Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or anything related to Tolkien. Sue me and get my annoying little sister who will make you wish you had never even considered the idea.

Summary: The Fellowship has gone up against untold dangers before, but they survived. Now they're up against something completely new, and infinitely more terrifying.


Chapter Two – Warriors overpowered by children

Haldir and some of the other elves led us to a flet that was much too high off the ground for my comfort. If we get home in one piece, I am never going to complain about stairs for the rest of my life.

Including the ones at our beach house, and they scale a bloody cliff.

Pardon my language.

Two of our escort had been 'volunteered' by Haldir to carry Bella and Collum up the stairs. By the look of things, Haldir was going to be in for it, as those two were among the most curious people I had ever met, at at the age where new things were explored by touch more than words. I had stopped Collum from poking his carrier's ears and diverted Bella with the promise that she could do my hair later if she stopped fiddling with our escort's braids, but the elves were still far from happy with the situation.

On a personal interest neither was I. Do you have any idea how long it takes to untangle one's hair after a four-year-old plays hair dresser? Even if they only try to put it in a pony-tail, it will still get hopelessly caught in the tie, and don't get me started on attempted braiding by anyone under the age of six. In essence, if they're too young to do their own hair, you are in for trouble.

We reached the talen of the Lord and Lady without further incident, however, and were brought into their presence.


Nothing could have prepared me for the sight. I have enough self-esteem that I didn't start negative comparissons, but the rulers of Lothlorien were probably the most beautiful people I had ever seen. They seemed to glow, especially with the backdrop of lanterns and the deepening twilight, and the fact that they were both blond only heightened the impression.

Celeborn, silver tree, the name suited him. Tall and imposing, the Lord's silver hair and air of steadfast implacability did make the name fit.

Galadriel, maiden crowned with a radiant garland, no arguments there, either. She didn't need a crown to show that she was of noble blood. Seemingly harmless, something in her eyes and the star on her finger conveyed a quiet danger, which could probably turn out worse than Mt. Vesuvius to some poor idiot's Pompeii when provoked.

While Lord Celeborn spoke to us, saying that the enemy knew of our entry, all hope of secrecy was lost, etc. Lady Galadriel locked eyes with each of us in turn, her voice speaking to us telepathically.

Legolas and Aragorn were the only ones able to hold her gaze for very long, I noticed.

Then she turned to me.

I heard her voice inside my head and deliberately turned my thoughts to 'It is the song that never ends'. Her eyes widened momentarily, then she looked almost amused and whispered in my mind "You have strength, little one. Tarry after the fellowship is shown to where they will sleep. I wish to talk to you."

I don't know about anyone else, but that sounded a little bit ominous. Perhaps it is just me, but when someone says that they 'wished to talk', it is generally about something bad.


I didn't need to worry though. The ruling couple sent the fellowship off with a guide to wherever they were supposed to be sleeping.

They were instructed to take my three charges with them. I almost laughed at the trapped/resigned/why me? expression that most of the fellowship were wearing. I hid a snicker. I've seen the same look on my younger sister's face when she is told all the mess she left lying around in the car/her room/on the kitchen bench/various areas around the house is to be cleaned up or else, and everyone else has cleared the area before they can be forced to help.

Lady Galadriel turned back to me and spoke, her voice warm, rather than the detached aloofness of earlier.
"You are troubled, child of another world. You wonder why you are here, why your charges were brought with you. You fear what the future may hold."

I would complain about invasion of privacy, but I got the feeling that you didn't need to read minds to form that conclusion. I nodded the affirmative.

"Why would I be here, my Lady? I am no warrior; I'm not even particularly strong! I am no great lore-master, what could I contribute in the way of wisdom? What possible reason could there be for my presence here? People at home will be out of their minds with worry, I don't even want to think about what our parents will be going through and I miss my twin and…"

I was starting to get hysterical when I felt a warm, soothing brush across my mind. This time I did not fight it, but let the feeling wash over me and lessen my panic.

I took a deep breath and thanked her. Lady Galadriel only smiled and said, "I have not the answers that you seek, child, but I hold faith that you will find them both within and without."

Was all of Middle Earth this cryptic or was the trait exclusive to those who wielded great power? I refrained from asking as the Lady dismissed me and asked an elf to show me to where the others were staying.

Distractedly, I wondered how the fellowship, used to dealing with things that fought and killed, or at least had to do with the earth – the Hobbits or perhaps Gimli – would deal with three beings that they could not in good conscience kill directly and who were most likely to be asking questions non-stop.
I tried very hard not to laugh at the thought. Warriors and grown men/dwarf/elf against hyperactive kidlets. They didn't stand a chance.


Sure enough, I was greeted with either a harried look or an outright glare from the fellowship and a dark-haired, pint-sized blur as I entered the clearing.

Boromir, who was glaring, only said, "Your wards are speaking gibberish, my lady, would you care to translate?"
Gibberish, or just child pronunciation? I raised an eyebrow, "What did they say, exactly? I'll try my best."
It was Aragorn who answered this time. "The girl with the dark blond hair said: 'Tash uppa tee. When teacha come back?' Then the dark haired boy said: 'Soon. She wouldn't leave us by ourselves.'"

