Hiranneth looked at the strange man before her. He seemed to be hiding something. She looked to Kiran; she felt as if he thought that way too. Strange, she thought. Nevertheless she couldn't help but ask, "Amdir, are you all right? I've been through many things...even the death of the only people I've known all my life." A tear came to her eyes. "I've seen things that are beyond my own reckoning, and through it all I have made some wonderful friends, people who are willing to stand up for me even if they are in danger. I want you to feel that way about us...if you'd like."

Amdireth laid a gentle hand on Hiranneth's shoulder. She'd been touched by the girl's words, and wanted to do something to comfort her. She knew what it was like to have your whole life shattered and be thrown into a new reality. Her own family had been killed in that orc attack, and she was unable to bring herself to return to her home in Lothlorien. And now, Hiranneth was offering her true friendship. If only she didn't have to keep herself hidden! If they found out her real identity, they'd never again trust her. And how could she live a lie?

Rada snapped out of her reverie as Kiran asked about food.
"Oh yes! Forgive me!" she exclaimed as she stepped into an adjoining room and brought back the requested crutch for Ahéawan. "The library is just down the hall if everyone would so kindly follow me. And don't worry Ahéawan, it isn't too far of a walk," Rada said as she handed the crutch to her.
A few moments later everyone was comfortably sitting around the fire in the spacious library eating the fruits and meats Rada had brought for them. The Elf sat down across from Hiranneth with a cup of tea in her hands.
"Now about your question, Hiranneth," she said slowly. She took a sip of her tea and began. "Your mother..." She paused as if she was struggling with the words. "Your mother, Hiranneth, was once an Elf of Hunvel." Rada stopped for a minute to let her words sink in. "One day, as the fates would have it, your mother left Hunvel. She soon met your father on her way to Rohan. They had just met, but they knew from that day forward that they were meant to be together. And thus your mother made the biggest sacrifice an Elf can make: she gave up her immortality to be with him. They were soon wed and shortly after you were born. Deciding it would be best for you to be raised amongst humans, they both made the decision to make permanent residence in Rohan, rather than in Hunvel. Well my father, who was your mother's cousin," Rada stopped and smiled. "So yes, that makes us relatives…My father was crushed by this news, so he sent your mother a map to Hunvel so she could find her way back if she ever wished to return. That is why she owned that map, the roll of leather you now hold.
Rada took another sip of her tea as she look at everyone's suprised faces.

Hiranneths eyes widened, and she sank into her own world, one entirely apart from reality. Had this all been true? She had no reason to doubt Rada, yet how could her mother never have told her? She looked at the others. All their eyes were on her. She felt as if someone could see right through her, vulnerable and weak.
At length, she finally spoke. "My mother...she never told me. I was hoping there were never any hidden things between us. And now they are with her in the ground." She paused and clinched her fist. "Why now must I find out that I am not who I thought I was? Why do the fates humor me?" She asked this of no one in particular with anger.

Holding her crutch loosely at her side by the fire in the library, Ahéawan watched in shock as Rada revealed Hiranneth's history. She had known the girl's mother, but nothing of the such had ever been spoken between them. Ahéawan looked to Hiranneth as the girl's eyes filled with tears. She wished to reach out and comfort Hiranneth, but thought she needed some time to recover from the shock. Ahéawan's gaze shifted to the strange man, Amdir, that sat next to Hiranneth. His eyes were clouded over, deep in thought, and she wondered what lay behind those sad eyes.
She finally felt she needed to speak. "If it is any consolation, Hiranneth, your mother never told me of her past. But we were good friends. Your mother was a wonderful person, no matter what race," Ahéawan said quietly. She only wished she could be more of a comfort. She now felt quite endeared to the girl she had only known a short while, and hated to see her troubled with unknown secrets.

Kiarton ate in silence as a past was reveiled and many lies broken. He looked to Hiranneth and then to Amdir. "It is sad to live a life that is different from the one that you were meant to live. But sometimes it is a good thing to be ignorant. I may sound strange, but if I had known that my mother would die the way she did than I would have lived in agony," he said rather quietly. "Sometimes lies keep you safe." He glanced at Amdir, trying to read the man's expression. "But all lies will be revealed eventually, for life chooses the path that it wants to follow and cannot be swayed or tricked."

Hiranneth looked beyond herself and at the people around her. Their lives were not as well off as she had thought. All had problems and had to make choices. She spoke in a low tone. "You all are wonderful friends, but I have dragged you into something that seems to be a journey of my own. It is selfish of me to pull you along when you have your own problems."
As she stood up and walked away, everyone watched her. The sound of her feet echoed through the empty halls of the building. And then she was gone.

