Chapter 1 ended with:

"Erestor, I need Mithrandir here quickly. Please make sure he is summoned here immediately."

"I will, my Lord."

Chapter 2: First kill

Another day or so, and Elleniel would arrive to the ruins of Osgiliath. Before reaching the abandoned city, she would go East towards Minas Morgul, fortress of the Nazguls. Her plan was simple: she would get close enough to their citadel, show her presence and hope that one of them would be sent to eliminate her.

It would be her very first battle with the enemies she had spent centuries training to destroy. Elleniel was eager to test her skills, and terrified at the same time. Absolutely terrified. The Nazguls were invisible to the eyes; only the other ring bearers could see them. Elleniel, unlike her father Elrond and grandmother Galadriel, did not have a ring. If she was lucky, her opponent would appear with his cloak, or with a sword, at least. Otherwise, she would have to entirely trust her wizard senses.

Elleniel had been riding all day, following the Great River. She decided to stop for the night, and took care of her mare Ithil. She had named her after Minas Ithil, the former name of Minas Morgul when founded by Isildur himself, before it was taken over by the Nazguls. Elleniel hoped the mare's name would prove a good omen for her, and help her reestablish Minas Morgul as a Gondorian city, once the war was over.

Ithil was starting to show signs of exhaustion after travelling every day for many weeks. Maybe I should rest here for a few days, Elleniel thought. If I am successful in eliminating a Nazgul, I will need a refreshed horse to escape the others that will without a doubt follow me. Escaping will not be possible if Ithil has not recovered from this journey.

Her decision taken, Elleniel found a little clearing in the forest, and set her camp for a few days. She had some lembas left, but not much. She decided to hunt and have a hot meal for once. She shot a partridge with her bow, and picked some mushrooms. Half an hour later, she was enjoying some campfire cooking, like in the old days with Oromë.

Thinking of Oromë made her think of his wife Vana, and how she had been overwhelmed when Elleniel had arrived in Valinor. How she had been removed from Imladris and forced to go to Valinor was still fresh in her memory, like it was yesterday. She had followed Mithrandir for a horse ride near the waterfalls, at the border of her father's realm. There, Mithrandir had met Saruman the White, and they had whispered to each other for a long time while Elleniel was playing by the river.

"My child?" Saruman had called Elleniel. "You are a very powerful little elleth! Would you like to stay with me for a few days? I could teach you some very interesting magic!"

Elleniel had been interested by his proposal. The only two other wizards she had met were Mithrandir and her grandmother Galadriel, and she was not seeing them regularly. Furthermore, none of them really had spent time explaining to Elleniel what her powers were and how she could control them. It was an unprecedented offer for her, one she had decided to accept immediately.

But Saruman had not kept his promise. He had never shown her anything. He had taken control of her mind, and had made her feel an overwhelming numbness that had made her follow each of his commands. They had travelled by horse to the Grey Havens. Mithrandir, who had joined them on the way, had made arrangements for a ship to bring her to Valinor. Radagast the Brown, another Istar wizard, was to make the journey with her.

She had been alone with Saruman for long minutes before boarding. Under the strong hold he had been keeping on her mind, all Elleniel had been able to do was weep and ask for her brothers and parents.

"Stop thinking of them, little Elleniel. They were afraid of you. They wanted to be rid of you. They are celebrating your departure as we speak, my child."

"You are lying!" She had continued weeping, unable to fight him, whether physically, mentally or magically.

"No, I am not. Do you not remember your Adar and Naneth looking at you with worry? They were afraid of what you would become. This is why you are being sent to Valinor. To grow older and become an Istar like us. This is your destiny. Forget your parents, forget your brothers, for they will forget you soon enough. Did you know that your Naneth is already pregnant? It will be an elleth. She will replace you quite beautifully," Saruman had said, giving Elleniel the last blow.

