The days grew warmer as the escort of Arwen drew closer to the southern lands. Katie said her goodbyes in advance to quite a number of elves. When she moved to say them to Lithorniel and her family, though, Lithorniel only smiled.

"Glawar and Húnvel and I have decided to remain in Middle-earth until the passing of the Children of Elrond," she told Katie. "We will most likely still be here when you come back."

Katie smiled brightly. It touched her that the elves were just as certain as she was that she would return some day. Her stay this time had only been leading up to something: she was sure of it.

She said goodbye to Elrond himself last. She saw him riding by himself one morning, Arwen being in another part of the train at the moment.

Katie urged her horse forward and slipped into the train beside him. "I wanted to say goodbye," she said quietly, "and to thank you for all your amazing kindnesses to me."

"Ah yes, Erestor said he thought you would soon be leaving us, and I concur." He smiled warmly at her. "You are welcome. And thank you for what you have done for me, and my children, and my people, as well. You have been a light for us, iell-nín. As you are gwathel to my sons, so you have become like a daughter to me." He placed his hand on the top of her head in a fatherly gesture. "May all the roads laid before your feet be smooth."

A shout went up from the front of the line, and Arwen cantered up to stop beside her father.

"It is Elladan and Elrohir!" she cried joyfully.

Sure enough, in a moment Katie saw them galloping down from the hills, their bright gear shining in the sunlight. Joy flared up so hot in her heart that she couldn't even speak.

The twin Lords of Imladris pulled up next to their father and sister and were off their horses in a flash, hugging them and exclaiming with happiness. Katie dismounted as well, and in an instant found herself enveloped in Elrohir's strong but gentle arms.

"Katie!" he exclaimed joyfully. "I am glad you are still here!"

Katie hugged him back tightly, smiling, but still couldn't speak. In a moment Celeborn and Galadriel were beside them, also embracing their grandsons warmly. When greetings had been exchanged, Elladan said, "We have come to escort you to Edoras! King Éomer welcomes you all to his halls."

They began to move again, and the twins, Elrond, Arwen, Galadriel and Celeborn remounted and headed toward the front of the line. Katie remounted, and looked up to see Elrohir looking around for her.

"Come, Katie! I would hear of your adventures, as well!" he called, and smiling, she urged her horse forward and rode with them.

Elladan and Elrohir recounted all that had happened from the time they met with Aragorn in Rohan, in early March. They told of their journey through the terrifying Paths of the Dead, their wild ride to Erech with the Dead riding behind, capturing the fleet at Pelargir, sailing to Pelennor Fields and the battle there with the banner of Arwen flying in the wind, and in quiet voices they named those who had died in the fighting. Then they recounted the march to the very plains of the Morannon and the battle there before the tower of Barad-dûr crumbled to the ground. Then joyfully they told of the crowning of Aragorn as King Elessar, the Elf-stone.

"We returned with Éomer and Éowyn to Edoras as they escorted the body of King Théoden to his own halls for burial," Elrohir finished. "But tell us of your journey!" He turned to Katie. "I take it you have seen the glory of Lothlórien at last!"

Katie nodded wide-eyed and finally found her voice. "It was… It was…" and then she simply couldn't find a word to describe the Golden Wood. Beautiful simply didn't cut it.

The others laughed gently. "It certainly was," Arwen agreed, her eyes twinkling.

Katie laughed along with the others, and suddenly felt a strange unity with them. It really was as if they were her family. If only her grandmother had been there, it would've been perfect. She smiled privately and relaxed in the double sunlight of the sky and her friends' love as they rode on toward Edoras.

000

The land of Rohan was green and beautiful in late spring verdure. The hall of the King stood high upon the crown of a hill before a mountain, with the town of Edoras down below. When they reached the gates, the men who guarded them in bright mail were already on their feet, for they had been watching for them and had seen the train coming from afar. Courteously they hailed them in the Common Speech and opened wide the gates of Edoras for them to pass through. The twins greeted the guards with smiles, and the escort of Arwen entered the capital and set their horses' feet upon the broad path the wound upward beside a channel of water, to the very crown of the hill. The people of the town, yellow-haired and noble, stood on either side of the path, waving and calling joyfully to them. Mothers held their children up to see the arrival of the Elves. At the top of the hill, the riding dismounted and climbed the stairs up to the great hall of Meduseld.

The Doorwardens with the sun glinting off their green shields and long corslets and gleaming off their golden braids, lifted the heavy bars of the doors and swung them quickly open for their illustrious guests to enter.

The mighty hall was lit by shafts of sunlight that fell through the louver in the roof. The floor beneath their feet was a magnificent work of art, and the pillars richly carved. The company passed the long hearth in the middle of the hall and reached a dais at the end with three steps, upon which was a great gilded chair. The yellow-haired man in that illustrious seat rose to greet them, standing quite tall.

