Aragorn did not trust any of this.

Dawn said they must go to the grey havens, for some old fiends would be there. Currently, she, Eowyn, Faramir, and Aragorn were at the Shire, in Sam's house. As usual, there was a party in the center of the Shire. Aragorn had laughed when he saw two young hobbit girls dancing on the tables. One looked suspiciously like Merry.

"So," said Sam, setting drinks on the table. "What brings you all here?" Sam, of course, welcomed them, but he and Rosie were suspicious. All of their kids were at the party.

"Dark news." Aragorn said. "I hate to bear it, but Mordor is active again." Sam dropped his mug, Rosie's face turned pale. "No," she said. "You're lying!"

"We are not lying." Faramir said. " Why would we lie about something as serious as this? Orcs attacked Minas Tirith only a week ago." Sam's face fell. "What do you want us to do?" he asked. " Mr. Frodo's all in Valinor, and us- Merry, Pippin and all- we're old! Well, older. We can't help."

"Actually, Master Samwise," Dawn said from the back. "I think you'll find that Frodo Baggins is closer than you think." Sam stared, wide eyed. "He's coming back?" he asked, his voice a soft whisper. "Now?"

All the others turned to Dawn. "Is Frodo coming back to Middle-earth?" Faramir asked. Dawn nodded. "He will not be alone. Word has reached my ears of an army of elves. They come to fight the evil here."

Sam just sat there, dumbfounded. "Well then," he said. "Why don't we enjoy the party?" The six walked out of the house. Well, Faramir didn't make it far, because he banged his head on a rafter. As soon as he got out of the house, he felt someone hug him. Pippin.

"Hello, my friend," he said to Pippin. "How have you been?"

"Great, as a matter of fact," Pippin began. "There's-"

"He's still the loudest hobbit in the Shire," Merry said, walking up to Aragorn. They both laughed. "Except for Haddy and Fifi," Sam said. Merry nodded. "Those two." he said.

()()()()

Deep in the fray of the party, two young hobbits walked around silently. They both had very curly hair. One's was brown, the other was red. The red haired one held a massive (to a hobbit) cake, one held a firework.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" the one with red hair asked. The other nodded. "Where's your sense of fun?" she asked. The one with red hair watched the party suspiciously. "One mad party," she commented. It was, as a matter of fact, Pippin's birthday. The two hobbits looked at each other, and smiled. They scurried through the rows of tents, and found the most secret place they could. But the one with brown hair threw down the firework she was holding as seven people passed by. A few paces behind them was a woman. "What are they doing here," the red haired one asked suspiciously. "No idea." the other replied.

They both stood between two tents, and the red haired one lit the firework. "But my dad said..." the red haired one said, trailing off. She shook her head as the sky turned white, and everyone screamed. Both of them had frizzy hair and sooty faces. When the light cleared. a huge, white horse was dancing in the sky, before it fizzled out and galloped down to earth, and exploded. The two hobbits had grins on their faces. "Let's get another one." the red haired hobbit said, but at that moment, a man appeared behind them, and dragged them off. "Not my dad! No!" the red haired hobbit wailed. "We're dead." the one with brown hair said. They both nodded.

And, as the red head predicted, Merry showed up, a scowl on his face. Pippin stood a ways off, laughing. "Serafina Brandybuck and Hadley Undertree. I should've known."

"You only got that quote from Gandalf!" Serafina, the red haired hobbit, said. Hadley pinched her. "I don't care where I got it!" Merry said. "I also have no idea where you get your prankster streak, either of you." This made everyone watching laugh. Merry breathed in deeply. "Don't kill us, dad." Serafina pleaded. Merry thought for a moment, then laughed. "Dishes. Now." he ordered. The two of them groaned.

"This is your fault Haddy!" Serafina hissed. "Who puts up with me, Fifi?" she retorted. They both walked off glumly. Pippin smiled. "How did I have a child that acts just like you?" Merry asked. "I had nothing to do with it!" Pippin said, smiling. "It's my birthday. You can't be angry at me!"

"Fifi and Haddy." Aragorn said. "How are they related? Everyone here is, in one way or another."

"Well, actually," said Fifi, popping out of the bushes. "I'm Merry's daughter, and Haddy is Rosie's niece, who's mother happens to be Pippin's mother's sister's daughter, so technically, we're cousins!" Everyone looked confused. "What?" Pippin asked. "I don't even know the family tree that well."

The group, though everything around them was happy, shared the sombre secret of Mordor. Fifi and Haddy did not. They just dragged their feet to the dishes. Fifi could be seen lightly punching Haddy in the shoulder. Pippin could not contain his laughs. Dawn, however, was not smiling.

"Tomorrow we leave for the Havens." she said sternly. "I'm going to try to find a decent place to sleep that will hold me." As she left, a familiar face turned up. Two, actually.

"Legolas and Gimli, you have missed all the fun!" Eowyn said. She was considerably happier now that Dawn was gone. Gimli sighed. "Always! Nothing good happens when we're around."

"Actually, something good did happen." Eowyn said. "That bag of smiles left us." Merry and Pippin snorted, trying to keep in their laughter.

()()()()

Aragorn was helping clean up. By carrying three tables at a time.

Fifi and Haddy had crashed on the ground, and were now snoring loudly. Merry had smiled, and carried the eighteen year old hobbits to bed. "Was I really like this?" he muttered to himself. Legolas had asked who they were. When told, he had smiled. "I can relate." he had said. Then walked away. Aragorn shook his head, laughing.

In the silence of the night, he thought of Eldarion. Arwen had told him the rumors. He refused to believe them. But his heart had trouble denying them. He had seen the orcs himself.

"Mellon nin, are you alright?" Legolas asked, appearing out of the shadows. Aragorn nodded. "Just an old man with his thoughts. Too many, I am afraid."

"I am older than you many times over. I understand." Legolas reassured. "Not all of them are good." The last part was said to himself quietly.

"What of Eldarion, do you think?" Aragorn asked his friend. His voice was hollow and tired. This was not the Aragorn Legolas knew. It worried him.
"For your sake, I will not believe the rumors." Legolas said.

"What do you really think?" asked Aragorn. Legolas hated to say these words. "I think...I think you already know mellon." Aragorn nodded. "Goodnight, Legolas." he said.

But Aragorn was not settled. Ever since the day of the attack, he had carried a heavy burden.

A/N:

When the text is like this, Sindarin or Quenya is being spoken.

That's all.