I'm really sorry it's been so long since the last chapter, and I'm afraid it will be a long time again as my GCSE's start in 2 weeks. so there may not be an update until june. My exam's finish on the 13th. sothat;s probably when I'll post again. I'm really sorry, but I don't have any time!

Sorry about that! This chapter is a little strange...some things you may thing are a bit weird, but hey! if you can live with dragons and orcs and elves, nothing's weird really! it also features my first (apart from Himhith in chapter one) OC's! Baran and Mari are aged about 10 and 4 respectively...please be nice to them!!

this chapter's song/poem is by Sara Teasdale

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Now while my lips are living
their words must stay unsaid,
and will my soul remember
to speak when I am dead?

Yet if my soul remembered
you would not heed it, dear,
for now you must not listen,
and then you could not hear.

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"Never again shall a dwarf enter these woods. They shall forever rue the day they passed through here, with their tales of excitement and adventure, of lost treasure and secret pathways into mountains. Because it came with a price, and it wasn't the dwarves who paid it. I paid the price; it is my son who lies dead, because they could not control their greed."

Elrond sighed, remembering the conversation. He had not interrupted Thranduil. He had not spoken of how the dwarves had lost their leader, and several of their company. He had remained silent, because he realised in a way Thranduil's loss was harder to bear. He had lost his only remaining family for eternity. At least the dwarves could die. Thranduil would live on forever alone and remembering.

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"Baran!" a young girl's voice sounded in the sunlit glade.

"Mari" a boy called back "Where are you going? You know that the forest is dangerous; if you don't stop you'll be lost. Would you like to be caught by an elf? They eat little girls who don't listen to their brothers, you know, they suck out your eyes for breakfast and knaw your bones for supper!"

With this Mari, who couldn't have been more than four or five years old, stopped running and began to cry.

Baran, suddenly feeling guilty, knelt down beside his little sister and wrapped his arms about her.

"Oh I'm sorry Mari; I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry, don't cry, please. But you must remember that the forest is dangerous. Come on, let's go home, yes."

Mari nodded and stopped sniffling. But then, as Baran rose up to take her hand, Mari spotted something shining a little further into the forest. With Baran close behind her, she ran, as fast as her little legs would carry her, towards it.

When he stopped Baran saw Mari kneeling next to a body in the grass and ferns of the forest floor.

It was a young man, golden-haired and fair of face. His clothes spoke of great wealth, as did the silver circlet, shaped like a wreath of leaves, upon his brow. His eyes were closed in peaceful sleep.

Baran's thoughts were interrupted by his sister's voice.

"Do you think he's a prince? Maybe he lives in a great tower. He could take me there, and I could be a princess, with a shiny crown!"

"Maybe", Baran smiled, but inside he was troubled. He knew there was something wrong, but he couldn't say what.

Then he noticed that Mari was shaking the man, who didn't wake. Then it hit him.

"Mari!" he shouted "come away from him!"

"Why should I?" Mari whined

"Mari come here, he's not asleep." Baran ran over and pulled his sister away from the corpse. But as he did, the body's hair slipped away from his shoulder, revealing the pointed ear of an elf.

"An Elf" Baran whispered softly. But it couldn't be, elves didn't die, everyone knew that. Everyone also knew that they enchanted humans into giving them their souls, and that was how they survived. So what was this one doing, dead and seemingly abandoned at the edge of the forest?

Baran made a decision; he walked slowly towards the elf and tried to lift him. Finding that the Elf weighed no more than him, despite being much taller, Baran managed to lift the elf over his shoulder and still walk.

"Mari" He called "It'll be dark soon, we must go home."

The little girl nodded stood to leave. As she did one of her hair ribbons caught on a twig, but she didn't notice and they left the forest.

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It was almost dark when the two children reached their village and their mother was standing worriedly by the door to their house. When she saw the body over Baran's shoulder, she cried out to them. Baran lowered the body gently to the floor and explained how they had found the elf.

But their mother wasn't listening; she was staring at the body. Then suddenly she spoke, startling the children.

"Deinol!" she called for her husband.

"Baran" she said, looking at the children "Baran, dead bodies don't bleed."

so...good, bad, don't care. Give a review whatever your opinion! only two people did last time...Come on guys!