Chapter 4

"Where are you from?" Aragorn started as he was given free range. This girl interested him for days and he was determined to get to the bottom of all that she was.

Kida Valentine tilted her head. "Um, Chicago. It's across the sea." The way she said it had him disbelieving, but he had never heard of such a place. either way he didn't know what kind of question to ask about this Chicago place.

He moved on. "And this Tolkien man? What is he to you really? Did he teach you Elvish as well?" Aragorn quizzed her as the thoughts popped up.

"He's a scholar, for lack of a better word." Kida gave a short laugh like she had thought of a joke. Her hand tucked loose yellow hairs behind her ear and Aragorn could see the profile of her petite face. "I idolize him, and no, he didn't teach me. I taught myself, and I don't know a whole lot either, so please don't quiz me on it."

This made him think, just for a moment, that maybe he could teach her what she didn't know. But that felt like such an odd thing for someone who at this point was just a traveling acquaintance. And this Tolkien man, if he had such wisdom, why had Aragorn never heard rumor of his name, even if the man was dead now. According to Kida at least.

He would dwell on it another time, changing subject. "Are you married?"

The girl finally lifted her head to look at him. Her nicely shaped brow was furrowed, as if this was odd. "No! I haven't... been courted by a man in a year, and I never married." She said quickly, defensively.

"Why not? Many women your age have a child or more by now." Aragorn went on without pause. It never crossed his mind this may be a subject not to press for details in. He had a curiosity he rarely had anymore, over this girl.

Kida bit her lip and looked away again. "Um, I'm not exactly wife material, if you hadn't noticed." She picked at the metal strings of her violin. "I sword fight, wear pants, jump on ringwraiths-" she giggled slightly. "And besides, I haven't liked any of the guys who liked me."

He saw her discomfort and took mercy, as he had no more pressing questions about who she courted. When his mouth opened, the first thing on his mind slipped out. "Why do you know my name?"

"Because..." She trailed off with thought and looked up at him. Any upset in her eyes had disappeared, replaced with something similar to pity. "Tolkien told me your story. I don't know how he knows anything, really, so don't ask. But you look like I pictured, sort of."

He frowned. He wanted to know exactly what she told him not to ask. It would do him no well if she didn't know, but it still felt like she was hiding things from him. "Fine." He bit out despite his wishes to not leave it at that alone.

"Any thing else you want to know?" She asked him, turning the tables slightly.

"Plenty." He answered and sat up a little straighter against the rock slab behind them both. "But we will stop for now as soon as you tell me why you were so sad a moment ago."

A long, pregnant pause followed. Like she was trying to think of exactly how to articulate the answer. There seemed to be a lot she had to say, and Aragorn expected it. She had said herself a while ago she wasn't the kind to gush, so this sort of conversation would be new to both of them. Aragorn never tended to ask what was wrong with anyone emotionally.

Kida took a breath before saying anything. "I don't know how to get home. I just sort of appeared, right? So I have no idea why I am here, or how I even got here." She began like ticking things off a list, then moving on. "Then I try and keep Frodo from being hurt, but I can't. Everything will be set in stone and I just feel nothing but all these nerves coursing through me in anticipation of what will happen next."

Now it was Aragorn who was feeling the pity. "So I'm stuck in this place, can't help anyone, and all I have from home is my violin and my squirrel that right now is on a horse somewhere with a half dead Frodo and Arwen. I feel stranded, lonely, left out, and just damn sick." A few tears found their way out her eyes and onto her cheeks.

Aragorn was not a comforting man. He was a ranger. A hunter. A man meant to be king. Far be it for him to claim any emotional brilliance of any kind. Despite that, everything, he closed the space between himself and wrapped his arms around the girl in an embrace. Her warmth seeped into him as his went to her, Kida's arms half snaking around his waist as she ceased her crying.

They sat for a long while because Aragorn couldn't bring himself to let go. Even through hearing the hobbits whisper, through hearing them go to bed. It had been longer than he liked since he held anyone, and that had been Arwen herself. She never liked long embraces and the silks she wore kept her cool to touch. It never felt like this to be with her, and there was this biting regret that he enjoyed Kida's loose hug so much more.

He was growing slightly tired when he realized that the girl against him had been asleep. Her violin had slipped off her lap at some point and he hadn't even noticed it. Aragorn pulled away just enough to place his mouth on her forehead, pausing at the smell of her hair, like nectar and cream. Then he pulled away, leaving a kiss behind on her pale skin.

Careful not to wake Kida he took the time to make her a bed by the embers of a failing fire, moving her violin as he moved her to it. She then lied under a thin blanket, and while Aragorn's attention had been to sleep sitting up at the head of the camp to play guard, he changed his mind. He set it so he could lie next to Kida as she slept. It was unknown to him why he did it, but he went to sleep while looking at her face, even if it was pressed into a soft pack that played pillow, squishing her young features.

