Title: Top-earth, Bottom-earth, Middle-Earth
Author: FreakyHair
Summary: Arwen and Aragorn broke their troth before he left with the fellowship.Brokenhearted Aragorn gives up the thought of finding love and focuses mainly on his mission to save Middle-Earth from destruction.
But a certain blonde demonhunter might come to heal his wounds. Early season 5. Pre- Dracula.
Pairing: Aragorn/Buffy (duh!) and a tiny hint of Buffy/Legolas
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to either Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Lord of the Rings. Don´t sue me, since the only things I have in my wallet is spiderweb.

Middle-Earth

After they had put out the fire, they set off in a fast pace, not willing to waste any more time when they were so close to find the hobbits.
Something that befuddled Legolas was the fact that Buffy seemed to keep up with his long legs rather easily, walking by his left side lost in her own thoughts.

With a few looks between Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, it had gotten decided to just walk at a normal pace instead of running as they had done before she came, in order for her to keep up with them.

But the pace had soon gotten faster, as they discovered that she not only was able to keep the same speed as them, but also very endurable and unpatient.
She had complained that she wanted to get this over with and get a bath, and they couldn´t help but speeding up so the whining could stop.

She was quite a mysterium, this Buffy, and when she had told them about the demons and how she and her friends had fought against them, his curiosity had risen alot.
How woulda small woman such as herself, be able to fight against demons six times her size and weight?

She hadn´t told them everything, he was aware of that and he was sure of that Aragorn and Gimli also was.

What also was odd, was that when Aragorn later had been offering to see to her wounds, she had only shrugged him off and told him that it would heal.

Looking over at Aragorn who were walking at his right, he saw that a wistful and yet sad expression had taken over his features.

He was probably thinking of Arwen, the beautiful elleth(she-elf) which he had been betrothed to, but whom had broken his heart when confessing that she was in love with someone else, someone immortal like herself.
Although he didn´t know whom exactly this someone else was, he had his suspicions.

There had been alot of yelling that night, he had heard alot himself when taking a stroll outside in the gardens.

Aragorn apparently believed that his beloved Undomiel had been lying because of her father who wasn´t to happy with their betrothal, and whom had been trying to break him and Arwen up for a long while.
When Arwen yet calmly told him that she did not love him, he had gotten angry, called her a wench, and then left her standing alone in the gardens, silent tears streaming down her face.

Although he had apologised the next day to her, there had been an strained tension between them during the days in Imladris, before he left with the fellowship.

And Legolas feared that the friendship that was between the Evenstar and the Heir of Isildur, was forever lost.

Buffy was bored.

They had been walking for hours now, and still there wasn´t any sign of the guys they were looking for.
She was starting to get hungry, and her boots weren´t exactly made for walking. But she didn´t show any of it; she would take a break when Legolas did, no sooner.
She couldn´t start acting like a bitch now, that would totally ruin her chances with Legolas, as he seemed to be the kind of guy that didn´t think whining was a turn on.

Gazing waaay up there, she etched every single detail of his face into her memory, making sure that she would never forget the probably hottest guy ever lived.

His face was currently an impassive mask, all of his features in a relaxed state. The deep blue eyes seemed to be glazed over and he didn´t seem to notice any of the surroundings.

Or that was what she thought before he turned those lovely eyes on her, catching her gaze and giving her a charming smile.

Blushing furiously, Buffy looked down, embarrassed about being caught staring at the tall elf.

Note to self: Get sneakier.´

Aragorn looked annoyed at Buffy and Legolas, as they walked in perfect harmony next to each other.

He had trailed behind a little, wanting to collect his thoughts about Arwen, when he saw it.

Buffy looked up at Legolas with the same look that Aragorn often saw on all women who saw the elven prince. That irritated him alot, the fact that Legolas always seemed to be getting all the attention, even when he did not try.

