Disclaimer: see chapter one

Well, what a week. Still a week to go and I'm finished about my training period. Am I glad that the end is near!!! And then the written exams. - Looks down and hakes her head – Sometimes you must really hate your life.

Anyway, up with the story. – Look at her screen on whoa, so many reviews!!! -Look at her fans- Thank you guys, you all are the best!!!! But don't forget, it's still a fantasy and she is still a woman (in a male body) so what will happen in this chapter could be possible, right?

So, enjoy it

!!!Thank you JediKnight!!!

Chapter seven: Metamorphosis and into the Dark

They were tall, with dark hair and had grey eyes. That were the first things I noticed about them. A group of five Men or rather Rangers were sitting around the camp fire and talked with the Elves. Well, Elladan was speaking while Glorfindel nodded here and there. Elrohir left my side and joined them. A minute later I joined them. All of them were looking at me. Some of them amused, others were awed, probably about my red hair, very uncommon amongst Elves these days.

One of them caught my eye. He was the tallest of them all and was the spokesman of the group. Next to him sad a young man who resembled the man next to him a lot. They were probably related. I sat down and enjoined their chatter. Glorfindel nodded at me and I returned to favour. Then the leader eyed me. Elladan smiled and took the word.

"Mellon nin, this is our last member of the group, Lord Beriadan." The twin said.

"Alex will do. Beriadan makes me feel old." I joked. The Elves smiled while the Men laughed .

"Araglas is my name and this is my son, Arahad." The man said. The young boy inclined in head. So, this was the Chieftain of the Dunedain. I was quite happy. Coming to Middle-Earth had some perks to it. I grinned.

"Saesa omentien lle." I said. (Pleasure meeting you.)

"Likewise." Araglas said. I enjoyed the warmth and forgot was happened a few hours ago. The Rangers and Elves were talking and joking like this was a daily occurrence and I took pleasure listening to them. I started to look inside my brain as well. I wasn't good at remember dates or anything the like, but everything that had something to do with the trilogy, I knew by heart. So, I came to the conclusion that I was somewhere between 2400 and 2455 of the Third Age. This also meant that the fellowship wouldn't be formed in about 600 years from now. Rough calculation, mind you.

I sighed, that was a long time from now. But hey, I'm an Elf now; so, no problems there. After hours of talking and merrymaking, they decided to join us. We took great pleasure in it. I even told them about my settlement amongst humans. They asked me questions to which I could provide answers. So, I made friends with the Rangers. The next morning we packed our gear and continued on. Our journey was great and we had the Dunedain with us. When we arrived at our destination, I started to realise how many days had already has passed.

We did not meet the Elves that guarded the area for quite some time. They reported everything to Glorfindel, while the other Elves told us and our friends about what happened in the few months they protected this part of the land. Soon they packed their gear and were gone as the sun went down. The place was nice, a lot of trees and bushes, but homey none the less. I got used to all the camping stuff, so nothing was new to me.

The Rangers stayed with us for quite some time, until Araglas decided to leave. It was heart breaking to see them parting, because they were fun to be around and I still saw something of me in them. I will never forget them anyway, and after three weeks, I was standing guard with Glorfindel. The night was still young and there was nothing out there. Sometimes I was wondering what the heck we were doing here. But I didn't want to ask Elda. I didn't want to raise suspicion. The accident some time ago, when I thought Glorfindel was up to something, was brushed aside. I didn't need to worry myself about it, but I still kept a close eye on him.

So, now I was standing here, doing absolute nothing and was wondering when we were going to return home. Not that I didn't like it, but it got boring after some time if no foul creature or orcs were attacking us. I don't have a death wish, or anything. I like nature and all, but this… Well, you get the picture.

And then there is still the question about me and Glory. Do I have a crush on him or not? I want to make one thing clear; I'm straight. Hundred percent! But in this body, doesn't leave me a lot of choice. So, I didn't listen to my heart; I kept it aside. But Glory and I mended our slightly miscommunication and became good friends. And I wanted to keep it that way. So, no slash here, even if I wanted too, so badly. I sighed and retook my position. Standing in one place for some time could gave you some muscle ache.

