Alarain woke sometime in the night. Lifting her head up, she looked around at the forest. Wait. The forest? Turning to look up, she saw Aragorn asleep beside her. Realization came slowly that they had fallen asleep there last evening. She peeked up through the trees to see if she could spot the moon and figure out what time it was. The moon was high in the sky. Midnight.
Sleepily, she tried to rise, but was stopped when she felt a pull. She turned her eyes back down and saw that Aragorn still had a grip on her hand. Very gently, she attempted to pry his fingers off. His hand, however, would not budge. A snicker sounded and she looked back to his face to see him smiling. His eyes were still closed, but he was definitely awake.
"Very funny." she grumbled drowsily.
He opened his eyes to watch her. "I sure thought so." he grinned.
Mumbling to herself, she leaned back on the stump again.
"Alarain." he began, sitting up slightly. "I feel like I know you."
Alarain giggled. "That's because you do. You've been traveling with me for some time now, or had you forgotten?" she teased.
He moved his gaze down to her and rolled his eyes. "That is not what I meant."
She smiled, trying not to laugh at him. "What did you mean then?"
Aragorn was quiet for a moment. "When I was only a child, my village came under attack by orcs. My mother brought me to Rivendell to protect me, and that is where I grew up." he said quietly. Alarain looked up to watch him. He was staring off into the forest, mind filled with memories. "I was very young when I lived in the Dunedain village, but I remember a few people. One of which was a girl, not much younger than me at the time. I played with her often and she became my best friend." He paused and looked down at her. "She had beautiful bright orange hair." he said pointedly, bringing the hand not holding hers, up to brush some of her copper-orange hair out of her face.
Alarain stared at him. "You think I'm..."
He nodded.
She sat up quickly, pulling away from him. "That's impossible. I'm not a Dunedain. I'm from Rohan."
The ranger sat up as well. "Is it? You said you never met your parents."
Alarain turned a suspicious glare on him. "You weren't in the room when I told Merry and Pippin that." she accused.
"I was outside the door."
Raising her eyebrows, she stared at him. "You were listening in?"
He looked worried. "You're not mad, are you?" he asked.
"No... not really" Alarain admitted.
He continued carefully, hoping not to anger her. "If you never met your parents, how do you know they were from Rohan?" Alarain had no answer so he kept going. "Also, you said you're forty three. You look much too young to be forty three. Dunedain are blessed with long life, and if I'm correct, you are actually much older." She still had nothing to say. "I thought you looked vaguely familiar when I met you in Bree. Then I heard you're name and I recognized it too, though I didn't know where from." He looked at her desperately, wondering if he'd ever convince her.
"You're mad." she said simply.
He frowned. "The girl I knew could bend her left thumb backwards." he said out of nowhere.
Alarain stared at him, amazement in her eyes. She then slowly took her left hand out of his and looked at it. Pushing on the thumb joint, it bent back easily. Looking back to him, her mouth was hanging open slightly. "Coincidence?" she tried feebly.
Aragorn raised his eyebrows.
"If I am who you think I am... then how old am I?" she asked in shock.
"Most likely around eighty six."
Alarain continued to stare at him, not fully believing it. She could not, however, ignore the proof. "Then you must be..."
"Eighty seven." he interrupted.
Alarain slowly sank back onto the stump, sighing heavily. The ranger was watching her closely, trying to read her face. Staring at a tree, Alarain thought hard. Who were my parents? Where am I from? Where do I belong? Who am I?
"What are you thinking?" he asked quietly, distracting her from her thoughts.
"I don't know." she answered, also quiet. Her eyelids drooped and she yawned. "I'm thinking that this is a heavy subject for us to be discussing at midnight." she yawned again.
Aragorn laughed and started to get up.
"No..." she protested sleepily when he tried to help her to her feet. "I want to stay here."
The ranger sighed and sank back down beside her. Putting his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her close to keep her warm. As she closed her eyes, Alarain let her face snuggle farther into his chest. She soon started to drift to sleep at the sound of his heartbeat.
The morning after, Alarain woke quite sore. Opening her bleary eyes, she saw she was back in her bed. She smiled slightly at the thought of Aragorn carrying her there before shaking the image away and getting up.
She wandered out into the clearing and spotted all members of the fellowship gathered there. Boromir was the first to see her and let out a greeting. The others soon followed his example and called out as well.
Pippin and Brenir bounded up to her. "Good morning milady!" the hobbit said happily. "Did you hear? We're going to be leaving soon." he said, worry and excitement in his voice. He lead her over to the group and she blushed slightly when she saw Aragorn watching her.
"We are to be departing tomorrow." Legolas said, sad at the thought of leaving the elven city.
"And I assume you're going to be joining us?" Boromir teased.
Alarain sat down beside him on a large root and rolled her eyes as they all laughed. "Of course! What else did you expect?" she exclaimed, pretending to be drastically offended.
