Chapter 39

Annelise and Legolas spent that night hearing and telling stories with the Dunedain men late into the evening. Annelise was glad to have the opportunity to learn more about her father's people and soaked up everything she could.

This had resulted in her eventually falling asleep where she sat next to Legolas. After a while, she had been woken by some light jostling and opened her eyes a bit to see that Aragorn had lifted her up and was carrying her toward his tent.

He noticed her looking up at him and whispered, "Go back to sleep," to her gently. She smiled up at him softly and closed her eyes once more. After a few moments, she felt herself being lowered onto a soft surface and a warm blanket was placed over her. When he brushed away some hair that had fallen in her face, she opened her eyes once more and realized that he had placed her on his own bed.

Annelise looked around the tent for him and noticed him stooping down to pick up a spare blanket and watched as he began moving toward the entrance of the tent. She sat up abruptly and the sound of her sudden movement caused him to look back at her with a questioning glance.

"I can't take your bed," she said in explanation and moved to stand up. Unfortunately, she stood up too quickly after waking and couldn't find her balance fast enough. Aragorn seemed to have anticipated this and had moved to her side quickly and steadied her with an arm around her waist, while his other still held the spare blanket. His quick movement to catch her before she fell brought back memories of a young Estel following her around the gardens of Rivendell, always ready to support her and her unsteady feet.

Annelise smiled up at him at the recollection and spoke softly, "You were always there to catch me, Estel."

She knew he understood her meaning when he shot her a gentle smile, before releasing her from his half-embrace.

"And I always will be," he promised before trying to guide her back to the bed, but Annelise began to resist.

"I can't steal your bed, Estel," she began to protest. "I have spent many nights sleeping under the stars in recent days. I am perfectly comfortable doing so again."

Aragorn stood shaking his head with a small smile on his face as she spoke.

"I am sure you would be comfortable enough outside, but I can not allow that when there is a perfectly comfortable bed available for you. Besides, I will be keeping watch with Legolas for a while, as he does not feel the need for sleep."

"And the blanket you are taking with you?," Annelise asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Aragorn looked a little sheepish at her question and sent her a silly, little grin.

"If I happened to get tired while on watch, and accidentally fell asleep on the ground while sitting with your elf friend, it might be a little more comfortable if I have a nice, warm blanket with me," he explained and Annelise could only smile and roll her eyes at his playful tone.

"Oh, very well," she huffed jokingly, conceding to his desire and moved back to the bed to lay down again.

She heard Aragorn chuckle quietly as she shifted on the bed to get comfortable and watched as he reached down to spread the blanket over her better. She grabbed his hand gently as it passed close to her own and squeezed it tightly when his eyes met hers.

"Thank you, Estel," she said softly and he knelt down at the side of the bed and drew her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it lightly.

"I can't believe you're actually here," he responded quietly, looking at the small hand that was held in his own.

"I'm sorry it took me so long," she said sadly and he held tighter onto her hand in response.

"I'm not," he said emphatically and Annelise shifted and held his gaze as he spoke passionately. "Everything we have been through, together or apart, shaped who we are. Yes, there was pain along the way for both of us. But you're here now and we are together once more. That is what matters."

Annelise felt tears well up in her eyes, and one rolled down her cheek before she could stop it. Aragorn reached up and wiped it away before standing to his feet. He bent down and kissed the back of her hand once more before tucking it under the blanket. He was caught off guard by the slight tightening in his chest when she sent him a soft smile in response to his gesture, but he shook his head slightly and promptly forgot about the strange occurrence.

"Goodnight, Annelise," he said softly and Annelise was unable to hold back the yawn that came out suddenly. The young chieftain smiled down at her and began to move away as her eyes began to close against her will.

"Goodnight, Estel," she answered sleepily and Aragorn stood silently for a minute, watching as the young woman fell into a deep sleep. He still couldn't quite grasp the reality that his old childhood friend was alive and, what's more, that she was there with him. He couldn't contain the large smile that stretched across his face as he took a moment to revel in the happiness that had been coursing through him since he learned the truth.

He felt the happiness well up in him even more as he remembered that she would be traveling and staying by his side for the foreseeable future as well. As he watched her sleeping, he thought back to the words that he had spoken to her only a few minutes before. There had been a lot of pain in his life since they had been separated and, based on her stories, he knew she had been through her own struggles. But if going through all that pain meant that they would come out on the other side of it, together?

