Disclaimer: Wow, I haven't put up many of these, have I? Oh well, you all knew that I didn't own Lord of the Rings. Right?

Well, hi everyone! (waves happily)

Haldir- Here to give another stupid useless author note again?

No! I have an actual chapter.

Haldir- REALLY?!

Yes…did you really need to speak in all caps? You're gonna bust my ear drum! Anyway I finished this chapter like at 12 AM last Wednesday, or something like that. I sent it to my beta, and she still has yet to send it back.

Haldir- Then what are you doing posting this?!

Um…well…I couldn't wait any longer! I'm sorry! I don't know what happened to her. And I feel like these lovely people deserve the next chapter. Heh…I'm gonna feel SO stupid if she sends me the chapter right after I post this. (nervous laughter) Nenuial, thank you for betaing my other chapters, but I just don't know where you are, and it's extremely hard for me to sit here with a new chapter, fresh out of the bakery and not post it. I haven't posted an actual chapter since May 11th, so I hope you can forigve me.

Akira tightened her grip on Vicious as she began jogging to catch up with the stubborn elf ahead of her.

"Hey! Haldir!" she cried, trying for the umpteenth time to gain his attention. "Slow down dude!" She sighed heavily when she realized that he wasn't even paying attention to her. Frowning a bit she slowed into a walk. He had been ignoring her ever since they had left Caras Galadhon, where the city of Galadhrim was located, which had been at least a few hours ago. Her mind drifted towards the days earlier events.

After leaving the poor march warden in a mass of utter confusion, she'd happily skipped along to one of the many gardens in the Elvin city. There, just as she had expected, she'd found the Lord and Lady, sitting together in a comfortable silence as they underneath a mallorn tree.

The auburn haired teen had hesitated before approaching them. What would she say? 'Hey guys, look, even though I know that I'm evil and might eventually end up murdering your entire race, that doesn't mean we can't still be friends, right?' Yeah. That one would play out just beautifully.

She bit her lip and shook her head. The two elves sitting only a few feet away from her were the ones making her leave this place; this paradise where she had lived in peace for the first time in her life.

And for some reason, Akira couldn't bring herself to feel any type of bitterness or anger towards them. She knew that, in the end, they were only making her leave to protect themselves and their home. She couldn't hate them for that. If she had been in their position, she would have done the same thing. If anything or anyone had ever been a threat to Alana or her mother, she would have done anything to protect them.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, she silently walked over to the elves. Galadriel was the first to acknowledge her. Akira thought she might be surprised to see her, maybe even a bit angry. But the Elvin woman merely gave a soft, almost knowing smile and stood up to greet her.

"Good evening, Lady Akira," she greeted.

Celeborn pushed himself from the ground and stood next to his wife, a calm expression on his features.

"Uh…howdy," Akira said, suddenly feeling very nervous.

The Lord raised an eyebrow at the new greeting, but let it slide. He gave a soft smile, but said nothing, and simply waited for the teen to continue speaking. Minutes passed, and the three stood there in silence.

"Awkward…" the red head mumbled. "Very awkward." Shaking her head. She dropped the duffle back onto the ground before her. She knelt down and unzipped it, then proceeded to rummage through the bag.

Celeborn and Galadriel watched in slight amusement as she began muttering curses; it was obvious that she could not locate whatever it was she was searching for. After a bit longer, Akira's pale fingers finally grasped the object she'd been looking for. With a small, triumphant grin on her dark lips, she gently pulled out a piece of paper, making sure not to bend or tear it.

Placing a hand on the ground she pushed herself back into a standing position. She took a deep breath and walked over the elves, holding the paper out to them. For a moment, both the Lord and Lady merely stared at the offering. The trace of the smile that had once been on Akira's face began to disappear as a few tense moments passed, and still neither made a move to take her gift. Before she had a chance to pull the paper back, Galadriel reached out. She pulled the paper from the young girl's grasp, making sure to be just as careful as she had been with it. The red head couldn't help feeling slightly nervous as the Elvin Lady studied the picture; Celeborn's gaze on her not helping her feel at ease at all.

After a few moments, Galadriel removed her gaze from the sketch she held to Akira. She looked as if she was about to say something, but instead passed the drawing onto her husband. Celeborn took the paper into his hand, and let his eyes drift over the sketch, much as Galadriel had just done. He glanced up, meeting Akira's dark gaze, and at length, he finally spoke.

"This is a lovely drawing, Lady Akira."

A sigh of relief escaped her. "Thanks," she answered. "I'm glad you like it. Uh…you do like it, right?"

"Of course," Galadriel answered, a small nod and smile accompanying the statement.

