Disclaimer: Me no own. Me broke as a $2 watch. So please no sue. Me no own songs either.

A/N: (Looks at number of reviews) OO There are over a hundred reviews. OO OMG! That is way more than I thought I would ever get on any story! WHOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! (Does a little happy dance, which the readers are very lucky they can't see) Thank you guys so much! And I must appologize yet again for taking forever and a day to post this chapter. Good Lord and Lady, it's been over a month! I'm sorry. And I regret to inform you that you will probably have a long wait for the next chapter as well. Which royally sucks for all of us, doesn't it? I'll do my best to get it written and out as soon as possible, but no guarentees. Sorry. :[

Kaye Thorn: Thank you very much. One of my fave songs, too.

Lothliana: Yup, that's where it's from. I thought so, too.

SarcasmSage: Thank you.

Elainor: Thank you. Glad you're enjoying. Yeah, it is hard to get up in front of an audience and sing. I was so nervous the first time I did. Absolutely terrified. Even with two friends up there singing with me. All of us were terrified. The first time is the hardest. It does get a little easier once you're up there and start singing. You never really stop getting nervous before each preformance though. If you do, something is wrong. Hope that works out for you eventually. Good luck.

sweetlittlecherry: That is a good idea, but not quite what I'm looking for. Thank you though. I might work that in a little anyway.

Ethan: Dude, have you ever tried to write a fanfic this long? Believe me, it ain't easy. I know it's kind of a pain, but just try to deal with it.

Tieru: Thanks. And there's nothing wrong with being loud... sometimes.

Okay, got a kind of long chapter for you this time. In this chapter, Valora gets to, gasp, annoy Boromir. And, yes, there will be more Aragorn/Valora bonding. Aragorn/Arwen shippers, relax. I'm one of you. It's not leading up to anything other than a friendship. Aneezwayz, enjoy. Oh, and for those who don't know, Estel is one of Aragorn's names. It wasn't used in the movies, I don't think. At least not the first two, which I have. I've only seen Return of the King once, but I'm pretty sure they didn't use it. I believe it's the name Elrond gave him. I think it means hope, but I'm not sure. Oh, and there's a big reference to another movie in this chapter. If you don't know which movie, shame on you! Ahem. Sorry for babbling. On with the story.

Oh, and since FF.net is being a big butt, Song Lyrics will now be italicised and there a dotted line (----) whenever time jumps forward or it switches point of view.

They quietly packed up their supplies. Aragorn glanced at Valora, who was still sleeping. Boromir and Gimli had wanted to wake her earlier, but he had told them to let her sleep. The poor thing was exhausted.

They were almost ready now. Aragorn cringed a bit, knowing they would have to wake her soon. He could only imagine what she would say and do to whoever was the unfortunate one to do the waking. He had already decided not to send one of the Hobbits this morning. And Boromir was out of the question. She might break his nose. He would give her another minute or two, until he decided how to approach her.

Legolas finished securing a bundle of supplies to Bill's back and approached Aragorn. "We are nearly ready to leave. Should we not wake her now?" He nodded towards the sleeping girl.

"I suppose so," Aragorn sighed. Then he smirked slightly. Looking as innocent as possible, he turned back to Legolas. "Why don't you wake her up?"

Legolas gave his friend a suspicious look. He was up to something. Cautiously, he moved away from him and made his way to Valora. He was aware that Aragorn was watching closely. What was he planning?

"Valora," he said softly, kneeling down to gently shake her shoulder. "Valora."

She grumbled in her sleep and buried herself further into her blanket.

"Valora," he said again, a little louder this time.

"What?" she asked harshly.

Legolas was a little surprised. "It is morning."

"So?"

"We must leave soon."

"Good. Maybe I can get some damn sleep once you're gone." She pulled the blanket over her head and attempted to go back to sleep.

Taken aback by the normally quiet girl's behavior, Legolas shook his head. "Valora, you must wake up." He pulled the blanket off of her face.

Very annoyed now, Valora rolled over to face him. "Go to hell, Elf-boy." She then yanked her blanket out of his hand and rolled back over.

Legolas stared. He turned around when he heard smothered laughter. Aragorn and the Hobbits had their hands over their mouths in an attempt to silence their amusement. Merry and Pippin were practically falling over each other laughing. And their laughter was drawing the attention of their other three companions to him. He narrowed his eyes at them. Feeling his patience thinning a bit, he pulled the blanket off of Valora entirely.