"She will come to her senses soon," Kiran said to the rest of them who were still in the library. "She will realize that we have not been 'dragged in' to anything. This is our destiny and if it were not, we would have left her long ago." He stood and ran his hand along a row of books stacked on a shelf. He pulled one out and flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. He read the poem under his breath:
To where can you go
Where Mogoth doth not know?
The spies of darkness ever follow
From the trees to Elvish hollow
Seeking what they must not get
Once a friend, now a threat
You come together but soon will part
Remain forever strong of heart.
"It sounds like prophetic," he said when he had finished.

Ahéawan sighed as Hiranneth left the room. Kiran spoke, and she whole heartedly agreed with him. Looking idly out the window and admiring the beauty beyond, Ahéawan saw Kiran flipping through a book and muttering under his breath. She instantly became curious.
"Kiran," she asked, shifting her crutch so she could see the book, "what have you there?"

Kiran showed the book to Ahéawan. "Elves have the gift of foresight. Perhaps one of them saw what is in our future and left us a poem to find out," Kiran said. The book had a red leather cover embossed with gold Elvish writing but, like that on the map, Kiran could not translate it.

Kiarton felt bad when Hirraneth left the room. "She is too humble." He said to himself as he toyed with the vile that held the black water. Then Kiran read aloud from a book and a haunting poem filled the room. Its presence was almost greater than the silence that followed. "What does this mean?" Kiarton broke through the quiet. "Once a friend now a threat?" His eyes grew wide and he looked out the window. He half expected a balrog to jump into the room. "This place... this place is strange." He mumbled.

Wanting to get away from the pains of the day, he decided to go off in search of Hirraneth. Outside the sun was slowly setting, and Kiarton's heart went with it. He felt terrible and was still recovering from the strange encounter with his beloved mother. "Why did you leave me so soon?" he asked of no one in particular.

"I never left, my love." A voice came from the vile made him jump. Kiarton finally settled down and walked around a bit. "Where is Fly?" he wondered aloud. I hope he doesn't have something to do with that poem, he thought. He then saw two figures standing on a balcony in a nearby tree. "Hirraneth?" he called.

Hiranneth stood alone on the balcony of the tallest tree in the village and watched as Elves walked by like white ghosts of long ago. Then she looked at the horizon; the sun was going down, slowly. It gave her agony. It was almost like she wanted to fall asleep and end the day's weary thoughts. She listened to the sound of nothingness. Yes, nothing. It was a simply pleasure not to hear anything, and somehow she enjoyed it. The she heard footsteps behind her.

Amdireth stepped up behind Hiranneth and laid a hand on her arm. "It's hard, isn't it?" she asked, staring at the back of Hiranneth's head. When the girl didn't answer, Amdireth shifted so that she was in her line of vision. "There's something I must show you, but you must not tell anyone else, nor feel I've betrayed you. Understand?" Before Hiranneth could say anything, Amdireth reached up and swept off her hood, revealing her face fully.

Hiranneth stood back quickly as Amdireth's face was shone. She had not expected this, especially now.
"I had no idea...why do you do this? Are you hiding from something? How I wish I could hide right now." She sighed and leaned onto the balcony edge, watching the last of the sun.

Amdireth sighed as well. "I hide from no one but myself. I wanted to comfort you, but to do so would mean to tell you about my own life, and that I could not do without revealing myself." She felt hollow suddenly. "Please don't think you cannot trust me. I just didn't know how to tell you..."
Suddenly, she flung her arms protectively around Hiranneth. "I know what it's like. To feel as if you've lost everything. I'm not only a woman, but I'm an Elf, as well. My name is Amdireth. Centuries ago, my family was murdered by a band of orcs in Lothlorien, my home. I vowed then that I would become a vagabond, never settling down in one place. Did you know that not even the Elves of Hunvel know I'm one of their kind?" She laughed bitterly into the quickly gathering darkness. "I dress like a human man because I wish to be left alone. And unfortunately, people are more likely to ignore what looks like a Ranger than an Elf." She sighed again. "I don't know what else to tell you. Seven centuries of grief... It's enough to make anyone want to hide."

Hiranneth was filled with grief for Amdireth. Why hide an Elf? she may have asked before. But it was all clear to her now. She embraced Amdireth and told her it was all right. "I trust you; for some reason I do. We have not known each other for long but I feel it is time to trust the world again." She looked into the Elf's eyes.
Hiranneth heard a voice from down on the lower deck. She looked down to her right and and saw Kiraton. He had called her name. "I'm up here." she said to him.

