Someone deliver us,
And send us some kind of sign
So close to giving up
'Cause faith is so hard to find
- Nickleback, Believe It or Not

Rhianne pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the hotel room window, her head pounding as if all the dwarves of Arda were mining for mithril there. Outside, rain dripped steadily from the sullen sky, while thunder grumbled in the distance.

Her fist came up to slam against the glass, a cry choked back before it could emerge. I was never born for this. She peered out of the glass with a bleak expression at the dreary, rain-soaked city below her. So different from the cool forest she'd grown up in, or the bright lights of Las Vegas, where she'd left her sister to the magic of neon and stage shows.

"Uncle Elrond was right. These humans have done the work of the darkness themselves. Even Sauron would be hard pressed to match the horrors they've inflicted on Arda, and still kept themselves alive," she whispered.

Turning from the window, she wrapped her cloak around her, and headed out to take a walk.

Rhianne ignored the fading light, and the people hurrying to get out of the rain and wet, turning her head up to look at the clouds. Arda tries to nurture the forest that should be here. Forest and plains, mountains and sea. But there is nothing there. Nothing but man, crawling over her face like the orcs that followed Sauron. Consuming or destroying everything in their path.

Not all of mankind is so useless, Rhianne.

Rhianne shut her eyes, her head dropping. Aunt Galadriel. She had hoped it would take longer for them to find her. Give her a chance to figure out who she was. Not what they wanted her to be, what they said she needed to be.

Do I really sound like grandmother?

Rhianne's eyes snapped open to meet the amused eyes of a young man, sitting at one of the tables of an outdoor café. She raised an eyebrow, and he shrugged, one hand indicating the empty seat across the table from him.

"Would you care to join me on this rainy night?"

Sitting across from him, Rhianne smiled. "How do you know who I am?"

The young man shrugged, and reached up to tuck his hair behind pointed ears. "Father and Grandmother told me. They're worried about you."

Rhianne looked down at her lap. "So they sent you looking for me?" She looked up again, her eyes hard.

He shook his head. "No." An impudent grin broke out on his face. "I only saw them as Elrohir and I were passing through on our way to Las Vegas. We'd heard that Gandalf had a daughter in town, and Elrohir wanted to see the act."

"So, you're Elledan?" Rhianne asked.

Elledan stood, and bowed. "At your service, my lady." He sat back down, brushing his hair back once more.

"So what brought you on to Seattle?"

Elledan shrugged. "Nothing in particular." He looked up as the rain began to pick up. "The weather, perhaps."

Rhianne chuckled. "Really? I thought people went to California for the weather. All that sun, and clear skies."

"I prefer the rain." Elledan shrugged. "It's soothing. Reminds me that not everything has been destroyed in Arda."

Rhianne's amusement faded. "But for how long?" she asked quietly. "More of Arda vanishes everyday into the greedy maw of humanity. Even without Sauron or Morgoth, or some other dark lord, they fall prey to the darkness."

Elledan reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. "Not all of them, Rhianne. There are some out there that re better than the rest. And it's for them that the Guardians fight to keep the artifacts of the Ages past out of the hands of the darkness."

Turning her face to look out along the mostly deserted street, Rhianne felt the tears springing to her eyes. Tears she refused to let fall. "But the darkness is gaining strength, Elrohir. Father, and Uncle Elrond, and Aunt Galadriel returned because of it. They brought back the heros of the last war against it because of its strength."

Elledan stood, coming around the table, and pulling her to her feet. His arms wrapped around her shoulders, lending her his strength and warmth for a while. "It doesn't mean they've lost hope, Rhianne," he whispered into her hair. "It doesn't mean they think that we cannot protect the artifacts. Only that it is time for them to see life again through different eyes."

Rhianne pulled away a moment, her grey eyes holding his gaze. "You think they returned merely as messengers, Elledan?"

"Someone had to. Or who would know where the heros are scattered about?" He smiled, a sparkle of mischief in his eyes. "And who would have brought such a lovely lady as you to my attention?"

Rhianne blushed, looking down. "You are impossible." She pulled out of his embrace, her hand reaching down to clasp his. "Do you have someplace to stay, or have you been watching me for days?"

Elledan shrugged, walking with her down the street. "I have a hotel room, but I only checked in this morning. I haven't had the chance to follow you for days." He pulled his hand free of hers, and wrapped his arm around her waist instead. "Shall I escort you back to your hotel before I take my leave, m'lady?"

Maybe things aren't so bad as all that, Rhianne thought, smiling. "You may, oh gallant one."

Elledan laughed, and squeezed her close before letting her loose again, the two falling silent as they walked through the rain.

FIN