Ever since Míriel, Pippin and Gandalf left for Minas Tirith, the life in Rohan had been quite dull. The remaining members of the Fellowship did nothing more than to spend time with Éowyn, Éomer, Théoden and all the new friends that they had made. Everything to keep themselves from thinking about what was happening in Gondor and in Mordor, because the more they waited the more anxious they became. The final battle was closer than ever, and everyone was on edge.

Aragorn was constantly in meetings with King Théoden, counselling him and trying to convince him that there were things that Rohan needed to do for the rest of Middle Earth. Legolas attended the meetings with Aragorn, but Gimli stayed away since he always became angry with King Théoden. When Aragorn wasn't attending meetings, he had Éowyn constantly following him around.

One day, Legolas was sitting in the Golden Hall with Gimli and Aragorn, eating lunch and for once Éowyn wasn't there to drool over Aragorn. Legolas did not mind the girl at all, she was nice after all, but she did get quite clingy toward Aragorn which was awkward for the rest of them.

"I still can't believe you both lied to me about Míriel for this long," Legolas muttered and took a sip of water. "All of you knew, even the Hobbits!"

"Get over it, lad," Gimli said and burped. "There are worse things than having a powerful Maiar love you. Sure, she lied but she did it to protect you and because she didn't want any love-drama on our journey. Míriel prioritized the mission as she has always done - she put her friends first and you should stop blaming her for it."

Legolas simply muttered something in return, he knew that Gimli was making sense but it did not help much.

"Míriel is the kindest person I know," Aragorn said with a smile. "You should admire her for having kept all this in for this long; she did not want to turn your life around. What she did was selfless, Legolas, she could have told you the first day just to make herself look better but she didn't."

"Alright you two, stop it," Legolas said and chuckled. "I forgive her, I truly do, I just hope when we meet again that she will forgive me."

*

Míriel sat out from the castle when there was still light in the sky, but when she finally started to close in on Osgiliath the night had fallen and it was very dark. Míriel saw that the only way to get to the city was over a bridge since there was water everywhere around the ruins of Osgiliath. Thick mist laid over the river which made it difficult to see, but Míriel's Elf-eyes never deceived her and therefore she realised that no matter how fast she had ridden, it had not been fast enough.

In the river, small boats rowed across it, and each boat was filled to its maximum capacity with filthy Orcs. They were a troop of Sauron's forces, just enough to take the city for their own. They were clever for they had decided to not attract attention before they reached the keep which made the garrison in Osgiliath completely unaware of where the Orcs were coming from. Míriel realised that she needed to hurry before they attacked the city and all the men were destroyed. She started riding fast but tried to keep quiet so when she got close enough she bound Windfola and walked the rest of the way.

As soon as Míriel entered the ruin of Osgiliath she could smell that Men had been there for long and without any baths. It was barely a city anymore for nothing stood securely, but at least some of the walls were upright. Fires were lit further in the north, but it was in the south that they should stand for it was from there the Orcs were coming from. Míriel hurried forward through the city but was suddenly met by at least ten men, pointing arrows at her with their bows.

"Who are you?" one of them, covered with silver armour, asked.

"Lady Ilmarë of Lothlórien," she answered and put her hands up, and for some reason her name had come naturally. She removed her hood so that they could indeed see that she was an Elf which usually paid off in situations like these. "I come in peace, but with warnings from Mithrandir and Minas Tirith. Take me to your Captain Faramir in all haste."

Gandalf had told her that the captain of the garrison was Faramir, son of Denethor and younger brother of Boromir. If he was even a little like his brother, it would be easy to convince him to leave the city as soon as possible. The guards, however, were not very quick for they were stunned to see an Elf. All of them bowed their heads in respect to her, and thought it was kind Míriel was in a hurry. They did not have time to take her to Captain Faramir, though, for suddenly they heard the sound of armour hitting against something.

Míriel turned around toward the sound and saw a soldier falling from his position up in one of the towers, down the staircase until he laid still at her feet. A rusty arrow was pierced through his chest - the Orcs were already there. The sound had alarmed Captain Faramir who hurried toward the south of the keep with an elderly man with grey hair called Madril. Captain Faramir glanced surprised at Míriel and stopped, bowed his head toward her. Faramir was a young man with strawberry blonde hair like his brother, but he was not as strongly built. There was no trace of Denethor in his face as there had been in Boromir's.

