Aragorn fought the grip around his throat, nails digging into his opponent's forearm. The hand around his neck was unrelenting, no matter how hard he tried to dislodge it.

It was getting difficult to get some air.

He did not hear the arrow, but the dull thud of an impact filled him with just as much relief as his regained ability to breathe.

The orc fell to the forest floor, revealing Legolas, who fired another arrow, before spinning and shoving one of his knives into the gut of an orc that tried to attack him from behind.

Aragorn couldn't quite quell the feeling of dread that washed over him, when he realized that the ellon was alone.

Next to him, Gimli barreled into an orc, burying his axe deep in the creature's side, completely oblivious to the fact that his opponent was twice his size. If anything, it only made him more ferocious.

The ranger ducked under the sword aimed at him, but before he could deliver the finishing blow, an arrow locked itself between the orc's shoulder-blades and the creature collapsed.

For a moment, they were alone.

Legolas lowered his bow and turned to face them, anger still clearly visible in his eyes. Oddly enough the sight brought the ranger some consolation.

'Where is Lithien?' Aragorn demanded, making his way over to his friend.

'Hopefully back at the camp, safe' the ellon replied reaching up to his quiver, only to realize that it was empty.

'You didn't find her?' Gimli inquired, pulling one of his throwing axes from the skull of the felled enemy.

'Of course I did' Legolas whipped towards the dwarf, only to be stopped by Aragorn's hand curling around his forearm. 'But if you failed to notice, the forest is swarming with orcs…'

'What happened?' the ranger interrupted him. They were in enough trouble without arguing with each other.

'We have run into some. Too many to fight, so we tried to lose them in the forest…' Legolas sighed. 'With no luck. When we realized, that they are pushing us towards the cliffs, Lithien decided that splitting up might help us confuse them and escape.'

'And you have just agreed to that?' the dwarf pressed.

'I did not have much choice' Legolas gave Aragorn a pointed look. 'But it does not matter now. Have you found Frodo?'

The silence that fell after the question was a touch too heavy to speak of any luck.

'Aragorn?'

The ranger let out a heavy breath.

'I let Frodo go. He is probably reaching the camp right now…'

'You do realize that those orcs are here to hunt him down?!' Legolas didn't even try to hide his dismay. 'And we are an annoying obstacle to that at best…'

'Boromir tried to take the Ring from him, and the orcs were approaching' Aragorn argued. 'What was I supposed to do? Hold him by my side?'

'Wait' Gimli chimed in, looking between the other two. 'What do you mean? What did Boromir do?'

'It means that Lithien was right to warn you, wasn't she?' Legolas directed the question at the ranger. Aragorn averted his eyes.

'He did act strange for the last couple of days, if you think about it' the dwarf admitted. 'But to go that far…'

'It is not his doing' Legolas objected. 'Not fully anyway. The Ring is powerful, it was only a matter of time before it took hold of one of us…'

'We have no time for this' Aragorn interrupted them. 'We need to find the others…'

The rest of his words were drowned out by the booming sound of the horn.

'It's Boromir!' Legolas shouted. 'He needs help!'

'What about the hobbits? They are still out there, alone!' Gimli did not finish speaking yet, but Aragorn was already moving towards the sound.

'They are small and apt at hiding, so they might be in less trouble then the rest of us!' the ranger responded without looking back at them. 'Let us go!'

Gimli glanced at Legolas, but the ellon only spared him a shrug before running after Aragorn.

The horn kept vailing, echoing between the trees, seemingly coming from everywhere at once.

An arrow wheezed past Lithien's head, forcing her to duck behind a tree. She was left with the last two of her own, rattling around in her quiver. Her fingers glided over the white feathers, before she put the first one to her bow.

This time, when she let it fly, it buried itself deep within the eye socket of one of the archers. Before there could be any response from the orcs, she put her last, remaining arrow through the throat of another one.

The horn died down, cut off sharply on the false note. Lithien waited, each passing second longer than the last.

When the horn sounded again, she released a breath she was not aware she was holding. Then she whipped out her sword and jumped from behind her cover.

She could not stall anymore.

She went for the archers first.

Another arrow flew past her. She felt a sharp sting just beneath the chainmail covering her shoulder. She did not stop, ignoring the warm, sticky spot, blooming on her sleeve.

