One Plan To Rule Them All

Vanya glanced at Aragorn again. She could see his brow was furrowed, but he remained calm. She wondered, however, what Lord Elrond was telling him. She wasn't a fool. She knew Lord Elrond knew about her relationship with Aragorn and she wondered if he was going to try to separate them. She looked back at Arwen though when she questioned her about bearing Aragorn's children.

"Oh, we have not discussed anything like that," she responded. She knew there was no need to have that discussion with Aragorn. She knew her time left with him was short and she wanted to spend as much of it with him as possible. She would never tell him that she knew she was going to die as she did not want to worry and upset him. She did not know the time or manner of her death, but she knew it would happen.

"He's young still and his mind is preoccupied with other things."

Arwen was not so certain about that. But she would not push Vanya and certainly did not wish to make an enemy of her either. It wasn’t much longer before Aragorn came back to them. He needed to speak to Vanya about what Elrond has just said but he didn’t want to do that in front of Arwen.

“It was nice to talk with you Vanya, good day,” Arwen said taking the hint. She smiled brightly at Aragorn as she went though and her deep blue eyes almost sparkled when he looked at her. When she had moved away followed by her retainers, Elrond had moved back inside, Aragorn took Vanya’s hand and pulled her around behind one of the larger trees. Before she could get a word in he kissed her lips. He didn’t look worried but she knew he was uneasy. She could feel it emanating from him.

“Elrond..he..he wants me to go west to check on the shire. He also wants you to go to Gondor and scout the Emyn Arnen south of Osgiliath,” he said quickly and also very softly. “I don't understand this Vanya, there are other rangers that could see what's happening with the shire,” He said. “I dont want us to be apart,” He said but kept his tone level.

Vanya was relieved when Aragorn returned. She was uncomfortable making small talk with Arwen when she knew that she was after the man she loved. She saw the way she smiled at Aragorn as she left and a hint of jealously flared up inside of her. However, before she could say anything Aragorn took her hand and pulled her around one of the larger trees in the courtyard and kissed her. She closed her eyes and immediately kissed him back. He would be able to feel how much she loved him just from that one kiss. She could sense Aragorn's uneasiness and as he pulled back from the kiss she looked into his eyes and listened as he told her what Lord Elrond wanted him to do.

"I don't want us to be apart either," she said after a moment. "However, I will do whatever you feel is necessary. I will follow your lead...or your orders," she added with a little grin. Her grin then faded back to seriousness. "What does your gut tell you Aragorn?"

What does my gut tell me? He wondered. Was Elrond being sincere? He had just seen Gandalf. But that could just be coincidence. He held onto her as if he feared someone might try and remove her from his embrace. He had a worried look in his eyes. An uncertain look.

“I...I think we should do what we can do. I’m certain what is happening in the south will be made clearer to you. He just mentioned it to me I think to prepare me for going alone,” he said thinking out loud to her. There were other elves that moved into the courtyard and Aragorn took up her hand once more and shifted back to walk with her. Beyond the courtyard was a garden and he stepped with her into it.

“It could be months, even a year before we see one another again,” He said as he stopped with her by another large tree. He took her face into his warm hands. Vanya did not want attachments for this very reason he thought. But now he wondered if she felt differently about it now that they had grown so much closer than before. “Do we do our duty or do we stay together Vanya? Please tell me,” He asked. He had heard her asking ‘him’ to show her the way but he felt he should defer to her. “This isn’t about me being a man and making the decisions. It's a whole year maybe. Alot could happen in a year,” He said worriedly. The thought of being apart from her truly unsettled him.

Vanya was not used to sensing fear from Aragorn, but she did now. At first she wasn’t sure what exactly was causing it, but as she realized it was because he did not want to be separated from her she felt love swell within her heart. She did not want to be separated from him either. An entire year was not long in the grand scheme of things, but for two people in love it would be an eternity. Something within her told her that they should not separate. They should remain together. She wasn’t sure why exactly, but she felt it strongly…very strongly.

“My gut and my heart are telling me we should remain together. I don’t know why, but I feel it deep in my bones Aragorn,” she told him as she looked deeply into his eyes. “We can do both together. Let us first travel to the Shire and then we can head south to Gondor. I know that Rangers are normally solitary beings, but we work best together. And if it comes to it we can separate. But let us remain together for as long as we can.”