Arwen was singing to herself in elvish as they made their way to Lord Elronds study. Two days after the incident with Brenir and the bow, Alarain had been summoned by Lord Elrond, and it was the elf beside her that had been sent to collect her. Her song was very beautiful, and even though the Rohirrim woman had no idea what it was about, she was enjoying it.
They reached their destination and Arwen motioned for her to go in. She then resumed her singing and floated away, her voice echoing through the halls.
Entering, Alarain saw that their were many other people there too. Lord Elrond was there, as well as Aragorn, Legolas, Gandalf, the hobbits, Boromir, and the dwarf named Gimli.
The fellowship, she thought, feeling somewhat out of place among them.
Everyone turned to look at her as she came in, causing her to feel quite uncomfortable. Boromir and the dwarf looked confused, but the others just turned back to the elf lord. They already knew she was joining them.
"Good, everyone is here." Elrond began. "Boromir and Gimli, this is Alarain. She will be joining the fellowship, though only as far as her home in Rohan."
"We've met." Boromir smiled.
Alarain grinned back and bowed her head in greeting.
"It's very nice to meet you lassie!" Gimli spoke up. He sent her a big bearded grin and did a little bow.
"And you." she replied with another smile.
Lord Elrond continued. "I have called you all here to announce that you will be departing from Rivendell in two days time." he paused to look around at all the faces. "Between then and now, you shall pack what supplies you'll need, such as food and weapons."
He was cut by a small voice. "Excuse me? Sir?" Sam asked.
Elrond raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" he questioned slowly.
Sam looked uncomfortable with all eyes on him. "Can... can Bill come?"
Her eyes widened at the name, and her mind was briefly back in that room with Bill Ferny and his buddies.
"Who, might I ask, is Bill?" the elf lord asked in confusion.
"The pony that we got in Bree." Sam explained. "I uh... named him that."
Alarain relaxed at that, though she still wondered why Sam would name the nice creature after that monster of a man.
Lord Elrond laughed. "Why not. Of course you can bring him Sam!" he chuckled merrily.
Hmmm... I've never seen him so jolly before, Alarain commented in her head.
Sam smiled. "Thank you milord."
Smiling, Lord Elrond turned his attention back to the whole room. "As I was saying, you have until the day after tomorrow to pack all your belongings for the journey. The kitchens will prepare the food and you will receive it shortly before your departure." With that, he dismissed everyone but Gandalf, and Alarain went on her way.
"Pardon me milady, but would you care to join me for a stroll in the gardens?"
Alarain turned to find Legolas grinned back at her. "Only if you don't abandon me to find my own way back." she said, still not having forgiven him for that.
"I make no promises." he teased. "And anyways, I knew Aragorn was there."
She rolled her eyes, but let him lead her outside. They wandered among the foliage for a while before Legolas broke the silence. "So, how do you feel about this journey that we are about to partake in?" he asked.
For a moment Alarain thought he was teasing, but looking up at him, she saw that he was serious. She thought for a moment. "Well..." she began. "It is defiantly not something to be taken lightly." Pausing, she thought of how to put into words what she meant. "I'm a little worried."
"What about?" the elf asked.
"It is going to be dangerous and I don't wish for any of my friends to... I don't want anything bad to happen to my friends." she admitted, looking at her feet.
Legolas was quite for a moment. "You're right. It will be dangerous, and that is unavoidable." He continued. "But don't let yourself worry for our safety. You'll be no use to us if you do nothing but mope about our wellbeing." he joked.
That brought Alarain out of her blues and she stuck her tongue out at him childishly.
He laughed. "I must be going. I have bows that need packing." Trotting away, he called a farewell back to her before disappearing in the undergrowth.
Smiling to herself, Alarain decided to go and start packing her things as well. On her way to her room, she came across a worried looking hobbit. Frodo was leaning on a railing, staring down at a waterfall with his hand in his pocket.
"Frodo?" she asked. He didn't answer, so she tried again. "Frodo, is everything alright?"
Finally seeming to hear her, he nodded. "Yes. I'm okay." he answered quietly. He turned to her suddenly. "Do you think I can do this?"
Alarain was startled. She had never thought of how the hobbit must feel. He had the the safety of Middle-earth resting on his shoulders and he had barely even begun to see the world outside of the Shire. "I believe that you can. You survived the Nazgul, and I think you can survive this." she comforted.
Her efforts seemed to work and Frodo gave her a tiny smile. "Thank you Alarain. We haven't known each other for long, but I'm glad you're coming."
