Angel

Chapter 22: Lothlórien

Authoress' Notes: Okay, this chapter is more by the book simply because I don't want to run to my DVD player every five minutes then click through scene selections forever to find what I want. REVIEWERS COME BAAAAAAACKKKK!!!!! *sniffle sniffle* (u.u)

            When Tersa next woke up, she was out in the fresh air again, but she ended up getting a nasty shock when she found she was sitting in the top of a tree, at night no less. However her yelp of fright did some good, as it let the rest of the fellowship know she was awake and gave Haldir, Orophin, and Rúmil a laugh.

            "Nice to see you're awake!" Pippin grinned. "We were just about to eat, you have good timing."

            "Why the bloody am I in a bloody tree!?!?!?!?!?!!!"

            "That is my fault, lady halfling." Haldir said. "You are in a talan, or flet as you may know it."

            "It's a platform up a tree to keep us from being killed on the ground!" Merry added cheerfully, munching away on some bread. "We get to fall to our deaths instead of being attacked and decapitated!"

            "Thank you for the enlightenment Merry." Tersa said, rolling her eyes. She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes. "We all made it out of Moria alive I'm guessing?"

            "Yesh." Frodo said from the dark corner he was curled up in, half asleep. "Go bother Sam for details, he's the one that's been worrying about you this whole time." He added with a yawn and went back to sleep.

            "Hm. Where is Sam anyway?" Tersa asked, looking around.

            "I'm here." Sam said with a little wave, not two feet away from her.

            "Oh! Sorry Sam, it's so dim I can't see much of anything except what's near the lantern." Tersa said. "How long have I been asleep?"

            "A few days." Sam answered

            "WHAT? How did I get here then?" Tersa asked.

            "Legolas was stuck carrying you most of the way." Merry laughed. "He says he's paid off his debt to you for saving Gandalf in full."

            "Hee. I'll have to thank him." Tersa grinned. "In the mean time, are there any other blankets over there and if there are, may I borrow one please?"

            "I'm afraid not, the other two that were in this talan are currently in use. I'm sorry." Haldir shrugged guiltily. "I did not know I would have seven people staying here tonight instead of the usual three, Rúmil and Orophin, my brothers, and myself."

            "Eh, it's alright." Tersa said, yawning. "Where's the rest of the fellowship?"

            "In another talan. Just go to sleep Ters." Sam said.

            "I need a pillow you know." Tersa said, looking off into the trees.

            Had Sam been an anime character he would have sweatdropped. "Fine, come use my shoulder as a pillow again if you want to." He sighed, blushing because of Merry and Pippin's attempts to keep from laughing that were NOT succeeding..

            "Hey! Shaddap over there!" Tersa said, throwing a nearby piece of wood at Pippin and Merry.

            After Merry and Pippin managed to calm down, Tersa scooted over to where Sam was, laid her head on his shoulder, and fell asleep.

            "Don't ask, it's along story." Merry said when he saw Haldir's puzzled expression. "Just don't ask."

            After quite a bit of walking, some of it blindfolded, they finally reached Galadhrim, the city in Lothlórien where they met Galadriel and Celeborn. After their welcome and getting very, very, paranoid from Galadriel whispering into their minds, they were herded off to where they'd be sleeping.

            "That was just creepy…" Tersa muttered to herself, taking off her vest and laying it on the bed.

            "What was?" Merry asked.

            "You mean she didn't hiss into your mind while she was talking?" Tersa said, confused. "So why did she-?"

            "You will know in time." Legolas said as he walked past.

            "Well, I'd like to know now!" Tersa replied impatiently.

            "You will know in time." Gandalf said.

            "Well, it was creepy! Gah…" Tersa fell backwards onto her bed with a sigh. "Between Balrogs and weird elven queens I'm surprised I'm not insane."

            "I would not suggest you insult Lady Galadriel while you are in this place. You are may end up paying for your words." Aragorn said.

            "I wasn't insulting her, being called weird by me is a complement." Tersa answered, looking up at the canopy over her bed. 'I wonder what other strange things will happen while we're here…'

            That night she got her answer.