The figure drew back its' hood. Before them stood a strikingly beautiful female elf. Her pale face surrounded by light brown and blond hair and she was staring at them curiously with her bright green eyes.
"I am Belle, daughter of the Lady Rinown and Lord Elnuil, rulers of these woods."
"The ancient elvish race of Landualin," Legolas nodded slowly his eyes full of awe, "you survive?"
'* What does it look like? *' she spoke back swiftly.
"What's she saying?" Gimli growled loudly.
Aragorn smiled lightly and whispered, "she says the dwarf is cute."
Belle turned to him and her eyes flashed red for a moment before she shook her head as if waking from a nightmare.
'Strange,' Aragorn thought to himself.
She glared at him once more before muttering, "foolish ranger."
"Pay respect! This here is no ordinary ranger; this is Aragorn son of Arathorn, the future king of Gondor. Pay heed to my warning or make a dangerous enemy," Legolas spoke furiously.
Belle half smiled at his outburst before turning and gently lifting the hobbits from her horse, "here are your friends," she spoke softly in their ears.
The shook their heads and rubbed their eyes as if they believed they were still in slumber. Their faces quickly formed into great expressions of joy to be re-united. They ran forward and embraced the threes' knees'.
"Now tell me," Belle spoke quick and frowned, "what are you doing here in my woods?"
"Indeed, we were searching for these very hobbits," Gimli laughed, "and it seems you've done just that for us!"
"Tell us," Aragorn said, "how did you come to find them?"
Belle frowned and rubbed her brow, "a group of uruk-hai passed through here a day back and we met them at the boarder, slaying many. Few escaped into Rohan and under some corpses I found these two," she smiled fondly, '* my new halfling friends. *'
"Yeah!" Pippin chirped up, "she came galloping out of NO WHERE," his eyes widened, "and just went—" he made a sword-swinging motion with his hand, "and the uruk-hais' went—" he poked out his tongue and pretended to be dead.
They all laughed loudly and the hobbits yawned again.
"It was cracking," Merry nodded.
Belle turned from them again and mounted her horse, '* Riverhoof, *' she spoke sweetly, '* well fought. *' She turned to the fellowship now of 5, "I shall return at sunrise and guide you to the edges of these woods, of our land," and with these words she turned and cantered from sight.