Epilogue
Aragorn finished and was silent.
The elf waited next to the man, looking out onto the plains of Rohan. Together, they mourned the loss of Cuiladan, as if it had been only yesterday that the eldest son of Arathorn had died.
Then, Legolas turned to the man. "I am sorry for your loss, my friend. But I am glad that you have chosen the path that you have."
The man sighed. "I was young and selfish back then. I have realized my true destiny." He looked down once again. "But how can I lead a whole country when I cannot even lead my friends and my own kin to safety?"
The elf smiled, and reached for the man's shoulder. "None of this is your fault, Aragorn. Cuiladan's death, Boromir's death. They were part of fate. Even the loss of Merry and Pippin to the Orcs. You would not be the man you are today had these events not occurred. You must be thankful, despite the sorrow, of your experiences."
Aragorn did not seem to hear, but continued to rub his hands together. He looked toward the east again, and saw that the sky was beginning to turn pink at the edges. Dawn was approaching, and he had not been able to get any sleep. He put his hands at his hips, and fingered the belt that his brother had given him. It was worn and old now, but still served him well. It reminded him of his brother's death, but reminded him that he still had life. And if he was to continue the existence of men, he would have to return to Gondor.
Legolas watched as the man looked off into the distance, and the elf knew exactly what the man was thinking. "Come, friend," he whispered. "We must rouse the dwarf." He stood, helping Aragorn to his feet. "And do not despair. The life of man may be gone, but hope lives yet, Estel."
And for once, Aragorn did not flinch at the name, but smiled.
The End
Wow. I've been working on this story for a long time (just look when this was published), and man does it feel good to finally be finished! The story came to me when I was sleeping, like many of my ideas do, and I continued to wonder what happened to Aragorn in his past that made him so protective during the time of the Fellowship of the Ring. The death of a brother, and the feeling of responsibility that came with it, seemed to be a wonderful explanation, and it gave me the chance to tell a story: something I love, and probably will continue to love until the day I die.
Thank you everyone who read and reviewed my story. I greatly appreciate your feedback, and I do read every single review that I get, though sometimes, I am too busy to reply to all of them.
As this is the end of my story, I'd like to write about something that I came across in the past few days: the C2, The Worst of the Worst LotR Fanfiction. I browsed through the collection of nearly 1000 stories and even went on the creator's forum, which he/she presumptuously titled, "So, you want your story removed from my C2." This was the most appalling thing I've ever seen on this site. I for one, had always been one for encouragement and occasional constructive criticism. I had thought that this site was safe for people who could write and publish as they wished, without fear of rejection, other than a few flames now and then. But even those reviews can be deleted. To be put on a C2, when one cannot even remove his story from it unless he deletes it from the website is downright rude.
It was true, I found some fan fiction on the C2 that was not the best, but what I found more of were writers that were trying to get a start in writing fan fiction because it was something they loved. They wanted feedback to encourage their writing and constructive criticism to better it. The forum and the C2, however, were just cruel. I know that when I first started writing fan fiction in the 6th grade, I was a terrible writer and was in desperate need of some help. That is not to say that my writing is perfect, or even close to it, now. However, had any of my writing been put on that C2 when I was first starting out, I would have been discouraged, and possibly even stopped writing when I was just beginning.
All I would like to say is, if you are reading this, expect mean people on this site. Just because your story is put into a C2 titled "The Worst of the Worst," does not mean that it is actually so. Keep writing. Don't get discouraged. Remember, your writing is yours, and no one else's!