A.N/ Hi! Sorry for how long it took us to update... Maddie and Uma were off to all sorts of exotic places while I was left in cold rainy England. Not that I don't like our country, it's just not as, well, sunny as Rhodes... So they were stranded in no wifi zones so no chapter could be posted. But thank you anyway for all your lovely reviews! No matter how cheesy it sounds and how many times I say it, it really means the world to us!XD I do a little tap dance each time I see a new message in my email inbox... OK, enough of my ranting now! On with the chapter! XD Another familiar character in this one, see if you can guess from the title...

Disclaimer... We own nothing, except our OCs...

Chapter Seven - Take Everything in your Stride

Kels' POV

I had stolen some pieces of beef from Seph's bag which contained almost anything you could ever need. I had thought that I had gotten away with my little theft until Seph said,

"Hope you are enjoying your midnight snack!"

That had put me off eating slightly but I still manage to finish the pieces without my stomach rejecting. It had been three days since we had left the others and I had spent most of that on the back of our faithful horse Thor though I would often jump off during the day to stretch my legs or get water from the stream that was next to the path. Horse riding gives you terrible cramps so I would spend at least 20 minutes every morning trying to get rid of them. Seph had been almost totally silent for the entire journey to Bree. I had never seen her so quiet.

"Are we there yet?" I asked for the millionth time that day. I was actually just trying to get Seph to talk and prove that she was actually alive.
"Almost... and can you stop bugging me! I'm fine. It's just sleeping, riding a horse and talking at the same time is hard. I can triple task but it takes a lot of effort." So that's why she had been silent. She was sleeping.

I pulled out my iPod and turned on my ISC so I could go on YouTube to cheer her
up. As soon as it turned on a message popped up. Two missed FaceTimes from Di.
Damn... I wasn't going to tell Seph right now because she would feel bad. I would tell her later and she would decide what to do. I ignored the message and went onto the Hobbit Rap.
"They're taking the hobbits to Isengard;
they're taking the hobbits to Isengard..." My iPod continued to play and a
smile crept up onto her lips. She chuckled gently and ruffled my hair like the affectionate older sister I had always seen her as. We rode for a couple more hours and I rested my head on her back.
"Seph."
"What is it pixie?" Kelly the pixie. Very fitting.
"Di facetimed me earlier."
"I was aware of that." she turned to look at me. "She messaged me too."
"Shall I reply?" I highly doubted that it was a good idea but I would still ask.
"No... It would be better if we did not. They are probably just checking that we are alive. I doubt they want us intruding on their business and causing them more grief." This made sense.
"Could we email to say we are alive." a huff escaped the girl in front of me and she rolled her eyes.
"Sure, sure." I proceeded to create an email that was brief and to the point.

Hi guys,
Hope you are Ok. We are alive and well enough at this current moment.
Please do not reply or message us. It would be best if we cease contact until we meet again. Absence makes the heart grow fonder ;) I think you will agree that the best way to sort things is a little private time. Also, if you do plan on going home, talking to us is not going to help your resolve. We don't want to stop you, it is your choice.
Until we meet again
Kels x
P.S. Miss you loads
P.P.S. We are officially Beni elves if you wanted to know ;)

I clicked the send button and smiled. I felt like I had let out some of the guilt in the message.

"Turn it off now. We are here!" I put the iPod in her bag and looked around nervously as people stared at us. I was extremely uncomfortable.
"What are you doing? Have you never seen a couple of teenage girls before?" I can see why people looked though. We were young teenage elves on a large stallion wearing jeans and T-shirts which were obviously not worn here. In fact Seph's shirt read 'I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it!' Seph is a fan of slogan tops. They warn people of her sarcasm and attitude early.
"Leave my friend and me alone!"They seemed mightily offended by being yelled at by a young girl, but they could hear her threatening tone and backed off. I smiled. Seph would always protect me from such uncomfortable situations. We rode into the stables at the Prancing Pony and leapt off Thor leaving him with the stable boy.
"How are we going to pay? I whispered quietly.
"Don't worry. I have money."
"This place's money?"
"They use the old Victorian penny, shilling and pound system. I keep lots of those coins in my bag. We will have more than enough." Typical Seph. No organisational skills at all and she is ready for anything.
"I also have a collection of Roman and Medieval coins, just in case they used those or something similar."
I chuckled as we entered the inn and threw my arm around Seph and watched as she took a knife in a sheath from her bag put it around her waist.
"In case some drunkards come at us..." Typical, all this time when we were breaking sticks and tearing food she had a knife.

