A.N Just to stress one thing, we are not doing the Suish 'Boromir did that thing so he is evil and therefore a pervert!' route. That's just annoying.

'…She said life's a lot to think about sometimes
When you're living in between the lines
And all the stars are sparkling, shine everyday
He said life's so hard to move in sometimes
When it feels like I'm in the line
And no one even cares to ask me why I feel this way…'

3 Doors Down – 'Road I'm On'

Chapter seven Contact

To say that it was dark in the mines would be like saying that the Sahara desert is merely a tad mild, as opposed to its true state of buggeringly hot. The inky black was like a dreadful substance that coated everything in the vast amount of caverns and rooms, only the light emanating from Gandalf's staff made it possible to see in the overpowering gloom.

It had been approximately five hours since the group had entered Moria. They had hardly taken a break since, and a vast majority of the company were feeling exhausted from the trek. At the moment they were travelling along a path that could only be half a metre wide at the most. It was raised far from the cavern's floor, where exactly that was, not even Yuna could make out. Whether it was one or two miles down didn't matter, what did, was the fact that if you happened to fall over or trip, which at the moment was a likely possibility if you didn't keep your wits about you, no one would ever make it back up. The Fellowship trudged along in the virtual silence; it seemed to the female accompanying the party that turtles could cover more ground in less time.

The grey wizard led the group, this seemed only logical as he held the only source of light apart from the torch held by Aragorn and also claimed to know the way. After him, came the elf, then the Hobbits, and following that, the Dwarf, who seemed to be in a state of constant awe over pieces of useless rock. It was true that Moria was quite impressive all together, but in Yuna's mind, all it was, was a bunch of idiotic Dwarves trying to show off their so-called skills. Yuna herself had been placed some way back from the middle of the group. She congratulated them for showing a bit of sense; it was a decision that, if indeed she had been placed in the same situation, would have made. Though this choice came with a heavy price, because it meant that the profusely annoying Gondorian had been placed directly behind her. She couldn't decide who would be worse, him or Aragorn. At the moment, she'd settle for him. She could feel his eyes constantly on the back of her head, the past few hours had been hell, the constant urge to turn around, break his knees and shove him over the edge was getting overpoweringly strong. It wasn't just that he kept staring at her, the last time they'd stopped for a five-minute break, she'd overheard a hushed conversation between him and the dwarf. Really, it was just a lot more nonsense about her being a spy for the dark lord. But it only helped to push him further away from her good books. Her patience was running thin, and it would only be a matter of time before she snapped. Then, for no particular reason that she could see, time ran out. She whipped round, which was rather a hard thing to do without falling to your death in the current situation, and glared bitterly at Boromir. He practically tripped over her, not prepared for the sudden outburst.

"What!" Yuna shouted, hearing the echo bounce around the walls of the cave a second later. He stared at her like a deer caught in headlights. "I know for a fact that the back of my head isn't that interesting, so if you have anything to say, say it to my face."

"I…uh…it's…" He trailed off, leaving nothing but an awkward silence in reply. The rest of the party had stopped to watch the display and were looking on slightly bemused. Boromir stood dumbfounded and shrivelling under her menacing gaze.

"Well?" She said, his refusal to reply only made her more intent on getting one. But it was obvious after a while with no response, she wouldn't. "Never mind." She said relenting; further confrontation would have only served to waste time that they did not have. Turning back, she scowled at those who had turned round and they themselves felt the full force of The Look. It wasn't particularly terrifying, nor was it evil, you just didn't want to see it again. Within a couple of seconds they were moving forward again, and it seemed to her to be a little faster then previously.

Surprisingly enough, after this encounter, Boromir's eyes remained solely on the floor for practically the duration of the Fellowships journey through Moria.

It was hot. So much so that Yuna was finding it hard to breathe-in the stale air that was especially thick in this part of the Mines. The humidity was cutting off several parts of her brain, the bit that held most of her common sense being one of them. It was ridiculous, elves didn't feel temperature and yet she was. She was letting her other side take over. Something that confused her even further was the fact that the Mines were freezing in the first place. If it was indeed as heated as she thought, there would be condensation on the walls, but they remained bone dry. They had stopped in a small chamber to rest and try and recoup strength. Most were in some sate of sleep; the Hobbits had taken up residence in the centre of the floor space. Merry and Pippin were, she was sure, dreaming of some form of food or other, and Frodo was also asleep next to them, surprising enough he had got to sleep with some ease. Gandalf, Boromir and Aragorn were holding a mumbled conversation in one corner, as not to disturb the others. The Dwarf however was not paying the same courtesy as his fellow companions, his snores were becoming loud enough to wake the dead and she was amazed that the Hobbits could sleep through it. Legolas was standing against a wall with his eyes closed, he didn't require a vast amount of sleep but a rest of the mind was well enough.

