I kind of regret putting up that blasted poll... Will you guys be ticked if your choice doesn't get chosen? Because I've already decided; I just don't want any of you to stop reading this over a romance choice. Believe me... It's happened.

Anyways, there's about fifty of you that skipped a very important chapter... "Mirror Mirror." Yeah, I'm like, "Why's everyone skipping this? The one chapter that leads to so much! It's so important, guys! Shame on you!

Well, I'll just sum it up real quick : Collin looked into Galadriel's mirror and saw something... What'd he see? Well, that's yet to be discovered. Whatever it was, he didn't like it.

There, that explains why he's acting so weird. Anyhoo.

These next two chapters are just setting up for something really big... So, although they may be boring and irrelevant to you, they're sure as heck relevant to me!:) I'm pumped for what's coming up, guys... SO PUMPED! :D I've gotta set it up just right.

I don't own Lord of the Rings. I also don't own nargles (belongs to JK Rowling), and I don't own Edward Cullen (Stephenie Meyer).

(Sophie)

Another three weeks passed by, and life was getting better around our small little camp. Funny, since we were leaving the next day.

It's not the fact that we all of the sudden discovered the miraculous value of friendship, and began to immediately have fun just by breathing. No, that didn't happen, and it probably never will. I love my friends, but they can still be boring as heck. No, it's the fact that we all decided that sitting around and smoking all day wasn't helping anyone. After all, we needed to save some pipeweed for the rest of the journey, did we not?

So, as an alternative to smoking our lungs away, we all became adventurers. That's right. We have officially returned to the good old days, when people actually had to get off of their butts to have fun. Not only is this a miracle, but it's also quite fun.

Collin and I wandered through the dim forest as night began to fall. We were desperately searching for an opening in the canopy of leaves above, wishing to get a good look at the stars for the first time in ages. The one thing that I'll never get tired of is the night sky.

"We're lost, you know." I commented with a blank tone of voice.

"Yeah, I know." Collin shrugged, his eyes fixed upon the trees above.

I tripped over a root, but quickly regained my balance. "So... Do you think we should turn back?" Aragorn will have a fit if we end up offending the elves... I don't really know what we'd do to offend them, but you can't be too careful with these people.

Correction: I can't be too careful with these people.

Collin shook his head stubbornly and continued forward, miraculously avoiding roots and rocks as he went. "You said that you wanted the stars, and by golly I'm gonna get you the stars!"

Sigh... There's no arguing with Collin. Not that I want to, really. Of course I want to see the stars; I am just tired of tripping over roots when he's Mr. Edward Cullen, over here.

Dang, I completely forgot about that movie.

Anyways.

"Collin, we're lost!" I repeated, frustrated after tripping over another tree root.

"Woah, Sophie! Chill!" He looked down at me and smiled his first real smile all day. "I've got everything under control!"

"Under control? We're in the middle of a bloody forest!"

Collin stopped in his tracks, a warm smile directed right at me.

"What?" I asked, exasperated.

"It was deja-vu, just there. You flipping out about the forest, me having things under control... That was the exact same conversation we had seven years ago, when we first landed ourselves in this place. Funny, isn't it?"

My heart rate lowered a bit as I let out a small laugh. "Yeah, it is, I guess. I'm surprised that you remembered that."

"Oh, I remember most things you say, to be quite honest." Collin shrugged. "And I must say, you seem to have a distinct distaste for forests. Perhaps you are a dwarf? I mean, your height certainly proposes the idea."

"Oh, no. I'd much rather be a hobbit." All dwarves have beards. And I mean ALL of them. I had a hard enough time dealing with acne as a teen; the last thing I need is a beard.

Coll laughed and shook his head. "Don't tell Pippin that; he might propose to you."

Ha! Like I need another proposition, anytime soon... As exciting as it would be to sit around smoking with Pip for the rest of my days, a hobbit's life isn't the life for me. I lack their amazing metabolism, and I'd get fat in no time at all.

