Disclaimer: I do not own any of J.R.R. Tolkien's original characters. I do however own Julia so please do not steal her. Oh and the lyrics do not belong to me, they belong to Enya and her songwriters.

Author's Note: I am very aware of the fact that there are numerous fan fictions; countless in fact, that have used the script of LOTR in their stories. I will be using it off and on through out my story, as well as some of my own words. I'm going to try to stick to the story as close as possible, but the script cannot help being changed in some places. I see no other way around it considering it goes along with the deeper plot of my story.  So, I hope that you will bare with me and forgive me for making you read the same words you've most likely read a million times.

Megan- Thank you so much for correcting me. You would think that after reading all three books and my share of fan fictions that I would have remembered how to spell Rivendell lol.

GeneticallyElvenGryffindor-I'm very glad that you like what you've read so far. I hope you stick with me because it should be getting interesting fairly soon.

Lady_Knight19= I am so thrilled that you're enjoying my story.

SpiderSquirrel- Your wish is my command. I hope you enjoy the next chapter.

Chapter 3

      Julia spent the next few weeks adjusting to life as a female elf. Focusing her time on learning what was expected of her, which turned out to be not much. Her grandmother didn't want her to change who she was. So she spent a good deal of her time with Haldir going over her skills with a bow and sword. It felt like she was back in her childhood beginning the lessons he had agreed to teach her.

      She'd begun learning at a very young age and come quite near mastering its wondrous art, surprising Haldir greatly. It had taken him over a thousand years to master both skills and here he stood watching a girl that was barely a fraction of his age shoot a bow almost as well as he did.

      When it came to getting back into training, Julia moved back into the swing of things effortlessly. Haldir would throw different battle scenarios her way and each time she would come up with the perfect retaliation, passing his tests with flying colors.

      "I don't know why I bother to teach you anything. You are already on your way to surpassing me." Haldir complained, leaning on his bow and watching as her arrow hit its mark once again.

      Julia laughed and turned to him. "Oh come on. You're a wonderful teacher. I wouldn't be as good as I am if you haven't taught me everything you know."

      "Almost everything." He mumbled.

      "What was that?"

      He shook his head and straightened his back. "Nothing. It wasn't important."

      She retrieved yet another arrow from her quiver, sending it flying in almost a blink of an eye. She loved the sound it made as it flew through the air. It was a soft whistle that was almost inaudible unless you were truly listening for it. Of course she always did.

      Haldir suspected as much, watching the simple look of pure enjoyment upon her face. It was, in his opinion, what made her as different from most. It wasn't just the thrill of hitting her target, it was the entire act of retrieving an arrow and feeling the tension in her arm as she aimed, releasing when ready, and hearing the arrow sing in the air. She loved her gift and that allowed her to use it with out restrictions.

      Julia made a move as if to grab another arrow, but paused in mid-motion. The air had changed. The birds were quiet and it seemed as if the sun had dimmed. Even the smell was different. Dull and almost lifeless, as if a shadow had passed through the woods and every being in it was being affected by it's darkness.

     She turned to Haldir and saw that he too noticed a change. "Someone has entered the forest," He said turning towards her and giving her an apologetic look. "I'm afraid I have neglected my duties long enough. I must go meet our uninvited visitors."

      Julia nodded her head and gave him a questioning look. "Haldir, they bring evil with them. Can't you feel it?"

        He nodded his head. "I feel it, but it's is my duty to see to it. The lady of the woods will most likely want to speak with them."

       She frowned. "If grandmother wishes to see them then maybe they themselves are not truly evil. She would not risk endangering our lives. Would she?"

      Haldir gave her a weak smile. "We shall see." With that, he left her without a sound. She still hadn't gotten used to how quiet elves were. Even though in this world she was one of them, she had still not quite grasped the concept of effortless grace. No, she'd lived on regular Earth for too long and had developed quite a few of the human race's less endearing qualities. She still walked as if she were back in her world, but Julia was trying to change that. She would change that.

       Lowering her bow she sighed deeply, having lost the need to practice with her bow without Haldir by her side, she gave it up. Instead she decided it might be best to head in for the evening. Besides, if the uninvited guests were going to be arriving in the heart of Lothlorien then she had duties to take care of that she too had been neglecting.

     Swinging her bow behind her and attaching it to her back, Julia made her way towards the stairwell leading up to her living quarters, but was stopped before she could take the first step by one of the she-elves she had befriended upon her arrival to Lothlorien.

    "Good afternoon, Eáman.  Is there something wrong? You look even more pale than usual." Julia stepped towards her friend quickly and grasped her arm.

      "Nothing is wrong, my lady. I have been sent to get you. Your grandfather wishes for your presence in the thrown room. He requires your immediate attention." Her head bent forward and she refused to look Julia in the eye.  

      Though meeting her grandfather for one of their awkward visits was one of the last things she wanted to do, she did as she was told and made her way to the thrown room.

      It had become almost a weekly thing. Her grandfather would summon her and they would discuss elven literature, the history of Middle Earth, and he would test her on the knowledge of the elven language.

      Of course she knew that it was his way of trying to bond with her, but she dreaded each and every moment spent with him. It was the contempt she saw in his eyes. It was almost as if he were blaming her for something, but she didn't know what. She'd never done anything cruel or inappropriate. Or if she had, she'd been unaware of it.

