It was very cold and damp. It wasn’t actually raining but the mist in the air was so thick that it might as well have been. The plane she had been on had flown into some turbulence. Anna laughed to herself.

"Turbulence ha!"

She had flown in planes before many times when she was a child and the way the wind had twisted the plane and thrown it around like a toy made the word "turbulence" an extreme understatement. She was numb now, physically as well as emotionally. The pain in her arm had made her pass out whenever she accidentally moved it. Her head also ached though she wasn’t sure how bad her head wound was. The mirror in the bathroom had completely shattered leaving only slivers. The worst part of the whole thing was that she had been the only one to survive the crash. She had no idea where she was or which direction to go to find civilization. Well, that wasn’t exactly true; she knew she was somewhere in Europe, but which country she was in was anyone’s guess. She had stayed with the plane or at least as close to it as she dared after it had caught fire, thinking that it was the smartest action. Any rescue or search would look for survivors at the crash site. This is what she thought the first two days. On the third day, when no one had shown up and not so much as a plane or helicopter had flown over, she started to worry. She wasn’t an R.N. or anything, but she wasn’t an idiot either. She knew a person could survive three weeks without food but only three days without water. She had to find some water and she had to be able to find her way back here to be rescued by whoever came looking.

Her thoughts then ran over the things she feared. What if no one came looking? It had been two days already with no sign of anyone. Why hasn’t anyone showed up? Was there such a thing as wilderness left in Europe? If so, was she so far into the middle of it that it would take three days to get to her? What was she going to do for water? She had to find some! Worse yet it was getting foggy. How was she going to find her way back to the crash site in the fog?

Well she had to do something , anything or she would die of thirst and she was definately not going to have someone find she died of exposure just because she had not used the sense God gave a coot and looked for water. It wasn’t as if she was in the desert after all; she was in a forest surrounded by trees, so there had to be water somewhere right?

"Right", she murmured to herself . "So pick a direction, pray it was the right one and leave some sign of which way you went and that you are alive."

She found as many rocks as she could and cleared a spot as near to the wreck as she could stomach. The stench coming from the plane now was horrible. Debris from the plane lay everywhere. It had been horrible. She could still hear her fellow passengers death screams. She could still see the burnt bodies. It could have been her that died. Some of them were so much younger than she was. Why had they died and she been allowed to live? Life and death were not fair. Cruel drunks like her uncle were to stubborn to die. While kind brave young people with so much to live for like her daughter, died fighting wars for people who did not even care that she had given her life defending them The closer she got the more she felt like tossing her cookies, except she did not have any cookies left to toss.

" Damn it!", she swore,. "Why do I keep torturing myself with thoughts of food?"

Her left arm was numb and she couldn’t wiggle her fingers . It was probably fractured or broken, definitely badly bruised, but hopefully not bleeding internally. She had made a make- shift sling out of her sweater on the first day in a hopeless attempt to keep it from moving. She had born four daughters with a minimum of medication, but this had hurt one hell of a lot worse, at least at first. Now it was numb and that frightened her.

‘What if I lose movement in it?’ she thought. Even worse, what if gangrene set in? She had spent eighteen months in Central America when she was seventeen. She had seen there what happened to people whom for one reason or another did not get decent medical help for injuries. She closed her eyes tight for a second against the dark thoughts.

" No indulging yourself in a pity party," she scolded herself.

"You are alive; you are going survive this. You have been afraid, alone and hurt before and lived. You are going to live through this if it kills you!"

‘Damn ‘ she thought ‘I am talking to myself I must be losing it!’ She found she did not have enough rocks to leave a long note and finally just spelled

"Alive 2 D Water?".

She used the few stones left over to make a crude arrow pointing which direction she was heading. How far could water be anyhow?

She had been walking most of the day when she finally heard the unmistakable sound of a river. She was wet, tired, sore, hungry, thirsty scared, and alone, but she finally had some hope. She headed toward the sound. On either side of her was a large stone pillar, and as she glanced at them she wondered if she had stumbled into some sort of Stone Henge or castle ruin. Suddenly she saw someone coming toward her. Her eyes were bleary with relief.

‘Thank God,’ she thought, ‘Rescue at last!’

"Hey it’s about time you found me! I was starting to think no one would co..."

She paused in mid sentence as she saw whom, or rather what it was coming at her. It was not like any animal she had ever seen but it could not possibly be human even though it was in clothes.

"Oh no," she said to herself, " I must have a concussion and I am hallucinating" She saw it take out a sword and told herself "This is not real I am seeing things."

The creature was hideous and it reeked. Then it reached out and grabbed her . She screamed and tried to get away as she realized this had to be real. It grimaced at her, hit her over the head and her world went black.

When she came to, she was inside some sort of room. Her head was swimming and she was having trouble focusing. The floor seemed to be Old World fancy tile of some sort and the walls were lined with bookcases full of antique books. She was lying on the floor, so whoever brought her here must not be very civilized. Surely they would see she needed help and have put her on a bed or a sofa? There were several sets of double doors between the bookcases and in the middle of the room was a pedestal with one of those electric globes that had static electricity, that followed your fingers when you touched them.

She could hear voices and looked toward the direction they had come from. In walked an old man with the longest beard she had ever seen. Behind him was a guy with stringy black hair. They were both dressed weird. They looked like something right out of the Middle Ages.

‘Right ‘’ she thought to herself,’ ‘I AM hallucinating’

The old one started talking to her, but she couldn’t understand a thing he said.

"Sorry buddy, I don’t speak your language." He didn’t seem to be easy to convince as he kept rattling on in his own language. He obviously wanted an answer of some sort.

" Me." " She pointed at herself,.

"No Speak." She shook her head and pointed at her lips while pretending to say something.,

" You." She pointed at him,. "

"Language." She opened and closed her hand in what she hoped was a universal sign for talking. She then put her hand to her ear and shrugged with what she hoped was a clueless face.

She then tried what few words she knew in European languages.

" Sprekensie duetch?" Got a clueless facial response.

"Um...Parles vous France?" Same reaction.

" Hablas Espanole?" Nothing

" Damn it, don’t most Europeans speak English as a second language? What is wrong with you? Me need water."

She pointed to herself and pretended to drink out of an imaginary glass. Stringy Hair just stared at her with a grin on his face that made her feel uncomfortable, like he was undressing her with his eyes. Old beardy was not so amused. He backhanded her and started yelling something. Then Stringy Hair picked her up a little off the floor and the tone in his voice sounded like he was trying to talk her into cooperating while

shooting furtive glances at Old Beardy.

‘Oh man,’ she thought ’ ‘Either I am hallucinating or these weirdoes are some sort of smugglers or terrorists and I stumbled right into their hideout. What else could go wrong?’

"Sauruman, Sauruman!" ,cried a loud commanding voice from outside. "Sauruman come forth!"

She couldn’t understand what was being said, but whoever it was seemed to be in charge of these two and by the tone in his voice not very happy with them either.

‘Well good,’ ’she thought,’ ‘the old so and so deserves being locked up for hitting me’

"You tell them off good whoever you are" she mumbled.

Stringy Hair went to the window opened it and said something. ’So maybe Stringy Hair is called Sauruman?’

Whom ever was outside spoke some foreign language with stringy hair for a bit, then stringy hair came back in and said something to Old Beardy. Old Beardy looked real pissed at stringy hair and then went out to talk to the guy outside. She did not know what they were saying but Old Beardy’s tone was that of someone whining with just cause after having been woken up by an idiot.

Both stringy hair and Old Beardy were occupied by outside man and Anna thought

‘whoever is out there, they sure are pissed at these two, so maybe while they have their backs turned I can get outside and get this guy to help me?’ Things could not possibly get worse.

So carefully keeping one eye on Stringy and Beardy she backed toward the door praying it would not creak and give her away. The door clicked as she turned the knob. She glanced back to see if they had noticed, but they were all wound up with their discussion outside and had seemingly forgotten about her. She found the staircase right across from the door and hurried down it as fast as her condition would allow her. There were windows spaced along the outside wall going down the stairs so she could tell she was getting closer to the ground floor.

‘’Oh please don’t leave before I get out. Please!’ She mentally begged. ’

"Do not trouble yourself, little one. They will wait.’" She heard a voice and was so startled she almost missed the next step and stumbled down the stairs.

Catching herself wrenched her arm painfully and her lip was swollen and throbbing where beardy had hit her. Her head pounded too and she was so scared she thought she might wet her pants. Her head hummed and she could feel herself going into shock.

"Oh god, please don’t let me pass out before I reach them."’ She could see light coming out from around the cracks in a doorway at the bottom of the stairs. Then she reached the bottom few steps and realized they were under water.

"Oh great," she groaned. " well, in for a penny, in for a pound".

She said to herself as she pushed her way out of the last door. Then she was outside and still moving as fast as her feet could carry her when she felt fly past her head and heard something crash behind her.

The crash that sounded behind her scared the last shred of nerve out of her. She turned jumped and screamed . Something round rolled down the now broken stonework stairs and out into the water. Her eyes followed the round thing for a few seconds then looked up as she heard someone splashing toward her. He was maybe three feet tall and at first she thought it was a child. As he drew closer she could see what looked like very large hairy feet.

‘’Alright,’ she thought, ‘’Not a kid, a very small adult.’

She watched as he picked up the round thing that had shattered the stair and realized it was the glass ball she had seen inside on the pedestal.

‘It’s strange,’, she mused, ‘the things I thinks of when I am at the end of my wits.’

The little man dressed like he was headed to a costume party was saying something to her. She couldn’t understand a word again, but it did not really matter because she had given up and was now babbling incoherently to herself.

"This is unreal! My plane crashes in the middle of nowhere. Not a soul comes to look for the survivors. A Michael Jackson reject ape clunks me over the head. An old man with one hell of a right cross belts me across the face so hard my jaw feels like it’s going to explode. Crystal balls almost fall on my head as if it did not ache enough already. No one in this place speaks anything close to English or anything I even vaguely recognize. I am seeing things and babbling to myself like an idiot. This is the most vivid dream I have ever had in my life, so if I am in the hospital high on pain meds then whatever they gave me is sure good stuff. Forget it. I give up!"

The little man looked over his shoulder, as Old Beardy’s twin brother rode up. The old man on the horse held out his hand while talking to the little man and took the glass ball away from him. He wrapped it carefully in his cloak and then turned his attention toward her. He was speaking to her or at least at her and his voice sounded like he was a reasonable guy. Anna was way past the point of reason though she sank down on her knees and started to cry. She felt the little man’s hand on her shoulder. It was obvious from his tone he was trying to comfort her and she sniffed and wiped her eyes on the edge of her sleeve. It was then that her eyes were drawn to the large hairy feet once more.

" Don’t tell me,", she laughed softly. "Let me guess. You are late for a very important date?"

She could hear her head humming again. The voices around her sounded very far away. Bright white lights danced in front of her eyes. The world spun and she passed out again.

She slipped in and out of consciousness during the entire ride from the tower to the place where they stopped to camp. In the moments while she was awake she knew she was on top of a horse. In her few moments of lucidity she thought

‘’Don’t they have nine-one-one in Europe? Are we really so far out in the middle of nowhere that we have to travel by horseback?’ Damn, my backside is numb.’

Once or twice when she came to, whoever was behind her holding her on the horse would reach around without stopping and offer her a canteen filled with some sort of drink. She did not recognize the flavor but at least she wasn’t thirsty any more. She was sore all over, but at least they were on their way back to civilization, so she did her best to be a good patient and guest and hope that when they got where they were going they gave her the padded cell with a view. By the time they stopped to camp for the night Anna had fallen into an exausted but fitful sleep.

Anna was having a nightmare.

"This is your captain speaking; we are experiencing some turbulence. Please put your trays and chairs in their upright positions and fasten your seat belts."

A few seconds passed and then the same voice asked them to put their heads between their knees. A huge ape like creature came running out of the captain’s cabin brandishing a sword at her. Behind him the white rabbit hopped up and started singing to her. The timber of his voice rose and fell like a bell chorus. It was beautiful. The apelike creature in dirty clothes started throwing glass balls at her and she kept trying to dodge them. An old man raised a huge sword and swung it towards her neck yelling

"off with your head".

Something loud and shrill screamed in her ear. It ran shivers of terror up her spine. She woke startled and screaming.

A tall slender blonde male put his arms around her and whispered softly to her. She had no idea what he was saying but she could listen to that soft, musical, masculine voice for hours. She turned around to get a look at his face. Handsome did not even begin to describe it. This was the kind of drop dead gorgeous man that made all women do a double take. She took every feature of him in until her gaze landed on his ears.

" Man if I am still dreaming I hope I don’t wake up because this has finally started to get good" she mumbled to herself.

The male before her cocked one brow at her and tilted his head while smiling. He said something to her and by the tone in his voice she knew he was asking her something.

"I have not got a clue what you just said, hon, but if it means you will stay here and let me ogle you then please by all means continue and if anyone up there gives a heck about me I won’t wake up for a good long while."

Sauruman had received his orders from Sauron, and he had followed the letter of those orders if not exactly the spirit. The Orthanc stone was tied to the one the enemy possessed and in his arrogance he had thought to discover the outcome of the great war they were surely on the verge of. The enemy had seen his thoughts and steered the visions revealed to the leader of the Istari. Saruman’s heart longed for power. He had gambled and had lost the battle, but perhaps he could hedge his bets and still win his private war. He couldn’t use the orthanc stone without revealing too much to the great eye. Gandalf had been right about one thing and one thing only in Sauruman’s opinion.: The great eye did not share power. The ring should have come to him, It would have but for the grey fool’s interference. Maybe, just maybe, there was another way to get the vital information he needed to stay one step ahead of all those who would oppose him .

Sauruman concentrated hard in fervor of his greed. What he intended required much strength, but if he could just accomplish it the end would be worth the means. Sauruman, hidden in his tower alone, had used much of his strength and power and reached down across the ages. He found what he was looking for: .A mortal woman.

She was weak and soft even for a mortal and she had just experienced a loss so grave that her heart no longer clung to its place in vastness of the universe. Yes, she would have to do. He had no time nor yet enough strength to try a second time. He sent across the barriers of boundless time and space the father of all storms and a portal. Making the great flying machine plummet to the ground was a simple feat compared to getting this stubborn daughter of an orc to come thru the portal.

"Blast her and all her kind for costing me so much. This should have been at least somewhat easier.," he thought.