But looking down on himself, he realised what he must look like himself with dirty and worn out clothes, stubble covering his face, and hair that hadn´t been clean for days.
Whilst he looked as if he had rolled in the mud, Legolas was as clean as ever.

As Buffy continued her staring, Legolas turned his head and gave her a smile, making the woman grow a deep shade of red and abruptly look away.
How is it that they can flirt, even when tidings is so grave?´, Aragorn thought annoyed at their display.

He and Arwen never did that.

Thinking about Arwen seemed to have a negative effect on him, and he quickly forgot about Buffy and Legolas, as the painful memories of that night came back to him.

FLASHBACK

Aragorn and Arwen were standing atop a bridge in a beautiful garden.
Arwen looked softly into his eyes as she spoke.
"Renich i lu i erui govannem? (Do you remember when we first met?)"
"Nauthannem i ned ol reniannen (I thought i had strayed into a dream)," he answered her lovingly.
"Gwenwin in enninath. U-arnech in naeth i si celich (Long years have passed. You did not have the cares you carry now.)," she told him before asking:
"Renich i beth i pennen? (Do you remember what I told you?)"
"You said you´d bind yourself to me. Forsaking the immortal life of your people," he said in Westron as he ran his fingers over the Evenstar pendant that hung around her neck.

Arwen looked down, her face grave, yet determined.

"I will not hold to my word, Aragorn."
Aragorn looked shocked at her words.
"What are you saying?"
Arwen locked her eyes with his.
"I will not bind myself to you. The feelings I thought I harbored for you is simply not there. I am not in love with you, but in someone else," she told him as a tear streamed down her face.

He pulled away from her, not believing what she said.
"Is this Elrond´s doing? Has he made you do this?" he asked her, enraged.
Arwen shaked her head serenly.
"Nay, Aragorn, it is not adar (father) who have made this deciscion for me. It is none but me."
"Stop lying to me!" he yelled at her.

"I thought it beneath you to act like a newborn, and yet here you are, claiming me to lie, when I have always spoken the truth to you!" Arwen was finally reaching the point to when she would have enough.
"I thought it beneath you to act upon your own adar´s will, when you are already over thousands of years old!"

"This has nothing to do with my adar! I don´t love you, Estel, because I love someone else!" she exclaimed, frustrated.
"And who might this someone else be?" Aragorn asked her.
"I cannot reveal this to you, Aragorn. Not yet," she spoke softly.

Aragorn glared at her.

"I know why. There is none else. Why do you have to lie to me? Why do you... I wish I´d never laid my eyes upon you, you wench," he told her scathingly.

And with that he turned around and walked away from her, not seeing the elf-maidens eyes fill up with tears.
He may have wounded her alot with his harsh words, but she had wounded him far more with breaking their betrothal like this.

Aragorn sighed as he thought of the fool he had made of himself, thinking that Arwen Undomiel would ever lie to him.
He didn´t know why he had said all of those awful things, but he sure regretted it.

It was beginning to dawn, when Legolas looked up at the sky.
"A red sun rises. Blood has been spilled this night."

Buffy looked perplexed at him.
"How the hell do you know that by just looking at the sky?"

Legolas didn´t answer, as they set off in a half walk-half run.

After running for a while, they started hearing the sound of horses coming their way.
They all quickly hid behind some boulders, so that they could identify the approaching riders and determine if they were evil or not.

When they got close enough for Aragorn to identify the banners, he stepped out from his hiding and shouted;
"Riders of Rohan, what news from the Mark?"

The whole group of riders turned around and headed towards them, then surrounding them.
One guy, which Buffy guessed was the leader, looked suspisciously at them, eyes widening surprised as he saw her.
"What business does an Elf, a man, a Dwarf and a woman have in the Riddermark? Speak quickly!"
"Give me your name, Horsemaster, and I shall give you mine," Gimli spoke up challengingly.
The leader handed his spear to another guy, and got off his horse.
"I would cut off your head Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground."