The young elleth had fainted, and only had woken up when the ship was far from the coast. Radagast's hold on her mind had not been strong enough, and her anger and pain were terrible. She called for a wind storm, to bring the boat back East. They had fought with storms and winds of their own for days, to the terror of the crew. But eventually, Elleniel's powers had faltered, inexperienced as she was. And the ship had reached the coast of Valinor, where a welcoming party of Queens of the Valar had been awaiting her.

Vana, the ever-young queen who made flowers spring and birds sing by her simple presence, had been particularly enthusiastic at the thought of having a little elleth as companion. She had promised herself many hours of pure joy walking and singing with Elleniel in the gardens.

Nienna, the mourner who felt pity and compassion for all beings, had promised herself to comfort Elleniel, whose grief she could feel even before the boat had cast anchor.

The ship, with an exhausted Radagast on board, had sailed back to Middle Earth as soon as Elleniel had touched the ground.

Elleniel chuckled at the memory of the disappointment of the two queens. There had been no peaceful walks in the gardens, no philosophical discussions about grief and hope in the Halls of Nienna. There only had been a revolted elleth, screaming for her brothers, breaking everything that was left near her, and using her powers to restrict access to her own person.

She had spent days in a confined room in Vana's palace, with no food and water. Elleniel had decided to let herself fade, and had been hoping it would not take too long. She had not been able to handle the thought of her family rejecting her in such an ignominious way.

And then, Oromë had arrived. Oromë, the Lord of the forests, the Huntsman of the Valar, husband of Vana, who had come to her aid. Through the door, he had spoken to Elleniel of a fate, of the possibility of becoming a witch-warrior who could kill Sauron's most terrifying slaves, the Ringwraiths. He, along with Tulkas, the Champion of the Valar, could become her tutors. He had given her one day to think about it and answer him. At the end of that day, she had come out of her room, a different elleth. Hard-heated and aloof. She had sworn to herself that she would not let anyone ever hurt her again.

She had spent the following centuries in the forests with Oromë, learning to track and hunt, to kill her preys with her bow or spear. It had been an austere life, sleeping outdoors, eating their preys and washing themselves in the rivers. Oromë had also helped her develop her powers. Once in a while, they would go visit his wife Vana, who had finally forgiven her the destruction she had caused in her home centuries before.

After a millennium with Oromë, he declared he had taught her all the knowledge that would be useful in her future endeavors. Tulkas had then taken over her warrior training. Tulkas had been pleasant to live with, always in high spirits, especially after winning a fight. He had been an unbeatable warrior, and Elleniel suffered much under his guardianship. With him, she had learned hand-to-hand combat, sword and knife fighting, and had much improved her physical shape.

One day, Nienna had come to her with some sad news. Her mother Celebrian had arrived in Valinor, to recover from an orc attack. She had been tortured for days, and her father Elrond had only been able to cure her body; her soul had been shattered beyond his healing powers.

Elleniel had refused outright to go see her. After all, this was the elleth who had sent her away from her family and brothers. Elleniel had many qualities, but easy forgiving was not part of them.

She had trained even harder with her mentor, to keep her mind away from the thought of her naneth living near her. After 500 years of training with Tulkas, she had finally beat him in sword fight for the first time. She had been so overjoyed by her achievement, she had decided to go walk in the gardens of the city of Valmar. She had been walking in the aisles when she had seen an elleth sitting on a bench, her golden hair shining under the sun. Elleniel had immediately recognized her mother.

"Elleniel, my child!"

Elleniel had stopped walking away, but had not turned to face her mother.

"I have waited for you a long time. I always hoped to see you again. I miss you so!"

"My Lady, if you did not want to miss me, you only had not to send me away from Imladris!"

"I have regretted this decision all my life, Elleniel. We have caused you and your brothers an unbearable grief."

"How are they?"

"I left them well, Elleniel. They are longing for you. They still share one fëa with you."

"I know. It has not been easy living without them... I have to go."

