Warnings: Confessions! They have returned! And the madness continues!

Disclaimer: All right, we've reached the chapter 10 mark, so I guess it's time to review. (clears throat) IdonotownanythinginthisstoryexceptforFatherHermanandmaybethatother-priestguyeventhoughhereallyisn'tthatimportantcauseotherwiseeverythingbelongstoJRRTolkienhimself. Got that down? ;)

A/N: THANK YOU TO MY REVIEWERS! You guys are all lifesavers. And I've got some good news for you guys…Confessions are fully back on line! Yay! We'll just need to watch who we throw at poor old Father Herman now, won't we? (wink wink)

Love Confession

--))--

In truth, Father Herman really didn't want to take in the full meaning of what that strange note might have meant. It could have meant things were going to get a whole lot better, or it could have meant that the end of the world was coming to his doorstep. Either way, he was far too close to a heart attack as it was than to allow himself to indulge too deeply in the terror that surely would have followed such an investigation of the note. And Gandalf seemed to be just fine with it as well, and Merry and Pip (or "Pippin", as he had recently been corrected on) seemed to be remaining completely oblivious to everything that was going on.

And it wasn't as if the dear priest didn't get a nice send-off. Oh no. Gandalf just about tele-ported him back to the good old church that he used to work at with a promise that he would be over soon to have his own confession before disappearing right into mid-air…

Leaving Father Herman quite alone in the one place that he had just about vowed never to return to after the nightmares that it had given him.

Truly, one minute he had been in the company of some of the strangest and most alarming people he had ever laid eyes on (and having just come out of a rather horrifying adventure at that)…and the next minute he was standing outside St. Matthew's church as though he had never left it.

His question now was simple. Was this a good thing or a bad thing?

Turning around slowly with a loud gulp to face the ancient, towering church that he had become so familiar with throughout most of his lifetime…Father Herman found himself facing far more than a building on that day.

He was facing an acceptance of a formerly dismissed job that very well may have had all the intentions of becoming the death of him in the very near future.

--

"H-have a seat."

A look of guilt. Uncertainty. Nervousness.

The small, wooden stool creaked whiningly in dismay when a familiar presence of weight was pressed down upon it…but nearly gave a horrified CRACK when it realized that the weight it bore was indeed one of great significance…and it had to brace itself bravely against the ground to keep from moving suddenly under the challenging pressure.

Father Herman took a very deep breath as the noises from behind the familiar, small, decorated window reached his ears and then faded into nothing, trying his very best to calm his pounding heart as he prepared to look listen to his first confession since his return to the church. He had been praying for an eternity that God would have mercy on him and send someone easy to deal with for his first day back…but you never knew with God. He most definitely worked in strange ways.

"Begin." At least he said that word without allowing his voice to wobble too much. After all, as a man with his own wisdom, he knew that the last thing a person needs while they are confessing their sins is to hear someone like the priest shaking in his robes. He just needed to keep calm, and everything would be all right. After all, hadn't Gandalf said that there would be forces watching him?

"Bless me Father, for I have sinned." The voice that came from the other side of the door was deep and gruff, and almost startled Father Herman for a moment before he realized that there was no hostility in the voice that he could hear. "I bring the sin of coveting to throne of the Lord."

The priest almost raised an eyebrow. Truly, that would have been on the list of his first guesses as to why a fellow with that kind of voice would have come to the church. But then again, God did indeed work in mysterious ways, so he guessed he was in no position to question the faith of the confessor. "And what is it that you covet, my child?" He asked, almost out of instinct a moment later as he felt his mind slowly but surely clicking back into that same, steady routine that it always had when dealing with confessions before his retirement.

"Not what, who." The gruff voice replied, sounding a bit gruffer and almost a bit grumpy now that it had made this correction.

The priest did raise an eyebrow now. "Oh, I see." He said, once again pleased that his voice came out steadily even after this rather odd revelation. "Well then, who is this that you covet, my child?"

Following this, there were a few shuffling noises and some assorted grumbling noises from outside the window, right before a few audible words were muttered, and Father Herman barely caught them due to how quiet they were and his own fading hearing.

"Lady Galadriel." Yes, those were the words. The priest ran them over in his mind several more times to make sure he had gotten it right, and he could not think of any way that he could have misheard. The name was indeed "Lady Galadriel"…but what a strange name!

Nodding softly, Father Herman finally gathered himself up in time to respond to the newcomer's comment. "And have you told her about this desire?" He asked, his eye twitching when it suddenly dawned on him that he was going to have to look out the window at sometime or other to see who was confessing. After all, if he didn't, then he would never get over his fear. But what if the speaker was something…terrifying?

"No." The voice grunted, but then stopped. "…w-well, not exactly. I…I mean I think she already knows, because she's some kind of witch, I think…but I-I never told her myself…"

"Mm." The priest murmured, growing a bit confused by this now, but he was relieved to feel just the slightest and firmest bit of confidence beginning to grow inside of him as the routine of the confession became more and more familiar. "And do you believe it is a sin to desire her in this way?"

Another shuffle. Another grunt.

"It depends on how you look at it." The stout figure muttered.

Father Herman shook his head slightly. "Now, that is no answer. Tell me, does she love another?"

"Yes."

"And this troubles you."

"Of course it does!"

"And how great is her love for this other man?"

"Well…she's married to him."

"Married?"

