Amarie was walking to the palace with decided pace, lowering her gaze whenever she met someone of noble blood.

For it was the way a maid had to behave with them.

She was attractive, that was evident. Her long, dark hair smelled of jasmine; a jasmine perfumed soap to be exact. It was the only luxury she could afford with the little money she had; something she could never give up. Her eyes were green like the Pelennor Fields; bright and showing a great pride that sometimes she found hard to repress when dealing with haughty nobles.

Some days before, the Steward had summoned a nationwide assembly, declaring that he needed new servants that were young and strong, who would live and work in the palace. Istion, Amarie's brother, was working there as a stableman, and had helped his sister to be hired as maid.

This was not her first time working as a maid, in fact, she had worked for a noble family in Edoras some time before. But soon after she had begun, her master had approached her with sexual demands; and when she had refused him, he had simply sent her away, telling his wife that the girl had tried something on him.

It was a lie, obviously; but who would have believed her? A simple maid had no rights among those people.

The palace was quite large. It was situated under the White Tower that stood erect and proud, hurtling through the horizon; so high that she hardly could see its tip as she neared its steps. Once entered, she handed over the admission document that had been given her the day before. An old woman took her arm and guided her to the lower part of the building, the stronghold of cooks, dressmakers, maids and servants. They passed long corridors that lead to the kitchens, where Amarie found that a dozen of cooks were busying themselves preparing the meal for the Steward and his sons.

Amarie was so excited to be hired to work in the palace; firstly because she would be nearer to her beloved brother, though she was sure they would not have many oppertunities to be together. And secondly because her wages here would be significantly larger than her previous employer's. Her only problem was her pride, especially in the face of noblmen and noblewomen; but she had promised to Istion that she would behave.

"Good morning Miss," an old butler greeted her. "We were waiting for your arrival. Istion had told us about his little sister. I'm sure we will soon be like family to you, for we are all the same here. We are all servants, and we must help each other. The Steward can be quite demanding."

Amarie just nodded, before turning her attentions to the old woman who neared the butler. She was probably his wife.

"Nice to meet you, darling" she said, protectively taking the girl's hand. "My name is Gwen, and I'm here to help you learn the palace's rules".

"My name is Amarie" the girl politely replied, hinting a smile. "I've been hired as a maid..."

"We know," the butler said, his stern pose replaced by a sorrowful one. "You have been allocated to the second floor, to serve the Steward's sons. By far the worst creatures in all of Gondor!"

"Shut up, you old bore!" his wife promptly scolded him, an eyebrow dangerously raised. "Don't scare the poor girl!"

"She must know! She will work there, and she must know how to behave!" was the man's reply as he looked straight at Amarie.

"They are the most haughty, debauched, spoilt creatures I've ever met! Try and stay away from them! There have been others before you. They had bedded them all. Only to send them away once they had lost interest in them. Aranel, your supervisor, was one of them..."

"Aranel was a scrubber!" Gwen sternly replied, while Amarie was just looked at them, trying desperated to understand what they talking about. "She practically jumped on Lord Boromir, pretending to be in love with him! What nonsense!"

The old woman just shook her head and tugged at Amarie's hand, leading her to the stairs and to the second floor.

"This is your room" she told her once they arrived, opening a small door at the end of the corridor.

The bed was against the wall, and there was no writing desk or any books to read. Luckily for her there was a huge window, and Amarie smiled to see the sun enter the small room. She would have some light in here at least.

"You will eat with us in the kitchens during meals; but now you must wear your apron and immediately go and clean the Lords' rooms. If you should ever see them, remember... step aside, bow your head and curtsy. Denethor would have you flogged if you are even remotely differential to his sons." Gwen told her, as she pointed to the two doors situated at the other side of the corridor. "Those are their chambers. Go and clean them. We know that you are honest for you are Istion sister, so I'll save you the humiliation of having to be reminded about not taking anything from in there... but Aranel will do it. She's somewhat jealous of you..."

"Of me?" Amarie asked, baffled. "I don't even know who she is!"

"Oh, but she knows you," was the woman's reply. "She had an affair with the Lord Boromir, the older brother. It seems that she claimed to be pregnant, in order to force him to give her a lot of money. But he is stubborn and proud, and would have never have accepted her extorsion. He has sent her to the other wing of the palace, instead of sending her away; so I don't believe he's as harsh as they say..." here she trailed off. "But...we'll see you later. Now I should go..." And with that the older woman was off, leaving Amarie to fend for herself on the second floor.