No, I don't need any more propositions. "It would take a complete fool to love me..." I sighed, having issues coming to terms with this feeling in my heart.

Collin stumbled on a tree root and nearly face-planted into the ground.

"Woah, are you alright?" I laughed, only slightly concerned. It's about time that man trips on a root. I was beginning to think that they were only out to get me.

My flustered friend jumped up and took off, dragging me along behind him. "Come on, I see moonlight!" He pulled me along, weaving in and out of the trees with ease. We landed in a small clearing, where the moonlight flushed through the trees like a ray of sunlight through the clouds. Really, it wasn't a clearing at all; just an opening in the canopy above. Still, the night sky was clearly visible, and millions of stars shone down on us amidst a full moon.

It was beautiful. A perfectly clear sky.

A smile crossed my features as I stared up at the beautiful world above. I turned to see Collin smiling at me, his arms crossed.

"What?"

He shrugged. "Nothing, really. You're going to break your neck, standing like that." He fell back to the ground with a 'oomf,' and pat on the grass next to him. "C'mon, there's room for two!"

We laid next to each other, looking up at the night sky for what felt like years. Neither of us spoke; it was just complete peace. Cricket chirps and owl hoots could be heard through the trees, and I could have sworn that there was some insect trying to crawl up my arm.

It was a comfort. It's been far too long since Ollie and I have done this. Back home, we used to drive out to the corn fields and do this. There was one place that the farmer always left clear, for whatever reason, and that's where we'd just sit and talk for hours. Sometimes, we'd be up until the morning, and we'd have to make a run for it when old farmer Jennings would scare us away. He didn't mean to, thought. It's just that the old farmer looked kind of scary, back then. We soon realized what a kind man he was when he woke us up in the fields one morning with PB&J sandwiches and some orange juice.

Man... We used to talk to that old man for hours. He'd been in World War II and everything... You never know what you may learn about someone until you take the time to talk to them. Kind of like with Collin's great-grandma, Aggie. Oh, man... Grandma Aggie's a hoot. She was about 100 when we left, and in pretty amazing shape for her age... I wonder how she's doing, now?

"Hey, Soph? Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Collin broke the silence, nudging me in the gut with his elbow.

"Uh... I was actually thinking about old Grandma Aggie, and how happy I'd be if she got married to old farmer Jennings..." I come out here to look at stars with my best friend, and I think about old people.

"Huh... Weird..." It was silent for a moment, with nothing but the sound of crickets to fill the air. "Well... Anyways... Look up at the sky, and tell me what you see."

Okay..."Well... I see stars?" I know they're pretty, and all, but they're not really important...

"Okay. Now, what constellations do you see?"

"Are you serious? There are like, a bajillion stars to look at! I can't find them in all of this nonsense!"

Collin sighed. "Just find them, woman."

Ugh... Fine.

"... Well, the big dipper's right there, and I'm guessing that Orion's belt is over there... Happy?"

"Nope."

... Okay, then what's the point of all of this? "Am I missing something? They're just stars."

"We've both been missing something all this time... Something big, too..." Collin ran his hand through his hair and closed his eyes. "Those stars are from our world. We're still on Earth, Sophie."

... Wait, what?

I squinted my eyes and gave the stars a nice, long stare. Maybe we're just crazy, and we're only imagining our constellations. I've never had the best eyes in the world, maybe I'm just seeing things.

Nope. They were still there.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence?" I tried, not quite sure how I felt on the topic of Earth.

Collin shook his head and sat up. "No, Sophie. You and I both know better than to think that. Then again, we were stupid enough to overlook such a thing in the first place... I think that we may have traveled back in time."

"Collin, that's ridiculous!"

He raised an eyebrow at me and gave me the, 'for real?' face. "More ridiculous than the existence of another world precisely like our own?"

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. "Our world doesn't have elves and hobbits. I'm pretty sure that we don't have orcs, either." And for that, I'm grateful.

