I do not own Lord of the Rings, or any of Tolkien's characters. Any characters and plot lines I create are mine.

A/N: Not going to say it, not going to say it, not going to-

I am a terrible person. Five months what is wrong with me! For the record, I had a huge writing block. In fact, I am not entirely sure I like this chapter. I mean, I planned to have this happen, but I thought it was too quick, and I couldn't think of what to write in between, and... Well it was interesting to say the least. Also, I went to college. College was nice, but I am now thinking of changing my major and transferring. The school I am at right now is small, and the major I am thinking about switching to is not, well, they mock you if you are in the College of Arts and Sciences. Not that I really care what other people think of my major, but everyone mocks it because it is the extra school that is the safety net so the university can keep all the kids that decide to switch majors. Its complicated.

There. I said I wasn't going to, but I gave an excuse.

Chapter 15: Argument

It occurred to Azruphel after the events following Rohan that she was lost and confused. She really had left without a plan and without knowing what she truly wanted. She sat on the bank of a river whose name Azruphel did not care to know, wondering for the first time if she should just go home.

A few days ago…

Strider and Azruphel had just left Rohan and turned away from the road for the first time. There was no direct road from Rohan to Rivendell, but Azruphel liked the idea of travelling through the woods. As a person who had lived in the shadows her whole life, it was much more comfortable. Strider seemed to relax, too. Azruphel remembered that Strider was from the North, but she knew little more than that. Strider, on the other hand, liked to remind Azruphel of her Rohirrim lineage. Lately, he teased her about Éomer and the attention he gave Azruphel while they stayed at Edoras. However, Azruphel quickly stated that she wasn't interested, and he dropped the subject. Azruphel didn't think Strider had figured out what she suspected: that she might be related to Éomer. The dates and facts lined up, but she wasn't ready to talk about the possibility yet.

Strider, however, seemed determined to learn more about Azruphel and her life with the Nazgûl. Azruphel wondered if she should be concerned about that. She did not give away the secrets of Mordor or the Nazgûl, but some of the earlier rules continued to come back, mainly Khamûl telling her never to provide personal information. It was the easiest information to use against a person later. Lately, Azruphel hadn't been sleeping, instead thinking about the last few weeks. Had she put too much into this? The latest piece of information she had confessed, while they crossed the Fords of Isen, was her inability to swim. Strider didn't know the reason she never learned, and had even offered to teach her once they reached Rivendell. Thinking about Rivendell, Azruphel had never asked why Strider was headed there. Beyond saying that he needed to, Azruphel knew nothing. Over the last few days, Azruphel started to wonder if it was because of her, if he wanted her to give information over to the elves.

After a few nearly sleepless nights, Azruphel decided it was time to ask. They were riding again, following the mountains north. Without preamble, she began. "You never told me why we are going to Rivendell."

Strider immediately froze, leading Azruphel to wonder if she should have been more subtle. She quickly dismissed the thought; it was time for a few answers.

"I was returning there when I was captured," Strider finally said after a few moments. Azruphel sighed at the half-answer she received.

"I did not realize the areas around Mordor were considered 'on the way' to Rivendell." The half-joke did not make Strider relax as it was intended; instead it did the opposite.

Carefully picking his next words, Strider said, "I was looking for something. I was about to turn back when I found a new lead."

Since Azruphel was slightly behind Strider, she allowed herself a small smile as a victory. For a minute, she debated asking more.

"What were you looking for?"

Strider brought his horse to a stop suddenly, and turned back to Azruphel to speak. He started to say something, but then stopped and reconsidered. Eventually, he said, "It does not matter. I did not find it."

They continued on in silence for the rest of the day, and did not talk that evening. Azruphel was frustrated. Despite being together constantly, he would not open up to her.

"How many times have you been to Rivendell?" Azruphel asked the next day, trying a new approach.

"Several times," Strider said and then hesitated. Just when Azruphel was getting frustrated with the lack of answers, he added, "I used to live there."

"Really?" Azruphel said, excited. "Does your family live there, too?"

"Not anymore," he said. Strider didn't want to say anything else, but Azruphel continued to press him for information. So, he told her.

"My father was killed by orcs when I was young. My mother moved us to Rivendell shortly after. The elves became my family."

It wasn't much, but Azruphel could now understand why Strider wanted to go there. "Well, it will be nice to meet some of your family, since you got to meet mine," she said with a laugh.

