And it's been a month, but the story continues!

Elladan woke up not knowing where he was. Hardly moving, he examined where he was. A campsite, more or less, with several other people beside him. No fires, no tents, but no orcs either. They could still be bandits, he reminded himself dully.

He nearly yelped when he saw someone coming towards him. The stranger quickly put their hand over his mouth and in a whisper said, "Shush. Your brother is sleeping."

Elladan slapped the stranger's hand away before whispering, "Who are you?" He was not sure he trusted this person.

"A friend, I hope. The folks in this band call me Reis."

"That is not your real name." It was halfway between a statement and a question. Elladan could mentally see his father raise an eyebrow to that as this stranger did the same.

"No. You should probably get some more sleep. It is a few hours before daylight. I will answer other questions then."

"Wait, one more. Are you Men or Elves?"

The stranger smiled. "A mixture." Elladan relaxed slightly, still not intending to sleep, but trying to give it the illusion of sleep.

xxx

"Jeez, feels like I spent the day on a horse." The moon was straight above her, halfway between first quarter and full. So Nary still will need to be asleep at this hour, but it's not likely that she actually is.

She noticed two puppies curled up beside her. "Where am I anyway?" she asked, not expecting an answer.

"Depending on exactly what you want to know, there are a multitude of answers to the question." Cori jumped at the low voice. "Relax, Cricket, before you wake something up."

"Nary? When did you get here? And when did you put us?"

"Call me Reis, a couple days ago, sometime in the second or third age, and I currently speak French. Go back to sleep."

"Why with the French thing? Who else is here?"

"You want names, or races and jobs?"

"Names."

"Reis, Lewis, Elladan, Elrohir, Coralin, Horace Altman, Halt Carrick, Gilan Somebody, and Will Treaty."

"Okay, now races, jobs, and countries."

"Reis, New York-"

"That's not a country."

"No one else knows that. Reis, New York, Law Enforcement. Lewis, New York, Idiot."

"Very funny."

"Fine. He's a law enforcer too. Elladan and Elrohir, Imladris, Sons of the Lord Elrond-"

"Is that a real job?"

"Will you shut up?" Cori thought a moment, and nodded. "Horace Altman, Araluen, Knight." Ratreis glared as Cori opened her mouth. "Halt, Gilan, Will, Araluen, Rangers."

"Damn. Will's older than me now."

"Technically, you two aren't even born yet."

"Well, maybe when I wake up, I will be three instead of thirteen. Good morning." Cori closed her eyes and was instantly asleep. Ratreis shook her head in wonder. She had never been able to do that.

As Ratreis returned to watch, she glanced at the Elrondions. She had told them to get back to sleep, but she doubted that they had followed her orders. The main cause of this doubt was that they both had their eyes closed. She rolled her eyes, I swear…

xxx

Elladan, Elrohir, and Cori "woke" before dawn. Ratreis set Cori to making breakfast, and Elrohir decided to help. Elladan merely watched.

"You aren't helping?" Elladan asked.

"I can't cook," said Ratreis with a slight grin. "Nothing worth eating, anyway."

They sat in silence before Elladan said, "Too many cooks spoil the meal."

The rest of the group woke up soon after the smell of eggs cooking reached them. Ratreis had disappeared, likely in a tree somewhere. Everyone else sat and ate and talked.

"Where are you from?" Will asked Cori.

"Araluen, originally, but I've been about everywhere since then."

"Your family travels a lot then?"

"Most of us. Estel's a Healer, so she doesn't travel as much as the rest of us. I'm always on the run, I'm a messenger, and Reis…well, Reis was just born a traveler." You'd just never guess what kind.

"Aren't you a little young to be running to the ends of the Earth and back?" Will asked with a slight smirk.

"Actually, I'm not." Cori said, completely matter of fact.

"Then…what about Lewis?"

"Lewis…he's still in school."

"School?"

"Apprenticeship. He's going to become a law enforcement of New York."

"Oh. What do your parents do?"

"They lay in the ground all day."

This confused Will for a moment. Then he realized what she meant. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I never knew them."

From above, Ratreis watched the two smallest ones. Will would be sixteen or seventeen, and Cori would always be thirteen. It's highly likely they won't guess a thing…

But then there's Cori's "curse" to think about. Ratreis frowned darkly. 'Immortality is the cost of not finding what you have lost.' Do I have the right to keep it from them? So far I'm the only one who knows what Cori's "lost." I haven't even told Diego. There's the feeling that she must find out on her own once she's finally ready to move on, but there is also the feeling that I am being selfish and not wanting to let her go. What am I to choose? She sighed, disliking the need for a decision to be made.

Halt and Elladan had tried to start a conversation, but the attempt had fallen flat. They were rather awkward, each thinking the other as very young, though that was not the case with either. Elladan had then moved over to where his brother was talking to Gilan.

Halt observed Reis as the young man seemed to have an internal argument with himself. The boy changed expressions almost faster than Halt could follow, and finally sighed discontentedly and leaned back against the tree trunk. Out of curiosity, Halt got up, intending to sneak up on Reis.

He was about two feet away from the tree when Reis said, "Bonjour, Halt. Etes-vous bien?" (Hello, Halt. Are you well?)

"Je suis," he said. "Et vous?" (I am. And you?)

"Troubled, but nothing to worry about."

"I see you have given up the pretense of only knowing how to speak Gallican. Are you and Lewis really from New York, or is that a lie too?"

"I don't lie," Reis said calmly. "I simply do not correct others' mistakes concerning myself, not caring what they think of me or if it is right."

"Many would consider that as good as a lie."

"'Not caring one way or the other' is the key term here, Ranger."

Halt raised his eyebrow disapprovingly. "Were you always like this, or did your mentor teach you?"

Reis smiled slightly. "It comes naturally at my age."

"I notice that Gilan acts in no such way, nor does Elladan or Elrohir."

"They are not my age, boy." Reis's gaze wandered to Elrohir. "Those two will get into so much trouble if they aren't looked after."

Cut off from his chance of sarcastic retort, Halt said, "It sounds like you know them."

Reis snorted. "I'm a parent. We know things like this."

It took a few minutes for his response. "We could always escort them to their destination. I would feel guilty if the forest burned down because they were left alone."

"I don't know, you may not want to…they're going to Mirkwood palace, though I'm not sure if it's called that anymore. It's an Elven kingdom."

xxx

A short while later, the Elrondions saddled their horses. "Thank you for your help and hospitality toward two Elven…rascals, isn't it?" Elladan said. "We must be leaving, though."

"Actually," Cori said, smiling ever so slightly. "If you don't mind, we'll ride with you the rest of the way, to keep you company and out of trouble."

Elladan raised an eyebrow, looking much like his father. "That would-"

"Be wonderful," Elrohir finished. "We've only been to Mirkwood a few times, and I swear these trees will get up and walk off if you let them out of your sight!"

"Nah, I heard that only happens in Entwood."

Everyone quickly packed up, those who had them saddled horses, and the group set off for Mirkwood palace.

Am I confusing you yet? Were the characters a little OOC? I haven't read RA in a while, so they might be getting there. Will you review? Please?