Finally updated! Thank you all so very much for the reviews! Sorry it took me awhile to update, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Lord of the Rings. I only own Aria and her family.

Chapter 9

They seemed to walk forever until Gandalf finally decided to stop for some rest and a bite to eat. Aria felt herself growing restless and denied the food Sam offered her. She distanced herself slightly from the group and stared off into the darkness. Aria wrapped her arms around her and sighed. Legolas watched her intently and felt Gandalf step up to him. "Have any other powers made their presence known?" he asked the elf in a whisper. Legolas nodded his head and looked at the wizard.

"Aye, they have. Water has begun to appear," Legolas said just as quietly. Gandalf nodded.

"When did they appear?" Legolas sighed and looked back at Aria.

"When we came upon the walls of Moria. The thought of going in overwhelmed her and she became afraid." Gandalf nodded. "The darkness is affecting her. I do not believe she is one for dark places."

"Nor are you," Gandalf said with a small chuckled. Legolas looked at the wizard and raised an eyebrow but Gandalf just smiled and turned to join the others who were settling in to rest. Legolas looked back at Aria and slowly made his way over to her.

"Aria?" he asked. Aria jumped slightly and quickly turned around to face him.

"Yes?" she asked as she lowered her arms to her sides. He stepped closer, thankful for his Elvin sight so he could still see her rather clearly in the little light they had. Legolas could feel the agitation emanate from her.

"What has you so restless?" Aria sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know. I've just got this funny feeling . . ." she trailed off and closed the distance between the two of them and hugged him. Legolas stiffened slightly, but he had become use to her need for physical contact when she was upset. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and Aria buried her head into his shoulder. "I've got this feeling that something big is about to happen and I think I'm going crazy from being in the dark." She pulled away from him but he kept his arms wrapped around her. Aria gave him a puzzled look as he gave her an odd expression.

Legolas couldn't explain it, but there was something that would not let him let her go. He raised his right hand and gently ran his fingers down her cheek. Aria stiffened at his touch that was so soft on her cheek she thought that she was imagining it at first. "Le bain," Legolas whispered and Aria raised an eyebrow.

"What did you say?" she asked in a whisper and Legolas seemed to snap out of a trance and dropped his arms as he stepped back. Aria gave him a small smile at the confused expression she saw on his face. "Legolas, what did you say?" she asked again. Legolas frowned and shook his head.

"Nothing that is of importance. Rest, Aria, I will keep watch." Aria shook her head.

"I couldn't rest if I wanted to right now, Legolas. You go ahead and rest. You always seem to be the one keeping watch anymore." Aria gently pushed his shoulder when he hesitated. "Go on. If something happens, I'll alert you immediately. Although I know you'll be by my side before I could even draw breath to say your name." Legolas smiled and reluctantly gave in. He turned and sat down near the edge of the group and rested himself against a rock. He sighed to himself as he glanced at Aria, who once again had her back to the group, before he rested his head against the rock. He was becoming frustrated with himself when it came to Aria. He would catch himself watching her closely or embracing her longer than needed when she reached out to him for comfort. Legolas sighed once more before he slowly let himself rest, deciding it would be best not to think on things because he would have time to think about it later.

They traveled through the mines relatively easy, with only a few slips here and there by the hobbits. Aria seemed to have lost track of how many days they actually were in there, but when she had asked Gandalf before they started their journey that day, he said that they had a day's journey left. Aria was thankful because soon they would once again be outside.

As they reached the top of a steep climb Gandalf stopped. "I have no memory of this place," the wizard said quietly as they came upon a landing with three doorways leading down different paths. They all sat down, except for Legolas who stood with his arms crossed over his chest looking out and down the way they had just came. Aria was sitting next to Pippin and Merry and she picked at the dirt that had somehow found its way under her nails.

"Are we lost?" Pippin asked. Merry and Aria looked at him.

"No," Merry said quickly and Aria chuckled at the exasperated look on Merry's face.

"I think we are," Pippin said in a matte of fact tone.

"Gandalf will find the right path to take," Aria said. Pippin looked at her.

"What if is doesn't?" he asked and Aria chuckled.

"He will. He's a wizard after all." Pippin smiled and Merry broke their conversation.

"Shhh. Gandalf's thinking," Merry said. Pippin sighed and was quiet for a moment before he once again spoke.

"Merry..." he said.

"What?" Merry asked.

"I'm hungry," Pippin said and Aria laughed quietly.

"When aren't you Pippin?" she asked. Pippin looked at her and Merry chuckled right along with her for a few moments before Gandalf spoke.

"Eh - it's that way," Gandalf said as he walked towards the middle pathway.

"He's remembered," Merry said as all of them stood and joined the wizard near the entrance way.

"No, but the air doesn't smell so foul down here. If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose," Gandalf said before they began their journey down the stairs and through dark corridors. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Gandalf paused. "Let me risk a little more light." As the glow from Gandalf's staff grew a great hall was lit with ceilings higher than any Aria had ever seen before in her entire life.

"Oh, wow," Aria whispered. Legolas looked at her and couldn't help the smile that made its way across his face as he looked at her eyes wide in wonder and amazement.

"Behold the great realm of the Dwarf-city of Dwarrowdelf," Gandalf said.

