Hullo and welcome to the third installation of Lost Soul. Yes- and know that the updates are few and far between, but hey, at least I'm updating! ^_^ Lol. So, without further a-don't, I shall thank my reviewers in no particular order.

Awkward: Hmm… you're bound to like the first one better, as the Sara in this fic's characters has yet to develop. I want her to be more elf-like to this story is slightly more realistic. Thank you for your input though.

XxDragon Princess NikkixX: Hullo hun! *Hugs* I'm sure you're sort-of relieved that I've updated this thing (as you're not getting any younger- your words not mine). I have to thank you for helping me out with this, and putting up with my very, very, very slow updates. Thanks hun, you're the best! *huggles*

Yuhi-thedoerofevildeeds: Hehehe, have I told you before that I like your screen-name? It's funny once you work out what it says. ^_^. Err …review, right. Well, here's the next chap!

Right, don't forget that anything in between two forward slashes and in bold are Galadriel's thoughts, and the ones in italics and in with one forward slash are Sara's thought's thingy-ma-bobs. *Gives reviewers cookies*

Enjoy!

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Chapter Three; Persuasion

"No way. Not in a trillion years! Why should I? Can't you get someone else to go?"

Haldir sighed and rolled his eyes, closing them and then massaged his temples. He'd been listening to this 'conversation' from outside the room for a good half an hour. He wasn't quite sure when the conversation finished and the one-sided shouting match began. Half of Lothlorien could probably hear what was being shouted between the two people that were having a slight disagreement. Haldir had been sent outside the room when Galadriel asked him to leave because she wanted to talk to Sara privately. He didn't see the need to send him outside because he knew perfectly well what they were talking about.

Haldir heard Galadriel's calmer voice replying to what Sara had just exclaimed.

"Because, I need you to go. I can then see and hear what is being said."

Sara sighed and stamped her foot impatiently, crossing her arms in a rather childish manner.

"So? You have your mirror thingy you can see everything in! Why should I have to go all the way over to Rivendell for a stupid meeting?"

Galadriel's expression hardened.

"You are going and that is my final word on this matter. Not go and pack your bags, you are to leave tomorrow."

Sara snorted and then smirked. "Fat chance. I'm not leaving this place for that meeting whether you like it or not!"

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"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate - this one doom…"

Sara growled to herself and a few nearby elves gave her strange looks. She clenched her teeth to stop herself from speaking. After all- since when were females allowed to be in the council meeting that Elrond summoned? Galadriel had obviously won the argument. Sara fiddled with the hood that she had up to shadow her face over so that nobody could tell who she was. Elrond had told her to wear the cape. Speaking of the bore, here he was again, talking about the end of the world in the gloomiest way imaginable.

"Bring forth the ring, Frodo."

Elrond gestured a little hairy child to put a ring on the small pedestal that was placed in the middle of the open space that the council were sitting around.

/Run, little hairy dude, run before Elrond bores you to death/

Sara sighed and heard Galadriel chiding her for being so moody.

//I'm trying to listen here!//

Sara ceased her thoughts and listened to Elrond so that Galadriel could hear exactly what was going on.

Murmurs speared throughout the whole of the congregation, and even Sara felt a chill run down her spine as she looked at the flawless golden ring that the boy had placed on the little dais. She stared at it, as did many others, and felt pure evil almost suffocating the air surrounding her. She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, taking in deep breaths to calm herself.

/It's only a stupid ring…/ she thought to herself and opened her eyes again, feeling sheepish for being so scared over such a stupid thing.

Across the circle, Sara saw a man stand up, awe apparent on his face. "So it is true… It is a gift. A gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use this Ring?" the man with shaggy blonde hair began to pace, and Sara started to get worried, "Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe! Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him!"

It was only then that Sara noticed Aragorn was in the meeting. "You cannot wield it! None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master," Aragorn said this quite fiercely, and Sara grinned. That was the type of thing Aragorn would do. 

"And what would a ranger know of this matter?" man, whom Sara supposed was from Gondor due to the coat of arms sewn on his chest, spoke back to Aragorn, a sneer apparent on his face.