It had come to her some time during the few hours following her confrontation with Boromir, that no one had stood up for him. They were meant to be the Fellowship, Middle-Earth's last hope and yet they wouldn't even stand up for one of their group. This made her wonder just what kind of relationship they held towards each other. They were obviously able to hold their own when it came to fight, but that was surely not enough. They needed honesty, integrity, self-sacrifice, hope, friendship, loyalty, empathy and above all trust. If they lacked in any of these areas, it would be almost impossible for them to succeed without a complete and utter miracle, not that they didn't need that already. So she had decided to find out just how far they could go. She knew that if she merely left them to find out for themselves and the quest failed, it would haunt her for the rest of her life. Even considering that in those circumstances, that might only be for a short while.

Yuna was seriously sure that she was slowly being driven insane. The ropes tied around her wrist were digging into her flesh and irritating already raw skin. She considered casually slipping out of them but then decided that they would merely tie up her feet and carry her as well. This wasn't much of a down side but she decided against it all the same. Sam was awake, watching over his master while twiddling his thumbs in extreme boredom. A thought crossed her mind; she almost giggled at her own diabolical ideas.

What followed was a sort of staring contest. Yuna's oceanic eyes bored into his skull, while he tried as hard as he could to do anything but lock with her unwavering gaze. 'You'll scare the poor creature half to death.' Said her subconscious. 'Ah well' She mentally retorted. Bringing her bound hands up slightly, she beckoned to him using her index finger, keeping her look just as menacing. The Hobbit slowly rose, and, taking his time, apprehensively moved over to where she was sat on the floor, leaning down a fraction so she could whisper in his ear.

"Sam, don't tell anyone, but I'm really a servant of the Dark Lord Sauron, I'm here on a mission to kill the Fellowship and take the ring back to Mordor. Don't say anything, not a word to anyone." She murmured. The Halfling looked up at her and backed away slowly, eyes wide. "I'm joking, I'm joking." She assured him as he took his place by the Hobbits again. He looked back up just in time to see her put a finger to her lips. "Shhh…"

They had been in Moria three days now and thankfully had not seen signs of anything else remotely alive. The journey had been a rather arduous one, this was somewhat furthered by the fact that Dwarves seemed to think that steps only had to be four inches in width and yet eight in height. This made it slightly difficult for the Hobbits who had by now resorted to climbing them on hands and knees. They were just reaching the top of a particularly steep set at the moment; Yuna could see that behind a sharp outcropping stood three almost identical doors. The first held a staircase leading down, the second led straight on and third had another staircase that instead, this time, led upwards. Being the appointed guide of the group, Gandalf would have reached the landing first but stopped rather abruptly a few steps before.

"I have no memory of this place…" He uttered in silent bewilderment. The others seemed to sag down in defeat whilst Yuna merely carried on to the top. The Ranger however was close behind her, making sure that she would not decide on this moment to make her escape. She gazed deep into the darkness that all the paths held whilst willing her memory into life.

"It's that way." She said nonchalantly whilst gesturing to the door that lead downwards. Aragorn looked at her with all the cynicism that someone on a diet gives to something that sports the infamous legend: 'tastes great! And low fat too!'

"Why should we trust you, Lady Yuna?" He said pointedly. "And how would you even begin to know in the first place?" She raised the tiniest hint of an eyebrow.

"Lets just say I've been here before." She replied truthfully. " And do remember Aragorn that I happen to be your 'prisoner'," You could hear the inverted commas. "Therefore, wherever you go, I go too. So you see, it would be pointless for me to try and lead you into any trap."

"Even though you do bring a worthy point over, my dear. I am afraid we cannot trust your word alone." Said Gandalf interrupting.

"I suppose it is your choice." She returned grimly, after a while. "But when you do finally decide that that is indeed the right way, don't say I didn't tell you so." And with that she went to sit down on the platform where the rest of the group was situated.

