Mire
By: Cheryl W
Disclaimer: I don't own The Lord of the Rings or anything in conjunction with the Lord of the Rings nor am I making a profit from this story. No copyright infringement is intended.
Replies to Reviews are at the bottom of this story.
I'm rushing to put this on ffnet over my lunch break at home because I'm trying hard to not let you hanging for long...and of course I'm dying to know what you think of this next chapter!
*****************************************************************************
Chapter 3
Relief surged through Legolas with the knowledge that Rivendell's gates were but around the next bend. Coming to a halt, he looked at Aragorn's pale, still face. It would have been so easy to carry his sleeping friend into Rivendell, take him directly to his bed and beckon Elrond to his son's side to begin his healing ministrations even before Aragorn could fully awake to offer up his resistance. Yes, it would have been so easy had he not made that promise to Aragorn.
"Why do you stop?" Elladan said, his eyes worriedly fixed on his brother's listless form. "I can carry him home if you can not."
But with resolve, Legolas met the other elf's eyes and shook his head, "No, I made him a promise." Then Legolas turned his look again upon Aragorn's ashen face and beckoned gently with a tone only slightly above a whisper, "Aragorn, we have reached the gates of your home."
A moan was Aragorn's initial response but as the pain reawaken in his body and mind, his eyes opened to meet Legolas's.
"You are almost home, my friend," Legolas reassured with a smile, vainly hoping that Aragorn had forgotten or would, even now, abandoned his earlier request to walk of his own accord into Rivendell.
Shaking the haze from his brain, Aragorn ordered, his voice thick with sleep and a shard of pain, "Put me down."
Sighing with defeat, Legolas gently placed Aragorn on his feet even as he shifted his grip to securely wrap around Aragorn's waist.
"What are you doing?" Elrohir demanded, immediately rushing to Aragorn's other side and griping his brother's arm.
Legolas steadily met the other elf's eyes, "I gave my word that he could walk into his home," his voice clearly announcing that he would see the promise fulfilled, regardless of the brothers' feelings on the matter.
"He can not walk!" Elladan incredulously rebuked, stepping in front of Legolas with a look of anger.
"Yes, I can," Aragorn stated, his fever bright eyes lancing into his older brother's.
It was Elrohir who retorted gently, "Estel, you have nothing to prove to us, to father, to anyone."
"I know I can not prove myself to be equal to an elf but I can prove that I am not without strength or dignity," Aragorn rallied back to his elven brother's words, untangling himself from Elrohir's grasp but making no move to remove Legolas's supportive hold.
Before his brothers could find the words to reply, Aragorn began to walk to Rivendell's gates with Legolas' support. Every step with his injured leg was agony but Aragorn did not falter. He would not let his human frailty be exhibited here in all its disgrace.
Reaching the gates of his childhood home, Aragorn halted his progression. Without warning, he pulled away from Legolas and limped out of the elf's grasp.
"Aragorn!" Legolas protested as he stepped forward to reclaim his support of his friend.
But Aragorn put his hand on his elven friend's chest, halting his advance. "I will be alright, Legolas. I can make it unaided to my room."
"No you can not!" Elladan stated, stepping toward his brother, ready to enforce his aid. To Elladan's surpise, Legolas raised his arm, barring his progress. "Legolas!?" he began in confusion but the prince's eyes remained fixed on the ranger's.
"I gave my word," Legolas solemnly announced and saw relief and gratitude flicker in his best friend's eyes. Turning to his friend's brothers, Legolas stated, "He must be allowed to do this."
"And why is that?" Elrohir sighed back.
Legolas was about to answer but Aragorn spoke instead, drawing all eyes on him.
"Because there can be no hope without faith. And if none of you have faith in me..." he let the rest of his thoughts fade to silence. The three elves seemed to flinch at the man's words, their hearts pierced with the sorrow and doubt they saw in his eyes. He was to be the hope of Middle Earth...his burden was hard enough to bear without their lack of faith lessening his tenuous conviction of his destiny.
Gently Elladan said as he met Aragorn's gaze, "Lead on, Estel. We will follow you."
