The Last Ring-bearer - Kirill Yeskov [52]
…The fort of Emyn Arnen, now the official residence of His Highness the Prince of Ithilien, was not, strictly speaking, a fort. It was a log house of monumental proportions, with three floors, an unbelievably labyrinthine plan, and a cornucopia of architectural excesses: all sorts of turrets, dormers, and outside galleries. Nevertheless, the whole thing looked surprisingly harmonious. One could see the hand of the master craftsmen of Angmar in the construction – it is there, in the forests of the far North, that this wood-building technique flourishes. The house was impeccably positioned from the landscaping standpoint, but horribly from a military one, not protecting anything. Besides, the unknown fortification 'experts' that had built the stockade around it had done it in such an obvious revulsion for their craft that it could only serve as an exhibit for the relevant course at the Academy of Military Engineering: "How not to build external fortifications: find eight mistakes." This must have been why Emyn Arnen had been abandoned by the Mordorians without a fight as indefensible, and passed to its current owners intact.
It was not quite clear, actually, who these new owners were. The Prince of Ithilien could only be called such in jest, as he was not permitted to even leave the fort alone. Much to her surprise, his guest Éowyn, the sister of the King of the Mark of Rohan, had discovered that she shared the prince's weird status. She had asked for her sword back without a second thought, adding jokingly that she didn't feel quite dressed without it, and got a joke in response: "A pretty girl looks even prettier underdressed." Éowyn frowned in irritation: even by her uninhibited taste this compliment by a lieutenant of the White Company (forty men tasked by Aragorn to their protection) bordered on a faux pas. She made a note for herself to be on more official terms with this bunch from now on, and requested a meeting with the company's commander, Captain Beregond.
After all, every joke has its limits: they are not in Minas Tirith any more, walking these woods unarmed, while there may still be goblins about, is simply unsafe. – Oh, Her Highness has nothing to fear in this respect; the goblins are her bodyguards' problem. – Does the Captain mean to say that those four thugs are going to accompany her everywhere? – Yes, certainly, and this is by direct order of His Majesty; although they can be replaced, if Her Highness dislikes these four. – By the way, Aragorn is neither her sovereign nor guardian, and if this is how it's going to be, she's coming back to Minas Tirith right away… actually, to Edoras, not Minas Tirith! – Unfortunately, this would be impossible without a written order from His Majesty. – So… not to put too fine a face on it, is she a prisoner? – Why, Your Highness! Prisoners stay under lock and key, whereas you can ride anywhere you want. Even to Minas Morgul, if you wish, but only with bodyguards and unarmed.
Strangely, only now did Éowyn realize that Faramir's lack of a sword could be due to earthly reasons rather than the prince's poetic disposition.
By process of elimination it would seem that Beregond was the real master of Ithilien, but one only had to see him move charily through the corridors of the fort, avoiding eye contact with his prisoner, to understand that this was rank nonsense. The captain was a ruined man, because he knew that he had guarded Denethor's chambers on that tragic day and that he was the one who announced the King's suicide to the public – that is, he knew, but he could not remember a thing. His memory of that nightmarish day sported a large charred hole, in which Mithrandir's whitish shadow flitted sometimes; the knight seemed to have had a hand in those events, but Beregond could not figure it out. It is hard to say what prevented the captain from taking his own life; perhaps he realized that by doing so he would have accepted the guilt for the crime, to the delight of the real murderers. In Minas Tirith a wall of scorn had surrounded