The Wrong One

By Nefhiriel

A/N: I've been received several complaints about my evilness last chapter. Well, this time I'm NOT apologizing! I'm going to shift the blame! It's not my fault! It's theirs! (points accusingly at Cassia and Sio) Honestly! I didn't even know what a cliffie WAS before I read their stories. Just look at my previous works: all nice, sweet, short and completely cliffie-free stories. Then I got into the MC, and just look what happened! They've created a cliffie addict! So, you see, I can't really be held accountable for my actions, as I was under the influence of the MC at the time. Of course, none of this is to say that I've in any way repented of my past actions. In fact, if anything, I am now more set in my evil ways than ever!

Anyways, by now, no doubt, most of you have already guessed who is behind all of the trouble. I am the first to admit that I am NO mystery writer (sighs). Oh well, as I've said before, the mystery is only a VERY small part of the story, so you'll not have to put up with my pitiful attempt at the suspenseful : )

Here's a nice long chapter (at least for me! : b ) to reward you for your patience with a cliffie-obsessed author : )

See first chapter for disclaimer. Reviewer responses at end of chapter.

- Dedicated to Cassia and Siobhan, two amazing and inspiring authors. I can only pray I have an ounce of their kind of talent – or their ability to drive people crazy with cliffies : ) -

Chapter 6: Without a Trace

Elrohir's eyes followed Elladan as he paced back and forth. After over a half-hour of questioning the boy, guards had been sent to bring in the 'real' murderer. It turned out Curuar was innocent of any murderous intent, he had merely been an ignorant follower, but it still made Elladan writhe to think how stupid Curuar had to have been. What had he been thinking? When asked to put powder into someone's glass, this 'boy' had done it without a second thought as to what that powder might be? His lack of common sense had blinded his brother and could very easily have killed both him and Elrohir.

It had only been ten minutes, but it felt like hours since the guards had left. Finally Legolas couldn't stand to watch Elladan make one more circuit of the room.

"Let's go out into the garden and find Aragorn." he stood up, "He doesn't know about any of this yet."

Grateful for a distraction, the twins eagerly followed him out into the cool afternoon air. Elrohir looked up at the sky.

"Looks like it's going to rain."

"Good! That should cool things down a little." his brother replied, trying to find something good in a day that, so far, had brought nothing but trouble.

His words proved prophetic, for as they saw the first raindrops hitting the pavement, they could feel the temperature begin to drop. The dark gray sky foreboded a great deal more rain to come. They searched the gardens but there was no sign of Aragorn. The rain began to grow heavier.

"He's probably inside by now." Elladan said, heading for the house as a flash of lightning lit up the sky.

They got inside just as the rain started to pour down in earnest. Not finding him in his own room, the library, or either of the twins' rooms, the three of them split up and began to methodically go over the house. Legolas reached the study where Elrond was still sitting, trying to puzzle through their latest information.

"Lord Elrond, we can't find Estel anywhere!"

Frantically the word spread through Rivendell and every room was thoroughly inspected, but Estel, along with the murderer, had disappeared.

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Half an hour earlier...

Aragorn held perfectly still as a second pair of footsteps approached.

"Hurry!" the first voice commanded, "Tie his hands and gag him."

His hands were roughly jerked forward and tightly secured, then a gag was stuffed into his mouth and tied in back. The dagger was removed from his throat and he struggled as he felt himself being dragged towards the gate. Despite his efforts he was soon outside the garden, where he could hear the restless movements of horses. New desperation seized him and he struggled even more determinedly. A well aimed punch to his midsection made him double over and he felt both pairs of hands lifting him up onto the back of a horse. Grasping the horn of the saddle with his bound hands, he steadied himself.

The animal beneath him began to move and he felt a raindrop splash against his face as his captors led him towards the woods.

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Elladan, Legolas, and Elrohir were the first to reach the stables. Each mounting their horses in seconds, grateful that, as elves, they needed neither saddle nor bridle. Glorfindel and Glamdil were just behind them, following swiftly and silently. The rain had ceased for the moment, but the sky was still dangerously dark.