"There's an eye opener, and no mistake," Sam said. Aria nodded in agreement as they made their way through the hall. As they walk, Gimli breaks from the group and runs towards a doorway with sunlight pouring from the door.

"Gimli!" Gandalf called but Gimli didn't stop. He ran into the room followed by the others. As they made their way inside they all saw the bodies of dead dwarves and a few orcs laid across the floor and around a stone tomb. Gimli kneeled next to the tomb with tears in his eyes.

"No! Oh, no! No," he cried before he began to weep. Aria walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder as Gandalf walked over to the top of the tomb to read the inscription to everyone.

""Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria." He is dead then. It's as I feared," Gandalf said sadly. Aria's heart dropped.

"I'm so sorry Gimli," she whispered to him. The dwarf just bowed his head and said a quiet prayer for his cousin. Gandalf handed his hat and staff to Pippin and leaned down to pick up a book from a dead dwarf's hands.

"We must move on. We cannot linger," Legolas said to Aragorn who nodded. Aria looked back at them and then at Gandalf who began to read.

"'They have taken the bridge and the second hall. We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums, drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A Shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out. They are coming.'" Gandalf read from the book. Aria's heart began to race just thinking of what the poor dwarves went through their final hours begin trapped like rats in a cage. Suddenly a large crash echoed throughout the room and all looked at Pippin who had knocked a skeleton into the well. All held their breath as the noise disappeared waiting to hear something in the distance but when nothing came everyone let out a sigh of relief. Gandalf stormed over and jerked his hat and staff form the small hobbit. "Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time, and rid us of your stupidity." Aria felt bad fro Pippin, but he should have known better. Aria was about to say something when drums sounded. Her eyes went wide and she looked towards the door.

"Frodo!" Sam exclaimed and everyone turned to look at the group of hobbits only to see Sting glow blue.

"Orcs!" Legolas exclaimed. Aria felt sick as she drew her weapons and the others blocked the door before taking position. She didn't think she was ready for a battle so soon, but she had no choice in the matter.

"Maybe my powers can come into play," she thought as the orcs began to shake on the door and crash into it. When a hole was made Legolas fired an arrow, followed by Aragorn. As the door was burst open, Aria felt her hands dampen and she looked down at her blades before she quickly looked up and at an advancing orc.

The orc swung his blade down on her and she blocked it, however, her blades slipped in her hands. The orc sneared at her and she swallowed hard before she shoved him off of her. He swung again, only this time he succeeded in knocking a blade from her hand. Aria glared up at him and raised her hand. The orc saw a glint in the she-elf's eye before he was hit with a powerful spray of water that sent him clear across the room and smashing into three other orcs before stopping against the stone wall. Aria felt her anger grow and welcomed the hot feeling her hands took on than the cool wet feeling of fear.

Another orc advanced on her and she hit him with fire sending him running and screeching only for him to catch several others on fire as well. Aria heard a loud commotion and looked to the door only to see a large troll standing there getting ready to strike Sam with a club. She let out a yell and somehow managed to knock the club from his hand with shot of water before she froze it in a thick sheet of ice on the wall. The troll looked at his club before he looked at Aria and growled. Her eyes grew wide as the troll advanced on her only to have it sidetracked by an arrow being fired at him. The troll's attention moved from Aria to Legolas who stood upon a ledge. Aria watched briefly as Legolas expertly and gracefully battled the troll, until an orc charged at her again.

The battle raged on and Aria having lost her other blade some time ago was pinned against the wall by a foul smelling orc with a slimy face. The orc had his hand around her throat and she brought her hands on his wrist. The orc laughed as he watched her struggle but Aria smirked at him as she began to burn through the flesh on its wrist. The orc let out a cry of pain before dropping her and clasping its wrist. Aria hit the floor and brought her hand to her throat as she coughed.

"A witch are you?" he hissed and was about to strike her when she raised her hand and a fierce gust of wind picked him up from the ground and threw him across the room. There were few orcs left. Aria stood slowly her hand still around her throat as it burned. Suddenly, Aria looks towards the troll only to see him spear Frodo.

"No!" she screamed as she ran over to where Frodo laid and past the troll that now swayed with a Mirkwood arrow lodged in his throat. "Frodo!" she exclaimed as she kneeled next to him after Aragorn turned him over. She put her hand over the mark and was about to try and draw her healing powers when Frodo took a deep breath and sat up bringing his hand to his chest. Aria's eyes widened in surprise. "You're alive!" she exclaimed happily.

"I'm all right. I'm not hurt," Frodo said as he breathed deeply. Aragorn and the others looked at him disbelieving their eyes.

"You should be dead. That spear would have skewered a wild boar," Aragorn said. Aria nodded in agreement but stopped when Gandalf began to speak.

"I think there's more to this Hobbit than meets the eye," Gandalf said with a small smile. Frodo opened his shirt to reveal, to what looked like a silver shirt to Aria.

"Mithril! You are full of surprises, Master Baggins!" Gimli exclaimed. Aria frowned and decided she would ask Legolas later what mithril was. In the distance they heard more orcs coming towards them and Aria's heart raced once again.

"To the bridge of Khazad-dûm!" Gandalf exclaimed before they all quickly stood and made their way from the small tomb and into the hall once again.

A/N: I know I'm evil and didn't put the translation of what Legolas said to Aria, you'll find out later. It isn't anything tooscandalous, but a scret for now! Let me know what you think!