I could not help but feel ill at ease in the forest. It was welcoming enough - with green boughs that sheltered us from the prying eyes of the world and the soft sound of birdsong drifting down from all angles. But I knew that this calm outward appearance masked the fact that a group of Elves were more than likely watching our every move - just waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

Gimli also seemed to pick up that this forest was not entirely safe. He still held onto his axe, eyes darting around the trees as if some fell creature would strike at any moment. One hand waved frantically at the Hobbits, beckoning them closer to his side and resting his hand onto the shoulder of Frodo. The hobbit's face was a mask of calm ... masking whatever inner emotions he felt well as his eyes moved to settle on the dwarf with some slight curiosity.

"Stay close, young hobbits. They say that a great sorceress lives in these woods. An elf witch of terrible power. All whom look upon her, fall under her spell and are never seen again,"

Frodo's eyes darted around the forest frantically, as if looking for the witch. I knew that he was hearing the voice of said 'elf witch' even now. The mask of calm dropped from his face as his steps faltered, eyes showing mild panic as he tried to make sense of the voice speaking to him in his mind.

"Mr. Frodo?"

The voice of Samwise broke the ring bearer from his stupor. Frodo giving a shake of his head as if that would push Galadriel from his thoughts and allowed his feet to move once more after Gimli. I lowered my head, wondering if I should let the fellowship know what I knew of Galadriel, but decided against it, for Galadriel posed no threat to the fellowship. The tingling sensation of another mind within my own was the only warning I got as Galadriel's voice drifted into my mind.

'Greetings child of the Valar. Long have I awaited your arrival - though I had hoped such a meeting would have been in happier times'

Galadriel knew about my existence in the world. Of course she did. Nothing seemed to happen in middle-earth without her knowing about it. That she called me a Child of the Valar did not help the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. The thought she might know more about my purpose here than I did. It set me on edge. I had wanted for so long to know why I had been brought here, now I wasn't so sure. It was one thing to not know you had some purpose in the world, but to know exactly what that grand purpose was ... that wasn't any better either.

"Well. Here's one Dwarf she won't ensnare so easily! I have the eyes of a hawk, and ears of a fox! ... oh,"

I had entirely forgotten about the elves, once again too wrapped up in my own worries!. It was becoming too much of a habit of late. My eyes focused on the broad-tipped arrow that had just appeared at the tip of my nose, wondering how it was possible for me to miss the elf that now stood in front of me, and then remembered just how sneaky elves were. I'd gotten so used to Legolas's griping and moaning that I'd forgotten just how quiet an elf could be.

"The dwarf breathes so loud we could have shot him in the dark,"

Haldir's voice was silky smooth with just the barest hint of snark. I wanted so badly to be excited to see the famous elf, wanted too badly to be a fangirl for just a bare moment, but couldn't bring either feeling to light. Here was another person whose fate hung in the balance. In the books there had been no mention of his death, but in the movies the elf that now stood in front of me and died a terrible death. I didn't know what his ultimate fate would be now that I was in this world and I really hoped that this was not another choice I would one day have to make.

"We will take you to the Lady of the Forest. She will know what to do with you,"

I took my chance to examine Haldir as he spoke. He looked much alike, the Haldir I had known from the movies. His blonde hair was styled much like Legolas's, the top half of his hair brushed flat against the top of his head and tied into a long braid. He left the rest of his blonde hair loose to frame his oval face. It was hard to judge the age of elves, but I could instantly feel that this elf had lived many millennia - his dark blue eyes holding a wisdom beyond my understanding. Haldir had an expression of aloofness on his face, thin lips pressed into an uncaring line and black brows raised ever so slightly as if this task Galadriel had assigned him was below his pay level.

Why did all elves have to be such pompous, arrogant pricks?

It was almost a relief when he turned away from us to lead us deeper into the woods. I nearly argued aloud that this was all wrong, because in the books he had made the fellowship wear blindfolds to keep the location of their home secret, but kept my lips firmly shut because I didn't want to miss the terrifying beauty of the forest either. Boromir as always remained beside me. My love had been painfully quiet ever since he had entered the forest, as if dark thoughts haunted his every waking moment, and I wondered if Galadriel had paid a mental visit to him as well.

"Are you okay?"

Boromir gave an all too hasty nod, his eyes still focused on the back of Haldir's head and traced his fingers over the horn of Gondor. He might want to hide his anxieties from me, but I was learning all those subtle movements that betrayed his inner emotions. It was perhaps one of the first times I had seen the man in such a state of concern, worry, and anxiety.

"I am fine. Are you okay my lady?"

He scarcely ever called me his 'lady' which told me he was definitely nervous in this forest, but this was not the time to discuss such a thing with him. Haldir was walking with purpose, his pace so quick that it didn't give me much of a chance for a private conversation with Boromir. It took all my mental concentration to just put one foot in front of the other. Every step felt as if my feet had become substantial chunks of lead, and each step stole more energy from me.

It was a relief when he finally announced we had reached our camp for the night, his eyes drifting up into the canopy. I followed his gaze to the large platform that nestled in the branches of the tree top, my aching limbs complaining at the thought I still had to climb a ladder up into the flet. Why couldn't our camp be at ground level? A groan left my lips as I watched Legolas move toward the ladder, climbing it with such ease that it made me curse at his inability to be tired. Where did elves get all that energy? It was entirely unnatural!

"Just a little more. You can do this,"

I muttered the words under my breath as I stepped toward the ladder to start my long climb. It became a silent mantra that I spoke to myself with each rung of the ladder. My legs felt as if they were no longer a part of my body, the aches and pain that came with each step upward reminding me that this day had been too long. Then my arms soon also joined in on the complaining, my shoulders burning with the effort of pulling my body up the ladder rung by rung.

