The ten- eleven after Freya- of us met in the courtyard a few days later with weapons and travel gear. We all wore matching green cloaks as well with silver green leaf pins to secure them at our throats. The only one who didn't have one was Gandalf.

I was braiding my red hair over my shoulder, a string in my mouth when I noticed Aragorn come into the courtyard. When he saw me he stopped for a second, and a strange look crossed his face as he looked at me and I suddenly felt my cheeks going hot.

I finished the braid and tied it off.

"What?" I asked.

He came over to stand next to me and crossed his arms over his chest. "Nothing. I've just never seen you actually look happy before. Or with your hair back. It looks nice."

I rolled my eyes and shoved his arm and he grinned at me. "You're such a dork."

He scoffed. "A dork you say? Very well then. I-"

I interrupted him by grabbing the collar of his shirt and yanking his face towards me. "And you're my dork."

His face went beet red and I released him and walked off as the others began to file out of Rivendell, leaving him standing there with a very flustered face.

He soon recovered and chased after me. "Yours, you say?" He asks with a slight grin and a raised eyebrow.

"Perhaps you forgot that we're challenging destiny, Aragorn."

He seemed pleased to hear me say it. "What changed your mind?"

I looked over at Boromir and Freya, who walked hand-in-hand smiling at one another and talking. "Them, mostly. And a lot has happened in this past month." I say. He takes my hand and I let him. I looked at him and said, "I guess they gave me hope, in a way, that I can find love, too. And that real love is worth fighting for. I... will need time, to adjust, but believe I can do it. Because it's for you. And I'd do it only for you."

"Let me know when you're ready, Imara. Because until then I want to learn everything I can about you." He says honestly.

A small smile crossed my face and I looked away. I didn't let go of his hand, however.

We walked in silence for a while longer when Sam suddenly blurted out, "Miss Imara. Why'd you agree to help us anyways?"

Attention was turned towards me when Freya spoke up. "I wonder why you'd ask her and not me the same question, Sam. After all, Sauron is my grandfather."

"Ah, yes. I meant nothing by it, Miss Freya. I think yer both wonderful, and all. I just don't understand the connection between what I've 'eard about Imara and what's happenin' now." Sam continues awkwardly, face flushing with embarrassment.

The air felt tense and I didn't know what to say. The hobbits were looking at me, and so were Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf.

"Are...are you all wondering if you can trust me or not?" I asked. Silence. "Well?" I snapped, suddenly feeling irritated at the sudden change in demeanor. Though I didn't understand why. I should be used to this behavior, after all.

"Beggin yer pardon, lassie. Ye haven't really done much to prove ye won't turn on us." Gimli said. I looked to Legolas. By now the group of us had stopped. He wouldn't meet my eyes.

This was honestly a waste of time. Can't we talk about this when we make camp? Or just not? Id prefer not.

"Everything I know about you is a lie, is it not? Why would it be different now?"

The hobbits looked to Gandalf suddenly and he merely said, "I don't tend to look on past actions in my judgement of a person." He shrugs indifferently. "If you have ill will, we'll deal with it. If not, well, this conversation doesn't need to happen."

I nodded and lifted a hand to Gandalf. "I agree. Suspicion helps nothing." Aragorn seemed amused and squeezed my hand.

"I hardly think Imara needs to prove herself to any of you. Especially if you won't give me the same treatment." Freya snarled and came over and took my other hand.

"You've grown up away from Mordor." I said. "They aren't far off in not having to question you." I shrugged like oh well.

She looked at me and said seriously, "If that's so true, why'd you lock my dad away? To protect him. And with who's assistance? Galadriel herself! You went to Rivendell with Aragorn despite the very high possibility you'd be attacked in sight. You kept your word. You don't do anything for yourself."

"You also made a show of protecting Frodo in front of all of us." Boromir said and shrugged a shoulder. "I say I trust you. I don't need to know why. Actions speak louder than words."

Everyone looked to Aragorn then. He hadn't said a word, but didn't release my hand, which he held in both of his. He squeezed my fingers and said softly, "I wouldn't doubt you for a moment."

Sam squirmed a bit and I pulled my hand from Aragon's grasp and kneeled in front of the hobbits and held my right hand out to them. The four paused, then each laid a small hand onto my own.

"I swear to you that I will protect you. I joined you because I hate my father. I joined you despite the vengeance he is inflicting upon me even now. But I am going through it. Because I have a family to protect. And you are part of that group now. I used to have nothing, and now that I have something, I will fight until my last breath to ensure nothing will happen to it. This I swear to you."

Sam smiled at me, and so did Frodo. But Merry and Pippin suddenly threw themselves at me and I lost my balance as they tackled me in a hug.

I smiled, a laugh escaping my lips, and suddenly, I was happy.

*******

That night, I walked into the woods to collect firewood alone. I needed to think. And part of me needed to let myself be alone.

Was this happening too fast? I wasn't sure.

Footsteps sounded behind me and a voice said softly, "I thought I'd find you here."

Aragorn sat down next to me, back against the tree. I didn't say anything. He looked at me and asked, "What do you mean by pain?"

I tilted my head back against the tree trunk and said, "Sauron is angry with me for joining you. I'm his heir. I swore to use the Ring for him. Now I'm giving it away. He's understandably pissed. So, he punished me."