Lithien shoved her dagger into the orc's throat. Then she spun, dragging him with her, shielding herself from the arrows that his companions have fired. In the brief pause when they drew again, she dropped the body and lounged forward, catching one of the remaining archers with her sword to the jaw, and ducked, avoiding getting pierced with yet another arrow.

A rock caught her side as she rolled over the leaves, leaving her ribs tender and bound to bruise. The elleth pulled herself to her knees and threw one of her knives at the last archer, the blade burying itself deep in the creature's neck.

She did not wait for the body to collapse, scrambling to her feet and turning around, facing her enemies.

At least they seemed to take some caution with her now, keeping their distance and watching her with gleaming, yellow eyes.

Lithien kept her sword pointed towards the closest enemies, while listening for the movement around her. If she wanted to stand a chance of winning she had to keep them from swarming her.

One of the beasts sneered and lounged, unable to hold the tension anymore. The elleth side-stepped easily and swung, relieving the orc of its head. She noticed another one charging, whirled out of the way and brought her sword up just in time to block the blow that was descending on her head. Her free hand found the hilt of lady Galadriel's gift and she swung the dagger forward.

The blade cut through the heavy layers of leather and steel with such an ease that she almost stumbled forward in surprise. She could feel the orc's heart fluttering around the knife, before ripping it out and spinning to slash it across the throat of an orc that was trying to grab her from behind.

The foul blood sprayed across her face, but she had no time to spit it out, because the last two creatures were coming at her. She ducked and fell, rolling across the ground again. One of the orcs followed her, intent on striking her down before she could rise.

Lithien kicked him in the knee. She felt the bone give and the beast screeched in pain, before collapsing to the ground. She was on her feet moments later, shoving her sword through its chest.

She was almost certain the last one looked momentarily unsure, before it lounged at her. She deflected one blow, and then another, before spinning out of the way, only to land behind the creature's back and strike.

The beast hung on her sword for a moment, gurgling and struggling, before she pushed it off with her foot, and swung the blade around, bringing the tip onto the orc's neck and ending its torment.

Something barreled into her, the impact knocking her into the nearest tree.

Her ribs burned from the collision, the air leaving her in a pained wheeze. She had to make a conscious effort to keep herself from dropping her sword and spun around to face the new opponent.

A fist smashed across her cheek, sending her into the tree again.

Her mouth filled with blood. The forest around her blurred and tilted. Lithien ducked, trying to roll away.

Only to be kicked in the ribs. This time she could not muffle a shout.

She blinked a few times, trying to make sense of what was going on. The first thing she could see was a familiar, wide shield with a white hand painted in the middle of it. The broken remains of her arrow were still stuck a little off the center.

The huge orc behind it was watching her, its lips, curved into a gleeful grin, exposed its long, sharp fangs.

This time, when she struggled to her feet, the orc allowed her, though its eyes never left her.

Lithien stared back and readied her sword. Somewhere at the edge of her focus she could still hear Boromir's horn.

She was not going to give up easily. Not when the others needed her.

The orc advanced first and she side-stepped giving herself a moment to readjust.

And possibly annoy it into making a mistake. She circled the orc, biding her time. At least the pain was easing away, allowing her to move more freely.

Her opponent wasn't easy to goad. The orc matched her, stride for stride, apparently content to wait as well.

Somewhere behind her back the horn faltered. She waited, willing it to make a sound again, but when the silence was her only answer, Lithien suddenly changed the rhythm of her steps and lounged.

Her first blow glided off the shield. So did the second.

The elleth did not realize that the angry growl was coming from somewhere deep inside her throat until she saw how the orc was grinning back at her.

Her blade clunked against the wood and cured leather again. Her opponent rewarded her with a sharp strike, but she spun out of the way and ducked, procuring a small, hidden blade from her boot.

She shoved the knife into the orc's groin and dragged it down, tearing the flesh as far and as deeply as she could, before rolling away to avoid a hand that wanted to grab her hair.

Lithien rose to her feet and spun to face her enemy. She felt her lips twisting into a smirk at the sight of thick, black blood pouring from the jagged wound. Her opponent sneered, taking a step towards her, only to stop with a pained growl when its leg almost gave out.

The elleth twirled the small blade over her fingers, rigging it further.

The orc dropped it shield and charged, ignoring the blood splattering onto the ground.

It was all she could have wanted. Lithien ducked out of the way and the creature almost toppled over as it tried to turn in time with her.

The blow of the sword was still hard, but somehow easier to deflect. As their swords clashed, she turned her fingers around the hilt of her knife and shoved the whole length of the blade into the beast's side.