Kida woke up when Merry began nudging her. "We're packing up, Kida." He told her and then walked away.

Sitting up, she was a little confused as her blanket fell off her. She knew she fell asleep when hugging Aragorn. He had to have moved her at some point. Being a good sport about waking up, especially since it was actually a light morning, so they must have slept in some, she was quick to help pack. She carried her violin on her back as usual, and a bag from Bill. Aragorn wanted to lighten up the horse so they could move quickly the next few days.

"At this speed we are less than two days from Rivendell." Aragorn said a few hours in as they continued through the Trollshaws.

Their group was closer together, though Kida stood at the back of it solely to keep the speed up. She didn't want the hobbits to fall behind with their sort legs. It worried her more now that they were in a hurry than it had the last few days, when they could stop and wait for them to catch up. At the very least she made sure that she was still in ear shot of Aragorn when her turned around to tell them anything. That meant she was roughly ten feet from him.

Just after Aragorn said that, Kida tripped over a root with a squeak but managed to keep her footing. "I have not seen this many roots in one place since my Aunt Clara stopped dying her hair!" She mumbled, disgruntled.

"I have no idea what that means." Aragorn called back, obviously hearing her even when it seemed the three much closer hobbits didn't. "But you should watch your step."

Kida laughed and tripped again, almost falling fully this time. But at least she wasn't the only one having trouble as Pippin fell flat on his face. Merry pulled him up roughly and they went on. "Hey Strider! Maybe we should find a safer path to Rivendell." She spoke up to him.

He turned back as the pony huffed, hoof catching slightly. "Alright. Wait here. I will find a better path." Aragorn told them and dropped what he was carrying.

Kida quickly ditched her bag and violin to go after him. She hopped over a rock to get to his side, in the thicket of the forest. "You should have waited with the hobbits." He told her.

"What trouble can they get into? All there is to eat is apples and bread at this point, it's day time. For a moment nobody is after us." Kida listed off and scanned the forest for any sign of a safer path.

She tripped again, Aragorn catching her around the waist just as her hands went out to save herself. "Yes, I meant for your benefit more than theirs. You are very clumsy." He chuckled and steadied her.

Kida got her composure back and stopped helping, watching her feet only. "I'm not usually. I just don't live anywhere near a forest. I am not used to closely compacted trees." She defended herself.

"I can easily believe that." He agreed with a mocking tone.

They walked through at a slight curve in the woods. It felt different, in a really good way, to not be at the back of the group again even though she was still technically following Aragorn in both situations. But eventually even she could get incredibly impatient. Kida went to the lowest hanging branch and jumped up onto it. Aragorn stopped walking when he noticed her gone and looked up at she was nearly halfway to the top of the tree.

"For not having a lot of trees, you sure can climb one like an elf!" He called up, hand cupped around his mouth.

Leaning over a branch, she looked down at him. "I spent four years climbing ropes. Trees are like stairs in comparison." Kida called back, once again thanking gym class in high school.

She climbed up to the top, keeping it in mind where they had come from. Standing on a bending branch, a little nervous, she shoved through a thick of leaves and had peeked out at the endless tree tops. The view was breath taking. Shades of green changing, the trees dipping in height and thickness in places, far out in every direction. Above the trees there was a soft breeze as well, blowing her hair around her face.

She heard the creak of branches and for a moment panicked thinking she was going to fall. Instead Aragorn lifted up a tree away from her, looking much more casual than she did, gripping branches to save her life. He looked over the trees much quicker than she did. He turned to her with a light smirk.

"Enjoying the view?" She smiled as he asked, pushed her hair out of her face.

"Yes!" She agreed breathlessly, looking out to the east again. Never in her life had she seen so many trees, not even when traveling, not even in woodsy Vermont. Vermont had nothing on Middle Earth. "You can't even see the edge of the forest."

"We won't be out of these woods until morning, I believe." Aragorn shifted, leaves rustling, the branch he stood on creaking.

Kida was more excited than she should be. But these two days between Trollshaw and Rivendell were completely unknown for her. She couldn't wait to know what happens, live through it, even if it was just walking and idle chat. It was views like this that made it really worth something. Made her feel like she could live without home for a while longer.

Aragorn seemed to let her have her moment before speaking up. "I found a path. We should get back to the hobbits before they get too relaxed."

"Right." She ducked down, a twig hitting her nose.

They climbed down, Aragorn a little faster than her. He stood waiting on the forest floor as she stood on the bottom branch, but jumping down that last six feet was a bit nerve wracking, even if she had just days ago jumped of a fourteen foot beam. The man waiting for her held out his arms. "Come on, I'll catch you."

Kida huffed but trusted him. She slid off the branch, being pulled into him as he caught her. Their foreheads hit together with a small thud, but it didn't hurt. It only made Kida laugh to herself as she was placed down slowly. Her foot went back to step away but he held her there for a moment. Dumbfounded, she stood there, his arms still around her.