"Welcome to Meduseld!" King Éomer declared joyfully, saluting them. "Honored we are to see our Elder Kindred tread our halls!"

"And honored we are to be greeted so warmly by the noble descendants of Eorl the Young!" Elrond answered, returning the gesture. Then Éomer came down to the middle step of the dais, and there Elrond met him, and they clasped one another's arms in a sign of brotherhood. The entire hall filled and echoed with greetings and laughter.

000

Katie didn't see very much of the twins the rest of that day, as preparations were made to house the riding. She assumed they were with their sister and father. This was the last time all four of them would be together as a family, since Arwen was getting married and going to live in Minas Tirith, and Elrond would be sailing soon.

But she found them in the streets of Edoras the next day, chatting with some Rohirrim whom they apparently knew from battle.

"Katie!" Elladan exclaimed when he saw her coming, and Elrohir turned and smiled at her as she drew up even with them. When the Rohirrim saw they wanted to talk, they graciously excused themselves.

"I realized yesterday, I never got news of Legolas from you!" Katie said as they began to stroll through the town. "You said he was well and in Minas Tirith, and that was all."

"There is not much more to tell than that," Elrohir answered. "Except…" He hesitated.

"He has heard the call of the Sea," Elladan said in a reverent voice. "I believe he will sail someday. And perhaps he never means to return to his woods, either."

"Never return to Mirkwood?—Excuse me, Lasgalen?" Katie exclaimed in shock. "But it's his home!"

Elrohir turned a sad smile on her. "Many people have left their homes for the opportunity to travel to a new and deeper Home," he said.

Katie chewed over this in her mind and agreed with him. "But it'll be hard for him to leave his father, and his siblings."

"And Gimli," Elladan added.

Katie looked at him through narrowed eyes as a smile danced about his face. "Gimli?"

"Yes, that is the other thing we must tell you about Legolas," Elrohir said, suppressing a laugh. "He and Gimli appear to have become the very best of friends! They walk all through the city together, they ride together… And if someone so much as looks at one of them askance, the other leaps instantly to his defense!"

Katie looked at him blankly. "You're kidding."

"No, I am not! You will see it for yourself soon enough," he answered.

000

The escort of Arwen remained in Edoras the remainder of that day, and left at dawn on the 16th of June. It was guessed that they would come to Gondor at the day before Mid-year—that is, what Katie would've called the last day of June. So Katie settled in for another two weeks of traveling.

Not that the traveling was at all boring for her. On the contrary, there was a certain electric excitement in the air, for the Elves were all looking forward to observing the wedding of Arwen and Aragorn. And somehow, Katie's expectations of returning home became tied up in this excitement, until she was certain her time to depart would coincide with the celebrations.

She rode and walked as usual with quite a number of different people on this last stretch of the journey, often finding herself with Lithorniel's family, Erestor, or the twins.

One morning she was walking beside Elladan, with Elrohir nearby, and becoming preoccupied, descended into silence.

"What are you thinking about?" Elladan finally asked her.

"I was thinking about what Elrohir said in Edoras," she said, glancing up. "About Legolas leaving his family and his home to go to Valinor." Elrohir glanced over and listened in silently.

When Katie didn't say anything more, Elladan prompted, "What about it?"

"I'm wondering if he'll be happy with his choice," she admitted, "or if anyone could be completely happy with either choice. It's like the one poem Arwen got me to recite her one day—maybe when you have two equal paths to choose from, you'll never be happy with either choice. You simply have to choose."

She dropped her voice as she spoke, so that only Elladan and Elrohir could hear her. "I think I'm going to have a difficult choice someday," she said so quietly she almost whispered. "Or maybe not. Sometimes I think I will have to decide, and sometimes I think Ilúvatar will decide for me. And sometimes I think His choice and mine are the same!" She looked up at them again, her sudden grin shining through. "Does that make any sense at all?"

Elladan smiled kindly. "Yes," he said, "I think it does."

Elrohir said nothing at all, but looked thoughtful.

