Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the Lord of the Rings.
Note: thanks for the reviews. I am glad more people are warming up to this story. I want to dedicate this chapter to my wonderful beta readers who are amazing in fixing up my mistakes. So let's begin.
Aragorn walked with soft, nearly silent footsteps, trying this best to hear the equally soft footsteps of his companions. He had learned to walk nearly silently, though not as silently as an elf, early in his youth.
The under bush was thick and the paths they travelled were ones that were not used very often, for they needed to rely on secrecy. They relied also on Glorfindel's knowledge of the lands and, at night, Aragorn's knowledge of the stars to find their position.
Until this very day, he had had some knowledge of where they were. They had been travelling for nearly seven days and since they had crossed the border of Rivendell, the river Bruinen, they had left the paths Aragorn had known and travelled, behind. Now, he was clueless about his location.
He was lost in his thoughts when a hand touched him upon the shoulder, guiding him past a tree root that was sticking out of the ground. Aragorn glanced around and found himself locking eyes with the concentrated and narrowed grey eyes of Elrohir.
He smiled at the youngest twin and said softly. "Thank you. I was lost in thought."
"Your mind often strays from the path our feet tread. Would you care to share your thoughts, Aragorn?" The musical elven voice was light and Aragorn could hear the birds whistling to each other, as well as Glorfindel's and Elladan's strong footfalls close by as he waited a moment before he answered.
"My thoughts are not meant for sharing, Elrohir. I do not mean this the way it sounds but I am afraid that unless I have a change of heart, I will hurt many people."
"Aragorn, whatever it is that you confide in me, will not pass to anybody else. This is a promise as your brother…" Elrohir's voice was patient, soft and private and the light hand on Aragorn's shoulder squeezed lightly.
"Elrohir, this is something that I must do alone. This burden is mine to bear and I must think long and hard on the impression I wish to make upon the Dunedain…" Aragorn still could not say the words his people. They did not feel like it.
He felt like he was adrift, apart and aloof from his family and the people he had known all his life. He needed to make a good impression on the people he would one day have to lead. A low whistle caught his attention and they both moved forward at a faster pace.
The golden elf and seneschal of Rivendell was standing near a clearing in the woods. Elladan had joined him. Glorfindel was eyeing the journey Anor had made in the sky with a grim expression before a brief smile crossed his face, as the golden elf closed his eyes, the rays of the sun hitting his face.
Glorfindel turned when they approached and he pointed out the location to Aragorn. "We will walk for a few more hours before setting up camp. We need to cross a few more miles before we can rest. You will walk with me while Elladan and Elrohir will be our scouts. We have much to discuss."
Elrohir stood for a moment as if he wanted to disobey Glorfindel's orders, but then the younger elf darted forward with his twin and they disappeared into the trees. Glorfindel, with a wave of his hand, invited Aragorn to fall into step beside him.
"Soon we will arrive at the camp of the Dunedain. You will meet with their leader and most likely be tested. You need to make a good impression. We will accompany you but you must answer for yourself. You are the one they have been waiting for."
Aragorn found himself swallowing thickly. He glanced up at Glorfindel as he said, "You will advise me, will you not?"
"I will be with you every step of the way if you have need of me, Aragorn. You are trained in the arts of battle and you can defeat your peers. I have seen your abilities and I am confident that you are ready to assume the leadership role."
"But they will see me like a child. I am still a child in their eyes!" Aragorn bit out sharply, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.
"You are no ordinary child, Aragorn." Glorfindel replied sternly and then continued, his expression softening. "The children of the Dunedain are trained in the same arts as you are. You are ready or you will be, soon. It is time to join your own people."
"I am not confident, for I have never been with my own people before. I have lived my life with the elves and they have shaped who I am…"
"We have given you a foundation. The rest is up to you. Who do you want to be? What paths do you wish to travel to reach your destiny? You have to allow the Dunedain to guide you. You do not have to accept the leadership role now, Aragorn. There is plenty of time to prepare yourself."
Aragorn was silent. He was not so sure how ready he was to meet his people. He would have to prepare himself to meet them but he knew that soon he would be tested. He had trained for all his life in the art of battle and he had learned his way around a council chamber on Elrond's knee or as Erestor's scribe. However, how to rule people who had survived on their own for so long was not something he had never learned.