Buffy rolled her eyes at the guy. Geez, testerone overdose, much?´

Suprising them all, Legolas drew his bow and pointed an arrow at him.
"You would die before your stroke fell!" he exclaimed fiercily.

Suddenly those spears just felt a little to close for comfort.

A moment passed, and then Aragorn pushed down Legolas arm, and in doing so, making him lower his bow.
"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimli, son of Glóin, Lady Buffyand Legolas of the Woodland realm. We are friends of Rohan and Théoden, your king."
"Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe," the leader told them, and then picked off his helmet. "Not even his own kin."

And with those words, the spears got withdrawn, and Buffy felt once again safe.

"Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over these lands. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished," he told them.
"Well, that sucks."
The guy looked confused at Buffy before continuing.
"The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked. And everywhere his spies slips past our net."

Sensing what the man implied, Aragorn answered him.

"We are not spies. We track a party of Uruk-Hai westward across the plain. They´ve taken two of our friends captive."
"The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night."
"But there were two hobbits. Did you see two hobbits with them?" Gimli inquired.
"They would be small - only children to your eyes," Aragorn explained to them.
"We left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burned them," the guy said and pointed to a smoking pile in the distance.
Gimli looked disheartened.
"Dead?"
The guy nodded.
"I am sorry."

The guy turned and whistled.
"Hasufel! Arod!" Two horses walked up.

"May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell," the guy told them and then climbed up his own horse.
"Will you come with us, my lady?" he asked Buffy.

Sheshaked her head.
"Nah, I´m going with these guys. Keep them from getting killed y' know."

The guy nodded, although he didn´t really understand this womans behavior. A proper lady would never go on a search such as this without a large amount of warriors to protect her.

"Look for your friends. But do not trust to hope, it has forsaken these lands."
Then he yelled to his riders.
"We ride north!"
And off they were.

Sunnydale

Everyone was gathered in Giles apartment, hoping to find any way the bring Buffy back to them.
They had left the hospital after getting the diagnosis on Xander´s case. He was going to be fine and his state was currently stable.
Riley and Spike had gone back to the warehouse to look for clues, and Giles, Joyce, Willow and Anya were looking through various books that might be able to help them.

But as time passed by and there were still no signs of Buffy, the Scoobies were starting to lose hope.

Riley and Spike came walking in through the door.
At Giles' inquiring look, Spike gave a slight shake of his head.
They hadn´t found anything.

Giles felt that little sparkle of hope that had awakened when they came in, disappear.
What had happened?
Where was she?
Images were swirling around in his head of what could have happened with Buffy, all of them making him shudder.

He looked over at Joyce, currently sleeping with her head on the table.
Poor woman,´ he thought she must have gotten so tired by worrying about her lost daughter, that she has fallen asleep.´

"Giles," a voice suddenly said behind him, making him slightly jump.
He turned and looked at the weary face of Willow Rosenberg. The girl had lost her two best friends in a matter of 24 hours, he was actually amazed that she still hadn´t shed a single tear.
"Yes?"

"Well, I think...maybe we should call Angel, y' know, see if he can help us," the girl said, fidgeting slightly.
"Willow, as much as I would like to, I don´t think that this matter concerns him."

"IT DAMN WELL DOES!" Willow yelled at him, surprising them all, and waking Joyce.

"Buffy´s gone, we´re gonna need all help we can get to solve this," she then said in a much calmer voice. "Besides, why wouldn´t Angel be concerned? After all, he is hopelessly in love with her."

Giles looked at her face for a moment, before turning around and walking to the phone.

Middle-Earth

Gimli spitted out the dark liquid.
"Ptui! Orc blood."

They were inside the Fangorn Forest, after searching through the heaps of dead orcs and finding no hobbits. Aragorn had found some tracks in the grass that had led them into the forest.

Buffy´s spider senses were going haywire in there, and she hoped that they would find the hobbits soon so that they could leave.