"The damnable creature had waited two days before even moving from the place where the machine had fallen and been consumed by fire. When at last he thought she would finally get off her overgrown rear and move into the open so he could take her, she had wasted time leaving some sort of message hoping for a rescue which would never find her."

He could not take her while she was too near the machine or any tree lest the bulk of what came through with her made him lose both her and whatever else was with her. At long last she was in the open. No trees blocked his grasp nothing larger than a pebble was near her. Sauruman used his reserves and sent a great fog and in it’s midst a portal set directly in her path. Within moments the trap was sprung and she was just at the outskirts to the vale.

He would have brought her nearer but he did not wish to risk an overly hungry uruk eating her before he had time to question her. He called one of the minor Uruk -Hai captains to him. Most had gone to fight, but a few he had reserved, just in case.

"There is a female on the edges of the vale heading this way. I want her brought to me alive and unspoiled do you understand?" " Sauruman ordered.

" I understand, my master," it replied.

" Bring her directly to me. Stop for no one and you will be rewarded. Now go, quickly."

The great beast had run the short distance quickly and without tiring. He found the creature easily. It shrieked in fear as the Uruk neared. The easiest way to make sure a quarry did not run was kill it. Sauruman had said it must be alive however, so he merely hit it over the head. If the mortal should die accidentally from the blow later, that was not his fault. He had carried out his orders to the letter and freshly dead human tasted even better. This one looked like it would make quite a feast, small it was, but plump and round.

The orc picked it up , threw it over his shoulder and ran all the way back to the white hand's tower. The smell of blood on the mortal was so deliciously tempting that only fear of his master’s wrath stopped him from taking a large sample of this future feast. He brought the mortal up the many stairs to the private study as his master had ordered. Once there he dropped his load unceremoniously on the floor and asked,

"My reward master?" .

"Here is your reward, my captain," ",Sauruman sneered as in one fluid movement of his staff he turned the mighty monster into a scorch mark on the rock. The woman was unconscious and a welt was obvious on her head .

" The fool could have killed her with that blow," he justified himself.

His prize was far too valuable to risk. He had given her water from a dampened rag held to her mouth. Usually he would have relegated such a task to one of his human servants, but the risk and cost of losing her to carelessness was too great. This was his last wager and he had spent on it nearly all he had. He could not afford anything happening to her. She was soft and obviously unused to any menial labor. She was unused to being alone in the wilds or she surely would have provided better for herself than she had over the days he had observed her. Yes, this one would be easy to intimidate to get what he needed from.

Everything was going better than expected when suddenly things took an unexpected turn.

The woman had remained unconscious from the knock on her head and her days of being without food and water longer than he had hoped. This delay alone would have been bad enough, but then the ents had attacked and destroyed everything within the circle leading to orthanc. His uruks had fought hard and taken some of the interfering tree herders with them, but at last the ents had breached the dam sending the river flooding through the valley and sweeping away his servants. When the woman finally awoke, Sauruman had begun to question her.

He then discovered his first miscalculation. She would not speak his language and no amount of cajoling, intimidation or voice control could sway her. He had struck her at last in frustration. No matter, he would find a way to make her communicate what he must know.

Then to add insult to injury Gandalf, two of his overindulged halflings, an elf, a dwarf and a man in the company of king theoden had ridden in like thieves and had the nerve to think to order him to his own door at their beck and call. He was exhausted from the exertion of bringing the girl here and now he would have to deal with this rabble. It was unfair and irritating. While he had bandied words with Gandalf, The woman awoke, showed more wit than he had credited her with and fled.

Sauruman was incensed and whispered through barred teeth as loud as he dared without those below hearing, that Grima, who should have been watching her, deserved any blame if she escaped the tower. It was already too late by then though. Terrified of Sauruman’s wrath, Grima took no thought and grabbing the nearest thing to hand launched it out the window at her head.

Sauruman's only consolation after his staff had been broken and his power robbed of him was that Gandalf would not be able to use this tool to ride out the coming storm either.

Gandalf was tired of arguing with Sauruman. He had offered Sauruman a way to redeem himself and lend aid, which was desperately needed. Sauruman had refused. Mithrandir pitied him. Yes, Sauruman had cost them much, too much. Mithrandir wondered if he would have been able to withstand the temptation to look in the orthanc stone?

He would not do so now, of course, not now that he knew who held its nearest companion. Each of the seven seeing stones had been tied most closely to their immediate companion, stone then in turn less so tied to the other seven. It could be likened to the great beacons between Rohan and Gondor. One was lit and that led to sparking its nearest companion and so on. Sauruman in his greed had unwisely used the
orthanc stone, unheedingful of the fact that not all the stones had been accounted for.

Gandalf shook his head sadly. It was a shame and a pity that one so wise had fallen into foolishness. He was in the middle of contemplating these things and had come to a sad decision.

"Sauruman," He spoke in a cold clear voice, "Your staff is broken. Go!"

Had Gandalf's attention been before him instead of above him, he would have seen the slip of a girl running out of the tower before she almost ran headlong into him. Almost at the same instant a globe came flying over the edge of the tower from above. It glanced off the railing above and smote the stair on which he had stood, nearly missing the girl's head and shattering the stone work in a great flash of sparks. Gandalf turned to follow her down the stairs wondering what in Arda a woman would be doing in Orthanc. He then noticed pippin coming up the steps slowly, as if he carried a great weight.

*"Here my lad, I'll take that," He said.

He dared not touch the thing now that he knew how it had ensnared Sauruman, so he wrapped it in his cloak, then he turned his attention to the young woman. She was shaking, weeping, and babbling gibberish. Pippin had paused on his way past her, moved to pity by her tears and tone as she had sunk to her knees and was now crying openly and in more earnest.

"There, there, miss, don't cry. It's going to be all right. You are with friends now," Pippin had told her.

He watched as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She then looked straight at him, tilted her head, with a gentle smiled gently, and said something Pippin could not understand then fainted at his feet.

Gandalf reached out with his senses, wondering what new devilry this might be. She did not feel foul, indeed she seemed terrified and not a little hysterical, but he sensed no malice in her. Her arm hung at an odd angle and in the dim light it looked as though her face had been badly bruised. She wore strange garb and at first glance a less observant person might even have mistaken her for a male. There were things to do and places to be, he could not just leave a defenseless young woman alone in the midst of these ruins. He contemplated giving her to Treebeard's charge and then thought better of it. Treebeard would likely have his hands full keeping Sauruman inside the tower and caring for the fellow Ents whom he loved. This was a puzzle, which needed an answer, and there was no time just now to work it out.

Then the young woman had fainted. Legolas with his keen sight and elven senses had dismounted and was lifting her onto his horse before Gandalf had actually decided to take her with them. Well that settled it; if neither he, Legolas nor Aragorn sensed any ill will from her, they could at the least remove her from Orthanc and take her back to camp.

Many people had been captured and killed all over the westfold. Perhaps someone back at camp knew this strange woman. Too much blood had already been shed on Sauruman's account. Gimli had not been particularly pleased when Legolas had sprung down from their horse and gone to the side of the young woman who had just fainted at Pippin's feet. He was even less pleased when Legolas suggested that he should carry the girl on his horse and Gimli should ride with …omer. Gandalf had helped steady the woman while Legolas mounted.

She was short, even by mortal standards, and her condition spoke of the ill treatment she had received. It made Legolas' blood burn to think how this poor creature must have been tortured. She had floated in and out of awareness the whole while they prepared to depart, though she moaned in pain when he had touched her injured arm. Legolas took his wine skin and placed a few drops of miruvor on her lips, hoping this would revive her enough to make the long ride ahead of them .

Gandalf was occupied, conversing first with Treebeard then with …omer and lastly Theoden.
The strangest thing about this young woman Gandalf contemplated, was neither her clothes nor her injuries. It was unusual, but not unheard of, for a female to travel in male clothing for the sake of protection, or even for convenience if one had to ride fast straddling a horse rather than side saddle.

No, what was oddest about the young woman was her speech. He and Aragorn were both widely traveled and spoke, or at the least understood, every language in Middle Earth, and this young woman did not seem to speak anything recognizable to either of them.

It was night by the time they stopped to make camp amid the heather.
Legolas frowned as he lifted the woman down from his horse. She had injuries, of course, but none of them seemed so bad that she should still be in such a state. He had become more and more concerned by her condition as they forded the river and made their way toward the place they would camp. She had drifted in and out of consciousness and though she seemed warm and even a bit feverish to his touch, she had shivered as if chilled to the bone. Legolas gave her a little more miruvor when she roused enough to be able to accept it. It was precious liquid and it had not been easy to ask Mithrandir if she might have a bit to assist in her healing. Legolas's brows dropped a bit lower over his eyes in an expression so reminiscent of his father that it would leave no doubt to any who saw them together whose son he was.

"What is it Laddie?" Gimli asked, for it was unlike Legolas to frown.

The only answer Gimli had received was a slightly puzzled look, a shake of the head and silence. Gimli chalked this reaction up to the fact that elves were strange folk and he settled down to sleep. Legolas took it on himself to watch over the young woman while she slept. Her rest was fitful. Legolas also rested but did not sleep. Every time the woman cried out, in her sleep it made Legolas wince, almost as though he were the one who suffered. She had been through a great deal; of this he was certain. He could feel her pain in the very core of his being even before he had lifted her to his horse. On the entire road from Orthanc to Dol Baran her pain had impressed itself on him in an almost physical way, and he now had a slight headache, which was a thing nearly unheard of in elves. He did not want to touch her any more than he had to because of this and yet, whenever she would stir and cry out, he was drawn to her almost as a moth to a flame. He wondered at this strange reaction in himself. Elves had respect for every living thing and to see any of them tortured would of course stir them to a lesser or greater degree. This woman was different, however. She felt different, though how exactly he could not explain even to himself and this too troubled him. The fact that he truly did not know how to answer Gimli's inquiry when he had asked what was wrong troubled him even more.

While Legolas considered all of this, he noted that the girl's eyes were shifting back and forth under the lids as those of mortals did when they dreamt. It was quite obvious from her murmurs and tossing in her sleep that this dream was not pleasant. He lay his hand on her head, stroking her hair gently and whispering words of comfort as one would to a child having a nightmare. It was then that a Nazgul flew over and gave its eerie cry. Anna awoke screaming. Legolas, reacting out of instinct to calm her fears as much as to quiet her, found himself holding her in his arms.

"Do not fear little one. The evil has past".

She turned in his arms and looked at him. Her gaze traveled over his face and finally focused on his ears. A sardonic smile lit her face as she continued to stare. He had seen that look before.

"It is good to see you are awake at last, though it may be better if you return to your slumber. Why do you stare? Have you never seen an elf before?" He said in the tone that a parent would use gently correcting a child.

Instead of having the desired effect, it seemed to bring her even more fully awake and from the tone she was using toward him, the last thing on her mind now was sleep. Gimli chose this moment to appear.

"Ahem , excuse me laddie, but Aragorn and Gandalf need a word with you. Sorry for the intrusion."

"You were not intruding; the lady was in terror from the fell beast. I was merely trying to comfort her."

Gimli made a noise in his throat

" You do not believe me?" asked Legolas.

" Oh, of course I believe you." Gimli rolled his eyes as soon as Legolas' back was turned.

Anna’s mind was still whirling full tilt. She was cold. One did not usually feel cold in dreams; not even medication or concussion induced ones. Anna had not been the type to try drugs, but she had been high as a kite once when her appendix was removed. She remembered it had left her mother in shock when she came to visit and Anna had been so high on the anesthetic she had asked her mom flat out,

"Who are you?"

She was also very hungry. Dreams never left one feeling like this. This could not be real though.
Anna’s maternal Grandma had been Old World Irish. They had known each other only a short time before she had died, but Granny O ’ Keith had told her stories about women who fell backwards in time and met the Sidhe. In the stories, though it was always two hundred years into the past. The people she had seen here were definitely not dressed in two hundred-year-old styles. No, their clothes looked more like something someone would wear in Rome or Greece. Thousands of years before, not hundreds. It couldn’t possibly be real could it? It had to be a drug induced dream right? The problem was it felt way too real.

" All right, suppose it is all real just for the sake of argument." She was talking to herself again. It was a bad habit she indulged in whenever she was very upset."That means I’m where exactly? And that guy with the pointy ears: he would be what? One of the Sidhe?"

When Legolas returned she decided to ask him. Legolas was busy putting things into his saddlebag, so she tapped his arm to get his attention. She could see his curiousity reflected on his face in the firelight. She knew this wasn’t going be easy and she remembered what had happened earlier when she tried to get her point across. Old beardy had backhanded her. She took a couple steps back to get beyond arm’s length just in case.

" You sidhe?" She pointed at him. He shook his head 'no', pointed back to himself and said,

"Legolas." She tried to repeat the name, pointing at him, she said

"Lauka Los?"

His eyebrows crept up to his hairline and his mouth dropped open. He shook his head vehemently and spoke slowly as though he was talking to someone who is either deaf or not too bright.

"Legolas"

She tried again

"Luk Lisse?" Gimli, who had returned, and was laughing heartily at this exchange.

Legolas looked very embarrassed and Gimli’s laughing was obviously not helping matters. He gave Gimli a sharp look and then tried again. Pointing to himself he said very clearly.

"Legolas".

Then, without giving her time to repeat it, he in turn pointed to her and raised one brow in question. He did not look very amused. She had quite obviously gotten his name wrong and whatever she had said was very strange and humorous.

"I just hope I did not call him stupid or something."
She thought.

There was no sense in insulting someone who had treated her decently so far. She then pointed to herself and said,

"Anna"

This brought an even worse stream of guffaws from Gimli, who turned to Legolas, laughing so hard it had brought tears to his eyes Legolas turned and went to find Aragorn.

" What?" She asked.

"What did I say that was so darn funny?"

Gimli couldn’t understand exactly what she was saying, but her tone had had the desired effect. Still smiling, he made a slight bow as if in apology and went off to follow his friend. Anna now found herself alone with her thoughts. Things looked and smelled so real. The fire felt warm, the night felt cool and breezy , her arm was still bothering her, even the heather had that fresh grass after a rain smell. Anna had had some vivid dreams in her time, but nothing like this. No, as hard as it was to imagine, this had to be real, she decided. All right, she told herself, think. She began talking to herself again.

"If this is real then all those stories of granny O' keith’s must have a foot in reality. So, all I have to do is find my way back to the place where I fell into this reality and I will be back home right?"