Moranuen had volunteered to accompany them, but Elrond asked him to remain and guard Curuar. Despite the anxiety gnawing at him, Elrond smiled slightly in pity at the mortified look on elf's face. Curuar wasn't much of a charge. Since his crime had been revealed, he had done nothing but sit frozen on a chair in the corner of the room. Mora sunk into his own chair and looked longingly at the door as his friends rode out the back gate.

Elladan and Legolas rode in front, peering down at the footprints they had discovered on their second search of the garden. They were slightly washed out from the short rainfall, but still discernable, leading out through the small gate. They could clearly see Estel's and could guess who at least one of the other pairs of prints belonged to.

The five of them rode quickly in a grim and determined silence. Their worry grew as the storm clouds turned darker and small rain drops again commenced to fall. Soon the only light they had to see the tracks was from the soft glow they themselves emitted. Their panic mounted as the raindrops increased in size and frequency. It grew steadier, and they pulled their hoods forward, but the water still soaked through. That, however, was the least of their concerns. The rain was pouring through the woods, dripping off the trees, and erasing the trail of prints.

Refusing to admit defeat, the twins and Legolas dismounted and scanned the eroding ground for any signs.

"We must turn back!" Glorfindel called, his voice nearly swept away by the wind and rain.

"No! We can't turn back! Not yet!" Legolas called back just as urgently.

Glorfindel closed his eyes and felt the rain run in rivulets down his face. He looked sadly at Glamdil who returned his glance with an equally sorrowful expression. Glamdil hung his head, letting the rain drip off the front of his hood, as he listened to Glorfindel's next words. They were necessary, but that didn't lessen their sting.

"It is hopeless to go on in this weather! We will do Estel no good if we get ourselves lost." he had to raise his voice to be heard. "We must turn back!"

Like three statues, they stood in the downpour, rain soaking through each layer of their clothes. They pulled their hoods back and tried desperately to pierce the sheets of water streaming around them. All they got for their labors was more water, flowing down their hair and faces.

Glorfindel and Glamdil waited patiently. Dejectedly, the three younger elves gave up their fight against the elements and remounted their horses.

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Elrond gazed sadly at the five of them through the window of his study as they reentered Rivendell. His instincts had warned him not to expect such an easy rescue, but nonetheless his heart refused to quit harboring the faint wish. It was Estel himself who had taught him to go against the grain, to believe that the unlikely could happen, to hope for the hopeless cause.

Numbly, the elves went to their rooms to change into dry clothes. Elrond went to the Hall of Fire, where, drawn by a universal need for companionship, his sons and Legolas soon joined him by the fire. Unusually, it was Elrohir who spoke first.

"We've failed him." he said in a hushed voice, choked with misery.

At first no one seemed to have an answer. How could any of them tell him not to say such things when they were all suffering under the same feeling?

"We must not give up." Elrond spoke even more quietly, "Estel wouldn't want us sitting around like this, thinking of reasons we are to blame. I know it may be hard to believe, but none of us is ultimately guilty for this. You did your best. You are the best brothers Estel could have he would tell you that if he could. And you, Legolas, are as good a friend as he could ever wish for."

They heard his words in silence. If they couldn't quite accept them in their hearts, at least they made no outward objections. Silence descended once more in the Hall on Fire, as each elf retreated into his own thoughts and fears.

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It had probably been almost two hours, but Aragorn couldn't tell for sure. He had given up the fruitless quest of trying to remember which ways the horse turned. They must have changed directions a couple dozen times. One of the men had removed the gag and untied his arms after about an hour of riding. Deciding, apparently, that they were well out of hearing of anyone from Rivendell and that two of them were more than sufficient to watch one blind prisoner.

He tried to fight the urge to doze off, but the monotonous hoof beats kept lulling him to sleep. In an attempt stay awake he listened carefully to the voices in front of him, gathering any information he could. He listened as a deep voice spoke up.

