17. No Words of Hope
***
It is still early when they depart. In that grey and cold hour, the men riding with Faramir try to allay the fear and despair in the few gathered to bid them a quiet farewell – friends, fellow soldiers staying behind to defend the walls, wives and sisters who have not left the city. But no words of hope echoing emptily in the stillness can convince them that these men do not ride out to their end.
Faramir says nothing - he cannot tell them that perhaps for him hope ended the night he saw a grey boat in the Anduin.
***
For the "Endings" challenge on tolkien_weekly
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
