Disclaimer: See previous chapter

A/N: And so the drama begins. This is where things start getting interesting. I have been waiting forever to post this chapter, so I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 6

Bitter Words

Kalen walked quickly around the palace looking around for the only human that was in the town. Or at least the only human there now. Other humans would be arriving later tonight or early tomorrow. But before they did, Kalen needed to have a talk with the ranger. He found him within a few minutes and called to him

"Estel, can we talk a minute?"

The human raised an eyebrow. "What about?"

"I know you and I got off on a bad start and I know that I haven't really given you much of a chance." Kalen hesitated, but then continued. "I think maybe it's time I start listening to your advice. Can we start over?"

Aragorn smiled. "I would be happy to, Kalen. I know you have been through many hardships and it is very brave of you to take this step."

Kalen bowed his head slightly. "I'm going to need all the help I can get from you as soon as the people from Lake-town arrive."

Aragorn chuckled. "You'll be fine. Just relax."

Kalen rolled his eyes and changed the subject. "So, I'm curious. You say you are the adopted son of Elrond?"

Aragorn nodded and began walking with the elf. "Lord Elrond took me in when I was just a young child because my father was killed in a battle. I was raised as Elrond's own son and as a brother to Elladan and Elrohir."

Kalen smiled. "It was very nice of him to take you in." Then confusion etched over his face. "Though it seems odd. Sometimes it seems like he trust you fully and yet other times it seems that he doesn't."

"What do you mean?" Aragorn asked confused.

"It's probably nothing. It's none of my business anyway."

Aragorn was too curious, however. "No, I want to know what you mean by 'it doesn't seem like he trusts me'."

"Well, it's just something I overheard." Kalen shifted slightly and hesitated. "Your father was talking with Elrohir."

"About what?" Aragorn stopped walking and looked at the elf.

"I'm not positive, but I heard something about him saying that he loved you, but you were a still a human…" Kalen paused for a moment. "He mentioned that humans are weak and that his daughter deserves better than for a human to like her."

Aragorn bit his lip. He was able to put the pieces together. This was why Elrond had asked Arwen and Galadriel to come later. Elrond didn't want him spending too much time with her. It went back to the issue that had made him leave three years ago and had never been solved.

"Is that all he said?"

Kalen nodded. "For the most part. Are you okay?"

Aragorn's face filled with hurt and anger. "Excuse me. I have to talk with my father."

"I'm sorry I told you, Estel. I didn't mean to cause a disagreement."

"You didn't cause it. I should have known. This has been something going on between us for a lot of years. It's something I need to resolve." Aragorn replied.

Kalen nodded. "Please don't say anything about me telling you."

Aragorn nodded and stormed off. Kalen grinned evilly. His plan had worked even better than he had hoped. He had not known that an argument all ready resided between the two, but it worked perfectly. What a perfect way to get back at the human that annoyed him to no end.

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"You don't want me to see her. That's what it is, isn't it?"

Elrond looked up at the human startled by his sudden presence. He could hear anger in the human's voice. "Who Estel? What are you talking about?" He asked the question, though he was quite sure he knew exactly what Estel was referring to.

"Arwen! You delayed her coming so I wouldn't see her. Because I'm human, I'm not allowed to like your daughter. Valar forbid something like that would happen." Aragorn's voice was raised. This same conversation is what started the battle between him and Elrond years ago, making him leave and become a ranger. They had never truly resolved it and Aragorn still held anger from their previous battle. Now all that anger that had been buried for so long was rising back up.

"Estel," Elrond said, trying to keep his voice steady and not let his anger seep into his words. "I am looking out for you and for my daughter. Do not be foolish and believe that it has anything to do with you being human. I love you both and I don't want to see either of you hurt."

"You care nothing about me or my hopes and dreams. You have never had my best interests in mind." Aragorn seethed.

"Estel!" Elrond could no longer keep the anger from his voice. "Don't raise your voice at me. I have raised you as my son."