"Will I see you again, my child?"

"I cannot tell. I will go back to Middle Earth eventually."

After this ice-breaking meeting, Elleniel had started participating more in the social life of Valmar, no longer afraid of meeting her mother. She had attended a few gatherings, but mainly stayed apart from the rest of the crowd. The elves had been slightly scared of her, her warrior training and how she glowed when using her magic. As a consequence, during these social events, she had kept to herself, walking around and listening to the conversations of the ellith, mainly relating to the dearly missed Lord Glorfindel of Gondolin. The Balrog Slayer had left Valinor in the second age, on a mission to protect her father's family. He has not been able to protect my mother, she had thought one day, tired of hearing about his multiple talents and qualities.

Motivated by her lucky win against Tulkas, Elleniel had trained even harder, knowing somewhere in Middle Earth, her brothers were still waiting for her to come back. After another few centuries, she had been able to win against Tulkas about one time out of four. It had been deemed enough to defeat a Nazgul, and Elleniel had started preparing her return to Middle Earth.

She officially had been made an Istar of the first level. Elleniel the Blue. Oromë had tried to convince her that she was far beyond the blue level. As a child, she had been as powerful as Radagast the Brown. Elleniel had refused. If she survived her mission, she had no intention of staying part of the Istar order.


Elleniel woke up before the sun, at least this was her assessment, as the sun could not be seen anymore above Mordor. This was the big day. The day she would fight her first and hopefully not last Nazgul. She was too nervous to eat anything. She had let Ithil free in the woods, knowing the mare would come to her if she called her. Elleniel had then journeyed by foot in the mountains encircling Mordor, and had stopped last night.

From the place where she had spent the night, she could see Minas Morgul. The sight was both beautiful and terrifying: the fortress had a beautiful architecture. The view would have been spectacular if the castle had been as white as Minas Tirith, especially under a bright sun. But Minas Morgul's walls were glowing green. Only a being with a death wish would approach it.

Elleniel's plan was very simple: send a ray of her magic on the front gate, and then... escape. The Nazguls would feel the Istar magic and come after her. No orcs would be sent after a wizard, they were too stupid.

She started to slowly gather her powers, and was about to project a ray when she suddenly felt something behind her. She dodged at the last second, avoiding being beheaded by a sword. She jumped back, drawing her blade at the same time, and realized she was being attacked by a Nazgul. She could feel his presence, but he was invisible to her eyes since he was not wearing a cloak. She could only see his sword, a few feet away from her.

From the way the sword was standing in the air, this Nazgul was right handed. Always watch the sword hand, at least two Ringwraiths are left handed, Tulkas had told her. We assume they wear their ring in their dominant hand. In order to destroy a Nazgul, you need to cut his ring-hand. The ring will then appear, and you must destroy it immediately. And run before another Nazgul arrives.

The Nazgul seemed to take some time to analyze her before attacking. Elleniel lit her sword with some magic of her own she had developed with Oromë, ensuring the sword could cut Nazgul flesh. When her sword started emitting blue light, the Nazgul started laughing.

"You think you can kill me, she-elf?" he asked in the black speech. "No Istar can kill us. Too bad you will not be able to tell the others..."

And the sword suddenly moved towards her, and once again, she avoided the blow, throwing herself on the floor and hitting the air where the Nazgul's feet should have been, but missing him. They fought for long minutes. Elleniel was starting to get used to his sparring style, although fighting with an invisible opponent was the most difficult thing she had ever done. But luckily, this Nazgul was not the best warrior of the nine, and she knew she had a chance.

She only had finished that thought when she felt searing pain in her right arm. The damned creature had hit her, and blood immediately started soaking her sleeve. Elleniel kept fighting with her left hand, but she had more difficulty on that side. She only had a few minutes left before she became too exhausted, and it was her last chance before the Nazgul killed her.

