to love someone else

Chapter 17: friend

The night was awfully cold too, and the air was so moist it made Aerin's skin crawl. For the time she took watch, she shivered like a mad woman. She pulled her cloak closer to her, but it wasn't helping in the least bit. When another cloak enveloped her, Aerin jumped and almost screamed, and she would have, hadn't Legolas been fast enough to silence me. ''It is only me!''

''Blood and ashes, Legolas!'' Aerin whispered, though it was as harsh as a shout. Her heart was beating against her chest and it took her a few moments to steady her breathing. She felt like she needed to sit down for a moment after the shock. ''I am sorry I startled you.''

''I've told you I can't sense when you're coming. Burn me!'' It wasn't very lady-like to cuss, but Aerin was no lady, and she could not care less at the moment. It was exhilarating to cuss. ''I apologize,'' he said, ''I promised I'd alert you in the future, yet I always seem to forget.''

''It is alright,'' Aerin said, seeing that he was genuinely very sorry about it, when in fact it wasn't that big of a deal. ''I am simply on the edge tonight and I lashed out. I'm sorry.''

''Why is your mind so strained?'' he asked with worry. ''Oh, the same things bother all of us,'' Aerin waved off, ''Do not worry about it. And here, I'm not that cold,'' She added, taking off his cloak and offering it back to him. ''You seem to forget that us Elves are very resistant to cold, yet you seem to be'' he smiled, ''Take it.'' ''Thank you, Legolas, but I do not need it,'' Aerin insisted, her hand holding the cloak still in the air. ''You also seem to forget how perceptive Elves are and you're an elf yourself. I could see you shivering from a few leagues away.''

''Legolas, please,'' Aerin insisted still, and pushed the cloak into him; but he took it, shook his head lightly, wrapped it around her once again, and clasped it in front of her neck. Aerin sighed. ''You are stubborn for an Elf. And you worry needlessly.''

''I worry because you're my friend,'' he smiled, and no matter how frustrated Aerin felt that she was letting anyone take care of her in any way, she also could not help but feel touched. She wondered if he saw through her, how much she was carrying inside of me, how many past scars made by all the wrong people embellished her. ''You haven't slept,'' he noted. ''No, not much. But neither have you.'' Aerin replied looking out in the distance as Legolas continued to stare at her. ''You should try and get some rest now. I can take over.''

''I know you Woodland Elves also need less sleep, but no, thank you. I don't think it'd do me good to lie down, for I'll still be wide awake. This way I can at least be doing something. Stay focused on something else.''

''Something bothers you,'' he insisted, ''And it is not the same that bothers all of us.'' Aerin sighed yet again. ''I still worry about Boromir,'' she confessed, ''I found him arguing with Aragorn tonight, and it's not even that that worries me so much now. He's grown very strange, and it is the Ring, and I am afraid of what he might do.''

''Do you fear he might bring harm to us? To Frodo?''

''What I fear most is he might bring harm to himself,'' Aerin explained, and her voice cracked in a way she did not intend to permit. She was not even aware of all the emotions she had harbouring within her. There was a sadness in his eyes, and it glimmered like a mirror reflecting all the stars in the night sky. When Aerin opened my mouth, he spoke again. ''I can give you my cloak when you're cold, and I can help you and offer you sleep when you need it like this night. I can even save your very life, perhaps, yet I cannot help you with everything you carry inside of you.''

Aerin was afraid she would crumble down like an old worn out building that had endured too many wars. It was beyond her understanding. But then again, maybe this was normal, maybe it was only odd to her for she only had had such misfortune to meet all the terrible people all her life. Maybe there were more like him out there, or maybe again, he was the only one along with Haldir.  And Aerin was the lucky one to have him as a friend. She did not even quite realise what she was doing next, and before she knew it, she was hugging him. ''You're a good friend, Legolas,'' Aerin muttered into his clothes, but she was sure he heard, for he nodded almost too slightly to notice. ''And I am blessed to have you as my friend,'' she added, and the last thing she saw - before she retreated to lie down after all - was Legolas with a smile beaming with happiness.

...

In the morning they were back in their boats. They moved swiftly, and soon passed through a canyon and reached The Gates of Argonath. The statues of Isildur and Anárion brought a much needed smile to my face. The great kings of Gondor... Boromir looked to Aragorn and he turned back to flash him a smile in silent mutual understanding. Soon they were sailing towards a great, roaring waterfall. It was the point when they realised they could go no further, so they disembarked on the gravel beach to their right. They made camp there, right below Amon Hen as Aragorn informed them.

Aerin helped the hobbits make sandwiches, for their fire was too fragile for anything to be cooked. They, of course, did not like the idea at first, for they had had more than enough lembas to last them a lifetime, but they were soon quite content. Any small meal was better than no meal at all, and the sandwiches weren't bad either. Gimli mumbled something in Khuzdul when Aerin offered him lembas; he just sat there smoking his pipe with his arms crossed on his chest. Same old Gimli, Aerin thought, though a far more childish version. When next she turned to them, there was barely a crumb of lembas left, unless one were to count the ones stuck in Gimli's beard. 

Aerin reflected on their journey down the river, and realised that it had oddly been rather safe. She did hear what sounded awfully akin to footsteps in the woods around, but as she didn't seem to recognise any actual danger, she decided not to say anything as it would have only scared the hobbits and raised unnecessary panic. She knew that if there really was someone in the woods, Legolas would have heard them. So she went to him as he was, ritually, sharpening his daggers. ''Legolas?'' Aerin half-whispered, not wanting the little ones to hear. ''Yes, mellon nin?''

''Am I going completely mad or was there someone in the woods?" Aerin questioned hoping that the answer would be no. ''You are not going mad, mellon nin. There were some Orcs,'' he said as if it were nothing. ''We will have to be ready soon.'' Aerin sighed, ''Oh. Right.'' Aerin went up to Aragorn right away, with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. They were to finally decide whether to go to Minas Tirith, or east to Mordor, and considering the fact that there were Orcs in the woods around them,  she wanted Aragorn to make that decision faster.

''We cross the lake at nightfall. Hide the boats and continue on foot. We approach Mordor from the north,'' Aragorn decided. ''Oh, yes?! It's just a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil? An impassable labyrinth of razor sharp rocks! And after that, it gets even better!'' exclaimed Gimli sarcastically. ''Festering, stinking marshlands, far as the eye can see!''

''That is our road. I suggest you take some rest and recover your strength, Master Dwarf.''

''Recover my...?! Phrrr...'' Gimli grumbled into his beard.