"I can explain, though! I've thought it all through!" Collin grabbed my hands and looked me in the eyes. "The elves are leaving, Soph. They'll all be gone within a century or two. As for the hobbits, well, things die out all the time. Then again, there are those myths about those little elves that hide underground... Maybe those are hobbits, hiding from us big people! They have pointed ears, don't they? As for the orcs... Well, like I said, things die out all the time. I, for one, would be happy to see those bloody things go."

"Okay, then why aren't there any documents of any of this?" I huffed and pulled away from my friend. "You would think that a place as magical as this would be remembered. And what about Minas Tirith, and Isengard? There's no way that those massive buildings could pass through time without so much of a trace. If this is really earth, then where exactly are we? This sure isn't America."

"I don't know where we are, Soph." Collin sighed, defeated. "I just know that this is home... All this time, we thought that we were on some distant planet or some other dimension... Turns out we've been home, all along."

I looked Collin in the eyes, tears threatening to spill from my own. "This isn't home, Ollie. Back home, we've got mothers waiting for us, college professors dying to give us homework, video games, TV, and books that you can actually read. Home has aspirin and lemonade stands. Middle-earth has herbs and ale. As much as I love the people here, I'm afraid that I'll never get quite used to it. We'll always be the odd ones out, Collin. Always."

It was silent for the longest time as we stared at each other. The, out of nowhere, Collin began to laugh, despite his best attempts to keep a serious face.

I didn't find it so funny.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He chuckled as I hit him with the nearest twig. I wasn't hurting him, but I liked to think that I was. "It's just that... Of all things? Aspirin and lemonade? At least miss something good, like chocolate and peanut butter." The sad look on my face must have crushed him, because his laughter quickly died down. "Ahh, Soph, I'm sorry... Look, you're right... We will be the odd ones out. Does that mean that we should grieve over it? No! We could do so many cool things, here! Just think about it... We're the only living things that know about the atom... We're like aliens!"

Sigh... "Collin, I don't want to be an alien... What kind of aliens are we if we don't have spaceships?" I laid back down on the grass and looked up at the stars. "I just wonder where we really are... Italy? Germany? Another world? Heck, I don't know... Then again, I guess that it doesn't really matter, does it?"

Collin sighed and fell to the ground next to me. "No, it really doesn't. Just thought you'd like to know."

"I still think it's another world..." I huffed, not willing to believe otherwise. Honestly, look at Minas Tirith! I don't care how much time will pass; that place isn't going anywhere. Plus, I don't exactly like the ideas of hobbits having to live underground. That's a dwarf's world: leave it to them. Orcs multiply by the thousands, so there's no way that they'll die out. And the elves? Well, if they sail across the sea to the Undying Lands, then that'd have to be America. There's no other way to explain it. I don't believe in the gods or Valar or whatever they call those mighty beings, here. So, a lot of this stuff can't happen in my world.

Maybe if we're lucky, I'm just in a coma.

For seven years... Yeah...

"If this was Earth, and I'm not saying that it is, then shouldn't we be worried that grandfather effect, or whatever?" I asked, shifting uncomfortably on the ground.

"Nah, I don't think so." Collin shrugged, his eyes fixed back on the sky. "If we're lucky, we'll eliminate Hitler's family line. Worst case scenario, we destroy J.K. Rowling."

Ohh... That'd be a tragedy. Imagine... A childhood without Harry Potter. Impossible.

You know... I believe that I've raised a good point. What if Collin is right? What if we've somehow managed to travel back in time? What woman would I be stealing Boromir from?

My heart sank.

Steal Boromir... If this really is the past, then what kind of life would Boromir have lived? Would he be married, by now? Would he have dozens of tiny children, just waiting for daddy to come home? And what of his wife? Would my marrying Boromir steal the life of another?

Would he even be here at all?

Is marriage something worth risking?

