AN: Italics means they are speaking Elvish.

Also, a tiny sliver of new content. Enjoy!

Chapter 25

Aragorn and I walked to the others, Haldir having to go do his duties before he could join back with me for the rest of the day. I knew he still had his duty to Lothlórien and the safety of its citizens. With a small caress of my cheek and a bow to Aragorn he left. Aragorn was silent as we slowly made our way to where the others waited. I was just waiting for him to say his equivalent of 'I told you so'.

"I am glad you finally saw what I was trying not to tell you." Aragorn said and I laughed. He did know and I was glad to told me that day at the ruin.

"As am I. Thank you for helping me open my eyes." I said as I touched his arm in gratitude. He patted it lightly. I took a deep breath before looking over at him. "I do not want to leave him." I said sadly, Aragorn looked over at me with understanding.

"It is hard but… we do what we must in the times of war." Aragorn said as I remembered the necklace that hung around his neck. Who better to ask than someone who knows exactly how I felt?

"How did you do it?" I asked as Aragorn looked away before answering. It was a depressing look on his face and I almost feared at what he was going to say.

"I told her to sail to the undying lands. To live the rest of her days alongside her kin." He said and my heart broke for Aragorn. He was great man to ask the woman that he loved to move on. To sacrifice his love so that she may live her life among her people. My respect for the man grew.

"Forgive me for asking. It is not my place." I said but I felt him stop, a hand on my shoulder as he smiled sadly at me.

"Do not take my story to be as your own. Haldir loves you greatly. He would never leave you behind." He said as I looked him in his grey eyes. He spoke the truth. Haldir would never leave me. He would follow me to the ends of the earth, I was sure of it. I didn't have any words to help ease Aragorn's heart but I pulled him into a hug, which he accepted with a small chuckle before we moved on.

Not long after we came upon the rest of the Fellowship already sitting at the table waiting patiently for us. I was greeted by many waves from the Hobbits and nods of greetings from the others. I sat between Merry and Boromir. Merry filling his plate once we were seated and Boromir looks like he has not slept in days. He told me his heart was weary and I had hoped that my words would help ease his suffering but I supposed they didn't. I hope that when we leave, he would gain his strength.

"I see you are much better than before." Boromir said after we all were well into our meal. I nodded as I finished the food in my mouth.

"Yes, thank god! I sparred earlier. I am surprised that you cannot smell me. Now I just need to loosen my fingers with my bow and we should be ready to depart." I said as Legolas looked up from his plate with a smile.

"Oh believe me, I can smell you." Boromir said as my mouth opened in shock before I elbowed him in the ribs. "I am glad you have found your footing once more. We need someone of your skill watching our backs." Boromir finished as I looked over at him and smiled. I placed a hand on his forearm and squeezed it. He looked up at me and nodded, knowing the truth behind our contact before he started to eat again, like he never uttered a word. I rolled my dark eyes as I turned my attention to Legolas as he patiently waited for my attention.

"I can help you with that if you wish." He offered as I sent him a happy nod.

"Thank you my friend. I would love some company on the field." I said as Legolas smiled while he continued to eat his food.

"And your shoulder?" Gimli asked as I rolled it, happy it felt normal.

"Lady Galadriel herself healed me yesterday. This morning, it was sore and the muscles resisted but after Haldir massaged it out, it was like new." I said as I heard and saw through my peripheral vision that Aragorn was trying to hold back a smirk at the memories of walking on me and Haldir. I wanted to throw a piece of fruit at his head.

"Even better I would say." Aragorn said as I looked over at him wide eyes. Seriously?!

"Ass..." I muttered as I stood from my chair, making everyone look at me with their eyebrows raised. Boromir laughed as the others looked surprised. Aragorn was just grinning like a fool and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Come Legolas." I said as I mockingly glared at Aragorn. Everyone laughed as Legolas followed after me and we headed to the archery field where my bow and quiver were lying in wait. My hand touched the bow, a smile rising to my face. I earned this bow with hard work. I picked up my bow and strapped on my quiver and it felt good. I had my weapons, I had my friends, and I had Haldir. Everything was right at that moment except for… Max. I wish he was here.

I pushed that thought aside as I held my bow firmly in my hand, taking a deep breath. I spun around, notched an arrow in my bow and fired. I heard a thump as I opened my eyes. A smile appeared on my face as I saw that it was a direct bulls-eye. I looked over at Legolas to see that he had a small smile on his face.

