A/N: Apologies for the lack of updates. I will make no assurances that an update will be quickly forthcoming. Sadly I have not had very many reviews for this fic. Thank you to CanIsay. I really appreciate the time you've taken to write a quick review. It really gives me the motivation to update. In fact, it was your review that gave me the inspiration to post the second chapter!
To those who read this fic, I would really appreciate reviews. I have the goal of becoming an author in the future, so every review helps. I also plan on mentioning those amazing few who leave reviews as a personal thank you for taking the time!
Anyway, here is chapter two!
Enjoy and love always,
Onyx Feloric
The look on Gandalf's face had not diminished since the lady rider had left their presence. Aragorn frowned and gripped the wizard's shoulder. "Gandalf."
The Grey Wizard startled slightly, looking at his companion. "Yes?"
The Ranger nodded in the direction Elrond and Lady Alehandrys had left in. "Do you know her?"
Gandalf looked back into the shadows, pulling his pipe out of a pocket as he did so. "I believe so."
The Ranger chuckled as he followed the wizard back towards Frodo's rooms. "You believe so."
Gandalf stuffed his pipe and used a nearby torch to light the grass, puffing smoke out his lips before elaborating. "Lady Alehandrys is one of Elrond's most trusted advisors in relation to war." He blew a smoke ring into the night as he sat down on a low stone bench, Aragorn leaning on the railing next to him, overlooking the city of Rivendell. "She was the one who initiated the alliance between Elves and Men."
"She is an elf then." The Ranger took out his own pipe, carefully stuffing and lighting his pipe.
Gandalf nodded. "Indeed, however, she also has the ability to cast magic such as I. Rare talent for an Elf, I must say; however, she is, according to word, very powerful." Aragorn's skeptical look had the wizard shaking his head. "True, I have not seen her cast, but records all say she was very skilled. After the Dark Lord's body was destroyed and the Ring still forged, she disappeared from the battlefield. According to rumor, she makes her home on the border of the Dead Marshes."
Aragorn frowned, blowing smoke before speaking. "The edge of the battlefield? Why so close?"
"Alehandrys was not satisfied that the Ring still existed in Middle Earth, yet tension between the Elves and Men prevented her from taking further action. Isildur's position of power and Elrond's disappointment with Men made it impossible for her to take it and destroy it without drawing both races into another war." Gandalf sighed. "After Sauron's supposed death, war was the last thing Middle Earth needed to be drawn into."
Aragorn nodded, slight guilt creeping into him from his ancestor's actions. "Lady Alehandrys is keeping watch then?" He muttered the thought softly as he stared out into the peaceful Elf city.
"I imagine so."
The pair stared into the night until Aragorn spoke, a questioning look on his face. "Why has she not been here long before? Or warned Middle Earth of the rising smoke from Mordor?"
Gandalf sighed as he stood from the bench. "Alehandrys was the one who warned Elrond, and through him, me. She is the silent watch." Gandalf looked towards Mordor. Though he could not see it, the heat of the mountains prickled against his skin. "Sauron will no doubt remember the role she played in the beginning. It is my reasoning that she intends to keep herself hidden from him as long as possible."
"He despises her that much?" Aragorn thought back to those strange eyes. Eyes that had seemed cold and ancient in recall. "More than Men and Elves? The ones who defeated him in battle?"
"Alehandrys was the one who brought Elves and Men together." The wizard paused and shook his head slightly, unknowingly to the younger Man. "She was instrumental is his downfall. The knowledge of her presence would be enough to ignite the flames of his hatred. The more time she is hidden, the slower he makes his moves."
Aragorn glanced at the wizard. There was not a direct answer to his query; however, as he followed the old man back to Frodo's room, he was not worried. If Elrond and Gandalf held trust in the elf, he would wait for the time when the past would be revealed to him. At the moment, as Aragorn saw Frodo's more peaceful face, one not crunched up in pain and fear, he took the wizard's earlier words to heart. 'Dwell not on the past, for it will do us no good now.' He may not be pleased with the lack of information, but he was willing to put faith in Gandalf and Elrond. Right now, faith and hope was the one thing Middle Earth truly needed.
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