Prompts: 'Yule' and 'Arrow'
"And stay away!" was the gatekeeper's parting comment as the door was slammed shut in his face. Strider sighed and trudged away from Bree. "Wonderful way to spend Yule, huh?" he muttered sarcastically.
Once he had gone a good distance from the gate, he swung up into a tree and settled down for a cold and uncomfortable night.
A few hours later, he was awoken by the sound of guards walking back and forth along the gate.
"Gatekeeper says a ranger came by a few hours ago, tried to break in, so we should be on our guard."
Listening, Strider very nearly growled. He had merely asked for access into Bree and, when denied, he had left calmly. A smirk touched his lips suddenly. If they felt they needed to be on their guard, he would give them a reason to be on guard all night long. He dropped silently from the tree and drew an arrow from his quiver. He nocked it into the bowstring, aimed and fired. The arrow flew through the air, too fast for the eye to follow, and slammed into the wood right behind the sergeant. He jumped and the group of watchmen erupted into panic. Unnoticed, Strider dashed away, laughing quietly to himself. His heart felt lighter then it had in years. "Happy Yuletide." He whispered to the listening stars.
A/N: Don't ask. I'm not sure where this even came from. *shrugs* And I realize that Aragorn is a mite out of character, but sometimes even the serious ranger has to have a little fun. Besides, I can imagine him being a little bitter and pranking Bree-Folk. Can't you?