Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

A/N: Hey there people! Okay first of all, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU all so much for your lovely reviews! A special THANK YOU goes to kcestel for being my 100th reviewer! Thank you so much! I love you all! Okay, now, I am terribly sorry for the slow update but I was having computer woes. Thankfully, that's all fixed now so hurrah! A huge thank you to my awesome beta enb2004! You rock girl! As promised, here is Chapter 11. Enjoy!

The next morning found Thranduil and Glorfindel pacing around in circles in Thranduil's private study. They had both spent nearly the entire night with Estel, watching over him least Gorothdil attack again.

"Glorfindel, do you ever intend to tell Estel who attacked him?" Thranduil asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

Glorfindel stopped pacing as well and turned to face Thranduil with puzzlement. "Did you not say yourself last night that this was better kept a secret? That Estel didn't the extra stress?"

Thranduil sighed as he sat down. "Aye, that I did. I have come to the conclusion though that Fuina is right. Estel should be told."

"I do not follow your logic mellon nin," Glorfindel said.

"You know as well as I that Estel is curious, often times to curious for his own good. If he remembers what Gorothdil said to him before he was stabbed, it shall not take him long to piece the clues together. When he does, he will realize that we have been keeping something from him. Tell me mellon nin, would you really want to face a very very angry Estel and have to tell him that you have been hiding information from him?" Thranduil said.

One look at Glorfindel's face was all the answer Thranduil needed. "No, I didn't think so. I know I wouldn't want to either. He needs to be told!"

Glorfindel sighed. "It's not that I don't agree with you, for I do, but the twins are dead set against Estel learning of Gorothdil and his past misdeeds. They should be the ones to tell Estel and believe me, they won't be easily convinced too."

Thranduil made a face. "Those two are just as stubborn as their father, and Estel is no better!"

"Mellon nin, you have no idea. You truly have no idea," Glorfindel said shaking his head in amusement. "Come, let us see if we can knock some sense into their thick skulls."

Thranduil snorted. "It would have to be the size of a boulder to achieve that Glorfindel."

"A fact I am well aware of, believe me," Glorfindel muttered as he and Thranduil walked out the door in order to find the twins.

-

It twas the same morning, and Lord Celeborn of Lorien was pacing and muttering under his breathe about his stubborn thick headed wife and what he would do to her when she returned.

"Grandfather?" Arwen questioned sleepily as she sat down at the table.

Arwen's voice jerked Celeborn out of his thoughts as he turned to face his granddaughter. "Yes my child?" he asked.

"Why are you pacing and muttering about killing Grandmother?" Arwen asked, one eyebrow raised in amusement. She was used to such proclamations of planned murders from her brothers or her father, but for her grandfather, it was unusual.

"Your dear Grandmother left at dawn this morning without so much as a warning or an explanation," he growled.

Both of Arwen's eyebrows raised at this information. "Did she not leave you a note?"

"Of course she did, not that it said anything useful," Celeborn said. Seeing Arwen's look of disbelief, he gave it to her to read. "Go on, read it," he urged her.

Eyebrows raised, Arwen did just that.

My dearest Celeborn,

I am afraid that I shall be gone for sometime. I charge you and Arwen with the safe keeping of the valley. Give my love to Arwen.
With much love,
Galadriel

"Well, that says absolutely nothing," Arwen said with disgust.

"I couldn't agree more," Celeborn said while pacing around the table.

"Forgive me Lady Arwen, I did not mean to eavesdrop but what says absolutely nothing?" Haldir asked coming into the dinning room.

"This letter that Grandmother left. She apparently left very early this morning. She didn't even have the decency to tell us where she was headed," Arwen said angrily.

"She did not tell me she would be leaving with El..." Haldir started to say but stopped when he realized that Arwen and Celeborn most likely did not know of Elrond's coming during the night.

Looking at his Lord and his granddaughter, Haldir knew he had just made a very large mistake. "Perhaps I should be going. This is a family affair after all," he said about ready to bolt out of the door. Two highly enraged elves was not something he wanted to deal with.

