Sword drawn and stars flashing, Mornie rushed toward Miss Rubac's attacker. She tripped him and heard Miss Rubac scream. The attacker rolled over and began to stand up, only to find a sword tip almost touching his Adam's apple. Miss Rubac began to cry.

"Lily," the attacker asked, "is this the Ranger?"

She could only nod through her sobs.

"I thought you said you could lose her."

"I'm sorry, Ven, I thought I had."

"Wait a second. This is what you're father was so upset about?" Mornie asked. Miss Rubac nodded.

"He doesn't know?"

She shook her head. Mornie sighed, and lifted up her sword.

"What are you going to do?" Miss Rubac asked.

Mornie looked up to the moon for an answer.

"I'm going to have to tell your father."

"No, but, please, you can't," Miss Rubac spluttered.

"Lily, calm down," Ven said, gently holding her. "It's time he knew anyway."

"Here, I'll go in first. Ven, you come in when I signal you. Lily, stand by Ven. Ready? Let's go."

When they reached the house, Mornie found Mr. and Mrs. Rubac and Hertem sitting in the library.

"Hertem, I thought I heard the cook saying that she had something special for you tonight. How about you go find out?" Mornie suggested. Hertem didn't need to be asked twice. Mr. Rubac caught on.

"Martha dear, may I handle this alone?" he asked his wife.

"Certainly, darling. I'll be upstairs." Mrs. Rubac said as she left.

"Well?" he said turning to Mornie.

"Mr. Rubac, I have discovered with what your daughter is dealing. I don't want you to worry. It is something that nearly all young women must deal with, especially around her age. All the letters, all her actions, have been indicating this. Because of my limited experience, I have unfortunately failed to realize the problem before it hit me in the face. Mr. Rubac, what I am about to say will shock you. I ask you to use your judgment well before coming to a decision. Miss Rubac is in love. She is afraid that you will not like the man she loves, so she has kept him and her love hidden. Ven?" He and Miss Rubac entered. "If you will excuse me-" Mornie left the room. She waited in the hall for the conclusion. A few minutes later, Ven and Lily came out, smiling and laughing.

"I take it that went well, then?" Mornie asked the joyful couple.

"Oh yes, Mornie, yes!" Lily ran up and hugged her. "Thank you so much, Mornie. We're going to arrange a ball soon so we can announce our engagement."

"Congratulations," Mornie said, managing a smile.

"You will stay, for it won't you?" Lily smiled back.

"I'm sorry. I really can't. It's best if I leave tonight, actually."

"Tonight? That's so soon," Lily sighed.

"I'm a Ranger. We can't stay in one place for long. Even if I returned for your ball, do you really want to see me there dressed like this?" she looked down at her clothes.

"You only have one dress?" Lily could not fathom this. Ven stepped in while she was trying to figure it out.

"Feel free to come back any time. Thank you very much. We will never forget this."

"Goodbye, then," Mornie said. "I should go see Mr. Rubac." She left the happy couple alone together.

She found Mr. Rubac smiling and laughing to himself. "Ah, my dear girl," he said, looking up as she came in. "Good work. Very good work indeed. Such good work, I was wondering whether you would like to have a permanent position here in our town."

"I am honored, Mr. Rubac," she replied, "but my place, my home is with Rangers in the Wildlands. I must return there, even this very evening."

"It's already night out there. Are you sure you don't want to wait for morning?" She shook her head. "My father is waiting," she explained.

"Well then, at least let me pay you."

"As I told you when this began, I don't want your gold."

"There must be some way I can repay you."

"There is: you can inform Hertem that there is an apprenticeship waiting for him if he wants it, once he is older, of course: and if that is what he truly wants, don't stand in his way."

"I won't," he said. "Once more, thank you, Miss Mornie. Goodbye."

She smiled and bowed, and began to leave the house, but Hertem was waiting for her.

"Do you really think I could be an apprentice?" he asked excitedly.

"Do you hear everything?" she asked, the stars glittering. He shrugged.

"A lot of things, I guess."

"Like I told your father: if you really want it, it's yours; but it's a hard life, Hertem. Make sure you're ready." And with that, she said goodbye and left the house.

Aragorn knew they had little time before her testing, so he began to work her harder than ever. They stayed out of Rivendell for the remaining months, and she began to do the most of the hunting. However, when her testing arrived, he knew she was ready. There would be little training left afterwards. She knew this was her chance to show the judges and the world she could take it on. She started with her single testing, where she would need to prove in a monitored environment that she could easily live a week alone in an unmonitored one. The location, however, was different. It had streams that would make you fall asleep, foods and plants that were transplanted from all over Middle Earth that the apprentices could not recognize. Many of the apprentices were frightened, but not Mornie. She knew that, even in the event that she made a mistake, there was no real danger. It would be humiliating to be taken out before the end of her week, but she would be alive. During her testing, she saw many apprentices who had taken the test before they were ready: they had drunk from the wrong stream, eaten the wrong food, or had made some other mistake. She, however, made no mistakes, coming out of the test completely unscathed. Next was the group testing, an extreme form of capture the flag, known to last for weeks at times. The ready apprentices from her gathering matched themselves against apprentices from another gathering. They both had a short meeting time to form a plan, and Mornie was put on the offensive and went out first. She penetrated deeper into enemy territory than any other apprentice had this early in the game for a long time, but the enemy eventually captured her. They held her in their prison, trying to get her to tell them where the flag was located. She pretended to keep her eyes on the ground, but one was always up and looking for their flag. That was her mission: to let herself be captured and find the flag. After a few days, she saw a glimpse of green and gold, the colors on their flag. It was inside the kitchen tent. Someone opened the flap again, and she could see it clearly. They were using their flag as a common kitchen rag.

