After Lord Celeborn spoke with us about our Journey, we all drank from the cup of farewell. Galadriel announced that we had gifts. My heart pounded knowing that this was real - that we were leaving. I wanted to stay for a while, but my heart was screaming at me to go. I continued telling myself what Haldir had told me earlier this morning to keep what little courage I had left in place.

Galadriel gave Aragorn a sheath for his sword, Anduril, as well as an emerald brooch. She gave Boromir a gold belt, and Merry and Pippin silver ones. Legolas and I received intricately carved bows, as well as arrows. I smiled, pleased with my gift. Sam received a box of soil for gardening purposes, and Gimli politely asked for a hair of Galadriel's. A smile tugged at the corner of my lips - She gave him three. Frodo received a small phial full of a clear liquid. Galadriel claimed it was the light of Earendil, and that it would help Frodo.

Once we had all received our gifts, we all said our final farewells to Lórien and made our way to the boats. We all piled in as slowly as we could. I knew that we all shared the same sadness of leaving.

Legolas began to row our boat down the river. Even though Lórien had been safe and felt a lot like home in many ways, I was somewhat glad to be rid of it. I had so much drama there; maybe being back on our Quest would distract Boromir. I had feelings for him, but he had not been himself as of late. He was so withdrawn in Lórien, and when I did forgive him, he refused to forgive me. Something was wrong, but I did not know what.

I sighed and leaned my head back. "Please do not flip the boat again, lassie," Gimli said jokingly.

Everyone laughed, including me. Everyone except for Boromir.

~/~

After seven days of floating down the Anduin, I was quite bored. It was nice to relax, but I felt like seven days was too long. Especially because it allowed me to think about things that I did not want to - like Boromir. He had not said one word to me since we left Lórien. Well, since he kissed me. It frustrated me, to say the least. I understood that he probably felt rejected, but when I tried to mend the problem yesterday, he just waved me off and went to get firewood.

I huffed. "What's wrong?" Legolas asked, in a low voice. Gimli was sleeping.

I just shook my head and shot a glance in Boromir's direction. He was paddling extremely close to Aragorn's boat. A little too close, if you ask me. I frowned and looked at Merry and Pippin. They both looked uncomfortable. They clung to the sides of the boat; Pippin's eyes were darting back and forth between Frodo and Boromir.

"What did he do?" Legolas inquired.

I turned my attention back to the Elf. "What makes you think he did anything?" I asked in return.

"When I asked what was wrong, you looked at him."

Part of me wanted to cross my arms and turn away, like a child. The other half of me desired to tell everything. But the last thing I needed was for someone to overhear us. So I did the first. I saw Legolas shake his head out of the corner of my eye. "You do not have to tell me, but I am willing to listen if you want to." That Elf was good. But I held firm and said nothing.

We sat in silence for the rest of the day. All of us had grown used to it though. And honestly when Legolas had even spoken to me, it was an oddity.

Legolas rowed gently into the riverbank. Gimli was awake by now and we both climbed out of the boat. I turned, pulled the boat in closer and tied the mooring line to a tree stump close to the shore. Legolas agilely jumped from the boat to the shore once I was finished. I smiled to myself, proud that I had figured out how to tie a decent knot after so many days.

I ate my dinner alone, with my back against a large tree. It felt good to be by myself after being cramped into a boat all day. The sunset was magnificent to watch as well. The blend of pinks, oranges and grey created a beautiful scene. I sighed in content. This was a better day on our journey down the Anduin.

I heard foot falls behind my tree, so I poked my head out to see who it was. It was Legolas. "Did you wish to speak with me?" he asked politely, taking a seat next to me.

I stared at my plate for a moment, contemplating if I did want to talk with him. Finally, I gave in. I nodded. "He… he kissed me…" I whispered.

Legolas' eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets. "I expected something else," he stated, still in shock. "Do you think I should talk to him? If Aragorn knew about this…"

"Do not even think about telling Aragorn. I will personally kill you if you say anything to anyone. This conversation stays here."

