A/N: This is a work in progress. Let me know what you think!

I do not own any of the Characters, except for Ailith, and possibly other OC's I am working on. All else comes from the wondrous mind of Tolkien.

Hope you enjoy x Yruniwylio x

Chapter one: Crimson Snow.

She looked up at the sky, and brushed her hair from her face. Pulling the drawstring back from her Oak longbow she focused on her targets' face before releasing the arrow on her exhale.

Forest green eyes shot wide open, and the owner of such eyes sat up quickly, head-butting a curious face crouched above her own.

"Aii! Dan! What are you doing?! Don't sneak up on me like that Mellon, do you wish to die?!" she exclaimed, rubbing the sore spot on her forehead and shoving the offending elf from her vicinity. Elladan son of Elrond smiled mischievously from the ground and rubbed his own head while his mirror image laughed. The dark haired, graceful twins of Elrond glanced at their friend, sprawled in the hollow of a tree-trunk. Her long, slender legs, clad in the greens and browns of the surrounding forest, matching her curious gaze, and her copper coloured curls falling free around her shoulders, and reaching the small of her back, shimmered in the waning light of the sun.

"Honestly mellon nîn, you are the only one of Elven kind I have ever met who willingly sleeps with her eyes closed!" Elrohir laughed, "And yet you are also the only one who even in sleep is repulsed by my brother!" he added, ducking from the swipe his twin had reached towards him. Elladan looked at her, quirking an eyebrow "Your dream must have been interesting to have you react like that, what happened Ailith?" Elladan asked softly.

Ailith shook her head and stood from her comfortable hidey-hole, and grabbed her pack, quiver and longbow, strapping them to her person before beginning to walk back towards the last homely house, ignoring the following twins.

Even now, centuries later, the approach to the home of her best friends and mentor still awoke old feelings and memories in Ailith; black blood in the snow, the carcasses of destroyed creatures of the darkness. The body of her Naneth, staring at her, unseeing.

"Naneth! Naneth! Wake up! Please!" the voice of a little elfling cried as she clutched at the travelling robes of her fallen mother. "Please! I cannot be alone! The Darkness will come again! Please wake up Naneth!"

Her green eyes searched for the direction her father and a few others had disappeared to lure the worst away. She stood warily and clutched a dagger from nearby to her chest. Trembling, she approached a clearing. The snow around her started white, then began to change, the closer to the clearing she got. By the time she reached the center, the pink of the snow had changed to a deep, red, slush. Her father lay, his robes stained black and red, his weapons lay discarded at his side.

A high pitched howl of anguished pierced the forest around her as she looked upon her father's corpse, before her trembling little body moved without her knowledge. She had subconsciously carried herself deeper into the woods, and as her body wracked with heaving sobs vented her despair, she resolved to never, ever lose someone she loved again.

She was found a fortnight later, filthy and covered in the litter of the forest, from twigs and leaves in her hair, to mud staining her wet and blood-stained gown. She looked at the tall, graceful Ellon who had found her, and clutched at his tunic, sobbing. She blubbered about her Naneth and her Ada, and how it was her fault. The Ellon clutched her close to his heart and whispered comforting words to her while he signalled the others with him to find and bury the bodies of her fallen family.

"Now, little one. Look at me." He gently took her chin and forced her to look at him. "Your hair looks as though it has been kissed by the autumn-time. There are not many Elves with hair that colour." He smiled. She sniffled and nodded. "My Ada was a man, his hair is white now, but it was kissed by the fire, he said, I am a Peredhil. Naneth was a blonde Elf." She explained.

"My name is Glorfindel, dear one. We will look after you now." He smiled sadly at her.

At that moment, the little Elfling cried and clutched tighter. She felt safe with this Ellon and did not want him to leave her too.

"I am Ailith." She said quietly, the sobs exhausting her tiny body, and she closed her eyes, and drifted into unconsciousness, falling limp in the Balrog Slayers arms.

Ailith shook the memories away as she climbed the steps. She first stopped in the halls of healing to deposit the now full pouch of herbs, before stalking quickly up the corridor to her rooms. Shutting the door quietly, she set her bow on the chair and began unfastening her belt and the buttons to her vest and tunic.

"Should we tell her we're here?" came a question from behind her. Unsheathing a dagger from its hiding place up her right sleeve, she turned quickly to come face to face with the twins. Elladan had her wrist in his hand as her grip on the dagger lessened.