A twinge of a smile flitted across Aragorn's face before he turned on his heel and began to slowly, painfully yet steadily walk through the gates of his home with three elves protectively flanking him.
Upon entering through the doors of the Last Homely House, Aragorn showed no signs of suffering a severe injury or of any weakness. His companions marveled at his determination even as they worried what price his body would demand for his brave deception. They spoke none of these concerns even as they flanked the ranger, a sight very familiar to the elves in Rivendell. Even the sharp eyes that watched them could not detect the blood soaked leg hiding behind the ranger's long coat nor any hesitation in the ranger's steps nor any pain in the silver eyes.
No, Strider the ranger was very good at concealing weakness and projecting strength. And he was determined that the stairs that led to his room would not break his façade. Step by agonizing step, he ascended the stairs, ignoring his companions' protests and brushed off their supportive holds, maintaining a white knuckled grip on the staircase's railing to ensure that his legs would not crumble under the strain.
But, however well Strider the ranger could conceal his weakness, Estel, the son of Elrond, had never been able to hide any hurts from his father. And as Elrond appeared at the top landing, Estel's head snapped up as if he knew he was caught. For indeed, caught he was.
Straightening away from the railing that he had begun to lean more heavily upon with every step, Aragorn tried to snuff out the pain that was clamoring through his body. It wasn't that he thought he could keep the knowledge of his injury from his father, not with Elladan and Elrohir here. No, all he hoped was that he could retain some of his hard won respect.
But Elrond needed no confession to know his youngest son was injured. Immediately he negotiated the stairs to his son's side and wrapped his arm around his son's waist. "Come, let's get you to your room."
Aragorn shot an argumentative look to Elrond and was about to insist he could walk unaided. But Elrond put his hand on his son's chest and softly questioned, "Rangers give aid to all in need. Can not a ranger then allow others to return that favor?"
Aragorn looked away from his father's gaze as the words burned into his brain. When he again faced Elrond, he dismantled the foolish pride that had convinced him that as a ranger he would not need or could not accept help... from anyone. "I accept your aid ... if it is still offered," he yielded with a touch of stiff diplomacy. At Aragorn's words, three distinct sighs of relief emanated from the elves that stood behind the ranger, sighs that Aragorn purposefully chose to ignore.
A smile grew on Elrond's lips though his eyes grew darker with worry. "You know the aid is still offered," he scoffed with affection and together, father and son began to ascend the stairs. "It will always be offered," Elrond solemnly promised as he looked with love to his human son. But Aragorn did not let his eyes stray from the staircase and only the tight set of his jaw indicated to Elrond that his words had been heard.
Unease grew in Elrond but he let Aragorn's silence go unchallenged. Finally they reached the top of the stairs and began the walk down the hallway to Aragorn's room. Elladan and Elrohir skirted around the slow moving father and son and slipped into the room to prepare it for it's injured owner's return.
By the time Elrond and Aragorn reached the room, the door was open, a wide path was cleared to the bed, the sheets were pulled back and a bowl of water sat on the stand beside the bed. Gently, Elrond helped Aragorn sit on the bed.
Straight away Elrond pulled open Aragorn's coat. It took him a moment to temper his raging emotions as he saw the blood seeping from his son's leg. "What happened?" he quietly asked as he shot a look to his son, his healer hands already loosening the make shift bandage.
Elladan, Elrohir and Legolas stood behind Elrond, their own worry thick in the air, almost overloading Elrond's own struggle to remain calm. Legolas opened his mouth to answer Elrond's question but Elladan clamped his hand over the prince's mouth. Legolas turned questioning eyes upon the twins. Both of Elrond's elvish sons were vigorously shaking their heads and jerking them toward their youngest brother. Legolas needed to realize that the question had been addressed to Aragorn and that Elrond would only accept a reply by his son. The twins had learned this lesson, though not quickly or with good grace.
Interpreting their actions, Legolas nodded his understanding and was released from Elladan's hold. Instantly all their eyes drifted back to rest on Aragorn, wondering what his answer to his father would be.
By now Elrond had unwrapped the shirt and laid the wound bare to his sight. He scowled darkly. With new steel in his voice, he looked up to Aragorn and demanded, "What happened, Estel?"
