An Unexpected Turn of Events | Bobo

[Lúthien Elanessë]

It had been a while since Luthien was into Mineas Tirith, the white city. She still didn’t remember much of what happened back then so she ended up there but she knew one thing and it was that she wasn’t one of these humans. She was an elf, from what they told her. Where were people like her then? Were they looking for her? What was to come? What was she even doing here still? These people were kind to keep her into their town and she was thankful about it but there were days where she felt out of place. She wandered around the palace a little until she fell into the training grounds.

Those seemed to be familiar to her and she glanced at the few swords and other arms there had in her disposition available for training. She grabbed a sword out of instinct and another one too. She had tried archery already and knew she was good at it. Taking down the targets was quite relaxing actually but she wanted to see if she remembered anything else seeing she was familiar with the weapons. She began doing simple moves at first and soon got a hold onto the sword and even went to take a second sword. Without any shield she began fighting on her own. She seemed to be at ease with weapons. How curious, was she a fighter? A Scout? She couldn’t tell and not knowing who she was or what she was doing was irritating her at times. Right now, she was a woman who tried to remember; she couldn’t even remember the name of the man who saved her life! And it wasn’t because she wasn’t trying to make efforts!

She turned around her and did a few kicks before finding a target not so far and threw one of her swords to it, hitting it right in the middle of the chest. She paused watching what she had done and sighed. Was she supposed to war them? If it was the case, it wasn’t something she wanted to do. She didn’t want to kill off humans. Especially not…what was his name again? UGH! She frowned, getting frustrated at herself, she grabbed her second sword and began practicing her moves once again.

[Boromir]

It had been quite some time since Boromir had found Luthien. The (young?) elf was the only survivor. Sadly, she had lost her memory and had not been able to fully retrieve it yet. Perhaps she would never. It was hard to tell. She recalled how to speak in her native tongue as well as the common language of man. She knew how to fight, how to mount a horse, how to hunt... But she had no idea why her people went so far in the south. She couldn’t even tell if she went from Mirkwood or the Golden Forest or even Rivendell. And no one really being used of elves, not having interacted with them much with the last years, it was impossible for anyone to tell exactly.

Still, Boromir had let her stay within the city. She had nowhere else to go. He figured that when her kingdom would not hear from its scouts for a while that maybe they’ll send others to know what happened. And then they might have some answers as to what she had been doing there. For the time being, she was allowed to stay and had a free access to almost everywhere. Anyway, if she wanted to go somewhere she was not supposed to, Miroesa was generally allowing her to by making her follow the young princess. It was nice to see his cousin so happy. Plus, it was a feminine presence, something that was lacking greatly around here. If only Miroesa had not gotten in her head the two of them was a good match. Like that was possible. The woman couldn’t even recall his name!

It was frustrating to say the least. He saved her, brought her back safely to his hometown, opened the door of his home for her, fed her, gave her a place to stay, had his healers tend her wounds. He even spent time with her and Miroesa. And every time she was looking at him, he could see in her eyes that she was drawing a blank about his name. After saying it a dozen times, she still was not able to remember it. Boromir started to think he should keep it written somewhere on him, then maybe she’ll remember.

Most of the time, Luthien was with Miroesa. The young girl was showing the elf how to live around here and all. It left Boromir plenty of time to take care of more important matters. Like the armies, plans to protect the city and reports he had to give or receive from the different captains. He had spent a long time earlier in the day watching maps and trying to read through it the movement of the troops east of the Anduin River. Now he was a little stiff and needed action. He thought going for a hunt, change his mind a little from all this work.

He walked down to the guard house. He would take a bow there and he knew no matter how good a hunter he was that he needed an escort. It was natural, being the son of the steward, the one who shall take his place after his death. He heard someone training not outside with the others but with the weapons. There were a few targets there but that was not the place to train. He looked just as Luthien threw her sword and hit the middle of the target. Impressive. She seemed surprised of her own talent. He walked down the few steps left, making sure she could hear him. He grabbed a sword and a shield and faced her. “Fight me.” he said, waiting for her to start.