"But I have never been your son." Aragorn interrupted. "I have always been the human, the outsider, and I always will be. You have always mistrusted humans and you have always believed them to be weak. And even though you have never said it, you believe I am no different. The blood of Isildur flows in my veins. I am weak."

Elrond did not say a word. It was true. The race of man was weak. They were doomed to fail. They were corrupted by power and greed, and no matter how much Elrond had wished to push that aside, he still believed it deep in his heart.

"Then prove otherwise and embrace your future as King of Gondor."

Aragorn tensed. Elrond had hit a soft part and he knew it. "That is not my path. That is not who I am. My mother wished to protect me from that life."

"It is who you are. You can not deny that."

"No! It is not who I am." Aragorn yelled. "I am Estel, adopted son of Elrond."

"You are not a child anymore, Aragorn. You can not hide behind your elven name and pretend you are someone you are not."

"It is who I am. I am not a King of Gondor. I have never wanted that and I will not accept something that is not mine to bear."

Elrond shook his head. "You might deny it, but it is who you are. You're father is Arathorn which means you have the right to the throne."

"Perhaps I have the right to it, but that doesn't mean I will take it. That's not who I am. I have grown up in the house of Rivendell, raised as your son. I am a ranger of the north and I am in love with your daughter. That's who I am! That is the path that I want to take. Why can't you just accept me for who I am and respect my wishes?"

"I will not have a human in love with my daughter!"

Elrond's sharp tone made Aragorn cringe. He swallowed hard as he formed his next words that were full of bitterness. "If you despise the human race so much, than why did you ever take me in and raise me? You should have left me to die with my father."

Elrond sighed. "I do not despise the human race. I took you in because you were the last hope of men. I raised you to become the King of Gondor, hoping that you could overcome the evil of men and restore dignity to your people."

"If that is true, if you really believe I can restore dignity for my people and re-establish Gondor, than why do you still believe I am no different than Isildur? Why do you believe I will fail like he did?"

Elrond swallowed hard. "Perhaps you will." He said slowly. "But you have to try and I will not let you hide behind your life in Rivendell and pretend you are part of the elves. You are not!"

"So, you admit I am the outsider. I was never part of your family. Valar forbid that a greedy corrupted human would actually be part of a family with wise perfect elves. Oh Eru, what a horrendous crime."

"Estel! That is not true!" Elrond raised his voice, but the human was hardly listening.

"It is true!" Elrond did not reply right away, so Aragorn continued fuming. "You don't really want me as a part of your family. Well, fine. I will not corrupt your perfect balance of how things should be. If I ever was part of your family, I am sorry. From henceforth I will no longer be Estel adopted son of Elrond. I will leave this family behind and start a new life. If I am no longer wanted here, I do not wish to be here." Aragorn voice was steady though anger and bitterness clung to every word.

"Then so be it." That was all the words Elrond could speak.

Aragorn stood there for a moment as if hoping his father, no, Elrond would say something more. But the elf only turned and walked away. His shoulders were held high and his hands clasped behind him. He was angry, that much was certain. Aragorn squared his shoulders and walked from the room.

He rushed to the stables quickly as if he needed to get out of this place before he changed his mind about leaving. When he reached the stables, he stroked the nose of his horse Amathar.

"You will have to stay with Elrond." He said gently. "He'll take care of you."

As if the horse understood, he whinnied and stomped his hoof as if he didn't agree. Aragorn did not pay attention, however. He was busying saddling another horse. He would take one of the outside horses that had not been raised in Rivendell or Mirkwood with the elves. As soon as he was ready he walked his horse from the stable. He grabbed his few belongings and rode out the gates of Mirkwood. He didn't look back, too afraid to see everything he was leaving behind.

