Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, just those I think up of in that imagination of lack thereof of mine.

Note: this story is based on the snippets of 'story' about Aragorn serving Thengel and Ecthelion under guise of Thorongil. My apologies for any discrepancies, for the title that is sorely lacking in creativity. Another thing, I'm ignoring the fact that Theoden had 3 other sisters besides Theodwyn. And I'll be using 'Aragorn' went I'm sort of delving into his thoughts, though others would call him 'Thorongil'.

–The Eagle of the Star –
Chapter 7

It was only a few days later that Hildefir was satisfied with Aragorn's health enough to allow him outside the walls of the Healing Houses. Still, as the Ranger made his way out into the bright sunlight for the first time in nine days the Healer started muttering to himself whether he had deemed the Ranger to be strong enough too quickly. Holding back a grin, Aragorn gave him an amused look, and a promise not to exert himself too much, before walking out into the gardens that surrounded the Houses.

Hildefir had leaned against the doorframe, mostly out of lethargy after having attended to the Ranger without much rest for the past few days. Shaking his head at the young man's refusal to listen to him, he went back inside the house, his mind still wondering about the riddle of the man's ancestry. Eothir had told him that Thorongil had not wanted to disclose anything about him but his name, and refused to say anything about himself save that he was neither spy nor thrall of Sauron. The Marshal had also told him the events that had led to Thorongil's injuries, and the Healer had to admit he was impressed by the young man's courage, and his lack of hesitation in helping someone he had barely known. However, the old Healer sensed that the man was not who he seemed to be, and was hiding something from them.

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Aragorn tread barefooted on the soft dew-covered grass of the garden, happily inhaling the fresh air and listening to the gay chirping of the birds. The events that caused his injuries seemed nothing but a bad dream, the only residue of it left were the scars that stayed on his body, and refused to go. But even so, they served as a lesson to go against his impulse, and he had only the Valar to thank for the fact that Brianne had not been severely injured nor killed, though he still grieved for the three Riders who had given their life in the hunt.

The heady scent of the flowers washed away any thoughts of the 'outing' as he took in another breath, and a sharp pang hit his heart as he recalled the lovely gardens of Rivendell.

Those lush gardens had been his sanctuary for as long as he could remember, and often served as his retreat from reality or when he needed to rest his mind for a while. The greenery of them had relaxed his mind, and resting in the small space among the bushes that he had discovered as a child, he had always managed to find a piece of mind. A small smile appeared on his face as he remembered occasionally being lulled to sleep by the rushing of the waterfall nearby, before waking up near dusk and making a quick race back to his room to change for dinner. Though his family seemed to take no notice of his disheveled appearance on such occasions, he could deduce from the twins amused looks and Elrond's subtle raising of an eyebrow that they had fully known his whereabouts.

The gardens had a special place in his heart, though not completely for those reasons.

Arwen.

His smile widened as he recalled the day he met Arwen in the gardens. It seemed as though she was a heavenly vision that his tired mind that conjured up while he had to digest the surprise of the day before. He had fallen over his feet in trying to make an impression on her, and thinking back on it, he looked like an utter lovesick fool. A sigh escaped his lips as he wondered where she was now. Would she still be in Rivendell, or had she returned to Lorien? Was she already married? It was six years since he said farewell to her in the stables of Rivendell, yet it seemed almost an age ago. When Hildefir had casually mentioned that he had been uttering Arwen's name in his sleep, the Ranger had refused to meet the healer's inquiring eyes, and silently berated himself for saying her name, though he probably could not have avoided it in his delirium.

A tap on the shoulder startled him and drove the thoughts of Rivendell away. He turned around to find Brianne looking at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, and immediately winced internally at the harsh tone of his voice. He did not mean it to sound like that, but perhaps the shock of been 'crept upon' added to that.

"Um, well, I was bored sitting in my room at all and had nothing to do, so I decided to come to the gardens for a short walk, and saw you standing there like a statue, and looking into space. Anyway, I need someone to talk too, it has been so awfully quiet around here since the Riders left, so…" she trailed off, and looked at him, her eyes apologetic and her face pleading. "Sorry about scaring you like that. I promise I will never do it again. Please don't look so angry," she said as an afterthought.

Aragorn felt his face soften instantly, and let out the breath he had been holding all this while without realising it.

"Nay, I'm not angry with you, just merely… surprised. That's all. And besides, I probably exerted myself when you startled me, which probably broke my promise to Hildefir to take it easy," he said, adding the last part with a lopsided grin.

"That old man? He had been asking Eothir and the rest of the Riders about you: where you came from, your family and all that, and was rather surprised that none knew. He sure made everyone curious about your history, Thorongil, including me."

"He did?" the words issued from his mouth before he could stop them, then a moment later, "you are?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

"Well," Brianne started, "I know not how to put this, but nobody since to know who exactly you are, save your name and allegiance. You are sort of a mystery to all of us, you know? And we do not really like enigmas."

"I see. All right then, ask me what questions you have, and I will tell you what I can."

"You are not joking with me, are you, Thorongil?"

"Why should I?"

Brianne pretended to ponder about what to ask the Ranger, even though her questions were ready to shoot out of her mouth quicker than the Elven arrows. Aragorn looked at her expectantly, his answers quite formulated in his mind as they walked in the garden towards the wooden bench underneath an old oak.

"Tell me about your family," she asked once they sat on the bench.

"I guess I have no real family, save my foster family. My father died when I was but a baby. A kind man took my mother and me in soon after, and I lived in his house till I came of age, and decided to explore the earth." Brianne opened her mouth to ask him another question, but closed it when she saw that he was about to continue.

"If you are wondering, the only siblings I had were my foster father's. His sons taught me how to fight, and hunt, among other things, and usually played jokes on any visiting friends or kin."

"Sounds like my brothers…" Brianne started to say before trailing off, as a fresh wave of grief hit her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she recounted the fun times they had together as children through teenhood, and choked down a sob as she faced the fact for the hundredth time that she would never see them again.

"I miss them, Thorongil… so much," she managed to say as tears clouded her vision and made the whole world a total blur.

She felt his arm wrap around her shoulder as Aragorn comforted her as best as he could. "I know how it feels. I lost many whom I loved, and felt like brothers to me. It is all right to miss them sometimes, for their loss is a sad thing. But sometimes, we have to look at the future, and if possible, carry on what they have started."

Brianne stared at him with curious eyes, for it seemed that the man was talking more to himself than to her. "What?"

"Nothing," Aragorn quickly said, realising that he had spoken his thought out loud. "It is getting late, how about going back into the house? Come on."

With that, he got up and strode back towards the Healing Houses, not noticing the inquiring look on Brianne's tear-streaked face. She wondered at his words, for it was still barely past midday, and the sun was still high in the sky.

Tbc…

Notes:

-Hildefir is not a bad guy, he's just curious about everyone, especially now that he's old.
-The people Aragorn said he lost were his fellow Rangers. Before he entered Rohan, he served with the Dunedain to help protect the western lands, and his friends could have perished in random frays.
- And no, this is NOT going to turn into an Aragorn/OC fic. They're just friends. Sort of.

Oh, and Please Review!