      So nudging those thoughts to the side, she would go to the thrown room and she would sit with her grandfather. Not allowing him to see how much his lack of affection towards her truly bothered Julia's mind. She longed to see the same look of love and caring in his eyes that she saw in Galadriel's every time she spoke with her.

      As she reached the large room, she found her grandfather standing against the railing staring out into the dimmed forest.

      "Grandfather, you wished to see me?" She spoke softly and pronounced her words very carefully as he was impatient about her usual way of speaking.

      "I did. Come, there is something we must discuss."  He motioned with his hand for her to sit down on the bench next to him.

      With her brow furrowed, she did as she was asked. "Is something wrong?"

      He met her eyes and the same look of detachment he always gave her. "We shall be entertaining visitors on this night and it would be in your best interest not to attend the nights festivities."

      "Why? Have I done something offensive to you or anyone else here?"

      He shook his head in dismissal of her words. "It is my wish that you remain hidden from their eyes. I will not handle their questioning stares at your presence."

       "I don't understand, Grandfather. Why should I not meet and greet our guests as well?"  Her eyes held her confusion and she struggled not to jump to conclusions about his reasoning.

      "Because I request it to be so." His voice rose slightly and his eyes flashed a quick anger, making it known that she was on dangerous ground.  "Do not question me further. Just do as I say. Stay in your quarters until our guests depart. I do not want you near them."

       Giving up her fight of not wanting to be hasty in her judgment, she finally felt she understood in that moment what he was saying without using words. He was ashamed of her and didn't want to explain her presence in his forest. He would rather accept perfect strangers into his home and welcome them with open arms than accept his own granddaughter. His own blood.

      Her eyes glistened in a brief moment of weakness, but she soon willed the tears away and ceased the trembling of her lips. "If you wish it so, I will remain out of their sight." She stood and proudly walked away from him, only stopping at the foot of the stairs and turning to look at him once more. He had already turned away as if forgetting she had even been there.

      With an inaudible sigh, she left the room. She needed fresh air and time to be alone with her thoughts. Time to get her fluctuating emotions under control. There would be time to cry over her aching heart, but now was not that time. Julia had to maintain the dignified qualities of a granddaughter of two of the most powerful Elves in Middle Earth.

      She made it quickly to the ground and walked without a particular destination in mind. She only wished to find a little bit of peace. A little bit of strength to get her through the rest of the day.

      The time passed slowly for her and her thoughts constantly remained on her Grandfather, though she tried her best to let it go. It was now near dark and she knew it wouldn't be long before their guests would arrive. If she was to make it back to her room, she would need to leave soon, but she couldn't tear herself away from the spot where she now stood.

      Julia could see the horizon and the evening sun was beginning its descent. It's brightness causing the sky to turn those vibrant colors of pink and red she loved so very much. She watched almost in mourning of another day passing. A day, which, could almost seem like a waste of precious time to any mortal being. For her it was something to regret. Not because there would not be many days ahead, because for her there would be, but she still hated the thought of ending the day in such a way.

      She could think of only one way to sooth her mind. The music she had forsaken since arriving in Middle Earth was now her saving grace. She needed it's healing power and she could have sighed in pleasure as the words came to mind and she began to sing.

Suddenly before my eyes
Hues of indigo arise
With them how my spirit sighs
Paint the sky with stars

Only night will ever know
Why the heavens never show
All the dreams there are to know
Paint the sky with stars

Who has paced the midnight sky?
So a spirit has to fly
As the heavens seem so far
Now who will paint the midnight star?

Night has brought to those who sleep
Only dreams they cannot keep
I have legends in the deep
Paint the sky with stars

Who has paced the midnight sky?
So a spirit has to fly
As the heavens seem so far
Now who will paint the midnight star?

Place a name upon the night
One to set your heart alight
And to make the darkness bright
Paint the sky with stars.

Paint the sky-  By Enya

       Her song traveled through out Lothlorien, elves all over the great city in the trees stopped what they were doing and listened to her hypnotic voice. But, even more so, the group of eight that was being escorted to the lady of the woods stopped in their tracks and listened.

      "Who is that? Is it her?" The visiting elf asked his eyes searched high up in the trees as if hoping to catch a glimpse of the voice's owner.

      Haldir smiled and shook his head. "No, Legolas. The voice you hear belongs to someone entirely different, but she is no less enthralling than her grandmother."

      "Her grandmother?" Aragorn repeated with a frown. "Are we to believe she is the grandchild of the Lord and Lady of the wood?"

      "You may believe whatever you wish."

      Aragorn was not satisfied with the answer, but chose to leave it for the moment as they continued on, drawing closer and closer to that evening's destination. He dreaded giving Lady Galadriel the news of Gandalf's death, but it could not be helped. Perhaps she would know what they should do now that he was gone.

       Legolas' mind was in an entirely different place, however. He was still thinking about the voice they had just heard. He wondered if anyone else in the group had noticed how much pain was laced in with it's lyrics.  He did. Whoever the female elf was singing that song, she was mourning something that was missing in her life. Every word sung was filled with the purest emotion that he had ever heard.

      "Legolas, what is it?" Aragorn asked, seeing the look of trouble in his friend's face.

       "It is nothing. I just can not stop thinking about the song." He sighed and gave his head a quick shake. "It is of no matter. Let us hurry on with our journey." He said, quickening his pace. And leaving Aragorn with a single lingering thought in his mind. Perhaps she was just as enthralling as her grandmother as to have spellbound an elf such as Legolas.  It was definitely going to be an interesting night.