"We're almost there, just another quarter of an hour or so." Acharndil's strong voice was easily heard over the slowing rain.

"Yes, but then what're we supposed to do with this fellow?" the contrast of the second man's voice to Acharndil's was drastic. Acharndil's was deep and even, this man's was undulating, thick at times and suddenly would end on a high, almost whiny note. "I thought we was after the elves, those two matching ones you're always talking about."

"We are." obviously Acharndil didn't feel the need to elaborate.

The other man didn't give up. It was as if he knew he was in his leader's good graces, and it was unlikely that anything he did would change their relationship.

"Then why're we worrying about this blind human?"

"Because, Dagron, I found out a few things during my stay in Rivendell. This 'blind human' may be the key to everything." apparently neither of them cared whether Aragorn heard them talking about his fate or not. "You can accomplish revenge in many ways, immediate death leaves no time for them to regret or feel pain. And sometimes the worst kind of pain is not physical..."

"I still don't see what the human has to with this."

"Oh, but you will. This human will be our link, our way to break their hearts like they broke mine. He'll be our way to make them suffer, suffer like I have all theses years. You see, he is their adopted brother, their 'little' brother. The more pain we case him the more pain we cause them."

Understanding dawned upon the other man, he nodded up and down and chuckled. Aragorn couldn't see his movements but his next words made him shudder. Dagron was all too clear about what his intentions were.

"In that case you can rest assured, those elves of yours will get all the pain you want. If this human's suffering is worse than their own, than they're gonna' be havin' a few hard days ahead of them!"

"These elves can be proud, but I am determined to have these two pay."

"Don't you worry, we'll have these proud elf lords on their knees." Dagron laughed even harder, "You'll have your revenge all right, and I'll have the pleasure of helping you."

Acharndil only grunted at the man's idiotic impudence, something which Dagron seemed completely unaware of as he continued laughing and chattering about how he was going to "help" his leader.

Aragorn's mind froze with horror. They were all to obviously talking about Elladan and Elrohir. What could they have possibly done that this man carried such a grudge against them? He wasn't about to sit around and be used as a tool to inflict pain on his family.

Great, now just how am I going to get away? I'm blind, I have no clue were I am, and don't even know if this horse is from Rivendell or not.

He knew that horse very well might not be from Rivendell, but he would just have to take the chance and pray this horse's instincts would bring him toward Rivendell.

He only half listened as Dagron continued to make coarse jests about bringing the young elf lords down from off their lofty perches. The man boasted proudly that they would "have them begging before the week was out" – not if he had any say in the matter.

Slowly he reached out and took hold of the reigns, gently nudging the horse back. Then with a quick right pull on the reigns he dug his heels into the horse's flank. The sudden jerk pulled the lead rope out of Dagron's hand, leaving him free to make his escape. He heard the exclamations of his former captors as they spun their own horses around and sped after him.

It was one of the most frightening rides of his life: racing, literally blindly, through unknown woods. He would have given much to have had a more familiar, trusted, horse under him at that moment. Right now his very life, and that of his brothers, depended upon this strange horse.

He heard hoof beats coming up on both sides. Once more he dug his heels into the horse's flank, feeling an instant surge of energy in response. He turned his head as the sounds on his right grew louder. Suddenly, he felt a sharp crack as a tree branch connected with his skull, then he fell to the ground. Even through the pounding pain in his head, he made a deperate effort to sit up.

Elladan, Elrohir...I have to...

His thoughts whirled desperately as rough hands grabbed him, pinning him to the ground to prevent him from causing any more trouble.

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"But Ada!"

"Lord Elrond, please..."

"We can't just sit here!"

All three of the elves were begging Elrond to let them go after Estel. It had already been a number of hours and still the rain hadn't abated.

Elrond closed his eyes and sadly shook his head.

"You know I would go after Estel even if it meant risking my life, but it is foolishness to leave now. It is growing dark and the rain has already obscured any trail that might have been left."

