A/N: For those of you who don't know my character of Chubby, he is a small black squirrel who was found by Anayah after he had fallen out of his nest when he was a baby. The little one is quite intuitive and is often used as a "pet therapist." Little Chubby is based on a pet squirrel I had when I was young(er).

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"Often the test of courage is not to die but to live."
-- Conte Vittorio Alfieri (1749-1803), Italian playwright

Chapter 44

The Way Back Home

Elrond had heard what Lady Ninniach had told Aragorn and so was not surprised when his youngest son came and sat down on the ground on the opposite side of his sister. All around them the elves who had traveled to Osp with the Peredhels, as well as the Mirkwood Prince and the four guards, gathered around the three beings in silent support for they understood what it was the young ranger was about to do.

After he had seated himself, Aragorn placed one of his hands over his sister's heart and closed his eyes, clearing his mind of all thoughts and his heart of all doubts. It was no surprise to him, when all the sounds around him faded away and after he had once more opened his eyes, that he found he was in the dark and silent forest of the place that exists between the world of the living and the road to the Halls of Waiting, a place where decisions were made whether to live or die.

He knew that it was imperative that he catch up with her soon and when he caught a glimpse of movement, of someone running swiftly between the trees, and knowing it was his sister, he sprinted after her. Where she was running to or if she was running from something did not matter to him, all the young man knew was that he had to reach her before she could leave the forest. Slowly Aragorn found himself gaining on her but when he saw that the two of them were approaching the boarder of the forest, he quickened his pace even more.

Aragorn knew that he had to catch his sister before she stepped away from the protection of the forest for if she did, she would truly die, for beyond the forest lay the road that led to the doorsteps of the Halls of Mandos and once on that road, there was no turning back. Even though he called to Anayah on numerous occasions, she neither slowed nor looked back, intent only on reaching her goal. Finally she stopped, the toes of her feet touching the very border of the forest and it was there that Aragorn finally caught up with her.

He stood for a moment with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. Anayah turned her head in his direction but instead of a fond greeting, her words were spoken in a flat and resigned tone of voice.

"What are you doing here, Aragorn?"

Not put off by either the tone of her voice or the finality of her attitude, he began to walk slowly towards her.

"I am looking for my sister. Maybe you have seen her? She is about this tall," he indicated her height by holding his hand about the height of her head, "has black hair and sea-green eyes. Somebody told me that she was around here somewhere!"

Anayah gave Aragorn a look that indicated that it was quite possible that he had lost his mind. Then, again turning her gaze beyond the borders of the forest, she sighed.

"You should not be here Aragorn."

"And you should? Come away from there, sister, come back to your life."

She shook her head slowly and sadly, almost seeming to have made up her mind already.

"I do not think I will be returning, brother, for I am tired passed anything I have ever known and there is not a single place on my body, in my mind or in my heart that does not hurt. Now that all of this is over, I suddenly feel lost and without purpose and I know that all I have to do to regain the peace that I desire is to step out there."

She gestured, with her hand, to the void that lay beyond the confines of the forest and when she did, Aragorn stepped a little closer to her.

"What do you mean, you feel lost and without purpose? That statement could not be further from what actually is Anayah, and there are over a hundred elves standing around you right now who would be willing to tell you that your life does have meaning as well as purpose. Just to prove my point, Elurin is even here and though it is supposed to be a secret, I saw Chubby, peeking out of the pocket of his tunic!"

She turned towards Aragorn at the mention of little Chubby's name and for a moment, just a moment, the twinkle returned to her eyes.

"Chub is here?"

"Yes, even Chubby is here."

The young man put his arms around her waist from behind and laid his chin on her shoulder. Without thinking, she placed her hand over his, sighing as she did so.

"Now, baby sister, you can stand here and contemplate your life and purpose until the End of Days, or you can fight your way past all your uncertainties, doubts, fears as well as pain, and come back to the chaos and turmoil of your life. If the mighty and all-knowing Ilúvatar had meant for us to have a perfect life, all of us would have been born in Valinor, but none of us have a perfect life and none of us have been born in Valinor - that I know of anyway. Now I did not say that you were going to have to face this life alone, for there are many who are waiting to share it with you, to help you any way that they can."

He began to tick off the list on his fingers.

"Let me see. Oh yes, there is a set of very strange twins both of whom have a decidedly twisted sense of humor, a dashingly handsome and surprisingly intelligent human brother, an overprotective Mirkwood Prince, four extremely large Thurin Tirith Guards and a former slayer of Balrogs that thinks of you as a child of his own."

He gently turned her around to face him.

