Well, are you intrigued? I hope so. The plot picks up in this chapter, and a lot will be revealed next chapter, so I hope you stick around.

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.

Rae slipped quietly through the screen door and slid it shut behind him. He winced as it clicked softly shut. He knew that his mother would be furious. He'd been at the forest from sun up to sun down without telling her where he was going. A soft tap on his shoulder caused him to jump in surprise and spin around.

A girl with long, chestnut brown hair and stormy gray eyes stood with her arms on her hips, tapping her foot. She glared fiercely at him in all her thirteen years of glory. A chagrined smile fell onto Rae's face and he lifted his hands in front of his body as if to ward off an attack.

"You were gone all day again!" The girl huffed, gray eyes flashing.

"Calm down, Syd! I'm sorry, I lost track of time." He waved his hands and smiled apologetically.

"Yeah right!" Sydney shot back at her brother. "You never spend any time with me anymore. It's always 'forest this, forest that.'" A suspicious gleam crossed her eyes.

"Do you…have a girlfriend?" She questioned.

"No!" He replied quickly. She seemed relieved. A moment later, a pained expression crossed her face.

"I feel like I don't even know you anymore." She said, her head turning downwards and her arms dropping to her sides in defeat. "That stupid forest is stealing you away from me."

Rae dropped his head in shame.

"Syd, I'm sorry, I…" Before he could get the rest out, a woman stomped into the entryway waving a spatula and shouted.

"Rae! How dare you! Every waking moment you're at that forest! I won't have it anymore! What about your family? You don't care about anything anymore but that forest!"

"That's not true!" Rae shot back defensively. It wasn't true. He didn't care about the forest more than them. The truth was, he couldn't stay away from it. There was something connected to the forest, something that the forest reminded him off, that had bound him tighter than blood.

"Oh? Well, regardless, I forbid you to ever set foot there again!" She yelled and, to make her point, glared stubbornly at him and huffed back into the kitchen.

Rae felt as if someone had punched the wind out of him. Never go back? He couldn't! All of a sudden a sharp pain rose in his breast. He grunted and clutched the area over his heart. To never go back… would be to kill a part of him. His heart beat wildly, the pain in sync with it. He ground his teeth. No. He had to go back. He would go back.

Slowly, the pain subsided. Yes, he had no choice. No matter what, he could never leave the forest.

Rae stood in the middle of his archery clearing, soft moonlight filtering down upon him. He was barefoot, and wearing only his boxers and a tank top, the clothes that he slept in. The grass felt fresh and soft beneath his feet and he shivered slightly in the ticklish breeze. Contentment swelled in his heart and he felt now, more than ever, that he belonged to whatever this forest stood for.

A soft rustle on the path behind him caused him to turn around. It was too dark to see all the way down the path. He peered closely, his heart beating in anticipation. For a single moment, nothing stirred, nothing moved. It was if time itself had frozen.

Then, it happened. A burst of wind shot down the path, making a straight trail through the dirt and gathering fallen green leaves as it sped towards him. His eyes widened in surprise, but before he had time to react, it had reached him.

The gust split in two about six inches before it reached him and met at the other side, spinning in a miniature cyclone at his feet. Leaves swirled around in it as the gust climbed to waist level.

The trees began to move and sway, their branches jumping to an unheard rhythm. A sharp, white light burst in Rae's head and he dropped to his knees, overwhelmed by dizziness.

The swirling winds began to congregate in front of him, rushing in ovalular patterns around a brilliantly shining ball of light like electrons around an atom. The light swelled in intensity and Rae felt something inside him answer its call. Soft, pure light radiated from around him.

The wind whipped his hair and clothes fiercely, but he was oblivious. For the first time, he felt whole and alive. His whole body sung with joy and anticipation, every pore filled to the brim with light and a wonderful sensation.

Something inside him shifted and changed, and the light glowing around him was sucked into the ball of light in front of him. It glowed all the brighter, and the wind around it whipped faster.

A leaf sliced his cheek and a line of blood appeared. He reached up a hand, but didn't wipe the blood away. As if in slow motion, a single, crimson, drop of blood fell from his face and dropped into the ball of light.

Light and wind burst forth from the ball, plunged everything in a blanket of white. The trees shook in response, barely audible above the noise of the wind. It blew past Rae's face, filling him with a strange light, glowing inside of him.

The gust and bright light died down, but Rae could feel whatever it was he had gained inside of him pulsing with sweet joy and filling him with life like he'd never felt before. He waited, but it stayed with him, and felt that this new power had always been a part of him, only just awakened.

And there, floating in front of him, was a pendant-like jewel. It was white and oval shaped, with gleaming bands and trails of silver crossing around and over it. It was the size of his thumb and pulsed in tune with his heart.

Slowly, the pulsing stopped and Rae outstretched his hands beneath the jewel. It floated into his palms and flashed brilliantly once more before fading to an almost unnoticeable glow. His fingers closed over it. Whatever it was, it was as much a part of him as his arms or legs and had been created from him, from his blood.

He closed his eyes and savored the moment. Suddenly, the world shifted.

Rae bolted upright in his bed. His body was covered in sweat, and the covers were soaked in it. He gasped in great breaths of air. And, inside him, pulsed that same light he that had been awakened in his dream.

His eyes trailed down his chest, and there, lying against his skin, was the strange pendant, hanging on a fine silver chain, glowing softly.

