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Ranelen squeezed Frodo's shoulder encouragingly and followed Lord Elrond as he took her back to his study. He shut the door behind them, walked to the window and said, "You have done a dangerous thing, Ranelen. The road the Fellowship shall travel will not be easy."
She laughed mirthlessly. "When has my own road been easy, Lord Elrond? I know what I must do. I must go with them."
He turned to face her and smiled sadly. "Yes, I know. I knew from the second you set foot once more in my home your road would take you with the Ring. It is your destiny, whether we would wish it or not. But that is not what I meant to say. Here," he produced something wrapped in a white cloth. "This was a gift I gave my daughter when she was younger. I know nothing of its history, other than that it is a long and varied one. I have lost all taste for warfare, but I feel this shall be needed. Therefore take it with you and use it wisely." He handed it to her and she knew immediately what it was.
Nevertheless, she unwrapped it and gasped when she saw the sword and sheath. She looked up at Lord Elrond and said, "My lord, you cannot give me this. This is a sword of the Second Age. It should be an heirloom of your house!"
"I know. That is why I give it to you. You are a ward of my house, and I have loved you as my own child. For that, I would see you as well protected as possible. This sword is the only way I know to do that. You may try to return it, but the sword is a gift for you."
Ranelen looked down at the sword in her hands, but she steeled herself and bowed her head. "Thank you, my lord. I will do my best to put it to good use, and return it to you in the same condition if I may."
Lord Elrond stepped closer and kissed the top of her bowed head. He said, "Thank you, young one. But the only thing that I wish to return to me is you. For the rest, I care not."
She murmured, "You are as generous as you are wise and far-seeing, Lord Elrond. Hannon le." (thank you)
He smiled and said, "Go, for there is much you must do. I will see you off."
She straightened and smiled. For a second he wondered what she was doing, but then she turned and ran quickly from the room. He shook his head and smiled at the thought of the trouble the Fellowship would have with her.
Ranelen went to her room and took a small pack, carefully laying the sword on her bed. She placed several sets of extra clothing, because even though some of the males might not keep clean, she would. She also put in another set of boots and rounded up some food from the kitchen.
When she was done packing Ranelen pulled the sword from the sheath to examine it. The sword was really more of a long knife. It was a little longer than two-and-a-half feet. The leather-wrapped hilt was etched in gold with a pattern of leaves that stretched from pommel to guard. The handle was smaller than most of its age, having only enough room for a hand and a-half or two for a person with smaller hands. Luckily Ranelen was one such person, though before it had never been a good thing. When the Galadhrim had been teaching her hands were so small that the only way she could do the movement was to speed up.
Most of the Elves' fighting was a whirling strike, which was a lot easier for an Elf than it was for a young woman. The Galadhrim had taught her as much, and as best, they could, but it wasn't enough. No matter how much she looked like an Elf, there were some fundamental differences. Ranelen had had to learn to alter some of the moves to her ability, but in the end with her newer moves she had still been able to hold her own against the other Galadhrim.
By the time Ranelen pulled herself from her thoughts, it was dark so she put away her things and went to bed. They would not leave for some time so she still had time for last minute preparations. Sleep came easily, with no dark dreams troubling her.
The next morning Ranelen woke early, grabbed her things, and ran to the small room of the baths. No one was inside so she hurried in and took one last bath. On the road she would not have the luxury of pretty much anything so she made sure to enjoy it.
After her bath she dressed and went onto the balcony to watch the world awaken as she combed the knots from her hair. As she ran the brush through her hair she remembered one of the songs of old that Glorfindel had taught her from the Undying Lands. At first she hummed it, but then she began to sing, the words rippling and flowing like a stream.
"Luthien Tinuviel!"
Ranelen whirled around to see the Elf Legolas standing behind her. When he saw her he inclined his head and said almost shamefully, "I am sorry. I thought you were… someone else."
She laughed and said, "Tinuviel? I thank you, Master Elf, for the compliment, but I assure you it is most unjust. The Evenstar may shine, but it is not me."
Legolas looked at her strangely and said, "You know the ways of old?"
"Yes. I have lived for some time with Lord Elrond and La-never mind. But yes, I have learned the songs of old, and so have you it seems."
He didn't say anything for a second then apologized. "I'm sorry about that. It seems that my mind ran away for a moment at your beauty."
Ranelen blushed and murmured her thanks quietly. Legolas said with a smile, "Though perhaps my mind didn't go too far away. Your hair is the color of the night sky like that, my lady."
A smile filled her face at his continuing praise. She said, "Well, my lord, you could never be mistaken for Beren."
"Because I am an Elf, not a man?"
"No, because he was far more handsome than you," Ranelen said laughing.
Legolas tried to frown to hide his smile as he said, "You have wounded me, and my honor."
"More likely your pride, prince." Ranelen was grinning at the Elf, causing him to smile back. She wanted to continue talking to him, but Ranelen had finished combing her hair so she said a quick farewell with a bright smile and hurried to her room. She swiftly braided her hair, grabbed her pack and sword, and rushed out to where the Fellowship would meet in the courtyard.
When she got there she saw Aragorn crouched beside a stone. Ranelen knew it was the grave of his mother, and he wouldn't want to be disturbed. She slipped into the shadows of early morning to allow him his time with the spirit of his mother.
