Merry rode on the back of Hasufel with Aragorn. The night was dark as they rode forward, Miril beside them and Legolas and Gimli on the other side. King Theoden and Éomer went with them, and their Rohirrim behind. It was several hours later that a man from the back rode forward and brought a warning.

"There is a great company on horseback coming up to us!" He panted. "They are riding hard and will soon overtake us!"

Éomer rode immediately to the back while Aragorn and Miril dismounted to stand on either side of the King. They heard a great halt of hooves and voices.

"Who are you to trespass in Rohan?" Éomer demanded.

"Rohan?" came a familiar voice. "Rohan? At last."

Miril couldn't believe her ears. Was it really him? So far from home?

"Who are you?" asked Éomer.

The man straightened up. "Halbarad Dunedan, Ranger of the North. We seek Aragorn son of Arathorn our brother. We heard he was in need and that we would find him here."

Aragorn cried out in joy. "You have found him!"

Both Miril and Aragorn rushed forward. Halbarad smiled widely when he noticed them and he dismounted. Miril embraced him like a small child.

"Father!" she breathed in his familiar scent. "How come you here?"

Halbarad smiled and embraced Aragorn as well. "We were summoned by Lady Galadriel. Thirty I have with me of the Dunedain, but also the sons of Elrond ride with us."

Miril gaped. She desperately looked around and her eyes fell on the Twins as they led their horses forward. Beside them was Daeroch also, riderless. As Aragorn introduced Halbarad to Theoden and Éomer, she greeted them.

"Mae govannen, mellon-nín," Elladan smiled. "We brought your horse."

"Hello little one," Elrohir chuckled, dismounting.

Miril raced up to them and kissed Elrohir before pulling him and his brother into a hug. She was crying and laughing at the same time, so overcome with emotion was she.

"Beyond all hope you have come to me," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Truly did I doubt we would meet again."

Elladan laughed. "We told you we'd see each other again."

Elrohir, still reeling from her kiss, noted she bore his brooch. He traced its outline with his finger and smiled at her.

"Why did you doubt, little one?"

She shrugged. "You were very far away."

"That matters not," Elrohir insisted. "We will always be with you."

She rested her head on his chest and breathed in his scent. They would always be there for her. Always.

The company was ordered to mount up and keep moving. Miril pet Daeroch's flank and kissed his nose before pulling herself up onto her horse. Aragorn and Halbarad dropped back to ride with them. It was her family, together again, missing only Eldir her brother. If only he could've been there.

"We decoded the meaning of my dream," Miril spoke to the Twins as Halbarad and Aragorn were engaged in conversation. "And I know now of my ancestry."

The Twins looked at each other, and then her, in surprise. Elladan broke the awkward silence first.

"It was not our wish to keep you from the truth," he said.

His brother agreed. "We were following the wishes of our betters."

"I know," Miril nodded. "And though I wish I had known, there is no use blaming you."

"Now what of the dream," Elladan asked.

Aragorn quickly butted in. "Do not speak of the dream so out in the open."

"Aragorn is right," Halbarad agreed quickly. "Such things must be kept quiet, especially with regards to who you are."

The wind blew Miril's hair out of her face as they rode on. The small family was content to ride in silence for awhile, relishing each other's company. But finally they had to get down to business.

"Aragorn," Elrohir changed the subject. "I bring a message from my father. 'The days are short. If thou art in haste, remember the Paths of the Dead.'"

Aragorn grimaced. "Ever are my days short. But I will be very hard pressed before I take that road."

They all agreed in silence.

"What is that you bear, my friend?" Aragorn asked Elladan. For he seemed to be holding a spear with wrapped cloth.

"This is from our sister. It comes with a message. 'The days now are short. Either our hope cometh, or all hopes end. Therefore I send thee what I have made for thee. Fare well, Elfstone.'"

Aragorn nodded in quiet contemplation. "I know now what it is. Bear it for me a while longer, friend."

The night passed them by. Miril rode between Elrohir and her father Halbarad. She felt like everything was right with the world for those few peaceful moments. It was like she was back home in the North, her sole job to hunt down the orcs and protect the Shire's borders. It was all so much simpler then. Now she was caught up in a war. It was an important war, a war she'd give her life for, but a war nonetheless. That was not what she had imagined her life being five years previous. Certainly not.

The moon was low in the sky and the sun just beginning to peep over the horizon when they arrived at the Deeping Coomb outside Helm's Deep. They dismounted and set up camp. They would rest for a few hours and then take counsel. Miril was walking among the Dunedain when she saw her friend.

"Althea!" Miril cried in glee. She ran towards her.

"Mir!" smiled the other woman. 'It is good to see you safe."

They embraced, as two friends will after being parted for long. Indeed they had not seen each other for nearly an entire year despite having grown up and trained with one another.

"Where are you sleeping?" Miril asked her friend.

"I'm with Morwen and Idril. It's already quite tight, I'm afraid." Althea sighed.

"That's alright," nodded Miril. "I'll sleep somewhere else."

"Indeed." Althea smiled. "Sleep well, my friend."

Miril waved goodbye and went to find the Twins. Maybe they had room in their tent. After all, the number of times she had bunked with them in the wild was more than she could count. Indeed she found them more than willing to lend her their tent space.