To Become a Ranger

Chapter 8

Home

Alyssa sighed as she sunk down the side of a tree her energy and will to keep on going was spent. They had just made it across the river and the boarders of Rivendale after a one and a half grueling days of strait running with vary few stops so they could make it on time to meet the horses and elves that where sent for them.

She looked around herself, Merry and Pippin where in heaps on the forest floor breathing heavily and trying not to fall asleep, and she didn't blame them they weren't used to this type of travel nor where they made for it either. Sam was slowly tending there reliable little pony they had picked up in Bree and was stripping off its packs before taking it over to the river for a drink of water. She looked over to Aragorn, he was on his hands and knees with his ear pressed to the ground and his eyes closed listening for hoof beats of the riders sent for them. Eventually he sighed and got up and slowly made his way over to her. Alyssa looked him over, he was a little thinner that when she had first met him as both of them had been giving up there rations to the hobbits whom she believed actually had a hollow leg, he also had dark circles under his eyes and was favoring his right leg slightly.

Aragorn sat down beside her with a heavy sigh. "I can barely hear them, that means they are still a ways off." He said heavily while checking over the Hobbits making sure they weren't getting into any trouble, not that they would now mind you, they where to exhausted to do so, but it was just an automatic reaction for both of them when they where in the company of Hobbits especially ones like Merry and Pippin

Alyssa just grunted in response to tired to think up a proper answer.

"How's your arm?" He asked concerned for her health.

Alyssa grunted again, "Can't feel it." She said thickly.

Aragorn just pierced his lips. "You know my father will have my head for giving a lady such a poor healing." Stated Aragorn regally.

"Yes, well I'll just tell him that I'm no Lady." Stated Alyssa with her nose turned up though jokingly.

Aragorn laughed roughly. "I will decide that when I see you in a dress."

"Don't worry you wont."

"Oh yes I will, as soon as Arwen meets you she'll try and get you into a dress, you have my word on it." Aragorn said with a huge smile on his face.

"And you know this, how?" Asked Alyssa with her eyebrow raised.

Aragorn, if possible smiled even more broadly. "She got my brothers Elladan and Ellihor into her puffy red dresses, father even has a painting of his three baby "girls" in his quarters, how he got those two to stay still I do not know."

Alyssa laughed heartily before going into a large coughing fit. "I shall like to see such a painting when I get to Rivendale and properly meet his three baby "girls"." She said when she was finished with the little in air quotations at the word girls. Suddenly Alyssa cocked her head to the side, "Is that horses I hear?" she asked Aragorn.

He did the same. "Indeed it is." Aragorn jumped to his feet just in time to see five riders and one rider less horse break out into the sunny clearing at a fast trot.

"Vedui!" Cried Aragorn in greeting.

Two smiling elves jumped gracefully off their saddles and ran to hug Aragorn like a bunch of little kids.

"Estel!" they cried before tackling the poor unsuspecting ranger to the ground with a bunch of nuggies and fake slobbery kisses.

One of the older elves jumped off his saddle and walked over to the group on the forest floor; he then grabbed onto the scruffs of the two elves necks and yanked them away from the spluttering ranger. "One would think that as guards and princes of Rivendale you would have more control over you selves but it seems that you haven't aged past the mind of a five year old, maybe I should set of lessons of discipline with Erestor for you two again, eh?"

"Aw shucks, Glorifindel." Said the one on the left.

"We know you care-" started the one on the right.

"About us and all," continued the one on the left

"But seriously we've already past those-" goes on the one on the right

"Tests no matter how old we are because-"

"No matter how hard you try,"

"You ain't getting rid of us!" they both finally said at the same time.

You could obviously tell that these to where twins, tall dark haired and had a very close resemblance to Arwen which could only mean that these where Lord Elrond's baby "girls".

The hobbits where giggling hysterically while Alyssa and most of the other elves in the clearing where trying very hard (and succeeding very little) not to laugh.

Glorifinel just shook his head in disgust and mild amusement and dropped the twin elves on the ground. He then stepped up to Aragorn and bowed his head in greeting. "Estel."

"Nae saian luume, Glorifinel." Returned Aragorn, clasping the blond elf's hand in his own. "Hidalgo…" Aragorn hear Alyssa whisper from behind him.

The white and rust paint splashed horse neighed and threw back its head in greeting before trotting over to Alyssa and nudged her in the shoulder making her wince.

That's when Aragorn remembered her injuries and quickly turned to Glorifindel. "We must get to Lord Elrond and the house of healing as soon as possible, she was injured by the Nazgul and needs to be tended to immediately."

Glorfindel seeing that Alyssa was about to protest quickly told his men to help the hobbits into their saddles and one to help Sam get all the bags onto Bill who will be led separately by another elf.

