Dragging her arm across her forehead, Uruviel attempted to eliminate some of the sweat dripping down her face, to no avail. Hours she had searched, finding clue after clue, but still she was no nearer to finding the banner. She had reasoned with herself, using logic and wit - eliminated location after location to narrow down the field, and found nothing.

Compiling the places where the banner had last been hidden - Uruviel discovered that Elrond preferred to hide it in one of two places. Either where it would be impossible to reach without something of a self-sacrifice, or a place where the colour blue was natural, or a part of the scenery. Assuming that the latter option would be the easiest to find, she had searched for those first.

Scouring the flower beds, she had thoroughly gone over each row of cornflowers, irises, and forget-me-nots with no success. Following the rivers, she had searched the falls, each nook and cranny of the river rocks - which tended to have a blue shine. Now, sitting on the wide, stone railing of a bridge, she felt she had run out of locations. Wide, azure eyes watched the river water, rippling and strong merrily reflecting the bright blues of the sky. Her only option was to begin her search of those impossible places that no sensible elf would go.

Following Elrond's trail had been more of a task for the Marchwarden than ever before. He had been led through the forest, the gardens, across what felt like the entire rim of the valley, and brought back down, through the falls to one lonely river - where the tracks seemed unable to keep to one side. He was certain that whomever had lain the trail, something told him it was Elrond - which was entirely possible, the elf lord did love tricks, almost as much as his sons, had done so on purpose, hoping some poor soul would see it and think themselves lucky. How wrong he had been.

Trekking along the bank of the river, he sighed when his path vanished down into the water, presumably to arise, again, on the other side. Pursing his lips - he looked ahead, expecting winding curves that led deeper into the valley. The river did indeed snake away, as expected, but the sight of a bridge - a means of crossing the river without getting soaked again - was a new and wonderful sight.

As he approached, he was even more astonished to see an elf - all alone - with radiant, golden hair, seated mournfully on its edge. "Uruviel?" he called out, stepping lightly onto the stones.

The she-elf whirled around, nearly losing her seat, as she faced the male. Her eyes narrowed, wary of a trick. Haldir tended to play fairly, but in her case she could never be certain. "Haldir," she answered. "Is the Hunt finished? Have you won yet?"

The Marchwarden chuckled, shaking his head. Silver droplets of water sparkled around him. "Not yet," he answered with a smile.

Uruviel's eyes widened as she took note of his rather wet attire. His hair, normally silky and straight, seemed a bit mussed and damp. "Have you been swimming?" she asked incredulously. 'In leggings?' she added silently to herself.

"No, well, yes, technically. As a matter of fact, I have been searching the rivers... and haven't found anything."

"You think Elrond would risk that ensign in water?"

"No, obviously..." he could feel his face growing warm with mild embarrassment. What a merry chase he had been led on. "I was thinking it might be near a river."

"So you went in the river, assuming that you might see it from a better vantage."

"Precisely."

"And now you're all wet."

"And now I'm wet, yes." Silence ensued, water continuing to drip off of Haldir's clothes and pool at his feet. "I take it you haven't had much luck either, then?" he asked, breaking the monotonous dripping.

"None. Though I feel I've searched every possible hiding place in the valley."

"I know what you mean," Haldir answered. "I feel as if I have been to LothLórien and back, with none of the comforts of home to give me respite."

"Home... " Uruviel glanced skywards, sighing wistfully and noting the position of the sun, high overhead. It's warm golden rays were all the comfort she needed. Hoping that their arid diatribe wasn't giving anyone else an added opportunity, they continued conversing for some time, their laughter carrying across the water with ease.

Not far off, another set of ears caught hints of their amusement. Having spent the entire morning playing the guerrilla, Dinendel had seen more than three-fourths of the day's competition eliminated. He had a bounty of necklaces that would no doubt yield him the winner, if by some chance another competitor couldn't find the banner. He, personally, wasn't going to waste time looking for it. If he found it, so be it - but if he found others first, the worse for them.

Keeping low, he crept along the river bank, drawing nearer to the voices he had heard. It wasn't until he was flat against the bridge's supports that he recognised exactly who it was - the two elves he had spent the morning avoiding, Haldir and Uruviel. Holding his breath, he melted back against the bridge - they hadn't seen him yet. Moving slowly, along the grass, he tried to get out the way he had come.

Luck was not on his side. Keeping both eyes focused on his opponents, he wasn't watching his feet - or what he was stepping on. With a resounding snap, a thin branch cracked beneath his weight.

Haldir's gaze shot up, focusing on the noise he had heard, just off the bridge. Uruviel, too, spun around - vision locking on the frozen elf in his attempted retreat. Without hesitation, Haldir dove from the edge, pinning the Mirkwood elf down and rolling into the shallow river. Water sloshed around them as they grappled, Uruviel quickly making her way down the embankment to stand beside the river. It was to her happiness when Haldir, now twice as wet as before, erupted from the surface, clutching a leather necklace with an emerald stone in his hand. His own, glittering gold in the sunlight, shimmered in its place around his neck.

Dinendel, gasping and heaving, dragged himself from the river onto the grass, gulping down a lungful of air. Craning his head to look at Haldir, silhouetted against the bridge, and Uruviel, watching bemusedly in the background, his own brown eyes focused on something far more ironic. Tucked neatly into the stones, a wide blue banner - with matching stars and emblems - glittered with the reflected sunbeams. "I don't believe it..." he whispered.