A/N: Drumroll please! Ta-da! Chapter 7. And not a moment too soon, right? Hope you like it. It's longer this time, and by popular demand, I've tried to make it more detailed. Thanks for the great reviews! Please keep them coming. ^_^

Chapter 7

The Gift

The dew still clung to the sweet grass when Karina opened her eyes the next morning. Sleepily, she slowly shook her head in hopes to clear away any slumber that lingered in her mind. Pulling herself into a sitting position, she tried to remember what had happened the previous night. Rather quickly, the memories came flooding back to her. Karina felt refreshed at the thought that she had finally been able to overpower her worst fear, for once. Softly stretching her arms, she looked up through the treetops of Lothlorien. The dawn sun weaved in and out of the branches, casting both light and shadow throughout the Golden Wood. She could hear the harmonious songs of the wind as it blew gently across her face. It had been such a long time since she had taken a chance to enjoy the peaceful beauty of the beginning of a new day.

"I have been lost within myself and never even realized it," she mused. Carefully standing up, she looked down at herself. The night before, she had changed back into her original clothes in hopes to save time that morning. As she pulled on her boots, she thought back to her last conversation with Legolas. How long had it been since she had such a light hearted chat with someone? Karina could not remember. Pulling a silver comb out of her bag, she softly begin to work through the tangles and snares that had made their way into her chocolate, gold streaked hair during the night. When she was done, she gently fingered the comb, feeling the familiarity of it. It was a gift, given to her by her mother shortly before her death. Karina could feel her heart begin to ache with loss all over again. It had taken quite a long time for her to get over her mother's death. Perhaps, she never had gotten over it. She had simply moved on with her life, though she still carried her mother's memory close by. She hastily pushed her thoughts from her mind and decided to think about a much more important matter on hand: The Ring. Grabbing a ribbon from her bag, she pulled her waist-length hair back, tying it at the nape of her neck as to make sure it did not fall in her way in the midst of a battle. The last thing she needed was a lock of hair blocking her vision in a pack of orcs.

"I will protect you and the ring, Frodo. For that is what I have promised and it is my new vow." She muttered to herself. Slinging her quiver over her shoulder, she picked up her bow and made her way to where the rest of the fellowship was meeting.

As the fellowship stood before Lady Galadriel, each wondered what awaited them on the next part of the journey they were about to embark on. Karina gradually looked at each member of the fellowship, trying to see what they were thinking. She almost laughed out loud when Pippin, who, for some reason, couldn't stand still for more than a few seconds, slipped on a piece of damp grass and nearly fell, taking Merry down with him. However, she was able to hide her chuckle with a cough.

"I bid you farewell and best wishes on your quest." She heard Lady Galadriel say. She looked at the Lady of the Golden Wood with new respect. For was it not she who had given Karina a new insight into her own mind? "I shall grant thee each a gift." Galadriel continued. Karina watched in curiosity as each member of the fellowship was presented with a gift from Galadriel and Lothlorien. When Galadriel turned to her, Karina slowly lowered her head in her show of respect.

"Princess Karina of Gavalar, the road to freedom and glory is marred by treacherous paths and fearful obstacles. Such a place is difficult for anyone, let alone a young princess as you. It is because of this, I give thee the Sword of Truth. It will guide you through the trials of evil." Galadriel held out a shimmering sword before her. Karina looked at it in wonder. She had never seen such a sword. It shined with the brightest of light and had intricate elven script engraved elegantly on the blade. Karina hesitantly reached out to accept the sward from Galadriel. She was so overcome by its magnificence that she was almost afraid to touch it. Slowly, she discarded her awe and carefully took it from Galadriel's hands.

As soon as her hands held the enchanting weapon, she felt a shiver course through her body. The sword seemed to speak to her, reassuring her. "It's incredible, Lady Galadriel. I can not thank you enough." Karina said, still in a state of disbelief.

"Now, you must be on your way." Galadriel told them.

As Karina climbed into her boat, she took one last look at Lothlorien. She had felt quite at ease in the Golden Wood and was almost sad to leave. It reminded her so much of her home in Gavalar. Yet, to Karina, Gavalar seemed almost like a distant memory. However, she did not take time to reminisce about her past life. She had a new one now. Easing herself down into the boat, she calmly placed the sword beside her. A strange feeling of reassurance crept through her mind.

The fellowship slowly rowed down the river, with Aragorn leading the way, followed by Boromir, Karina, and Legolas. Once or twice, Karina was almost tempted to dip her fingertips into the cool, crystal water as the boat glided silently along. Everything seemed to be in perfect harmony near Lothlorien, but Karina once again perceived the uneasy feeling that everything would soon change the further away they got from the Golden Wood.

