A Woman's Heart

Journey to Rivendell

Offering the child a smile, Gandalf followed the Dúnedain on his own stallion leaving Leeya to look up at Aragorn with a puzzled gaze.

"Are you not going with them?"

Silently the Ranger steered Roheryn straight toward the North, his focus now divided between the child in his arms and their surroundings. Even with the horse galloping, a well aimed arrow could still be deadly. Sensing the tension in his muscles Leeya fell silent and chose to finally eat what was left of her breakfast, knowing she would get no more food until Aragorn considered it was safe to stop and rest.

The rest of that day passed without a word between them, the only sounds she could hear being Roheryn's hoofs hitting the earth, his slight snorts as his lungs battled to provide his body with enough air and the wind whipping around them. When twilight veiled them, they entered the thick forests near the mountains and Aragorn finally relaxed to an extent.

"Tell me, Leeya..." he said, startling the girl. "Have you ever seen the Elves?"

Once more lowering her gaze, the girl's expression settled into a soft, melancholic smile.

"Yes... many of them passed by the island where I lived, on their way to the Undying Lands. They were so beautiful... and so kind. My father tended to the harbor and the ships that came there. Many of the Elves who passed through that harbor spoke of Middle Earth and the peoples that live here."

A short while later, she was seated near a small fire, leaning against Aragorn's side as he gently stroke her back to keep her warm. His own thoughts, however, were restless. Was it possible that the island in her story was a remnant of the long lost kingdom of Númenor?

"There was one ship that arrived in the harbor, a few days before we left the island." she said without warning, startling him. "The Elves who came with it spoke of you."

Turning her gaze up to the young man, she pinned her eyes on his.

"You are one of the Dúnedain...?"

"I am." he stated humbly.

Wordless afterwards, he watched as her gaze lit up, her small hands reaching for one of his own and grasping it in shaky fingers.

"Then please... do not send me away..."

Her begging tone and the tears twinkling in her eyes left him speechless at first; but then he offered her a reassuring smile and trailed the back of his fingers along her cheek to wipe off the salty drops.

"Leeya... where I am taking you is the safest place I know. No harm will ever come to you there, you have my word."

And still, while his mind turned over her thoughts and reactions, one thought came to him and now would not give him any peace.

"Leeya..."

As if she had read his mind and knew what he was about to ask, the young girl merely nodded; at that his eyes slightly widened and his calloused hand finally returned her grasp.

"You are indeed one of us?" he whispered in disbelief.

"Mother and father were always proud of our bloodline; there were few families like us left on that island, and so the others held us in high regard. They said we were descended from a great kingdom of the old days."

Settling down from his awe, Aragorn instinctively tightened his hold on her, glancing around once more with a sharpened gaze.

"You must not speak of this to anyone else, do you understand me?" he said gently. "There are many in Middle Earth who despise the Dúnedain, and who would kill you for being one."