Once again, Thank you all for the reviews. This will probably be a somewhat boring chapter, (or maybe it won't, I don't know, maybe it depends on your taste) But stick with me. Aragorn is such a good babysitter. I'm sure this gave him lots of practice for all the hobbit sitting he does in FOTR. Anyway, enjoy.

Aragorn sat looking at the sky, holding the shards of Narsil. Ailith was sound asleep, occasionally muttering something in her dreams. With the rate at which he was going next thing he would reveal to her was his birthright and his broken sword. What was wrong with him? He found this girl in the woods, and suddenly years and years of carefully crafted walls came crumbling down, and he was telling her far more than he should, and acting less and less like the harsh ranger he was supposed to be. Maybe it was the sadness in her eyes? She seemed to wish so hard for a connection, for kindness. He had always had a soft spot for lost and unwanted things, just looking for a place. What was Elrond going to say when he showed up injured, with a ragged human girl in tow? He imagined it would be worse than the time that he showed up holding a baby bobcat he had found in the woods around Rivendell as a child. The creature had seen Elrond, and immediately leapt out of his arms and attached itself to the elf lord's robes. The incident was a great favorite among Elladan and Elrohir. Possibly due to the face Elrond had made as the creature had clawed its way up his robe. He hadn't gotten to keep the cat. He closed his eyes and thought wistfully of Rivendell. His home. Of Arwen. As always, the thought of her made his heart lift. He knew she would take Ailith in. Arwen had never left a wounded thing to suffer. She could see where their sadness lay, and she could help. Ailith. What was it that was so different about her? What was it that made her glow even when she was bloody and ragged and tired? She would find rest in Rivendell. And she would see her Luthien. And doubtlessly have countless more questions. She was a talkative one. He was beginning to feel like she was leading him around in circles with all her questions. He got the feeling that she was fully aware of this to.

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Ailith woke up feeling nauseous. She tried to take deep breaths, and when that didn't work she focused all her energy on trying to will the feeling away. If she vomited that would doubtlessly raise some questions in Estel's mind. "Damn it all, stay in you bastard!" She muttered, clenching her hands.

"Ailith, are you alright?" Estel, who she had thought was asleep, was looking at her curiously.

"Oh! I must have been dreaming!"

"Hmmm. You have colorful dreams."

"Yes, well, I grew up rough, I forget to speak more gently. I'm sure you're used to delicate language from all those Elf Ladies."

"You'd be surprised. Elvish sounds so sweet, but half the time what they're actually saying is less than refined."

Ailith snorted. "Speaking of Elvish, is there some greeting I can use when we get there?"

"Mae govannen."

"What does that mean?"

"Well met. Now if we intend to get there any time within the next year, we need to be off." He handed her a small strip of dried meat and one of dried fruit. She ate it reluctantly, battling the sickness in her stomach. She followed him as fast as she could. His long legs meant that she had to take three steps to match one of his.

"I'm guessing that if I ask you another question you'll start using some of those less savory elvish words, so I'll refrain."

"Perceptive as always. Of course, it wouldn't sound like I was angry."

She fell silent and tried to keep up with him. The small path they were following hardly qualified as such. She doubted it had been used in years.

"How long until we're out of these woods?"

"These are hardly woods. They are small, so small they don't appear on most maps. We should be out by tomorrow. We're near the Etten-moors, we have many many miles of wilderness to cross before we reach Rivendell. You wandered very far from Bree indeed"

"I'm a wanderer."

"Well, not all those who wander are lost."

"That's pretty. Is that and Elvish poem?"

"No, it's part a poem a friend of mine wrote."

"Oh. Your friend's a great poet?"

"You could say that."

"You like to be cryptic." Ailith couldn't help but enjoy pelting Estel with question after question. She had used to like doing that to her father, shocking him with the sheer amount of questions that flowed from her like a stream. Lana had always told her she was being a brat. She was fairly sure she was being one at the moment.

"Maybe I'm just keeping my answers short to save my breath for walking." Estel turned briefly, and it looked like there was a smile on his lips.

Ailith was silent for a while. She thought about Lana. About home. About Arden. She hoped his nose healed crooked. Estel's nose looked like it had been broken many times. She thought about the prancing pony. He had scared her there. All those stories about him. An old conversation with Barliman came back to her. He had called Estel a ranger, a wanderer of the wilds. She wanted to ask Estel about the rangers. Barliman had said it like there were more than one. And indeed she recalled having seen other's like Estel pass through from time to time. Who was Estel anyway? He could be curt and silent and grim, and that was how she had known him in Bree. But to her he was more often gentle, and even joking. He confused her. And which was he? The ragged ranger, or the friend of elf lords? One in the same? He was a distinctive puzzle. She noticed he was favoring his injured shoulder, and still limping slightly. He kept treating his wounds, but what if he was worse than he let on? Her injured leg was infected, she could tell that much. But he kept it at bay with the strange herb. She winced. As soon as she started thinking about it, it began to hurt. She was so busy thinking that she walked headlong into a low hanging branch.

"Mae govannen!" She said angrily. Estel helped her up.

"That's not a curse Ailith."

"But it sounds better then son of a bitch." She continued walking.

"Fair enough."

They walked all day long, stopping only briefly. That night Estel allowed a small fire. She drank some of the tea he had made. She wanted to ask him about rangers, but he seemed distracted, so she held off. Her body was aching badly, and her bladder as always now, felt like someone was pressing on it. She was not at all enchanted by the thing in her stomach. She couldn't bring herself to think of it as a child, that made it to real. She had thought of it as a child once, while she was floating, and she wished she hadn't now. She just wanted to forget, push the though away, as if that would make the reality of it go away.

"Ailith, are you feeling well enough to practice with your dagger?"

"Yes!" She sounded far to eager. "I...know the enthusiasm isn't very becoming in a maiden." She said sheepishly. Estel stood up.

"The things that wish to hurt you don't care if you're a woman or man."

She pulled the dagger out, holding it like he had taught her. She waited for him to tell her what they were going to do, but instead he juts immediately darted at her, catching her off guard and unbalancing her. She thudded to the ground, and he held the thick stick he was using as a sword to her throat. He had insisted she use her actual dagger, telling her to try her hardest to get him,like he was a real enemy. Just not to stab to hard at anything vital.

"One thing you need to know Ailith, is that your attackers don't explain what they are going to do. They just act. And so you must too. I'm sorry to be so rough on you, but I feel it's the only way to teach you properly."

Ailith watched him. All his gentleness was gone when they practiced. He was a different man. And she was most definitely dead if he was an orc. She kicked at his legs, taking the opportunity to roll out from under his sword. She stood up fast and tried to charge at him. It looked like she would be able to reach his unguarded stomach. He was unbalanced from her kick. Instead, the moment before she reached him, he tensed again, and caught her attack with his stick, knocking her back.

"Your attackers are often clever enough to deceive you. Be prepared for anything. And learn to deceive them as well." He calmly helped her up. She wanted to hit something in frustration. He noticed this, and softened slightly again. "You did well though Ailith. I'm not an easy opponent. And unbalancing me by kicking and rolling away was clever. You think fast, and you focus on the battle when you fight, you are utterly focused on surviving. You don't give up. That is good. And you caught me off guard for a moment. And a moment is all you need sometimes.

Ailith nodded. She felt exhausted. Whenever they fought she felt a rush of energy, and it was true that her mind focused on nothing but the fight, but when they finished she was left feeling empty and depleted.

"Sleep now Ailith." Estel said.