it." Damrod nodded in agreement.

"Two of us who accompanied him are also healers in our modest way. The king knew to pick those would be able to keep him going and make him get here." The man stopped and looked directly at the Elf. "Now answer my question, if you please. How is he doing today?"

Elrond smiled inwardly at the Man's concern. It was good that Faramir had such loyal men. "My daughter and the king sent letters detailing his injuries and health. He is as poor as the letters warned. It is nothing that cannot heal, but it will take time. He is severely underweight, and obviously in pain from his recent wounds. He may be developing a cold, and if he does, it will not be easily cured." Elrond had noticed a hitch in the Man's breathing that usually indicated a growing chest cold.

"He hardly sleeps," Damrod added. "And when he does, it is filled with nightmares."

Elrond appraised the Man for a moment before speaking. "And do you know some of what may haunt those dreams?"

Damrod met his gaze directly, obviously doing his own assessment of the Elf. A pause, and then he nodded shortly. "Some think that warriors blindly follow whoever is the leader of their people, regardless of that leader's value. Those who think that are blasted fools. True warriors will follow their leader to their death, but they choose who they will die for. Not a one in the Gondor company who knows the Captain would refuse to follow him. I cannot say the same for previous leaders of Gondor." A cool breeze was in the air, and Elrond looked at the trees for a moment, hearing something like a sigh on the wind. It reflected his thoughts and fears. Damrod would not directly say so, but it was obviously that he was referring to the late Steward.

Elrond turned back to the warrior, knowing that Damrod was placing vast confidence in him by speaking thusly. "And now?" he asked.

Damrod straightened, looking every inch the proud warrior. "We are loyal to the king, my lord, never fear. But we will also never lose our devotion to the Captain. We want to see him healed and returned to us."

The Lord of Rivendell bowed to the Man. "Then I welcome your help. It will take all of us to heal this soul."


Elrond found Faramir with Erestor in the library, and he again wondered at why he was slightly irritated at the sight of his advisor so obviously enamored with the Steward. He then guessed from Erestor's somewhat frustrated look that Faramir was completely oblivious to Erestor's attempts at mild flirting, and this pleased him.

"My Lord," Faramir stood when he saw Elrond enter the room and Erestor followed.

"Sit," Elrond said in a friendly tone, waving them to sit back at the table where they were examining books. "Have you found things already to study?"

"Your libraries are unbelievable," Faramir enthused, his eyes bright with excitement. "I hardly know where to start."

Erestor smiled at the Human's eagerness. "I am trying to convince him that the books will not run away if he leaves here." Faramir blushed a little, but managed to smile in return.

"They will not," Elrond assured him. He glanced at Erestor, and the advisor read the message in his eyes. "Fararmir, may I borrow Erestor from you? One of the secretaries asked for him on my way here."

Faramir quickly gave his agreement, and Elrond saw Erestor to the door. The advisor understood Elrond's intent and quietly left, making certain to close the door behind him. Then he stood watch at the end of the hall to see that Elrond and his patient were not disturbed.

Faramir put the book he had been looking at back on the table and straightened a bit as Elrond returned and took a chair across the table from him. His body went a bit rigid and a cautious look was in his eye. Elrond was a bit nonplussed at the change, wondering what had brought that on.

"Do I assume correctly, Lord Elrond, that we will have that talk now?" Faramir inquired. His tone was still respectful, but Elrond detected a certain tone in it as well. It sounded exactly like one of his son's when they were expecting a lecture.

"I believe so," Elrond answered. He smoothed his robes and studied the young man. Faramir once again looked like a young child caught at doing something he knew was forbidden. "And do you know what I am going to say?"

The Steward tried to assume an innocent look, then let it fade as Elrond raised an eyebrow. "It is similar to what the king said?" At Elrond's nod, Faramir sighed. He straightened his shoulders and began reciting in a perfect imitation of Aragorn's voice and mannerisms. "Too thin! Not rested enough to recover from that wound. You need more sleep. I am the king and you will listen to me for once!"

Elrond couldn't help but smile at the import performance, his lips twitching despite his efforts to be stern. Faramir apparently had talents for acting, as well. "That is my diagnosis," he agreed dryly. "Now we will discuss what will be done to treat the patient."

Faramir looked a bit guilty at his imitation now and did his best to try to match the Elf's seriousness. "I apologize, my Lord," he started hesitantly. "My sense of humor tends to show at the most inopportune times."

Elrond held up a hand to end the apology. "It was a fine impersonation," he said, "and if word gets around that you can imitate our Estel so well, you will be asked for many performances this winter." He smiled at the embarrassed look on Faramir's face. "And now, young one, no more stalling." He folded his hands in his lap and assumed his healer's calm expression. Faramir sighed and settled back to hear the lecture.

"You are far too thin, and this will be addressed immediately. Since we take our meals together, I will be ensuring that you eat adequately." Faramir looked down sheepishly, knowing that the Elf lord would likely count every bite going into his mouth. "I am preparing several medicines that you will take every day without argument. And you will rest."

Blue eyes looked nervously at the Elf. "I am sorry to be such trouble, my lord," he said hesitantly.

"And," Elrond continued smoothly, "you will get it through your head, young one, that you are not trouble to anyone. There are many who care about you. Let us help!" He looked sternly at the man and was rewarded with a shy smile. It made Elrond smile in return.

NB: Please do not distribute (by any means, including email) or repost this story (including translations) without the author's prior permission. [ more ]

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7 Comment(s)

this is a very good story,i hope you continue this love it hould follow faramir back to Gondor7 pick-up Elrond not being abe to stay away. but its a beautiful story

chela — chela    Monday 30 April 2007, 4:36    #

I agree with chela. There should be one more chapter to Elrond’s and Faramir’s story. Perhaps Elrond’s last days in Middle Earth? This was wonderful.

— balrog    Saturday 12 January 2008, 10:47    #

This is a very good story. It’s one of the first stories I ever read on this site, and I think it’s one of the stories that inspired me to start writing on my own! Thank you for this lovely story. :)

— Morwen    Saturday 2 January 2010, 20:56    #

A very nice story.
Well written with a good plot.
Thank you for sharing it.

— Lille Mermeid    Saturday 26 June 2010, 15:57    #

Almost a year has gone by, and I’m back to read this story again. I love it so. :) I hope you write more stuff soon!

— Morwen    Thursday 30 December 2010, 10:52    #

Wow, lovely story!
It made me laugh and say a few “Aaaw“s, and the “I am your father!” Amazing!
One of the best I’ve read ^^

— Laivindur    Sunday 6 January 2013, 1:57    #

I really enjoyed this..you have a great way of depicting both Faramir and Elrond that seemed so natural and believable. Thanks for thsi

— sian22    Saturday 23 August 2014, 0:55    #

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