"Good!" she remarked happily, the grin returning to her features. "I'm glad you like…"

"Ah, there you are," Haldir said, his voice smooth and emotionless. He glanced at the elder elves, then looked back at Akira, scowling slightly as he did. She gave him an innocent smile. He narrowed his eyes at her, glaring. How could she give him such a look after abandoning him like that? He must have appeared like an idiot, not to mention insane, standing about and talking to himself. "I have been looking for you."

"It took you this long to find me?" she teased, feeling some of the tension in the air being cleared immediately, simply by the march warden's presence. "Honestly pretty boy, your cute, but you can be so slow sometimes."

He would have glared at her more -which really, would have made him look just plain silly, since he was already giving her an ice cold death glare- but his mind was lingering more on her words. She had just said he was cute; plus one for him because, yay, she thought he was attractive. Then again, she had said he was slow; minus one for him because, no yay, she thought he was dumb. He scrunched his face a bit. Since when did he sound so…juvenile in his inner monologs?

"Haldir," Galadriel said, pulling the elf away from his thoughts. "Come; walk with me for a moment."

Glancing at the red head, who continued giving him her most innocent of expressions, he followed the women as she began heading away from the other two, leaving Celeborn and Akira alone in the garden.

The two elves walked in silence as they made their way across the garden. They passed into one of the halls, which soon lead them to a staircase. Haldir followed the Lady down the long stairwell, down further into the clearing. As he neared the bottom of the stairs, the sound of running water reached his sensitive ears. His eyes widened slightly as he noticed the silver stream which was flowing from a fountain on the hill. A pedestal stood at the bottom, a basin resting atop of it, and beside stood a silver ewer.

He stepped in front of the pedestal, staring into it rather than at the Elvin woman. After staring into the basins empty depth for a few moments, he finally looked up, meeting Galadriel's gaze.

Why had she brought him here, of all places? Was she offering what he thought she was? Did she know more about Akira? Questions flittered through his mind, but he did not speak, only continued staring at the Lady as calmly as he could. She offered a smile; it was soft, but knowing.

"Haldir of Lorien, you have been entrusted with a deed that is greater then merely transporting a young human out of these woods, this, I am sure you know."

It was a statement, spoken as if it were a question. Haldir nodded, not sure if he could speak, since he really didn't know what he could possibly say.

"That is almost all I know," he replied after a length of silence, once he realized that she was actually waiting for him to comment. "That…and she is some type of danger. A danger that not I, nor the power of the elves of Lorien, can save her from."

She nodded, and waiting for a few more moments. It became apparent that this was all he was going to say, so she spoke again. "That is true. Lady Akira is indeed in danger. Yet, she may put us in danger as well. You do know that, do you not, Haldir."

Again, it was a fact, yet she seemed intent on getting him to answer. He took in a breath, calming himself so that he could speak rationally.

"You know more than you have told me. I will not push, for I trust your judgment, my lady."

"Do you truly?" she questioned him.

He nodded in the affirmative. "Of course I do."

"I fear that if I told you more, you may end up doing something in the end to change things. And whether it is for the better, or for the worst, you must not try to change the course of fate. Each of our destinies has been set, and it is foolish to believe or attempt to alter it to our advantage. We cannot fight what is meant to be, and trying only further damages things in the end."

He did not say anything, but she knew that he understood what she was saying. She was merely repeating what she had told him earlier; the only thing he could do for Akira was help guide her, nothing more.

"My Lady," he said softly. "How is it we can be sure of our destinies?" he questioned. He wanted to say more, but he simply couldn't bring himself to. Looking into the deep blue pools of his eyes, Galadriel caught a trace of something in them; permission of some sort. Realizing what it meant, the Lady began reading his thoughts, looking into his mind to find everything he wanted to ask but could not speak aloud.

She found his questions, though they were abduct and had a much wider range than merely the subject of Akira. She searched deeper, finding the exact feelings and words which he wished to express.

'How can we be sure of our destinies? How we be sure of our fates, or the fate of others? How do we know when we are simply following the path that has been set out for us, or if we are straying away from it? Could it not be possible that it is meant for me to fight with Akira…or even for her? Perhaps that is what is supposed to happen; perhaps I am meant to save her. How can I be sure, when you will not allow me to know any more then the vague information which you have already given to me?'

The Lady was silent for many moments after that. Haldir took another deep breath. He knew it. He had over stepped the boundaries with his questions. Why had he agreed to let Galadriel into his mind? The sound of bare feet padding across the cool grass caused Haldir to look up again. The Lady was filling the silver basin with water from the stream, allowing it to come up all the way to the rim. Leaning down a bit, she allowed her breath to drift over the water. A few ripples were made, but soon, it had stilled.

