It was a beautiful starry night, and I walked around the deserted city streets lost in thought, reminiscing about a time before I was King. I quietly stole out of the city and tread the path that Gandalf had taken, towards Mount Mindolluin. It was 40 years since I discovered the scion of the Eldest of Trees and Gandalf had long since crossed the seas. I made my way up to that very spot where the sapling had taken root. The moon glistened on the snow capped peaks and my mind was taken back to another snowy mountain and a time when Boromir still lived...

There we were, making our way up Caradhras towards the Redhorn Gate. The snow was gathering higher with every step. Frequently I looked back towards the Halflings. My concern for the little ones growing with every step we took. How much longer could they continue like this? It was evident that this could not go on much longer. Gandalf and I halted and we looked back at our foundering friends once more. This time my gaze fell upon Boromir. He was making his way onward with difficulty, stopping frequently to make a path for the struggling hobbits. I found myself transfixed; the way he brushed his hair out of his eyes, the way his powerful body was moving. Our eyes met, and only then did I notice that my jaw had dropped and my mouth was slightly open. Just then a torrent of stones came crashing down the mountainside at us. We took cover the best we could by pressing up against the mountain-side. Another great boulder fell, and then silence. It was Boromir who spoke first.

"We cannot go further tonight. I fear these stones are aimed at us."

After some debate, we decided that we would rest the night under the miniscule shelter of the ledge above. There was no point in going back while the storm held. We unloaded some of our packs and then settled with our backs to the cliff. There was a gloomy silence. I closed my eyes and began thinking of what we might do. If the storm continued we would surely be buried by morning. I heard my companions stirring and eventually sitting, some on either side of me. It was freezing cold. Further up there would be no shelter at all, from the cold or the stones. Our raiment was no match and gusts of icy wind pierced our clothes. My mind drifted as I struggled to ignore the cold and I began to doze off...

I felt an arm slip around my back and awoke as Boromir drew me close to him. I trembled as I felt my body against his. We sat there, staring into the haze of falling snow, both of us concentrating on where we touched. Hours passed this way, our hands eventually met and our fingers intertwined. He brought my hand up to his lips and gently blew warm air onto my fingers. He rested his head on my shoulder and the sound of his breathing comforted me into a light sleep.

Boromir began to stir, and I awoke. He kissed me gently on my brow as he got up and disappeared into the falling snow. By the time he returned with Gandalf the snow was nearly covering the hobbits.

"This will be the death of the Halflings, we must do something. What do you say to a fire?"

After lifting our four small friends out of their nests of snow, we kindled a fire out of the wood Boromir had urged us to bring along. The wood burned quickly, and before we knew it we had placed the last log on the blaze. The morning was not far off, and the snowfall had slowed. Silently, we came to a consensus that we would have to surrender to Caradhras and turn back. Eyes fell on Gandalf to lead the way.

"If Gandalf would go before us with a bright flame, he might melt a path for you," said Legolas, still light of heart.

"I cannot burn snow" the wizard said.

"When heads are at a loss bodies must serve. The strongest of us must seek a way" Boromir looked at me and a smile began to grow on his face.

"Then let us force a path thither, you and I!" I answered.

We rose and made our way through the snow in the direction we had come. He was before me, and at times he seemed to be swimming through the snow. I watched his muscular back and marveled at his strength. We made our way around a corner and the snow seemed to lessen gradually. After some great difficulty we reached a place where the snow was merely as white moss on the grass. In exhaustion we both lay on the ground.

After a few moments my thoughts drifted back to how our bodies were so close in the hours before. I looked at him and he returned my stare. Holding his gaze, I crawled closer to him and we kissed. His lips were so soft...

That was the first time we made love, but not the last. I love him more than I thought was ever possible and not a day goes by that I don't honor his memory. As I sit here on these barren slopes, I look upon my realm, and try to imagine Boromir at a time when he went freely through Gondor. Though the void in my heart grows more each day, I go on, knowing that a part of him will forever live in these lands. One day we will be together again, we are not bound forever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory...

I'm in love with you
And it's crushing my heart
All I want is you
To take me into your arms
When love and death embrace...
-HIM "When Love and Death Embrace"