Amarie looked at herself into the minuscule mirror behind her door. Her simple, dark blue dress was the one she would wear while working. She settled the apron, arranging her long hair in a ponytail, her lithe form fitting perfectly in the ample gown. She was just double-checking that she was indeed presentable before stepping out of her room, cleaning supplies in hand.

Sighing, she walked to the first of the doors Gwen had pointed to, and knocked. Peering inside, her face grew pale when she saw that she was not alone.

"I-I'm sorry milord. I thought I could clean this room" she said apologetically, bowing her head and managing to curtsy, despite the fact her arms were full of brooms and a smattering of other cleaning supplies.

Boromir was sitting at the wide desk, scribbling something on what seemed to be a diary. He nodded and gestured for her to enter, without raising his head from the book, his lips slightly pursed in concentration.

"Just go ahead, I am almost finished here." he said quietly, flashing her a glance and the hint of a smile. "You can start in the meantime."

"Yes milord" she nodded, finally raising her head and hurrying herself to take a duster to clean the high bookshelf that was full of ancient, heavy volumes. Amarie was observing them with longing and even admiration. It would have been wonderful to read them.

Without noticing, she had started to softly sing a gondorian love song, as she changed his bedding; taking off the dirty sheets and replacing them with clean ones. Istion had always told her that she had a particular talent for singing, and that she sang like a nightingale, but Amarie had always laughed out loudly at that remark. To her, singing was just a pleasurable diversion.

Stopping his writing for a moment, Boromir raised his head, shaking it slightly and smiling to himself. He wasn't used to that. Usually the servants merely curtsied and bowed in his presence, speaking only when spoken to. By her behaviour, it was evident that she yet had to hear all the rumours about him and Faramir; rumours that spread quickly among the servants; rumours of which both he and his brother were well aware of. But they preferred to let the servants gossip, knowing full well that their father would likely send away whoever dared speak ill of his sons, should he ever find the source of the rumours.

A few minutes later, he was stood and put the diary away in one of the desk's drawers, then turned to look at the girl.

"Don't bother to dust the desk here." he said kindly, pointing at the mess of sheets, books and personal effects scattered here and there over the dark wood. "I will manage to put it in order later."

"As you wish, milord" the girl smiled, bowing her head again and resuming her work, glancing at him now and then.

He wasn't harsh at all, and she couldn't understand how people could say that he was one of the worst creatures in Gondor.

"Milord?" she asked then after a while, overwhelmed by curiosity and just hoping that he would not have been mad at her. "I'm new to the palace... and... I just wanted to know... who are you? Are you Lord Boromir or...the Lord Faramir?"

"Boromir." he said simply, while rummaging in his wardrobe to search for a cloak, collecting his gloves and a black leather vest along the way. "Have you arrived today? For I've heard something on the subject in the stables early this morning, but to tell the truth, I didn't pay too much attention to it, nor did I ask anything about the matter. I was late for a meeting; I couldn't linger."

“I’ve only arrived here a half an hour ago, actually.” she smiled softly, glancing at him. “I sleep in the room at the end of the corridor, and I’ve been assigned to be you and Lord Faramir’s maid, milord. If you should need anything, all you need to do is just call me."

Having said that she turned to look at him, bowing her head again.

“I’m finished here.”

"Good." Boromir nodded, as he finished lacing the vest, and proceeded to put on the cloak. "I'm going out with my brother, so you'll have his room empty as well, so there won't be any nuisances to hamper your work..."

He was still smirking and slipping on his gloves when Faramir himself opened the door, cloaked and apparently ready to leave, halting in the doorway as soon as he acknowledged the girl's presence.

"Ready, little brother?" Boromir asked, and then nodded towards Amarie when he noticed that the other was staring quizzically at her. "She's our new maid. Arrived just today."

"Oh." Faramir smiled, entering the room to near the two. "I am pleased to meet you, then." he said to the girl, bowing his head slightly.

Remembering Gwen's words, Amarie bowed her head and hinted a smile.

"It's my pleasure, Lord Faramir. As your brother already knows, I'm staying in the room at the end of the corridor and I've been assigned to you. So if you should need a hot bath, or... say something to eat, or anything else...well I'm at your command, milord".

"Much obliged." the young man nodded, his smile unwavering. "I hope you will fit in nicely here. May I know your name?"

"My name is Amarie, milord" she smiled again, her eyes meeting his blue ones for the first time, and noticing how beautiful he was. Not as handsome as his brother, yet his face showed gentleness and intelligence.

"I'll be fine here, thank you. I miss my books, maybe; but I do not think I'll have any time to read anyhow, so... it's not a problem really, for now..."

