Pale, hazy morning light woke her and from under the edge of Aragorn's cloak she met his eyes across the dying fire. Sleep, water, and food had not made him disappear like the hallucination she'd wondered if he still was. If anything, the world felt more real now than it had hours before when he'd stoked the fire and wrapped her tightly in his cloak to keep her warm through the night.

"Not a fever dream them." She mumbled, sitting up slowly, testing the strength that was coming back into her limbs after finally getting a good night of sleep.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better than last night."

He nodded and came around the fire to her side, handing her a strip of jerky and a small wooden bowl that steamed in the cool air. "Drink this, it should help. It will be six days for us to reach Bree, we cannot delay for long."

The water in the bowl had dried plants floating in it and smelled vaguely like basil. Tea, or at least the best attempt at tea that could be made way out there. It had barely any taste but it seemed to warm her up from the inside out. He was right, it did help.

Once she had finished the tea and half of the jerky, Aragorn put out the fire and they set off. Six more days of walking, and six days to figure out what was going on and what she needed to do.

Josephine knew Aragorn's quest to reach the Hobbits and get them to Rivendell was vastly more important than seeing a lost woman back home. In fact she couldn't peg anything to do with herself as being more important than seeing Frodo to Rivendell. But she couldn't let him leave her in Bree and it was obvious that was what was going to happen if she didn't say anything. It had been two days since she met him, she had to tell him something, at least part of what was going on. As long as she didn't stop Frodo from going to Rivendell, however she managed to slip into their journey was fine. Right?

The decision was made and with next to no plan on how to execute it, she closed the handful of paces between them as they walked and cut him off. The hand she put out to grasp his arm was shaking. She was definitely about to completely make this up on the spot and it made her all kinds of nervous. If she thought about it she'd fuck it up and talk herself out of it and resign herself to being a barmaid at the Prancing Pony while she wondered how to get home.

"There's something I haven't told you."

Out of what seemed to be a habit of his, his eyes scanned their surroundings before landing back on her face. A quick check to make sure it was safe enough to stop there in the open. "What is it?"

"I know things, things that are going to happen. I know your real name is Aragorn and I know you're going to Bree on Gandalf's request to intercept Frodo and see him to Rivendell." The words tumbled out of her mouth in one long breath and the confusion and worry it all brought to Aragorn's face made her feel guilty. He definitely had enough to worry about without dealing with her madness.

"How did you come to this knowledge?" He said darkly, his hand moving to the hilt of his sword. His other hand grabbed her arm to keep her from moving away.

"It's a story back where I'm from." She defended shakily. "You can't leave me in Bree, you have to take me to Rivendell. Lord Elrond is my best chance of getting some answers, maybe figuring out what happened-"

"That is quite the tale, Lady Josephine. But not one that offers an acceptable answer to my question. What do you know of this errand?"

"Frodo is carrying a ring. The ring," No, wait, Aragorn wouldn't be sure of that yet. "Gandalf thinks so anyway. The Nazgul are hunting Frodo."

"You know of them?"

"And a lot of other things, and a lot that's going to happen. Look, I don't wanna hurt anyone, I just wanna know why the hell I'm here!"

His hand went slack and confusion started to override his worry. He watched her carefully for what seemed like an eternity before seeming to come to a conclusion. "You are a Seer?"

"What? No, no I don't get visions I just know about it from a book!" She corrected. "I'm not supposed to be here! This isn't even supposed to be real! There's only three people in all of Middle-earth I trust to give me answers and Lord Elrond is one of them."

"Whether you speak the truth or not, I cannot leave you in Bree with what knowledge you have shared." Aragorn let go of his sword hilt and looked her over thoughtfully. "I will confess, my heart tells me you do not lie. I will see you to Rivendell, though I can promise the road will be perilous. And if your words prove false and you mean to bring Frodo harm, then I will not stay my blade when the time comes."

Josephine had no doubt of that, but she didn't feel threatened by it. All the things he was warning against were things she had no intention of doing. Her motives were as simple as she told him, he'd have no reason to protect anyone from her.

"Thank you." She said with a relieved smile.

His face took on a gentle quality once again and he smiled back. "If your intentions are as simple as you say, you need not fear me."

"I don't." She reminded him, "I know you."

"Of course." He glanced around again and nodded to their path ahead. "We shouldn't linger."

She waited as they walked, now side by side, in silence. "You're not going to ask about the future?"

"One does not ask a Seer for council, they merely accept it when it is given. I will keep in confidence anything you wish to offer."

"Okay, but I'm not a Seer. Hell, until just now I was pretty sure they didn't even exist here. But wouldn't a Seer have some kind of…I don't know, ability to go into a trance or some crystal ball…Like Lady Galadriel's mirror or something?"

"I have not met one, nor have I heard of one by name so I cannot offer you any answers. But whether you truly are or not, you are wise to seek Lord Elrond's council. You would be wiser still, to speak of your gift to no one until we reach Rivendell."

Josephine sighed tiredly and scanned the horizon, abruptly changing subjects as a thought crossed her mind. "Why Dunland? Why three days wandering in the middle of Dunland just to come across you of all people?"

"Considering the timing of your arrival, I doubt it was by chance that you found me, or I you."

"Like the Valar were meddling?"

"Another question, perhaps, better answered by Lord Elrond."