"And do you not feel Ada's arms around you?"

She frowned at her brother.

"He is sitting in the dust of the street, holding you, worried sick that you will not be coming back to him. Remember that gentle healer, who's broken heart you tried to mend not all that long ago?"

She nodded her head, looking once again out at the void.

"I remember."

"Then why are you so willing to break his heart now? And you know that your leaving him would break his heart - you know this!"

Aragorn gently took his sister's chin and turned her eyes away from the temptation of the void.

"I know that you have the strength to do this my sister, although right now your heart is having its doubts that you do. And although we both know that your life is going to be hard, you can rest assured that I will always be there for you the same way that you have always been there for me."

He smiled at her and gave her a hug then backing off a step, he held out his hand towards her and after only a slight hesitation, she took it. When he saw her blush, he looked at her questioningly though he did not release her hand.

"What is it?"

"Uh, this is kind of embarrassing to admit brother, but I have forgotten how to get back. Would you be willing to show me the way?"

It was the last piece of a puzzle that now completed the whole picture, for she had indeed come to him of her own free will and had asked him for his help. He kissed her hand lightly before he turned and began to walk back the way they had come.

"Sister, I would consider it an honor to show you the way back home."

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As Lord Elrond sat in the middle of a dusty street in the little town of Osp, cradling and rocking the lifeless body of his foster daughter in his arms, he waited patiently. The Noldor Lord hoped beyond all hope, that his youngest son, the last of the line of Númenorean Kings, would be able to use the power of his lineage and would be successful in calling his sister back from where she had gone. He watched them both, very closely, for any sign that the young Dúnadan had been successful in his mission.

He had been looking at the face of his youngest son, and had noted that the previous look of effort and concentration had been replaced by a smile, and when he felt something warm touch his arm and hand and looked down, he saw new blood. Frantically he checked Anayah, and when he saw that her wounds had begun to bleed once again, his hand flew to her all too pale neck, checking for the pulse he prayed to Ilúvatar was there.

There was silence around him as everyone waited patiently for him to confirm what they hoped he had found. Elrond closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating deeply, then when his fingers finally found what they sought, the faint, slow beat of her heart, he opened his eyes which were full of tears of relief and looked at those around him.

"She is back. Estel was successful."

Elrond knew that things could still go either way for his foster daughter, and while Legolas and Elrohir saw to it that Aragorn was properly cared for after his exhausting ordeal, Elladan and Elrond gave the primary care to Anayah. After removing the stopper, the eldest twin handed his father a small amber phial, after which Elrond carefully poured a few drops into her mouth then gently massaged her throat to get her to swallow.

The restorative acted quickly and when the Healer again checked her pulse, he found it much stronger than before. The next most important thing was to administer a dose of anti-venom. Glorfindel had already found and had dispatched the snake that had bitten her and so was able to tell his friend what kind of snake it was and since the snake was familiar and common to that area the antidote was easy to determine.

Elrond jumped when he felt a light touch on his arm and turned to see the worried silver eyes of his son looking back at him.

"Ada, how is she?"

"She will be fine, Estel although right now your sister is exhausted, and rightfully so. But how are you - are you well?" He looked the young man over with a critical eye.

"I am fine - now." He looked down at his sister, fondly.

A tent was quickly set up and Anayah was put in it on a comfortable palette as her father tended to the injuries she had suffered during her fight with the dark twin. While he tended her, the real magic, brought back to life when the twins had been merged and the fabric of reality had been mended, started to make itself known. The bloated corpses that had been lying here and there on the dusty and unused streets began to disappear and the phased out bodies of the real inhabitants of the town began to appear.

The phased out bodies of the town's inhabitants who had been pushed aside to make room for the evil corruption of Saruman's creation started to become more solid looking as they once more took their rightful places in their world. They stepped through doorways of their homes and businesses and while shielding their eyes from the bright sun of a new day, walked toward the assembled group of elves.

A small man detached himself from the group and walked up to the Thurin Tirith Guards who were standing at the entrance of the tent where Lord Elrond was tending Anayah. The man smiled and held out his hand to Rahan which the big Captain took. They shook each other's hand then the human smiled.

"I told you that the next time we met that things would be different."

Rahan chuckled.

"That you did Master Thorn. That you did."

TBC

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COMING NEXT: Epilogue: Many years before, the ancestors of the people who now stood, blinking in the sunlight of a new day had made a journey to start their own town and rebuild their lives free from the dark magic of the one who sought to control them. These people had finally found what they had been desperately searching for, for so long. They had finally found peace of spirit, peace of mind and peace of heart.

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aduwathiel: Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well.