"I can't bear to think of Estel in the hands of that fuigwar! (filth)" Legolas spat the last word out angrily.

"I don't think any of us can, Legolas." Elrond wearily rubbed his forehead, "Just remember, it won't help Estel if we loose our heads and let our emotions guide us."

"Estel needs us now!" Elladan looked longingly out the window. "Have you forgotten that he's blind?! Have you forgotten that he can't see to find his way back even if he did manage to escape?!" he immediately regretted his heated words, "I'm sorry Ada, I didn't mean to..."

"We all love Estel, ion-nín, and we all want to find him just as badly as you do. But for now, all we can do is wait this storm out."

The rain continued to stream past the window in endless torrents. The four young elves tried to busy themselves with anything that would keep their minds from thinking about what might be happening to Aragorn.

Legolas finally left to go to his room. He couldn't stand sitting there anymore, watching as everyone made pretences of reading. Out in the hall he found Dolenil striding back and forth, hands clasped behind his back. Legolas greeted the other elf, who looked up as he approached.

"Dolenil, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing, hir-nín. (my lord)" He acted rather flustered. "At least nothing of interest..." when his prince still said nothing he went on, "Hir-nín, forgive me for asking, but are you feeling all right?"

"Oh I'm fine, Dolenil." Legolas could see that unasked questions were just on the tip of his tongue. "Something is bothering you?"

"All of Imladris is in mourning for that ranger, you are as well. What is it about this human that causes elves such grief?"

"Oh Dolenil, you sound just as I did, just a few years ago." Legolas sighed, "I have learned many things from this 'ranger' this 'human'. I have probably learned much more from him than he ever learned from me." he smiled, "Strange, how a human, barely over twenty, can teach a two-thousand-year-old elf so many things..."

"But humans have done so much harm, they hurt you—they hurt all of us—so badly."

"Yes, humans have. But, just because some humans are cruel, should that prove to us that all humans are cruel? There have been cruel elves, does that make you cruel? Or me?"

"Of course not hir-nín! It's just that—"

"Humans are somehow different?" Legolas put his hand on his shoulder. "Dolenil, if you decide to block out humans simply because you have heard of evil in their race, I can not help you. But let me tell you this: you will miss a great many true friends if you do. Estel has become even more than mellon-nín (my friend), he has become gwador-nín (my sworn brother). Even in the short time I've known him, Estel has grown to be one of the best friends I've ever known. Perhaps the best."

"I'm sorry, hir-nin, I just don't understand."

"Perhaps not yet. But please, give the race of men a chance."

"I will hir-nín."

Legolas rolled his eyes, partially in annoyance and partially in amusement as Dolenil refused to drop the ever-present title that seemed to habitually turn up in his every sentence.

"Please, please, not so many 'my lord's'! You make me feel like some stuck-up princeling."

"I'm sorry hir—Prince—ah..."

"'Legolas' would do just fine."

"Very well... Legolas." he stumbled awkwardly over the new epithet. Saying his liege lord's name so casually felt sacrilegious.

Legolas only laughed.

"No need to look so guilty. I can assure you, my father isn't about to pop out of the woodwork and order your arrest. If he does happen to appear, I promise not to let him drag you away. I'll tell him I ordered you to do it."

Dolenil grinned and played along, albeit rather stiffly .

"Thank you for your protection. The thought of a millennia in prison, or more likely a swift execution, was not boding well with me, I must confess."

Even as they laughed again, Dolenil saw that worry was still very eminent in Legolas.

"Lord Elrond and his sons are just as anxious to find him as you. They will find him."

For Legolas's sake Dolenil wished that the human might be found. He didn't know the him, but his Prince clearly felt deeply about him. Dolenil found himself not so much concerned or caring for the human as curious and interested. Who was this ranger that he had so completely captured his Prince's friendship and loyalty? What human could have endeared himself to so many elves? He was just as determined as any of them, now, that he be found—if for no other reason than to save Legolas from pain. It frightened him to see the amount of anguish in his lord's eyes, and to think of what it would do to Legolas if the ranger died.