Sydney looked up as Rae came down the stairs and swung into the kitchen. She frowned as she watched him pour himself a bowl of cereal and sit down to it.

Something was different about him. Something she couldn't put her finger on. He just… felt different. The air around him was alien to her. He noticed her staring and caught her gaze. His eyes… Those were not the same eyes that had greeted her last night. They were ageless, full of emotion and something else she couldn't put her finger on. They seemed almost… magic, ethereal.

"Um, Syd?' His voice broke her out of her reverie. He was studying her curiously, a questioningly look plastered on his face.

Yes, it was her brother alright, but something about had changed. She forced a smile, hoping it didn't look to fake. Those unearthly eyes bored into her for one breathtaking moment, radiating suspicion. Then he shrugged and went back to his cereal.

She nibbled on her slightly burnt toast and her eyes caught something. What was that he was wearing? It was a strange pendant of some kind. If she looked hard enough, she swore it was softly glowing. He hadn't had that last night, had he? No. She was sure she would have noticed it. And he never wore jewelry. Why start now?

"Where'd you get the necklace?" She asked, gesturing to it. He looked up, startled, glanced down at the necklace, and back up at her.

"Oh, nowhere. Just kinda…found it. You like it?" He watched her again, this time his eyes wary.

"It's nice." She replied softly. He nodded. An awkward silence fell between them.

"So, what are your plans today?" He ventured. Sydney eyes him cautiously.

"Well, I was gonna go to the mall with some friends. You?" He seemed startled that she returned the question.

"Well, I…" He stopped mid-sentence, a far-away look entering his eyes. Then, just like that, he stood up and ran swiftly out the door. Sydney sat, staring blankly at the empty chair across from her, than got up and chased after him.

Rae lengthened his strides, increasing his already frantic speed. The forest… something was calling him. That voice… like the rustle of the leaves in a breeze.

It is time, fair one…

In the air he felt it, on the wind that kissed his cheek. In the trees he saw it, written in the green of the leaves. In his footsteps he heard it, pounding to a mysterious rhythm.

Finally, fair one…

Something was about to happen, something great and wonderful and mysterious. Something that would change his life. And the forest was calling him, reaching out its leaf laden arms to embrace him, its voice guiding him.

Come to us…

Come…

Come…

COME.

And then, he was there, sprinting down the familiar path, a burning desire to know swallowing him up. He stumbled into the clearing, panting hard and struggling to breath. The trees swayed and moved, like they had in his dream. Their voices rose in a song, sung in an unknown language.

It has been long since your kind strode beneath our branches.

The song had stopped, and a single, intelligible voice replaced it.

"My kind?" Rae asked, spinning in a circle, trying to find where the voice had come from.

Yes. It is time you return to them, fair one.

"Return to them? And why do you keep calling me 'fair one'?" Rae finally stood still, his search for the origin of the voice unsuccessful.

It is what you are.

"Where am I going?" Rae asked, curiosity overriding any fear.

To join them. To join the fair ones.

As soon as the last syllable faded away, all of the trees began to rustle their leaves and creak their great wooden branches. A bright light brought Rae's eyes downward and she saw his pendant gleaming, floating off his chest.

Wind began to gust at his feet, like in his dream, carrying leaves along with it. His feet lifted off the ground and he stared down in surprise. He cried out, but the roaring winds drown his voice out. It gusted all around him, lifting him higher and higher until he was three feet off the ground.

His pendant shown wildly, and he began to feel a tingling, numb sensation creep over his body. Confusion shown in his wide eyes. Then, unimaginable pain shot through his body. It seared up his veins, filling every cell of his being. He shrieked in pain, his cry ringing throughout the forest, and beyond.

Darkness fell upon him like a shroud, and he knew no more.

Sydney heard her brother's cry; she heard the pain in his voice, the suffering. Her feet flew over the dirt path, as fast as she could make them go. Her single coherent thought driving her forward. Rae.

She reached the clearing and her heart stopped. There he was, caught in a cyclone of wind and leaves. The trees moved as if they were alive and dancing to a melody. The pendant he wore shown like the sun, flooding the whole area with pure, white light.

Sydney cried out and tried to move forward, but the raging winds pushed her back. She fought relentlessly, her will urging her forward, but it was no use. Her legs gave way beneath her and she dropped to the ground. Wet eyes locked onto her brother's unconscious form, still inside the winds.

Suddenly, the wind and light exploded, throwing her backwards and rushing through the whole forest. A loud roar filled the clearing, resounding with power. Wave upon wave of wind and light washed over Sydney as she lay there.

And then, all was still. She gingerly pulled herself up and raced back to the clearing.

He was gone.

The clearing was empty, devoid of anyone save her and the trees. Tears spilled over her cheeks and she stared at where her brother had been. A heart-wrenching cry spilled from her throat and she ran to the middle of the area, dropping on her knees and sobbing relentlessly.

"NO!"

Hot tears stained her hands and clothes. She had been too late. Her brother was gone. The forest had taken him. Her crying stopped abruptly and she stood up, fists clenched, rage and aguish marring her features.

"YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME!" She screamed at the trees.

Then sorrow overtook her once more and she cried out.

"RAE!" She fell to the ground and lay there, sobbing.

They had taken him from her. They would pay. She would make them.

The plot thickens. As stated before, the next chapter will answer a lot of questions and bring the plot into focus. Hope to see then.

Hopi-chan the Pirate-Ninja