The two met gazes. Galadriel stood calmly as Haldir walked forward a bit, standing over the basin, but not looking down. "You know what this is," she said.

"The Mirror of Galadriel," he answered.

"Yes. And you know of what it does."

"I do. It will allow me to see, though what it is I shall find, neither you or I know. The Mirror may show whatever it is you command it to, or what I desire to see. But the Mirror will also show things unbidden, and those are often stranger and more profitable than things which we wish to behold. What you will see, if you leave the Mirror free to work, no one can tell. For it shows things that were, things that are, and things that yet may be," he recited slowly.

"Do you wish to look?"

---

"So…" Akira said somewhat awkwardly as she leaned against the mallorn tree. "They sure have been gone for a while." She glanced at the direction the two elves had taken when they left.

"Yes," Celeborn answered.

Silence descended upon the two once more. The red head could practically see the tension that hung thick in the air around them. It wasn't as if she didn't like Celeborn; the dude was cool! But he wasn't really much of a conversationalist, which made things kind of odd; especially when she was just standing around there, waiting to be thrown out of the city.

Oh well. May as well attempt to start conversation. It couldn't hurt, right? And it was better than hanging around for who-knows-how-long in a silence that would probably drive the sanest person crazy.

"You gonna keep up with your yoga lessons?"

The Lord looked over at her, staring blankly. "Yes, of course," he answered simply.

"Good," she said nodding and giving a weak smile. "That's really…um…good."

"Good indeed," he agreed.

"Yeah…indeed…goodness."

Uh-huh, they were really hitting it off.

"This is a nice tree you have here," she said, lightly slapping the bark.

"Yes, it is a very nice tree…indeed."

"Indeed."

OK…maybe not hitting it off exactly.

"Akira?" Haldir questioned, and the red head let out a huge sigh of relief as the blond elf came into view. "We are preparing to leave now."

She nodded and snatched her duffle bag, swinging the strap over her shoulders so that her hands could be free.

"Well…bye guys!" she told Galadriel, who had taken a place by her husbands side while Akira had been retrieving her bag, and Celeborn. "I'll uh…well I guess…um…yeah." With the same weak grin, she awkwardly wrapped one arm around the shoulders of the elves. They were both stiff at first, and mentally she slapped herself over the head; big shot Elvin Lords and Ladies probably didn't hug a lot. She was surprised when the two hugged back. It was loose and stiff at the same time, but she was grateful for it, and flashed them both a true grin when she pulled away.

---

That had been a few hours ago. Akira and Haldir had left and headed towards some sort of Great River or something, she wasn't sure exactly…she'd gotten distracted while Haldir was telling her. It's not like it was her fault; these elves could be pretty long winded when they wanted to be. They could go on and on and ON for what seemed like hours, and still not be finished with a story. In her honest opinion, she thought they just liked hearing the sound of their own voices.

But at the moment, she wasn't hearing any voices, and it was beginning to irritate her. Haldir had been more anti-social than usual after his little chat with Lady. What had Galadriel said to him?

The march warden was silent as he walked, completely absorbed in his thoughts. He failed to notice Akira glaring at him, her eyes burning with the fire of a thousand suns!

Translation: She was really pissed.

He also failed to hear the sound of her sliding off her duffle back, or of her boots hitting the ground as she ran towards him. That was, until it was too late.

"Ah!" The march warden shrieked, rather girlishly, much to his dismay, as he felt someone slam into him from behind. He turned around quickly and caught whomever, or whatever, it was that had charged at him. Unfortunately, the hit had caused him to become slightly unbalanced, and he tripped over an unseen stick, causing himself and the person he was holding to fall backwards onto the ground.

Which wouldn't have been so bad, if a) the ground hadn't been so darn hard and littered with rocks -who put those there, anyway?- and b) if they hadn't been near a hill.

Alas, the ground WAS littered with rocks, and they HAD been near a hill, so the two went tumbling down, rolling over the grassy, leaf covered, and unfortunately for their heads, rock covered ground until they reached the very bottom. Not even wasting a breath, Haldir's fingers curled around the small dagger he carried with him and whipped it out, holding it to the neck of the figure who had attacked him. He glared dangerously as the figured underneath him.

"What was that for?" he questioned, his voice a bit higher than he would have liked it to be.

The red head giggled uncontrollably, causing the march warden to narrow his eyes even further, which in the end, resulted in even more giggling from the woman he had pinned.

"Why are you laughing?"

"You scream like a girl," she answered as soon as the biggest fit of laughter had died down.

