A/N: Sorry I took so long to post the chapter. I had a bit of schoolwork to take care of; namely a Spanish presentation on Córdoba, Spain. And then the damn rodent wouldn't work *my mouse just went one day after so many failed attempts to bring it back from the light* so I had to wait awhile while we got a new one. I am discovering the joys of doing things the very long way via the keyboard. And you know what? Kolinshar Jackie-chan Benito was right: 'bakana' does roll off the tongue as easily as 'katana'. ^^

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far and said great things. I was honestly expecting no reviews for this. And please, if you feel that something's not right or doesn't flow, tell me! I'll actually listen and take what you say into serious consideration. And thank you once again Amy Lee; your advice is in the forefront of my mind when I write the chapters.

Chapter Seven

Kayla clambered to the top of the tree that stood beside the room she was given. 'It is a nice sunset this night.' She didn't say anything as the sun sank down in to the ground casting its red light across the treetops. The stars started to come out now, twinkling merrily from the deep indigo sky. 'Now I have a place somewhere.' She sighed as she stood up and leaned back against the tree trunk, the delicate fragrance of the flowers heavy in the air round her. She had wondered what she would do when she found out if she had a place that she didn't-

"It's all right. I....a-choo!"

She frowned slightly as the sneeze reverberated through the air. Hearing it come again, she walked along the branches until she found herself outside Midori's room. She parted the leaves to see her standing in front of the captain who had led them in last night. 'Ah...now what does our good friend Haldir want now?'

"Are you not well Lady Midori?" Haldir's voice sounded rather puzzled.

"I am fine." she said in a soft voice before she sniffled once more. "You do not have to stay. I would much rather it if you...a-choo! A-choo!!"

"Allergies Midori?" Kayla asked as she swung down from the branch and looked between their startled faces.

Midori flashed her a frown before she sniffled once more. "If you would excuse us please..."

Kayla watched as Haldir bowed slightly and left promptly, shutting the door quietly. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing." Midori said in a slightly snappish voice. "What do you want?"

"Sorry. Thought you would have needed some help." Kayla paused looking her over, from red-rimmed eyes to a leaky nose. "Looks like you need a hanky more though."

"Onore..." Midori mumbled. "I have had a long night and I do not need this from you now."

"Why? What happened?" Kayla asked as she peered into Midori's face. "Wow...you really look like shit."

Midori gave her a look before she sat down on the bed. "I had a very long talk with Father last night. A very long, painful and illuminating talk."

"How so?" Kayla asked. "Did you look in the water too?"

"I did." Midori's face went curiously blank for a few seconds as she remembered something. "I wish I hadn't and I'm glad I did."

"Heh...you sound like me. Sort of. I didn't believe it at first though." Kayla paused as she looked at her fingers. "Do you know what that means? If Galadriel is my mother and she's married to Celeborn..."

She watched as Midori's face turned to hers, the pale white colour clear in the fading sunlight. Kayla wasn't sure if it was from her sneezing frequently or from her words.

"You weren't the first person I would pick as kin." Midori said in a strained voice.

"Gee, thanks a lot." Kayla said in a wry voice. "But I'll ignore that and see about getting you better. Are you allergic to the mallorn flowers or something?"

"I think so." Midori said as she sniffled once more. "We didn't grow up here so our bodies are still adjusting. Despite the fact that the climate is virtually similar to where we lived for so long. It shouldn't last long."

"I hope so." Kayla said as Midori sneezed particularly loud. "You may end up shooting boogers at someone." Kayla smiled as Midori gave her a thoroughly disgruntled mutter of protest when the walked out the door. She glanced at Haldir who fell in step behind them as they wandered around. "Do you know where we could get something to eat? Maybe away from all the flowers?"

"Follow me." he said taking the lead.

Kayla steered Midori around as they walked through the upper levels of the city, making their way to the fringes. Once they reached the outer edge, Midori's incessant sneezing lessened before it stopped gradually. Kayla watched Midori sniff noisily as Haldir came and placed something before them.

"All we have here is a bit of bread and water." he had a rather apologetic look on his face as he handed them the two small loaves and water skin.

"That is fine, thank you." Midori said as she gave a final sniffle. "You really do not have to follow us."

"I was ordered too. The Lord and Lady do not want more misfortune to befall you." he said before he detached himself a bit a ways and left them to their meal.

"He didn't see you weild that backpack of yours." Kayla chuckled as she took a bite from the bread. "This is pretty good bread. Don't you want yours?"

"Hai." Midori muttered absentmindedly as she took a small bite out of it. "What are we going to do? We told Strider that we would become Rangers and I think it's fairly clear that Father and Mother want us to stay here."

