Ahem, I'll correct a minor flaw here, the fellowship set forth in December (on Christmas!), therefore, there would be no leaves, unless they were dead, on the trees. I have corrected the mistake, so that we will not be killed by the PPC. Thank you too all of our reviewers, and hopefully you will forgive Elerian for her flaws, we cannot all be experts in Tolkien's works... Ahem, on with chapter nine.

Oh, by the way, THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING IS OUT ON VIDEO/DVD!!!!!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeee!

Chapter 9. Time to Think

I opened my mouth to tell Elerian that if she wasn't dull, then why did Legolas fall asleep when elves don't really need to sleep, when Aragorn came crashing through the underbrush in a manner that suggested he had not been traveling around the wilderness for a good majority of his lifetime, say about thirty years or so. He looked like a panicked parent who had just lost their three-year-old daughter in a huge shopping mall. As soon as he saw Elerian and I, he froze and stared at us fro what seemed like an eternity, but was actually about thirty seconds. The next thing that happened was quite shocking indeed.

Aragorn grabbed me by the shoulders, and shook me like a rag doll. 'Do you have any idea how dangerous what you just did was? You both could have been killed, or seriously injured! Never, ever, go off by yourselves again unless one of the other members of the fellowship is with you.' He shook me once more to emphasize his point. Elerian spoke up, 'Um, technically we were with another member of the fellowship, as both of us are part of the fellowship.' He sent her a glare that would have frozen Mount Doom to the core, had we been in Mordor. 'Owwwww,' I squeaked as Aragorn's fingers drove through the sleeves of my tunic and into my skin.

Fortunately, Legolas, Boromir, and Gandalf walked into the clearing at that time, closely followed by Gimli, Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Frodo. 'What happened, Aragorn?' Boromir asked, his hand straying near to his sword hilt as he spoke, grey eyes searching the forest for enemies. Aragorn's grip on my arms loosened, and I took the opportunity to step away from him, standing closer to Frodo and Sam, lest he try and grab me again. Elerian related what had happened as I rubbed my bruised arms. 'Elf maids bruise too easily,' I grumbled, hoping that nobody had heard me, but a smirk had formed on Legolas' lips and he sent me a pointed glance before turning back to Gandalf and speaking with the wizard.

After that event, we assigned watch periods, and, wouldn't you know it, I got first watch. I sat alone on a rock, watching as the rest of the fellowship slept, some more peacefully than others. Frodo tossed and turned in his sleep, his hand straying towards the Ring that hung around his neck every once in a while. A glint of gold caught my eye, but I quickly turned away, closing my eyes for a brief second, trying to ignore the voice whispering inside my head. 'The Ring is calling to you.' Gandalf's voice made me jump, and I whirled to stare at him in surprise. 'What?'

'The Ring, it calls to you,' he repeated, gazing towards Frodo with concern in his eyes. 'It tells me all of the great things I could achieve with its power, it tells me I could be invincible, that I could rule this world,' my voice grew softer, 'It tells me I could go back home.' Gandalf turned to me, studying me with pale blue eyes. He sighed and pulled out his pipe and some pipe weed, lighting his pipe and smoking it. For some reason, the smell comforted me, even though I hate the smell of tobacco. Perhaps it's just the feeling of being watched over by someone who might understand my feelings.

'I miss home,' I sighed, looking down at my booted feet. 'I don't know why we came here, but...' Gandalf's low weathered voice interrupts me, 'You will find your way home, if you seek it hard enough, but you may find that it will be hard to leave when it is your time to go.' With that, he stood, his grey robes rustling softly and walked over to a tree, leaning against it and smoking his pipe thoughtfully.

The next couple of days passed by uneventfully. We walked all night long, stopping to make camp at daybreak and then sleeping all day long until sunset when we walked again. Eventually we ran out of our short supply of mushrooms, and our diets consisted of salted meat, some bread, and whatever else Sam felt like whipping up. The young hobbit really was an amazing cook, and I smiled upon remembering that he had made stewed rabbit with herbs for Frodo and himself in Ithilien. Merry and Pippin were a constant source of amusement, and they had the ability to make me laugh even when I was feeling at my worst. Elerian trailed Legolas everywhere, and I even caught her watching him while he was asleep, or at least I think he was asleep, I can never tell!

I try to talk to the members of the fellowship, but Aragorn and Gandalf are always mapping out where we are and what we will do after we cross the mountains. Boromir is fidgety and doesn't trust much of the fellowship, though I have talked to him once or twice and he seems like a nice person after we get over the whole 'you are an elf and I don't really trust you' thing. Gimli is better left alone since he hates elves, and he tries to hit me with his axe when I irritate him. Legolas will talk to me sometimes, but he likes to be alone, too bad for Elerian. The only members of the fellowship who have time for me are the hobbits, since they are very social, and Elerian when she isn't complaining about hiking all night or how long it's taking us to get to Moria. I have a lot of thinking time.

My long hair is a nuisance, I hate it! Today I got so sick of it that I asked Boromir to cut it for me since everyone else was busy. He looked at me like I was insane. 'Are you sure you wish for me to do this my Lady?' He asked, looking from the knife that I gave him, to me and then back to the knife again. 'Yes, and please don't call me lady, my name is Aniron.' He looked at the knife again, 'Well, all right.' He cut my hair to my shoulder blades, and looked at the hair that had fallen on the ground after he had cut it. 'What's wrong, you look troubled?' I asked him. He shook his head, 'It is nothing.' Then walked away.

As I braided my shortened hair, I began to think. What was wrong with Boromir? He looked like someone had just melted his sword and made it into a plate after he cut my hair. Oh well, I guess I just need some time to think.

Author's Note: There wasn't very much funny stuff in this chapter, but oh well. I was more in a pensive mood. What is wrong with Boromir? I guess that's up to Elerian. Tag, you're it!