While Seph went to find the owner and paid for our room; I looked around the room for a table. In the corner a man was sitting with a cloak covering his features and a pipe in his mouth. He seemed reasonably friendly. I made my way towards him and smiled.
"Hello! How are you?" Although his face was hidden from us, I could tell he seemed confused.
"What the hell are you doing Kels?" exclaimed Seph. "He could harm you, kidnap you or kill you! You don't talk to strangers!" I pouted and turned away.
"Your friend speaks sense little one. I mean you no harm but others may have worse intentions. Two as young as you should not be travelling on your own. Where do you head?"
"I know not your name or intentions. Why should I trust you with such information?"
"They call me Strider and I assure you that I mean you no harm."
"Aragorn?" I asked. It couldn't possibly be... Yet at the same time it must be.
"How do you know my name?" I looked at Seph and she sighed.
"Perhaps we had better sit down."

"Well Aragorn. To answer your first question, we head for the Shire," she began. "Do you believe in fairytales? In the impossible?"
"Yes," he replied looking rather amused.
"We are not from this world..."
She paused, "In the world we come from your world is a story. A book. Due to magic in the ground under my house we were brought here. That is how we know about you. We are Beni elves. A race unknown to these lands."
He chuckled and smiled at me. "I believe your story. No other elfling would wear such strange clothes, go on a journey unattended and walk up to a complete stranger." I blushed rather embarrassed. This was my favourite character, my child crush and he was talking to me. Somehow I doubted that Aragorn was completely like the book version. He seemed more like a big brother than the skilled warrior I argued with Fin about.
"Sadly, I cannot help you for I head to Rivendell at dawn. However, if you indeed head to the Shire then I know someone who can help you."
"Rivendell?" I asked.
"Indeed."
"If you see two strange elves like us could you please tell them that Seph and Kells say hello?"
"Who are these other elves?"
"Our sisters. We had an argument and split up." I smiled sadly and he returned it. I knew that they would be more pleased with this message than the email. This message proved that we were fine rather than just saying it to make them feel better.
"I will indeed pass on the message for you milady. Now tomorrow when you rise there will be an old man in this seat. Go to him. He will help you." I smiled at him and Seph did the same.
"Thank you for your kindness. I think we shall rest now for it has been a long and weary journey, especially for Seph as she has ridden two days and walked another with no rest stops. I sat behind her so I was able to gain some."
"My pleasure and I hope you both rest well."
We grinned and headed to our room. Seph suddenly rushed back to Aragorn, whispered something in his ear and then ran back. I could hardly hear his chuckle over the drunken laughter of all the other men. He smiled at me and winked from beneath his hood before continuing his smoke - very big brother behaviour.
Seph pulled the key from her pocket and opened the door to our room and I flopped down on the bed to get some rest. Seph walked into the bathroom and began to clean herself in the shower with a mini vial of shower gel and shampoo. She came out ten minutes later smelling of oranges as always. She smiled and handed me the dry shampoo which I took happily and applied it to my hair. My body itself wasn't too dirty as I had washed in the stream yesterday.

"What did you tell Aragorn?" I asked yawning. "He looked rather smug."
"I told him that he was your favourite character!" she said chuckling.
"If I were not so tired I would kill you." I muttered.
"He then told me that he liked my shirt but that he doubted that I was insane."
"And what witty retort did you come up with?"
"I wouldn't bet on it!" I laughed with her and it suddenly felt like we were back at her house on one of our regular sleepovers. I crawled under the covers on my bed and snuggled down into the pillow.
"Goodnight Seph. If you have a bad dream just wake me up."
"Thank you Kels." she whispered, her voice sincere. "I will. Goodnight." I blew out the candle on my bedside table yawned. Tomorrow would bring a brand new day and I couldn't wait. I curled up slightly and fell into a deep sleep.

A.N/ Thanks for reading! XD Please leave us a review! They are our fuel! Next chapter we are back with Di and Fin, see if you can guess the canon character! Drop us a review and I will PM you a preview.