Title: Regret

Summery: When you lose a friend to death, it is tragic, but what if you lost them before you got the chance to say, "I'm sorry." Could you live with that?

Note: The feedback you guys are giving me is unbelievable, and I am so happy that you all seem to like the way this is going. As I said before, the last chapters were pretty short, but this one is going to be longer. I wrote it so that I could give you guys another point of view on the recent events. I hope you all like this addition, and I hope to hear what you guys think. Again, thank you to all the reviewers, you know who you are. You guys are the best, and to everybody else who is reading this, thanks a lot, and so, here we go…

Chapter four

"Why have we stopped?" Morhil asked as he pulled his grey steed to a stop next to Elvomir, the other guard in their group, who was at a standstill behind the elven prince. He like the others, knew that the young royal was troubled, but had yet to uncover the reason for it. For even though Legolas was usually quiet, he was never this silent, or distant, especially from Piong, Legolas' father's most trusted advisor. He had become like a second father to the prince, for the two were constantly together. Mostly because he was the only one, who King Thranduil trusted enough to look after his only son and heir.

As the four companions sat stilly on their mounts, they looked almost identical. The two guards, wore similar clothing, and both had armoured themselves before they left Rivendell. While Legolas, who could quite easily be picked out as the youngest of the four travelers, wore a forest green ensemble, with the royal seal of Mirkwood embroidered on it. Piong, however, stuck out because of the two inch scar that stretched from his left eye, down to the corner of his upper lip. He was also the one who had the most years to his life, but that wasn't really recognizable.

As Morhil and Elvomir whispered between themselves, Piong positioned himself next to the golden elf prince, as he was scanning the trees to their left. Whatever had caught Legolas' attention was enough to make the elf halt, and that was enough for the others to become alert to a possible threat. Piong knew that Legolas had the best hearing of any other elf he had ever known, and that skill had yet to fail him, any of them.

"What is it?" the older of the two elves asked, as he eyed the foliage as well. It took Legolas a moment before he replied, just as the two other sylvan elves dismounted, and gripped their readied bows in case danger decided to reveal itself to them.

"Something is following us," the prince began, as he too jumped to the ground beside the two other armed fair folk, "men I believe."

Elvomir took in a deep breath, he had hoped that their trip home would be unhindered, but it seemed that whenever he traveled with Thranduil's son, it never went smoothly, or as planned. "Perhaps they are rangers," he started in a hopeful tone, "they are known to roam these parts."

Piong let out a soft sigh, as he too leapt to the ground soundlessly, with a soft shake of his fine head. He knew that the elven guard was right to make the hopeful assumption that rangers were tracking their steps, for it was well known that Lord Elrond was most welcoming towards them, and vice versa. However, he could not help but feel that something was off about the followers, and he fought off the pit in his stomach that was screaming at him that a great threat neared them.

"No my friends" Piong replied, "rangers these beings are not. For I sense a hostility within them, and a great hatred that does not live in the hearts of the friendly folk. I feel that it would be best if we moved on, and with full haste. My heart tells me that it would not be wise to sit here and wait for them. Whoever they are."

The four companions each gave a nod in agreement, and all but Morhil remounted their stallions, and prepared to continue on their way. The grounded elf, kept still, and completely alert, which only caused the company around him to glance back up that the woods before them, and to their surprise, it was no longer empty. A few yards away, stood a rather large party of men, each of whom, was armed, and charging towards them, with a unified calling.

"Dunlandings," Elvomir exclaimed, as he and the three other immortals, grasped the shafts of their ivory bows, and took aim at the imposing foes, "go figure."

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Aragorn's jaw almost dropped once again, as it had a lot this day. The news that he just got from Ginyc and Kip was unthinkable, and he wasn't even sure if he had heard them right. "They're hunting people?" he questioned, as the growing anxiety inside his heart enlarged further. He knew that standing around here with the two rangers wasn't helping his quest to find his friend, however the information they had was important, and the idea that danger could come to Legolas and his party, wasn't something he could take lightly.

Kip saw the fear in the man's eyes, and replied, "yes. At first we thought that they were cannibals, however that theory went down the falls when the bodies started to turn up. Dead they are, for days before they're left, on the borders of where ever they are taken from, and most of the time it's hard to even be sure of the identities of the victims, due to the damage that's done."

"What kind of damage?" Strider pondered aloud, and this time was responded to by the older man. "Different things. Burning, lacerations, decapitation, rape, deliberate deformation. You name it, these people have done it. Which is why we're on our way to warn Lord Elrond about the wild folk and that they've begun entering his land."

Aragorn shook his head, and his eyes fell to the grassy floor. It was bad enough that whoever these people were, were terrorizing and killing innocent people. And for the wild folk to now be threatening Imladris, his home, and his family and friends, now that was something he refused to allow to continue to happen. He would find these people, and when he did, they would pay for their actions, but right now, he still had an elf to find.

"I will hold you up no longer then," Strider responded, earning himself questioning glares from the men before him, "continue as you were, and please let Lord Elrond know that I am fine, and will be returning soon enough."

Ginyc reached out and grabbed the forearm of the young man as he turned and started to make off, further from his home. "Where do you think you're going? This is not the time to be traveling alone."

Aragorn let out a deep moan, as he turned back to the rangers. He knew they meant well, but they were stalling his mission, and he knew that he could not waste anymore time than he already had, and he also knew that he would not rid himself of their questions until he spoke the truth, most of it anyway.

"I am trying to catch up with a small group of Mirkwood elves. One of them is a dear friend of mine, and I must clear up a misunderstanding with him before he gets so far that I will not be able to reach him on foot."

"Elves you say?" said Kip, as he rubbed his smooth chin the his index finger, "well they picked a bad time to be journeying home." Aragorn let out another moan. He did not need to be told that, for that had become clear to him a long time passed.

"Which is all the more reason, I need to reach them." he replied.

"You're right Strider," Ginyc agreed, as he patted both of the young men on the shoulders. "But I will not have you travel after them alone." His words sunk in deep in Aragorn's mind, and both he and the other man, knew what was coming next, and sure enough, in a matter of seconds, their predictions were confirmed.

"I know more about these hunters than anyone. I can make Rivendell on my own." he began, and turned his eyes back upon the ranger to Aragorn's right. "Kip, you go with Strider here, he may need your help."

"No, really that's unnecessary" Aragorn tried to rebut, but to no avail, and was immediately waved down by Ginyc. "Never you mind, it's too perilous to go after your friend without aid. You two will travel together, so go on now. We shouldn't waste time. It's too valuable."

And with that the older ranger, turn his back to them, and made haste towards Imladris, leaving the two youths standing side by side. Each contemplating what could be said. After a few silent minutes, Aragorn finally spoke to his new traveling companion.

"Well," he began, "let's go."

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To Be Continued…

Okay, so this chapter wasn't really long, but compared to the first three, it is. So what do you think? Is it still interesting for you. I hope it is. I really want to know what you think, so please, by all means, review, and let me know. Thanks a bunch, and I'll see you on the next chapter. Adios.