Premonitions

a/n: LotR does not belong to me. It belongs to JRR Tolkien. Only the stuff I made up belongs to me, and I made up a lot of things. This is a little bit confusing -- Leik'kor is a forest located in Gondor, so it's a fairly small one, but it's dark and easy to get lost in. Also, the Khorra'rim WILL be explained sometime in the future of this story. Please r/r, and tell me if you are confused about anything.

Set in Two Towers...

Something went horribly wrong-Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas lost sight of the tracks of Merry and Pippin. Trusting a strange Gondor man, they were blindly led into the forest of Leik'kor.

CHAPTER 1

The forest was a clump of trees. There were occasional openings where light would pass, but it would only make enough light to see several feet ahead of them. Legolas flew through the forest with ease, for he was used to forests like this. Aragorn had little trouble, and Gimli was almost left behind.

"Legolas! You foolish elf! Stop for a breath to let me catch up," Gimli shouted ahead of him.

Legolas chuckled at his dwarven friend and stopped in a small clearing, where rays managed to penetrate through the thick canopy above. He sad cross-legged on a moss-covered rock and waited for the others.

When Aragorn's head peaked through the cluster of trees to his right, Legolas began to get up, assuming Gimli was right behind.

"Let's sit and wait for Gimli." Aragorn warned Legolas. Legolas was restless and decided to go find Gimli himself.

Legolas began to run back to way he came from but he was stopped in his tracked by a wail. It was a wail coming from Gimli. "Gimli!" Legolas shouted. He and Aragorn ran through the trees, searching for signs of Gimli, but they had little luck.

"Agh! What was that!" Gimli's shouts echoed through the forest. Then, a THUD.

"Gimli!!" Legolas found Gimli sprawled out on the ground, looking deathly pale. His axe had fallen out of his hands. Legolas shook the dwarf with all his might and slapped him around, but no avail.

Aragorn bent down to have a closer look. Gimli's eyes were still open, though bloodshot and his pupils appeared almost yellow. Occasionally, Gimli's body twitched.

"We have to get him help." Aragorn picked up Gimli (which was not an easy task) and Legolas ran ahead, searching for signs of hope for his friend.

The smell of smoke and a faint light attracted their attention. Legolas sprinted towards it. There was a makeshift tent with a small fire burning brightly next to it. There was a cloaked figure sitting next to the fire, smoking on a pipe.

"Who are you?" the figure asked.

Legolas was hesitant in revealing his true identity. "I am...Kiaddas of Loth'Lorien. My comrade has just been hurt and the reasons are unknown..."

"Bring him to me." the figure put out the pipe and began to stand up.

"Did you find some--" Aragorn burst through the trees with Gimli's body.

"Lay him down by the fire." the figure ordered.

"Who's--" Aragorn began.

"Don't question, just do." Legolas cautioned.

Aragorn gently led Gimli's pale body by the fire.

The figure gently removed the hood of the cloak and revealed a head of long auburn hair. She had a delicate face, fair skin, rosy cheeks and sparkling jade eyes. "He was poisoned by this." She pulled out a small purple twig. "You must be wary of Nevlindë vines. They are rampant here and can cause death in a matter of minutes. You brought him to me just in time."

She removed her cloak and thrust it into Legolas's hands. She bent over Gimli and placed a hand over the small (quite unnoticable) wound and a blue aura radiated from her hands. Her eyes were closed in intense focus and she quietly chanted inaudible words. Her muscles suddenly tensed and her face turned into a grimace as the blue light intensified. When the blue light finally diminished, Gimli was no longer pale and began to cough. The woman collapsed onto the floor. She finally sat up right and started chanting again, this time, her entire body glowed blue.

"What's she--" Gimli began. He was cut off when the blue light suddenly intensified and disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared.

"What was that?" Aragorn asked.

"I transferred Gimli's poison into my own system, then I cured myself." She answered matter-of-factly.

"Couldn't you have just cured Gimli?" Legolas asked, handing the cloak back to her.

"Perhaps. But if he had been weak, he would've died. It's safer this way."The woman draped the cloak around her bare shoulders. She wore a silver-threaded sleeveless black tunic sinched at the waist, a gray skirt and some worn brown boots. The tunic bore a crest which intrigued Legolas.

"The emblem-- on your tunic..." Legolas said, "it is of the Khorra'rim, is it not?"

"Why do you ask, Kiaddas?" She poured some water over the fire and put it out.

"Kiaddas?" Aragorn asked, puzzled. Legolas gave him a look and Aragorn understood.