She mulled this over in her mind . In the stories it was always the heroine that got lost in the land of the elves, then after some fantastic adventure or other they found their way back the same way they came in. Which way was that? She had been out cold for most of the ride here and even if she had been conscious finding her way was not her strong suit. Her husband used to tell her that he thought she could manage to get lost in a round ten by ten room with only one door. In granny's stories, of course, everyone understood each other.

"I can’t even ask where the bathroom is for pity sake", she mumbled. Her thoughts drove her to pace as she talked to herself.

"I really do need to go to the bathroom come to think of it." She headed out toward the trees thinking .
"I won’t go beyond earshot. so I should be able to find my way back".

Meanwhile, Legolas and Gimli had found Aragorn and were discussing what should be done with the woman. The ride to Minas Tirith would be long and full of unknown danger.

"She is strange and different from any mortal I have ever known." Legolas told Aragorn.

"How do you know this?" replied Aragorn

"Can you not feel it ? There is a strangeness that flows in her like water in a river."

Gimli decided to take this opportunity to tease his friend and added, " Maybe you just have trouble accepting gifts."

"Gifts?" asked Aragorn. "She tried to give you something Legolas?"

Gimli interrupted, "Oh yes , laddie ,First she tried giving him a new name, and when that did not work, she tried giving him herself.

Aragorn's brows shot up as he looked at Legolas.

"That was not exactly what happened," Legolas said as he explained the conversation of sorts which had taken place.

"She has an elvish name. There are very few Rohirrim who would give their child an elvish name, especially here in the north. You know that most men are reluctant to have any dealings with elves."

Aragorn nodded in agreement. Most of the men folk here were going to ride with them. Legolas, being an elf , was much more open to the idea of people acting and thinking differently than he did. Even after all the elves had done to help at the battle of the Hornburg, still the people gawked and stared and said little.

" Some of the folk from Lothlorien who survived will be riding with us , but a small group will be returning to the wood to bring news to the Lord and Lady. We will send her with them." Aragorn decided.

Though all roads now were dangerous , the one north would probably be the safest one for her to take. If Frodo succeeded in destroying the ring there would be time later to find her people; and if he did not , then no place in Middle Earth would be safe for any of them.

King Theoden wished to leave as soon as possible. This meant Aragorn and his friends would have little time to explain the situation to the elves. The three of them returned to the place they had last seen the young woman but she was not there. It was Legolas with his keen sight that spotted her first heading into the underbrush.

"She is there." Legolas pointed to the edge of the darkness that surrounded Dol Baran, and without waiting for the others to catch up he went to retrieve her.

"What is the matter with you Anna? It is dangerous to be wandering alone. If I had been an orc you would be dead, or worse you would wish you were."

Anna did not understand anything he said with the exception of her name, but she could tell he was upset about something. He sounded angry. Anna could not understand why he seemed so upset with her and his tone was making her defensive.

"I can't understand a damn word you are saying," she responded in an apt imitation of Legolas's tone. " Nature calls all right? I am going behind the bushes!" She pointed to
the thick line of underbrush at the edge of the camp.

Legolas grabbed her arm and shook his head no. He had had enough of this. If she were too foolish to understand the danger then he would just have to make her understand somehow. Legolas still had an iron grip on her arm and was pointing in the opposite direction from the cover she needed for her potty break.

"Look," she said, "I need to go! You understand go pee?" She pointed roughly toward the area between her legs, crossing them and hoping this guy would get the hint when she started dancing from one foot to another.

Gimli and Aragorn had caught up with them by now. Aragorn was a little surprised at Legolas but tried to calm the situation.

"Legolas, calm down my friend you are frightening her," Aragorn said.

" Good," replied the still angry elf, "perhaps her fear will keep her from being the target of an orcish arrow."

"She looks like she needs the privy " added Gimli.

Legolas glared at Gimli shocked then turned his gaze back to Anna. Yes, he thought, she had pointed between her legs and into the bushes and she was now dancing around like a young elfling with an overfull bladder. Legolas' mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wide as the realization of what Gimli had said hit him. All she wanted was to relieve herself and he had acted like a troll. Legolas felt his face grow hot with embarrassment as he relaxed his grip on her arm a bit. What is wrong with me? He wondered. It should not have taken a dwarf to tell me something so obvious. Legolas led her gently to the edge of the brush, pointed to the bushes and waited.

"Well, its about time you caught on" she said. "Not the brightest bulb in the pack are you?" Anna regretted her tone almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth but she was angry and he had hurt her arm. It was still sore from the crash and here he was hauling her around like she was a rag doll.

Legolas could hear the tone of sarcasm in her voice, which did nothing
to assuage his mood.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" He asked her, still staring open mouthed. She was getting good at guessing his tones too. With her forefinger pointed down, she put one had in the air and made a circular motion. Again Gimli jumped in before Legolas had a chance to respond and stated the obvious.

"I think she wants us to turn our backs and give her some privacy."

Legolas glared at Gimli and purposely made an about face. Gimli made him feel foolish, which angered him; he was upset with the girl for being such a distraction, and perhaps most of all he was angry with himself for not having understood a simple situation.

"What is wrong with me?" Legolas mentally questioned himself once again. For the second time that day Legolas frowned deeply, looking like a young mirror image of his father.

Anna finished what she was doing and returned from behind the bushes. They all heard her but waited until she spoke to turn around. Anna wanted to wash her hands and there was no way she was going to ask tall blonde and angry where the water was, so she directed her question to Gimli. Making a washing motion with her hands she asked, "Is there any water close by?"

Gimli knew or thought he knew what she wanted he motioned back toward where the horse were tethered, took a canteen off the saddle pack and motioned for her to hold out her hands. As she held them out he poured a bit of water over them.

"Thank you," she said and smiled a bit.

Meanwhile Aragorn was thinking that the sooner they entrusted her to the group from Lothlorien, the sooner they could get under way

"Come," said Aragorn. "Let us be on our way." Gimli rode with Legolas, Merry with Aragorn, and the girl rode with …omer. The six of them made good time from Dol Baran to the fords of Isen.

From time to time Legolas would pass a quick glance toward the woman to see how she was. She seemed to be ignoring him completely. When they reached the ford, a group of riders overtook them, the Dunedain and the sons of Elrond. Together they rode steadily from there to Helm's deep, arriving early in the morning.

Anna noticed that some of the group that had joined them also had pointed ears and were as unnaturally tall and handsome as legolas. This however is where their similarities ended. Legolas was blonde and very fair skinned these two were obviously twins; they had raven black hair and were somewhat darker complected than legolas. They also had the same musical tone to their voices. Every once and a while when Legolas's horse pulled ahead a bit Anna would steal a glance at him. She had caught him more than once out of the corner of her eye doing the same thing but he never spoke a word. Anna found herself comparing Legolas to the twins. All three were drop dead gorgeous and she began to wish she spoke enough of thier language to know them a little better. The twins were certainly being friendlier than tall blonde and stubborn was and Anna smiled broadly at them receiving large answering smiles in return. At least Anna thought these two did not seem apt to drag her around by her sore arm and yell at her. Still Anna found herself wishing she could straighten things out with Legolas and find out if he always acted like Mr. Grumpy pants or if he had just had a bad week?

Anna was exhausted, hungry and thirsty. She ached in muscles she had forgotten existed Anna had been on a horse before, but she had never ridden very well and she certainly had never had to ride days at a time. When she dismounted she could hardly walk and felt she must look like some weird parody from a cowboy movie. Her hair was a tangled matted mess and she felt a bit lightheaded. Aragorn motioned for her to follow him. He led her to where Merry Legolas and Gimli were already starting to enjoy breaking their fast with some of the folk from Helm's Deep.

Someone placed a wooden plate in her hand with what looked like a ladle and she looked for a place to sit. As soon as she sat down she stood right back up. Her rear ached from having ridden so long.

…omer recognized her 'affliction' and said, "It would seem the lady is unused to riding."

Legolas knew by Eomer's tone that he found the fact strange in the extreme and wanted an explanation. Everyone in the Riddermark knew how to ride almost before they knew how to walk. A grown woman who did not know how to ride stuck out like a warg at a festival.

"She is merely exhausted …omer. Doubtless her injuries make staying horsed
difficult." Legolas replied hoping this reasoning would satisfy him.

…omer looked pensive for a moment then let the subject drop. He had seen the elf glance furtively at his riding companion the entire way from Dol Baran to the Deep and while he was still curious about her, he was not going to interfere. It was quite plain that this elf considered the woman somehow under his protection.

While Anna ate she thought about everything that had happened over the last few days. All around here were obvious signs that a battle had been fought. Many of the males bore gaping wounds. Some of the wounded were little more than children. People seemed to be trying to carry on with life as normal, something her oldest used to describe in her letters from her time in the USMC as 'going into survival mode'. Thinking about her daughter again made Anna sigh
heavily. If they had fought a hand-to-hand battle with an enemy with only primitive knives and machetes then these people had escalated by leaps and bounds in her opinion. Anna had never actually been in a battle herself but she had been in Guatemala when guerilla warfare had driven the villagers into the jungles protecting their families not only
against forces with better arms but also against the elements in the jungle. It would also explain why her tall blonde friend had been so reluctant to let her go into the bush alone and unarmed.
War was no game. It gave no second chances. If one happened to run into an ambush a civilian could wind up just as dead as a warrior could. Standing for what one believed in at any time was difficult it was ten times harder when one knew it meant going up against a force with the barest of weapons. When your death might leave your family destitute and without protection, choosing to fight required a courage few men possessed.

Anna's thoughts were interrupted by Aragorn who had returned with a small group of elves carrying someone on a litter. Anna put down her plate and stared openly at the person on the litter. He was alive but was unconscious and sweating, and his skin, though pale, had the tell tale marks of fever. She could tell he must be someone they cared deeply about because of how gently he was being treated and how noises he made in the delirium of his fever affected everyone nearby. Even Legolas looked very sad. One of the group was changing a damp rag at his head periodically while another, probably the leader of the group, spoke with Aragorn. After a few seconds of this she couldn't take it any more. This was someone's son, maybe someone's husband, someone's father. Without thought she went to his side, took his hand in her own and started speaking soft reassuring words trying to comfort his delirium.

"It will be okay, you'll be fine, really. Hush now it's all right; you're safe now."

Legolas gasped when he saw Anna go to Haldir's side and take his hand. If he had been closer he would have stopped her. The small group of males were surprised by her action at first, but calmed quickly when they saw that her touch and soft voice seemed to have a calming effect on the March Warden. Legolas watched as Orophin agreed that the young woman would be taken to the Lady of the Wood If anyone could determine where she came from and how to return her to her people it would be Galadriel. Legolas found that unfamiliar emotions were warring within him. He knew that they could hardly carry an unarmed female into battle, but the thought of leaving her with Orophin and the elves of Lothlorien wrenched his heart. Seeing her holding hands with the March Warden and speaking tender tones of comfort to him when all she had spared for Legolas were angry mocking tones was enough to make him feel nauseated. Remembering the bright smile she had flashed at the sons of Elrond on the way here while she had totally ignored him made him wish that Elladan and Elrohir were anywhere but there at the moment. While Aragorn made Anna understand he wanted her to go with these people, Legolas turned his back on the scene. He did not know why but he could not bear to watch her leave in the company of Orophin and the others. Anna saw Legolas turn his back on her and thought, oh great he's not even going to bother saying good-bye. Well fine, if he can't be bothered then neither can I. Once Anna understood what Aragorn wanted she nodded her head to him in acceptance and patted him on the arm in farewell, she did the same to the twins being rewarded with Twin smiles for her efforts. Gimli received a light hug because of the group of them he had been so far the most helpful in making her understand in a kind way what was required of her. She frowned at Legolas's back shrugged her shoulders sighed and followed this New person whose name she learned was Orophin.

Even though the people around her had suffered great loss their compassion for others was greater still. Before Anna and the elves left to head north the small group had been given a few horses, some provisions and the opportunity to rest and bathe. A tall blonde woman with flowing hair had even found Anna a couple of old home spun dresses with some patched blouses to go under them and a patched wool cloak. The bath consisted of water heated in a cauldron and poured into a wooden barrel, but after so long without one, anything felt better than nothing. The soap was like borax and smelt different from anything she was used to. There was no shampoo, so she scrubbed her hair with soap lather. For the first time in days she felt clean, warm and well fed so it was no surprise that she slept like a log that night.

The next day Anna felt sore muscles in places she had not realized she had them. Her body ached and she wanted nothing more than to remain under the warm blankets. Unfortunately the leader of the group had other ideas and after a light meal of some vegetable soup and an unleavened bread they called lembas, the litter which carried Haldir was strapped travois style to the back of one of the horses and they set out. Anna was offered a horse to ride but decided to walk for a while as she'd had enough time on horseback to last her a lifetime. Anna had begun to accept that wherever she was, it certainly was not Kansas. The language these people spoke was merely the beginning of their strangeness. It was not just their unusual beauty or their pointed ears either. The swords they carried were long and had she not seen them stop now and then to sharpen them, she would have thought they were ceremonial, for they were elaborately decorated with scrollwork and writing of some sort. What she could see of the writing looked like Greek or Arabic, with fancy curves and angles that reminded her nothing of the English alphabet she was used to. Even the bows, quivers and arrows they used did not look like anything she had seen in the sports stores back home. Above all, Anna had never seen so many drop dead gorgeous guys in her life and was beginning to wonder if she was just developing a fetish for Europeans with blonde hair and musical accents. These guys were all tall, muscular with large eyes, moist, inviting lips and tight rear ends. All of them seemed to have somewhat pointed ears. Somehow even their body language was strange and it took a while to grow comfortable around them.

The nights, unfortunately, were freezing. Orophin and the others did not seem to notice the cold. Anna, on the other hand, shivered violently the first night until Orophin had her lay her bedroll closer to the fire and threw an extra cloak over her. She wrapped up mummy style and prayed fervently that she wouldn't get pneumonia. The next morning when she woke she found herself lying with her back tucked spoon fashion next to Orophin. She blushed but Orophin just smiled and wished her a good morning and someone brought her some food.

