I've finally revisited my old stories and decided it needed a face lift, plus my heroine was a bit too Mary-Sueish for my tastes. She still is a bit but its better now (I hope). Please review and let me know what you think. constructive criticism only please.

Disclaimer : Tolkien's the genius I just work here. Marienne (Mar e en nay NOT Mary-Ann) and Tarena are mine.

Chapter 1 The Lothlorien Healer

The cloaked figure silently made its way through the wooded path. The figure gave nothing away swathing itself to cover the entire form with its voluminous cloak, covering even the face with its hood pulled low. Despite its secrecy there was no threat in the mysterious figure, so its observer slackened the tension of its bowstring aimed at the figure's head. As if the cloaked figure could hear the bowstring's relief, it paused. Without turned to face it, it slowly pulled its hands up and gently pulled the hood of the cloak off its head revealing a cascade of jet black curls. If the hair did not reveal the figure as female the voice did as she addressed the woods without turning around. "You are very jumpy tonight Uncle. You give yourself away." Without a sound the observer dropped to the ground behind the cloaked female. Sensing the approach, the female turned around to face her observer.

"And you took far too long to notice me." The observer commented, now revealed to be an elf, about 6'2" with long platinum blond hair tied back in triple braids. The female smiled patiently.

"You know I am the only one who is able to notice you under any circumstances." She said as she gave the stern uncle a hug with a teasing glint in her eye. Indeed Haldir was the most experienced in evading detection in the woods. That is what made him a natural for the Captain of the guard. The fact that Haldir was one of the best archers in these woods had only helped.

"Well, what are you doing out and about so late on the night of a feast?" Not letting Marienne get away without a rebuke. If another guard had come upon the cloaked form he might have shot first and asked questions later. As it was he recognized his niece right away. The daughter of his brother Rumil was a very gifted healer whose penchant for wandering away vexed him constantly.

"No one will miss me Uncle. I have already made the proper appearances and been a lady. Now though, I hear a voice calling in the forest, it is of one who needs help." Haldir only sighed, they were never going to break her of the habit of bringing wounded animals home. She could not resist helping anything that was in pain. But his job among other things, was to protect her.

"Alright Tinnu nin, we'll go find your lost animal." Smiling brightly Marienne turned and resumed her previous path. Soon they came upon the source of the cry for help. It was a small, white, very frightened bunny that huddled in the middle of a pile of fur and blood. It looked as if a fox or a hawk had attacked its family. The poor thing was also injured, its left hind leg was torn miserably. Whispering soothingly, Marienne reached for the it. The poor thing still trembled but he did seem to be calmed by her touch. She picked it up and cuddled it in her arms. She would have to wait to tend the wound until she got back to her flet.

Once uncle and niece once again reached Caras Galadhon they parted ways, after all Haldir was still on duty. When Mari finally got back to her flet, she examined the injured bunny. It was so small that she was able to fit it into the palm of her hand. Placing it on the table she cleaned the wound and applied a salve. After she was finished she gave him a mild sleeping powder so it would rest and made a bed for it. 'Well, I guess I've got another pet.' Mari thought to herself. 'Not that I mind, the poor thing won't survive on its own.' Now that the bunny was taken care of she finally removed her drab cloak revealing a splendid dress beneath. Mari would be infinitely more comfortable in a tunic and breeches. However she would never dream of disrespecting the Lady and the Lord by wear such attire to a banquet.

Mari shook out her hair, a wonder in these parts because the Lothlorien elves invariably have a version of blonde hair. Her raven tresses coupled with her clear blue eyes were truly stunning amongst them. Though if she went to Rivendell she would just be considered ordinary. That was where her mother was from. The daughter of Erestor, the head of Elrond's household was now she was the wife of Rumil, a respected guard of Lorien. Tarena had now been living in the golden wood for about a thousand years. And Marienne had been born about 800 yeas ago.