My heart screams yes, but my mind's telling me no. My heart's telling me that I need to go further, but my mind's saying that I've gone far enough. Grandma Aggie always told me... 'Follow your heart.' Then again, so has every romantic comedy/ child's cartoon. Maybe those people have it right?

I kind of need a hug...

I rolled over and pulled an unsuspecting Collin into a tight squeeze.

My friend's eyes widened in shock for a moment, but he slowly relaxed and wrapped his arms around me.

"You okay, Opie?" He ran a hand through my hair, and mumbled his apologies when he pulled out a rather painful knot.

"No." I sighed. "We're leaving, tomorrow."

Collin frowned. "Yeah... I'm not too pumped about it, either. Listen, Soph, I was thinking... Maybe you should stay here..."

"Hell no."

Collin sighed and turned to look at me. "Just listen, Sophie..."

My stubborn tendencies refused to listen, but my adoration for Collin outweighs that by far. So, I crossed my arms and quietly awaited my friend's explanation. It'd better be good...

As soon as he felt like I was listening, Collin took a deep breath and slowly began to explain himself.

"Sophie, I want you to understand that the only reason I want you to stay here is for your own good..." I snorted, but he continued. "Gandalf was the best of us all, Soph... I know that the chances of us running into a balrog any time soon is slim to none, but that doesn't meant that reality hasn't struck me. This journey has turned out to be far more dangerous than I expected... Orcs are running around outside Lothlorien, but inside it's safe. Sophie..." He hesitated, letting out a deep sigh. "Sophie, if you were to die..." Collin stopped, unable to come up with the right words.

I let out a sigh, my sympathies for him growing, and but frustration shrinking. "Collin, I understand. You're worried, and that's okay! But let me tell you something... If you guys go out there and die, I'll lose almost everyone I care for. Nothing would be the same without you guys. I would much rather risk my own life and die with you than sit alone and watch my world crumble around me."

Collin frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together. "You're not making this any easier..."

I laughed and swatted him on the head. "You're worrying too much, Ollie. It's not like you."

"Well, sometime we have to grow up..." He sighed, his eyes staring up at the stars.

My mouth twitched as I studied my friend.

He was older. About twenty-seven, to be exact. The goofy young boy from the states was now a full-grown man. He'd let his hair grow out of its faux-hawk, and it now fell about his face in waves. His eyebrows looked thicker, and his beard stubble was far more noticeable. Muscles were clearly visible underneath his pale skin, and a few small scars stood out on his arms from the battle in Moria. One thing hasn't changed, though... His eyes. The brightest blue eyes I've ever seen.

Not only is he physically different, but he's gotten a whole new side of him. While he's still the goofy young man that I know and love, he's matured quite a bit. There's a serious side, now, that wasn't there before.

"Ollie, just accept it..." I smiled, trying to lighten up the mood. "It's gonna be you and me. Until the end."

He grinned, his blue eyes gaining a new sparkle. "Call me a fool... If I have it my way, there will be no end."

"I'll hold you to that promise."

.

.

"Marco!" We called out into the woods, but no one answered.

With a frustrated sigh, I sat myself down on a large rock. "Forget it! They don't know how to play Marco Polo... We're screwed..."

Collin studied our surroundings, a carefree smile on his face. "Ah, well. It looks like you'll be staying here, after all!"

With new-found energy, I hopped up and began to search for our camp once more. "Marco!" Ain't know way I'm sticking around, here. I'm getting to Kristy!

"I wonder if they even have a Marco Polo, here..." Collin wondered out loud as we pressed through the forests. It was dark and hard to see, so it was no surprise when I tripped over a rock and got tangled up in some bushes. "Sophie! I've decided; I'm gonna be Middle-earth's Marco Polo."

"That's great, Coll, really..." I grunted as I fought against the thorny branches. "A little help, please?"

Collin grabbed my arm and pulled me out with ease. "I've already decided my first adventure, you know! Well... Second adventure, if you count this as adventuring... I'm going to go visit the Haradrim!"

... "The what?"

