25. Sway My Way

"Love is an odd thing. As odd a thing as there is."
-al'Lan Mandragoran-The Wheel of Time- Robert Jordan

Imladris (Rivendell) December 4/14 Hrive 2989 III Age

A cold winter wind cut through the trees as it whipped Buffy's loose hair around her shoulders. Exhaling deeply she could see her breath before her in tiny puffs of steam as she took in the night time beauty of Rivendell around her. Even at night it seemed to glow faintly as though it was as alive as the Eldar themselves. And though it was cold, the cold was a mere whisper compared to what it should have been. Winter never truly settled into the lands of the Eldar, a thing for which Buffy was grateful. For though she had spent many more years in this world than she had ever spent in California, she still preferred the warmth. The stars were shining brightly in the clear winter sky above her as she sat in her favorite spot in one of Rivendell's many gardens. The ever present lull of the waterfalls could be heard in the distance and it soothed her. Because tonight she found she needed soothing.

She'd come back almost two years ago and she had yet to see Aragorn. His absence bothered her. It meant one of two things. He either did not know she had returned or he did and no longer cared. Both possibilities weighed heavily on her. She was fairly positive that the gwenyn would have crossed paths with him after this long and let him know that she had returned. But, if they had not then that meant something else entirely. Had they seen their foster brother they would have told him of her presence unless they had been told not to. And Buffy was certain of who had given them that order if that was the case. The reasons why were both obvious and subtle and both made Buffy's anger rise. The other option though hurt greater than she had words for. If Aragorn knew and simply did not care then it was obvious that he no longer loved her.

Oddly enough both options brought a strange scene of mirth up in her. Having her family meddle in her life was pretty much par for the course as far as she could tell. Be she the mortal in love with an immortal as she was with Angel or in its exact opposite with Aragorn, her family just didn't seem to know how to leave it alone.

But the other option caused the same sense, if his love was gone then her family meddling was for nothing. A thought that hurt more than it amused but helped pull some of the sting away.

A sting that she would not get to acknowledge except on the dead of night. Her days were far too full to think on anything other than what Elrond wished her to do or learn. Hours of reading, memorization, practice and lecturing were grueling. Her head often felt like it was far too full, as though it were going to explode or at least liquefy and drip out of her ears. The stress was eating at her to the point that she had begun to meditate all that she could, that is if she wasn't trying to beat Glorfindel or the gwenyn to death to take the edge off. Though the opportunities for that were less than she liked. For, unlike her, they were free to go out into the wilds.

And right at this moment all she really wanted was for Elrond to be harassing her. Because the more she stood outside and contemplated Aragorn and his absence in the cold winter air the more she wanted to either yell or cry. Neither of which would get her anywhere at the moment. Deciding that sleep had to be better than brooding she began the short walk back to her room. She had yet another long day with Elrond. A long and annoying day of learning elven magic, healing and about a hundred other things. If she wasn't stuck with what she had dubbed the fashion accessory from hell then she would have never even considered doing this.

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Imladris (Rivendell) February 19/19 Coire 2990 III Age

It was early afternoon and at the moment Buffy was oblivious to anything. She sat on her blanket in the middle of a large boulder next to one of the many waterfalls that flowed through Rivendell. Clad in a white gown with a wide v neck, wide draping sleeves, and sky blue belt she sat with her legs crossed and back straight as she meditated.

The late winter sun shone brightly down on her calm features as a gentle breeze caused the back of her long golden tresses to sway. The sunlight caused flashes to from the simple circlet with white stone as well as her Wilwarin necklace and Narya.

None would disturb her at the moment, for they had long ago learned that several hours every other day she spent like this kept her from being unbearable. No, no one would disturb her, not even when something unexpected was currently occurring not too terribly far from where she sat.

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The garden was peaceful and quiet as Arwen sat reading under the late winter sun. The day had so far been like any other for almost the last two years. Her adar and Buffy spent several hours together as he taught her all he could of healing and anything else she requested, followed by Buffy disappearing from the Last Homely House for several hours to either the training fields or to her secluded spot by one of the waterfalls. Later they would go riding followed by dinner. The nights they kept to themselves.

It seemed however that the Valar had decided that today was not to be like any other day as Arwen's concentration on her book was destroyed by the sound of maidens rushing through the halls. Carefully marking her place with a strip of cloth Arwen stood and made her way inside to ascertain the cause of the quickly moving maidens.

The answer to her question was answered abruptly as figure she had not seen in years rounded the corner and faced her. Estel looked much as he all ways did when he returned home, in need of a bath, a good meal and a shave. However for once it was not his state of him in a physical sense that stood out to her, it was his eyes. Where Arwen would have expected them to be bright and happy at the prospect of seeing the woman he loved they held nothing but overwhelming anger.

