A Woman's Heart

The Black Riders

Alright so I probably won't comment on every chapter picture, unless it's something related to the plot that is NOT canon. So for this chapter I'll just let you guys enjoy the story... I'm assuming you already know who's in the picture ;)

So don't forget to toss me a little review/comment and let me know what you think darlings~ ( ˘ ³˘)❤

= oOo =

"What's it like? Rivendell..."

Looking up from the small fire he had been tending to, Aragorn found all four Hobbits watching him intently, waiting for a reply to Sam's question.

"It's just... you speak like you've been there before." the plump gardener continued, shifting on his feet beneath the Ranger's gaze.

"I was raised there, Master Gamgee." Aragorn finally smiled. "For a time..."

Though the man's expression said otherwise, Frodo could not dismiss the sad shade in his sapphire eyes which had now been fixed upon the little dancing flames of their campfire.

"Do you have any family waiting for you there?" he heard himself asking, before even realizing he wanted to speak.

"My parents are no longer part of this world; I have only Lord Elrond waiting..."

As his voice trailed off, he once again smiled but this time there was a different kind of warmth in his gaze, and Frodo could not contain his curiosity.

"And who else?"

For a moment Aragorn's eyes darted over to the young Hobbit, as though he was surprised to have been so easily read. Still, he took a deep breath and cast his eyes skyward while emptying his lungs slowly as though he was reliving some distant, but fair and joyful memory.

"In truth, I do not know what to call her. She was but a child when last I saw her... and sometimes I wonder if she is still there clinging to my promise, waiting for me to return."

"Was she dear to you?"

Again Strider glanced to the Halfling, as though taken aback at such a question; and he took only a moment of thought before giving an answer.

"She still is dear to me..." he said with a soft sigh. "But after so many years, I cannot say for sure if I am still dear to her."

Though he had sent word to Rivendell several times over the decades, she had never answered; for all he knew she could have left Elrond's home by now, to seek a life of her own somewhere in the vastness of Middle Earth... or perhaps she had sought to cross the sea back to her home.

"Was that jewel a gift from her? It's very beautiful..."

Upon Pippin's sudden inquiry Aragorn came to realize he had been fiddling with the necklace absentmindedly. Chuckling silently to himself in the face of their unbridled curiosity, he unlatched the delicate string of silver and held out his hand for them to see the white waves now glistening joyfully in the light of the fire, as though he was holding a shard of the moon itself.

"Yes, it was her gift to me... to keep me safe on my journeys." he said while the four Hobbits leaned in closer to inspect the precious jewel.

"Now there's a sight you don't see every day." Sam muttered, awestruck at the mastery of the subtle carvings.

Even Frodo felt a faint trickle of warmth creeping along his injured arm, chasing away some of the cold darkness which had plagued him ever since Weathertop.

"Now get some rest... all of you."

Strider's gentle advice was gladly heeded by the four Halflings, and even Frodo felt like he would sleep well that night, despite their situation.