An Acceptance

“The filth of Saruman…” the Ent was saying slowly. “Is slowly washing away… Trees will come back to live here… Young trees… wild trees…”

Behind Raina and sharing Aragorn’s horse, Pippin dismounted with a loud splash. Raina jerked her head around to watch him as he waded over to a spot near Saruman’s body.

“Pippin!” Aragorn called, watching him in a confused way.

He reached into the murky water and pulled out the glass orb Saruman had been carrying. Raina cringed involuntarily.

“Bless my bark!” Treebeard cried.

"Peregrin Took, I'll take that, my lad. Quickly now!" Gandalf called, and Pippin waded over to Shadowfax to hand it to him. The longing curiosity in the Hobbit’s eyes made Raina uncomfortable. When Gandalf covered the Palatír with his robes, the glare Pippin gave him was chilling.

Legolas noticed her discomfort and gave Pippin a piercing stare and he was hoisted back onto Aragorn’s horse, and glanced at him every so often on the ride back to Edoras.

***

The place brought bad memories with it, and so the idle time while there was spent by pacing and restlessness.

But that night, the Rohirrim held a feast to honor the many dead, and it was huge.

Raina was one of the first people there, seeing as she was staying in a room with the rest of the Fellowship only a few staircases above the Hall.

She chose a seat in the middle of the rows of pews and sat to wait. People trickled in slowly at first, and with them came Raina’s friends. Legolas immediately took his normal seat next to her, and Aragorn on her other side.

Once everyone who was going to come had gotten there and been seated, Théoden, who sat at the front of the room, stood in front of them. The few who whispered to one another were silenced.

Beside Raina, Aragorn stood slowly, immediately followed by Raina, Legolas, and Gimli. Then Men all around them glanced around a couple of times, and slowly all rose with them.

“Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country. Hail the victorious dead!”

The people raised their glasses and repeated, “Hail!”

Raina did not hesitate to take a swig of the alcohol, but was surprised when it was much stronger than what she was used to in the Shire.

After the short speech, all the Men dispersed in different directions. Raina, feeling lost in this social event that she was not used to, she found the two other awkward ones there: Merry and Pippin.

Once the Elf found them, she bent down to whisper to them.

“This isn’t much like the parties at the Shire, is it?”

The cousins had grown used to her just popping up, so they didn’t jump. They both nodded fervently, and soon found the bar.

Merry and Raina sat at a long table together, catching up on everything that happened while Pippin got them all drinks. The two Hobbits hadn’t wanted Raina to have to go up to the bar with them, seeing as she was the only girl there and some of these Men were already drunk. Raina was kind of surprised to be treated like, well, a girl, but she could remember a time when she would have been thankful for that. A time long, long ago. But now, she was not afraid of most things, least of all, mortal Men.

But she didn’t say anything as Pippin came up with a pint of whiskey for her, and pints of ale for them.

Raina took a swig, trying to clear her mind, but something caught her eye as she set the mug down.

Eowyn had been speaking with Aragorn, who had ended up turning and walking away after just a few words were spoken. But the woman was still grinning from ear to ear.

Raina picked her mug up and followed Aragorn until he stopped, taking another swig now and then. It sent an unfamiliar buzz through her, seeing as she had never gotten drunk in the Shire. Their liquor was not strong enough to affect the part-Elf. But this… this was different. Perfect for getting rid of unhappy thoughts that had plagued her mind for ages.

“Hey,” she said softly, and Strider jumped a little before turning around.

“Oh,” he said, letting out a little sort. “I thought you were Eowyn.”

The Elf smirked, taking another swing of whiskey. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Aragorn shook his head and looked away. “She’s a lovely person. Really. But…”

Raina nodded. Eowyn was in love, and did not understand that Aragorn’s heart belonged to another.

“I mean, I know she’s your friend and everything…”

With this, Raina nearly snorted the whiskey up her nose. Not a pleasant experience.

“Right,” she said, pulling herself back together.

Aragorn tilted his head curiously, inviting Raina to continue.

“Well,” she started before taking a sip of liquor. “We were friends and everything, before Helm’s Deep. The day you came back… you know, when I greeted you… she thought I was flirting with you.”

She sighed, unhappy that the thoughts had come back to gnaw on her dizzied mind. She took another sip without a thought.

“Anyways,” by now the mug was empty and Raina’s speech was almost slurred. When she looked into the mug and frowned, Aragorn offered her his. She smiled and accepted, and he pour more than half of his rum into her mug. She thankfully took a long sip, hoping her worries would soon disappear.

“So. Before the battle, when I saw her in the caves, she called me a dirty whore in front of all the women and children.” Raina shook her head in annoyance.

Aragorn stared at her for a moment thoughtfully. “So that’s why you looked the way you did in the armory.”

Raina nodded, and Strider continued. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I knew you weren’t… flirting… with me, and so would anyone else if they knew how we are…”

“Like a family,” Raina said in confidence. “You’re my brother.”

Aragorn nodded in agreement. “See! She wouldn’t have said that if she knew…”

He trailed off, and then looked up at the Elf again. “But maybe she was just jealous. I mean, I did come to greet you first.”

Raina nodded. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

Aragorn wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him. “I’m still sorry that she did that.”

Raina hugged him back, nodding into his chest. When they let go, she stood and picked her mug up again.

“I think that I’m going to go find my favorite cousins,” she said with a grin. It was so nice to be able to just stand up and decide you want to see your friends and loved ones. It was something that Raina had not been able to do these past few months.