AUTHOR'S NOTE I'm back! I'm so very sorry for the two and a half month hiatus, but the computer problems are taken care of now and I'm back to posting! This is the aftermath of Aragorn's discovery of Obi-Wan's secret, plus Obi-Wan gets a hint from Galadriel about what's to come.

As always, this chapter is dedicated to Lauren, who helped me devise some of the ideas in this story.

DISCLAIMER Again, I made up Andrial for a different story I wrote, but all other characters belong to George Lucas or JRR Tolkien.

…

Caras Galadhon was a maze that extended up and down and in all directions among the building-sized trunks of the mallorn trees. Obi-Wan knew how to get from his borrowed quarters to about four places, but he knew that if he tried to look for Aragorn, he would soon be hopelessly lost.

He had not seen Aragorn since the incident at the mirror, now nearly three hours ago. It tore at Obi-Wan's heart to know that he had hurt him so by keeping his world a secret, but he had had no other choice. The people of Arda were not ready to know of the universe beyond their skies.

In Aragorn's absence, Obi-Wan had time to mull and obsess over the things he had seen in the mirror. It was the future – Aragorn with at least one Force-sensitive child, Padmé struggling through delivering twins, him leaving Arda in a ship that was not his. There was confusion – a planet that he had never seen before covered in lava. And then there had been those horrible noises – Aragorn crying out as though his heart was broken and that chilling mechanical breath.

Now more than ever, Obi-Wan knew that the Republic needed him. Dark times were coming. But when he thought of leaving Arda and Aragorn, his heart ached. This was why Jedi weren't allowed to love, he told himself. He believed in the Code, but part of him desired to throw his old life away and stay on Arda forever.

He found that he had been pacing and took a few calming breaths to ease his conflicted thoughts. A presence struck him and he looked up to see the silent Elf-maiden Andrial at the doorway. "Hello," he said.

She said nothing, instead stepping to the side and walking away to reveal a hesitant Aragorn looking in at him. They both stood in a moment of awkward silence. Finally, Obi-Wan said, "Are all Lórien Elves so talkative?"

His remark drew a tiny smile to Aragorn's lips. He started to say something, but Obi-Wan cut him off. "I'm a human," he said. "Before you ask again. Humans live on most of the planets in the galaxy."

Aragorn nodded silently and walked into the room. He sat on the bed expectantly, waiting for Obi-Wan to continue. "I was traveling to a planet called Agamar to quell an uprising between two of the native species. My engines began failing just above Arda.

"My ship crashed just outside of Rivendell's borders. I jumped free just in time. That's why your brothers found me lying on the ground, unconscious." He sighed, deeply troubled. "There is a war out there, Aragorn. A war that will consume the entire galaxy and I fear the Light Side is losing. They need me, but my communicator is destroyed and I have no way of reaching anyone who can get me home. I am afraid that with me here, the Jedi and the Republic will suffer."

After a long moment, Aragorn said, "You told me that you were from a place called Coruscant. Was that true?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "Coruscant is the planet that revolves around that star that you call Calima." His expression was somber. "It is very far away."

Aragorn stood up, shaking his head. "Forgive me if this takes time for me to accept, Hyarion," he said.

"You don't need to call me that anymore," Obi-Wan said quietly. "I am sure that there are no enemies of the Jedi on Arda."

"Hyarion is how I know you."

There was still an edge to Aragorn's voice. Obi-Wan cringed. "Then Hyarion I shall stay."

Suddenly, Aragorn spun to face him and exploded. "You lied to me!" he cried. "Everything you told me about your home was false!"

"No!" Obi-Wan shot back. "It was true! Just, not from the same point of view."

Aragorn glared at him. "Is that a rationalization that only Jedi use?"

"You know nothing of the Jedi."

The look that Aragorn gave him saddened Obi-Wan to his core. "I know of one Jedi," the Ranger said. "And he has destroyed my faith in him."

When he left, Obi-Wan followed him. But Aragorn was far more used to the steep winding staircases of the elven city and it was not long before Obi-Wan lost him. He stopped on a platform that looked back over the Misty Mountains and leaned tiredly against the rail.

"You are not used to our city."

Obi-Wan was startled by Galadriel's soft voice. He shook his head. "No, I'm not. Where I'm from is quite different."

Once again she turned her deep blue eyes on him. "He will forgive you," she said. "But there is still tragedy in your future. And one day, you will leave Arda."

"And Aragorn," Obi-Wan said. "I will leave him behind."

Galadriel nodded. "Yes. You will."

