Ireth, already changed and prepared to leave, started weaving her hair into a braid, using a leather strap she borrowed from Éowyn to tie it off. Her hair had grown longer since she first arrived, reaching well past her hips. When she had the time, she would cut it, but for now she was in search of anyone who might need her help.

King Théoden had ordered everyone be moved to Helm's Deep. As she left the Halls, Hama ordered that they leave all valuables behind. The people had worried expressions on their face as they packed away food and extra clothing. A flash of white was all Ireth saw as Shadowfax stormed from the stables with Gandalf riding atop him. Aragorn trailed out of the stable, leading Hasufel. He was frowning softly to himself, looking at the dust Shadowfax kicked up in his wake. Ireth went up to him, studying him for a short while.

"Is everything alright?" She asked. He looked down at her.

"Be ready to leave soon," was all he said before walking forward.

Ireth stared after him for a while, pondering on the causes of his somber attitude. A rough push to her shoulder had her looking back in surprise at Arod. The horse lipped at her face, eliciting a laugh from her. She caressed the horses neck, kissing his velvety nose, "What are you doing out of your stall, Mister?"

"He seemed anxious to get out of his stall, so I let him out."

Ireth looked around Arod toward Legolas, an amused smile on his face. "Oh."

"He seems rather taken with you." Legolas patted the horses shoulder, adjusting the reins that were starting to slip off the horses' saddle bar.

"Maybe he knew I like horses." Ireth shrugged, rubbing between his eyes. The horse sighed. She noticed Legolas giving her a curious look.

"Where I'm from, it's a rare occurrence to see horses. They are mainly used for leisure practices instead of travel." Ireth frowned, thinking she may have said too much, but she had told Legolas they weren't from the same world. Did he remember that?

"How do your people get around?"

She grimaced, thinking of a way to describe it. "Self-driven carriages. They can travel as fast as Shadowfax, maybe even faster."

Legolas looked rather stunned. "That sounds…convenient."

"Oh yes, it's convenient. But it's also dangerous. More people die from crashes than they do in war." Ireth couldn't help the bitterness that filled her voice. She kicked at the dirt at Arod's feet, letting her head rest on the bridge of Arod's muzzle.

"If it is so dangerous, why do your people still use them?"

"It's a risk people decide to take every day. We've been using them so long people don't really think about the dangers anymore."

Legolas placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "You speak as if from experience."

She looked up at him shrugging with a tight smile, "That's how my family died."

Her voice was barely above a whisper as she lowered her gaze to stare at Arod's nose. As if he sensed her sadness, the horse stepped forward shoving his face into her chest—the horse equivalent of a hug. She smiled at Arod and patted him gently on his neck before smiling up at an even more worried looking Legolas. "So is Arod going to be carrying more than one on this trip, or do I get my own ride?"

She had attempted to change the subject, at least so Legolas would stop making that expression, but he didn't seem to take the hint and simply stepped forward, wrapping her in a tight embrace. Ireth was a little shocked at first, but in the end she leaned her head against his chest, taking the comfort that was offered.

They broke apart quickly when they both herd the loud steps of Gimli marching towards them, his voice accompanying them. When he came around the rear of Arod he took one look at the two elves and knew something had happened. He could easily tell by the way Ireth's cheeks were tinged the faintest of pinks and her eyes were staring hard at the horses' nose. Legolas was standing inconspicuously at a safe distance away from her, busing himself with adjusting the stirrups on the horses' saddle. He didn't say anything and just let out a knowing chuckle as he walked away in search of Aragorn—just to inform him of the progress between the two elves. Secretly, they'd both made wagers on when the two would finally come together, ever since they'd first found the girl in Hollin and had witnessed the ever stoic elf watch the girl closely. Of course he had denied it when there was a suggestion made, but the elf completely ruined any denials when he'd hidden with the girl in the rocks. The memory had the dwarf chuckling, earning him odd looks from the soldiers he passed.

For the first day, Ireth walked with Arod trailing behind her, offering his saddle to an older lady who had been shuffling along at a rather slow pace. With the reins in her hand, Ireth led Arod, humming under her breath. She thought it ironic that she would choose that particular song to hum given the circumstances were quite similar. Sort of similar. She started when the old lady spoke to her.

"What song do you hum, Milady?" Her voice was slightly rough but kind as she leaned forward in the saddle. Ireth tried to think quickly.

"It is a song of faith that the ancestors of the human's in my homeland sang as they walked out of slavery to freedom." I said carefully. "While the circumstances are different, it reminded me of that time."

The woman was quiet for a while, "Is it alright if I ask that you sing it?"

Ireth looked over her shoulder at the woman in surprise, "Are you sure? I am not that great of a singer."

"Nonsense," the woman said, "Please sing."

Ireth sighed, and tried to think of how the beginning went. She knew her voice wasn't nearly as light or as melodic as the women who sang it in the movies, so set it at a lower range and slowed it down just a notch.