Uh-oh…

Sara almost jumped out of her skin when an elf with blonde hair that was sitting next to her jumped up to his feet angrily. Her eyes widened when she recognised who it was.

"This is no mere ranger. He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance," Legolas finished the last part of his sentence with a slightly softer tone.

The Gondorian turned to face Aragorn with disbelief in his eyes. "This... is Isildur's heir?"

"And heir to the throne of Gondor," Sara's face fell, slightly disappointment that there wasn't going to be a full-out brawl. Trust Legolas to sort things out. She tutted. That was just typical.

Legolas glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and Sara clamped her mouth shut and sat frozen to her chair in an attempt to look normal. She saw the little hairy bloke give Aragorn a wide-eyed look and sniggered, but then stopped herself by turning it into a manly cough at the last moment, as she knew she was being watched.

"Havo dad Legolas," Aragorn signalled for Legolas to sit back down in his seat and rubbed his face in an irritated manner. 

"Gondor has no king. Gondor needs no king," the man from Gondor returned to his seat with a sigh.

Gandalf spoke up. "Aragorn is right. We cannot use it."

Sara rolled her eyes. Talk about stating the obvious. From what she'd heard, this whole thing was bad news. She planned on leaving as soon as this meeting was over. What was the point in her even being here? And why didn't Galadriel just use her mirror in the first place? Come to think of it, she should have predicted this meeting long ago, so why had she sent Sara here?

Elrond looked around at the gathering, Sara noticed that he was looking at her, but as soon as she met his eye, he looked away again. She frowned. This was getting weird.

"We have only one choice… the ring must be destroyed."

A dwarf grabbed his axe and stood up out of his chair, looking at the ring. "Well, what are we waiting for?" He then gave a loud shout as he swung his axe down in an attempt to destroy the ring. Sara flinched as the dwarf's weapon shattered against the ring and shards of his axe went flying everywhere. The dwarf flew backwards to the ground.

/Stupid dwarf, he had it coming. It was his own fault/

"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin by any craft that we here possess. The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came… one of you must do this," Elrond's small speech was followed by a overpowering silence.

/Well, don't all jump at once/ 

"One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its black gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. And the great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland. Riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly!" The man that spoke out against Aragorn had said this. Sara scowled. There was no need to put such a dampener on things. He was beginning to annoy her now. She closed her eyes.

/What's that stupid man's name? / she asked. There was a short silence.

//Boromir//

Sara's eyes narrowed at him. Legolas stood up again. What was he, a yoyo or something?

"Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said? The Ring must be destroyed!"

Boromir rose out of his seat as well. "And if we fail, what then? What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?"

"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an elf!" Gimli spat.

It was pandemonium. All the elves, including Sara, jumped up out of their seats and began shouting at Gimli. How dare a dwarf insult them!

"Just wait 'till I get my hands on you, you little… fat, hairy…" Sara swallowed her words and Legolas tried to stop the elves from pouncing on the small dwarf that had upset them. Gimli shouted something else about never trusting an elf; and this irked Sara up even more, not to mention the rest of the Mirkwood elves that were also at the council. Sara heard something and she froze to the spot, slowly pivoting around from where she stood. The elves still argued amongst themselves and she saw the little hairy boy, called Frodo, watching the ring intently. Sara listened to what he was thinking, but for some reason, she couldn't hear him.

Gandalf shouted something in attempt to quell the argument, but it was all in vain as they continued to biker and squabble amongst themselves. Sara wasn't even paying attention anymore. She was still gazing at Frodo with concern, when he stood up.

"I will take it!" he shouted over the noise. He repeated himself even louder when he realised nobody had heard him. "I will take the Ring to Mordor. Though… I do not know the way."

Gandalf stepped out from besides her and put his hand on Frodo's shoulder in a fatherly way. "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, so long as it is yours to bear."

"If by my life or death, I can protect you, I will," Sara closed her eyes. Why had Aragorn volunteered? He had Arwen; he wasn't going to leave her to go on this journey, was he? It was suicide! He kneeled before Frodo. "You have my sword."