On the second morning, her curiosity and her blisters began to get the better of her. Anna's shoes were made of light canvas and not meant to hold up to the rigors of hiking miles a day through underbrush. During a water break, she plopped down and removed her shoes to check the damage. Her open bleeding blisters were killing her, but she was too proud to admit that she couldn't go on in this condition.
Fortunately Orophin, spared her from admitting it. He gazed at her sores wide eyed for a second or two, said something the tone of which sounded very much like, "you should have let me know" and before she could move or utter a sound, he had one of her feet in his hands. Anna felt a heat move through her body where he touched her and at first assumed it was merely that his hands were much warmer and more comfortable than she had expected. When his eyes met hers once more and he reached for her other foot, she realized that the pain in the first foot was gone and, what was more, the blisters seemed to have calloused over and begun to heal so that she could walk on them again. Anna was so stunned she asked him point blank in her own language, forgetting for a moment he couldn't understand,

"How did you do that?"

His only response was to smile shake his head and pat her on the top of her head. Anna smiled, a bit embarrassed that she had momentarily lapsed into babbling, then called after him as he began to walk away.

"Orophin, thank you."

Orophin look somewhat confused, so Anna repeated the phrase trying to explain with gestures. Suddenly Orophin's face got the look of someone who has just made a brilliant discovery and repeated as near as he was able,

"Thamk dhu." Then said slowly and clearly "Lle Hanon."

Anna, smiling brightly, had learned yet another phrase and repeated it.

" Lle Hanon, Orophin."

Orophin then found her a spare pair of boots, of course somewhat too large, but he solved that problem by stuffing some soft moss into the toes then lining them with some strips of cloth. It was not the best pair of hand me down shoes that she'd had, but they were a whole lot better than her boat shoes had been.

Anna remained close to Haldir and tried her best to help when she could. It was damp and very cold. Anna thought Haldir should never be exposed to the elements, but they had been traveling for days with no sign of civilization in sight and so Haldir was brought as close to the fire as possible, water was heated in a pot and Orophin did his best to give him a sponge bath. Once Anna realized what he was doing she grabbed a second dry cloth and started in washing and drying Haldir's other side, covering each part after she finished. Orophin smiled and surprised Anna by telling her

"Thamk dhu."

Lle Hanon became Anna's new favorite phrase. She felt a little silly, but as she did not know how long she would be with these folk, she thought it best to immerse herself in their language. After that first day, whenever they stopped for food water or rest, Anna would point to something and ask Orophin to tell her what it was called. Once Orophin figured out what it was she wanted, her language lessons started in earnest. A few things were rather straightforward. Yes was still signified by a nod of the head, no by a shake. More often than not “no” was spoken vehemently and accompanied not only by a shake of the head, but also a restraining hand. This would have offended Anna's sense of independence if she did not continually remind herself that these people were at war. She found that if she thought a moment about what it was they did not want her to do, and then put it in the light of possible ambush from enemies, their precautions began to make sense. It took weeks of cross-country travel before the group reached what they seemed to consider civilization. There were not enough horses for everyone so they took turns riding, although with some on foot and Haldir on a travois it was slow going. During this time Anna learned a few basic phrases in their tongue, including the fact that they called themselves edhel, though Anna was not certain if this was their species or their nationality.

That first week passed quickly. The group made camp when they came to a place they considered somewhat defensible and when it was obvious Anna and Haldir were exhausted. Haldir continued to slip in and out of consciousness and while they spoke too quickly to catch a sense of what they were saying, by their tones and the look in their eyes Anna knew they were all deeply worried. They ate, trying to feed Haldir also in his moments of semi-lucidity. It rather amazed Anna that these people had nothing that she could identify as medical equipment. She had seen one of their company collecting herbs- at least she assumed that what he had been doing, though she could not yet be entirely sure that he was their doctor. The only defined role she could figure out was that Orophin was in charge.

Orophin turned out to be a real sweetheart in fact. It did not escape Anna's notice that she was the only female in the group, but whenever she had to use the bathroom, give her self a sponge bathe or change her clothes, she was given privacy. At least she thought she was. The guys did not overreact as Legolas had, but she occasionally got the strange feeling that she was being watched. She never saw anyone actually spying on her while she bathed or changed, but she could not shake the paranoid feeling that there was someone watching. By the time she arrived in Lothlorien, she had a fair vocabulary, which included what she assumed were a few naughty words judging by the reactions she got when she used them, and the fact that they did not want her to repeat those particular phrases.
When they came to the edge of a large wood Orophin explained as best he could that he must now blindfold her. If he had tried to do so before they spent a week together in the bush, she might have been totally freaked out by the thought. But, having begun to accept the need for stealth, secrecy and being on one's guard, she figured it was just par for the course. No strangers allowed to see where the main home base was etc. Anna accepted the blindfold with a poise she had not realized she possessed. Being hefted into a boat with someone behind her and carried across what she could hear was running water took a bit more to stand, but she had decided somewhere along their trip that she trusted Orophin. He was after all bigger, stronger, and more capable of surviving out in the wild than she. If the elves had wanted her dead, they could have killed her before now. Instead, they had trusted a complete stranger in an obvious time of war, so who was she to kick and scream over a few logical precautions? Once they were deep into the wood the blindfold was removed. Anna stared in awe. Before her were the beauties of the Central American jungle and the majesty of the Olympic rain forest and the grandeur of the giant redwoods all rolled into one. She just stood there letting her eyes adjust and drinking in all the beauty around her.

"Wow" escaped her lips.

It was the only way one could greet such splendor. Ororphin did not recognize the word, but he obviously knew what she was feeling because it was written in her face and demeanor.
He smiled slowly and nodded his head repeating,

"Wow."

Anna would have loved to stay there staring for a while but Orophin had other ideas. He guided her to a large tree with a winding stair circling it, disappearing into the canopy above. With Anna in tow, he started up the stair at a rather quick pace, but slowed when he realized she was having a problem with the height. Anna was visibly frightened and shaking, but also determined to face her fear. After all, if Orophin could do it so could she! Little did she know that facing her fear of heights was only the beginning of the challenges she would face in the Golden Wood.

Anna climbed the stairs very slowly and had to keep telling herself not to look down. She had a death grip on Orophin’s arm for security and found herself wondering how hard this climb would have been if Legolas were leading her instead of Orophin.

Eventually they made it to the top. Anna tried her best to stay in the middle of the largest part of the platform. Orophin left her side for a second or two, once he was able to pry his hand out of Anna's death grip. When he returned he motioned for her to come forward toward another set of steps and for a moment she thought, oh no here we go again. But instead she noted a pair of people coming down the steps. To Anna's eyes, they were the best-looking people she had ever seen. Orophin and the others had been dressed in simple grays and greens, which reminded her somewhat of Robin Hood and his merry men. These folk were dressed in the most elegant and lovely silks and satins. Orophin had taught her a few greetings in his language and what she could only assume were proper manners for introduction, but she was so taken aback by the beauty of these two people that Orophin had to nudge her before she remembered to introduce herself. Anna had never really met a state leader or even a movie star before, so she was having a bit of trouble holding it together. By the way they were dressed, these two looked as though they were at the very least heirs apparent. Anna made a slightly clumsy curtsey, being unused to such things and still terrified by the distance from the ground, and then repeated the greeting Orophin had taught her.

"Mae Govannen. Im Anna.”

Orophin introduced the two as Galadriel and Celeborn. Celeborn stared at her openly and said,

“Well it is rude to refuse a gift so we can’t send her back. Which of us do you suppose she was meant for?”

“I believe Anna is merely her name and stop gaping at her like a landed fish, husband”

Celeborn was about to deny that he looked anything like a landed fish when he noticed his mouth was indeed hanging open, and shut it with an audible snap.
Then Galadriel slowly came closer and looked Anna straight in the eye. From anyone else this would have seemed like an attempt at intimidation, but Galadriel exuded a warmth and charm that, while somewhat intimidating, was also inviting and reassuring. That, coupled with the fact that her smile looked like a cat that had just found the cream, gave her a friendly feeling and Anna couldn't help but smile back. After the introductions Orophin, Galadriel and Celeborn spoke amongst themselves for a few minutes and by the way they looked at her every so often, she became paranoid that they must be discussing what to do with her. She was torn between nerves and wondering how she was supposed to get back to the ground, as there was no way she was going to be comfortable going down that staircase. Anna was lost in her own thoughts for a few moments when she felt Orophin tap her on the shoulder. She heard him say

“Mae Govannen”

to the two and felt him nudge her to do the same. Then he grasped her hand and took off across the platform with Anna in tow.
The situation would have ended well had Anna not tripped just then and twisted her foot. Having just spent several weeks immersed in the language of war hardened soldiers and with her feet already hurting, twisting her ankle made her spout one of her newly found naughty words without thinking first. Orophin blushed a deep crimson, Celeborn's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, but Galadriel simply laughed out loud, said something to Orophin and waved it off. Orophin was obviously embarrassed and Anna felt horrible for making him feel that way. To his credit, he was a very patient person. He did not yell or carry on as Legolas would have, but he was very quiet for a while. The two of them walked for a long time and passed several structures placed here and there along both sides of the walkway. Anna did her best to stay exactly in the middle and not look down. Finally Orophin turned off towards one of the buildings and led her inside.

There was a rather large central room containing a table, a desk, an overstuffed futon-type sofa, four chairs, some cupboards and a small cast iron stove. Herbs hung up to dry in what she assumed was the kitchen nook. A number of assorted pots pans and wooden utensils hung from the wall near the stove. Above the desk was a bookshelf lined with several leather bound books. On the wall behind the sofa hung a painting of five people
Two of the people Anna recognized immediately. One was Orophin. Another was quite obviously Haldir. It suddenly occurred to Anna why Orophin had seemed so upset on their trip here: Haldir must be his brother. Anna was drawn to the painting and pointed to it asking Orophin what she was fairly sure she already knew the answer to. She pointed first to Orophin's likeness and said

” Orophin,”

and then to Haldir's and said in more hushed tones,

“Haldir”.

Orophin nodded solemnly. Then Anna pointed to the people in the picture whom she had not yet met. The only one Orophin would name was Rúmil. Anna could tell that there was something he was not telling her, but she did not want to be rude and push, so instead she asked about Haldir. Orophin smiled a bit and pointed to one of the closed doors off the main room. Anna thought Haldir must be in there and started to go check on him but Orophin stopped her and shook his head. Evidently Haldir's room was his castle and there was no way she was going to be let in.

"Saes?” she pleaded using one of her newly found words and a pleading look that had thus far worked wonders with Orophin.

He merely rolled his eyes sighed and replied,

"Goheno, Numa," while shaking his head.

Then to impress upon her the importance of this he repeated it in her own language,

"I'm sorry, No."

Orophin seemed to have the same talent with languages that Anna possessed and he was picking up English faster than she was learning Sindarin. Hearing Orophin practice his English started her on what had become a daily ritual with the two of them and she pointed to anything in the room she did not know the name of in Sindarin. Not only was Anna curious about this new culture and language, but she thought maybe she could distract Orophin enough to see how Haldir was doing. Anna did not mean to be rude or unduly curious, but something about the large handsome ellon called to her. Sure he was handsome, but this wasn't exactly a crush; she was worried about him. Maybe the mother hen in her was just working over time, she pondered. It was not long, though, until Orophin caught on to what she was up to. He smiled beguilingly and told her in broken English,

"I go get wood, water. You stay here. Not go Haldir! Promise?"

Anna sighed. He had learned his way around her in the past few weeks as much as she had around him and he knew once she gave him her word she would not break it come hell or an orc raid.

"Fine," she answered a little put upon, "I promise."

Upon securing her word of honor, he left. While he was gone Anna sat on the sofa and took off her cloak and boots. Her feet were still a little sore and smelled like the damp rabbit fur that lined the boots. When Orophin got back, she decided she would ask him what passed for a bath and then see if there was somewhere she could rest for a while as she suddenly realized she was very tired.

A few moments later she heard someone coming and thought, man that was fast. She was about to tell Orophin as much and ask him about a bath, when someone she had never met walked in the door, though she knew who it was since he looked so much like his brothers. At first he did not notice her at all and started to strip off his clothes. While Anna enjoyed the thought of a drop-dead gorgeous male doing a strip tease for her, the valorous part of her nature took over and she cleared her throat so he would know he was not alone. Faster than Anna could think the half-clad male before her went from complete relaxation to alert warrior. His bow was drawn on her before she could utter a sound. Rúmil babbled so fast in Sindarin that she could not keep up and the fact that he had his bow pointed at her did nothing to make her feel less nervous, but she shakily breathed,

"Mae govanen Rúmil. Im Anna. Im mellon, Orophin, Haldir."

In the weeks here she had seen what good shots the elves were and she knew at point blank range there was no way he would miss. She prayed Rúmil would believe her and lower the damn bow before she fainted from fear.

By the time Orophin returned, Rúmil had decided that while Anna might be a stranger, she did not seem to present any obvious threat and his reaction to her had been more out of surprise than fear in any event. Orophin formally introduced Anna to Rúmil. Rúmil blushed slightly when Anna said,

"Yeah we've met"

and neither of them would speak any more on the subject, leaving Orophin completely confused. Orophin could tell there was something more to the uneasy silence than what had been said, but as neither seemed willing to say more and he was tired and hungry, he let the subject drop. Orophin put a pot on to boil and started to wash and dress the meat Rúmil had brought. Rúmil said something to Orophin which Anna could not understand and wrinkled his nose. Then they started a discussion over which herbs should go into the pot. Anna's head was starting to ache just listening to them because they sounded exactly like her kids arguing over whose turn it was to wash the dishes. Anna may not have understood much, but she figured she knew what to do in this situation.

Rúmil had left his bow across the room from the kitchen, hung on a hook with his quiver beside it. She took one look at it, then at Orophin and figured if Rúmil tried aiming it at her again, Orophin would stop him. It would not be the first time Orophin had rescued her when she got in over her head in the last several weeks. So Anna stepped between the two, took the now dressed meat out of Orophin's hands, grabbed a knife from the carving block on the counter beside the stove and proceeded to cut the meat into 1 inch cubes while the two elves stared at her gaping. Orophin had already lined a second pot with something that smelled like vegetable oil and Anna recognized the flour container on the counter, which had come with them from Edoras. She proceeded to flour the cubes of meat and as the oil grew hot she set them into it one at a time, browning them. The whole time the two males stared at her fascinated and while she was aware of this fact, she also realized that if they had been going to stop her from cooking they would have done so by now. Anna simply smiled and continued to chop meat and vegetables and examine the bottles of herbs looking for what she needed. When Orophin regained his composure enough to make a half-hearted attempt at stopping her, she simply shooed him and Rúmil over to the couch making both of them raise their eyebrows and then laugh silently.