He did not even acknowledge her as he turned and entered his room, the door slamming behind him. Causing Arwen to almost jump. The gwenyn had warned her of his temper but she had only seen even a glimpse of it once. Now though it appeared that his temper was being given free reign and Arwen wondered what had occurred for it to have appeared.

Knowing something was amiss and that Buffy would need to be warned she turned and quickly made her way back. She needed to get to Buffy and quickly.

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Buffy sighed and streched her muscles as she stood next to the boulder where she meditated. She had finished much earlier than usual today and was actually happy for it. Decideing that she could put the time to good use she left her blanket as it was and made for the stables. Some quality time with Beriadan was exactly what she needed.

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Arwen came up short when she saw Buffy's place on the boulder empty save the blanket. Her absence could only mean one thing, that she knew that Estel had returned. And that she was either on her was to see him or already had., neither of which Arwen believed were good things at present. Both of them had tempers that could lead to words being exchanged that neither could take back. Hoping to prevent in one case or sooth in another she began moving swiftly back to the Last Homely House.

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Aragorn had bathed, shaved and dressed more quickly than he had anticipated even with his anger fueling him. Buffy was here had had been for quite some time and yet she had not alerted him to her presence. She claimed to love him and yet had not even bothered to inform him of anything.

He was seething as he made his way out of his room and down the halls, his rage barely contained as made his way without any clear destination.

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As Arwen entered the stables she was greeted with a sight that told her where exactly Buffy had been for the last hour. Arwen had searched all of Buffy's favorite spots as well as her room to no avail and had finally made her way down to the stables as a last effort.

The groom was removing Beriadan's bridle as Arwen approached him and asked how long it had been since Buffy had left. His reply was that she had been gone for nearly twenty minutes, enough time for her to have already made her way back to the Last Homely House and to have possibly seen Estel.

Arwen turned yet again and began the search with hope that the two had not yet encountered one another.

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Buffy had made it back to her place on the boulder by the waterfall and was about to bend over to retrieve her blanket when she heard the tell tale sound footsteps behind her. Before she could turn though they stopped abruptly. Turning to face whomever had come up behind her Buffy froze as she looked upon a face that she had not been graced with for almost fourteen years.

He was dressed in a blue gray tunic if the elven style with dark blue embroidery on the sleeves and dark blue pants. His face was clean shaven and his hair still slightly wet from what could have only been a recent bath. Buffy's heart lept with elation at seeing him after such a long time, all she wanted to do was run into his embrace. His eyes though held her in place.

For a moment they were full of something she could not read before they changed to two blue gray pools of anger. It was an emotion Buffy couldn't comprehend as her heart drowned out all save that he was looking at her with venom in his eyes. A look that she had not been expecting after Arwen's claims that he loved her still.

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Aragorn stopped short in his blind anger as his eyes took in a sight that left him breathless. Buffy stood with her back to him, her long golden hair falling to the waist of her white gown. She turned slowly around and froze as her eyes rested on him.

It seemed that she was bathed in a glow from the sunlight falling down on her. The light along with the silver circlet on her brow creating a halo. Her white gown and almost elven features gave her the appearance of one much like her naneth the Lady Galadriel. She was ethereal and beautiful, she took his breath away.

But then he remembered his anger.

She had not told him of her return.

She did not seek him out.

She claimed to love him and yet she cared so little for the aching in him that she had not bothered to at least have his foster brothers tell him of her presence.

She had left him fourteen years ago and had not looked back for the sake of something that could easily kill her.

His gaze met hers for a moment, it was full of something he couldn't quite place. It was as though shock and fear warred with something else, something that part of him wanted to understand. The greater part though held fast to his anger and without hesitation he turned on his heel and began to walk away.

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As Aragorn turned and began to stride away from her without a word something in Buffy snapped. Years of fear and anguish over how he would react were destroyed by everything she had felt for the last two years as well as abundant proof that he had never really loved her at all.

Managing a leaping jump from the boulder that few but a slayer could manage in a dress she almost sprinted after him. After less than a couple of moments she reached him and using perhaps more strength than she thought she would have to, she reached an arm out to his and turned him to face her.

She was angry and she was hurt and she fully intended to find out what his major malfunction was.

"Aragorn!?"

There was no reply as he looked down on her with more anger than before in his eyes.

"What is your problem? Why the hell are you so pissed off at me?" Buffy snapped at him.

"My problem, my lady, is that you did not see fit to inform me of your return almost two years ago." Aragorn replied with a tight voice.

Buffy looked up startled as the pieces clicked together in her mind.

"I'm going to kill Elrond and beat the living crap out of the gwenyn when I get my hands on them!" Buffy exclaimed as her anger turned into fury. She had considered that the Elrond might stoop to this but she didn't really think he was stupid enough to actually do it.

"What do you mean?" Aragorn asked apparently not understanding her sudden threat to kill his adar and maim his foster brothers.

