* Disclaimer: The same as before. I don't own any of the characters or the places in "Willow" or LotR. Commander Jairek is mine. (I know it sounds a little like "Airk", but I can assure you, that really wasn't intended.) *
Chapter 1

The gates of Tir Asleen opened to permit several riders out. The most notable of the riders was a young woman. The deep blue dress accented her flaming hair and brought out the blue of her eyes. She rode a white mare, and her bearing was that of a woman many times her age. Elora Danan had always seemed to be wiser than her years, even as a child. Despite her bright red hair, she didn't have a quick temper, unlike her foster mother, Sorsha. Having both of her foster parents being warriors, Elora had been given instruction in the arts of war, incase she ever got separated from her escort, so if she ever actually lost her temper, the results could be disastrous. As it was, the princess ever lost her temper.

Standing on the walls overlooking to road leaving Tir Asleen, Madmartigan and Sorsha watched as Elora departed on her journey. The sight of their beloved daughter leaving home saddened them, and even the thought of her coming back didn't lighten the mood. They had an uneasy feeling that she would be gone longer than the promised week, and that left them agitated, especially Madmartigan.

"Tell me that she's going to be alright," Sorsha suddenly said worriedly.

"She's going to be just fine, love," Madmartigan replied, secretly thinking to himself, 'At least, I hope so!'

Sorsha sighed. "She's never been away from Tir Asleen before."

"Yes she has, Sorsha," Madmartigan tried to reassure her, "She wasn't born here, after all."

"But that was years ago," was the argument, "And you were with her to protect her."

'That is what worries me,' thought Madmartigan while replying, "And she won't be having and entire army of people wanting her dead chasing her!"

Sorsha looked hurt at that comment, so Madmartigan apologized. "I didn't mean it that way, Sorsha! I only meant that she's a lot safer nowadays than she had been when she was a baby."

The pain lessened in Sorsha's face. "Yes, you're right. My mother is dead, after all, and can't chase Elora with her army no more!" she said bitterly.

They both went quiet, thinking about those distant days where Bavmorda had tried her best to take over the world, yet was thwarted by a baby and a peck. Sorsha had never forgotten that the evil queen had been her mother, and hoped to someday put it behind her, if not for herself, than for the children.

Watching Elora disappear in the distance, both Sorsha and Madmartigan were brought back to the "real world" by a messenger from Fin Raziel. Their sixteen-year-old twins, Airk and Gal (short for Galladoorn) were in trouble again!

* * *

Looking back, Elora saw her home of Tir Asleen fade in the distance. Though happy to finally go and see Willow, it saddened her to leave. She hoped that the twins wouldn't give their parents too hard of a time, yet the knowledge that they were born rascals dimmed that hope for her. She grinned at the thought of her two brother causing mayhem through out the castle. Their last stunt, the day before she was to leave, had been to bring one of their old ponies into their rooms to "practice" riding whenever it rained. Biting back a grin, Elora looked at the leader of her escort, Commander Jairek. He seemed to be brooding, so she returned her eyes to the road ahead.

What she remembered of the world outside of Tir Asleen came from a time of darkness and fear. Everyone had lived in fear that Queen Bavmorda would triumph. It had come pretty close in the end, and was it not for Willow, Elora wouldn't be alive today, and Bavmorda's evil would have covered the entire world like a plague. The thought of that woman who had wanted to exile her soul into oblivion made Elora shiver.

"Scared?" a voice asked, penetrating her pondering. Startled, Elora looked up and found Commander Jairek looking at her.

"No, not really." She replied, "Just thinking about the past."

"I see," Jairek said, and went back to his brooding. They rode on in silence.

It was sunset when they stopped to make camp. That night, Elora's dreams contained a vision of a fiery eye.

* Ok, so what do you think so far? Please R & R, and give any suggestion about what you would like in this story *