"It concerns matters of the younger Misplacement. I believe you know of whom I speak."

Esther looked startled. "I do..."

Cupid motioned for her to take the seat in front of his desk. "Please, sit Esther." Once she had perched on the chair, he continued. "I have not called you in to admonish you for your services regarding the younger elf in Burgess. However, there have been new developments that I feel you should be aware of, as she is not only a companion to you, but your charge as well." Reaching into the desk drawer on his left, Cupid removed and set a file of papers before her. "These are copied for your records," he said. "In them contains all of the information that I am about to tell you."

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Esther said carefully. "Is this situation a matter of endangerment to my charge or her kin?"

"No, but I believe it will offer a sense of relief and comfort to them in time." Cupid leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands over his chest. "In that file before you is the information that I have been given from the Man in the Moon himself. It covers all that is known about the Misplaced Ones; their history as a race, their history of living here, and a detailed hypothesis on how they might be able to return home."

Esther had been flipping through the sheets as Cupid talked, trying to follow along, but her head snapped up the moment he finished his sentence. "Home?" she asked. "There is a way to return them to their world?"

"An educated guess, based on what got them here," Cupid clarified. "It is by no means an accurate assessment, as there is no one with the knowledge here that can harness that kind of power. Although...while we do not have a source to check the theory against, we do have someone with the capabilities to emulate something simpler."

"North?"

"You, Esther."

"I beg your pardon?"

Cupid grinned. "Surely you didn't think I would allow you to handle such a personal project without good reason? My dear you are the first in a long time to harness raw magic of this nature, especially since it is not necessary for your department!"

Esther could only look on at her boss in confusion. What in the hell did he mean by that? A raw, untapped energy that could send her elven friends home? She wasn't a genie, there was no way she could do something like that! "I still don't understand where you are going with this, sir?"

"You don't?" Cupid looked slightly disappointed. "I believe that you can tip the scales in the elve's favor, Esther. The files indicated that something phenomenal had sent them to this world, and only a force as strong could bring them back. I see you as a secret piece of the puzzle, child. You have abilities to connect on spiritual levels, so I do not see why that potential can't be used to influence the other world's endeavors."

"But what would I do? I don't even know what it is that I do that you think so highly of!"

"You believe," Cupid said. "You believe that the impossible can be possible, and it manifests itself in others as a gleam of hope. You are a beacon of light that can guide the way, and I feel that if you could channel this energy, you could reach out further than this world." he nodded toward the papers in her hands. "Also in that file is a roster of individuals that are a determinable part of the Misplaced Ones' world. I want you to work on making contact with one of these figures."

"Will they listen?"

"That depends on you. You must convince them to listen, which I have no doubt you can do. If you can reach out to one, then perhaps we can find a way to right the wrong that has been unresolved for far too long."

Cupid waved a hand dismissively, effectively ending the conversation and the meeting. It was just as well. Esther's few glimpses of the file in her hands told her that she had a lot of homework to do.


"Hey there, stranger," Ithilwen joked. "I haven't seen you around in a while."

They were on an outcrop of a tall hill overlooking empty plains in the dark. She couldn't see much for anything, but figured that the view must have been beautiful during daylight. The elleth idly wondered if the real thing was as tranquil at night. She looked up at Legolas to see him laugh. "It has been an eventful few days since our last parting," he admitted.

"Something about the way you say that doesn't mean good news," she noticed. His laugh wasn't as genuine as it had been in the past. "What's happened?"

Legolas sat down at the edge of the outcropping, allowing his feet to dangle over the edge. He motioned for Ithilwen to join him before he began. "The Fellowship is no more," he started. "There was a skirmish, and as a result, two of the hobbits were captured, and the other two made for their own pursuit of Mordor. Aragorn, Gimli, and myself are currently tracking the Uruk-hai that have Merry and Pippin, and we believe that they were being taken to Isenguard."

Doing some quick math, Ithilwen was afraid to correct him, suddenly realizing what the sudden grief she felt days before meant. "Boromir fell, didn't he?"

"How did you know that?" he asked, surprised.

In response, she touched her heart. "It appears that this empathy goes both ways. I felt your sadness at his passing that day. I'm sorry to hear he's gone."