"That's what I SAID!"

The priest sat back in his seat at the mention of that one. Oh dear. This was always the area of confessions that he disliked dealing with the most. After all, wanting a woman who is married is one of the most difficult things to handle of them all.

And it was also at this point that Father Herman finally decided that it would be somewhat helpful to see what kind of fellow he was dealing with…and so, gathering about the very most of his courage and recklessness, he leaned his head forward slightly…and looked out the window.

He brought his head back almost immediately afterward, a million different shades of relief and alarm firing into his senses. All right, he had seen the fellow. And though he could have been more handsome, at least he wasn't evil looking. He was short, stout, with very long hair and a long, braided beard, and a naturally grumpy look about him, it seemed. But the idea of that kind of person desiring a lady (who carried the title of "Lady" no less) was indeed a cause for concern.

Oh dear.

"Well, this is indeed a difficult situation that you find yourself in, my child." Father Herman said, in complete honesty as soon as he had brought his wits about him again. He decided it would be best if he didn't look out the window for a while after that. "And I must say that it will grow more difficult as you try to deal with it. But as long as you have not created an physical sin yet, I believe there is still much hope left for you. What you will need is guidance of the mind and heart, and the Lord God offers the very best kind of help in those areas."

"So you advise me to pray then." The figure grumbled.

The priest frowned slightly, becoming slightly discouraged when he realized how annoyed the confessor sounded at the mention of doing such a thing. "Yes, actually I do." He said, trying to keep offense from his voice as he said so. "God will lead you on the right path. You need only seek his help. But I will tell you now that the worst thing you can do is make Lady Galadriel unhappy, or anger her husband by doing something foolish. Make your choices wisely, and perhaps turn your interests elsewhere. You may find that the world will turn a different direction in all good time."

More shuffling. More grumbles, this time more annoyed.

Silence followed this.

And then the irritated sound of a heavy boot thumping on the ground before the stout figure pushed himself to his feet, and stomped off away from the door where he had formerly been sitting and talking to the old priest.

Leaving Father Herman alone at last, letting out a long, long sigh of relief…but also with a feeling of hope that his first confession had gone fairly well.

Perhaps.

After all, God worked in mysterious ways, and he had yet to see if that would be the worst kind of confessor that he would face in the future…

--))--

Yahoo! The first confession after his retirement! I hope it doesn't all seem too boring after all this terribly long time…but you guys said you wanted more confessions, and I only live to make my reviewers happy! (goes around and hugs all of her reviewers) You guys are the best! (Aaaand, special thanks to Kabuki for the Gimli idea! It was fun! (claps wildly))

-Review Responses-

almostinsane: Ohh, so you want to BE in a confession, do you? Hmm…well, that's a little bit different, because I never really planned to put anyone outside of the story in there…(rubs chin)…I'll have to take that into consideration…hehe. (winks) I'll see what I can do. Thanks for your awesome review, as always:)

lindahoyland: HA! I knew that word would get me sometime! (thwacks head) I've ALWAYS had trouble spelling "smooth". Thanks very much for correcting me, and I'll try not to make that mistake again. (goes off to go study vocab) I always had trouble with the word "disciplin" too. (shakes head) I don't even know if I spelled that right…and I'm very glad you liked the new chappie! It's refreshing to get back to confessions again, and I was more than happy to pay a little honor to my reviewers. But then again, didn't I say something about "Honorable Mention"…? (hint hint)

goatzrul: Ohh…I see. Well, I'm sorry you don't like the story, but that is also why there is a general statement in the authoring realm stating that if you don't like the story, you don't have to read it. I also mentioned that my story is a little strange, and therefore your issues with Elrond are understandable (by the way, it is part of the Catholic tradition that priests are known as "Fathers", and therefore everyone else is kind of considered "children", and that's why he called Elrond "my child"), but that is also why this is not a canon story, and I myself officially marked it "weird". If you don't like stories that are out of the ordinary, then you are absolutely right about thinking that you should not read this. And you actually don't need to tell me about Elrond. I've read up on him quite a bit, and come to think of it, he probably wouldn't be able to get into this modern-day-time,would he? Of course not. The priest came from my own imagination, and I'm sorry if that offends you. Go ahead and go back to writing your essay, and please try to leave a little constructive criticism on your next visit, if you have a next one. Otherwise it just makes it sound like you're trying to make me feel bad about my story, and makes you sound a little bit mean. Thanks for stopping by.

Kabuki733701: Yes! Another good correction about the word "smooth". Almostinsane mentioned it before, and as I said then, I've ALWAYS had trouble spelling that word. (shakes head) Totally my bad. Thanks for telling me! Oh, and as far as Father Herman goes, it's all part of the Gandalf-made-mystery as to how he got where he is now. (spooky look) Heeheehee…and of course you're The Inspirer! Every one of my reviewers has a special place, and judging from your titles, looks like you all know where that place is now! Lol! And don't worry about not having any ideas at the moment. I've got enough to keep me sustained for a while. (wink) Thanks for the review, mellon nin!

Lina-Baggins: Lol! Well, I'm glad I have your permission. (giggles) Thank you for yet another kind review! I totally agree with you about Merry and Pippin as well. They are ADORABLE, and I really had fun sticking them in there. Like I told almostinsane, it's good to be doing confessions again. I'll see you at the next update! (goes off whistling down the path)