Trying to push the negative thoughts from her mind, Karina would ever so often glance down at her sword as if to check and make sure it was real.

"I still can't believe she would entrust me with such a thing." Karina whispered. The sword shimmered as if to respond. Suddenly, a shadow loomed over Karina. She quickly looked up, expecting to see evil. Instead, she saw an incredible sight of marvelous stone statues, taller than anything she had ever seen.

"Unbelievable!" she cried. The others agreed as they approached the enormous figures. Karina gazed up in awe as the four boats passed in between.

Shortly thereafter, the fellowship pulled their boats onto the sandy shore that lined a desolate forest. As the boats made contact with solid ground, Karina felt a sense of darkness grow over her. Gazing into the thick vegetation, she tried to make out any signs of approaching danger, but could see nothing. She stood up out of the boat, picking up her bow and attaching the sword to her belt. Since she was given the sword, she wondered how she would be able to fight with both her bow and the sword. She quickly determined that she would have to make a choice. Although, she was more comfortable with her bow, her sword fighting skills were top notch. Also, she felt that Lady Galadriel would not have given her such a splendid weapon if it were not meant for her to use it. 'Well, I should not use as many arrows,' she thought.

After she pulled her boat further onto the shore so it would not be swept away with the current, she made her way to where the rest of her comrades were. Placing her bow and her bag on the ground near a large tree, Karina walked over to Aragorn and Legolas.

"What shall we do next, Lord Aragorn?" she asked, still peering into the woods.

"We shall rest for now, and then move on." He answered.

"Nay, we should not stay here," she quickly replied. She looked at each of them. "Something does not feel right. The wind is screaming that danger lies not far off."

"Screaming?" Legolas looked at her. As if on cue, the wind began to howl through the trees, frequently changing direction. To everyone's surprise, Karina's sword seemed to answer its cry, shining and making a rather strange, metallic noise. When she placed her hand upon the sword, the noise subsided and was quiet.

Karina looked at it in surprise, "This is most unusual."

"Indeed, I do not think that it is an ordinary weapon." Legolas mused. Aragorn continued to eye it, but then shook his head and began to walk away.

"Rest," he told them, looking back over his shoulder. Karina and Legolas nodded, then, their thoughts were brought back to the sword.

"Of course this is an unusual weapon, Legolas. For if it wasn't, it would not be valued by Lady Galadriel." Karina told him. "I wish I knew what its purpose was. I suppose I shall figure it out as time goes by."

"You will know when you are meant to." Legolas glanced from the sword to her. She suddenly felt awkward, remembering that she hadn't spoken to him much since last night. All at once, she seemed to be at a loss for words. Quickly sensing her discomfort from the silence, Legolas said, "We should probably go back to the others."

Karina looked at him with a questioning look. "We are not that far away."

Legolas tried to hide his feeling of foolishness. It was true that no immediate danger seemed apparent, but for some reason, he felt unusually nervous, and he had thousands of strange feelings racing through his mind. He was not sure what it was, but he was certain it wasn't anything bad. 'What is this strange feeling that burns at my heart?' he wondered.

She glanced up at him in surprise. He seemed to have something on his mind, but did not want to say show it. Karina slowly looked down at her feet as she felt a soft redness creep onto her face. She soon realized that Legolas still had his gaze unconsciously locked on her. Or maybe it wasn't an unconscious look? Karina didn't know what to make of it.

"We should be going. As Aragorn said, we need to rest." Karina stuttered nervously. Still looking at him, she began to walk back to the others, and stumbled on a small stone in her path. She quickly caught herself before she tripped, but nonetheless, felt completely humiliated. 'Who says elves are to be surefooted?' she wondered. 'I seem to be completely different from what everyone expects me to be.'

As she approached the rest of the fellowship, she could feel everyone's eyes on her. She gently sat down next to her bag and bow.

"Lady Karina, you're face is so pink!" Sam pointed out. Karina closed her eyes and felt her face heat up that much more.

"I suspect it's from the harsh wind, Sam." Karina fibbed. It was true that she was blushing, but she knew it was not caused by the wind. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Boromir stifle a chuckle.

"Is something the matter?" she asked innocently. He quickly shook his head and turned and walked into the woods. Sighing Karina watched as Merry tried to start a fire, but unfortunately, had found some damp kindling. Feeling bold, Karina looked at him.

"Would you move to the side a little, Merry? You too, Pippin." She asked them. They looked at her confused, but nodded and stepped aside. Karina focused her gaze onto the small mound of wood. As she closed her eyes, smoke began to rise from the kindling. A few seconds later, a small flame erupted and soon began to grow into a nice campfire. Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"There you are," she told the hobbits.

