So Elrond began telling them.

"This story starts when Aragorn was brought to Rivendell. We had heard of the attack on the Dunedain. Several days after the attack, a group of elves found the campsite. Everyone was slaughtered and no one was left alive. I feared the worst when I was told that Gilraen was dead and no baby was found."

Elrond stopped and sighed, memories long since buried flooding him.

"Ada, the scouting party has returned," came the shout.

Elrond of Rivendell stood up from his desk and made his way to the balcony connected to his study. He looked out into the main courtyard and watched the group dismounting. None of the riders carried the small bundle that was meant to be their hope. Elrond's greatest fear surfaced, that they had failed in keeping the Heir of Isildur alive.

Elrond turned around and made his way down to the courtyard. Once there, he talked with the scout leader, who confirmed that no one was alive in the camp. Everyone had been slaughtered, including the children. They had found the body of Gilraen, but she was dead and the baby she had been carrying had been born and had disappeared. There were no signs of wolves, so they could only assume that orcs had carried the baby off for amusement. That meant that the baby would never be found alive.

That night, Elrond sat in his room and stared out his window, watching the moon make her nightly journey across the heavens. But he wasn't paying attention to the beauty of the night, instead his attention was turned inwards.

'Why didn't I bring them here instead of the letting them remain in the camp? They would have been protected here, and neither her nor the child would have died. Why does fate have to be so cruel?'

Elrond stood up and moved to go out the door. A flash of moonlight caught something on a windowsill. He looked towards it and smiled. It was a crystal ball, perfectly formed and clear. That had been a present from a king, a king of goblins. Unlike the orcs, the goblins that he controlled were silly and stupid. Jareth, for that was his name, owed Elrond a favor for saving his life when some of his goblins came 'Aboveground', as they put it. It would have been so easy to allow Jareth to die, because he was fae, but Elrond felt no danger from Jareth so he saved his life.

He walked over to the crystal and picked it up. 'If you ever need help, do not hesitate to call me. I will do whatever is in my power to help you.' That was what Jareth had told him all those years ago when he had handed the crystal to Elrond. For years, the crystal had stayed on his windowsill, untouched except by sunlight and moonlight. Elrond didn't know how much help the Goblin King would be, considering the baby could already be dead. So, he set the crystal back on the windowsill and left his room.

Later that night, as he was sitting in his study, he heard a commotion in the hallway. An elf came into his study and told him that he needed to return to his bedroom. His first thought was that his twin sons had done something again. When he was told that she didn't think it was his sons, he had no other choice but to return. When he got there, much to his surprise, he found a baby laying on his bed. And it wasn't just any baby, it was Aragorn, son of Arathorn and Gilraen. Preparations were soon made for the baby to be taken care of and Elrond knew of one stop that he had to make.

'Father, why do we not leave?' was what he heard next, from a voice that was soft and young.

'Because I am waiting for someone,' came the answer, this time from a voice that Elrond recognized.

'Who?'

'I believe he is waiting to talk to me,' Elrond said, making his presence known.

The girl spun and watched as he walked into the clearing. Jareth hadn't changed in the years that Elrond hadn't seen him.

'It has been a long time, Jareth.'

'I would say too long, Lord Elrond,' Jareth answered.

Elrond glanced over before saying anything more. She looked like Jareth and even had some features like her mother. 'I see you are doing well, especially if you now have a daughter.'

Jareth reached a hand back and the girl walked forward to be introduced.

'Lord Elrond, I would like to introduce my daughter, Aluna.'

'It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Aluna.'

'It is my pleasure, Lord Elrond.'

She was polite, a trait inherited from her mother, Edana, who was always soft-spoken and polite.

'I take it we have you to thank for the safe return of Estel.'

Jareth didn't say anything to that comment. His only action was to place his arm around her shoulders. That was all that was needed to send the message. It was Aluna who had saved the baby. Minutes later, Aluna was disappearing into the shadows, allowing Elrond and Jareth a few minutes to enjoy the quiet.

It was Elrond who broke the quiet, 'She has her mother's eyes.'

'Yes, and her mother's love for all things living.'

'You have raised her well, Jareth. It must be hard because she is half elf.'

'I prefer to think of her as half fae. And yes, it was hard. I have tried to raise her in both the Aboveground, her mother's world, and the Underground, my world.'

Silence reigned again before Jareth turned to leave, following the path that his daughter had gone.