It had been two insanely dull hours. Gandalf was still trying to remember the right way, or so he said. To Yuna it just looked like he wanted an excuse to smoke some weed. Sam was keeping well out of her way, which was rather annoying, because it meant she had no one to entertain herself with. Sighing, she looked around to the various members of the Fellowship. Aragorn sat staring at nothing in particular with his pipe in one hand, deep in thought. Gandalf sat some distance away, talking quietly with Frodo, the Hobbits were generally congregated in a corner, trying to get some sleep. Gimli's snores once again racked about the hollow mountain, and Legolas, as usual, was keeping himself to himself. Boromir was perched on a flat looking slab of rock, occasionally looking up from his engaging task of polishing his shield with a dingy cloth.

Something was gnawing at the back of her mind, why was Boromir looking at her in the first place. At first, she had thought that it was simply because there was no where else to look but at the person in front of you in that particular situation. She herself had noticed just how mind numbing having to stare at a dwarf's frizzy, unwashed locks for days on end was. But if that was so, then why did Boromir seem so lost for words when she had confronted him? She had a suspicion that it was simply because he didn't trust her, and so had felt it necessary to not let her out of his sights. But that was pretty pathetic, even for a human. Nevertheless, she mused, it was probably the most likely of candidates. His gaze landed on her for a number of seconds. He still looked embarrassed from their previous encounter. For some unknown reason, she seemed to have that sort of effect on people.

He got up. She could hear the clinking of the various metal objects strung together on his back as he paced over to where she sat with her legs crossed as casually as was possible in the current situation. Her muscles tensed up briefly as his voice cut through the humid silence.

"Lady Yuna?" He asked gingerly, not taking his eyes off her as her head turned slowly.

With a sigh, she replied, "First of all, I have absolutely no intention of calling you 'Lord,' so you can drop the idiotic formalities. Second of all, I'm not going to bite your head off – unless given good reason – so you might as well come a little closer." She indicated the barren stone floor next to her. Boromir, seeming a bit more relaxed, complied, taking a space beside her. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a few random members of the Fellowship glancing at them briefly before returning to whatever it was they were doing. Without letting him speak, she continued talking, "So." She started, not really caring who heard. "What is this whole obsession you have with the fact that I'm on a mission from The Dark Lord to annihilate the Fellowship and retrieve the one ring?"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh come on, I'm not that ignorant, don't think I haven't heard you talking. You're forgetting about these." She tucked back a few strands of hair behind her finely tipped ear. "I know what you've been saying, and you can trust me, if I was going to kill you in your sleep, I would have done so already."

"I'm sorry, but…" He paused. "…Surely you understand why we can't trust you."

"Not really, no, care to fill me in?" She lied fluently.

"Well…first of all, you show up unexpected outside the gates of Moria. And it's then that we discover you've been following us for however long. You understand, of course, that can be a little disconcerting."

"What?" Interjected Yuna.

"The fact that an possibly one of the best trackers around didn't find you."

"Don't forget the elf." She butted in.

"And Legolas as well, the fact that an elf didn't see or hear you is even stranger." Another pause. "Just out of interest, how long were you following us, exactly?"

"That's for me to know, and you...not to. And also, if you couldn't see your other tracker, what chance did you have of finding me?"

"Other tracker?" Yuna nodded her head in the direction of a lengthy drop. Sure enough, scuttling about on the rocky floor, was a pale grey creature that occasionally stopped and looked upwards. "What is that?"

"Gollum." She said simply. "He's been following you for quite some time now. I'm surprised you didn't see him."

"I must tell Gandalf." He said, getting up.

"He knows." She said in a matter-of-fact voice. "And if he chooses to do nothing, then so be it."

"I…see. Back on the subject, not only are you…well…a little strange…but we also had no way of knowing whether or not you were indeed sent from Saruman or The Dark Lord."

"Wait a moment. Understand that this is purely a hypothetical situation, but if I was here to get the Ring, none of you would be here. In fact, the Hobbits would never had left the Shire and by now Sauron would already have the Ring in his possession, and we would all be…well, buggered, for lack of a better word." She grinned cheerfully. "So you see, there's really nothing for you to worry about."

"A valid point, I suppose."

"Hey, what did you call me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Before the Dark Lord stuff, you called me strange." Boromir suddenly regretted ever opening his mouth.