"My lady," Faramir said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "What are you doing here, this is not a safe place. We expect a detachment of Sauron's forces."

"They are coming and you are expecting them from the wrong direction," said Míriel and walked closer toward Faramir. "They are already here, they came from the south."

Faramir glanced at the fallen soldier and turned back quickly now that he realised that they had to change their plans. "To the river!" he called.

All of the garrisons hurried to follow their Captain's orders. Faramir gestured for Míriel to follow him and so she did. They all positioned themselves behind the fallen pillars and hid for as long as possible. Míriel drew her sword and held it close while waiting for the Orcs to come to shore. They could hear them clearly since they were no quiet creatures. The water splashed as the Orcs walked in it, they were coming closer by the minute but Faramir still desired to wait.

Finally, the moment came when Faramir came out of hiding and started fighting the Orcs with all his power. His men followed suit and Míriel did so as well. Though no matter how strong they were, it did not matter. The Orcs had troops coming from the west as well, laying a bridge between the towers which enabled them to come from above. They were too many and their only escape was to flee, but Faramir did not want to give up just yet since Osgiliath was so important.

The morning light came and Faramir had still not given in, though many of the garrisons had died. Míriel was growing tired and the Orcs seemed to keep coming no matter what. The only thing she could be grateful for was that they were not Uruk-Hai although she would have rather faced ten Uruk-hai than to fight an army ten times the size of the men from Gondor in Osgiliath.

Míriel drew her bow and called to Madril that they should try and shoot the Orcs to stop them from taking the east as well. He agreed and they set up as the Orcs came closer, about a dozen of them. At the same time, Faramir came running right in front of them which would have gotten him killed as well if he did not realise the situation quickly.

"Faramir!" Madril warned. The young Captain moved away as Madril gave fusillade to the archer who shot the Orcs dead.

Suddenly they could all see how the battle was beginning to look lost for more and more men were killed by the Orcs that did not seem to grow tired. Death was all around them, and for Míriel, it was difficult to watch all the blood and hear all the screams as men were killed. They looked to Faramir, wondering what to do now.

"We cannot hold them," said Madril. "The city is lost."

"Tell the men to break the company, we ride for Minas Tirith," said Faramir.

Míriel heard something before all the others did, a screech that made her ears hurt more than any other sound had ever done. She looked up into the sky and saw a fell beast - flying creatures of the Nazgul. Upon the Fellbeast sat, of course, one of the Nazgul which only made matters worse. This was the first time Míriel had seen a Nazgul since she and Arwen had defeated them in Rivendell, but it was obvious that they were not dead. Instead, they had exchanged their horses for these beasts they now rode on.

"Pull back to Minas Tirith!" called Faramir.

Horses were grabbed and Míriel mounted hers. As she glanced back she saw that Madril fell to the ground and was stomped by horses and Orcs. There was nothing she could do for the man which was very sad since she had only known him for very short and he had seemed to be a decent man. The main goal now was to ride out of the city, though everyone was not able to get a horse so many ran.

The garrison was followed by three Nazguls who grabbed Men from their horses and tossed them around like toys. They fell to their death when the Nazguls grew tired of them. Míriel turned around and let the reins go, grabbed an arrow and shot an arrow into the Fell beast's stomach which made it screech again and pull back for a moment. It was not enough for it had not been injured much.

As they came closer to Minas Tirith they could see that a white rider was closing in and in front of him there was a small little creature. It was, of course, Gandalf and Pippin that had ridden out for their aid, but what could they do against three Nazguls? They were all dying and Gandalf had no arrows to shoot the Nazguls with.

Suddenly Gandalf raised his staff up above his head and a white light erupted from it. The light travelled all the way to the Nazguls, blinded them and made them turn back and fly away toward the dark clouds that had now spread half the way from Osgiliath to Minas Tirith. Gandalf light was enough to overpower their darkness, and Míriel desperately hoped that one day she would be as great of a Maiar as he. When the Nazguls were gone, they could ride freely toward the city and in through the gate. The courtyard was soon filled with riders, tired and worn and barely alive. Míriel trotted next to Gandalf and Pippin, smiling toward them and thinking that she had been fortunate to come out of that alive. Faramir came riding toward Gandalf.

"Mithrandir!" he called and stopped in front of the Wizard. "They broke our defences. They've taken the bridge and the west bank. Patrallions of Orcs are crossing the river."