"You never answered my question; do you wish for me to talk with Boromir?"

I shook my head. "No, he will probably hurt you again," I replied, motioning to his eye. It was mostly healed, but there was still a light shade of blue that remained.

"He caught me off guard."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course."

"Rosel, this is a serious matter. We cannot have anything hinder our Quest. Including… this."

I nodded in agreement. "I know, but I think that if anyone else knew, bad things would happen."

"From what I am gathering, he did not have your consent."

I shook my head meekly.

"I am speaking with him and Aragorn this instant," he said, pushing himself off the ground.

"NO!" I cried and lunged for his leg. Legolas tumbled over, and at this point, the Fellowship was staring at us.

"Are you two well?" Sam spoke up.

"Elves…" I heard Gimli murmur.

"Absolutely perfect," I muttered. Before Legolas said anything, I shot him a warning look. We both got off the forest floor and washed our dishes in the river. "If you say one word," I warned Legolas in a low voice.

"You will kill me?" he asked in reply.

"Yes. Slowly and painfully."

A smile tugged at his lips.

"It is not funny. I will do it," I snapped.

He nodded, but the smile did not leave.

Aragorn approached us when we finished drying our plates. "We are journeying tonight with on the boats. We still have many leagues to travel." Legolas seemed doubtful of Aragorn's plan, but I was eager to get off the river as soon as possible.

When we all were finished packing our things, we loaded into the boats once more. Night had already fallen and I wished to sleep but I was first watch on my boat. We were not paddling, just floating downstream. It was peaceful.

I let my mind wander carelessly not bothering to look ahead of the boat - just watching the moon. When the current picked up, I looked in front of the boat. There were dark forms of rocks and the sound of rushing water.

My eyes widened, and I went to go wake Legolas. "Legolas!" I cried, shaking him.

His eyes opened lazily. "What is it?"

"There are…" I was cut off when the boat swung violently to the left, which woke Gimli up. Legolas shot up and found the paddle quickly.

"Aragorn!" Boromir cried, "This is madness! We cannot dare the Rapids by night! But no boat can live in Sarn Gebir, be it day or night."

So we had hit the rapids, despite Aragorn saying it was many leagues from here. "Back! Back! Turn if you can!" Aragorn ordered.

I crawled around the small boat, feeling for a paddle to help bring us about. In my panic, I managed to find one for Gimli and me. We wasted no time putting them to good use. I thrust my oar into the river and held it firm, refusing the current in its urge to move it. The boat in response began to turn against the current. All three of us began rowing with all our might to get away from the rapids.

We had made very little headway and the current was carrying us toward the eastern shore. The fact that every now and then I could see a dark figure moving in between the trees was driving me to paddle harder against the current. But once we were close enough, arrows flew out from the trees. Instinctively, I ducked, but tried to keep rowing as best I could. "Yrch!" Legolas cried in elvish.

"Orcs!" Gimli translated.

Arrows whizzed by us every so often, but we kept rowing. My arms were growing sore and I could feel the blisters forming on my hands, but I ignored my body's protests against the labor. I had to keep paddling for our lives. Nothing else mattered.

After many hours, the firing of arrows ceased and we became a little more relaxed. The vigorous paddling was still taking a toll on us. "We are heading now to the western shore," Legolas said quietly, shifting his paddle. I followed his lead.

Once we were close enough to the shore, Legolas hopped onto it. As he did, I felt a horrible chill run down my spine. I dreaded the area around me, but I did not know why. There was an evil radiating from it that seemed too strong to be true. Legolas looked up for a moment. I followed his gaze intently. All I saw were the stars and the dimly lit crescent moon, and then nothing. It was all black and a deafening shriek echoed through the night. Before the cry was finished, Legolas shot the creature. The shriek turned into one of pain. The darkness that had covered us swerved away across the Anduin.

