Azaelia wouldn't have moved had it not been for that hard push. They broke through to the sunlight where Ruby could see the tears streaming down Azaelia's cheeks.

"Why Gandalf? Of all of them…why him?" Azaelia sobbed as she walked, wanting to drop down on the ground, but at the same time trying to keep up with the rest of the fellowship.

Ruby kept her hand on Azaelia's shoulder, half holding her on her feet and half pushing her forward. She felt her own tears burn her eyes and chewed her lip, trying to hold them back. But come they did, in crystal streaks down both cheeks.

"I don't know why it had to be Gandalf, Zaelia. But it was...I just wish we had time to sit..." Maybe it was the lack of sleep, maybe it was the soreness of her feet, maybe it was a lot of things all at once, but now, more than ever, she felt angry. Angry at everything and everyone. Even angry with Azaelia, even though she understood and shared her pain, who wouldn't move fast enough for her.

Azaelia tried to walk at the pace Ruby wanted her to move at, but she just didn't have it in her. Finally, she wrenched her arm out of Ruby's grip and returned to her usual place behind her.

"Don't worry about me," she muttered dejectedly, "just go; I'll follow."

Ruby moved ahead of Azaelia, but caught her hand and held onto it, pulling her right along with her. The anger passed and now there was only guilt.

"I won't leave you behind, Zael."

After Gandalf's death, the two hobbits walked on in a daze, focusing only to check the distance between themselves and the fellowship. Days passed by before they noticed any change of scenery. Azaelia was the first to notice that they were walking on soft grass, just on the outskirts of a large forest…almost like the forests in the shire…

"Ruby, look, it looks almost like home-the grass and the trees…it's beautiful…"

Ruby stopped, bringing herself out of her own trance. She flexed her toes and smiled a bit. "It does, doesn't it?" But the smile was short lived. "But...it's not the shire, is it?" She started walking again, into a forest behind their fellowship.

Azaelia shook her head and muttered to herself. "No…I guess it isn't."

She walked into the forest behind Ruby, then gasped and pulled her back as the fellowship was encircled by elves.

Watching her fellowship get taken by a group of elves so shortly after loosing one of them to that horned beast caused Ruby's blood to boil. Before the elves were even out of sight, she was out of Azaelia's grasp, moving forward with her sword drawn.

"No way, I am not letting them out of my sights again! I refuse!"

Azaelia gasped again and Ruby heard a bow being drawn. "R-ruby…"

Ruby looked around her. Another Elven ambush. Holding her sword in front of her, she glared around.

"Oh no, you are not going to stop me..."

Azaelia looked at Ruby then closed her eyes. "Ruby, she says not to fear—they'll take care of us."

"Who says? Who?" What was Azaelia talking about? Was she hearing voices? Was the traveling really that hard on her?

"Quiet." said one of the elves, his eye and his arrow trained right to Ruby. "Come quietly. She has spoken it. You will come, whether by force or not."

Azaelia nodded. She grabbed her friend's hand and pulled her along. "You can put your sword away, they aren't going to hurt us…"

Ruby sheathed her sword, but did not remove her hand from its hilt. She said nothing, only watched as the circle of elves closed tightly about them. They couldn't even see where it was they were going.

By nightfall, the two hobbits had reached the most beautiful of cities. With a smile of love and pride, the elf that had spoken before said, "It is Lothlorien, and its queen, the Lady Galadriel, will be seeing you shortly."

Ruby turned her head toward Azaelia, but her eyes remained frozen on this city and their leading elf. "So what is your voice saying now?"

"I-it stopped a little ago, she said she must speak with the fellowship, but she assured me that we will be taken care of…"

Ruby frowned. "Fine."

As they ascended into the city, the sounds of life filled her ears. It really was a city, this bright dwelling in the trees. A real beauty to behold. Ruby truly wished she were visiting it under different circumstances. At any other time, it would have been a welcoming and wonderful sight.

When they reached the very top landing of the winding staircase up the tree, the elf man smiled at them. "She has asked that you wait here. I will be back when she requires you." He bowed a little and left.

Ruby looked about frantically, not understanding. Not comprehending. What on Middle Earth was going on! She sat down, there, on the floor, dropped her pack, her cloak, her sword, and buried her face in her hands, pressing her eyes with the heels of her palms. She felt so many words fill her mouth. So many unkind things were pressing against her clenched teeth, begging to be set free. But Ruby bit her tongue, refusing to yell and scream like she so badly wanted to. She just sat there, feeling terrible. She didn't know what about, she just felt it. That awful gut feeling she got so often lately that just stank with bad omens. Something was happening. Something something something. But what, she didn't know.

Time passed and the elf man came back. He waved a hand, gesturing for them to follow. Azaelia helped Ruby to stand and held tight to her hand. They could see where they were going. They could see who they were about to come face to face with. Ruby feared the confrontation. Her hand tightened around Azaelia's and she walked a little closer to her. Before them stood the fellowship, now eight in membership, and before them stood a woman of most exquisite beauty. She turned toward them, a small smile gracing her glowing face.

"Ah yes...I do believe you may recognize my other guests..." The woman, clearly Galadriel, spread her arm out and they were brought to stand beside the fellowship.

The looks on the tall half of the fellowship shot at them differed heavily from that of the shorter half. Tall Side looked confused and tense, (as if a couple hobbit girls could do anything to them…) but the shorter half was furious.

"RUBY? AZAELIA? WHAT ON MIDDLE EARTH ARE YOU DOING HERE!" Shrieked the hobbits. The two girls shrunk back, unable to speak.

Azaelia started trembling right away, and as she spoke, her voice shook just as badly, "We saw the riders chasing you in the woods and thought we'd help you-we've been following you since Farmer Maggot's-"

Galadriel spoke again. "Quiet." It seemed very difficult for anyone to obey, but they did.

