Less than half the Elves that had fought at Helm's Deep made the return journey. Luckily, Saeros had survived the battle, though he sported numerous bruises, scrapes, and slashes, along with a deep gash across his right arm. I had miraculously not been seriously wounded, so I helped Saeros gather his dinner and carried his bow, sword, quiver, and bedroll for him. They weren't very heavy, but they were cumbersome enough that I was distracted from thinking about Haldir.

Our new commander, Angrod, didn't push the army to move fast; many of the Elves could barely walk thanks to their wounds. At the pace we went at, it was quite a long while before we finally came within sight of the Golden Wood. The commander dismissed us as we neared Caras Galadhon, so I escorted Saeros to his home and his wife. It wasn't too far, so we arrived there within the hour.

"Nimroth!" he called, stumbling a bit as he strode toward his house with me trailing behind him, carrying his weapons. An elegant blonde she-Elf appeared and flew to his side, wrapping him in a hug as she spoke.

"Saeros! You're finally back! Oh, you're hurt! I was so worried, and there has been no news of the battle, and nobody knew if any of you were coming home, and we were all so worried about you, and there has been no news of the battle and I was beginning to think you were never coming home, and..." She kept going, so we waited for her to run out of breath and stop talking. It seemed that Saeros' wife love to chat as much as he did.

"Nimroth, I missed you too," he said as he took his things from me.

"Where are your manners, Saeros? Who is your young companion?" Nimroth asked, curtseying to me before taking the majority of Saeros' burden easily.

"Forgive me. Nimroth, please meet my friend, Galion. Galion, this is my wife, Nimroth," Saeros introduced us.

"It is an honor to meet you, Nimroth. You truly are lucky to have such a valiant and skilled husband, an Elf who I am ashamed to have misled." I pulled down the hood that had stayed in place for my entire journey and allowed my female features to be seen. "My name is Mithrellas, and I followed my brother to the battle. I apologize for not telling you the truth earlier."

It took Saeros several moments to close his mouth, but a dazed smile formed soon enough. "It's quite all right. Thank you for your help, Mithrellas." He put an emphasis on my name, and I grinned back at him.

"Male or female, you are welcome in our home," Nimroth added, beaming and shaking my hand.

"It has been a pleasure to fight by your side, Saeros, but I must be going. Farewell," I sighed, knowing that an Elleth wandering around in a dust-stained travelling tunic and a warrior cloak would not be taken well by the majority of the residents of Lothlorien.

"Goodbye." Saeros clasped my forearm, acknowledging me as a warrior before I turned away.

"Isn't that Haldir's sister?" I heard Nimroth whisper after she thought I was out of hearing distance.

"Yes. He fell at Helm's Deep," Saeros murmured back. I walked faster.

Presently, I found myself back home, but it seemed lifeless and empty without Haldir there. A maid was dusting in my room, so I sat on the bed and listened to her talk about the weather, her sister's marriage, her flower garden, and other meaningless things. After a while, Haldir came up in our mostly one-sided conversation.

"I haven't seen Master Haldir yet, though the army that fought at Helm's Deep has returned. Perhaps he is simply reporting to Lady Galadriel… Have you seen him lately?"

I shook my head mournfully. "Haldir didn't make the return journey."

She became very quiet then, whispering an 'I'm sorry' before she made a speedy exit to dust another room. I didn't blame her; it was presumably awkward speaking with someone about a recently deceased sibling.

I sighed and flopped down onto the bed, wondering what I was going to do now that nothing and nobody interesting in Lothlorien. I was bored already!