Amdireth quickly relinquished her grip on Hiranneth and pulled her hood up. Better to stay concealed for now. She wasn't ready to reveal all. At least Hiranneth knew she was a friend.

Kiarton climbed swiftly up the ladder and stopped. There was Amdir and Hirraneth. "I'm sorry I blurted out the thing about lies. But I followed you willingly and am not about to give up now. I am behind you Hirraneth." He watched her expression and then pulled out the vile. "I believe that it is time that I show you this." His face was filled with grief, but he wanted to prove his trust. He opened it up and the same watery figure climbed out.

"Hirraneth," it called out. The form was that of Kiarton's mother, but then it changed. It took the shape of a man that he did not know. "My darling," it said to her. "Thank the Valar that you have made it out alive. I am with you though I have left this place. I love you." Then it took the shape of a woman, presumably Hiranneth's mother. "I am sorry, my sweetheart. I did everything for your good. I did not want you to live a different life, a painful life, split between two worlds. Never forget me... for I shall never forget you, my little girl." Kiarton stared at the bottle; he had not expected this. The figures changed and said some words in Elvish to Amdir. Then when all was said, the water turned black once more and melted into the vile.

Hiranneth stood back as the watered formed into a familiar figure. It was her father, his face was sweet and kind, like it always was, and then her mother appeared. Hiranneth began to cry and wanted to take them up in her arms and hold them forever. But as quickly as they had come, her parents had gone. She covered her face to hide her pain. She loved them so, and to see them again, but not in the form of flesh, was unbearable. "Where did you get that vile, Kiarton? What powers have you unleashed upon us?"

Kiarton looked up sadly. "I did not know. I don't know what this is, but when I saw my mother, I...I had to take it. I...I stole it. I miss her so much." He then turned around and ran. He ran to the forest at the edge of Hunvel where he fell to his knees and wept.

After what seemed like hours, Kiarton stopped weeping and stood up. He felt like a fool. "I can't go back. I'll…I'll find Fly," he said to himself and walked deeper into the woods.

Tucking the book under his arm, Kiran took leave of the others in the library and headed back toward his room. Once again, he began to hear the crying in his mind, but it was undermined by happiness and confusion. He was tempted to follow it, but instead he went back to his room. He lay down on bed and stared up into the boughs of the tree he was beneath, wondering why exactly he was so curiously connected with Hiranneth.

Ahéawan frowned as everyone left the library, leaving her to herself and her thoughts. She shifted her crutch a bit, then pulled herself out of her chair. She headed off down an empty corridor, without purpose, simply with the intention to exercise her limbs. She was quietly limping along, leaning on her crutch for support, when she heard a strange sound coming from behind a door up ahead. Curious, Ahéawan pressed her ear against the door, feeling somewhat guilty for prying. But what she heard astonished her.

Ahéawan narrowed her eyes and pressed her ear more firmly against the door. She recoiled quickly as she heard a man's voice shouting, sending a searing pain through her entire body at her sudden movement. She continued to listen to the man, not hearing words but his angry shouts. She heard a woman's voice also, seeming to plead.
As she listened, Ahéawan grew more worried. The voices within the chamber heightened, and all at once she heard the sound of flesh upon flesh. A cry emitted from the woman, and then a thump was heard. Ahéawan gasped as her mind drew conclusions, and she reached for the door.

Hiranneth looked down on the lower floor were the library was and saw the plodding figure of Ahéawan. She was making her way down the path, but then she stopped. Hiranneth watched the woman with interest. She seemed to be hearing something behind a door. Hiranneth looked at Amdireth and motioned for her to follow. They both came down to the ground floor level and were heading toward Ahéawan. Then Hiranneth saw Ahéawan recoil and reach for the door she was standing at. This worried Hiranneth and she began to run towards the door. What was going on?

Ahéawan grabbed the door handle and pulled it, but the door was locked. Cursing, she shook the knob hard, hoping to jar it loose, but to no avail. She faintly heard a rustling inside the room and realized that its occupants had learned of her presence.
She frowned as she thought she must reveal herself, but was curious and frightened at what might have happened in the room. "Open this door, please," she said in what she hoped was a commanding tone.

Hiranneth ran to Ahéawan's side and hit the door hard. "I feel something is terribly wrong." Within the room, a terrible shrill came, the cry of the innocent. Hiranneth grew angry and threw herself at the door. Suddenly, it came in. She lay on the floor of the room looking at a sight that terrified her beyond all description.