"Well, Amarie," Faramir began, his brother staring curiously at them, "you can knock at my door and ask for a book sometime, I have many in my room. The library is usually locked, and if father would ever find you there he wouldn't be happy at all, so I can't give you the key. But you can ask me in case you're in the mood for a good read; or you can ask Boromir." His eyes met his brother's in agreement.

"Of course. She's already seen that I have plenty of books here." was the older brother's answer.

"Really?" she asked, baffled, eyeing the two and smiling warmly. "Thank you my lords. But...I don't want to bother you, I've noticed that you are both going out so...just have fun..."

"Thank you."

Both brothers smiled warmly at her before exiting the room, but none of them even acknowledged an approaching maid, walking towards them from the stairs. The maid bowed her head when passing them by, and then stalked menacingly towards Amarie, a stern expression on her face.

"What are you lingering in the middle of the hallway for? You're supposed to be working!"

"Who are you?" Amarie said harshly. "And what do you want? Can't you see I've barely just finished Lord Boromir's room?"

"Then learn to move to the next room straightaway, instead of dawdling in the hall, fluttering your eyelashes at our lords." the other replied coldly, taking broom, dustpan and dusters from her hands and walking to Faramir's room, opening the door and stepping in. "I am Aranel. I will supervise you." she added then, "And be careful with the books when you dust the bookcase. Lord Faramir is very fond of them."

"I know that" she said plainly, looking at her with a disgusted expression. She was the one that had tried to extort money out of Lord Boromir. Gwen was right. She was jealous of her, and quite badly. But Amarie was not easily intimidated.

"Give me these." Amarie scolded her, taking again her brooms. "These are my duties now. So just go away where he had sent you. Can't you see that he is ignoring you? And mark my words. I'm not like you. I'm here to work; not to bed my masters and then try to extort some money. So go away or I'll tell them that you are bothering me. For I've seen that they really don't like you..."

"What are you pretending to know?" Aranel snapped, arms folded and staring at the other. "You may have just arrived, but you will learn to know them both. They will bed you just to have some fun, and then they will discard you as if you were some worthless tavern wench, even if you aren't."

"Oh I'm so sorry for you, honey" Amarie said sarcastically, gripping the broom, trying to contain her pent-up anger.

"I'm not like you. Don't dare think that I would bed them. I want a normal life; and I don't bed men just so they can have a little fun. You are the wench, not me. You." Amarie glared at the other woman, "I know not to trust them. So stop worrying about my well being and go away, or you'll learn that I can be very dangerous. I've grown up in the street. I know how to fight..." Aranel stood motionless.

"And you'll soon find yourself back on the street if you don't learn how to behave. Being differential and nice to our lords would maybe help you to stay; but being polite towards colleagues would help you to avoid serious troubles. Try to remember that."

With those words she turned around and exited the room, without turning back at all.

Sighing deeply, Amarie just stared at the door for a while, unmoving, trying to gather her thoughts.

Aranel meant trouble. And from what she understood, she would try anything to have Amarie sent elsewhere, even the street, just to be sure that no one else could be with Boromir, believing that he might one day want her back.

But this wasn't the only thing Amarie was worried about. Maybe that butler wasn't wrong. Maybe those two were really dangerous.

But she was strong, and would stand her ground no matter what. She didn't need a broken heart, or the shame of having a bastard child, which was the unfortunate case with many of her friends. They would never bed her, she would be sure of that. Though Aranel's words did explain why they had been so kind towards her; their fun was already beginning.

It was late that afternoon when Faramir knocked at her door, hinting a smile when she opened.

"I know that you have worked all day" he began, as if apologizing to have disturbed her, "but there is something I must ask of you.. both I and Boromir would be very grateful if you could arrange a bath for us."

"Of course milord." she just replied, somewhat coldly, bowing her head and curtsying, walking past him to reach his bedchamber. Once inside, she opened the small door that led to his private bathroom, putting a big pot full of water to warm onto the fire.

While his water was warming, Amarie just walked to Boromir's chamber to do the same; barely greeting him, looking at the floor all the time, just to avoid his eyes.

Once the water was warm enough, she dragged the pot to the bathroom with great effort, pouring it into the large tub along with some scented soap.

"Thank you" Boromir said from the doorframe, leaning against it. "You are allowed to rest tomorrow, after you've made the beds. Do not worry about cleaning the rooms. There will be no need to since you've done everything so accurately today."

"I'm just doing my job" she replied curtly, bowing her head and exiting his room, relieved to not have to deal with him anymore.