Legolas nodded. "He fought bravely until the very end to protect Merry and Pippin."

"I'm confused," she blurted out. "Have you found Merry and Pippin? You said that you thought they were being taken to Isenguard, were you able to catch up with the Uruks?"

The elf shook his head. "No, but we learned from an old friend that they had passed into the safety of Fangorn." Before she could ask, he added, "Gandalf has returned to us by blessing of the Valar." He could not hide the happiness he felt still; it had hurt considerably to see the wizard fall in Moria.

Ithilwen smiled in return. "That's wonderful! Where does your journey take you now? Will you still look for the hobbits?"

"Frodo and Sam will make their venture on their own. Merry and Pippin will be taken care of by the Ents in Fangorn until our paths cross again. I am not certain of our destination as of right now." Legolas leaned back on his hands as he studied Ithilwen in the moonlight. "It appears that I have spent much of our time speaking of my adventures. May I ask about yours these past days?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

The elleth found his grin infectious and grinned in reply. "Well, there was no struggle with Uruks, but there was a war of words between Payne and myself at the craft store after you gave me this," she motioned to the necklace.

Legolas' eyes followed her hand's motion with a smile, but frowned upon realizing what she said. "What did he say?"

Ithilwen blew a raspberry, an uncharacteristic action for an elleth, which made him smile again. "Payne doesn't share the same interests that I do, and he was the one to follow me to the craft store in the first place. I wanted to get some supplies for a new costume that I am working on, and he has the patience of a small child. He picked away at why I like to attend conventions and how silly the whole notion is. Then he assumed the costume that I am creating is meant to please men. What brought things to a head was that he told me that he had a problem with my ears! Again!"

"Start from the beginning. What are these 'conventions'?"

"A convention is a big social gathering in that world. There are a lot of different kinds of conventions, and some of the more popular kinds have visitors dress in costume for fun."

"That does not sound displeasing," Legolas mused. "What of the costume?"

"It's from this film called Suckerpunch. You remember me telling you about films?" At his nod, she continued. "The character's costume I'm making is Sweet Pea, but I'm adding some color to her costume, so it's not all black leather. It has this hooded cloak that forms into a corset in the front, and because there's not much else to it, Payne thinks that it's meant to please the male eye."

"This sounds like a costume that your adar would not approve of," Legolas grinned. Lots of leather and little else? Of course he wouldn't approve!

Ithilwen laughed. "It does, doesn't it? Anyway, it's not like it'll be done anytime soon. I have to wait on some supplies to be sent by post because the store I frequent doesn't carry them. And the leather takes more time to sew, so it might not be finished for a few months."

"Now, why does this boy have a problem with your ears?" His tone had turned serious. Legolas had wanted to ask this question first, but held back to let her vent about the other reasons to dislike the boy.

"According to him, he was shown a picture of my in costume by his friends, and in the picture my ears were showing. Payne thought that I was 'hot' and assumed that the ears were fake. He can't see why I don't want to change them because most girls he knows are horribly vain in that aspect. He sees them as a defect more than anything." Ithilwen was surprised to feel her right hand being taken by Legolas, and turned her gaze away from the horizon to meet his.

"Do not listen to what that boy tells you," he said firmly. "You are nothing short of a beautiful elleth, and if he cannot accept that you are different than most of the females he has encountered, then that is his problem. You have done nothing to warrant such treatment, and I wish that I could help you see that you need to break contact with him." Legolas squeezed her hand in comfort. He didn't want to frighten her with his tone, but he wanted her to see that he did not like the boy, nor approve of his behavior.

Ithilwen felt her cheeks get warm when he called her 'beautiful'. She wasn't used to compliments like that coming from Legolas, and when he said it, it sounded more sincere than when Payne ever had. Since it was dark out, she hoped that he couldn't see the change, because she didn't know if she could explain if he asked. Instead, she ducked her head and nodded briefly. "Thank you, Legolas. I know, I've been trying to find the right moment to tell him, but he's been so strange lately. We'll argue about something, but then he'll apologize right after, and it confuses me. I really noticed the change during the end of our lunch, after we left the craft store."

"How do you mean?" Legolas frowned.

