"Oh no," said Aragorn. "I look… I look…."
"Aragorn, it really isn't that bad!"
"I do not look right. No man should look like this."
Aragorn could barely speak as he stared at himself in the mirror. He was blonde. He was wearing wood-elf shirt, vest, and leggings. Yet he still had the face of a man.
"I look like a cross dresser," he mumbled.
"It's only a disguise, Aragorn!"
"But any orc will be able to tell that I am no elf!" the young man demanded.
"But not from a distance, and if the plan works correctly, no orc will get close," insisted Legolas.
Aragorn continued to stare in absolute horror in the mirror. "How long will my hair look like this?"
"You don't remember from when we turned Elladan's hair blonde?"
"I was six!"
"It lasts twenty-four hours."
Aragorn nodded. That was good. By the time he reached… wherever he was going… his hair would be back to normal.
"So now that I have written the note," continued Aragorn, "where am I going?"
"I don't know," said Legolas.
"What do you mean?" demanded Aragorn.
"Well, the plan is that once we get you out of the woods, we will split up three ways. One group will go to Mirkwood. One will go to the Lonely Mountain. The third will go to Lothlórien. You will ride with whichever group you are closest to."
The two beings left the room and walked towards the stables where about a thousand elf warriors were waiting. "Legolas? I have one more question…." Aragorn barely whispered. "What if… he comes?"
Legolas looked at the young human and put a hand on his shoulder. "We will be leaving toward the southwest. He is at the eastern boarder. Hopefully, he will be too far away to even know about our escape. With luck, we will convince the local orcs that my father gave us orders to come back or something like that."
"But that doesn't answer my question," replied Aragorn. "What if he does…."
"We are going to surround you with our female archers. According to legend, "No living man can kill him." But it doesn't say anything about females. Or elves in general, for that matter. We are prepared, Aragorn, but our goal is for that to not even happen."
Aragorn nodded as he opened the door to the stable. He took in the ornate carvings and wood structure as Legolas fastened a cloak on the man.
"Keep your hood on at all times," said Legolas to Aragorn. Then the elf turned around and repeated the order to the rest of the warriors.
Everything seemed unreal as the elves and Aragorn mounted the horses that would carry them far away from Rivendell. The young man could only pray to the Valar that his family would be protected once he was gone. He prayed that the army of orcs would leave once he was gone. A tear fell from his cheek.
"Estel," whispered Legolas, saying Aragorn's elvish name, "stay in the middle and no matter what happens, keep riding.
"What do you think is going to happen?" asked the young human.
Legolas put a finger to his lips. "We can only prepare for the worst. But shut up now, or we will be discovered too soon."
"Too soon?" thought Aragorn, but he said nothing.
The elf warriors formed a protective barrier around Aragorn while they rode in the forest. Aragorn once again looked around the forest. It was so peaceful at night. The white snow almost shone under the light of the stars. The trees looked like they were shining because of the ice sickles. But before long, the elves were in sight of the bridge crossing the river. The river itself looked so peaceful. Aragorn almost laughed at how nature could hide the emotions of the beings it sheltered.
Aragorn watched as Legolas gave the signal. In response, the young man whispered into his horse's ear. Almost simultaneously, the elf army started galloping into the night.
Barely a minute later, Aragorn could see the glimmering swords of the elvish warriors.
"Hold!" cried Legolas as he urged his horse to continue.
But it was too late. Aragorn turned his head to see dozens of orc arrows speeding towards the army.