"What the fuck-?" asked Valora in surprise. "What are you doing?" Disapproval rang heavy in her voice and matching scowl.

Legolas calmly folded the blanket, standing up so that she couldn't snatch it back. "We should have woken you earlier. Now, unless you would like the Hobbits to eat what food we managed to save for you, I suggest you get up."

Valora glared at him. Finally, expelling a harsh sigh, she attempted to sit up.

Legolas knelt down again and helped the still bleary eyed girl into a sitting position. He smiled ever so slightly as the humor of the situation hit him. This was Valora, after all. "You are not a morning person, are you?"

"Until I've either gotten some caffeine into my system or am fully awake, whichever comes first, but preferably both, I'm not any kind of a person. Just ask Aragorn and Frodo. What are you laughing at, short-stack?" she demanded, giving Gimli a death look.

Gimli scowled at the term she used to address him. The scowl deepened when he saw the amused smirk on the Elf's face.

Once he was sure she wouldn't attempt to go back to sleep, Legolas went over to a still amused Aragorn. "You knew she would react that way to being woken, didn't you?"

"I had an idea," he admitted.

"Why did you not warn me?"

"Because I thought it would be entertaining to see your reaction." At this, he started laughing again. "You should have seen the look on your face, mellon nin."

Oh, he is going to pay for that, thought Legolas. "How could you have known? She is usually awake before the Hobbits without any of us having to rouse her. And she has never seemed so... grumpy in the morning before."

"Haven't you noticed? She's been deprived of sleep since we left Rivendell." He frowned slightly. "I think it is worry that keeps her from finding as much rest as she needs. You have seen how I can sometimes get on occasion, when deprived of enough sleep. And she is even worse."

"So I noticed," he replied dryly. "I believe you will be waking her up in the mornings from now on, Estel."

Aragorn grimaced at the thought.

------

"Valora, could you sing us another song?"

Valora rolled her eyes at Merry's question. Ever since last night, he and Pippin had been pestering her. Well, excluding this morning when she had still been in a vile mood. The moment she bagan acting like an actual person again, they had started asking. This was probably the fourth or fifth time they had asked, at least. And it wasn't even noon yet. "May I ask why?"

"It's too quiet," said Merry.

"Maybe later." She hoped it would shut him up for now.

Normally, they wouldn't bother her so much when they knew she was losing her patience, but since Aragorn was here to protect them, they pressed the matter.

"Come on," said Merry.

"Something lively," added Pippin.

"Guys, if the quiet bothers you so much, why don't you sing?" she asked.

"Because you have such a nice voice," said Pippin.

Color rose in her cheeks. She suspected that they were complimenting her partly to flatter her into singing for them again, but mainly because they knew that the compliments embarrassed her.

"A song to fill the silence might be nice, lass," added Gimli.

At least he's talking to me again, thought Valora. It had taken a good hour after she apologized for calling him 'short-stack' before he had forgiven her. But he still hadn't said much to her this morning. She sighed heavily. "Are you guys going to gang up on me every time you want me to sing?"

"Most likely," answered Merry.

"Well, I appreciate your honesty," she said dryly. "I can't think of a very lively song right now, you guys. I'm still kind of tired."

"Not even one?" asked Pippin, disappointed.

"Give me a few minutes. I might be able to think of something." She thought as they continued walking. After a few minutes, she said, "Well, I don't know if it's all that lively, especially without the music, but I have a song."

The two Hobbits shrugged. "Go on," said Merry.

"Okay," she said. She felt a bit nervous. She was still quite unused to singing in front of anyone. And she was uncomfortably aware of the fact that nine of her companions were now listening with interest. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm herself. Then she took another breath and began to sing.