"I hope you're right Dolenil. I hope you're right, for all our sakes."

Making it to his room, Legolas sat down. But before long he was back on his feet, pacing the room, wondering about his friend's fate.

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Refusing to give in to unconsciousness, Aragorn closed his eyes and didn't reopen them until the pain in his head had subsided into a tolerable ache. Not that having his eyes closed made that much of a difference.

The ropes that had so recently been so recently taken off him were produced and his hands were firmly tied behind his back. Aragorn smiled faintly as he heard Dagron use a string of profanities he'd never heard before. Knowing he'd been enough of an inconvenience to make his captor swear was small recompense for not having succeeded, but it was something. A kick to his ribs soon wiped the smile from his face.

"What're you smilin' about?" Dagron growled, his anger making his speech even less refined than usual. He grabbed him by his arms, pulling him to his feet. He took a second rope and tied it around his neck. "Thanks to you, we've lost the bloody 'orse!" he secured the rope to his saddle with an angry jerk. "So now, you can just walk—and walk fast—to make up for it!" back in the saddle, he continued to mumble, more to himself than anyone else. "Good thing I 'ad him riding the old nag instead of one of these beauties." he patted his horse. "The nag will only go back to the village. Now either one of these two 'ere would be half way back to that a-a Revendall."

"It's R-i-v-e-n-d-e-l-l." Aragorn knew what his impudence could earn him, but he was starting to get the feeling that diplomacy wasn't going to affect his fate too much—he did not appear to be in for a pleasant trip.

His guess as to the reception his words would have was right. If he could have seen Dagron at that moment, what he would have see was a red-faced man boiling with the urge to strangle.

"Not now Dagron."

"But..."

"Honestly Dagron! If you were not my only living relative..." Acharndil sighed, "Be patient, you will have plenty of fun with him later."

Acharndil's words satiated Dagron—for the moment.

Even with the use of his eyes, it would have been awkward for Aragorn to walk the way he was tied. Not being able to see where he was going made thing far worse. Most of the time his quick reflexes saved him from falling when he tripped, but the occasional rock or projecting root would catch him off guard. His falls were always greeted by Dagron's mocking laughter.

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The long and weary journey came to an end at last, and he was forced to follow as Dagron took the rope and led him forward. There were noises up ahead: the sounds of crackling fires and laughing men, eating, talking and, Aragorn guessed, drinking as well.

Soon he was right in the middle of all the noises, only the noises had turned to open talk about him. He began to feel distinctly claustrophobic as he felt the suffocating pressure of bodies closing in around him. He heard Dagron's voice, boasting about how he had single-handedly recaptured him. Dagron proudly talked and displayed him, acting like an arrogant child, showing off his newest toy. Aragorn closed his eyes and refused to acknowledge the humiliation.

He didn't have time to suppress a cry of surprised pain as a fist unexpectedly connected with the side of his head.

To Be Continued...

Reviewer responses:

sielge: Well, now we do know who's been behind all of this! I'm so glad you liked the last chapter, Imbecamiel and I worked hard on it. Yep, poor, blind Estel has not gotten himself kidnapped – poor guy, the things I do to him ; ) Thanks for reviewing!

Mornflower: Boy, "mysterious bad dude" sure sounds bright: "nu-uh" . LOL. You are extremely funny, as always : ) Oh yeah and : "you have a right to an attorney...or two little hobbit sized people..." (snort) That was sooo funny! Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for Acharndil, there where no convenient police officers lounging around waiting to arrest any "suspicious bad guys with dangerous looking sharp objects" who threaten to harm our beloved ranger : ) Your not confusing, you just have an "eccentriginal" (that would be eccentric and original : ) way of expressing yourself! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter – thanks for reviewing!

