I'm back with the long awaited chappie 29! Thanks for the reviews; please keep 'em up!

This was an interesting chapter for me to write. I enjoyed it (just f.y.i. lol!)

-Romen

Disclaimer: Unfamiliar; mine. Familiar; not mine.

29. Plans Into Action

Arwen inhaled a deep breath, a small smile creeping up her lips. She could smell the sharp scent of an oncoming winter. It wasn't yet over the mountains, but nature was awaiting what it would bring; the deep layers of white lace, the soft grey sky. Winter was one of Arwen's favorite seasons, and she always welcomed its coming, anticipating it throughout autumn.

"My lady."

Arwen looked around before her eyes rested upon Khelekion, his blonde hair so light that it was close to silver. His name definitely spoke of his cold appearance, even though he was very warmhearted and one of Arwen's good friends.

"Yes?"

"It is too late to continue travel. We are going to stop and make camp, with your permission." He bowed his head slightly, the moonlight glinting off of his hair.

Arwen could barely keep herself from heaving a sigh of frustration. Even though they had been traveling for almost a week, they were probably only about three days from Imladris. Her company was being very protective of her. Anytime there was a suspicious sound or movement, they would pull to the side of the road and make camp for the night. She wondered if this was out of their own love for her or if her father had simply ordered them to watch her this closely. She didn't care which one it was; they both infuriated her to no end.

"My lady?"

"It is fine with me, Khelekion. Thank you for the information." She slid off of Silme, leading her over toward the camp that was being prepared. She stroked the mare's dark neck, frowning.

"What are we going to do with them?" she muttered, watching as someone began to set up a tent even though they would only be there overnight. "I suppose they still think I'm their little princess."

Silme blinked, her deep, dark watery eyes glistening in the starlight that she was named after. She nuzzled Arwen's neck, making the elf-maiden laugh for the first time since she had left the elf kingdom.

Thinking of her home made her heart sting. She missed it very much. It was hard to believe that she had been there for several months; it felt like she had only resided there for a few days. She knew that this feeling must be due to the fact that all of her brothers were away fighting when she had arrived and had only returned several days before she left. She sighed, hiding her face in Silme's mane as she thought of all three of them, one in particular on her mind.

Arwen couldn't help but smile at her giddiness every time she thought of Estel; the stern brow, the grey eyes, his ruggedness. He wasn't like any elf that she had ever seen before, at least as far as appearance went. He had changed so much over the very short period of time in which she had been away. She had hoped to talk with him more while she had been in Imladris and see if his mind had changed as well, if he thought of different things. She wondered if he ever thought of her.

"You are so foolish," she muttered to herself, laughing softly. "You sound like a silly little elf girl." She lifted her head, startled to see Khelekion a few feet away from her, staring.

He looked down hastily. "Forgive me, my lady, I simply did not want to disturb you."

Arwen felt her eyes widen. He hadn't wanted to disturb her? How long had he been standing there? Despite her humiliation, she quickly regained her composure. "That is fine. Do you need to tell me something?"

The Lothlorien elf's mouth dropped open slightly. He closed it, drawing his dark eyebrows in. Arwen leaned forward, wondering if she hadn't heard him speak. "Yes?" she repeated.

"I was just going to...to take Silme for you." He hurried forward, stroking the dark mare's neck. "Yes, I was going to ask permission to lead her to the other horses' resting area while you lie down. You should rest."

"Oh. Hannon le, mellon."

Khelekion blinked, standing for a moment before nodding curtly and leading Silme away. Arwen stood as she watched them go, clasping her hands in front of her as she began to sink into loneliness. She wandered over to her tent, closing the flap and sighing as she unclasped the brooch on her cloak, shaking the heavy velvet materiel from her shoulders and watching it fall to the grass beneath her. She pulled the pin that held her hair in its perfect bun and let the dark sheet hang down to her waste before braiding it.

In truth, Arwen was very lonely. She had never dreamed that leaving Imladris would ever be this hard for her. She always felt a small pang of sadness when her visits were over, but she always had the beauty of the Golden Wood to look forward to. That thought now did little to console her. She sighed, sitting down on the soft, green forest floor and wrapped her arms around her knees, frowning.