I smiled; it was really not that hard, when you thought about it. Dark blond hair, brown eyes and a mischievous face, that was Gretal. Brown hair, brown eyes, and an almost constant smile, Collum, not to mention he was the only male out of us four. Pale blond hair, green eyes and an upbeat expression, only Bella.
I grimaced at the nickname (don't ask, it involves C.S. Lewis and being a precocious reader in Kindergarten) and looked back at the fellowship. "Greta said 'Tash – Natasha – is up the tree. When will teacher come back?' and of course I'm not about to leave you alone, Collum."

Just then, Bella approached from where she and Gretal had been sitting. "Natasha, what does 'hollen am ben gen hedithon min noer Orodruin.' mean?"

My grasp of elvish was limited, but I did know a few things. I closed my eyes and offered a plea for patience to whoever was listening. "Who told you that, Bella?" She pointed at Frodo, who suddenly looked as though he would rather be elsewhere. I've seen that look before, too, when significantly-older siblings thing that they are safe if they curse in a forign language, only to find that the three-year-old next to them does, in fact, speek German.

I shot him a Look. It was my 'I'm-very-put-out-do-not-cross-me' look, perfected at age ten, that I tend to use on my sisters when they start fighting. "Please don't use that kind of language around them, Master Baggins. I would rather they didn't learn such things for at least a decade yet." I turned back to Bella, "It's a sentence he should not have used and I don't like you repeating it. It makes me very sad."

That phrase, 'I don't like it. It makes me very sad.' is usually effective when convincing children to stop something.

I've heard worse, I'll admit, but the phrase 'Shut up or I'm going to hurl you into the fires of Mount Doom!' was not something I wanted flying around at home. Chances were, some of the adults or older siblings read/saw Lord of the Rings and picked up some elvish. I didn't need parents asking where the knowledge of that phrase came from.

Luckily, a young child's attention span is like a spring breeze; never in one place for long. So on to playing hairdresser.


Later, the three of them were sleeping, after a few songs. My singing voice won't win me a place in any musicals, and is more serene than tuneful, but it isn't that bad. I think Legolas made that protest as an excuse to put them to sleep with an elven melody.

I was untangling my hair from the mess Bella had put it in when Aragorn sat down beside me. I got rid of the last knot – and a sizable chunk of my hair – and looked up at him.

He studied me for a moment then asked, "How old are you, my lady? If you travel with us it would seem inappropriate for an eligible lady to travel in the company of men."

I put down my brush and considered the inquiry. In the general historically-based timeframe that Tolkien had set, people did generally marry younger than in my time, and war often prompted people to marry even earlier. I am often told that I look older than I am, so thequestion was probably little more than curiosity and formality. "The presence of three children should prompt an assumption as to my martial status. But as to your question, I have seen almost twenty and my birthday is on the autumn equinox. I am not sure if that makes me of marriageable age in this world."

Excluding Frodo and Sam, the rest of the Fellowship seemed to have been eavesdropping, and came over.

Boromir actually looked surprised. "So young? I mistook you for older. Most maidens at that age tend to be somewhat flighty, if you'll excuse the term."
I shrugged. "No offence taken, I actually agree. For the majority, I sometimes question the sanity of my own gender. But my profession lends a certain amount of maturity, and I have often been mistaken for older than I am. My mother says I can be too serious, but various circumstances required that I grow up quickly."

It was true enough. If I have a fuse a mile long – my twin's words – then my youngest sister has one as short as a ruler and a tendency to set my twin off while she's at it. My parents are separated and both have new boy/girl-friends. Add the fact that I had always been something of a loner, with few friends, very protective of my 'special-needs' twin, and being the eldest of three, well, you figure it out.

Legolas spoke up from where he had been standing, "Will you travel with us? You have made no mention of the subject."

I shrugged again. "I honestly have no idea. I don't even know why I am here in the first place and I have no skills that could really be of use on any kind of quest. Besides, the children I care for come first, and there is no way that I will drag them from one end of Middle Earth to the other, never mind the dangers that I know we would encounter. It takes an idiot not to see that there is trouble brewing and I refuse to expose them to such a threat."

At this, Pippin opened his mouth to say something. I cut him off. "And don't say that it will be even more dangerous if The Enemy takes over. I am very well aware of that, but I know my limitations and I know that I would be more hindrance than help on your quest."

Pippin shut his mouth again.

Aragorn spoke once more, "We will have a short stay in Lothlorien before we move on again. You need not choose right away. Come, the hour grows late."

The hour did grow late and I always seem to have trouble sleeping when not at home. The Fellowship seemed weary through toil and much sorrow – I had been listening to what Lady Galadriel had said earlier, I was not completely unobservant – so we all sought our beds.

I lay awake, listening to the sound of the night, my head to full to sleep. What was I to choose? I had no idea how to get home and Pippin had been right: If Sauron took over things would be a thousand times worse than they were now. But what was I to do about that. I had no clue how to survive in this world and would only be so much extra baggage. Also, I stand by what I said before; Gretal, Collum and Bella came first, and I was not about to drag them all over the world for god knows how long. Especially when they had even less idea than I did!"

I finally resorted to counting my times-tables and was asleep by 7 x 12.

To Be Continued.


A/N – I am trying to go by both book and movie in this so please tell me if I am making mistakes.

Like it, Hate it, tell me in a review.

Thanks go to everyone who has reviewed chapter 1 with encouragement and also to Taramiluiel's Sindarin Phrasebook And Learn Elvish. Google the names, because ff.n won't let me link the site.