"Definitely worth it," he whispered to himself as he glanced at the sleeping young woman one last time, before turning and leaving the tent.

Annelise was woken the next morning by a gentle hand on her shoulder. She yawned and stretched before looking up and seeing that it was Legolas standing in the tent with her. She could hear the sounds of the other men of the camp moving about packing things up and knew it was time for her to prepare to leave as well.

"Aragorn wished for me to tell you that we will be departing within the hour. It is a three day journey to our destination, and he is eager to begin the journey. There is some breakfast for you, once you are ready."

"Thank you, Legolas," she said, getting up and beginning to gather her things.

The elf prince nodded his head at her before leaving the tent to give her some privacy once more.

She quickly changed her tunic before braiding her hair back once more and strapping on her weapons. As she was pulling the strap of her quiver over her head, she heard Estel calling her name from outside the tent.

"You can come in, Estel," she called, smiling warmly as she watched the young man come through the opening.

"Good morning, Annelise. Did you sleep well?"

"Better than I have in a long while. And you? How was your watch with Legolas?," she asked with a teasing tone to her voice causing Aragorn to chuckle lightly under his breath.

"I may have fallen asleep soon after leaving you, and was very grateful for the blanket."

His teasing answer caused Annelise to shake her head and laugh lightly with him as she continued to get her things together. Aragorn reached down next to the bed and passed her her boots before speaking again.

"If you're ready, I've set aside some food for you. Once the camp is broken down, our group will depart to head north to the settlement."

Annelise nodded and stood as she finished pulling on her boots. Aragorn motioned for her to proceed him out of the tent and fell in step with her once they cleared the opening.

Annelise looked at her surroundings and saw the other Dunedain moving about the camp and taking down the tents. She followed Aragorn over to the fire that they had gathered around the night before and thanked him as he handed her a plate and slice of bread for her to break her fast. She sat down next to the extinguished fire pit and started eating. Aragorn stood near her, watching the progress of the breaking down of the camp and conversing with his comrades as they passed him.

"Legolas said it was a three day journey to our destination?," Annelise inquired, looking up at the man.

"Yes," he answered, moving to sit down as well. "We will first travel to Bree to obtain some supplies for the winter, before journeying north toward Lake Evendim."

"Are there many others in the settlement?"

"No more than 50 in the winter. The Dunedain have fallen in number in recent years. It is more a temporary outpost than a settlement," Aragorn answered somberly, with his eyes lowered to where he was fiddling with a piece of grass in his hands. "We use it as a base in the winter for training the younger Rangers. Come spring, the majority of the residents will go back to the more remote settlements or perform any tasks needed. Those that remain in the outpost are assigned to patrolling the land around the Shire and west to the Misty Mountains."

"And what will you do once winter ends?"

"I will be among those that remain at the outpost. Unless something urgent arises and I am needed elsewhere, I spend most of my time training with the older, more experienced Rangers and guarding the Shire. This will only be my third winter among the Dunedain."

His last words pulled Annelise's eyes up from her half finished breakfast. Having met the young Chieftain and seen how comfortable and confident he was in his role, she had forgotten that until two years prior, he had not had any knowledge of his lineage.

"When I was in Rivendell, Arwen told me you had only learned of your real name and history a few years ago. I had forgotten we had that in common."

Aragorn looked down at the young woman at his side and smiled faintly.

"I have struggled to come to grips with all the implications and am wary of accepting some," Aragorn responded, looking off into the distance. "Lord Elrond did his best to prepare me for the day I would learn of my ancestry, but there is still much that I have to learn."

Annelise set her plate down next to her and laid her hand gently on his forearm, drawing his eyes to her once more. She squeezed his arm lightly in reassurance.

"There will always be something for you to learn. I have much to learn as well. What do you say to doing it together?"

Aragorn returned her soft smile and placed his hand over her's on his arm.

"I would like that very much, my friend."

A/N - Hi all! I'm so sorry for the length between uploads. I know where I want to go with this story, just don't know how to get there. I've redone this chapter numerous times and I'm still not satisfied with the ending but decided to post it anyway. Please let me know what you think. Your reviews really do help keep me motivated to continue posting. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!