She had been a bit disappointed when Khelekion had taken Silme away. Her horse was the only one that she could talk to right now, the only one who would really listen to what she had to say. She could always talk to Khel, but he was so formal those days. Things had not always been that way. He had used to treat her just like Dan and Ro would, as if she were a normal elf-maid and not the daughter of the lord of Rivendell. However, as they had gotten older, their relationship had changed. Khelekion went on to be a soldier and Arwen began to take on her duties as princess. She supposed that this new found awkwardness they had when they conversed with each other was only a result of the way things should be; that a soldier respect his princess. Still, she wished that it didn't have to be that way. At the moment she really needed a friend.

Arwen lied down on her pallet, staring up at the tent and sighing. She watched the wind blow across it, manipulating the thin white cover. How she longed to be staring at the ceiling from her bed in Imladris. She shut her eyes, trying to banish the thoughts from her mind and rolled over, taking a deep breath as sleep slowly began to take her.

SNAP. Arwen sat up, running a hand over her face as she looked around her tent. She had just heard something. It couldn't have been an elf. She stood, pushing the tent-flap open and emerging into the dark night.

"My lady, what are you doing up?"

She turned around, surprised to that Khelekion was already at her side. "I heard something," she said, looking around warily. "It woke me."

"You don't need to fear for your safety. We have guards surrounding the area. You're safe."

"I wasn't fearing for my"- She stopped. She felt his hand lay lightly on her shoulder, something he hadn't done in quite a while. She searched his face, trying to figure out his odd actions. He could be so strange at times! She could see his smile. She was about to give him one as well when she heard a whizzing sound behind her and felt Khelekion pull her into him as an arrow ledged itself in a tree.

"Ambush!" he cried, rushing her away and drawing his sword. "Ambush!"

Arwen pushed herself away from him, pulling Hadhafang from its sheath. She could see one of the Wild Men coming at her, his face hidden by his large helmet. She blocked his hit as she watched his face contort. She looked down.

A sword had gone through him from behind. Khelekion pulled his blade from the adan's dead carcass and grabbed Arwen's wrist, trying to lead her away.

"Stop!" she shouted. He wasn't listening. She could hear an approaching Wild Man and yanked her wrist from his grasp, swinging Hadhafang around and watching it go through the attacker's throat, stopping him in his tracks. She stood in shock until she felt Khelekion grab hold of her shoulders, pulling her away as Arwen slid her sword from the dead body.

"Khel, watch out!" she cried, watching an arrow come straight at him. He ducked, pulling her closer to him. They both nearly tripped over a dead carcass. Arwen looked down at its face, horrified to see the eyes roll around. The man was still alive.

Terrified, Arwen watched as the man drew a dagger. Before she could do or say anything, she watched it graze against Khelekion's calf, cutting it deeply. He shouted, pulling it out of the weak hand and about to thrust it through the man's throat, but Arwen was quicker. She lifted her sword and watched as it plunged into the man's skull, a sickening crunching noise pounding in her ears. She yanked the blade out, not looking to see what remains were on it.

"Come on," Khelekion grunted through clenched teeth. "We have to get you out of here."

Arwen lifted his arm and laid it over her shoulders, wrapping her arm around his waist as they limped off through the trees, her sword dragging the ground. She glanced behind her, watching the scene as one might watch two animals tear each other to shreds from the safety of distance. She tore her eyes away and looked forward into the forest as they walked on, the sound of the battle disappearing completely the farther they went.

They walked for quite some time. Arwen wasn't sure if it were hours or minutes, or perhaps even days. When she felt Khelekion begin to weaken, she knew that they could go on no longer.

"We have to find shelter," she breathed, looking around. "Here, let's climb this tree."

Khelekion nodded as they stepped toward the evergreen. He pulled himself up onto the first branch, reaching down and helping Arwen up. They climbed a little further until they were sure that they were high enough to be safe.

"You're wounded," Arwen exclaimed, trying not to sound too nervous. "Here, let me examine it."

She moved closer to him, tearing the rip in his leggings wider, all the better for her to examine the wound. She bit her lip, taking in the black veins with dismay.

"It's poisoned," she whispered, sitting still for a moment. She could hear Khelekion groan.

"This is just perfect," he grumbled. "Are you all right? Are you injured?"