"This is all Denethor predicted," a young man with blond hair said whilst holding his horse. "Long has he foreseen this doom." The man was young and handsome but very naive it seemed since he praised Denethor for doing absolutely nothing.

"Foreseen and done nothing," Gandalf muttered. He was right for Denethor could have done much more to protect Osgiliath if he so wanted to. But that man was not right to rule Minas Tirith and if people continued to listen to his words they would soon come to ruin. This angered Gandalf greatly, but he was not as hostile toward Denethor's son for he was now staring at the young Captain whose eyes were fixed on Pippin.

"Faramir? This is not the first halfling that has crossed your path."

Faramir shook his head which confirmed that he had seen Jobbits before. It was not usual for Men to see hobbits trotting around in Gondor, and therefore they could come to the conclusion that he had seen their friends. Míriel started smiling widely and glanced at Pippin. They both thought the same, which was that Faramir had been with Frodo and Sam, that they must be alright.

"You've seen Frodo and Sam!" Pippin said and his eyes lit up as he spoke the names of his friends. Faramir nodded which made a huge rock fall from Míriel's chest. For weeks and weeks had they been worried about the poor Hobbits that they had not seen since Boromir's death, and now finally they got some news of their being.

"Where?" Gandalf asked and now he too seemed excited. Not even the Wizard had been able to see where Frodo and Sam had been. "When?"

"In Ithilien," Faramir answered, but he did not seem happy. "Not two days ago. Gandalf, they're taking the road to the Morgul vale."

"And the pass of Cirith Ungol," Gandalf and seemed concerned.

"What does that mean?" Pippin asked. "What's wrong?"

Both Míriel and Pippin were confused until Míriel managed to put the pieces together. Cirith Ungol was a pass through the Ephel Dúath located near Minas Morgul - the Tower of Dark Sorcery where Sauron ruled. Cirith Ungol, however, was an Orc stronghold that stood watch in that pass and nearby within the mountains was the Shelob's Lair. The Shelob was a huge spider that fed of Goblins and Orcs, and it was somewhere one rarely came out alive from. That was where Frodo and Sam were heading.

"Faramir, tell me everything," Gandalf said. "Tell me all you know."

And so he did, and they sat down to tell their adventures to each other. While Míriel had been away, Pippin had managed to lit the beakers of Minas Tirith without Denethor's knowledge which was a great success. Faramir told them everything about Frodo and Sam, how they were unharmed and very determined of their mission. Faramir knew of the Ring and had initially decided to take it, with Frodo, to Minas Tirith and had it to his father. Sam made him change his mind, though, after he heard what the two had been through and what Boromir had done which had gotten him killed.

What surprised Míriel the most was to hear that the one who was guiding Sam and Frodo was the creature Gollum that had followed the Fellowship since the beginning. Of course, he had continued to follow Frodo for he was bound to the Ring. Even though Gollum's story was a sad one, he was not someone to be trusted which Faramir said as well. He told them that Frodo seemed to trust him and stood up for the creature when Faramir wanted to kill him. After that Gollum had behaved strange and Faramir had warned him not to betray Frodo before they left.

Faramir was a noble young man, and the second son of Denethor, Boromir's little brother. He was the Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien and captain of the White Tower upon Boromir's death. He was born to Denethor and Finduilas of Dol Amroth, but his mother died when he was only five years old. Her death seemed to have changed Denethor greatly and made him the bitter old man he was when Míriel first met him. Faramir and Boromir had been the best of friends and loved each other greatly, although their father was clearly playing favourites among them. Faramir assured them that there was never any rivalry between the brothers and that Boromir protected and helped him.

"Your brother was a brave man," Míriel said and smiled sadly. "One of the bravest I have ever met. When I stood there, unable to do anything but to watch as he... died. He never gave up, he did everything to protect us. What saddens me the most is that I never got to say goodbye or even thank him."

"Boromir knew," Pippin said. "He knew we were thankful, and he knew we were going to survive."

"I always looked up to him," said Faramir. "The Boromir you describe is the brother I know. Though it saddens me that the Ring got a hold of him. I think he got that from my father, for my mother was always the one with a strong mind."

"Then you took after your mother," Míriel said and smiled.

He must have done, for Faramir had the Ring within his grasp and still found a way to let it go and follow his heart. This was not something many people would have been able to do, not even all Elves. The fact that Faramir tried so hard to be like his brother, one that followed orders and was loyal without a doubt, but still did what he deemed was right showed what a character he was. It was something to be very proud of.