The woman was beginning to catch on. "Kiaddas is not your name," she said, vaguely amused.

"His name is Legolas!" Gimli shouted.

"Well I see that you are all better now, Gimli. Care to be poisoned one more time?" Legolas threatened.

"Oh, feisty elf." Gimli chuckled.

Legolas sighed. "Guess there's no use hiding it now. I am Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood, son of Thranduil."

The woman nodded, picked up her canvas bag, slung it over a shoulder, and began to walk away.

"Wait! You cannot leave! How do I know you will not betray us to Saruman? Or Sauron? Or..." Legolas ran after the girl. "You must reveal your identity and convince me that you are on our side. Or we will be forced to kill you."

She laughed. "Alright. I will tell you. I am Edrea and I come from Gondor. I am a healer, and that is all I know. And Saruman betrayed us all, I will never side with him."

"What are you?" Gimli asked. He noted that she had the slim figure and grace of an elf, but not the ears. Humans, especially those from Gondor, could not possibly have magical capabilities like she did.

"I am not sure. My mother was a human, this I know for sure. She died a short while ago without revealing the origins of my father. I assume he was a wizard or sorcerer of sort."

"And the emblem? What of it? What is it? What does it mean?"

Edrea chuckled at the dwarf. "So many questions! The emblem is nothing but a mere decora--"

"It is the sacred emblem of the ancient Khorra'rim brotherhood. They were a group of sorcerers -- established during the Dark Years, I believe. It was the only force countering and neutralizing that of Sauron's at the time! Only the most powerful and elite--"

"You know everything about everything don't you, elf?" She glared at him.

Legolas ignored the snide remark. "And the Last Alliance between the Men of Nûmenor and the Middle-Earth Elves ended Sauron's dark reign and the Khhorra'rim disbanded, their task complete...and I am assuming they are regrouping since Sauron is slowly gaining power?"

Gimli and Aragorn clapped. Edrea rolled her eyes. "Elf, your knowledge both impresses and sickens me. Half of what you said it true and the other half is not. I'll let you decide which is which. But for now, I must be off. Safe journeys."

"Wait! These forests are not safe for women to travel alone in!" Legolas shouted.

"I know Leik'kor very well and you need not worry. Safe Journeys."

"Please, I insist that you travel with us. " Legolas sounded like he was begging.

"Where are you headed?" Aragorn asked.

Edrea was hesitant. "I am headed for -- I guess nowhere in particular."

Legolas found this a bit odd. 'She was in a hurry to go nowhere in particular?' he thought to himself. "Well, we are in search of our two Halfling friends, Merry and Pippin. And we got lost... We ask that you join us in our search."

Edrea bit her lip and looked at Gimli, who looked a little tired, and Aragorn, who was in deep concentration, as always. She had not noticed before, but Aragorn's rugged looks caused her stomach to twist into knots. She gulped. "I will join with you."

"They were headed toward the Fangorn forest, I believe." Aragorn said thoughtfully.

Edrea waved and a white light appeared several feet ahead them, lighting their path. "Once we exit the forest, we will be in the land of Gondor, and next to it, will be Rohan. These lands will not prove to be treacherous, but Fangorn will be different. However, were you not going to fight off Sauron? If so, the dark land of Mordor is in the opposite direction of Fangorn..."

"We do not even know for sure if our friends our in Fangorn forest. That is where we lost their tracks. Once there, we must attempt to follow their tracks once more, but I fear the tracks may be too worn by now." Aragorn sighed.

Edrea nodded. "We shall do what we can for these halfling friends of yours. If I may make a request... is it possible if we stop in Rohan for 1 day? I--" she was cut off by THUD as she fell and the light went out. All became dark.

"Are you alright?" Legolas asked, and he felt around the ground for her. He finally found her hand and helped her up. The light appeared again.

"Ha! Finally, something you do not know." Edrea smiled at the blond elf. Legolas smiled back and he was captivated. Captivated by an innate beauty that seemed to emanate from her very soul. He looked deep into her jade eyes and found warmth. He felt his spine tingle as he stared longer into her eyes.

"Your eyes... they're very beautiful." Legolas couldn't take his gaze away from her.

Edrea blushed. She looked down and realized Legolas had been holding her hand this whole time. They quickly retracted their arms and blushed.

Gimli blushed for them. Aragorn sighed. "Let's get a move on, no time to waste."

Edrea looked at Aragorn, then Legolas. She suddenly felt very confused. She continued to walk with them, but couldn't ignore the fact that she felt something when she looked at Aragorn. It was a mixture of many emotions, and couldn't place the feeling. It was almost-- fear.