"Many nights we prayed

With no proof anyone could hear

In our hearts a hope for a song

We barely understood.

Now we are not afraid

Although we know there's much to fear

We were moving mountains

Long before we knew we could.

There can be miracles, when you believe

Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill.

Who knows what miracles

You can achieve, when you believe

Somehow you will, you will when you believe.

In this time of fear,

When prayer so often proves in vain

Hope seems like the summer bird

Too swiftly flown away

Yet now I'm standing here

My heart so full, I can't explain

Seeking faith and speaking words

I never thought I'd say

There can be miracles, when you believe

Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill.

Who knows what miracles, you can achieve

When you believe somehow you will,

You will when you believe…" She paused for a moment.

"They don't always happen when you ask

And it's easy to give in to your fears

But when you're blinded by your pain

Can't see the way, get through the rain,

A small but still, resilient voice

Says hope is very near.

There can be miracles when you believe

Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill

Who knows what miracle, you can achieve

When you believe, somehow you will

You will when you believe…"

Ireth trailed off, looking thoughtfully at the sky. She blinked in surprise when the people around her started to cheer and clap. She felt herself blush furiously as people who were near her squeezed her shoulders and complimented her voice. The sky was beginning to darken when Théoden finally allowed them to rest. Ireth helped the woman down from Arod, and soon went to find where her friends were setting camp.

It took her ten minutes before she heard the familiar boisterous laugh of Gimli and the barely audible chuckle of Aragorn. When she came upon them, she sent them both suspicious looks as they immediately sobered upon seeing her.

"You both are up to something." She accused, cocking a hip and crossing her arms over her chest. This made Gimli burst with laughter, nearly falling over from the intensity.

"We're up to nothing," Aragorn spoke, more in control of himself than Gimli. "We were making observations."

At this Ireth lifted a brow and stared at him to explain more. She was becoming quite demanding and she was beginning to quite like this side of herself; she didn't even know it existed until after she'd entered Lothlórien. When Aragorn didn't respond right away, she frowned impatiently, "Observations of what?" She paused, "Or who?"

"A certain elf and his, uh, love interest." Gimli quipped, stuttering slightly.

Ireth's mind went blank. The only other elf besides her here was Legolas. And he had a love interest in someone? She must be human then, and very beautiful. Blinking away her thoughts, she looked at Gimli and Aragorn again. Aragorn was looking at Gimli like he'd just lost his mind while Gimli was watching Ireth with the slightest hint of amusement.

"That's…okay." Ireth walked away, flustered. They said he had a love interest. They did not say it was a human, nor did they… Actually, now that she thought about it, they just said he had a love interest, and they were making observations of them. She turned back around and plopped herself between the two. "So what exact observations have you made of these two?"

She noted the look Aragorn and Gimli gave each other over her head.

"Well," Gimli started, coughing to clear his voice. "He's protective of her."

Ireth shrugged, "But Legolas is always protective of people, especially when their close to him." She gave Gimli a sly grin, "Like when he stuck up for you when Eomer threatened you."

The dwarf harrumphed, "It was a different kind of protective."

"But it's still protective." Ireth said. "What else have you observed?"

They both looked at her silently, then looked to each other with a questioning look in their eyes. "Why so curious, Milady?"

Ireth tossed a loose strand of hair over her shoulder, effectively whacking Aragorn on the cheek. "Is it not normal to be concerned for a friend?"

At this, Gimli and Aragorn arched a brow and looked at each other. Ireth glanced at both of them. "Why are you looking at each other like that?"

"Oh no reason, lassie." Gimli shrugged, than looked around suddenly. "Where is that elf anyways?"

Ireth shrugged, standing up. "Not sure, but he'll pop up when he feels like it."

"Who will pop up when he feels like it?"

Ireth let out a little squeal, gripping whoever it was behind her, and flipping them. When she focused on who had scared her, she let out a sigh of relief. "You can't just sneak up on someone like that! You nearly scared the life out of me!"

A surprised looking Legolas looked at her with a mild amount of amusement. "I think I'll remember that."

She frowned, kneeling down to look at him closer, "You aren't hurt are you?"

The elf quickly stood, popping his back with little effort. "I'm fine," He said quickly.

Ireth quirked a brow at him, stood quickly and poked his back. He stiffened slightly. "Bruised I believe, nothing too bad though," She probed his back slightly, not noticing the looks passing between Aragorn and Gimli. "I don't think anything is broken either."

She smiled at Legolas, wondering at the look on his face but decided not to question it. Instead, she turned to Aragorn and Gimli, "You wouldn't happen to know where—"

"I'm right here." Eowyn spoke up as she started walking by their small camp. Ireth grinned, waved by to the boys and quickly joined her, hooking arms and chattering away like they were old friends.