Buffy let go of his arm and began to pace back and forth in agitation as she spoke. "Elrond told the gwenyn not to tell you I came back. Since I can't leave until my training is done, and god knows how long that's gonna take, he figured it'd be a great way to keep us separate for a while longer. I'm gonna kill him. Meddling stupid Peredhel nar!" (half elven rat)

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Aragorn watched Buffy pace as her words sank in and he felt his anger at her dissipate as it was turned tward his adar. Refusing to give into that anger at the moment though he pulled his attention back to the woman pacing in front of him cursing and threatening violence with enough creativity and venom to make any man of even the Riddenmark cringe.

Without conscious thought he reached out and grabbed her as she passed him yet again, pulling her up against him and lowering his head to capture her lips with his own.

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Arwen stopped short when she rounded the bend to Buffy's favorite boulder, for there they both were. But instead of fighting as she had been expecting if they had come in contact with one another they were kissing and with rather more passion to it than Arwen would have expected.

After a moment of shock a smile made its way across her face as she turned to make her way back to the Last Homely House. Dinner would be soon and Arwen had the distinct feeling that tonight there was going to be more entertainment than was common going on.

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Dinner had been a tense affair with Buffy looking as though she wanted to kill him. Estel looked to have a better reign on his emotions but that had only lasted until the two of them had entered his study after the meal.

Buffy was livid, the likes of which Elrond had never seen before in her. She had yelled for the better part of five minutes solid before Estel's arm on her shoulder had calmed her enough that she had agreed to stay quiet and let him speak.

His foster son and his kinswoman had made it very clear their opinion of his action or lack there of.

Elrond wasn't sure if he considered his actions entirely wrong but he was sure that he had handled it in a less than perfect manner.

And the fact the he could actually see Narya glow faintly during the exchange caused him a great feeling of unease. Whether Buffy realized it or not the power in her was far greater than that of the dagnir now and a glowing free ring of power was the greatest proof.

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Imladris (Rivendell) April 27/30 Tuile 2990 III Age

The afternoon sun cast a dappled glow through the young spring leaves of the tree Aragorn sat under reading. The approach of Glorfindel he almost did not hear until the elven lord was quite close. Turning his gaze upon the tall golden Eldar's face he saw amusement and ever so slight worry locked in battle. It appeared though that the amusement was winning though.

"Estel you mayhap should go prevent your lady from doing any permanent damage to your brothers."

Aragorn took a deep breath and moved to stand, speaking as he did so. "I assume they entered adar's study upon their arrival and she was still there?"

"Indeed. I am afraid that they were quite unprepared to her attack. They would have been better equipped to face a balrog."

"Where are they now?"

"In your adar's study still. Arwen should have joined the fray as well by now. It seems as though you are the only member of the family not engaged in this battle of wills. I find myself highly impressed with our tithen dagnir, aside from yourself she is the youngest of the the family and yet she seems to be able to match not only lady Arwen but your adar in a battle of wills." As he spoke they made their way back into the Last Homely House and up to his adar's study. Before they even reached the doors however they could hear the shouting. Something that was fairly unheard of in the Lord of Rivendell's study.

"I can't believe you three! Protect me my well toned ass! Manipulative I expect from your ada but you two!"

"That is not fair thel neth. We did only as we were instructed by ada." Aragorn watched Elrohir say as he and Glorfindel entered the study on the far side from where the five of them stood. His adar was still behind his desk sitting in his chair leaned over with one hand on his face. Arwen had situated herself as close to on the left side of the desk behind Buffy as she dared to show support and the gwenyn stood to the right.

"Oh really? Elrond?" Aragorn simply watched in awe as this tiny woman he loved challenged his adar. Most were in awe of or afraid of his ada, but not her. She appeared fearless with her green eyes flashing under one of her silver circlets.

"Buff..."

"Nago nin Elrond! I'm ticked off and I'm staying that way for a bit. You don't get to make decisions about my life! I'm not a little girl! By your standards I'm a little girl I know but I wasn't raised an elf I was raised human! By their standards I'm well past young. So start treating me that way! If I want to be with Aragorn I will. If I want to ride into Mordor I will. And if I want to paint myself blue and run around naked singing hobbit drinking songs I will! I'm past the age when you or anyone else can dictate to me or decide anything in my life! Get your panties out of a bunch about Aragorn and I. I'm not sleeping with him and I'm certainly not marrying him at the moment so you have nothing to get all wiggy about. Are we clear?" (Bite me)

Her last words were said with such force that Aragorn swore he almost saw his adar cringe. No one addressed the Lord of Rivendell like this in his own home and lived to tell of it. But Buffy had and despite everything Aragorn believed that just this once she would get away with it. His adar had already admitted that he could have handled this differently and unsurprisingly Buffy was right. And his adar knew it.