By the time I rolled onto the platform I was huffing and puffing with the effort of the climb. I didn't care what the elves thought of me as I laid there, legs and arms splayed on either side of my body. After being on my feet for lord knows how long, it felt so good to just lay out on my back for a moment staring up at the stars that I could see twinkling at me from between the leaves of the tree. A low cough pulled my attention back to earth, head turning to see that Boromir was now at the top of the ladder and waiting expectantly for me to move so he could get up onto the platform.

I pushed my body upward onto my feet once again, body swaying with the effort and allowed myself to lean in against Boromir's steadying hand as it settled onto my shoulder. If it hadn't been for his silent aid, I might well have dropped back down onto the flet and allowed sleep to claim me, which wouldn't have been very polite of me as we had yet to exchange pleasantries with our escorts. By the time the rest of the fellowship had finished the climb night had settled in around us, a quiet pale darkness that brought with it still fresh memories of Moria.

The soft whispers of elvish reached my tired ears as Legolas and Aragorn spoke with Haldir. The language was foreign sounding and if it had not been for my understanding of the movies, I might not have ever known what they had been saying. I knew that they were just sharing introductions, that nothing untoward was being discussed, but Gimli did not know. All he saw was a group of people talking in a language he did not understand - a conversation the rest of us where not privy to nor trusted with.

"So much for the legendary courtesy of the elves. Speak words we can all understand,"

Haldir turned on the elf, his features darkening in disgust as he looked down at the dwarf. I'd forgotten elves hated Dwarves. Legolas had been reasonably courteous toward Gimli since we had left Rivendell - putting up with the dwarf and instead focusing his full ire upon me instead. The very corners of Haldir's lips twitched as his eyes looked the Dwarf up and down, seemingly not that impressed by what he was seeing.

"We have not had dealings with the dwarves since the dark days,"

Gimli let out a growl, responding to the Elf in Khazdul. It was my first time hearing the language of the dwarves, the language sounding harsh and angry compared to Elvish. Whatever he said must have been vulgar for Aragorn slapped Gimli with an open hand over the dwarf's upper torso - a scowl on his weather-worn face.

"That was not so courteous,"

I would have stayed to listen longer, however Boromir was already leading me away from the group. I offered no resistance as he guided me toward the base of one of the trees that served as an anchor spot for the flet. His body lowering down to sit with his back against it, pulling my own form down against his chest and wrapping his arms around my upper torso. My eyes fluttered closed as I relaxed in against his body, trying to fight against the tiredness in my body for just a moment longer, but failing to resist the call of sleep as it pulled me down into it's dark depths.

Darkness gave way as dreams made themselves known.

My fingers trailed over a marble banister as I leaned against it. A white city basked in the light of a setting sun, laid out as far as the eye could see from my standing spot at the balcony. The sound of a dozen voices drifted up from the streets, market owners hawking their wares, and women shouting for their children it was time to come in for the night. An inaudible hum left my throat as I took in the sights, a smile forming on my lips as a scent that was distinctly Boromir reached my nose, and turned my head to watch the man as he approached.

The Boromir that I laid my eyes on was better groomed than the man I had familiarised myself with on the road, and much happier looking. The smile that formed on his lips showed his genuine contentment with his lot in life, a smile of a man that had everything he could ever want for. His sturdy arms wrapped around my body, pulling me back against him and sending a jolt of warmth through my body as his lips ghosted over the skin of my neck.

"There you are my love. I've been looking all over for you,"

His warm breath tickled over my earlobe and the sensation of neatly trimmed beard brushing over all too sensitive skin accompanied his words. My entire body shivered at the feeling, my whole nervous system feeling very much alive as I leaned back in against him. My eyes fluttered closed a minute, just enjoying the moment of bliss for what it was for so rarely did the steward's son escape his duties to spend time with me.

"Faramir told me this was a superb place to come see the city. I had to come see for myself,"

I could feel the smile on his lips flicker in amusement at the name of his brother. He'd missed his brother a great deal since he had left the city, and now that he had returned the pair had been inseparable. Not once had I berated my love for this, the pair were as close as siblings could be and who was I to come between them? Besides, I quite liked Faramir. He made for a better in-law then his father had ever been. A low chuckling left Boromir as his lips trailed up my neck to trace slow kisses along the underside of my jaw in such a way that it drew a low moan from my lips.

"What do you think? Is it not as beautiful as I once claimed?"

I tried to focus on his words through the building lust, tried to form words as I rubbed my hips back in against him, and half turned my head to look at his face. However, the face that I had once seen had changed from the handsome man that I had become so used to of late.

Gaunt skin clung to his skull, pallid and sickly yellow. Specks of blackened blood dotted his lower lip, a grisly red line that flowed into his beard, and cold lifeless eyes stared down at me as I tried to pull away in sudden horror. My hands pressed to his chest, trying not to vomit at the feeling of his slick red blood that squelched against my palms at the contact, and my eyes fixating on the arrow that lodged deep in his rib cage despite my efforts to not look.

I woke with a panicked cry, my heart quivering wildly in my chest as the dream yet persisted in my thoughts. My head swiveled around in a desperate attempt to reorient myself, and only calming once my eyes settled on the still sleeping Boromir whom was oblivious to the panic caused by my night terror. A shaking hand lifted to rest on the underside of his jaw to confirm to myself he was very much alive.

Never again did I want to see his skin pale in death.

Never again did I want to see that dark arrow in his chest.

I would save the man of Gondor if it was the last thing I ever did!