Disclaimer: As much as I would like to, I do not own Lord of the Rings or any of the characters, places, names, yada yada yada that Tolkein came up with. Any form of Elivish used in this story isn't mine either. That's Tolkein's too. If it is really bad, I'm sorry, forgive me and tell me about it please! I need help with that. All translations are at the bottom, although most you're probably familiar with. Please review, and I'm begging here. That's all I think. Thanks a bunch and enjoy!

Chapter 2

"What is the next matter of business?" called out the Steward to the assembled crowd in the hall. He did his best not to convey any of the annoyance or boredom that he felt.

While Faramir was doing that, Lord Aragorn did his best to do the same, although meeting with much less success.

"I am," replied a feminine voice from the back of the assembly. "My Lord Aragorn, I must speak with you privately." The girl did her best to look over the heads in the crowd and project her voice.

However, the voices became hushed and the people spread as a disheveled elf-maiden strode boldly through the crowd, ignoring the heads that turned to follow. From her looks and poise, none dare to object to her manner of dress or appearance, save one.

"Lady Eliessa, you look horrible!"

"Lord Elessar," she replied, coming to the front and nodding slightly, "I can't say that you are faring any better."

There was silence in the hall; none had dared speak to their king in such a manner before, and here was a woman, dressed in a man's traveling garb, making fun of the King of Gondor!

Nonetheless, a chuckle arose from Aragorn as he strode down the steps and onto the floor, embracing his dear friend in a hug. "It's been a long time my friend."

Eliessa stepped back and shrugged. "To an Elf, a few years are nothing. But to you...." They both chuckled.

"What is it you need?"

"I have a message from the Lady Galadriel. It might be best for you to end all business for today, and to call upon the Queen."

Aragorn stopped smiling and nodded solemnly. He motioned to Faramir. "Nothing more today, my friend. Use your diplomacy to get everyone out of here." The Steward turned towards the assembly and began to disperse the crowd. In the meantime, Aragorn took Eliessa by the arm and left through a side door.

---

"Mae govannen Eliessa," Arwen greeted warmly, hugging the other elf-maiden. "It has been too long."

"Mae govannen Arwen bereth." Eliessa stepped back and bowed her head slightly. "Aye. Indeed. I fear I have sullied your dress," she said, looking up and down the length of the now dirty blue silk.

"'Tis no matter." Arwen gracefully shrugged. "That can be cleaned. Your attire might not be so fortunate."

For the first time since her arrival, Eliessa became acutely aware of her garb. She looked down and found that what Arwen said could very well be true and chuckled.

"Ahem, ladies," coughed Aragorn. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable amidst all the talk of clothing. It had never bothered him much what he wore, although he still took care to impress his wife. He waved his hand toward a table near a window. "I believe you came here on business, Elli?"

Arwen and Eliessa looked at each other and giggled. Aragorn never was much for subtlety and they all knew it. Aragorn just leaned against the table and crossed his arms, looking at the two she-elves who stood across from him. "Well, if you don't want to sit, fine. Be my guest. Stand." He rolled his eyes.

Arwen sighed and walked the few feet to the table. She just hopped on, ignoring the seats and the bewildered look from her husband.

Eliessa smiled softly, but stayed where she was. She was quite content to stand after such a long journey and had no desire to move. Truth was, she really hadn't wanted to go to Minas Tirith, even though she did enjoy seeing her friends again. No, she wanted to go back to Erebor and kill whoever had caused pain to the Dwarves there. But she had yet to tell that to Aragorn and Arwen. Therefore, she crossed her arms and began.

"Well, Lady Galadriel has sent me here to tell you something I doubt you'll believe, seeing as how the Dwarves are so hardy. But it all makes sense really..." She trailed off, eliciting two confused faces. "You'll understand in a moment, trust me. So let me give you all the details.

"Well, I had been in the Iron Hills, mainly just visiting the Dwarves there and enjoying the solitude, for about a month's time. It had been a pleasant stay and my mastery of Dwarvish had improved, but I longed again for the open plains and forest and to see Treebeard once more. So I set out for Fangorn after saying my goodbyes. Along the way I decided to stop at Erebor and give my greetings to the new King under the Mountain. That's when all the trouble started.

"The people of Dale seemed to be preoccupied and did things in an almost choppy manner. Their minds appeared to be elsewhere and they would not acknowledge me in any way. At the time, I merely considered them rude, seeing as how it had been a number of years since I had been there. I thought, 'Perhaps the ways of Men are changing and they are already forgetting common courtesy.' As it so happened, such was not the case.