Aragorn swallowed down a sigh. He could do nothing but weather this storm with the truth. "I chased a stag into the mire, stumbled, and landed on the shards of a tree trunk."
At the word "mire", Elrond's breath caught. "Mire?" he echoed when his son had finished his confession. Immediately Elrond turned his head to look at his two elven sons, seeking confirmation of Estel's statement, shock and concern clouding his eyes.
But Elladan mistook the look for a reprimand. "I know, it is my fault. I should have realized we drew near to the mire. I should not have allowed the hunting party to be divided."
Three protests rose at his words.
Elrohir insisted, "No, the fault lies with me. I suggested that we try to trap the stag between us."
Even as Legolas offered, "I should have stayed with Aragorn, instead of taunting him with my boasts that I would be the one to run the stag to ground."
But it was Aragorn's frustrated words that drew all four elves's attention to him. "Stop taking responsibility for my weakness! All of you!" Silence filled the room and Aragorn bitterly confessed, "I am a clumsy human. I stumbled. There is no darker thing at work."
Elrond's face darkened, "I wish that were true, my son." After a moment he qualified, his voice bitter and full of worry, "The mire is cursed."
Aragorn sought more of an explanation but his father had again set his full attention to the wound. "You do not need to make the mire cursed to ease my pride," he said hoping to draw a response from his father.
But it was Elrohir who took the bait. "It has claimed nine lives, Estel. I would say that qualifies it as being cursed," his fear evident in his voice.
"Let me guess," Aragorn countered, "nine foolish human lives? My kind thinks nothing of trespassing," his scorn at his human brethren unveiled.
Elladan met Aragorn's eyes, "No, Estel. The nine were elves." This earned him startled looks from both Aragorn and Legolas.
"How?" Legolas asked before Aragorn could.
Elrond surprised the group by taking up the tale, "They entered the mire and either became trapped, suffered an injury or became ill." He looked up from his inspection of the wound and unflinchingly met his injured son's pained eyes. "That is why we must tend to this wound with extreme care." His look turned stern, "You will not disobey any of my orders. Is that understood, Estel?"
At Aragorn's look of protest, Elrond gripped his son's shoulder tightly, 'You will give me your word, my son. I will accept nothing less."
Aragorn had never seen his father's look so fierce. "I will," he replied, entirely too quickly for belief.
Surprisingly, a knowing smile sprang to Elrond's lips,"I want your word, Estel. Now."
Opening his mouth to offer up a protest, Aragorn's eyes met with the flinty eyes of four elves and he conceded defeat. "Alright, you have my word. I will obey your wishes."
A collective sigh escaped the younger elves and Elrond let a relieved look flicker briefly in his eyes. "Now let's tend to your latest hurt," he gently said to his youngest son. Turning to Elladan and Elrohir, he sent them off to retrieve his instruments and herbs from the healer's wing.
TBC
I'ld love to hear what you think about the story and this chapter!
*************************************
Author's Notes:
Athelassa: I'm glad you liked the dialogue about Aragorn's mortality. I just keep thinking how tough it has to be for him being a mortal among immortals. And on top of that, the elves are stronger, faster and more graceful than he is...no fair!!! By the way, if you ever translate any of your stories into English, I'ld love to read them!
Randomramblings: Thanks for your review! I hope the story remains interesting to you. And that's cool that your name's Cheryl W, there really are too few of us Cheryls in the world..we definitely have to stick together!
Bill the Pony2: I've very touched that I made it to your favorites list!!! I'm glad you liked chapter 2 (I hope you like chapter 3 too?! I really want to know what you think!) I guess I didn't necessarily think of chapter 2 as being a cliffie but since you said it was...I took mercy on you and am posting chapter 3 sooner than I was planning on it..though I think this chapter is definitely a cliffie. (Sorry)
Marbienl: Thanks for coming back and reviewing my story even though ffnet made it a challenge! And I'm glad you like my story and that you are a real sucker for Estel pain because so am I. (Why do we torture the ones we love?! ) And as you saw in this chapter Estel is in for a time of it. I really appreciate that you pointed out the sentence you liked. Sometimes I think I'm really out there and losing my audience with the weird things I have the characters say!
