I was too excited about posting this chapter to wait!

Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks to Dwyna, Mimiru, Foxluna, New Moon Promise, Jessica and Stebba stud28 for their reviews.

Disclaimer: Still own nothing!

"English"

"Elvish"

'Thought'

After dressing the next morning, Kagome leaves her room to meet with Lord Elrond.

She approached him warily as she saw a slight glint in his eye.

What not many people, or elves, seem to realize is that Lord Elrond's son had to learn their tricks from someone.

"What do you have planned?"

A half smile formed on his face.

"Shall we see how long it takes them to realize your gender?"

Intrigued, Kagome motions for him to continue.

"Keep your hood up and body covered to hide your features. Eventually they will be curious to see who lies under the cloak."

Kagome nods her head.

"The Hobbits might ruin your fun."

Lord Elrond raises a brow.

"The Shire was one of the towns I visited regularly as a healer. I often spoke with Frodo Baggins and his friends."

Lord Elrond nods in thought.

"I will discuss it with them," he says with a smirk. "They might find the game interesting as well."

With a shake of her head, Kagome watches as Lord Elrond moves on to the room shared by the four Hobbits.

Careful to avoid anyone, Kagome makes her way down to the stable to pack her horse.

Pulling the last strap tight, She hears a horn sound throughout the Elven village; signaling the departure of the Fellowship.

With a playful smile, she draws her hood far over her head and wraps her cloak around her body, Leaving only her arm visible as she takes hold of her horse's reigns.

She approaches Lord Elrond's from behind, much to the Fellowship's confusion, except the Hobbit's of course.

Stopping beside the Elven Lord, she waits as he informs the party of the slight change in plans.

"This Elf will travel with you until you reach Lothlórien," he explained. "From there, fate will dictate if they will continue to travel with you or set on their own path."

The taller members of the Fellowship, and the Dwarf, look at her in confusion.

The Hobbit's are giving each other knowing looks, trying not to laugh as the mysterious Elf joins the party.

Lord Elrond looks at the group before him.

"The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On you who travel with him no oath nor bond is laid, to go further than you will," He gives them a gentle smile. "Farewell. Hold to your purpose. May the blessings of Elves and Men and all free folk go with you."

An old man in grey looks down at Frodo.

"The Fellowships awaits the Ring-bearer."

No one sees the slight glare given to the old man by the hooded figure.

Nervously, Frodo moves along the path until it forks.

He whispers softly to the old man.

"Mordor, Gandalf, is it left or right."

In an amused tone, he answers.

"Left."

'So that is the great Gandalf the Grey,' she thought. 'May have to have a word with him.'

The group had been traveling for hours before the Dwarf turned to the cloak figure.

"That's it," he yells, catching the attention of the rest of party. "I've held my peace long enough! Who are you?!"

Laughter burst forth from the Hobbit's, much to the other's confusion.

A light laugh came from beneath the hood.

A second hand comes out from the cloak to join the first as the figure reaches for their hood.

The part in the cloak revealed a very feminine figure.

"What in the blazes?!"

"It didn't even take half a day, Lord Elrond will be amused."

Pulling down their hood, Kagome looked up at the rest of the Fellowship with mirth in her green eyes.

Gandalf merely raised his brow while the other four stared on in surprise.

"You're a woman!"

Raising her own brow, Kagome sent the Dwarf a dry look.

"Am I really? I have been wondering about that for quite some time now."

The Dwarf sputtered at her response.

Merry and Pippin fell to the ground, unable to stand much longer.

Sam and Frodo leaned on each other for support.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the shoulders of the dark haired man shaking in suppressed laughter.

The Elf had an amused expression on his face.

The light haired man continued to stare at her in shock.

Finally calming down, the Hobbit's all ran over and embraced her.

Seeing the curious stares, Frodo smiled at the rest.

"This is Kagome," he says. "She is a healer from Archet who traveled to the surrounding towns to care for the sick."

