DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Lord of the Rings, all rights to J.R.R. Tolkien! :D
"We'll stop here for the night." Elrohir said, dismounting slowly.
As the three elves began to unpack their things and set up camp, Aragorn began to get nervous. He was supposed to be there at sundown, and it was sunset now. They'll just have to wait. He thought as he tethered Roheryn.
As Elladan and Elrohir laid out on their bedrolls and stared up at the sky, Legolas began to climb a tree.
"I'll take first watch." He said.
The Ranger cursed silently. I should have taken first watch. Now it will be nearly impossible to slip past his keen eyes.
The sun was falling fast, and soon the world was dark around them. Elladan was still moving around quietly, trying to get comfortable on the hard ground, but Elrohir was sleeping peacefully.
Aragorn lay awake on his bedroll, trying to fool Legolas that he was asleep. He stayed awake for another hour before Elladan had finally quieted and his breathing evened out into a steady rhythm. His steel gray eyes shot open and he glanced up into the tree directly overhead where Legolas was resting. The elf was gazing out at the shining crescent moon, his blue eyes dazzlingly bright in its light.
Slowly and quietly, the man used all his Ranger training and slipped away from his bedroll and behind the very tree Legolas was in. He bit his lip, considering the open distance he needed to cross in order to get in the right direction.
Then, just as the man was about to steal away into the night, he heard a soft voice break through the silence. It took him a minute to realize it was a voice and not just the trees murmuring amongst themselves in the silent breeze. The melodious voice blended with the air and floated on the wind, making it seem that it was there all along. Aragorn glanced up and finally recognized it.
Legolas was singing softly in his tree while looking out at the beautiful landscape. Aragorn sighed in relief. Thank Illúvatar. He thought. The elf's own voice would hide from him the small sounds the Ranger might make while trying to get away, and it also told him that Legolas' guard was down.
He made a dash for it, creeping through the shadows until he had passed the small clearing and was safely inside the edges of the forest. With a sigh of relief, he laid his hand on the hilt of his sword and made his way to where the deer had fallen just earlier that day.
As he got closer to the place, he spotted a tendril of dark smoke lingering in the sky before being pushed aside by another cloud. He stepped out of the way of the dark trees and studied the scene before him. A tall, cloaked figure was bending over a small campfire, and appeared to be checking on the leg of meat he was roasting. As the Ranger walked closer, the figure glanced up, smiling.
"Ah, so you finally decided to arrive." The man stood up and cast the hood of his cloak back. He had long, dark hair and hazel eyes that glowed eerily in the light of the fire. He wore travel-stained clothing, just as the Rangers normally did, but the weapons leaning against a log nearby were not at all what a Ranger would carry.
"Sit, sit." He said, motioning towards a log across from him that had been pulled near the fire. Aragorn sat cautiously, his hand not leaving the hilt of Andúril.
"I'm Enceladus." He held out his hand for the Ranger to shake, but Aragorn disregarded it. There was something about this man he did not like. Especially since he had wanted to meet him here, alone, after dark.
"And you are?" He questioned, the man's hospitality becoming awkward.
"Strider. You can call me Strider." Aragorn answered, maybe slightly hostile.
"Ah, well, Strider. Now that we are comfortable with one another," He began.
The experienced Ranger knew all too well that this man's hospitality could be a front to encourage him to relax and let his guard down.
"Shall we eat?" He held out a chunk of the juicy deer meat and Aragorn took it, though warily.
"Eat!" Enceladus encouraged, making a show of his biting into his own piece.
Aragorn took a small bite of the meat, and, when he found it to be very delicious and unpoisoned, kept eating slowly.
"Thirsty?" Enceladus asked once the Ranger had finished. The man extended a flask of what appeared to be water over the now smoldering fire.
Aragorn stared at it for a minute, thoughts flying through his head. I shouldn't have accepted this man's food, and drink is even more dangerous. I am going to get myself killed.
"Well?" At Strider's hesitation, he said, "You do know that if I wanted to poison you, I wouldn't do it before I had a chance to speak with you?"
True. Aragorn thought. He took the water and, while Enceladus' back was turned away from him to gather brush for the fire, he waved it past his nose to identify any poisons in it. He smelled none. Carefully, he took a small drink, and, when he discovered it to be water, drank a little more before setting the flask down beside him.