When she knocked the orc's sword aside and stepped away the beast struggled to stay upright. Lithien was the one to strike now. Her sword met steel again, but this time her opponent could not carry the strain anymore and its injured leg buckled.

It was all too easy to drag her dagger across its throat once the beast was on its knees.

She wiped the blade and her palm clean and resumed running, hoping that she picked the right direction.

It was quiet for far too long.

Legolas shoved his knife through another orc's chest and ducked just in time to avoid a sword aimed at his head. Before he could strike the new opponent down, Gimli came from behind, severing the orc's spine with one, well-aimed swipe of his axe.

The ellon ducked out of the way of another attack, before shoving his knife through the back of the orc's neck. Next to him, Gimli slew one enemy after the other, muttering curses into his beard. Or so he thought, judging by the tone of the foreign words. Between the two of them, they should have no issue with defeating the remaining orcs.

What worried him more, was that Aragorn took off alone trying to get to Boromir. And there was no way of telling what awaited him there. Or how fast they will be able to join him.

Legolas deflected the blow directed at him and spun behind his opponent to finish him off with ease. Gimli felled another orc, managing to open him up from hip to the collarbone.

There was a movement at the top of the hill and he turned in that direction expecting another group of enemies.

Lithien was staring back at him, bloodied and disheveled, half of her hair coming out from her braid in wild strands. Her sword was caked in orc's blood. One glance at her was enough to know how difficult her road here was.

She held his gaze for a long moment before starting to descent the hill, obviously intending to help them.

As much as he would be glad to have her by his side, there was someone who needed her more right now.

'Aragorn went to help Boromir!' he yelled, stopping her in her tracks. 'He is alone!'

Another orc was coming at him and he turned to face it, avoiding the beast's attacks until he found an opening he could exploit.

When he had a chance to look up the hill again, Lithien was already gone.

Legolas and Gimli should deal with that orcs without an issue. At least it was what she told herself as she took to running between the trees again, trying to find or hear anything that would point her in the right direction.

She did not argue when Legolas told her to go. His pleading gaze had urged her forward as much as her concern for Aragorn did. She could only hope that she was making the right call.

Considering what happened so far, she could not expect even that much.

At least she wasn't being hindered by orcs anymore. It only deepened her worry.

She felt her shoulders sagging slightly, when her ears finally caught the distant clamor of weapons. She ran towards the sound, jumping over gnarled roots and fallen trees. It wasn't long before she came across the first bodies of orcs felled with a sword. At first there wasn't very many of them, but the number visibly grew the closer she got to the source of the sound.

Someone was still fighting.

First thing she spotted when the path led her into the small clearing, were dozens of bodies. Most were already dead, but she could still see a few twitching or trying to crawl. They weren't dangerous anymore so her eyes raked over the area, finally landing on the crumpled form of Boromir propped against one of the trees.

She could see the arrows stuck between his ribs.

The sound of scuffle startled her back into reality. She spun towards the sound, sword poised for a strike, only so she could jump back when two bodies tumbled from the bushes, almost colliding with her.

One of them was Aragorn, struggling to get away from a great orc that was trying to squeeze the life out of the ranger.

Lithien's eyes flitted briefly back to Boromir. The orc growled and smashed its fist across Aragorn's face. His pained shout was still ringing in her ears when she sprung forward, gripping the beast's shoulder and trying to pull it away.

The creature was much stronger than she expected it to be. She had to struggle to keep her hold on its arm and haul the orc up.

An elbow to her ribs left her breathless, but at least Aragorn got a chance to get away.

A hand fisted into the hair at her nape and she could feel the orcs claws break the soft skin there. She dug her own nails into the offending arm, until she could feel blood welling beneath her nails, but it wasn't enough to deter him.

The other hand was coming for her throat. She grabbed the arm, putting her remaining strength into keeping her assailant away.

Aragorn was shouting at her, but her ears caught only the sound and not the meaning.

The orc stilled as if struck, and its hold weakened, allowing her to pull herself free, losing only a few strands of hair sticking to its bloodied claws. She sucked in a much needed breath and looked up to find Aragorn.

Her eyes landed on the tip of the blade, poking from between the torn leather and broken ribs.

The creature laughed, the sound wet and heavy. Lithien felt a shiver crawling up her spine, which only grew stronger as the orc took a step towards her despite the fatal injury.

