Aragorn: 20 years old

Elladan and Elrohir waited at Elrond's door. They wanted to find out what was wrong with Aragorn and why he had snapped at them. They had never seen him act in such a horrible and shocked mood before.

Once Elrond opened the door and saw the twins concerned faces he immediately thought to Aragorn and asked,

"Did something happen to him? To Estel?"

"We were coming to talk to you about him," Elladan said calmly, "Did you tell him?"

Elrond nodded and took both his sons inside to sit down and talk.

"Did you see him? How was he doing?" Elrond eagerly asked handing the twins fresh, hot tea.

"Yes, he ran straight into me and fell over. It was almost like he his body was still living, but his soul was not. He faltered when we tried helping him and he pushed away," Elladan explained to the worried father.

"He ran into the woods before we could stop him," Elrohir added and took a sip of his tea.

"Oh, Estel," Elrond murmured sadly, "I feel so guilty keeping everything from him, but he has to understand. We were all trying to protect him and we still are. He must get it all,"

"Do you think he will come back?" Elrohir asked.

"That's a silly question. Of course, he will. He just wants time alone," Elladan said to his brother.

"I feel something wrong about this. I think we should look for him," Elrohir said looking only a little less concerned as Elrond himself.

"Give him until tonight and I am sure he will return," Elladan suggested.

The twins saw the uncertainty on Elrond's face. Elrond looked up and said,

"I feel he will be gone for some time. He looked... so confused... so frightened. Estel doesn't want to be a king," Elrond said and racked a slow hand through his long, silky brown hair.

Elladan and Elrohir nodded. Elrohir spoke up and said,

"We shall give him till the morning, but if he is not back by then, I can't stand but to look for him,"

"I agree," Elladan nodded and took a sip of his tea.

"Okay," Elrond said.

"I am sure he is fine. You just have to have hope in our young, Estel," Elrohir said.

"Hope," Elrond whispered under his breath.

-----

Aragorn staggered through the dark forest, stumbling over rocks and shrubs on the ground. He could not believe what was happening and wasn't even sure what he was doing anymore.

Surely, Elrond has gotten everything wrong and my life will go back to normal when I go back home. I could never be king. I don't want to be king. It would never work. My name is Estel, not Aragorn.

He tried and tried to convince himself that all that was happening was a big joke, a big trick that his twin brothers had talked Elrond into convincing him. Aragorn walked and walked, and it wasn't until he tripped over a dead tree branch that he acually remembered what he was doing.

On his stomach on the forest floor, he looked around in the dark. All the trees and bushes were familiar and he knew where he was. Suddenly he got really exhausted and lay his head on the moist soil ground. He thought that if he went to sleep, he would wake up from the horrible dream he was having and be right back in his own bed in Rivendell.

As the wolves howled and the owls hooted and scooped up their prey, Aragorn knew he had nothing to worry about. He would wake up in his own bed in Rivendell.

At home.

-----

The next time Aragorn woke up, he was still on the forest floor. He realized he was not in his bed and began to panic. He sat up fast and hit his head on a low tree branch. Aragorn hunkered back down, and rested his head on the ground again. He rolled to his back and noticed it was a little bright out. It looked like the sun had just risen.

That's when Aragorn started to recollect everything that had happened yesterday. It was never a dream and he was really out in the middle of the forest spending the night on the cold ground. He sighed and sat up as his stomach rumbled.

He was not ready to go back home, not yet. Sleepily, Aragorn stood and walked to a nearby river. It was the same one that he had fallen into when he was eleven years old and almost drown. Elrohir had saved him from the Orc that had grabbed his ankle and pulled him under.

Approaching the river for water, Aragorn looked around at his surroundings. He only heard the birds chirping and the distant sounds over other prowlers on the hunt for breakfast. Aragorn squatted down next to the river and drank from it.

He thought about everything that had happened the night before. He had no time to grab the right things to survive in a forest, so he knew he would have to go back to Rivendell soon. Although he did have his knife if he needed to hunt down a small critter, like a rabbit or a frog to cook and eat. The human wasn't planning to stay in the forest for too long, but he just needed some time alone.

A sudden voice from far away, traveling on the air caught his ears making Aragorn look up.

"Estel!"

Aragorn knew it was probably his brothers or Lagorion looking for him. Though, he didn't want to be found yet. Swiftly, and quietly like shadows, Aragorn sprang away from the river and ran away from the voices crying out his name.

For the rest of the day, Aragorn could hear the Elves searching for him, but he didn't need rescuing. He would find his own way back home when he wanted to. The Elves would just have to be patient with him.