Nobody could help him. He would need to do it alone. His family did not know what he would be going through and it was a long time before he was ready to return home. He had made a promise to himself. He would only return home when he was ready to face Arwen and Elrond without seeing or feeling the hurt that Elrond had caused him because of secret his father had kept.
He had understood the reasons of course. His own safety. But the life he had been dreaming about was truly lost now. He would need to learn how to lead his people.
He felt Glorfindel's hand on his shoulder as the older elf, his mentor for many years, slowly guided him past some loose rocks, the sure elven feet finding a quick path for his mortal companion.
Aragorn was too lost in thought to truly focus upon the thoughtful smile that crossed Glorfindel's lips.
They continued on in silence for many hours and Glorfindel did not attempt to try and guess Aragorn's thought. The older elf knew that if his former pupil wanted to speak then he would do so. Sometimes Glorfindel guided Aragorn with a light touch when the man was too lost in thought to focus on his surroundings.
In time Aragorn would develop a habit of thinking and focusing upon his surroundings at the same time and not even Glorfindel would be able to best the ranger then. But that would take years of training and experience and Aragorn was too young at the moment.
Now he was a young man whose future had been shattered and his destiny shown to him recently. The long hard path ahead, he would have to walk alone, but perhaps he would find amongst his people, companions who would share his path for a while.
As long as Aragorn had a goal, then things would be fine. It would take time for Aragorn to overcome the hurt that had been caused to him but the man was bright and he understood the reasons why Elrond had hidden him in his own house and had raised him as a son.
Glorfindel knew the moment Elrohir and Elladan joined their company, though the older sons of Elrond did not step into the open, remaining hidden amongst the leaves above them. Glorfindel could see Aragorn tensing and knew that the man had caught on as well.
Aragorn relaxed after a moment when Elladan stepped in front of them and stated, "We have found a place to camp. There is a source of water nearby and we have scouted the area for many miles. There is no sign of orcs nearby. But we will remain watchful. The day is waning and the camp is not far off."
Glorfindel nodded in approvement. "You have done well. We will camp there. We shall make haste, for the day has been long and we have covered many miles."
Aragorn followed Glorfindel, falling into step behind the golden elf. It did not take long for them to find the clearing and Aragorn gladly shouldered off his pack, as Elrohir went to collect firewood.
He joined Elladan with a pan to get water to heat up, Glorfindel building the fire. His oldest brother was silent as he crouched down beside Aragorn at the small creek, where they were gathering water.
"I do hope that Glorfindel will be able to catch a nice rabbit tonight. I grow weary of the elven bread and the vegetables." Elladan finally said, rising carefully not to spill the water on his clothes.
"I thought that you liked the taste of elven bread." Aragorn returned the jibe, grinning as Elladan turned back to him.
"Just because I am an elf, Aragorn, does not mean that I can stand the taste of it all the time. We should go back to the camp. I would hate for Glorfindel to come and find us…"
"Are you afraid that you might get lost in the dark, Elladan? I thought that you had such good eyes. You are not afraid of the dark, now are you? I always thought that it was me who was afraid of the dark."
Elladan fixed him with a glare and then said in an icy calm voice, through the elf was fighting to keep the grin off his face. "Yes but unless you take care with your words you will find yourself flat on your back in the creek. I do not think Glorfindel will be very pleased with me when I return you to the campsite wet, but I will take my chance."
"You would not dare…"
"You should not take offense when I do throw you in the water. You will have royally deserved it when I do so…"
"Are you two done playing yet? We have a guest." Elrohir's voice was soft and amused as they both turned, Elladan cursing softly when he slouched water over his leggings, soaking them.
"A guest?" Aragorn asked, his guard up almost immediately.
"You have met him before but I am not sure if you remember. Now will you come to the camp? Elladan, you look like you have wet yourself…" Elrohir laughed lightly as this as they began the trek back to the camp.
"It is water." Elladan shot at his younger brother.
"But Glorfindel does not know that it is water." Elrohir led the way and walked into the camp, ignoring his brother's grumbling behind him.
