A/N: For those who have requested it, I'm going to label this story AU, as in "Alternate Universe" because it really is my own fabrication of Aragorn's life, and really doesn't follow JRR Tolkien' story at all. Thanks for your reviews, all, and hope that you will be happy when I update!

Chapter 9: All's Fair in Love and War

Aragorn felt very awkward for the next few weeks. He felt very thin, very treacherous. Haldir's sidelong glances didnt help his guilt. What really killed him was that he had not known...He had not known his own friend well enough to see that Haldir was in love. Was he so blinded by his own emotions that he had not seen anyone else around him? He swore to himself that from now on, he would try to see others ahead of himself.

One thing Aragorn could not help but see was the old man in gray. Every time he turned a corner, the man was there, looking as though he were casually marvelling at the beauty of Rivendell, but Aragorn knew better...He saw the old man watching him while smoking his pipe thoughtfully, blowing twisted vapors into the air.

The only time he was distracted from the ever appearing man in gray was when he was with her. Arwen made him feel confused and excited and nervous and confident all in one. She made him feel strong, yet just by looking at him, she could make his knees feel weak. It was perplexing to him, the way she was. She was very reserved around everyone else, but around him, she acted so much different.

One day, for example, they were walking up a very steep hill. It was a hard climb, and they were both tired when they got to the top. But the second they got there, much to Aragorn's utter shock, Arwen picked up her skirts, lay down on the ground and rolled all the way down the hill. He ran after her to see if she was alright, but when he reached her at the bottom, she was laughing, her raven black hair flung away from her face, her dress covered in leaves and dirt...She stood up and smiled at him dreamily.

"I've always wanted to do that." she said.

Yes, she amazed him. When the two of them were tired, they would take turns reading to each other, always in the Hall of Narsil. Aragorn's voice was deep and steady, giving the story a rich flavor of a folktale, told so many times that none are sure what the real tale was in the first place. Arwen however, was different. Her eyes danced when she read, leaping about the page, taking in every detail then spurting it out, her voice rising and falling with the action. She had true spirit when she read to him... As though she had been in the story herself.

Then there were her kisses...sweet as honey, golden as the sun, and passionate as any kiss could be. Arwen kissed him whenever the opportunity presented itself, whenever she was in a good mood, whenever she was in a bad mood, and whenever she just felt like it. Aragorn felt forever in suspense of when the next one would come, because Arwen gave no warning, just a distant twinkle in her eyes that Aragorn came to recognize. He was not sure what it was, perhaps the very life within her, or perhaps her immortality, but whatever it was, he came to love the light behind her eyes.

Meanwhile, Legolas was in love with...well, everyone. One day it would be a bubbly blond elf with flowers in her hair who talked everyone's ears off, and the next a solemn dark haired beauty who gave no clues as to whether she could speak or not. Legolas was in love with the idea of being in love, and it seemed that the object of his affection changed almost hourly.

Though he saw much of Legolas and his many sweethearts, he saw nothing of Haldir. Eomai told him one day at breakfast that Haldir had set up camp on the borders of Rivendell, obstinatly repeating that he merely wanted to protect his land and nothing more, but Legolas looked at Aragorn and the two shared a secret knowledge. Legolas was all for going out into the woods to make peace with their friend, but Aragon knew that peace was not what Haldir wanted...it was sanctuary. A sanctuary where Haldir could forget his thoughts, and occupy his mind with hunting and solitude. Aragorn was willing to give him this, but Legolas was not. Despite Aragorn's protests, the elf set off in search of their friend. An hour later he returned, dragging his feet sadly. Legolas looked up and his fair face shone with tears.

"He says that he wants no part of us." Legolas said, looking down sadly, "He says that as far as he's concerned, we don't even exist."

Aragorn felt terrible. Haldir had denied the two of them as friends. But Haldir should not have spoken so to Legolas. The matter was between Aragorn and he, and Haldir had no right to make Legolas feel so awful. So, he grudgingly decided to pay a visit to his ex-friend.

It was noon when Aragorn reached Haldir's little camp. Two ragged tents were set up, one for the supplies, he imagined. Haldir's steed grazed nearby. Upon seeing Aragorn it lifted its head, gave him a bored look, then returned to its grazing. A small fire was going, but there was no sign of the elf whose camp this was. Aragorn sat on a stone near the fire and sighed, waiting for Haldir to return. He spotted a small book by a pot of what must have been Haldir's breakfast. Aragorn picked it up and opened it. It was a poetry book, one that he had often seen his friend writing in. He opened to the most recent poem and read:

" Because of your rejection,

My heart in shadow dwells...

I hide from the bright sun,

And revel in the night

When I can be alone...

My companion is the darkness...

Peirced only by the moon,

That seems to laugh at me."

A twig snapped behind him, and Aragorn turned quickly to see Haldir, staring at him. Aragorn stood and threw the book down hastily, as though he had not been reading it. Haldir looked poisonous, angry enough to do something wild...and dangerous. Aragorn thought it best that he speak first, but no words came. He could not speak... Haldir spoke for him.

"I know what you came to say, but I will not hear it. You have betrayed me."

Aragorn was puzzled.

"How have I?"

Haldir's eyes flashed gray

"How could you? You knew I was in love with her!"

Aragorn replied in an even tone:

"You never told me. You never told anyone. You never told her.

Haldir shook his head.

"Legolas knew! I didn't have to tell him. He knew. Why didn't you know as well? You're smart enough. What kind of friend are you? I thought you were a better one. I thought you had guessed as well. But I was wrong. You are blinded by your own thoughts, your own selfishness...You think of no one but yourself. And you haven't learned have you? You still can't stop thinking about yourself." With that, Haldir turned and stomped off through the woods, trees swishing in the wind as he went.

Aragorn felt bitter tears fall down his cheek. The truth hurt...

Sorry this was so long...Review pleez!