"When I came upon the mountain, Aradae became... antsy. I've never known him to act in such a strange manner. It was as if he did not want to go any further. In fact, he would not and no amount of cajoling would get him to move. I should have known better than to go on, but I shall blame it on the Dwarves and their stubbornness and that it has rubbed off on me." Aragorn rolled his eyes and Arwen stifled a laugh.

"At the gate I found two Dwarves, who would not grant me entrance, which I found odd. I've known the Dwarves for a long while, even those of Erebor. Things were just getting more and more confusing. This was not a puzzle I could solve. Unfortunately, since there was no one else, I ended up forcing my way in. But I have to give them credit for their hard heads. They did not give in easily."

"You fought two Dwarves?" Aragorn's jaw dropped. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Aye. Two Dwarves." Eliessa stuck up two fingers. "One. Two. And no, I did not kill them, just rendered them unconscious for a while. And I had to. Honest.

"And so I entered into the Lonely Mountain, caught unawares actually. Their faces were pretty blank and their manner was much the same as the Men of Dale. In fact, their work was sloppy, and they took no care in it, which quite frightened me. Whenever I asked them questions, they would just grunt and huff almost. And the deeper I got into the Mountain, the worse it all became. I was starting to think that perhaps it would all cave in on me. Then something else drew my attention.

"A smell wafted past my nose, one so odious only a single word can describe it: Yrch. The deeper I went, the worse it became. Soon I came upon the Great Hall and took a passage that King Dáin himself had shown me, which led up and around the Hall, but contained windows, if you would, so that one may look down upon it. At the time he had beamed and had been proud to show me, since 'twas all his idea.

"Anyway, I looked down upon the hall and was horrified. There lay numerous Dwarves being tortured by several yrch. A Wizard stood on the dais, watching over everything with glee. He kept repeating this incantation again and again, but I could barely hear it and made out only a few words. I watched till I could stand it no longer and sank down against the wall.

"Dwarves certainly are not helpless, yet I could not help but feeling that way towards those lying down there. And I could do nothing but kill myself by going down there. I was really at a lost as to what I should do; I guess maybe it was all just too much for me to fathom. I don't know. But it hurt to see the Dwarves like that. I wanted to kill that thing," she spat out. Eliessa was staring at the fading sunset, her eyes ablaze with hatred and rage.

"I wanted to go out there and kill every single yrch I could lay my hands on, but prudence prevailed and I knew that monster would only make more, and I'd probably help him." Both she and Arwen shivered. That was one of the few nightmares Elves ever had- of being tortured into an Orc. "I wanted to free them, not make their situation worse." There was a slight pause and Eliessa's face took on a look of grief and pain. "So I snuck out of the Mountain, and made my way to Lord Thranduil's realm. He didn't believe me and said he had other, more important matters to deal with other than the Dwarves." Eliessa could no longer hide her grief and it stuck out plainly on her lovely features. She could better hide her guilt, but it twisted her stomach into a knot and made her feel sick. She swallowed back the bile rising in her throat and continued.

"After that, Aradae sensed my urgency and pushed himself to his limit. I think we made it in a day, nonstop traveling." Aragorn whistled. "But to be honest, I'm not entirely sure. The whole ride is a fog in my mind. All I really remember are emotions- my anger towards Thranduil and myself, how stupid I felt for not knowing sooner even though it wasn't possible to know..." Eliessa closed her eyes and took a breath. "My guilt for leaving." She swallowed hard.

Arwen stood up and gave Eliessa a tight embrace. She hugged back, thankful for the support, tears rolling silently down her cheeks. Aragorn shuffled uncomfortably. Elves rarely showed emotion such as this, and only to those they could trust. He felt both privileged and ashamed at seeing such a display and didn't know how to cope.

The keen Elvin ears picked up the sound of Aragorn's booted feet scuffling the marble, as well as heard him shift slightly on the table. The She-elves pulled back from each other and laughed as Eliessa wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She was not used to showing such emotion, and from the look on Aragorn's face, no one had expected it. "My apologies," she whispered.

"There is no need, mellon." Arwen looked her steadily in the eyes and nodded slightly. Upon receiving a slight nod in return, she turned back and sat on the table.

"Ahem. There is only a little more, I promise you." Eliessa looked at Aragorn. He just grunted in reply. "My first coherent thought is that of being met by Haldir and his men at the Northern border." Upon mentioning Haldir, a slight smile crossed her face. Aragorn looked over at Arwen, who just shrugged. Eliessa continued, seemingly unaware, "He left his men to patrol the border and walked with me to Caras Galadhon, as if I did not know the way. Aradae was much happier and practically pranced the whole time. Indeed it was a funny sight." She and Arwen smiled while Aragorn hooted and slapped his knee. "Although he might have done that simply because he no longer carried a rider. But he did not relish crossing Celebrant and made that known to us as well. Hopefully he is now happy in his stall, terrorizing the grooms and munching on oats.