When he approached her again, she dodged the blow by throwing herself to the left and dropped her blade violently above his. Immediately, his sword fell and he started screeching dreadfully. On the ground, she saw a ring beside the sword. She kicked the ring a few feet away so he could not grab it before her. She ran towards it as the Nazgul was snatching his sword to kill her, still screeching for help to come from Minas Morgul. Kneeling on the floor, she used her blue sword to sever the ring on the ground before he could hit her again. He immediately vanished from Middle Earth, but his sword did not, and it dropped directly on Elleniel's left thigh. She screamed in pain, watching the blade in her leg and the blood flooding the dirt.

She could not just stay there and wait for another Nazgul to arrive and finish her off. She clenched her teeth and removed the blade from her thigh. The wound was gruesome, and she tried to close it magically, but it did not work completely. There had been some black magic in this blade, and she would need time to remove it from her body.

She took the Nazgul's sword and his ring, now broken in two pieces, and started climbing down the mountain with difficulty. She did not know how long before the other Nazguls showed up on the scene, but she would bet it could be counted in minutes. Indeed, she could already hear the main gate of Minas Morgul slowly opening. Someone or something was coming after her.

She redirected her steps North-West, hoping to reach the forest where Ithil was waiting for her. She was exhausted and in pain. She started to realize that she would not be able to escape the other Nazguls, not at that pace and with the blood she was leaving here and there. They would easily find her, still so close of Minas Morgul. No, she could not escape. Her only chance was to hide and not use any of her magic at all, since they could obviously sense it.

She tore pieces of her blue cloak and covered her wounds with tight bandages. She cringed under the pain, but it was necessary if she wanted to stop leaving blood traces behind her. She resumed walking, hearing the screeching voices of the Nazguls far behind her. She had little time left to hide, and very little energy. She started to run down the hill, lost her balance and fell for what seemed the longest time. Her fall was abruptly stopped when she landed right arm first on a rock. She saw stars before she lost consciousness.

She woke when she felt someone shaking her. She opened her eyes, and saw an old man bending over her.

"Elleniel?" he asked, concerned.

She lost consciousness again. She could not fight the dark magic that was invading her mind and body.


When she arose again, she was in the forest, and the same old man was taking care of her wounds.

"Who are you?" she asked. "Where did you take me?"

"We are in the forest of North Ithilien. And who I am? You know who I am, Elleniel."

She took a good look at the man, his grey threadbare cloak, his beard and blue eyes full of wisdom.

"Mithrandir?"

"Yes, child. Can I ask what you were doing so close to Mordor?"

"I am on a mission."

"I know what your mission is. I do not think Lord Oromë and Lord Tulkas would be proud to see you got yourself wounded by orcs with poisonous blades!"

She cringed when he did something rather painful to her thigh.

"I think I was able to remove all the poison. Elleniel, you are lucky the Nine did not catch you. If I had not been around..."

"Not the Nine," she said through gritted teeth, "you can call them the Eight now."

The grey wizard immediately stopped cleaning her wounds, and looked at her.

"You did it? You killed a Nazgul?"

Elleniel pointed at her backpack, from where the hilt of a blade could be seen. Mithrandir brought the bag closer, and took out the dark sword.

"We should destroy it!"

"Quite the opposite. I intend to use it in the future. This blade screams Nazgul a mile around! Imagine fighting orcs with this blade! Or another Nazgul..."

"You are wounded from your encounter, and you already think of fighting another one?"

"This is my mission, Mithrandir, just like yours is to find the one-ring and ensure it gets destroyed."

"Speaking of ring, did you take the Nazgul's?"

"Yes, I have it in my pocket." Elleniel took out the pieces, and gave them to Mithrandir. "You can keep it. I already have the sword."

"We have to be on the move. I cannot seem to be able to close this wound properly. Maybe I could... cauterize it? But it would leave a nasty scar, Elleniel."