I checked my weapons and scanned the area for the zillionth time. The moon was overhead and the stars were shining down at us. And Eärendil was shining brightly. Suddenly a hand was upon my shoulder and I looked up.

"Wake up Maldor. Change of guard." Glorfindel told me. "And get some rest."

I sighed. "Thank God." I nodded and made my way toward the Elf in question. I kicked his boot and he woke up right away. A few nods, and he knew what to do. I walked toward my own bedroll and laid down. I took a long, deep breath and closed my eyes for a bit. Darkness could sometimes be salvation. But I must have fall asleep. Because I was dreaming about chocolate. Silly, I know. But I liked it. I smiled.

Glorfindel stayed up for a bit before he went to sleep himself. He nodded toward Maldor who took the position of Alex. Sidhion rose too from his slumber. The golden haired Elda gave the Elf a warm smile, before he leaned back against to tree, not tired yet. The dark haired Elf walked up to his captain and looked down.

"Not tired yet, my Lord?" He asked.

Glorfindel shook his head. "No, mellon nin. I will rest in a moment, but the moon is still high in the sky."

Sidhion looked up and smiled. "Yes, Ithil smiles upon us. But don't forget to rest yourself, my Lord."

"Don't worry about me, Sidhion." Glorfindel looked over the rest of the sleeping Elves. But his eyes stayed upon Alex for a few minutes longer. Sidhion saw it too.

"Strange Elf is he not, sir?" voicing his opinion. Glorfindel nodded.

"He is… but a good friend."

"Must have been hard to live amongst men? I know I couldn't." The younger Elf said.

The captain smiled. "Everybody has a will of their own, Sidhion. If Alex decided to live amongst humans, then that was his choice. But I think it was a good choice."

Sidhion looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he decided to live a quiet life instead going to war with the rest of us. He has been spared that. But don't judge a book by his cover." He looked up, smiling.

The Elf smiled. "Are you quoting one of Erestor's sayings, my Lord?"

Glorfindel grinned. "What if I do?"

"Hear, hear. He is joking!" Sidhion laughed. Maldor, who stood a few feet away laughed too. It was true; Glorfindel was and stayed a serious Elf. Getting a laugh out of the Elda was very rare and hearing a joke from the same Elf was even exceptional.

"It's a shame the twins didn't see this." Maldor said from his position.

"Well, at least we had the privilege to see this with our own two eyes." The other joked. Glorfindel smiled.

"Alright. Don't tell the twins. I'll never hear the end of this. Now, get to your position. Wake me if anything goes amiss." He ordered the two Elves. They saluted him and retook their spot. Glorfindel stood up and made his way toward his own bedroll. He ran his hand through his long hair while he passed the twins. And when he passed Alex he stopped suddenly in his tracks.

He blinked several times while he stood frozen on spot. He looked back at his guards, then back at Alex. The image was still the same. How can this be? This can't be real. Instead of Alex, there lay a woman sleeping peacefully. Her long red hair flowed around her like a halo. Glorfindel couldn't belief this. He closed his mouth and took a step closer. The image stayed. He swallowed. Then he squatted next to the Elf and took a closer look.

He, euh she had the same cloths on. She had the same facial expression and the same unfazed green eyes. He held out his hand, but stopped a few inched away from her face. Alex moved her head from the one side and sighed. Then Glorfindel took the nerve to touch 'her' cheek. It was soft, even the hair was smooth, like all Elven hair should be.

Glorfindel withdrew his hand and still couldn't believe it. What kind of magic was this. The Elf couldn't find any explanations about this occurrence. A stick snapped behind him. Glorfindel turned around to see Sidhion moving from one side to the other. The Elda returned his gaze back at the Elf in front of him. His eyes widened when he saw that the image of the woman was gone. There laid Alex like he knew him. Glorfindel shook his head and stood up.