[Lúthien Elanessë]

Luthien’s leg has been better and was starting to heal but she still had limits to keep. She had to keep training to a certain minimum. Not that she was supposed to train all that much either. It was actually the first time she had had hands onto weapons since she had been found by the men. They were kind people, she had to admit and it made her wonder about why she didn’t see more of her own kind meddling with humans. She stared at the target that was in front of her for a few moments still, wondering about if she was bound to be a fighter of any kind. It was possible, seeing the skills she had been showing off lately.

She turned around quickly however when she heard footsteps coming her way and noticed the man or more like, recognized her as the one who saved him. She knew that he had been the kindest to her and he was the one who saved her but his name…she couldn’t get a hold on it. She paused for a few moments as she tried to remember of it. Maybe if she put all her will and efforts into it she would have somewhat of a result.

However, his words distracted her from focusing onto such matters and she looked at him, surprised at first but noticing that he grabbed his own weapons, she went to grab the other sword back and stood for a few seconds onto a defensive position. She was surprised he wanted to ‘train’ with her, knowing men didn’t fancy fighting with women, which was all to their honors.

Waiting for the right moment, she began striking at him. She was confident enough not to use a shield for now. She wanted to see how well she could do. How good her skills were. She was going with her instinct mostly. There were a few things she remembered of but that was about it. "As you wish," she said through the hits. She still was willing to remember of his name. She felt bad for not being able to do so.

[Boromir]

Boromir was aware that Luthien was a fighter. Why else would she have wound up fighting orcs with others of her race? But he had never seen her fight before. Or seen any elf fight before. When they arrived, they were dead and Boromir would have thought the same of her had she not moved. Now she was feeling a lot better, if you were not mentioning her memory loss. She seemed to have found her way to the armory on her own. He was aware that she started some archery. His men had warned him and he allowed her to, although she probably was not aware of this detail. He was not thinking she was an enemy. Elves were no enemies. They simply never cared much for men.

She was surprised to see him here and even more when he took some weapons and ask for her to fight him. Training could be good and he wanted to test her in the same time, judge just how good she was. She accepted and started to attack him. She was not hitting as hard as he was, but then again, she was smaller and certainly not as physically strong as he was. But she was fast. Two swords meant they had to be used as both offense and defense, making them not as strong as a single sword. But she knew how to compensate that and he soon found himself in need of using his shield a lot. Her best asset was how swift she was. He constantly had to turn to make sure she would not get to his flank or back.

“You are skilled. You must have been training a lot in the past if the days you spent not wielding a weapon had not rusted you.” he commented as he attacked her. It was only a training session but they were still giving a lot of themselves into it.

[Lúthien Elanessë]

Luthien had no ideas on how she ended up in that area. Miroesa had only come with her once here but she never minded to be around weapons. In fact, it seemed that it was where she was the most comfortable with. She was comfortable with weapons, did that mean she used to be a fighter? Then, why wasn’t she able to take on those orcs when they found her? That was completely …weird, for her. Oh well, since she didn’t remember much of her own past, she didn’t try to think further about it.

They were both fighting one and another now. Her leg was getting better and she was able to do a bit more movements. Thanks to the healings of the humans. She blocked his attack as he complimented her. She nodded at him, giving him a small smile. Boromir, the steward of Gondor was always nice. Wait, that was it! That was his name. She blinked at the realization. She finally remembered of his name. She always felt bad when she didn’t and she knew that he reminded her countless times.

“You are quite a fighter as well, Boromir.” She said, her face lit up immediately as she said it. She didn’t realize though that she had said so while striking another attack at him.

[Boromir]

They were fighting and things seem to go well. He was not thinking about whether she was an enemy or not, a spy or not. He had debated over this long enough with his father and other men before. They did not know her like he did. They did not spend time with her like he did, like Miroesa did. They feared her memory loss was only a ruse. But he could tell it was not. Otherwise she would have understood by now it was in her best interest to remember his name. Sure she was a fighter but he was expecting no less from someone who went down south with a small troop right at the orcs.

He could tell she was a scout by the way she moved. She was all about stealth. Of course, she could not beat him in strength, but she was fast. And he could see she healed pretty well. Not that he expected any less. He had no idea how they healed in her hometown among the elves but the healing houses here at Minas Tirith were the best you could ever find anywhere in the land of Men.