Grumpy: I'm glad I didn't disappoint you with Chapter 2. And yes, I think Strider's taken quite the abuse already and it's showing in his attitude. ( I mean first it was the mire, then it was the desecration of his coat, then his pants ..how much can the man take?!) As for the twins...I love when they hover and do their big brother taking care of little brother routine.
Gemstone: Thanks for reading chapter 2 and reviewing! And I love the old blame game..especially when it's all about protecting Estel. As for Estel's learning from his mistakes, I think all big brothers try to give their advice to their young siblings hoping they won't make the same mistakes. (I don't think that logic works on Estel, though, he loves life too much and tries to experience everything first hand.
Tychen: Thanks for the encouragement/tantrum/begging. And yes, it's working! I actually posted this sooner than I thought I could. I strongly react to incentives...like begging and tantrums and especially to reviews.
Ymmas Sirron: Since you seemed in dire need of chapter 3, I tried to post it as soon as I could. (But I fear chapter 3 will not long satisfy you...it's kinda a cliffie) However, Chapter 4, well that's probably a cliffie too, but it will be a longer chapter?! Does that help?!
Star-Stallion: I'm relieved to hear that I haven't crossed the line with the characterization or the argument scene. I wanted it to be believable but not over the top, sentimental but not sappy. As for Legolas and Aragorn's friendship, I think you pegged it. They are both proud but they'd die for one another.
Daniela: Thanks for taking the time to review and email me about Chapter 2. And I agree, Aragorn doesn't get much respect from the elves in his life, love yes, respect no. They never seem to accept him as an adult, a leader of men, a candidate for the throne and that bothers me as well! And I'm really glad that I expressed Aragorn's feelings ..what were your words "beautifully and clearly" (Wow! I'm blushing! Thanks for the awesome compliment!) Please let me know what you think of Chapter 3!
Vampy2k: I checked my emails right before I posted this chapter and low and behold...there was your kind review! Thanks so much for your interest in my story.
By: Cheryl W
Disclaimer: I don't own The Lord of the Rings or anything in conjunction with the Lord of the Rings nor am I making a profit from this story. No copyright infringement is intended.
Replies to Reviews are at the bottom of this story.
I'm rushing to put this on ffnet over my lunch break at home because I'm trying hard to not let you hanging for long...and of course I'm dying to know what you think of this next chapter!
*****************************************************************************
Chapter 3
Relief surged through Legolas with the knowledge that Rivendell's gates were but around the next bend. Coming to a halt, he looked at Aragorn's pale, still face. It would have been so easy to carry his sleeping friend into Rivendell, take him directly to his bed and beckon Elrond to his son's side to begin his healing ministrations even before Aragorn could fully awake to offer up his resistance. Yes, it would have been so easy had he not made that promise to Aragorn.
"Why do you stop?" Elladan said, his eyes worriedly fixed on his brother's listless form. "I can carry him home if you can not."
But with resolve, Legolas met the other elf's eyes and shook his head, "No, I made him a promise." Then Legolas turned his look again upon Aragorn's ashen face and beckoned gently with a tone only slightly above a whisper, "Aragorn, we have reached the gates of your home."
A moan was Aragorn's initial response but as the pain reawaken in his body and mind, his eyes opened to meet Legolas's.
"You are almost home, my friend," Legolas reassured with a smile, vainly hoping that Aragorn had forgotten or would, even now, abandoned his earlier request to walk of his own accord into Rivendell.
Shaking the haze from his brain, Aragorn ordered, his voice thick with sleep and a shard of pain, "Put me down."
Sighing with defeat, Legolas gently placed Aragorn on his feet even as he shifted his grip to securely wrap around Aragorn's waist.
"What are you doing?" Elrohir demanded, immediately rushing to Aragorn's other side and griping his brother's arm.
Legolas steadily met the other elf's eyes, "I gave my word that he could walk into his home," his voice clearly announcing that he would see the promise fulfilled, regardless of the brothers' feelings on the matter.