She shrugged. "When I felt the grief you felt when Boromir passed, I reached for the necklace out of habit. I didn't even realize that it was showing until Payne asked me who it was from."

"What did you tell him?"

"Don't be mad, but… I told him that I received it from a soldier overseas on duty as a gift from a penpal. That's a person you write to that you haven't met, but I guess in our case dream about. Your name came up, and Payne got mad. He said that 'no guy should be giving his girl presents' or something to that extent. Then he got quiet after I told him that when you finish your term in service that you would be coming to Burgess to meet me. When desert was served he apologized for the second time that day."

When Ithilwen looked up at him again, she noticed that the frown had been replaced by the cheeky grin from earlier. "It appears that I unsettle this boy, then. Shame that I cannot be there when you wake; we would have to have a long talk."

"Good luck with that," she laughed. "He avoids Nana like the plague already. Besides," she gave the hand still grasping hers a squeeze once more. "I wouldn't want you to get into trouble if he went missing."

"Are you worried for me?"

"There's a lot of stuff that I want to show you when we meet in person, and I can't do that if you're locked away in prison." She mimicked his cheeky grin, making the elf laugh out loud.


"Best be waking up, Legolas!" Came the gruff reply of Gimli, followed by the swift nudge of his booted foot against the elf's own. Legolas stirred quickly enough to find the dwarf leaning against his broad axe with a grin beneath his beard. "Been dreamin' of the lass again?"

Gandalf and Aragorn turned to face them. "Is this the same maiden that was spoken of in Moria?" the wizard asked.

Aragorn nodded, "She is the granddaughter of Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel."

"Ah, yes I recall as much," Gandalf mused. "Her father is the marchwarden Haldir." He turned to Legolas. "Were the two of you acquainted in Lothlorien?" he asked, referring to the daughter of the marchwarden.

Legolas didn't respond at first. Gimli took the initiative and filled in the gaps for Gandalf. "The lass and her mother are not in middle-earth anymore, we've learned. Some sort of magic gone awry sent them to another world." He nudged the elf's boot again. "Laddy's been meeting her in his dreams ever since, telling her about the journey and she tells him about her life. That Haldir almost didn't want us to leave Lothlorien because of it, I could tell."

Gandalf nodded. "I can understand, Master Dwarf. Haldir has been without his family for many years."

"When the Ring is destroyed," Legolas spoke, getting to his feet after returning the kicks to Gimli's own, "I plan to find a way to the world that Ithilwen is in and bring them both back. Haldir is adamant about this plan, and I intend to follow him." He turned to begin packing his belongings and prepping the horse for their journey, missing the knowing look that Gandalf gave Aragorn.

"You won't be going alone on that trip," Gimli grunted. "I'd like to meet the lass that has caught your attention!"

"She is a friend and nothing more!" Their banter was cut short by Gandalf, who cleared his throat to bring the attention to him.

"War has come to Rohan, we must ride to Edoras with all speed."

"Edoras? Gimli spoke, "That is no short distance!" The dwarf wasn't quite used to riding astride the horse yet, but Legolas had kept it at a pace to ease his friend's peace of mind. Going at break-neck speed was not going to be pleasant for someone with a long way to fall.

Aragorn remembered the words of Eomer. "We hear of trouble in Rohan. It goes ill with the king."

"Yes, and it will not easily be cured." Gandalf whistled, and called forth Shadowfax. They finished packing their things, then mounted the horses and sped off in haste.


Esther was up late into the night reading up on the information that Cupid had presented to her about her elven friends. As she was so distracted, she had sent out her Cherub Bytes to collect information on her latests projects that she could watch later. Reaching for her empty mug, she grimaced when she discovered that it was empty.

"Looks like I'm going to have to make another pot of coffee."

She rubbed her face as she stood and walked to her kitchen. Even at home in her small apartment she was working, a habit that had become more frequent lately. She was at the point that she feared she would dream about work in her sleep.

Cupid hadn't been kidding when he said that the file was extensive, and most of it was a collective of history reports that the Man in the Moon had somehow garnered from what she learned was one of the Valar. Esther was still having trouble keeping them straight, and until she felt she could differentiate safely and seamlessly, she wouldn't attempt to contact any of them. They were highly revered, from the reports, and to mess up and misaddress one would surely be fatal to her goals.

