Chapter 41

Annelise had slept fitfully the entire night and been up and ready well before the sun had risen that morning. Aragorn made no comment, seeing how anxious his companion was, and went about making himself ready as well.

Annelise had left her hair in loose waves down her back with the front pieces braided back and put on a dress that Elrond had gifted her a couple years before when she and Aragorn had happened to be in Rivendell on her birthday. It was a beautiful, flowing cream material with golden leaves embroidered across the bodice and hem of the skirt. She couldn't help but be thankful for her Uncle's kind gift; she knew out of everything else she would have to worry about that day when presenting herself to the court of King Thengel, the style and quality of her clothing was not one of them.

Aragorn had given her appearance a quick once over as he assisted her up into her saddle. "You look lovely, my friend. A true princess of Rohan." The young woman just shook her head slightly at the compliment. Aragorn could see that her nerves were starting to get the better of her and reached to grab her hand tightly.

"All will be well, Annelise, I promise. And I'll be right beside you every step of the way."

His words seemed to calm her for the moment and she squeezed his hand in return. "Thank you, Estel."

The pair then departed, just as the sun was rising. They kept a slow, steady pace and, as Aragorn had predicted, made it to the capital city of Edoras just as the sun had reached its peak in the sky.

After Aragorn, introducing himself as Thorongil once more, explained to the guards that they brought urgent news to the king from the wizard Gandalf, the pair were granted entrance into the city and began making their way toward the great hall of Meduseld.

Aragorn could see that Annelise's grip of her horse's reins was growing tighter with every step they got closer to the king's hall. Once they reached the bottom of the steps leading up to the building, Aragorn quickly dismounted and handed his reins to a waiting stable hand before moving to Annelise's side.

He reached up to assist her in dismounting and kept hold of her hand as he handed the reins to another man. "Everything will be alright," he whispered to her in reassurance, squeezing her hand once before releasing it. He then moved his hand to the small of her back, gently guiding her to the steps.

"I can't do this."

Aragorn quickly reached down and gently grabbed the shoulders of the young woman standing beside him, stopping her as she turned to walk back toward their horses.

"Hey, hey. Look at me, right at me," he said gently, stooping down to catch her eyes. "You can do this. You are the strongest woman I have ever met. After everything you have been through, do not doubt yourself now."

Annelise looked up at him, her eyes searching his and finding nothing but unwavering faith and support. His hands slid from her shoulders to grab onto her hands and she closed her eyes tightly as she rallied her courage. After a moment, she opened her eyes once more and nodded to her companion once before turning her eyes to the stairs. Aragorn fell in beside her as they began ascending the steps, his steady hand once more on her back in support.

Once they reached the top of the steps, the pair were stopped by a guard before they could enter the hall.

"In light of recent attacks, the King's court is not open to strangers. State your names and business in Rohan," the man said sternly, shifting suspicious eyes over Aragorn's form.

"My name is Thorongil. I bring word to King Thengel from Gandalf the Grey and am here to pledge my service to Rohan," Aragorn answered calmly, showing the guard a letter with Gandalf's marker on it meant for the king.

The guard examined the letter for a moment before nodding in acceptance and turning his eyes to Annelise. "And your name?"

Annelise swallowed nervously and opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by Aragorn. "Her identity is explained in the letter to King Thengel."

The guard paused in consideration for a moment, before nodding his head hesitantly. "Very well. You may enter the hall, on the condition that you relinquish any weapons to the guard before entering. If what you say is true and you are indeed a messenger from Gandalf Greyhame, you may reclaim your things once you have finished speaking with the king."

Aragorn nodded in understanding, having expected the request, and began removing his weapons. Annelise had chosen to leave her own weapons upon her saddle, so she simply stood and waited for her companion to finish turning over his. Once the guard was satisfied that the pair were indeed unarmed, he motioned to the sentries to open the door to the hall.

Annelise found herself holding her breath as she crossed the threshold into the king's hall and Aragorn reached over discretely to brush his hand lightly against hers as they moved toward the throne. Annelise kept her eyes lowered as they neared the dias but she glanced up for a moment and saw the king, her uncle, his face just beginning to age and the golden hair beneath his crown starting to grey. She knew that her mother had been quite a bit older than King Thengel, but to see this middle aged man made her realize just how young he would have been when news had come of the death of his sister and her family.

Once they were close enough, Annelise dropped into a curtsy as Aragorn lowered his head to the king.

"Rise and state your business," came the strong, clear voice of the king and the two companions straightened.

"My name is Thorongil. Gandalf the Grey sent me with a message for you, my lord," Aragorn spoke clearly, holding up the letter from the wizard. "I am also here to offer my service to Rohan in light of the recent attacks."

King Thengel reached out his hand to accept the letter and turned his eyes to Annelise as Aragorn placed it in his hand.

"And your companion?"

"Gandalf asked that you read his letter before my friend answers your question," Aragorn answered and Annelise watched as the king's eyes looked over her curiously before breaking the seal on the letter.

Annelise felt herself growing more and more anxious as she watched the emotions playing across the king's face as he read the letter from the wizard. Curiosity shifted to confusion and Annelise subtly shifted closer to Aragorn as she watched the king become increasingly more agitated as he read the letter. Aragorn placed a supported hand on her arm and the pair watched as the king began looking back and forth between the letter in his hand and the young woman standing before him.

"It's not possible," he said finally, shaking his head in disbelief as he looked at Annelise.

"Hello, Uncle," she answered sheepishly before rushing on to explain her absence all these years. "I don't know exactly what the letter says, but I didn't know the truth of who I was until about 20 years ago. And I know… I know I should have come sooner but-"

Her words were cut off when she suddenly found herself in the tight embrace of the king. She stood there in shock for a moment before she registered the slight trembling of the man's shoulders and she quickly returned the gesture, holding onto her only living blood relative as tightly as she could.

