An Unlikely Pair

Chapter Two

     The next day, you wake up and get dressed for your first day training with Aragorn. You were given a tent to be your own, and it's like a cozy little bedroom. There's enough space for the bed, a set of shelves, and a small desk and chair. The tent is spacious enough to be surprisingly comfortable. You leave your tent and head down to the small valley where Aslan sent you to meet Aragorn. 

     When you can see down into the valley, you see Aragorn setting up a few targets. As you walk down the hill, he notices you coming, but quickly focuses on the targets again. You greet him with a smile and a small wave saying, "Hi, I'm (your name), and you're Aragorn, right?" He looks up at you. "That's me." What really surprises you about him is that his expression still hasn't changed from the uninviting, hardened glare you first met the day before.

    The sound of his voice snaps you back from your thoughts. "We're going to start with some archery today. You comfortable with that?"

    "Sure," you reply. 

     "Take these." He hands you a beautifully crafted bow and a sleek arrow. He instructs you to fire the arrow at the middle of the target. You lock the arrow on the string of the bow, pull back, and release. The arrow flies and misses the target by a few feet.  Embarrassed, you turn back to Aragorn.  Without any words exchanged between the two of you, he adjusts your posture with his hands on your waist. He moves your arms to the correct position, and you let another arrow fly. This time, it hits the middle ring of the target.

     You continue to fire arrows at the target for maybe two hours. By the time you finish, you've managed to hit the center of a target seven times. I'm pretty proud of myself for being at this for only one day!

     "That wasn't bad. I wanted to start you off slow before I get too hard on you. We can stop for today."

    "Thanks, see you tomorrow," you say before he turns and briskly walks back up to the tents without uttering another word.

***

     Your training with Aragorn continues for several days. Your main focus is swordplay. Later that week, you're in the middle of sparring him when you hear yourself say, "We can be friends you know." Surprised, Aragorn stops dead in his tracks and says, "I don't have any friends. And you're just my student."

     "I guess you're right." You turn and walk back up to the tents without asking for permission, and without knowing that you were finished for the day. He doesn't try to stop you. You're frustrated that he would say that to your face. I know he might not have friends or anything, but I'm not JUST his student. Can't he see that I'm actually making an effort here?

     The following days of training commenced with hardly any conversations between the two of you. One day, Aragorn seems to be in a lighter mood. When you finished sparring, he walks with you back to the camp. That's never happened before. "You know," he says, "you're probably one of the best students I've ever had." You smile at the ground with flushed cheeks. "Was that a compliment I just heard?" You nudge him slightly with your shoulder.

     "No. Just an observation." You swear you see a grin tickle the corner of his mouth.

     "Smile."

     "What?" 

      You stop walking and he stops beside you. "Smile!" You laugh at yourself.  Confused, he laughs too, and the first smile you've seen from him since you've arrived escapes from his store of locked up emotions.  You look at him for a moment before saying, "You have a nice smile; you should smile more." He doesn't know what to say. You turn and go back to your tent with the goofiest grin on your face.