Ingenious, she thought. We never would have found it.

"Are you even listening to me?" her interrogator demanded.

"No," she shrugged. He left her alone, exasperated.

That night, she heard Jim's hooting.

Have you found it yet?

Yes, she replied, I know precisely where it is.

Good. We'll get you out and attack at the right moment tomorrow.

I'll be waiting.

Jim kept his word. Over half of the camp was out, either building up the camp's defenses or trying to get across the border to the other team. She heard Jim's bluebird warning. She quickly flipped the guard on her right, freeing that hand so she could punch out the guard on her left. More were quickly upon her, but Jim and the others were just behind them. She grabbed her sword back and began to fight.

"We've got it," Jim yelled. "Go!"

Mornie took off, running straight to the kitchen tent and grabbing the flag, fighting off anyone in her way. Then she headed back for the border. She knew if she was caught now, it would all be for nothing. Suddenly, others were rushing toward her, recalled by the sound of fights in the camp. She took to the trees to get above them, jumping across branch to branch, balancing her sword and the flag. Then they were in the trees, too. She dropped back to the ground, knowing she could outrun them. She could hear their yells just a few yards behind her, growing closer and closer, until the trumpet sounded. She had made it across the border. Her team had won, her tests completed.

Her joy dissipated quickly, though. Aragorn had only given her limited information as to the rise of Sauron. He now told her everything.

"The reason I'm telling you all this now," he finished, "is that Gandalf came to see me during your testing."

"Gandalf!" Mornie smiled. She was also friends with the old wizard. "Why did he come to see you?"

"He said he had a job for me. Mornie, I need to go to Bree. There's someone I need to meet there. We'll be taking him to Rivendell. I want you to wait outside the village for me, though."

"All right. I'll go with you part of the way, and you tell me where to wait."

"Great. Thanks. We need to go now."

"That's what I figured."

The four hobbits were studying the ground, trying not to trip as they walked behind Aragorn. Merry looked up once, and let out a small shout, making the other hobbits look up.

"There's someone next to you!" he yelled to Aragorn.

"I have been here for the past hour," Mornie commented, her hood still up. She turned to Aragorn. "Whatever happened to someone?"

"He decided to bring friends."

"Mr. Frodo," she heard Sam say, "he's an elf!"

"He?!" Mornie smiled and threw back the hood of her cloak.

"Oh! Um, sorry," Sam offered. Mornie just waved her hand to say it was nothing.

"Gentlemen, my daughter, Mornie." Aragorn introduced her, and she bowed.

"Daughter? But he's not an elf!" Pippin was confused.

"Adopted, silly," Merry told him.

Then Aragorn and Mornie continued, the hobbits following behind. They were never really sure where Mornie was. Sometimes they would look up and see her, but they often wouldn't. One night, Frodo brought wood up to the fire where she was cooking.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked. Mornie nodded. "Why does your name mean darkness?"

She looked at him in surprise. Very few hobbits knew Elvish.

"You must be the-" she stopped herself, "the one who decided to bring his friends.

"Well, they more of decided to join me, not the other way around." She nodded, her stars beginning to dim, thinking of the answer to his question.

"I really don't know why. I never knew either of my parents. I think now that perhaps one or both of them somehow knew all this would happen, but I'm not really sure. Aragorn found me and the note with my name, and took me in. He gave me a true name: Morwen Finduilas Ar-Feniel, but I'm really only known as Mornie. Now, I'm the only female Elf Ranger, and that's all I really know about me."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"Hey Frodo, come see this!" Pippin called.

"Not now, he's talking to someone else," Merry reprimanded him.

"Are they always like that?" Mornie asked.

"Mostly. Especially Pippin." Frodo smiled, walked off to join the others.

The rest of the journey continued smoothly, at least until they arrived at Weathertop. There, Aragorn quietly informed Mornie of his worry that the Black Riders were close on their trail, that he was going out to try to slow them down, and he needed her to perform hourly patrols that night. She nodded. She was used to staying up all night. It was on one of these patrols that something happened. She didn't know what was happening, but she knew nothing good was going to come of it. She swiftly climbed one of the pillars one the peak of the lookout so she could see nearly everything without being seen. A chill that she couldn't understand began to creep up her spine, growing stronger as something drew near. The hobbits appeared just below her, frightened, but she kept still and waited. The chill grew stronger. Before she knew it, Ringwraiths joined the hobbits. The chill almost overwhelmed her, but she pushed it away, knowing she would need to fight soon. The other hobbits tried to protect Frodo before they were flung aside by the wraiths. Frodo dropped his sword. He was completely unshielded. Mornie knew what she must do. She jumped, turning mid-air, landing on all fours with her back to Frodo, silent as a cat. She quickly stood up, drawing her sword. She was face to face with the Witch-King of Angmar.