Buffy turned abruptly to the gwenyn and spoke. "I'm stating ticked off at you two for a few days. You should have known better. And I honestly can't wait until Aragorn is done with you. You better hope your brother is more forgiving than I am. You didn't lie to me but by Eru you did to him." And with that she whipped around and stalked off, heading for the side doors that led to the gardens. Arwen shot reproving glares at all three of them before turning and looking Aragorn in the eyes. She had known he was there but apparently Buffy had been too angry to even tell. After a moment she turned and followed her kinswoman out the side doors leaving his foster brothers to gaze at him warily.

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Imladris (Rivendell) January 10/51 Hrive 2991 III Age

It was with a heavy heart that Aragorn turned from strapping his saddlebags onto his horse to face the woman that held his heart so firmly in her grasp. The last months for them had been full of simple happiness, the small amount of time each day they spent together a respite from long years of separation. It seemed an unspoken knowledge that their time together would be far more brief than eother would like and further apart wished but both knew that there were other things that they had to do. Aragorn was the chieften of his people even if he had not claimed the crown of Gondor and Buffy had to complete her healer training with his adar.

For a long moment all he could find himself doing was stare at her, to try and memorize every aspect of her and her beauty. Her gown was very much like the one he had seen her in the night his heart had begun to to love her though it was different as well. Of heavier cloth this one was of white with pale blue sleeves and embroidery. Her only adornment was her Wilwarin necklace and the ring on her right hand. Dreading this moment he took a step up to her and surprisingly she smiled. Pulling her hand from behind her back she held out a shiethed knife, the scabbard was of plain dark brown leather with simple gold accents that matched the handle of the blade.

Smiling down at her as he took it he revealed the blade to see. It was obviously of elven design, the blade curved in the manner of all blades forged by the Eldar. There on the blade though was etched a design and words. As he read them he heard the words pass her lips.

"Gud daedheloth."

"Fear's foe." he translated in a soft voice.

"I thought that it was appropriate. You must learn to face your fear so that so can face your destiny. Now is not the time to become king Aragorn but one day it will be and when it is you can not let your fear keep you from it."

Aragorn nodded in understanding as he placed the blade back in its scabbard. Pulling her close he kissed her gently until she pulled away speaking softly.

"Tenna' ento lye omenta gerich meleth nin." (Until we meet again you have my heart.)

And with that she turned and left, not waiting for Aragorn to reply and not looking back as she retreated quickly from him.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling it with a slight smile on his lips he looked down at the blade in his right hand for a moment before attaching it to his belt and swinging up onto his horse. They would see one another again in the future and both knew that their time apart would not be as great as this past one.

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Imladris (Rivendell) October 6/9 Quelle 2999 III Age

Buffy couldn't help but be excited as she waited on the arrival of Legolas. She hadn't seen him in twenty three years! It didn't feel like it had been that long but Eru knew she had been busy since she had seen him last. Between the time she lost to Narya, her time in Rohan, seven years training with Elrond and three years out finally seeing to her Ranger duties near the Shire she hadn't realized so much time had passed.

Aragorn had left only a month before and Buffy was more than grateful that Legolas had agreed to come represent the Mirkwood elves for the final stage of her adoption that was to take place next spring. The fact that Buffy had convinced Thranduil to allow his only son to come five months early to Rivendell to make her happy showed just how much she had managed to weasel herself into the grumpy King's good graces.

She stood on the steps of the Last Homely House with the rest of her family and Glorfindel and Erestor awaiting their guests to arrive. The man sent ahead to warn had said that they would arrive in under an hour and that hour was almost up.

A massive smile broke out across Buffy's face as she saw Legolas approach. Before he was even fully off his horse she was flying down the steps and at her friend. He turned just in time to catch her as she launched herself at him.

Legolas stumbled back but laughed as the tiny golden haired woman latched herself onto him and hugged him until he felt his ribs begin to hurt.

"Buffy air." He managed to get out as he looked down at her smiling face.

"Oh sorry. I forget I can do that." she replied hasitly as she lossened her grip She could hear the laughter of the gwenyn and Arwen behind her as she looked up into the eyes of her friend.

"So did ya miss me Lasseg?" she asked with a sweet smile. His eyes narrowed a bit at her calling him little leaf but his smile never faltered.

"Aye that I did tithen wilwarin." he replied with a laugh. "Come, lets finish with the pleasantries so that we may have a chance to speak."

Buffy nodded, ignoring his short joke, and disentangeled herself from him then turned to face everyone else. Arwen and the gwenyn all had smiles on their faces while both Elrond and Glorfindel tried to keep their faces impassive, though both had laughter in their eyes. Erestor on the other hand had an expression of exasperation on his face as he obviously witnessed her break yet more rules of propietry and behave as nothing more than a wild child insted of the Lady she was supposed to be.

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