"I believe you do not need any practice." He said as I just laughed. This day went a whole lot better than I expected.

"I am thankful for that. I thought it would be a horrible day." I said as I flexed my fingers. "We have three days to prepare. I hope tomorrow you will allow me to show you all my favorite places here in Lothlórien." I said as he looked over at me confused. "I distinctly remember telling you that I wanted to show you Lothlórien. I meant it then as I mean it now." He smiled widely at me for remembering what I told him in Rivendell. As I departed, making sure to leave him with a time and place to meet for tomorrows excursion, I made my way back to my talan, taking my time and enjoying being back home once more.

"Good afternoon dear one." I heard behind me as I smiled and turned to see Lady Galadriel in all of her mystical beauty. She held out her arms and motioned me to come forth. I laughed as I embraced her.

"Thank you for helping me. I am fully recovered." I said as she pulled away, one of her pale hands gently caressed my head as I felt relief radiating from her.

"I am glad to hear it." She said as she laced her arm with mine and we started to walk to the talan. "I have heard that you and Haldir are close." She said as we ascended the stairs of my talan. I laughed lightly at her choice of words. She knew from the beginning. She had to.

"I did know but you had to figure out what your heart wanted." Lady Galadriel said as I opened the door to my talan and we entered.

"But how did you know it was him?" I asked, curious if she would answer me. But she just gave me her all-knowing smile.

"Some things cannot be explained, Esperanza." She answered as she sat down at my table with such grace that I felt like a clumsy child.

"I suppose that is a good thing. It keeps faith that some things in the world are beyond us and we do not need to know everything to be happy." I said as she just smiled at me.

"Such intelligence, Esperanza." Lady Galadriel said, meaning every word. "It warms my heart that you found love in this world. And not some fleeting love that passes like the seasons. It is true and everlasting." She said and I couldn't agree with her more.

"I am happy too but…" I said but there was a sad thought that popped into my head. "I wish my family could meet him." I finished as I sat on my bed with a high sigh.

"What would they say about our Marchwarden?" She asked and I thought about what they would say. It brought a sad smile to my face.

"My sister would have said he was gorgeous… after she threaten him that if he broke my heart, she would break his legs. My mother would say that our babies would look gorgeous after forcing him to eat enough food to fill five grown men." I said and we both laughed. "And my father would have taken him aside and have a talk with him, man to man. He would have told him to behave and to treat me like I was the most precious treasure in the world." We laughed again. It would have been hilarious to see his face. "Oh, and the rest of my family, the portion that lived in Mexico… they would give him the hardest time." I said as the laugh died away and a smile appeared on my face. "But most importantly, they would love him because they would see how much I love him. They would see that he inspires me to be better." I said as I looked at Lady Galadriel and she smiled in response.

"Never forget what you said." She said as she motioned to her heart. "They will always live in your heart and memories." She finished as I nodded in understanding. And then a thought appeared in my mind.

"What was he like?" I asked as she smiled sadly.

"A very different man. He was devoted to his people and their safety. His men loved him but he had no notion of what true love was. No maiden of any sort had caught his gaze in all the time he had lived." She explained as she motioned me to the washroom. I walked over and saw the tub filled with hot water. "I believe Merendír explained to you that Elves have one love in their whole life. When he saw you that day when you came out to defend your valiant steed, his life had changed forever." She said behind me as I stripped from my clothing and made my way into the hot bath. I let out a sigh as she brought a chair with her and sat next to the tub. "You will give him a life full of love, passion, compassion and understanding." I looked at her as my body relaxed.

"How can you be so certain?" I asked as I leaned forward, my legs pulled up underneath me. "I am not naive. I know he will watch me wither and die. In a few decades, I am going to break his heart." And I had thought about it.

Sure, when we rid the world of Sauron and his evil, there will be peace. I will live my life with Haldir at my side and it would be the happiest time of my life. But I will age while he stayed the same. He would watch me year after year as I wither. We would have a few decades before I would die. And then he would be left alone either fade away from heart break or be alone forever.

"I cannot tell you what I know, my sweet Esperanza. All I can say is that you have changed Haldir's fate… and have ensured yours in return." Lady Galadriel said as I just looked at her. Cryptic as always and I knew that is all I would get from her. But she knew something. She had that glint in her eye, the glint that said that she knew something that I did not. Like there was a secret that she knew about my future but would not let me in on.