Anna might not be an elleth, but she obviously knew her way around a kitchen.
After the food was done and her cooking was judged more than passable, Anna was designated chief cook while the two males chipped in with the cleaning and dishes as was only fair.

That first night in their talan Anna had been a little uncomfortable with the sleeping arrangements. It was one thing to share body heat out of necessity, especially with someone you had learned to respect and trust while out in the wilds. It was a whole different thing to jump into some guy's bed when there was a perfectly good couch to hand and Anna had tried to convey as much to Orophin, but he would have none of it. Finally they reached a compromise. Orophin slept on a cot at the foot of the bed while Anna slept on what she assumed must be Orophin's bed.

The following days became rather routine. Although Orophin would not let Anna in to tend Haldir, several healers came and went. Anna was still terrified of the thought of having to descend from the treetops, so when the wood or water ran low either Orophin or Rúmil ran down to restock it. Orophin had brought out a large wooden bathing barrel and allowed her the privacy of what she later learned was his room to bathe. He also loaned her some quite comfortable old clothes to sleep in though they did hang on her like tents.
From time to time visitors would come and after an initial raised eyebrow at the two beds in Orophin's room, they learned to keep the bedroom door shut. Even so, rumors spread like wild fire across the wood. As long as Orophin was at home no one dared to ask or say a word, but on the occasions when he wasn't there several of the elves who had been in their company from Edoras made suggestive remarks about how their beds were just as soft as Orophin's and she should drop by some time and see for herself. The comments ranged from the subtle to the ridiculous and it was truly beginning to rankle Anna's nerves.

Anna drifted on the edge of sleep and began to dream.

There was a large body of water surrounded by trees and bushes with a lovely waterfall at one end. No one was nearby that Anna could see so she hiked up her skirt and started to wade into the water a little way. She had only wet her feet when she discovered the water was warm. "It must be fed by a hot spring,"she thought. She checked quickly to make certain that no one was near and decided to take off her clothes and enjoy a nice warm soak in the spring. The water was heavenly and she leaned back against some moss at the edge of the shore and lay there enjoying the warmth of the sun and the water with her eyes closed. Anna did not even notice when someone took off his clothes and joined her, until, that is, she felt the soft tender kisses on her neck.

Anna’s eyes flew open and she started to protest, but the handsome male kissing her simply moved his attentions to her mouth. He kissed her lightly at first then more deeply as she ceased to struggle. Then he began gently stroking all over her body. He seemed to know by instinct just the right places to touch and fondle. Soon Anna was moaning in ecstasy as he slipped his fingers inside of her and gently teased her now swollen nub with his thumb. His hand slowly and gently plunged in and out of her as he nibbled her ear and her neck and placed butterfly kisses over her breasts. She thought she would not be able to take any more pleasure and felt very near the edge of completion, when he picked her up in his arms, took her deeper into the water and placed her legs so that they were straddling him. Holding her beneath her arms he lifted her slowly positioning her over himself. She could feel his long and swollen shaft beneath her. Being too filled with desire by this time to resist, she guided his throbbing member into her. He continued to lift her gently and then lower her impaling her on himself. Her hands rested on his shoulders helping him support her weight and she began kissing his neck licking and nibbling as she went. When she reached his ear a gasp escaped his lips and realizing this meant he must especially like what she was doing there she continued, gently teasing and suckling. She felt him tremble slightly as his pelvis bucked hard and he buried himself as deeply as he could now pumping in earnest his head thrown back. His lips slightly parted, half gasping, half moaning as he murmured in his own beautiful language.

"Ai Lirimar"

She let her eyes drift closed and heard,

“Anna, Anna, ....Anna?"

Anna opened her eyes to darkness. She was in bed wearing the nightclothes Orophin had loaned to her. She had been dreaming again.

"You were talking in your sleep. It sounded like you were having a very interesting dream. Would you care to share it?"

"I don’t remember all of it", she lied blushing.

"I could try to help you remember if you like?" ,Orophin teased.

"No thanks, Go back to sleep," she mumbled, rolling over and trying hard to think of anything but that dream.

Anna had been in the Golden Wood for several weeks and tried many times politely but firmly to discourage the elves from hitting on her. Her pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears. No matter how hard she insisted that she really wasn’t interested in a relationship, they still tried all the harder to convince her that a little roll between the sheets was just what she needed. These elves were all good looking. it was like being surrounded by a town full of Chippendale Dancers.

It was not too surprising when her dreams started taking on an erotic nature, much to her embarrassment and Orophin’s amusement. The dreams were bad enough, but what really irritated her was that her dreams were not of Orophin, or Rúmil or indeed any of the Lothlorien elves whom she had met. They were of Legolas, the tall, hard muscled, lean elf who had refused to even tell her farewell at their last meeting. It bothered her that she seemed to be developing a crush on tall blonde and grumpy.

Day by day Anna noticed a distinct change in her surroundings and the people around her. It was not exactly something physical, but the tension had become so thick one could almost cut it with a knife. Rúmil and Orophin spent more and more time away from their house. For several days they came home only for meals and to sleep. Meals became tense. One moment both would be smiling and pleasantly conversing with each other, the next, they looked sad and worried. Anna’s language skills had improved a bit and she could catch at least part of what the brothers said, even adding something to the conversations though lately the times she was unable to grasp what they were saying increased, almost as if they were purposely using words they knew were beyond her small vocabulary. The furtive glances they gave her during such conversations made her even more paranoid. Were they discussing her? And if so why?

After a few moments either Rúmil or Orophin would notice her frustration, smile, and blithely start using words she understood again, which did nothing to help her paranoia. After about a week of this strange behavior Anna was certain that something was up. Slowly things had begun to disappear from the kitchen. though there were still enough food and utensils, if only barely. The spare blankets went missing next, then most of the garments in Orophin’s closet, until only three tunics and three pairs of leggings hung there. All of his fancy, embroidered clothing had vanished. Anna began to worry that for some reason Orophin and his brother had stopped trusting her and were hiding all the valuables that were not nailed down. Then one day Rumil and Orophin appeared with four of the many healers that had been attending Haldir. They came out of the room carrying a litter that contained their patient, awake and rather grumpy. It was the first time Anna had actually seen Haldir completely coherent.

Anna had no intention of missing this opportunity. She gathered her courage, placed herself right in the way of one of the healers and said, "Mae Govannen Haldir, Im Anna.”.

For a moment the silence was so profound that a pin, if dropped, would have been heard from across the room even by mortal ears. Unfortunately it was not a pin that had dropped but the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Not trusting her with the valuables was one thing, but not trusting her with Haldir was quite another. If she had ever intended harm to any of them she had certainly had plenty of chances before this, and what appeared to Anna to be a total about face in trust was more than she could bear.

A look of recognition came into Haldir’s eyes as he answered, “Suilad lirimar, nauthannen i ned ôl reniannen.”

The only word Anna had understood was "lirimar," which Orophin had told her, meant “lovely one”. Anna shook her head in disbelief and sighed. Why was it that the moment any male got some circulation back he started thinking with the wrong head?

“Where are you taking him?” she asked in a frustrated tone.

“We make ready to travel;,” said Orophin. “Haldir will go with the healers.”

“We? Did you say we? And when did you plan to tell me about this? Or were you planning on just leaving me here at the last minute?”

Anna’s voice raised in pitch as she spoke. She did not really believe that Orophin would just abandon her here in the woods, but then again, they had just started packing up the house without a word to her thus far. That taken together with the strange way Rúmil and Orophin had been acting and the general tension in the air frightened her in earnest,. and the anxiety she felt showed clearly in her face.

Haldir, who had been listening to their conversation smiled to himself. This lady had fire and courage to speak to Orophin in such a manner. One look at Orophin’s face almost made Haldir laugh. Responsibility for everyone in their house would normally have fallen on Haldir, including the safety and welfare of their guest. Being confined to a bed had begun to wear on Haldir and he would have given almost anything to be up and doing something, but at that moment he did not envy Orophin at all.

Orophin said something to the others carrying the litter and they continued out the door while Orophin spoke with Anna.

“We not leave you behind, not to worry.” Orophin added jokingly in broken english, "you too good cook.”

Anna sighed, inwardly relieved that they were not planning to abandon her, but she was still angry that Orophin had not even bothered to tell her what was going on.

“Oh no you don’t. You are not getting off the hook that easily. You need to tell me what is going on, now.”

By the end of their conversation Anna was almost sorry she had asked. From what little Anna could understand, she found out that the majority of the able-bodied fighters in the Golden Wood were marching north to engage an enemy in war. This would leave the, children and those too infirm to fight without protection if they remained. So it had been decided that the majority of the community would travel north with the army to a place where they could be better protected. Goods and supplies not needed for the journey had been stored for safekeeping and according to Orophin they would all leave before sunrise in two days time. After explaining as best he could, Orophin excused himself saying,
" Avo 'osto!"

After Orophin left Anna tried not to think about what was going on, but she was cursed with an active mind and an overactive imagination. What if these people lost their war? Would their enemies consider Anna a prisoner of war? Did their enemies even take prisoners? Would she ever see her children again? These and other similar questions were still bombarding her mind that evening when Rumil and Orophin Returned for supper.

During the meal Anna quizzed Orophin about the trip they were about to take until even his patience wore a little thin and he suggested she get to sleep early as they would need her help packing the next day. Anna was about to argue that she did not feel a bit tired and how dare he send her to her room like a five-year-old, but suddenly she did feel completely exhausted. Instead of fighting, she wished both of them good night and went into the other room leaving Orophin and Rúmil, who had grown to expect her spirited retorts, staring at each other with open mouths.

"Now see what you have done? You have upset her!", scolded Orophin.

"I've upset her?", gasped Rúmil. "You are the one who just ordered her to bed as though she were an elfling."

"I did nothing of the sort," replied Orophin "I merely suggested she get some sleep. You should try to get some sleep also brother dear. Tomorrow will be a very full day."

Rúmil flared his nostrils and rolled his eyes in reply as he headed to his bed, muttering to himself, "Now you sound like Haldir."

When Orophin came into the room, Anna tossed and turned so he gently laid a hand on her brow and murmured an enchantment of sleep. Her rest immediately became more peaceful. When he drew his hand away he noticed it was damp. She had been weeping. This touched Orophin's heart deeply. He could take anything else but he had always felt guilty whenever a female wept.

Anna did not sleep well that night. She was up and down all night using the chamber pot. Her head ached and she could not seem to get warm enough. The first few nights that Anna had slept in Orophin's room her tossing and turning in the middle of the night had roused him but he had long since grown accustomed to it and now slept thru it.

In the morning when Orophin woke from his reverie, he was surprised to find Anna still asleep. Usually she was up and preparing breakfast before Rúmil or Orophin. He called gently to her

"Wake up sleepy head the sun will rise soon." She did not even stir.

Orophin reached out his hand lightly tapping her cheek to wake her and found she was burning up with fever. Orophin's heart constricted within him and his stomach felt hollow. He knew little of mortals and their ills but he had seen enough fevers to know this would be a dangerous one, perhaps even deadly. Orophin ran out of the talan to seek a healer.

Miles away another elf felt his heart constrict and his stomach go hollow as he tried to enter reverie. He finally drifted off but when he woke found that the feeling was even stronger. Legolas did not understand fully what was happening to him or why. He only knew deep within his heart that the mortal woman whom they had rescued was in great danger and he was filled with an overwhelming urge to go to her side. He tried several times to shake off this feeling of dread and urgency but it was no use. The harder he fought against it the stronger it became.

By the time the sun was risen the urge to go to her had become so powerful that he had saddled and supplied his horse and was talking out loud to himself, rehearsing how he would explain to Aragorn and Gimli his need to leave.

Even in the midst of everything else that occupied Aragorn's mind he had noticed Legolas's increasing unrest. At first Aragorn had thought it was the sea longing which had finally entered the soul of his dear friend but it was Gimli who managed once again to voice the problem exactly.

"You are thinking about that lass we found aren't you?", asked Gimli.

"There is something very wrong, I feel she is in great danger. I must go to her. Do not ask me why, I do not fully understand this myself, " answered Legolas.

He then turned toward Aragorn and would have tried to explain his need but Aragorn held up his hand and said, "There is no need to explain Legolas. Go to her. We will follow as we may."

So it was that Legolas Thranduilion followed his heart north riding as hard as he was able.

Meanwhile in Lothlorien Orophin had found a healer and brought him to the talan where Anna was delirious with fever. After examining her the healer had her brought to the healing tents with those who had been injured. Anna was kept slightly apart however because, even though elves are not usually subject to mortal sickness, the healers knew it was unwise to take chances with spreading a fever of unknown origin.

Orophin looked at Anna with worry in his eyes as Haldir approached. "What are you doing out of bed brother?" Asked Orophin.

"A good morning to you also brother. I am not yet an invalid so you can stop looking so worried,” replied Haldir.

"If they have allowed you to rise then you are past the worst of your injuries and I look forward to hearing your gruff orders on the field once more, but my worry today was not only for you dear brother", answered Orophin distractedly.

"Has someone else been injured? Is it Rumil?" Haldir asked his voice changing from light and jovial to fearful.

"Nay Rumil is well it is Anna. She has taken a high fever suddenly," Orophin almost whispered as he began to pace.

Haldir could see the worry in his brother's eyes and in the way he was acting. It was amazing, he thought, how quickly this young woman had worked her way into all their hearts. Even he would be sad if the lady died. After all, someone with the courage to stand up to Orophin was a rarity. Haldir smiled as he recalled her spunk.

"She is in good hands Oro," said Haldir. "I will check on her when I may as the healers intend to keep me here even though I have repeatedly told them I am fit to leave"

Orophin smiled slightly at his brother's obvious frustration. Knowing Haldir it would not have surprised him at all if the Lord and Lady had had to order him to remain until the healers released him.

"Go and tend your other duties Oro, or you may find yourself having to eat Rumil's cooking for breakfast. I give you my word I will send for you if there is any change in her condition."

Orophin did not want to leave Anna but he knew there was much to do and the plans for the next several days would not be put on hold for one sick woman, no matter who she was. So he returned to the talan and started breakfast. Rumil was almost desperate to ask Orophin about Anna, but he could tell that his brother was on the verge of tears. Rumil did not want to intrude on Orophin's grief or take the chance of pushing him over the edge into despair. They had come to care a great deal for the mortal woman. They knew that , being mortal, she would one day die as all mortals did. Still death was an unnatural and horrifying state to any elf and neither of them wanted to contemplate the most likely outcome of such a fever. For this reason the two brothers packed and went about the normal household duties in a silence so thick it could be cut with a knife.