"Why did I have to come here?" he asked. "Why did I have to fall in love with him? I believe completely in the Jedi code. I turned Anakin away from his love for Padmé because I believed so strongly. But now…" He trailed off and turned his eyes back to the mountains. "If I could, I would never go back to my old life."

There was a gentleness to her touch as she turned his head back toward her. Where Elrond treated him as an honored but mysterious guest, Galadriel treated him as a welcome friend. She understood him like no one else he had met on all of Arda.

"I am sorry for your sorrow, Obi-Wan," she said. "But you know you cannot remain here. You have an important role yet to play in the battle against your enemy." Then she smiled a little, secrecy shining in her eyes. "And there will come a day, long after you have become one with the Force, when you will see and know why you had to fall in love with him."

Obi-Wan frowned. "I don't understand."

"The result of your love will lead to one of the most powerful unions that the universe has ever seen," Galadriel said. "It has already begun."

Obi-Wan cocked his head, but before he could ask anything more, Galadriel added, "Aragorn is down in the Mirror Vale if you seek him."

Then she was gone. Obi-Wan shook his head in amazement at the strange beings known as Elves. After a moment of indecision, he headed down the long and winding staircase toward the forest floor.

Aragorn was staring silently into the mirror. Obi-Wan paused at the bottom of the steps into the hollow, not wanting to interrupt the vision.

"There is nothing here," Aragorn said softly.

"What do you mean?"

The Ranger looked up and back at Obi-Wan. "I had hoped that the mirror would show me something. That it would help me understand the world, or worlds," he corrected himself uncomfortably, "that you come from. But there's nothing."

Taking a hesitant step forward, Obi-Wan said, "I'll tell you if you want. I'll tell you everything."

Aragorn eyed him suspiciously. "Never once have I seen you pick up a sword," he said. "But you talk of war. Have you been carrying a weapon all this time that I could not see?"

Obi-Wan nodded and reached under his outer robes to unhook his lightsaber. Aragorn looked at it with skeptical eyes until Obi-Wan flicked the switch and the blue energy blade snapped to life. "Magic," he whispered.

"No," Obi-Wan said, as he shut the weapon down again. "Not magic. Technology. The whole universe is full of it."

"Technology," Aragorn repeated. "Like the ship that brought you here?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "When we return to Rivendell, I will show you. And I will also introduce you to Artoo."

"Artoo? There is another of your kind hiding in Rivendell?"

With a wry chuckle, Obi-Wan shook his head. "Not exactly. Artoo is a droid." Upon Aragorn's blank look, he added, "A robot of sorts. He was built to assist pilots in fixing their fighters during flight or combat. He's been with the ship this whole time, trying to fix it."

Aragorn was quiet for a long time. Then finally he said, "Why did you not tell me?"

"You weren't ready to hear it," Obi-Wan replied. "No one was. Even Gandalf had a hard time believing me and that was while he was looking at the ship."

With a wounded look, Aragorn asked, "Were you going to tell me?"

Obi-Wan crossed the distance between them and took both of Aragorn's hands in his. "When the time was right." He sighed. "It was never that I didn't trust you, Aragorn. I just didn't want to frighten you off. I felt so safe in Rivendell – and here in Lórien, too – and I didn't want to have to leave."

At that, Aragorn pulled his hands away. "But someday you're going to leave, aren't you?"

"I don't want to," Obi-Wan said, his voice choked. "But I cannot abandon my friends or my order."

"And this order," Aragorn said, "these Jedi, they are humans who wield the Power of the Elves?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "But not just humans. All sentient beings have the potential to be Jedi. That which you call the Power of the Elves the rest of the universe knows as the Force. This whole planet was born from the Force. And as I understand it, the Valar and the Elves are creatures born of the Force, though the Valar are more pure."

Aragorn frowned. "So Legolas or Lord Elrond or my brothers could all become Jedi if they wished?"

"Their power is raw and untouched," Obi-Wan said. "It would take extensive training to harness it." He looked sad. "Besides, I believe that their immortality is tied to the Force-signature of Arda itself. If they were to leave the planet, they could die."

Obi-Wan left Aragorn's side and stepped up to stare at the still water in the mirror. After a moment, he felt strong arms wrap around his waist. "You truly are still you," Aragorn murmured in his ear. "Just from farther away than I imagined. I'm sorry for how I reacted."

Obi-Wan smiled and leaned back into Aragorn's embrace. "It wasn't what I was hoping for, but I can understand it. I'm sorry for keeping the secret."

The embrace tightened. "Shall we go back to our room?" Aragorn whispered.

"Lady Galadriel said something earlier about the result of our love. I'm not trained in deciphering prophecies, but I would like to speak with her more about it."

But Aragorn was already leading him out of the hollow. "Later."