Who cares, she thought. It's not like I have potential mates lining up. All the ellyn I have ever met are scared of me.

"Do it," she said.


They had been travelling in silence for many days now. Elleniel was grateful that he had saved her and taken care of her wounds, but she remembered he was one of the wizards that had taken her away from her family.

Mithrandir had been watching her all this time, waiting for her to finally explode and tell him what she really thought about her fellow Istari. But she was strong-willed, and in the end, he had to start the conversation himself, one evening around the campfire.

"Elleniel, I have been summoned to Imladris. Can you guess why?"

"No."

"Before you started your mission, did you... meet your brothers?"

"Yes, I did. Not that it is any of your business. We are grownups now, you cannot dictate if we can see each other... or not."

"You are right, Elleniel. We cannot anymore. But please believe me when I say it was done for your own good."

She stood, her anger clearly showing on her face. She was literally glowing blue, and he knew she could attack him anytime. He decided not to put any protection up, to show her he was not scared and that he did not feel guilty about anything.

"How can separating me from my brothers have been for our own good? Did you not know that we share one fëa? Can you just even begin to imagine how it feels to have your soul stretched in three beings?"

"This is why we did it, Elleniel. We were convinced you would eventually figure out how to make your fëa whole."

"And how would that be?"

"We thought you would bind with your brothers."

"What? You are a sick old man!"

"Your parents saw you kissing, Elleniel."

"There is a world of difference between kissing and having sex! The kissing brings us a little comfort and allows us to bear this burden more easily! But do you think that we do not know what the only solution is? Other than your disgusting one, which we will never do? We know that if one of us fades or chooses mortality, then our fëa will only be split in two instead of three."

"What are you planning to do?"

"Elladan wants to sacrifice himself and become mortal. Elrohir and I are against it. We both know he wants to stay an Eldar. So... I will accomplish my mission. Chances are... I will be killed and the problem will be solved, to my father's pleasure, without a doubt."

"Why do you say that? Your father misses you dearly."

"He sent me away like I was infected by the plague! He replaced me with Arwen, the Evenstar of the Elven people!"

"What are you talking about? Who told you he sent you away and replaced you? Are you mad?"

"Our leader, Mithrandir. The great and ever compassionate Saruman the White," she sneered.

"Elleniel, what he told you, I do not know. But I can tell you this: we had to force your parents into this decision. It took me months to convince them it was for your own good, that you would become a powerful wizard and warrior if they let you go. Elrond was destroyed, and so was your mother. Do not blame them. They were as much a victim of this than your brothers and you."

"You know what? It does not matter. I do not need a family anymore."

"You are condemning yourself to a life of solitude."

"And that is the life of an Istar, as it was chosen for me."

She sat down, and stared at the fire, completely ignoring him.

"Elleniel... about your fëa... there is another solution. You could take a mate and bind yourself to him. I am sure the bond would cut your link with your brothers."

"Or... we could be four sharing one fëa, making matters even worse. I will not take the chance, but thank you for your concern. Anyhow, this is a useless discussion. Ellyn are scared of me. Just like no one in their right mind would wish to mate with an Istar like Saruman or you."

"You are not a normal Istar, Elleniel. You are a female."

"Are you suggesting that I mate with another Istar? Perhaps Radagast? Or the wonderful Saruman?"

"What is it that you have against Saruman, Elleniel?"

"I do not trust him. And so do you, it is useless to deny it. I can see it in your face each time I pronounce his name."

"You are right, I have my suspicions. But do not change the subject. I would never suggest that you mate with another Istar. What I meant is that I am sure we can find an ellon in Middle Earth that will not be terrified by the blue fury that you are. Like... the Marchwarden of Lorien. He is a pretty strong ellon. Or... Lord Glorfindel in Imladris."

Elleniel snorted. "Yes, Glorfindel of Gondolin. Watch his forehead next time you see him."

"Why?"

"You will see!"