"The Haradrim!" Collin chirped happily. "I hear they're rather nasty people, but I'm sure that they're not all bad. Aragorn told me a bit about them; they're like desert people. Think of the Carthaginians with those big elephants..."

"They're called oliphaunts, Collin." Aragorn's unamused voice caused me to nearly jump out of my skin. Collin and I turned to see the fellowship being led by several elves, their belongings slung over their backs.

They were going to leave without us!

"You see, Aragorn! I told you that they wouldn't leave!" Pippin practically cheered, his lips parted in a bright smile as he ran forward to stand by my side. "Strider thought that you two abandoned us, but Merry and I knew better."

Collin's eyes widened as he stared at the ranger in shock. "You thought that we would just up and leave you?"

Aragorn frowned and rubbed his brow tiredly. Surely, the hobbits had given him enough crap about it, already. "I never said that they abandoned us, Pippin..."

"No, but you suggested it, didn't you?" Merry defended his friend.

"Oh yeah, Aragorn. Collin and I were just dying to go get hitched in Vegas. Let me tell you..." I rolled my eyes. Judging by the looks that I was receiving, no one understood a single word of my statement. "We couldn't sleep last night, so we went out to look for some stars. Unfortunately, Mr. Polo here got us lost. We couldn't find our way back, so we decided to just wait until morning. I'm glad to see that you guys waited for us... *cough cough* Boromir!"

Boromir held his hands up in self defense. "Do not get mad at me! I know you better than to think you would simply run off. I had assumed that Galadriel would get you to us, one way or another."

True, that. She's a nice lady. She creeps Collin out a bit, but she's nice!

"It does not matter, now." Aragorn sighed. "You two are here, and we may continue on. I do not want to delay us any more; we'd already taken valuable time to search for you two."

My goodness... He sounds just like Mom. And Elrond. And Gandalf. And I'm pretty sure that Theodred's said something to that extent, once or twice.

Do Collin and I really stress people out, that much?

I hope so. It's nice to feel loved.

(Collin)

"Never before have we clad strangers in the garb of our own people..." Celeborn's spoke as several elven maidens clasped new cloaks around our necks. "May these cloaks help shield you from unfriendly eyes..."

Yeah... Like a couple of cloaks are going to fix things.

You know, I need to not think mean things. Galadriel's standing only a few feet away... She's probably listening in on my thoughts right now...

A small smile on her lips confirmed my suspicions.

"Do not fear to hope, Collin. I believe that you saw one or two happy things in the mirror... Let those moments guide your heart; do not let fear take hold of you. Be strong, young one..."

Yeah, well... It's easier said than done.

And get out of my head.

Bloody nargles... Not that they have anything to do with mind-reading, anyways.

I don't like this lady. I know that she's supposed to be Arwen's granny and all, but what grandmother can read minds and see the future through a bird bath? It's nonsense, I tell you.

Is her mind power turned on at all times? Or is it just one of those pick and choose things? I hope that it's the latter... That'd be embarrassing.

I don't think that it's fair. What I saw in the 'mirror' was personal. She had no business butting in.

Then again... She's the one who let me look into the magic water, anyways...

Goodness, I'm grumpy... I've hardly slept a wink since that night with the mirror... I just can't get the pictures out of my head. I've never wanted to know my own future. That's like, the last thing that I want, actually. I love surprises, and now the great surprise of life has been ruined! Not to mention the fact that my mind's just screaming for me to turn around and run away.

Galadriel was making her rounds with each and every fellowship member. She handed a nice, shiny gift to everyone. I smiled as she handed Sophie a small package. She peeked inside the wrappings and quickly snapped it shut. Her eyes were wide, and her smile was bright as she gave the elf woman a thousand thanks. Then, nonchalantly, she tossed the package into her boat.

Poor Sophie. We sometimes forget that she's a girl.

Then, Galadriel gave James two shiny daggers, which he took with a smile.

Before I knew it, Galadriel was standing in front of me.