You can change your life If you wanna You can change your clothes If you wanna If you change your mind Well, that's the way it goes But I'm gonna keep your jeans And your old black hat 'Cause I wanna They look good on me You're never gonna get them back At least not today, not today, not today 'Cause

If it's over let it go and Come tomorrow it will seem So yesterday, so yesterday I'm just a bird that's already flown away Laugh it off, let it go and When you wake up it will seem So yesterday, so yesterday Haven't you heard that I'm gonna be okay

You can say you're bored If you wanna You can act real tough If you wanna You can say you're torn But I've heard enough Thank you... you made my mind up for me When you started to ignore me Do you see a single tear It isn't gonna happen here At least not today, not today, not today 'Cause

If it's over let it go and Come tomorrow it will seem So yesterday, so yesterday I'm just a bird that's already flown away Laugh it off, let it go and When you wake up it will seem So yesterday, so yesterday Haven't you heard that I'm gonna be okay

If you're over me, I'm already over you If it's all been done, what is left to do How can you hang up if the line is dead If you wanna walk, I'm one step ahead If you're moving on, I'm already gone If the light is off then it isn't on At least not today, not today, not today 'Cause

If it's over let it go and Come tomorrow it will seem So yesterday, so yesterday I'm just a bird that's already flown away Laugh it off, let it go and When you wake up it will seem So yesterday, so yesterday Haven't you heard You're so yesterday

If it's over let it go and Come tomorrow it will seem So yesterday, so yesterday I'm just a bird that's already flown away Laugh it off, let it go and When you wake up it will seem So yesterday, so yesterday Haven't you heard that I'm gonna be okay

"Very nice," said Gandalf from the head of the group.

Valora raised an eyebrow and tried not to smile. Gandalf? A pop fan? Well, wonders never cease.

"Yes. Thank you, Miss Valora," said Sam.

Valora got a look of frustration on her face. "Sam, how many times do I have to tell you that it's just Valora? No Miss on the front."

"I don't know, Miss Valora."

She rubbed her temples.

Boromir snorted. "I should think most girls would want to be addressed formally and given special treatment. After all, don't most girls dream of being a princess?"

"How about another song?" asked Frodo. He hoped it would be a distraction. Considering the look Valora tossed over her shoulder at Boromir, it would be a good thing if it were. Honestly, hadn't the man noticed by now that it was not a fun thing to be on Valora's bad side? Then again, considering he already was on her bad side, he might not care how angry she was at him. And she wasn't exactly on his good side, either. In any case, he should at least acknowledge that Valora wasn't like most other girls. If she was, she most definately would not be here right now.

Valora gritted her teeth. Then she smirked inwardly. She tried to think up a song that would really annoy Boromir. No, she thought. It didn't necessarily have to annoy him, though that would be nice, just something he wouldn't particularly like. And preferably something that would get stuck in his head, whether he liked it or not.

It took her a few moments to think up a song. Finally, she thought of one that would be sure to get stuck in his head. Trying not to grin devilishly, she opened her mouth, took a breath and began to sing.

We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot Drink up me hearties, yo ho! We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot Drink up me hearties, yo ho!

Yo ho, yo ho, A pirate's life for me!

The entire Fellowship looked at her with raised brows. Where, in heaven's name, had she learned this song? And why would anyone sound so proud singing it?

We extort, we pilfer, we filch and sack Drink up, me hearties, yo ho! Maraud and embezzle and even highjack Drink up me hearties, yo ho!

Yo ho, yo ho, A pirate's life for me!

We kindle and char and inflame and ignite Drink up me hearties, yo ho! We burn up the city, we're really a fright Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!

Yo ho, yo ho, A pirate's life for me!

We're beggars and blighters and ne'er do well cads Drink up me hearties, yo ho! Aye, but we're loved by our mommies 'n dads Drink up me hearties, yo ho!

Yo ho, yo ho, A pirate's life for me!

We're rascals and scoundrels, we're villains and knaves Drink up me hearties yo ho! We're devils, we're black sheep and really bad eggs Drink up me hearties, yo ho!

Yo ho, yo ho, A pirate's life for me! Yo ho, yo ho, A pirate's life for me!

"What was that?" asked Boromir.

"Oh, just a song I learned a while back," she answered casually.

"It was horrid."

"Oh, I don't know. I kind of like it. It's fun to sing."

"I liked it," said Pippin.

"So did I," said Merry.

The other Hobbits agreed. As did Aragorn and Legolas. Gandalf said nothing, just shook his head. Gimli chose not to comment. Boromir just rolled his eyes.

Nearly fifteen minutes later, Boromir began to hum. He didn't seem to realize it at first. When he finally did realize that he was humming, and exactly what he was humming, he came to a complete and abrupt halt.

Aragorn nearly crashed into him from behind. "What is it?" he asked.

Boromir said nothing, just glared at Valora as everyone else came to a halt and turned to see what was going on.

"Were you just humming that song that Valora sang?" asked Pippin curiously.