"He can not walk!" Elladan incredulously rebuked, stepping in front of Legolas with a look of anger.
"Yes, I can," Aragorn stated, his fever bright eyes lancing into his older brother's.
It was Elrohir who retorted gently, "Estel, you have nothing to prove to us, to father, to anyone."
"I know I can not prove myself to be equal to an elf but I can prove that I am not without strength or dignity," Aragorn rallied back to his elven brother's words, untangling himself from Elrohir's grasp but making no move to remove Legolas's supportive hold.
Before his brothers could find the words to reply, Aragorn began to walk to Rivendell's gates with Legolas' support. Every step with his injured leg was agony but Aragorn did not falter. He would not let his human frailty be exhibited here in all its disgrace.
Reaching the gates of his childhood home, Aragorn halted his progression. Without warning, he pulled away from Legolas and limped out of the elf's grasp.
"Aragorn!" Legolas protested as he stepped forward to reclaim his support of his friend.
But Aragorn put his hand on his elven friend's chest, halting his advance. "I will be alright, Legolas. I can make it unaided to my room."
"No you can not!" Elladan stated, stepping toward his brother, ready to enforce his aid. To Elladan's surpise, Legolas raised his arm, barring his progress. "Legolas!?" he began in confusion but the prince's eyes remained fixed on the ranger's.
"I gave my word," Legolas solemnly announced and saw relief and gratitude flicker in his best friend's eyes. Turning to his friend's brothers, Legolas stated, "He must be allowed to do this."
"And why is that?" Elrohir sighed back.
Legolas was about to answer but Aragorn spoke instead, drawing all eyes on him.
"Because there can be no hope without faith. And if none of you have faith in me..." he let the rest of his thoughts fade to silence. The three elves seemed to flinch at the man's words, their hearts pierced with the sorrow and doubt they saw in his eyes. He was to be the hope of Middle Earth...his burden was hard enough to bear without their lack of faith lessening his tenuous conviction of his destiny.
Gently Elladan said as he met Aragorn's gaze, "Lead on, Estel. We will follow you."
A twinge of a smile flitted across Aragorn's face before he turned on his heel and began to slowly, painfully yet steadily walk through the gates of his home with three elves protectively flanking him.
Upon entering through the doors of the Last Homely House, Aragorn showed no signs of suffering a severe injury or of any weakness. His companions marveled at his determination even as they worried what price his body would demand for his brave deception. They spoke none of these concerns even as they flanked the ranger, a sight very familiar to the elves in Rivendell. Even the sharp eyes that watched them could not detect the blood soaked leg hiding behind the ranger's long coat nor any hesitation in the ranger's steps nor any pain in the silver eyes.
No, Strider the ranger was very good at concealing weakness and projecting strength. And he was determined that the stairs that led to his room would not break his façade. Step by agonizing step, he ascended the stairs, ignoring his companions' protests and brushed off their supportive holds, maintaining a white knuckled grip on the staircase's railing to ensure that his legs would not crumble under the strain.
But, however well Strider the ranger could conceal his weakness, Estel, the son of Elrond, had never been able to hide any hurts from his father. And as Elrond appeared at the top landing, Estel's head snapped up as if he knew he was caught. For indeed, caught he was.
Straightening away from the railing that he had begun to lean more heavily upon with every step, Aragorn tried to snuff out the pain that was clamoring through his body. It wasn't that he thought he could keep the knowledge of his injury from his father, not with Elladan and Elrohir here. No, all he hoped was that he could retain some of his hard won respect.
But Elrond needed no confession to know his youngest son was injured. Immediately he negotiated the stairs to his son's side and wrapped his arm around his son's waist. "Come, let's get you to your room."
Aragorn shot an argumentative look to Elrond and was about to insist he could walk unaided. But Elrond put his hand on his son's chest and softly questioned, "Rangers give aid to all in need. Can not a ranger then allow others to return that favor?"
Aragorn looked away from his father's gaze as the words burned into his brain. When he again faced Elrond, he dismantled the foolish pride that had convinced him that as a ranger he would not need or could not accept help... from anyone. "I accept your aid ... if it is still offered," he yielded with a touch of stiff diplomacy. At Aragorn's words, three distinct sighs of relief emanated from the elves that stood behind the ranger, sighs that Aragorn purposefully chose to ignore.