"Elleniel, I think you should come with me."

"To Imladris? Certainly not! I have eight more Nazguls to kill. I have to stay around Mordor."

"That would be suicidal. They now know that you exist. You must hide for a while. If you are lucky, they will eventually come out of their fortress, looking for you or for the ring. And you will be waiting for them."

"I see your point. But I am not going to Imladris."


As they were travelling together, they spent countless hours discussing strategy for her mission, his suspicion that the One Ring had been found, although he did not tell her where he thought it was. He had spent weeks making researches in the library of Minas Tirith to find information about the ring. Elleniel was so eager to listen to his conversation full of wisdom, that she followed him on his journey North. When he went East in the mountain pass, she was still at his side.

When they were a day away from Imladris, she refused to follow him any further.

"Wait for me then, Elleniel. I might have a mission for you once I am done with your father."

"Do not take too long. I do not like being around these waterfalls. They awake bad memories."


The Imladris elves were having dinner when the arrival of Mithrandir was announced. The conversations became much more animated, as the presence of the Istar meant they would get news from all over Middle Earth. To their dismay, at the announcement of the wizard's arrival, their Lord requested for Mithrandir to be send to his study, and was followed by his councilor and his commander.

The three ellyn walked quickly to the study, where Elrond took a seat and started to nervously play with his feathers. Erestor was not any better, walking around the study ceaselessly. Glorfindel had never seen them in such a state, but he understood their apprehension. For his part, he was happy to finally hear about the witch he had met in the woods, and was impatient to have Mithrandir remove the shameful word she had engraved on his forehead.

When Mithrandir was introduced, he immediately felt the tension in the room.

"Mae govannen, my Lord," he said, bowing to Elrond. "Good evening, Lord Erestor, Lord Glorfindel."

Mithrandir eyed Glorfindel's forehead, and smiled.

"Nice seeing again, Mithrandir," answered Glorfindel when he realized Elrond and Erestor were speechless. "Please have a seat."

After a few moments of silence, Lord Elrond finally found his voice back.

"Mithrandir, my daughter is in Middle Earth."

"I know."

"I trusted your word when you said she would become a powerful wizard. You have always refused to tell me what happened to her in the last two thousand years. But no more. I want to know what happened to her, and what she is doing here, on a mission my sons qualified as dangerous."

"I can answer all your questions, my Lord, now that she is back in Middle Earth. Let's start from the beginning. The day your daughter left Imladris, she was brought by Saruman to the Grey Havens. Radagast and I met them before her departure. She was... destroyed emotionally. Radagast made the journey to Valinor, where she was trained by Lord Oromë and Lord Tulkas. Trained to accomplish a mission that will help make Middle Earth safer: destroy the Nazguls."

"I am sorry. Did you just say she has to destroy Sauron's Ringwraiths?" asked Glorfindel in disbelief. He had killed a balrog, and had lost his first life in the process. Nazguls were no less dangerous.

This was worse than anything Elrond had imagined. He now understood why his sons were so angry with him. They must have thought he was aware of this plan.

"How long did you plan this? Since the beginning? Or was it a decision of the Valar?" he asked the Istar.

"From the beginning. Ever since I saw her as an elfling. Saruman and I knew she had power greater than Lady Galadriel's, and that she had the physical strength to become a warrior. The perfect combination. An unprecedented opportunity for us. She trained for two thousand years to become the most dangerous warrior we have seen in ages. She is now a Blue Istar."

"I refuse. She cannot possibly kill a Nazgul. I order you to release her from her mission and let her come back home. "

Mithrandir chuckled. He took out an object from his pocket, and put it on Elrond's desk.

"Did you just say she cannot possibly kill a Nazgul?" he asked.

Elrond looked at the object, and realized it was a broken ring of power, one of the nine rings that had been given to Men. He did not dare touch it, but looked at the wizard questioningly.

