Three weeks ago, a small party had formed. From Rivendell came Estel, a mortal man of eighteen, and the twins, Elrohir and Elladan, sons of Elrond. From Lorien, Arwen, the daughter of Elrond, a beautiful woman in her two thousands; roughly seventeen in human years, and Haldir, a young elf of unknown age. The Gondorians were Boromir and Faramir, sons of Denethor. Eighteen year old Boromir had intended on going alone, but six year old Faramir had followed. The young prince of Mirkwood, Legolas, had also attended. The dwarf Gimli had simply shown up from Moria after a visit with his cousins. The young ones, excepting Faramir, had surprisingly been chosen by Elrond to find and destroy the one ring. Arwen had had a difficult time convincing her father to let her go. But in the end, eight young people assembled, strong, brave, and ready to take on whatever came their way.

"You don't seem very happy."

"I am cold. And I am wet. And I am tired."

"Well, so am I! And I'm still happy!"

"If you were wise, you would shut your overactive mouth."

"When do you think it's going to stop raining?"

"I'm hungry!"

"We all are!"

"Will you all be quiet so I can get some sleep?"

"Stop whining you prissy bitch!"

"Remind me again why I'm here..."

Estel chuckled quietly, listening to his comrades. The sons of Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir, were the arguing ones. Boromir was concerned about the weather. Young Faramir was hungry. Legolas was the '"We all are!"'. Arwen was trying to sleep. Gimli was the one insulting her. Eowyn was having doubts.Only he and Haldir remained silent.

"Well, I think it's up to me to solve these problems." Estel decided. "Eowyn, you're here because King Theodan told you to come. Elladan and Elrohir, I'll hit you both with a wet piece of non burning firewood if you don't stop. Boromir, it should stop raining later tonight. Faramir, you wouldn't be hungry now if yesterday you hadn't eaten all of the, um, delicious lembas bread Arwen made."

The young boy sulked. "They weren't delicious, they made me sick." He pouted.

Estel quickly glanced at the only female, waiting to see if she'd heard. Deciding she hadn't, he bent down to Faramir's level. "Me too… Me too…" He whispered. Suddenly Arwen sat up.

"I heard that!" She hissed moodily. The two were in love, true, butdidn't always get along very well, and proved as a constant source of amusement to the rest of the group. An understatement. They were often at each other's throats.This incident caused quite a few laughs.

"I'm hungry!" Six year old Faramir whined again. Legolas finally stood.

"That's it! Elladan, Elrohir, Haldir, we're going hunting!" He snapped. He'd been in such a foul mood of late, the other elves, excluding Arwen, jumped to obey him. She remained where she was. The men had draped a sheet over the branches of a tree for her to sleep under. It had been Estel's idea. Although he wasn't always fond of the cocky young elf, he couldn't forget what her family had done for him, and so he was respectful. His politeness towards her had a few people thinking he fancied her, including Boromir, who was smitten with the princess himself. Estel couldn't let anyone find out about them. So there was tension. A competition between the two that was one sided. The girl had fallen asleep with no blankets in the cold evening. Estel looked over her. It was odd, how sweet she looked in sleep. Innocent. Almost… Nice. He laughed aloud at the thought of the Evenstar being warm and kind, and it woke her.

"What?" She snapped. He smiled at her.

"Nothing, Milady. Are you cold?"

"And what if I am?" She replied icily. Estel removed his coat and draped it over her. She gasped quietly, surprised. "Oh… Thank you… You really didn't have to do that..." She said quietly, stunned. This was a shock to the young man. But the gentleness didn't last long. "Can I sleep now? Please?" Arwen snapped angrily, the cold, guarded look returning to her eyes. Estel sighed. 'So much for that…' he thought. He was always trying to keep her happy, not sure what she'd done to deserve it all, however. It was just his personality, to try to get along with everyone he met. In her heart, Arwen appreciated his efforts and loved him for it. But for some reason, she'd never show it. So many times she'd been hurt and taken advantage of because of her beauty that trusting someone was a major effort, and she certainly didn't go out on a limb to do it.

An hour or so passed, and the elves still hadn't returned. Arwen woke every once in a while, and was looking a little worried. To the point where she did something she normally would never do.

"Estel… I'm worried… About my brothers…" She indirectly asked for help, speaking slowly, as if it made her sick to say those words.

He was a decent sort of man, and nodded. After all, he considered them his brothers too, having grown up with them. Boromir heard her plea as well, and jumped up.

"I'll go!" He said quickly, eager to prove himself to Arwen.

"Then go! And be quick about it." She grumbled thanklessly. And Boromir did.

"Wait for meeee!" Faramir whined, chasing after his big brother. Estel sighed. Now that he was almost alone, he didn't know what to do.

"Well, Estel, it looks like it's just you and me." She sighed, still looking worried.When alone, the young couple seemed to get along just fine. The rain stopped, and he built a fire. Arwen woke and pulled down the sheet, wrapping herself in it by the fire. Estel sat beside her, shivering, too polite to ask for his coat back. Luckily, she took the hint.

"Oh… Here… Sorry…" She muttered, giving it back to him. "Um, if you're still cold…" She dropped half the blanket over him. He was very grateful, and it showed. It seemed the fire and blanket warmed her cold heart, and she smiled genuinely several times as they talked. They talked about their families, their friends, and about Elladan and Elrohir, mostly their crazy schemes. After a while, he realized she wasn't talking anymore. He looked down, and was surprised to find her asleep, her head on his shoulder. He found himself smiling. After kissing the top of her head, he gently lay her down and covered her in the blanket. He sat in a way that she was close to the fire for warmth, but he shielded her from flying sparks. It always amused him when she acted so sweet and calm. Maybe because in the morning, he knew she'd be back to her old self. Mean and cold when others were around. Usually arrogant and haughty. And he would have to deal with it, too polite and in loveto reproach her.