He complimented her on her technique. They were still exchanging a few attacks when she said his name. She had never said his name before. The second he was to tell her she was forgetting about it. And here she was, blurting it out like it was the most natural thing for her to call him by his name. The surprise got him to lower his guard and so he was unprepared as she struck him. he raised him shield just in time for her not to cut his arm but there was still a light mark made. After all, he was wearing no protective armour. He also backed away, making him lose his balance and nearly fall to the floor.

Tossing his sword and shield to the ground, he pulled the sleeve of his attire to reveal the wound. He applied pressure where the blood was slowly dripping from before he lifted his gaze up to meet hers. “How did you call me? You’ve just said my name.” he said as if it was the most surprising thing in the world. For others, it was not, but from her, it sure felt this way.

[Lúthien Elanessë]

Luthien was proud of finally being able to remember of his name, at least for now. She feared she might forget the next day and she hoped it wouldn’t be the case. She restrained herself from bouncing happily at her exploit and it really was an exploit since she was suffering of memory loss. It was annoying but at least she managed to remember of one thing and as little as it might seem, to both of them, it was a big deal. She knew how irritating it could be for Boromir whenever she forgot of his name because she knew that he had told her often. It wasn’t as if he left her out on her own. He had an exemplary patience when it came to her and she was very grateful of it.

She stopped herself from training along with Boromir seeing that she wounded him. She remembered that he was important amongst men and she felt terrible of it. « I’m sorry! » She added quickly and dropped her swords to go to him in hope that he was fine. How bad would it seem to be like if people knew that she attacked the one who offered home to her? She couldn’t help but feel bad about it.

She looked back at him when he questioned her about how she had called him and paused. Trying to see if she remembered. Bo…Bo…what was it again. Boro? No, i twas longer… Boromir! Yes! Her eyes lit up slightly as she did so and looked down at him. « Boromir…the Steward of Gondor no? » she asked. She remembered to have heard a few people giving him that title.

[Boromir]

This could almost be comical. The woman who constantly forgot his name finally said it as the most natural of things to do and it surprised him so much that she nearly chopped his arm off. And now he was on the floor, defeated by her because she said one simple word. He, the brave Boromir, captain-general of the army of Minas Tirith, future steward of Gondor. Defeated by a frail looking woman. Yes, it was very comical. Luckily, no one saw the scene.

Luthien dropped her sword and quickly was at his side, apologizing of course. The cut was not deep and would probably not even leave a scar. In reality, it was mostly his pride that was hurt, for stumbling on his own two feet and fall hardly on his bottom in front of her during a friendly training session. He knew had there been people with them, she’d probably be restrained right now, even if she didn’t mean to hurt him in the first place. You don’t shed the blood of the future steward, it was as simple as this.

Boromir of course had no intention of arresting her. He got injured because of himself only. He let his guard down in the middle of a battle. This cut would serve as a lesson. He smiled at her when she said his name again. “You’ve got the name right. But the steward is my father.” he corrected as he stood up. He looked at the wound she gave him. It wasn’t that bad. He could tend it on his own, without rushing to the healing houses. It was barely bleeding. Now that he made sure he wouldn’t lose all of his blood on the training ground, he returned his gaze on Luthien. “Does that mean you will now remember my name?” he asked. He knew she suffered from memory loss. She could barely recall anything from her home. But she learned his name after the injury so he thought she’d remember it. She knew Miroesa’s name and could say it any time they were meeting. But his, it seemed impossible for her to get it right, even if he said it only a few minutes ago. He felt the fact she managed to say his name without him telling her was an improvement of her condition. And it did feel good to his ego.

[Lúthien Elanessë]

Luthien hoped that she wouldn’t get in trouble for accidentally wounding Boromir; it was far from her intentions as she enjoyed the company of the man even if she knew he wasn’t talkative much. Her expression lit up once again when Boromir actually smiled at her (because she didn’t remember if he had actually smiled before or not but it was nice to see that she could be something else than a burden to him). She just wished that she would manage to remember of his name and not embarrass him in public. He had been kind enough to want to keep her with his men; it made her wonder why she didn’t see any more elves amongst them.

