Watch out for the next chapter, it's the one you've all been waiting for! ; )

Chapter 13 - The Chase of the Man and the Elf-maiden

Aragorn stood as still as stone, staring into Arwen's unavoidable eyes, apparently listening to the roar of the waterfall. But actually he was hearing Arwen's implicative words whispering emotively again and again in his ears.

Arwen glanced up and flashed him a radiant smile, taking both of his hands into her soft ones and then pulling him forward. In surprise Aragorn followed, realising, as Arwen gave him a quick glance up and down his body, that they were meant to be having a walk together, at his suggestion. They slowly wandered over towards the hanging white flowers surrounding the spraying waterfall.

He heard Arwen gave a little sigh and then she smiled brightly, clearly way on the mend by his standards. "So what would you like to do now that my father deems you old enough to have the choice?" she asked him.

At this Aragorn smiled to himself. "I always wanted to be a healer."

"That's wonderful!" Arwen exclaimed. "I can see you doing that! It suits your character… caring and kind…" she trailed off shyly and turned rosy pink.

Aragorn's burning gaze fixated on her. He felt the gentle hold of her hand still in his. A soaring wave of love poured out of his eyes, washing over Arwen's motionless form. If she had raised her fair face up to his, she would have seen his heart's call right then.

After a moment Aragorn shook himself together and glanced away. "But…" he murmured to himself, remembering what he was saying.

"Have you changed your mind?" Arwen asked, lightening up once more.

Aragorn laughed and brushed a hand over his eyes. "I had an idea recently. I tried some sword-work with Elladan and Elrohir, and we went out into the Wild for a few days. We had a few battles with some rogue orc parties, and I was actually quite good at it. Then we went out again, and I was able to use a bow and arrows as well, and some daggers. I really enjoyed it, and your brothers said that I fought excellently, not only for a mortal but also seeing as I had not even picked up a weapon before."

Aragorn gave another laugh. "But now…"

Arwen's face fell despondently. "Well, I'm sure you would have been a good soldier," she said quietly.

But she didn't see the smile on Aragorn's face. "No," he said, looking at her. "You don't understand me…" He stuttered "I… I would like to be a Ranger."

A beautiful smile graced Arwen's face, lighting up her azure eyes like stars.

Seeing this Aragorn smiled. "Then I can be every aspect of my character. I can fight for the goodness and love in this world, and I don't have to be a legendary fallen King to do it!"

With a light-hearted sigh he also said, "My father – your father – agrees with me." This came as some surprise to Arwen. "Do not be shocked!" he exclaimed. "I have had this idea for about a year now. He supports me totally, and before long now we have decided that I will leave Imladris and go into the Wild."

Smiling broadly he gazed into the gurgling river as if remembering a past conversation. He was unaware of the fallen look in Arwen's eyes, and the sadness in her hurt voice as she gave a whisper. "Before long…" she dared to say.

However Aragorn did not hear her. "I think that your brothers must have had a say in the matter!" he laughed, "but I know that your Ada was pleased right to his heart with my choice. Although, he seemed loath to let me go."

"You are still young," Arwen said quietly. Aragorn looked at her.

"I know," he said softly. He gave a sigh, leaving a silence in the air between them. He did not notice the playful smile which crept up Arwen's face.

"Which means…" she said, Aragorn meeting her eyes finally, "that you need some practise!" A brilliant smile lit up her face, and Aragorn raised an eyebrow. "Tolo!" (Come!) she laughed, and with that, Arwen moved forward to run off, her fingers pulling out of his hand, grazing out along his palm until they just touched on his tips, and she waited fondly.

Chuckling Aragorn followed her and, sure that he would keep coming, Arwen sprung off, running quicker than firelight away from him. He sprinted off hot on her tail, chasing her over to the little white path. Arwen ducked under a green trailer hanging lazily from an archway as the path scraped above the roaring river, and Aragorn took the opportunity to make a plan to try to seize her.