Mari was such a blessing to the couple. Of course she was a regular terror as an elfling and caused more than her share of trouble. Yet early on she displayed a gift. Hers was a gift of healing that was almost a natural instinct. She had been given the honor of training with the healers of Lorien and now she even learned from Lord Celeborn himself. She enjoyed her lessons, learning everything there was to know about treating arrow and blade wounds. Celeborn's specialty was actually the treating of poisons and the like. Knowledge that Mari picked up very quickly.

Her calling was healing but her joy in life was sparring with her Uncle. Everyday before dawn they would meet on the practice fields and she would train. She could fire a bow better than any of the regular guards and she would have beaten them all with the double knives. Yet she would never find out. It wasn't that she-elves were expressly forbidden to wield blades, but it was frowned upon in Lorien. And that was one frustration she wasn't willing to deal with in her everyday life. The only thing she was grateful for was that she didn't have to hide her bow and arrows. That at least was acceptable for a female. But Haldir only cared that his only niece could survive in a fight, so he trained her in every form of combat.

Mari woke early in the morning and hurried to get ready for her pre-dawn lesson. Quickly she had dressed in tunic and breeches. She strapped on her weapons as she walked out the door. It didn't take her long to reach the practice fields but she instinctively slowed down upon her approach. Mari sensed the presence of another. She tensed, waiting for the pounce. There, in a tree to her left. The attack came swiftly as Haldir leapt with sword drawn from his perch in the trees. Before he had even touched the ground Mari had her blade drawn and blocked the first blow. She countered and fought on. This was by far her worst discipline, so she tried to concentrate extra hard. Apparently she didn't concentrate enough on what was behind her. She found herself up against a tree and in the next moment her sword was flung out of her grasp as she felt cold steel against her throat.

"Pay attention to your surroundings" Haldir admonished slowly retracting the blade and re-sheathing it. "You back yourself into corners and lose. Advance your steps against your opponent or one day you'll find yourself backed off a cliff." Mari sighed and nodded bending to retrieve her sword while trying to contain her grin. Though she was still horrible with the sword, it was time to work with the knives. Mari flipped them out of their sheathes and got ready.

This was her best area, building on her strength of virtual ambidexterity. Though she had never been able to beat Uncle Haldir yet. But that meant that Mari was going to try all the harder. Without warning once again, Haldir initiated the attack. She blocked his attack and then launched her own, falling into the fast movement and swift rhythm that felt natural to her. She did not stop nor lose any ground. Mari faked an attack to his lower side veering at the last second. While he reacted to his fake attack she swept down and back bringing the dull side of the knife across the back of his knees flipping the Captain of the guard onto his back. Before he could react Mari held her other knife to his throat. 'I do believe that he is stunned' Mari thought to herself. For a moment he just laid there with a wide eyed look to his face, Mari believe it has been hundreds of years since Haldir had been beaten. Then her me, she beat her Uncle. 'I beat the famous Haldir!' Mari could hardly contain her glee. Mari withdrew the knife and replaced it in the holders on her back. She offered him a hand up, he finally grinned and took it. Mari hauled him to his feet. She couldn't help the words that came out of her mouth.

"Getting slow old man?" Mari asked cheekily. Without warning he pulled her own legs out from underneath her before he replied.

"Not at all." he said as he leaned over her preparing another lecture. "Never let your guard down, no matter the circumstances in battle, it will lead to your downfall." Mari started to laugh. He would have rolled his eyes if the Captain of the guard did such things. As it was he gave Mari the look that said Do not mock me girl, for I can kick your ass any day loosely translated of course.

Haldir helped his niece up and they spent the remaining time shooting arrows. Her skill and speed were slowly improving. Mari finally became more consistent in her aim, but was still missing the bull's-eye. There was a time when she shot ten arrows having them range from center to off the target. At least now she can make them all stay in the inner ring. Eventually the sun made its appearance gently illuminating the field prompting Mari to bid her uncle goodbye.

"Good work today, Marienne. Your skill with the twin blades will rival anyone if you keep working at it."

"Yes Uncle, thank you." she replied beaming back at him. It was rare that Haldir gave any a compliment. The one that he had just given her was high praise indeed.

"Now don't use this as an excuse to slack off." He admonished the girl with an indulgent smile.