Oh…the steward was his father? She felt bad for it but she nodded. At least she improved right? For once she was able to do something that would please him and not make him worried, she was happy of it. « Oh, right…then, just Boromir. » she repeated more to herself than to him. At least she hadn’t forgotten right after remembering of it!

She looked at him when he asked her about his name. « I will try my best to. » she assured him and she really would. She didn’t see the point of not trying to make efforts while she was wandering endlessly into his town in hope to find her own memory back.

[Boromir]

He smiled again when she said he was just Boromir then. That too, many men would disagree with her if not be outraged she would talk to him like that. What was she thinking, to address to Boromir as just[/j] Boromir? But he didn’t mind. He knew what she meant by this. He didn’t feel like she was making fun of him or anything. She knew what kind of fighter he was, that he was a leader of man. Besides, as long as she got his name right, what did he care about whether she got his title right or not? She even managed to repeat it again. He never thought he’d like hearing his own name so much. Then again, he so often was about to lose patience and forced himself to take a deep breath when she could remember the name of someone she met only once days ago and not his name while she was seeing him a lot more. He bet Miroesa also talked a lot about him. She always had been close. A good thing their bond of blood was too close otherwise he bet his father would’ve told him to marry her. He knew he should be doing that and make sure his lineage would not die with him. But he had far more important matters to deal to bother himself with finding a suitable bride.

He nodded when she promised to try and remember it now that it came out naturally. He moved his arm a bit, looking once again at the wound. “You didn’t miss me. I shouldn’t have let my guard down. I suppose this is one more piece of your past. You now know you are a skilled fighter.” he told her. He better be going though, and clean this wound before it infected. It might not be deep but it still needed to be taken care of.

[Lúthien Elanessë]

Luthien wasn’t used to the common titles that men gave to one and another and she wasn’t aware that she could have offended a whole regiment of soldiers if she would have said it in public but to see Boromir so happy just from her remembering his name was enough for her to try and make an effort. She wasn’t making fun of a man who had saved her life. She would have to be an idiot if it was the case. She respected him a lot and greately. She smiled back at him. « You should smile more often; it suits you well. » she let out, being completely honest. She was aware that people of high ranks had to keep a certain attitude around others but since they were alone, she didn’t see how he would have to keep his usual serious expression.

She looked at him slightl worried for that. « You should go to the healing houses, I don’t want to be arrested for accidentally hurting the…Boromir. » she added glad she could have remembered it once again. It was nice to see that her memory might have recovered.

She bowed slightly as he complimented her. « thank you, it came out naturally. » she said.

[Boromir]

Boromir was slightly taken by surprise when she said he should smile more. It was not that Boromir disliked smiling or enjoying himself. He knew how to amuse himself, to stay entertained. But those were dark times. And sadly, with dark times, you rarely had the chance to stop and smile or laugh. No more hunts, no more dances or celebrations. The people of Gondor were counting on him, on his men, to ensure their safety against the threat coming from the east. If he had to sacrifice a few moments of happiness so that everyone could be safe, he would gladly pay the price. He had been raised to take one day his father’s role as leader of this great kingdom. He could already feel the weight on his shoulders. And he would not break under this weight.

But right now, he had no enemy to face or no fight to prepare. He was training in company of a young (or was she old?) and, he had to admit, beautiful elf. It was weird. Boromir had grown to distrust elves. The Golden Forest had a nasty reputation in these southern lands. And if she came further north, from the Dark Forest also known as Mirkwood, it was no better. Besides, elves never came to help them when they obviously needed it as this moment. Or maybe they did. Maybe Luthien was a scout sent to analyze the situation so they could better decide what to do. If so, he wished the fact they were not coming back would be a sign of their death to them and of the imminent danger they had to stop. But he sadly believed they would simply ignore it. No matter, men of Gondor were used to take care of themselves.