polingly: The BEST chapter yet?! YAY!!! It's good to know that I'm improving, rather than getting worse as the story progresses : ) About Legolas forgetting that Aragorn was blind...(blushes) Actually, that's because I kept forgetting that he was blind! I would write a WONDERFUL scene, and be so pleased with myself, and then Imbecamiel would come and ruin it for me "um, Nefhiriel, isn't he SUPPOSED to be blind? How could he possibly..." (sigh) Then I would have to rewrite the whole section... In the end, I figured that since I was forgetting Legolas would probably have trouble too remembering too, so I just changed it a little bit. I'm glad you liked the twins: there's going to be a LOT more of them : ) Yeah, we've read a little Dorthy Sayers too, though I still prefer Sherlock Holmes. My whole family really likes to listen to books on tape, and we love mysteries, so we often get mysteries from the library to listen to in the car. Have you ever heard of the Brother Cadfael stories (they're by Ellis Peters)? They're really fascinating medieval mysteries, with very endearing characters. So, being the mystery lover that you are, did you guess Acharndil? He is the most obvious suspect, I admit : b NOTHING to improve upon?! Since it's such an important chapter (it's kind of the turning point in the story), I'm really happy to hear that you think it turned out so well! Still - NOTHING! Wow... Yes, Detective Polly, your intuition has not led you astray! There IS lots more in store for all these unfortunate characters...(rubs hands and chuckles evilly) Namarië, gwathel-nín esse Ilúlvatar! Hannon le!

HarryEstel: If you think Aragorn is in trouble now... Let's just say I enjoy writing angst (grins evilly). Thanks so much for the review, glad you liked the chapter!

jacquelinestel: OH! I want an Aragorn bubble machine!!! You won't sell him to me? Not even for a hundred bucks?! (sticks out tongue) And I was so set on it... Legolas is a VERY good salesman! He really had me hooked there! "Add this scruffy ranger and his miraculous bubbling mouth to your favorite room's decor for only five easy payments of $19.99! That's a $20 value for five easy payments of $19.99!" (snort) Hehehe... What you said about going to your shrink reminded my of my own trip to a psychologist ( I really DID go to one!). He was evaluating me for ADD, and I had to take LOTS of tests and stuff. While he was looking over the results, he kept muttering things like "Interesting. I've never seen anything quite like this... This will be a real learning experience for me. Very interesting. I'll have to keep an eye on this one..." I am NOT kidding! I've got my Mom and Imbecamiel as witnesses! Everyone else on here likes to joke about being strange and confusing shrinks – I'm one of the very few who actually have PROOF! We never found out for sure what IS the matter with me : ) So I REALLY am a little strange...(I have to professional word of a psychologist!) Great, now I'm going to scare all my readers away... : b I suppose you all thought I was joking when I said I was weird : ) Anyways, sorry for rambling (insane people tend to do that, you know...)! I'm glad you think that this being the beginning of the story sounded "ominously delightful" : ) I hope I don't disappoint! Thank you for your review!

elvingirl3737: AHA! My first DEATH THREAT! I really am going up in the world! I have reached a memorable day in my writing career... I'm so glad you're mad at me! (grins) I'm glad you liked the banter between El and El, I enjoy writing that sort of thing, so there'll be lots more. It's really a landmark in the writing career of a fanfiction author when they receive their first death threat, LOL. Well, thank you for your...um....lovely...um...kind...um...threatening...review : ) I'm off to glow a little more!

Drylith: (points proudly at the beautiful prize she won for 'best cliffy') Hehehe... I'm glad I was able to surprise you by throwing in Curuar. I thought I might startle a few people with his sudden introduction : ) Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reviewing!

viggomaniac: You think I'm going to do something to Estel?! Now why would I do a thing like that? (whistles innocently) OK, OK! Yes, of course I'm going to feed your optimistic hope and give you angst! What kind of an author would I be if I withheld that precious commodity from one who so obviously needs it? But you know, I'm having second thoughts, here... Do you actually have a PERSCRIPTION for "Aragorn angst"? I would like to see something in writing from your doctor, I would so hate to be feeding addictions... : ) I'm glad you liked my evil ending, LOL. Thanks for the review!