She had slowed down, delicately pulling apart the curtain of leaves, and was apparently unawares of Aragorn's scheming. But just as he stretched out to catch her, her narrow body twisted out of his grasp as easily as raising a finger, and turning to laugh openly at his failed attempt Arwen just ran faster.

Aragorn grinned and fled after the elf maiden, his eyes fixed solely upon her. They ran together along balconies and past archways and paved circles, heedless of the other elves who basked in the last rays of summer. They were unnoticed in the joyful rush, and their laughs soon became lost in the roars of the river and yells of other elves.

But as he chased after Arwen, Aragorn felt himself slowly become entranced by her beautiful form twisting and gliding before him. He was utterly fascinated by such graceful and smooth movements she made, as if in tune to the love-song his heart sang, and she danced to his heart's wish. His mind was filled with scores of images of Arwen, her long hair falling into ebony waves as she ran and her delicate white dress pressing to her slender body, revealing her luxurious curves and elegance.

Aragorn realised that she had seemed to have enchanted him, but she did not see this… or at least, he did not think so, not yet.

Arwen giggled as she ran before him, laughter bubbling up inside her as she let a mortal try to chase her. She knew it was a hard tease, and her father would disapprove and tell her off for being so mean… but he did not know! And anyway, for Arwen she found it amusing, and she would never let Aragorn feel the hard pain of losing.

While the skill of her elven body made her a quick runner, and her size and shape made her an even faster elf, she would slow down to run only just out of reach of Aragorn. He knew not that hardly anyone could catch her, perhaps only Glorfindel, but she liked to think that he could only if he was having a good day (and Glorfindel never had a bad day).

They presently came down into a tiny coomb hidden amongst the flourishing riverbed, and amidst the flowering grasses and butter-yellow irises, Arwen spotted a narrow crossing a few feet above the swirling blue waters. She delicately ran over the smooth stone, feeling for a moment a shaft of sunlight warm her skin before she was enclosed once more in the cool gold-edged undergrowth.

Glancing behind, she saw Aragorn cross the bridge too. He moved fast, rapider than she had believed a mortal was capable of. It made her veins shoot on end and she blushed, turning away before there was the chance that he would see. But because she was barefoot, Arwen could still sprint even faster, and she managed to escape him for a while.

Aragorn watched as she shot back up the river banks, slipping away from him as if vanishing with elf-magic. But Aragorn was not foolish, and seeing her ploy, he did not follow her winding path, but with a grin sneaked through the undergrowth, unseen because he was hidden by all the leafy plants.

At a jump he emerged back onto the path, having gained many paces, and Arwen's eyes widened in surprise. He was so close behind her now, and unwaveringly resolute that he would not let her go. His mind was fixed on Arwen so totally that he did not realise the depths of his breaths and the heaving of his chest. The music of Rivendell's nature filled his ears instead – the rush of the waterfall, the buzzing of the bees, the shouts of the elves, the song from the halls, the tweeting of the birds, the gurgling of the river, the hum of the insects… the sharp breaths that passed Arwen's lips…

He saw her flee up some steps and they came much nearer to the House, passing along a ledge below the first few rooms. Some elves peered out of their windows as they passed, but most of them were outside on their balconies, laughing and talking peacefully, barely batting an eyelid at their chase. They were there and then gone so swiftly that many elves did not even see them pass.

Aragorn followed closely, weaving in and out of the marble pillars outside the entrance hall while they darted past Elrond's window, gone like the wind before he could search for the miscreant who had scattered all his papers in an uncalled-for breeze. They jumped down a few steps, and then ran up some more, shooting like fire-bullets past the main hall, where elves munching thoughtfully on lembas bread glanced up in surprise at the strange sight laid out before the windows.

Arwen led him hurriedly beneath a canopy of honeysuckle, where the flowers were at last beginning to fall and daintily laced her white dress… before Aragorn charged past and sent them fluttering with chatters back into the air. He saw the excitement in her eyes as he came so close to catching her, so near as they ran round the bend in the path and he stretched out his empty fingers. But he could not quite do it.