"See?" The man asked after he had put a few more logs on the fire. "You have nothing to worry about."
Suddenly the Ranger's vision began to blur, and he saw the evil glint in Enceladus' eyes. Aragorn began to have trouble making out the man's next words, and the last clear thought he had before pitching forwards off his log was how stupid he had been to accept this man's food.
-
The first thing Aragorn saw when he awoke was Legolas' concerned face staring down at him.
"Aragorn? Can you hear me?" The elf waved a hand in front of the man's eyes, and he reached up and swatted it away.
"Yes, Legolas. I can hear you." He sat up, feeling a little dizzy, but otherwise fine. "What happened?"
"I should be asking you that. When I woke Elrohir to take second watch, we discovered that you were not in camp."
Aragorn closed his eyes and groaned, knowing what would come next.
"We went looking for you, and finally found you here."
He opened his gray eyes a crack.
"You were leaning against that tree over there. Sleeping."
"Legolas—"
"Aragorn—"
They both stopped, each expecting the other to finish their statement.
"What were you doing?" Legolas asked first.
The Ranger sighed, knowing he would have to tell his friend and his brothers the truth.
Aragorn launched into the whole story of what had happened, and, when he had finished, Legolas looked around.
"You sat on logs, you say?"
The Ranger nodded and followed his friend's line of sight. The small clearing was empty, and not even the remains of the campfire were still there.
"Well, where are they?"
Aragorn swallowed. He hadn't thought of that.
"And you ate with him?"
He nodded.
"Are you sure you were not dreaming?"
"Yes, Legolas. I am positive."
Just then Elladan and Elrohir came into view, concerned looks on both of their faces.
"Estel! Where did you go last night? We were worried sick."
"I…I was…" Now that his friend had questioned him about it, the Ranger wasn't so sure himself if it hadn't been merely a bad dream. Then how could I have awoken here? He came to a sudden conclusion. I could have been sleepwalking. "…just…" He glanced down at his gloves and found a slight grease smear on them. Then how could this have gotten there if I had not eaten deer meat last night?
Aragorn told them the story quickly, and their response was much like Legolas'.
"Why do you not believe me?" He asked desperately, trying to get the three elves to understand him.
"Aragorn, no one could have moved those logs without leaving a trace in the dirt and made a campfire just disappear." Elrohir said quietly.
"You are telling me you do not believe I am telling you the truth."
"No, I did not say that."
"Yes, you did. You try to convince me it was all a dream, when I told you it was not. Look!" He pointed at the smudge of grease on his glove. "See? It did happen."
Elladan sighed. "Okay, fine. Let's just leave the subject and go home, okay?"
A look of disbelief crossed the Ranger's features as he saw his brother try to evade the accusation. "Oh, no, muindor nín. You are not going to drop this so easily." His gray eyes swept from one elf to the next, who were all looking down at the dirt and did not look up to meet his gaze.
"I cannot believe you."
"Look, Estel—" Elladan started.
"No. You do not believe me, do you? You think I would lie about this?"
"No, it is not that at all, it's just that it could have just been a dream…" Legolas stepped forward, a repentant look on his face, then his words trailed off and he stepped back again.
"Fine. Don't believe me." He stood and made his way back to the camp, his elven companions followed at a distance. I cannot believe them. They think I would lie about this? Anger boiled inside of him as he reached their small camp and hastily packed his unused bedroll back up. I will prove to them I was not lying. He thought as Elladan, Elrohir, and Legolas all appeared and began to pick up their things. I will.
Well, there you go everyone! I hope you liked chapter two!
REVIEW REPLIES
Jasperslittlesister: I'm glad you like it! And don't worry, I will try my best not to take too long to update. Thanks for reading and reviewing! :D
horseyyay: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I will probably uncover the secret stranger's identity in the next few chapters, so hang in there! Thakns for reading and reviewing! :D
QUESTION OF THE DAY
Which of the weapons from The Lord of the Rings films is your favorite and why?
SONG OF THE DAY
Desert Soul
Artist: Rend Collective Experiment
Mrs King Aragorn