When had he went from being the coolest march warden she knew to the elf who screams like a girl? "Why did you attack me?" he demanded again.

She sighed softly and lifted one arm, pushing away the dagger which had been held at her throat. Haldir quickly put it back, feeling guilty for not having removed it sooner.

"You were being a jackass," she told him rather irritably. "You weren't saying anything at all! You were being even pissier than usual."

"And that is why you felt the need to attack me?"

"I didn't attack you," she retorted defensively. "I merely…tackled you."

He raised an eyebrow, but somehow managed to continue glaring.

"I was only trying to get your attention," she elaborated, blushing as felt somewhat childish for her actions. "It was your own fault. I'd been trying to talk to you ever since we left Galadhrim, but you kept ignoring me. It was like I didn't exist."

"So you believed that I was acting…pissier than usual, and was ignoring you; therefore you decided to tackle me. In order to get my attentions?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time…"

He sighed. Now, it was her turn to glare. Then in turn, he glared. And soon, it was just one big glare-fest. Which wasn't actually getting them anywhere, so Akira gave in, blinking and letting out another annoyed breath. She lifted her hand and poked him in the rib cage.

"I told you to stop doing that," he said, his face absently leaning into her own.

"Could you get off of me now?" she questioned, slightly amused when his eyes widened a bit. "You're not exactly feather light you know."

He blinked, realizing their position, and rolled off of her. She stood up and began dusting her black jeans free of dirt. She noticed Haldir staring at her from where he sat on the ground.

"What?"

"…are you saying I'm fat?"

She stared blankly.

"Are you kidding me?" she questioned in exasperation.

"No," he said. "I…never mind."

Rolling her dark eyes, she walked over and plopped down behind him. "Your not fat, Hal, and you know it. You know what, sometimes I think your just fishing for compliments." He frowned to himself; he most certainly did NOT fish for compliments. He just…enjoyed hearing them from her. Akira lifted her hand, tangling her fingers into the march wardens soft locks, and began dragging them through his hair. Turning to the side slightly so he could see her, Haldir reached out, wrapping his hand around her wrist.

"What are you doing?" he inquired.

"Relax," she said, pulling her arm our of his loose grip. "I'm just getting the leaves and crap out of your hair."

With that answer, he relaxed under her touch, allowing the young woman to rid his hair of the 'leaves and crap' which he had acquired during their fall. Soon, she had removed everything from his hair, leaving it the shiny, flawless mane that it always was. When she finished he stood. He turned around and leant her his hand. After staring at the offered hand for a moment, she took it without hesitation, allowing the march warden to help pull her up. Once standing, Akira glanced up at the hill, frowning to herself.

"Hold on a sec," she told him.

"Why?"

"I have to go get my bag," she informed him.

He nodded and stood, waiting for the young woman to retrieve her belongings. As soon as she had disappeared over the hill, he sighed, and allowed his normally tense composer to relax slightly. He placed a hand on his head, pale fingers massaging his temple. He thought of his conversation with Galadriel earlier that day. He understood what she meant, everything she had told him; yet still he had questioned her. And why? Was it simply because he was curious, or was it something else? How deep did his feelings run for Akira?

A few moments later, the red head came back, sliding down the hill happily with her duffle bag in hand. Haldir watched her, silently amusement as she stood, grinning at him.

"Are you quite ready now?"

"Ma'am yes sir," she answered with a salute, grinning even wider when he gave her a queer look.

"Come along then, we must make it to the River soon."

She nodded. The two turned and began heading toward their destination, now in a much more comfortable silence.

(a deep, cheesy voice over comes out over the microphone) What is Akira's true fate? Did Haldir look into Galadriel's Mirror? Will this story ever get finished?

Hey! I pay you to ask ominous questions about the chapter so people will come back and read again!

Voice over guy- Oh…sorry.

Haldir- Hey, people actually reviewed the author's note thingy.

COOL! (eyes light up like a Christmas tree)

Fanfictiongeek36- I blame you for my block, you know that? You haven't been writing anything -other than Harry Potter- and that's why I haven't been writing anything. It's a vicious cycle I tell you what.

TinaDzw- Thank you for reviewing! It's so great when people do that. And yep, Hally-san knows he's hot…unfortunately.

Haldir- Are you saying I have a big ego or something?

No. Of course not. I would NEVER say that.

Stephenie Wilcox- (giggles) You reviewed like three times. I like you. Here's my response to your first review: I know! I hate that! I noticed the noise in the video too. It's…odd. Review Number Two: Oh my gosh. Your giving me constructive criticism. How dare you? I don't like you any more, your so uncool! Shoo, get away from my author's notes.

Heh heh. Just kidding!

