INTERESTING TIMES by Erulisse (one L)

[erulissedances]

B2MeM Prompt, Card and Number:i18: Anger (30, Red), Envy (33, Green), Dignity (35, Indigo), Powerlessness (51, Darkness, Darkness), An Empty Chair (183, Story Elements)
Format: Ficlet
Genre:
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Characters: Denethor
Creator’s Notes (optional):Mention of Thorongil and Gandalf
Summary:Denethor begins to despair as Gandalf returns to Minas Tirith.



INTERESTING TIMES

At the top of a high platform stood a throne - revered and empty for these many years. It was dusted and cleaned, kept ready for a person who may not even exist. Denethor sighed as he approached his own chair, stationed at the bottom and to the side of the empty throne. Would a King ever sit upon the throne of Elendil again?

He shook his head. 'Foolishness,' he thought. 'A King could not help Gondor now. Even a warrior such as Thorongil could not help us now.' He felt powerless in the face of the might of Mordor, which drew ever closer to the city walls. The iron fist of Sauron would soon close over his beloved land and he would fail as a Steward of the land.

A frisson of anger ran up his spine. 'I've given my all to Gondor. My every waking thought, my son … my son Boromir, sent away on a fool's errand. My other son wanders uselessly through the wilderness.' He sighed and looked at a banner hanging from the wall.

'I've done better than you, Father," he thought. 'You stabilized our land, but I firmed up our borders. If only I had a warrior like Thorongil, I too might be remembered as a strong Steward of Gondor.' He sighed, a bit of envy tinging his thoughts. He didn't have warriors walking out of legend to aid him. No. He had one son missing, chasing a dream, while the other son had his head in the cloud and was guided by a wizard. A wizard of all people!

The doors at the far end of the room opened and the very wizard of his thoughts strode briskly through. Denethor pulled his dignity around him as if it was armor and seated himself. 'This should be interesting,' he thought.

Comments

[elwendell]

Oh, I like this a lot. You actually make me feel sorry for Denethor here, something few writers do. I can feel his strange mixture of pain,loss and anger.

[erulissedances]

I'm not really a fan of Denethor either, but the prompts seemed to lead to him and he couldn't have been all bad. He was warped by Sauron and the palantir, and I place some of the blame for his problems directly in that area.

Thank you SO much for reading and commenting.

- Erulisse (one L)

[shirebound]

He didn't have warriors walking out of legend to aid him.

If only he had had the foresight to see Hope approaching.

[erulissedances]

Although Hope was indeed approaching, it still rested on a knife's edge. One small thing goes wrong and the Quest fails and all of Middle Earth falls to the Dark.

As always, my friend, thanks for reading and commenting. It means a great deal to me and the other authors.

- Erulisse (one L)

[lindahoyland]

You actually made me feel sorry for Denethor! You are quick. I'm still thinking of my plot.

[erulissedances]

I ended up messing my my times this morning and realized I was actually an hour ahead of myself. So, what the heck. Time to sit down and write to the prompts - LOL. Denethor was a complex character and, like most people, not really all good or all bad, but a mix of both.

- Erulisse (one L)

[senalishia]

You've captured Denethor's mindset really well and made him seem, if not sympathetic, at least understandable.

[erulissedances]

Thanks so much. I think he'd probably accept understandable :-)

- Erulisse (one L)

[kayleearafinwiel]

I feel so sorry for Denethor here - I understand his dark thoughts. I wish he had realized Thorongil, the Hope of Gondor wasn't so very far away after all - on the way there!

[erulissedances]

He wasn't a friend of Thorongil, but he was a practical man. I'm quite sure he would have happily accepted the aid of Aragorn, despite their differences, as long as he protected his position and the throne from that "upstart".

- Erulisse (one L)