"How?" He whispered.

"He broke both of my legs." I say softly and rub the soreness in my thighs. "Last night. And then my arms. I healed myself, but he broke them two more times..." I drifted off, and squeezed my eyes shut. "It's because I'm here. And not in Mordor. I'm worried he'll send other servants after us. Saruman has an army he's making. There's any army in Mordor. The Fellowship could break or members could be killed. And it'll be my fault."

Aragorn slid his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side, pressing a kiss to my forehead, his other hand holding the back of my head as I leaned into his shoulder. I tightened my fists around his jacket and bit back tears, letting him hold me.

"It won't be your fault. Sauron will have to deal with losing you. Is there anyone who can help you with this?"

"The only one in Middle Earth with that kind of power that's still alive is Galadriel. I don't know if she'll do any more favors for me, though." I say with a dejected sigh.

"Well, if she blocked Sauron from finding Baldor, than can't she block him from you? So he can't hurt you anymore?"

I paused. "That...might actually work." I whispered. I looked at him. He lifted his hands to my cheeks and wiped away the tears that were there. My eyes drifted away from his.

"Do you still doubt me, Imara?" He asks softly, eyebrows creased. "Do you still doubt that I could care for you? That I want to be near you?"

"Sometimes." I whispered. "I'm just...scared."

"I'm not leaving you."

"The last man that said that to me and I believed was run through and he died in my arms." I whispered. "I..." I placed a hand on his chest and said, "I need this heart to stay beating. And if you give me your heart, there's a chance you could be killed for it, and I-I can't let that happen. Ever."

His hand came up to rest over mine and he whispered, "Look at me, Imara." I did and was greeted with a smiling face, and soft brown eyes. "I understand your fears. They are valid. I have my own fears. I am fighting because I will not allow him to take you from me. It's not happening. I'm fighting for you. I'll rally all the armies in all the world if it means that I save you. So just remember that we're fighting for each other." He leans forward and rests his forehead on mine, tucking some hair behind my ear. I shivered as his calloused fingers stroked the pointed tip of it.

I bit my lip as new tears began to form in my eyes.  I grabbed his cloak by that stupid green and silver leaf pin and pulled him to my lips and kissed him.

He kissed me back, hand holding the back of my head and other arm secured around my waist. When I broke away from the kiss, I stayed close to him. Finally, I whispered,

"When we first met at the Prancing Pony. I told you my name. My name is known around the land. You merely said my name was beautiful. Did you know who I was even then?"

His fingers carefully brushed through my hair and he said, "I had a suspicion. It was a unique name. I only really put it together when you appeared on Weathertop so quickly and sent fear into the Nazghul and made them disperse." He grinned a bit. "I do have to say I found that attractive."

"Oh?" I asked with a grin and grabbed his chin and kissed his cheek. "You're a dork."

"And why's that?"

"Because you thought I was attractive scaring off demons from literal hell."

He shrugs and laughs, a smile lighting up his face. That smile. That damned smile. I was going to memorize it. "Is that such a bad thing that I find every part of you attractive, Imara?" He asks after a moment.

"Perhaps not."

"And do you find me attractive?" He asks.

"Perhaps." I say with a grin. I ran my thumb along his bearded jaw. "I do have to say that I find the facial hair very attractive." I lifted a hand to his cheek, stroking my thumb over the stubble there. "But it was your eyes that caught my attention."

"My eyes?" He asks and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. They're blue- a common color, really if we're being serious. They made me think of springs of water when all I had was dirt and fire. But despite that, your eyes are warm. They're soft. When you look at me they hold a gentleness in them. A spark of determination. Eyes are the windows to the soul. And when I looked into yours, I couldn't look away."

He seemed shocked for a moment, then he lifted his hands to my face, leaning in closer. And I let him. Our noses touched, and he tilted his head to the side, edging closer and closer. Our lips barely touched before Gimli let out a boisterous laugh.

"Oi! There ye two are! Been lookin' everywhere for ya! Don't take too long. Sorry t' interrupt." He said then lumbered off.

I was sure my face was a fine shade of scarlet and we looked at each other and I laughed. "We should probably head back before he tells the group about all this."

Aragorn chuckled and got up, holding his hands out to me and I took them as he pulled me to my feet. "I'm sure we'll find time to continue this later."

"Sure. Later." I said with a nod and a small smile.

He took my hand again and we headed back to camp together.

*******

I sat by the fire and poked at it with a stick, rubbing my shoulder as I did so. I wondered to myself how long it would take for me to break. Would Sauron try to use me? Probably.

No. I just had to get to Galadriel. Lothlorien was my new goal. I would not let Sauron win. I forbid it. Every time I looked at the hobbits or Aragorn or Freya, I knew I was fighting for them.

Freya, who never had to deal with Sauron in her life as I had to. I am glad for it. As I watched her sit next to Boromir and hold his hand, smiling and laughing with Gimli and Legolas, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I didn't care what happened to me on this journey.

Just as long as this Fellowship got to Mordor and destroyed the Ring. I was fine with it. It would be ok.

Even if the beginning of this journey, was merely time beginning my end. I didn't care. They would live.