"What in all of Middle-Earth are you two doing in here?" she asked, a frown creasing her normally cheerful face.

"Well, we were going to tell you something, but that's the second time in about half an hour that you have attacked poor Dan now, so maybe we shouldn't," chirped Elrohir.

Ailith smiled, and looked at the older of the two, who still had her wrist in a cautious grip. "I apologise Mellon, do you forgive me?" she asked sincerely, locking gazes with Elladan. He cocked his head as if to consider it, then with a breath-taking smile nodded and released her wrist.

"Big mistake," she smiled, before pouncing on him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist, securing her limb-lock around his back. Elladan, with his arms locked at his side could do nothing.

"By the Valar! Let me go!" he whined attempting to spin around, and subsequently shake her off. Her peals of laughter echoed around the room, along with Elrohir's chuckles at his brothers misfortune.

She finally relented and allowed him freedom, only to usher the twins to her door. "I need to bathe and will join you both for dinner. After dinner you may ask to escort me on a walk of the gardens and share this news with me." She winked before shutting the door. She turned and carried on unfastening the buttons and straps to her clothing, before sinking into the tub of hot water in her washroom with a contented sigh. After washing her hair out, along with the rest of her body, she stood and wrapped a towel around her pale, slender, bare body. She dried herself, and donned a flowing gown of bronze, with an olive underskirt, and olive coloured silken sleeves that fell to just below her elbow. Her autumn bronze hair resembled leaves at the peak of their autumn beauty before they fell from the trees. She wrung her tresses out, before preparing to braid them, before a voice drew her attention to the door.

"Come now Ailith, you should allow someone else to braid that hair of yours, or it'll end up lopsided." Arwen scolded. Ailith smiled and turned her green eyes to the Elleth she considered a sister.

"I apologise, dear Arwen, after all, I wouldn't want to incur your wrath now, would I?"

Arwen chuckled. "My father seems to entertain ideas that I will soon be engaged to a prince of Mirkwood." She smirked. Ailith tilted her head as Arwen braided, and quirked an eyebrow. "Oh, and are you?" she queried. Arwen shrugged. "I love dear Legolas. But I merely love him like a brother." Ailith nodded. "I understand. Lord Elrond merely wants to see you well taken care of, if the time comes where he will sail." She shrugged. Arwen shook her head. "He looks at you as a daughter, dear one. Surely he will attempt to make you a match?"

Ailith shook her head. "He wouldn't bother. To begin with, I do not believe Ada would allow an Ellon anywhere near me. However, I am not good enough for royalty. Although, last timewe returned from your grandmothers, that charming Marchwarden did give me a kiss goodbye." She blushed a little at this.

Arwen began chuckling. "I see. And do you see yourself a Marchwarden's wife?" she probed.

Ailith shook her head. "I see myself as Marchwarden," she giggled. Arwen finished the braid with a flourish, and pinned the last curl from her face with a golden leaf pin. "There."

"Thank you, dear sister." Ailith hugged her, before turning to the door. "Are your brothers finally behaving?" she asked, smiling when Arwen shook her head. "They're only properly behaved when they are after something," Arwen explained. Ailith raised an eyebrow and opened the door, to find the twins, with fists raised to knock.

"Like now?" Ailith asked turning to face Arwen, who was stifling her giggles with her hand. "Like now." she agreed.

Elrohir entered the room, hugging Ailith and pressing a kiss to Arwen's cheek. "Well, good thing we came Dan. As Father has a company of Rangers for dinner this evening, we decided you two were just too pretty to not have official escorts to dinner." Elrohir grinned. Ailith looked at Arwen and smirked. "Well, I see you two have thought of everything." She smiled, and took Elladan's offered arm.

"Why?" he asked pointedly, as Elrohir lead Arwen ahead of them. Ailith smiled and raised an eyebrow as they gracefully made their way through the halls. "Well, by making sure no man, whether Dunedain or not comes near your dear sister! But we have, of course, proved by your almost stabbing earlier that I need no protection?" she allowed a breathy laugh to escape her lips as Elladan chuckled. "Well, there. The matter seems to have been settled." She smiled as they reached the doors. The brothers were announced, along with Arwen, and Lady Ailith of Rivendell. She scoffed at the title as Elladan led her to her seat next to Arwen and pulled her chair out for her.