She refused to think about the kind of foul sorcery that caused such resilience. She raised her own sword and shoved it through the beast's chest as well, hoping to bring an end to the fight.

Blood spilled over the orc's lips and yet, it still bared its fangs at her.

It continued to struggle, pinned on their weapons, until Aragorn plunged his dagger through its skull, the tip coming obscenely from the creature's eye.

Only then it grew limp.

Lithien was caught by surprise, when Aragorn let go of his sword and rushed over to Boromir. The elleth has enough presence of mind to pull her blade free before she followed him.

Her steps turned to run, when her ears caught the rattle of a heavy breathing.

She fell to her knees beside Aragorn.

'They took them!' there was an urgency in Boromir's voice and Lithien watched in a stunned silence as he tried to push himself off the ground. 'They took the hobbits!' Aragorn held him back against the tree, his eyes raking over the three, black arrows stuck in the gondorian's chest.

'Stay still' the ranger muttered, a worried frown forming on his brow as he appraised the wounds.

Lithien didn't have to look. She could hear it well enough; smashed ribs, punctured lungs. Boromir was bleeding to death before their eyes and neither of them was enough of a healer to stop that.

She almost flinched, when his eyes landed on her.

'Where is Frodo?!'

If only she knew.

'I let Frodo go' Aragorn replied, almost too quiet to be heard.

His words brought a smile to Boromir's lips.

'Then you did what I could not…' he swallowed with visible difficulty, his hand coming up to grip Aragorn's shoulder. 'I tried to take the Ring from him…'

Aragorn's expression fractured and Lithien pulled her gaze away.

'The Ring is beyond our reach now…'

Boromir's grip on Aragorn's arm tightened.

'Forgive me, I…' he heaved, fighting for breath. 'I did not see… I have failed you all…'

'No. No…' Aragorn shook his head, his voice catching in his throat. 'You fought bravely. You've kept you honor…' he looked down, reaching for one of the arrows. Boromir flinched away from the touch.

'Leave it. It's pointless…'

Lithien could feel Aragorn's gaze on her face, but looking up to meet it was much more difficult than she thought it would be. When she finally did, his eyes were filled with quiet pleading. When she previously struggled to ignore the burning behind her eyelids, it has now become impossible.

She loathed the fact that she could only offer him a brief shake of her head, before looking away.

She didn't want him to see the tears that rolled down her cheeks, raking the obscene paths down her dirty cheeks.

'We've failed them…' Boromir spoke again. 'It was all for naught… My city will fall…'

A pained sound made its way out of Aragorn's throat. The ranger dropped his gaze to the ground, but he could not pull himself free from the desperate grip on his clothes.

'I don't know if I have that kind of strength' the ranger started, locking eyes with his fallen companion. 'But I swear to you, I will not let the White City… and our people fall.'

The words seemed to be what he needed to hear, because Boromir visibly relaxed.

'Our people…' he muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. His arm reached for the sword laying at his side, but he didn't have enough strength to grasp it. Lithien noticed the movement and reached for a broken blade, placing the hilt into Boromir's palm.

Aragorn's hand covered hers as they brought their companion's arm to rest against his chest.

'I was wrong about you…' Boromir's voice was getting weaker, but he kept his eyes steadily on Aragorn. 'You are someone I could follow… my brother… My brother…'

They didn't get the chance to hear what else he wanted to say.

Lithien realized she was staring, her gaze fixed on the thin stream of blood trickling from the corner of his lips and into his beard. She reached out and gently wiped it off, giving Aragorn a few moments to compose himself.

When a branch snapped behind them the elleth whipped towards the sound, her hand crawling towards the dagger that was not there. Legolas was running towards them with Gimli in tow, but both of them stopped as soon as they realized what had happened. The elleth looked back at Aragorn, placing her hand gently on the ranger's shoulder.

When he pushed himself up several moments later, she let him, rising to her feet as well.

'We should have come here sooner' Legolas said, when the silence between them was getting difficult to bear.

'We did what we could' Lithien replied, though the reassurance sounded flat even to her own ears. When she tried to place her hand on Aragorn's shoulder again, he leaned away from the touch.

'And we still don't know anything about the hobbits!' Gimli added. 'Where are they? Where is Frodo?'

'I don't know' Aragorn sighed, his voice heavy with defeat. 'Boromir said the orcs took them. But I sent him to follow Merry and Pippin. I don't know if Frodo or Sam were here too… What should we do now?'

