Here is the final chapter in the first installment of Storm the White Tiger: A Middle Earth Tale. Please enjoy and PLEASE review! I appreciate any comments, suggestions, or questions you may have. Do not hesitate to ask them!

Please do not copy the plot of my story or the characters of my own creation!

Chapter 9 Lady of Light

Stonn paced in his well-furnished room. He was impatient, it was midmorning of the next day, and no action had taken place. He had been informed by a messenger that a council had met the night before to discuss whether or not he had a claim for an audience. They had, indeed granted him one, but it was not to take place today. It would occur the following week. He cursed under his breath because he knew that his master, though just a spirit, would be impatient for results. Even though Sauron would never again regain his old strength that he possessed during the Third Age, he had become stronger. He would never again take his own physical form again, but he may be able to possess an individual.

As his right hand man, Stonn was privy to Sauron's plans. He was almost strong enough, with the help of the dark elves, to take such a step in possession. Stonn had been further honored when Sauron had told him that he would be the test subject when Sauron was ready to take such a step, and Stonn would do it willingly.

Ever since his cowardly brethren had left Middle Earth's shores in the care of men, he and his followers had sought out the spirit of the Evil Lord to ask for council on how to regain power over Middle Earth. Elves like him had turned to darkness long ago because of their beliefs that man was not worthy to rule anything. They were dirty, filthy mortal beings who knew nothing of the past and, therefore, could not foresee a better future.

He had been surprised when the Valar had urged the elves to leave the Undying Lands and come back to Middle Earth; to once again help men to protect the land from the darkness that had slowly been growing within the very heart of Mordor. It seemed the Valar's master wanted men to rule Middle Earth. He, of course, had not been cowardly enough to run to the Undying Lands.

What was even more annoying to him was the messenger would not tell him where those filthy wolves and that beastly excuse for a horse had gone. He was even more annoyed, to the point of anger, that the messenger could not tell him where Storm was. In order for his plan to work he needed to know where she was, but he could wait until his audience with the council. He had sent some of his men home to report to his master, as he could not risk contacting Stonn in the heart of Mirkwood.

I awoke, for the first time feeling well rested. Her relaxation was short lived when she saw that Tauriel was sitting in the sitting room and Haldir was still at the door.

"Don't you ever sleep?" I asked the elves.

"Yes, but we do not need as much, nor do we sleep long when we do," answered Haldir while Tauriel handed me day clothes.

I went to the bathing room to change and take care of some grooming. When I got out, breakfast was waiting for me, which I ate with gusto. My body needed the extra energy to continue to heal.

When I was finished, Tauriel and my guard left my glorified jail cell. I asked where we were going and I was told that I was to meet an old friend of my parents. That peeked my interest. What I did remember about them was vague. While I was in Mirkwood I might as well put my time to good use and learn as much as I could before I made a decision to either leave or stay.

We entered a spacious room that was open to the sky. The sun shone down on the grass, and as I looked around I saw that there was a single elf dressed in white standing in the center. My guard, including Bear, Ping, and Tauriel, left me alone with her.

Do not be afraid; said a voice in my head. Foolishly, I looked around me for the source. The elf smiled at me and began to walk forward. I realized as she walked up to me and taken my hands that the voice had heard in my head had been hers.

"I have waited a long time to meet the child of Lilly and Hothor. I am Lady Galadriel, Storm. Your parents and I were great friends; I was there when you were brought into this world. I wish I could have been there to save them when they were brutally killed by some evil being," she said as she let go of my hands and turned away, "Follow me, Storm. We have much to discuss"

I felt that I could trust her. As far as I could tell she was pure light; the exact opposite of Stonn, who seemed to have his light snuffed out by the darkness that is Sauron's tainted spirit. Vaguely, I remembered, a Lady of Light visiting on my fifth birthday. She had given me a necklace of light almost as bright as her. Stonn had smashed it after I had been captured. Maybe she was that Lady of Light that I remembered from so long ago.

I followed her further into the clearing. She had stopped by a stream, and was sitting on a white log. She motioned for me to sit next to her, which I did. Surprisingly to me, I felt completely at ease.

"Storm, I am sorry for the evil that befell you. Your father, an elf, had a unique ability to foresee certain events in the futures of those he cared about. He had seen what would occur and knew that nothing anyone could do could change the events that would come to pass. We tried, Storm, to get there in time; but we were too late. An evil that we thought would never again threaten Middle Earth had returned, weaker than before; but strong enough to hide you from us for years," she paused for a moment to gather her thoughts.

"We did not know that you had been taken into the ruins of Mordor and that evil was regrouping behind the smoke that is forever encompassing that evil place. We did find you, and I had foreseen your escape. That is why we captured you, Storm. We did not intend for you to feel as if you had been imprisoned. We mean to protect you. We still do not know who murdered your parents, or who serves the spirit of the Dark Lord. We do not know what purpose he planned to use you for."

We sat in silence for a while as I absorbed all this information. To me, it made sense. She seemed trustworthy, but trusting was hard for me.

As if she could read my mind she said as she looked into my eyes, "Storm, after all you have been through I can understand how hard it is to trust. Please know that we will give you plenty of reasons to trust us. Many of the elves who brought you here knew your parents, Storm."

Again, we let the silence encompass us. Birds sang and the brook we were sitting by bubbled. It was very peaceful. I wondered if I should tell her about Stonn, but something told me that she suspected that some darkness lay over him. I decided I would wait until his audience to expose him.

After a while she stood up and looked down at me and said, "Storm, I know this is a lot to take in. I will leave you to your thoughts for now. You may stay here as long as you wish. Let Haldir know when you are ready to leave."

I looked over and saw that he was standing guard at the entrance. Before she left she handed me a sealed letter.

"Your parents left this for you, hidden cleverly so that the darkness would not find it. Please read it," she said as she left.

I looked down at the dark blue seal. With surprise I notice that the seal bore the same mark that I and my loyal animals had; three horizontal lines with a slash running through it. Curiosity got the better of me and I opened the letter.

Cliff Hanger, hanging from a cliff! And that's why they call him cliff hanger! Tell me what show that was off of! LOL

I hope you enjoyed the final chapter in Book 1! The next book will be coming soon, I promise! In the meantime, if you have comments, questions, reactions you wish to share, or suggestions please feel free to share! PLEASE review and let me know what you think. Have a wonderful day!