"Nah; Galadriel said that all she wanted was for me to stay for a bit. I don't think she would object to me from leaving and I want you to come with me so therefore, you are coming with me. You said you would so no backing out now." Kayla looked at Midori. "Why, did you want to back out?"

"No. You said you wanted me there with you and I will stand behind my promise." Midori regarded her bread for a moment before she popped the entire piece in her mouth. "We will need weapons. And not only the daggers Elladan gave us."

"True. I wish I had my lochaber with me. That was a great axe...deadly too." Kayla said with a wistful tone of voice before she noticed Midori's fingers clenching and unclenching. "What's up with you?"

"Katana..." Midori said. "I shall have to make a new one. What of your lochaber?"

"Lost it in the sea one night when Vikings came down from the north. What was it like where you grew up? Was it..." Kayla trailed off as she tried to find a nice way to word it.

"They say that in peace children bury their parents, but in war the parents bury the children. I have had to bury far too many. It may have been a small island but it was just like the outside world. Just like it..." Midori shook her head slightly before she took a drink of water from the skin.

"Fair enough. Pass the water here." she took it from Midori and gulped down a bit. "We should probably leave after we settle in here for a bit. Sounds good? Midori...hey Midori!" Kayla waved a hand in front of her face.

"Sorry. I was thinking. What did you say?"

"We'll settle in for a bit before we leave. Sounds good?"

"Yes. I will have to find the Dwarves soon enough. It would be best if I forged my sword in a place similar."

"You mean in the earth? Why? Just use a smithy around here somewhere." Kayla said with a shrug. "Don't kill yourself to find some dank smelly hole in the ground."

"Some things are left best to be made in the fiery heat in the depths of the earth Kayla. Or should I call you Arlonniel?"

Kayla made a face. "Call me that and I'll hurt you. I don't know what you should call me all right. Just stick with Kayla. It's the least sullied of my names."

"Wakatta. Many of mine are the same as well. I killed many and saved many."

"Does that mean 'I understand.'? You have a very bad habit of lapsing back you know." Kayla said with a grin.

"I only spoke that language for the past two thousand years. Leave me be." Midori said.

"I suppose I should, shouldn't I? I mean, if you get a boyfriend, he'll have to put up with it and there's no one else here that would speak Japanese." Kayla leaned in suddenly with a grin on her face as she whispered into Midori's ear. "How about Haldir over there?"

Kayla gave a shriek of laughter as Midori's face went beet red with mortification as she looked over at their silent guard who was keeping himself occupied with something else. She couldn't stop laughing as Midori took the now empty water skin and proceeded to whack her with it. Her hands raised in half-hearted protest, trying to lessen the blows before she collapsed to the planks with laughter. Perhaps winding up here wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

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"Where are we going?" Kayla looked around as the soft twitter of birds flitted above their heads with sunlight shining down in slender muted columns from the trees. "Shouldn't we have snuck out from the treetops?"

"I know you don't want Haldir following; besides, this was your idea, not mine. I wanted to stay and read." Midori asked her with an oblique glance as her bare feet left no mark on the forest floor. "But since we are out by ourselves, I think its time we rid you of your small phobia."

"I don't have a phobia."

"We shall see."

"And just what does that mean?" Kayla demanded before she shifted her curiosity to something else. "Just. . .what exactly do you have in that backpack of yours? You haven't let it out of your sight since we got here."

"It's just some things, last ties if you want to call it that. I'm sure you left some behind, didn't you?" Kayla felt her face flush slightly at the meaning behind Midori's words. There was no point in thinking about Xander when she would never see him again. "And what about Takeshi? You and him seemed real close." she didn't bother to hide the slight malice in her voice; who was Midori to imply such things about her.

"I knew him since he was in secondary school. I knew him for close to ten years. He was my only friend. Perhaps you read too much into his use of the word 'girlfriend'."

Kayla didn't say anything at the frigid tone in Midori's voice until she heard the faint sound of running water. "The river?! You brought me to the stinking river?!"

"You are not balking now. If we are going to be Rangers you need to get over this irrational fear you have."

"It's not irrational." Kayla said as she backed into a tree and clung to it. "There is no way that I am going to that river. No way in hell."

"As you wish then." Midori said with a shrug. "But I am going for a swim."

Kayla didn't say anything, simply sitting by the end of the tree and skulking there. 'How could she bring me here of all places.' She scowled darkly as she watched the swift dark blue waters. 'Maybe the fact that I nearly drowned didn't tell her anything. You think it would have seeing as how she was ready to kill me when she pulled me out.' Kayla huffed with a sigh, readjusting her dagger hilt so it didn't ground into her side; she truly didn't see Midori's wisdom in not bringing her weapon with her. The sound of a splash made her look up to see Midori floating in the water with an arched brow of challenge. Kayla turned from her, resisting the urge to flip her the finger. 'Now she insults me. It's just like slapping me in the face.' She paused for a minute as her stomach grumbled loudly. 'Perhaps breakfast would have been well to eat before I rushed out of there.'