"And you have my bow," Legolas walked over to Frodo's side.

"And my axe!"

As Gimli said this, he exchanged a very dark look with Legolas. Sara smirked. A small dwarf with a big pride. What a bad combination.

"You carry the fates of us all little one. If this is indeed the will of the council, then Gondor will see it done," Boromir walked over to Frodo slowly.

//Go! Quickly, speak up and reveal your identity. You must help Frodo…//

/Erm… no. Don't be stupid./

Sara felt a sharp slap inside her head. Damn, she hated when Galadriel did that. She didn't have to be anywhere near her to hurt Sara.

//Do it now! Sara, I am being sincere wanting you to go up and offer Frodo your-//

/My what? Sewing needle? Mother, I am not as skilled in fighting as the Prince of Mirkwood or Aragorn. I will be killed!/ 

//I command you to go now!//

Sara was almost shoved roughly forwards by an invisible force and all eyes were on her. She grinned a little nervously. At least her hood hadn't fallen down. But what should she do now? What could she offer Frodo for protection? She had a lot of wisdom… but was she brave enough? Wisdom isn't everything, but courage was, and at the moment, it was what she was lacking. She had to do something; everyone was staring at her still.

She coughed and deepened her voice slightly.

"And you have my…" she thought for a second, "Knives."

Damn. She had to do it now. What had she gotten herself into? Of all the stupid things she'd ever done, dressing up as a man and offering to destroy all evil had to top the lot of them. Sara stood by Frodo, and Elrond nodded at her and smiled slightly. So he approved of this too, huh? She shot a glare at Elrond, whom strangely enough, grimaced as if he could feel it from under her cloak.

A rustling from her right caught her attention and she saw another fat and hairy hobbit run out into the middle of the council. Sara grinned and took a glance at Elrond's face. To her discontent, he looked slightly amused. Why is everybody trying to keep the peace? You'd think that by now there would have been at least one fight.

"Heh! Mr. Frodo is not goin' anywhere without me!"

Sara grinned and closed her eyes, looking into the hobbit's mind.

Very good intentions, he had a pure heart. Sam…

She shook her head and blinked as Elrond's voice spoke out and disturbed her thoughts. "No indeed, it is hardly possible to separate you even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not."

Two more people ran out from behind a pillar.

"Wait! We are coming too!"

One spoke excitedly. "You'd have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!"

"Anyway you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission, quest... thing," the other hobbit nodded his head as if he were an expert in this sort of thing.

"Well that rules you out Pip."

Pippin…

Elrond took a deep breath. "Ten companions... So be it! You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!"

Sara glowed with pride at the name and looked at the rest of the Fellowship. However the moment was ruined.

"Great! Where are we going?" Merry and Frodo stared at Pippin.

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The light breeze tousled Sara's waist length hair and she leaned against the railing that overlooked the magnificent gardens and views that Rivendell had to offer. She couldn't deny that this place was breathtaking; it just reminded her of her youth. Not that she minded, it just made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Her blue and brown stare settled upon two mortal men strolling along the garden pathways, having a discussion about something. One of them looked up at her and she blushed and averted her gaze, embarrassed at the fact that they had caught her looking at them. She looked down at the ground that was far below her.

"Exquisite, isn't it?"

Sara jumped and screamed loudly, nearly falling off the edge of the balcony. She would have done if it weren't for two strong arms grabbing her around the waist and stopping her from falling to her death.

When she recovered she opened her eyes and looked around. She noted that she was on the floor with someone on top of her, and that anybody within a ten-mile radius was looking at her, startled. She smiled shakily and told them she was okay. Sara was glad when they all walked away, leaving her alone. 

However, she was definitely not okay.

In fact, somebody was currently crushing her. She sucked in some much needed air and tried to identify who it was that was on top of her. When she saw who it was she growled.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, glaring up at him with hatred.  

Haldir smirked. "Oh, this is the thank you I get for saving your life?" 