A smile grew on Elrond's lips though his eyes grew darker with worry. "You know the aid is still offered," he scoffed with affection and together, father and son began to ascend the stairs. "It will always be offered," Elrond solemnly promised as he looked with love to his human son. But Aragorn did not let his eyes stray from the staircase and only the tight set of his jaw indicated to Elrond that his words had been heard.
Unease grew in Elrond but he let Aragorn's silence go unchallenged. Finally they reached the top of the stairs and began the walk down the hallway to Aragorn's room. Elladan and Elrohir skirted around the slow moving father and son and slipped into the room to prepare it for it's injured owner's return.
By the time Elrond and Aragorn reached the room, the door was open, a wide path was cleared to the bed, the sheets were pulled back and a bowl of water sat on the stand beside the bed. Gently, Elrond helped Aragorn sit on the bed.
Straight away Elrond pulled open Aragorn's coat. It took him a moment to temper his raging emotions as he saw the blood seeping from his son's leg. "What happened?" he quietly asked as he shot a look to his son, his healer hands already loosening the make shift bandage.
Elladan, Elrohir and Legolas stood behind Elrond, their own worry thick in the air, almost overloading Elrond's own struggle to remain calm. Legolas opened his mouth to answer Elrond's question but Elladan clamped his hand over the prince's mouth. Legolas turned questioning eyes upon the twins. Both of Elrond's elvish sons were vigorously shaking their heads and jerking them toward their youngest brother. Legolas needed to realize that the question had been addressed to Aragorn and that Elrond would only accept a reply by his son. The twins had learned this lesson, though not quickly or with good grace.
Interpreting their actions, Legolas nodded his understanding and was released from Elladan's hold. Instantly all their eyes drifted back to rest on Aragorn, wondering what his answer to his father would be.
By now Elrond had unwrapped the shirt and laid the wound bare to his sight. He scowled darkly. With new steel in his voice, he looked up to Aragorn and demanded, "What happened, Estel?"
Aragorn swallowed down a sigh. He could do nothing but weather this storm with the truth. "I chased a stag into the mire, stumbled, and landed on the shards of a tree trunk."
At the word "mire", Elrond's breath caught. "Mire?" he echoed when his son had finished his confession. Immediately Elrond turned his head to look at his two elven sons, seeking confirmation of Estel's statement, shock and concern clouding his eyes.
But Elladan mistook the look for a reprimand. "I know, it is my fault. I should have realized we drew near to the mire. I should not have allowed the hunting party to be divided."
Three protests rose at his words.
Elrohir insisted, "No, the fault lies with me. I suggested that we try to trap the stag between us."
Even as Legolas offered, "I should have stayed with Aragorn, instead of taunting him with my boasts that I would be the one to run the stag to ground."
But it was Aragorn's frustrated words that drew all four elves's attention to him. "Stop taking responsibility for my weakness! All of you!" Silence filled the room and Aragorn bitterly confessed, "I am a clumsy human. I stumbled. There is no darker thing at work."
Elrond's face darkened, "I wish that were true, my son." After a moment he qualified, his voice bitter and full of worry, "The mire is cursed."
Aragorn sought more of an explanation but his father had again set his full attention to the wound. "You do not need to make the mire cursed to ease my pride," he said hoping to draw a response from his father.
But it was Elrohir who took the bait. "It has claimed nine lives, Estel. I would say that qualifies it as being cursed," his fear evident in his voice.
"Let me guess," Aragorn countered, "nine foolish human lives? My kind thinks nothing of trespassing," his scorn at his human brethren unveiled.
Elladan met Aragorn's eyes, "No, Estel. The nine were elves." This earned him startled looks from both Aragorn and Legolas.
"How?" Legolas asked before Aragorn could.
Elrond surprised the group by taking up the tale, "They entered the mire and either became trapped, suffered an injury or became ill." He looked up from his inspection of the wound and unflinchingly met his injured son's pained eyes. "That is why we must tend to this wound with extreme care." His look turned stern, "You will not disobey any of my orders. Is that understood, Estel?"