'Jareth, before you go. Are you going to be checking on the babe?'

'I may not be all the time but I can tell you who will be a frequent guest. She had grown quite attached to him.'

'Tell her she is welcome anytime she wished to see him.'

After that, Jareth and Elrond parted ways. Both had children to watch over and kingdoms to guard. Years would pass by and Elrond could always tell if the newly named 'Shadow Guardian' had been there. Estel had a knack for getting into trouble and not getting out of it without being badly injured. Unless, it was with someone's help.

Years later, Estel was a full-grown Ranger and quite capable of taking care of himself. Unless you wanted to count some of his habits, like falling asleep in bed after coming home late at night and barely making it there. Elrond would come in to find his young human son resting on top of his covers with a spare blanket thrown over him to keep him warm. More evidence of the 'Shadow Guardian.'

"I had wondered if she had followed after you on the quest. But, I don't think we will know."

"You will find out now, Lord Elrond," another voice broke in.

Everyone in the room jumped up and turned to face the voice. There, standing in the shadows, was a man with a long, dark cloak on. His platinum blond hair stood out sharply in the shadows.

"Jareth," Elrond said.

"This is King Jareth, Ada?" Elrohir asked.

Jareth moved out of the shadows, quiet save for the rustle of fabric against fabric.

"I have come to extend my congratulations, young Estel. It is good to see someone taking control of this poor, misguided land."

"I am honored, King Jareth."

"I have also come to extend congratulations from someone else. My daughter wished to congratulate you but something came up and she couldn't make it."

"I have a feeling I know who you are talking about, King Jareth. Would it be possible for me to meet your daughter?"

"Convincing her might be a bit tough but I will see what I can do."

Jareth turned back to the shadows and started walking towards the wall.

"Uh, King Jareth, wouldn't it be easier to use the..." Elladan started to say.

Jareth disappeared into the shadows.

"Door?" Elladan finished after he disappeared.

"They do not move like we do, my son. But, I have a feeling the 'Shadow Guardian' will be reappearing very soon. And hopefully she won't remain as a shadow."

As time passed, Aluna became a well-known sight Aboveground. She was soon reunited with an even older friend, one she had made when an incident had happened within her family. But, that is a story for another time.

Fin

If anyone is interested in reading that story, I will be posting it later. I haven't come up with a title as of yet. It will be kind of a prelude to this small trilogy. The stories for this trilogy are as follows: 'Labyrinth: The Baby', 'Understanding', and 'Shadow Guardian'. Also, so you know, the story will focus on Aluna as a child. Below are some small excerpts from it:

"I love you, daddy."
"I love you, too."
"Ah, isn't that sweet," another voice broke in.
Jareth and Aluna turned to where the voice was and Jareth saw the last person he wanted to see. His younger brother, Kerone. Aluna, though, wasn't fazed. She jumped out of her father's lap and went running up to her uncle to wrap him in a hug, even if it was only around his leg. Kerone looked down at his niece and a look of disgust crossed his face. Aluna let go of her uncle and took off out the door. She knew it was time for her to leave.

Aluna turned to where she could hear the music. It was louder now and clearer. So she followed it. The music led her to a clearing in the middle of the woods. There were no trees over the clearing and the sunlight shown down brightly, making her cover her eyes again. When she could see without squinting, she looked out into the clearing. There were people out there who were dancing and laughing. Off to the side, people were eating and laughing some more. All were dressed in bright colors, not like the people who were in her grandparent's ballroom. Even her dress looked drab compared to these colors.

"What is your name, child?"
"Princess Aluna of the Labyrinth."
"Princess!" was the exclamation that ran through the crowd.
Aluna looked around, wondering why they all seemed so shocked. The old man had stood up and was talking to the one that they had all been calling "your majesty." She couldn't understand what they were saying but it was obvious that they were talking about her. Several times they looked at her and each time the discussion was a little more animated.
Finally, "Well, then I'll just see if there is someone who will help her."
"Gandalf, you know the laws."
"Aluna," Gandalf started, "who is your father and mother?"
"My mommy is dead. She died when I was born. My daddy is King Jareth of the Underground."
"Is your father an elf?"
"No, my mommy was an elf. My daddy says that we are fairies."
The word 'fae' ran through the crowd and everyone stepped back from her. Aluna looked around in confusion, trying to understand why being a fae was so bad. Gandalf was the only who hadn't stepped back from her.