Fire and Ice

[fileg]

I have had this small scene trying to get out of my head since I re-read the climbing of Caradhras and wondered how, in all the years I have been reading this book, I had failed to see this quote of Boromir's... An exorcism, so I can sleep. A first draft. Opinions welcomed.



Fire and Ice


Pippin’s heart still raced, though he walked with measured pace beside the Guardsman in black and the Wizard in white, and the bier upon which they carried the flushed and fevered body of Gondor’s new Steward. The tang of oil clung to his skin; the cloying smell of burning, and the grit of ash was everywhere, inescapable, drowning his senses.

In his mind, Pippin was still seeing the old Steward, eyes agleam with flame. He sprang forward, reckless in his madness, brandishing a knife in his right hand and a torch in his left as he stretched out his arms toward his fallen son.

The fine hair on Pip’s arms and neck rose in a chill that tried to make a lie of all the burning. He felt his heart blaze now with cold, as his hands and face had on Caradhras, long ago, in the swirling, blinding, snow.

The steward’s other son stood suddenly beside him, sheltering him and Merry with his body and his cloak from the winds that blew across the Redhorn. Wraping his arms about them, he begged for their comfort, knowing it would come at a cost.

"What do you say to fire?” he heard Boromir ask Gandalf. “The choice seems now between fire and death.”

Looking down at Faramir’s smudged and sweaty face, Pippin could not understand how a father could make such a choice.

Comments

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Oh yes!

[fileg.livejournal.com]

A *Killer* quote, isn't it? It pulled me out of what I was meant to be working on. This was a classic case of what love about these books - fourty years on, they still surprise me every time.

[cruisedirector]

*shivers, whimpers, wails* Beautiful.

[fileg.livejournal.com]

*aw, shucks!*

Not the horsewhipping I would like to be preparing, but a spot that bit like a pitbull.

[undonne.livejournal.com]

The fine hair on Pip’s arms and neck rose in a chill that tried to make a lie of the burning. He felt his heart blaze now with cold, as his hands and face had on Caradhras, long ago, in the swirling, blinding, snow.

This was lovely. So vivid. I literally got a shiver down my spine when I read it.

The steward’s other son stood suddenly beside him, sheltering him and Merry with his body and his cloak from the winds that blew across the Redhorn. Wraping his arms about them, he begged for their comfort, knowing it would come at a cost.

:sniff: I'm still emotional from seeing the TT Extended. The flashback there just makes this all the more tragic and poignent.

[fileg.livejournal.com]

The line gave me a chill when I read it, as did the picture I got in my head when I thought about Caradhras meaning red-horn. One of those moments when Boromir has always been a hero for me, that so many people seemed to overlook before the Bean version. Oh, Blade! And how done in I was as I realized they were trapped in those choices! The question now is - what do I do with it! Not even a drabble - the purity police will have an attack!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_redpanda_/]

Oh...my...that's...OH. Chilling. Excellent. *jealous*

[fileg.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I am often caught by moments like these, especially when I am meant to be writing elsewhere! It was chilling to me when I saw it,and if I kept the sense of that in my translation, I am very pleased.

[cocoajava.livejournal.com]

That was so sadly beautiful. A friend sent me over to see this, knowing my affinity for Faramir, Boromir and Beregond... I'm very glad she did. Well done.

[fileg.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Faramir is nearly always responsible for what I write, even when he seems absent. I am trying to write a different piece in approximately this same *place* - this would not fit in, but it would not let go.

I seem to be most at home with these short bursts.

[seleneheart]

Oh, wonderful! Very chilling, but nice to see things from Pippin's POV. (And I totally agree with him.)

[fileg.livejournal.com]

This pulled me out of the story I am working on -- but it occurs to me now that it could eventually become part of the River of Fallen Stars arc, since it references Pip's friendship with Boromir. I have plans for Pip.

[ribby.livejournal.com]

Wonderful--I love seeing this from Pippin's POV, since we get so little of his reactions, even when he's central to the events.

And your title made me think of Robert Frost's poem, "Fire and Ice": Some say the world will end in fire/ Some say in ice..." One of my favorites of his, and rather appropriate to this, I think.

But I'd love to see more of this!

~Kris