Another instance that had caught her attention in the reports was the mention of soul mates, which she found odd, though the guardian surmised that that had more to do with Morwen than Ithilwen. After all, Morwen did have a husband back in their world, so that tidbit of information must have applied to her wellbeing. Esther found the passage interesting regardless, discovering that elves chose one mate for eternity, and only when their hearts and minds aligned would they know for certain who their significant other was. The very idea screamed of romance, and she noted with some irony how it could also be looked at as a "one true love" type deal.


In Mirkwood's throne room, there sat an elleth upon one of the intricately carved thrones reading a long piece of parchment. Her eyes danced in delight as she read the inked script on the page aloud to the brooding ellon beside her.

"...The Fellowship of the Ring has left our borders as I write to you, mellon-nin..."

The ellon beside her grunted. "A folly endeavor."

She looked up from the parchment to him. "Your son is with them, meleth."

"And when I get my hands on Elrond I will get a proper explanation for it."

"He chose to go. Legolas even wrote to us to explain so in detail."

"He should be here."

"Doing what?" Miraear looked up to the ceiling for some kind of assistance that would never come. "Tauriel is managing the forces quite well on her own, just as she had before Legolas was old enough to patrol. You are brooding enough for anyone on your throne! What does that leave our son to fill his time with?"

"He could be finding his mate and producing an heir to the kingdom-"

"An heir to precede a father that might never lead the kingdom his father oversees. Yes that makes much sense, don't you agree?"

Thranduil looked over at his mate. "You are aware that it would not be the first time I pushed you off your throne?" As much as he loved his wife he found her stubbornness to rival his own, which might have explained why he was so enraptured with her.

Miraear raised a brow as she stared back, unfazed. "And are you aware that your robes sparkle in complete darkness?"

"What does that have to do with our son finding his mate?"

"What does pushing me off my seat have to do with our son finding his mate?" she challenged.

Thranduil sighed. "Adar was right about you," he said almost dramatically.

"Oh?"

"Yes, I recall him telling me how wrong it would be to bind myself to a Silvan elf. Something about how Silvan ellith were prone to rash actions and words-" He suddenly found himself encased in darkness when Miraear had grabbed the overly long outer robes draped over his seat and pulled them over his head. Once he managed to poke his head out and find light again, he continued. "That just proves he was right!"

Miraear, undeterred with the biting commentary of her late father-in-law, moved from her seat to perch herself across the lap of her husband. "Valar bless him, he just did not have the sense of adventure that you did when you chose me."

"I still do," he responded, wrapping an arm about her waist.

It was no secret that Oropher couldn't stand the idea of Miraear, and had been livid to learn that his only son had deemed her his mate. The late king held no ill intent towards the Silvan elves he had governed, but he held issue with Miraear's lack of status. She had been a "common noble" among the Silvans, or one that had the prestige without the family lineage that dated back eons. Yet Thranduil had been smitten with her from their first meeting, and despite the advice against the arrangement, Oropher had watched his son pledge vows to the elleth months before he marched to his inevitable death. When the son returned from war, battered and with dwindling numbers, he took the throne, and she was his queen.

Their relationship had been peculiar to some, if not by spoken word than by appearance, for Miraear looked nothing like the blonde Sindar ellon. Her hair was an auburn red and her eyes a green that rivaled the forest leaves, with a personality to compliment Thranduil's moody one. She had been his light in those dark days preceding his father's death, and no one could deny that there was much love shared between them.

"You know I sent the necklace," she said casually.

"I do."

Miraear paused. "Are you angry about that?"

"I question it, but I am not angry," Thranduil said at last. "However I trust your judgment, I only hope that Legolas does not lose the necklace."

The couple fell silent after that. Until...

"You know that necklace was not that big of a deal," she reminded him, speaking of another piece of jewelry entirely.

"That is not up for debate. I had that commissioned specifically for you. They had no right to inflate the costs."

That was one argument Miraear would never see any resolution to, even though she could have cared less about the necklace. Thranduil would never let the dwarves live it down, and she swore sometimes he was just as stubborn, if not more so.