Ruby turned away from the mixed emotions flowing off the fellowship and looked again at the lovely Galadriel.

"It is true; these two have followed you since your journey's conception. But, I am sure you will agree, they should now return to their homes. This journey is too much for them to bear." Ruby heard murmurs of agreement coming from beside her.

"No!" She cried.

The lady's smile stopped up her voice. Then she heard her again...only this time, in such a way that was so intimate and personal...her voice filled her mind.

"I do not doubt your heart, little one. Your love is such that any would gladly die for. But you are small, and undeserving of the dangers of this journey." Ruby felt the deepest and saddest of feelings wash over her, yet she could do nothing to argue.

When Galadriel sent them to away, the Lothlorien elves lead them to the place where they would find rest until their journeys would continue. When they were left alone, the questioning began. First the Tall Side of the fellowship, yelling not at them, but at the four male hobbits.

"Who are they?"

"What are they doing here!"

"They could have been killed!"

"How could you let them follow us!"

Ruby felt that old anger bubbling inside of her again. Azaelia had little courage left, but at the fellowship yelling at the four hobbits was too much.

"You let those hobbits alone! They had no more idea we were following you than you did!"

"We followed you because we were, for one, curious. For another, worried. And then by the end of it, we didn't know which way was home, so we kept following. We weren't going to just let you go DIEING on us!"

Then Merry, Pippin, Frodo, and Sam turned on them.

"So you'd rather die making sure we didn't? Then where would we be? We've already lost Gandalf, now you want to die, too? What is wrong with you!" Yelled Pippin. Ruby's heart broke. There was more sadness than anger in his eyes. Panic. And fear.

"I-I'm sorry, Pippin, I just...we just..." Her courage drained, all Ruby could do was feel badly for causing his happy eyes to change so drastically.

"What!" Cried Merry.

"We just wanted to help, all right! I am so sorry for caring, we'll just go home!" Ruby grabbed up her things and, with tears once again streaming from her eyes, turned and stalked away. Azaelia remained there, refusing to cry, insisting on being the stronger of the two, for once.

"We wanted to help! That's all! Don't be so harsh! You wanted to help Frodo just as must as we wanted to help you!"

Ruby found an empty hallow tree and curled up in it, feeling all the tension and emotion of the past months pouring freely from her. She sobbed like a little child. She wanted to go home. She wanted none of this to have ever happened. Oh, how alone and sad she felt, sitting in that tree. Alone. Listening to the mournful sound of the singing elves. Thinking about the worry and sadness in Pippin's eyes, and the fury in the eyes of everyone else.

Azaelia found Ruby and put her arms around her. "The lady Galadriel wants to speak to us…will you come?"

Ruby gathered herself together, whipping tears from her eyes. She stood, although shakily. "What does she want? To tell us how we're going home? I hope it's soon...I don't want to have to talk to them again..."

"I don't know, let's go find out?" Azaelia gave her an encouraging smile. Ruby nodded.

As she and Azaelia walked through the Lothlorien forest, they saw Frodo pass by a ways away. He looked...frightened. Worried. What could this Galadriel woman want with them?

Azaelia tried to find courage for her friend to lean on, but she was running low on it, herself. "We are here my lady…" She whispered as they descended overgrown stairs to where the elf woman sat pensively on a stone bench. "What would you ask of us?"

Galadriel looked at them with sad, almost confused eyes. But she smiled. "I must apologize. I told you that you must go home, but I was...mistaken."

Azaelia and Ruby was taken aback. "You mean…that we can follow them?"

"Not only can you, but you must!" She spread her arms to them. "I have foreseen it-great things will you both accomplish. But your friends, I am afraid, at this time will not understand. But you are gravely needed." She moved closer to them and smiled secretively. "I will aid you in your travels. I will give you the means to complete this task that you must undertake." Azaelia looked up at her, wide eyed and asked in the quietest of voices,

"And what task is this…?"

Galadriel whispered, in just the same way, "Why...to love them, of course."

Ruby's mouth dropped open and Azaelia gripped her arm in excitement. "You hear that, Ruby?" She looked around and saw Merry and Pippin just a little ways away. She raised her voice a little and said, "But why must we go home? Isn't there anything we can do?" Galadriel gave them another smile, but said no more, only bowed her farewell.

Ruby stared at the ground as they walked away, allowing her mixed emotions and confusions to show boldly on her face. "But lady Galadriel is right, Azaelia..." She whispered loudly, balling her hands into fists. "The journey's too much for us. We never should have left home!"

She looked over her shoulder and deliberately sought the eyes of her hobbit friends, allowing her own to widen. She rushed up the stairs and away, brushing Galadriel's fingers with her own in gratitude.

Azaelia moved to follow Ruby, but was stopped. Galadriel held tight to her shoulder.

"Little one...may I have an extra word with you?"

She nodded and turned around.

Galadriel bent down to her, placing her hands on the little hobbit's cheeks, looking at her with heavy, sorrowful eyes. "I have foreseen other things, as well as your help to the fellowship. Other very unfortunate things."

"What things?"

"Many lives are lost when fighting in wars, and many other lives are not prepared to handle such loss. Your Ruby is weak and weary from travel and heartache. She has all but broken under the strain, though she dare not show it. But you, small one of the shire, have strength enough to know this one thing about what I saw...When your task comes to its end you…"

Azaelia's spirits grew heavy. She closed her eyes as tears filled and fell. "I understand. Thank you. And if you are through with me, Lady, I would like to go find Ruby." Galadriel nodded slowly, standing up straight.

After the days' emotional trauma, Ruby was surprised at how easily and peacefully she slept. But all too soon, the peace was gone and travel day was upon them.