He gave her another smile, this time a little smaller. She was worried because of his wound. He pulled the sleeve of his tunic, to take a better look. “It isn’t so ad but you are right, I better bandage it before it infects.” he answered. He couldn’t believe she was able to remember his name. It sounded silly but after weeks waiting for her to call him by his name, it was a rare treat. She thanked him as he said she was a skilled fighter. “That might have been the reason why you were so far south.” he added. Maybe it would help her remember. But for now, he had to go to the healing houses, as she suggested.

[Lúthien Elanessë]

Luthien wasn’t aware of the effect she was having on Boromir or why he seemed taken aback. She was puzzled when he seemed to be thoughtful for a moment as she wondered of what he could be thinking about. She wasn’t going to interrupt him even though he wasn’t speaking; she just didn’t think it was a respectful thing to do if she ever dared to do so. She wasn’t holding her weapons anymore as she kept giving him her worried look.

She smiled softly as he agreed with her to get it bandaged. She didn’t want to be arrested because she hurt him; it would be bad and a terrible thing for her to go through. She nodded when he tried helping her remember of things. “It must be, orcs are dangerous creatures.” She added, that much, she knew. “Do you need me to come with you to the healing houses or you will be fine on your own?” She asked him. She wouldn’t mind doing either of those things. Boromir was a man of good company and she was promising herself to remember of his name as much as she could because she was well aware not everyone trusted her here.

[Boromir]

Boromir could see Luthien was worried for him because she wounded him. But quite frankly, he didn’t think she should worry about anything. He had worse wounds in the past and he always survived them. However, he had to admit he was better take care of it. He didn’t want it to infect.

He understood why Miroesa liked her so much. Despite the fact she barely knew anything of herself, her past and her people, she was a good-hearted person. What was erased was what happened in her latest days. She couldn’t remember how she got down to the south or who taught her how to fight but her skills remained. She was not entirely amnesiac then. Miroesa must be enjoying herself inventing her a past. Who knows what Luthien is becoming in the young girl’s head? She also seemed to like to pair the two of them. Boromir started to notice it. Luthien was suddenly joining them whenever Miroesa asked for her cousin to spend time with her. It could be burdensome at times. He had no idea what she was expecting of this.

“Yes, they are.” he simply answered as she said orcs were dangerous. With the amount of men he lost fighting them, Boromir was the best one to say that. She also lost her friends and nearly died herself. It was time someone did something about this. Someone other than the men of Gondor. They were fighting, over and over, while the rest of Middle Earth sat there, waiting. Even Rohan was not coming for help. Boromir wished they could convince them to lend a few men. They needed more men.

He had a soft smile when she suggested to come with him to the healing houses. “Do not bother yourself. I took enough of your time, I can get there on my own.” he replied. Not that he would have minded. But he was the one who disturbed her as she was training. He didn’t want to take more of her time. Not when he knew no one would really say no to him, being who he was. So he preferred to let her go than to force her to do something she might not want to do. Besides, he could easily get there on his own. He nodded his head in her direction and left towards the healing houses.

[Lúthien Elanessë]

Luthien nodded at Boromir as he told her that he would be fine and nodded as she watched him going to the healing houses. He was a fine and kind man, that’s for sure, and she was happy that he was keeping her with his men. It made her wonder about how elves and humans were not friends. Would she not be amnesiac and be at her home, she would have told her pairs to go and help them right away; they deserved it and that wasn’t only for the fact that she owed them her life.

She returned him the small smile and went back to training until the afternoon where she spent time with Miroesa who seem to be in a better mood compared to the past few days. The girl had told her about the war that happened at her castle and the fact that she lost her parents. She felt sorry for her and she also could understand that she must feel lonely. She ate dinner and spend the evening with the princess once again as she helped her sewing and doing whatever she liked. Soon it was night time but Luthien wasn’t sleepy. She was laying on her back in her bed and stared at the ceiling before deciding to walk around a bit and admire the night sky from a window of the place. She was wearing a white nightdress and her hair was loose as usual.

She remembered suddenly of an elfin song she started humming as she caressed the cold walls of the castle and looked up at the starry sky. She walked barefoot and silently hoping not to disturb anyone in the process. The night was so peaceful, it was a wonder to why she wasn’t sleepy…or might it be because she was worried over Boromir since she hadn’t seen him since he left to the healing houses.