After a few minutes, the king released her from his arms and hastily wiped the tears from his eyes as Annelise did the same.

"I never dreamed that you were still alive," he said finally, disbelief still coloring his voice.

"I should have come here as soon as I found out. I'm sorry, Uncle."

"There is nothing for you to apologize for," the king said gently. "You are here now and that is what matters."

The king then turned to face the members of his court, who were all watching the proceedings with great interest. "Today is a day of great rejoicing for the kingdom of Rohan; for Annelise, daughter of Thorondil of the North and Princess Evelyn of Rohan, has returned to us. My people! Welcome home your princess!"

With these words, a loud shout of joy echoed through the halls of Meduseld and Annelise felt a smile grow on her face as she looked over at Aragorn beside her in relief. She was whole and home at last.

Annelise spent ten years residing in the halls of Meduseld. She took great joy in spending time with her uncle and his family, especially her younger cousins. Prince Theoden, who was only 4 years old when she arrived, was a great favorite of hers.

Although Annelise had proven herself to be a capable swordswoman in some of the skirmishes closer to Edoras, King Thengel was hesitant to let her out of his sight after what had happened to his sister and her husband. So while she attended to matters of court and counseled with her uncle, Aragorn, or rather Thorongil, was making a name for himself amongst the armies of Rohan and Gondor.

Annelise was filled with pride when hearing of all his great deeds, but as the days grew darker, she couldn't help but feel concern for her dearest friend. Rumor had begun to spread through the land of the return of the darkness that was thought to have been defeated so long ago. And as the people of Middle Earth became more divided and scattered, the need for a leader among Men had become increasingly apparent.

She had heard Gandalf speak many times in the past with Aragorn about his role as the heir to the throne of Gondor. But as time went on, the man's hesitation to accept that destiny grew stronger.

In rare moments of vulnerability, Aragorn had confessed to her his resolve to remain in exile and fears of his own bloodline. Isildur was the reason that evil had not been defeated once and for all, and that same blood ran through his veins. Annelise had tried many times to change his mind and encourage him but it had proven fruitless so far. She could only pray that one day he would be able to move past his own fears and see in himself what so many others could.

In the tenth year since arriving in Edoras, Aragorn returned from fighting in Gondor to inform Annelise that he was returning to the North. It had been almost four years since she had seen her friend and his arrival had been sudden, his news completely unexpected. Gandalf had become increasingly concerned about the safety of the Shire and had asked Aragorn to place more Rangers near its borders.

She had then informed him of her plans to travel to Erebor. She had received word from Balin a few months prior that plans had been made for he, Ori, and Oin to take a group of dwarves to retake the kingdom of Moria. This coming winter on the 30 year anniversary of the battle for Erebor, there was to be a large celebration. With Balin and the others leaving for Moria the next spring, it would be the last time that the Company of Thorin Oakenshield (sans Bilbo) would be together for a long time. And although she had been in contact with the company over the years, she had not seen any of them since the day she left Erebor.

The pair of friends parted ways a few days later, him toward Rivendell and the North and she to the Lonely Mountain, neither of them sure of when they would see each other next.

When Annelise entered the Lonely Mountain, it felt like the last piece of her broken heart was finally healed. The time she spent with the Company was the balm she needed to remove the last remnants of the grief she had carried for so long. She was able to laugh and tell stories along with her extended family and she finally felt well and truly whole.

She was introduced to the families of the Company, and struck up a close friendship with Gimli, the son of Gloin. She had met him a few times in the past before the quest to Erebor, but had not spent much time with him.

The first time she visited the graves of her father and cousins was not as difficult as she had feared. She had informed Dwalin of where she was going that afternoon, and he began to worry when he realized she had missed dinner and no one had seen her since the morning. When he arrived at the entrance to the burial chamber, he was surprised to hear her speaking softly and chuckling to herself. After listening for a moment, he realized that she was talking of her adventures since leaving Erebor and telling Thorin, Fili and Kili about everything she had been through since losing them. Seeing that she was alright, he simply smiled to himself and prayed that the three dwarves could hear the young woman, wherever they were.

Annelise spent ten happy years in Erebor. She also spent a lot of time in Dale, with King Bard and his family there. She was grieved when the great man passed and spent many of her days advising the newly crowned King Bain. He, Sigrid and Tilda had all married and had children since she had seen them last and Annelise couldn't help but feel grieved for all she had missed. She knew that her Dunedain blood made her age slower than other Men but to see the proof of that in the passing lives of Bard's children compared to her own grieved her.

When she received an urgent summons from Gandalf in the eleventh year after arriving in Erebor, Annelise realized that the relative calm of her life in recent years was over. The evil spreading through the land was no longer possible to deny. She traveled to Rivendell and met with her Uncle and the wizard there. Aragorn was needed on an urgent mission to hunt down the creature Gollum and with Halbarad occupied with matters in the North, Annelise was needed to assume command over the Rangers tasked with watching over the Shire.

For the next nineteen years, Annelise spent her time traveling throughout Middle Earth, from Mirkwood and Erebor, Rohan and Gondor, to the Shire and Rivendell. At times she would cross paths with Aragorn or Gandalf when needed but usually she was alone.

Until one day, nearly sixty years from the day she attended a most unexpected party, she found herself traveling to the Shire once more. This time for a much anticipated party.

But that is another story, for another time.

A/N - I can't believe we're here! For everyone who has stuck around for all these years, you have no idea how much your support has meant to me! Now comes the fun part! Annelise will be returning in The Jewel of Men.

This month is crazy busy for me at work, which is why I rushed to finish this story now. But come February, be on the look out for the first chapter of the sequel. Until then!