He pushed his horse harder wanting to be as far away from this place as he could, yet with every increasing distance his heart tore with regret. Tears were starting to fill his eyes. Regret, guilt, pain, longing for home, it all began to weigh on his heart. He pushed it away, but the tears would not leave his eyes.

Suddenly there was the sound of hoof beats behind him. Two horses racing towards him. He glanced behind out of habit, though he could have already guess who the two riders were. They called his name, but for a time he ignored it. He no longer answered to the name of Estel. He was Estel no longer. The horses only gained on him, however, and he knew there would be no getting past the twins. Within minutes they were riding beside him begging him to stop. He slowed his horse and turned the steed to face the twins.

"Don't leave like this, Estel." Elladan was the first to speak.

"Stay, think of your actions. We can get through this like we always do."

Elrohir, always the one to think first, act later.

"I am not going back. I am leaving and I have no wish to return. You can not make me." Aragorn did his best to keep his tone cold and emotionless.

"No, we can't make you, but we can try to help. This is foolishness. You and Ada are both angry. Give it some time, then things can be resolved."

"They can not be resolved, Elladan. I am human. There is no place for me among the elves. There never has been."

"Estel, you know that is not true. You have always been part of our family."

Aragorn cut Elrohir off. "If I ever was part of the family, then I no longer am. I do not want to be."

This caught both the twins off guard.

"What are you saying? After all we have been though, you can not say you are not part of this family." Elladan said trying to make sense of it all.

"That was all in the past. I reject being adopted son of Elrond from henceforth."

"Please, gwador nin…" Elrohir pleaded, but could not finish before Aragorn spoke again.

"No! I am not your brother."

"You are our brother!" Elladan cut in. "In everything but blood, we are brothers."

"I am no longer your brother. I have forsaken that. I do not want you or any elves of Rivendell to be part of my life any longer. Leave me!"

Elladan and Elrohir could not hide the pain his words caused. Aragorn made no reaction that he even noticed the pained looks. "Do not follow me. If I find that you are tracking me I will do whatever I deem necessary to get rid of stalkers watching my back."

A threat! That shocked both the twins.

"Night has already fallen. At least stay the night and think about you actions, then if you must leave, you can go at dawn." Elrohir suggested.

Aragorn shook his head. "I will not spend another minute in this place with these people. I regret every moment with the elves, every memory I've had with them."

"Everything?" Elladan asked slowly.

Aragorn glared at him. "Everything!" Aragorn swallowed hard. He knew the twins. He knew they would follow him despite his threat and that they would try to bring him back. They would keep trying unless they truly believed, he never wished to come back and that he never wanted to see them again. "I regret it all. I regret ever being your little brother and I hope our paths never across again. Now leave me and stay out of my life."

The twins were taken aback. Tears were all ready moistening Elrohir's eyes. Elladan bit his tongue hard so he would not come back with a sharp retort. As he saw his brother's head drop to his chest, however, he changed his mind. Elrohir's hair covered his face, but Elladan knew there where tears staining his twin's cheeks.

"Then depart human! Do not ride back this way or ever show your face back in Rivendell."

Aragorn squared his shoulders. "More than happy to comply." That was Aragorn's last words. He turned his horse and rode with speed away from the twins.

Elrohir raised his eyes to meet Elladan. "We can't let him leave like this. We have to do something."

Elladan shook his head. "You heard him. He has no wish to be near us anymore. Aragorn gave up his family, so in turn, we must give him up."

Elrohir stared at his brother. The twin, however, only turned and began to ride slowly back to the palace. Elrohir took one last look towards where Aragorn had rode. He could just barely see the shape of a horse and rider in the distance. Aragorn would be back. Elrohir knew it. The young human was just angry. He didn't actually mean the words he had said and he would prove it. Aragorn would be at the wedding the day after the morrow proving that he still loved his brothers and his family. Things could be resolved then. Everything could go back to the way it was. Yes, that had to be the answer. Elrohir felt sure of it. At his wedding, everything would be all right. Aragorn would come.