"Mmmm..." Alarain groaned. "Help..."
"Do not worry young one." came a wise voice. "You are safe."
She opened her eyes to a very open room that gave her the feeling of comfort. There were large gaps in the walls that could be called windows, though they held no glass. Surveying the room, her gaze came to rest on a man sitting in a chair beside her bed. He looked no older than an average adult, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was much, much older.
"Who are you? Where am I? What happened?" she stuttered, rubbing her aching head.
He gave her a fatherly smile answering, "You are at my home in Rivendell my friend. I am Lord Elrond. You were knocked out by a Nazgul when you went to look for the athelas."
Alarain cast her gaze around again and wondered at the intricate designs in the building's structure. Looking back at the man, she gasped. His ears were pointed! "You're an elf!"
He laughed. "I thought you knew you were looking for the elves."
Blushing, she explained quickly that she had never seen an elf before, let alone had the privilege of meeting one. He must be very old if he's an elf, she thought in amazment.
"Ah. I just remembered. Your friends wished to see you when you awoke. I will send for them now." He stood and walked to the door. "It was very nice to meet you Alarain." he said before exiting.
A few moments later, the woman heard little footsteps rushing down the hall. The door burst open as Merry and Pippin came careening through. "Alarain!" they yelled in excitement.
She laughed as they came rushing to the bedside. "Hello. It's nice to see you two still in one piece!" she smiled.
"You too! We were very worried when you did not return! And so much happened after you left!" Pippin exclaimed.
"What did happen?" Alarain asked. "How is Frodo?"
"Frodo's alright. He'll be coming to see you shortly." Merry said, relieving her of her worry. "Sam too." Just as he said that, Frodo and Sam entered.
"Oh good. I'm so glad to see that you're both still standing as well."
They came smiling to her other side and said their 'hellos'. They all then proceeded in telling her the contents of what had happened after she was knocked out. Apparently, Strider had found the athelas plant as well as an elf who turned out to be his adopted sister. Her name was Arwen and she had saved Frodo by riding him to Rivendell, all the while being chased by Black Riders along the way.
Merry continued. "Strider had then decided to try and find you, so he tracked you from where you left the three stone trolls and we found you lying on the ground. We thought you were dead until Strider told us otherwise. He said you had been knocked out. He then carried you all the way back here!" he finished.
Alarain stared at him. "He carried me all the way here?" she asked, quite dumbstruck.
They laughed. "Yes, although he did complain a couple of times about you going off and getting into trouble on purpose so that he'd have to carry you!" Pippin giggled.
"Oh, did he?" Alarain questioned, her eyebrow raised. They all laughed again.
"Oh! And also, Gandalf is here!" Merry said excitedly. "You must meet him!"
Her stomach churned a few times with the memory of her last visit with a wizard, but she hid it and replied that she would love to.
"Well here's your chance Alarain." Sam spoke up.
Her eyes flew to the door. A man stood there. He looked quite old, had long gray hair and a long gray beard. A gray cloak hung around him as well. He smiled kindly at her and her mouth went dry. The hobbits all said a warm welcome to him before he asked if he could speak to her in private. They went on their way with cheerful 'goodbyes' and she was left alone with the wizard.
Walking over to sit in the chair beside her, he spoke. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you young one." Why does everyone call me 'young one'? "I have heard much about you." he continued.
Eying him wearily, she nodded. He sighed. "I must say that I cannot blame that you're afraid of me after what Aragorn has told me about you." He gave her a comforting smile. "But I assure you, I mean you no harm."
A question formed in her mind and she voiced it. "Who is Aragorn?"
"Ah yes. You must only know him as Strider. His real name is Aragorn." He explained.
Alarain was confused. "Why did he tell me his name was Strider then?" she asked.
"He has many names. In the village of Bree, his is known as Strider. He did not lie to you, although, his birth name is Aragorn." the wizard answered.
"What did he tell you about me?" she asked, confused again.
"He told me how you got that scar on your arm."
Alarain quickly looked down at her arm and instinctively went to cover her scar, only to discover that she was wearing a long sleeved dark purple dress. Looking back up at the wizard, she couldn't help but feel calm. If Aragorn trusts this wizard enough to tell him about my scar, then he's probably trustworthy, she thought.
"You must sleep now." Gandalf said. "You received quite the bump on the head and it will need rest to heal." He got up and walked to the door. "Someone will be back to see if you are well enough to come to dinner. Goodbye Alarain." he said as he left.
"Goodbye." she replied.
Waking sometime later, Alarain saw a tub filled with steaming water and a new dress waiting for her. She got up, had a well needed bath, and put on the dress. It was her favourite colour, deep forest green. Walking over to one of the windows, Alarain looked out, admiring the beauty of the gardens outside.
A knock sounded at her door and after calling for them to come in, a few gorgeous elves walked in and took away the tub. Feeling slightly disappointed that it was not someone she knew, Alarain decided to explore.
Emerging from her room, she found herself in a spacious hallway. Going left, she wandered onto a beautiful deck with some stairs leading down to the gardens. It was then that she realized that she wore no footwear. Shrugging to herself, she continued her stroll.
The grass felt nice between her toes and she enjoyed the feel of fresh air on her face. All was quiet and peaceful. Wait. What was that? Something was barreling down the path towards her! She was just about ready to jump into some flower bushes to avoid whatever it was, when she saw it. Brenir happily galloped around a corner and wiggled around her legs. He nuzzled his nose under her hand in an attempt to get her to pet him. She, of course, complied.
