DISCLAIMER: OTHER THAN LORIEN, I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY, THEY ALL BELONG TO THE FANTASTICALLY TALENTED J.R.R. TOLKIEN AND I HAVE MERELY BORROWED THEM FOR THE SAKE OF A STORY. I, MYSELF, COULD NOT COME UP WITH A STORY SUCH AS LORD OF THE RINGS OR CREATE ANY OF THE CHARACTERS WITHIN THESE STORIES, SO I DO NOT PRETEND TO OWN ANY OF THEM. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE STORY AND AGAIN, ONLY LORIEN IS MY CHARACTER.

The company paddled along the river at a steady pace, hoping to make good ground before the sun set, giving way to night and the perils of the darkness. Legolas, Lorien and Gimli shared one boat, Legolas and Lorien at either end so the boat did not tilt with Gimli's weight. Soon the company had passed the great stone statues of the past Kings of Gondor. Lorien looked at Aragorn and imagined that one day, he too would be captured in stone for all the people of Gondor to admire and talk about. Lorien knew that Aragorn would become a legend in some way but she also hoped it was for the right reasons and that the ring would not over power him and he would have the courage to destroy it for good. Lorien sat quietly and listened to the noises around her. All of a sudden, her eyes flew open and she looked to the bank of the river.

'What is wrong Lorien?'

'I am not sure Legolas, I feel there is something following us on the bank, something completely dark and evil.'

'Are you sure?'

'Can you not feel the darkness in the air? Something is following us and I fear it is not just one but many that are following us.'

'We shall land soon; we can see what it is that scares you then. Are you sure it is not Gollum?'

'Gollum is not wholly evil, what tracks us is!'

'Keep your voices down, you are startling the hobbits. Lorien, we shall see what the situation is when we land.'

'Very well Aragorn, but all is not well!'

'That may be so, but we shall find out once we land.'

The company continued along the river until they came to a bank near the waterfall. Here they landed and as they stepped on to the land, Lorien became even wearier. Legolas was now feeling the presence of something evil. He turned to Lorien and took her hand.

'Forgive me for any doubt I have just placed in you. I too feel that evil is present in these woods.'

'I have nothing to forgive you for Legolas but evil is lurking not far away and I fear that this landing is wrong.'

'We could not have gone on in these boats Lorien. The waterfall is near and none of us could have survived that. We must continue on foot, but first we rest.'

'Aragorn, I beg that we do not rest here, but go on for a while longer.'

'What is it you fear?'

'Orcs.'

'Orcs only travel in the dead of night. They fear the sun and the moon.'

'Nay, these orcs are different, they travel by day! They are something that Saruman has bred. They are not of orc kind that you are used to.'

'We must rest! The company is tired and the hobbits cannot carry on any further this day.'

'Frodo, you must choose, do we rest, or go on?'

'I am weary, and so is the rest of the company. We will rest.'

'I shall not argue with the ring bearer, but it does not stop me dreading this stop. I fear we shall come to regret it.'

'We shall have to see. Now rest fair elf maiden and do not be troubled, for much trouble lays ahead of us yet.'

'That I know Aragorn.'

Lorien left the company and sat by the waters edge, fear flowing through her. She had thought she was strong enough to cope with all that this journey would bring, but now she wished she was back in Lothlorien, safe with her people. It was only when Legolas came to be with her that she remembered why she had left Lothlorien.

'Do not be troubled Lorien, they do not see or hear things like we do and they do not understand it when we dread something they cannot see. You may yet be wrong.'

'I truly hope I am Legolas, for the sake of the company and the ring. Why will they not listen to me? Was I not right about the Balrog?'

'That you were, but terror fills all our hearts and no one is willing to listen. You must trust your own instincts and let them guide you.'

'Even if they guide me to my death?'

'Then I shall be stood next to you, prepared to die by your side. Take comfort in our rest and do not be troubled.' Legolas moved closer to Lorien and leant towards her so he could kiss her soft lips. Their lips were so nearly touching when the sound of a horn rang through the forest, tearing the silence like the blade of a knife tears cloth.

'Boromir!' Lorien exclaimed.

'What is wrong?'

'I knew we would be in danger staying here and I was right, Boromir calls for help!' Lorien jumped up and ran with her sword in her hand, ready for battle. Legolas followed her as she ran, amazed at how light footed she was and with what ease she ran.

'I must find Aragorn.'

'When you do so, find Boromir and I!' Legolas left Lorien and she ran to where the horn had sounded. From every direction orcs were pouring in. They were bigger than the orcs of Moria and Lorien grimaced at the sight of them. As she fled down the hill, her arm moved swiftly as she killed one orc after the other. Boromir was fighting bravely, surrounded by orcs. He saw Lorien approach and called out,

'They have two of the little ones!'