"Yes, unfortunately I was." He continued to glare at the now smirking, and desperately trying to hide it, Valora.

"I thought you didn't like the song," said Pippin, looking confused.

"I don't. The tune seems to have lodged itself in my mind."

It was stuck in his head, in other words. Valora carefully kept her laughter held in as the group turned ahead once again. However, she couldn't help muttering under her breath, in a deep voice, "Mission accomplished."

Legolas heard her easily from his place right behind the wizard. He clamped his lips together in an effort to suppress his own laughter. Why that little... She had planned that. As they continued, he wondered what other tricks and surprises Valora Caley had up her sleeves.

------

They had stopped for a rest. It was early afternoon, judging by the position of the sun. Sam was sitting next to the fire, preparing a small meal for everyone. Merry and Pippin had found some wild berries that hadn't withered in the growing cold yet and were happily picking them. Frodo and Valora were sitting side by side on a dead tree, playing some sort of game, drawing on the ground with sticks. Aragorn and Gandalf were smoking their pipes. Legolas and Boromir were keeping watch for danger. Gimli was snoring while he took a brief nap.

Curious, Boromir approached Valora and Frodo, trying to see exactly what they were doing. He frowned in confusion. Valora was drawing small X's and Frodo was drawing O's. His frown deepened when Valora drew a line through three of her X's.

"Sorry, Fordo. You lose again. You're getting better, though."

Frodo slumped his shoulders in defeat. That made four times in a row she had beat him. In fact he'd only beat her a few times since she'd taught him this game back in the Shire. Not that they played it often, but often enough that it had become evident that it was simply not his game. Such an easy game, too.

Valora laughed. "You still beat me at checkers all the time."

He brightened a little. "That's very true."

"What are you doing?"

They both looked up at Boromir. "A game," explained Frodo. "It's called Tic-Tac-Toe." At Boromir's blank expression, he explained the rules. "You have to try to make three X's or O's in a row and try to keep your opponent from doing so first. You can only draw one X or O at a time."

Boromir nodded, getting the general concept. "I see. A strategy game."

Frodo nodded.

"It sounds simple enough."

Frodo frowned slightly. "As long as your opponent is not much better than you."

"You're getting better," repeated Valora. "And besides, I've been playing this game since I was about five. You just learned it not too long ago."

"Five?" asked Boromir, surprised.

"Mm-hm. My-" she stopped herself. She'd almost mentioned someone she'd just as soon forget, were it possible. "A relative taught me when he was bored."

The two frowned at her abrupt change in description of whoever had taught her this game. A painful subject, perhaps?

"Want to try it?" asked Valora, giving Boromir an innocent look.

Boromir eyed her. That look surely meant trouble. Still, there was the hint of a challenge in her eyes. He couldn't bring himself to turn away from it. He settled himself on the ground opposite her.

Ten minutes later, Boromir scowled darkly as Valora crossed through her three X's yet again. She was better than he had expected. Much better. He'd assumed she was better than Frodo because Hobbits were peaceful folk, uneducated in matters of war. Gondorians lived on the brink of war at nearly all times. Strategy skills were necessary to survive. Clearly, his assumptions had been wrong. Out of the five games they had played, she had won all of them. And that wasn't even counting the first game they had played where she had just tried to let him get a feel for the game.

Valora stifled her laughter at his obvious frustration. He had underestimated her and overestimated himself. That was a common mistake people made with her. Always, she used it to her advantage. Unless she really pitied whoever she was dealing with or had some specific reason for letting them believe they were superior. "Bad luck, Boromir."

Before he could respond, Sam announced that the food was done. Shooting her a look, he got up and went to get his share before the Hobbits got to it. Frodo follwed him, a smile on his face.

"That wasn't very nice."

Valora jumped. She turned and glared at Aragorn, who had managed to sneak behind her. "Do you derive some kind of sick pleasure out of surprising me?"

He smirked. "No," he assured her. "But I do think you need to practice being more alert."

She opened her mouth to argue, but snapped it shut. Grudgingly, she nodded. "Point taken. I suppose I should be happy you didn't grab me from behind."

"This time," he said, still smirking. "But I still do not think what you did to Boromir was very nice."

"What?"

He gave her a look. "Letting him think you are not as smart as you really are and then challenging him."

She shrugged. "It's not like I twisted his arm, Aragorn. And is it my fault if he makes assumptions about people before he really knows anything about them? Do you remember what he was like when you said he couldn't wield the Ring during the Council?"