In the healing tents Anna moaned, "Eddie wait" and "No! don't" as visions of her family and friends drifted through her delirium. The healers' greatest fear was dehydration of their patient, so a vine was inserted in her nose and run down the back of her throat into her stomach through which they fed her sugar water and a warm broth made of boiled potatoes, onions and cabbage. This is also how they administered goldenseal, willow bark tea and sleeping drafts. Kingsfoil was burned like incense in the healing tents and the whole place smelled of it. Through it all, Anna dreamed there was a snake crawling up her nose and she screamed trying to pull the tube out. Finally they bound her hands so she could not hurt herself or accidentally remove the tube.

Twice daily the healers placed Anna in cool wet sheets and after she was dried off, rubbed her down with alcohol in order to help reduce the fever and cleanse her body from the profuse sweat. Her hair began to fall out in clumps due to the extreme fever. The fever broke after several days and a small swollen bite mark was discovered under her left arm. The healers agreed that it was a small insect bite and quite probably the cause of her illness so she was declared no longer contagious. Anna was still very weak when she regained consciousness, but Haldir visited her as he had promised. Orophin and Rumil also checked in on her as often as they could while at the same time giving Haldir reports of what was happening at the front. Haldir was driving the healers insane with demands that he be released and allowed to fight at the side of his brothers and friends. To occupy Haldir's time and mind the healers allowed him to help with tend some of the patients needs, first making him promise he would not overdue or it would mean an extra week for him in the healing tents.

When Anna woke up she saw Haldir sitting beside her. "Quel Amrun Lirimar," said Haldir.
By the time the fever had broken Anna had lost almost all of her hair and if she felt a little plain next to these drop dead gorgeous creatures before, she was positively mortified at her appearance now. She felt naked without her hair but good manners won out over her pride and she whispered hoarsely, "Quel amrun Haldir."

When the healers found she could take some drink and food on her own, they removed the feeding tube. Anna shuddered recalling the nightmare she'd had about the snake.

"Is something wrong lirimar?" asked Haldir after seeing her shudder in fear

"Oh no, it's just that I dreamed that vine was a snake and remembering it just now kind of shook me up," she replied shuddering again.

"Dark dreams are natural with such a high fever," Haldir responded. "Not all of your dreams were dark though," he said.

Anna looked at him quizzically, so he smiled and asked "Who is Ed-dei?"

Anna blushed and asked, "Was I talking in my sleep?"

Haldir nodded and smiled and Anna blushed even more deeply. If she had been talking about Eddie in her sleep, who knows what she had said. Haldir had been right; not all of her dreams had been frightening. Some had been sad and others had been erotic. She could feel herself turning bright crimson and prayed she had not said Legolas' name in her sleep.

"You still have not answered me, who is Ed-dei?" Haldir asked again begining to enjoy teasing her. "Is he your lover?"

"What else did I say in my sleep?" she answered.

"I will tell you what else I heard when you tell me who Ed-dei is?"

"Eddie was my husband "she responded sadly. He died."

"I am sorry lirimar. I did not mean to remind you of something so sad," Haldir replied

"It's alright Haldir, you had no way of knowing. I just haven't gotten used to the fact that he is not there any more," Anna answered softly.

Haldir felt terrible at having made her so sad and so he put his arms around her and held her stroking her back and humming to her until he felt her relax in his arms asleep. Anna had never been particularly vain about her looks. She knew she had never been the kind of woman who turned every head as she walked into a room. However now she was bald , or nearly so, and in place of her baby fine light blonde hair, coarse, kinky auburn fuzz was beginning to grow. Haldir could tell by the bright shade of red she turned whenever he addressed her, that she was deeply self-conscious about the loss of her hair. So, he spoke to one of the healers and they found her some silk scarves to cover her head. Haldir was frustrated at not having been able to help in the battle and somewhat bored, so he spent a good deal of time visiting with Anna and trying to cheer her up. He even managed to get her to laugh a few times.


Legolas was surprised and concerned when he entered the Golden Wood to find it almost empty. Those left were equaly surprised to find the normaly calm, pensive prince in the state he was.
He curtly informed them that he did not care if they were battling all the hordes of Isengard and Morder combined he would scour all the northern borders and storm Dol Guldur himself to find the woman he sought if he had to.

When Legolas finally found the healers' tents and the bed where Anna had been placed, he found Haldir holding her hand and laughing with her in a very familiar way. Legolas almost stomped over to where she was lying. How dare Haldir take such liberties with her, he thought to himself angrily. He glared at Haldir silently hoping that the march warden would give him an excuse, any excuse to punch him in the nose. Haldir saw the look on the prince's face and could feel the anger rolling off him. He was confused for a moment and wondered what he could possibly have done to anger Legolas, as the last time they had spoken they had been on quite friendly terms.

"Mae Govannen Legolas Thranduilion," Haldir said politely rising.

"What are you doing to her?" responded Legolas in a tone that made everything fall into place for Haldir. Somehow, as unlikely as it seemed, Legolas had become enamored of this mortal woman. Haldir's expression was torn between sorrow for his friend's predicament and humor at what the king would say when he found out.

"Anna has been ill, I was merely helping the overburdened healers with the tending of those who have been injured protecting your father's realm, Haldir answered calmly as a smile threatened to burst into a grin.

Haldir's calm reserve and smile did nothing to soothe Legolas. By this time Anna, having heard her name mentioned, was getting a little peeved at being spoken about as though she was not even there. This time she could even understand a fair bit of what Legolas had said.

"Mae govannen Legolas," said Anna. Legolas' mouth dropped open in shock for, the last time he had seen her, she did not seem to know any Sindarin and now she was politely saluting him in his own tongue. Haldir pretended to cough in order to hide a smirk while Anna continued to speak unabashed.

"I guess being a prince does not necessarily mean one has good manners. I believe it is considered polite when someone greets you to return the greeting." Even though her voice was soft Haldir could almost see her anger dripping from it. She remembered how tall blonde and grumpy had refused to even say goodbye to her and now he was practically accusing her of making out with Orophin's brother on her sick bed. "As for what Haldir and I were doing, that is our business,"she replied winking at Haldir and hoping inwardly he would play along and help her maintain some of her dignity.

Haldir caught on immediately and said in a sweet and caring tone, "You should try to get some sleep lirimar , for as much as I enjoy visiting your bed, I would also like to see your strength return." He winked back and added, "Sweet dreams."

Anna blushed at this and Legolas looked from one to the other stunned. He straightened his back, turned and stalked out of the tent. He was several yards away mumbling to himself when he heard someone calling his name.

"What do you want?" he yelled without thinking as he started to turn and ran headlong into a slightly taller, slightly older, suddenly angrier version of himself.

"Is that how you have been taught to greet your father and king my son?"Thranduil growled

Legolas groaned inwardly. Was nothing going to go right ever again , he thought to himself. This was not the meeting he had imagined having with Thranduil. Indeed from the moment he had met the young mortal woman one thing after another seemed to go wrong. This was but one more to add to a list of troubles which was quickly growing very long.

"Goheno nin Adar. I was deep in thought and did not realize at the first to whom I spoke. I am deeply sorry," Legolas replied trying to put a reign on his emotions.

"My son if I have told you once I have told you a thousand times , Eru has blessed us with much and to whom much is given , of him much is expected, Lectured Thranduil. "Is this how you represent our realm? Is this the example you give in front of Elrond and Galadriel? If so , it is no wonder that they think us backward and no better than wood elves prancing in the wilderness!" he continued.

This was an old and sore wound between them. Legolas knew better than to argue with his father; It would only make things worse. He knew that the best way to keep his father 's disapproving lecture short was to keep silent and let him wear himself out. Legolas responded only when his father paused obviously waiting for a reply and acted properly chastised as he answered," Yes Adar" and "No Adar" in all the right places. Inside Legolas longed to tell his father exactly what he thought and why , but although he could and had faced goblins, spiders, orcs, trolls, and even a balrog of Morgoth, Facing his father with the truth was a far more frightening thought.

The lecture lasted the better part of the afternoon before Thranduil showed any sign of slowing down. He only stopped when Celeborn approached close enough that he might accidentally hear the conversation. It simply would not do, thought Thranduil, to allow Celeborn to gloat over how unready for the responsibility of leadership Legolas was. It was bad enough that Celeborn and Galadriel had needed to come into his realm with their army to aid his people. Now they would have an excuse to claim part of his realm, as they had helped to defend it. If only Legolas had returned instead of going off on some fool quest this might never have been necessary, Thranduil thought. The king eyed his son sadly wondering to himself; "will he never grow up?" While at the same instant Legolas was wondering to himself, "Will he never realize that I am no longer an elfling and start treating me like an adult?"

The wind, which had been blowing from the west, shifted suddenly and now came from the east. With it came a crackling sound together with the acrid odor of filth, blood and smoke. What new devilry is this, Legolas thought.

Legolas saw Orophin headed toward the healing tents where Legolas had visited earlier. He was covered with soot, his clothes were spotted with blood and dirt , but perhaps the most unsettling thing about Orophin's appearance was that his face was a mask of fear. Elven warriors faced terror on a daily basis and Legolas had only rarely seen such fear on the face of one of his kinsmen. Legolas immediately followed Orophin, runing with all his might simply to keep pace with him. Just as Orophin entered the healing tents , Legolas caught up with him. Both elves were sweating and breathing hard from the exertion. Legolas arrived just in time to hear what he had already begun to dread; the woods were ablaze. The orcs in the forest had shot flaming arrows and with the shift in the wind's direction, the blaze was headed directly toward the healing tents. The fire was pushing in front of it everything with the ability to run. Orophin had been sent back to warn the camp and collect reinforcements. The forces would now be divided between those defending the helpless from the various evil creatures pouring out of the wood ahead of the flames and the group attempting to create a firebreak.

There was no time to break camp. Those who could not run were carried or assisted by those who could. Haldir and Anna fled together, between them half carrying , half dragging one of the soldiers who had come north with Orophin from Helm's Deep and been badly wounded during the attack on Dol Guldur. Orophin had given Haldir a sword and a knife before returning to the battle. Black squirrels ran by them chattering in fear. A giant deer leapt out of the wood in front of them. The air became thick with smoke and soon it became very difficult for Anna to breathe or even see what was in front of her. She clung by Haldir's side terrified for her life.

As they neared the river a small band of orcs over took them and Haldir was forced to strain his newly healed muscles to the limit in order to protect the three of them. Anna wondered where all the others were or if anyone else had made it out safely. They reached a running stream, the bank littered deep in leaves. Haldir gave Anna the knife which Orophin had left, covering her and their almost unconscious companion with his cloak then covered this in turn with the leaves that littered the bank.

"Stay here and remain silent for as long as you can, I will return. Move only if you are attacked or if the fire reaches this far. Take care with that knife; it is very sharp. Do you understand?" Anna nodded her head. Haldir seemed torn between leaving them there and returning to help with the fight , but in the end his longing to fight again won out. He reasoned that he would only be gone long enough to determine where the others were and insure they were not followed. "I will return soon," he said and left.

Anna was not sure how long the two of them remained hidden but it seemed like hours. The wind shifted again and it grew dark and cold. She was just debating whether she should have a look around and find out what was happening when she felt the cloak lift off of them. Anna held the knife in front of her just in case it wasn't Haldir. She felt a hand gently touch her shoulder from behind and startled a little, but when she glanced at the hand on her shoulder it was obviously that of an elf so she said " It's about time you came back. I was tempted to come and start looking for you, and when are you going to learn not to sneak up on me?" Anna turned around and came face to face with the largest spider she had ever seen. From its legs hung a person which the spider was wraping in silk. One arm hung out at a strange angle and it was this which Anna had felt touch her shoulder. The spiders mouth parts were dribbling a spittle of venom. Anna screamed.

Even in her fever, Anna had never dreamed of anything so horrible. It looked like a spider, but larger than a grizzly bear and more terrible because of the evil purpose in it's remorseless eyes. Those eyes were lit with a fell light, clustering in its out-thrust head. It had large horns, and behind it's short stalk-like neck was a huge swollen body, a vast bloated bag, swaying and sagging between it's legs. It's great bulk was black, blotched with livid marks, but the belly underneath was pale and luminous and it stank. The legs were bent with great knobbed joints high above the back and hairs stuck out like steel spines. At each leg's end there was a claw. It's hide was knobbed and pitted with corruption and thickened with layers of wrinkles and evil growth. Suddenly she saw, too, that there were spiders huge and horrible sitting in the branches above her, and she trembled. Standing beside the tree frozen in fear she realized that these loathsome creatures were speaking one to another as they crawled towards her.

Anna's mouth was dry and it seemed as though she were moving in slow motion. The knife she held in front of her, which had seemed large and dangerous when Haldir had given it to her, now looked small and insignificant compared to the horrible monster in front of her. Visions of an awful death flashed through her thoughts and Anna determined that if this were going to be her end, she would at least go down fighting. Anna's hands shook violently as she faced the spider, the adrenaline from her fear putting a hair trigger on all of her senses.

"You want a piece of me? Bring it on ugly!" she screamed more loudly than she had intended, and her voice cracked.

The spiders glared at her through multiple eyes as they started towards her, though the one in front of her would have made short work of her already but seemed unwilling to drop the elf it still held wrapped it its forelegs. The extra weight and not having the use of all its limbs made it a little clumsier than it normally would have been. When two more spiders arrived from the trees, the first retreated to spare itself a fight for its meal. Anna did not waste any time wondering why it left; she had been ready to fight, but now she thought it might be better to run. Anna stooped quickly, trying to drag the elf beside her into the river while holding on to the knife and watching the two spiders advance. One of them let loose a strand of silk and landed on it's feet behind her. The other continued to descend on the other side and just as Anna felt sure her next breath would be her last, she heard a loud crack overhead.

The fire had reached them , burning a weakened branch which fell directly on top of the spider in front of her. The spider burst into flames and danced around like a puppet on a string, distracting the second spider for a few vital seconds and letting Anna reach the river. It was ice cold as her ankles entered the water and the bank was slippery. There was no way she was going to be able to move fast enough to escape dragging the elf beside her and had begun to hope that Haldir would forgive her if she left him to save herself when she heard a soft whistling sound followed by thwap thwop thwap and then a loud cracking of leaves and brush as the remaining spider collapsed with three arrows sticking out of its abdomen. Anna tried to see where the arrows had come from, but the smoke was too thick and her eyes were watering from nerves and fear. Then she felt another hand on her shoulder and spun around screaming with the knife in front of her, ready to cut to pieces whatever had touched her.

