The Road Less Traveled

By The Last Evenstar

A/N: Sorry I've been taking so long to update. It's a busy world out there!

Your reviews never fail to delight me. So keep them coming!

Larinde - Waterfalls are always romantic. And twins are always funny.

galadriel evenstar - No, there won't be any kids in this story! I'm beginning to think your powers of perception are more of a guessing game . . .

The Converted - I love Elladan and Elrohir. And you're right, that letter doesn't stand much of a chance.

ME132 - Fluff rules the world! So do Elladan and Elrohir. I just can't resist using them . . . they're SO funny . . .

Blackbird10 - Thank you! Of course Middle-Earth had monks. Maybe. And my English teacher could probably care less about me.

Galadwen19 - Thank you. A lot of people seemed to like that line! Although I'm probably too young to think about such things . . .

b-witched83uk - Mmmmm, dreaming about running away with Aragorn . . . why do you think I wrote this?

prettiest in pink - Okay, so it won't be illegal, but if you steal him I swear I . . . won't be able to do anything about it.

greenleaf-in-bloom - I love them too. All my letters from now on will be written schizophrenically.

Anamaria Elentari - The circus was MY idea, therefore I get to name the oliphaunts. And their names are Homa, Chewy, and Ka the Magnificent. So there.

Cerridwen-Evereven - Thank you very much! I'm enjoying writing it!

Queen Arwen - I'm glad you love it! The horse is really me . . . yes, that would make it a self-insertion fic . . .

Chapter Four: Desperados

"Who does he think he's fooling?" whispered Elladan. "Everybody knows this place is an ideal hideout. It's only a matter of time before they come through here and spot the horses."

"They're probably going to leave soon," Elrohir argued. "Estel isn't stupid. They just needed a safe place to spend the night –"

"That better be all they did," interrupted his brother. "I'm choosing to believe, for both their sakes, that they simply fell asleep like that . . ."

Elrohir only looked amused. "Of course they did. Come on, let's go wake them up." He started through the underbrush.

Elladan rubbed his knuckles. "I'm going to teach him a lesson about taking advantage of young elleths –"

Elrohir rolled his eyes. "You're one to talk." He climbed behind the waterfall.

Arwen leapt up. "Elrohir!" She glanced around nervously. "What are you –"

Her brother grinned. "Mae govannen, ai seler'."

She scowled at them both. "If Ada sent you to drag me home –"

"He did," Elladan interrupted. "But we won't."

"His party of scouts, on the other hand," his brother added, "will. And they're very close."

Arwen gulped. "Send them away. I – I'll write Ada a note, explaining . . ."

"Oh, he already has a note." Elladan looked guilty.

Arwen groaned. "What did you do to me now?"

"Well –" Elrohir paused. "Estel has run off to a monastery."

Arwen glanced at the sleeping form beside her. "He has not!"

Her brother suddenly brightened. "You COULD write him a letter! Saying you've gone to fetch him back!"

"From the monastery?" Arwen groaned. "If it will get him off my back."

Aragorn stirred sleepily. "Who ran off to a monastery?"

"You have," Arwen grinned. "And I'm coming to fetch you home."

The ranger rolled back over. "In the morning."

Elladan glanced up at the rising sun. "What does he classify as morning?"

"Humans need their sleep," Arwen shot back. "We were . . . up very late last night." As Elladan raised his knife, she hastily added, "Just talking!"

Elrohir smiled at his little sister. "Of course. Arwen has her honor."

Elladan growled. "Not too much of it."

"Oh, be quiet." Arwen took a sheet of parchment from her brother. "There, I'll write a letter telling him not to worry." She frowned. "And that I'm only coming back if I want to."

Elrohir yawned. "Of course, when Estel joined the monastery he took a vow of loneliness –"

He ducked just in time to escape the flying bottle of ink.

~~~~~~~

Two hours later, Aragorn and Arwen were on the road again, this time by a secret path Elrohir assured them was never traveled anymore, at least not in thousands of years.

Arwen scowled. "I thought we'd never get rid of them."

Aragorn smiled affectionately at her. "They're your brothers. They care about you."

She grinned a little. "Sometimes too much."

He stopped to break away the brambles covering the path. "Elrohir was right. No one's been here in a very long time."

She gazed ahead. "It looks like a difficult path. There's a huge tree blocking the way up there."

He looked around. "The trees are too thick and thorny to find another way. Your brother has to much faith in our navigating ability."

She gasped as realization flooded into her eyes. "No, he doesn't. He thinks we'll make it, and we will. I know we will."

He peered over at her. "We're not talking about the path anymore, are we?"

She shook her head, smiling. "It may be a road less traveled, but it still leads to Lothlórien. And," she said, looking over at him with love in her eyes, "it will be all the more beautiful once we arrive."

He looked her in the eye. "I think it's beautiful now."

~~~~~~~

It was late afternoon before they reached a rocky, mountainous incline that neither had the strength to pass just then. Arwen tied to horses to a tree and rummaged around in her pack for something to eat.

She smiled and pulled out a bottle of fine Elvish wine. "I don't know what I was thinking when I packed this."

Aragorn grinned and spread his cloak over the dirty ground. "Come, my lady. Let us dine in style." He grabbed a sprig of flowers from the ground and bowed low. "For you, fair maiden."

They were dirty and quite dead, but Arwen took them nevertheless and tucked one behind her ear. "Thank you. They're beautiful."

He laughed and sat down. "You're wonderful, Arwen."

She smiled and sat next to him, touched by the unexpected compliment. "I love you," she whispered, and kissed him gently on the mouth. "How did I survive before you came along?"

He pulled her close and she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I imagine you did quite well."

She grinned. "Elrohir says you've improved my temperament drastically."

He kissed the top of her head. "I'm sure you've been lovely all your long life."

She laughed. "And look what you've done to me. On the run from my own Atar!"

He looked at her seriously. "Do you want to go back?"

She paused. The road behind her was already clear, but waiting at the end would be her father – and admitting defeat. In front of her was a sharp incline, cold and hard, but, she smiled, nothing she couldn't handle if it meant being with Aragorn – something her father would have to accept sooner or later.

This road had not been traveled since the days of Beren and Luthien, but it was high time to clear the path. And there was no one better to do it than her and Estel.

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, long and hard. "Let's not," she whispered in his ear. "I'm up for a challenge."

FIN