She scurried towards a spiralling staircase, rising up from the lawn and curling upwards towards the sky. Aragorn followed it upwards with his eyes, and in doing so collided with a bush. A showering of leaves and butterflies was sent everywhere. Arwen broke down in laughter and helplessly leant against the stair rail as she watched him dazedly detach himself.

Then suddenly he leapt over the bush as if filled with renewed energy and his outstretched hands brushed over the silky surface of her dress. With a shriek Arwen ran for her life, Aragorn flying up the steps after her, too in love with her beauty to allow her out of his sight. He found that he was catching up, since he was able to take a few steps at a time, whereas Arwen was forced to glide up them like a lady.

That second that pity took the half of him, he regretted it, for Arwen took the chance to almost pass a whole circuit of the winding stairs. But he pulled himself on, his hands grasping feebly at the warm steps above, his determination overwhelming his body's ability. Never before had so young a mortal managed to keep up such a speed after an elf within the boundaries of Imladris.

All Aragorn could see as he chased her were the elegant bare feet running before his eyes up the stone steps. In the sunlight her pink toenails flashed like rose petals scattered about the ground, when he looked they were in one place, then he blinked and they were in another. The hem of the white dress rustled around her ankles, held up by her hand, and it scuffed the ground in a single sweep when she reached the final step and let it go.

Panting Aragorn launched himself over the last three steps and a narrow white bridge appeared out in front of them. It was as smooth as water, and it shot forward like a channel of water to vanish into the trees. Yet ahead, as he followed closely after Arwen's dashing slender body, with surprise he began to make out the waterfall of the garden they alone knew.

Aragorn glanced around at the other elves who stood by the house, laughing and playing too. But none of them seemed to have noticed the appearance of the garden. He turned back and ran carefully across the bridge. A showering of laughter reached his ears. He saw Arwen way ahead of him and smiling brilliantly as she slipped into the trees like a shadow.

Aragorn shook the thoughts out of his head, speeding up to jump from the little bridge to the soft ground and sprinted after the elf maiden, catching sight of her white dress through the snowy tree limbs. To his great disbelief, he was catching up on her very well, for any elf could easily elude him. Yet then he saw the tell-tale hint: while she was running, Arwen slowly looked down and turned her head the smallest inconceivable amount, in order to sneak a look over her shoulder at him.

It was then that a smile burst out onto his face. Arwen was doing this on purpose.

A path became apparent as they ran through the undergrowth, and soon recognisable ferns pulled back to give way to interlocking bushes of multicoloured flowers which held in the tumbling flowers of the garden. Aragorn watched as Arwen slipped with ease under a wave of birch leaves from the massive birch tree, and promptly she vanished, the hand she held on the branch sliding after her and disappearing too.

Aragorn leapt forward, diving underneath the branch, and emerging into their secret paradise. Arwen was barely ahead now, her shining dress rippling over the rich green grass as she ran, but she turned slowly as she sensed him behind her, and gave him an alluring smile.

Mirroring her joy, with his eyes twinkling brighter than the last catches of the summer sun, Aragorn ran to her, sweeping Arwen up into his arms, cradling her to his body with more love than a baby, and he twirled her round and round as their voices mingled in screams of laughter. Undying happiness arose within them, flashes of heaven passing before their eyes as they swirled round and round, lost in each others' eyes.

Gradually Aragorn slowed down, their laughter quietening, and finally Aragorn put down his last footstep. He paused as he searched Arwen's blue eyes, feeling her intake of breath as she was about to say something. His senses were suddenly aroused, maybe because Arwen's arm was resting around his neck, or her chest was brushing against his, or perhaps because he was in such proximity to her beauty…

But instead Arwen simply sighed amorously, and smiled as she looked him in the eyes-