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“Have you the rings, brother?”

“Of course!” Boromir fished a small box out of his pocket and tossed it in the air before catching it. “What kind of brother would I be if I lost the wedding rings, a requirement for any bride and groom to tie the knot?”

“Alright, alright, I believe you.” Faramir tugged at the collar of his coat and then adjusted the cuffs. Boromir came over and clapped a hand on his shoulder and gently shook him.

“Relax, brother. You were able to win the Rohirrim over with your charm during your stay after Theoden King’s funeral last year, so you have nothing to worry about with them. It’s the second ceremony in Gondor where you’ll have to work at it—even though most of the people who will be attending already know you and like you.”

“I know. I just want everything to be perfect.” Boromir turned Faramir around to face him and grasped both of his shoulders.

“Brother, I promise you, Éowyn doesn’t want perfection. She wants happiness with you.” Faramir’s jaw tightened as he tried to keep his emotions in check. He gave a curt nod. “Besides, the Rohirrim care even less about perfection. They are going to do things their way, and it is going to be wonderful.”

“Right.” Faramir cleared his throat. “Right.”

“You still have an hour to settle your nerves, yes?”

“Right. I’m just… going to check on the… table settings.”

Boromir nodded and released Faramir’s shoulders. He chuckled when Faramir unnecessarily fixed his shirt again. As the door clicked shut, Boromir glanced down at the box. He smiled as he remembered being asked by both Faramir and Éowyn to hold onto the rings and give them to the bride and groom to give to each other. Éomer was officiating, while Elfhelm was walking Éowyn down the aisle as the only remaining father-figure in her life; at the ceremony in Gondor, Elessar would be officiating. He opened the box to take one last look at the pair of rings inside.

It was empty.

“No… no no no no. No no no no!” He checked his pockets in case the box had opened at some point. Nothing. “How could this have happened? What do I do?”

In other cases where one has lost something, the first thing to do was to retrace one’s steps. He left the room and searched the halls, looking closely at the floor, then returned to the guestroom he was using. He checked the garments he had worn the previous days, his socks, his boots, and stripped the newly-made bedding.

Had the maid who cleaned his room done it? He didn’t want to jump to hasty conclusions, but he couldn’t think of anyone else who had entered the room. And he was short for time; the ceremony was going to start in less than an hour. He left his room and went in search of Éomer King, and when he found him, he asked to speak with him in private.

“What is the matter, my friend? You are so tense it is as if you are the one getting married today!”

“There is a… problem.”

“What sort of problem.” Boromir clenched his jaw and averted his gaze before opening the box. “Where are the rings?”

“I don’t know. I thought they were in here, but when I just had a look, they were gone.”

“Where have you looked?”

“I retraced my steps, searched the halls, searched my room. Nothing.”

“Have you been out to the stables for a ride?” He shook his head. “Have you checked the feast hall?”

“No.”

“Let us go, then. The servants will be preparing for the feast, so there would be more people who may have seen them.”

“Faramir said he was going to check the table settings. I can’t let him find out that I lost the rings.” Éomer rubbed at his chin. “The maid who cleaned my room. I don’t want to accuse her of anything, but she is the only person who has been in my room.”

“She will probably be in the kitchen eating a small lunch before the ceremony. If Faramir is there, it should be alright if you don’t specify what has gone missing, yes?”

“I suppose that could work.”

They went to the feast hall, finding it busy and filled with servants and kitchen staff, but no sign of Faramir. He must have found something else to fret over. Éomer spoke in Rohirric to one of the maids, and she curtsied before disappearing in the kitchen. A few seconds later, the maid they were looking for stepped into the hall.

“My lord?”

“Beomia, you are the one cleaning the guestrooms. Lord Boromir has informed me that something of great importance has vanished from his room.” The girl’s eyes widened and she shook with fear. “Neither of us are accusing you of theft, but we both want to hear from you if you are innocent or if you are responsible. If you confess now, you will only receive a minor punishment.”

“My lord, I swear, I haven’t taken anything! I swear on my dear mother’s life that I haven’t stolen anything!” Éomer lifted a hand.

“I believe you, and I think Lord Boromir believes you, as well.” Boromir nodded once. “Have you by any chance seen a pair of gold rings? Either in the room or perhaps in someone else’s possession?”

“Rings, my lord? No, I haven’t seen any gold rings. I am sorry, my lord.”

“There is nothing to apologize for. I’ll let you return to your meal.” The maid curtsied and fled back into the kitchen.

“Now what?” Boromir asked.

“Have you asked Merry and Pippin?” Boromir frowned.

“Merry and Pippin? No, I haven’t. Have you an idea of where I might find them?” Éomer let out a chuckle and crossed his arms.

“I had to send them outside because they kept wanting to steal a few bites of food.” Boromir laughed.

“I thank you, my friend.” Éomer nodded and then turned to see to last-minute details.

Boromir made his way to the main doors of Meduseld, and after stepping outside, he found the two Hobbits sitting on the front steps, just as Éomer had said. They were huddled close together and whispering.

“Found something of interest, have you?” They yelped and jumped to their feet, hiding their hands behind their backs.

“Nope, nothing of interest!” said Merry.

“Why d’you think that?” asked Pippin.

“Just an assumption.” Then his expression turned serious. “If the two of you aren’t busy, I could really use your help.”

“Sure. What d’you need?”

“Well… this is pretty embarrassing. I was supposed to keep the wedding rings safe and give them to Faramir and Éowyn during the ceremony, but they weren’t inside the box they were kept in. I have looked in places I have been to, but I have not been able to find them. The wedding is only minutes away, and I don’t know if I have enough time to look. But if you help me, then we would be able to cover more ground.”

The air seemed to shift at that moment. Merry and Pippin turned to each other with serious faces and shoulders lifted towards their ears.

“Should we tell ‘im?”

“I think we should.”

Boromir raised a brow at their behavior. Then they moved their arms in front of them and uncurled their hands. Cupped in each of their palms was a single gold ring, wrapped in a handkerchief.

“You two—?”

“We’re sorry! We didn’t mean for you to have to go through all that,” Merry interrupted. “We just…”

“We wanted to give them the rings,” Pippin mumbled. Boromir’s gaze softened.

“We wanted to be a part of it, too, y’know?”

Boromir laid a hand on their shoulders and heave a sigh. His heart felt lighter than it had in a long time. At least the rings weren't lost.

“We’re sorry. Are you mad at us?” Pippin asked.

“I am too relieved to be angry. And it is a joyous day. I would not wish to tarnish it for our friends.” They both appeared to release a breath. “If you wanted to do this, you should have asked me. I would have been happy to give you this role.”

“We know that now. We shouldn’t have done it,” said Merry.

“Well, since you came clean and apologized, you two may take my place, and I am sure the bride and groom will be most pleased.”

“What about the second wedding?” asked Pippin.

“You will have to ask them. Now, come on, we have a wedding to get to."