Em... I think I should say there will be parts of their past - flashbacks - in this story so it you don't like that you can stop now.

Chapter 8! Three things happening at once :P

"I can make it… I have to make it…" Aragorn told himself as he and two other men trampled through the snow.

"Gere! Gere!" the two yelled, which he assumed meant 'slow down'. And so did, as the two managed to catch up.

"How much longer? I am in a rush here!" he snapped.

One of them pointed to a plane, 500 feet in front of them. Before anyone could say anything else, the Gondorian made a mad dash, gritting his teeth and ignoring the burning as the cold bit into his skin.

"No, I'll make it this time! I won't let anyone die like that again!" he yelled to himself, and it kept him through the dash, until he arrived at cave.

*flash back*

"Estel quickly! Get the Athelas!" Elrond ordered as he put his hand on the woman's forehead.

The 76 male quickly got up and started running. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, but he still feared he would not make it in time.

"Faster! Run faster!" he told himself, seeing the woman in his head and her pale face. "I need to find it in the woods!"

He ran deeper into the forest, picking up anything that even looked like Athelas. When he finally found it, his adrenalin still surged through his body, allowing him to make another mad dash back to where Elrond and the woman were.

"I have it!" he proclaimed, out of breath and waved the green plant, smiling a bit as his eyes shone with hope.

But that was all destroyed when he saw the grave look his foster father gave him. "No…. please no!" he yelled and fell next to the still body.

"I am sorry Estel…" the Elf put a comforting hand on the man's shoulder.

*end of flash back*

Elessar frantically searched the cave, rolling over the rocks, wood and anything else he thought could cover up his pack. He kept the search up for more minutes before finally finding his bag. When he did, the other two finally arrived as well, shocked at how swiftly the Ranger got here.

"Found it!" he proclaimed in the Elvin language and turned to his two companions.

"We need to hurry back."

Faramir slowly opened his eyes, but the second her felt the liquid on his face; he sat up, looked around and sighed. He was once again, in the mountains. As he waited for the light to appear, he tried to remember the last thing that happened.

"I was shot with a dart and collapsed…" he sighed in frustration and clenched his fist.

"Why am I always just a burden to everyone!" he shouted.

"Why am I so useless…" he whispered and hung his head.

"You are not a burden to anyone, Faramir," came a voice he knew.

The Steward looked up and saw the light once again. "How can you say that? If it wasn't for me, none of this would have happened!"

"It could have happened to anyone who is along," it spoke gently. "Did you not say you accept yourself? With this, you only move further away from your task. You still reject a part of you."

The Ranger was silent, trying to collect himself from everything. This was only going to get harder and he needs to be able to help his friends.

"You say I reject a part of me… but I know not which. Is there anything else you can tell me?" he finally calmed down and looked at the light.

"It is not only something you reject, but something you fear. You fear the power it had over you and what it did."

At that, a spark lit in the man's face as he started to understand. But before he could say anything, the light vanished and shadows started appearing.

The same was repeated as before and again he managed to wake just for a moment. It was enough to break the dream but he felt cold, his head pounded and started coughing.

This made him recall the first time he was so badly sick. Back when he was still around.

*flashback*

"Faramir! Faramir do you hear me brother?" came a worried voice as the Ranger opened his eyes. Boromir's face was covered in worry as he sat next to him in the bed.

"B-Boro *cough* mir?" he managed to speak, before the brother shushed him.

"It's going to be all right you hear me? You'll pull through this!" he squeezed the man's hand.

"W…What *cough* happ..ened?" he felt terrible.

"You were poisoned by a Morgul Shot. But we have the healers working on it. You won't die you hear me!" he squeezed harder.

A sad smile appeared on the younger brother's face. "Is… he *cough* here…?"

Boromir knew who he meant and gritted his teeth. How could a father be so cold to one son, yet love the other so much.

"He… He has important things to take care of. If you want I can-" he started to stand up, when a hand gripped his sleeve.

"No… please *cough* stay here… Don't… don't let *cough* him see me… like this…" his voice begged as his eyes started to water.

"Alright… I'll stay," he whispered, smiled and sat back down.

*end of flashback*

After that, the Steward fell back into a dreamless sleep.

"So what is the first task?" Eomer asked as he stood before four tribe people.

"First, we must all have equal ground," Dona smirked as the Rohirrim gave him a glare.

"You must strip all your armor. Only your leggings may remain," his smirk grew more and more evil as the King was he was told.

At first it was as if he had died, he felt to cold. But he soon got used to it. "Not too bad for a warm skin like you," Dona showed fake impression.

"Quite your flattering! Just tell me what must I do now," he snapped.

They all walked further out of the camp, where it was now even colder. They arrived at what looked like a lake, frozen at the sides but the middle was still very liquid.

"The first trial is swimming through Ice Lake and to the other side," Hagen explained.

Eomer's eyes opened slightly. He remembered the first time he went swimming into a lake in the middle of winter.

*flashback*

"Come on boys! He's just one guy!" someone yelled as Eomer was being dragged somewhere. But he wasn't just going to let them take him. No, he was fighting them all, biting, kicking and punching anyone he could.

It was a 7 on 1 so he was at a big disadvantage and they were all seniors over 20 years of age while he was a mere 15.

But no matter how much he struggled, they overpowered him and dragged him to a nearby lake.

"Alight men! Time to teach this spoiled brat some cold lessons. Throw him!" the leader ordered and the men followed.

With more even more effort they lifted the 15 year old, rocked him back and forth a few times before letting him go and allowed him to fall into the freezing water.

They laughed as they saw him gasp for breath before leaving.

Eomer was taking deep breaths and sank a few times before finally being able to muster the strength to swim to shore. He was exhausted, wet and cold. He shook there, thinking he was going to die, until a figure appeared before his blurry eyes, yelled his name and then…

*end of flashback*

"What's the matter warm skin? Scared?" Dona mocked.

"In your dreams. Now prepare to lose," a confidante smirk crossed the Kings face.

"What is it with this one? He isn't even shivering any more…" Dona narrowed his eyes.

"Chief… Do you truly think he will be able to win? And is it even correct to do so?" Han whispered to his leader in their own language.

"Do not judge people by what others have done. These three seem very different from any other down world person we have met, do they not?"

"I guess so, but still… No one has ever been able to complete the trials. Hardly anyone from our own tribe has been able to do so. Can he really win?"

"He seemed prepared to do so. He is fighting for his friend."

And there goes chapter 8... Hope you liked it and review please