"Well…you are." Her gaze could only be summarised as extremely disconcerting. She didn't look angry, quite the opposite, she seemed pleased at how the whole situation was turning out. This only served to make him more conscious of what he said. "For one, you're female…"

"Last time I checked, yes. Your point?"

"…You don't generally see many women fighters around. Also, from what I've seen, you're not that bad, either. That's even stranger, considering you actually managed to find someone willing to train you."

"I didn't. I taught myself."

"But…how?"

"With 3000 odd years to spare, practice really does make perfect."

"I see…Another thing, where do you hail from?" She shrugged.

"I don't know, exactly, my childhood is pretty much a blur. Why?"

"I'm not exactly knowledgeable in the subject, but I have never heard of a race of elves with your colour hair."

"And I have never heard of a human as inquisitive as yourself."

"Forgive me, I did not mean to offend." Yuna felt a certain sense of de-ja-vu approaching.

"There is nothing to forgive, it just struck me as odd that you would be so curious, you seemed to me to be one of the quiet ones." She paused, "And about my hair…well, I guess it's just because…wait a minute, why are we still talking about me? What about you?"

"What about me, la…uh, Yunalesca?" He quickly corrected himself after a preview of The Look.

"First of all, my first impression of you? A complete, power-mad oaf. You might want to work on that. Secondly, pass me that water flask, will you? My mouth tastes like something that's been dead since the second age." The sudden change of topic caught him by surprise, and he obediently reached over and handed her the small container. She gulped down at least a pint before wiping her mouth and handing it back. "Thank you. Now, where were we?"

"Oh." Came the old wizard's voice from where he and Frodo stood. "It's that way." He nodded in the general direction of the path leading downwards. Yuna cleared her throat meaningfully.

"He's remembered!" Pippin said happily.

"No," Replied Gandalf. "But the air doesn't smell as foul down here. If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose." She fought against every fibre of her body that yearned to yell out: "That'll lead him straight back to Aragorn, then!"

It was now that the numbness of her lower body set in. A vicious attack of pins and needles was on its way if she didn't get up soon. This was, however, slightly more difficult then she'd imagined. Boromir had already risen and looked back to her.

"Boromir, since we've become such fast friends, you wouldn't mind helping a girl up." He chuckled as he grabbed hold of her arm and hoisted her up. He was blessed with one of her rare smiles in return as they followed the company.

They'd stopped again. Even though when last they'd stopped it had given them time to take a short rest, this clearly had not been enough. Although most if not all the group already looked like they'd been through hell and back, it showed up most on the entirely exhausted Hobbits. So, once they'd entered the Great hall, it was decided that they'd camp close to their entrance to try and get some overly needed sleep. What was the point of going on if in the end they died of fatigue? The previously mentioned Hobbits had fallen deep into a sleep where not even the call of a frosty pint with a slight glaze of froth on the top could get them. Gandalf, Boromir and Aragorn had also fallen asleep, knowing that, for all their strength, they would not be able to go on without doing so. Even the Dwarf, who for once had somehow managed to tone down his snoring, had left the waking world. This left the elf to take up a solitary watch for anything that might endeavour to harm the Fellowship. Everything seemed to hold this inaudible secret. It hinted to him from far out into the gloom. Even though the darkness might have somewhat hindered his vision, what the eyes didn't see the ears made up for. There was nothing there. He wondered if there ever would be…

"Lle tyava ta?" (You feel it?) The sudden presentation of a voice startled him somewhat. He turned; Yuna sat perched on a slab of rock that had probably fallen some thousand years ago. He had assumed she was asleep just like the others for only moments before she had lain on the cold stone floor. It intrigued him how fast she could move even with her bonds on.

"Amin hiraetha?" (I'm sorry?) He replied shortly.