'First we must tend to Boromir' Legolas reply. 'We can't leave him here to rot among the orcs.'

'But we need to be quick about it' Gimli said. 'We must follow the orcs if there is any hope that our friends were taken alive!'

'We don't know if Frodo was here or if he was taken' Aragorn objected. 'Should we not seek him first?' his shoulders sagged. 'How can we even choose?'

'We should begin with the things we must do' Lithien said. 'We won't lose any more time this way.'

'We don't have the tools to give Boromir a proper burial' Legolas said. 'But maybe we could build a cairn?'

'It won't do' Gimli shook his head. 'It would take too much time. We would have to go pick up the stones at the water edge…'

'Then we give him to the river' Aragorn decided. 'Let us set him upon the boat. Anduin will at least ensure that no one will dishonor his bones.'

Lithien was first to take off her cloak. Gimli felled two young trees and together, they made a makeshift stretcher and laid Boromir upon it.

Neither of them spoke as they made their way back to the camp.

The edge of the lake was a mess of their discarded belongings and dying fires, but there was no signs of orc's presence. Everything seemed to be exactly where they left it, except for the deep hollow in the gravel in place of one of the boats and a few smaller ones around. Someone has pushed one of the vessels out into the lake.

The boat was nowhere in sight.

If Frodo came here, it was much earlier than they thought.

Some bird was tentatively calling out in the otherwise quiet forest, its trill sounding suspiciously like a vail.

They placed Boromir gently on the ground.

'I will get the boat' Legolas was first to break the silence.

Lithien nodded, but her attention was on their fallen friend. There was an uncomfortable weight in her chest.

'We can't have him looking like this' she said quietly. 'I will take care of that.'

'Lassie…' Gimli started, his voice filled with concern.

'It is fine' the elleth forced a tight smile onto her lips. 'I've done this before.'

The dwarf looked at her and nodded slowly, before following after Legolas.

Realizing that she was left alone, Lithien looked around, searching for Aragorn. He was at the far edge of the camp, looking through their belongings. The elleth sighed, but left him to it and set to the task she chose for herself.

She dug up a square of cloth from one of the bags and wetted it through in the river. Then she returned and knelt by Boromir's side.

Yes, she had done this before.

It did not make it any easier.

She managed to pull out a single arrow, when she heard a gravel crunching and someone knelt across form her.

'Shouldn't you be looking for the traces of our little friends?' she asked, gently extracting another arrow.

Aragorn's eyes flitted to hers briefly, but he was unable to hold her gaze.

'I want to help you.'

'I know what I am doing.'

'Please.'

An uncomfortable force squeezed around her ribs, and Lithien found it difficult to respond to the rough emotion evident in his voice. She did not urged him to leave again and focused instead on the last arrow.

When she pulled, it did not give, caught on the bone.

Lithien fought the surge of helpless irritation and an urge to just yank the arrow out. She reached for her knife instead and cut the shaft as close to the body as possible, before pulling the torn jacket over it.

She started to wipe the blood off the leather, when another movement caught her attention.

Aragorn was removing Baromir's vambraces, a strange sort of determination etched into his features.

'Dare I ask?'

'I just…' the ranger started, before his words descended into a shrug.

She did not press. But the gesture gave her an idea.

It was Aragorn's turn to stare as she carefully removed Boromir's glove. On his index finger rested a ring – a simple gold band with a deep red garnet fastened into it. Lithien carefully slid it off and turned it in her palm, watching the light play of off the gem's polished surface.

'What are you doing?'

'He has a brother' Lithien replied, placing the ring inside the pouch on her hip. 'I think he would like to get at least this much back…' she looked up and held his gaze. 'I know I would.'

They finished tending to Boromir in silence.

Together with Legolas and Gimli they placed their fallen companion inside the boat, which already carried several broken and chipped orc-blades, a reminder of the brave fight he put up. They folded the elven cloak beneath his head. Aragorn placed his sword and his broken horn upon Boromir's breast and Gimli placed his shield beneath his feet.

Then they climbed into the other two boats, Legolas and Lithien pushed them off the shore, while the other two held the remaining boat between them. Slowly but surely, the elves roved them out to the middle of the lake, until they found a quick current. As soon as they felt the water pulling them forward they set the boat free.

The vessel swam away, rocking gently upon the current, until it became a little more than a small, dark spot. And then, in less than blink of an eye it was gone.

The falls of Rauros roared on, rising the billows of mist high into the sky.