"I'm glad I'm coming too." she said, patting his shoulder. "Now I must go, for I need to start packing for said journey." With that, they said goodbye and she headed off to her room.
The next afternoon, all packing was arranged and moods were tense. Everyone seemed to thinking of tomorrow's departure. Merry and Pippin weren't disrupting every elf in sight, and even Brenir was quiet.
Alarain eventually wandered into the forest, hoping to escape the anxious atmosphere. Meandering through the trees, she spotted a rabbit and decided to follow it. Sneaking up behind the furry creature, her fun was ruined when it caught her scent and shot away down a hole. She frowned in disappointment and wandered away again. Finding an ant hill, she watched the little insects as they hurried about their business, knowing nothing of the outside world, but she quickly became bored at the life of an ant and left them in peace.
Shortly before her woodland adventures, she had gotten hold of some horsehair from the stables, and settling herself down in some moss below a tree, she started braiding it together. They were mostly a lovely brown colour but she had managed to get her hands on some whitish-gray hairs as well. After a moment, she started humming to herself. Her voice floated aimlessly through the trees and landed on the ears of a nearby deer. It swished its tail in thought before wandering to munch on a nearby patch of grass, suddenly springing away as it discovered that it was not the only soul nearby. A certain ranger had also decided to escape to the peace of the forest, and he too had heard the drifting voice. Making his way quietly through the underbrush, he crouched down behind a log and peeked out at her.
The woman paused in her tune when she felt a presence behind her. Knowing he had been discovered, Aragorn sauntered over and settled down in the moss on her right. She turned her gaze on him accusingly. "Were you listening to me?" she asked.
He gave her a hint of a smile. "Yes." he said. "You have a lovely voice."
She blushed. "Thank you. I don't usually let anyone hear it."
"You should. I like it." Aragorn said, eyes wandering across her face.
She could feel his gaze on her which caused her cheeks to heat up even more. Being as shy about her voice as she was, Alarain didn't know how she felt about him hearing it. Trying to ignore the man beside her, she went back to her braiding. There was only enough hair to make a bracelet and she was nearly done already. Finishing, she tied it in a circle and admired her work.
Aragorn suddenly reached over and took her arm. Pushing up her sleeve, he studied the scar that was there. Looking at him questioningly, she tried to pull her arm away, but he held it firm. His eyes raised to hers, and the look she saw in them calmed her immediately. He lowered his gaze back down to her scar and traced it with his fingers. The skin on the hand shaped mark was bumpy and gnarled, and the white discolouration could still be seen, though it had faded to some extent.
He paused in his tracing and his eyes grew dark. "I still cannot understand why Saruman would turn against us." he whispered, half to himself. "Nor how he could do this to someone." Frowning, he continued. "How could he inflict this kind of pain..."
Alarain's mind wandered, her thoughts much the same. How could he live with himself? I couldn't. The guilt would eat me alive.
"You still wish to come?" Aragorn asked suddenly, straightening up, though not letting go of her arm. "With the fellowship?"
She returned his gaze wearily. "Yes. Of course I do." she said, knowing that he wished for her to change her mind.
Aragorn nodded. "You don't have to." he tried again.
Sending him a 'don't you dare try that again' look, she pulled her arm back. Aragorn sighed. "Yes, I know. You're still coming." he grumbled.
Leaning back on the tree behind her, Alarain watched the ranger.
He turned to her again. "Are you scared?" he asked.
She was surprised by the question, but answered truthfully. "Yes." she said a quite voice, avoiding his eyes.
He leaned back as well, and after a moment, spoke again. "I am too."
Alarain turned her head to look up at him. He was staring off into the forest, not at anything in particular, looking rather worried. She smiled at the man who usually would never admit to being afraid, and scooted closer in the hopes of comforting him. Aragorn glanced down at her, but didn't speak. They sat in peaceful silence, listening to the birds and crickets for a while. The sun was low now and it streamed through the trees, causing Alarain's hair to light up in beautiful golden shades. After a moment, she took Aragorn's arm and slid the horsehair bracelet onto his wrist. He looked down at it and smiled before he looked up at Alarain and raised his eyebrow.
"What?" she asked, giggling.
"Nothing." he grinned. "You'd better take this away now if you want it back, or I may keep it."
Alarain laughed. "Go ahead. It's your's."
"Thank you Alarain." he said, looking at it as if it was some sort of beautiful glowing white jewel.
Afternoon had turned to evening and they wandered back to the houses slowly, enjoying each others company. When Aragorn had said goodnight at her doorway, she saw him smile down at the bracelet one more time as he turned to leave. She had pleasant dreams that night.