"Here let me help you into his saddle." Aragorn said to Alyssa.

Alyssa wanted to refuse but couldn't really be bothered not with her shoulder throbbing like it was now. She nodded mutely and was hoisted up into Hidalgos saddle then was soon joined buy Aragorn behind her. She leaned gratefully into him knowing that she would have not lasted long sitting up by herself on a horse.

Aragorn put his arms carefully around Alyssa and felt her lean into him her head slowly lolling to the side. He looked around himself and noticed that all the Hobbits where doing the same to the elves that where caring them on their saddles. He felt Glorifinel's eyes on him and turned to find him almost riding side by side to him.

"So how did you come upon this little deity?" asked the elf lord.

Aragorn smiled at his good friend. "She actually came upon me in Fangorn forest where I was camping for the night. She had been taken captive buy a man buy the name of Grima Wormtongue then they where ambushed buy a pack of orcs and Warg riders."

"You where lucky to be in Fangorn, no Orc dares to go in there, though why you where in there I will not ask, dangerous business messing with old Fangorn."

Aragorn only grunted in reply, he had been on the return of a failed mission for Gandalf at the time, the little bugger Sméagol or Gollum had gotten away from him in the Dead Mashes and had been captured by Wraiths, the last thing he had wanted. He himself had a close call and was force to flee back to Rauros Falls where he had originally begun his journey.

They came around a bend a came upon the great sight of Rivendale. Aragorn smiled, he was home, finally home. He heard Elladan cry, "Race you Home!" and Ellirhor reply, "Your on!" before taking off on their horse down the hill to the front gates of Rivendale, the two now awake hobbits laughing merrily along the way while Sam just shook his head in dismay.

"Those two." He heard Glorifindel mutter under his breath before descending down the hill himself at a much slower pace the rest of the group following after him.

Aragorn was caring the sleeping Alyssa carefully when he saw his father, Lord Elrond walking down the hall with Arwen on his arm both giggling good heartedly. "Ada!" he cried out with a huge relived smile on his face.

"Estel." Elrond said relived to see Aragorn. "Who is this that you carry?"

"This is Alyssa. Exhaustion finally got her when we where riding to the city." Aragorn answered gravely.

"Well no wonder, she was injured and at the pace you where going at I'm not surprised she hadn't dropped sooner." Exclaimed Arwen.

"Indeed. Well then lets get her to the Halls of Healing and fix her up and you can then explain every thing to me." Elrond said before turning around and walking at a faster pace back to Halls where he had just left.

"Put her on the bed." Elrond ordered as they came into one of the rooms while he went over to the cupboards for healing supplies. "Now tell me what happened."

"Long or short version?" Aragorn asked.

"Short will be fine." Replied Elrond.

Aragorn smiled slightly, he was going to tell Lord Elrond exactly how Alyssa had told him. "Well, she got attacked by two cougars, whatever they are, fell off a cliff and down the falls between Rohan and Gondor, was found and held hostage by the one and only Grima Wormtongue, was tied to a horse for three day, got attacked by pack of hungry looking warg riders, found me in the forbidden forest, and then fought a couple of Nazgul on two occasions in process throwing the great Prophesy of the Nazgul into motion." Aragorn smirked as he watched his surrogate father try to process that fastly given peace of information about the girl lying unconscious in the infirmary. "Oh, and did I mention that she's not of this world."

Lord Elrond's eyes grew wide at that and he pointed his finger at the smirking ranger. "Once I am finished with her you and I are going to my office and you are going to explain everything."

Arwen leaned over to Aragorn and stage whispered to him behind her hand. "I think what Ada means to say is that he is going to drag you to his office and effectively pick your brains."

Elrond just glared at them then shooed them out of the infirmary telling him to freshen up.

"I trust that Frodo got here with out any problems?" asked Aragorn while they where walking down the hall.

Arwen tilted her head to the side. "It was a close call but he will recover though not fully. Father said he will sleep for a number of day so he doesn't know if he will fully recover or not."

They stopped at his suit door. "Well go get freshened up stinky, Erestor will have your head if he sees you coming to Adas office smelling and looking like that. And do try to sleep Father will be several hours before he makes sure that the girl will be alright to be left alone."

Aragorn nodded and bowed to her before backing into his room. He looked around and deeply breathed in the fresh clean air.

Home. He was finally Home.

AN: well there you go guy's chapter 8 finally I know, and if you read my profile in the last couple of days you'll see that it was my computers fault. Luckily I was able to de-bug my computer enough so that I am nowable to use Microsoft Word and update (don't ask me how I did it, I dunno) Anyhoo, hopefully the next chapter will be up soon!

Tootles,

Lyssa