My gaze lingered on the eastern shore for a moment before I felt Legolas return into the boat.

"We will travel upstream for a while until we can find somewhere to rest," Aragorn said, beginning to paddle once more.

We finally found a small bay. Relieved, I stopped paddling at once. Legolas tied our boat to a small tree near us while Gimli proceeded to sleep. I assessed the damage done from the rowing. Several blisters were scattered across my hands and my whole body ached. That was the most strength I had summoned in all my life. I lay down cautiously, attempting not to rock the boat, and fell into a deep slumber.

The next day, after much arguing, we decided that we had to walk along the riverbank until we passed Sarn Gebir. According to Boromir, no one had made it out alive. And after last night, even though we did not enter the Rapids, I believed him. The image of the sharp rocks ran through my mind. I shook it off quickly and climbed out of the boat.

Quickly, we began to unload them. We would have to carry our luggage and the boats down. Unloading the boats proved difficult carrying them for two hours was going to be grueling. Thankfully, the boats were light, but the baggage proved otherwise.

It was night once more when we passed Sarn Gebir. We pushed the boat near the river and made camp. Once I lay down I was asleep.

The next day, we piled into the boats once more and set off down the river. I was rather bored until Legolas' gaze turned into one of wonder. I pulled my gaze away from the riverbank to down the river, and there were two gargantuan statues of Men. My eyes widened in awe at the grey stone figures. Their left hands were put out, as if to command you to halt, and in their right hands, they bore an axe. The statues had been damaged from the years, but they still held a splendor.

"Behold the Argonath, the Pillars of Kings!" Aragorn announced. I wondered how the two statues had been carved at all, when Aragorn gave an order. "We shall pass them soon. Keep the boats in line, and as far apart as you can! Hold the middle of the stream!"

When we passed the Argonath, we entered a dark chasm. I could hear Sam complaining from the other boat. Not that I blamed him - this was not pleasant at all. My only comfort was that Legolas had a great advantage because of his sight.

After what seemed like forever, our boats were back into the afternoon sun. I sighed in relief and leaned back against the boat. The Falls of Rauros could be heard from where we were stationed. It was somewhat relaxing to know we were leaving the river soon. Our Quest had started a new chapter.

"We make for Amon Hen," Legolas said, paddling our boat into the left bank.

After we made camp, I soon fell asleep. They days were taking a great toll on my body.

"No!" I heard a woman shriek. My head instinctively turned toward the voice. It was me. My face was covered in orc blood and I was running. I followed my trail and saw Boromir fighting off the Orcs, but there was one positioned to fire an arrow on top of a hill. But this was no ordinary Orc. It was much larger than the others were, and it had a target. He let the arrow fly, and then I heard a deafening screech.

My eyes flew open and began scanning the camp. That was the worst nightmare I had ever had. Dawn had broken, and already several members of the Fellowship were awake.

I walked toward the small circle and sat down. "We must make the decision to go to Minas Tirith or to Mordor, today. Or will we break the Fellowship and have some go to Gondor, and others to Mordor?" Aragorn finally spoke.

I inhaled a sharp breath. Boromir had been pressing to go to Gondor ever since we left in Lórien. It seemed like a good idea to attack Mordor from there. But there were some benefits of going alone into Mordor as well. Of course, the journey would be long and treacherous, but it had to be done. I was undecided.

"Well, Frodo, you are the Ring bearer - appointed by the council. I cannot advise you in this matter," Aragorn said, turning to the little Hobbit.

Frodo looked conflicted, but spoke, "Give me an hour alone, I will make the decision then."

Aragorn agreed with the Hobbit and Frodo ran off into the woods.

I sat pondering for a moment. Gondor seemed like a wonderful idea. We could have decent meals, baths and a bed. But comfort did not matter. What mattered was getting the Ring to Mordor. Unfortunately, my desire for comfort was clouding my ability to make a good decision. If the Ring was taken to Gondor, who was to say that it would ever be taken to Mordor? On top of that, Boromir would be leading the way, and if it was just us, who knows what could happen.

