(A/N: argh! Writer's block- sorry for the delay in this chapter! But, thanks to icy878, Nelinde, and feanen for reviewing- and little-lost-one, Malthenaur means 'golden-sun,' Lúthalanthir is 'enchanted-waterfall', and Maranwo is 'destiny' or 'fate'- and Lilena *ahh thanks so much for reading my story- yay new reader!* haha even after 234 years they have not crossed paths. *sigh* If you didn't know, Canyaiel lives in Imladris and stays there well, until now haha and Legolas lives in Mirkwood. And about the golden flower brooch, well, that's a bit of a mystery. For the general record, the year is now III 1056. Third Age, 1056th year)

A/N Again: 45 reviews! Oh my gosh! *ahh* wow! I never (ever) thought I would get this many reviews! Thanks to everyone! *gushes*

I walked faster, leading Lúthalanthir toward the palace, until I was running. I figured, if I ran it would clear my mind of any thoughts- and it did, but I'm not sure if that was good or bad.

"Good morning, Canyaiel." I whipped my head around then pulled my cloak over my head tightly.

"Good morning, Lord Elrond. May I ask who will accompany us on this adventure?"

Lord Elrond let out a slight laugh, to which Lady Celebrían answered with a broad smile, "An adventure? I hope not- I hope that this will be a safe, quick, and simple journey. It will be you and several other Elves; Calimo, Náro, Tirmo, and Aisto." As she was speaking, Lord Elrond handed me a loaf of lembas bread and a rather large flask of miruvor.

I nodded, taking the items, "Thank you. Is it really necessary to have all these Elves?"

"Oh, my dear Canyaiel," he smiled, "You have never been outside these walls," he sighed, "This world is very dangerous." I looked at him in the eye, trying to be brave.

"Do not fear. I believe this particular trip will be lovely," he gave me an encouraging smile, "Perhaps you might even enjoy yourself." I laughed, but I noticed him look out, up at the sky, almost longingly? No, that wasn't the word. It was more, fearful? I'm not sure. It was, well, it was a look of unknowingness. He looked over at me and smiled slightly. I shrugged off any feelings of discomfort.

"Yes, this will be enjoyable- I shall make sure of that," I smiled then sighed. I looked up and saw Arwen coming along with Elladan and Elrohir, and trailing behind her were the four other Elves, whom I assumed were Calimo, Náro, Tirmo, and Aisto. Lord Elrond handed them their provisions, but Arwen seemed to have hers already. She had a large leather pack on her back, covered in flowing golden embroidery, for she had no weapons to carry. I looked around, a little confused, wondering where we were to place our supplies.

The other four elves, however, were not nearly as confused and walked to the stables. They each led out a horse, three of them beautiful stallions, one mare. They were all white, and had beautiful Elven saddles upon them. Each of the Elves, all with quivers on their back, placed their food inside an additional part of the saddle where one was meant to place items. It was a leather satchel, and folded over, not allowing anything to fall out.

Now I was in quite a predicament. I rode bareback- and had no saddle.

"Lord Elrond?" I asked timidly. The other Elves glared down at me, especially one with long dark hair and deep brown eyes. He gave me a particularly uncomforting look.

"Yes?"

I swallowed the ball of liquid that had begun to form in my mouth, "Where shall I keep my provisions?" Great. Just simply wonderful. An excellent way to start off the long journey.

Lord Elrond just smiled, "Now, we have quite the problem. Hold your cloak out-" I fingered the cloak and exposed it, "- yes, there should be some very large pockets in there- place as much as you can in there."

This is so embarrassing. I looked over at Arwen, hopefully. I tried to ignore the glares from the other Elves. I heard one of them say that I was wasting time and that he did not wish to have to care for more than one Elf- it was the one who was glaring at me before.

"You can place your items in my bag, Canyaiel, there is a good amount of space still in there," Arwen said, taking the bag off of her back.

"Thank you, Ar- Lady Arwen," I said, catching myself. I took the loaf of lembas bread and flask of miruvor and placed them inside Arwen's bag. She just smiled and placed the bag back on her back.

"Are we ready to leave?" Arwen said, smiling optimistically. The other Elves bowed their heads slightly. Arwen looked over at her father.

"Goodbye, father, I shall see you soon," Arwen said, walking over to Lord Elrond. I felt my throat fill up.

"I love you, seldainya," he replied, kissing her on the brow. I looked away, my eyes watering slightly. No, I would not do this.

"Gerich meleth nîn, ada a nana. Namárie," Arwen said, walking over to her horse.

She climbed on top of Maranwo, and as if it was a signal- the other four Elves mounted. I mounted slowly after. Lord Elrond, Lady Celebrían, Elladan, and Elrohir walked along side us, up until the very gates of Imladris, where there were several guards.