Then she returned to Faramir's room. She decided not to let him, or Boromir, understand just how much work this task involved, even if she knew that after that first day, she would have to spend the whole night trying to regain her strength.

Thus she was not aware that her usually bright green eyes were clouded with worry and rage, or that her manners towards the two brothers had completely changed from that morning.

Pouring some oil into Faramir's tub, she almost jumped out of her skin when she sensed that he was at her back, and probably had been staring at her for quite a while.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked plainly, staring worriedly at Amarie when she turned to face him. "Boromir, too, has acknowledged that.. well, that you're behaving somewhat differently..."

Sighing deeply, the maid stood to face him, a stern expression on her face. She wasn't afraid of him and her things were still packed. She could leave in less than five minutes.

"Lord Faramir...I'm here to do my job; nothing more, nothing less" she began, crossing her arms on her chest. "You can send me away right now, if you like. I want to make this clear, even if it sounds inproper to you rich people that one of my class speaks to you in such fashion; I am not willing to come to your bed. It won't be the first time that I have been asked to be more than a maid; and so you know, I never give in. Never. I have my values. I am not like Aranel. So I am sorry if my being friendly this morning has caused you to believe that your fun had begun. I am not one of your toys..."

"Wha--"

Faramir didn't even end the sentence, too astonished for a moment to be able to think clearly. He shook his head at once, crossing his arms across the chest, and didn't avert his eyes as he neared the girl.

"I suppose that Aranel is the one who told you such things," he said quietly, sighing deeply when the young girl nodded. "Then you might want to know also what she did to my brother. I think you already know something about what has occurred between them, so I will only tell you that she slipped into his bed, claiming to be in love with him and such nonsense. Then one afternoon, a few months later, she went to him saying that she was pregnant and that he would have to mantain both her and the alleged baby. Of course she wasn't expecting any child, I suppose that she was also seeing someone else and trying to... well, to conceive. Boromir believed her at first, he didn't have any reason to doubt her word. It was when she refused to see the healer that he began to understand what she was up to..."

“She was not forced to make love to him?” Amarie said stubbornly, sighing deeply and crossing her arms on her chest, looking intensely at him. Was it possible? Was it possible that she had been so wrong about them? Faramir’s eyes showed only tenderness and concern, not lust as those of her previous master. Maybe he was right. Afterall, Aranel didn’t seem like someone you could trust.

“All right, all right…" she sighed, "I must tell you that Aranel came to me this morning accusing me of standing in the hall, fluttering my eyelashes at you and your brother, instead of doing my job. And..well she has somewhat threatened me; i suspect to create some problems with you, so to force you to send me away. I don’t know you and I usually don't trust anyone, milord." she looked intently into his eyes, "But you can be more than sure that if you were as she said, your games would be wasted with me. I would prefer to be flogged, rather than have my heart broken in a million pieces and have to read the shame on my brother’s face…”

"No one will ever force you to do anything," Faramir replied decided quickly, blue eyes unwavering. "Boromir certainly didn't force Aranel, you can be sure of that.. and there are other things that have happened in the past that you don't know about, but it's not up to me to inform you. Sometimes I find myself blaming Boromir for not having sent her away, after all he's been through because of her..." he shook his head then, and shrugged. "Just try to trust us, rather than trusting Aranel. That's all I ask of you."

“I will try” she just nodded, bowing her head. She suddenly looked tired.

“Is there something else I can do for you milord?” the girl then asked, clearly desiring some time alone.

What could have happened that she didn’t know? Tomorrow she would ask Gwen, for it seemed that the old lady was quite well informed about gossip concerning the brothers of Gondor.

"Yes, there is something." he said quietly, smiling. "Go to your room, and rest. I promise that we won't bother you again... well, before tomorrow, at least."

"It's no bother, milord" she answered politely, hinting a smile before to walk to the door. "It's my job..."

Before heading back to her room, Amarie knocked lightly at Boromir's door, entering when he asked her to.

"I was wondering if there was anything else you needed." she said, bowing her head.

Boromir raised his head to look at her for a moment, as he finished dressing, and smiled slightly.

"No, thank you." he said and then, remembering her fondness for books, he nodded towards the wide bookcase standing behind his back. "Do you wish to borrow a book or two? You risk getting awfully bored this night, with nothing else to do."

"I'll be too tired this night to even think about reading." she just replied plainly, bowing again and wishing him a good night before to closing his door and retiring to her room; immediately laying on the bed, without even worrying to undress herself.