I stayed with my thoughts for a few hours and failed to notice that Boromir had gone into the woods, and that Frodo had still not returned. We all began to get anxious. It was not a secret that the Ring was taking a hold of Boromir, and my nightmare was no comfort to his disappearance. My breathing picked up, but when Boromir emerged from the woods, it slowed.

"Where have you been, Boromir?" Aragorn questioned. "Have you seen Frodo?"

"Yes, I found him some way up the hill. I urged him to come to Minas Tirith, but he grew angry and vanished. He must have put the Ring on. I thought he would come back to you," Boromir replied, keeping his head low. He seemed ashamed.

"Is that all?" Aragorn asked sharply.

"Yes."

"How long has it been since you have seen Frodo last?"

"A half an hour or an hour. I do not know!" Boromir buried his face in his hands. He was very upset with himself.

"An hour since he vanished! We must try and find him, come on!" Sam exclaimed.

"Wait a moment!" Aragorn called after the Hobbits. Merry and Pippin had run the opposite direction of Sam. "We will all be scattered and lost," Aragorn muttered, clearly disgruntled by the situation.

"I do not know what role you played in this, Boromir. But help now - go and defend Merry and Pippin," Aragorn ordered. Boromir obeyed. My stomach was tied in knots. I could not let him leave. He had been cold to me - yet. But my nightmare… and he was still my friend. It was the Ring that was doing this to him. I just knew it.

I looked at the spot that Boromir had been standing for a moment. "Rosel, stay with Legolas…" Aragorn began, but I ran after Boromir.

"ROSEL!" I heard Legolas cry behind me. I ignored him and continued following Boromir.

I went as fast as my legs could carry me up the hill. My heart threatened to break my ribs - it was beating so hard. It was the only sound I could hear. So when an Orc appeared in front of me, I was shocked. I reached for my dagger and in a fluid movement, sliced its jugular. Orc blood splattered everywhere, but my legs began to carry me further up the hill. I sliced down more Orcs and desperately wanted to use my new bow, but did not have anytime to reach for it.

I was fighting like a puppet of sorts. My mind was speaking the same words to me, over and over. 'Duck, slice, kick, turn, duck…' Occasionally it would tell me to attempt to reach for my bow, but another Orc would attack me, and the instructions were reread.

Finally, I had an opening to reach for my bow. I pulled it off my back and began to shoot. My aim was nowhere near Legolas', but I was killing Orcs. My victory was short lived, however. My arrows disappeared quicker than I had expected and I did not have time to pick them out of the Orc corpses. Once I had an opening, I slung my bow back over my shoulder and pulled out my dagger. While I was fighting, I was running after Boromir as well. My pace quickened when I heard a horn. It had to be the Horn of Gondor. Boromir was in grave danger.

After what seemed like a lifetime, I found him. My happiness was fleeting because I knew where we were. This was the scene from my dream. My breathing picked up tremendously. I looked towards the hill, and almost on cue, the Orc from my dream prepared to fire an arrow at Boromir.

"NO!" I screamed, running towards him. I had no idea what I was going to do when I reached him, but I did not care.

Everything was in slow motion. My heart raced. I was running so fast that I could not feel my legs, but I did not notice. All that mattered was that I made it to Boromir. I reached him. Yes, I did it. I turned to face him. I do not know why I did what I did, but the next moment an unbearable pain ripped through my left shoulder. I screeched, and everything went black.

A/N: Hello! I worked hard writing this chapter for sure, so reviews are much appreciated. Thank you so much to my amazing beta, Lady Demiya! She's also an amazing author, go check out some of her stories. Thank you to everyone who put me on alert, favorited and reviewed! Shout outs :D.

Han: I hope you liked the chapter

Lady Fireflower: Thank you very much! I'm glad you like the story; hope you liked the update!

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