Pippin stared at her in shock, "I thought you did not do magic!"

Karina smiled, "I can occasionally be persuaded to have a change of mind."

She started to close her eyes under the warmth of the sun, but a sudden chill made her jump with a start. 'What was that?' she asked herself. A bright light caught her attention and she dropped her gaze to her sword. It pulsed a pale white light that seemed to intensify with each second that went by. Jumping to her feet, she cried, "Enemies!"

At the same time, Pippin asked, "Where's Frodo?"

Aragorn and Frodo both heard the cry of the orcs at the same time. Frodo quickly glanced up at him, the fear obvious in his eyes. Aragorn looked at Frodo and motioned for him to be on his way. Turning back to the orcs, he began settled down to the business of slaying them.

Frodo turned and quickly began to run down the steep hill. Off into the distance, he could hear the clash of the orcs and the members of the fellowship. With a pain in his heart, he knew that he must continue on his own.

Karina was ready for any approaching orcs. She felt a sense of power as she held the sword in her hand. Just topping the hill, she could see her enemy coming for them. She looked at them in confusion, for these were not the same monsters that she had battled in Moria. 'Nevermind that,' she told herself. 'They must still be vanquished.'

Easily dodging an arrow, she was surprised at how much faster she was since her last battle. She quickly ducked as a spear missed her, and she spun around, thrusting her sword between the ribs of an orc. As soon as the blade made contact, the orc began to burst into flames, quickly being reduced to ashes. Not taking time to wonder about this strange phenomenon, she sliced through another orc. Once she had taken out a few, she jumped backwards a bit, then, ran to wear Legolas was firing arrow after arrow.

"I have not seen these orcs before. They are strange to me." She told him.

He shook his head, "Something is a bit unusual, for they are not familiar to me either."

Karina knew they would not be able to stand their ground for long. There were far too many of them. An idea emerged in her head. Karina ran toward the orc army, holding her sword in front of her.

"Karina!" Legolas cried, as he watched in disbelief. 'Trust me, Legolas.' He could hear her in his mind. He pulled out some more arrows and they each met their targets.

Karina felt no fear as she stopped about thirty feet from sure death. Going with the feeling in her mind, she held up the sword pointing it at the orcs. She could feel an enormous amount of energy center itself in the sword. Concentrating, she gazed at the orcs as they ran at her. Suddenly, dark, menacing clouds filled the sky and lightening streaked down, striking the orcs. Karina gasped and took a step back. There was not an orc left alive. Feeling the heat of the metal in her grasp, she dropped the sword.

"Incredible." She muttered, as Legolas ran up beside her. She looked at him as she struggled to catch her breath.

"How did you do that?" he asked; his eyes wide.

Karina shook her head. "I think this sword somehow connects with my magic. I have never felt anything like it." She carefully reached down to pick the sword up, expecting it to be burning hot as before. Instead, it was extremely cold. A loud noise interrupted her thoughts. She glanced at Legolas.

"The horn of Gondor!" he shouted in recognition. They both ran in the direction of the noise, leaping over fallen trees and rocks. Karina's foot nearly got entangled in a vine but she easily slid it out.

"What do you think has happened?" she asked, breathless from running and tension.

"I do not know." He answered picking up speed. Karina tried to match his pace, but her legs were much shorter and she fell a few feet behind. As they rounded a cluster of trees, Legolas quickly stopped, and Karina nearly plowed into him. She saw the look on his face and followed his gaze. In the midst of bodies, Boromir was lying in pain. Aragorn was tending to him. When she looked closer she could see the arrows protruding from his chest. She gasped in horror when she realized what had happened. Looking at Legolas and Gimli, who had just walked up, she walked down to where the two humans were.

"I can try to heal him, Lord Aragorn." She softly said. Aragorn looked at her and nodded. Karina kneeled down next to Boromir and placed her hand over one of his wounds, expecting to see the glow of power under her hand, indicating that her magic was indeed working. However, she saw nothing. Narrowing her eyes, she concentrated over another wound. Again, the same result: nothing.

"I fear I can not save him," she said, painfully looking into Aragorn's eyes. He nodded and looked back at Boromir who struggled to take each breath. Karina had not felt so defeated in all her life. Standing up, she walked back to where Legolas and Gimli stood.

Looking at them, she whispered, "I tried." Legolas nodded and gently placed his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. The three watched as Boromir took his last few breaths and was gone.

**does a victory dance** Yay! Chapter 7 is done! **sniff** Wasn't the last part so sad? Of course, you knew it was coming right? Poor Karina! Anyway Read and Review! Chapter 8 should get real interesting. I'll try to have it done ASAP.