"Good-bye, Arwen, gerich meleth nîn," Lady Celebrían said, a trace of a frown on her fair face.

"Arwen, dear," Elladan said, smiling, "Do not forget about us!"

"Yes! We are very important, you know," Elrohir added, jokingly. Arwen smiled, feeling a little more comfortable at leaving.

"Namárie, Elladan and Elrohir, I love you, both," Arwen said, smiling, "I shall see you all very soon."

"It is time you should be off," Lord Elrond said, sadly.

"Namárie, my daughter, I love you. Send my mother my greetings," Celebrían said, smiling at Arwen. I smiled at this sight, almost enviously.

"Oh, namárie, Canyaiel!" Elrohir said, smiling at me, "Take care of my younger sister!"

I laughed lightly, "Of course I will. Namárie."

"Namárie, Arwen," Elladan, Lord Elrond, and Lady Celebrían said slowly. Arwen just smiled back and started riding. The other four riders were already ahead of her, waiting as patiently as they could. I followed, unsure of what I was supposed to be doing.

Then, suddenly, I realized it. I was outside of Imladris. All of a sudden, I felt very vulnerable and weak- I felt that if I was walking, I would suddenly fall and my legs would be able to carry me no more. I glanced over at Arwen, who just smiled at me encouragingly, so I relaxed a little. We ran up to the others, who immediately surrounded Arwen. We rode for an hour in silence.

"What is the path we shall take?" Arwen asked.

One of the elves smiled- it was the one riding the mare. He was riding on the opposite side of Arwen, "We shall be going north along the river, then east, through the High-Pass then south to Lórien. I expect it shall take us the rest of this season- 52 days." About three hours passed silently. I could see the Misty Mountains far off into the distance, but I knew it would take at least two more days to reach them.

It was getting quite hot and uncomfortable in the heavy cloak- for it was midday. However, it was nearing the end of the warmer days of Iavas, so I knew I would be thankful during the later and colder days. The rest of the day was silent. We stopped when it became dark- the sky was only lit by the faint glimmer of the stars.

The horses eagerly drank from the river and nibbled at the sweet grass surrounding it then fell asleep. However, the other Elves and I sat on the ground, awake.

"Let us make some conversation, so the rest of our days on this journey shall not seem so dull," an Elf suggested. I peeled my eyes away from the ground and looked at him. It was the Elf who had answered Arwen's question.

"Yes, let us!" I added, happy to be finally speaking. I don't think I had ever gone this long without speaking. The other Elves just glared angrily at me. This was going to be a very long journey.

"I think," Arwen said slowly, "That we should get to know each other. What shall I say? I am Arwen Undómiel of Imladris, daughter of Celebrían and Elrond." Then she laughed. I laughed, too. It was quite obvious everyone else already knew that. The other Elves did not join in our laughter. They just scowled- at me.

"Introduce yourself," Arwen said, gently poking my arm.

I felt a little nervous, "I am Canyaiel of Imladris, daughter of Elenya," I stopped there, letting my voice trail off uncertainly.

"I am Aisto of Lórien, son of Alcao," an Elf said. He was the one who had suggested we speak. He had golden long hair and green eyes that flickered just slightly in the moonlight.

"I am Calimo of Imladris, son of Telpo," another Elf said. He had long dark hair and grey eyes, dull with age, but full of joy and excitement.

"I am Tirmo of Imladris, son of Varno," the third Elf said. He also had dark hair, but light brown eyes- like honey.

"I am Náro of Imladris, son of Calo," the last Elf said. He was the one who had glared at me. He had dark hair and dark eyes. Arwen smiled, obviously pleased with her progress. Náro and Tirmo broke off into soft quiet conversation and Calimo and Arwen spoke about whatever took their fancy- they had obviously been friends for quite some time.

Aisto sat down, looking up at the stars.

"What is it like in Lórien?" I asked, curiously. He looked at me and smiled, happy that someone wanted to talk to him.

"It is beautiful," he said in a lovely song-like voice, "I can not even begin to explain. Have you ever been there before?"

"No, I have been wanting to go for quite some time now."

"I think that you shall find it to your fancy," he smiled.

I nodded then fell quiet for a moment, "I have never been away from home before."

He smiled, "You are young. But, I am not surprised. Elven-maidens often do not leave from home." I felt my eyes flare angrily at those last words.

"Well, I am not like other Elven-maidens."

He laughed a little, "No, no, I suppose you aren't." Then I laughed with him. He reminded me of Elrohir. Elrohir would never get angry when I said something back to him, and Aisto did not either.

I like Aisto. He seems quite nice and amicable.