Haldir- You have a twisted sense of humor.

Did I scare 'ya? I was just doing that to prove a point: I can handle criticism, it's flames that get me upset. I'm glad you thought that in the end the whole mom/dead, sister/dead, dad/bad thing worked out. I was hoping it would.

Haldir- Yeah, and she does have a tendency to molest the apostrophe.

(blinks) Um…she said abuse, not molest.

Haldir- (sweat drop) Um…exactly!

You've been in these A/N's for way to long, Hally my boy…err…elf.

Review Three: You fainted from nervousness? (fans) Feeling better now?

Oh hey, look! There's another review from you. (giggling) Review Four: I am really sorry about keeping you waiting. I put a little note in my bio apologizing for the lack of updates. I feel bad now. But here! (hands basket of muffins) Hope 'ya like 'em. Me and Haldir made 'em ourselves.

Haldir- (disposing of Wal-Mart muffin container) err…

I told you to get rid of the evidence!

GemJewel- You know, your name makes me think of Gary Juel, or however you spell his last name. I haven't heard that song in forever…

Haldir- This means I'm going to have to sing again, doesn't it?

(nods)

Haldir- And I find it kind of funny

I find it kind of sad

The dreams in which I'm dying

Are the best I've ever had

I find it hard to tell you

I find it hard to take

When people run it circles it's a very very

Mad world (I don't own this song, not even the cd…so sad!)

Thank you!

Kalika55- Thank you for reviewing.

Gothic Angel of Death- I think Writers Block is contagious. I got the whole 'Haldir's real not real thing'. It sounds like some of the speeches I've given to my friends whenever I talk about a certain Fluffy…but that's a whole nother story. Yes, Sam Goodys does have a wide selection of music.

Haldir- She's not allowed to shop there anymore since she got a Green Day cd that wasn't edited and her mommy isn't giving it back until she's sixteen. (whispering very, very, VERY quietly) Well, actually, her mommy gave it away, but don't tell her that, cause she'll have a total mental breakdown.

(oblivious to Haldir's last comment) Hey! I've only got two more years to go! (marks down date on a calenDER) Well I could go on for hours. But for now I'll only give five suggestions. Yellowcard: Ocean Avenue (pop, punky sound with awesome lyrics and a violin that gives them their own sound) Velvet Revolver: Contriban (if you've been missing your daily dose of metal, it has Slash AND Duff from Guns 'n' Roses, and Scott from Stone Temple Pilots), AFI: Sing the Sorrow (deep lyrics, I swear I've doubled my vocabulary by listening to this CD, as well as learned TWO lines in Spanish, go Davey!), New Found Glory: Catalyst (if you've heard 'All Downhill from Here' and liked it, then it's worth getting the CD. All punk love!), and Smile Empty Soul: Smile Empty Soul (the lyrics are so SAD, but I love them. If you check out my story 'Addicted' you can see some of their songs…I've been using them like crazy in that fic.) All right…heh…don't ever get me started talking on music. I will go on forever!

Daughter of the Roses- (giggles) Someone once threatened to attack me with bunnies or kittens for not updating one of my stories. . Hope you liked this chapter.

A fan- Nope, I'm not dead. Hey Hally! I have a fan!

Haldir- Well, that would be what the pen name implies...you idiot.

In the Depp End- I finally saw Pirates of the Caribbean. (drools) Orli…Johnny…yay.

Pqna.Vigarista- Aw, your review was sweet. It made me giggle aloud. Glad your enjoying it and thank you for the encouragement.

Commorodres R Ppl 2- Sorry about not updating. I have almost lost complete inspiration for writing in general, not just this story. (shrugs) Ah well, it's not a HUGE loss to the writing community. But see, look what I did up there. And it's really long too. It's over 3500 words! Your teacher reminds me of my art teacher, Mrs. New-

Haldir- Shh! Do not dare utter that name here! She might find us!

Haldir's sorry he didn't take you to Hawaii.

Haldir- (nods) But I brought you back a lay!

(sighs) Great. I've corrupted the elf…Anyways. I hope you all enjoyed, and I'm asking nicely to review. As you can see, I take constructive criticism pretty well. (huggles all reviewers) I promise I'll try to write the next chapter soon. I've just been so busy doing absolutely nothing.

Haldir- That didn't make sense!

(hands out brownies) Thanks guys. And remember, I love hearing from you. Reviews, e-mail whatever. I've recently discovered that there's more to the internet than fan fiction.net -who knew?-. So anyway, you can im on Yahoo at vipper902. You can most likely find me in a room too, since I basically live on the Lord of the Rings chat room. (waves) Bye guys. Hope to see ya'll soon.