Haldir asked in a soft calming voice, "Do you really intend to stab me with my own knife Lirimar?"

Anna sighed heavily in relief, then yelled , " Don't you ever run off and leave me like that again! Never! Ever! Do you understand me?"

Haldir smiled and patted her back while he continued to speak in a soft voice.
" You did well. It is all right now ; you are safe, but I would feel much better if you would return my knife to me, little one."

Orophin appeared behind Haldir and asked , "Are there any casualties? Are either of you injured?"

Anna used humor to cover the fact that she was terrified and replied ," Not unless you count my wits as a casualty , as in I was scared out of them!"

Then Anna saw two more figures walking towards them. One was a taller more muscular version of Legolas and she would have mistaken him for Legolas at first glance had the other not been Legolas himself.

Anna started coughing , partly because the smoke had started affecting her now that her adrenaline rush was over and partly because her nerves were completely shot. The ellyn who looked very much like Legolas but was taller and frowned more took control of the situation saying , " The fire break is finished and the healing tents have been moved. We should get there as quickly as we can . I know The spiders will be back as soon as they see that the fire is out. We should go quickly."

Haldir replied, "Anna cannot keep up with us on foot. I will carry Bregond; one of you should carry Anna."

Legolas and Anna spoke at the same instant, interrupting each other.

"I will carry Anna."

" I can walk thank you very much."

Thranduil shot a glare at his son and without waiting simply picked Anna up as though she were a sack of flour as he said, " You would never be able to hold the pace we will set, but if you have some objection to being carried by a king, I will have no second thoughts about leaving you for the spiders."

Seeing the look in the king's eye, Anna decided that she did not wish to know if he was serious about leaving her, and for once in her life kept her mouth shut, while thinking if he is the king that must make him Legolas' father.

As the group moved farther from the river the smoke began to clear. Much of the forest here was destroyed, the grass blackened and the smell of charred woodland surrounded them. There was not much else to look at and so Anna studied the face of the elf that carried her.

His cheekbones were high and proud , his nose centered on his face in such a way that he looked at the same time handsome and stern. His face and hair were fair even though they were covered with smudges and soot from the fire, but what drew Anna's attention and held it were his eyes. They looked at first glance to be gray, but from this close a vantage point Anna could see they were actually blue with feathery white patterns delicately laced all around the iris. At the outmost edge of the iris was a ring of the deepest royal blue she had ever seen. She could easily imagine that this elf had females falling all over themselves for a kind word or look from their king. His sheer presence spoke of someone who was very used to having his every whim obeyed, and Anna knew the terror those eyes could produce in someone who dared go against his will, for she had been subjected to his glare when he had dared her to object to being carried.

Anna shuddered a little at the memory of that glare, but the king did not even notice , or if he did gave no sign, and Anna turned her attention to Legolas. The king and his son were almost the same height, with the same high, proud cheekbones the same prominent noses, the same long flowing silken hair; but that was where the likeness ended. All of the elves were well muscled and handsome, but Thranduil's torso and chest were larger than any of the others . He was taller than all of them except Haldir. Legolas, on the other hand, was more slender and wiry. They both had sensuous lips, but the King kept his in a perpetual frown and Legolas' expression seemed somehow calmer and more welcoming.

Then there were those eyes. Both Legolas and his father had the same stunning gray-blue eyes, but the king's glared so that they might as well be made of ice. Legolas', on the other hand showed a wealth of emotion, which made his whole face seem much softer than his father's. Then of course there was the rest of Legolas to look at, and that was quite a view indeed considering that much of the time they were directly behind Legolas. He had the strong, taught upper body of an archer and Anna could watch his leg and thigh muscles flex all day without being bored. His was the kind of backside that, while she hated to see it leave, she loved to watch walk away.

Anna was so lost in her admiration and comparison of the elves that she did not even notice they had now reached the healing tents, until The king plopped her on her feet and wrinkled his nose as though she were a heavy sack of garbage he was quite glad to be rid of. His first words confirmed this idea as he sneered with distaste , "I feel the need to wash," and with that he turned on his heel and left.

As soon as things began to calm down, one of the healers insisted on cleaning Anna up. It seemed that these people were obsessed with being clean. Of course it also helped prevent the numerous scratches she had received running through the forest from becoming infected. Anna had just finished cleaning up and it had not been very long since Thranduil had left, so it startled her when she looked up and found him staring down at her.

Damn it, she thought to herself, I really need put bells around all their necks so I can at least hear them coming and not jump out of my skin every time they speak to me.
She was about to ask if there was anything she could help him with when he announced, "I wish to talk to you, now, alone,"in a tone that made it not a request, but a demand
.
Anna found herself following him almost without conscious thought. He led her to a tent at the far end of the clearing, then ordered the two other male elves in the tent to leave and closed the flap behind them. It was oppressively hot and muggy inside the tent and Anna began to sweat. The tent contained one chair set beside a wooden table littered with scrolls, an ink pot and quill, a candle and some maps. The only other piece of furniture in the tent was a cot which was covered with neatly packed rolls of supplies.

Thranduil sat down in the chair, his back straight, his eyes boring into her. He then said perhaps the last thing she had ever expected.

"I will come right to the point woman. It has not escaped my attention that you are trying to seduce my son."

"W- w- What?" she stammered in sindarin.

The king, who did not even pause, added, "Don't even try to deny it, I have dealt with your kind before. All that I wish to know is how much?"

"H-how much?" she asked still very confused and in shock that he should think such a thing.

"Yes, how much you twit. How much will it cost me to make certain you cease your designs on my son?"

Anna could hardly believe what she was being accused of, much less that this person had jumped to these conclusions after only seeing her once. It had not yet occurred to her to be angry. She was still too surprised and shocked.

"I-I," she sputtered.

"One hundred? Two hundred? Come, come, I know you have a price!"

That statement finally broke through her confusion and led the way to hurt and anger. One eye squinted shut as the other glared at the king. Who the hell did he think he was to accuse her of that, she thought. He did not even know her. How dare he! and so she answered sarcastically,

"It might interest you to know, your majesty, that while in your culture everyone may indeed have a price, in mine it is considered the depth of perversion to attempt to buy a person, and furthermore your son does not strike me as a child. If he has a problem with my friendship, which is the only thing I have ever offered him, then I am sure he is perfectly capable of telling me so himself!"

Thranduil continued to glare at Anna, but decided to change tactics. If she was too smart to accept some milk when she might win the whole cow, then perhaps he could protect Legolas from this vixen in another way.

"Of course my dear of course," he soothed, his voice now as silken as honey. "Why should you accept a mere pittance? Why not let me install you in the palace instead? My son has no true power in my realm. He lives to serve at my command, but as consort to the king you could wield both great power and riches. What do you say to that, hmm?"

Anna's mouth hung open in disbelief, and an almost silent gasp left her lungs as she exhaled. She was speechless at the nerve of this person, but the king mistook her silence as agreement, grabbed her, pulled her to him and planted a lusty, rough kiss right on her lips.

Anna's eyes shot wide open and she screamed through the kiss, half in anger, half in fear as the realization hit her that if he wanted to, he could take anything he wanted from her physically and she did not have the strength to fight him off, even though his intentions disgusted her. Yes his body was gorgeous but his mind, what little she had now seen of it, was awful! The one thought that now filled her mind was escape. This elf was every bit as dangerous as the spiders that she had fought and been rescued from earlier.

The king released her with a large grimace on his lips and said,"You may leave, I will see to the arrangements."

Anna did not need to be told twice. She turned and immediately ran out of the tent, afraid for her life, and straight into Haldir.

"Easy Lirimar, what is your hurry? There is no danger here for the present."
The fire, the spiders, the king; it had all been too much for Anna and her fragile courage shattered in Haldir's arms. Much to his confusion, she began to weep hysterically.

"I - I - I don't want to talk about it," she garbled, "just get me out of here please."

Haldir, not wanting to upset her further, tried to do just as she asked and things might have settled down a bit if Legolas had not chosen that very moment to walk by.
Imagine his concern and anger at seeing Anna crying uncontrollably in Haldir's arms. He walked right up to them both, eased Anna out of Haldir's grasp, placed her behind him and before either Anna or Haldir could get a word in edgewise, punched Haldir square on the chin, knocking him out. He then turned to Anna, who was now staring gape mouthed at Haldir and said, "All is well now, he won't hurt you again."

This roused Anna from her shock enough to sputter, "You.. you.. you elf!" As she ran to Haldir's side. "Haldir, are you alright?" She asked. He groaned, nodded and began to rise glaring at Legolas.

"Your next words, Sinda princeling, had best be 'Forgive me, the fire has addled my wits,' or I shall certainly and quite gladly give as good as I just received!" Haldir growled.

"You made her weep!" Legolas defended as if this explained everything.

"I see now where you get your pride and arrogance Legolas; the apple obviously does not fall far from the tree!" interrupted Anna. "It was your father who made me cry,"she yelled at the top of her lungs. Her voice cracked and rasped between sobs.

"My father?" Legolas questioned.

"Yes," she answered. "Do you know what he had the nerve to ask? I'll tell you!" she continued to scream. "He asked me how much he could pay me to keep me from seducing you! Then when I tried to deny having done any such thing, he told me,' My son has no true power in my realm. He lives to serve at my command, but as consort to the king you could wield both great power and riches.' Then he squeezed my arms so tight I now have bruises and kissed me so hard I nearly vomited. I was too shocked and frightened to say or do much of anything, so when he said 'You may leave' I turned and ran as fast as I could straight into Haldir, who was trying to calm me down when you punched him!"

Haldir, who was also hearing all this for the first time, did not know whom to be more angry at, Thranduil or Legolas, but as Legolas was handy at the moment, he interrupted.

"Tell me princeling, does your father always try to seduce the females you are attracted to? Or does it simply require two Sinda to do the work of one Teleri? Were I you, and I thank the valar I am not, I would be taking my ire out on the one who caused this mess and not on unsuspecting friends!"

Legolas shook his head in shock and disbelief. "I know my father can be thoughtless of others at times, but surely you must have misunderstood his intent?"

At this point Anna lifted her sleeves and showed Legolas the bruises on her upper arms that made two perfect handprints and yelled,"Do these look like I misunderstood?"
Legolas fell to his knees then and said quietly, "I swear to you my dear, I will not let my fathers rudeness go unchallenged."

Anna gasped in surprise at his words, though she was not certain which had surprised her more; Legolas' sudden change in demeanor, his appology, or the fact he had called her 'my dear'.
By now quite a crowd had gathered to see what all the screaming was about and several of the elves were murmuring, some in favor of how Legolas had acted, some shocked by it, others defending the king for trying to protect Legolas from a mortal while at the same time stunned that he would be so crude. It seemed everyone had their own oppinion of the king's actions and more than one group of elves was becoming quite loud in defense of their point of view.

A little apart from the others stood Galadriel and Celeborn who had also witnessed this little drama. Celeborn had started to step forward out of the trees and put and end to it, but Galadriel told him softly enough for only him to hear that he should wait. Once Haldir, Legolas and Anna realized they had drawn a crowd, they became quiet and as soon as there was no longer a show to see the elves drifted away, still muttering amongst themselves.
Legolas headed directly to his father's tent, muttering to himself the conversation he would have with his father. Anna was afraid to face the king again but half of her would not admit this and followed close behind Legolas. Haldir, seeing that Anna was intent on following the prince, decided to stay close to her just in case, and at a distance, being careful to remain hidden, came Celeborn followed by Galadriel. None of them looked happy.

Legolas was so concerned about what his father had done and the confrontation which was about to take place that he did not even notice elves whispering all about him. Haldir, however, heard a great deal that made him angry. He made it a point to glare at the elves within view who were gossiping about what they had heard. Anna had followed in Legolas' footsteps, filled with thoughts of her humiliation and anger towards Thranduil. However every step that drew her closer to the king's tent also filled her with fear. Thranduil was a formidable elf, and while Anna hoped Legolas would challenge his father's opinion of her, she also began to lose her rage and with it her courage in facing the elf king a second time. By the time they reached the flap of the tent Anna's courage had deserted her completely and she would have run in the other direction, but when she turned to do so she ran directly into Haldir.

Anna could not hear the argument in the tent but Haldir could and what he heard made him frown even more deeply. He could feel the emotions coming off of Anna in waves. so strongly that he had begun to get a headache. Haldir did not wish to enter the king's tent either, but for entirely different reasons. It was one thing to vent his anger at the Sylvan prince after having been punched, but anything he might say to king Thranduil could reflect on his lord and lady and make it difficult to renew relations between the two realms. He also respected Anna as a friend and wanted to protect her from the heated argument between Legolas and his father which had become so loud Haldir wondered if Anna could hear it too. Galadriel touched Anna's shoulder at that moment saying, "Come child, you are weary and not completely healed. You should return to the healers' tent and rest."

"You aren't going to let the king take me are you?" Anna asked fearfully.

"No child, have no fear. Mithrandir asked my people to keep you safe and that is exactly what we intend to do," Galadriel replied.

Glad for an excuse to hide her feelings and make a retreat, Anna let Galadriel take her to the healing tents. Celeborn whispered something to Haldir that Anna could not hear and then nodded toward the tent as she and Galadriel headed in the opposite direction. The events of the day had exhausted Anna physically and emotionally so when she arrived in the healing tent she lay down and fell asleep almost immediately.

When Anna opened her eyes again it was morning. She had slept so long and well that for a moment she thought maybe the events of the day before had only been a nightmare but reality hit her when she started to move she realized her arms were stiff and sore where Thranduil had grabbed her. She opened her eyes slightly to see if anyone else was up and around. Anna did not want to face anyone today and was seriously thinking about trying to hide out in bed by pretending she was still asleep for most of the day. This plan was ruined when shortly after she woke. One of the healers came over and shook her gently, insisting she wake and telling her that the camp was being moved once again. Anna sighed. Avoiding people was one thing, but letting everyone else work while she lazed about all day in bed was against her nature and if they were breaking camp she certainly did not want to be left behind with spiders, goblins and who knew what other dangers lurking in the forest. So she got up and after washing her hands and face, ate some of the cheese and carrots that were set out on a table to one side of the tent. Anna noticed that there were some cold meats there also but she shuddered at the thought of what animal they might have come from. The memory of the spiders was still very fresh in her mind and who knew what kind of animal this might have been. Anna had nothing against a nice hamburger, or even steak, but she preferred to know what kind of meat she was eating.