"Sit down Haldir," Arwen hissed.

Gulping, he did as he was told. There were few beings in middle earth that he feared, but the Lady Arwen when enraged was one of them.

"Now, what were you saying about Grandmother?" Arwen asked.

"Only that she left this morning," Haldir said quickly.

Celeborn glared at him. "Ah! But that was not all you said. You were about to say the name of someone who had gone with her. Tell me, who left with her? You would be wise to tell me."

Haldir gulped again. Lord Celeborn also just happened to be one of the few beings that frightened him, when enraged that was. "Twas Lord Elrond milord. He came here last night and he and the Lady Galadriel must have departed in the very early hours of the morning."

Arwen and Celeborn looked at each other in surprise and concern. "Grandfather, what was Ada doing here? And why did he not even say hello to us?"

"I know not, but we are going to find out," Celeborn said.

"You mean to follow them," Arwen said with surprise.

"Milord, milady, please. Someone must remain here and take charge of the valley," Haldir said.

Celeborn narrowed his eyes before he sighed. "Of course, you are quite correct. That is what she said to do in her letter. That does not mean that I have to like it though."

Haldir looked almost insulted. "Of course not milord! When Galadriel returns though, she and I will have words about informing her warriors when she is leaving. She should not have left without an escort of at least one guard!"

"Oh I agree. I do believe that we shall all have words with both of them. With any luck, that will be soon," Celeborn said.

Little did they know they would all be seeing Elrond and Galadriel far sooner and under much graver circumstances than they could have imagined.

-

Already quite far away from the Golden Woods, the Lady of Lorien and the Lord of Imladris rode hard for Mirkwood. They both felt as though time was slowly slipping away. Estel's time was limited and it sent a thrill of terror down Elrond's heart.

He knew not what was threatening his youngest, but he would have no reservations about punishing or maiming whoever it was. He knew Galadriel harbored the same thoughts.

Elrond's inner monologue was suddenly disrupted by a sharp pain lancing through his entire body. He could not quite hold back a gasp as the pain intensified.

"Elrond? What is it? What do you see?" Galadriel asked, mistakenly thinking he had seen a vision of the future.

"Not seen, felt," Elrond said in a strangled tone of voice.

Taking a good look at her son-in-law, Galadriel decided know would be a good time for Elrond to get off the horse, preferably before he fell of. "Come, we are stopping. This is a good as any place to camp."

Elrond nodded reluctantly but did as Galadriel said. He knew that he would not be able to ride well after what he had just experienced.

"Tell me, what did you feel?" Galadriel asked.

"Pain, white hot pain. It was very intense and for a few moments, I felt as though I was going to black out. Galadriel, I fear I may have felt what Estel is feeling," Elrond said with fear in his voice.

That was Galadriel's suspicion as well but she did not dare voice that thought out loud. "Perhaps. The sooner we get to Mirkwood though, the sooner we will know for sure what is going on over there."

"Whatever is happening, it involves Estel, I know that for certain," Elrond growled. It was one thing to threaten of injure him, but it was another thing entirely for someone to touch his children, be they human or elves.

Galadriel sighed. "I know Elrond, we both know. It will do us no good to dwell on it however. There is nothing that either of us can do at the moment. Right now, the only thing you can do is rest."

Elrond looked at her with feigned puzzlement.

"Do not give me that look Elrond. You know very well what I speak of. The pain you experienced has taken a lot out of you. If you are to be of any help when we reach Mirkwood, you will need to be at full strength," Galadriel said sternly.

"Very well. I shall rest only if you do the same later tonight," Elrond insisted.
Galadriel bowed her head in acknowledgment. "Sleep," she said.

Within no time, Elrond was fast asleep, his glazed eyes staring up blankly at the heavens.

With Elrond asleep, she allowed herself to drop her calm mask. She was anything but calm. The pain that Elrond had experienced had convinced her that ill had already come to Estel.

Secretly, she feared that they might arrive to late to be of any help. With a prayer to the Valar, she took up the watch, her mind pondering on the fate of her grandson.

Translations:

Mellon nin: My friend