Sam took over the explanation.

"She traveled throughout the Shire as well."

Pippin looks up at her.

"What were you doing in Rivendell?"

"I've had a feeling of ill-ease for some time now, so I came to seek Lord Elrond's council."

She looks up to the remaining group.

"He was unable to fully answer, so he suggested I travel with you until you passed by Lothlórien."

She looked back down at Merry and Pippin.

"He also thought that a knowledgeable healer would be a good addition to your little group.

A scoff drew her attention to the light-haired man.

The Hobbit's looked to each other with wide eyes as they felt her tense and quickly moved out of the way.

"Knowledgeable though you may be, should we be attacked who will defend you? Our primary concern is the Ring-bearer."

Too quickly for anyone to react, Boromir found himself lying on the ground. A knee on his chest and a knife at his throat.

"I assure you," she hissed. "I have need of no one's protection."

Glaring at him, she rose up slowly and backed away as he stood back up.

"He got off lucky."

The males all look to Pippin.

It was the Elf who spoke.

"And how is that?"

It was Merry who answered.

"You should have seen what she did to that man who 'escorted' her from Bree to Hobbiton."

The other Hobbits winced.

"I didn't know it was possible to cause that much pain with so little effort."

Kagome turned to look at Sam.

"If you've had the training, it's very simple."

The dark-haired man looked over to her.

"I thought Frodo said you were a healer."

"I am. That means while I know how to heal wounds and certain illnesses, I also know how to turn that knowledge around to teach lechers a lesson."

Gandalf spoke at last.

"You spoke of a feeling of ill-ease."

"I did."

"Have you any idea of what it is."

"Lord Elrond and I both believe it ties in with the ring Frodo carries."

She sees Frodo clutch the ring while giving her a worried look.

Seeing his actions, she tried to set his fears to rest.

"You don't have to worry about my being tempted by the ring. It has no power over me."

"And how is that? The ring calls to all near it!"

She turned her head to the annoying man and leveled him with a cool gaze.

"And you are?"

With a haughty look, he answered.

"Boromir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor."

"Do you always try to claim your father's title as your own?"

Ignoring his glare, she continued.

"As to your question. I once guarded an artifact similar to the ring. It, also, did not hold sway over me."

Seeing his mouth opening, she cut him off.

"Don't bother asking about it; you've never heard of it and it has long since been destroyed."

Boromir closed his mouth and glared at her.

The Dwarf was next to approach.

He eyed her as he spoke.

"You're not like any Elf I've ever met."

She smiled at him and bowed.

"I thank you for the compliment Master Dwarf."

"The name's Gimli, son of Gloin."

She nodded in acknowledgement before turning her gaze to the last three of the party.

The dark haired man gave a short bow.

"I am Aragorn."

"The ranger who led them from Bree," she says. "I hear you're a decent tracker."

He looked surprised as she chose to comment on his skill rather than his heritage, like others would.

Taking advantage of his friend's stunned silence, the Elf made to introduce himself.

"I am Legolas, my lady. It will be good to have another bow and an extra pair of eyes."

Kagome gave him a smile before turning to the last member.

"And you must be Gandalf the Grey."

He gave a small bow.

"That I am," he says. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

She smile sweetly at him.

"You and I are going to have a little talk about throwing innocent people into situations without any warning."

Gandalf blinked in shock as Legolas and Aragorn snickered, trying to hold in their laughter.

Everyone else looked on in confusion.

Giving a quiet chuckle, Gandalf motioned for the Fellowship to continue.

Kagome walked with Gimli and the Hobbit's behind him while Legolas, Boromir and Aragorn took up the rear.

"By the way Kagome, how old are you?"

Pippin cried out in pain as both Merry and Sam hit him over the head.

"Now what was that for?!"

"You never ask a lady her age," Sam scolded.

Merry was shaking his head at his cousin.

Kagome laughed.

"It's quite alright. To sate your curiosity Pippin, I'm 672 years old."