Haldir arrived in the tent a short time later followed by Orophin, Rumil and Legolas. Anna groaned mentally as she saw Legolas walk in. The only person she could think of that would have made her more uncomfortable was Thranduil. She had not seen Legolas at all since he entered his father's tent the night before and while she was a little curious at what had happened when he went to tell daddy off, she was more than a little afraid that Thranduil could do exactly as he had threatened even though Galadriel had assured her that they intended to keep her with them.

"Good morning Anna. How are you feeling?" Haldir took a perverse pleasure in the fact that Legolas did not speak any of Anna's language.

"Good morning Haldir, I'm a little tired and sore but better than I was yesterday," Anna replied.

Haldir did not understand all of what Anna had said, but he was not going to ask her to try translating in front of Legolas because he was enjoying the prince's obvious confusion. Yes, thought Haldir, being able to tease Legolas in such a way was going to be enjoyable indeed and perhaps almost make up for the prince having punched him.

Orophin and Rumil had been told everything that had gone on the previous day. They were also very familiar with their brother's biting wit and decided to join in the game of 'tease the smitten elf'. Orophin gave Anna a warm hug that kept her in his arms perhaps just a little longer than necessary and Rumil gave her a peck on the cheek. Anna raised an eyebrow at these gestures and would have asked what was up if Haldir had not smiled and winked at her and then stared at Legolas. This drew Anna's attention to the prince and she stood there staring blankly at him, waiting for him to speak, but all that Legolas could manage were some non-committal mumbles of " ah...um...er."

Anna thought to herself, 'how typically male', but rather than asking Legolas what had happened between him and the king, she turned to Haldir and asked, "where are we moving the camp to?"

Haldir answered, "We are going south to Gondor."

Anna felt quite relieved at this statement. She had been told Thranduil's kingdom was in the north, and she would not care if Haldir had said they would be dropping off the edge of the earth so long as it lay in the opposite direction from the king. Anna had some very fond memories of her journey to the woods with Orophin and the Galadrim, and she was looking forward to being as far away from the spiders, orcs and fires as she could possibly get.

Anna had a thousand questions as they prepared to leave the camping place, and she reminded Haldir of his brothers when they were small. Her questions covered everything from what Gondor was like and how far away it was to what they could expect to see on the way. Haldir shook his head smiling and thought to himself,'at least she is not asking every five minutes if we have yet arrived.'

By midday on the first day Anna was so tired of being on a horse that she could hardly move. The group had set a hurried pace and Anna doubted that she would be traveling south with them at all if there had been no need to protect her from Thranduil. This was definitely not the enjoyable slow foot pace they had used to come to the Golden Wood. She could tell that Haldir felt sorry for her, but unfortunately this did not slow the group down one bit. The pace did not seem to bother Haldir at all even though Anna knew he was supposedly still recovering from injuries, and the healer who had come with them hovered over him whenever they watered the horses. Haldir grumbled at the healer and Anna was unable to understand about half of the words he said, but some of the ones she did hear were the kind Orophin had warned her not to repeat.

They were traveling over a vast prairie. The sun beat down on them, making Anna sweat. The air was thick and muggy and clouds of tiny biting insects were everywhere. The few women who rode in the company were toward the center of the group with the men in front, back and on either side. The men were keeping a close eye on the surrounding terrain, their eyes darting this way and that as if looking for something or someone. Everyone except Anna was armed. Even Galadriel had a bow and quiver of arrows slung over her back and many of the males rode with one hand on the pommel of a short sword or long knife. The feeling of unease was so thick on the air that Anna could almost taste it. Anna had taken the kerchief off her head and tied it around her nose and mouth partly to keep the gnats from flying in and partly to keep enough dust out of them that she could breathe. This trip was no fun at all. It was a literal and figurative pain in the rear.
The party did not stop to make camp until dusk. By this time Anna had been on her horse for so long that when she tried to dismount her legs would hardly carry her. She felt as if she were walking like a sumo wrestler and every inch of her seemed covered with dirt and sweat. What did not hurt itched. She was tired, hungry, thirsty and felt as though she had swallowed the prairie whole. It was then that someone or something had chosen to attack the camp. Anna couldn't see what or who it was but the others obviously could. All around her Anna could hear the thwop of arrows as they met their targets accompanied by a sickening gasp or scream of pain. Anna was no coward but being unarmed and unable to see much in the dark had her completely terrified. As suddenly as it had begun the attack ended and all that could be heard were the horses stomping and huffing and the men whispering. Anna still could hardly see so when she felt a hand on her shoulder she screamed until she heard Rumil telling her not to fear, that it was only him. Many of the men laughed then but Anna did not find it funny at all. The men cleaned up and appointed guards once they had decided that there was no more immediate danger. Then settled down to cooking. Wineskins were passed around, along with the type of stories that warriors share over good food and a fire. It took Anna a very long time to fall asleep that night. She slept fitfully waking from nightmares several times before the sun began to rise.
The next morning Anna woke to Rumil and Legolas laughing as they teased Orophin. She was not well rested. She had a headache and wished that there was a Middle-Earth equivalent to coffee. The fact that the men all seemed to be in high spirits laughing, joking or just trading stories in Sindarin only made her head hurt worse. Anna was sore tired and scared out of her wits. Behind every bush and tall clump of grass she imagined she saw an orc. Every time one of the horse would shy or snort, Anna startled in fear that they would be attacked again. By the time they stopped for lunch, Anna was exhausted mentally, emotionally and physically. Anna leaned her back against a tree while she ate making sure that there was nothing in the tree first. She ate very little and when she was finished she poured some cold water over a rag. Returning to the relative safety she felt with the tree at her back, she leaned back and closed her eyes with the rag over them hoping her headache would go away. She had not intended to doze off and did not even realize she had until Haldir gently tapped her shoulder. He had not meant to startle her but once again she almost jumped out of her skin as she woke screaming. This of course brought a stream of laughter from most of the males.

"Oh ha ha ha, very funny." Anna gritted out sarcastically.

One of the healers tried reassuring her by saying. "These warriors have long years of practice in protecting our people from danger. You need not fear so long as they are with us."

Anna felt a little embarrassed by how she had reacted but the healers reassurance did little to take away her fear; it only made her reluctant to tell Haldir and his borthers how much she was truly hating this trip. It made her feel even worse when the healer, realizing that she was saddle sore and would be unable to ride further if something was not done, insisted on healing her sore muscles. This of course meant he had to touch the inside of her thighs and her butt. It was bad enough to hurt so much, but it was humiliating to have a stranger touch her in such a way, even if it was only to help her. Seeing the males laugh and whisper added to the way she felt; and to top it all off, her horse being unused to someone who was so skittish tried to bite her as she started to mount. Anna felt her eyes burn and glass over and kept thinking to herself 'I am not going to cry! I refuse to cry!'

It was at this point that Haldir did something she had not been expecting at all. He picked her up and sat her on his horse and then swung up behind her.

Anna was torn between telling him that it was not necessary and crying in relief when Haldir said, "You are weary and unused to riding at such a pace. Ride with me and you may rest while we continue. I will make certain that you are safe."

If looks could have killed at that moment then Legolas would have been guilty of kin slaying. Haldir did not even notice the cold glare he received, nor did Anna, but Orophin saw and positioned his horse so that he could speak to the prince without being overheard.

"You need not fear my brothers feelings for her. He has always been protective of those who are younger and weaker, but his heart lies elsewhere. He does not seek to cut the grass under your feet, I assure you!"

Legolas and Orophin had begun an easy camaraderie that was quickly turning into a close friendship. So after a moments pause he decided to confide in his new friend.

"You are certain he feels nothing but friendship toward her?"

"Oh, he feels a bit more than friendship. He sees her as the little sister we never had."

Legolas was unsure if this made him feel better or worse, for elves were very protective of those whom they considered as family, and elder brothers tended to be over-protective. Legolas considered Haldir's actions since he had arrived in a whole new light and groaned inwardly as he ventured a further question.

"What of Anna? What do you think she feels toward Haldir?"

The words were out of his mouth before he realized how they could be interpreted and he quickly added. "I would not wish the lady to be hurt if she has feelings for your brother which cannot be returned."

Orophin simply smiled and whispered." That my friend you will have to ask the lady yourself."

On the third day the group arrived at the river Anduin. Anna had trouble pronouncing the name correctly and made the everyone laugh when she called it Andy wine.
"I sometimes wonder, Anna if you are not a tall hobbit," laughed Rumil

His joke of course went right over Anna's head, but she smiled because Rumil was smiling. Anna felt a little better. She was, however, still sweaty and dusty from the road, so it was only natural when she heard the river that she would ask, "Will we have time to clean up a little when we reach the river?"

Anna had no delusions about a long leisurely swim , the river was obviously too large and swift for that, but she hoping for at least a quick wade to clean the dust off and refresh her tired limbs.

When Haldir answered, "Some of us will be continuing on by boat, while the rest of us ride south.," Anna 's whole face lit up. The thought of being out of the saddle again was a great relief. It was then Anna noticed perhaps the last person she wanted to see, and her heart sank. Standing in the bow of the boat was Thranduil. She was torn in two. Yes, she wanted to be off the dusty road and out of saddle, but not if it meant having to deal with a king who seemed to get his exercise by jumping to the wrong conclusions.

Galadriel, Celeborn and Legolas went to the boat while Anna did her best to hide behind Haldir and stay out of the king's line of vision.

Haldir could feel the mixture of fear and dislike coming off Anna in waves; he could almost reach out and touch them. At that moment, one of the sea birds that flew overhead chose to give the king a small gift which hit him squarely on the head. Anna being already very nervous felt a surprised bark of a laugh escape her lips before she could control it. The king and the others turned toward the sound and Haldir coughed loudly to cover for Anna, hoping that Thranduil would not notice her.

"Are you well enough to be riding Haldir?" Thranduil called over to him as he cleaned bird dropping from his hair.

"I believe I shall be much better when I am away from the cries of the sea birds,"he responded. This was not exactly a falsehood, Haldir thought to himself He would indeed feel much better when Anna was safely away from the shore and the king.

Thranduil responded,"I too shall be glad to see these birds behind us."

Celeborn, who found the entire situation amusing, added "It seems you have already seen one too many bird behinds."

Galadriel frowned at her husband and gave him an unobtrusive elbow in the gut which made him grunt and shoot her his most innocent 'I couldn't help myself ' look.

After feeding and watering the horses, and having a small snack, Haldir and his group pushed on south by land while Thranduil and his people took the boats south. Legolas had chosen to remain with Galadriel and Celeborn, a choice his father was quite obviously displeased with but said little about.

As they continued south the air grew heavy and smoky. The wind was strong and from the north, but occasionally it would shift, carrying with it the stench of death. They passed several small groups of the enemy. Some put up a token fight, others ran screaming in fear, but none were any match for Haldir and the other elves. This went on the entirety of the journey south, until finally they reached the fields of Cormallen.


As the others entered the field, Anna could see that a great battle had been fought there. As far as the mortal eye could see were tents of every different color, men with long blonde hair and bright armour could be seen everywhere, while here and there Anna caught sight of an occasional elf, but what drew her attention most was the small group of people who had first sent her with the elves. Many thoughts ran through Anna's head for seeing the people who had rescued her from Old Beardy made her heart jump. Anna and Haldir dismounted, and Anna felt as though she were walking like a b-movie western cowboy. She had been on the horse so long that she wondered if she would be able to walk properly without having to impose on the elven healer again. There were the twins, Elrohir and Elladan; Gimli the short, bearded red-head; Eomer, the handsome leader of the horsemen, and Legolas' friend Aragorn. Gandalf was also present, as were Peregrin and Merry.

She could speak their language now enough to make herself understood, and since this seemed to be a victory celebration, perhaps now at last they would be able to find a way to help her get home. Home, the mere thought of the word almost brought tears to her eyes. Anna had made many good friends here, but nothing could take the place of family. Gimli came running over to them to tease Legolas and speak with the others, so Anna decided to take the opportunity to tease Legolas also.

"Well met Gimli". Anna said in Sindarin.


"I see you have learned something useful in the time you spent with the elves." replied Gimli. "It is good to see you my lady, but what has happened to your hair?"


Anna blushed a little, but decided to make a joke of it answering him. "The journey here was so swift and I bounced so badly on the horse that my hair is still on the road, but I am sure it will catch up to where it used to be eventually."

Gimli laughed.Then Legolas having heard this, said something to Gimli in a language she could not understand. Gimli looked slightly embarrassed and said to Anna, "I'm sorry my lady I did not realize you had been so ill. May I hope you are feeling better now since you are able to joke about it?"

"I am feeling much better and now that I am able to speak a language we both understand I wanted to thank you for how kind you were to me when we first met."
Now Gimli's blush deepened and he mumbled," T'was nothing my lady."

At this point the twins came over to the group.
Elladan asked. "Are you two entertaining this nice adaneth with stories of my exploits?"

And Ellrohir cut in before she could answer, "No they are of course telling her of my exploits instead."


This made Anna laugh loudly and she was just about to answer when Haldir came up behind her and startled her. Anna gasped turned and, without thinking, out slipped one of those curse words she had learned on her way to Lothlorien.

This made Gimli laugh and Elladan ask, "Is this what you have been teaching her Haldir?"

Haldir responded. "Take care Elladan or the lady will name you tur-keiy, which is a bird from her homeland and also a mild insult if I understand correctly."

"The word is Turkey." Anna corrected then added, "It is a type of wild fowl, but I don't wish to be accused of turning this conversation to the wild and the foul"
The elves who could not resist puns, even bad ones, joined in kind.

Elladan said,"Oh have no fear lady; we do not mind such flights of conversation."

And Elrohir added,"oh yes, we are used to dealing with flighty conversations and flighty women."

Celeborn, having heard most of this exchange, could not resist adding his own contribution by telling the twins about Thranduil and the seagull's little gift to him.Then lady Galadriel joined them and said, "Celeborn don't be such a goose. " By then Peregrin had joined them and said, "all this talk of birds is making me hungry!"
Anna's stomach chose this moment to rumble and Haldir said."I believe Anna agrees."

This made them all laugh heartily again while peregrin said,"then come with me, my lady. I know where we can both get tea and rolls and some cheese and fruits."