"Anyway, Haldir took me to his flet, where I promptly fell asleep, bothering not even to change. When I awoke, 'twas dark and stars peeked in though my open window. I felt more than saw a presence and looked around the bedchamber. Upon seeing the Lady Galadriel, I bolted up and was prepared to make a light, although she would not let me. She told me she knew what was happening in Erebor and that I should send word to you. Upon waking in the morning, it felt almost like a dream, but I knew it to be true when Haldir told me that the Lady had visited me. I began to tell him what had happened on my trip but he interrupted, saying that he had spoken with the Lady before she left. And then I knew I had to leave, and come here to let you know what is going on, as well as hope that Mithrandir is here. I have a feeling that only he will know what to do to take care of this creature of evil."

Aragorn got up and paced the floor, hands behind his back. When he spoke, it was like he was thinking aloud. "Gandalf is in Rivendell with Lord Elrond. Only the Valar know where Gimli or Legolas are. How are we to solve this problem then? Especially with Lord Thranduil not caring or seeming not to?"

Eliessa interrupted Aragorn's train of thought. "Did you say Gimli and Legolas?"

"Aye. Why? Do you know them? Or where they are?"

Eliessa thought back to her brief encounter with the two outside of Fangorn forest. "I met them briefly on my way here. Legolas said that they were traveling south, to Gondor. They couldn't be any more than two or three days behind me."

Aragorn stood with his mouth slightly agape, disbelief covering his face. "By the Valar, Elli! Maybe I should send you to find Gandalf." A smile and mischief replaced his previous features.

The two women rolled their eyes. "What is it you plan to do?" asked Arwen.

"I am not sure, although I think that those three would help greatly."

---

That night Eliessa did not sleep, but thought about her conversation with Haldir before she had left the Golden Wood.

She and Haldir were standing on the balcony of his flet, looking out into the forest, watching the sun rise over the treetops.

"Wilwarin, do you know what it is you are getting yourself into?" Haldir turned and looked at Eliessa.

"Aye, Haldir; I do." Her eyes tore at Haldir's heart..

"I worry for you, wilwarin." He cupped her head in his hands. "You are so full of pain and sorrow. Not even Rumil and Orophin can cheer you up anymore." She started to turn away, but he wouldn't let her. He gently tilted her head back up. "You are fading away, even if you do not know it. I fear for you. Your only joy seems to be in killing yrch. Not that I mind the death of them." The corner of her lips turned up slightly, yet no sparkle appeared in her eyes. "You are like a sister to me, wilwarin. It would break my heart to see you hurt."

At this, Eliessa fell into Haldir's arms, sobbing quietly. "My heart hurts so, Haldir. My parents feast with Mandos and have been for many a long year. Nowhere can I call home, although I long for one. It seems that I cannot find love either." She sniffled.

"You will find love. Just because we are now friends instead of lovers does not mean that you will never find one to love you for eternity."

She smiled against Haldir's chest. She remembered the nights when they were together. She was so much younger then and he had been so caring. And slowly their relationship had changed. They had stayed up talking instead of lovemaking. Then she had started to look at Haldir differently, and he her. Neither had any regrets about how things turned out.

"I know, Haldir. But sometimes it is so hard to just live. My heart is so sore from death and pain. It seems to be all I know."

Then Haldir pushed her back a little bit, so that he could look into Eliessa's eyes. "Do not despair, wilwarin. Love will come to you." He hugged her tightly. "And there will be someone there for you when I cannot be. Like now. You must leave, little one. It seems the Dwarves are dependent on Elves for a change."

Eliessa laughed as she pulled back, knowing, if not quite understanding, his dislike for the Dwarves. "I will help them if only to spite you." She laughed again and punched him in the arm.

"Ow! That hurt!" he yelled and grabbed his arm, feigning pain. "You are going to regret that!" He chased after her all the way to the stables, where Aradae was waiting patiently. "Be safe, wilwarin. I would hate to have to clip your wings."

Eliessa jumped onto Aradae. "You won't be able to. I'm much too fast." With that, she left the Wood, leaving Haldir to shake his head in mirth.

"Haldir, I hope you are right," Eliessa whispered to the night, tears trickling down her face. "I pray by the Valar you are."

Mae govannen: Well met; it's a traditional Elvish greeting.

Bereth: Queen

Yrch: Orc(s)

Mellon: friend

Wilwarin: Butterfly; in this case, it is Haldir's pet name for Eliessa