Horseyyay: I like your ship name better! Though, I do fail to see why anyone would say 'Legochael' out loud. ;) We need to hang out sometime! I don't know who you are or whether you're even in the same country as me, but we will hang out some time because you're awesome!

Elfcat: Why, thank you! And what relationship? ... ;)

Mario: Here we go!

"I need another story, something to get off my chest. My life gets kind of boring, I need something that I can confess. 'Til all my sleeves are stained red from all the truth that I said." -OneRepublic, Secrets

"Merry, stop pushing!"

"Shush, Rebekah! Don't give away our position!"

"The both of you, can it! Elrond's going to start!"

"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old," Elrond began, promptly shutting up the hiding hobbits. "You've been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall." Rachael very much disliked her position. She was sitting between Abby (who also sat beside Haldir) and none other than Legolas Greenleaf. She blamed life. And the girls. Shealyn was at the opposite end, next to Frodo. "Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom. Bring forth the ring, Frodo."

Frodo walked slowly forward and set the ring on the podium. Rachael's eyes widened as her forearm (bandaged as soon as she had a chance) began to throb. She looked over to Abby and had her suspicions confirmed upon seeing her friend clutching her wrist as if to ease the pain. The Ring was affecting them. Across the semi-circle, they saw Shealyn take Frodo's hand.

Boromir stood, recounting some dream as he reached out for the Ring, but the new elves weren't listening. The wound was sending waves of ache across their bodies.

"Boromir!" Elrond exclaimed.

Gandalf came to his feet and began reciting in Black speech. Rachael and Abby hunched over their arms, grimaces apparent. A red tinge began to taint the white of the bandages. Rachael felt a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright, my lady?" She looked up into the utterly perfect eyes of Legolas.

"I'll be fine in a moment." She choked, then looked away. How embarrassing.

Borormir finally got it into his thick head to not to touch the Ring and sat down.

It seemed as though the others were content to bicker with Boromir and each other, promptly ignoring the girls' predicament. Amanda wasn't faring much better, but at least Pippin was paying attention to her and helping her through it.

"You have only one choice," Elrond's voice drew their attention back. The Elven Lord was a strange being in the mix. His relationship with the girls was much stronger than they ever thought., so did that make him a secondary character or more important? "The Ring must be destroyed."

"Well," Gimli stood. "What are we waiting for?"

He swung his ax at the Ring. Moron. Rachael and Abby leapt up, "NO!" They cried out in unison, but it was too late. The ax had struck the Ring.

Spots danced across their eyes as needles sew fire into their veins, ripping their flesh apart, seam by seam. Twin cries of agony tore through the air as they collapsed to the ground, followed by a more muffled cry from the bushes. Tears painted their faces as they curled into themselves, hoping to drown away the pain.

Shealyn, though frightened for her friends, was trying to keep Frodo's attention away from the Ring.

"Lady Abigail," Haldir was at Abby's side in an attempt to draw her out. He gestured for Legolas to look to Rachael. "Lady Rachael, can you hear me?"

"There's a reason women should not attend councils," Some unknown jerk said. "They're too fragile."

"SAY THAT TO MY FACE, YOU LIMP NOODLE!" The bushes exclaimed. No one seemed to notice, save for Shealyn, Rachael and Abby.

Abby took a shuttered breath and locked eyes with Rachael. They weren't going to take this lying down. Figuratively or literally. Brushing aside the help, they stumbled to their feet and went to Elrond, extending their arms. "Show them." They commanded.

A knife was brought forward and their bandages were cut away.

Carved into their flesh was Black Speech.

"Women can take a lot more than you think." Shealyn sneered despite having no idea as to what the markings meant.

"These markings have caused a great deal of pain," Abby said. "You would do well to respect others, especially when their situation is unknown."

"The Ring can't be destroyed by anything we possess. It was made in Mount Doom." Shealyn continued.

"It must be taken deep into Mordor," Rachael added.

"And cast into the fiery chasm from whence it came." Abby finished.

Elrond nodded his thanks to the girls and they reclaimed their seats. They avoided eye contact with everyone, including each other. "One of you must do this."

"One does not simply walk into Mordor," Boromir muttered. "Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The Great Eye is ever-watchful. It is a barren wasteland riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly."

"Thanks for your input." Abby whispered.

Legolas leapt up, causing Rachael to jump in surprise. "Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said? The Ring must be destroyed."

"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it!" Gimli exclaimed.

"And if we fail, what then? What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?" Boromir demanded.

"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an elf!"

Cue mass chaos.

Rachael locked eyes with Shealyn. They both nodded and Shealyn leaned over and whispered. "Frodo, you have to take it."

He looked to her as though she was crazy, his eyes filled with fear. "Are you mad? I can't…Miss Shealyn, I wouldn't survive a minute-"

"Then I'll go with you!"

His eyes widened, "I can't ask this of you-"

"You're not asking, I'm offering. We have to. Come on, before someone gets killed!"

They held hands, stood up and shouted, "We will take it! We will take the Ring to Mordor!"

Everything grew unbearably quiet. The bushes coughed. "Frolyn."

Shealyn's eyes narrowed, but Frodo continued. "Though, we do not know the way."

Gandalf f looked grim. He walked towards them and took a place behind him as he spoke, "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins and Miss Shealyn, so long as it is yours to bear."

Rachael and Abby stood at the same time and smiled. "We've been with you from day one." Abby said.

"Don't think for a second we're not going with you." Rachael finished and joined them.

One by one, the Fellowship formed. Legolas (purposely, Abby wagered) choose to stand beside Rachael. Abby locked eyes with Haldir, who had both his hands on the armrests of his chair, poised to stand and join, and she shook her head. She mouthed 'later,' and he nodded, though looked pained to not be standing with them.

Sam and Julia swept up from the bushes and joined their ranks. "They're not going anywhere without us!" Sam declared.

"It is hardly possible to separate you," Elrond noted. "Even when they are summoned to a secret council and you are not."

Merry, Pippin and Amanda took offense to that statement. They, along with Rebekah, ran forward. "We're coming too!"

"You'll have to send us back home tied up in a sack to stop us!"

Amanda, seeing that Abby and Rachael had not replaced the bandages on their forearms, cut hers away. Hers was different, though. More like a scar than a carving.

"Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission…quest…thing." Amanda declared.

"Well, that rules out you and Pippin."

"Oi!"

Elrond nodded and smiled. "Fifteen companions. So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring."

Pippin leaned over and whispered in Amanda's ear. "Where are we going?"

"Canada, Pip. We're going to Canada."