The Ithilien Rangers try to recapture their captain during the night, and do not succeed.

Chapter 5: Unfriendly games

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The night had come on fast, black and stifling and was full of ominous rustling noises and the cries of unfamiliar animals.

It was stifling in a cold clammy way, which felt heavy and oppressive and stuck his thin shirt down to his body with freezing sweat.

He kicked at the deep mounds of fallen leaves with his boots as Boromir led him, ugly fat rope round his wrists gleaming nakedly under the occasional slivers of moonlight. He was reminded of a victim being led to the scaffold to hang under the full moon, only there wasn't a full moon. The rough dull scratching of the ropes grated on his mind as his heart burned within him until he was sure he would scream. Anything to break this unbearable silence. Silence and the heavy uncaring thump of his captors boots, never ceasing, never once faltering.

"Surely you don't have to tie me" he had tried to laugh off when those cruel ropes had first been thrust around his hands. Even then he had thought it was a joke, not really believing that it could happen. But the merry making of the men had died down into a dull roar in the background and there had only been his brother.

His brother bringing his face down so close to his while he twisted his hands together until Faramir bit his lip in pain and there had been something in his eyes. Something cold and unflinching and altogether alien. Something terrifying.

Those large hands so much stronger than his own had yanked the ropes hard, and harder, and oh so hard! Until he felt the warm trickle of blood. And there had been a smile on that familiar face, a friendly smile and he had said in a light voice 'Oh come on brother surely its not all that bad!' but his eyes had been full of menace. It was like having double vision and seeing two different Boromirs before him. One was joking, shoving him playfully as he carried on the light hearted game before the men, and the other was cold solid and detached hurting him and wanting to hurt him.

Faramir had blinked back tears of confusion looking to the distant huddles of men he knew they only saw two brothers their heads bent together as if they talked good naturedly. No help there.

'Come you protest like a girl' Boromirs rough words, and then he was being hoisted to his feet by his bound hands. Teeth gritted he had been pulled along roughly further from the others until all sounds of humanity were faded into the dark dank trees. And every step his anger had smouldered until he was sure it would consume him. How dare he be humiliated in this way!

The rope wrenched him forwards suddenly pitching him onto the ground with an impact that drove the breath from him. Looking through his hair and leaves he saw the uncaring solid black shape that must have been his brother’s shoulders. Silence.

The seconds dragged by with his ragged breathing and then slowly but surely his brother began to pull him. That was it, the tmper inside him snapped like a fine thread in a fire. He kicked he struggled he swore and cursed and raged. His arms felt like they were being pulled out of his body, but he fought, he fought with all his strength, soil in his mouth, hair in his eyes, thrashing this way and that fingers grabbing and grabbing and grabbing desperate to find some part of Boromir, any part of Boromir. He wanted to destroy him, he wanted to hurt him and that is all he could think as he fought on and on in the darkness straining like a wild mindless animal to get free.

Boromir's voice was breathless from the effort of trying to drag him. 'So you decided to fight, so you finally decided not to be dragged towards the altar like a sacrificial victim...what are you Faramir a lamb or a ranger..' The laugh rang out raggedly against the stars. But no matter for Faramirs hands had latched on to his leg and they wouldn't let go. Now he was dragging his hateful enemy down, and feeling his hot heavy weight go sprawling across his back.

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What happens next?

• At that moment the shrill cry of horn cuts between the trees, the itilien rangers have come!

• No sound of any rescue reaches the teo brothers as they wrestle