Gimli snorted loudly before turning to Aragorn. "What were you about to say laddie?" he asked, still snickering.
"The Lord and Lady of Lothlorien wish to present us with gifts before we leave. That means that you all need to be up bright and early. No being late." he said, eying the hobbits. They all nodded and he turned away, finished with his announcement.
Unknowingly, her eyes followed him as he walked away. He turned back and beckoned for her to join him. Alarain felt her cheeks heat up at being caught watching before she rose and walked over to him.
"I want to see how your sword work is going." he said when she reached him.
She nodded slowly, feeling guilty when she realized that it had been a while since she'd practiced. The last time she used her sword was in Moria. At that thought, sadness washed over her as she remembered Gandalf hanging on to the edge before he fell. Hiding her expression, she followed Aragorn into the woods. The other fellowship members watched them go curiously.
He lead her to the clearing they had fallen asleep in the night before and she stopped. "Should I go change?" she asked as she looked down at her teal dress.
Aragorn shook his head. "You should be able to fight in any clothing if you wish to come."
"Okay..." she said slowly, wondering when he thought she might be wearing a dress on their journey.
He had grabbed her sword on the way and tossed it to her as he unsheathed his own. Catching it, Alarain brought out her blade and threw the scabbard on the ground nearby. She then turned her attention to the ranger.
He circled slowly, looking rather serious. Quick as a snake strike, he launched forward and she blocked his attack clumsily, knocking his blade away as she dodged.
"Come on. You're better than that." he stated.
He danced toward her again and she sidestepped, swinging her blade to his exposed side. He, of course, blocked it easily.
"Don't hesitate." he ordered. "You won't hurt me."
Alarain stopped and looked at him mischievously. "Is that a challenge?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
His face grew confused. "No..."
She cut him off by stepping closer and stabbing at him boldly. Blocking, he stepped to the side before raising his eyebrows at her. She smiled and attacked him again, not holding back this time.
"Really?" he asked when they paused. "Is that how you want it?" He grinned wickedly.
Alarain answered with another swing, grinning back.
She was startled when the man grew fierce and began aiming swings mercilessly. He drove her back as she blocked his attacks desperately, barely catching some. He soon backed her into a tree and she ducked when his sword swung over her head. Using the tree to her advantage, she pushed off it and launched herself at him. He blocked, but she was stronger after her launch from the tree and he staggered back.
They stood there panting slightly for a moment. "Not bad." he said, and his voice sounded impressed. That didn't last long though, and he soon had her against the tree again.
She tried her trick again, but this time, he knew it was coming. Before she could push off, he shot forward and attacked. She brought her sword up to block but the force of his blade twisted her arm and she lost a hold of her hilt. Before she could dash away under his arm, he had both blades crossed in front of her throat. They watched each other for a moment, breathing heavily, and time seemed to slow. She saw a look of care and gentleness come over his eyes, and her heart raced at his closeness.
The cold metal on her neck tickled and Alarain started to giggle. Aragorn gave her a strange look before the corners of his mouth turn up slightly. Before long, he too was laughing. He stepped back and handed her back her sword, shaking his head at her strange behaviour.
Alarain swallowed, the nervous feeling in her gut disappearing when he stepped away. She smiled shyly and Aragorn sheathed his sword.
"That was good." he complimented.
Her mood fell. "You beat me though." she said, a little disappointed.
Aragorn looked at her. "Of course I did. I've known the art of swordplay longer than you."
Sighing, Alarain agreed. He tossed her scabbard across to her and she sheathed her sword as well.
"Alarain?"
She looked up. "Yes?"
Aragorn looked curious, but also slightly nervous. "Have you thought any more on our conversation last night?" he asked, peeking at her sideways as they walked back to the fellowship's clearing.
Quiet settled over them and Alarain looked at the ground, thoughts still jumbled. "I... don't know what to think Aragorn." she replied.
He nodded and was silent.
"Aragorn?" she asked, changing the subject.
He turned his head down to her, interest in his eyes.
They were almost at their destination and she stopped, wanting some privacy for what she was about to ask. "Why do you not want to be King?" she said bluntly.
Aragorn had stopped with her, and now he looked away, not making eye contact. He breathed in deeply before letting it out. "I've never been that type of man." he said quietly. "I've never had that type of responsibility and..." He paused and looked back to her. "I don't know if I can handle it."
"Aragorn." She took a step closer and rested a hand on his arm. "Have you not seen what you have been doing?" He looked at her strangely. "You've been that man. I've seen how you are with the others. With Gandalf gone, they look to you for a leader." Aragorn turned his stare in the direction of the clearing, and Alarain continued softly. "How come you don't see the man I do when I look at you?" she asked. "We all trust you Aragorn. And we trust your decisions."
His silent stare turned to her, and his eyes seemed to bore right into her soul. "Thank you." he whispered. "That means a lot." He smiled slightly, eyes sparkling. Giving her a nod, he walked slowly away, deep in thought.