At Aragorn's look of protest, Elrond gripped his son's shoulder tightly, 'You will give me your word, my son. I will accept nothing less."
Aragorn had never seen his father's look so fierce. "I will," he replied, entirely too quickly for belief.
Surprisingly, a knowing smile sprang to Elrond's lips,"I want your word, Estel. Now."
Opening his mouth to offer up a protest, Aragorn's eyes met with the flinty eyes of four elves and he conceded defeat. "Alright, you have my word. I will obey your wishes."
A collective sigh escaped the younger elves and Elrond let a relieved look flicker briefly in his eyes. "Now let's tend to your latest hurt," he gently said to his youngest son. Turning to Elladan and Elrohir, he sent them off to retrieve his instruments and herbs from the healer's wing.
TBC
I'ld love to hear what you think about the story and this chapter!
*************************************
Author's Notes:
Athelassa: I'm glad you liked the dialogue about Aragorn's mortality. I just keep thinking how tough it has to be for him being a mortal among immortals. And on top of that, the elves are stronger, faster and more graceful than he is...no fair!!! By the way, if you ever translate any of your stories into English, I'ld love to read them!
Randomramblings: Thanks for your review! I hope the story remains interesting to you. And that's cool that your name's Cheryl W, there really are too few of us Cheryls in the world..we definitely have to stick together!
Bill the Pony2: I've very touched that I made it to your favorites list!!! I'm glad you liked chapter 2 (I hope you like chapter 3 too?! I really want to know what you think!) I guess I didn't necessarily think of chapter 2 as being a cliffie but since you said it was...I took mercy on you and am posting chapter 3 sooner than I was planning on it..though I think this chapter is definitely a cliffie. (Sorry)
Marbienl: Thanks for coming back and reviewing my story even though ffnet made it a challenge! And I'm glad you like my story and that you are a real sucker for Estel pain because so am I. (Why do we torture the ones we love?! ) And as you saw in this chapter Estel is in for a time of it. I really appreciate that you pointed out the sentence you liked. Sometimes I think I'm really out there and losing my audience with the weird things I have the characters say!
Grumpy: I'm glad I didn't disappoint you with Chapter 2. And yes, I think Strider's taken quite the abuse already and it's showing in his attitude. ( I mean first it was the mire, then it was the desecration of his coat, then his pants ..how much can the man take?!) As for the twins...I love when they hover and do their big brother taking care of little brother routine.
Gemstone: Thanks for reading chapter 2 and reviewing! And I love the old blame game..especially when it's all about protecting Estel. As for Estel's learning from his mistakes, I think all big brothers try to give their advice to their young siblings hoping they won't make the same mistakes. (I don't think that logic works on Estel, though, he loves life too much and tries to experience everything first hand.
Tychen: Thanks for the encouragement/tantrum/begging. And yes, it's working! I actually posted this sooner than I thought I could. I strongly react to incentives...like begging and tantrums and especially to reviews.
Ymmas Sirron: Since you seemed in dire need of chapter 3, I tried to post it as soon as I could. (But I fear chapter 3 will not long satisfy you...it's kinda a cliffie) However, Chapter 4, well that's probably a cliffie too, but it will be a longer chapter?! Does that help?!
Star-Stallion: I'm relieved to hear that I haven't crossed the line with the characterization or the argument scene. I wanted it to be believable but not over the top, sentimental but not sappy. As for Legolas and Aragorn's friendship, I think you pegged it. They are both proud but they'd die for one another.
Daniela: Thanks for taking the time to review and email me about Chapter 2. And I agree, Aragorn doesn't get much respect from the elves in his life, love yes, respect no. They never seem to accept him as an adult, a leader of men, a candidate for the throne and that bothers me as well! And I'm really glad that I expressed Aragorn's feelings ..what were your words "beautifully and clearly" (Wow! I'm blushing! Thanks for the awesome compliment!) Please let me know what you think of Chapter 3!
Vampy2k: I checked my emails right before I posted this chapter and low and behold...there was your kind review! Thanks so much for your interest in my story.