I'm back!!!! Sorry it's been so long, my old laptop had a senile moment (aka, it died) and I've just got a brand new one today, so I'm back and will be never leaving again!!! Until this one dies anyway!

I should've known it wasn't going to happen. I just knew it, so it was with no surprise that just as our lips were about to meet, a soldier came crashing out of the other side of the trees, calling out to Haldir. We pulled away from each other quickly, and Haldir turned to address the elf.

"what is the matter?"

"we need your help, we are under attack!"

"WHAT!?"

Haldir forced Salair round and thundered towards Rivendell, me and Flax closely following him. He called for me to return to my room, and I decided to do as he told him. We parted and he barely gave me time to say good luck. I did however, have enough time to reach down the saddle and draw out the sword that he had given me at Helm's Deep. He however, shook his head and pushed the hand that held the sword back towards me.

"I gave this to you." was all he said.

At that, he tore down the pathways and joined the group of elves that had gathered at the entrance to the realm. They all slid out of view one by one and I watched with baited breath as I waited for their return. I did not have long to wait, as mere minutes after the group had vanished, they began returning, until eventually, a familiar head of pale hair appeared in the entrance. Immediately, I saw his eyes flicker up to meet mine, and as our gazes met, my heart fluttered at the breath-taking smile he sent my way, and I found myself smiling back brightly.

I moved back into my room, away from the window, and found myself highly relieved that everything was ok. Or at least, I thought it was. Not two minutes later, a hurried knock came from my door. As I opened it, Haldir gave me a worried gaze, as if he didn't want to be here.

"I am so sorry, but we need your help. Orcs. A few have banded together and are heading towards us. Though we have just fought one group, another is approaching and as many of our males are still away to help recover destroyed lands, we need anyone that can fight. I hate to ask this of you."

I frowned and pursed my lips slightly in thought.

"you say a few. Exactly how many?"

"I estimate around three hundred."

"and how many soldiers do you have?"

"twenty, maybe thirty at most"

I sighed and moved into my room, inviting him in as I did so. I moved around and quickly changed into my battle garments after asking him to turn away from me. I pulled on my boots, and the last thing I did before I was ready was pulled the sword out from it's hiding place under my windowsill, before drawing it and pushing past Haldir, making my way determinedly down the corridors, ready to fight.

Rúmil and Orophin met us at the main gate, along with a large group of soldiers. As I scanned the crowd, my eyes met Elrohir's and he looked quite surprised to see me there. I then saw my grandfather, and as he saw me, he beckoned me over to him. I slid up to him and before he could say anything, I set my eyes into a determined look and faced him squarely.

"you are not stopping me from fighting" I bluntly stated.

I had expected him to protest or argue, but instead, he merely shook his head in amusement and gave me a smile.

"the size of this group of Orcs is so small, I have no worries at all over your safety. I will however ask you to be careful, just in case."

I smiled warmly at him, and hugged him briefly as Haldir called us all out. I joined the group and managed to secure a place next to Rúmil, focussing on him rather than on the comments I could hear swirling to my ears about how a woman should not be in battle as they only slow the men down. I snorted rather unladylike. I'd show them.

Show them I did. As soon as the Orcs stomped towards us, I was the first, along with Haldir, to charge towards them, my sword at the ready. I sliced my way through the many Orcs and smiled in satisfaction as I heard the surprised comments and expressions on the soldier's faces as they realised that yes I was just a female, but I was strong, and a fighter too, not weak and unable to defend myself.

When the fight ended, I triumphantly turned my back on the group of elves that had been teasing me on the way to the battle, who were all now feeling slightly ashamed of their earlier judgement of my fighting ability. Rúmil walked with me, laughing the whole way back about how I showed them all up to be prejudiced. It wasn't until grandfather met us all at the main gate and a nudge from me that Rúmil finally quietened down enough to realise that there was a serious issue about to be addressed. Grandfather stood up and everybody fell silent as he began to speak.

"My fellow Elves, though Middle Earth has entered a time of peace, there are still those rogue demons out there that will try to rise to power again, but we will fight back every single one of them. You all did brilliantly out there today. Now, let's go to dinner."

A round of cheers followed his statement as the elves all rushed off to the dining room. I followed them, staying at the back so that I could see where Haldir was, as so far, I hadn't seen him return. As I entered the hall and took my seat next to Rúmil, I placed my sword and dagger onto the table alongside Rúmil's sword. As I bent my head down to eat, another sword dropped onto mine, and I looked back up to see a very annoyed looking Orophin sitting down opposite us.

"something wrong my brother?" Rúmil asked in his usual cheerful way.

Orophin scowled at his plate and grabbed a bread roll out of the middle of the table and tearing a piece off as he bit into it before replying.

"I'm just so tired of fighting all the time. How much more death and pain does this realm need before we can be free again?"

I dropped my gaze back down to my plate, my appetite suddenly gone. I gently picked at my food but after a few minutes, Rúmil and Orophin both noticed that I wasn't actually eating, so I left before they could question me.

Normally I would have gone to my room to draw a picture of one of the views from my room, but I just wanted some fresh air this evening, so I headed down to the stables and led Flax out of his stall, and jumping on his back as soon as we were outside, not even bothering to put his tack on. Once we were out in the fields, I found a tree that I liked the look of and slid off Flax's back, allowing him to run freely for a while. I sat under the tree and just watched the world go by, laughing as I watched how gaily he ran.

Before long, I heard another horse approach me, and I looked up to see Elrohir smiling at me as he jumped off his horse. He extended his arm and I grasped it so that he could pull me up off the floor.

"what are you doing all the way out here?" he asked in a light tone.

"just thinking."

"about Haldir?"

My head snapped up and he sent me another smile, the twinkle in his eyes telling me that he wasn't serious.

"don't worry, if you want to be with him, then don't let anything stop you. You can't help who you love."

"who taught you that?"

"your father."

I gave him a curious look then and he sighed before motioning for me to sit down. I did and he began to tell me about my father. He told me that when they were children, they were inseparable and gave their father more grey hairs than he could count. I laughed as he told me of their antics, but suddenly his tone became sombre and his face became more emotional.

"uncle?"

"then he met your mother. She was a young maiden from Rohan, and Elladan was instantly smitten with her. They spent her whole stay together, and when she left, he went with her. He was gone for nine years, married her and they lived so happy, then one day, Elladan came back, without your mother. He was broken, wouldn't talk, nothing, then when the war broke out and we were sent out, he told me about you. You see, he knew about you all along, and your whole life, he watched over you, then when you were sent to Gondor, he left me in charge of looking after you while he went to battle. That was the last time I ever saw him, so I still have no idea to this day what made him leave."

When he finished speaking, I looked down at the ground, swallowing back the tears that were building up. I felt Elrohir's arm slide round my arm, and I leant into him as I sobbed quietly to myself.