On the second day of travel, Ireth never saw Gimli, Aragorn, Eowyn or Legolas. She had been ambushed by the children who wanted her to sing to them songs from the elves. Of course, she didn't know any elvish songs, much to the surprise and disappointment of the children and adults who were gathered around her and Arod. Today she was riding him, with a small girl sitting in front of her. Telling another fib, she sang to them children's songs of the humans she's lived with starting with her favorite. All the kids were listening raptly, much to her amusement, as these kids seemed much more intelligent than their counterparts in her society.

…"With the bird in the egg,

And the egg in the nest,

And the nest on the branch

And the branch on the tree

And the tree in the hole

And the hole in the ground

And the green grass grows all around, all around

And the green grass grows all around."

After getting the gist of the song, the children had begun to sing along with her and now she along with everyone else around were laughing as they finished the song. Some of the kids ran off, but were soon replaced with other's that heard the joyful tune and wanted her to sing another song. The girl in front of her turned around in the saddle, looking up at her with big blue eyes.

"Do you know any other kinds of songs?"

Ireth thought about it, looking towards the sky with a thoughtful look. "I know a lot of love songs." She paused, looking at the girl with curiosity, "what kind of song would you like to hear?"

The girl looked thoughtful for a moment before looking at me with a question in her eyes. "Do you know any other songs about nature?"

Ireth blinked, sifting through her extensive collection of lullabies, nursery rhymes and Disney songs. She smiled when she found one close fitting to the girls request.

"Let me think of how it starts…." She was silent a moment.

"Under the snow, beneath the frozen streams

There is Life

You have to know, when nature sleeps she dreams

There is life

And the colder the winter, the warmer the spring

The deeper the sorrow, the more our hearts sing

Even when you can't see it inside everything

There is Life.

After the rain, the sun will reappear

There is life

After the pain, the joy will still be here

There is life

For it's out of the darkness that we learn to see

And out of the silence that songs come to be

And all that we dream of awaits patiently

There is life, there is life."

There was a loud round of applause, surrounding Ireth's immediate location. She grinned sheepishly, looking around at the people. Her day continued more or less like this, though she did collaborate on one song with Eowyn, to which they sang together at the front of the caravan where Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas heard their friends' secret talent for the first time. Her voice was unique to most elven voices as it was slightly deeper than most and had a quality to it that couldn't be described.

Ireth sang almost every Disney song that would fit in with this era, tweaking a few here and there so that people wouldn't be confused or raise suspicion. On the third day, Ireth felt high strung. Instead of riding near the back where the children and women were, she rode Arod at the front, her eyes trained on the horizon. Something wasn't right, she could feel it.

Hama and another soldier rode forward to scout the area ahead. Moments later, she heard what could only be described as a monstrous roar, the screams of a terrified horse and yelling. Next thing she knew, Legolas yelled out, "A scout!"

A scout of what?

"Riders to the front of the column! Get the women and children out!" Théoden called.

"Ireth!" Aragorn called, as he rode up, "Go with the women; you are not prepared for this type of battle."

Ireth wanted to protest, she truly did, but she saw the look on his face. So she rode over to Gimli, and dismounted Arod, helping the dwarf up. "Go, Arod!"

She slapped the horse on the rump and trailed behind the remnants of the women and children who were currently going down another path. She followed a short distance, making sure that they were keeping with the group when she stopped. Agarwaen was vibrating rapidly in its sheath, something it only did when orcs or anything twisted of the like were around. Listening closely, Ireth tensed, searching her surroundings. She heard something that sounded close to a dog. Ireth pulled her sword out, gripping the handle tightly in her palm.

When it leapt from the rocky face of the hill, Ireth was surprised to see what looked like a mutated hyena with an orc on its back. Excuse her, a dead orc, as its head was missing and seemed to be stuck in place on the…thing.

"Nice doggy." Ireth mumbled. Not the wisest thing to say; it seemed to understand her words. It growled, and lunged for her. Agarwaen, though, was prepared and buzzed with excitement as the hyena opened its jaws. Ireth shoved the blade upward, grimacing as the tip of Agarwaen poked through the top of its head. She pulled the sword out. Flinching, she looked at her arm where its teeth grazed against the leather, completely cutting through it and some of her skin. Ireth let out a curse, and ran forward telling the stragglers who watched with terrified eyes to go quickly before another showed up.

Ireth trailed behind the group, ready to kill anything that the soldiers missed. Lucky for her, only two other hyenas, one with a live rider and the other rider less, made to follow them. It was late afternoon when Helm's Deep came into view. Hope stirred in the caravan as they started to walk faster.

As Ireth walked under the gates, a horrible feeling filled her chest. She followed a group of soldiers up to the wall, ignoring them when they said she wasn't allowed up there. Ireth stood on the wall, looking out toward the direction they'd come. There was a dust cloud of horse rider's approaching, but somehow this only twisted the horrible feeling into a worse feeling. Something went wrong.