'Where have they gone?' Boromir pointed east before slaying yet another orc. Lorien was about to follow the orcs when she saw an arrow pierce Boromir through the stomach.

'Boromir!'

'Go, try and save the little ones!'

'But!'

'Go!' Lorien left Boromir, even though her heart was heavy. She ran to the top of the hill and watched as the orcs ran, carrying Merry and Pippin. Lorien fired an arrow at one of the orcs and it fell. Its fellow turned and ran towards Lorien. She fumbled for an arrow but was to slow, the orc was upon her. His sword came down and caught Lorien on the arm. She called out in pain before throwing her sword up and cutting off its head. Lorien fell to the ground clutching her arm, tears falling down her face as she watched Merry and Pippin being carried off, unable to do anything and feeling completely hopeless.

Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli reached the hollow where Boromir had sounded his horn. They found him with an orc standing over him, three arrows pierced his body. Aragorn fought the orc and quickly defeated it. He then ran to Boromir's side.

'I am sorry that I was not here sooner!'

'Lorien, she has followed the orcs. They have taken two of the little ones!'

'Legolas!' Aragorn's call fell on deaf ears as the elf ran with great speed to the top of the hill. There he found Lorien cradling her arm, the dead orc inches from her feet.

'Lorien?'

'They have Merry and Pippin!'

'But your arm!'

'That will heal! What about Boromir?'

'There is no hope for him!'

'No! I knew I should have stayed with him! We hesitated for to long. I must go to him.' Lorien stood up and ran down to the hollow. There she found Boromir, lying dead with Aragorn by his side. Lorien threw herself down by Boromir's side and held his hand.

'I am sorry that I was not quicker.'

'You could not have done anything Lorien!'

'I could have tried, instead that orc has killed Boromir and the orcs have Merry and Pippin.'

'It was Boromir's time!'

'No, it can't be! He was like a brother to me, he always looked after me! What will Gondor do now? How will his father carry on? What am I to do without my protector?'

'You still have me! I will protect you now!' Lorien turned to Legolas.

'Forgive me, I did not mean any harm by my words. But Boromir may as well have been my brother for the way he treated me!'

'I understand your loss and I do not blame you!' Legolas bent down next to Lorien and took her into his arms. Tears began to fall down Lorien's face once more.

'We need to get a dressing on that wound! What drove you to try and take on the orcs by yourself?' Aragorn asked as he poured some of the sacred water from Lothlorien on to her wound.

'I wanted to save Merry and Pippin. Where is Frodo?'

'He has gone!'

'Gone? What do you mean?' Legolas asked with shock and confusion.

'I feared he would, but he is not alone, he will never be alone, for I guess Sam has gone with him.'

'Your guess is accurate Lorien, as were your words of warning about resting here. Please forgive my lack of judgement!'

'None of us could have known what would have come of today, I just knew that evil followed us. Now we must go on, but I do not know where we are going. Do you Aragorn?'

'I think that once this wound is dressed, we shall follow the orcs and hunt them until we get our two companions back. Sam and Frodo are lost to us now, maybe forever, but we can at least help them in waging our war against Sauron. The fellowship may have failed, but the quest shall succeed!'

'Then lead on Aragorn, for wherever you lead us, I shall gladly follow. But can we first set Boromir off as he deserves. I wish to say goodbye properly.'

'That we shall fair Lorien.'

'Thank you Aragorn, I am in your debt now. I only hope that I get to Gondor before news of Boromir's death reaches there, so I can tell his father myself, it is the last thing I can do for him now. But one thing puzzles me!'

'What is on your mind Lorien?'

'Why was Boromir up here on his own? He should have been down by the river with us.'

'He was not alone; Frodo was up here with him. Frodo had been up here first.'

'Now my heart is troubled, Boromir tried to take the ring, didn't he?'

'That he did Lorien. How did you know?'

'It has been a custom in Gondor for many years, if the ring of power should come into one's grasp, they should seize it and use it for the good of Gondor. Any man that lets it go would forfeit his life. It was a stupid custom and the ring would have cost Boromir his life either way. I had often tried telling Denethor that Gondor would not be able to use the ring, but he would not listen.'

'Good counsel is no use for those who do not wish to use it Lorien; I have learnt that from today with your warnings about the orcs. Boromir was still a great man, even if the ring tempted him. Not all of the company have your strength.'

'That strength shall no longer be needed as the ring is out of our reach now. I do not argue that Boromir was a great man, like I said, he was like a brother to me. I just wish he wasn't so loyal to Gondor, then he may not have lost his life. But let us get on, we must follow the orcs and save Merry and Pippin, for who knows what they have in store for those two brave hobbits.'