TBC

AN: Originally I was going to have Katie meet Éowyn in Edoras, but then I checked the timeline, and now I'm entirely confused. The timeline in Appendix B of Return of the King says, "May 8: Éomer and Éowyn depart from Rohan with the sons of Elrond." But they were in Minas Tirith! I think maybe it's supposed to read " Rohan". At that point in the story, Éowyn tells Faramir she has to leave him for a little while and go to Rohan until after the funeral of Théoden. Then, "June 14: The sons of Elrond meet the escort and bring Arwen to Edoras. June 16: They set out for Gondor." Now, I interpreted this to mean that the twins were hanging out in Edoras, then rode out to meet the group and take them to Edoras, where they stayed for two days, then left again for Gondor. I've read another interpretation, also, but I think mine's logical. Then after the wedding, "July 18: Éomer returns to Minas Tirith. July 19: The funeral escort of King Théoden sets out." Now apparently Éowyn did not go with Éomer for the funeral escort, because they describe it in the book, and say where all the characters are in the procession, and she's not mentioned. But she is in Rohan, where she meets up again with Faramir and they "get engaged", if you will. Now here's where it's really confusing. If Éomer and Éowyn were in Rohan when the escort went there, Éomer would've met Arwen and Galadriel. But the way it's described in the book, he sees the two of them for the first time when he returns to Minas Tirith before the funeral procession of Théoden goes back to Edoras. How does this jive? Maybe he was out on official business somewhere in Rohan when the escort of Arwen went to Edoras, but you'd think the King of Rohan would want to meet such important people there and greet him in his realm! But maybe Éowyn played hostess. I don't know; I'm terribly confused. What with the from/for Rohan thing…

So anyway, I was originally going to have Katie and Éowyn meet and discuss some things, but then I thought Éowyn wasn't in Rohan at the time and cut her out, and then when I realized that it was probably Éomer who wasn't in Edoras at the time, I threw my hands up and left it alone. Besides, I've gotta make cuts someplace, or we will never get to the end of this story! And the conversation between her and Katie wouldn't advance the plot and theme (yes, there is a theme, believe it or not) at all, besides introducing yet another character for me to keep up with. It was just too much work.

And then there was all the work of trying to figure out what the heck "1 Lithe" was supposed to mean! And if I got it wrong, I'm sorry. I was very confused.

Do let me know if anybody has any insight on these problems!

One more chapter, guys! The end is in sight!

Princess Siara: And Mary-Sues are to be avoided at all costs! Thank you! As for the original work… Well I'd love to revamp my old Island series one of these days, but it's gonna be a lot of work. I think I should finish up this series and the Hannah stuff at least before I start working on more original fic. Nope, you don't meet Haldir. Sorry. Too many characters to juggle as it is! If there are to be any Rangers at all, they'll be in Minas Tirith. Originally I was going to have some big thing with a couple of Rohirrim at Edoras—like one of them makes a rude comment about Katie and the twins totally stand up for her… But like I said, this is turning into the endless story, and I've gotta draw the line somewhere! It'll probably end up in the "deleted scenes" after I'm done with the series. :)

Laer4572: You haven't read 'em yet? Holy crap, get on it now! Lol

Almenal: Yep, there's one more sequel scheduled after this. Hee hee. Scheduled. Sounds like somebody's dictating to me, doesn't it? …Well I suppose somebody is, actually.

Kalen61587: This was another longish wait, I'm afraid. Thank you! I really need to get Katie through all these places and register her impressions of them, but the story has to be tied up! Otherwise the chapters would probably be longer and more in-depth.

Megara: lol I like it too!

ElvenRyder: Just wait! I intend to make it pretty darned clear very, very soon!

Erasuithiel: Oh, are you putting on Julius Caesar? And yes, the coconut bombs are awesome. I've gotta dig that movie out and watch it again.

IwishChan: Congrats! I'm not sure what I'd think of ancient history, but ancient culture rocks my socks!

Alaterial567: lol I didn't notice it was Lauren backwards! Well, just because I was curious, I looked it up. In Sindarin, Nauruial would be "twilight flame", Naruial would be a poetic way of saying "red twilight", Nauriel would be a feminine name version of "flame" or mean "daughter of flame", Naruêl would be a poetic way of saying "red star", and Naurêl would be a poetic way of saying "star flame". So there ya go. :) I know, I totally need a hobby.

Ravens Destiny: —grins but says nothing—

Darkened Dreams: Well, it involved Harry and Ginny and Hermione and Ron being imprisoned by Voldemort in, of all things, cribs. And Harry hallucinating some pretty freaky stuff. And Voldemort getting mad and torturing him for screaming at it. Yeah, it was pretty darned bizarre. I'm updating! I'm updating! Spare my beautiful Legolas! lol

Tara: When you conquer the world, I want Pennsylvania. As for Elvish insults, try the Sindarin Phrasebook—the link is on my profile page.

qwertyqwert the hiccup gal: Nice costume idea! I just wore pointy ears with my normal clothes all day. Got some pretty funny reactions! Even wore them to dance class in the evening. Everybody knows everything is more fun with pointy ears. Oh, BTW: for some reason, you can't put web addresses in reviews; they won't show up. You can't put them in chapters, either. Some weird ff dot net thing. So you'll have to send me the link in email. If it's the Llama Song, I already know and love it. :) —sings— Here's a llama, there's a llama, and another little llama, fuzzy llama, funny llama, llama, llama, duck!

Reiko5: Do tell me if that email went through!

Thanks also to contia mirian, Amy and Fk306! I hold all my reviewers like a jewel in my heart!. lol

Please review! —blows kisses—