"You're looking well." a voice observed.
Alarain looked up from her petting into the face of someone who she was hoping to run into. Smiling, she stood up to greet the ranger. "Why hello there... Aragorn." she said, purposefully showing that she knew his real name now. As well as trying to show her annoyance with him in not telling her his real name in the first place.
"You asked me my name, so I gave you one." he said teasingly.
She exaggerated rolling her eyes at him. He motioned for her to walk with him and they strolled together in silence for a while with Brenir following close by. It was nice. Neither of them felt the need to fill the gaps with words. Looking at him sideways, she noticed that he no longer wore the ranger garb that she met him in. He was now clad in fancy elvish clothes that shone in the sunlight every once in while. Her eyes traveled up to his face, which was now washed and free of dirt and grime.
She was startled when he broke the silence. "You were supposed to stay in your room."
Alarain smiled and said cheekily, "Not one soul informed me of that. Not specifically anyways."
Aragorn looked down at her with raised eyebrows and a smirk, remembering the moment in the woods below the ruins of Amon Sul.
They walked on again, neither saying a word. Alarain broke the silence this time. "Thank you Aragorn." she said, looking up at him sideways again.
He gave her a questioning look. "What for?"
"Saving me... quite a few times I might add." she said, blushing as she looked back down at the ground. "The hobbits said that you carried me all the way here."
His gaze didn't leave her for a while, making her blush even harder. Stop it!
"My pleasure." he smiled, finally looking away.
She was saved from further blushing when an elf came along the trail. "Ah Aragorn!" he said in recognition. "And you must be Lady Alarain." he said to her as he took her hand and kissed it. So much for being saved from further blushing... "I am Legolas of the Woodland Realm. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Please, just Alarain. I'm hardly a Lady." she said with a pink face.
"Alright Legolas. Leave the poor girl alone." Aragorn said to his friend.
Legolas laughed. "I have been sent to bring you both back for dinner." he continued. "May I?" he said to Alarain, offering his arm. She felt rude not taking it, so she obliged.
As they entered the dining hall, Alarain gasped at the grandness of the room. Legolas smiled and lead her to a seat before taking his place beside her. Aragorn sat across from her and the meal began. She spotted the hobbits sitting some ways down the table with Gandalf, Lord Elrond, and a gorgeously elegant female elf who she supposed was Arwen.
She only half listened to the conversations around her as she ate. The woman from a small Rohan village was not usually one for large crowds and was feeling quite out of place among the many elves. Although she would still put in a sentence here or there when needed, she couldn't wait to leave. Aragorn seemed to sense this and came around the table to her. He made the excuse that she should go rest, offered her his arm, which she gladly took, and lead her out of the busy dining hall.
As they exited, she said a quick 'thank you' to him. His response was a nod and a knowing smile. They had to walk through some of the gardens to get back to her room, which she enjoyed very much. The peace of the outdoors calmed her nerves and she almost forgot that Aragorn was there. She only remembered that he was, when she decided that she didn't want to go in yet and slipped out of his arm to stroll off in a completely different direction.
"Alarain?" he asked from behind her.
She ignored him, secretly getting back for all the times he had ignored her. She soon heard his almost silent footfalls behind her and knew that he had followed.
Stopping in her tracks, she turned around to face him. "You don't have to come. I'm sure I'm not going to go off and get into any trouble here." she said, thinking of what the hobbits had told her about Aragorn complaining on the way here.
He stood there in confusion before an understanding smile slowly grew on his lips. Alarain stuck her tongue out at him in a childish manner before turning to continue on her walk. She didn't hear him come after her, so she peeked back at him and nearly jumped when she saw him walking right beside her.
He chuckled. "I'm a ranger, remember?"
Alarain laughed with him, partly to calm her nerves after that scare. They meandered their way through the garden until the trees started getting thicker. Without saying a word to each other, they turned around and headed back.
Deciding to strike up a conversation with him, Alarain asked, "So have you known Legolas for long?"
He smiled. "A while, yes. Why?"
"Oh, just making conversation." she smiled back.
"Nothing more?" he asked.
She looked up at him with questioning eyes. "No...?"
"You're not... interested in him?"
Seeing what he was getting at, Alarain blushed. "No, no." she laughed nervously. Her heart was beating at an unusual rate, though she didn't have a clue why. It was true. She didn't feel that way about Legolas. So why am I so nervous?
"He's a prince." Aragorn said out of the blue.
Her eyes widened and she stared at him. "What?"
The ranger laughed. "Now are you interested?" he teased.
She felt her cheeks grow hot again, but she ignored it. "No, but should I have been more..."
"Don't worry. You didn't offend him or anything." he reassured her with a smile and a laugh.
They arrived at the house her room was in and Aragorn lead her through the halls to her door.
Suddenly remembering, she asked, "Where is Brenir?"
"Do not worry about him. He is being well looked after." Aragorn said and she relaxed.
"Thank you." Alarain smiled. "I never remember him, poor guy." she continued, looking at the floor guiltily.
Opening her door, she stepped inside and turning, said "Goodnight" to Aragorn. He gave her a smile and a small bow before bidding her goodnight as well.