"I am fine. Here, I think I have some athelas." She started to search through a pack of herbs that Erestor had given her before she had left, knowing that she may very well need it on her journey. To her relief, she found some of the sweet smelling leaf. She hurriedly began to chew, one hand on Khelekion's knee. When she was sure that she had loosened the herb for long enough, she began to administer it to her companion's wound.

"That will have to do for now," she grunted, ripping part of her sleeve and tying it around the cut, hoping to stem the blood flow. "Someone will surely come looking for us. When they do, your wound can be properly treated."

She allowed her hand to rest on the poorly administered bandage before beginning to move. Before she could do so, she felt Khelekion's hand find hers. She stared at him for a moment, once again shocked at his behavior.

"Thank you." His voice was barely louder than the night air. "I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you better."

Arwen squeezed his hand, her grey eyes soft. "There is no one better than you, Khel. You must believe me when I say that."

He leaned his head back, swallowing as he stared at the few stars visible through the branches. "You fought well, Wen."

"You mean I fought brilliantly." Arwen smiled wryly, moving closer to him and still not letting go of his hand. "You fought well."

"Brilliantly?"

"Yes, brilliantly." Arwen finally removed her hand from his grasp and began to wipe the blood off of her sword. "Still, I was surprised at the skill and brutality of our opponents. I never thought that they could fight that way."

"Neither did I. I have never fought edain before in my life before this day; only yrch." He paused. "I suppose that edain are more intelligent than yrch, hm?"

"Of course they are! Did you not meet Estel while we were at Imladris?"

Khelekion's brow furrowed. "You mean the adan who was with your brothers?"

Arwen nodded. "Yes, him. Really, he is one of my brothers. Did you not know this?"

"I knew this. I am acquainted with him, I have just never met him personally." He paused. "So...what is he like?"

Arwen felt her face flush, a strange reaction. "Well," she began, "he's kind, thoughtful, attentive, and very brave, though he can be impulsive at times. Um, he has grey eyes, and he's tall, very strong, and broad shouldered-"

"I get the picture," he interrupted testily, shifting slightly.

They fell silent for a moment, listening to the breeze sing with the nightingale hidden somewhere within the branches of a tree. Arwen found her thoughts drifting back to Imladris. She shut her eyes, grasping the Evenstar and sighing. How she missed her family, even more so at this moment.

(Space)

"What do we have here?"

Arwen's eyes popped open as she felt someone grab hold of her ankle. She struggled to free herself, but she had already been pulled to the ground. She glared at her captors. They were obviously Wild Men; their odor and garb said it all. She was about to draw Hadhafang when she felt a dagger at her neck.

"Drop it," the voice growled. "Drop it or join your companion."

Arwen could feel tears spring into her eyes. 'Drop it our join your companion.' They had killed Khelekion. They had killed her friend. How could she have slept through that? Surely he would have made some sort of noise. The unlikeliness of them being able to sneak up on her like that was her only grip on sanity. She felt the hilt of her sword slip from her hand, heard it land on the ground with a soft thump.

"Good girl." The knife lowered and she felt herself shove forward, her face making contact with ground. She pushed herself up and looked around wildly, her eyes resting upon Khel. He was lying on the ground, facing her. His eyes were shut. He must just be unconscious. "What do you want?" she hissed.

"Nothing that you can give us, elfling. Or do you want to give us something?"

The very idea made Arwen's stomach heave. She thrust her chin out defiantly and spat at the speaker, a very large and opposing man, his face hidden behind a large helm. This only caused him to laugh before he grabbed her wrists and pulled her to her feet.

"Come along then, Princess. Yes, I know of your rank. If you tell me your name I may just spare your friend's life here." He gestured towards Khelekion. "So let's have it."

"Arwen," she stated simply, her eyes cold.

"Thank you, that was very informative." He threw her to two of the soldiers. "Bind her hands and kill the other."

"No!" she shrieked. "No, don't do it!"

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't." The man didn't turn around.

Arwen's eyes were wide. She was frantic. She had to say something that would force him to spare Khelekion.

"Because he is my brother. He's the prince of Imladris."

"Ah, this one could be useful." The man knelt down, observing the elf's face in silence. "Let's take him with us. Tie him too, in case he awakens."

Arwen shut her eyes, shuddering. That had been a close call. She could only hope that someone would come looking for them.

TBC...