"How different was he?" I asked, going on to try to learn more about the man I loved.

"Cold. He trusted no one, especially outsiders." Lady Galadriel explained as I started to bathe. "As a guardian of Lothlórien, it was natural that he would feel such sentiment but his duty became his life and all that he knew. The man we see now is the man that was hidden under his coldness." She explained as I nodded along. I dunked my head under the water before coming back up.

"I thawed him out…" I muttered and Lady Galadriel sighed in amusement.

"Yes, you did. You say you have changed for the better because of Haldir. And he would say he changed for the better because of you." She said as a smile appeared on my face.

"Opposites attract is a saying from my world. In this case, it is true." I said as she nodded in agreement. "Are you sure I will make him happy?" I asked as she looked in my eyes, her face serious.

"You will fill his life with love and inexplicable happiness. And in return, give will give you the world." She responded and I couldn't help the giddy smile that appeared on my face. I looked forward to my life with Haldir and it was another reason to fight. But in the back of my mind, I couldn't shake the dark thoughts that would come from our love. It was something I knew I needed to talk to him about. I couldn't keep my dark thoughts hidden from him since it was him I am the most worried about. I shook my head lightly as she motioned for me to stand up. She turned around and grabbed a towel and a white robe.

She handed me the towel as I stepped out of the wash tub and dried myself off. I wrapped my long hair in the towel and put on my robe. I walked into my room behind Lady Galadriel to see Haldir walking in. I pulled the robe closer to my body as he bowed deeply to Lady Galadriel, his stoic mask on his face.

"Forgive me, Lady Esperanza, Lady Galadriel. I did not know…" Haldir started but Lady Galadriel just laughed, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her as she looked back at me, smiling in her all-knowing way.

"Haldir, there is no need for an apology. I am certain I can trust you to be around this beautiful woman and keep your honor." She said and my cheeks burned as well as Haldir's. He bowed his head as she turned to me. "I am happy for you both." She said as turned and left. Haldir looked at me and I became very aware that I was standing there with nothing but a robe on.

"I… I should get dressed." I said as Haldir nodded in confirmation, I moved to turn away but I felt his hand on my wrist.

"Wait…" I heard him say as I turned to him. His hand unwrapped the towel around my head, pulling it off gently and unleashing my wet, wavy dark brown hair. I felt his hand comb through my hair, his fingers gently detangling the knots that had formed. He placed a soft kiss on my lips before his lips touched the outside of my ear gently. "You are truly a breath the behold, my love. You are the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes upon." He said as I smiled up at him.

My sweet Haldir. I could never have guessed he would change so much for a mere mortal. I gave him a sweet kiss before walking into the washroom. There was a grey tunic with light grey leggings sitting next to the wash sink. I pulled them on before walking about to see that Haldir had not moved from where I left him.

"I have something I want to show you." Haldir said as I looked at him with confusion. There was a small smile on his face.

"Okay…" I said as he motioned to my boots. I pulled them on quickly as he took my hand and led me out of my talan. He pulled me quickly behind him and I wondered what he had to show me. "What is it?!" I asked with excitement as he looked over his shoulder at me, his eyes shining in joy. We made it down the foot of the stairs where he stopped. I looked over at him in question before I heard a nicker in the background.

I swung my head around knowing that sound from anywhere. I laughed loudly as tears of joy feel down my face. Max, in all of this beautiful glory, was trotting towards me.

"MAX!" I yelled as I ran towards him. I hugged his neck in a vice grip as his nickered softly behind me. I buried my head into his shiny black mane as the tears kept falling down my face. "I thought I would never see you again." I whispered as I felt Haldir touch my shoulder lightly.

"He came back one morning. I feared the worst but he was calm. I knew you let him go. He comes and goes as he pleases. I am sorry I could not bring him to you sooner." Haldir said as I turned to him and engulfed him in a hug. He returned it, running his hands over my back before his hands made their way into my wet hair. I was so glad he was safe. I am glad that Max came back to Lothlórien. I had everything I ever needed right here beside me.

"Thank you Haldir." I said as I kissed him with all the love I could muster. He returned it with his own. We kissed on until Max bumped us with his head. Haldir laughed as I pushed the massive horse away with a smile.

"Come. I want to spend as much time as I can with the woman I love." He said as his hand held mine and we roamed Lothlórien together. But I could not forget the dark thoughts that races in the back of my mind. I needed to talk to him about them. I needed him to know.