"Still, you should not be at odds with each other. We need to work together to protect Frodo. What you did-"

"What I did," she interrupted, "was teach him that he shouldn't judge other people before he knows them. If he does, it'll get him into serious trouble someday. I don't care how great of a fighter he is, if he keeps underestimating people, he's eventually going to go up against someone and lose because of it."

"I see." He had to admit, she had a very valid point. "But please, try to get along?"

She sighed. "Fine."

"Good. Now, I think we should get our midday meal while it is still available to us."

She nodded and stood. While he stepped over the dead tree, she had been sitting on, Aragorn made to put his hand on the small of her back and accidentally grabbed her side lightly. Valora let out a surprised yelp and jumped away.

He looked at her in confusion for a moment. Then an evil smirk spread slowly across his face. "Are you ticklish?" he asked in an overly-casual tone. His smirk grew when he saw something akin to panic in her eyes.

"No." That had sounded somewhat meek and not very convincing at all. She mentally kicked herself.

Aragorn's smirk disappeared, only to be replaced by a broad smile. He took a small step closer to her.

"Aragorn, no." She began backing away slowly. "No. You-you wouldn't dare." He kept advancing. The look on his face told her that, yes, in fact, he did dare. Oh, boy. "Aragorn, no. No!" She started running just as he lunged. She didn't need to look back to know that he was right behind her.

It didn't take long to catch her at all. She shrieked as he did. And with good reason. He had tackled her in the middle of the clearing they were in. "Aragorn, don't!" she pleaded. "No!" she yelled as he bagan to tickle her mercilessly. "Aragorn, stop!"

The others had all looked over the moment she yelped. Except Gimli, who had woken when Aragorn tackled Valora, demanding to know what was wrong and where his ax was, only to stop short when he realized what was causing Valora to shriek. Now, they watched the most obvious display of affection they had seen between Valora and Aragorn in amusement.

Valora tried to pry his hands off of her waist with absolutely no success. When she tried to defend herself, he caught both of her wrists in his left hand and held them firmly, so she couldn't do anything. "That's cheating!" she managed to cry out. She tried to twist away from him. "Help!"

"Do you surrender?" asked Aragorn.

"Never!" she yelled through her shrieks of laughter.

Aragorn's response was to tickle her even more.

"Okay," she finally shouted. "Okay, you win! I give up!"

He stopped and looked down at her.

"I give up," she repeated.

Aragorn smiled in triumph. "Ha! Victory!" he cried, raising his fist into the air.

Valora smacked him on the arm. "This time. Now get off me."

He obliged and rolled off of her. She immediately scrambled to her feet, brushing dried leaves and twigs from her clothes and hair. When he began to climb to his feet, she grabbed one of his feet and yanked it out from under him. He fell back to the ground with a startled cry and a thud. The second he landed, she let go of his foot and darted a few feet away.

"Now whose victorious?"

"Oh, you little..." Aragron lept to his feet and went after her. To his dismay, she ran behind Gandalf and peeked out from behind him.

"Alright, enough of this foolishness," said Gandalf sternly.

Valora stuck her tongue out at Aragorn. He made a face at her in return.

Boromir was partly amused. At the same time, he found himself questioning Valora's presence in the Fellowship even more. She had been furious with him for saying that she was a child, yet she had just acted like one. And no one else seemed bothered by it or seemed to want to call her on it. Worse, it seemed that her personality was rubbing off on the others. And that damned song she had sung earlier was repeating itself in his head again!

Never had any one person annoyed him so much.
Well, hope you enjoyed. I think I got all the lyrics to "A Pirate's Life for Me" right. I'm pretty sure, anyway. If I didn't, oh well, it's close enough. And that damn song "So Yesterday" was stuck in my head for the longest time. I put it here pretty much because of that. Maybe now it will get the hell out of my head and stop bugging me. Sorry if you don't like that song. If you don't like "A Pirate's Life for Me"... well, that's your problem. And I know Tic-Tac-Toe doesn't exactly seem like a hard game, but it is a strategy game nonetheless. And it can be hard if you're new at it and you're opponent is really good at strategy games. Besides, because it does seem so simple, it was an easy way for Valora to piss Boromir off some more. :)

And I am sorry if Aragorn seems a little out of character. Let's face it, other people affect us. Valora tends to bring out some playfulness in our beloved Ranger.