"Are you alright?" Kida asked as Aragorn finally stepped away from her.

He smiled his usual charismatic smile, putting his hand on her head like she was a child. "Of course. Let's go now."

They walked back quicker than they had reached that point. Immediately they were on the move again. Everyone had to endure ten more minutes of tripping roots before reaching the path that Aragorn had seen. After that, the walk was easier, and even quicker now that there was no pause because of nearly falling over anything. Kida was still all the way at the back, but it was easier this time as Aragorn whistled in front. Talking would be better, but she enjoyed the sound either way.

Arriving to Rivendell felt like it was a bigger thing than Kida expected. Everyone was stripped of what they were carrying by elves who offered to lead the way to where they would stay. Kida personally was herded away from the others and offered not only a bath but endless piles of clothing. After bathing she looked over the clothing laid out in her temporary room.

There was an elf steward there who asked Kida if she would like help getting dressed. "No, not really, but don't you have pants? Something warm or thick?" Kida practically pleaded, holding of the blanket around her as well as lifting a thin silk dress up.

"These are the traditional women's clothing and there is not much more." The elf told her in a tone. It was obvious that this particular elf was against a woman wearing anything other than woman's clothing.

Kida cocked her hips to one side. "Then I want men's clothes. Please? Or I can find them myself." She knew she sounded stubborn but she didn't feel comfortable wearing what was in front of her now.

The elven woman dipped her head in a stiff nod. "I will return soon." She agreed and left.

Kida was careful of all the nice clothes on her bed and sat. Under the blanket she hid in, she crossed her legs, foot bouncing in anticipation of actually being clothed in something clean again. And she was glad for a bath because her hair had been greasy, but now she smelled like plants. She had been nowhere near any plants when bathing but there was this faint air of grass and flowers.

There was a knock on her door as her fingers twisted into the wet ends of her hair. "Come in." She called out, making sure anything important was still covered by the blanket.

It was Aragorn who strolled in, dressed in nice green clothing, his coat long and brushing just under his knees. He stopped seeing Kida on the bed. "Why are you not clothed?" He gestured at the five dresses she had to pick from.

"That girl went off to get me pants." Kida said eagerly. It had been more than a few minutes. "I don't wear dresses, not unless I think it'll be fun, but these all look really cold."

He looked them over with an odd expression. "I agree. I will return when you are clothed, then."

Kida waved as he left, closing the door behind him. The elf from before came a minute later, holding a large stack in her hands. "These are small enough to fit you, and you may keep it all. I will be leaving now." The elf said and then left quickly.

Kida was just relieved. As soon as the door was closed she threw the blanket practically across the room and dug through the clothes. She decided on thick black tights, a blue tunic, and a coat like Aragorn's in grey. Then all she had were her renaissance fair boots, which she pulled on once again because she didn't plan on staying in the room. She wanted to find Aragorn, to see what he wanted, and then to figure out where Frodo and Bonnie were.

Of all the things she listed in her head, the first to be checked off was finding Bonnie. She was walking down an open path towards the main part of Rivendell's illustrious buildings when a tall man stood in front of her. "I believe this is yours."

He held out the squirrel with a hand around its middle. "Bonnie!" Kida took her and the fur ball started to lick Kida's face. "Thank you."

She finally looked up and noticed exactly who she was speaking to. Not an elf at all. He had a long beard and a bulb of a nose, wearing a long pointed hat. Kida smiled brightly at Gandalf the Grey. She had looked forward to meeting him even if it had slipped her mind upon reaching Rivendell.

"You must be Kida Valentine. Samwise had spoken fondly of you." He spoke in a low and drawing voice that was comforting in a heartbeat. Of everyone she had seen yet, he was the least like the movie depiction, looking older and kinder. "I am Gandalf the Grey."

"I know." She blurted like a fan girl. If she had any less restraint she would be jumping up and down. "It's an honor, I swear."

He smiled down at her, and Kida never felt so short. She was five foot eight, not a short girl at all, but Aragorn had made her feel tiny before. That feeling, however, was nothing compared to this. Gandalf was looming and large. She imagined how big he had to be to a hobbit.

The wizard cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I will be on my way now. I have a feeling we will see much more of each other, Miss Valentine." He spoke kindly and walked away.

Kida watched him go and then gave Bonnie two days worth of petting and love. she had never been apart from the squirrel so long, and Bonnie was just as loving on her in return. "That's what you get for riding away on a horse, Bonnie." She mocked the little animal and strolled on down the path.

AN/ Thanks to everyone who is reviewing! And dandapanda, you awesome human being, this chapter sort of explains everything you asked me. Aragorn lurves Arwen but he is super in between and confused by Kida. But Kida sees him as a friend. A lot more will be explained in future chapters, otherwise I'd tell you now and ruin the story! Again, thanks everyone else for reviewing and keep reviewing! I love it so much.