Untitled - BoG-Archive

"Boromir," he said sternly, and his eldest turned reluctantly to face him.
"That is not polite, especially considering that Nanny arranged for this outing. If
you cannot be appreciative, then you will go inside by yourself, is that
understood?"
I was caught off-guard by this reaction – I could not remember ever having
heard the Steward defend me before, and it was very disconcerting.
"Yes, Father," Boromir replied, looking much abashed. He was not an
unkind boy, but he was so impulsive that he often spoke before he thought. "I'm
sorry, Nanny," he went on, turning back toward me, "I didn't mean to hurt your
feelings, but…but there aren't any girl Rangers." He was now so earnest that I
had to hide a smile, and I would have sworn that I saw the corner of Lord
Denethor's mouth twitch upward.
Faramir looked as if he had been thinking something over and had not
liked the conclusion he had come to. "Then where are you sleeping?" he asked me
worriedly. "Are you going to leave us here?"
"I am sleeping in my own bed," I told him gently. Faramir had yet to spend
a night more than one room away from me, and he was still young enough that
he wanted me close by. "But of course you will not be all alone – you will have
Boromir and Haloth to keep you company."
Faramir looked up at me, unconvinced. "Will you tuck me in and sing to
me?"
I kissed his dirty little forehead. "Of course I will," I assured him, and he
seemed much happier.
When Lord Denethor had gone, I set the boys to unloading their packs and
setting up their bedrolls inside the tent. Before they had completed that task, one
of the promised Ithilien Rangers had appeared. Halhigil had been in the Houses
of Healing, having just recovered from a bout of lung illness. "Of course I
volunteered when the Lord Steward asked," he told me, "though the healers were
none too pleased - can't stand being kept in abed when there’s nothing wrong
with me."
“I do not know what you know of children,” I said cautiously, not wanting
to offend him, “but know this about these two – Faramir will climb anything that
looks climbable, and Boromir is… stubborn.”
Halhigil regarded me for a moment, a spark of amusement in his eyes. “I
have none of my own,” he admitted, “but nieces and nephews a-plenty. I will
keep your words in mind, and return your chicks safely to you, miss.”
Boromir and Faramir were dumbstruck by Halhigil’s very presence, and it
took a bit of friendly coaxing on his part before either boy would say a word.
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