Title: Green Leafed Hope.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything...blah blah...yes we all know the drill.

Thanks if you reviewed my first chapter! More action coming, I promise!

Chapter Two - Over-protected

The young man of about twenty lay dozing contentedly in the warm grass. The afternoon sunlight spilled through the beech leaves dappling the forest floor with green and gold. Estel could feel the sun's heat on his face, making his eyelids heavy. Insects droned in the air; the trees murmured to each other in some secret, forgotten language. Nature was at peace.

He had ridden out from Rivendell in the early morning, just telling the Elf who was working in the stables that he needed some air. He knew there would be serious trouble later when he got back for going off without permission but at that moment in time he couldn't care less. Let 'later' look after itself.

As he relaxed on the grassy bank, Aragorn's thoughts went to his brothers, Elladan and Elrohir, identical even down to mischievous twinkle in their eyes. He grinned as he recalled the look on Glorfindel's face as he realised he had been the victim of another of their 'jokes'. But as much as Glorfindel had raged and shouted (the phrase 'Elves of your age should know better,' appearing frequently in the following admonishment) Aragorn knew they would all find it very quiet in The Last Homely House when the twins left with the Rangers that day. The very thought of the Rangers left a bitter feeling in the young man's stomach.

Flashback

Estel was sitting on the edge of his balcony, his legs hanging in the empty air, leaning back against the wall. Clouds scudded across the blue sky. The garden stretched out below him and he watched a pair of squirrels playing high in the branches of a nearby oak tree. Suddenly, he felt a slight touch on his shoulder. Estel jumped, almost falling off the balcony in surprise, and grabbing the nearest thing in reach to stop himself plummeting to his death. This object unfortunately happened to be the leg of the elf who had tapped his shoulder, his brothers' friend Halatirno. The Elf stepped back, laughing.

"Hey!"

The young man let go of the elf's knee, looking embarrased.

"Sorry." he grunted. The Elf waved the apology aside, still laughing.

"Sorry for startling you, my friend. I forgot you have a human's hearing. Cuino has just told me that the Rangers are expected back this evening. I knew you'd be interested so I thought I'd come by and let you know."

'Interested' hardly summed up the intensity of Estel's emotions. A sudden ball of excitement flooded into his chest at the thought of the rangers, his friends. This was what he had been waiting for, for what seemed like so long. He quickly stuttered out his thanks to his elven friend and ran down the hall to find his brothers. This was it! In a few days he would be one of the Rangers for good. He had ridden out with them several times before, but last month had been brought back by his brothers with a poisoned orc arrow embedded in his shoulder. Since that incident, Elrond had returned to his normal over-protective self, and Estel had been confined to the house. But now he knew his ada would let him go again. He sped off round the corner, as Halatirno stared after him with a smile.

End flashback

Aragorn sighed and rubbed at the healing wound on his shoulder. That had been Elrond's argument, of course, that he wasn't completely well again yet. True, his shoulder did sting from time to time, but he was perfectly capable of looking after himself. But in the end, his ada had stood firm by his decision, so that was that. The Rangers (with Elladan and Elrohir) were due to leave Rivendell again tomorrow and he would not be with them.

Estel had been angry at first, convinced that his father thought him incapable. That was partly the reason why he had ridden off by himself that morning. He also did not want to have to say goodbye to brothers, and to see his only friends riding off without him. The Elves were all very nice but sometimes he longed for the company of his own kind. They would be gone by the time he returned. However, the day's ride had cooled his anger, and his normal, cheerful disposition was beginning to return. The Rangers would not be long away and Estel was determined that he would ride with them next time, no matter what he had to do to win his father's trust first.

Nearby, his horse snorted, recalling him to the present. He reached out a lazy hand to pat the beast's back. "Come on sadron pen. Let's go home".

As he swung himself into Mithren's saddle, Aragorn thought of his father's words to him, "I only want to protect you, ion nin."

Does he actually want to protect me, or just the heir of Gondor? He wondered in a moment of bitterness. However, he pushed down that uncharitable thought and turned the grey stallion towards home.

translations: ada dad/daddy

sadron pen faithful one

ion nin my son

I can't update if you don't review! So review if you want more. In fact, review even if you don't!

namárië ar sérë, híninya

nienna xx