"Anirne hene beriad i chên lîn. Ned Imladris nauthant e le beriathar aen." (She wanted to protect her child. She thought in Rivendell you would be safe.)
Aragorn said nothing so Elrond continued, "In her heart, your mother knew you'd be hunted all your life. That you'd never escape your fate." He walked closer and continued, "The skill of the Elves can reforge the sword of Kings, but only you have the power to wield it."
Aragorn said softly, "I do not want that power. I have never wanted it."
Elrond shook his head as he approached and said, "You are the last of that bloodline. There is no other."
Not yet, a voice whispered in her head. That's true, but we can't wait for Aragorn to have an heir. We need a king now, she thought. Something distracted her from her thoughts, drawing her attention back to the scene before her.
Aragorn said nothing so Elrond laid a hand on his shoulder for a minute and kept going. As soon as he was gone, Aragorn asked tiredly, "What is it, Ranelen?"
Ranelen knew it would have been hard to miss her approach so she didn't try to be silent. She said, "Aragorn, nothing in this world is right. Burdens fall on those like you and Lord Elrond to lead. Whether you accept that burden or not is your choice. Whatever you do, follow your heart. Trust it. It will not lead you astray." She walked to him and for a second stood respectfully behind the man.
Aragorn said nothing so she leaned down, kissed the top of his head, and walked away silently. Ranelen made her way to the courtyard and waited beside Merry and Pippin. Pippin was excited that they were going, while Merry seemed happy that they could help Frodo. Neither seemed to truly understand what they were getting into. None of us do, Ranelen thought to herself.
Finally everyone arrived. Lord Elrond came out with a group of Elves, including Arwen, to wish them farewell. They hung back while he stepped forward and said, "The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On you who travel with him, no oath nor bond is laid to go further than you will. Farewell. Hold to your purpose. May the blessings of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you."
As he was speaking Ranelen saw Aragorn smiling sadly at Arwen in the group of Elves, and she remembered hearing them in the grand chamber with the Shards of Narsil. Suddenly she was jolted out of memory when she heard Gandalf say, "The Fellowship awaits the Ring-bearer."
Frodo looked around as if saying goodbye in his heart to Imladris and started walking. As he passed, he shyly smiled at her. She smiled down at him and walked beside him as he led the way out of Rivendell.
As he passed the stone wall he whispered, "Mordor, Gandalf, is it left or right?"
Gandalf said hoarsely, "Left."
Ranelen whispered to Frodo, "It would not matter to our friend the Dwarf if you went left or right. He is too busy drowning in his woe of being parted from his ale."
Frodo stifled a laugh. Ranelen turned back to smile at Gandalf but the old wizard huffed at her. She turned back and let Frodo pull her beside him. They walked the path that led out, and as the crossed over the bridge she felt as if a great sadness settled upon her heart. She kept walking and tried to lose the heaviness in her heart.
They walked for days. Most of the time Ranelen spent was with Frodo, Legolas, or Aragorn but always avoiding Boromir. The man seemed obsessed with being mean and spiteful for her telling him off at the Council.
After about a week she stayed up for watch to the disapproval of Boromir. Ranelen sat on a rock and watched the stars wheel above. The moon was bright and lit the world with its soft glow.
"What are you doing?"
She turned around, and as the other person stared angrily, she said, "Keeping watch, Gondorian. Why wouldn't I be?"
The man frowned at her and said, "What do you know of keeping watch? The only thing you have ever watched over is your baking. Speaking up in a council of men doesn't make you one. You can try to act like it all you want, but you don't belong on this journey."
Ranelen shook her head at the prejudices of men. "It is not for you to decide, sir. The council didn't protest my coming, and you shouldn't either. By the way, just because you know how to use a sword and put others down, doesn't make you a man."
She thought the man would leave in a huff after hearing her opinion, but instead he sat beside her. "You are a strange woman. There are many mysteries behind you. Does anyone know them all? The Elf perhaps?" he asked curiously, even though he was still angry.
The young woman did her best to hide a blush. She had been spending a lot of time with the Elf. They walked beside each other most days, talking and even laughing. Sometimes she would catch him looking at her with those vivid blue eyes, and it never failed to make her heart beat faster.
Boromir seemed to have noticed her Elf-related thoughts, so she hurried to answer him. "No, he doesn't. For can anyone know all a person's mysteries?"
The man shook his head with a frown. It seemed that he was having a hard time accepting the fact that she might be right. "No, I guess not. You are worth investigating though."
Ranelen smiled slightly at his first sign of decency. "Thank you. You know, you aren't nearly as bad as you first seemed. At first I thought you were merely a haughty, spoiled child in a man's body."
Boromir was struggling with anger and annoyance that she had thought him a child, but inside he was glad that she had noticed his manliness against Aragorn. Most women would immediately go after the king, but this one had seen him for the real man he was. He did his best to take the perpetual frown from his face in the momentary quiet that had elapsed. "Why don't you go ahead and sleep? I'll take the rest of the watch."
"Are you sure?" At his nod she grinned and said, "Thank you. That's very sweet of you." She got up from the rock and, deciding to see how nice he would be, sisterly kissed his cheek as she did so. Then she made her way to bed, thinking that maybe the darkness in Boromir hadn't taken over him yet. Ranelen didn't notice the look of longing the Denethorian sent her way and she passed into sleep.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review! Next chapter has an interesting run in with Legolas. Any questions you have or comments make lovely reviews!