He walked away, peeking back at the Elf until he laid down himself. This was surely something new? Would Alex know about this too? He came to the conclusion that he needed sleep. Maybe this was just a weird hallucination. Even Elves needed rest or they will starting to see things. But if this would happen again, he will asked Alex about it. Or even better: Elrond. He surely knew something. With that, the Elf felt asleep.

I was cranky when I stood up. I ate my breakfast without saying a word. And I didn't care about that. It was one of these days I thought only females could have. You know; PMS. But I was a guy now, so that doesn't count very much. But I was having a bad day anyway. They shouldn't ask me too much. And besides, Glorfindel was looking at me funny this morning too, and this unnerved me so much that I didn't what to say. Only that he kept his distance. Did I have a bad breath or something?

I smiled at that. Anyway, so I sat far from the others. I was very antisocial today, so give me a break. I checked up my weapons and decided to visit Hotaru for awhile. I neglected my horse for a bit, but I knew he didn't mind very much. He was a horse after all. I took a juicy apple (I was surprised we had any) and made my way toward my stallion.

The horse in question was grazing not far from the rest, being antisocial like me. I called out for him. He looked up and cantered over to me, holding his tail high up. I held out the apple and he munched quite happily on it. I patted on his neck and caressed his nose.

"How are we doing, my boy." I asked him. He pushed with his nose against my stomach.

"Sorry, that was the only apple I had for you, my friend."

Hotaru looked at me in disbelief, then decided to pout. I didn't know horses couldn't pout. I laughed at his comical face. His lower lip was hanging a bit open, making a good picture of a pouting horse. I wished I had a camera. A real Kodak moment. I patted his neck and Hotaru walked off for a bit. I decided to return to show my face, before they gathered a search party to find for me.

At camp, everything was quite. I saw Sidhion and Andaer talking with each other while Glorfindel was looking to the east. I saw Maldor climbing into a tree, probably trying to be a wood Elf. I grinned. But there was no sign of the Twins. I arched my eyebrow. When the both of them were gone, you can expect a prank or two. They were probably bored, like me. I walked toward the Captain.

He looked up when he saw me coming. I had a feeling he was scrutinizing me, such a strange Elf. Anyway, I wanted to know where the troublesome duo was.

"Where are the Twins?"

"They went to get some fresh water from the river." He indicated the way they went. I nodded.

"I'll go after them, before trouble finds them."

"Good idea."

I flashed him a grin. "Of course it was." And off I was, before he could remark on that. I took my weapons for safety, you'll never know what lays behind bushed if not the twins. I found the river fast enough. It was a ten minutes walk from camp and I found the twins squatted next to it. I stepped on a branch to make my present known. Two identical heads looked up and smiled.

"What are you two up too now?" I asked innocently. Elladan looked hurt.

"Why would you assume we do anything?"

"Because I know the both of you. If Glorfindel isn't here to keep the two of you on a leash, then I'll have too. Sorry, responsibility commitment." I shrugged playfully. Elladan smiled while Elrohir tried to make me wet.

"Don't you try, my friend." I threatened him. They looked at each other in a strange kind of way until two diabolic grins were plastered on their faces. I gulped and turned around as fast as I could. What ever they planned, I wasn't going to give him that opportunity. I heard them coming after me. This was scary. I took a sharp turned and dashed into Elrohir, then Elladan rammed into the both of us. I squealed when we hit the ground. I was still a bit girly. Then there was a loud 'crack' and the ground beneath us gave away. Suddenly I found myself in a very dark, vertical tunnel and I blacked out.

This is some sort of a cliffie, right. Anyway, I hoped you all like it. And the question is what will happen next? You'll just have to wait. You wanna know what? I'm always writing my chapters with the LOTR soundtrack blasting through the speakers. Very stimulating.

Till next time… with a journey through the dark!!

Cheerio

Jessie