"Are you hungry Kayla?"

"That's none of your business." she replied in a slightly dismissive voice.

"Well, I did pack some bread if you want some. You can get it if you want. It's fairly shallow here; you can walk across."

'It's fairly shallow? You can walk across? What on Earth is she talking about?' Kayla rose and looked around, her gaze finally resting on the backpack. . .that lay on the other side of the river beside Midori's towel. With a muffled oath, she slammed back into her seat by the tree. 'Now she mocks me twice. Placing it there, knowing very well that I don't want to touch that accursed water.' Her ears perked slightly as the faintest of steps upon the dry leaves of the ground; over three thousand years of warfare had done much to sharpen her senses even further.

"Kayla, do not think that I am being callous." Midori said. "But you do need to toughen up. I believe that this world we are in is still in the convulsions of some evil and wars tend to break out when least expected. You should be prepared for whatever comes our way."

"Sure. You know everything. But I will not touch the water under any. . ." she trailed off, hearing the faint noise again.

She rose to her feet slowly, drawing her dagger, ready to use. She glanced back to see Midori resting against some rocks, her hair loose and fanned out over them. She crept back into the trees, eyes looking for a clue that something was off. Hearing the normal noises, she drew up, the tenseness in her shoulders not leaving. She made a show of turning to leave, her instincts screaming at her of another's presence. 'What if it is the one from my dreams? But he would have to be real. . .if he is real. . .' Kayla paused at her tree before she ducked around it quickly, spying a cloak edge as she came around. She ducked behind a tree as she saw the person turn quickly. She waited for a few before sliding out, her dagger ready to plunge. She found herself facing a ready arrow, Haldir's expression far from pleased.

"What are you doing here?" Kayla demanded rather loudly.

"I may ask the same of you." Haldir replied in an even tone. "You know the Lord and Lady do not wish for you to leave unattended."

"Kayla, are you still there?" Midori's voice sound rather uncertain and lost. "Kayla?"

"Yeah. . .I'm here." she called back.

"No wonder I could not find Lady Midori as well." Haldir said striding past her to the river.

Kayla shook her head as she sheathed her dagger back. It was the shrill scream that came from the river that made her race back. Haldir stood there with his back to the water, a pale and shocked look on his face. And there stood Midori in her somewhat small bathing suit. Taking in the look of fear on Midori's face, she grabbed Haldir and pushed him back towards the trees.

"Stay here and wait for us. We will come and not skip off again." she simply said before going back to the river.

Coming back, she saw Midori on the other side, pulling her clothes on almost frantically, the towel balled up in the dirt. She didn't say anything as Midori shouldered her back pack and scrambled up a tree, crossing the river through the intertwining boughs above the waters. She dropped down and stood beside Kayla holding her arms, staring at her feet. Kayla started with a sigh before she looked up at Haldir who was staring stonily ahead and began walking.

"Strider wanted to talk to you before he left."

"He left?" Kayla asked looking up at Haldir's simple words as he fell in step ahead of her. "Did he leave already?"

Haldir nodded. "I believe that he left you a message in your room."

Kayla didn't say anything as they made their way back to the city, soft squelches coming from Midori's feet as water moved between her toes. Only when they had made it back to the city and slipped into the household unnoticed did Kayla touch Haldir's arm.

"You don't talk and we won't talk." she gave him a knowing look; she had a feeling that Haldir didn't want his slipup this morning coming to Galadriel and Celeborn's attention.

Haldir gave Kayla a thankful look. "If you wish to leave you will find me outside your door."

"And what makes you think that I'm going back to my room?"

"And you are not?"

Kayla mumbled a curse to herself before she took Midori's arm and started down the hallway to her bedroom. "He's fairly perceptive." She muttered as she shut the door. 'I'll have to watch out for that. . .as well as Galadriel. So far she hasn't asked me anything truly-'

"Kayla, aren't you going to read the message?"

She broke out of her thoughts to see Midori holding out the scroll. She took it slowly, looking at Midori; it seemed that there was now something subdued about her, like a painful old wound had been reopened. Ripping the seal off of it, she unrolled it and read quickly.

"Midori. . .how would it take you to forge that sword you wanted?"

"I'd say two months. . .two and a half. Why?"

Kayla waggled the piece of paper with a frown before she placed it back on the table by her window. "Strider wants us to meet him in the North in three months."

"Did he say where?" Midori asked.

"A place called Weathertop. From there he would escort us to where we would be trained." Kayla looked at the small brown piece of paper before she looked at Midori. "Well. . .it looks as if we're leaving a bit earlier than planned."

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