Sara scrunched up her nose with distaste. "Well, if it wasn't for you, then I wouldn't have fallen off the edge of the railing!"

Haldir just raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, can you get off me now? I'm being a bit crushed…"

Haldir pondered this for a moment. "Hmm… no."

Sara's face reddened in anger and she frowned at him. It was getting slightly hard to breathe. Haldir straddled her stomach and sat on her, getting himself more comfortable whilst pinning her arms to her side.

She rolled her eyes and muttered something, quiet enough for Haldir not to hear it. He leaned closer to her.

"What was that?" he asked, a smirk still plastered on his handsome face. Sara's eyes widened.

/Okay, I did not just think that!/

"I'm waiting…"

"I said 'You utter spastic moron, I hate you'," Sara bit out, a nervous feeling building up in her stomach as she watched his face closely. Haldir's eyes sparkled slightly. He was up to something. Sara swallowed slightly, and she suddenly noted their proximity. Haldir leaned in closely.

"Hate is such a strong word to use," he whispered in her ear, his breath fanning out on her neck, making her skin there tingle. Sara's mouth went dry and she gulped.

Sara tried a different tactic. "Okay. Get off me. If you don't I will kick you where it hurts. No… erm… what would everybody think if they saw us like this?"

Haldir seemed to ponder this for a moment.

"Sara! There you are…" Sara winced as she saw Elladan slow to a halt as he spotted her and Haldir on the floor. Elladan raised his eyebrows. "I had no idea you two felt that way towards each other… should I leave you alone?"

Sara growled and this caused Elladan to laugh. Haldir snorted and got up from Sara's stomach. She was mortified. Why would Elladan, of all people, think that she would do anything with that…that… creep! He knew that they hated each other with a passion! Sara couldn't help but wonder why Haldir had changed so much just then. It wasn't usually like him to do that… he usually would lick her boots and beg for forgiveness from her, but something about him changed.

She shot an undignified look at Elladan. "Like I'd go anywhere near that moron!"

Haldir glared at her darkly and Elladan shrugged.

"Fine! Be that way! I'm going for a swim. Elladan, when you get your brain back, you know where I'll be!" she shot one last fierce look at Haldir before storming away.

So much for Elladan being her best friend. How could he even think that her and Haldir were… urgh. The thought made her physically sick. She had hated Haldir for so long now. People told her that she was being silly, but she either stuck her tongue out at them or just tutted, walking away.

Sara opened the door to her room and got changed into her swimming attire, still fuming about what had just happened. She shook herself and tied her hair up out of her face, slipping the robe she had on earlier and some shoes.

The place she was heading to had been discovered by her, Elladan and Elrohir when they were in their teens. It was a secluded, small lagoon with a miniature waterfall and a large, lofty rock that they used to dive off. Sara smiled to herself, remembering what they used to do as she walked down the long and windy paths that lead her to the deep pool of water.

She still couldn't believe what she'd gotten herself into. Maybe if she had a quiet word with Elrond then he'd let her stay… yes. She'd just tell him that it was all a big mistake, and she just wanted to go home to safety.

That's what she'd always do. Run for safety whenever she saw any trouble.

/Come on, Sara. When will you get the chance to go on an adventure like this again? Do it! Spice up your life a bit…/

Sara chewed her lip nervously. She had to go now. There was no other choice; she couldn't just let down everybody like that. It was unfair.

She nodded to herself and jumped into the cool refreshing water from the large rock that she had climbed.  

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Oooookay, that's chappie three for you all! Sorry the updates are so slow…

Haldir is slightly OOC in this fic… but that's how I like it. Elves can be sooooo boring sometimes so I thought "They can stuff it up their arses… I want them to be fun!"

Lol. So I've just adjusted a few things for to get it to my own liking… Sara will be following the fellowship- the film version. So, if you're fed up of those fics then I'd advise you to… read it anyway! ^_^ I'm just warning you in advance.

Well, review if you liked it…

Don't if you didn't…

Fank-oo!

Haldir: That means thank you in everybody else's language.

Me: Shuddup! *glares*