Floating on a cloud from her accomplishments, Mari drifted back to her flet in order to bathe and change for the day. When she approached her door there was a note tacked to it. She absentmindedly pulled it off as she walked through the door. Mari first went to check on the bunny. He was certainly looking better. The leg was now pulled up in the normal position and there was no doubt that he would be hopping around tomorrow.

She finally turned her attention to the note. It was from her father bearing news from the Lady Galadriel. She was to meet with them after breakfast. Mari quickly bathed and dressed in order to be on time. Her father would come get her in about an hour. It was just enough time to dry her hip length hair. By the time her father arrived Mari had donned a pale lavender dress that had long flowing sleeves and a small silver chain belt that fell to gird her hips. She was just pulling back the hair from the sides of her face when there was a knock at the door.

It was her father Rumil as expected. Rumil could have been mistaken for his more serious brother Haldir except for the stormy gray of his eyes where as Haldir's eyes were a light blue. A contrast to both was their third brother Orophin, who had the same height as Haldir but none of the seriousness of his two older brothers. It was definitely her father standing before her. Others mixed them up, but it was never a problem with Mari.

"Good morning iell. I have heard that you had quite the morning." He said with a smile, the pride in his daughter being evident in his voice.

"Good morning ada." Mari returned the greeting while giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Yes, in fact I did have a rather remarkable morning." She returned with laughter in her eyes. No doubt the ever critical Uncle Haldir had been boasting of his little niece already along with his own defeat.

"Congratulations daughter, you really are my little warrior. I could never defeat your Uncle. Even as children, he was always the better one. But come now, we mustn't keep the Lady Galadriel waiting." Father and daughter strode out of the flet and down the stairs. Mari waved to her mother through the window as they passed her parent's flet as well as shouting a greeting to her little sister who was playing below.

It did not take long for Mari and Rumil to reach their destination. Rumil led her up past the usual throne room and beyond to a personal sitting area which Mari had never seen before. The place looked deserted but she knew that Lady Galadriel would soon be there. So she busied herself with studying the exquisite carvings that decorated the ceilings and walls of the sitting room. Her fingers were fidgeting a bit until her father put his own hands over hers with a gentle smile, reassuring her silently.

Mari felt the Lady approach rather than saw it. There was an overwhelming feeling of goodness and purity that only increased as she drew near. She entered the room bring with her that ethereal light that always glowed about her. She gestured for us to sit once she had taken her own seat. With no other preliminaries, she got right to the point.

"My child, your gift of healing had grown tremendously. My husband tells me that there is little more that you can learn here. Do you desire to continue your training?" Mari nodded eagerly, but Galadriel put her hand up before she could speak. "Before you answer know that this will mean leaving these woods. Leaving your family and traveling to the domain of Elrond Peredhil. It will be many long years before you will be able to return."

That made Mari stop as she considered her Lady's words. She loved the Golden Wood and her family with all her heart. She did not want to leave. 'But If I stop now then I am being selfish and limiting the amount of people that I could help. But I'll miss everyone so much, how can I leave them?' Galadriel and her father sat patiently while Mari though everything out.

Finally she raised her head with a look of determination. "My lady, though I dearly love my home and my family, I cannot in good conscience limit my potential. If I can help just one more person than before, then it is worth it to leave my family for a time. If you are willing my Lady, I will continue my training."

Satisfied, Galadriel nodded and turned to the girl's father. "And what is your choice Rumil. Will you let your daughter go? Or will you request that your daughter remains safe at home?" Rumil had thought long and hard about this decision. He had weighed the options and the consequences. He also thought of the rest of Arda as well as his daughter. He came to the inevitable conclusion with a heavy heart.

"Loath I am to lose any of my children, ever for a short amount of time. But I am determined to honor Marienne's wishes. I cannot deny her gift to those in need. She may go if she desires it." Galadriel smiled, it was the only happy note in the room for the decisions of both father and daughter weighed heavily on them.

Tinnu nin - my twilight (my little twilight) the family nickname for Marienne

Ada - dad

Iell - daughter