Finally the second chapter; sorry it took so long. I was away in Greece for three months and didn't have access to a computer. I will be working on this consistently, however. This chapter's not too long and not very exciting, I promise they'll get better.

Warnings: None

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Lord of the Rings, though I wish I did.

Please read, relax, enjoy, and review.

Sorcerer in the Woods

'Ada,' Aragorn questioned, knocking on the door of his father's study. His brothers had not told him what Elrond wanted to see him for, but he assumed it likely had something to do with his journey.

'Come,' Elrond's voice carried the distance from where he sat at his desk, somehow being heard through the thick wooden doors of his study. Aragorn pushed the door open, stepping inside the study. It brought back a lot of memories, reminded him of everything that had happened. But that was in the past, he thought as he forced himself to think past those thoughts.

'You wished to see me,' Aragorn's voice briefly broke the awkward silence that filled the room. Elrond had been thoroughly entrenched in an old text; Aragorn immediately regretted his timing. He should have waited until later. Since returning there had been some awkward moments between them as Elrond adjusted to his son's transformation. Aragorn, he had soon realized, was not the same man that he had known.

'Yes,' Elrond spoke distractedly as he tried to finish the page he was reading. 'Please have a seat,' he absently gestured to the air; there was no chair there. In fact, as Aragorn found out, there was no chair anywhere which left Aragorn to shift slightly nervous from foot to foot as he waited for Elrond to finish. To him the wait seemed like hours as he felt the maturity fleeing from him in waves; how long could it take to read a page.

Finally, Elrond closed the book, placing his bookmark inside. Aragorn remembered the day he saw that bookmark. He was a child and had come into the study only to find Elrond reading. When he came in Elrond had been distracted and so Aragorn had began fidgeting with the bookmark while he waited for Elrond to stop. It had taken a few minutes, but when Elrond did finally see him there, he grabbed the book mark from his hands. Aragorn hadn't understood, but he'd seen the sadness in his father's eyes. Later his brothers had explained to him that the bookmark was from their mother, Celebrian. She loved to weave threads into beautiful tapestries and clothes; the intricately woven bookmark had taken her some time to complete for she worked on it while she was being taken by Orc poison. Father had never let it out of his sight for long after she left.

'Aragorn,' Elrond turned to his son, 'why have you not…' his words trailed off as he realized that there was no seat. 'I am sorry my son, I do not know what has happened to all my chairs,' he rambled on, something was worrying him and Aragorn could tell it. Elrond rarely appeared flustered.

'Ada,' Aragorn tried to get to the heart of the situation, 'what troubles you?'

'You have had another dream, have you not,' Elrond ignored the question as he saw the wearied look on Aragorn's face and the dark circles beneath his eyes.

'Aye, but I have learned to deal with them. What is it that concerns you?' Aragorn asked, not liking his father's avoidance of the question.

'You cannot continue living on a few hours of sleep a night Aragorn; it is not healthy. As a ranger you are already more susceptible to illness, the lack of sleep will only increase your chances.'

'Don't worry, Ada. It's only a minor nuisance; I can deal with it.'

'I wish that I could have fully healed your injuries, done something more to help, but I fear that you shall have some lasting effects,' Elrond continued, almost muttering. 'Will you not tell me what happened, perhaps then I could help you better.' Aragorn's answer was no different than the other times, Elrond hadn't expected a change, but there was always that faint hope that maybe this time he would open up. Par usual, Elrond watched as Aragorn visibly shuddered, lowered his head, pausing. Aragorn had never revealed to him, not even to his brothers what had happened to him; still Elrond knew that it was terrible and had left a deep emotional scar.

'There is nothing you can do Ada,' Aragorn answered looking up at Elrond. On the outside, Elrond's face was of understanding, but beneath that layer there was one of sadness and guilt, which Aragorn worried might never disappear. 'I'm sorry Ada. It is something I have to deal with; you've done your part. You healed me; what remains is my burden to bear, not yours,' he tried to ease the hidden layer, but it didn't work. It never did, he thought, sighing. What a mess things had become. Shaking the negative thoughts, he forced himself back to the original purpose of the meeting, 'Now what is it that concerns you?'

Elrond dropped his head, smiling to himself, yet again Aragorn had seen past his avoidance of the question.

'I see I can hide nothing from you anymore. I have received word from scouts about a wizard wandering from village to village asking questions,' Elrond's words were blunt.

'A curious wizard is no cause for concern, Ada.'

'Is that all,' Aragorn shifted in annoyance; this was the trouble his father worried about. 'You need not worry Ada. I do not intend to seek out evil, merely to find a band of rangers.'

'I have no doubt of your intentions, my son. It is the intentions of this evil that I doubt; they have not yet shown themselves, nor have they made demands and it is this which I fear. We do not known what they want and so long as you wander this earth you shall be a target for evil, for though you are thought dead, evil has ways of gaining information,' Elrond warned, looking into his son's eyes. Aragorn looked back, seeing true fear in his father's eyes.

'I have sent out scouts,' Elrond continued, 'but only a few have returned, those that have given us little information. They do tell me of a wizard, however. He has made some inquiries that concern me.'

'Inquiries into what,' Aragorn pressed when Elrond didn't continue.

'Numenor, the Dunedain and your lineage.'

'It is probably some old man looking into things, believing he's found the heir. It's happened before, Ada. There's no reason to be alarmed.'

'Perhaps you are right, but do not be cocky. I have already told you once in this conversation, no one yet knows you live and it is best kept that way until the time is right. Whether it's an old fool or not, you must be careful,' Elrond paused. 'Perhaps,' he said after a moment, 'I should send your brothers with you. They will keep you from harm.'

'Ada,' Aragorn kept his voice calm despite his annoyance at his father's protectiveness, 'I will be perfectly fine. I am perfectly capable of defending myself. Nothing will happen; I'll return before you know it. If you'll excuse me, Ada, I must prepare to set out,' Aragorn excused himself noticing the sun reaching its peak, 'I should leave while I still have some light remaining in the day.'

'Of course, before you leave, however, I have something for you,' Elrond opened a drawer on his desk, pulling out a small vial containing a dark red liquid. As he handed it to Aragorn, he explained, 'This should be enough to help you if your headaches become too bad on your journey.'

'Thank you, Ada. I hope I will not need it,' Aragorn replied as he left.

'As do I,' Elrond muttered in the now empty room.