Aragorn trailed behind them, his feet picking the path for him until he heard the gruff voice that he had once heard on a spring day in the long forgotten years of his youth and his head snapped up. The long grey beard and the shaggy hair, the twinkling and keen blue eyes hidden underneath the bushy grey eyebrows in the weathered face with the long dark cloak that lay on the ground and the knobbly staff that lay near the wizard sparked his memory.
Mithrandir. Gandalf…
Glorfindel looked up and smiled, calling out. "Ah, there you are, Aragorn. Look who has joined us. I believe that you remember Gandalf when he came to visit when you were a child."
"Hello, Aragorn. I do believe that you either know me as Gandalf or Mithrandir. I am not sure, you must forgive an old man. My memory is not what it used to be." The elderly looking man shared a secret smile with Glorfindel and Aragorn could see that Elladan shared the same knowing look with Elrohir. He narrowed his eyes, what did they know that he did not?
The man merely nodded in greeting. He did not really know what to say and Glorfindel finally sobered, seeing the narrowed eyes of Aragorn as he said. "Gandalf is not what he seems. Quite like you actually. Do take a seat. I will fix dinner soon."
"How did you find us here? I thought that Elladan and Elrohir said that the area was hidden and secure." Aragorn sat down as he asked his question.
The elderly man fixed him with a look before his face relaxed into a smile, as he dug into his pack and took out a pipe. lighting it and puffing on for a few good moments, he ignored the sputtering Glorfindel beside him, before he answered, "I was walking here and I stumbled over Glorfindel. Elladan and Elrohir were quite correct in their assumptions that the area is secure. It is secure of all creatures' dark, not those of the light."
"I cannot imagine anybody actually stumbling over Glorfindel." The younger man mumbled.
"Too right you are, Aragorn. I know that he would camp in this area; he usually does when he is on the road and comes across this stretch of land. Call it intuition if you will."
"I doubt that anybody would call anything you do intuition." Aragorn answered.
Gandalf's eyes were twinkling as the wizard finally answered with a smile. "Elrond has taught you well, my lad. It is no use keeping secrets from you. I am a wizard and I am here to do a task, if you will. A task that has been entrusted to me. By somebody very special. A task I fear that will take many years to complete. But let us not discuss these dark thoughts. T'is a day for celebration, for finally you return to your people. Now tell me, my lad, has Elrond finally given you your own pipe?"
Aragorn's interest was peeked and he shook his head, sending his now shoulder length hair flying as he said. "No, Elrond has never quite liked it when I smoked."
"Well, if you ever want to blend in with your people, then it is time that you begin to learn this art. Allow me to instruct you…."
"Are you sure that it is such a good idea, Mithrandir?" Glorfindel asked softly.
"Nonsense, my dear elf, all of the children of the Dunedain have smoked a pipe. Their leader should not do anything less." Gandalf brushed Glorfindel's concerns aside and the hard blue eyes fixed on Aragorn's face, before the elf shook his head and said, "Whatever Aragorn decides will sit well with me. It is not I who will bear the consequences of reporting this to Elrond."
For a moment Aragorn paused but then he caught Elrohir's glance and the youngest elf shook his head before he smiled and said in his soft voice, "Do not let Glorfindel discourage you, Aragorn. Adar will forgive you and you are old enough to make your own choices. We all know that now."
It encouraged Aragorn's heart more then anything. Elladan's eyes were gleaming and the lips were shaped into a smile. The man accepted the pipe without any more questions.
He inhaled his first draught and nearly choked, tears overcoming him as he coughed harshly. He bent over and allowed the pipe to drop to the ground. Hands held him up as Aragorn struggled to get breath back into his burning lungs.
The coughing died away and he glanced up. Gandalf was shaking his head in amusement as he said, "You still have much to learn, Aragorn, son of Arathorn. However, In time you will be ready to take on the leadership of your people. Be assured of that."
And while Aragorn did not touch the pipe again that evening, his heart swelled with pride at the people who believed in him, While he would still be nervous, he knew that he was ready to meet with his people.
I hope you liked it. So the next chapter will be when Aragorn will meet with the Dunedain. Send some ideas if you want and review of course.