Boromir raised an eyebrow.

"Quite young for an Elf."

Kagome shrugged and called back to him.

"Still older than a child such as yourself."

This leads the two to begin bickering, much to the amusement of those listening.

While Kagome was distracted by the 'conversation' she found herself in, Aragorn spoke softly to Legolas.

"I've seen you staring at her."

Without missing a beat, he answered back.

"She puzzles me."

Aragorn laughed silently.

"She certainly is different."

Legolas looked at her back.

"She is very different from any of the elves I've met. And most certainly not like a woman of any race."

"Except maybe dwarven women."

The two laughed at this.

Clasping a hand on the Elf's shoulder, the exiled King of Gondor gave his friend an encouraging smile.

"I wish you luck on your hunt, my friend."

Laughing, Aragorn made his way to walk beside Gandalf.

At the sound of his laughter, Kagome turned back to see Legolas giving a dry look to Aragorn's back.

Slowing down, she waited for the Elf to catch up before matching his pace.

"You seemed annoyed."

The blonde Elf shook his head with a smile.

"Just some words between friends."

She nodded with a fond smile.

"How long have you known each other?"

The blonde Elf chuckled.

"We met about 75 years ago when he came to see my father. We had run into each other a few times since then."

Catching up with the grey wizard, Aragorn looked back to see the two elves smiling and talking.

Gandalf tuned his head to see what held the young King's attention.

"I was not aware that matchmaking was one of the duties held by a ranger."

Aragorn chuckled.

They walked until night fell, preventing them from moving any further.

The Fellowship sat around a modest fire, watching the rabbits the elves had caught cook.

"Woman, what in the blazes are you doing?!"

Kagome had been twisting her torso around, and it finally drove Boromir to his end.

"My back feels a bit stiff," she explains as she stands and backs away from the fire. "So I am trying to pop it."

Ignoring the curious looks being sent in her direction, she bends backwards until her hands touch the ground.

She slowly walks her hands toward her feet, the bend of her body becoming sharper.

*crack*

*crack*

*crack-crack-crack*

Feet still planted on the ground, the she-Elf pushes off on her hands to move back into a standing position.

"That feels better," she sighs.

Looking back towards the group, she sees their shocked looks.

She blinks in confusion and looks behind herself.

"What are you staring at?"

Aragorn is the first to break out of his stupor.

"How did you do that?"

"What?"

"Bend your body in half like that!"

"Oh," she says. "Lots of practice."

A deadpanned look is sent into her direction.

"Doesn't that hurt?"

She turns her gaze to Sam.

"It did as I was learning, but not any longer."

Frodo was just as curious as the rest.

"Could anyone learn to do it?"

She tilts her head to the side in thought.

"It's easier to learn as a child, because they are more flexible to begin with. As you get older, it gets a bit more difficult because your body is used to moving a certain way."

Merry and Pippin look to each other before turning back the Kagome and speaking at once.

"Could you teach us?"

She winces.

"At this time, I don't think that would be a good idea. I can teach you some exercises that will make traveling easier," she offers. "But to teach you to bend like me? Not a good idea."

"And why is that?"

Boromir seems insulted.

The silver haired Elf raises a brow.

"Because it will hurt and make you sore for days."

The Steward's son scoffs.

"I find it hard to believe that you believe us incapable of learning."

She glares at the idiot.

"I never said that," she replies. "I just said that it would not be a good idea at this time."

"I'm sure," he says. "And what, pray tell, do you think would hinder our ability to travel."

With no warning she falls to the ground, her legs stretched out on either side of her.

The males of the party wince as one as she remains on the ground with her arms crossed.

"Would you like to try?"

(AN: Does she seem annoyed to you? Yeah, I think so too.)

Boromir just shakes his head.

"I thought not."

Standing back up, she walks back over to her place between Merry and Frodo; paying no attention to the scared looks she is receiving.

"Oh," she exclaims happily. "The rabbit's finished cooking."