For a long while they sat on the boats in silence, watching the spot where their companion has disappeared.

Legolas was first to start roving back towards the camp.

They fanned out across the clearing, searching for clues. Lithien found plenty of tracks, belonging to all of them and crossing over each other. There was no telling who came or left the camp and when did it happen. Even after a closer inspection there were no sign of the orcs.

A one good thing among everything that happened to them so far.

'I found the boat' Legolas announced, appearing between the bushes. He must have wandered off when she was not looking. 'We couldn't see it before, because it is tethered securely on the other side of the lake and rather aptly hidden. Someone has crossed over.'

'It was Frodo' Aragorn replied. 'And Sam if I am not mistaken. Their bags are missing. And I found a clear set of hobbit footprints near the stream. They are fresh.'

'Why would they do that?' Gimli wondered. 'Were they fleeing from the orcs?'

'The orcs would have left the camp in ruin if they came here' Legolas shook his head. 'I think that Frodo, at least, was fleeing from us. He expected the worst and he fled.'

'But we were meant to protect him! One mistake does not mean that we were all going to turn on him!'

'I don't think that he was fleeing from us' Aragorn objected. 'Frodo has made a choice. A difficult, but an incredibly brave one and decided to leave us all behind.'

'He did not want to lead you to the death' Lithien chimed in, remembering the conversation she had with the hobbit back in Loth Lόrien. 'He understood for a while that it was either this or going forth by himself. We should be glad that at least Sam has found a way to spoil that plan.'

'Maybe, but it is still leaving us with a choice and we are wasting time by not making it' Gimli interrupted. 'We can take the boat and follow them to the east side of the lake. Or we could follow the orcs. Not much hope either way since they are all now far ahead of us…'

Their eyes settled on Aragorn, who remained quiet and deep in thought, securing Boromir's vambrace to his forearm. It took him a moment to realize that they were all looking at him.

'What do you want from me? I am the last person that should be making this decision…'

'Nonsense' Legolas objected. 'It was Gandalf who wanted you to lead us. And you did the task well so far, despite the difficulties.'

'And we are ready to follow you now' Lithien added with a small smile.

She was not expecting to see the annoyance flashing across his features.

'You were adamant about going back to Loth Lόrien. You promised you brother that you will…'

'And you really think that I can leave you now of all the time? After everything that happened?'

'Even if we intent to follow Frodo?' Aragorn countered, well aware of her apprehension.

Lithien, much to her surprise, felt secure in her resolve.

'There are things more important than fear' she replied holding his gaze.

'I will not allow this. After everything you and Galaren went through?'

'I will follow you whether you want it or no' Lithien folded her arms over her chest.

'Lithien…'

'I really don't think you can change my mind on that' the elleth cut him off. 'Now can we quit this pointless arguing, so we know where we are going next?'

'Frodo has made his choice. His fate is no longer in our hands…'

'Then we failed him' Gimli said. 'The Fellowship is broken…'

'No if we keep our promise to our friends. We will not leave Merry and Pippin to torment and death' Aragorn's voice gained confidence as he settled into his resolve. 'We shall hunt the orcs. Grab only what you will need the most.'

'I need to go and find the rest of my throwing axes' Gimli said. 'And then I am good to go.'

'I need to scavenge for some arrows, so I can go with you…' Legolas offered.

'There is no need' Lithien interrupted. 'I have arrows for both of us. But I still need my knives back.'

'I'll find them for you' the ellon offered. 'You can grab our belongings and… straighten things out while we are gone. Come on Gimli!'

The dwarf eagerly followed his friend into the forest.

Not willing to waste any more time, Lithien moved across the camp to grab their packs.

Predictably, Aragorn trailed after her.

'You can't do this' he began. 'You have no way of informing Galaren about your change of plans. And what he will think, if you won't show up when you promised?'

The elleth glanced up at him, before shoving a spare shirt back into the pack.

'It wouldn't be the first time. He will be angry, but he will have to deal with it.'

'Even after…'

'Stop it' Lithien cut him off and pushed herself to her feet. 'Do you really think you can make me change my mind?'

'I have to try.'

'Galaren is not the only person I made some important promises too' she placed her hands on his shoulders. 'And right now, I have to be with those other people. I am ready to deal with his wrath.'

Aragorn looked at her for a long while, before his shoulders sagged.

'Where did you put the blankets? We will certainly need some…'

Lithien offered him a reassuring smile.