Chapter Four

The Hunt

A few days had gone by since Faramir had discovered Aranel's true identity.

At first Aranel was afraid that Faramir might let slip her identity to one of his men and then all of the rangers would know; but to her surprise, she found that her secret was kept close as the days went on. One day, something happened that she did not expect; Faramir had approached her and asked her if she would accompany him on a hunt that afternoon.

"Who is going with you?" She asked him. "Myself and you if you would like to come; I thought you could use a break from patrols." Aranel had accepted his offer because it was true, she had been spending most of her time toiling over maps and scouting the land with the other rangers. Faramir, of course, had seen this. So, using as much charm and personality as possible, he decided to see if he could get to know more about her than just her history.

The afternoon had finally arrived, and Faramir was getting anxious, he didn't know why but for some reason, he was looking forward to the hunt. "Who knows," he said to himself while he packed. "Maybe she will hunt me…." Smiling, he shook his head at the thought, but sensing that he was not alone; he turned around to find Aranel walking towards him, fully prepared and a confused look on her face.

Faramir, thinking that what he just said was the reason of the confusing look on Aranel's face, blushed heavily and turn swiftly around and continued to pack. "Is something the matter my lord?" Faramir looked back at Aranel, "No, no, nothing's the matter. I just was finishing packing, that's all." Aranel nodded but secretly knew that there was something bothering him.

"It may be the fact that I am an elf," She thought to herself. Aranel mentally frowned, she did not want there to be any awkwardness or trouble between them; in fact, she was becoming very fond of Faramir. "Are you ready?" Aranel was snapped out of her thoughts by Faramir's question. "Yes, I am, I was actually waiting for you."

She eyed him questioningly, wondering why he had so many things packed into his satchel when they were only going hunting. Faramir smiled back at her, thinking that this was going to be one heck of a day. So they set off, out into the wild, not planning to come back until nightfall.

The day had gone on quite smoothly; they had seen a few does and small game but decided to wait for the stag. The deeper they went into the forest, the quieter it got, until Faramir couldn't take it anymore. "Why is the forest so quiet? It seems like the moment we walked through the last clearing, the whole forest has just shut down." Aranel just smirked at him. "This forest is older than you think, Son of Gondor. Long has it stood here in Ithilien," She walked over to the tallest tree. "This tree has been here for almost a thousand years." Aranel turned back to Faramir as she said this. "This tree's forefathers would have been standing in this forest during the last alliance."

Faramir walked over to Aranel, "This tree is a lot like you, isn't it." Aranel looked to the ground and shook her head. "Yes, it is; I never knew my grandfather or my father for that matter." Faramir's eyes widened as he suddenly realized that she was utterly alone in this world. Her mother had been her only family until she met Galadriel, and when her mother was taken away from her, Aranel was the only member of her family left.

"I'm so sorry," Faramir whispered. Aranel faced him and looked at him thankfully. "Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything." Faramir blushed for the second time that day, "I haven't done anything, yet…." Aranel raised her eyebrow; but suddenly, the forest came alive again, birds were flying away squawking in fear as small rabbits hopped away as fast as they could. Faramir and Aranel looked to where the commotion was coming from, there before them crashing through the forest very fast, was a wild boar.

The boar was huge, its tusks were longer than any had seen before, the boar's beady red eyes seemed like they were on fire, angry and ready to strike. At first glance of Faramir and Aranel it charged. Swinging its tusks violently through the air it almost took Faramir's right arm off. But Aranel was faster. She had seen this coming and with perfect timing; she pushed Faramir to the ground, leaped into the nearest tree and had drawn her bow.

The boar, now being angered, decided to leave Faramir alone and try to "shake" the she-elf out of the tree. (Of course, he was strong enough to almost bring the tree down.) After the second hit on the tree, Aranel decided what she would do, "Herio!" She cried as she leapt from the branch of the tree; sword drawn, she landed on the back of the beast and fought the boar until at last; he flung her off his back, throwing her into another tree.

With a grunt and a squeal the beast fell, Aranel's sword still imbedded in the back of its neck. Faramir rushed over to Aranel's side to see if she was alright. Gently pulling her up, he leaned her against the tree to see if she had broken anything. "Aranel, are you alright?" Aranel nodded her head slightly, "Yes, Im tríw; although my leg might be broken." Faramir, not knowing what she had said in Elvish, thought that she was probably saying that she was ok.

Faramir, as quickly as he could, moved over so he could get a better look at her leg. His worst fears came true when he saw her leg; it was indeed broken, as well as twisted underneath her. Slowly, he tried to free her leg out from under her. But before he even touched her leg he was assaulted by the command of "Daro i!" Faramir sharply looked at Aranel, wondering why she had stopped him. "Do not touch my leg! You could damage it even more if you move it." Faramir's expression became stern at her statement, even though he knew she was right, he couldn't stand to see her in this much pain.

"And what then, are you going to sit here with your leg underneath you all day?!" Aranel ground her teeth, "Yes." At this, Faramir almost growled. "Why is she being so stubborn? Doesn't she realize if I don't get her back to the encampment her leg is going to stay like this?" He sighed as he thought to himself, hanging his head he finally managed to speak. "I cannot just sit here and do nothing knowing that you are in pain."

"Why?" Aranel asked, still grimacing from the pain. "You could just get up and leave; I would not hold anything against you. It is not your responsibility to take care of me."

"Yes it is." Faramir whispered. Aranel's expression softened as she caught on to something deeper in Faramir's tone; gently, she reached out and tilted his chin up, locking eyes with him she searched his expression and finally his mind. When she read his mind for the first real time, she gasped at what she saw. Not only was there a strong bond and love for his brother that had passed on, but there was an even stronger pull for her.

As she read on she ran into what he was thinking a few moments ago. "Why is she being so stubborn? Why won't she let me help her? This is all my fault, what kind of a man am I if I can't even protect the one I love?!" Aranel gasped as she saw his thoughts, "How can this be?" she thought. "He barely knows me! Well…he knows enough of me, but does he really love me?" She was so confused that she didn't even realize that she was still holding Faramir's face in her hands; until she felt him put his hands over top of hers.

"Aranel, I feel that I need to tell you something." Faramir said softly, locking his eyes with hers. "Yes?" Aranel asked; she secretly had a feeling that he was going to tell her something that she already knew. "I…" Faramir stuttered. "I have feelings for you, Aranel." As he said this, he looked back up at her, concern and feeling in his eyes.

Silence descended upon them so thick you could cut it with a knife. Then, Faramir did something he'd only dreamed about. Faramir leaned forward slowly, getting ever closer to Aranel. Finally, when his face was a mere inch away from hers; he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her. Holding her close, and kissing her ever so gently. As he kissed her, Aranel wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. When he pulled away, she didn't let go; she held him there, his face still inches from hers, and breathed his name for the first time. "Faramir," as she said this, he closed his eyes and smiled, kissing her once more.

AN: :O OMG!!! Cliffhanger!!! And Faz and Aranel....*faint* see what I mean when I say my character have taken over?!!!! More to come soon, might take me a while though so plz be on the look out!