"These are strange tracks," Aragorn said as he looked at the ground.
"The air is so close in here," Gimli commented.
"Like a damn rainforest, 'cept with less rain and less monkeys."

Legolas looked around.
"This forest is old. Very old. Full of memory... and anger."

Well, that´s interesting,´ Buffy thought wryly.

Then she suddenly heard loud rumblings coming through the forest and immediatly shifted into a battle-stance. Gimli did the same and raised his axe.

"The trees are speaking to each other."
"The trees can speak?" Buffy asked Legolas incredulously.
"They can´t in your dimension?"
Buffy shaked her head, listening at the rumblings coming from the trees. It almost sounded like they were growling.
Aragorn seemed to be thinking the same thing as he ushered Gimli to lower his axe.

"Aragorn, nad nâ ennas! (Something´s out there!) ," Legolas whispered to him.
Aragorn walked up beside Legolas.
"Man cenich? (What do you see?)"
Legolas looked around.
"The White Wizard approaches," he answered.
"Who is this Wizard guy?" Buffy asked, who had came up beside them.
"Buffy, not now," Aragorn only said.

Everyone readied themselves for an attack.
Legolas had borrowed her one of his twin daggers earlier during the day, so that she wouldn´t be defenceless.
"We must be quick," Aragorn told them.

With a yell the four of them drew their weapons and turned around quickly.
Legolas' arrow and Gimli´s axe got deflected and Buffy and Aragorn dropped their weapons as they got to hot to grasp.

A light emmanated from the figure that was so bright that they had to shield their eyes from it.
"You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits," the figure told them.
"Where are they?" Aragorn asked.
"They passed this way the day before yesterday. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?"
Aragorn looked confused at the figure.
"Who are you? Show yourself!"
"Yeah, turn off the light!" Buffy said.

The bright lights dimmed and revealed an old man, all dressed in white and with a long white beard.
Aragorn gasped. Gandalf!
Both Legolas and Gimli bowed.

Buffy looked confused at the others.
"You know this guy?"
"He was one of the members of the fellowship, and a great wizard," Legolas answered her, making her look even more confused.
"Fellowship?"

"It cannor be. You fell," Aragorn said astounded.

"Through fire and water. From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought with the Balrog of Morgoth," Gandalf told them. "Until at last, I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside. Darkness took me. And I strayed out of thought and time. Stars wheeled overhead and every day was as long as a life-age of the earth. But it was not the end. I felt life in me again. I´ve been sent back until my task is done."

"Gandalf!" Aragorn exclaimed, his doubts about the old man standing before him cleared.
"Gandalf? Yes... that´s what they used to call me. Gandalf the Grey. That was my name." He smiled wistfully.
"Gandalf!" Gimli seemed as overjoyed as the other two.
"I am Gandalf the White," Gandalf told them, making Aragorn grin and Buffy roll her eyes. "And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide."

Gandalf were leading the way through the forest.
"One stage of your journey is over, another begins. War has come to Rohan. We must ride to Edoras with all speed," he told them as they walked out from Fangorn.

He whistled piercingly through the air and soon a beautiful, white horse came galloping.
"That is one of the Mearas, unless my eyes are cheated by some spell," Legolas said in awe.
"Shadowfax," Gandalf told them. "He´s the lord of all horses and he´s been my friend through many dangers."
"Pretty," Buffy commented.
Gandalf smiled at her before mounting Shadowfax.
"Mount your horses, we have a long ride ahead of us."

"Buffy."
Buffy turned around to look at Aragorn.
"What?"
"You might have to ride in the front this time, if you do not wish to fall off again."
Gimli and Legolas both snickered, remembering the last ride when Buffy had sat behind Aragorn and kept falling off the horse over and over again.

Buffy leveled each of them with a cold glare before climbing up the horse.

When Aragorn had posistioned himself behind her on the horse, she bent her head backwards so she could look into his eyes.
"I hate you."
Aragorn only smiled in return, before urging his horse to follow the others, whom already had set off into the distance.