After that, we all decided it was time to rest. We slept for a few hours before waking again and riding on.

The sun had not even risen, but we were riding. I turned around; I could see Imladris in the distance- its glimmering roofs of gold were just starting to fade away. That night, after our horses fell into their slumber, we sat by the river, talking about ourselves.

"Yes," Arwen laughed, "Remember the time that you, Elrohir, and Elladan snuck onto the roof? Oh, father was so cross!"

I laughed with her, "I should like to bet he was even more cross when Elrohir, Elladan, and I snuck into the kitchens and caused the fire!"

Arwen's eyes lit up, "That was you?"

"Yes!" Arwen and I just looked at each other and started laughing. Calimo laughed lightly at this, and Aisto and Tirmo joined. Náro just scowled.

"Oh, come off it, Náro," Tirmo said, looking over at Náro. He smiled lightly.

"You have a sister, Canyaiel?" I glared at him, giving him what I hoped was a menacing look. He didn't seem to notice.

"Yes, I do."

"Ah, I see," he smiled, "Calwaiel? Is that right?"

I nodded, eyeing him suspiciously, "Yes, why do you want to know?"

"Oh, she and I are close friends." Wow. She must have changed a lot to be friends with this- this horrible Elf- if he even deserved to be called an Elf.

"My, my, you two are so young," Calimo said, smiling softly at Arwen and me. We just laughed. He sighed lightly.

"I remember when I was your age," he said, looking at us, his grey eyes glazing slightly and his dark brown hair blowing slightly in the breeze, "it was in the War of the Last Alliance."

"You were in that?" Arwen asked in an excited voice, "My father was in that."

My lips suddenly felt dry, and my throat crackly, "So was mine." Arwen looked at me then cast her eyes up to the heavens for a moment.

After another week, we had gone through the High-Pass. It was on those days I was happy to have my heavy cloak- braving the early winds that usually came with Rhîw and cool chills that were encountered along the pass was much easier with a cloak. We rested little those weeks, I could sense our horses feeling tired, but we all agreed that it would be much too cold for the horses if we stopped for too long.

Once we were through the High-Pass, it was much easier. We just needed to go south, and soon we would reach Lórien- just another forty days or so of traveling south of the Vales of Anduin.

Then next three weeks were uneventful- with nothing but the mountains to the far right of us, river to the left, and plains surrounding us everywhere in between, it was getting quite boring.

Calimo told us to be careful. He said that danger was abroad, and that we should have guards when we sleep. He said we should switch every few hours.

We were nearing the Sîr Ninglor, a river branching off from the Anduin. Tirmo was on guard for half that night then I would go on guard the other half.

"Get up!" Tirmo shouted, fear and anger in his voice. He pointed toward the southern part of Mirkwood- formerly known as Greenwood. I rose instantly, and looked off where he was pointing.

"Orcs!" I shouted, angry. I shook Arwen up, "Get upon your horse!" She mounted, and I ran about frantically, trying to wake Náro as Tirmo woke Calimo and Aisto up.

"Be gone with you, you silly maiden," he mumbled grumpily. I grabbed his ear and pulled him up by it.

"Orcs, you fool!" He seemed to understand and jumped upon his horse. I mounted quickly and we formed a circle around Arwen.

"We are going to have to defeat them," Calimo said, softly, "They are coming nearly from the direction in which we are going."

"There are many," I said, scared, "I hear them, their foul voices."

"Tangado a chadad lîn philinn!" Calimo ordered. I hastily fitted an arrow in my bow then took a deep breath. I was scared beyond measures, but I pretended I wasn't. I looked around and saw the other Elves, aiming toward the black speck in the horizon. Like target practice- just think of practicing with Elrohir and Elladan. The black speck started riding closer, and closer, and closer. I felt my heart beating madly- but heard nothing save the harsh pounding of hooves on the floor.

"Leithio!" Calimo shouted, releasing the tension on his arrow. I aimed carefully and shot the arrow- hitting an orc right in the center of his forehead. I felt a gasp, and my eyes shut in horror. I quickly opened them again and I fitted another arrow and shot- over and over again. The orcs just seemed to be multiplying even as we shot them.

How many were there? Even I, with my perfect Elven eyesight, could not tell. Slowly, after shooting many orcs, I felt powerful. It was almost like an unusual and intoxicating high. I felt confident- each and every of my arrows hit its target- and each of the targets fell dead after.

There were too many. We wouldn't make it. I felt my heart sink as I shot my last arrow.

"Tangado lîn crist!" Calimo said, upon realizing that there were no arrows left. He looked at each of us, giving us little hope. His dull grey eyes seemed doubtful. I placed my bow over my quiver and drew my sword.

I was prepared to die- at least I would die honorably.