Luthien: (pulls out well-worn copy of the 'Official Angst Writers' Manual' and begins to quote from page #5,592,467,190) "...and therefore it is necessary for all persons aspireing to attain and/or maintain great angst authorship to end a great percentage of their chapters in 'cliff-hangers', also commonly known as 'cliffies' ..." See? I may not be one of the "great" authors yet, but I'm working hard at imitating those elite who have achieved that goal already. Besides, as I said in the intro, it's Cassia and Sio's fault I even know what a cliffie is! Anyhow... Thanks so much for the review, I hope this update was soon enough, and that you enjoyed it!

Naesse: Well, believe it! (grins) Yes, yes, yes, I know I'm cruel : ) Thanks so much for the review, I hope this chapter was soon enough for you! (looks at last sentence and scratches head) What do you know, I'm a poet! LOL.

Anorwen06: Oh no!!! I hope you do well on your music theory test!!! If you have trouble, feel free to tell your teacher that it's all Nefhiriel's fault : ) They don't know where I live, so they can't come and get me, now can they? (grins) I'm just glad you stumbled upon my story! Ooo, so I satisfied another grammar stickler? (wipes forehead) Whew! I am very fortunate to have a sister like Imbecamiel, though I'm afraid that after her extraordinary services, I'll have a rather broad definition of what an editor's responsibilities are. Imbecamiel not only edits my story, but also helps me with titles, works out the logistics, keeps the facts straight, draws me quick sketches and maps when I confuse myself too much over where everyone's supposed to be and what direction they're going, types up author's notes ane review responses while I lie on the couch and dictate when my back hurts, e-mails people when I'm too busy, gets permission for me to use MC OCs (and while she's at it gets Cassia interested enough to read my story!), keeps up my self esteem when I'm having panic attacks about how bad I think my writing is, and when she's in a really good mood, washes the dishes so I can finish an important section that I'm busy with : ) She really is AMAZING!!! That line of Elladan's has always been one of my favorites too, LOL. I'm so glad the plot "flows" well! Haha – you like my author's notes (and apologetic notes : )! It's so good to hear that someone is actually reading them and thinking they're funny, sometimes I wonder if I'm just boring people : b (stares in disbelief) You didn't LIKE the end of my chapter?! I can't imagine why... (grin) Don't worry about taking up to much of my time – I've got all the time in the world... OK, so maybe not ALL the time in the world, but I absolutely LOVE having what time I do have taken up by such wonderful reviewers as yourself : ) I'm really sorry to hear about your wrist : b Sounds painful : ( Anyways...Sorry to ramble at you! (I'm afraid that I do tend to "pounce" on my reviewers and talk them to death ; ) Thanks soooo much for the review!

springfairy: Yes, the tension is mounting! I almost didn't get the chance to update today, but I decided I had to make room, since I'd left it on such a cliffie : b I'm glad you like Dolenil. I can't tell you exactaly what role he'll be playing, but he will be in this story for a good part of the time - so it's a good thing he's interesting! I'm glad that you think I'm still managing the banter between characters well. I really had fun writing the scene where they disscuss who the culprit might be - I'm glad you thought that worked out well too.What a lovely long review, thank you so much! Your compliments are very encouraging!

Kathira: Thank you so much for all of you compliments! (blushes) I must say I was very nervous about what kind of reception this story would get, since it's my first serious LOTR story. You were EXTREMELY encouraging! Thank you so, so much for reviewing!!!

A special thanks to apsenniel and Anorwen06 for adding me to their author alerts!

Oh, yes, I almost forgot! Thanks also to everyone who gave me such lovely death threats! They really helped me with my rough week. Of course they worried my mom a little bit (as did my delight at receiving them : ). I hope to have the next chapter up Tuesday or Wednesday. It'll be called "Lost Without Light".

- Nefhiriel

Vice President and Co-founder of the SNWCG, and member of the F.F.F.F.F