"Lle tyava ta?" (You feel it?) She repeated. Legolas gave her a blank look. "Shadow, flame, dark whispers, this place is keeping something, veiled in mystery, but there all the same. An evil that is rivalled by few and it is hungry for pain and misery. This place reluctantly holds it, and for now I think that thankfully for us it is still asleep, though for how long only time can tell." He stared at her, slightly overwhelmed. It was true. All that she was saying he'd felt from the moment that he'd set foot in Moria and still haunted him now. He'd been somewhat reluctant to tell anyone but had told Gandalf nonetheless. All the old wizard had told him was that he knew, and not to worry, this hadn't helped in the slightest. He nodded weakly, not wanting to take any major role in the conversation. She carried on, dismissing this completely. "It must be hard for you, down here. Stone everywhere, dusty, dark, you must be begging for sunlight and the gentle caress of a summer breeze. It's all so lifeless down here, no animals, birds or trees, not even the barest hint of a shrub. I guess you're doing okay, for an elf." He said nothing, ignoring her last remark. "You see, the Dwarves don't mind it, they're made for it really." She motioned to Gimli with a hint of a smile. The Dwarf was still fast asleep. "Besides what's a bit of darkness compared to gold, silver and of course mithril? So, they dig, further and further, making their mines and halls, passages that go on for miles. Not caring what exactly it is they've dug themselves into."

"Gandalf knows of all this, it is his choice whether or not to acknowledge it, doing so would not be my place." He ended with some finality.

"You're going to leave the Fellowship to ruin, just like that." He didn't bother to respond. She sighed, annoyed. "You know, stop me if I'm wrong, but this doesn't seem like the real you. In my experience, Princes seem to embody the essence both of cockiness and egotistical greed. You on the other hand, don't seem to love the sound of your own voice, and, I do believe, haven't cracked a smile on the entire journey. Although this makes for a refreshing change, I can't help but doubt it's authenticity."

"The reason I haven't 'cracked a smile' is because there is nothing to smile about. Why do you analyse everything?" The elf shot back, a hint of anger in his otherwise subdued voice.

"I…" Yuna stopped, not knowing how to reply. She desperately searched through her seemingly endless supply of witty comebacks, but found nothing. For, it seemed, one of the first times, she was at a loss for what to say.

"Before…you, you called me an elf with such disdain, but are you not one yourself?" He changed the subject, suspecting that no answer was due to escape her lips any time soon. Yuna, slightly taken aback by the question, responded in a quieter voice.

"My mother, for the most part. But my father…" She looked to the floor and let out a barely audible chuckle. "Was a cowardly Gondorian."

"You are half human, then?" He reasoned that the subject of her immediate family was not one that she would be willing to discuss freely.

"I'm impressed." She said jokingly. "I know, I know. Half human, half elf, raised by Ents. Strange combination, get over it. It's not a subject you want me to get into so I suggest you leave it at that."

"If you don't mind me asking…what's it like?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I can't exactly imagine what being a full elf would be like seeing as I don't have much experience in that particular area. I expect my abilities are somewhat lessened, I probably don't match your superior eyesight or hearing, and I presumably feel he cold a lot more than you would. Other than that, I'm not too sure." There was another short pause.

"How old are you?" He asked, unexpectedly.

"Why would you want to know that? Trying to figure out whether or not you're the oldest as well as the prettiest person in this room?" He coughed to muffle a chuckle. "Very well, let's see now…last time I checked I was three thousand and eighty…three…wait, four."

"So you apparently still have the immortality of the elves."

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Why do you say that? Surely it is better than living a short, mortal life."

"Eternal life is eternal boredom. Someday you'll learn that immortality gives you nothing to live for."

A.N. We love reviews, and we'll try to reply to all of them too :D

evenstar: Thanks for your reviews! Don't worry, fluff-fans. We'll get to that soon enough.

Rinoa Heartily: Erm…we have three identical reviews with your name on them…ah well, we're not complaining. And about the whole Merry-Yuna bit, this isn't some strange pervy-hobbit-fancier thing (…possibly…), we just meant it to be a little crush type thing. (Rai: When I was writing that bit, I could visualise Merry taking out a little list of 'things to do before I die' and crossing off 'tie up an older woman')

AngelQueen: Thanks! Wow, everyone's being so nice to us… Moving swiftly on, we're gonna get to the Yuna-Aragorn thing in due course.

Lin-z: Thanks for your time.

Aragorn's bitch: OMB! That's the exact image we had when we were describing her! Weird, huh?

Aztec Sunrise: Your wish is our command, here's the next instalment of wierdness.

Lirin Seawind akaSocial Misfit: We tried to make this as original as possible, and it seems to have worked to an extent…

hunny-bee: Thanks for the reviews. Yes, we stole the name, and for the last freeking time, WE OWN SQUARESOFT! Don't sue. We have lawyers.

Flowerfield: That's what we thought as well. We've changed the summary though, is this one any better?