Epilogue

Three days later, Aragorn and the Rangers were finally leaving Wildmere, the village that had been ravaged by its own inhabitants. In the last couple of days, they had seen a justice system set into place. An impartial judge was declared and both sides of the conflict had agreed to abide by any ruling. Both sides were horrified that all of the damage had occurred because of a misunderstanding. Berwen had spoken at the proceedings, giving his account of what had happened. He also asked that they try to put an end to all of the anger and distrust that caused the escalation of the violence. Keane also spoke and asked that he and Berwen be allowed to stay friends. He had been scared by Berwen's father, but Berwen was still his best friend. The villagers seemed moved by the words of the children. The final ruling asked that all those involved in the destruction help in the rebuilding of all the homes that had been destroyed, and that they pool their resources to help the farmers replace their slaughtered livestock. They were all facing a food shortage because of the violence, and the town would have to work together to be able to trade enough with their neighboring towns to survive the coming winter. Finally understanding the true damage they had been a part of, each side realized that they would have to work together for their own survival. As for Red, he had willingly agreed to serve three months in jail, after helping with the rebuilding of the village. Cedric and his wife would be taking care of Berwen during his brief incarceration. Berwen had been understanding of the sentence, and had agreed to stay with his friend and his family, knowing that his father would be able to return to him once the three months was over.

Rumen looked back at the village as they left it behind. "Do you think the peace will hold?"

Aragorn sighed and tried to figure out how to answer that. "I do not know, Rumen. The human race is capable of such hatred and fear that sometimes I do not know if we are capable of overcoming it. They have lived with this hatred and distrust of each other for so very long that I am not sure those who have felt it will be able to move past it to forge a lasting peace. I fear more battles could occur if tempers rage out of control again."

Rumen's face fell at the thought that the violence of the village may start up again after a time of peace.

"But, I do have hope," Aragorn said. "Berwen and Keane have remained true friends throughout all of this, and perhaps one friendship can turn the tide. Their fathers have made peace already, and though they may never be friends, they will not be likely to suspect each other of wrongdoing again. This experience has changed them both. Perhaps there is still hope."

Rumen looked back once more at the village. A small smile crossed his face as he thought of the two boys that he had watched play together. "Yes, perhaps there is."

The End