"I do not have a gift prepared for you."

"That's alright. I don't need one." I'm a terrible gift receiver, anyways. I mean... What are you supposed to say? 'Thank you?' That seems a little unsubstantial.

Galadriel smiled and nodded her head. "No, you do not." Her smile faded, and her voice began to ring in my brain. "Courage, young one..."

She glided away to the next person without a second glance.

Sigh...

It would have been nice to at least get a cool belt...

(Kristy)

"No, no, Kristy... You're doing it wrong..." Eowyn sighed as she leaned over and tried to fix my embroidering.

I pulled away from her stubbornly. "Just let me keep going with my pride... It's already beyond repair." My eyes narrowed as I focused on making my red stitches look more like flowers.

It was a failure, of course. I wasn't raised to do woman's work. No, I was raised to live off of my brother's athletic earnings, to tell you the truth. Even so, I always wanted to design clothes or paint or something artsy. . . It's a good thing that I never tried, until now. I would have failed miserably.

Eowyn rolled her eyes and continued to stitch a beautiful horse into what would soon be hanging in her brother's bedroom.

Today's been a good day. I'm finally getting used to life with humans, again!

Well... Somewhat.

No matter how good things get here, I still can't help but miss the quirky behavior of the hobbits, and the calm organization of the elves.

Don't get me wrong! I absolutely adore most of the people that I meet here. Eowyn's a lovely woman, Theodred's hilarious, and Eomer's the lovable prick living next door. Goodness... It's like no matter what I do, Eomer has something funny to say.

I hate that man, with an intense admiration. He must be terminated.

Anyhoo, as I was saying... Today's been lovely. Grima's been busy doing whatever it is snails do in their free time, so there's no creeper on the loose! For now... So, that's a plus. In a form of celebration, my royal friends and I have been relaxing in Theodred's personal sitting room. The men were playing some awkward form of chess, and Eowyn and I were embroidering. Typical for a man's world, but I don't mind. I would have done anything to get out of that stuffy inn. I would have even suffered through one of Eowyn's attempts at cooking.

I shudder just thinking about it... Bless that poor girl's soul... And the soul of whatever lucky man gets to call her his wife.

"Aha!" Theodred cheered as he flicked one of Eomer's pieces off the board. "I've taken your high priest hostage! What do you have to say to that?"

Eomer frowned as he shoved over a small pile of coins to his cousin. "You are going to take all of my coin by the end of the night, at this rate. I'm afraid that I must decline another game."

"Ahh, nonsense, cousin!" Theodred smiled and gave the distressed-looking Eomer a heavy pat on the shoulder. "When I'm king, you'll have no need for money! What have you got to lose?"

"... All of my money?"

I smiled at the two extremely close cousins, who never ceased to amuse me. Whenever they're together, they remind me of two very peculiar hobbits...

Ahh, there I go again... The heartache of homesickness...

It's a funny thing, how much one can miss a person. After several years of living with those small hobbits, I was proud to call them my family. They're short, messy, gluttonous, and often ignorant. Yet, despite all that, they're kind, loving, funny young gentlemen, who have captured my heart in a way that I can't describe. There's something about the simple lives of hobbits that I love, and they'll always be a part of me.

I seem to miss the elves quite a bit, as well... Most people tend to think that they're stuck up pricks, but talking to them has changed everything for me. They carry such a sorrow on their shoulders... They have their troubles, hopes, and dreams. They can love, just as we do...

I shook my head viciously to get several sad thoughts out of my head. Eowyn eyed me suspiciously.

"Kristy... Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." With a sigh, I looked down to continue working on my embroidering.

On second thought... I'll just burn it, later.

I set it down on the table next to me and took a sip of my wine. "Anyone up for a game of cards?"

"Lord Theodred." Hama's voice could be heard from the other side of the door, a hint of urgency in his manner of speaking.

"Come in, Hama." Theodred spoke, unconcerned as he focused on his next move against Eomer in their latest game.

