Chapter Twenty-Six - Pain Abated

Listöwel, Gondor's Captain-General, had returned to Osgiliath empty-handed, the night before. Though she and her men had ridden out and scoured the banks of the Anduin for the hundredth time it seemed, no sign of Faramir had been found. She discovered Indis had arrived and was waiting to begin the search herself. Night was nigh though, and Listöwel was able to persuade her Regent to wait till morn before they began again the search.

Now, as they rode side by side, neither woman spoke, for the turmoil and the fear of the last few days had strained even their relationship. At last, Listöwel could endure it no longer. "Your men have scoured all of Ithilien. The boats are now dragging the river," she choked on that piece of information. "Boats have been sent from the Harlond further south. No matter what we have done, Indis, I fear we will not find the boy, will probably not even find his body."

Tears ran down Indis' face, but she said not a word. In her heart, she kept chanting, 'He is alive. He is alive.'

They camped that night by the Anduin. From her days as a child, she had loved the River. Learning to swim with Morwen and Denethor from one of Ecthelion's servants had been joy-filled. Of course, their father had not the time to teach them. Once her brother had mastered the rudiments of it, he sent the servant away and spent his summers teaching his sisters. She clenched her jaw. She would not go down that path again, the path of grief and sorrow over Denethor's death. Alas, before this the River had been her friend; it had now turned into her bitterest enemy. She did not sleep and she sensed Listöwel did not either. 'How many nights now,' she wondered, 'since I have slept?'

Morning came and with it a dull rain; low, grey clouds filled the sky; the only sound was the clop of Listöwel's and her horses' hooves as they approached Emyn Arnen. Slowly they marched into the forest. Within an hour, they approached the site where Listöwel and she had fought the Orcs, when they were searching for her sister. She choked back a sob at the thought. That search had ended in despair and horror. Morwen had been found, head severed by the Haradrim; her body set in mockery, as if alive, against the family's burial chamber. She had not seen it herself; Denethor had kept her from the sight. But she had seen it, in her mind's eye, and never forgotten the revulsion and nausea that had filled her very being at the thought of the horrors Morwen had endured before the end. If they found Faramir in like array, she would die, she would certainly die.

The Knights of Gondor fanned out in a long line, from the shores of the Anduin all the way east to the Harad Road. Not an inch of ground would be missed. The men had long spears that they gently pushed at the vegetation and poked into the ground, in case the child had been buried.

Listöwel finally called a halt for nuncheon. The men wearily sat; they had been up since before dawn the day before and searched until Anor set completely, and this day again, up at dawn. Though each hoped fervently that Faramir would be found alive, the prospect was growing dimmer by the hour. None moved from where they had stopped their search. They pulled out the dried meat, apples, and water that had been provided the day before. After a half hour's rest, Listöwel called and the company began again its desperate search.

"He will be found, Listöwel. He must." Indis choked as they rode behind the men. Her Captain-General only nodded.

Anor began its slow descent. Its light would soon be too low to see anything. Indis began humming the lullaby that Aragorn had been found humming to Faramir. The same one that had brought her beloved nephew back from the near-death state he had been in. Listöwel shuddered as she listened and wondered as to the state of her Regent's mind.

A shout interrupted her grim thoughts and her stomach fell; one of the search party had found his body. But it was the voice of Valanestel! Joy-filled!

The man rode forward and pulled up next to Indis. "Regent!" he saluted once he dismounted. "The Lord Faramir has been found – alive and well. He is right behind me. We heard the calls of your men and I rode forward in hopes you were here."

Indis held her arms tight to her side, her hands clenched. "We will wait here until you bring him forth," she said through clenched teeth. She could hardly believe her ears. Some small part of her had succumbed and thought Faramir was dead. She dismounted in stunned silence.

Even as she waited, the vanguard broke through into the little clearing where she stood. She saw the litter and almost fainted then and there. Her resolve to present a dignified front was slowing being crushed. A small head peeked out from around the horse pulling the litter, and she could contain herself no longer. She ran forward, arms held out, and reached him in a moment. She pulled Faramir from Borondir's arms and held him in her own, falling onto her knees next to the litter and covering the boy's head, neck and hands with kisses. His name flew a hundred times from her mouth as she tried to speak between her sobs.

Faramir was at first frightened when he saw his aunt. A small niggling fear had been with him the last few miles the cortege had traveled. She would be furious, he thought, and would surely reprimand him. What punishment would she devise? His little heart fluttered wildly as he peeked around the captain. As he was swept into her arms, and felt her gentle lips upon his face, and the tears that ran down her cheeks, and the sobs that shook against his body, he wept at the depths of her love. "I am so sorry, Amma, I did not mean to leave the camp."

"Nay, nay," she whispered words of comfort. "All is well. You are with me again. Nothing else matters, Faramir. Nothing. Please do not speak; just allow me to hold you. I never want you away from these arms of mine."

The boy succumbed to the fears that had assailed him these past many days. He wept quietly and clung to her.

None spoke, though she heard a sniffle here and there behind her. She smiled after a few moments. "Your people wait for you, my Lord Steward. Come, Listöwel, beloved friend, and welcome back your charge."

Listöwel ran forward and held Faramir to her. "My Steward, forgive the undignified welcome, but you were sorely missed. I cannot tell you the fear that dwelt in my heart for you. Are you truly well?"

"I am, Captain-General." Faramir pulled himself away from her and stood. "I am well, except for a slight turned ankle. I am grateful to be with my men again."

She smiled and heard a few coughs of appreciation and laughter behind her. "Your men have worked diligently to find you, my Lord. Might we camp for the night? Give them some respite?"

"Of course," the lad said. "Valanestel's men need rest too." He walked back into Indis' arms and smiled. She took him to a fallen branch and they sat and talked quietly while the rest of the company set about putting up their camp.

Listöwel nodded to Captain Valanestel, then looked at Borondir on the litter. "You are wounded?"

"We ran into a band of Orcs before the Steward was found. I caught a blade."

"You look well. Which healer attended you?"

Borondir's face turned red. "None of ours, my Captain. Ours were killed in the attack." He motioned and she drew closer. "It was Elves," he whispered.

Listöwel looked up at Valanestel in shock. "He is fevered!"

"Nay. He speaks truly. Two Elves saved our hides and then ministered to the wounded. They took us to where they had hid Faramir."

"They had kidnapped him?"

"Nay," Valanestel laughed. "They found him and cared for him. They were on their way back to Osgiliath when they heard the attack. They hid Faramir and came to our aid. The Steward vouched for them."

"Thank you. I would have you and Borondir return to Minas Tirith with us. He will be tended in the Houses and you will give the Regent a full report."

"I will, Captain-General. May I say, I am most grateful the boy was found."