"At least my family is not a group of Nazgûl," Strider said.

The seemingly harmless comment, however, threw Azruphel completely off. While she often talked about what it had been like with to grow up with Nazgûl, he had never made any comments against them in general.

"What is wrong with a Nazgûl family?" she asked.

"I will go with the obvious answer: they are slaves to Sauron. It would not be my first choice of family," Strider replied, not seeing the insulted look on Azruphel's face.

"A month ago, I would have said the same thing about elves," she said. "If you got to know them, maybe you would change your mind."

"Azruphel, they are controlled by Sauron. I told you this. They also lied to you about where you came from, and you still would not know if you had not met me."

Azruphel reached into her pocket to touch the ring inside, the ring she had taken off the day she left Mordor, the ring she never told Strider about. "If I was nothing more than a slave, how was I able to leave?"

"I do not know-"

"Because I made that decision on my own!" she said, interrupting and ignoring Strider.

"And why did you do that?"

"What do you mean?"

At this point, both had stopped and were facing each other. They stared at each other, both waiting for someone to say something. Finally, it was Strider who said, "If you still like you family, why did you leave it?"

Azruphel paused. Why did she leave? She hadn't really asked herself this question, going forward on instinct. Finally, she said, "I left because I was lied to, and I wanted to see what else they lied about."

"And me? Did you use me to find out?"

"Yes. But I think we both got something out of it, am I right?"

Strider didn't answer, but they both knew Azruphel was right. "What do you think, then? How much did they lie about?"

"I wouldn't call it lies. More like, misunderstandings."

"Misunderstandings?"

"Understand me when I say this," Azruphel began, "I am in the unique position of seeing both sides. They are very wrong about people here but it is the same in Gondor and Rohan! People here do not know everything about them!"

"Fine! You have seen both sides. Which one is better?" Strider asked. Azruphel looked down, not answering. "If you had to choose right now, which one would you pick?"

"It is not that simple! You would have me choose? Your life is nice, with interesting people and places. It is very beautiful and peaceful, but-"

"But what?"

"But my life has my family and my friends. I fit in there! I was respected! And yes, they lied about where I came from, but if I were in their position, I would do the same thing!"

Strider turned away from her, and quietly said, "Would you rather be with them?"

"I do not know what I want, but I never agreed to switch sides," Azruphel said honestly.

"I trusted you with all of this-"

"No, you didn't," Azruphel responded angrily. "I trusted you to take me places, and I did not ask for anything else. You never even told me your real name, and I never asked. I didn't ask for the secrets of Gondor or Rohan because that isn't why I asked to come with you! What about you, Strider? You could have left me at any time. Why did you allow me to come?"

Azruphel had already thought about that, and wondered if Strider wanted her to switch sides and share the secrets of Mordor. She didn't want to ask him about it, but she was angry. This time, she wasn't walking away, and went against her better judgment.

"If you brought me with you to tell the elves everything I know about Mordor-"

"What was the plan, Azruphel?" Strider asked suddenly. "Be honest, are you a spy?"

Nothing Strider had said or shown her shocked Azruphel as much as Strider's last question. The tone of his voice caused her hand to slide back to the sword she wore.

"The plan," she said slowly, "was to go as far to the west as I could, and then figure out my life. That is how I think, Strider. I never confront my feelings, and that is a fault of mine. I run. I didn't plan to stay with you."

Strider's hand had also gone to his sword, but Azruphel wasn't finished. "When I asked you show me the rest of the world, I planned to stay long enough to learn how to fit in with everyone else. I never thought I would consider you to be a friend. It seems I was mistaken."

Strider's hand moved away from his sword, and Azruphel copied the move. "I am going to ask my question again. Why did you bring me with you?"

"Perhaps it would be easier for you to think about this alone," Strider said, instead of answering her question.

He had turned and kicked his horse on after that. Azruphel shouted after him and started to follow, but he just turned and told her not to. He continued north, and Azruphel turned west to find a place to camp for the night, intending to follow him the next morning. She would not get the chance. It rained that night, washing away any sign of where he had gone. Knowing she would not find him again, Azruphel continued west. She wasn't sure that she wanted to find him.

A/N: People know that other people like reviews and stuff.

Who saw the Hobbit?

New favorite song: "Let it go" from Frozen. If you have not seen it, you should at some point, if not in theaters, rent it when it comes to DVD.