The guard opened the door, worry etched onto his brow. At the sight of Eowyn and I, he bowed, and took a deep breath to steady himself.

"We have received urgent news from our scouts, milords." At Hama's words, Theodred and Eomer stood, alarmed. "The enemy is banding together in a large force near Isengard. We believe that they plan to stage an attack on the city, if we do not move."

Theodred nodded, his once happy mood now gone. "Have you alerted my father?"

"Aye, sir..." Hama sighed. "He refuses to send men to meet them. My lord, we must do something..."

Eowyn stood up, her eyes wide with fear. "Edoras can not afford an attack, Theodred."

"Eowyn is right..." Her brother put a hand on their cousin's shoulder for encouragement. "If we do not move, we are putting Edoras in danger."

My heart rate shot up.

Danger?

Theodred's eyes were full of confusion. His eyes were fixed on the ground, and all eyes were on him.

"What do you say, cousin?" Eomer asked after a moment of silence.

The prince sighed, his age and weariness beginning to show. "Will you ride out with me?"

Eomer smiled. "Aye, I will ride out with you."

Theodred sighed, a small, hesitant grin forming on his lips. "Then we shall go meet them."

Hama sighed in relief, and Eowyn fell back into her chair.

"Go gather our forces, Hama." Theodred ordered, a new authority in his voice. "We ride out in two days' time. Keep this quiet; my father mustn't find out."

"Two days?" I complained as Hama hurried to round up their troops. "So soon?"

"Perhaps it won't be soon enough..." The prince frowned. "Welcome to the world of war, milady. I am only sorry that it had to greet you here, in Rohan..." He gave me a sad smile before leaving the room.

War... Funny... Back home, wars were only on TV. In Rivendell, war was forever away... Now? Now, it's at my doorstep, and two men that I have grown to know and love are about to go out to battle.

Eowyn stood and dusted off her skirts. "I will go see that provisions are put together..." She rubbed her wet eyes and quickly left the room.

I watched her go, completely stunned. Is this how it is? One moment you're playing chess with your friends, and the next you're riding out to battle?

Eomer approached me, a small smile on his lips. "Do not worry, Kristy. We've battled many orcs before; I am sure that all will turn out well."

"Do you really mean that?" I eyed him, not believing the sad look in his eyes.

He shrugged, his eyes never leaving mine. "Would you rather I tell you the truth?"

From what I've heard about orcs, I'd rather not. "I'm fine with the lie, for now..."

"Be grateful that you'll never see the truth..."

Okay, so I must warn you... This Saturday, I'm leaving the country for a week. I'm going on a cruise, you see! So... I'm going to try to get out as many chapters as I can, up until then. Hey, who knows. Maybe I'll pay the bajillion dollar internet fee so I can cater to your needs during the trip. Anyways, during that week, don't think that I'm gone! I'm just on vacation. XD

bonniebeast - every single review of yours made me smile! How much money did you lose to your sister? XD

Laurenstargazer - again, I absolutely agree with you. :)

arab57g - I completely forgot that factor! Thanks for reminding me! XD

fantasylover - I'm glad my summary caught your attention! XD Funny, I was actually about to change it last week. I'm glad I didn't!

Eva Sirico - I love how hardcore you are over the Collin/Sophie matter. :) I'll try to throw in a special moment or two here soon, just for you!

Katia0203 - I used to, way back when, update every day or two. Lately, I've been busy, but I've been updating every few days! I've been writing a lot more, so my timing should improve. :)

kapibarasan - I know the feeling, I tried to imagine Eomer being serious but I just couldn't!

fillyfreak188 - I'm glad to meet someone who loves Boromir as much as I do. :) Thanks for making me smile! Your comment was oober nice.

Review thanks to jilly, Sunflower, rumxtapioka, amrawo, Jovie Black, Gwilwillith, and anyone I may have missed! You all have no idea how much it means to me that you're sticking with this story. :)