"She killed a Nazgul by herself weeks ago, my Lord. She gave me the ring to prove it."

"Is she unhurt?" asked Erestor.

"She recovered from her injuries by now. I found her right after the fight. Her wounds were turning black due to the poison on the Nazgul's blade. This is an issue Lord Tulkas did not think of."

"Who was going to help of each time she gets hurt?" completed Glorfindel. "Because she is still an elf, despite all her magic. Each time, she will get hurt. There is no way around that."

"Exactly," agreed Mithrandir.

"This is why you will stop this folly, and bring her back here."

"I am afraid she will not be easily convinced to drop her mission. She is... enthusiastic about her first kill. She kept the Nazgul's blade as a trophy."

"No. Not my daughter," Elrond denied.

"This sounds exactly like the twins would do, my Lord," Erestor said. "Maybe her personality is closer to those of Elladan and Elrohir than of Arwen."

"This is exactly right, Lord Elrond. This is why she is nearby, at a day of travel or so, but refused to come here with me today. She is rather... unforgiving about the whole situation."

"I want to see her."

Mithrandir thought about this request for a moment.

"Alright. But I will make no promises on the kind of welcome you will get."

"Leave that up to me. Glorfindel, get ready, we are going to meet Elleniel."

"Wait," the warrior interjected. "Mithrandir, can you please get rid of this on my forehead?"

"I am sorry, my Lord. Only Elleniel will be able to remove the... letters. So it is a good thing you will be going with Lord Elrond to meet with her."


Elrond was standing on the river bank, near the waterfalls. Glorfindel was right beside him, his sword drawn.

"Put it away, Glorfindel. This is my daughter, she will not hurt me."

"Elleniel!" he called. He knew his daughter was out there, he could feel her. He could sense her fëa close by, even if he could not see her with his eyes.

"Elleniel, I know you can hear me. I am not going away. I will stay here until you come to talk with me."

The following day, he was waiting for her on the same spot. Glorfindel had gone hunting. There was no way he would let himself starve because Elleniel was as pig-headed as her twins.

"Elleniel?" called Elrond again. "I know you are still here. I cannot fathom why you will not talk to me, but I have things to say to you. I need to explain what happened."

And he started to tell her the tale of her birth and childhood. He spoke of how proud of his powerful daughter he had been, of his unconditional love for her. He explained how he had been misled about a possible binding with her brothers, and the heartbreaking decision he had taken. He told her how he had missed her daily for two thousand years. He was baring his soul for her to see his thoughts and emotions, hoping she would also open her heart to him.

"My Elleniel, please forgive my errors. My child, please, do not deny me the pleasure of meeting you."

On the other side of the river, perched in a tree, Elleniel was heartbroken by his story. Now that she knew how everything had happened, she understood the Istari had sacrificed her family's happiness for the good of Middle Earth, supported by the Valar. If she was to be angry at someone, it should be at the wizards that had forced her to become one of them.

She slowly came down from her tree. From the corner of his eye, Elrond saw a flash of blue on the other side of the river. He watched her come closer to the stream, with obvious hesitation. She was like Glorfindel had said. The resemblance with the twins was amazing. She was an exquisite elleth of incomparable beauty. She was tall, strong and intimidating, but behind the facade, he recognized the child that had spent numerous hours playing with him in his study.

He did not mind the river between them. He crossed it, ruining his boots and tunic, not willing to waste another second before holding her in his arms. He stopped two feet away from me, and took her face in his hands, analyzing her facial features eagerly.

"My daughter," he whispered, before crushing her in his arms.


Coming back from a successful hunt, Glorfindel stopped dead in his tracks, surprised to see Elrond had only taken a day to make the witch capitulate. He hoped she would be quicker to convince to remove the insult she had engraved on his forehead.


A/N: I hope you liked Elleniel's first kill. In the next chapter, Elleniel will have to take a battle companion against her will. Can you guess who it will be? ;-)