One Geek to Rule Them All

Into the Wild

After setting up a nice decoy for the enemy in the hobbits' room, they prepared for bed and tucked themselves in for the night. Since the bed was large and the hobbits and Devin were small, all five of them could fit in it laying at opposite ends with their feet touching in the middle. Devin kept her socks on so their hairy hobbit feet wouldn't tickle her, because as much as she liked hobbits, that would just be kind of weird. Kitty had stretched out on the floor with a blanket and pillow near the fireplace, while Aragorn sat in the armchair  beside the window, keeping watch. Devin felt like she had been trying to sleep for hours, but she simply couldn't, so she gave up and turned on her stomach to face Aragorn since Kitty was out like a light.

"Can't sleep?" Strider asked quietly when he felt her stare.

"No. To be honest, there's something that's bothering me," she answered lowly. "Do you remember how I told you we knew of certain portents and prophecies regarding this world?"

"Yes," he said, though he had been certain she had only said 'land' before, not world.

"Well, these... prophecies... they tend to be very specific, and I've noticed some discrepancies between what should have been and what actually came to pass. The end result was the same, but I can't help being bothered by it. It makes me wonder what else may have changed..."

"I see. Well, foretelling the future is not an exact art," Aragorn said reasonably.

"And you would know," said Devin, smiling knowingly at him. In the books, he had a limited gift of foresight due to his heritage.

"Yes, I suppose I would," he replied with a small smile.

"But I was really surprised to see that you've already had Narsil reforged," she added. Aragorn stared at her, a little caught off guard by the statement.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"Earlier, when you drew your sword, it was in one piece, but Narsil was supposed to still be broken according to what we know," she replied.

"It is still broken," he told her. "The shards of Narsil are in Rivendell, where they are being kept under the care and protection of Lord Elrond." Devin stared at him for a moment with furrowed brow, obviously troubled by what she had just heard.

"You should ask him to have it reforged for you," she said after awhile.

"Why?" he asked. "I have no need of such an heirloom from Isildur as proof of my heritage when I have no intention of becoming king. Or did your prophecy tell you otherwise?"

"I don't want to give too much away and spoil the ending for you, but I will say this, Aragorn. You will need that sword before the end. Whether you wish to follow my advice or not is your choice," she answered, frowning a little in disappointment as she turned away and lay back in bed. That hadn't been Aragorn's attitude in the book. He should have been on his way to Rivendell to have the broken sword reforged as well as to escort Frodo and the others. Aragorn had not had the doubt she saw flicker in his eyes at the thought of becoming king. In the book, he had been more prepared to fulfill his destiny; he had just been waiting for the right time. This version of Middle Earth was different. "For better or worse," she mumbled to herself, closing her eyes.

Aragorn stared at the strange girl for a moment longer, pondering her cryptic words, before turning his attention back to the dark world outside the window. They way she seemed to speak in riddles half the time reminded him of Gandalf. Perhaps that was part of the reason why he had been so quick to decide to give the girls a chance.

Devin hadn't been sleeping for long when several blood-curdling screeches pierced the night, startling her and the hobbits awake. Kitty was still fast asleep, drooling into her pillow. Nothing short of a bucket of ice-cold water in the face could wake that girl up before she was ready.